A few updates

First, I've been working on the guest/craft/office room the last week. The old shelves I had were the cheapy comes-in-a-box-fiberboard variety, and they didn't survive the move. (The sudden rain/hail storm we drove through certainly didn't help). Anyway, I needed some new shelves. I didn't want to get the same cheap shelves again, so I started scouring the internet. I found these shelves on Target.com, and using my Target Debit card, I got a 5% discount and free shipping right to the front door...can't beat that! I was able to put them together on my own. They're not entirely hardwood, like they look, but they're certainly a step up from these, and for not much more money. So here they are all put together, with LOTS of stuff on them already!

Next, James and I decided to finally hang some artwork in the living room. Not only are the walls blank and lonely, all of the artwork has been taking up space sitting around in the guest room and dining room, just waiting to get knocked over by a kitten. But upon laying out all the artwork, we decided we didn't have enough. So we set out to Kirklands hoping to find a good deal. Fortunately for us, they were having a Memorial Day sidewalk sale, an extra 25% off the clearance! So we got 5 pieces of art for only about $55 with tax. Not too shabby! A few of them will go in other rooms, but here are two great pieces we got to go behind the couch:

 

Here's a piece James already had that we put behind the console table: 

And here are a couple pieces we hung on the wall going into the hallway. James already had the train, but we got the woodsy scene for only $10!

Okay, enough about artwork. (Although we are pretty proud of our awesome deals, and we love that the living room finally feels like someone lives in it!) 

Now on to something a little less decor-related and more home improvement related. When James got the house, the home inspector said that he needed a new attic fan, or else the attic would get so hot that the roof would need to be completely re-done in the near future. Well, that doesn't sound like our idea of a good time! So, James bought a new attic fan and planned to install it in the morning hours, before it got too hot (it's been in the mid-90's the last couple of days!). It took him quite a while to get the old one off the roof, since it was cemented and nailed down, and under the roof shingles. But after a lot of pulling and prying, the old fan came down. I didn't get a picture of it on the roof, but here it is on its back (like a dead roach!): 

Yeah, it was pretty ugly. Here is James starting to install the new fan: 

Yes, it's much prettier! It doesn't match the roof shingles, but that's okay. It's on the backside of the house so no one will really see it anyway. 

Make sure you use lots of roofing cement so you don't get any leaks!! After about an hour in the hot attic wiring and re-wiring this darn thing, it finally works!! Now we just have to find some matching shingles to cover up the flashing. Will post a picture when it's all finished. But for now, it's Memorial Day, and we shall relax!