I really don’t even know where to start. The beginning of the summer has just flown by and we are in the middle of so many projects. The kitchen is still in need of a second coat of white on the walls, crown molding on the cabinets, quarter round on the bottom of cabinets, cabinet touch ups and finishing decorations. I still need to finish painting the fireplace surround for the living room and decorate. The upstairs bedrooms need the floors done and the whole top floor needs the trim cut, painted and installed. Oofta! My body hurts just thinking of all the work that needs to be done, and that’s only the upstairs!

We bought our house as a foreclosure and the previous owners took everything, including the plants from the yard. Each year Brandon and I talk about doing something the make the outside more inviting but it always seems to get pushed aside. Being that we are in Wisconsin we only have a few months of the year to get things accomplished on the outside, so begins the process of doing some landscaping. We wanted something substantial, with thought.

Before: {no judging!!}

Right now: {the day before the basement flood!}

I wish I was able to show you a finished product but this will have to do for now. Like every other project something always comes up and puts us at a stand still. Our town is built on very wet swampy ground and on June 1st we received 4 inches of rain in a very short period of time. Unfortunately our sump pump was unable to keep up with the amount of water and our lower level was covered in water. {It was a wonderful surprise at 4:00 a.m.} Brandon and I spent all day Sunday trying to suck water out of the carpet with a wet vac and a shampooer. We thought we were doing a really good job until I pulled a corner of the carpet back, ugh. The amount of stress I felt at that time was so overwhelming, all I could think about was the other projects we had going on in the house and the amount of money it would take to get everything fixed! I would never wish it on anyone. Luckily Brandon and I remembered about the sump pump overflow policy we had added to our home owners insurance!! {best $100 a year we have ever spent!} A very nice man from our insurance company came out right away on Monday and we had a check for the repairs in our mailbox by Wednesday. I honestly can not thank them enough for being so easy to work with and treating us like we were important.

I spent Monday afternoon removing the carpet and padding! We had always talked about putting tile in the basement – its just going to be happening sooner that we expected. This is not a project that Brandon and I are going to tackle ourselves. We have a wonderful friend that has been installing flooring for almost 15 years that we have entrusted to do the installation. I am so relieved that we dont have to stress about doing the job right and can go back to focusing on the projects we have started. I pledge to work my buns off during the time I have to get things complete. Brandon seems to be getting frustrated with the amount of stuff going on, I think I owe it to home to get something complete.

To me – This is beautiful:

Sometimes {and only sometimes} I think… what have I got myself into. I just need to remember how beautiful it will be when it is finished. Here hoping my next home update is full of finishedness! {haha… but seriously}