Sometimes I forget...

I often look around our house and think about all of the things we haven't done and spend little time realizing what we have done and appreciating that. So, I decided to flip back through some old photos of when our BIG project first began. I think one of the best examples is the kitchen, so here are a few before and after shots.

The kitchen in its current state.

Another shot.

Ripped out...

And, here's the kitchen just as we bought the house. Yeah, this does look different now!

Bird tile

I wanted to break up all of the white tiles behind the stovetop and I was in Sophie's (surprise, surprise!) a couple of weeks ago and found this adorable bird tile. I thought it might match the McCarty perfectly, and it did! There were 2 other birds in the same colors that I didn't buy, and of course now they're calling my name. I might have to go back and bring home 2 birdy friends to keep this one company!

Bird tile!

And, see how it matches the greeny-blue color!

Fun with leveling compound!

I know all of you are THRILLED just seeing another boring post about the mudroom. But, it has taken up a lot of our time lately. The floor in the mudroom is very uneven and before laying tile, it must be even. So, we bought 4 bags of leveling compound to pour. The compound is a very thin cement that runs to the lowest point, hopefully leveling out the floor.

First, you must prep the floor by priming it with Kilz.

Almost done being primed.

And, then you get to layer on the cake batter like substance.

And, but of course, a road block. We were all ready to begin tiling on Saturday morning (our fun Valentine's Day treat!) when Brooke noticed some of the compound starting to crack. He started peeling away and noticed that all of the compound in the middle of the mudroom was coming up. We realized that because this used to be a garage (in the 40's), cars sat right down the middle spilling oil. So, we bought de-greaser, scrubbed the floor, bought more leveling compound and are now filling in the gaps. Hopefully, we'll be able to lay tile this afternoon after the new compound dries and I can report in on that fun project!

to Reno to see Georgia...

I was excited to be able to get out to Reno to see my dear friend Ali, her husband Ryan, and their sweet new baby Georgia. It was a wonderfully relaxing long weekend and a treat for me to be able to spend time catching up with Ali and meeting Georgia!

Ali and I with Georgia!

Getting out of PJs and ready for some shopping with her Mom and Cat!

Reno is very close to beautiful Lake Tahoe. We were able to take a trip to the lake one day and eat on the water. Gorgeous!

Sqauw Valley ski resort in Lake Tahoe (no we didn't take to the slopes, but sipped our Starbucks and watched the action!

Ali and I after lunch on the lake.