The Little Kitchen: Semi Revealed

It's been awhile since I talked about anything Little Home related on here, which seems odd since my blog is titled Little Woman, Little Home. But I am going to try to rectify that today by giving you a glimpse in our semi remodeled little kitchen...and I strongly suggest the word little.

This is what our kitchen looked like...

BEFORE: 

No offense to the previous owner (love ya D.) but country kitchen is not really Big Man and my style. Another problem was that she was a smoker inside the house and alot of the walls were stained because of it. 

Before moving into the new house, Big Man and I decided we wanted light and bright colors that would give the house a crisp and clean, yet a cozy and comfortable look. The kitchen is on the small side so we wanted to lighten and open it up as best we could...

Minimal AFTER: 

This is just a small glimpse into what we accomplished but I wanted to show it off none the less. 

Gone is the country wallpaper border and the crimson paint. 

I'm not a cooker in the least but since the kitchen and the laundry room are the only two rooms that decently done already, I find myself wanting to be in there the most. I'm loving how our visions are coming together and I can't wait till I can show you completely finished rooms. 

Lucky for you (ok and for me), that may not be too long from now.

We have ordered our new flooring for the living room and dining room and a new sectional, both of which will be here the first week of December. So this month Big Man and I are will priming and painting our asses off in preparation. 

Eeekk....it's all getting real now. 

And before I forget...let me show you one thing that also makes me kitchen loving heart go pitter patter....

My new kitchen curtains that compliment our wall color perfectly. 

I am just absolutely in love with that floral pattern and I give Big Man props for 

a.) knowing what a valance is

b.) picking out one that compliments what we got. 

If you haven't noticed already, this house stuff is making me a giddy mess. 

I'm sorry. 

no i'm not. :) 

Working Away Our Weekend...

...On the house, that is. 

Since my BIL and sister will be moving out from next door to us in the near future, they decided to take down the pool this month and put up a fence that would separate our two yards again. 

They messed around with us telling us they were going to put in something shitty but my BIL pulled through and gave us the privacy fence that we wanted. Not that it's 'oh so private' since you can see over it from our deck, but atleast we won't have to see everything our creepy (yes, I'm prejudging, what of it) new neighbors will do.

  

And if you follow me on Instagram (lwlh) you got a play by play of this little project...

They'll be more details and better pictures of this one soon, but we're still finishing up trim work and a little something something that I've been dying to put in our new house. 

Now please excuse me while I go paint the town errr house. 

**Bee tee dubs, I was highly disappointed that Big Man and I painting our first room was not more Ghost like in the experience. Somehow I had it in my head that we were going to be all Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze during the pottery scene in Ghost and things were going to be all messy and sweaty and sexy and Big Man was going to gently hold my hand with every brush stroke and roller glide while Unchained Melody played in the background softly

Ohhhh, myyy lovvvve, my darling
I've hungered... for.... your touch
A long, lonely time

And time.... goes by.... so slowlyyyy
And time... can do.... sooooo much
Are you.... still mineeeeee?!?

I NEEEEEEEDDDD YOOOUUURRRR LOOOVVVVEEEEE!!!

Yeah, well that didn't happen. 

FAILLLLLLLLLL

I was the only messy, sweaty thing happening in that space.
Womp. Womp.

The New House: Undone

It's a lazy rainy Labor Day and since I got the a little bit of the house set up, I figured I'd give you a peek of our new house, undone. 

By undone, I mean un renovated and please believe there is alot we want to do. But that is another post for another day, so sip down and take a tour of the new Little Home.

Living Room

Dining Room

Kitchen

1st Floor Bathroom

'Master' Bedroom

2nd Bedroom/ Hopeful Nursery One Day

Don't mind the mess, this is where our clothes and shoes are until we set up our bedroom.

2nd Floor Bathroom

Again, I repeat....there is ALOT that I want to do to make this house officially ours. 

Wish us luck.

Remodeling, Say What?

So you saw a little sneak peek of our new Little Home yesterday and though you weren't able to see that much, there is alot we want to do to it to make it feel like home to us. 

There is carpet downstairs that needs to be pulled up, new floor to be laid, cabinets to be refinished and a whole makeover (paint wise) that needs to be done all throughout the house. We've picked out paint colors and flooring that we think will flow nice through out the whole house but all of these are things we need to do when we actually get in the new house.

So in the meantime, we are getting started on remodeling the new house with some new furniture. 

The new house is a different layout than our current house and the furniture we have now will not work there. So we've been on the hunt for new living room set along with an entertainment center. For optimal seating we decided on a sectional for the new LH and we fell absolutely in love with this one....

It's a gorgeous gray color and I can imagine pops of color on throws and pillows filling this space and that will look great with the flooring and paint colors we chose.

Next up was a new entertainment center.
And though it's not technically new, it's new to us....

And for only $50, yes please. 

There is a catch though...

It needs a little bit TLC before it's the beaut that Big Man and I envision. 

But I have faith that it will come together. 

I'm excited at this new step that we're taking. 

We're actually putting thought into how everything will flow and are trying to get the most bang for our buck while creating a new home we can grow with. 

I'm dying to get in and get started already. 

Pssst...

Coming soon...September 2012. 

You Wanna Know A Secret?!?

For the past couple of weeks, I have been being a Shady McShaderson revolving around some important news for Big Man, myself, and our Little Home. 

I hate to be all vague in tweets and posts because if you know me at all, you know that I am horrible at keeping surprises and such. But in this case I thought it was best if I stayed mum until we got some closure on the situation and a little bit of guidance. Now there is still details to be hammered out and an important one still has to get settled but since for all intensive purposes it seems like a go, I miswell say...

WE'RE MOVING!!!!

Oh...and we're buying said house.

Yes, you read that right....we're buying a house and if all goes through, we will be moving this summer. 

The reason I have kept quiet is because this is not like a regular house buying and there is a few things to work out between multiple parties still. If you remember awhile ago, I asked a serious question on whether we should buy our current Little Home which is only a one bedroom (and that we rent). It was a resounding 'no' by the blog world but Big Man and I actually discussed it and we're considering it up until this past week when we were proposed a quite different offer. 

You see, our landlord is actually my BIL's brother (my sis and BIL who live 3 doors up from us) and in between my sister and my house lives my BIL's mother. She is single with 2 dogs and she proposed to us last week that she move over here, since she is getting older and doesn't need all the space and that we buy and move over to her house which is a bit bigger. 

We thought she was bullshitting us at first and we brushed her off but after seeing she was serious and hearing the kind of offer she was willing to negotiate (great price plus we will be renting to own which will help us a bit with trying to save for our future etc.)  Big Man and I talked about it and realized this was an offer we couldn't pass up. 

The two things we were worried about with buying our current house was that it was only a one bedroom and it would be a hard resale in this or pretty much any market and that it didn't have any room for us to grow a family. This 'new' house on the other hand is a 2 bedroom/ 2 bath with a separate living & dining room, as well as a kitchen, laundry/mudroom, finished attic, unfinished basement and garage. It needs some cosmetic work as the style she has is not ours but redoing the house (painting and such) in our style is something that Big Man and I are looking forward to. 

Again, details are still discussed and not everything is 100% yet but if all goes as planned, this is what should be happening and I needed to finally share. 

Keep your fingers crossed for us that everything goes smoothly and that we will be in a new to us Little Home soon : ) 

To ____ or Not To ____?!?

What is it you may ask?!?

Try for baby?

Donate a kidney?

Pack up my shit and move to Europe?

Well I might have teased you yesterday and with hopes that you would blindly answer my yes or no question but it looks like you are not that easily fooled. Sadly, if you thought it was any of thee above...you were wrong my dears.

I enjoy my kidneys very much and don't have any desire to move abroad anytime soon, and baby making...welllll I might ask you for help on alot of things but I'm pretty sure Big Man and I got that one covered by ourselves. My vagina sends its regards.

But getting back to the point, there is an important step Big Man and I are contemplating and I'm asking not for an executive decision but for some guidance and advice on the situation...

Yeah, a pretty big deal, right?!

It has been something that has been weighing on our minds lately and we are trying to come to an educated decision while weighing our pros and cons. 

Here's a little back info for you: 

We rent right now (obviously.)

If we do decide to buy, any rent we have paid thus far will be applied to the house. 

One bedroom...1 1/2 Bath

This is one that has been bothering me because we do plan on having children in the near future and one bedroom is not ideal. There is ways around it and also the option to create another bedroom but I'm unsure. I know we could make it work but I need to know more details myself.

We will be in a good school district and still close to our jobs

This is always a plus

Though this is not where I want my 'forever' home to be.

Nice house but not everything that I would want. 

There is of course many other factors such as money and stuff that I will not get into on here, but I am looking  for a little help in what I should know and so forth. I know alot of you ladies are homeowners and I am asking you for any guidance you can give in this area. 

I don't know how everything works or what I should know or research so please show me the way sensei  : ) 

Dirty Girl...Bedroom Style

Get your minds out of the gutter nasty girls.

