Great Room

Here are a few new pieces we have bought for the house. We bought the lamp at Pier 1 and the buffet at a local furniture place in Tucson. It is called "Mexican Rustic" and made from reclaimed wood in India. It is very colorful and adds some interest to the room.

Haddie's Room

Our latest project has been finishing up Haddie's room. Christmas brought lots of stuff and we need to get this baby organized!! We finished painting and also bought her a new book shelf. It has really come together!

Vinegaroon

I saw this close to Murphy's dog house late one afternoon. I killed it, because I thought it was a huge scorpion. Turned out it was just a vinegaroon. They look like a giant black scorpion but they are actually harmless. When agitated they spray something that smells like vinegar. I wish I hadn't killed it because they eat roaches and crickets.

Leaky ceiling

Last time it rained, we had water dripping from the ceiling in the master bedroom. I think it was coming through a crack in the stucco on the ledge shown in the picture. I used some stucco patching to fill in the crack. If it doesn't leak when it rains again, then the next step will be to tear out the damaged part of the ceiling in the master bedroom and patch it.

First Rattlesnake Sighting

During lunch a couple days ago we heard Murphy barking in the backyard. We looked outside and it looked like she was barking at something up on the porch. Hillary opened the door and saw a rattlesnake on the back porch right up against the house. It was only a few feet from the back door! It was coiled up on top of a cinder block against the wall. I couldn't really get to it where it was, so I decided to finish eating lunch and wait for it to move. I finally saw it start to slither across the porch, so I went outside and killed it with a big rock. Bear Grylls says to always cut off the head and bury it for safety reasons, so that's what I did.

Haddie's favorite project so far... her very own swing!

End Result :)

Dirty Blinds

The house had been vacant for a little over a year when we moved in. One major issue is that the blinds are super disgusting. Let this be a lesson to everyone to maintain a certain level of cleanliness because you do not want to be in our predicament! Here are the things I tried before finding the solution:

1. Using sponge and fantastik- did absolutely nothing
2. Soaking in bathtub with fantastik and using the jets- again nothing
3. Heavy duty scratch pad and baking soda- almost giving up on these blinds..
4. Finally- steel wool- yay, it worked!

Bad news- there are still 5 more windows to go and they are much larger!

Yay! Something is finally working!

Cleaning blinds

Sliding Glass Door

Our sliding glass door was almost impossible to open. I fixed it by replacing the wheels at the bottom. It took a few hours, and some flies got in the house, but now you can open it with one finger. I got to use my new sawhorses too.

Snow Day

The mountains got their first snow on November 7 this year.

Quail

I looked out the sliding glass door last week and saw a few quail in the backyard. I called Hillary over and we watched them walk across the yard. We counted eighteen! I think they were Gambel's Quail.

A little bit everyday..

So I have been feeling overwhelmed and like the house is progressing very, very slowly.. I really do wish I could snap my fingers and it would be like I imagine it will be one day. To cheer myself up I am going to post everything we have done since we moved in 1 month ago.. get ready, get set..

1. Fixed roof
2. Repaired foundation
3. Graded land in front of house for proper drainage
4. Installed 4 ceiling fans and 2 light fixtures
5. Bought/Installed all applainces
6. Painted Haddie's room and master bedroom
7. Installed carpet in all bedrooms
8. Installed dog invisible fence/trained Murphy
9. Mowed approx 1 acre around the house
10. Repaired Sliding Glass door
11. Cleaned, Cleaned, and still more cleaning!
12. Started a compost for our spring garden

This is all I can think of for now. Most of my role in these projects has been providing meals and childcare haha. Andrew has been amazing with doing most of the work himself. We really should take out some stock in Home Depot!

5 years and counting..

Today marks 5 years since Andrew and I began our life together as a married couple. Since that day we have moved to Arizona, started careers, and added an amazing little girl to our lives. Our most recent adventure has been the purchase of a new home. It is a project that will probably last 5 more years or maybe even the rest of our lives. This blog will follow some of the memories created while turning this house into our home.