This past weekend both Jesse and I got a lot done. Which was exciting because it means that the future weekends to come we will be able to do absolutely nothing if we choose... actually that will really happen once our roof is re-shingled. But other than that, we have the next couple years to work as slow as we want on our house now that the upstairs is 75% complete.

First though, Jesse and his brother Kyller built a picket fence around our garden using old fencing Kyller had found. I love it,  and I love how rustic it looks. The little gate is also a favorite. Part of it is the old window from our garage, Jesse knocked the glass out and voila...you got yourself a garden gate!

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We acquired some chairs from Jesse's dad's house last week and I decided to recover them with my two Ikea rugs [$3 each] so they would have a hearty look and feel to them. I also liked that they already had red and black in them to tie in with our kitchen.

Side note: our friends Scott and Lyric brought us a little house warming gift the other day and I thought it was too cute not to share. Definitely framing this little print and putting it up in our kitchen! Scott's sister Lindsay drew this and I think sells them at the Farmers Market? You can check out her blog here. 

The office.....oh the office. I cannot tell you how nice it has been to finally have our office done. I was starting to feel like a hermit with being stuck in our bedroom all day with the blinds closed, so as not to put a glare on the computer screen...That was probably the hardest thing for me about doing this fixer-upper, was being stuck in one room all day long...and it doesn't help much when you get those nasty blues... :/  But it's done, and it doesn't feel claustrophobic anymore! :)

Keep in mind...each room still has some minor tweaks [like curtains, lighting, artwork & shelves hung] but overall the whole upstairs is starting to feel complete.  The desk below in our office was a fun little project to work on with Jesse. It's really neat to put our heads together and see what we can come up with...i've said it before and i'll say it again, I love working with my husband and learning new things from him. i.e. the metal hardware on our desk that we got was galvanized [very cheap by the way, at Home Depot] and to get that worn look, Jesse told me to sand the exposed sides down with our electric sander, dig a hole, bury them with water, cover with dirt and then wait a day or two to uncover...such a difference and I love the subtle look it brings.

Lastly, the living room. This room has taken the longest...and still has a little ways to go, but we were finally able to move the furniture in. Those floors are a little different than the hallway and office. We actually scrubbed those floors with brillo pads to take away the stain to make the floor look really old..it reminds Jesse of the way people use to stain their floors in the beginning with tar [?] <- I had never heard of that before, but sounds really interesting and cool!

You may be wondering whose dog that is... or not. :) Well as of yesterday this little guy is ours! His name is Harley and he has been Jesse's family dog for the last 10 years. His dad is moving down south to Provo and because Harley has a tendency to runaway a lot, they were afraid he would be gone for good...plus,  Jesse's dad and stepmom aren't as home as much. So when they suggested [or we offered? I forget] we take Harley both Jesse and I were totally on board! Today was his first day here and it was too cute and familiar of when I had my two yorkies years ago. I have missed soooooooo much having a pet companion. There is nothing like having animals around, especially the kind that follows you wherever you go in the house. Hilarious! They are such a comfort to the human soul!

Early this afternoon I walked into our bedroom and saw Harley laying on our bed in the sunlight and just had to take a picture of how cute that moment was. No, this blog isn't going to turn into a Harley loooove fest, however if there is an adventure that he goes on that needs to be shared...well, I don't really have a choice now do I? :-[)