It's been awhile . . .

. . . and since I'm home sick today (sore throat, fever, congestion), thought I'd post the latest.  Mom and Dad came to visit last week, and since my Mom and my husband are about the only people that look at this blog, I didn't think I needed to post any updates!  LOL

Here's my new arrangement I made for the kitchen table.  The old arrangement is now in the living room, since it has reds in it. I got the flowers from Michaels, the container from Kirklands, and the filler in the container from Pier One.  I already had the candles.

I got a table runner and placemats from Target.  The dishes I bought on Amazon, and the pear is from Home Goods.  I have four of the six chairs covered now.  I love the new fabric so much . . I might not even paint the furniture now!

 I took these pictures one day last week as I left for work.  SOOOOoooo gorgeous!!

Robert and my dad put together the entertainment center I found online last Tuesday.  I think it looks really good.  Robert put some molding up to hide the cables, and patched the hole in the wall (just hasn't painted it yet).  I bought a bunch of frames at Goodwill this weekend that I'm going to paint black and hang on this wall around the TV and the other pictures up now.

I got the clock on the left at Big Lots, I already had that lantern thingy and the tray that I made in the middle.  The box on the right I got at Tuesday morning, and the candle holder is from Big Lots.

All the decor is put up around the fire place.  Still need an old antique ladder or something tall for the left side of the fireplace.  I can hang blankets from the rungs of the ladder.  Any other ideas??  It looks very unbalanced.

I got the frame for around the thermostat from Hobby Lobby.  I already had the cross.  We still need to get a new door for the utility closet.

 Here's the full view of the living room.  I got new pillows at Kirklands (already had the beaded pillow), and the gold furry blanket is from Pier One.  It's soooooo soft.  I'm keeping the tray on the media center, since Chili likes to lay on the ottoman.

 Here's the shelves all put together.  I took all the jackets off the books, and kept the pretty ones and ones I counted otherwise part with.  The ugly ones (LOL) are on the bottom shelf. 

Fireplace all put together.  I think the birds are finally gone from the chimney!

 Closeup of the art and sconces on the wall.

The light in the entry way kinda messed up the picture, but I think all this finally goes well in the entry way.

Ohhh . . . and there's the end table that I bought on Craigslist for $70, and here's the other end table I bought this weekend at an antique shop for $40.  Since I sit on the side with the chaise most often, I needed somewhere for my drink!!

Feels like home now!

OMG!!  I'm soooo excited.  We finally got the couch today, and Robert put the TV up!!  Yipppeee  I love it, I love it, I love it!!

Got new artwork for the wall yesterday at Hobby Lobby.  I think it's so perfect for the room. Notice how much Chili likes the new couch too . . .

 Still have some boxes to unpack once we get the media center on Tuesday.

 We also need to figure out how to hide the cables in the wall, but Robert wants surround sound, so we'll probably hide them when we hook that up.  I also need Robert to build me a sofa table for living room dining where the four chairs are.  I think I'll have him build me some bookshelves the same height for the other bare backside of the couch.

YEAH!! It's almost the weekend

But, we have so much to do!  I'll be getting the couch on Saturday, and hopefully we can put the TV on the wall.  I got the wall mounting brackets today in the mail.  We won't get the media center until Tuesday though.  I really need to mow this weekend too . . . and try to get some other random things done, and not just spend all weekend in the pool.  :)

Here's the pictures from Tuesday when Robert finished the stairs.  He did an AMAZING job compared to the last deck he built.  Wednesday, he closed in the open area under the deck, and it looks even better now.  He might extend the deck on the other side still, but it's pretty awesome as it is.  He took the stairs apart that come with the pool, and used them so that we can easily climb out on to the deck.  The last deck, we just had to hop up from the water.

We had Myke, Natalie, and her sister Lauren over to enjoy the pool with us.

Here's my new fireplace screen that I bought today.  I found it on craigslist for $30!  It's cast iron and heavy as HELL . . . which might make it difficult to move, but I love it.  I think I need to clean it up a little so that it's a little shinier and blacker.

And here's my new side table that I bought today.  I found it on craigslist too.  It was $70, and brand new in the box.  It did have part of the drawer that was broken, but it's on the inside of the drawer, and Robert is fixing it.  The top matches the floors exactly, and I think the stain and black paint will match the media center really well.

 And then today, Natalie and her sister came over and cleaned the floors.  I'm gonna give them some cash for their time.  They look soooo much better without all that paint on them!

