We finally had a housewarming party! We've only been here for....a year....whaaaat!?? So I snapped a few shots of what the place looked like for the party day. I am bummed that I was soo preoccupied with hostessing that I forgot to take pictures of all the friends and family that stopped by. I think we ended up having 34 adults and 14 kids. Thanks so much to everyone that stopped in! My favorite of the day...was probably my 6th grade teacher from Ecuador, Judy Warden, who just happens to live in Abbotsford. I love that she cared enough to come out and see how my life is going these days.
BEFORE (dining area):
AFTER (party style):
For those of you who care...that's my Ecuador/Peru wall. Or I like to call it my "Wall of Home". Makes me feel like home isn't sooo far away. If you zoom in you'll see that the pictures are all HDR...which I love. They include pictures from downtown Quito, a street in Cusco, a shot of Baños, my favorite mall in Quito - Quicentro, and the largest one in the middle (my favorite) is a beautiful picture of my hometown beach (Huanchaco) in Trujillo, Peru.
Here's a closer shot of all the yummy party food. They're self explanatory....
My wonderful mother-in-law, Denise, brought over some brownies and a veggie platter. She also sent over a truck load of flowers cut from her very own flower beds, and 3 HUGE vases. AND brought over her very own flower baskets and hung them from our lilac trees out front. Thanks Momma H!! Everything you do is noticed and MOST appreciated!!
BEFORE (original living room):
AFTER (finally decorated living room wall):
I am in love with that framed picture of the vintage camera.
I got an engineering print done at Staples for only $5 and the frame I just happened to have on hand. If you have to buy a frame this little project might be a bit pricey, but I was sooo happy that I could add such a unique piece to my wall for only $5!
I also needed some fiesta decor. So I bought an old atlas at the thrift store for 50 cents. Then I proceeded to cut out some "flag pieces", hole punched them and strung them up on some twine. Joel is not a huge fan of my sweet little map flags. What do you think?
BEFORE (original kitchen..we had already ripped off the top cabinets here):
HALFWAY:
AFTER ( I LOVE OPEN SHELVING!!!):
BEFORE (full shot):
AFTER (We recently stained the beams and shelves, put up the shelves and supports. Cups, mugs, plates, bowls...all out in the open where friends and family can feel free to grab them...this makes me VERY happy!! We still have the new window to put in, window trim and backsplash to finish.)
BEFORE (original hallway):
AFTER (recently we added some decorations, finally covered up that doorbell with a nice new white piece and Joel finished the door trim around the closet):
BEFORE (original master bedroom..panoramic view):
AFTER (Our master has been on the back burner for awhile. I went crazy getting decorations up, FINALLY finished the linen roman shades. We lived with a blue blanket over the window for a year. And Joel put in the baseboards and door trim):
Check out all my cheesy prints with their thrift store frames:
Now this one I specifically requested from my crazy artistic friend Gen. I wanted something custom and meaningful for our bedroom. So instead of the usual "You had me at hello"...the way that Joel asked me out was awkward silence for 15 min..then I jokingly said "just say it in Spanish" (I had no idea what his deal was, why he was acting so weird)..so Joel finally said "quieres ir..out?" Which means "Do you want to go...out?" Hence the cool signage. Isn't she insanely ridiculously talented? Mad skillz! Thanks Gen...you are amazing!!! Thanks for the coolest, most meaningful housewarming gift. I will treasure it FOREVER!!
Ok spend the next 30 seconds truly appreciating this next picture. These silly roman shades have had me gnashing my teeth in frustration MANY times. Thanks to my friend Alison for helping me with the pinning, and props to my huuuuuzband for sewing them up. I had the fun part of sewing on a million brass rings to the back and pretty much installing the ones in the boys room.
Thanks to Paige, a friend from Australia for this wedding gift. We still have it and still enjoy it. She took all these beautiful pics of the Whitsunday Islands in Australia, where Joel and I first started dating. We first held hands on this gorgeous beach and had our very first kiss. It's just a constant reminder of our romantic beginning.
BEFORE (boys original bedroom):
HALFWAY:
AFTER (with some decorations and roman shades up):
Ordered this great wall decal from etsy. It turned out being A LOT smaller than what I was expecting (I guess I didn't read the size properly) but I still like it. Might just have to put a frame around it to make it stand out a little more. Right now it just looks like a little tampon on that big wall.
BEFORE (original stairs/entry...after we ripped off the carpet):
ALMOST DONE:
AFTER (baseboards added):
BEFORE:
AFTER:
BEFORE (close to original state):
HALFWAY:
AFTER:
BEFORE:
AFTER (with my happy wildflowers;):
BEFORE (close to original front yard)
AFTER:
I don't have a before but this is the backyard all cleaned up. We trimmed those hedges back in the beginning of spring and they were just rotting in this gigantic pile. With the help of our in laws we finally got rid of that moldy disgusting mess. What a relief! Again special thanks to my mother-in-law for helping me weed eat, rake and clean up the huge mess that was my backyard.
Joel's parents also helped us clean out our carport. Man we need to get them a present! haha! I still can't believe that I can finally park in there!!
There's so much room now that its perfect for bike riding lessons. Or maybe I should say lesson..in the singular b/c that's how fast Kai learned to ride his bike without training wheels all by himself. We've been meaning to teach him for while now. Now that we have a clean carport and room to ride..it was time.
I ADORE this pic! So glad I was able to catch this precious moment. I wish you could have seen Joel. He ran right beside him the whole time. Kai had NO opportunity to get hurt. And don't worry we bought Kai a helmet that actually fits him now.
That last picture perfectly portrays our happy life at our happy little house. Hope you guys can pop in for a visit some time. It's a pretty good place to crash. ;)
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