Upgrades!

It has been an awfully long time since I last posted anything, and I am as dismayed and disappointed as some people have expressed to me that they are. Sorry. The truth is, on the home-improvement front, not a lot has really been going on since early November (when I last posted, though that was not a home improvement post). And on all other fronts, LOTS has been going on, and we've been busy. On top of that, the winter hours and lighting made it difficult to take photos, since it wasn't so bright and well-lit in the morning before work, nor was it light out at all by the time we got home at the end of the day. And our weekends have been busy. All of this is excuses, but also explanations. And that said, we have done some stuff, and it's all been in the upgrade department. So, here I am at long last with a little post regarding our recent upgrades.

First, in the fall we updated the second bedroom with a day bed, which serves as a couch during the day/when we have no guests, and which has a pull-out pop-up tucked below it so that two people can sleep comfortably when YOU visit!

(I also waited to photograph it until I'd done all my pillow shopping. I have one more pillow to buy - I have a pretty cover and just need the stuffer for it. It will go in the middle there, front row. It'll be worth it.)

Then we treated ourselves to a trip to the 21st century and got a new TV in our bedroom! Woot!

(It's a Bravo marathon kind of a day...)

So inspired by that purchase were we, that we also upgraded the TV in the living room. You can now enjoy a 55-inch movie experience thanks to the TV and new stereo system Dave installed:

(Millionaire Matchmaker Marathon Sunday. Forgive me. You can see two of the speakers for the stereo there in front of the screen - there are two more on the bookshelf on the back wall)

And then we rearranged the living room a bit, and moved the couch off the wall, pulling the living area closer together.

(cozy)

We're planning to get some taller bookshelves and to find a long console-like couch table (under which we'll have some storage something or other) to go on this back wall under the mirror where the couch used to be:

And finally, the most shocking upgrade of them all for anyone who's been in our home in the past five years... we have a microwave!

(what?!)

Look at us crazy folks go. We do have some more upgrading and actual work on the dock. Some more furniture updates are in the pipeline, and then a bathroom update (one, not both yet), and a balcony refresher are definitely lined up to go. And somehow we'll do all of that before our most dramatic HSS upgrade to date...

(I'll leave it at that for now!)

Dining in Style...

I worked from home today to accept the delivery of our new dining room furniture! And Dave came home to put it all together in time for us to have dinner ON it! Hooray! Everything came from World Market, and I have to give credit to the delivery service they use -- totally worth it. It's a separate company that they use exclusively. They charge a fee, but it's completely reasonable, and the service is outstanding. I highly recommend both WM and their delivery chaps. Now... for the furniture:

(construction destruction)

(attaching legs)

(upright table and bench)

(bench)

(long-view)

(chair)

(big picture))

Not to mention those beautiful floors!

Our house is becoming a home...

 

Spring Fever = Assembled Patio Furniture

Dave has been saying he has Spring Fever for weeks now. So after yesterday's three-trip Target patio furniture adventure, he just had to satisfy his warm-weather-itch by assembling our new bistro set, and, in spite of the cold and wind, relax (even if just briefly) outdoors:

(don't let the sunshine fool you, it's brisk out there!)

Now, just give us 20 more degrees and we'll be out here every day! Woohoo!

Ending the Day on a Better Note...

We have ordered new dining room furniture, and bought and picked up patio furniture (part 1)! Though this has been a day of questionable customer service, ultimately, we have had success, and while it'll likely be a couple weeks before the dining room pieces arrive, that's actually better because by then, hopefully, we'll have new floors to put them on! So... here's what we selected:

(this table, from the Napa Collection at World Market)

(this bench, also from the WM Napa Collection)

(and four of these, Sophia dining chairs, in red leather, also WM)

Our next stop was Target, where we selected a table and chair set for the balcony. We had some particular needs to be met by our balcony furniture. We did a lot of research and really liked the affordability and look of this season's options at Target. As I mentioned, this is balcony furniture part 1 only - we're still looking for some other pieces, but part 1 had to be the dining/seating situation. But I digress... We needed taller pieces, because of the height of our balcony rail, which has a wide panel at the top that basically rests at eye level (i.e., blocking the view) when you're seated in an average height chair. And whatever we purchased needed to be on the smaller end of the patio furniture options, because while it is long, our balcony is not especially wide. Scale, people! We had to get the scale right. So, here's what we ended up with (after a wild goose chase that sent us to three separate Targets, including, finally, Evanston):

(Casetta 3-piece Bistro, from Target)

 Now we just need it to get a little warmer...