A Weekend of Visitors & Fun

We spent this last weekend entertaining visitors, and had such a great time doing so.  It was great to see our old friends and start round one of Operation: Convince Tim and Judy to Move to Colorado.  Ha!  

We spent Friday out and about, trying to stay dry in the snow, and Friday night celebrating a birthday at one of our favorite restaurants in Denver.  Saturday we spent the day enjoying the beautiful Colorado sunshine, and discovered a new favorite spot: Echo Lake.  We got some great exercise by going cross-country skiing, and really couldn't have asked for better weather and conditions.

We were so sad to see our friends go, but I am sure we will see them again soon... it might even call for a visit to San Francisco soon!

Happy Tuesday!  (My first 30-day challenge update coming your way tomorrow.)

Official Main Living Area: Before and After

I know I have been teasing this for weeks, but here is our final before and after for the main living area of our house. Finally.

I love this mirror, and I can't wait to hang it up on that wall in the entryway.

Don't mind the mess around our thermostat.  Ha!  We are in the process of figuring out a new wall plate for the Nest that looks cleaner than the white one that was on their previously.

We changed a few small finishes, like swapping out the brass gold door handles and hinges for black ones for a more cottage-y look and feel.  I love how things like this can make such a big difference.

That little silver cup is an English antique.  Love adding personal touches like this to our home.  And I may or may not have developed a slight antique-ing obsession in the process.

There are still some small things to do, art to be hung, outlet covers to pick up, and furniture to buy, but this project has made a big difference in the main living areas of the house.  Now if I can just finish that china hutch makeover, we fill up the big empty wall in the front living room.  :)

I Need a 30-Day Challenge in My Life

I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like I need to challenge myself to push through the not-so-good times.  For some reason, I just haven't been myself lately.  I honestly told Chris last night that the only way I can describe it is that I feel like an alien has taken over my mind and body.  Sounds silly, but I honestly have struggled to get back to feeling like myself.  I know that there is one thing that is likely to help above all others, but when I am not feeling so great, I struggle to make it a routine in my week.

What is it, you ask?  Exercise.  

Since I am limited (still) on what I can do, physically, I am turning back to Bikram yoga for this challenge. Starting Sunday (because we have friends in town this weekend), 30 Bikram yoga classes in 30 days.  It might seem extreme, but it is very doable and I feel like I need a reason to get up and go every day.  And a challenge to tell myself that I can commit and follow through.  You see, I often give up on things when I lose motivation, and that is a difficult habit to break.  So, I am telling you this so that you can help keep me accountable!  I will post an update on my progress twice a week, and be honest about if I have missed any days (though that is allowed, if I double up and do two classes another day - eek!).  

So here we go.  Sunday March 9th through Monday April 7th. Complete 30 classes.

Wish me luck!

Main Level Painting Update

A little sneak peak at the painting project, before and after.  I haven't taken the final photos because we still have to put the rooms back together and clean up all of the paint supplies!  But here is a little preview...

BEFORE:

This picture is a bit misleading... since the sun is coming in from the side window, it looks a lot lighter than it really was.  It was a dark, dull beige before.  

AFTER:

I still plan on painting the stair railing white, but to be honest, if I don't see a paintbrush for the next year month, I wouldn't be disappointed...

I am so glad that I didn't have to be the one climbing up this enormous ladder... that wouldn't have ended well, and we all know it..

We realized during our painting adventure, that this little guy needs a good cleaning!  So easily overlooked!  I guess that's next on our plate.  (Just kidding, Chris is actually in the process of re-grouting our guest bathroom floor!  Never a dull moment around our house!)

This little project took a lot more time and effort than I had originally thought it would.  We painted the walls, trim and all of the doors (upstairs, too!) and we are installing new hinges and door knobs on all of the doors! We had a little issue with our paint sprayer, too, which delayed a few things.  So the china hutch is on the back burner until we get the sprayer sorted out.  I hope to have that before and after in the next few weeks!

What do you think of the before and after?  I was nervous about choosing this gray-ish paint color, in case I didn't like it once it was all said and done.  But I really love the way it turned out - just the result we were looking for!