Nest: A Review

Let me start off by stating that this is not a paid advertisement/post. These are personal opinions about Nest. :)

I've actually had a few people ask how I like our Nest, so a blog post sounded like a good idea!

Josh surprised me with a Nest one day after I had commented that it would be nice to be able to control our thermostat from our phones. Lazy? Yes.

As far as I know, you can only purchase it from Lowes...but don't quote me on that. 

Basically, it just replaces your current thermostat. It took him about an hour to re-wire everything and let me tell you, it has been a dream come true! :) Also, it's much cuter than a normal thermostat...

From your wall unit, you just turn the dial to adjust temperatures and settings. You can set it to be on certain temperatures at certain times, and it has a HOME and AWAY setting, which is helpful with energy conservation during your summer vacations. ;)

Oh, but the best thing?? It learns all of the settings that you like, so after a few days, it'll start adjusting the temp to what YOU like when YOU want it. So, we like the house to be very cool at night so we sleep like babies. Not newborn babies...maybe babies who have been dosed up with Dimetapp. Well, after a few days of having Nest, it already knew we liked that, so around 10pm, it would automatically switch to 69°. Yeah, we like it at 69....moving on! :)

Here's what the app looks like on my phone: 

Oh, I guess I should point out that, since we've added on to the house, we've also added another Nest for the new part. We have them labeled...eventually, they'll communicate with each other like little robots. :)

 A view of the AWAY setting:

I really love that we can control the temps from our phones because on really hot days (like today!!), we can set it when we leave work, and the house is nice and cool when we arrive!

Oh, technology.

Be our guest, be our guest!

Hope you all enjoyed that last post with the bazillion photos! So, here's another bazillion!

Since our master bedroom was going to get a makeover, we had to finish our guest rooms/guest bathroom so that we could temporarily live there. The fun part was getting to pick out bedding, furniture, paint, and decor for it. I love bold paint colors...Josh, not so much. But, after we got this paint color up, he loved it! Oh, and the curtain situation was an ordeal. I found the curtains at World Market (can I please have everything in that store??). With the blue walls, I wanted a beige upholstered bed, burlap-y curtains, and espresso and orange accents. I found the super long curtain rod at Bed Bath and Beyond. They sell pieces that you can screw together to make what you want. It was perfect! We've also add white faux wood blinds to shield some of the morning light.  

One of the new flooring trends is faux wood/tile floors. We love wood flooring, so we hopped on the bandwagon. The hard part was choosing the one we liked the best...if you search for faux wood tile, you will be on the internets for days! So many options, so many styles (smooth, distressed), colors! Ahhh!! But, we finally decided on this one from Lowe's. It had the right colors and it has just a little bit of the "wood feel." We chose a plush carpet and used A-1 Carpet in Cleveland. The day it was installed, we rolled around in it like a couple of kids. :) The paint color in the hallway is what I like to call "butterscotch."

That center door leads to our guest bathroom...we used a slate tile in the shower and the floor. Vanity is from Lowe's. Baskets for towels and shower curtain (which is a little too short, width-wise) are from Target.

You may remember this status...

Well, turns out that the "shower curtain" was actually a window curtain...same pattern. So, I DID end up returning it. I think. I don't remember. 

This is the room to the left of the bathroom...what will eventually be the nursery. It's currently a THROW-EVERYTHING-IN-HERE room. :) Let's move on.....

My super sweet friend, Leslie, "helped" me (she actually just did it all while I watched..haha) sew these French door curtains. Do y'all know how hard it is to find FD curtains? Well, it is. I didn't want sheer ones because people will be sleeping in this room and, even though we live in the country, we still need some privacy, so I found this fabric at Joann. It's outdoor fabric...thick enough to block views, but still able to be pulled back. 

Some advise: Don't buy a dang duvet/down comforter combo! I ain't got time for that!

We bought the comforter and duvet from Ikea, finally got around to taking it out of the packaging once the room was done a few weeks later, and realized it was the dumbest thing ever. It just slides around in there. Then, I couldn't find the clips, but I DID run across this beauty while at Target. I love it so much better anyway. I don't have a photo of the original duvet, but it's chocolate brown if anyone wants that dang thing.

Here's a sneak peek of the bedroom (we haven't gotten the actual bed yet)... 

Orange pillows are from HomeGoods, blue-ish pillow from Target (can I also please have everything in the Threshold line??).

 Papasan from Pier One (migrated from living room), chest from CBS

Also, here's a look at our master bedroom, as of two nights ago. The stairway leads to the upstairs "playroom" and it's accessed from the hallway behind that back wall (which is open to the main part of the house). To the left is a door opening to the closet which also leads to the master bathroom (which is already done, 'member?)

