Baby Showers bring Leather Flowers

I am so happy to have followers already! It really means a lot to me to know that other people are interested in the same stuff I am! So here I go ...

This weekend started off with a baby shower for our friends Kala and Justin They are expecting their first baby, Maddy, at the end of this month. A few things set this shower apart in my mind ...

1. The shower was not just for the ladies, all the guys were invited, and they were absolutely thrilled to be part of the festivities (trust me)

2. NO stupid shower games!!! Kelly, our host opted for a Make-A-Onesie Station. It worked out great, and if I may so myself, mine turned out pretty awesome!

3. Apparently, no one knows what to buy for expecting mothers. Don't get me wrong, I have never seen so many adorable outfits in my life, but I think babies need more than clothes.

Baby shower behind us, we headed to my folk's house to have dinner with them, my sister Kate, her husband Chris, and my favorite (only) niece Nixie!

Sunday, we headed to the Denver Modernism Show, http://www.denvermodernism.com/, with Matt and Nikki, oh no wait they "forgot" about it ...  but we made the best of it and struggled through without them. The Modernism show housed a bunch of vendors (local and nationwide) selling their goods, and an awesome vintage car show! Being that we were there on the last day it was somewhat picked over, but I managed to snag this gorgeous saddle bag with cute white/yellow/red flowers, a scarf, and some cute pillows for the living room chairs. I will definitely be back next year, but definitely on the first 2 days!

On the way home we stopped by our new favorite mid-century shop, The Garage http://www.facebook.com/pages/Garage-Vintage/187681787911488?sk=info, on a whim, thinking they might have some new stuff. They probably did, but rather than looking at anything new, I was drawn back to a set of chairs that I had been eyeing for my kitchen table. And now they are mine!               

I think this weekend proves that the best weekends are spent with friends, family, and by treating yourself! How do you treat yourself? Anyone have any other ideas of fun, non-traditional baby shower games?

Be gentle, it's my first time

So this is my first-ever blog post! I hope to be able to write something every week, but bare with me through the beginning.

So here it is, our first house

We moved in on August 12th and have been working our fingers to the bone since! The house was built in 1963, and we bought it from Irene Guanella, the original owner! The house is in immaculate condition, as Irene and her husband never smoked, had kids, or pets!

Is one of your favorite TV shows "Mad Men"? If so you're going to die when you see the inside of my house! Here are some the highlights:

The real-wood paneling continues into the
dining room

Custom cabinets, and check out the pull-down
chandelier over the kitchen table!

The basement has the same gorgeous paneling,
and this amazing wallpaper mural of the Tetons!

We closed on August 5th, and took possession on the 8th. We purchased new living room furniture, and a new stainless steel fridge.


Next up, we had the neon green shag carpet in the basement replaced with a neutral frieze carpet. RIP green shag, you are in a better place.The only major rennovation we planned to undertake was some painting and some wallpaper removal. Easy Peasy!

I should start by saying that I have never removed wallpaper before, and was convinced that it would not be as difficult as everyone claimed ... HA!!!

Here are the steps we followed:

Step 1: Score the wall, then peel the 1st layer of the wallpaper off, leaving the paper backing


Step 2: Soak said backing with fabric softener (the brand doesn't matter, we used the cheapest we could find)

Step 3: Steam each section for at least 20 seconds. Remove steamer, and scrape like hell! We found a steamer at Home Depot for $50, and they also had ergonomic scrapers (very important)

Step 4: Once all the wallpaper has been scraped off, scrub the wall with soapy water and scrap off any remaining stragglers 

No one should ever put up wallpaper ... EVER! Anyway, once all the wallpaper was down we painted, and painted, and painted ... 

Here are the before and afters I put together, what do you think? What kind of simple home rennovations have you done?

Special thanks to Nikki Kelly for her help, and telling me I could and should start a blog! Check hers out at theambitiousprocrastinator.blogspot.com