Tiny Little Man Meets Big Man Cave

Hello! 
I've been trying to begin writing this post for approximately 30 minutes now. Not because this topic is groundbreaking or earth-shattering in any way. But because there is now a tiny human quietly napping in his bouncy seat to my left, who grabs my attention with every little squeak that comes out of his adorable little mouth.

Jiminy cricket you guys, I'm a MOM. 

Harrison Edward was born Thursday, April 18th, and each day after has been a whirl. Every single aspect of his arrival was more incredible than anything I could have ever imagined. From being admitted to the hospital and realizing "Holy sh*t we're going to leave here with a baby" to the second they plopped him on my chest, covered in who knows what, I was happy. Like a DEEP happy. The kind that shows up as crying, nervousness, shaking, and a little swearing.

Eric and I walked into the hospital as two, and left as a family of three. Our son wasn't the only one born that day, both of us transformed from husband and wife to Mom and Dad. A simple title change really, but one that is wrapped and bound by so much love it takes my breath away.

We're just a tad obsessed with him. 

OK, enough adorable baby pictures...for now. 

I want to back up a bit and share a project that was on the " Do Before Baby" list.  While I was busy nesting inside the house, Eric was busy outside getting the Man Cave ready for the arrival of another little man. This included; removing the glitter texture on the two black walls, repainting all walls, painting the trim, removing and replacing all carpet and laminate flooring, updating the light fixtures, and giving the bar a complete makeover. 

You know, no biggie. 

This entire process started approximately a year ago, but with a due date quickly approaching, he kicked it into high gear and was able to achieve practically everything he wanted to. 

Old carpet and laminate out, new sub-floor in! 

Eric found the flooring on an auction site, and was able to get it at a fraction of the price compared to it's in-store value. I believe it is originally from Home Depot. Because of the quantity he received, Eric decided to change the layout slightly by making the carpeted area smaller, and bringing the hardwood deeper into the space. 

I am so impressed with how this room turned out. Eric installed everything himself, and besides asking my opinion every once in a while, made all of the design decisions on his own. I've never been so proud! 

One element of this room is especially awesome; THE BAR. To refresh our memories, when I last talked about the Man Cave, the bar area looked like this; 

Now take a look at this bad boy! 

Same bar, now completely tricked out! 

Eric removed the original front legs, built out the new sides at an angle, then took old wooden pallets and framed the whole thing to give it that cool industrial vibe. As for the top, he first painted it white, then created a unique pattern by laying out old 45 rpm vinyls. 

Each record is secured with double sided foam tape, so when he poured the clear epoxy resin over top nothing would float or move. Before pouring, he edged the whole thing with industrial tape to create a lip and keep the epoxy on the table. After a few layers, he removed the tape and let the next layer of epoxy drip freely off the side to naturally smooth the hard edge. This was done before the floors were finished, which made clean up a breeze. 

Other updates include rehanging the long black shelves, but this time using pipe brackets to tie into the new light fixture. That we found at Cincinnati Open Box Outlet for practically nothing, along with another light that ended up hanging over the poker table (pics of that to come later). The bar stools were from one of my favorite places; Bargains and Buyouts. 

Piece by piece this space has completely transformed. I've lost count how many hours Eric has spent out here, and the only things left are small details like hanging pictures and covering electrical outlets. After all these years he still amazes me at what he's capable of. 

Now that our family is growing I'm foreseeing lots of nights spent in the Man Cave watching movies, playing games, and "play dates" where the kids run loose and the adults just chill. Of course our son will need to gain a little more head control before then, but still, it's fun to imagine. 



Check out all of our home improvements, by visiting the OUR NEST page.

Project Pergola: Backyard Update

WE ARE BAAAAACK!!!! 
These first two months of Summer have been jammed PACKED with good stuff. I placed 3rd in my first pole competition, we survived our big-ass trip to Europe, the fam let us tag along to Florida for "Disney as Adults", and this weekend we're off to Michigan for some cabin-on-the-lake chill time!

Between each of our adventures were a few brief weeks at home. Eric took this as a prime opportunity to absolutely ATTACK the backyard. Giving ME the opportunity to snap pics and provide an enormous photo dump for your enjoyment. 

The last time I shared anything about our pergola, it was the Summer of 2016 and looked like this.

Eric removed all the paver stones and grass, and with the help of his dad, they leveled everything out and created a frame for the future concrete. 

The two rectangular sections closest to the house are walkways, with flower beds in between. That big round stone covers the opening of an old cistern, so by placing a bed over it, we'll still have access to it if needed.

This all went down July 4th weekend 2016, so for about a year, we were at a stand still. There was a bit of drama with a concrete guy who ghosted us (lame), but I won't get into that. The only good thing about waiting so long for progress is we had plenty of time to decide what we wanted; like a beautiful brass fire ring!

After watching the seasons change yet again, we FINALLY caught a break, and a husband of a friend had another friend who hooked us up with a team to pour and stamp our concrete. HAZZAH!!!

