The Fruits of our Weekend Labor

Well, we knew a house would be a lot of work.....but I'm exhausted.  Not too tired, though, to show off all of our hard work to the blogosphere.  

I am proud to say that we have two levels of the house unpacked and set up.  There's always the odds and ends to take care of (some sconces to put up in the living room, rugs to be purchased, etc), but for the most part, our main living areas are done.  Whew.  

First, the master/walkthrough bathroom, the main one in the house.  Before it was green with brown wood cabinets:

and the bathroom received a major facelift to brighten it up and make it feel bigger than what it is -

It matches quite well with our master bedroom, but not so well with the brown floor.  Someday we'll change it out.  

The major projects for the weekend took place in the kitchen.  Mitch and our brother-in-law, Mr. Fix-It, worked together to replace the warped & water-damaged particle board shelf under the sink, as well as the plumbing that was damaged.  It looks great!  Sunday they did some major destruction and construction.  They removed the hood and part of the cabinet over the oven, then rebuilt the cabinet and installed a microwave.  Mitch got to visit Mr. Fix-It's dad's wood shop and was totally blown away.  Mr. Fix-It can do just about anything, and does a great job at it!  (Of course, he plays a close second to my dad in terms of fixing things - although he's not here to do all the work.  When are you moving to MN, Dad?)  Anyway, here's the before in the kitchen -  

and after.

While Mr. Fix-It and Mitch worked on the cabinet Sunday, I got to entertain our niece Little Missy.  We are quickly child-proofing the house for her and gathering snacks and toys for her when she's here.  She and I enjoyed several games of Jenga, which she had never played before, and absolutely loved.

She was pretty good at it, too!  Lil' Missy has claimed one of our bedrooms as her own, and so we've designated it the Princess Room, complete with stuffed animals, children's books, and a cabinet in the closet full of toys provided by Grandma Audrey.

Here's the before-

and after.

Finally, we've finished the dining room.  I'm very proud of the curtains, because I got a ridiculous deal on them at Bed Bath & Beyond.  

Before - 

and after.
We're both pretty proud of our newly-acquired Edward Hopper print, which we bought at the Art Institute of Chicago last spring when we went to the exhibit.  He is one of Mitch's favorite artists, and we are certainly glad we splurged to buy two posters, because this one, Chop Suey, goes perfectly in this room.  

Now, if we just build a wall so that we don't have to look at the lower level.........