From "honey-do" to "honey-did"

My boyfriend has been hard at work on several projects throughout the house. 

Some projects of his own and some from my "honey-do" list. 

We finally painted the air return. It went from white to satin nickel.  A lot cheaper than buying one in that color. 

The floor vents were done as well. They went from an ugly dark tan to satin nickel. 

We were such a fan of how our kitchen outlets looked, the rest of the house was changed as well. 

The laundry room has been an adventure. Originally there was going to be a shelf and a hanging rod. It was determined the studs weren't placed to support the shelf. During this process a pipe was drilled into. A quick phone call to the plumber and it was determined to be an air vent for the sewage system. Yeah... The room stunk by the time the repair was made. My very handy boyfriend fixed it up, patched up the hole in the wall and repainted. He's a good man. 

He also strung the wires in the office behind the wall. 

We had them delete the towel bar from our master bath. We installed hooks for our towels. 

A once bare corner of our great room was decorated. 

And other pictures now cover the once bare walls

Other small decor items have been purchased. 

My boyfriend replaced the awful landscaping. They use mulch that fades within a couple of weeks and use no weed barrier so we are forced to pull weeds every couple of weeks.  Now that won't be a problem. 

We purchased cheap office carpeting for the unfinished portion of the basement. Eventually the boxes will be stored away and the workout area will be complete.

My boyfriend found the sump pump running and hot due to all the mud and debris they left in it. So that was cleaned out and now works properly. 

And finally the garage that he's been working so very hard on. 

Today was the day for my pantry door to FINALLY be installed. We got the call this morning that the replacement door was here. We bought special tools so we could drill it correctly ourselves.  Well, guess what??  It was drilled wrong, yet AGAIN!!  My jaw dropped when we opened it. It was supposed to just be the uncut slab after all the confusion from last time. How on earth did they get it wrong again?  It literally was the exact same way it was last time it came in wrong. My boyfriend swears it IS the same door and is making them check their store room for the correct one. 

I helped load it back into the truck and walked away. I am so aggravated.  All I want is my pantry door. What has to be done to make that happen??

The joys of Granite

I am still so much in love with the beautiful Caledonia granite we selected for our home. It came sealed though never being an owner of granite I was pretty much clueless as to the maintenance and upkeep. 

We purchased special cleaners for it and I clean it regularly. What I didn't realize is how quickly it "stains" even though it's been sealed. 

If I leave water surrounding the sink after doing dishes it becomes a dark color. Eventually the water dries and all is well.  The first time it happened I was sure I had ruined it. 

Now after a couple of months the granite around my stove is getting dark. Presumably from the grease and other fun events when one is as sloppy of a cook as I am. 

It doesn't look horrible but there is a noticeable difference. So what does one do in this situation?  She researches it online.  This is the solution I have found. 

I purchased acetone from the paint section of Home Depot. A roll of paper towels. Saran Wrap and masking tape. 

You soak a stack of paper towels, 7 or 8 deep, with the acetone. And yes it smells just as awful as nail polish remover. 

After laying the thorughly soaked towels over the stain you cover it in Saran Wrap and tape it down for 24-48 hours. 

This is to keep the moisture in so the acetone can soak into the granite. 

After the allotted time is up you remove the Saran Wrap but allow the paper towel to remain in place until it dries up. This is when the towel will absorb the acetone and whatever stain may be in your stone. 

I just placed the towels down today. I am really hoping it will clear up my granite as advertised.  For tough stains they suggest repeated applications. I'll keep you posted. 

Enjoying our backyard

After all my boyfriends hard work, we get to relax and enjoy our backyard. 

We still have plans to level out the bottom and put in grass and a patio with a fire pit, but after a long, tiring summer that will probably wait until next year. 

Howdy Neighbors

We are preparing for our 60 day and our "better later than never" housewarming party. I have some posts in the making about all of it. 

In the meantime, I'll share the newest set of neighbors to The Bluffs.  They started sprinting off as soon as I lifted the camera.