I have never been so happy to see a bunch of sweaty dudes in my backyard. 

We decided to go with stamped concrete for a few reasons. One being covering that amount of square space with pavers would be too expensive, and we also didn't want to worry about weeds growing through the cracks and the upkeep. They literally used a giant rubber stamp to give the wet concrete that natural stone texture, and we couldn't be more pleased with the results!

With the concrete complete, the next phase was all about flower beds. Right from the start, Eric had a vision of multiple beds surrounding the space, particularly a long one filled with vining plants to work their way up one side of the pergola. 

Total there are seven beds; three in front, three in back, and one along the North side. We're still on the fence about what to plant, but my hope is a mix of flowering perennials and big leafy greens.

As you can see in the photo above, to create a wall for the vining plants to grow Eric attached lattice from top to bottom on the one side. It will be stained the same color as the pergola, and those support beams are just begging to be filled with cute potted plants. I really like how it closes up the space, creating a more defined "room". 

You may also notice the electrical work going up the back post. That's going to be used for our sound system, as well as powering up the cafe lights! 

For as long as I can remember I've dreamed of sitting outside, sipping cocktails, and relaxing underneath the warm glow of lights. We'd like to get an additional strand to hang over the "fire pit" area and bring light to the whole backyard. It's going to be magical.

Speaking of magical, the amount of work Eric has put into Project Pergola is supernatural. I swear he just wakes up in the morning with shiny new skills he didn't have the night before. There's a whole grilling station and dining table he whipped up out of nowhere I didn't even get to in this post! Stay tuned for those updates, till then, here's a little before/after combo to really hammer in how far we've come. 

And there you have it. Everything we've been up to this Summer, besides packing our bags every weekend and jet-setting off to who knows where. Hopefully, you enjoyed scrolling through our pics, we're SO CLOSE to being done we can smell it! Or we're smelling the barbecue ribs...either way, it's going to be a glorious Summer. 


Check out all of our home improvements, by visiting the OUR NEST page.

The One Home Detail You Should Always "Address"

If you know me at all, you know how much I love a good accessory. That extra pop of color, or piece of flair, to tie everything together and bring a lil "sumtin sumtin". Much like creating that perfect look for Saturday night, accessorizing your home is all about the details.

So what's the one detail that every home has, but more often than not is overlooked? 

Address numbers! 

Updating our house numbers has been on my mind since the day we moved in. As a Graphic Designer by trade, and a fully committed font nerd, I was far from satisfied with our current set. 

I toyed around with a couple solutions in Photoshop and thought to tie in the same orange from the door really polished things off. 

How cute does our porch look with all those flowers?? Gah! I can't wait to get my pots out again for Spring. 

Anywhoooo...while wandering around Lowe's, I spotted these san-serif beauties. And only $6? YAAASSS!!! They're perfect! 

Eric measured, cut, re-measured, aligned, drilled, re-aligned....you get it. Of course, he didn't do all of the work, I painted the backboard with two coats of "Crossfire" by Olympic, which also happened to be what we used on our front door. 

To help protect the wood from Mother Nature, we primed the entire board front AND back. Eric also used glue and caulk to completely seal the areas around the numbers. Unfortunately, when he finished it was 9 pm, and the sun had long set for the night. It wasn't until morning when I was able to get a proper look, and man did it make my day!

I like my numbers how I like my jewelry; BIG, BOLD, and BEAUTIFUL! Now our mail carrier has absolutely no excuse to misplace those countless Amazon packages.

Check out all of our home improvements, by visiting the OUR NEST page.

Old2New - Thrifted Sconce Shelves

Things that are currently making me happy: 

1. This video of Stephen Colbert telling the story about how he met his wife. Trust me, it's the most ADORABLE THING POSSIBLE!!!!! 

2. Devou Park in Covington, and the absolutely breathtaking view of the city you're treated to when visiting "The Lookout". 

and lastly...
3. These sconce shelves I saw at the thrift store, left behind, IMMEDIATELY went back to rescue after a day of deliberation, and now am sharing with YOU! 

They're heavy, kind of green, and just begging to be given new life. 

Primer + paint = DONE! 
I love the look of a traditionally classic piece, revamped in a sleek modern color. 

I picked up these matching vases at At Home - The Home Decor Superstore, which if you've never been, you're totally missing out. It's as if Home Goods and Sam's Club hooked up, had a baby, and that baby is a gigantic warehouse stuffed full of anything you'd ever want for your space.

Of course I enlisted Eric's help when it actually came time to hang them.
To finish things off, I tossed a few sprigs of yellow flowers into each vase, and just like that we're done! 

I love having a little sumtin' sumtin' flanking the window, and the pop of yellow against the wall is just perfect. 

So there you have it! 
Was this the most complicated project ever? No way. Does it fill me with joy? Absolutely!

With the addition of our new rug, and now these sconce shelves, bit by bit our living room is transforming into the bright and cheerful space I always dreamed of. 

Focus on what makes you happy people!