Winter Break Twenty-Eleven

Before break began Mike and I began discussing some of the things we wanted to do with our time off. It was during this conversation when I realized how unimpressed  I was with our home.  Allow me to explain, it's not that I'm not in love with our home but when I took a look around and saw literally nothing on our walls (despite the shelves and spare closet full of pictures and decor items) as well as whole rooms and areas completely unused simply because they had yet to be defined. I repeat, I felt unimpressed. Therefore, Winter Break Twenty-Eleven became the perfect time to remedy this situation. Poor Mike, I do believe he had no clue what he got himself into. =).

So, without further ado, here's the completed list of tasks that all happened in one helluva week...

the simplest of the items on our list was purchasing items for the bottom shelf of our entertainment center in our living room. Aside from adding a little pop of color, they hide the hideousness that is the mess of cords behind the shelves. much needed

 My apologies for this picture being so dark. Over Thanksgiving we actually purchased these new drapes (from IKEA for only $60 total, we totally fell in love). The only downfall was they come super long with the idea that you then hem them yourself using the iron hem provided. Thank the heavens above for Mike's mother who volunteered to help with the task and then, bless her sweet heart, she also steam pressed them before re-hanging them. They look wonderful and are much more our style.

Here's a closer look at the pattern. They are quite simple but, like I said, we're in love with them =).

Next came the completion of a more functional entryway. I'm happy to report the benefits of this area were immediate. Mike and I now actually use the coat closet in our entryway as opposed to hauling all of our belongings upstairs where they undoubtedly found empty floor space to occupy. Clutter makes me crazy so this was much needed, and is much appreciated =).

We finally brought life to our family room with the purchase of a new tv stand and tv. I'm also happy to report we also have a new Wii set up in the space (compliments of my brother who no longer used his Wii), which I'm certain will entertain many nights for Mike and I, plus friends and family.

Oh, and what's a family room without some family pictures, right?! Now, I have to admit, normally I am not a fan of displaying pictures of ourselves in any rooms but the bedrooms but Mike's sister gave us some awesome pictures from their wedding this summer and, what can I say, I was inspired to create a wall. In truth, I actually really love it. It also helped warm the room a bit and I'm excited to add more to the collage once gather more frames from the clearance racks.

Mike and his dad also were able to install our old kitchen cabinets in our garage (no picture, but they add a certain shabby-chic-ness to our otherwise nothing but functional garage) and put a light above our kitchen sink! This along with the addition of a little art love in the nook make the kitchen look much more inviting. And, I had no idea how much I was missing by doing the dishes in a sink without a light! It's like we were living in the dark ages ;).

Speaking of adding art love, check out these new additions to our walls. "Don't they look lovely, June?" "Fabulous Harry, I love the feathers." (Ten points to anyone who can tell which Disney animated classic that came from?!)

You can't see this one all too well but it's a nice welcome sign as you walk up our stairs. Plus a 'P' to let you know you're at the Penteks, in case you were confused ;).

And here we have some lovely vintage prints featuring three of the National Parks Mike and I have personally visited during our time as a couple (awwww). In truth, these were said to be temporary but now that they're up, we're totally digging them. You can find the prints themselves through art.com or allposters.com, though we actually came upon these in a calendar Mike picked up when he worked at Barnes & Noble (a little fun fact for you via Mike and Sarah b.v).

And here she be, the mother of all projects (and one purchase) completed over our winter break, the partial completion of our dining room. The buffet was a Christmas purchase from Mike and I to each other and the shelves were made by yours truly (with the help of Mike's dad who generously cut each shelf to size). Let's take a closer look, shall we...

This is actually a Pinterest inspired project, which I'm happy to report, turned out much better than my last attempt ;). Instead of going with floating shelves though, I knew I wanted to do something that would bring in some natural wood. So, I went to Home Depot and bought a Pine plank, had help cutting it down into two shelves, and spent about two days staining, restaining, and finishing before attaching the brackets and securing to the wall. It certainly was not a quick task but, in the end, I feel quite proud.

Phew. Are you exhausted? We sure were, and sore, and exhausted, and sore, and exhau... you get the point. In the end, this was the most productive I think I've ever been on a break from school and I'm happy to report we literally accomplished everything on our list. The house looks great and I fall in love with it more every day.

Oh. And one more thing. You know how I've mentioned I'm so not patient when it comes to crafts and such... well the same can be said when I'm completing things like staining shelves. So, while the shelves were drying (which, much to my dismay, takes longer than 3.8 seconds) I decided to revamp one of our cheapo tv trays we use often...

I do think this is officially when Mike became terrified by my ambition and chose to a)stay clear out of my way and b) hide all valuables for fear that I would stain, paint, or chop them apart if I got my hands on them. meh