Chip and Joanna Who?
Ben’s birthday was very low-key this year. He hasn’t been feeling well, and after some visits to the hospital, we decided to keep it simple. We had Texas Road House catered at home…and by catered, I mean that I picked it up, wrapped it in my winter coat and drove with it on the floorboard and the heat on blast so he could have a nice, lukewarm dinner with his family! 🤣
I’m so thankful for this hard working man! I always say that he is my mechanic and Chip Gaines all in one person. While Ben does not have the same wacky, relaxed showman personality of Chip, he does have an impeccable talent and knowledge for home improvements of all kinds. There are so many projects that he has done (and my in-law family 👋 have done) that most people would hire out.
Sometimes, I feel like a fraud, because my last name is now Bohlen and I am not as hard working as they all are! 🤦♀️ I remember when Ben and I were dating and we would constantly have discussions trying to prove that I was lazier than him or he was lazier than me. After being together the past 5 years, I can confirm that it is most definitely me, the lazy sloth. <- sometimes he calls me this when he’s mad at me! 🤣
We recently redid our fireplace, after almost 10 months of me saying I was going to do it! 🤣 I’m telling you…I AM LAZY! Not really in this sense, I am just busy being a full-time working mom, a wife that cooks good meals, and a semi-average housekeeper! 😄
And there’s nothing like the pressure of a birthday party where you invite both sides of your family over to kick your butt in gear! And by “kick your butt”, I mean Ben’s nice butt! 😍 I always want to help him with our projects, but it never ends up working out that way. I’m always doing something else for the good of the household at least. #pullinmyweight
Here’s a picture of our dining room when Norma and Dale (* shakes fist downward to Hell*) lived there and we were doing a walk-through of their home before we placed an offer with them.
Yeah, that’s Dale’s grump @$$ in the picture too. 👿 Anyways, as you can tell, the dining room was outdated, old, and ugly. I have always been obsessed with white fireplaces. I think it is so clean cut and simple. White never goes out of style.
Now here’s the part where I tell you why Ben and Stevie are not synonymous to Chip and Joanna: Other than the fact that Joanna is effortlessly beautiful, she comes up with a vision and Chip asks no questions. The “Ben and Stevie” combo is a back-and-forth disagreement regarding each other’s style. Ya’ll, Ben wanted to be H-E-A-V-I-L-Y involved in the curtains I chose for the dining room! A man! Curtains! Those two things never collide. 🤣 #isthisEarth?
Anyways, Ben disagreed with my decision to paint the fireplace white. He wanted to paint it charcoal gray. I am so sorry hunny, but I was right! 😘
SPAM THE COMMENTS TO TELL ME I WAS RIGHT! 🤣
It is absolutely gorgeous! Ben did an AMAZING job on this renovation! This brick drank paint like it had been thirsty since 1970! 😄 It took a lot of paint and a lot of careful painting to ensure no runs showed up!
Waylin loves her new dining room too! One of the things I love most about my husband is that he does take the time to share his trade with Waylin. She even got to help paint the fireplace, which she thought was sooo cool! I tell Ben all the time: these are the little moments that count! She will probably remember her dad best by his ability to share his knowledge and experiences with her. ❤
Let’s talk about the mantle. I would have liked to make the mantle BEEFY, but we were running out of time to get the dining room ready for Waylin’s Merry Birthday party. The mantle has been another non-ChipandJoanna moment for us as well, because I like to cover the three “build outs” that the fireplace has with one big piece of home decor. I found this “HOME” sign at Sam’s Club and Ben instantly hated it. 😮 He said the lettering looks like it says “homo” and I walked away from that conversation!
Ben is very particular about decorating the mantle. He likes to put up a bunch of trinkets, lanterns, candles and other things. I like a simple, layered look…I planned to add a lantern and maybe a plant to follow the “rule of three.”
I am IN LOVE with the curtains I chose for this room. Buffalo Check is totally in right now, and I honestly think it is a classic pattern that looks great even outside of Christmas. I held off on buying curtains for so long because I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted. I planned on going the Etsy route, until I realized I would have to sell my right arm and possibly a kneecap to afford to put curtains up in my dining room.
Ben was getting antsy with me about the curtains, and said “My mom is going to come over here and say ‘YOU STILL DON’T HAVE CURTAINS?’” At the time, we were operating with a very old, extra large beach towel that had a pirate skull on it. The wording said, “DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES,” and it is very possible that the neighbors could read it on the other side! 🤦♀️
The curtains we ended up buying were Amazon finds for $42! I am SO HAPPY with them and I think the room looks great!
I also found this clock at Aldi and it adds the perfect touch! Ben wasn’t happy about me wanting to hang this clock either. BUT, weeks later, he told me that he now relies on that clock when he’s looking to see what time it is. #imrightoclock #ipromiseiamnotthiscockyinreallife
The floors weren’t in our budget right now. I know it would totally transform this area, but we will see!
Here’s Waylin laying on the fireplace waiting for Santa to hurry down the chimney tonight! 🎅
I’m still not over how gorgeous our dining room is! I definitely vacuum that room waaaaay more than I do any other room in the house! 🤣 NOTE TO HUSBANDS: If you want your wife to vacuum more frequently, renovate every damn room in the house! 🧹
I have to say that I am so thankful that Ben trusted me with this vision and although he disagreed, I think he can even vouch that the room looks so pretty!
Take THAT Norma and Dale! 🖕
