Home Projects

Ever since the excitement about the new addition to our family, Spencer and I have been on a home project make-over kick. It has been so much fun and I have learned a lot about a few different things. I have always wanted to re-do some of our furniture but never really had an excuse until now. I love making things prettier, nicer, and newer looking. I am constantly re-arranging our walls to change things up. I would like to learn more and do more, but it is hard when we are renting. Hopefully when I am done with work I will have even more time for home projects. It really helps make our house feel like a home when you can say you did something yourself. I am no Martha Stewart, and many of my friends are more talented than me, but at least I have some exciting projects to be proud of. And thankfully, a husband who helps me figure things out. Two is definitely better than one!

The first project was my idea. I really wanted to change the seat covers of our really nice table that was given to us by Ruth Ann. I love the table set, but the cushion covers were a little old looking. So we went to Wal-Mart to pick out some fabric but didn't find anything we really liked. We ran into a lady there who told us that Hobby Lobby had TONS of different fabrics for really cheap. So we picked out a simple beige pattern, a staple gun, and some plastic coverings (since we knew we would be having messy kids, and sometimes messy adults) and wanted to keep them looking nice for a long time, especially if we were going to be putting so much time and money into it. 

It was definitely a long project, but I am really happy with how the cushions turned out! I am so glad I had someone to help me, otherwise it would have taken hours and I would have gotten a lot more frustrated at times when things were hard to fit. 

These were taken on my phone, so not the best lighting. 

Here is the cushion before we put the plastic covering on. 

And here is the finished product! Much better I think. Don't you?

I keep dreaming of the day that we will have our own house that is OURS. Right now it just isn't practical with being in school and all. We don't know where we want to end up exactly, so renting suits us for now. But, someday, it will be so exciting to re-decorate and furnish our own home. I have so many ideas, and since our family is growing, I will have more of an excuse to make things nice and home-like!

This next picture is of the rocker we found at Kid-to-Kid for the baby. We were really lucky to find it for only $40! It is in great condition and very comfortable. We didn't do any re-upholstering to it, just washed the cushions and stuck a sheep skin on top. This was one of our first purchases for the baby. Yay!

Being pregnant is so exciting...knowing that I am carrying a human child and will get to raise her is absolutely thrilling and exciting, and I am sure I do not understand the full extent of that joy quite yet. But carrying extra weight around for 9 months has its disadvantages, too. For one, sleeping can be a challenge. My back has been in so much pain ever since the beginning of my 3rd trimester. Every day at work I would be in pain and come home so miserable! I finally found some relief when I bought a belly band brace from the Motherhood store. My back pain was cut in half and some days I don't feel any pain at all. Right now, however, with my growing belly, I am starting to get more pain, but it is not nearly as bad as it would be without the brace. Thank you Kristie for the suggestion! I was also lucky enough to be able to borrow a pregnancy pillow from my cousin, which has helped so much with being comfortable at night. 

So one of the things that we knew we needed to get done was build a box spring for our bed. The box spring we purchased with our mattress did not fit down our basement apt. stairs, so we had our mattress on the floor for the first two years of marriage. We got used to it, and it didn't really bother me until I started having a harder time getting out of bed. Several people mentioned it gets harder to get out of bed (obviously), so Spencer and I decided something needed to be done. So Spence went to Home Depot and bought all the supplies to build two box springs with his dad. I couldn't believe how quick they were at building it. We brought two separate box springs home, and as you can see, bolted the two together to make our own box spring! It is amazing! 

 

And now, our bed is FINALLY off of the floor and Julie is a much happier sleeper. Thanks Spencer!

I thought about buying new baby furniture, but wanted to see if we could do something with what we already have. So, we decided to paint! It was a HUGE, LONG, EXPENSIVE project, but we did it together and we are very happy with the end result. We thought about painting, refinishing the wood, stripping the paint, etc. but in the end decided to sand and paint. And I am so glad we did! The dressers are still really old, but the way they look is so much nicer...and now our baby room will be all the much cuter :) 

The dressers you see below have been in the family for decades. His great grandmother had these and they have been passed down from one generation to the next. Spencer used these dressers when he was in high school and we were lucky to get them when we first got married. (We hardly had to buy ANY furniture because most of it was given to us from family, thankfully). 

  

Night and DAY difference!

 

The mirrored dresser. This dresser took FOREVER to complete because of all the shelves and smaller spaces. I painted this one and Spencer did most of the sanding.

What a fun couple of months we have had getting ready for the baby. I cannot WAIT to meet her and hold her in my arms. It almost seems unreal to me that I will have a baby in less than a month, and even less than that if she arrives on her due date or sooner. This whole baby experience has been one of the most exciting and challenging things I have done so far. I have learned so much about myself and I really feel like I have embraced so much during the pregnancy. 

Up next will be the baby showers and completed baby room! So exciting!!!