cheepmomma

Roman Shade Redo...

2012-01-24T22:22:00.011-06:00

I love Roman shades. I hate the ones that came with my house. Here are the awesome ones that have been hanging out in my basement for the last 40+ years...

Fabulous, right?? Well, they have been ok to keep up for the last 9 months that we have been here, but I was starting to get REALLY tired of them. Plus 2 of the 4 were broken, so that gave me a totally legit reason to take them down. But I started thinking about having one over my kitchen window would be helpful. It's an East facing window and in the mornings, we have to keep ducking around the kitchen to avoid the blinding light while getting the girls their breakfast and making lunches. Not cool. I really didn't want to make a Roman shade, because, well...I'm lazy. So the wheels started turning in my head and I figured out how to reuse my old, super ugly Roman shades.

First I replaced the cord. The fraying cord was the reason that 2 of the shades were thrown out. So I picked up a package of curtain cord at JoAnn's. I cut the old cord in several places and kept it in the rings and locking mechanism so I could figure out where to thread the new cord through.

It took a while, but I finally got the new cord in and the old cord out. And it worked!! YAY! Next,I laid out my fabric. I used the same Amy Butler Lotus print I used to make my dining room curtains out of. One day, we are going to knock out the wall between the kitchen and dining room, so I thought I might as well make a matching window covering. I laid the shade on top of the fabric, taking great care to center the print as best as I could and GRABBED MY GLUE GUN. I know. Here is where it gets really technical. I glued the fabric to the shade. Seriously. Crafting 101. I didn't take any pics of that because I was a little busy trying not to burn myself. The process was an awful lot like recovering a chair bottom, though. When I got completely done with the gluing, I tacked the fabric in 8 different spots. While I think the glue will do a pretty good job of holding the fabric on, I think stitching it on will help it hold the fabric in place in the middle, despite all the raising and lowering of the shade.

After I tacked the fabric down, Adam hung up the brackets over the kitchen window. We replaced the old opaque dome light over the sink this weekend with a more modern pendant. It took some adjusting, but we finally got the brackets in the right spot. And here is the finished product...

I LOVE it! And I can't wait to get my walls painted. Hopefully that will be done by the weekend!

I'm on Knock Off Decor today!

2012-01-19T19:27:00.003-06:00

I have my PB Kids inspired Valentine's Chair Backers featured on Knock Off Decor today. Click on over to see the post from last year.

I hope to have a tutorial on them soon. As you may know, my move shortly after V Day last year put my craft space into a state of permanent disarray. I located my measurements for the backers just the other day and hope to make another backer for a tutorial!

Be sure to check out the other great knock offs at Knock Off Decor! There are some amazing things on that blog!!

Working Momma Dinners: Sausage & Tortellini Soup

2012-01-17T19:13:00.007-06:00

If you are a regular reader, you know I'm a working Mom. While I am happy to be able to provide for my family, having a full time job makes being a Mom a little tricky. I have a lot of help with the girls from Adam and my Mom, but one thing I always need help with is dinner. So I'm starting a new (hopefully regular) feature called "Working Momma Dinners", highlighting some of the dinners I have found that have worked for our family.

Tonight I made Sausage and Tortellini Soup, a hearty and filling soup which only takes about 15 minutes to make. By using canned tomatoes and frozen tortellini, you can have dinner on the table in no time! I don't remember where I got this recipe from, but I have tweaked quite a few things since first making it a few months ago, so I guess I can call it my own now. :)

Sausage & Tortellini Soup

1 lb pork sausage

10 oz frozen cheese tortellini

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

4 cups (2 cans) of chicken stock

2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes

1 8 oz can of tomato sauce

1/2 Tablespoon Italian spices

1 Tablespoon diced basil

In the bottom of a stock pot, brown the sausage with the onions and garlic. When the sausage is cooked, add the chicken stock, tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian spices and basil. Bring to a boil. Add the tortellini and continue to boil until the tortellini rise to the top. It's done!!

We sprinkle shredded mozzarella over the soup and serve it with garlic bread. It's perfect for a chilly winter day!

Another quick chair makeover...

2012-01-15T11:17:00.005-06:00

One year ago, I picked up this $4 chair at Good Juju...

And made it over with a fat quarter...

And yesterday I replaced that brown fabric with Mod Trees by Liz Scott for Moda...

And I love it. :)

Why am I surprised?

