It's Update Time!

Fall n. the season of the year that comes after summer and before winter; Autumn. 

For the past three years this was the season that both Marc and I missed the most. Somehow fall doesn't find it's way to the palm trees in San Diego, CA. This year I am taking in as much fall as I can get and quite honestly I might be a little obsessed. It's just so beautiful! 

With the arrival of crisp cool air, morning fog in the valley, fresh apples at the market and the crunch of dry leaves under my feet I feel like it's probably about time we update you on the progress of our house. And write it down so we can remember what we've accomplished. It's been three months since we got our keys and just over two months since we've been living here.

Our goal for the summer was to make the main floor of our house livable for us, move in and spend as much time outside the house as possible taking advantage of our land. Below is a list of summer projects that we completed divided out by room. I think I remembered most of them but you never know if pregnancy brain/momnesia/baby brain drain might have struck again. 

Summer Projects

• Master bedroom - ripped out old carpets and replaced with brand new; painted the walls a beautiful gray/blue; painted the trim and closet insides white; hung curtains in front of the french door; removed bi-fold closet doors; rid the built in drawers and cabinets of the moth ball smell and lined with contact paper.
• Guest bedroom - ripped out old carpets and replaced with brand new; removed wallpaper and painted the walls a light peachy cream color; painted the trim, heater covers and closet insides white; hung decorative curtains and blackout curtains. 
• Nursery - ripped out old carpets and replaced with brand new; removed wallpaper and primed the previously red walls gray; painted the trim, heater covers and closet insides white. 
• Guest bathroom - completely gutted the interior of the bathroom except for built in shelves; hired a contractor to "put it back together"; painted built in shelves white and bathroom walls a sandy brown; hung toilet paper holder and double towel rail. 
• Living Room - ripped out old carpet, padding and staples.
• Kitchen - cleaned all cabinets, shelves, drawers and hardware; lined all shelves with contact paper; relocated fridge; removed part of the wall between the kitchen and the living room; removed carpet from "eat-in" portion of kitchen; replaced ceiling light; replaced kitchen faucet nozzle; vented exhaust fan to roof instead of to chimney. 
• Dining Room - painted the walls light yellow; painted the heater covers white. 
• Outside - trimmed trees away from house; mowed lawn, a lot; planted apple trees and tomato plants; started a compost pile; discovered stone paths to the front and back doors of the house; built a bridge across our stream; created a path from the bridge up into the pasture; discovered a canoe and explored the pond; squirrel proofed our screened porch; hung up flags; created a fire pit area. 

Wow! Typing all of that up made me realize just how far we have come since that first day we set foot in our house and we haven't even touched the basement. We are so grateful for all the help we have received from our friends and family who helped make some of these changes to our house. It definitely is feeling like home.

It also makes me realize that I haven't been very reliable in providing some updated pictures and stories about our summer projects. I guess you'll have to check back over the next couple of weeks to read those!