To Do List...DONE!

I had a list of things I wanted to get done in our house when we bought it in October. They were simple, I thought, and wouldn't take too much of our time or our money. Two months later, our funds and our sanity are depleted, but I am happy to say this weekend I crossed the last thing off my to do list.

The carpet for the living room was installed Wednesday. Though finishing the hardwoods would have been great for the room, Greg and I are both very happy with the carpet. It adds a different dimension, since it's the only room with carpet. Greg was excited to put his Christmas tree in the window to add to the holiday look of the home. Too bad we only have a hand me down couch and recliner to go with the mini tree.

Our kitchen, eating area, foyer, and half bathroom are painted. I actually am becoming a bit of an aficionado when it comes to painting, if I do say so myself. I don't even use painters tape. Just a steady hand and an angled brush is all I need.
I'm pretty happy with it all. It makes me want new cabinets, a tile floor and granite counter tops more than ever now. It also makes me wonder what the heck the people who lived here were thinking. We updated this house a good 20 years with just two coats of paint. Granted, we spent more than a grand getting the wallpaper off, but the value it adds is worth so much more. I understand the people who lived here were old and lived here their entire lives, but this house is in a very nice neighborhood with people who take very good care of their homes. How come no one in this home did that? It ended up in our favor of course, but the difference just some paint, carpet and a finished wood floor did for us in two months could have gotten them several more thousand dollars on their home when they put it up for sale.

Now that all my initial tasks are complete, I am faced with the task of staying on budget and keeping the momentum. Everything looks so good both Greg and I just want to keep going. A new front door, new light fixtures, area rugs. It goes on and on. However, we've ignored our planned monthly budget for home improvement in an effort to get our to do list done, so now we can only afford one or two small projects a month. Now that everything looks so good we are eager to keep up the overhaul, but we can't afford the pace we've kept up for the last couple months. It's going to be difficult to slow down.

I am also feeling a bit gun shy when it comes to decorating. The walls in this house have been the bane of my existence since we moved in. They look so great now I am excited to give them some personality with decorations. They are such a beautiful blank slate I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. My options are endless for decorations, I want to make sure I'm making the best choice. I also have put so much time and money into those walls putting a hole in them again gives me a bit of anxiety.

I have a feeling after Christmas that feeling may change.