OK, but really this time I am the worst blogger!

Sooo....it's been almost exactly a year since I wrote last. That's silly! So much has happened that I truly want to share with you all! So I'm going to do a quick update!
Top ten events:

1. We got engaged!!!

Well kind of lol. We decided to get married before summer and announced to everyone with our save the dates which were made my mom and I. Too fun!!

2. We got married!!!

We had a BEAUTIFUL wedding at The Grand Barn in Glenmont, Ohio. It was beyond perfect!!

3. I started this crazy mascara business thing!!! 

I was so over spending wasting money on mascara and makeup so I found the best out there and invested!! It's AMAZING!! Get on board!

 

4. We refinished the stairs!!!

It's amazing what a little tape and paint can fix! It's the same color in our living room so everything is tying together very nicely!

5. We gutted the upstairs bathroom!!!

Once again I truly don't know what I would do without my AMAZING family and perfect husband! Tom actually has done more work with the ceiling (more of our favorite free product) and the tile is totally finished. Will update as soon as I get my faucets, which should be within the week!! Yay for not showering with a hose in the basement!

6. We planted a garden!!!

Although I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked in garden this summer (silly wedding lol) we had a great crop for our first year and I developed a new obsession...DAHLIAS!!

7. We decorated for fall!!

It is my favorite season so of course I had to go a little a crazy with the mums. I had so much fun finding "fancy" pumpkins with my MIL. Hopefully we will get some of our own planted this year!

8. We decorated for Christmas!!!

Since it was our first Christmas in the house actually spending time in the house we went all out! Tom picked out the tree and helped decorate. It was so nice and cozy. Plus we got to host a great party for our awesome friends!

9. I developed a new "family"!!!

For those of you who might not know I have an interesting job. I am a Mental Health Counselor and I work for Columbus Public Schools. This year I became EXTREMELY close with my "work family" and I truly don't know what I would do without them! They are what keeps me going everyday and are always there to cheer me on! I don't know what I would do without them.

10. Tell her what she's won Johnny...

This was probably the most bitter sweet moment of the year for me. I drove "Big Bird" (my big yellow SUV) for 9 years and finally decided it was time, it got to the point where my dashboard was looking more and more like Christmas everyday with different lights on the dashboard. So I got a new car! And of course new tags :)

Well I think that is our year in a nutshell. It was probably the most fun and exciting year I have had thus far. I'm really going to try and be better about posting this year (resolution and all). But as you all know life can get a little crazy sometimes. Plus I have some SUPER FUN AND EXCITING stuff happening this year that I CAN'T wait to share with you all!!

I believe in a thing called love

I believe in the thing called love

We have lived in Westgate for six months and love the neighborhood.  There has been an issue of finding Pabst Blue Ribbon close to Binns Boulevard.  The gas stations close to the house don’t carry it which makes emergency beer runs take longer than they should.  Very few restaurants carry it as well.

PBR is without question the best beer on earth.  It would be impossible to renovate a house without ice cold PBR.  The moral of the story is that there is a PBR shortage in Westgate and it was beginning to affect my ability to finish this house.  That changed on February 3^rd when Dirty Franks West opened.  

Jordan and I were there opening night and sat at the Justin Hawkins table.  I immediately noticed people drinking PBRs and not just any PBR, 24 ouncers!!!!!  When my 24 ounce PBR was delivered to the table I looked up and saw the Justin Hawkins painting I Believe in a Thing Called Love immediately started playing in my head.  I started signing it out loud to my beer; Jordan was not impressed, and probably embarrassed.  It did not matter though; it was a joyous occasion because Dirty Franks brought PBR to Westgate.

I am the worst blogger ever!

It's official I am the worlds worst blogger...SORRY!! But the holidays were great (and very busy)!  So let's get a quick and dirty catch up....

Yes that would be my SUPER amazing kitchen!!! This isn't the best picture of it but it's what I have right now. I promise to do a better break down of areas later.

I will work on more pictures this evening!

 Awesome island created from pottery barn kids dresser, caster wheels, and Annie Sloan chalk paint! Love it!!

More barn siding around the doors and windows! Our favorite product!!

Thanks to everyone for all the love and support over the holidays! Lots of Home Depot gift cards which are coming in handy for sure! Thanks Mom and Dad for all the help lately!