2012-01-14T17:58:00.008-06:00

I should know by now that whenever you start a house project, it is never going to take as long as you estimate. EVER. The 1/2 bath makeover is in full swing, but it's already starting to get on my nerves. Here is what it has looked like for the last 8 months that we have lived here (or the last 50 years it has existed!)...

SO UGLY.

I hate hate hate this picture.

So immediately after the foundation guys left, I had a wallpaper pulling party. Haven and Maelie were both invited...

What incredible helpers they were. Everything was going great, we were all in a giddy mood, when I stepped up on the toilet and gave the wallpaper on the soffit a yank. That's exactly when the giddiness came screeching to a halt. Because I saw this...

WHY?!?!?

Apparently at some point in the last 50 years, there was a water leak directly above this bathroom. I'm not sure if it came from a leak in a pipe or from the master bath shower that is directly above. But water entered the picture at some point in time. And I'm not quite sure how the wallpaper hung on to the wall with that much water damage. But it did. (Sometimes with an assist from our old friend the Scotch tape. Seriously wish I was kidding.) The wallpaper was cleverly disguising the mold and damage lurking below. The good news is that the mold was on the layer of paint underneath the wallpaper, which is flaking off the wall anyway. And it's not a lot of mold. Just a bit in a few places. The bad news is that we (meaning Adam) will have to somehow repair the damaged soffit. Not sure at this point if that means completely replacing all the drywall on the soffit, or just patching up with spackle. But we will get it done somehow.

Overall, I am hoping this room will be a super cheap redo. I already have the paint - it's the color I was originally going to paint Maelie's room, then I changed my mind. Might as well use it somewhere! We picked up the light fixture on clearance at Lowe's for under $20, the mirror was $3 at Maj-R Thrift and I have some DIY t-shirt frames I made a while back all ready to hang on on the walls. The vanity will be painted and we are going to buy a new sink top and faucet. I am keeping an eye out at ReStore for a sink top, but am ok if we have to end up buying one new. This little bath is rarely used, so I'm not really going to get super picky about it being a showstopper. Adam is also adding new outlets in all 3 bathrooms. That super ugly medicine cabinet? It's in all 3 baths. And does extra duty as a light fixture and outlet. So by removing the medicine cabinet, all 3 baths are without lights AND outlets. Crazy. He got started on the process this morning and I am SO excited!

Well, I guess I'd better get off the computer. That wallpaper glue isn't going to remove itself. Ugh.

Can't wait until it's done!!

My dream job and an island...

2012-01-12T22:21:00.003-06:00

Today I left my desk, walked an incredibly chilly half block down the street and entered chocolate heaven. Haven's class went on a highly educational (NOT!) field trip of Hazel Hill Chocolate, a local chocolate shop that has been calling my name since I started working on the block.

First we watched the employees make fudge from caramel, marshmallow creme and white chocolate. It was a nice way to get a sugar high at 10am. And while watching them make the fudge, I fell in love. With an island...

You are looking at 800 pounds of marble. 800. It was gorgeous. I've been a bit island obsessed here lately. It's because I have convinced Adam that I need more counter space in my kitchen, so he is going to knock out a wall so we can put an island in. I definitely won't end up with anything as impressive as an 800 pound slab of marble. But it will be functional. Especially with my newest thrifting score.

I stopped by my favorite T-town thrift store last night and spied a brand new looking stock base cabinet. It looks something like this...

And I just now discovered that this cabinet costs $334.76 at Lowe's. Any guesses how much I shelled out? $40. That's it. $40. Do you see why this is my favorite thrift store? The doors don't match my current cabinets, but we are going to fix that. We are most likely going to replace them with the doors to the cabinet we are removing to go from a cooktop to a full stove. I have been thinking about the possibility of putting shelves on the end of my island, to store my canisters and keep my cookbooks handy, but couldn't really convey what I was wanting to Adam. Imagine my excitement last night when I stumbled across this beauty on Pinterest...

Isn't that fab? It's exactly what I have been dreaming about. So my kitchen makeover is officially under way. (Beware, though...it will most likely take MONTHS to finish. I have some other projects I want to wrap up before we knock out the wall, etc.)

But back to chocolate. I was so happy to be able to join my Kindergartener on such an educational trip. Hazel Hill must have had quite an effect on her career aspirations. She has now decided that she will "work at the chocolate shop in the morning, then go to my job as a zoologist in the afternoon". You go girl.

