Housewarming Party - better late than never!

This weekend we had a housewarming party.......we probably should have called it a "thank-goodness-we-have-finally-finished-all-the-big-projects-and-refinanced-the-house party", but neither Evite or Punchbowl (both free online invitation sites) had any invitations by that name.

So we went with "housewarming", which thoroughly confused some of our friends who couldn't understand why we already "moved again" since we just moved into this house two years ago.  Of course we hadn't, we just had some big projects to tackle first before it was party time!  We did have some little projects left that we'd put off for too long though and we did want to get some of these things done before having the party.  Once we set the date, we got to work.....and it's amazing how much can happen when you have a deadline!

 In about a week my husband and I:

• finished putting up the trim and closet door in the bathroom
• installed the bathroom light (we'd used just the medicine cabinet lights the whole time)
• put up a lovely vinyl stencil my mom got me about a year ago
• fixed the front door trim that was loose
• donated the garage sale leftovers once and for all (instead of saving them for "the next sale")
• cleared and cleaned the front porch
• painted the basement stairway walls (I skipped painting the last stairway going upstairs since I ran out of time)
• repainted our key/purse/library book holder thingy (before and after to come)
• created a fabulous centerpiece for FREE! (picture below -- tutorial to come)
• created a fantastic jewelry organizer {very cheaply} with burlap and a frame (pic below -- tutorial to come)
• ...and of course the standard extra cleaning for a party (which the kids were all so excited about)  ;)

I found a couple recipes via Pinterest that looked amazing, and saved just for this occasion......and oh mylanta, they did not disappoint!!  They were both SO easy and SO yummy -- be sure to check these out!

 {Jalapeno Popper Dip via Closet Cooking}

{Butterfinger Blondies via Six Sisters Stuff}

We had great food, great conversation, and just a great time to celebrate this wonderful house we've been blessed with!  It was a really nice time with friends and family, and gave us great incentive to check things off that way overdue to-do list! 

Here's a sneak peek at the "just for fun" projects we threw into the week......you know, since we had so much extra time on our hands, lol!

{Beautiful Centerpiece that's even better in person, cost $0}

~ Before ~

~ After ~

{Vinyl on Living Room Wall}

{Jewelry Organizer}

I'll be posting the tutorials soon - so check back for those!  Let me know what you think if you try those recipes -- you really should!  I'm going to go do a quick clean up to keep the house this miraculously clean forever.....or at least for a few days!