Wood, Glue & Chaos

02/20/2026

We have come really far, but still have so much we want to do..

1. Paint all the walls.
2. Ceiling moldings
3. baseboards
4. Finish island build - all the trim work on the sides and back
5. Shelving is temporary - will be thicker and finished
6. Window - replacing with all the others

Things we’ve done
1. All new electrical
2. All new appliances
3. All new cabinets
4. All new counters
5. Storage!
6. Added and fixed plumbing - adding a dishwasher and huge sink
7. Removed 6 layers of flooring and did all one matching layer 😢
8. Fixed paneling/drywall
9. Installed a hood vent
10. Removed the peninsula for an island - much better flow

Do you have a hard time being patient with projects when it seems like everyone else gets them done in a day?

02/15/2026

02/12/2026

It’s still cold outside, but the light coming through these windows makes it feel like spring is trying.

Natural light really is the best decoration.

02/08/2026

January in pictures. Lots of memories. Lots of things I wanted to do that got shifted around on the to do list, but made progress in lots of areas too! Can’t wait for the rest of 2026 with this crew! ❤️

01/11/2026

Today looked like this:

📖 book two of the year
🚗 driving back to school through fog
🏠 pricing out a shed (and immediately questioning my life choices)
🍔 marketing homework + a Chick-fil-A collector cup

Not productive in the internet way.
But very real life productive.

I’m trying to document days like this instead of waiting for “perfect” ones.

🤍

12/25/2025

Christmas with mostly adult children is different. And different is good. ❤️ We played games, ate food, and so many presents were opened. Love my little family!

11/24/2025

We are still settling into the house and renovations but we are taking time to get involved where we can in our new town. We love living back in a small downtown area and Charlie was thrilled to be part of Gobble Waddle yesterday for his first 5K! Our goal was to finish - my leg neuropathy from chemo likes to flare up when I walk - and we did it! Can’t wait for more fun events in Smithfield! ❤️

09/13/2025

This week in pictures…

Documenting the tiny silver box and colorful wires that took a big chunk of 💸 only to hide itself in the wall..

No more doorway frame in the hall - gained 6” and lots of light. Maybe a transom above?

Paneling removed to access wires because old school builders loved some cross studs 😂

Asbestos tiles..maybe. It’s getting encapsulated so it’s okay 👍

Gunner on guard duty. We have several neighborhood cats that love to sit outside and taunt him. 😂

Countertop and appliance and cabinet shopping when Lowe’s dropped the ball 🤪😤😡

The wire to nowhere..actually maybe at one time
The old carport doorbell?

Now to put the new plywood down for the floor, flooring, cabinet install and wall paneling back up…

01/28/2025

My goal this week was to sort the mountain of papers I’ve been stacking in a basket instead of filing them away and clean out the office. I’ve made really good progress and in the process found these gift cards with various amounts - you know the kind - $12.66, $7.47..impossible to use because you don’t know if it will decline or ask for a secondary payment and they just end up collecting dust. I added all of them up - $37.03 and bought Target gift cards with them, added them to my app and applied to the household supply order I had going for February! I also found a few store gift cards that I’m going to grab some giftable items with to stash away for holidays. Girl math says it pays to clean out papers!

01/23/2025

Still in progress but so excited! It’s been a process and the hubby has worked hard and the finish line is approaching! So glad we decided to paint the cabinets. The finish was starting to wear on these but the cabinets are solid and not needing to be replaced. The island and a few doors to go! I love how bright it feels - even with adding the wall!

01/01/2025

Another year lived!

Plans for 2025:
1. Clean bone scan, lab work clearing up, no cancer, less doctors
2. Travel - NYC is up first, Disney later, lots of goals in between.
3. Reading - making a list of all my “want to” reads and digging in
4. Intention - setting up a plan for the years projects, goals, etc.
5. More downtime - game nights, movie nights, new recipes, girls nights, date nights. All the things!
6. Taking care of me - last year was a big one and my body needs some refresh time - no more soda, more fruits, veggies, less starches. Yoga, Pilates, getting my function back - I can really only use one arm fully right now and my muscles in that arm are not happy. I need to do is on building back my mobility and movement.
7. Less yuck - handing it off to the people we are paying to handle stuff and letting them handle the yuck 😂 My body needs less stress - I know it’ll work out in the end, giving it to God to put the right people in the right path.
8. Finishing the 10%. It’s mostly painting. But digging in and finishing projects and getting into the fun part - decorating and making it cozy. 🩷
9. Big dreams and goals. Setting some 1,5, 10 year goals with every intention of seeing them happen.

What about you?