Monday . . . yuck

I hate having to work!  Why can't I be a trophy wife?  LOL

I covered a couple of the chairs tonight.  I really REALLY like the fabric.  It's perfect for our kitchen and these chairs!  Hopefully I'll finish them this week . . . a couple of chairs a day.

Robert worked on the deck for the pool tonight.  The deck part is done, but he's struggling with the stairs.  :(

 I bought the TV on the way home from work today.  It's sooooo HUGE!!  It barely fit in the back of my car.  I still need to clean the floors, and probably wait until we get the cabinet before we set it up.  I'll probably look for the wall brackets and get that by the weekend.

Did we win the lottery??

It feels like it as much as we are spending these days!!

Friday I bought a dishwasher . . . but I got a SUPER deal on it.  I found it on craigslist.  When an appliance gets rejected for whatever reason in a high end new home, this guy buys them and sells them at a lower price.  He said this had an issue that he fixed.  It's a $1350 dishwasher made my KitchenAid, and I got it for $400!!  He was asking $450, but I offered $400.  woohoooo  Robert installed it today, and it was NOT fun.  He had to cut the wire to the old one, buy new wire and hard wire it . . . then he had to go BACK to Lowe's to get the 90 degree water fitting that we didn't know we needed.  After all, it's washing the first load of dishes right now.  It's soooo quiet.

Here's the new one (on the left) next to the old one . . . resting while Robert went to Lowe's for parts.

 Here's the new one all installed.  It's so purty!!

Then, the next purchase was a NEW CAR!!  Yippeee  I traded in my Hyundai Santa Fe for a Nissan Rogue.  It's pearl white.  They gave me $8500 for my trade-in, and the new one was 25,000 less a 2,000 rebate.  My payments are only $325 a month (about half of what the Santa Fe's payments were before I paid it off).  It's so nice to have a car that I don't need . . . new tires, new brakes, shocks, and umpteen different things that need to be fixed.

Thennnnn . . . we bought a pool!  We decided that it was gonna be awhile before we put a REAL pool in, so we got a quickie pool at Walmart for $279.  Robert put it together yesterday, and we've already gone swimming in it.

 He's building a wood deck so that we sit with our feet in the water . . then it started pouring.  :(

Shari came by Friday and picked up the old TV and entertainment center, so now we need to go buy our new TV and find a media cabinet.  We are getting a 55 inch flat screen at Walmart.  It's $728.  I'll get it one day this week.  I'm still looking for our media cabinet, but here's two I like . . .

This one is from Walmart, and the other one is from Target.  Neither one of them are carried in the store, so I guess I need to figure out what I'm getting.  I think I'll go by the unclaimed freight furniture store tomorrow, and if I don't find something I like, I'll probably order the first one.

OK, well . . . before I finished publishing this, I ordered the first one!  LOL  It was $299, no shipping, no tax . . . and will be here next week.  I still need an end table, but I might find something cheap at a flea market or craigslist, and paint it black?

Taped off the measurements of the new cabinet and TV . . . gosh, it's big!!

Quick picture post

I'll add commentary as I can . . .

Finally ordered the new couch.  It's going to be delivered a week from Saturday!!  woohoo

 Here's Robert a couple of days ago finishing the ceiling.  He still had two more lights to install at this point, and was still cutting in paint on the beams. 

 Here's a shot with the lights off.

 Here's the rug at the furniture store that I can't decide if I wanna get.  It's the perfect size, and I LOVE the design . . . but it's $300 and it's really thin.  I think I want something a little more plush.

 Here's my finished sitting area in our bedroom.  I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! 

 Here's a close up of the pictures on the wall.

My new table for the entry way.  I like the table (got it for $50 at Hobby Lobby on sale from $100), but I can't decide if I like it HERE??  I LOVE my new flying pic figurine!!  hehehe 

Finally unpacked some of my living room stuff.  Now that Robert is finished with the ceiling!  Still need to return the scaffolding.

Hooked up our big screen.  Maybe it will be like when I unpacked, we finally closed.  Maybe now that I've hooked up the TV . . . Shari will come get it.

 Close up of the decor on the mantle.

Here's the other side of the living room.  We got rid of all the boxes last night, so it looks a lot better this morning, but it's still got a ways to go.

 Here's a shot of the ceiling with all the lights in.  I need to take a picture during the day with the lights off, so you can really see.

Here's a shot of the hobby room.  Haven't done anything with it since this weekend, but it's really the only unboxing I have left.