Kitchen renovation

After a lot of hard work, our kitchen looks a little brighter and more updated. The cabinets still need to be switched out eventually, but I can definitely live with this for a while. We will post more changes later.

Our first big get together is this weekend, so we are excited for my family to see what we have been busy doing.

Chat more later...need to finish mulching the flower bed
Mary

Poison Ivy

This is an actual photo of our ivy.


So, today I realized another of life's joys in being a homeowner...poison ivy. The other day I found some small blisters on my forearm, and they were rather itchy. I just knew it had to be poison ivy. I searched high and low for the plant in our yard, but found none...until today. We have quite a large batch of it on the side of our house growing in with our ivy. Needless to say, I'm pretty stoked. I really hope to talk Jon into doing the poison ivy removal, since I am obviously very susceptible to it.

Later kids, Mary

Weeding the garden

When we got our house inspected the guy told us to get rid of the ivy growing on/near the house. He said that it attracks termites and other creepy crawly things, and that's not a good thing. We thought it would be a cinch. It looks like pretty flimsy stuff. Well it is tough, back breaking work. We will have to do it in stages because it is such a pain in the butt.

Finally some pics of the house, for those who still read this.

We have been in our new home for almost a month now, and there is so much to do. We have been busy doing all kinds of projects, but painting was our first big project. With that done, I felt excited to post some pics. Hope you enjoy them.

Mary






A Magee original haning in our hallway
our hallway



Back of the house

You can see the brick patio here...it needs some tlc
Our yard goes all the way back to the trees

out front

Some art we bought from local artist Mike Altman
Master bath toilet...don't ask me why I took a pic of this
Jon in the dining room
Jon and the little guy

Our bedroom. We are planning on building our own bed, that's why it's on the floor right now.
This is the $15 credenza we found at Goodwill, I think we will refinish it.
Master bath. There is a stand up shower and a toilet tucked away at the left.

My studio...still a mess

A desk I refinished

entry
guest bathroom
Jon's office...a work in progress

living room

entry

my photo collage...I think it turned out pretty cool

my first fireplace ever

kitchen...we plan to remodel when we get more cash. We are thinking of painting the cabinets white for now, and then just see how long we can live with it.


built in book shelves

Too busy doing work.

Doing these kinds of photos in my studio at work takes a new fun approach at self portraits. I only do them when I am either setting up or taking down portrait type lighting setups. I guess it was not the case for this one. I really wanted the softbox shining from above me. For these kind of shots I set the aperature just right and engage the timer and focus on a rolling tripod and run around and push the tripod out of the way a pose myself just so. Most aren't nearly as sweat as this one is.

Our New House!!!

Ok, so Jon and I just purchased our first home! After 5 1/2 years of marraige, we are finally settling into our very own home. We just purchased it on Sunday and we won't get the keys till March 6th, but we are so excited. We will post more photos in a month or so when we move in and paint. I guess I should give a few details. It is in Indy still on the North West side in Washington Township. The schools are great, and the street is quiet. Casper will surely enjoy the big back yard too, which is already fenced! All we have to do is clean and paint and move in. It is truly a blessing.

That's all for now...later peeps.

Relief...

NAPA BALKAMP Christmas Party at Jillians Indianapolis, IN

Hey guys, I finaly finished my painting for Emma. Thoughts, comments? Let me know what you think. Later, Mary

P.S. If any of you are in town tomorrow night Dec. 7th then you should stop by my studio at the Harrison Center at 16th and Deleware. There is a big opening, and they are showcasing many more artists than usual. Stop on by, it will be a good time.