Hopes for Summer

Last summer we were up to our elbows in bathroom renovations, not completely by choice.  This year (knock on wood) we'd like to plan a few projects.  Here's a rundown of our summer goals.

YHL in the ATL {Young House Love Book Signing}

Last week I had the chance to meet the folks behind the first blog I ever fell in love with-- Sherry and John from Young House Love.  They wrote a book that was published last November, and it included tons of projects that were kept "secret" from the blog so the projects would be new and fresh.  Since their book tour didn't originally include Georgia, I figured I probably wouldn't have a chance for them to sign it.  Lucky for us Georgians, they tacked on a few extra stops and made Atlanta their book tour finale!

My friend M (also a YHL reader and proud book owner) signed us up for the Atlanta book signing as soon as it was announced.  I was so glad to have a buddy to dork out wait with!

2012 Roundup + 2013

I love reading blog round-ups each January, so here's mine for 2012!

Probably the coolest thing that happened in 2012 is that I got a little bit Internet famous.  Mr. Great Indoors and I whipped up a redneck chandelier for the winter Pinterest challenge, and you guys submitted some awesome projects!  I wrote a little update on our chandelier to let you know how it was treating us.

Why, Hello There!

It's been a while, eh?  A break between semesters gives me a little time to blog again, and thank goodness.  We've been busy studying, but we've had some fun in there, too.  Like enjoying the fall...

Juggling

Blog and bloggy friends, how I've missed you!  We all juggle in life at one point or another, and recently my juggling has included a promotion, training my replacement, and graduate school, which I started over the summer.  On top of that, Mr. Great Indoors has been in school, too.  

Needless to say, our little family has been a tad busy recently.  Our house is a a wreck most of the time, or at least approaching a wreck.  It's not blogworthy in the least, which is, of course, how we in the blogging community compare ourselves, isn't it?  There are half-finished projects throughout the house, including (if you've been paying attention) the master bathroom.  We're enjoying the finished guest bathroom, at least.

But we're surviving our classes, learning a lot, and somehow managing to sneak in some couple time, too.  This newest adventure is forcing us to challenge ourselves on a daily basis, which leaves us happily exhausted.  It's all leading us to a better life together, and I'd say that's the point.

One of these days it will all calm down, but until then, I'm trying not to be too critical of myself.  In the last year, I've gained perspective and patience, which I know is more important than blogging crafty projects on the interwebs.  That said, I am missing doing something fun that is completely for myself, and someday I'll get back to it.  Until then, keep up the good work.  And keep an eye out for our half-finished projects to be fully-finished one of these days.

The Great Outdoors {Hiking the Appalachian Trail}

Since we still have a bit to do with the bathroom before it's finished (life gets in the way), I thought I'd share a trip Mr. Great Indoors and I took over the weekend with our friend B.  We took off from Clingmans Dome in North Carolina and hiked through the Smokies to Silers Bald.

This is Why I'm Hot

No, actually, this is why I'm hot.  In case you don't click through to the link, the title of the article is, "Heat wave:  1,000+ records fall in US in a week."  Just like the rest of the country, we've had record-breaking temperatures in Georgia the past week.  I'm usually one of those people that says, "You live in Georgia.  It's the summer.  Get over it."  But it has been hot as Hades the last week. 

As hot as it's been, we've been enjoying the summer from inside in the beautiful air conditioning (although that went away shortly this weekend when our power went out for a few hours).  One of the things we've enjoyed the most are some beautiful summer veggies.

Sadly, the only thing in this picture that's ours are the zucchini.  The yellow squash and Vidalia onion hail from Farm Publix, but the jalapenos and eggplants came from a local farm (my former boss who now has goats and donkeys and a huge farm!).  We whipped up some stuffed eggplants, squash/onion skillet (olive oil, onions, squash and zucchini, with a little fresh basil on top), and pan-fried jalapenos.  Trust me on the jalapenos.  The spice cooks out of them so they turn out to be crunchy goodness.  Olive oil, thinly sliced jalapenos (seeds removed), and if you get a spicy one, someone else in the group has to buy you a beer.  Sounds like a great deal to me.

What are your plans for the 4th tomorrow?  Any fireworks, fresh veggies, air conditioning or otherwise?