I drank the Kool-Aid...

2012-01-11T21:26:00.005-06:00

and finally signed up for

Actually, I signed up months ago, but never even went to the website to try it out. I just knew that once I started, all motivation to clean my house and actually accomplish something around here would be right out the window. (Have I ever mentioned I'm a "Glass Half Empty" kind of gal?) Well, I finally did it because I'm starting to plan the girls' birthday parties (Already?!? Can they just stay the same age and we will have a party just to celebrate their fabulousness??). And Maelie's birthday is going to be an interesting one, so I'm needing some inspiration. Of course I found it on Pinterest. Along with 3 kazillion other super neat things to look at.

But that is neither here nor there. The reason for this post is to say that I am now on Pinterest. You can find me here. Happy pinning!!

January Vintage Shopping...

2012-01-09T21:49:00.014-06:00

I hadn't been to the West Bottoms sales in a couple of months, so I was really excited to get down there this month. Plus, I was excited to have some company along for the fun: my lovely Aunt Jafawn & Uncle Mike and my fun friend Bree, who I have known since Jr. High, but have only recently reconnected with since moving back to my hometown.

The first shop we hit was a newer one, re:Purpose. It definitely had an artist vibe going on. There were a lot of handmade and (true to the store's name) repurposed items. The first thing that caught my eye was this lovely little pitcher...

Of course, by now you know I have a slight obsession with anything and everything French. I couldn't resist it though at $5.00! Of course, if I would have looked at the bottom of the pitcher before I got home, I would have seen that it was made by Restoration Hardware. A quick check of eBay, however, convinced me that I still had made a pretty good purchase. The average starting bid was $25.00. Even though it isn't an antique - or French - I still love it!

This super cool camper stopped me in my tracks...

It was SO cool. Seriously. How much fun could I have playing with this thing?!? With my kids of course. Or not. :)

After prying my fingers off of the camper, I turned around and saw this lovely thing...

Isn't that great? A television, a record player and a beautiful piece of furniture all wrapped up in one.

On to Liberty Belle next, where this pretty milk glass platter called my name...

I would have definitely brought it home if it had been a cake stand.

And I seriously had a moment when I spied this rotund fellow. I gasped a very loud gasp at the sight of him...

You see, when I was a wee one, my Great Grandmother (everyone called her Granny Mac) made me a stuffed Humpty Dumpty. I was so obsessed, she had to make multiples for me - new "skins" that fit over an oval shaped pillow. I had ones in spring-y calicoes and warm fuzzy fabrics for wintry months. I even took him with me to have my pictures taken. I grabbed Jafawn and she was speechless as well. She even made me get cozy with him for a pic...

I thought I was the only little girl in the world with a Humpty. This big fella wasn't identical to Granny Mac's pattern. Mine were flat with unstuffed arms and legs that I could flip (I didn't suck a thumb, I flipped things. My weirdness started early, I guess). This guy was fully 3-D, with plump limbs. But still...it was quite a moment.

I must have been still floating on a cloud from my Humpty encounter, because I didn't get any pictures in Bella Patina. There were a lot of beautiful finds on display as always.

On to Good Ju Ju we went, where I spied this lovely pillow...

made from feed sack? Or hankies? Not sure what the fabric was originally, but they were quite fetching on the black couch they were resting on. And they totally put me in the mood for Valentine's Day. (And in the mood to finally put away my Christmas decorations!)

Since I didn't have a husband and children traipsing after me, we all decided to wander around the neighborhood and check out some more shops that I hadn't been to before. We followed the bright pink signs to Nook & Cranny. What a fun place! One of the first things I spotted was this interesting record cabinet...

I have never seen a cabinet where the record player is located in a drawer. It was very interesting!

Jafawn, who knows a thing or two about McCoy pottery, couldn't believe this guy was a genuine McCoy...

yet his mark said otherwise. Real or not, he was very adorable!

I had to practice quite a bit of restraint to not bring these home for the girls...

What is it with me a old toys?!? But would those be so much fun? :)

I had a great time as always in the West Bottoms and can't wait to go again!

$5 Chair Makeover!

