Setting Up the Guest Closet

Our guest closet has needed an upgrade for quite some time. Because we reduced it from a full closet to a half sized closet, it wasn't set up for functional use when we moved in. We were using it for one of our hampers and for the ironing board but I realllllly wanted to hang up my coats in there. Up until now, I had them on a clothes hanger in the garage because there wasn't enough space in the existing closets.

Here's what the closet looked like before we spruced it up:

Ready for a fresh new paint job

Uneven painting done by our contractor

Step 1: Paint the closet. Although the picture above looks like a perfectly white closet, it was quite uneven and drove me nuts. Even if we filled up the closet with clothes, I would still know that the uneven paint job was hiding behind it. So, when CJ was on a business trip a few weeks ago, I painted it a standard white shade and voila! It was ready for shelves.

So fresh, so clean

Step 2: Buy the supplies. We went to Home Depot and picked out shelves and clothing rod for the closet. We chose the standard white metal so it blends in with the rest of the closet. The shelf came in a few standard sizes (none of which fit the size of our closet) so CJ asked one of the employees to cut it down to the size we needed and he did it at no extra cost. 

Step 3: Setting up the closet. We borrowed a handy dandy stud finder from my dad and started by finding where we could screw in the brackets. After that it was super easy: screw in the brackets, set the shelf on top, throw in the adjustable clothing rod and BAM. We had a working closet.

So functional

Taming the Monster Tree

A few weeks ago, we decided that our monstrous tree had gotten out of control and that it was time to give the tree a little haircut. It was getting to the point where the branches were so low that I could even reach them. GASP! I know, you're amazed.

So CJ called a tree trimming man and had him come over to estimate how much it would cost to trim the tree. It was definitely worth the cost because we did not want to have to deal with any repercussions that a windy day might leave behind if some of those branches fell down onto our roof.

Helpful Hint: Ask your tree trimmer whether or not they have liability insurance (thanks Mom for the tip!). If you hire a company that does not carry liability insurance, you will be responsible for injuries or damages incurred to or by the tree trimmers while they are working on your property

Here's a before picture:

As you can see, it was on the verge of eating our house

Branches low enough to grab

Bullying the tiny little tree next to it

A few days later the Tree Man, as I'll fondly remember him, came over when we were at work and did a wonderful job trimming the tree. CJ stopped by during his lunch time to check on the progress and sent me a photo of the finished job. I never knew I could get so excited about a tree being trimmed but see for yourself, it's a work of art! I had a huge grin on my face the rest of the day and showed everyone who was interested in seeing the before and after.

Woohoo!

The Tree Man said that we will only need to do this every couple of years so luckily this isn't a regular expense that we have to account for. The smaller tree in our yard  might end up getting removed at a later time because it was being bullied by the monster-sized one. It was gasping for sunlight by trying to lean to the left so it clearly doesn't look healthy. Poor little guy.

Happy 6 Month Anniversary to Us!

CJ and I celebrated our 6-month anniversary on Sunday! Unfortunately, CJ had to work the whole day but we were able to go to a nice dinner in Danville to celebrate. The restaurant was an adorable little place in downtown Danville called The Peasant and the Pear and they had amazing food! We highly recommend it.

It's amazing how fast these past 6 months have flown by! We've renovated our kitchen, refinished our floors, moved into our adorable little home, started decorating, and so many more little things. Tomorrow marks exactly two months since we've officially moved into the house and four months since we officially became homeowners. Our contractor kept assuring us during the construction that we would forget all the hiccups once we moved into the house and that it would all be worth it. I definitely believe him now, it was all so worth it. For those wondering about a housewarming party, we still have a few more pieces of furniture to get before we start planning it but it will happen. :)

Tomorrow, we're having a tree guy come over to tame the monster tree on our front yard. It is ridiculously large so we need to get it under control.

As promised, below is a picture of our new table lamp for our bedroom. I loooove the print on it and how it contrasts with the stripes on the duvet cover.

Our Wedding Video!!!

Great news!!! Our wedding video is complete and we absolutely love it!! Weddings on Film (technically Video Basico) did such a wonderful job filming the event and making the footage into short film. HUGE thanks our amazing friend Ally for helping us find them!

You should be able to watch the video below. Enjoy! :)



One of the hardest decisions that we had when planning our wedding was whether or not to hire a videographer. Some people are adamantly opposed to it saying that they never watch theirs, and others are gung-ho about it saying that they are so glad they got it. In the end, we decided that if we didn't hire one, we would definitely regret it. Also, a picture may be 1000 words but a video is even more. It brings so many wonderful  memories back from the big day and reminds us of small moments that we may have forgotten about or didn't even notice when it first happened.

One of my favorite parts of the video is when CJ and his groomsmen are getting ready!  Then again, let's be honest, every part is my favorite. :)

They gave us the option to choose the music for the video but we really weren't sure what would work so we told them we were open to whatever music they thought would be fitting as long as our first dance song ("Better Together" by Jack Johnson) was included. The songs they chose are so perfect for the situation, we're glad we gave them the freedom to choose the music.

Another thing that's awesome is that we will get a DVD of this mini-movie as well as the full ceremony, speeches, and formal dances! We will definitely watch those once we receive the DVDs in the mail. I'm especially excited to see the full ceremony because, as the bride, I really only saw the second half of it since I was the last one to arrive.