Stair Climber

 Olive was thrilled that our new house has STAIRS.

She'd never really had the opportunity to climb stairs so I was shocked that she had no trouble at all climbing to the top (with someone following right behind her).  I knew this was going to be an issue so we had to block it off or keep her behind closed doors upstairs until we figured out the baby gate situation.

 

We met at an attorney's office to do our closing on our house and the attorney randomly asked if our new house had stairs.  We said yes and she said she had a really nice baby gate in her trunk if we needed one.  She explained that her kids were older now and no longer needed the gate.  She stuck the gate in her trunk hoping she'd find someone who needed it.  I'm still amazed by people's generosity and it definitely makes me want to look for opportunities to be generous to others.

 I had to look up a video on youtube to figure out how to get the gate open!  It makes me think it's pretty baby proof :)  I set it up and we talked about how we'd install it.  The woodwork was in the way, the studs weren't exactly where we'd hoped and my dad only had a hand saw to work with.  He took lots of measurements, drew some diagrams and made a list of supplies he'd need.  He built a frame out of 2x4s and I helped hold things in place so he could drill.  I marked spots for the nails and made sure things were lined up.  He was wishing he had white paint to paint the frame to match the woodwork, but I assured him that it was just fine.  

Olive was not pleased with the addition of the gate.  She go up to it and just shout at it.  I have a feeling that this gate is going to keep me sane and keep Olive safe.

Carpet MIracle Workers

I've made it known that the green carpeting isn't my favorite thing ever but it's not in the budget to replace the flooring in the entire house right away.  So we've ordered some rugs and rented a super carpet shampooer in the hopes that we could work some miracles.

We paid for a 24 hour rental, bought the extra strength cleaner and the special pretreating spray in the hopes that it would make a dent in the dirt.  It cost about $60.

BEFORE of the Dining Room:

Yuck x10

 My parents brought down their Dyson and vacuumed really well before shampooing.  Then sprayed pretreating spray and went over the carpet multiple times.  The instructions say to keep going over it until the water in the tank is clear.  It was probably 6 or 7 times before it was clear!

AFTER:

What a difference!!

It looks, smells and feels SO much better.

BEFORE of The Family Room:

Definitely lots of high traffic area markings

 AFTER:
A million times better!!

 The carpet in the bedrooms was much cleaner
but it still benefited from a deep shampooing :)

The Devil's in the Details

 I mentioned before that our house has 9ft ceilings and great woodwork.

The downside is that the home is 20 years old and all of the woodwork needed caulked because it started to separate ever so slightly.  You could see tiny gaps in it all around the home.  Many people might not notice or not care enough to do anything about it.  

Lucky for me, My dad is a perfectionist.
He likes things done right and he's happy to make sure they are.

He came to the house armed with a tall ladder, caulk and a caulk gun.

My mom was a spotter and helped identify areas that needed filled, dusted woodwork and corralled Olive.  I did some dusting and took care of Olive.

BEFORE:

Notice the gap in the woodwork where the corners meet?

 AFTER:

No more gaps!!

The whole house got this treatment and looks SO much better!!

True Story:

My Dad would be working on a project outside and would almost immediately attract all of the older ladies in the neighborhood.  They tried to recruit him as their handy man and were eager to talk his leg off.  My mom and I would wonder where he'd gone and then we'd see him out talking to the neighbors.  I think they were disappointed to learn that he wasn't moving into the neighborhood - haha.

Backwards Fridge

 Our fridge opened from the dining room and not from the middle of the kitchen.  Clearly it was awkward and we all agreed that it would be nice to have it open from the kitchen.  My Dad did some checking and it had all of the whole on the other side to be switched.  Hooray!!

He got a burst of energy late one night and decided it was time to give it a try.  He said he'd maybe switched one fridge door many years ago, but he felt confident he could figure it out again.

I was his assistant and really held doors up, put washers on and located tools.  He was the brains of the operation and I was just along for the ride.  Noticing a theme here??

The whole project took 30-40 minutes.

Started with the freezer door first.  There were many screws and little parts so it's important to have a bowl or designated area to put them in.  We also wiped off parts as we went.

