I've Been Bitten

Where the heck have I been?

I know that you've been asking yourself this question because you are a most faithful follower of this little blog and you feel so very lost when I do not constantly post.

No?  Well, fine then.

I'm still going to tell you what we Merrills have been up to.

OP and I are right in the thick of buying a house.  It always seemed easy in the past.  You'd find a house you like, sign a mountain of papers, then move into the house.  Right?  Not this time.  The market out here in Arizona is on the rise and all of the homes in our area are being snatched up by money-totting investors site-unseen. Which means that little people like us who have to bother with silly things such as mortgages are being left in the dust.

We finally made an offer on a house that was accepted, but since this house is a short sale, we are in the process of waiting.  Waiting to see if the bank approves our offer, waiting to find out just how many square feet of flooring we'll need to order to replace the old, nasty stuff (cigarette burns, people), waiting to buy gallons of new paint to cover the dark purple, neon yellow and dirty white... and we're waiting to find out if we're completely crazy for getting a house that needs so much work.

It has also given me dust off my ole decorating skills (I simply haven't cared for a while now) and start making some plans.  Hello, Pinterest.

 Oh yes, I've been busy.

The girlies are very excited because they are getting their own rooms.  Adi will have enough room for all of her teaching stuff that she's collected and is currently storing in the closet, and Piper will finally get to prove that it isn't her that pigs-up the room.

The girls have big dreams when it comes to how their rooms will look.  And very... beautiful?... ideas on what colors and decorations to put in there.  To help these little ladies along, and to still maintain a level of control that I am comfortable with, I made a few design boards for the girls.  This way they can choose the color scheme and overall theme of their own room. 

I did add a little disclaimer before letting them choose: Mom gets absolute say in the end, so if they want something that makes Mom cringe, it is a no.

*All the images came from my darling Pinterest*

Why a surf one?  Because ever since seeing Soul Surfer, Adi has decided that she loves surfing.  However, her mother also loves to watch Shark Week, and that has made her absolutely terrified of ever going near the ocean.

And now, they get to choose.  Adi automatically said she wanted the surf one.  I told her to actually look at the other ones and see if maybe she'd like one of those.  Nope.  Surf.

Pipes gave a squeal of delight and breathlessly said, "I can't choose one!  They're all so pretty!"

I am now off to make a few more design boards for my kitchen, bedroom, family room, and eating nook!