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! ♥

WE ARE MOVING...FINALLY!

SO the time has come..our escrow closes this Tuesday so the moving festivities are soon to begin! I will post more after were 'in' :0) Wish us luck! ♥

My decorating style

So ive been collecting decor ideas that i love for quite some time now...and here are some of my faves! Matt and i both decided that we want a 'happy house'... A place that is bright, cozy and welcoming :0) Hopefully i can fit all of these cute ideas into our home...♥

..Any Suggestions?

So i have been looking EVERYWHERE for cute design ideas..mostly online. I bought this decorating book and its pretty dang awesome :0)

If you have a favorite place to find design ideas online or a magazine that you like etc..im open to suggestions! :0)

To Paint...or not to paint...

So im planning on doing ALOT of painting when we move in to our place and I REALLY want to paint the fireplace..now, before you think im crazy here me out :0) I think all of the brick in the living room makes the room feel darker and by painting the fireplace i think it will really lighten up the room and make it a little more modern...ive attached some pictures of painted fireplaces...tell me what you think! Have you had any good/bad experiences painting brick? Here is the fireplace i want to attack with paint...Am a crazy or do the white fireplaces look MUCH nicer?!

Painted fireplaces: