blizzard warning

this is our current weather forecast. luckily, our house sits right on top of a hill and faces directly north. oh wait, that's only a good thing for potential flooding, not so much for blizzards. hopefully, our almost 100 year old single pane windows will be able to withstand the wind gusts. man, i really need to get past my inability of deciding which curtains to buy. our windows could use a little extra layer this winter.

layla will definitely be sleeping under her covers tonight. yes, our dog prefers to be tucked in each night. yes, we know she is spoiled. but she's an old lady. hopefully, someone (ahem, mary adelyn) will spoil me when i'm old and gray as well.

don't move...

IMPROVE!

well, this is what we hope to do. for those that are not in the know, we took our house off the market about a month after putting the sign in the yard. did i ever mention how much we love our house? well, if not. we really love our house. and deciding to sell was very much a blessing in disguise. as we didn't realize that we really, really love our house. so i guess the fact that i cried the entire day that we put the for sale sign in the yard was a pretty good sign that selling might not be the best choice. well that, and the fact that we were canceling showings in fear that the house might actually sell. so, after a little convincing on my part, the dreaded sign was taken out of the yard. woo-hoo! considered that victory #1.

now onto, victory #2--convincing byron that our dream improvements are in our budget. 3 contractors , 1 architect and 1 possible pulled muscle later(from doing the 'yea, i told you so dance' after each of the before mentioned professionals left our house), we are one step closer to adding some square footage. whoot-whoot! yes, these are the sounds of joy that byron is now subjected too, pretty much on a daily basis.

before i get to the specifics of our dream improvements, i feel like i should list a little disclaimer that i am my father's daughter. and that my father just so happens to be a contractor. just a minor detail, in my book. but a detail that byron likes to remind me of quite often. specifically, when i've tried to talk him into doing some diy projects around the house. you see, byron and i have two completely different ways of thinking about home projects and diy. while he'd rather pay someone an outrageous amount of money to do it, i'd rather try it for much less and have the satisfaction of mastering something. and i tried to explain to him that diy does not refer to any project that you do around the house. i mean, if you are working on something that you wouldn't think to call in a professional for (i.e. changing screws in a door frame), then you're not diying, you're maintaining. i'm sure byron would explain these differences in another light, but hey, i don't see him writing on this blog any, so i guess you lucked out with my point of view.

while i'm sure byron would much rather all house of alday projects be referred to as diya (do-it-yourself-amy), i'm certain that i'll be able to rope him into some projects. i mean, surely he won't leave me to tile the entire kitchen backsplash myself, right? and i have just so happened to come across a handful of great blogs here, here, and here that have only increased my propensity to try some diy at our own little abode.

now, onto the dream improvements. approximately a 150ish square foot addition directly off the back of our house, which will house the following:

1. master bath addition--not really in the sense that most people think of a master bath. just happens to be referred to as that because it will be connected to our 'master' bedroom. including a laundry closet.

2. kitchen nook--we spend a lot of time in the kitchen and would love to have an area for mary adelyn to work on her coloring skills, while still being able to cook and interact with her.

now, obviously, the above projects will not be diy. but, they will lead to other diy projects that i, err i mean, we hope to accomplish at some point before mary adelyn graduates high school. you know, easy things, like removing a small portion of the kitchen entry way to promote a better flow, painting the kitchen cabinets, installing a new backsplash, building a bench seat (oh yea, byron, forgot to mention that one to you in person, whoops), and well, i should probably stop there before an executive halt in placed on the project.

and just so you'll have an idea of what i, dangit i mean, we are thinking, here's a few inspirational photos...

wouldn't this be a great way to get clean every morning?

or maybe this...

photo: bhg

i don't think we'd know what to do with more than one sink.

and here's the vision for the kitchen nook.

pretty self-explanatory.

and new kitchen colors (cabinets, countertops, etc...)

so, if any of you that actually read this blog, have any insight in home renovation, please feel free to share. i'm sure we'd appreciate all the info, and of course advice, that you might have.

and you better bet that we'll have some before and after photos, as this is my new favorite thing to look at on home improvement blogs, if this dream project actually does get off the ground. stay tuned. i promise, i'll update this time :)

mountain babies

a.k.a:

bunch

of

monkeys

fyi

just because the circle sponge brush was thoroughly washed after painting with it 2 months ago, doesn't mean that once it gets wet again (read: put into the mouth of a one year old) no paint will show up. notice the hint of blue around her lips.

lesson learned.

luckily, the paint residue on her lips didn't seem to phase her.

all thawed out

i apologize for the delay in posts. we have finally thawed out from our crazy winter weather and just got back from a wonderful weekend trip to aunt gigi and uncle johnny's cabin. we had a great time hanging out with our friends the moore's and wright's. you might recognize them from our beach trip. it's crazy to think how different all three of the kids are now since we were last at the beach.

three mobile kids makes for a much different weekend gathering. there was plenty of eating and any kind of chip that you could imagine.

a lot of chasing this little man around

did i mention there was eating?

too funny.

baby, it's REALLY cold outside

i hope it is nice and toasty wherever you are today. it seems like our temperatures haven't risen above freezing for the last two weeks. it's been cold enough to cancel or delay the school schedule just about every day this past week. so, we've been making the most of our time together at home, while trying to stay warm in our almost 100 year old house. i keep telling myself that i'd probably be much colder if i weren't chasing this little girl around all day.

new year, new look

if you haven't already noticed, there is a new look in process here at alday living. still in process being the key words. feel free to let me know what you think. i'm up for ideas.

here's to a happy, healthy, and joyful new year!