So much to be Thankful for...

Ok so I will get to the house updates shortly (especially since I am pretty much horrible at updating anymore...SORRY), but I have been reading all of the "thankful" posts on Facebook and although I have lots to be thankful for (family, friends, work, Murray) I wanted to take the time to post about one thing...Mr. Tom Butler. Now most of you know we aren't very lovey dovey and not big on PDA but I have somethings to share, the reasons why I love Tom Butler/I'm a spoiled brat/beyond happy and I am what I am thankful for the first 25 days of November.

1. Every morning I am not awaken by a horrible alarm but by hugs and kisses and cuddling
2. He tells me I'm pretty when I've had too much to drink and think "I'm dying"
3. He opens every door for me
4. He sends me flowers at work
5. He sends me pizza at work so I don't get "hangry"
6. He tells Murray he loves him
7. He watches Grey's with me even though he hates it
8. He appreciates the work I do and supports me in everything
9. He makes me laugh
10. He bought a house for Murray
11. He never puts me down
12. He drives everywhere, because I hate driving
13. Even though he may think my family is a little crazy he loves and appreciates them
14. He complements my cooking even if it's just spaghetti o's and cold sandwiches
15. He is fantastic at excel (which makes running my work data A LOT easier)
16. He plays with my hair or rubs my feet when we are sitting on the couch
17. He holds my hand no matter where we are
18. He kisses my forehead when I'm sick
19. When I fall he doesn't laugh until I do
20. When things are a big deal to me, they are a big deal to him
21. He always makes sure I have diet coke in the fridge
22. He thinks I'm a gypsy
23. He takes care of the outside work because I hate the cold
24. He thinks I'm funny but never makes fun of me
25. He loves me unconditionally everyday.

Now I didn't write this as a "my boyfriend is better than yours" post,  well maybe I did because I think he is pretty fantastic! And the most caring, loving, handsome man and I am so thankful for him!

Okay back to the house...

Kitchen is getting very close to being done! Check out these updates!!

And the living room...

And the super amazing wall of barn siding in the dining room!! It's my fav!

 
Happy Thanksgiving every one!

It's About Time for an Update!!

Sorry it has been so long everyone but things have been a little crazy around the house but here we go all the exciting stuff caught up in one spot!

IT'S HERE!!! IT'S HERE!! IT'S HERE!! WOOHOO!!! If you can't tell I'm a little excited to have the kitchen installed! Cabinets are in, I'm in love with the hardware, fan update looks fantastic (thanks Dad!), and CHECK OUT THOSE BEAMS! They are made from the wood from the barn of Tom's family farm. I am a little obsessed with them.

  

Now its on to finishing floors, getting the butcher block in, creating the island, and a few finishing touches. Still waiting on the appliance fairy but I'm he will show up one of these days haha.

We also got one of the bedrooms upstairs painted, this will be my sewing room. I love love love the color...Tom isn't as big of a fan of it. It is much "bluer" than appears in the photos.

 Well we are preparing for our 500-600 trick-or-treat kiddos tonight and off to

Bedroom all painted!!

Well as I said yesterday I would be posting today about the bedroom! We love the new color and how great the original woodwork turned out (after many hours with the sander removing MANY coats of paint). I am also so impressed with how Tommy did with refinishing the floors! Now it's on to the next room.

Check out that before and after! I love it! 

Now off for a weekend of fair fun! Have a good one everybody!!

We have walls!! And floors!! And Paint!!

Sorry it's been so long, it has been a crazy week or so with my silliness at work along with the government shutting down.

Steve and Tommy have been working really hard getting things done. Almost all of the drywall is up and Tommy has finished all of the floors up stairs.

 

 

 

Although it is kind of hard to see the floors upstairs look AMAZING and we can't wait to get them finished downstairs!

 

Thanks to my Dad and Uncle the downstairs floor that had to be ordered to replace the areas that were missing are now installed and as soon as we get a couple of other things worked out Tommy will get on those too!

 

We have been busy, busy, busy painting the master bedroom but pictures of that will have to wait until tomorrow :)

 

Until next time!

I love fall!

Who cares if the inside isn't done yet...we are ready for fall!!!

