Happy weekend:

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Happy Friday, everyone! I am so ready for the weekend. We have been so busy for the past two weeks, I could really use the rest and relaxation but who am I kidding, with plenty of boxes still left to unpack and many projects in the queue, it seems extremely unlikely to happen. I may be able to squeeze in an extra hour or two of sleep though. And these days, I take what I can get.

Here's a peek into our very busy lives lately:

1. We painted the nursery and finally put the crib together. It's starting to look like an actual room.
2. We got our new washer and dryer delivered although that adventure didn't turn out at all like we anticipated (see here).
3. My phone decided to quit working our very first night in the new house (I have the worst luck with phones -- see here) so I lost a lot of my photos before they were uploaded to the cloud and was without a phone for half the week before my replacement came.
4. A lunch date with a good friend (who now works with me!) totally made my Friday.
5. I'm going to a baby shower for a very good friend tomorrow. And hopefully, our new fridge will be arriving!

Have a great weekend, friends! I hope that you have many fabulous adventures. Do something relaxing for me. XOXO.

Nursery updates:

We finally got around the starting on the nursery. It's slow going but at lease we're finally moving.

Our first weekend in the new house, we took the crib and mattress out of their boxes and got to work putting it all together.

We started the morning off right: with a dozen donuts -- because, you know, priorities.

Then we got to work on assembling the crib. Andrew did most of the work and I assisted. Tillie helped too. When it was all together, I added one of the sheets I made earlier and stood back to admire our handiwork.

Then we broke out some paint (no-VOC paint from Sherwin Williams color matched to Valspar's Polished Silver) and a few hours later, it looked like this:

We've got a few more updates to make in this room, including moving the dresser in, making a crib skirt, and hanging some artwork. I'm still on the lookout for the perfect rug and a few other items. We'll keep you posted on how the room progresses though. 

Adventures in appliance shopping:

Two weeks ago, right before we moved into the new house, we posted about this new washer and dryer set that we researched and decided on:

We were ready. We were all set to pull the trigger but we decided to get into the space first and map out the new mudroom with tape on the floor before we ran out and bought them. And I'm sure glad we did because, well, we completely changed our minds.

After looking at how the machines would actually fit into the new space, we decided that having side-by-side units would just take up too much valuable square footage. So, after debating, we decided to go the stacked, front-loading route. I'm not too keen on front-loading machines because I've read a lot about problems with mold and mildew around the rubber seals on the doors. And I've used my mother's and didn't really like feeling like I was standing on my head to get my laundry but when faced with space issues, they really made the most sense. 

Since our mudroom is going to be on the small side and won't be able to accommodate side-by-side units, we thought leaving these machines with the house when we're ready to move on down the road would be the best option for resale. And since these machines will not be our forever washer and dryer, it made the most sense to look for the best deal in order to save money. I didn't really want to shell out a lot for machines we wouldn't be taking with us. 

So, we did some browsing online and then two weekends ago, headed into Lowe's to see what kind of deals they had going on. We saw a pair of white front-loading Samsung machines on clearance for $649 each (down from $999). Lowe's also happened to be running a 10% off appliances promotion. And we had a 10% off coupon that they would honor on top of that. 20% off of an already low clearance price? Sold. So we snatched them up and made them ours.

With our coupon stacking and discounts, we were able to save $123.31 on each machine for a total of 246.62 off the clearance price. Here's the price breakdown:

We ended up paying $1051.38 for the set. They were originally almost $1000 a piece. That's like buying one and getting one free. Pretty nice deal, wouldn't you say?

We had them delivered last week. They are temporarily living in what used to be the pantry in our kitchen until we can do the kitchen remodel and build the new mudroom. It's a weird setup but we're big fans of working with what we've got so for now, it does the job.

We made a table:

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One of the projects on our list for the nursery was to DIY a side table. I really liked the look of this one but didn't love the neon color and really didn't want to pay $180 for something that we could easily make.

So, we brainstormed and came up with a plan to make our own. I liked the idea of customizing it for our needs and taste. We ordered three 24" unfinished hairpin legs from here and a 22" round wood table top.

We treated the table top with a pre-stain conditioner that came pretty highly recommended. We debated skipping this step but I'm glad we didn't because after conditioning, we only ended up having to use one coat of stain. We went with a dark walnut stain and were really pleased with the results -- rich and even. When the stain was dry, we applied Safecoat Acrylacq to seal everything. It's an amazing eco-friendly, non-toxic, water-based sealer that protects the table and stops any off-gassing from the stain. We had to order it online since they don't sell it locally here, but it was well worth it. We highly recommend it and will be using it for all our future projects since it's dog and baby friendly.

Next we sanded down the legs, primed them, and spray painted them a fun yellow (I didn't do the spray painting, so you can relax). After about two coats, we let everything air out and dry for a few days before assembly. 

After sitting for a few days, it was time to put the thing together! Andrew did some quick math to make sure the legs were spaced evenly and we got to work. Since we went with pine for the top, the wood was soft enough that we didn't have to drill any holes -- a screwdriver, screws, and some washers got the job done.

And in just a few short minutes, we were done. Once all the painting was done, it came together really quickly. We are pretty pleased with the results. It's exactly what we wanted and coming in at $140.40 for the entire thing (stain and sealer, and hardware included), it's more cost effective than the one we drew our inspiration from. We had hoped to save a few more bucks when it was all said and done but we did have to shell out a few extra dollars for the Acrylacq (something we plan to get a lot of use from) so, we look at it as an investment. Plus, we made a taller, larger table than the one from Land of Nod. So, saving $40 is actually pretty impressive. More table for less money. And check out how it looks in Baby M's room:

The new house:

As promised, here's the new house.

It's still completely bare but we're so excited to fill it with our stuff and make it our own. Take a peek inside after the jump.

Moving:

Welcome, Monday. I don't think I've ever actually been so excited for a Monday to roll around in my life. Not because it's Monday but because this is the first Monday in our brand new (to us) house! And while we're just getting started on all the work going on around the Sever homestead, we're glad to do it. Thrilled, even.

We'll be taking a brief hiatus from this space this week while we settle in and get our bearings. We'll be back next week ready to share all the nitty gritty details of our move, including a complete walk through of the new space. You can catch all the action in real time on our instagram feed though: just click here.

Oh, and happy birthday to my mom today -- she has been such a big help getting us settled and we wish her the happiest of days today!

Happy weekend:

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Happy Friday, friends! Got anything going on this weekend? Ready for the biggest news of your life? We are closing on our new house today! You can't possibly imagine how excited we are! We are setting off on the first leg of our new life adventure and couldn't be any more ready. It's been a long time coming, people.

Get ready for the explosion of home improvement and upgrades coming your way over the next few weeks/months/years. We've never been homeowners before so we really have no idea what we're doing, but we'll be figuring it all out and sharing what we learn along the way. And we're beyond thrilled to have you along for the ride.

Have a lovely weekend, everyone! Wish us luck!