Both rooms on the back side of the house have tons of windows for a perfect view of the pond. :) 

And, this is Josh's baby. The theater room. The screen will be on the left side of this photo. He's currently in the process of running all kinds of wires and stuff in there before they sheet-rock. That's what that long PVC pipe is...so it's easier to run the cables through. Nifty!

Wedding Goods :)

This might seem a little late, but here we go!

I've been wanting to write a post about the details of our wedding. Maybe someone out there cares...but if not, it'll help me remember when I'm old and have no memory. :)

Josh proposed on August 10th. I wanted a fall wedding. We didn't have much time! But, it actually worked out perfectly. I had wanted to get married in or around November. We originally thought of March, but after worrying about weather, we decided November was safer. Another thing was that we had to do it when the furniture store wasn't going to be too busy. We wanted to be able to go on our honeymoon and know that the store would be taken care of. Since I've photographed several weddings and have been a wedding nut since I was a young girl, I really had a lot of it planned in my mind already. I knew I wanted a small wedding. Josh did, too. I also knew I wanted to get married at a location that meant something to us. I mean, I love beautiful churches, but I wanted to be able to have freedom and do things as we wanted to do them, with no time frame or limit. So, long story short, we decided on November 4th at his parents' house (just two doors down from ours). It would be a late afternoon wedding, around 50 people (just close family and friends), and short and sweet! We wanted the day to be about us getting married, not about all the fanfare, but if that's your thing, do it! :) I spent a lot of time on Pinterest and Etsy just gathering ideas. I didn't want to purchase a lot of stuff that wouldn't be used again, so I only got things that I REALLY wanted and that we could still display (art, etc.).

Here are some details:

Colors: Deep Plum, Mustard Yellow, and Teal (teal chosen by Josh due to a tie Jim Halpert was wearing in an episode of The Office)

Burlap and Mason Jars

Rustic, but not too country

Simple

Invitations: www.peartreegreetings.com

Dress: David's Bridal - I originally looked online for something inexpensive but had no luck. David's Bridal was a no-brainer for me. I knew we didn't want to spend a lot on the dress. I tried on a few (Amy (Josh's sister and my MOH) and I had gone a few months before and tried some on in pre-preparation, so I already knew which were my top contenders) and decided on this one in Ivory. It was very fitting, but I figured I'd do some extra crunches before the wedding and it'd be good! (Please note: I did absolutely NO exercising before the wedding...thank God Josh loves my body the way it is!) If they had ordered one, it wouldn't have arrived in time for the wedding, so I bought the store model and had them tailor it. It was done just in time, after a couple of alteration appointments. I also purchased a different belt/sash that was a little more vintage...I loved my dress!!  

Photography by Captured Simplicity - Amy and I have become good friends since the wedding...she doesn't actually advertise weddings, but she's amazing!!! She did our engagement photos and I love her style!

"Mrs. Good" dress hanger from Bridal Bender on Etsy.

Flowers: Billie Rodgers (at time of order, College Park Flowers in The Woodlands)

Billie has done several of the weddings I've photographed and I love her work! I ordered my bridal bouquet, MOH's bouquet, and a few boutonnieres and corsages. I really just told her what I wanted and she "surprised" me. I was so in love when I saw them. I honestly didn't send her any photos for inspiration and she completely read my mind. They were perfect!! She wrapped them in twine and then a teal ribbon to go with our colors.

 

Chairs, tables, and tablecloths rented from Elegant Beginnings in Humble. 

Catering by Splendora Cafe in Splendora - We had the chicken with the mashed potato bar (my request). They did a great job and even had servers! 

 Fans (because I wanted something Asian for my mom) - some store on Harwin

Potted Mums - Vannee's Bloomin' Yard (my mom's shop)

 Mad Libs (something Josh and I used to do on our earlier dates) - Sweet Potato Shop on Etsy

 Coloring Book for the kids' table - Squishy Cute Designs on Etsy

 Photo Booth Props - Dollar Store...probably in just one trip, I created and printed the sign, purple curtains for backdrop: Ikea

 Favors - Purple mums from my mom's shop. We wrapped them in burlap and twine.

 Hairclip - borrowed. These things are pricey!! I almost bought one, then at a boudoir session (definitely recommend doing one for your fiance or hubby), the photog had this one and let me borrow it! Super sweet!! 

Accessories - I got earrings at Charming Charlie that were perfect for my dress, borrowed my mom's sapphire blue bracelet, garter from Hobby Lobby, and shoes were from DSW.

Hair by Rebekah Conley - message me for info

Makeup by Beauty by Hayli - She did the hair and makeup for the boudoir session and she is amazing!!!