2012-01-06T20:08:00.007-06:00

It's my first post of the year. I have been lazy this week. My in-laws sweetly offered to take the kiddos off our hands so we could have a weekend to ourselves. And it was amazing. We went to see a movie. Like in the theater. (That hasn't happened in 11 months!) And we went to a sports bar and watched a KU game...with no poorly timed potty breaks or numerous pleas for sippy cups to interrupt our attention to the Jayhawks. Heaven. And we hit up the Goodwill in Lawrence. Which shall now be known as my favorite Goodwill. Because I came home with this $5 beauty...

Isn't that fetching?? The fabric seat was really gross, but the chair was in great shape and I knew it would be a great replacement for the current chair that sits at the desk just inside of my entryway...

I love this chair, but it doesn't match the desk at all. Plus I really wanted to recover the seat and move it back into our bedroom. So a quick scan of my fabric stash and a date with the stapler, and now it looks like this...

Adam also cleaned it up with some wood soap. I couldn't believe how gross the wood was! It's a much better fit for the desk. And I really like how the carving in the wood mimics the pattern of the fabric. Doesn't this chair look so much better with the desk?

....

As for the kiddos, they are back and home and I couldn't be happier. My house was much too quiet and orderly while they were gone. :)

Baby Steps...

2011-12-30T14:57:00.006-06:00

I haven't checked my blog stats in quite a while now. To be honest, over the last couple of months, blogging has taken a back seat to the rest of my life. Not even a back seat...more like following me frantically in a chase car, like in an action movie, desperately trying to get my attention. But a break from my job has allowed me to get caught up again and getting some major foundation work done on my house has started us planning again. And after seeing all the "Best of 2011" posts across blogland, I checked into my stats and found out that my most viewed post was "That's right...I bought this house..." And that totally made sense, since I entered it into a big fat design giveaway, hosted by Mandi Gubler from Vintage Revivals. And it got me thinking about how much my house has changed since I wrote that post. Sometimes it's hard for me to see how much we have done so far because I live here. And I'm really busy thinking about all the things I want to change. But by comparing the before and "now" (not totally "After!" ready yet...), I do get a real kick out of seeing the progress we have made in 8 months.

And just to prove it, here is a pic from my most-read blog post of 2011 (and of all time)...

Ugh.

And here is how it looks today...

(Notice no red shag carpet. Or red striped floral wallpaper. Huzzah!)

There is still some more that we would like to do before the room is done. After this winter, we are going to pull out the fireplace insert and list it on Craigslist...or donate it to ReStore. When we first saw the house, we thought the insert would be super rad in case of an ice storm. However, soon after moving in, we realized that this insert needs electricity to run the fan. So that idea went right out the window. Plus it's ugly. And there's really no way to fix that. We will pull it out and paint the entire fireplace white.

I am still on the hunt for a better rug...

This is the rug that used to be in the living room upstairs. Adam wanted a rug in front of the fireplace so that if an ember popped out, it wouldn't burn our brand new carpet. It's totally functional, but super boring. And eventually we will look into replacing our boring couches. They aren't comfortable and I would like to have the option of a pull out for overnight guests.

Overall, though, not bad! Looking at the first picture is like looking at a totally different house. Maybe because it was. It wasn't ours when it looked like that. But it is now. :)

And Then There Were Three...

2011-12-30T12:51:00.002-06:00

I just realized that title could mislead you into thinking I am preggo. Not so, my friends. The shop is closed. I am referring to adding another color to my master bedroom scheme. I am drawing inspiration from my Mommy Cards, ordered from Etsy...

I ordered these when Haven started Preschool. Mine read "Kodie Timberlake, Mommy of Haven & Maelie". As of today, I have officially handed out 3. Most likely because I am a working Mom and don't drop my kiddo off or pick her up from school. (Sad face.) But I think I will start moving these cards out of my purse as the school year goes on and I get to meet more parents.

But that is neither here nor there. I have been thinking my master will be a little bland. A whole lot of grey and a pop of chartreuse in the bedding, and now the drawer pulls. So I pulled out a Mommy Card and thought for a few moments, then grabbed some turquoise fabric from my stash and tossed it on my duvet. It looks amazing! The contrast gives the room so much energy! I am not yet sure how I am going to pull this off, but I am thinking mainly just accents. Here are some inspiration pics I found around the interwebs...

(from here)

That first one is my absolute FAV! I would die if I could find a light fixture like that and paint it chartreuse! (What do you think??

Oh, and another fun thing I snagged yesterday. Actually, 2 things. I stopped by ReStore yesterday and found a pallet of light fixtures that had just come in. Everything was priced, except for 2 16 inch ceiling medallions, like this...

