lots of TURQUOISE in this master bath

Turquoise. Three shades of turquoise made up our master bathroom. Wow it was bright and dark!
To tone things down a little, we painted it all the same color- more of a calming grey.

Updated by the previous owner/builder in 2012, we definitely love the shower, we just wanted to calm it down.

I have to pretend I don't see the popcorn ceiling since that will not be replaced any time soon {Jim put his foot down} but I do love all of the light that comes through these windows.

Even just adding primer made it look better already. That was some DARK paint.

With more oak accented with brass for the light fixture, we painted it instead of replacing. Again, painting the trim white and replacing all light switches and covers made a huge difference.

On this forever {later} list is to refinish the vanity {more oak to hide} and maybe even figure out how to re-do the vanity. I'm thinking concrete counter tops would be super fun. Or, marble?

Jim doesn't quite agree with me that it will be fun, but he said he would do whatever I want... at a later date. I'm still looking for new rugs that I love. For now, everything else is what we already had.

Again, just a fresh coat {or two} of paint really changed it and made it feel so much brighter and cleaner.

From the bathroom, we started on the living room which led to the hallway, Caden's room, Caden's bathroom and spare bedroom...

no more P U R P L E in the kitchen

We are a family that now loves purple. UCA purple that is, not purple walls in the kitchen. This was one of the first things to go. With tons of honey oak everywhere, we knew we wanted to tone it down as well.

It did not look horrible when we moved in, just very outdated and fairly dark. Luckily, the cabinets are in great shape, so we could get away with not replacing them all together.

The black quartz counter top was installed just a couple years ago. We knew getting rid of the oak would help it to stand out.

We have grand plans for future updates especially to the kitchen, but for now we are doing what we can do for the least amount of money to make the greatest impact.

As painful as it is, paint always seems to be the best answer.

It was a mess- torn up for almost a month so the paint on the cupboards could properly dry. I feel pretty lucky to have a man who although he HATES painting will do it with me.

We took off all of the cupboard doors, added fresh Alabaster white paint and new hardware. The walls are a nice new neutral shade of grey. Covering up the purple walls made a huge difference right away.

The baseboard trim is horrific and needs to all be replaced. It was not properly installed with gaps and backward cuts throughout the entire house.

For now, we added two coats of fresh white paint{after a coat of primer} and while it still drives Jim crazy, I think it looks just fine.

My fabulous handyman of a husband has replace all of the light and outlet switches and covers. They were all beige/almond with plenty of mismatched outlets which did not match the newly-painted white trim.

Replacing these has been a never-ending project in itself going through the whole house, but they look so much better.
With a serious dislike of those skinny old aluminum blinds, I insisted they be GONE.
Funky window sizes made it tough to figure out what to put up.

With so much black and white, we wanted to add color but it ended up being easiest to install simple thicker white blinds and valances with some color over the top.

SO much better.
Right now, we have a built-in microwave and oven. As soon as they need replaced, I would love to add a double oven and put a microwave elsewhere.

New light fixtures, back-splash, flooring and additional cabinets will have to wait but for now- we are super happy. I also have plans for a fun breakfast nook to go in the empty space under the octagonal window.

It was a lot of work but worth it for the cost of paint and cabinet hardware to brighten things up.
Next, we started on our master bathroom.

S T I L L painting...

Yes, we like some paint around here!

We have come to the conclusion that we will have projects to do around here for the next one hundred years. Being that we like to work and stay busy, I still believe we are in the perfect house.

After just three months since we moved in, during which we enjoyed Justin's football season and the holidays, I like to think we have made great progress.

More than anything, we are feeling more settled than we have for the last two years.
It is such a good feeling. There are still boxes to unpack and organizing waiting to happen but we are getting there. Slowly, but surely!

Jim is enjoying his job at Scott Air Force Base with normal daytime hours, his own desk and welcoming new co-workers. He is a man who loves {and needs} routine. This new routine has made him very happy.

Coleman and Caden are doing fantastic in school both landing all A's and B's on their report cards. Basketball starts for both of them this week at the YMCA- a quick five-minute drive from our house.

Ty has his own apartment just fifteen minutes from us which makes it easy for him to pop in when he makes the time.

