New Front Door

Day 30

I've been wanting a new front door since I bought my house a year ago.  I didn't like the way the solid door made the living room feel so dark and gloomy, so I kept the door open all day so the glass storm door would let light in. The problem with that was, the storm door isn't very insulated and it would let the warm air out in winter and the cold air out in the summer.  Now I can keep my door closed all year and still get light in.  Plus Little Foot can see out the door all the time even when it's closed. There he is laying at the front door on guard as usual.  I decided to just leave the storm door on.

Here is how it looks from inside now.

Let there be light!

Before when I had the solid door there, while keeping the door open during the day, it would hide my little table and tobacco basket on the wall where you couldn't see them.  Now with the glass door being closed all the time, I can see my basket and table, which I much prefer.

I love it and I think it fits my house better than just a plain door.

I have always loved french doors and want to add more to my home.  First priority was getting the front door changed out before winter so I didn't loose all that heat from having the door open this year.

Here is a beautiful house I always pass by when I'm out driving and the way the french door looks on the front of this house really inspired me to go ahead and put one on mine.

*Edited:  I forgot to mention, the door came as plain wood, so you could stain or paint it yourself.  I also had to put my own door knobs and hinges on it since it didn't even come with the hole for one or anything.  My dad did most of the work putting the door up and putting the hardware on. I mostly just painted it and helped him pick up the door and things. (It may not look it, but this door is pretty heavy.)  Thanks dad for all your hard work! 

Here is the link where I bought the door.  Home Depot

I started painting it before we put it up, but then I thought it may get all messed up if I paint it first.  So I stopped painting and waited until after it was installed. Thankfully I did, because it got pretty scratched up along the way with all that he ended up having to do to it.

Here is how it looked in the process of painting it and getting everything prepared for the new door.

While we had the other door off and was taking the new door out to cut it to length, Little Foot ran outside when we weren't looking and I had to go running through the neighborhood chasing him down.

So we had to put his baby gate up while we worked on the door.

Awwww

 (Below) Here is how the door looked closed before I got the glass door,

 the only way to see the table behind it.

It was much darker in the room and you had to turn on all the lights for it to feel light in the room.

But when you opened the door to let the light in, it hid the table and things behind it.

(Older picture from last Christmas below)

Much better than the plain boring white door the house came with.

Before & After

It's been up for a week now and I am 100% happy with it.  Little Foot concurs. 

Exploring My Lil' Town

Day 29

I went exploring Mt. Airy today because there were a few things I'd been wanting to see.

  I found this beautiful river next to a trail I have been wanting to go walking on.

(I took all of these pics with my cell phone.)

I let Little Foot go swimming in the creek.

He had a blast!

There were lots of other people out walking their dogs on the trail, too.

Granite Quarry

I accidently stumbled upon the Mt. Airy White Granite quarry,  the largest open faced quarry in the world.  I didn't go all the way in, I just took a pic from my car window. I'll have to go back one day to really get a look at it all.

Photography

A Taste of Mayberry

Day 28

The house Andy Griffith grew up in.

Friend getting his hair cut at Floyd's Barber Shop.

This truck was parked at an old gas station.

You know how I love old cars and trucks.

(Kitty was a sweety, she was very pregnant, too.)

This is what they do with the kids when they act up here,

so make sure ya keep your nose clean around these parts!

On the Mountain Top

Day 27

I took this photo on the top of the Blue Ridge Mountains on Friday.  The view is breathtaking.

It was so great seeing you again Bec! 

You really need to move up here.

A lot of old barns along the Blue Ridge Parkway. Love them!

The most adorable churches.

I really love how this old fence photo turned out. 

It's my favorite photography photo that I took up on the mountain.

I might frame this one.

Happy Thanksgiving

Day 26

Spent Thanksgiving with family.

Thanksgiving dinner, country style.



My moms fall mantle.



Hope you're having a wonderful day!

An Old House and a Wall

Day 24

This is a house I drive by all the time and I just love it.  

I would love to live in a little house like this.

Those are grave stones you see in front, it's across the street from a very large cemetery.

Day 25

This is a wall someone painted in the down town area.

I'm going to photograph the church that is painted on the far top right eventually. 

I went to it with a friend who invited me there when I first moved here, it has such charm.

I got my front door put on and all finished. I'll take pictures tomorrow and get those on here.  I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  

Getting behind

Oops, I'm getting behind on my 365 Day Project! I didn't take any photos over the weekend.  

So what happens when I get behind? Do I just make up for it and take additional pics? 

My mom took this photo of me and my side kick yesterday.

I guess since she took it, I can't put it toward the 365 project.

My parents were over helping me work on projects around the house, 

so I'll have a few pics this week to show some of the things I've been working on.

Story behind the photo:  My mom was sitting in the chair across from me and Little Foot kept rubbing up against her demanding to be pet and she would say, "enough".  I would have to call him to get him away from her and he would run over to me and  jump up on the couch and just plop down on me like you see here.  She was laughing at how funny it was so she thought she would snap a pic of it.  I spoil him much too much.

