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Coffee Talk 06.24.18

Good morning on a sunny Sunday morning! This is two in a row — we’re on a roll! It’s amazing what waking up to the sun shining and birds chirping does for one’s mood.

We’ve had a good weekend, I guess. It has come and gone rather quickly.

I’ve enjoyed having my son home for a bit. We had a nice family dinner last night, and we got all caught up on his first week as a camp counselor and his college orientation experience on Thursday. He’s off again this afternoon for another week at camp, so I’ve been busy doing his laundry. Of course he’s capable of doing it himself, but I figure it’s the one little labor of love I can provide for him. He’ll be on his own soon enough!

Alison and I managed to shoot 5 outfits yesterday, despite the threat of rain, and that will wrap up my 21 Days of Spring Fashion series with one bonus outfit that I can post at a later date. It feels good to have that all squared away, but I cannot BELIEVE we are almost done with another style series! The next one is… dare I say it… FALL!

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves! Summer just arrived in most parts of the country.

We’re all pretty getting excited about closing on the new house later this week, and I can’t wait to give y’all a little tour. I’ll probably do an Insta Story when we get in there for the first time, before the painters arrive and start transforming the space.

I’m hoping to document each room for the blog as we go along and make the new house our home, but I’ll do a home tour post soon after we move in, so I have pictures of how it looks before we start any major makeover projects.

I have a lot of plans and ideas, but of course some of the bigger projects will take time to implement. I’m trying not to rush it. Lord willing, we will have many years to enjoy this house and make it our own, and I want to take our time and enjoy the process.

Our two biggest goals before moving in have already been scheduled — painting and carpet. We decided to hire professionals to paint the first floor and the upstairs hallway so that can be all done when we move in, and that will give us a nice, clean blank slate as I tackle decorating projects.

We will still have to paint the bedrooms and basement ourselves, but those can be done one at a time as we have the time. Hopefully we can get some of it done before we move in, but if not, it can be done later. It’s not terribly hard to paint around bedroom furniture.

As far as flooring goes, the first floor is mostly hardwoods that were recently refinished and in pristine condition, and the rooms on that level with carpet are in pretty good shape so we’re keeping them as-is for now. We decided to go ahead and get new carpet for the basement and 2nd floor because it’s due, and it is much easier to install carpet without furniture in the space.

Beyond that, the first area I want to work on is the family room and kitchen, as that’s where we spend most of our time.

We’ve already ordered a new family room couch because that was on my agenda whether we moved or not, but we probably need another occasional chair or two. I’m only bringing one from our current home that is staying in that room. Our longterm goal for that area is to have a built-in unit installed for the TV wall in the family room so we have shelves and cabinets for books and games and things, but it will be a while before we can get to that.

I need to decide on a rug for the kitchen eating area, and I want to get window treatments for both rooms that work well together since they’re all open to one another. My designer is working on some ideas for me.

I also want to get the backyard deck and pool area looking pretty as soon as possible so we can enjoy it for the rest of the summer, but I realize this isn’t the best time to get plants and flowers going. At least we should be able to find some good sales on backyard furniture and things like that.

I’m trying not to think too far ahead because I know we will need to budget for some of the projects I want to do, but it’s hard not to get excited and try to do it all at once. Patience is not a virtue that I possess in abundance, but I’m working on that!

Well, I’ve rambled on long enough. I need to get out and run before it’s time to get ready for church. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a blessed Sunday!

Join The Conversation

20 Responses

  1. I’m so excited for you Jo-Lynne! How fun to decorate a blank pallet. I know you are doing a little at a time but still… We hope to be moving sometime soon ourselves and I am itching to buy a new sofa. Somehow it seems like everything hinges on the sofa, huh? And we’ve had ours now for 15 + years. It is time!  Have fun! 😊

  2. I am with you….patience does not come easy…I want everything done at once. Remodeling and redecorating is my ongoing process. Enjoy your new home!

  3. Looking forward to seeing pics of the new house and watching how you make it your own! I had to buy new furniture for our new house and because I’m terrible at making decisions, it was rather painful! 😀 Hopefully, I chose the right size and color–we’re at 2 weeks and counting. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday!

    1. I’m awful at it too. Even with the help of the designer, I was hemming and hawing about that couch. I didn’t get to sit on it, so I’m crossing my fingers we like it and it’s comfortable.

  4. So excited that you will be showing your house as it progresses. That will be fun for us all. You amaze me that you get so much done each day. Have a good Sunday.

  5. I’m getting excited along with you! I’m looking forward to the tour of your new place, and then seeing what you do with it along the way.  Happy Sunday to you, and everyone reading your post today 

  6. I know you are so excited about your new house! For those of us that don’t do Insta Story can you post your home-tour pictures on the blog as well? Thanks!

  7. Good morning!! I enjoy reading your posts! Thank you for sharing all you do.. I bet you enjoyed your whole family together again.. Love the photo with your daughters. I am not much of a morning person, so I really enjoy receiving your emails that I read when I wake up! I remember how excited we were when we built our new home home almost 16 years ago!! So fun and excited to pick everything out and watch your dreams come true! Have a blessed day!

  8. Hi Jo-Lynne, 
    So much fun to have a blank slate! You are smart to take your time. Design is not something to force. On your pool area if you have containers already, you could perhaps get some nice bargains on hanging baskets. Unpot from the hanging basket and put the whole thing in your pots and you have full mature pretty flowers ready to go. ( done this trick more than once) ha. 
    Can’t wait to see you Instastory! Hope it all goes smoothly! 

  9. Yes I too would like to see pics on your blog. I don’t follow Instagram:).. excited to see your before and after.. having a sunny hot day by the pool was suppose to rain so bonus lol
    Hard to believe the summer series is almost over . We just got our summer weather… 

  10. I too would like to see your new home and everything you do. I really need window treatments and just can’t decide what to get. We are also in need of a new mattress. I appreciate all your hard work and enjoy the blog. Please post on here so we can follow along

  11. I’ll add to the chorus that is excited to see your new house and follow along with you as you redecorate and make it your own.   It’s so fun to make the changes you may not have made in your former home since they are often more wants than needs so we put them off.  New home, new ideas become reality!  Looking forward to more fun SUMMER outfits!

  12. Can u explain the difference between CNN and vinalux polish and your preference for manipedis.? Sorry to be so basic 

    1. Sure! CND makes both Shellac and Vinylux nail polishes. Shellac is a gel polish that has to be cured under the light, and it lasts like 2 weeks without chipping and has to be soaked off. Vinylux is their regular nail polish. When I go to the nail salon, I get Shellac for my manicure and Vinylux for my pedicure. They don’t typically do Shellac for pedicures because it’s not necessary. I hope that makes sense!

  13. Like all the others, I’m excited to see your new house and to watch how you decorate it. I think it’s a good idea to take your time making changes to the new house. In my experience, I have found living in a house for a while and getting a “feel” for it has helped with decorating. There were things / colours in my current house that I wanted to change right away but didn’t. Now after living in the house for 3 years, I’m so glad I didn’t make those changes and I have a better idea of what I really want.

  14. After 40 years of living in our house, and 45 years in New Britain, we are moving to our lake house in New Hampshire. There had been 4 showings so far. We’re doing some work to winterize the lake house and David wil retire on August 31.

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