House Warming Party And Such

Here are some pictures from our house warming party and the days surrounding it. FYI, I organized them (mostly) by the flow of the house, not chronologically. Like always, clicking on pictures gives you a larger view.

The invitation I made.

A nice family shot.

Pretty hanging basket I got for three bucks- and the lovely blue flowers I planted in it.

The front foyer- my husband, his brother,and their aunt.

The area I call the "nook," outside the half bath and utility rooms. It's also the area the little one's play kitchen is housed.

Finally got Starry Night hung. It's a little crooked, so it's back on my to-do list. Here, you can also see the gigantic atlas we received from an uncle as a house warming gift. He called it a coffee table book, but if it had legs, it could BE a coffee table. :)

Behind the love seat we hung The Old Guitarist. Eventually we'd like to get a better copy of this. It's my husband's favorite painting. I really like how the blues in it and in Starry Night play off our kitchen walls.

Having fun at the party.

With the help of several family members, we got two of the guitar brackets mounted. The darned stud finder didn't like me one bit! Hopefully I'll find the third bracket soon so the wall will look more balanced.

Family at the party.

I've had this rug for some time now. I've always liked it and am glad it finally has a place to go, even if it is a bit small for a dining table rug. The colors and pattern are also on the throws on our couches, so with the open floor plan it looks great. I'm so glad to finally have an obvious decorating scheme/theme in my home!

View of the kitchen from the dining table. The light blue sun used to be orange, but with a fresh coat of paint, it's seeing new life. Eventually that spot will house our freezer, but for now the suns look nice. You can also see our brand new toaster. (Thanks, Tortilla!) It's a black 4 slot with a fancy retractable cord.

This is the top of our fridge- not the permanent home for any of these items. The white candle holders were favors for the girls in our family from Paisley's wedding. The sculpture, which is either a calaca, or a catrina (I'm unsure), was a house warming gift from my aunt. The two of us have been bonding a great deal over the past year and- boy, did she hit the nail on the head with this one! I LOVE it! The colors perfectly match the walls in the kitchen/living/dining, and I have always thought the Day of the Dead sculptures were amazing (odd, but amazing none the less.) Some time ago I bought some Alexander Henry Folklorico Fabrics ( Virgin of Guadalupe, Paseo de los Muertos, and maybe Calaveras ) from Joanne's. They're in one of my craft boxes. I've always wanted a Mexican themed kitchen, so after I get my sewing machine fixed, I think I'll make a table runner or some place mats. I also own a vintage apron with little guitars and maracas embroidered on it, and two little dancers at the bottom. I used it as a window valance in our old town house, but now I need to repurpose it.

This is my greeting card display. It's on the bar top between the kitchen and living room. I want to get some wood and some clips and build a double sided display to set out during Christmas and Birthday months.

Playroom- have it organized now. Definite computer area, home-school supplies, book storage, a movie watching spot, play area with table and seating...

and lots of toy storage!

We've decided this room will also get painted blue (of course!) My husband wants to put Dallas Cowboys collectibles in here, but as of yet the only thing he has is an enormous Game Day Flag for the front porch- another house warming gift. I, on the other hand, just so happen to have a collection of superhero items- and seeing as I'm the one doing all the hanging and decorating and such, I have every intention of blue walls and red shelves. I also have a frame built in my head to display my Supergirl comic books. I've already adapted the fan pulls- the one for the light is a small Batgirl action figure, and the fan pull is the Bat symbol. I'm thinking of using one of my old Supergirl capes as curtains...

This is part of the girls' bedroom. Here's their display wall. Looks better in person...

I finished this painting last week. My daughter and I started it two years ago!

My favorite part of their room is the window. I don't have a photo to post, so I'll describe it. They had a lavender mesh canopy that used to hang over their bookcase. I cut it into sections and used the sections as curtains- one long piece hung all the way to the floor on each side, with the final piece draped acrosss the top. It's supported by a beautiful mermaid hook at the center of the top, and a dried starfish in the middle. I'll post more pictures of their room after we get them a bed frame.

Girls' bathroom. This room will either be a light blue or green. I also want to get them a new shower curtain.

Master bedroom. I love the wall color. I only had one can of paint at the time, so it's a little thin in places, but one of the Home Depot housewarming gift cards we received afforded us another can (among other things.) Add "second coat in bedroom" to my to-do list!

We don't have any other bedroom furniture yet. Sometime down the line we'll get a dresser and at least one night stand. I may want a vanity on my side- or perhaps a night stand and a jewelry armoire?

