$139 saves marriage

I love my hubby, yet after almost 11 years of marriage, I can definitely say that we don't work well on home improvement projects. I like to be in charge, weird I know. For the most part we know our roles. He mows the lawn, I edge. He sprays the weeds, I prune plants; He rolls the paint, I cut-in at the ceiling and around molding: He cleans the kitchen, I clean the bathrooms.
We've got a few things down. Then there are the unexpected, spur-of-the moment projects. He wants to do it one way, I want to do it another and then..... all HELL breaks loose. Of course I make it sound worse than it is. The moral is: pick your battles

We decided to get a storm door for our front door. We had one at our last house and loved it! It provides that extra bit of protection from the stranger on the porch and when you have dogs, it is a great barrier.We were at Home Depot one day looking at toilet seats and ended up looking at storm doors. So many to choose from!!! I didn't remember there being so many choices and we wanted to make the right choice (not to mention I had to send in the HOA application to get approval for our "improvement" before ordering) so we took some brochures and made our way home.

After little deliberation, we (I ) picked the Anderson 3000 series, self-storing storm door in Almond with nickel finishes. You can go from glass to screen with one hand! Eric went to order the door and hymned and hawed a little over the installation cost. Could he do it himself? Was it worth the money? Reluctantly, he added the cost of installation when he placed the order.
Eric was home the day of the installation, while I was at work. I was so excited to get home and see the new addition. Eric met me at the door.... What a beauty! It was hardly even noticeable. (It's nice and all, but I didn't want it sticking out like a sore thumb)

Here is the conversation that ensued:

Eric: What do you think?
Mel: I love it! It looks awesome!
E: I had the guys change the handle to the opposite side than what we talked about.
M: I think that was a good choice. I had thought about that today and worried there wouldn't be enough room on the porch for people to stand once the door was opened.
E: I watched the guy install this. It took over an hour to do.
M: oh yeah?
E: Yeah! If I had done it, it would be in the yard, in pieces and we would probably be divorced.
M: (Laughing) So the $139 was worth it?
E: Way cheaper than a divorce.

So there you have it folks......if you want to save your marriage, just pay the dang installation fee.

To sleep or not to sleep

I have been wanting to post these pictures for sometime, unfortunately "Chateau Graves" had been full.


Since we moved into this house, over 2.5 years ago, our guestroom has been occupied. We have been the home for separated, broken-up men who needed a place to rest their head for awhile.

I spent some time between guests redecorating our guestroom. I am horrible at remembering to take "before" shots, but I have the "after" pictures! :-) It is just so darn cute I had to share.

I brought my old guestroom with me when we moved and was told it was a little much. Flowers, dolls, knick-knacks, it was quite over the top for any gentleman bunking there.

So I decided to switch it up. Out with the girly stuff and in with something more appropriate for all who come to stay.



The walls are painted lime green amd I spray painted the bedframe black. I bought the comforter set at Target and the throw pillows at Ross.

I couldn't find simple artwork that I liked so I created my own. I bought 3 colors of teal, brown and lime green and 3 blank canvases at Michael's. I figured if they can do it on TV, I can do it to. I found different sizes of circles around the house and started tracing. Then I handpainted each circle. They turned out perfectly!



I chose to have one nightstand and I bought a lamp and a round throw rug at IKEA. And then it was complete. I love it!!

PRICELESS

1 bean bag chair cover - $19.99

2 bags of "beans" - $30.00

How my dogs say 'Good Morning, Mom' - PRICELESS

Summer is here.... time to update

Wow, time flies when you are are having fun..... or when you are just too freakin' busy to notice. Either way it is the end of July and I thought I would share an update.

Eric started the police academy at the end of April. We are down to 4 weeks left! He graduates on August 21st, will have a few weeks left of field training and then he will be off on his own. How exciting!!!! I can't begin to tell you how proud I am. Very few people actually go after their dreams and even fewer accomplish it. The streets will be safer when Officer Graves is patrolling.

Since the hubby has been gone, I have been keeping myself busy. I am no longer selling insurance and am now selling me...... sounds bad, like it should be illegal? Well I promise, Eric has no reason to arrest me. LOL I consider myself talented in many areas and thought why not offer these services to others. So I posted an ad on Craigslist and put the word out to my peeps. I have been painting, cleaning, organizing, staging and doing yard work. This is not exactly what I saw myself doing but I make my own schedule and most important, I am having fun.


I am posting a new slide show of the yard and the "fruits of our labor", or well, I should say "my labor" since I have been doing it myself with Eric being gone. The flowers have been planted and everything is growing. Most of the plants that I have are still young and do have alot of growing to do, but it's still amazing to see how they have look now compared to just a few short years ago.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

So Neglectful

Here we are in July, actually closer to the end of July and I haven't posted a thing in 2 months. Shame on me!!! Unfortunately, I have been so busy painting, cleaning houses, doing yardwork (none of which is happening at my house, mind you) that the last thing I have wanted to do is sit down and blog. I even took pictures of my yard, the beautiful flowers that I planted and the new gorsth on everything and I have yet to post. OMG!!!! what to do, what to do.....
Anyhow, to my faithful followers, I am going to try my hardest to have something new posted by this weekend. Cross your fingers.....