Operation: Pretty House

I've been pretty...bummed about the state our house is in lately. Not because it looks bad, because that's not really the case. It's really more a case of "I'm tired of my house looking this way and need a change." =) I've been living with the same decorations and furniture since we got married. Not all of it is bad, but after a while anyone can get the "meh" feeling about things you see every day. A while back I decided that our living room needs to be redone in Americana decorations, but I haven't started working on it. There's so much that I want to do, but it can get really expensive. I've made some progress in the last few days, but I want to do so much more.

It all started with a little text message to the fabulous Annie on Friday. I wanted to go shopping for a weed eater/whacker but I needed a little push to get out of the house. Why not text a friend?! She had some errands to run too, so it worked out pretty well. We drove to the Marine Corps base so she could order a new couch. While we were there, I decided I would look around too. Well.... Of course I would find a couch and fall in love. It was a really good deal... I took a picture and emailed Joe later, praying he would be okay with it. Sadly, he didn't agree that it was a necessity. Since I'm still a little bitter about not getting it, I don't even have the heart to post a photo and make myself fall in love with it all over again. 


After the furniture store, we went to Ross. If you've never been to a Ross and have one near you, run - do not walk - to the nearest one and start shopping! If you've never heard of it, it's kind of like a TJ Maxx. They have great deals on clothes, shoes, bags and household items. I'm not sure how long we were there, but I ended up with a new set of canisters for the kitchen, an accent pillow for the bedroom, curtains and a curtain rod for the living room. My total was like $60. I got two curtain panels for $16. It really doesn't get better than that. 


Then we fought traffic and went to Home Depot for my weed eater! Luckily, one of the employees spotted us standing in the lawn care aisle just staring at weed eaters. =P He gladly helped me out and I got the cheapest weed eater they had (seriously, my back yard is like 10 feet), a power cord, and some extra line for the weed eater. 


I had a really successful shopping day, even if I hadn't planned on getting most of it! Annie was nice enough to let me borrow her drill since we don't have one. I seriously think I need to purchase one since I've put up curtains in two rooms and had to borrow other people's drills. Anyway. If you know me, I'm really impatient. As soon as I had dinner, I took the stickers off the canisters and put them in the sink to soak. Then I started on the curtains. =) They gave me some fits, but I finally conquered them!

Don't they look great?! I love them. =)

Since I can't get the new couch [insert pouty face here], I've decided that I'm going to get a beige/tan slipcover for the couch. I really just can't deal with the green couch and Americana decorations. No can do! And I'm pretty sure that the recliner is going to find its way to the curb soon. The rocking chair will most likely take its place. 

Don't you just love the canisters?! I definitely do. They're a nice pop of color in my drab kitchen. =) I was a little bummed that they only had 2 sizes, but I think it works out pretty well. Who needs the traditional 4 sizes anyway, right?! Most of all, I'm glad to be getting rid of my old, black, WalMart canisters. They were definitely "blah" and didn't really seal that well. These are much better and easier to use. I've also decided to make a valance for the kitchen window. I bought some coffee themed fabric when I was home over Christmas, and I think I'm going to use one of those for it. Now to find the right tutorial! And another curtain rod. =P

Not much left to do in the bedroom. I want to get two London prints (and frames) to hang up in here and it'll be done. Isn't it crazy what one little pillow will do to bring the room together?! I think the best part about it is that I spent a whopping $3.50 for it. =)

I did the hardest part of this whole house beautifying thing yesterday. Oh. My. Word. I'm proud of myself for buying the weed eater and actually using it. I still can't believe I did it. Y'all, I'm pretty sure that my backyard hadn't been touched since before Joe came home for R&R and December. Yeah. My grass doesn't grow too quickly, but...that's still a really long time. It was basically a jungle out there. It was getting to the point where Jasper would hardly go out to use the bathroom. That's how you know it's bad... Even the dog won't go out there. =P 

I'm not going to show a picture because, frankly, it's a little embarrassing. I spent probably an hour out there hacking away at all the "treeds" (tree/weeds). I stopped only about a bazillion times because my arms and back were so stinkin' tired. By the time I was finished, I was covered in grass...and sweat. Ick. I even had grass in my hair!!! The good news is that I can see my fence now and Jasper isn't terrified to go out there. The bad news is it still doesn't really look like grass should. =P I'm fairly certain that's because I'm a novice weed-eater. Haha! 

More bad news: my arms are KILLING ME!! After I stripped on the patio {thank God I have a fence!} and came in, I wanted nothing more than a shower to relax my arm muscles and rinse off the ick. I raised my arms to wash my hair -- instant pain. I haven't been able to lift a gallon of milk with one hand since then. Or anything heavier either. It's really stinkin' sad. But at least it's done. And now, of course, I want to buy plants to put out on the patio and front walk. Of course. =P

Since we're on the very downhill side of this deployment, it's safe to say that Operation: Pretty House is in full swing!!

Oh, and we have flight dates!!! Those are, of course, always subject to change but at least we have them! If I can make it through this month, going home next month, and our anniversary in June, he'll be home soon after that! Good thing I ordered my welcome home banner early!