Oh no! Not that place!

Day 23

It was Little Foots yearly vaccination and check up today.  See his little bandage on his arm? That's where they took some blood.  He did pretty good, he was a little hyper, but he calmed down after we were there for a little bit.  He didn't even cringe when he got his shots.  Good boy!

I wanted to take some pics of him at the vet, but I forgot to even take my cell phone with me to snap some cell phone pics.  So I just took some when we got back home.  You can barely see the grass in my yard from all the leaves! lol

This is the puppy from next door, although he's not a puppy anymore

 (I still call him that), he's bigger than Little Foot now.  

They always say hi to each other through the fence.

Peeking around the tree at me.  

Wall Basket

Day 22

Guest room wall.

I sat in the guest room last night just looking at the armoire and trying to figure out what I want to do with it. I may start over and give it sort of a look  like this.  They painted the armoire black first, then brushed a pale gray on top of it.

Photo from The Painted Hive

Finished Painting the Armoire, but...

Day 21

I'm just not sure I am loving it.

I'm not crazy about the blue color I used and I still want to get the glass inserts. I would love to distress it some, to make it look a little rustic.  It looks too frilly or something. hmmm  I know, I don't usually get down on my refinishing jobs, but this one I just feel I could do better.  I don't even love the new hardware I got for it.  Oh my.

Before & After

It's not horrible, I like it and all.  I almost have my guest room pulled together.  As soon as I find a desk, I can put my other white desk in here and the room will be done for the most part.

I'm going to put a tv in the armoire.  It has extra shelves for  more storage in it besides the tv, so I'll probably also put some blankets and sheets in it, too.  I found a wonderful basket for the wall at an antique store and already put it on the wall in this room. I'll post pics of it in a bit.

*By the way, I put a new page up about Mount Airy. There is a link to it at the top of the blog.  I just started it, so I'll be adding more to it as I go.  If you have any interesting facts you know about Mt Airy, please let me know and I can add that, too. Thanks!

*Linked to Follow Friday 40 and older.

Old Rickety Desk

Day 20

Here's an old desk at the Habitat store I keep thinking about. Why you may ask?  Well, I can see it's potential. I would strip it and re-stain it a darker color and attach the handles back. I actually like these handles. I saw a desk like this in an old movie the other day.  The only thing about the desk is, it's huge! It may not look like it in the picture, but I don't even know how I would get this home. I'm sure it wouldn't fit in my Jeep.  I need a work desk sooooo bad, the one I'm using now is just too small and isn't working for me.  I work from home and am at my desk all day, so I really want my desk to be more functional.  Here's the best part... it's $20.00.

I was also thinking, if I got this desk, I may put it in the Master Bedroom and start working out of there instead of working in the laundry room.  The laundry room isn't insulated very well and it's freezing in here in the colder months.  It would be much warmer to work back in the Master bedroom.  It wouldn't be too much of a problem since I am sleeping in the guest room now, so I could still separate work from my sleeping area.

I'll let you know if I decide to get it or keep looking.

Looking For A Church

Day 19

I'm on the hunt for a church to go to.  I'm looking for an informal (don't have to dress all up) contemporary protestant church.  A friend of mine told me about this one, but she hadn't been there in 5 years or so.  She said when she went it was a very informal contemporary church with a band and everything.  When I went, well apparently someone else had taken over the church and it is  now a very formal (I felt very out of place) traditional baptist church with the choir, hymnals and all.  That's ok, because the people were so amazingly friendly.  One sweet lady took me right under her wing and was going around introducing me to everyone. They made me feel very welcomed and cared about.

If anyone is in the Mt. Airy area and has church recommendations, please let me know. I'll be visiting a different church each Sunday to try to find a place where I fit.

Armoire Color?

Day 18

I'm not sure if I like the blue I picked.  It's starting to grow on me, maybe I'll leave it this color. I ended up picking the bottom color from the swatches.  The color is called Seaside Villa by Valspar.  I'm wondering if I should have gone with a lighter color or a more aqua or turquoise color?

Bamboo Shades

Day 17

I finally decided to go ahead and get the bamboo roman shades from Countrycurtains.com.   They are insulated and they really block the light.  Perfect for this winter.  These are the wheat border with a 30 inch width. Here's the link.  I like them a lot and everything I order from here is really nice quality.

The hardest part of doing this armoire is picking the right color. I went and got a bunch of paint swatches today.  Here are a couple of  colors I like so far. They are a blue/gray.  It's really hard to tell the real colors from a computer monitor, but what do you think?  Which one?  Something different?

My Autumn Tree

Day 16

One of the trees in my backyard. 

The colors are beautiful right now.

White dishes collection

Day 15

I got all my new white dishes washed, put up and organized in my cabinet.

I would love a collection of white dishes like these!

Photo from Barn House blog.