Doorknobs...totally exciting

Are you tired of my home improvement blogs yet? I don't have a cute little baby to showcase....

The ugly brass doorknobs that came with the house.

Joseph and I always work as a team. For this project, he took the old knob off and I put the new ones on. We worked pretty quickly until I came across one that doesn't align properly; I'm going to have to exchange it at Lowe's. But what is a home project without a snag? Seriously.

The new oil-rubbed bronze knob. It is taking us awhile, but we are slowly switching over from the brass. The fans now match, our bathroom accessories (minus the lighting...we'll get to that eventually), the hall lights, and even the little door-stopper. Oh, and the closet knobs.

We do have an ugly brass light in the kitchen we will get to...eventually.

The doorknobs set us back about $250. We were trying to decide what to do about the hinges. Everyone has told me you can't paint hinges. But I have seen painted hinges; someone is doing it. At our apartment, they were painted. I think I'd rather have the hinges blend in than stand out.

We're pretty exhausted though. It's almost six and we've been going pretty non-stop. We switched out almost all the light switches in the house, and we only have a handful of outlets left. I think our little house looks quite elegant now. :)

And I am very proud of Joseph. We used to joke that I was the brains and he was the brawn, because when we hit a snag I was usually the one figuring out how to get past it. He, however, solved the problem this time. A handsome and handy nerd. What more could you ask for in a man? If you have an outlet that is controlled by a light switch and you need to switch it out, just ask Joseph what to do.

The projects will not be stopping anytime soon. We sat down and wrote a list. I've been told that the projects will never stop. After our list, I believe it.

It's The Little Things

My light switches and outlets are the almond color. I do not prefer the almond color. Joseph and I have had it on our House To Do list to change out the outlets and lights. We knew it would be no easy task.

Here is the before picture. No only are they almond, but they are dirty and stained. A lot of them had bits of paint on them.

Here is an outlet Joseph is replacing in our den. We got a fairly good system going and worked as a team.

It looks soooooooo good. It's new and crisp and clean looking. We were only able to do the living room, den and dining room. We still have the kitchen, hallway, bathrooms and bedrooms. But we got the biggest rooms done, and we're pretty fast at it now, so we'll get the rest done next weekend.

As I was cleaning my house before and after the dinner party, and while we were changing out the outlets and lights, I kept thinking to myself how glad I was that we have a small house.

Dinner Party

Joseph and I thought it would be a fun to have a dinner party. Last night we invited a group of friends over and we all made our own pizzas.

That is a pepperoni on his nose.

After the pizzas, there was a painting contest. The categories were Most Childlike, Most Realistic, Most Psychedelic, and Most Creative.

There were finger paints.

Some of the entries.

Thanks to everyone who came and made the night fun. :)

Family Day

My Dad works for Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant, and they have family days...or something of the sort, where there is a lot of fun to be had and you can bring your family.

Mmmm, free cotton candy. Delicious.

Joseph and Breezy where standing in line to do one of those inflatable contests...you have to jump over a wall and climb a wall, and it's not easy to do.

Mmm, free lunch. Here is Dad showing his strangely cut hamburger bun.

There was rock climbing.

Joseph challenged Stephanie to a fight. You can't see her because he knocked her down.

Action shot.

I REALLY wanted to jump on the flipping thing. The line was too dang long. I did it a few years ago and I can do the flips very nicely if I do say so myself.

Goodbye Palm Tree

One thing I don't like about my home is the AWFUL landscaping.

You can hardly see my beautiful house through those bushes and trees. (This is an old picture...hence the for sale sign in the front.)

Well, I decided we were going to get rid of the ugly fat palm tree and the other ugly tree that Joseph thinks is a Mesquite. We contacted Tree Pros and they gave us an estimate. When I told Joseph the price was right and I wanted to set up an appointment to have them come out, Joseph told me he wanted to keep the Mesquite.

At least he let me get rid of the palm.

The after picture...although it was taken from the doorway, so it's a different perspective. But doesn't it look so much more open?

Now to get rid of the cattail bush and the cactus.....

One thing I'm interested to find out is whether or not the HOA notices and gets upset. I am considering it a test of sorts. What sort of HOA do we have? Anal and controlling? Or one that I won't mind so much?

I am rather hoping for the latter.

Duck Blanket

I have been dying to post pictures of this....I finished it up Sunday, but the baby shower wasn't until today. It's for my friend Larissa and she reads my blog. She is such a stinking cute little pregnant lady. I just realized I didn't get a picture with her. :( I meant to.....



I made Joseph hold him so you could see him a little better. I stole this idea from a blog online....I changed it a bit. The lady on the blog put the duck head in the middle; I thought it looked better in the corner. Here's her link:

http://nikkidwright.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/fast-easy-crochet-baby-gift/

She cracked me up...you have to read it.

I hope Larissa liked it. I worked on it for about a month. With work and school, I do a few rows at night and get a little more done on the weekend. It's my fifth baby blanket.


This is the first and second blanket I made....the first was for Jennifer King, my senior at work. She is a spunky, fun girl and she has a special place in my heart. I liked this blanket so much that I made it again for my friend Katelyn. Her little Lily is so stinking cute.


This is the third blanket I made for my beautiful cousin Lindsey. She had a little boy Boston. She has another child, her little girl Avrie, but I didn't know how to crochet when Avrie was born.

I just made this blanket (number four) over Christmas break for my friend Danielle. She hasn't had her baby yet but she is due pretty soon.

I have tried my hand at baby booties but those are a little harder than blankets. I have been meaning to try a little baby sweater....My only apprehension for clothes is that you can't really tell what size it's going to be. Depending on your yarn and what size hook you use, it can be too big or too small.

Joseph is such a sweetie when it comes to my craft supplies everywhere. I have stamp/scrapbooking stuff taking up space in his office and my yarn and sewing stuff in the closet. He is very supportive when it comes to my projects. When I was buying all the stuff for my clay class, I asked him if he minded that I spent money on my little hobbies (especially since I was worried I might not be any good at clay). He told me that I need to explore and grow, and live life, and if I wanted to take my classes it was ok with him.

Love my handsome boy Joseph.

Phoenix Rain

I hate the rain. I think I am one of the only person in Phoenix who does. All the rest of the crazies think it's some kind of treat.

Ha.

One thing that drives me crazy is fact that everyone complains how no one in Phoenix can drive in the rain.

Isn't it funny how everyone thinks everyone else is the problem.

I'll come right out and say it: I drive slow in the rain. Especially when it's dark. Rain decreases visibility, and I have a hard time seeing the lane lines. And the fact that Phoenix roads are not built to handle the water that builds up freaks me out a little. Driving into a pond and splashing up a wall of water is not fun for me.

Not to mention the fact that my truck has a leak somehow, and when it rains, water drips on my gas-pedal foot. I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that people use that as a form of torture. If they don't, it's a pretty effective idea.

Stupid rain. Give me my sunshine back.