Bright Renovation

Lately, we've been watching so much HGTV and DIY Network, simply to gain ideas for the home we will soon be moving into. It is a brand new home, so there isn't much reason to renovate...HOWEVER, this is our first home and we just can't wait to make it our own. So, i'm starting small with my first renovation project (one that can be done before we actually move in).

See my before...

Beautiful crystal, ugly gold details. My goal was to accent the crystal with white to make the crystal the focal point of the lamp. This project was inspired by this creative project by Centsational Girl. It looked like a simple project that could be a good first try. I found two of these lamps at a local used and antique furniture store nearby. With the move-in ideas flowing, i'm hoping to create a black and white room in our new house and use these lamps as bedside tables.

Marc was the photographer while I learned the do's and do not's of spray painting. I read all about "light dusting" when spray painting. However, my light dusting of the primer was still dripy. Spent some time sanding it once it dried and cured. I followed it, the next day, with white spray paint, giving it time to dry and cure as well. Whew!



Final product...


I think it turned out great! What do you think?!? Minor problem... the lamp shade i bought at Walmart is too big. Aaaaaaaand this is lamp shade attempt #2. These are just tiny lamps, and this shade is the smallest one Walmart sells. So, i'll have to keep my eyes peeled for nice, tiny lamp shades...unless someone has a better idea :)


My next projects, which may or may not be done before we move into the house...

This is the lamp that we already own, but don't use because it it doesn't "fit" into any room in our duplex. If it were a different color and maybe had a more interesting shade, it could also find a home in our future home. Ooooo, maybe I will put it into the blue and white room we will have....
The bed behind this lamp, a white metal daybed, is in need of some updating. It's a perfectly functional bed, that due to the loss of some hardware during it's 6 or so moves in the last year, is barely holding on. It's also old-fashioned looking and i'd like to keep it and renovate it. I'm thinking a coat of black paint with new hardware. This would be the bed in the black and white room. It's all coming together in my mind!


This funky looking object is a coffee table we found at Goodwill for $12 in Little Rock, AR, while we were PCSing from Corpus Christi to our current location, En Route through Little Rock. (It is standing on it's side so i can park in the garage) We had nearly everything in storage, with no tables, so we used this as our kitchen table and coffee table for 3 months. Before this renovation kick of mine, seeing as it's a piece of junk, I would have just put it in a garage sale or throw it out. Now, I can see it sitting in front of the above daybed, either black or white, to go with the decor of the room..


Ooooo, I can't wait to get started on these projects. And Marc's mother is coming to visit on Tuesday. I wonder if she like to renovate, too?!?

July update

Our wedding anniversary countdown failed in a major way. There are numerous reasons that we love each other, and they are too many to count.

June was a happy month.

1st-10th - I spent some time with family in Houston, and saw my sister and bro-in-law (who I'd not seen since their wedding over 2 years ago)

17th - We were reunited on the 17th in Ft. Walton Beach, FL, where Marc had been for 6 weeks and where I planned on vacationing for the remaining 2 that he had left. He was in a resort hotel with a pool overlooking the ocean and the beach just below. There were also restaurants and shops on the boardwalk of the hotel. The day I arrived happened to be the first of 6 days Marc had off, so we enjoyed the time together before he had to return to classes. It was a great vacation!

27th - we began the drive back to Portales from Florida. What should have been a 9 hour drive became 12 hours, but we made it to Houston.

28th - Our 1st Anniversary!!! Nothing romantic happened that day because there were other plans, but it was special nonetheless.

30th - We finally arrived in Portales...whew...4 day trek from Florida to New Mexico.

I would be perfectly happy if that trip never took place again, but Florida is where the other squadron of planes that Marc flies happens to be stationed. Therefore, in about 5 years, there is some likelihood that we will be moving there. (I'm not complaining at all!!!) Once we arrived, we went to pick up Pip. It was great to see Marc reunited with Pippin, as it had been 2 months! Pippin was ecstatic :)

Now that we're back, we began looking at houses to buy. Our favorite one was already claimed (although the buyers were taking back-up contracts). We put in an offer for it and the seller decided to go with the original buyer. We were bummed, but this house was the oldest of all that we looked at and had been on the market for almost a year. Seeing as we are going to have to sell in about 5 years, we were looking to find a place that might sell quickly...and this didn't seem to be the one. We subsequently put in an offer on our second choice...a newly constructed home (it's not quite done yet) that is 3 bed/2 bath/2 car garage. It's got a wonderfully big livingroom with granite in the kitchen and a bay window at the sink overlooking the backyard. It's great and we believe this one is probably the better choice in the end for resale. We have put in an offer and received word that the seller likes the offer. He has been out of town this weekend, so we will probably hear back from him tomorrow about signatures or counter-offers. Pictures will be posted of this house if/when it has a signed contract for purchase. We are excited!! We're ready to stop throwing away money on rent and put down some roots (for the next 5 years).

We hope everyone that reads this is doing well and we miss you all!