Kam and Joel's Home

My little sister and I have a lot in common. We often  buy the same clothes, we're addicted to the same television shows, and our styles are mirror images of each other.

We also have many differences too. For instance when Hunk and I were looking at buying our first home we wanted something new that wouldn't require maintenance, Kambrie and Joel on the other hand wanted a place they could fix up and make their own. 

I wish I had pictures of their house from the beginning--it was rough looking, but they saw past the circa 1950 decor and structure and had a vision of something classic and quaint.

Some of the improvements to their home required as little as a paint job and a new set of pillows, while other projects throughout the house involved a full-fledge makeover.

Their living room is a perfect example of simple touches making a huge difference.

The original furniture in the living room was big and bulky giving the room a dark and cluttered feeling. To lighten the room Kambrie added a simple cream slip cover to one of the couches and replaced the other sofa with a set of chairs centered around a "fake" fireplace.

To make the ceiling feel higher she added curtains to the windows that went to the ground thus elongating the wall and giving the illusion of the walls being taller.

She then added simple pops of color throughout the room which gave the room a warm feel while still providing a open and inviting space. 

The kitchen has also drastically improved. ;)

Kambrie and Joel painted the cabinets, replaced the hardware and lighting, while also putting up a sophisticated tiled backsplash. Kambrie also painted the Formica counter tops with a kit from Lowe's to give the illusion of granite.

With simple, yet classic decorations from Michaels and Hobby Lobby she was able to make their was once dark and out-dated kitchen more modern and open.

I'm telling ya, with small spaces LESS is MORE. remember. remember. remember.

There are still a few remnants of their "old" home that help to give character to the area such as the built in toaster (there are also built in clocks and Kleenex boxes throughout the house as well).

The guest bedroom used to be a graveyard of random decorations and boxes. By removing the twin bed and replacing it with a queen, Kambrie was able to make the space more useful while also having a place for guests to stay. 

To make the space feel larger a mirror was added to the dresser to help reflect light and brighten the space.

The basement involved the largest amount of time and effort.

Because the space had never been finished it required carpeting, painting, custom wood planked ceilings, lighting, and multiple structural projects.

While the rest of the house has a very open and bright feeling, this space was meant to be cozy while not feeling as though it was a dingy basement space.

Soft lightning, subtly darker walls, and warmer tones helped to make this space perfect for movie watching and resting.

My favorite "small" touch to their basement theatre area is the beautiful collage Kambrie assembled. Simple, sleek and during the day the glass provides enough reflective light to also help lighten the space.

The basement has also become home to the master bedroom and bath.

Both spaces, while small, seem to be utilized well with the help of lots of storage, strategically placed furniture, and minimal crap.

Yes, we are a family that collects lots of crap so to become minimalists has been a learning experience.

;)

 And did you notice we also have the same bedding?

Kambrie and Joel are currently on a cruise for their one year anniversary. Can you believe it's already been a year???

But when she gets home I will have her write a post on the paint colors and finishes that they used to make their house look less like the Brady Bunch and more like Martha Stewart Living.

Thanks for dropping in lovelies!

sold.

A few months ago I mentioned packing and moving and left it at that. I've become my own worst nightmare--being secretive, yet still letting a small part of the cat out of the bag. I've mentioned it time and time again how annoying it is when someone says some great news, but then reiterates with, "I can't really talk about it now, maybe later I'll explain." Really? Why did you even bring it up?

I digress. I have totally become the poster boy for my own pet peeve.

In my defense I did hold out on the exact details of our now looming move because  we've been in this weird dance with our life where it is leading and we are blindly following along trying to learn the steps along the way. In short, we knew a move was on the horizon but we didn't know when it would occur. I've also been a bit of a worrier about jinxing any good luck that we may have so I thought by keeping hush for awhile that we would be able to channel that good fortune back our direction. 

So here's the scoop...

A few months ago John got an amazing promotion/position change at work. Basically, it was one of those types of career moves that catapults someone to new levels. We had always known that a career move would happen and our best guess was that it would take place in the next three or four years, so when this change occurred in February our lives were put into a whirlwind  that started to take a fast tailspin. 