We're not talking about the bow-chicka-wow-wow of our bedroom but rather the messy state of which we were currently living in. My mission for Organization 2012 is well underway and the bedroom was the first stop on the ride. 

To be more specific, the closet was organization station #1...

Yeaahhhhhhh....about that. 

Looks like things got out of control in closet a bit. 

I'd love to say that this was a single occurrence but this is how my closet looks more often than not. 

I try to keep up with it but having a messy husband and sharing a closet is not my ideal situation. So Sunday morning I was up bright and early and decided that it was time to pull everything out and organize. 

Pulling everything out, I found quite a few things...

Quite a few handbags...

Lots of pencils and highlighters

A throwback wedding book along with books from college

Undeveloped cameras and throwback pictures (<-- I'll have to post some....wowser, I wasn't always the cutie I am today; ) ) 

In the midst of my cleaning, I did make an extra mess for myself when I picked up my shredder by the lid...

Not a good look, my friends, not a good look. 

Moving along...

A couple hours, a garbage bag, and donation bag later....

It might not look like much has changed but to me, I can def. see the difference. 

Of all things wrangling Big Man's tees and clothes was the most changed and improved. I feel so much better and at peace knowing that everything is folded and color coordinated and in it's place. 

Like Mrs. Momma Bee...I also ROYGBIV my clothes and separate everything into tees, dress shirts, dresses, jeans, etc. 

Ahhh...one down but many more to go.

P.S. We also got new sheets for our bed and they are ahhh-mazing . Those paired with our new fluffy pillows, now makes me feel like I'm sleeping at a resort everytime I hop in bed. Pure bliss. 

Do you just throw your clothes all around like me or do you keep your sleeping quarters immaculate?!?

Little Home...Christmas Edition

Being that Little Home is the second part of my blog title, it shouldn't surprise you that from time to time I like to show off the casa and some of the goodies in it. 

Since it is Christmas time and I'm off gallivanting in NYC today, what better time is there than now than to show off the Little Home Christmas Decor. 

(Note: Don't try to rob us...Mia will shank you, for realz!)

So without further adieu...

Our Christmas Little Home

If by some crazy chance you happen to be riding through itty bitty city in Pennsylvania, you might stumble upon this festively decorated house. I must give all the props to Big Man on this gem. He was outside for hours upon hours trying to get these lights exactly how he wanted them and if I do say so myself, they look amazing. Last year, we had just moved in to our house and really couldn't give the outside the love it deserved, but this year, I am happy with what Big Man accomplished. 

I hope he knows there is no going back from this....hehe. 

Santa will greet you as you arrive on our garland covered front porch as well as our pal Sam the Snowman. 

Do you notice anything recycled and reused at all?!?! 

Well if you take a peek at what good ol' Sam is standing on, you'll see that it is our hay bale that we used for our fall decor. A little white spray paint saved it's life for atleast one more month : ) 

Are you cold, my dears?!?! 

Ok, we'll  move this little tour on indoors....

I have many Christmas knick knacks here and there but these three beauties are perched on my shelves. Our Santa snowglobe lights up but my favorite is the Snowman one because it plays 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas'....ahhhh I love that song

On our bookcases next to the door sits our stocking as well as these golden sleighs filled with glittery red balls. I'll admit, though sometimes Christmas decor can be a mess...but...I totally miss it when I don't find random glitter on the floor anymore. Our trusty Santa also stands guard next to our entertainment center. 

I wasn't kidding when I said there is Christmas decor everywhere.

...Santa hats adorn picture frames...

...Christmas baskets fill shelves...

...Berry candles are placed about...

And of course Pinterest made it's way into my Christmas Home...

 Ala free printables who keep my Snow Family company. 

These has been one of my favorite printables by far...so far. It incorporates everything I love about the season into one cute Christmas word display. If your on a tight budget and want to add a little oomph to your holiday decor than scour Pinterest for free printables. There is sooo many cute ones and all you have to do is buy a cheap dollar store frame to frame. 

Done and done! : ) 

It wouldn't be a complete Christmas themed home if snowflakes didn't make their way in somewhere. 

Last year I was baffled with what to do with the gigantic mirror that resides in our living room but this year I took the snowflakes that usually go in our windows and taped them onto there. I also took our candy canes and giant bow and added those as well. 

The red snowflake plate....I absolutely adore it. 

This was a glittery gem (hard to see..) that I scooped up from HomeGoods when I used to live in Florida. It is hands down one of my favorite Christmas pieces. : ) 

From our living room we head on into the kitchen...

Merry Christmas...Happy Birthday Jesus...

To each their own but I'm representing for everybody : ) 

And last but not least...