Cake by Joanne - my beautiful sister-in-law! She doesn't do many cakes anymore, but she's great at what she does! She's so creative and her cakes are so yummy!! I actually sent her the inspirational photo (top) and she made it come to life! I loved how it turned out! We did a banana pudding cake (something I crave all the time now) with vanilla and chocolate cupcakes. 

 

Cake Cutter by Silver Wings Designs - Another new friend!! Carla makes beautiful, personalized pieces. I found the cake set at Kohl's and she engraved it. LOVE it!! This is one of those things that was definitely cool on our wedding day, but will be used for many years to come!

"Best Man" and "Best Dad" engraved pocketknives for Josh's dad and brother: Journey Productions on Etsy - These were a hit...a great gift for the men!

Handkerchiefs for my parents - I bought some plain ones from somewhere (maybe Kohl's or Macy's) and had a friend embroider them with these sayings (that I might have found on Etsy):

Mom,
Today I am a bride.
Tomorrow a wife.
Forever your baby.

I love you,
Victoria
11.04.2012

Dad,
Although I'm all grown up,
Dressed in lace and pearls,
Remember on my wedding day,
I'm still your little girl.

I love you,
Victoria
11.04.2012 

In closing, it was absolutely how I envisioned our wedding. I wouldn't have had it any other way. It started at 4:00 and we left around 6:30. We had a quick ceremony, ate, did cake and toasts, and left in a sea of bubbles. It was the perfect day.

Oh, also...originally it was planned to all be outside, but a couple of days before, it was forecast to rain. So, we made provisions to use Josh's parents' garage. Of course, the weather ended up being beautiful, but the garage was still the perfect spot for the reception. :)

I'm probably forgetting details, but if you have any questions, please let me know! :)

Home is wherever I'm with you...

We've begun adding the new addition to our house! Yay!

This is something Josh has always wanted to do, and it's so exciting that it's becoming a reality now. To recap, because I don't think I've blogged about this here before, Josh has owned the house for a while now and part of the interior was remodeled during our first year of dating. That was fun! We spent A LOT of time at Home Depot! But, we also got to choose all of the textiles (granite, tile, paint, wainscoting, etc.). Josh designed it all himself in SmartDraw. We've gotten lots of ideas from Houzz...and of course, Pinterest (well, I have, not so much him..haha!). It's such an awesome thing that we've been able to design what we want, which how much space we want, and all the other big and small details. I just keep thinking, this house is just so big! But, God has blessed us so much, in so many ways, with so many resources, that we're able to do this! I'm so, so thankful.

We planned on just pouring the slab, then waiting and saving up for the next phase...to take our time and not rush. Also, I've told Josh that when it's done, babies will commence, so that's probably a reason he wanted to take it slow on the construction. Hahahaha! But, we poured the slab, then we just figured, eh...let's just keep it rollin'! So we did!

Currently, we have:

• living room
• kitchen
• mudroom
• bedroom
• office
• master bathroom

 We're adding:

• sunken living room (the current living room will become dining)
• a larger office
• two full bathrooms
• two additional bedrooms
• a theater room
• expanding our bedroom
• back patio area

 Here are some photos to put it all together!

The Dumpster really spruces up the place, doesn't it?? 

The office is what will be at the very front of the house...there will be french doors at the top of the stairs in this photo below.

 Where the green arrows are, those built-in bookcases will be eliminated and the fireplace will remain open to the dining room and future living area...

 ...which will lead here. To the right on this photo is the hallway that will lead to the two new bedrooms.

This is the view from the back.

 On the right side, viewing from the back, is the new (very-large-please-come-stay-with-us-but-not-too-long) guest room. If you do choose to stay at the Good Inn, you will be able to enjoy this beautiful view of the pond...really, it's a great view. :)

 Another angle of the back. The "wall" that's on the ground will be our larger master bedroom wall of windows looking out to the pond.

 Another thing we're doing is closing off this door on the right. It's currently our only bathroom, but it's also "our" bathroom, meaning Josh got his HUGE walk-in shower and I got my jacuzzi tub, so we're keeping it as the master and closing the door off so we'll only be able to access it from our room. Plus, there will be a bathroom right next to the new office (see 3rd photo--to the left of that) and one bathroom by the two new bedrooms. Lots of potty places! :)

So, that's it so far! It's funny because I took these photos Friday evening, right before it got dark, after so many people wanted to see the progress, and now they've worked all weekend and it's a completely different look! All of the doorways are now completed in all of the rooms, along with windows, etc. So I'll post an update this week. They are supposed to start on all of the roofing and stuff this week, depending on rain! It's super exciting!! What do you think so far?