Refrigerator door next.  Make sure both doors are completely empty.

 Switch everything.

Plug up holes and keep track of lots of pieces.

It might be helpful to snap a picture or two to make sure you're putting it back correctly.

 Make sure you don't have any left over parts.

We had to back track a bit to get all of the washers and hole covers in the right spots.

It's also important to tighten every screw so that the seal on the fridge remains tight.

 Dad showed me how to take off the cover at the bottom and said I should vaccum it out at least once a year.  Yuck!  Maybe I'll tell Kevin's that's a perfect job for him :)

 Hooray!!!  The fridge now makes sense.

It opens from the kitchen and you don't have to walk around the door to get into the fridge.

My parents also decided we should pull out the fridge...
holy moly... that's a nasty before shot.
Rest assured it's perfectly clean now thanks to my Mom :)

Another project done...

Silver Dollar Paint

 Painting the bedrooms in our new house was a top priority.  I was hoping to get this done before we moved in and was really thankful it got done.

We went to Lowes and picked out

Olympic Silver Dollar for both rooms

The entire downstairs and hallways are light gray so we thought it would be perfect to go with a darker gray in the bedrooms.  In full disclosure, the only thing I did was select paint colors and pay for the paint.  My Dad did all of the painting and my mom did all of the taping.  I took care of Olive so that should count for something - right?

I was surprised that each can of paint was only $24

FYI: My Dad said the paint covered really well - only needed one coat

and that he'd definitely use it again.

Olive's Room:

 Our bedroom with a pint sized helper.

 She loved the tape and the outlets.

Luckily, we were able to convince her to play with the ball of tape.

 I knew right away that it was the perfect color!!

 The finished product:

 Onto the next projects...

Saying Goodbye

Saying Goodbye to friends is one of my least favorite things to do.  I know that it' snot a forever goodbye but it is definitely not a see you tomorrow kind of goodbye.

After moving away from our various homes, we've had to say goodbye to lots of friends.  I have learned that it is tricky to make friends as you get older.  You have to put forth lots of effort, follow through and then hope that your husband gets along with theirs so you can all hang out together.  Finding another couple that both you and your spouse truly enjoy spending time with can be a challenge.

Luckily, we were able to make fast friends with

David & Anna

while we were both in Arkansas for the year.

David & Kevin work together and Anna & I have lots in common.  We enjoy our time together and we all live in the same building.  We walk over to their place for dinner or they come down to hang out with us.  It's amazing to live right next to your friends.  We've never had this before and it's fun to see them every day.  We both agree that being within walking distance of friends is a nice perk.  Plus, they both adore Olive so that works well for everyone {especially Olive}

We are headed to Mississippi

and they are headed to California.

We've all made many moves in the last 10 years - 

Chicago, Washington, Utah, Arkansas...

and are looking forward to planning a meet up in the future.

Dear Arkansas

Dear Arkansas,
It is difficult to really bond with a city in just 12 short months.  We made efforts to get to know the place, try lots of new restaurants and see the sights.  We traveled all around the state, but weren't able to get everything crossed off our to do list.  It's been a good year together.  We've enjoyed many things about you, but it's time to say goodbye.  We are moving further South and are excited about our next adventure in Mississippi.  We have had our ups (yummy restaurants and making new friends) and our downs (ice, storms, tiny apartment).  We are thankful for the opportunities and experiences we've had here.

Some things we will always remember about you:
1. There's lots of BBQ here
2. Your downtown Farmer's Market never disappoints
3. Everything seems to be 20 minutes away
4. It's humid... like very humid.
My skin has appreciated the moisture and my hair is prone to frizz.
5. The crepe myrtles are beautiful and line many streets.
6. The city is far hillier than I would have ever guessed.
7. People are crazy for SEC football - Go Hogs!
8. Winter is rough.
Not much snow and ice is the worst.
The city shuts down if either happen.
9. It's fun to live along the Arkansas River.
10. Monogram anything and everything.
11. Take storms seriously and have flashlights, batteries and water ready just in case.
12. Your presidential and Children's libraries were very nice.

Love, Whitney