My mom and step-dad got a bunny hutch! After the boys assembled it, I drove out to our old apartment to retrieve the bunny. We put it in what we've determined to be the shadiest spot. The only issue is that it's on the side with the rain run-off,so the ground tilts heavily here. Fortunately, we kept most of the pieces to the girls' old bed frame. One of the planks was the exact width of the rabbit hutch, so now it's level! The only problem with the hutch itself is that whoever designed it forgot that rabbits are burrowing animals. The lower level is open to grass for nibbling and digging. I purchased some supplies and built a framework for the bottom of the hutch. The last thing on my to-do list is to finish disassembling her old cage so I can use the wire screens to cover my framework. Then I will set the hutch on top of the screen and we can open the trap door for good, so she can hop down the ramp and enjoy some fresh greens.

Here are the kids on the front porch with the dogs that live behind us. I don't really know what the deal is, but these two are never in their own yard. My dog starts whining whenever they come up the street and I recently noticed that the beagle-y one hangs out on my shady porch during the hottest parts of the day. I put a bucket of water out there for them. I know her name is LaLa, but I don't know the little one's name, so I call her Scruffy. They are both friendly and very sweet.

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Well, that's all the pictures I have for now. Things are coming together nicely, and it's quite livable now that I've crammed the remaining boxes into every inch of closet space... Thanks to everyone who came out last weekend! And if you didn't make it, call us soon so you can come visit!

House Warming Party!

Our house warming party is set for Saturday, August 15th. Should be a pretty packed house! Hooray! I can't wait to see all your beautiful faces. Call us if you need directions, have questions, or when you figure out if you can make it (so we can get a head count.)

Don't feel obligated, but if you'd like to get us a gift, here's a list:
We need some big budget items, like a water softening system, a new bed frame for the girls, and a freezer. We've already shopped around for the best deals on the ones we want, so we will gladly welcome gift cards to Home Depot, Lowe's, Ikea and Sears.
For smaller things, we registered at Target- bath towels, kitchen stuff, odds and ends, and a couple of "fun" items. Our registry is under Club Wedd because I didn't realize I had other options.
We also need those clear plastic things that cover the knobs on the oven/stove, to keep the little one from burning the house down. They have them at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and "baby" stores.

The run down on our decorating scheme:
Living Room- deep tan walls and couches with green and blue accents, large painting of Starry Night, brownish black furniture with straight lines
Kitchen/Dining- deep blue walls, dishes in shades of blue, green, and brown (mainly plastic due to the kid factor) black appliances, dark brown tile and countertops, medium shade wood cabinets
Half Bath- presently unpainted, deep red accent pieces. I'd like to get a collection of Mexican punched tin hearts to hang on the wall- I bought one the other day- a red heart with silver flames coming out the top. We might want to hang them over the cabinets in the kitchen. Hmmm...
Girls' Room- turquoise walls, purple furniture, under sea/mermaids
Girls' Bath- blue and lime green, puppies and kitties, with a few frogs
Master Bedroom- blue walls, brown and blue bedding, dark wood bed frame
Master Bath- presently nothing, hoping for brown and deep orange color scheme
Exterior- forest green front door, green door mats and flower pots
(Pictures of what we've done so far are available in the previous post- August 5th.)

The new light fixtures my husband installed are all dark brown/bronzish, with slightly yellow frosted glass. The carpet is a light tan with brownish speckles. All hanging picture frames are black.

Candles are also great- I love it when my house smells like Thanksgiving baked goodies: pumpkin pie, hazelnut, cinnamon, maple.

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OK, well I guess I have two weeks to finish painting and get unpacked... Don't forget to RSVP!

What I've done so far...

Special thanks to my most fabulous friend for bringing us Sonic, helping me paint, and letting me use her camera.

Here's my cacti on the front porch:

The baby's kitchen fits perfectly in the nook outside the laundry room.


I painted my sun to match the kitchen wall. Then I hung it over the pantry.

Blue kitchen walls and island- new chandelier hung by my hubby.

My lovely couch, with one of the fabulous blankets my aunt gave me.

Bookcase and loveseat. Check out our awesome new ceiling fan! Still need to hang the painting...

Family pictures in the staircase- new light fixture here, too.

More family pictures at the top of the stairs.

Started painting the girls' bedroom, with the help of a friend. Ceiling fan salvaged from my aunt's attic.

That's it so far. Lots of unpacking and rearranging left- also a little more painting. The apartment is still a disaster. I hope to be done out there soon, but it's difficult to get anything done with the kids there, especially with the apartment being empty. At least the Winkler is feeling more and more like Home.