Before Pics: Holiday Projects 2 and 3

So I mentioned a couple posts ago that there are four total holiday projects.  The biggest though, is the gift from Molly's Mom to Molly's Kids (hear by known as Baby A and Baby B) of decorating their bedrooms.  Molly's Mom is not officially a decorator, but she plays one on TV.  She has all the skills of staging (remember how she staged the old house?) and decorating but she just doesn't have the official license to do it.

Anyway, when we moved to Dream House the kids got their own rooms separated by a Jack and Jill bathroom.  Since they moved from 2 cribs in one small nursery to each having their own big room, the rooms stood pretty empty and unfinished for the past 6 months. 

Below are the before pictures for Baby A and Baby B.

Baby A's old room in Dream House:

From the doorway

From the closet

From the bed

From the bathroom

Baby B's old room in Dream House:




From the doorway

From the bed

From the bathroom

From the closet

The rooms were pretty much the same but with different lamps and one had a dresser where one had a bench.  OMG, wait till you see them now.  Can you say Pottery Barn Kids Catalog in my Dream House???  Stay tuned...

Merry Christmas

Although it's been said, many times, many ways, Merry Christmas... to you!

 

Project #1 of 4 Complete

Over this holiday break we have 4 main projects going on.  One is easy and already complete.  The other 3 involve paint and will be done before the new year.

Right now I just have before and after pics for Project #1: Hang the fabulous laundry rack.  Remember how it was on back order for 6 months?  So happy to have this guy in his rightful spot.

Before:

After:

Laundry bliss!  We will be putting some letters above the rack that say LAUNDRY or CLEAN or something. 

Project #2: Baby A's room
Project #3: Baby B's room
Project #4: Master bedroom and bath. 

Stay tuned!!!

Christmas enhancements

She came, she saw, she changed. 

I told you that I did the best I could with the holiday decorations and I knew Molly's mom would come and modify and enhance everything.  She arrived yesterday around 2:30pm and by the time I got home at 5:30pm she was almost done with the changes.  I didn't take pics but here's what she did:

• Enhanced my dining table centerpiece with two candles in candle holders that she brought.
• Totally removed the garland I had above the fireplace and replaced it with lighted garland she brought that has fake fruit in it and bows on the ends.
• Removed half the snowmen from the collection display and interspersed them with the garland on the mantle.
• Added about 50 presents to the pile under the tree.
• Added a nutcracker and numerous candles, candle holders, door knob covers, and various hanging things around the first floor.
• Put Christmas cookies on my snowman platter (6 different kinds).
• Prepared the garland that I had on the mantle to be strung along the staircase complete with bows she brought from home (project for today).
• Set up her iPod and speakers to play a special 3.5hr holiday play list on loop.
• Added her and Molly's dad's stockings to the mantle complete with their own stocking hangers.

Coming up next... the before and after of the kids' bedrooms.  Painter is coming the 29th and 31st.

Holiday Season

Well, I did the best I could before the arrival of Molly's Mom.  I feel like for this year we're just not going to do the house justice and that's ok.  Next year, that's when it will all come together.

So here's what the outside of Dream House looks like.  These pics were taken at 10pm so it's very black.  But honestly, I'm never home in the light anymore.  I managed to get up the candles in the windows, a snowman mat, and the wreath.  I did not get up the garland on the fence, the garland on the posts, or the lights on the bushes.
Next year.

 

 

 

Inside is a little better.  My helpers pitched in:

Molly's Mom sent me a package, and it turned into this:

This picture makes me happy.

Note the train under the tree... I don't have it lit up and moving and singing in this pic.

This area is also festive:

Though what would make it really good would be some lighted garland on the stairs.

Next year.

 

 

Over here we have the snowman collection and manger scene:

And in the kitchen we have our advent wreath and another little tree on the china cabinet:

I think that the dining room came out really nice (thanks to Molly's mom's shipment):

Did you spot Charlie the Elf?

 



So that's about it.  I'm missing a lot of stuff outside but the inside is pretty cozy and that's what really matters.  The kids are really enjoying the fact that the Dream House has a FIREPLACE so Santa can finally come to OUR house for the first time ever.  Should be really fun!

And now I am headed to BFF's house to finish up my shopping list and love on her kiddos.  Au revoir!  And good luck to Mr. Molly!

Christmas Miracle! Immediate Need Pt. 2

So remember on JULY 10TH when I wrote this post about needing a couple of things for the house? 

