Lincoln's Birthday Present

I pulled this guy out of my neighbor's trash when Lincoln was 5 or 6 months old. I took Stella for a walk before work, saw it and on my way out of the neighborhood, tossed it in the back of my car. My neighbor saw me do it and said, "Oh good, I was hoping someone would take it!"

So it wasn't weird. Ok, a little weird.

Fast forward 6 months and I finally pulled it out of the corner of the basement. Scrubbed it down, taped off the wheels and steering wheel and then put a layer of primer on it. I used spray paint designed for plastic. I used an entire can of primer on the coupe.

After the primer, I spray the center of the car with white spray paint. After it drieed, I taped off the racing stripes. I used one piece of tape to space the stripes, then two more for the stripes themselves. Then I removed the center stripe.

Next, I painted the blue. I probably should have painted the seat next, but I was excited to get the blue on.

After the blue, I tape off the bottom and spray painted it with some leftover silver paint. I had used it to paint some hinges in the master bathroom. Next, I used Zinser primer (not designed for plastic, but a very adhesive primer so I figured it would work) to paint the interior. I painted the roof, the inside of the doors and the trunk.

 I forgot to take a picture of the next part, but I taped off the seat and dashboard and painted it with black spray paint.

 Next, I peeled off the stripes so I could work on the license plate and grill. I made a stencil for the "ABE 01" part and used stickers for the virginia and JAN 14 part. Once I took off the stripes, I noticed my tape didn't do the best job so I went back over the stripes with the zinser primer and a foam brush. I added a few details with my paint pens - a red stripe around the interior and a silver grill design and silver hubcaps.

I probably spent about $40 on tape and spray paint. I know a new one isn't much more, but little man LOVES it!

He and his lady friend can fit in it together! This was at the end of his birthday party- can you tell he is TIRED?

He hasn't quite gotten the hang of pushing with his feet, but he stands on the seat and lets Glenn or I push him. He loves crawling in it and putting toys in the trunk.

Happy Birthday, Lincoln!

One year!

December 8th marked the one-year anniversary of living in our house! Wow, this year has flown by! We've accomplished a lot of projects in the first year, but we still have a growing list. We know this home is not going to be our forever home, but it is going to hold so many memories as our first home together.

Here are the biggest projects we've accomplished so far:
- Installed blinds on most of the windows and privacy paint on the front door
- Installed a master closet
- Added a poured concrete patio in the back yard
- Painted the interior of the house (80% complete, still the guest room and living room to complete)
- Add a utility sink in the basement (Thanks, Mom & Dad!)
- Build a workbench in the basement
- Installed new lighting in the kitchen, dining room and bedroom.

Here are a list of projects we still hope to accomplish in the next year:
- Add a gas insert to the fireplace (gas company is suppose to install the line in the next couple weeks!)
- Change out the vanity in the master bath for a double vanity
- Paint the guest room and living room
- Install more cabinetry in the kitchen (including a wine fridge, microwave and slide out garbage can)
- Switch out the over-the-stove microwave for a vent hood

I'm sure the list is going to get much longer, but hopefully most of the improvements we make will add value to our home. There are a couple houses down the street that have sold pretty quickly so we are hoping when the day comes to move, we will have luck as well.

So many projects

I've got a million projects in the works and it's killing me cause I love the feeling of completing a project and checking it off my list. Here's a little of what I've got in the works.

And yes. Those are still the curtains. Almost done with 3 windows. Half way!