Justin is finishing up his Bachelor's degree down in Arkansas but was able to spend both Thanksgiving and Christmas {along with his girlfriend and puppy} with us- time we all enjoyed.

We have just about painted the entire upstairs. We even have a few pictures on the walls. I will work on posting some before and after shots...

Needing a L I T T L E paint

We knew we had to have a job in order to prove we had income. Banks kind of want to see this before loaning money to buy a house.

Thanks to a fabulous mortgage shark and getting things in order, we are once again homeowners.

After three months of looking online at hundreds of houses in the O'Fallon area, I finally convinced Jim to check out this one that caught my eye. I had asked several times but he wanted NO part of it.

He absolutely did NOT want a fixer upper.

Together we both wanted a nice neighborhood, big backyard, trees, close to the base and a basement. Jim really wanted move-in ready and has always wanted brick. Proximity to the schools and a ranch-style were a big deal for me.

I wasn't afraid of doing a little work, or even having Jim do a little work.
That's what we do. We work!

As soon as Jim finally broke down and agreed to look at it, I called the listing agent without hesitation.
It sits on an acre with some grass and some wooded. Enough land to have space and privacy but not so much that we will have to spend every single weekend mowing and planting.

It is completely landscaped with large trees.

We looked at on a Sunday afternoon {August 30}, put an offer in on Monday {August 31} and had a signed contract on Tuesday {September 1st}.

Until we closed and were handed the keys- we could not even believe it would be ours.

Built in 1998, the listing described it as unique luxury. It is a house like no other. We definitely have some updating {painting} ahead of us but structurally we could not be happier with our purchase. They definitely did things right when they built.

There are so many extras- things we wanted to do in Kansas but did not get to.

Extremely energy efficient, the inspector could not believe how much insulation was in the attic. Hearing this among so many other things was music to Jim's ears.

We are discovering new hidden gems just about every day.

With two weeks until Jim starts his job, we are going to take advantage of all the time we have to paint.

Exhausted from being in survival mode, we are ready once again to really thrive.

After we finish painting...

Our New Chapter: Southern Illinois

It's a good thing I thought we were through the worst of times a year ago. If we had known how much we still had ahead of us, it may have been a little too overwhelming.

We aren't in Kansas any more.

When we first moved to Kansas, we loved it. We loved where we were and could see staying there forever. When we retired out of Germany, we were beyond excited to move back into our house and pick up where we left off. Things didn't go as smooth as we had planned.

In this last year, we have learned through experience how difficult unemployment is on a family. 

We are completely convinced as well that until you endure the hardships that come with looking for a job to support a family, you have no idea how tough it is each and every single day.

After a rough six months and being backed into a corner by Jim's job in Kansas, we knew we had to make a change. Forced to move {laterally} to a position requiring him to work 6-7 days a week, longer hours and remaining on second shift were just a few of the reasons we decided to take a leap of faith.

Just a month prior, we finalized the sale of our house and moved into a little rental house with big plans of building next to friends on twenty acres of land right in town. We were excited.

Unable to find a job or even get offered an interview, we knew we could not live on retirement alone.

Having sold our house, we realized we had nothing holding us to Kansas other than our good friends. For the first time in our marriage other than our move back from Germany, we did not have the Air Force telling us where to move next.

Our decision to move to southern Illinois was a quick one but it made perfect sense. With a large headquarters base and family in the area, we knew the opportunities for jobs were much greater. 

Having Jim's cousin offer us his house and side jobs softened the blow and eased yet another difficult transition.

The last four months have not been easy. 

Fortunately, things are finally looking up and falling into place.

After applying to nearly 200 jobs- corporate and government, Jim was finally offered interviews for three separate jobs. Up until this point, he was not even given a chance but instead turned down for job after job after job without even meeting him. 

Within a week's time, he was offered all three jobs and accepted a full-time, permanent GS position at Scott Air Force Base. We couldn't believe it. Some days, we still can't.

Five days after receiving the job offer, we closed on our new home.

We have been in our new house just ten days. 

Even spending weekends on the road to watch Justin play football, things have already calmed down. 

Without a doubt, we know this is where we are supposed to be. 

We are excited for simplicity. We are craving routine and organization. 

We are elated to close that last chapter and start this new one.