What a year

There are few things that you can't do as long as you are willing to apply yourself.
-Greg LaMond

A year ago I started a project. Not a little project mind you, but a whole-house, never-ending project I thought could be completed in a few months. While looking at the pictures I had just taken of the new patio, I thought about what the house looked like when I first signed my life away at the bank. It was during the month of July when I first laid eyes on this harvest gold beauty of a 70's ranch home.


Now it's not even close to being completely fnished. I think owning a house means you'll always have a project to do waiting around the corner, but as I stroll in through the front door after work I can't help but feel like this place really has become a home.

When I first mentioned buying the house to my then boyfriend Chris, I think he turned a little green. Actually, maybe many shades of green. It was hard to see the potential through the dust and age, but I think it's really come around. It's going to be fun to see what the next year holds in store for it.

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Brick by brick

"A good laugh is sunshine in the house."
-William Makepeace Thackeray

There's nothing like getting family together to work on a house project. There was good food, good fun and a lot of laughs.
As a wedding gift, my parents gave my fiance and I patio for the house. Chris's parents stopped in to give a hand and we had one big patio building party.

My dad is an endless book of house fixing up knowledge. The man can tell you how to build a patio, roof a home and even move a toilet in the bathroom to different location. It's amazing.


Having family around a house has this magical way of making it feel like home. With food cooking in the kitchen, sunlight streaming in the windows, that's what great memories are made of.
My future hubby and I are looking forward to many great evenings out on the patio, and lots of family to enjoy it with!

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The wedding nightmare

To love someone deeply gives you strength. Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage.
-Lao Tzu

So here I am, traveling to the church to get married to Chris, sometimes I'm driving and sometimes someone else is. I get to the church, and I'm just beside myself with excitement. I go to get ready and...I can't find my dress. There will be a pile of dresses at the church, but mine isn't there. This is a dream that I've had more than once over the past couple of months and during the day I can't seem to shake it.
I've come to realize that planning a wedding isn't the breeze I thought it would be. Not only is there always a little something to stress out over, you're taking a very big step in your life.
I can't listen to certain songs anymore without getting teary-eyed. I've just about sworn off country music because of songs like, "You can let go now daddy." Are you serious? A song about a girl growing up and getting married? It'll make me cry every time.
Father's day card shopping? Let's not even talk about that.
Planning a wedding isn't easy for me, but when you find the man that you can love with all of your heart, that love can give you the strength to overcome any obstacle, let that be planning a wedding or just showing up at the church with your dress.

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Spud-muffin

So here he is. The one and only, Spud. The man of the house, well... for a few more months anyway.
Before there was Spud, life was empty. I had matching socks, furniture without puppy teeth marks and shoes without holes.
I don't remember what life was like before I had to pick up kibble around my kitchen every morning.


I came by this little tater-tot when I bought my house. Everyone in my family thought it was time to join the group and own a dog. Chris and I scoured petfinder until this cute little face appeared on the screen with the name "Spud."
I laughed out loud and as I read the description found they were having a sale on the little guy during the week, but he was all the way across the state.
Luckily, all the way across the state meant five minutes away from my brother and sister-in-law. Those two declared the day "Spud day" and drove to the town over and picked up my pride and joy.
Nine months later, he's eating my shoes and running off with my socks, but I couldn't be happier. He's certainly a keeper.

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Girls night out

You know you're getting older when a friend asks if you want to play shuffleboard and you get excited. We played a few rounds with these lovely ladies last night and I realized how much fun pushing a "puck" around with a "cue" could be.
Shuffleboard leagues just started and as Chris headed out to play in his softball league, I gave him a big smile and told him I was going to try my hand at shuffleboard. My athletic fiance gave a little giggle, made a quick comment about my age, gave me a kiss on the forehead and headed out the door.
I think he really does appreciate my non-athletic abilities, my love for a fun game and a good conversation.
These ladies (and a few gentlemen) were a complete hoot. We had a fantastic time, and if they don't mind putting up with us again I would love to go back sometime.

One thing I would like to point out is the fact that there is a fence around the shuffleboard lanes. Is this in case shuffle boarders get out of hand?

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Tea for Twenty

Last Saturday was filled with tea, sandwiches and fun. Friends and family gathered at my parents house over the weekend for my bridal shower. We ate, we laughed and I was a nervous wreck.


Thanks to these girls, including Lisa's mom, my friend Giovanna, my wonderful sister-in-law, my mom, dad and my brother, the shower was a great time. We had a tea party theme, and everyone wore a hat and drank from tea cups, it was absolutely beautiful. A big thanks to the girl in the floppy wool hat! You're the best Lisa Lu!


We played a few fantastic games, including this one with my fiance, Chris. They put him on the hot seat and asked him a couple questions to see how well he knew me. The sweet man got 9 out of 10. (I knew I was marrying him for a reason.)


Despite a heat wave that hit Michigan over the weekend, it was all-in-all a wonderful day. Thank you everyone for coming to the shower and throwing it for me, I will always cherish the memories!

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Little Surprises

My 70's ranch fixer-upper is one endless surprise.
When I purchased the house last August, I didn't think anything outside was worth keeping. The house hadn't been lived in for years and had been neglected toward the end.
I had to pull out the large, overgrown bushes and clear everything from around the house.
So here I am thinking I have to start from scratch with flowers around the house and I keep finding these little surprises around every corner.
Here is an iris I found growing out in the middle of my yard.
It's going to be interesting to see what other little surprises my yard is holding in store for me.

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From the beginning

My name is Stacey, and in a few short months I'll be walking down an aisle and into a new last name. I am the owner of a 1970's ranch in need of some TLC, and an eight month-old Schnauzer who loves to chew on my shoes.
In order to give myself an outlet for all the thoughts running around in my head, I've decided to jump on the blog bandwagon and start one of my own. Before I get into everything, let me get you up to date on my life.
Up until last August, my life was pretty usual. I worked, spent time with my friends and family when I could and was dating the man I'm going to marry. Life was uncomplicated. That was until I found this house. It was a 1970s ranch that needed to be cleaned up and polished.



Yep, this floor covering is exactly what you think it is. Carpet in the kitchen is one of the worse things ever. This carpet was just one mess that needed to be worked on. It was worn in some places all the way down to the rubber glue, which had to be scrapped up.



Talk about disgusting carpet. This carpet in the basement had pulled in moisture leaving one of the worst smells I have ever encountered.



The living room was actually one of the best rooms in the house. It definitely wasn't the beauty of the house I fell in love with, but it's potential. Oh yeah, and the plaid furniture came with the house.



Not long after the house came the schnauzer. His name is Spud. His loves are milk bone treats, chasing sticks outside and my black work shoes.
After the puppy came a ring, and my life all of a sudden became a little more interesting. For the next few months I'll be working on the house, planning a wedding and hiding my work shoes. It's going to be a fun journey.

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