To be honest, the new job has had a lot of ups-and-downs. There has certainly been a drastic change within the personal dynamics of our family. Not to mention an overwhelming  amount of responsibilities and time commitments placed on John's back. While he has done a good job separating his work life from home there have been some subtle differences in his behavior that have been noticed. And I am sure if you were to ask him he would note a difference in my behavior and stress level as well, but let's just chalk that all up to the pregnancy, eh?

John's job also requires him to drive over 100 miles a day and spend nearly an hour-and-a half in the car. He says he doesn't mind the drive, but the sharp canyon roads he has to drive twice a day make me worry.  Frankly, we've been living in polar opposite worlds for the last few months. With no husband around it seems like the day-to-day needs of the home as well as all the parenting has all been placed on this pregnant chick's shoulders. While at the same time John has noted how many small parts of Brecken's life he seems to be missing due to his crazy work hours.

However, this job is a blessing, a true blessing, and an amazing fit for John. He has always seemed to flourish when challenged and I have noticed a change in his demeanor that seems to radiate a new level of self-confidence and contentment.  So while there have been a few rather stressful moments, the blessings that we have accrued from this opportunity cannot be measured.

Furthermore, as a stipulation of the new position it was always understood that we would move to Ennis as soon as possible--a decision we were planning on taking anyway just to help our family and alleviate some of the burden weighing on John.

With a new baby on the way our decision became when to move. We battled with the idea of moving before the baby so that we would be settled. But then after contemplating the string of misfortunes that happened with my previous two pregnancies we decided that the safest option was to stay near Bozeman in case an emergency.

As with any move we also struggled with what to do with our home in this economy. Because let's be real for a moment--it's not really a sellers market our there right now. So we battled with our options: Would we sell our house and buy in Ennis? Would we rent our house out and rent in Ennis? Would we sell our house and rent? The decisions all seemed perfect, but there was still a nagging feeling of uneasiness that overtook my body every night when I went to sleep over what decision would be the best.  

After lots of consideration, prayers, and number crunching (because if you're married to an accountant you know that any decision is best met with a good set of bean counting), we decided to sell our house and for the time being return to the life of renters (again).  

So began the process of slaving away. Over the last month I have de-cluttered every room, gutted the basement, and sold a plethora of random furniture and junk on craigslist. Luckily for me nesting was in full-force so cleaning didn't seem like that much of a prison sentence. Once the to-do lists had all been checked off and my house was at a point that I deemed photo worthy then came the time to list the home. I had originally planned on having the house listed right after Easter--just so I could remain said during the Wallace Family Easter Extravaganza, but after meeting with our realtor we decided to put it up on the market a week early.

 The yard sign was up for a few days before the listing went online and during that time a few individuals called our realtor with an interest in the home. On the day that the listing went live, and in an almost surreal chain of events, the very first couple that toured fell in love with it and put in an offer.

When the offer came through John and I were in shock. Then my mind began to race again--I needed to find a new home. We needed to pack. We needed to clean. We would need to unpack. We needed to have...a baby. A few Tums and some Prilosec were then required...

I remember laying in bed that night and mentioning to John, "Why do we keep having kids? Each time we do we move." His response, "Well, make the baby come early again so someone else can do the packing for us." I kindly reminded him last time that happened we didn't find his winter jacket for eight months because someone decided to shove it inside the ice cream maker...

Seriously...

After coming to terms with our new reality I have found our given situation to be a real blessing. We've found the perfect condo that is close to the hospital, our buyers were gracious enough to push back closing until after the baby was born, and I've found a new rejuvenation for de-cluttering (again) and only moving the necessities to our new home--a fresh start that I am so ready to make.

As the time now comes for the baby to arrive (round of applause) I find myself excited for our new adventure--even though I am trying to mask my screams of terror of having a newborn. And more than anything I am excited to see my husband on a more consistent basis, spend more time my with rough and tumbly two-year-old and settle into a simple routine with a chubby-faced bebe girl.

While we are still not out of the clear yet on the house (code for: home inspection and appraisal) the packing has started once again. Now who's ready to help? Any takers?

Photo wall.

So remember a long, long time ago when I asked for suggestions for my bare dining room wall?

Yeah, it was a looong time ago.

And remember how I promised that one lucky duck  a special somethin' somethin' from me for being my inspiration for my wall?

