De-cluttering the kitchen and a surprise...

Yesterday we continued to prep the house. Moving unused items to the basement and de-cluttering the kitchen. It was hard for me to pack away all my pretty things. Staging is not always fun and decorating, sometimes it involves undecorating. We didn't do to much last night though because Ryan was packing for a business meeting down in Orlando and I wanted to spend as much time with him as possible in a good mood (not always the case when we are working on the house together). But I have BIG plans for when he is away.

I am going to redo the whole bathroom while he is gone!!! Part of my surprise is going to be the wall art. Right now we have a bunch of pictures from a trip with my mom to Venice, Italy and I am going to change them all over to pictures from our honeymoon! Only problem is choosing just a few because we got so many amazing pictures while we were there. Paris truly is the city of love. If you ever have a chance to go with the one you love I highly recommend it. I don't know what it is about that city but it works magic. I came back with a husband who loves red wine and photography-two things he had no interest in prior and two of my favorites.

We really bonded on that trip and I wanted to do something special for Ryan to bring that old Paris feeling into our home. I am excited to pick my favs and see how it all comes together. Now the only question is should I do color or black and white? Decisions, decisions. Here are some of the possibilities.

Putting my best rags forward...Challenge Day 1

Today was kind of a slow starter. I had already planned to go visit my parents. So after a fun night hanging out and some Taco Bell I did what I could do while Ryan was watching football-organize the hall closet! Exciting right? I guess every step is something checked off the list.

I am marking the hallway as finished. The walls and ceiling have been painted. I have some cute little prints hanging in frames I got for less then 2 dollars. And now the grand finale with a staged linen closet. I would love to show you a picture of how nice and organized it is but sadly I cannot find my cord to download all my pictures...bummmer.

My three simple steps to staging a closet:

1: Hide your yucky rags- We all have them but no one wants to see that when they are looking to buy your house!

2: Containers and Baskets- Use these to hide all your junk in. Be creative and used things your already have on hand- I am using an old picnic basket to store cards from our wedding in.

3: Edit- The closet should say I have lots of space. Cramming things into the closet makes it look too small and people will wonder if your house has enough storage for them.

Follow those three simple steps and your linen closet will be Open House ready in no time too! Since I don't have a new pictures to share of the house, here is a picture from our honeymoon that I plan on printing in black and white for art in the bathroom.

30 Day Challenge...

Hello, I do realize that it has been a while since you last heard from me. I stopped blogging because after the wedding it was hard to find a direction for this blog. I felt aimless and uninspired. Can I be honest too? I found myself being a green blogger and I don't mean the environmentally friendly green- I mean the jealous kind.

Have you ever been reading a blog and find yourself comparing your life to hers? Or your husband to hers? Or your house to hers? I am afraid to post picture of my house because I feel it does not measure up. And so I wanted to put a stop to my unintentional blogging and my self doubting ways.

So I have decided for the next 30 days I will be blogging daily on a new challenge I am joining. My goal is to have our house completely renovated and on the market by February 4th. You know how they say love finds you when your not looking? Well I feel the same way but not about love but the direction of my life. I am looking so hard for it that maybe it is time to stop looking, dive in and start living. Maybe I will find my purpose along the way....if not hopefully my house will have gained some equity.

Tasks to be completed in the next 30 days:

Kitchen: Install new counter tops, Install new oven hood, Install new sink, Install dishwasher, Install garbage disposal, Clean all appliances, Paint ceiling, New covered garbage can, Clean windows inside and out, New doorknob for back door, De-clutter and finish design

Living Room: Prime and Paint, New curtains, New light fixture, Move old art back into room, New front entry way New carpet, Take down mirrors, Clean out media cabinets and under coffee table, Install black floating shelf above TV, New floor dividers, Finish painting trim

Dining Room/ 3rd Bedroom: Decide purpose of room, New light fixture, New carpet (yes carpet in a dining room- campus town means it will more then likely be a bedroom and it's cheaper to install carpet), Clean and organize closet

Hall: Clean closet

Bathroom: New floor, Sand down wall, Paint, Re-paint cabinet, Put in new black and white art, New rugs, New garbage can that closes, Fix sink, New doorknob, Paint ceiling, Get new outlet with a reset button, New curtains, Re-caulk trim and bathtub

Master Bedroom: Take out T.V., Prime and paint, New carpet, New lighting, Organize closet

Second Bedroom: New lighting, Paint ceiling, New carpet, Organize closet, Take out T.V., New curtains, Decide on design

Basement: Install long panel curtains in all the windows, Paint walls and floor, Set up Man Room, Curtain off storage areas. Set up and stage laundry area,

Maybe I am crazy but I desperately need a goal right now. A challenge is right up my ally. Oh, did I mention that I am not going to be reading any other blogs for the next 30 days? I want this to be purely me. I don't want to wonder if I am trying to be someone else anymore. Don't think for a second this will be easy for me- I LOVE reading blogs. I can spend hours aimlessly drifting from one pretty picture to the next. But it is time to start capturing my own life. Time to start blogging intentionally and with a clear vision of who I am.

If you are interested in joining in the 30 day challenge go here and join in with a challenge of your own! Here is to the next 30 day- may they be inspiring, full of purpose and direction.