The number one item on there was the laundry rack that Jim and Cindy stole from the laundry room.  I ordered it in mid-July and it got back ordered, and back ordered, and back ordered.

Finally this week I got an email saying it's on its way to Dream House!  Just in time for Molly's Dad to install it!!  I'm so very excited!

As an update to the other items.  We did buy that exact sectional and ottoman shown in the picture.  We did not get the windows tinted... haven't really done anything about that at all and we keep the blinds open all day long so undoubtedly in a year or so our furniture will be all faded.

We also never got a treadmill.  Turns out in 4500 sq ft of space we don't have room for it.  HA!  #FirstWorldProblems  Mr. Molly runs outside and I don't run at all so it's not really an immediate need item.  More of a pipe dream.

Instead we have more immediate need items that I can add to the list:

PAINT!

Molly's Mom is decorating the kids' bedrooms for their Christmas and to go with that they need to be painted.  Apparently it needs to be a professional job because it is very complicated and involves wood.  I don't know.  But anyway, if we are going to have a guy come out and paint the kids' rooms we might as well have him do our room and bathroom too since we already know the color (our Christmas gift last year was Molly's Mom redecorating our Master). 

Fireplace Gas Logs!!

This is a project in process but will be so nice when we can literally have a fire at the touch of a button.  Probably not going to happen before Christmas.  Luckily, Molly's Dad knows his way around a wood pile.

GAME TABLE (AGAIN!)

This guy is still on the list (not this particular one) but is probably postponed due to the more immediate need for paint.

Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig

We just home from our Thanksgiving getaway to Mr. Molly's family abode.  It was a good time with the 3 F's; good family, friends, and food.  It was also the longest time we've been away from Dream House since we moved in.  I actually thought I would miss it more than I did.  But I did miss/appreciate a couple of key things:
1) My shower
2) My new sectional in the basement
3) My huge refrigerator
4) My new pull out drawers

That's about it. 

Now the fun part begins... decorating for Christmas.  So many possibilities, so little time and talent.  The fact of the mater is that I will do the best I can until Molly's Mom comes to save the day. 

I have a great vision of garland looped on my white picket fence with big red bows... can you picture it? 

If you can, can you come over and help me with it?  I have no idea where to even start.
Ok, so see you around noon on Saturday?  Great!  When you're done it should look like this:

ETA:  Yes, I know it's supposed to be WORDLESS Wednesday.  So sorry.  I'm all messed up with my days and times.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Wordless Wednesday #9 - Reflections

Up, Down, all Around

Today I determined that 1 of 3 phenomenons are happening in my life.  Either:

A) All of the mirrors and reflective surfaces in Dream House are extremely flattering
or
B) My scale is broken
or
C) I have a very warped sense of self bolstered by my mad skillz in wearing clothes that flatter my shape

It has to be one of those three because even though I weigh more right now that I ever have in my life (when not pregnant), I don't feel like I look like I weigh more than I ever have in my life. 

Nonetheless, I think everyone has THAT NUMBER where when they see it on the scale they just sigh and say "Well, I guess the party's over."  And when I say "party" I mean eating whatever you want whenever you want without thinking about it and not working out for months on end.  I mean really, that lifestyle is more of a dangerous rave where someone roofies your drink than a "party" anyway.

For me that number is 156.  That's my breaking point.  That's the number that makes me heave a sigh and dust off my Weight Watchers app on my iPad and get out my sugarless gum and diet coke.

So here we go again... back on the wagon.  Hopefully my weight will stop plateauing and rising like my company's loss trends and start movin' on down again.

There's No Place Like Home

After 3 days of business travel I arrived home late last night to Dream House and found everyone sleeping soundly in their beds. 

I can't describe the feeling of being home, kissing my boys and tucking them in, and getting into my own bed with hubby and feeling like everything is right with the world.

We are so blessed to have each other, our health, our children, our jobs, our families, and our Dream House.  Everything and everyone has imperfections including my children (gasp!), myself (double gasp!), and even my Dream House (say wha?).  But it all fits together perfectly for us.

And last night as I snuggled in my bed, in my beautiful bedroom with my family sleeping in my beautiful house I just couldn't stop thinking "There's no place like home."