Well, we have a lucky duck.

My inspiration for my wall came from Julie of Less Than Perfect Life of Bliss.

I ended up doing shelving in my dining room because Hunk would have had a heart attack if I would have hammered more holes in our walls.

I am one of those people that loves change-I love moving my furniture, I love changing out bedding, I love redecorating my mantle, I love repainting furniture over and over again.

I love her idea because I can change out pictures and holiday decorations easily and I am not stuck with the same wall for months.

Change is good, right?

;)

Thank you everyone for the great ideas! They were all amazing and wonderful.

And thanks Julie for the rockin' idea! (email me when you get a chance so I can send your special package).

Hope you are having a great day and thanks for reading!

Bad Halsey and a Quickie....

I had one of those humbling parenting experiences.....

This morning my sewing machine kept acting up to the point that I needed to pick out everything I had been working on for an hour. 

 At one point I yelled, "suck it" to my sewing machine--I felt completely satisified in my verbal outrage until Punk came running down the hallway yelling "Suck it!"

I should have known he would catch on because he is now entering that stage where he may not say coherent words or sentences, but when he does say something it is usually a phrase he has picked up from either Hunk or me.

Today, he proceeded to tell the cashier at Smith's, the teller at Wells Fargo, and our neigbor to all suck it. I have a feeling that this afternoon may be one of those mother/son days where I tell him "No" and "Bad Boo Boo" at least 50 times before he gets the jist that what has been coming out of his mouth is bad.

What have been some of the funny things your kids have said?

And just so you don't think I am forgetting about your suggestions I am very close to finishing my wall in the dining area.

But I think I am going to wait and reveal it once the ENTIRE project is complete.

While you wait I figured I would give you another sneak peek. ..

One of my favorite features of my dining area is a gumball machine that I picked up for $20 dollars at the thrift store.

After some cleaning, a nice spray paint job, and of course gum balls, it looks good as new.

However taking pictures of it has been a bit of a hassle because there is no direct sunlight by the gumball machine and it is surrounded by shadows from other pieces of furniture.

To solve this problem I took the mirror from our bedroom and while standing over the top of the gumball machine I propped the mirror angling down so the light reflected off of it. (You can't see how it was angled in the picture because I need to step back to get a clear shot--I could really use another arm;)).

By just following this simple idea I created a drastic difference in the picture.

Voila!

{My House Monday} Our Valentine's Mantle

This weekend I finally got around to setting up our Valentine's mantle. Disclaimer: ignore the wreath, it is a pain to take down so I decided to just keep it up.

 Okay I decided to go for a more simple design for a mantle. I have been in a HUGE decluttering mood lately, which makes Hunk estastic, and which makes me frantically OCD about any junk in our house.

 Don't you just love the print in the center? I got it here. I ended up going to Costco and printing it off on poster board, then I found an old frame laying around in our basement-gave it a little love from some Krylon white spray paint and VOILA!

 I filled the apothecary jars with  adorable pink marshmallows and  pink chrinkle shred paper from World Market.

I made the rolled rossette ball last year for Easter and I thought it would be perfect for Valentine's Day too. You want a tutorial on how to make one? Go here, you will fall in love with Shelley's blog!

The mercury glass stand that the rosette ball is sitting in is actually a Christmas candle holder from World Market that I got for 90% off. I was like a kid in a candy store!

And the plates. I was hesitant about putting them on the mantle, but when I did I fell in love with how they pulled all the pieces together. They were $2.50 each from the bargain aisle at Target.

And finally, I took two white boas from my Christmas boxes and draped them across the mantle to provide  a nice whimsical touch to my big puffy heart day mantle.

Hope you all have a great day! Don't forget to come back tomorrow...I am going to provide you will a sneak peek on how we decorated our living room with a corner fireplace!

Here's where I link to

{Punk's Room} Sneak Peek!

Here is a small sneak peak at the Punk's room. I decided to go with an owl theme that was bright and colorful. The canvases on the wall...are made with scrapbook paper! Yep, that's right scrapbooking paper. 

Hop on over to {Tutorial Tuesday} to see how YOU can make a your own colorful canvas!

Don't forget you still have time to get in on the Spunky Junky headband and earring set giveaway!