Our festive kitchen table!!!

I love our plates and my 25 cent yard sale ceramic tree find. I also tried to go all crafty pinterest-y and made the little pinecone/ornament centerpiece. For a first try, I think it came out rather nice. 

I do have more decor that you can check out here:

Christmas Decor 2010

Thanks for stopping by our Christmas-ified Little Home : ) 

Tom Clark-1...Lil' Woman-0

You might ask who Tom Clark is, and in short he is our local new station meteorologists. 

He is also known to be quite a bullshitter.

If he says it's going to be sunny then it usually rains, and if he predicts rain, it's usually a flood. For the most part, this household doesn't take him or many meteorologists seriously. Being a meteorologists is pretty much having a job where you get paid whether your wrong or not, sounds like a sweet deal to me. 

Anywho,

 It looks like Tommy Boy along with The Weather Channel and pretty much every other news outlet hit the nail on the head with this one, because this is what we're looking at on this fine Saturday afternoon in October in the Keystone State...

Yeah, that's what is happening and from the looks and sounds of it, it is showing no signs of slowing down or stopping until very late tonight or early tomorrow morning. 

I stressed on Twitter, that I was not ready for this and that I was really not all that excited because 

a.) It's OCTOBER 

b.) I HATTTTEEEEE DRIVING IN THE SNOW!

But I take it back now because I'm actually enjoying our impromptu 'snow day'. 

It's a Saturday so I don't have any plans or need to drive today and the only thing on our agenda is hot chocolate, snuggles, and if I can coerce Big Man, possibly some Christmas movies. 

Are you in the snow zone?

How do you feel about it? 

: )

I Should Be Embarassed...

But to keep in the honest and realistic aspect of this blog, I'm not.

As I mentioned last week, the spring cleaning tornado has hit this Little Home and it is in full force. Since I work 4 ten hour shifts a week, am trying to plan a wedding, spend time with Big Man, Mia, and family and things of the such, I've had to break up my spring cleaning into sections that I can get done on the weekends.

While it was raining cats and dogs this past Saturday, I took advantage of being indoors and tackled two of our rooms, but before we get to that, here is what you would have found me in if you walked in my house this weekend. 

My bejeweled pink bandanna to keep my frizzy hair out of my face, striped spa socks to keep my tootsies warm and cozy, and sweats, because duh, what else would I clean in.  : ) You may ask (or not but I'll tell you anyway) why I didn't show the whole shebang and the truth is...I have a little self respect and didn't think it was appropriate to post a sweaty, gross face, braless Little Woman all over the interwebs....maybe next time...not!

Anywho, back to the cleaning....

I figured that if I was going to at this thing full steam that I miswell start in the messiest room, that being our lovely bedroom...

For those of you who thought I was better than this, I'm not. ; )

I wish I could say that this is a singular occurrence and that I hardly ever let my bedroom get to this state, but that would be a lie, and that is not what this bloggy relationship is based on. To be brutally honest, our bedroom looks like this more often than I would like to admit. 

As you can see, you cannot even see my bed under the piles of clothes, I'm almost 95% sure that the ones on the bed are clean...maybe. It was a disaster and needed to be rectified ASAP. Obviously the first order of business was to tackle the clothes but that was just one of many tasks.

Spring Cleaning 

Bedroom Edition

- Sort dirty and clean clothes

- Did laundry

- Rotate some winter and spring wear...I say some because it still gets pretty chilly up here

- Organize underwear drawer, finally threw away some of those torn up but couldn't depart undies and bras

- Tried to organize Big Man's side of the closet

- Organized jammies

- Organized and disposed of misc. jewelery

- Made bed

-Pulled out bed and Mia's crate to sweep underneath

- Dust all furniture

This was just the basic cleaning part but was necessary to get down to the nitty gritty stuff that I need to do in the coming weeks....

- Wash and replace sheets, comforter, and pillowcases

- Dust and wipe down ceiling fan

- Dust around radiators and baseboards

-Sweep (again) and mop floors

- Wash windows and window sills.

These we'll be accomplished in the next few weekends but here is a look at how my bedroom should look and what my floors and bed actually look like....

Sorry about the watermarks on the pictures, my bad.

Def. a major and better difference than the before picture...and yes I do still sleep with my Carebear pillow...everynight!

Nicely folded and hung clothes. I must admit though I hate dressers....they are pretty much the bane of my existence. I hate how fast they get messy and the constant need to fold and re-fold the clothes. Next house def. needs a walk in closet with lots of hanger space. 

That's all for this installment....next up: BATHROOM!

What are you doing for spring cleaning!?!