getting there

We painted another room this weekend!  I’m so happy to have another one done.  ..especially because it’s our bedroom.

Here’s what it looked like before:

And now:

Of course, the pictures don’t really show how gross the old paint was, but if you haven’t seen it yourself, you’re just going to have to trust me when I say that it was pretty bad.  I really love it now!

Read Full Post »

I’m here!

Far too much time has passed since I’ve last blogged.  I guess grad school finally caught up with me!  I’ve been keeping busy with class projects/papers/exams and (of course) research.  Things are finally set up in the lab the way that I want them, so I’ll probably be spending a lot more time in there.  :)  I feel like such a badass in my tie-dyed labcoat with my new instruments going.

By now, I’m sure it’s apparent that I’m not taking part in NaBloPoMo this year.  There’s no way; I just don’t have enough to write about for a whole month!  The knitwise among you probably know that it’s also NaKniSweMo (National Knit a Sweater Month), though.  As I cast on my first “real” sweater recently, I’m hoping to finish it this month.

A couple weeks ago, Mom came to visit.  (Has it really been a couple of weeks already?)  I’ve been really homesick, and it was great to see her.  I can’t wait for the holidays.

Before she got here, we thought we’d get really crazy and paint the guest room!  I’m really proud of the way it turned out.  Here’s the (ugly yellow) before:

And the after:

It’s hard to tell from the pictures because the lighting is so much different in different corners of the room, but the true color is probably somewhere between the first picture and the third picture.  It looks great, and it’s so nice to have another room done.  Our next project will either be the bedroom or the basement!  (They’re both yellow, too.  WTF!)

Read Full Post »

brown!

We finished painting!  We finished painting!  Hooray!  I am so in love.

Alright, so we only mostly finished painting.  The moulding is still green..soon to be white.  I am in love anyways.

This past weekend was fantastic.  My friend Anthony came to visit us!  Purdue was having its annual Springfest, so we headed over to campus to check it out.  All of the different departments were out in tents selling food and hanging out.  Fun times.  We also went to check out the community garage sale at River Knits.  (Yes, I actually dragged poor Anthony to a yarn shop.  But, to be fair, he bought more yarn than I did!)  I won’t know until next week how many of my things sold, but I scored some awesome deals on a skein each of Jitterbug and TOFUtsies:

And as the perfect end to a great weekend, I finished my Sockhead Hat.  :o)

Read Full Post »

painting is not as easy as it looks

Motivated by the leethal 24 hour Make-a-Long and the promise of a visit from an old friend, Dave and I finally decided that this weekend was high time to rid ourselves of the hideous green paint covering our living room/dining room walls.

Friday night, we prepared for our adventure with several paint cards from Home Depot.  We were so ready.  Or so we thought.

As it turns out, picking a color is actually the most difficult part of painting a room.  (Who knew?)  We thought that we were doing really well!  The paint was looking amazing, especially compared to the grossness of the flat green..  By the time we realized how vast the difference between our perception and the actual color of the wall was, we’d already painted a little more than half of the room.  Pink.

Ohhhhh yeah.  So after numerous trips to Home Depot and a weekend full of work, all we have to show is mostly pink walls with green trim and five color samples hanging out in various places around the room.  Great!

Dave will be picking up our new color of choice (a lovely brown much closer to what we had envisioned..it doesn’t really show so well in that picture) tomorrow on his way home from work, and my week of studying and tests will now be accented with home improvement.  :o)  Can’t any of these damn house projects be easy?

Read Full Post »

fall perfection

Yesterday was gorgeous!  Beautiful weather, relaxation, productivity..  Basically everything I could want of mid-October.  I even finished something important on Friday, so I could go about ignoring schoolwork relatively guilt-free!

Ah, knitting!  I used to do that all the time..remember?

I went a little crazy and raked the entire front yard.  Trust me, that pile of leaves is bigger than it looks in the picture!!

And though my main motivation was (I HAVE BEEN REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THE IDEA OF THIS SINCE MOVING IN) those pumpkin leaf bags, the finished product is pretty damn rewarding. I only regret not taking a “before” picture.

Yes, that is indeed my trunk filled with pumpkins.  Yes, there are more pumpkins in the backseat.  And yes, I may be a bit squash-happy.

One of the professors in my department sent out an email Friday saying that he had an excess of pumpkins at his farm..he wanted to share the rest with all of us in exchange for some feedback on potentially opening up a you-pick next season.  Imagine previous years of pumpkin-picking in Willcox..only the pumpkins are free (and more or less perfect), and you are told to “fill your vehicle.”  I brought the neighbors with me, and we did just that!  Of course, we shared with others in the neighborhood..no one needs that many pumpkins.  It was so much fun!!

Add to all of that a crockpot simmering with a green chile pork loin.  WIN.

Read Full Post »

everybody poops

..but does it always make you smile so much?  I finished my bathroom, and wow am I in love.

Before: wallpaper, no shower, sink built for a ten year old, carpet.  Gross.

During: non-functional complete disaster.  I didn’t even take pictures of the gaping holes for the toilet and sink lines when they were visible.

After: new everything but the tub, more or less.  It’s glorious.  I am completely enamored with the low-flow toilet, and the sink really opens up what little space there is in the room.  This morning, I enjoyed my first shower in my house that did not take place in the basement.  It was incredible!

Read Full Post »

thirty one days

Today marks one month of me in my new house. I’d love to show off pictures of every room with a new coat of paint or fabulous furniture (or even what it really looks like with my stuff in it), but that’s going to have to wait.

What I do have is a bathroom with a door on it and a toilet and sink within. It even has a shower, which I’ll be able to use tomorrow or the next day. Once I paint the moulding, it will be complete. And it only took me a month to have a finished bathroom on the ground floor! I won’t miss showering in the basement. Well..maybe a little? It’s not bad down there.

I also have three closets with brand new paint in them (mostly), a basement that’s free of spiderwebs (mostly), and a brand new circuit breaker box (long story). I honestly didn’t expect the house to be this much work, but I do love it. As does Snake! Despite the mopey look on her face, she loves to lay on the shoes..she’s just a flash hater.

Apparently, the mailman got the message that today was special, too! I got a couple of Etsy orders I’ve been really excited about, fiber from Spindlefrog, and earrings from Anna’s Art. They both had really great deals (particularly on the earrings!) and really quick shipping!

I promise to get pictures of at least the bathroom soon!

Read Full Post »

welcome home!

Um, so..I moved! Despite some minor setbacks, I closed on the 17th and moved that same weekend. It’s been a really exciting, eye opening, and labor-intensive experience!!

I am really enjoying it. The best part may be that in unpacking, I don’t have to worry about making things easy to move again within the next year. I’m still not completely settled, but I’m getting there quickly and loving every minute.

So here are the pictures everyone’s been asking for. I forgot to take a shot of the kitchen, and the bathroom remodel is already underway, but here’s what I do have to show!

House!

Living Room

Living Room

Den

Bedroom

Guestroom

Third Bedroom

Bathroom

I took all of these pictures before I moved anything in (obviously), so it looks a lot different now. ..and I’m sure I’ll have a lot to update on in the future, but I just wanted to check in and flash some quick pictures!

Read Full Post »