I have one that I bought years ago (that I actually removed from the old house and brought with me so I wouldn't have to buy another one!), but haven't been able to decide where to put it. There are a couple of light fixtures that we have replaced so far that need one to cover a difference in ceiling paint. But I haven't purchased any more because they are a little pricey. The one shown above goes for $25 at Lowe's and I know that they can cost WAY more than that! (I just Googled "ceiling medallion" and there were quite a few that were very close to $200! Crazy!!) Well, as I said, the two that I spied were not yet priced. I asked the guy behind the counter how much he wanted and he hesitated a bit. Finally, he said "$20!", just as I said "$1?" Well, he thought for about 30 seconds more then said "OK, $1 a piece it is!" I couldn't believe my luck! So I am thinking about painting one of them red and putting it under my entry way light (also from ReStore!) and maybe one in our bedroom, painted turquoise? We will just have to see! Let this be a lesson though - never be afraid to haggle! Everyone knows that garage sales are a great place to talk 'em down, but I have found that thrift stores and ReStore are really great places to get a good deal. These places are just trying to move enough inventory to keep up with the donations, so most of the time, they will be happy to haggle.

Fare Thee Well, Lion Heads....

2011-12-29T19:00:00.010-06:00

A little over 10 years ago, Adam and I started amassing furniture to fill our first home together. We were so Boho Chic before it was cool. We spent very little to no money on furnishing our home. A couch handed down from my sister (actually, my parents handed it down to her!), a loveseat from my grandparents, a dresser from Adam's parent's basement and a dresser from my parents. We didn't have bedside tables, but my Dad had an antique vanity sitting around one of his barns that he had a great idea for. He split the two sides of the vanity apart and made them into super functional bedside tables. And they were fabulous...but still nothing matched. So Adam & I had the great idea of buying these great lion headed drawer pulls. They were so amazingly awesome, they even had to be special ordered. You can't just walk in and buy these anywhere, folks. I know you are dying from the suspense, so here is what we ordered (and paid a TON of money for!)...

Aren't those sweet?? Just kidding. It didn't take but a couple of months for the buzz to wear off and we totally started kicking ourselves for buying them. But there was always something else to spend money on and our bedroom has always been the last thing on our minds, so we have ended up living with them for 10 YEARS. Ugh.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago - I brought home a totally awesome duvet set from the clearance endcap at Target and finally got excited about our bedroom makeover. So here is what our room looked like...

I love the color of the duvet so much....but it is killing me. I can't find anything to match it. Everything is either too green or too yellow. It is really driving me crazy. So far the only thing I have found to match it perfectly are some drawer pulls from Hobby Lobby. I picked 4 of them up to replace the 1962 pulls on the bathroom vanity. But totally didn't think about using them anywhere else. Today I was strolling through Hobby Lobby (without a stitch of makeup on - sorry Topeka!!) and decided to pick up a drawer pull up to carry with me in my purse all the time, since I am having such a hard time finding anything to match the color. Then I noticed the 50% sign. So I counted out 12 chartreuse pulls and 4 big flower pulls and sped home to try them out. Here is the bedside table with lion heads...

And with lovely chartreuse pulls...

Isn't that super cute?? And here is the dresser before...

And after!

The unfortunate thing about the lion heads is that they had 2 screws and we had to drill new holes for them, so I had to replace them with something that was large enough to cover the 2 holes. These crystal-like flower shaped pulls are HUGE and cover them perfectly!

And it really isn't bothering me that I have 2 different sets of pulls for my dresser! I must really have a Boho Chic streak developing here. :)

Our plan for the room includes:

* Paint the walls a dark grey, much like this Martha Stewart color

(Via Queen Martha)

* Add crisp white board & batten paneling

(via Decor Chick)

* Update the light fixture - a ceiling fan is a must on our top floor bedroom in sticky Kansas summers

(Via Lowe's)

* Upholster a headboard

(Via Restoration Hardware)

* Get a shaggy rug

(Via cb2)

* Hang up random artwork and family photos in black and white frames.

And viola! My dream room will be done! (If only it was that easy!)

We have discussed listing the old lion head pulls on eBay to see if anyone out there wants them, but then we came up with the great idea to offer them to Haven's school first. That sounds pretty random, I know, but her school name (Cair Paravel Latin) was based on The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. And as such, there are references to lions everywhere. The theater is even named the Stone Table Theater and the doors leading into it look like wardrobe doors. Wouldn't those lion heads look fetching as door handles?? Now to convince the headmaster...

