The Best Things In Life Are Free

I'm a member of Mom's (that's Mom's of Multiples) and they have a wonderful network of mothers that are there for support when you need them. Another awesome perk is there is a website with a message board that people can list things for sale, ask for advice, or offer things up for free. 

Imagine my delight when I got my daily email with new classifieds and saw FREE Swingset. And not just any swing set…. one of those fancy wooden ones that I've been eyeing but thought I'd never be able to afford. Have you seen the price tag on those things? 

Where is my money tree?

It's been used and loved by another family but was in great shape. I feel so lucky to have it and only hope one day Im able to pay it forward…

 if not with this set then in some other way. 

The only catch is that Dale had to drive over take it apart and bring it home then put it back together.

Have I mentioned how great my man is? He is the best. 

I didn't go with him so I wasn't able to get any shots of him taking it apart or loading it but here is what it looked like when he got it home and unloaded. 

He admitted he was a little worried when he saw it and wondered 

if it was in good enough shape to use.

uh oh… 

Turns out it he was worried for nothing it looks great.

It definitely doesn't look brand new, but for free it is AMAZING! 

Sorry for the lack of putting it together shots… he did this while I was at work. I arrived to supervise and help him put on the roof. Which I have to say I was impressed by. This thing held up both of our combined weights… for sure it's safe enough for the boys. The set was missing some screws… nothing a quick trip to Lowe's couldn't handle. And voila….

A fully functional swing set. 

Our  boys are a little young to get much use of it but we do have infant swings we are using at my      in-laws and they will get plenty of use here.

Here I am making sure the swings work… I LOVE to swing.  I know Im sort of an idiot. Dale said I should act silly and this is what we got. 

I feel so grateful to have this new (to us) set and will be so excited when we can start to use it daily. 

Tour of the New House with Before Photos

We've decided to part ways with our floor guy and move on to a company with more experience with dark floor stains. This is good news I think. But with the good comes …. that's right…. some bad… 

The new company can't get us in for a few weeks. So while I try not cry…. I'll keep it together long enough to take you on a tour of home as it was when we purchased. 

  I've been living with my in-laws since January. Don't get me wrong they are GREAT… really great but it's tough. Space is tight and privacy is.... leaving something to be desired. Living with your own parents can be hard.. even more so when it's someone else's. 

You've seen the front before … but here it is again. Cute huh? We've taken out all the old landscaping and replaced it with my hydrangea garden. I've also added some gardenia and azalea bushes. It's going to be really beautiful once it fills in. I'll be sure to show some of those pics soon. I promise. 

This is a view of the back. The bushes haven't come out yet but I plan to remove them. We're thinking of expanding the concrete slab to serve as a patio but ...we haven't decided. A deck would be awesome but they are super expensive and we've reached our max budget for big ticket items for the next year or two.

The kitchen 

And from a different angle. Im trying to talk Dale into letting me paint the cabinets white or an off white. We had a bad experience at our last home so he's paint shy with cabinets. I think I've convinced him. I'll keep you posted.

Here we have the dining room from the living room. It's one big space and I love it. Very open but Im not sure how the layout will go as far as furniture yet. I'll have to play around with it…. if we ever move in. Sorry .... the pity party is coming out again. 

This is the master. I love how bright the room is. 

My favorite thing about this room is the huge closet I'll have… 

ALL. TO. MY. SELF.     

Happy Dance. Big Smiling Face

And here we have the master bath. We were told the cabinets were custom but they are a little blah, not bad but not as good as they could be. They just need a little paint to spruce them up. 

We'll eventually put in new counter tops but that will be in a year or two. If only I had unlimited funds…. sigh.

 I'd love to frame out the mirror with some molding. The shower will stay the same. 

Another view…

Here's a shot of the shower. 

That brings us to the boys rooms. You can see the beautiful chalkboard wall…. we ended up painting over it. While I like the idea... Im more likely to do a smaller area and not a whole wall. 

The previous owners had good taste. They were Duke fans. :) Duke stickers where everywhere in this room.

Since we have 3 bedrooms we decided to separate the twins to work on sleep training. We initially thought we'd have a guest room but my boys aren't sleeping through the night yet and momma is Tired. 

That's right my boys are almost 10 months old and don't sleep through the night. I usually get up twice a night and that's for about 20-30 minutes to take care of both if Im lucky. 

Any pointers or tips would be greatly appreciated. 