You're an Organizer, Baby

Post title to be sung to Britney's "Womanizer" as: Organizer, organ organizer you're a organizer oh organizer oh you're an organizer, baby (you, you are). Hehe. 

Kate over at Centsational Girl posted her results from a BHG organizing quiz this week, and it inspired me to take the quiz myself.  I never put too much stock in these quizzes; they're just something fun to do, and always interesting to see how well they work.  But this one hit the nail on the head.  (You can take it here.)

I'm pretty sure from the moment I entered the world, I was making lists.  I kept a spiral-bound notebook from elementary school (think second or third grade), and it's funny to flip through it every now and again to look at the things I thought were worthy of a list.  Even my choices of the boys in the third grade were ranked.  Serious business.

Image (and onesie) here

Stuff We've Tried

I had hoped to have a final post about the guest bathroom up today, but life got busy.  So instead, I thought I'd start a new series of posts about things we've tried from around the interwebs.  Enjoy!

We're on a pretty tight budget around our house, so I love to find cheap recipes that are easy and tasty.  These three things don't always happen together, so it takes some searching to get good recipes.

Fancy Ramen Noodles.  I read about these noodles from Ashley and Greg over at 7th House on the Left (recipe here), and we quickly got addicted.  The recipe takes barely any ingredients, and we usually have all of them on hand.  The perfect combination!  I usually double the recipe and use less Sriracha sauce (aka "rooster sauce" around here) than suggested.  Maybe we're just pansies.  I pinned this recipe here.

Source: 7thhouseontheleft.com via Mrs. Great on Pinterest

The Five Dollar Faucet

We had an awesome yard sale Saturday this past weekend.  Our best find was this guy.  He was only five buckaroos from a yard sale across town.  It turns out the people hosting the sale had a daughter who bought this faucet, used it for a year, then got a fancy free faucet (say that three times fast) from work.  There wasn't a price marked on the box, and we were fully ready to pay up to $20 for it.  But Mr. GI learned a chunk of wisdom from American Pickers:  always ask the seller what they're willing to take for a piece, never offer a price first.  The buyers (you!) are always in control, so if the seller offers a price that's too high, you can always work it down. 

Our Redneck Chandelier and Barn Light Electric

We're still loving the redneck Mason jar chandelier we made for the Winter Pinterest Challenge a few months ago, and I figured I'd give an update about how it's holding up.

Missing in Action

Somehow I blinked and it's been a month since I last posted.  I'm sure part of it has to do with how busy my life was in May, but probably more with the exhaustion that came with the guest bathroom being finished.  I've got a few things to share with you (is anyone still out there?), so stick around and you'll hear from me again soon.  Pinkie promise.

Technical Difficulties and An Update

Image here

Pardon my lack of post today, but we're experiencing technical difficulties in the Great Indoors household.  Namely that our computer power cord decided to explode (literally) last night before I got pictures uploaded for a post today.  Unfortunately most of my pictures are trapped on the laptop until we're guaranteed power to it again.  Oops!

In the meantime, here's an update about the progress in the guest bathroom.  The new stuff is bold.

• Remove quarter round (which we'll reuse as much as possible), toilet, vinyl, vanity, mirror  (We're keeping the old vinyl down until we finish the big work on the walls)
• Remove wallpaper and repair wall (one wall done, three to go)
• Repair light fixture location
• Repair water-damaged studs and drywall in guest bathroom
• Pick a paint color
• Clean up construction dust!
• Clean up old vinyl adhesive, level floor
• Paint walls
• Lay floor in guest bathroom
• Replace all baseboards and quarter round in guest bathroom
• Fix trim over door
• Paint trim
• Attach vanity legs, paint vanity
• Reinstall vanity
• Reinstall toilet
• Frame the mirror with trim (or we might get crazy and just buy a new mirror... we'll see) Buy a new mirror for the guest bathroom  We've figured out a work-around for now until we find the perfect mirror -- will share!
• Clean up and install new light fixture (more about that soon!)
• Paint crates for shelving
• Install shelving above the toilet
• Make a burlap shower curtain, plus a fabric curtain liner
• Accessorize!  Maybe some DIY wall art
• Repair water-damaged studs and drywall in master bathroom
• Lay floor in master bathroom
• Replace all baseboards and quarter round in master bathroom
• Install pedestal sink in master bathroom

There's still so much to do!!  But we've at least got the room just about to the zero point-- where the repairs are done and we can start in on the FUN STUFF!  Wish us luck!

