Nursery Progress!

So Matt and i are SO EXCITED that we are having a baby boy ♥ The ultrasound was an awesome experience and it was so cool to see our little guy moving around in there! Here are some pics from the ultrasound...sorry about the quality though..our scanner is a piece of junk old :0)

(Click pics for bigger image)

i can already tell that he's going to be handsome ♥

Its a boy...heres the proof ;0)

In fact, we are so excited about our new addition that weve been working on the nursery.. alot! Its not finished yet but i LOVE it so far! here is a nasty 'before' picture of the room...
and the much improved Afters!

Here is the crib we bought..

We installed a cool light fixture with a dimmer switch..so the baby wont be wide awake (blinded by light) when i come in to feed him at 2am..which i am stoked about :0)

I found this awesome/supernice changing table for only $60 on craigsligt...love it! P.S..im so glad i went with white furniture ♥

Some cute things. Note: that little bear was Matts when he was a baby :0)

I know a girl that makes these..now i am determined to learn how..SO cute ♥

i found these cute abc flash cards at target.com...

i ♥ sock monkeys ;0)

So that is our nursery progress..i think its coming along quite nicely :0) Now...all we need is a baby ♥

Baby Stuff!

SO i am a little over 3 months now and im feeling pretty good. Im officially past the first trimester and I think ive been pretty lucky with my pregnancy so far because im not sick all the time..i get sick sometimes but not enough to slow me down....that much anyway ;0) However, I must admit that while pregnant, its harder to find the energy or motivation to tackle the home improvement projects that need to be done around here..i guess Matt will have to do all the work ;0) jk So the doc said that i will be able to find out if we are having a boy or girl in a couple of weeks...we are SUPER excited about that! Alot of people keep telling me that 'you should wait and let it be a surprise' but.....wheres the fun in that?! It would be more like torture! Patience is definitely not one of my virtues :0) What do YOU think i will have? ;0) Anywho, i know we dont know what we are having yet, but ive been dying to start on the nursrey!!! I have found quite a few cute ideas online but cant quite decide...i might just combine a bunch of these cute ideas into one room :0)








Tell me which ideas you liked the best! ♥

Another Kitchen Update!

So we installed a new backsplash a while ago and it looks great! i just havent posted about it because my kitchen has been too messy to take a picture of it...until today that is ;0) Here are some befores...This first one is how we inherited our kitchen...

After we painted the cabinets and installed new hardware...
..Check out that hideous tile backsplash...Scary!

and some new and improved afters!...(With our new DIY backsplash!)




I also made a chalkboard out of an antique mirror i bought at a thrift store for $2...heres the before pic of that..

...and after ♥

Here is our sink area (Matt installed a new faucet.)
My silly kitty...i ♥ her


Thats all folks!

Id like you to meet...

..the newest member of the Gates family! We love our new (much needed) truck :0)


And heres a peek at what we've been up to ;0)


I will show you the rest when we clean up the livingroom/warzone its done ;0)
Even LuLu got in on the fun (note the paint on her little paw)...bad kitty! ;0)

Thats all folks!

Our Kitchen Re-do!

I must say all of our hard work is starting to pay off...i like our kitchen alot more now ;0) Here are the before pictures...





Drum roll please..................................


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AFTER! ♥






Isnt it amazing what i little paint, elbow grease and determination will do? ;0) We arent completely done with it though...we need to replace that abomination backsplash and put in some baseboards SO there will be more pictures... Let me know what you think so far!

Thats all folks!

Home Sweet Home

Its official!

We have been in our new home for a few weeks now and we couldnt be busier happier :0) First id like to say that being a homeowner is ALOT of work! I knew there would be alot to do but.....wow! The first thing we decided to tackle so to speak is the kitchen and i must say that its coming together quite nicely :0) We have stripped the wallpaper (which was a pain in the butt tedious task) and painted the ceiling, walls and cabinets (which look fabulous by the way ;0) I also took the liberty of ripping out all of the crusty/ugly baseboards! Here we are making a mess working ;0)


One wall done(almost)...six more to go! ;0)

Matt We decided to buy this really expensive handy paint sprayer ;0) It turned out to be worth it because it made the job alot easier. Here is matt in action!


and here are some pictures of the warzone ;0)

After we painted, we added some new fixtures and of course our new stainless steel refrigerator and dish washer! Matt and i were SO excited to get our very own fridge..its fabulous! All we need to do now is get rid of the backsplash what were they thinking and replace the baseboards and we should be good. Dont worry, I will post before and after pictures soon ;0) I cant wail til its done so i can start decorating it! SPEAKING of decorating i went antiquing/ thrifting today and made out like a bandit i tell you! Here are my finds!

First i found this cool antique coffee table that just needs a new coat of paint for just $35..THEN i found my new favorite thrift store! Do you see all of the things on my new coffee table and that super awesome antique mirror?! You will be so jealous amazed at how much i spent for it....wait for it.....

a whopping $2.98! Isnt that fabulous?! I think the crazy nice lady at the thrift store is my new best friend! :0)

Thats all folks! ♥