Love it!!

OMG it's actually coming together!!

So sorry for the delayed update, things have just been a little crazy!

Things are really coming along at the house! Hardwood floors found under kitchen floor, updated wiring taking place in the kitchen, and our first coat of polyurethane has gone down on the floors upstairs!

 

Tommy and Steve decided they needed to decorate a bit.

 

Plus the most thing is....MY CABINETS IN THE KITCHEN!!! They are coming! Thanks to my super amazing parents for everything they have done to help up and being so supportive of us! Here is the amazing layout!

 

 

Now we can only hope the appliance fairy shows up! :D

 

Thanks to everyone for helping us! We really appreciate all of you!!

 

 

My New Castle

I wish I could say that I found Westgate or that maybe had some sort of tie to the community through friends or family.  Westgate found me via my girlfriend and her mother’s extensive real estate searches when I decided to get out of crappy apartment living.  My “mother in law” must have really wanted to get Jordan out of the house because she was a hound dog when it came to finding me a place.

The weekend of the 4th of July Jordan and her mother had six home viewings scheduled for one day, all in Westgate.  They had completed a scouting mission and figured I would like the neighborhood.  I did.  I was born and raised on a dairy farm so city living has taken some getting used to.  The quiet tree lined streets immediately appealed to me.  When I sat down on the front porch of the second house we visited I knew I was going to put and offer in.

Fast forward a month or two and I had the keys and all the utilities were in my name.  One evening, Jordan and I were working on the house and decided it was supper time.  We headed for Broad Street where the ultimate selling point and true value of living in Westgate was observed.  White Castle!  Pow!  Delicious sliders in my neighborhood, welcome home Tommy, welcome home.

My Dream Kitchen

Well progress is being made for sure! We no longer have a kitchen or a wall that divides the kitchen from the dining room. And the FOUR different ceilings are all gone! 

Here the what the beautiful ceiling looked like prior to demo.

Here we are during demo, thanks Brad!

And the wall prior to removal...

And after...

Plus the other exciting thing is we found more amazing hardwood under two layers of flooring in the kitchen! 

The next week will consist of refinishing floors (that's Tommy's job), painting, cleaning up electric, and more painting lol.

We are so thankful for all the people who have been helping; Brad (the demo superhero), my parents, Tommy's parents, and everyone else!!

Talk to you soon! 

Weird closets and beautiful floors, that's what our house is made of

Well we have the carpet up and the floors are AMAZING!! Could not be more excited to get them refinished! 

Please don't mind our beautiful furniture. We also removed the weird/random closet clearing up some space.

BIG thanks to Brad and Nicole for coming and helping out. 

Tommy's family came down and helped get cleaned up and the wallpaper off the walls. 

Big plans for the weekend; wall between the kitchen and dining room is coming down, kitchen ceiling coming out, power washing the house and driveway (thanks Dad), and I am still working on baseboards and door frames so we can hopefully start painting!! So excited!!

Well back to my exciting evening...meat sauce!

I will update soon, and a little birdie told me we might be adding some humor to this blog soon...

Jordan

It was approximately 3 months ago that Tommy brought up us living together and our new adventure began. We started looking (well, I started looking) at apartments right away when it became very clear very quickly that this was going to be way more difficult than expected. There was one big (not too big) issue that came with this...finding an apartment in a good area that would allow Murray (a pit-bull wanna be) to move with us. After many discussions amongst us and hours of research spent, Tommy decided he was just going to buy a house, a "dog house".

When our home search began it was proven to be just as difficult to find what we were looking for in a dog friendly area that wasn't too far from work for either us. Finally after several drives around Columbus seeing everything from chickens in the backyard, totally cookie-cutter, to places I refused to get out of the car, we FINALLY landed in Westgate.

We looked at several houses in the area and we both knew it when we walked in the door. There wasn't any debate at all. After seeing seven houses that day we knew which one we wanted. Tommy and his realtor (my grandmother) wrote up the offer and shortly after that we were in contract.

After an inspection and a few small issues, we have finally closed and the real fun has begun!
I figured we should start with all the before pictures because the after pictures are going to be amazing!
Check back often to see our progress!! We are excited to share this process with you!

Love,
Tommy and Jordan