Forgive us, Bully.

It is redundant to say that ticks suck, so ticks BLOW. I hate the little jerks. 

We've had a problem lately, kinda makes me miss our old manicured and treated condo. Ticks are all in our yard, and all over our neighborhood. Bully hasn't run around in his own yard for a few weeks. And when we take him for walks, practicaly in the street to avoid the grass, he seems to pick up dozens of hitchhiking ticks. It's taken a couple of weeks, but I think yardwork, Adams spray and Advantix are finally gonna bring him some peace.

But we just had to do this, so sorry, Bully. I know you think Mamma looks at you differently, but I still love you. Your're just not my bear anymore. Is this what a dingo looks like?

  We said "Lion cut," not full body shave...

 You deserve some Boar's Head. You are a real sport.

 Tiny, tiny, naked dog.

Remember, this is what he  really looks like:

I miss your butt skirts, but it's for your own good.

Bathroom before and after

    I came to the realization that I didn't love my house yet. There wasn't one room where everything was just how we liked it. We know that we're extremely fortunate to own our own home, but we know we were buying the potential more that the house as it was. It was kind of a roller coaster of emotions after closing to begin all the changes.  This house definitely was move-in ready.  Now we're making it Shawn, Leilani, and Bully ready. 

BUT NOW, I really like our bathroom! It's still got that 1950's tile that we can't renovate right now. We've made some small changes, and added personal touches, and

It's coming together y'all!!!

This was before:

The whole house is painted the same beige color. We brightened up the bathroom by painting the walls white. We used Behr Premium Plus Ultra. It's got the paint and primer in one can.

This was on the wall before. It was from Ross. I know this because the tag was still on it. In fact, most of the accessories in our home are probably from Ross! I took it down immediately, and have re purposed it. I'll show y'all later:

After:

We bought the cabinet from Home Depot, similar to this one, but in Espresso.

On the wall, we installed glass shelves from Ikea, $14.99 each.

The small box of eucalyptus came with the house. 

The natural baskets are from the Philippines.

The tea lights, Ikea, $1.99

The wine decanter, $12.99 is from Ikea and will house my mouthwash.

Details:

Knob, $6, from Anthropologie:

Kate Spade Vase, $35,from Macy's:

And these place mats are from Crate and Barrel, $7.95 each. 

I decided to stop using fabric because it literally turns black within 1 day of washing. Yuck. Hopefully that will change when we sod our yard. It's all sugar sand and weeds right now, and ends up all over our floor.

On top of the toilet, I added this Crate and Barrel platter, $9.95 for more dimension. It's similar to this one, but more flat. I got this little dish at this little antique store in downtown Greensboro, NC.

It's really nice and peaceful now, which is essential for a room we use several times a day. I can't wait for you to come over and see it!!!

UPDATE!!! I was scouring other blogs, and this post is our bathroom (well not our bathroom, but someone else's before! Their after is beautiful and one day we'll fully reno. Weird!)

XOXO,

Leilani

This is where we've been

4th July fireworks on the beach

Oops, I've been meaning to post. It's been since the 4th of July? We haven't really gone anywhere but just had stuff like decks, gates, landscapes, and couches on our minds. I'd normally say, "Here is a sneak peak of some projects we're working on," but you will hear that too much over the next 30 years. So here is our house, and house, btw, means project:

 Jackhammers. Weekends at Home Depot. Can you handle this domestic excitement? Nothing is quite finished yet, but you can keep up with my visions on Pinterest. Oh yeah, Pinterest is another reason I've thrown this blog into abandon. And some home reno and design cool blogs I've discovered:

The Old Painted Cottage

Young House Love

and

VMac and Cheese-A lifestyle blog

I'll get more in depth later! 

Happy Independence Day, USA

Source: favim.com via Donna on Pinterest

from 100 layer cake via pinterest.

I have a day off, but he doesn't. This means I will do a lot of sitting around and blogging, maybe drill a few holes somewhere.

Key words: "No Prepayment Penalty"

Source: housebeautiful.com via Leilani on Pinterest

from my Pinterest board

We made our first mortgage payment yesterday. We pre-paid a little on the principal. Feels amazing! Like the above kitchen? It's not ours, but I want it. We need to be on one of those HDTV shows like Yard Crashers or that show where the guys fix other contractors mistakes.

 Stay tuned for pics of Shawn with the jackhammer...

Happy Birthday, Daddy

My dad loved Bully. He also got very frustrated with him when Bully would do his disappearing act around the neighborhood. He even threatened to bring him to the pound a few times. Bully tested our patientece, but he earned our hearts.

My daddy turned into a big softie with this dog.

He taught Bully how to love back. Bully taught Daddy to love with patience again, like when we were children.

  Bully made me see the love Daddy had for us, too. He showed his gentle, caring, and loving side.  I am so glad we took Bully in our care when he was about 6 years old. Bully will always be my dad's dog first, and a big part of our family. There's a little bit of my dad in his eyes. If he ever saw him again, he'd rub his long nose against my dad's jeans. That's how he hugs.

Happy (Belated) Birthday, Daddy. Bully is in good hands.  We miss you!