Happy Two Year Anniversary, House!

October 15th, which was last Saturday, was our two-year anniversary of owning our little misplaced ranch. Two years ago we signed (many) dotted lines, walked into the empty house realizing it was ours and spent the next day moving our worldly possessions via U-Haul and helpful family. 

 In the past two years we've done a lot, and yet there's still so much more to do. Last year, I chronicled our first year of home-ownership:

Here's my posts chronicling come of our house projects over the past year:

• First blog post about the house, with the original MLS pictures

• Just moved, so much to talk about!
• The one where we painted (and repainted) the living room, our first paint project
• We painted the paneling in the den
• Hosted a little Christmas party, which kicked us into gear to get the house done - living room here, dining room here. 
• Started to dream about kitchens
• Took down the wall cabinet in the front bathroom and painted it Drizzle (which still makes me think of early Glee).  
• Had our pipes freeze (twice, I think). 
• Created an idea board for our kitchen project.
• Took out the carpet and uncovered the hardwood floors.
• Brought the den into the 21st century. 
• Created a laundry room out of a hall closet.
• Bought appliances on the cheap from US Appliance online (that proceeded to sit in our garage..._)
• Our AC went out in August
• We picked the flooring for the kitchen and den. 
• We built a desk and fixed up the office for my new med student husband (still need to take a picture of the desk...)
• Painted and fancy-ed up the back bedroom. 
• Created an outdoor sitting/ facebooking area on the front porch
• and got a brand new HVAC system for free!

And here's what we did this past year:

• Put recessed lighting in the living room
• Purchased cabinets for the kitchen renovation
• Rewired the electrical panel for the house (in prep. for the kitchen reno)
• Finally cleaned the office enough to photograph our new desk area
• Went to IKEA and bought some stuff for the kitchen
• Crafted an entryway in a corner of the living room
• Wrote some New Year's House Goals
• Packed up our kitchen
• Made a plan for an update for the den - built in shelves for the TV
• Dreamed big on what I'd do to my house if money was no object
• Sold our cabinets and old appliances on Craig's List and bought a new couch
• The media center was completed in the den
• Bought art for the kitchen
• Painted my pantry door with chalk paint
• Organized the pantry
• Rearranged the living room and got new pillows
• Rearranged the den some more and got a new club chair
• Broke down and hired a lawn service for our weed-ridden yard
• Ripped out the boxwoods in the front yard and planted azaelas
• Finished the kitchen renovation!! 
• Finished the den update
• Created a dressing area by closing off a door to the second bedroom

The house has gone through some changes.. here are a few before and after picture selections:


The Den (2009) - 

The Den (2011) - 

The Living Room (pre-move in, 2009) -

The Living Room, 2011 - 

The Kitchen, 2009 - 

The Kitchen, 2011 - 

And now, plans for the future. Who knows if we'll do all this, but ideally, we'd like to...

• Give the front a facelift, putting in posts instead of the wrought iron and replacing the wrought iron front door
• Change the hardware on the cabinetry in both bathrooms, repaint the back bathroom, and refresh the front bathroom
• replace the paneling in the den with new drywall, painted the same color as the kitchen 
• put in french doors where the den windows are, making the old back door a window so we can have a banquette seating area in the kitchen
• build a deck off the french doors
• (Finally?) organize and utilize the guest bedroom

So here's to two happy, successful years in our house! And here's hoping for more!