Wordless Wednesday #8 - More Fall Color

Fall Friday

Our peak color is over, but Mr. Molly took this gorgeous pic of our street (the green area in our cul de sac) one morning after his run.  We enjoyed the trees soooooo much this year.  Our neighborhood and our yard were just gorgeous.  I have some more tree pics on my camera but they just never look as pretty in a picture as they do in person.  So instead I'll just leave you with this one:

This Old House

Moving into the Dream House was certainly not the first time Molly has ever moved.  In fact, growing up Molly once moved 4 times in 5 years.  So come take a trip down memory lane with me.....

Molly was born in Williamsville, NY in this lovely house at 40 Gatewood Lane.

3 Bedrooms, 1.5 baths, and 1600 sq ft.  I will save you the time of internet stalking and let you know it's currently Zestimated at $165K. Molly lived there for 3 months in 1978.

At the age of 3 months old Molly moved to 41715 Greenwood Drive in beautiful Canton, MI.

This house was a comfortable 3 or 4 bedroom, 2.5 baths, and 1,757 sq ft.  It is currently Zestimated at $156K, which is probably not too bad for a suburb of Detroit.  Molly lived there for 5 years.

In 1983 Molly's family went back East to Marlborough, MA and moved into a house at 44 Collins Dr. There are no good pics of this house online but it was an AMAZING house. 

What you can see from this pic is that it now has a pool (definitely not there when we left in 1985) and you can see all the woods surrounding the house.  Molly's Dad and I had lots of adventures in there. The house on Collins Dr. had 4 bedrooms and 2.5 baths and was 2600 sq ft.  It is currently Zestimated at $424K.  That's New England for ya.

After Marlborough we took a quick jaunt over to Jersey.  Belle Mead, NJ to be exact.  The house was located at 52 Ridgeview Dr.  Belle Mead is a very rural township and it's kind of close to Princeton, NJ.  I remember we used to go into the college town to get ice cream sometimes.  There are 2 main things I remember about that house (we only lived there for 8 months); the horse farm behind it, and the drainage ditch next to it where we used to play. 

This is a pretty terrible pic but you can see the house, 2 to the left of the drainage ditch, labeled $637K.  You can also see the corner of the horse farm in the middle right.

This house on Ridgeview Dr. has basically no facts on Zillow because it was last sold shortly after we left it, in December, 1986.

After our very short stay in Jersey we went back to MA, this time in a little town called Medfield on 9 Stuart St.  Again, look at the trees... god I love that about New England.

This house has 5 pics online but 3 of them are of the outside b/c the setting is just so pretty:

So the Stuart St. house was 5 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, 3260 sq ft and is currently Zestimated at $680K. I lived there from age 8-9yrs and what I remember is that off of my parent's bedroom there was their closet and then on the other side of that was a huge playroom for me.  You could also access this playroom from a second set of stairs in the family room.  Many a game of "Barbie" was played in that playroom.

After that we went back West (are you dizzy yet?  how about bored?) and settled in Chicago for 9 years.  The suburb was the famous Naperville and our address was 1307 E. Gartner Rd.  I even remember our phone number, because in those days people had home phones and not cell phones.

Before I show you these pics I will preface that they are from Zillow and are NOT OUR FURNITURE.  That was for Molly's mom... don't want her reputation to suffer.

This house was 3584 sq feet, 5 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms and is currently Zestimated at $629K.  I can't even begin to list all the memories since this is where I grew up.  I lived here from age 10 til 18 when I left for college. 

I left for college in the fall of 1996, spent one more summer on Gartner Rd. after that and then in Fall of 1997 (last time this house was sold, by the way) Molly's parents went even further West, to LA.  Now I never technically lived in this house but I did have a CA driver's license with the address of 39 Clermont, Newport Coast, CA and it was technically my permanent residence so I will include it.

Here is where you are going to see a real difference from all the previous houses.  The house in Newport Coast was 2600 sq ft, 3 tiny bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms (remember, I never lived there) and is currently valued at $2,000,000.  Yes, that is 6 zeros.  Orange County is ridiculous.  For the record, Molly's parents paid no where NEAR that in 1997.

I had to post the Google StreetView because it's of the BACK of the house and it's so appropriate that there is a gardener in the pic.

From there Molly's Parents and Molly went their separate ways.  I lived in tiny apartments in Chicago and they stayed in LA for 9 years before moving to Nashville right at the same time I moved to the Old House.  Now, I have made my last move for what I hope is a looooong time into my Dream House.  And I'm also hoping that my parents have built their last house in Nashville (they built all the above houses except the California one) and they will end up close to the Dream House at some point.

Thanks for a life of adventure Molly's Mom and Dad!