Although I think sleep deprivation is normal for me now. ;) 

And here we have the 3rd and final bedroom. Pretty straight forward. We've already painted and I have adorable decorations from the nursery at our previous home. Im not sure if I'll have enough decorations for both rooms so I guess that means I'll just HAVE to shop for more. Nothing to be done about it… right? You'll help explain to the hubby?? Thanks for backing me up. 

Our second bath which will serve for the boys as well as any guests that visit. The same as our bath just a smaller area and different layout. I'll paint the vanity in here as well and we've removed the sliding doors from the shower. Im not a fan. It would be awful bathing my babies and trying to lean against that thing. Ughh… makes me hurt just thinking about it. I wasn't able to convince Dale to remove the one in the master bath but you have to pick your battles… am I right? 

This post is going long... sorry. One last photo and I'll wrap it up. Promise.

Our laundry room. It looks small but it's plenty of room. We'll stack a front load washer and a dryer in one corner and in the other Im doing a shelving unit from Lowes. 

And there you have it a tour of our home as it was when we purchased. Overall adorable but in need of some updating. We've painted all the walls and Dale has installed tile in the bathrooms. All that's left is painting cabinets, hanging blinds, cleaning the bathrooms and windows while we wait for the new flooring company to fix the floors for us. 

I'll post some in between photos for you to see how the transformation is coming along. 

I'd love to hear from you about your past or current renos and any advice you have on what worked for you. 

Happy Wednesday

Delays

We found out yesterday we wont be able to move in next weekend… I was really sad, frustrated, and angry about it yesterday but it's what has to happen so I can't dwell on it. 

The floors need to be stripped bare and redone. The machine our guy used to sand around the edges of the room left marks on the floor that couldn't be seen until it was stained. The worst part is that to correct it you have to start all over. I know it is such a bummer.

Can you see it? They are swirl marks. It's hard to make out in photos.

Another shot 

These are spots that weren't filled with putty and those will be fixed as well. We're very picky but hardwood floors are expensive so we're making sure it's done right. 

Here's a view from the kitchen. It's going to look great. 

The stain is Ebony by Minwax and the floors are white oak.

So we've moved on to our next project… painting furniture. My husband says my theme song should be "Paint it Black" by The Rolling Stones and I agree. You will too in time. It's one of my favorite colors to paint just about anything. It's durable, looks sophisticated, and matches everything. It makes decorating a breeze. I can have everything bold and black and bring in my color with accents. 

Here is a little tease of our project.

These are items for the boys' rooms. A dresser, small bookcase, and bunk beds. It looks great and I'll share pictures soon of the newly painted items.

What did you work on this weekend? Any painting tips to share? 

Welcome to my page

Welcome to my page! 

It's nice to meet you. Thanks for stopping by.

Im Nichole and this is my family. 

photo by Stephanie's Creative Photography

Let me introduce you to my 9 month old twin boys Trey and Wyatt and my wonderful husband Dale (he's watching so I have to say that…. haha just kidding he's wonderful). He teaches PE at a middle school and coaches sports. We've been married for almost 7 years. Life is pretty good…. scratch that life is amazing. We just purchased our second home after selling our first in record time and are renovating before we move in. 

And me, I own my own business. I have a successful Massage Therapy practice in Durham but since our boys were born I've been working a little less and enjoying watching my babies grow. I love DIY because it saves money (very important when you're only working a few days a week and HELLO I have twins!!!)  also I feel so proud of myself when I see what a little elbow grease can accomplish. 

Wyatt on the left and Trey on the right

I love all things DIY. I love the fun that comes from learning a new skill and the pride you feel from doing it yourself and seeing the finished product. I'll tackle any project although some work out and some don't. The fun is in the trying, right? DIY is normally associated with home renovation (which I do) but I also consider anything you do yourself to be DIY. I love to garden, knit, crochet, take photographs, craft, build, paint, (the last two not very well but luckily with the help of Pinterest and Esty there is tons of inspiration and practice to be had). I'll share with you a little of everything and I hope you'll share your projects with me. My favorite thing about the internet and reading blogs is learning about people and what they like to do. 

Which brings me to our new (to us) home. 

It's a little rough around the edges but adorable. We purchased it back in February and have been hard at work since. 

I hope you'll come back and share in our journey of turning this house into our home. 

Have you remodeled your home? What were some of your biggest challenges? Anything you'd do differently if you had the chance to do it over again? I'd love to have your feedback below in the comments section or send me an email to honeycuttna@gmail.com