Master Bedroom Update

Now that we've installed the toilet and it's no longer sitting on the bedroom floor, we were able to lay down the rug and set up the bed frame.  We bought the Simple bed frame and Window headboard from West Elm.  The headboard and bed frame were both on sale, and we got them for $665 total.  The rug was called "Stepping Stones" and we bought it from RugsUSA.  We were so happy with our living room rug that we took the plunge and ordered another one!  The rug was also on sale for 75% off, so the total came to $157 for a 8'x10' rug.





And most importantly, the dogs approve :)

We're really happy with how our bedroom is turning out.  Now that the bathroom is almost finished, we're working more on the bedroom.  We still have some trim to finish, but pretty soon we can start looking for a new mattress!  Hopefully we'll be able to move into the master bedroom in the next few months.

I Installed a Toilet! And other plumbing news.

I'm very excited about this.  I installed the toilet in the master bedroom mostly by myself (Matt had to help me guide the toilet onto the bolts).  I didn't take any "during" photos, because it was basically a gross hole in the floor, but here are some photos of the finished toilet, in all it's porcelain glory:

No leaks or anything!

 We also got the vanity installed!  Well, Matt did most of the work, but it came out really great!  Here it is:

We ended up using a vanity with a 12" base, and 18" at the widest point where the sink sticks out.  Since the room is so small the narrow vanity gives us some extra room, while still providing storage and a large sink basin. 

All we need is a door, the hardware and some touch-up paint and the bathroom will be finished! I can't wait!

Spring Gardening

Last year Matt's mom was nice enough to come over and plant flowers in my front yard, since Matt and I were so busy trying to get the inside livable.  Here's what the garden looked like when we bought the house:

April 2011

Unfortunately I don't have a photo of how it looked after Matt's mom planted the flowers last year, but here's a photo from last fall, where you can still see the impatients and ferns.

You can see the pink impatiens and the 2 ferns next to the stairs.  She also planted petunias next to the driveway, but you can't see them in this photo.

Ferns and impatiens.

 Today I bought some new shrubs and flowers for the front garden.  Matt dug up the dead shrub next to our front door.  Here's what our garden looks like now:

We still have the hostas, lillies and roses in the strip.  We are keeping the large bushes for now.

Since some of the petunias from last year grew back, I decided to plant more.  The large plants on the left are from last year.  They really spread out!

More petunias, and I planted 2 sweet spires behind them.  I think I'm going to buy another one, because it seems like there's a lot of space.

More petunias.

I bought 2 boxes for the front steps, and filled them with impatiens.  I also had a small planter that I filled with petunias.   And the dead bush is gone!

Pretty pink impatiens!

 I'm not sure what I'm going to do in front of the living room window.  I might take out the bush and just start over.  For now I'm happy with it, and ready for summer!