when the cat's away...this mouse will play. (or DIY as may be the case)

So, while I was away with the boys visiting my family in Utah, Kevin tackled his biggest DIY project yet.

He replaced the carpet in three rooms with hardwood floors, and no he's never done anything remotely like that before. 

We'd been looking to replace the *very tired* carpet that seemed like it may be as old as our house (just shy of 20 years).
When the opportunity for me to get away coincided with a fantastic deal on hardwood we thought it might just be the perfect time. 
(That and the fact that the raised stones in front of our fireplace had been the cause of a few *very close calls* for major head injuries for Lee boy.)

Kevin is a trooper, not only did he have a business trip of his own for 1/3 of the time I'd be away, but he got a new and quite demanding assignment at work days after I left that required even longer than usual hours at the office.
Combine that with the surprises that always come when you DIY...and this flooring project became quite a handful.

Word to the wise: when padding for carpet is glued to the cement, factor in A LOT of time to get it all off.

Literally just in time, Kevin was able to finish laying the floor before he caught a plane to spend a day in Utah with us before helping me bring the boys home late one night only to turn around and leave again the next day on another business trip.  

(We're so glad to be home all together again.)

We still have to paint and put up the new baseboards and put finishing strips along all edges of the rooms but we're excited to have this project basically done. 


 (I'll be sure to add some true "before" and "after" pics when we are officially all put back together.)

* For those who are curious about this sort of thing; we decided on a .5" thick, 5" wide, strand-woven bamboo from Lumber Liquidators because of it's durability and hardness...and we liked the color:)
* It goes without saying that the price was right.  

celebration: st. patrick's day; green style.

St. Patrick's Day mantle decor.

Just thought I'd add a picture of the changes I made from the Valentine's decor to St. Patrick's Day.  It was quite simple and fast. New watercolor and new candy, the end. (I've really got to get pictures taken Before all the candy is eaten.) I really love green in general though....just an fyi. Good color.

Celebration...simply bringing it back.

 Since I got married I've been Really bad at celebrating any holidays.
I figured there must be an easy and inexpensive way to do something little.
 So I decided to make some simple decorations starting with Valentines.
 Kevin provided a beaker for some candy and I painted a little Valentine watercolor for the mantle.

 I used some felt that I already had to make a little heart-shaped garland.  In total it only took about 20 minutes to make.

I got this little beauty of a candy dish at D.I. for $.75, there used to be more candy in it, turns out Kevin kind of digs cinnamon candy.

I have felt nice and Valentines-y all month with very little effort, so wahoo for simple holiday decor.