Celebrating Three Years

Mr. Great Indoors and I celebrate three years of marriage today, and in honor of our anniversary I figured I'd share some of my favorite pre-ceremony/ceremony pictures.  Enjoy!

Something borrowed was a cameo broach from my great-great-aunt on the front of my bouquet (the bouquet included English ivy, another family tribute).  My dress was something new, I borrowed my step-father's handkerchief (you can see it in my hand in the picture as we're leaving the church), and my garter was something blue.

I will forever love the picture of our "Chickamafia," as my mom called it.  We got married in Chickamauga, Georgia, and the official men in our wedding looked like the mafia with their suits and sunglasses.  Appropriate name, no?  From left, Mr. GI's brother who was an usher, groomsman J, my dad, Mr. GI, Mr. GI's dad, groomsman T, and best man H.

Another Window...

I thought it would be fitting on Friday the 13th to post about our latest window mishap.  You already know about our sliding door and the broken French door window insert, and now we can add to that list a car window.  That's right.  One single piece of pea gravel shot a single hole through the driver's side window of one of our cars.  Cue the shatter sound effect.

One Year!

 

Image here

It's hard for me to believe I've been doing this blogging thing for a year now.  So hard, in fact, that I actually missed my blog birthday last Thursday.  It's been a blast so far being able to share our adventures with you (you can read most of our first-year projects here or check out our project page), becoming a little bit Internet Famous, and meeting new friends along the way!

Happy first birthday, little blog of mine!  While we're at it, how many of you have started new blogs in the last year?  Veterans, any tips for me?  And what do y'all want to see more of in the second year?

A Valentine's Day Heartbreak: Lost and Found

This is the story of the little girl (or boy) inside all of us.  The girl who finds a puppy and dreams what her new puppy-filled life would be like.  I was that girl two weeks ago, when this precious puppy made her way into our lives.

Happy 2012!

Our latest project, which I'll write about as soon as I finish editing the pictures...

I know this is incredibly late (somehow January is already over?), but happy new year!  I've been a busy bee at work the past three weeks, and any time at home has been reserved for quality time with Mr. Great Indoors and Chewy.  Or catching up on sleep. 

Inspired by a few other bloggers (like Sara at House Bella, who created a beautiful 2012 bucket list), I've been contemplating some new year's resolutions for the house and blog.  I'm sure these will change, but in the meantime here's what I'm thinking.

2011 Round-Up

I love year-end round ups, so I thought I'd do one of our own little blog in 2011.  What a year it's been!


I started a BLOG!
Or, as Heather at Dooce calls it, my Internet Website Blog Thing.  In April, I hit "publish" on my very first post and then introduced our little ranch.  I had actually initiated the blog about a year prior, but never could decide on a name.  Finally, I had a stroke of genius thanks to John Mayer (a favorite of Mr. Great Indoors and mine) and decided on The Great Indoors.  Perfect!  We celebrated our second houseiversary in July, thanking our lucky stars that we decided to take the plunge into home ownership.  It's not without its difficulties, of course, but it certainly keeps us busy!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas!

I'm taking a few weeks off to enjoy family time and the holiday season.  In the meantime, what are your plans for Christmas?  We have a ton of family, so our holidays are usually travel-filled.  Do you already have your decorations up?  Any lights up outside?  Here's one of our favorite area houses.  The folks who run the Bluelights house, as it's called, ask everyone who stops by to donate to Toys for Tots.  If you can believe it, there are 100,000 (mostly LED) lights on the house, lit from sundown to midnight every night.  Wonder if they ever get any sleep!

Bluelights this year (www.bluelights.org)

We put up outdoor lights our first Christmas here, but since then haven't had the energy to do it again.  Certainly not as much energy as these folks have!  If you're ever in the area, definitely check out this house and remember to bring a toy to donate.   They mention on the website that donations are down this year, so Mr. GI and I plan to donate.

Thanks for reading this year!  It's been so much fun for me to have a creative outlet for our projects, and I'm happy to have a little audience.  :-)  Happy holidays, and see you again in 2012!