I have a ton of pictures from our trip out to help with my husband’s brother’s new house. I debated back and forth about whether to jump to the projects or if it would make more sense to go in chronological order. And then I thought about breaking it up into non-project stuff and project stuff. I did not take before shots because I was planning on using the pictures from the MSL listing. But even though the house is still listed on there, the photos have been removed. I am hoping that my husband’s brother took some. If not, all I have is a video tour they made. I guess I could pause it and take screen shots…… Truth is I was not thinking about blogging when I was working. I was just happy to be there and help.
So that realization made up my mind about the order in which I blog about the trip.
I already blogged about visiting the Utah Truffle factory on our way out of Utah. We stayed the night with my husband’s sister and her family in Boise, Id. They introduced us the the You Tube sensation called Kid History and we laughed and laughed. We hung out for awhile and then drove to Washington state. We went to my husband’s oldest brother’s house where we had dinner with his family, my husband’s parents and his grandma. Grandma Risenmay is one of my favorite people in the WHOLE world. She was the first person in my husband’s family that I met and I told myself that if the rest of the family was half as fun as she was I would marry him in a second. She has red hair and is the spunkiest lady you will ever meet. Some of my favorite stores are Grandma Risenmay stories :)
We spent the night at my in-law’s house which was a high point for my kids. We don’t get to see them enough. The last time we were there was 3 years ago. One of the many fun things about their house are the Go Carts!!!!
We left the next day and had to go through Snoqualmie Pass while it was heavily snowing. We were white knuckled the whole time!!!
We made it through and got to our destination (the NEW house) just in time to paint! They were waiting for us in painting clothes ready to start on the transformation :) In all, three rooms got painted that day/evening.
The next day we went and did a little shopping at thrift stores, antique shops, and home improvement stores. I about died when I saw the prices at this shop:
Things were so much cheaper than here in Utah! It was heart breaking to walk out empty handed. Stupid job loss! I fell in love with a yellow tractor seat. I just know I could have made it into something fab. But I wasn’t there for me (at least that is what I kept telling myself…).
Okay, here are a few sneak peeks cause I can’t handle leaving you completely in the dark!
We picked up these antique books…..
….at this cute little place.
And we picked up this new rug on sale!
We also bought some lamps at a thrift store, some lumber, rolls of metal flashing, some antique drawer knobs, and a topiary from Good Will. And that folks, is all we bought! Like I said, we used what they had already had for the most part.
Tomorrow will be the Show Me What Ya Got linky party and then Wednesday I will be able to post about the family room I decorated. It may have a blurry screen shot of the before, but since it was an empty room, I don’t think it will matter that much :)
I think this is great! I have often wondered what really goes on behind the scenes of super-popular decorating blogs. It has to be exhausting to be “on” all the time and have your entire being wrapped up in something that has to be done every day or multiple times a day in a very public way. Sometimes it’s energizing, but you don’t get to choose when you want to do it and when you want to take a break. I applaud you for finding that balance before you’re in too deep to escape! I really like your blog and how it has more “soul” than just “a project a day.” You are a very real person and I applaud that!
I LOVE the old books, we are very into old books too and seldom are able to leave without at least one!
I am looking forward to your pictures tomorrow.
Oh, I wish we had some great places like that here in Utah. What fun we would have shopping! I can’t wait to see what happened in the house!
I can’t wait to see the future post. You alway such terrific ideas. Love your blog
I’m still day dreaming about the truffle tour, but I do think you get a medal for driving over that pass in snow.
~Bliss~
Love the rug! Can’t wait to see how it all turns out.
Fun! I like designing for others because it’s easier to make decisions for someone else! I am a landscape designer by profession and have the HARDEST TIME making decisions on my own property. Can’t wait to see what all you come up with- looks like you’ve got some interesting pieces already!
I live near Seattle and would love to know where that little house was with all the funky stuff outside. I want to go there. And yes our stuff here is expensive. Makes the treasure hunting all that more fun.
I second the first Sheri; I figured out the M and M antique store is in Monroe, but would love to know the name of the house with all the “schtuff” on the front and any other good places you discovered. I’m in Kirkland, didn’t realize there was so many good places nearby! Glad you had a good trip and GLAD you made it over Snoqualmie ok. It can be a frightful drive.
I really liked your site I’m interested in painting other ppls housed interiors, recently was laid off and I love to paint.