I wish this were a post about Pier 1...

2011-12-27T13:26:00.005-06:00

But instead it's a post about piering my house. Progress around here has been moving at a snail's pace lately. And it's not because we've been busy or anything. We have been incredibly busy before and still managed to get things done around the house. But things came to a screeching halt in mid-July, right after we had carpet installed in our family room. I was planning on doing a big time reveal once we got the carpet in, but something else monumental happened that week. Our foundation moved. A lot. Here is what it looked like on the outside of our house...

Pretty major, huh? And just for reference, here are Adam's finger, fitting comfortably in that crack...

And the view from the toilet of our half bath....

Yep - a clear view to the back yard. Not exactly energy efficient, huh? We called immediately for a diagnosis and quote, but were told it would be months before the company could get to it. The extreme temperatures and drought this summer had wreaked havoc on our neighborhood, causing all sorts of foundation issues. So we were put on the bottom of the list and resigned ourselves to the fact that we wouldn't be able to get it fixed until April.

Fast forward to yesterday afternoon - we were back in KC at my in-law's house when Adam got a call, telling him that the company was going to be out first thing in the morning to start the process. YIPES! And early this morning, this was the sight outside my front door...

Although I have been really bummed about the amount of money it is taking to fix this issue, I was relieved to get the whole thing over with. In just a few short hours, they had jack hammered up the patio, dug down really far, installed the piers, pushed the bottom of my house back up into place and re-positioned it on bedrock. They are busy filling everything back in and re-pouring the patio, so things should be right back to normal by the end of the day! It really is amazing to see what 4 guys and some heavy machinery can do! So now we are ready to patch up some cracks and touch up paint and get to the rest of our plans around here!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-26T18:45:00.003-06:00

I'm a little late, but that's because I've been watching Mary Poppins in front of the fireplace while wearing my jammies all day. Or finding a HUGE light fixture at my most favorite thrift store for next to nothing. So here is a little Christmas cheer, from my house to yours. Thanks for reading this year. It's been a crazy one, but a good one. Merry Christmas!!

Changing it up again...

2011-12-17T21:10:00.007-06:00

I totally didn't mean to buy a new rug today. It just happened. I innocently went in to TJ Maxx to look for some fun stocking stuffers for Haven and on my way to the girls section, became completely smitten with my new love. I checked the price tag and about fell over. It was totally affordable! After happily paying for it and figuring out how to fit it into Adam's Sentra (because my car still looks like Frankenstein from the deer incident last week), I rushed home to see if it matched my living room as well as I thought it would in my head. And the answer...?? YES! It does! So here is what my living room looked like before...

And how it looks now...with things rearranged to fit the Christmas trees in front of the window...

This rug could not have more perfectly matched the color scheme of my house if I had designed it myself! What a punch of color in my once brown dominated living room! At 5' x 8', it's the perfect size for my furniture placement. It is a 100% wool rug and was priced at $99! I have seen rugs of the same size and quality priced 2 and 3 times higher. And just to prove to you how perfect the colors are, here is a close up...

And here is a pic of the entryway...

And of my dining room...

I should also point out that the jute rug in that pic is gone and has been replaced with another rug I've been storing in the basement. The jute rug was on it's last leg. It was shedding badly and the tassel things on the ends were unraveling really badly. So I finally gave it the boot and put it on my front porch! It makes the front porch feel even more like an extension of the house. And I don't have to constantly vacuum up jute dust. A win-win. Anyway, if you are in the market for a really nice, but affordable rug , check out TJ Maxx.

Homemade Granola

2011-12-16T10:23:00.003-06:00

Yet another repost from last holiday season, but again, totally worth it! I am probably going to make 4 or 5 batches of this stuff this weekend - both to give as gifts and for our own personal stockpile. The basic recipe is easy and tasty and you can add whatever extras in to make it even better. This recipe uses dried cranberries and some of those scrumptious cinnamon toasted almonds from the recipe I posted last week. But you could easily use whatever your family likes as add ins...blueberries, raisins, maybe sunflower seeds?

Homemade Granola with Coconut, Dried Cranberries & Almonds

4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

6 Tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup chopped Cinnamon Roasted Almonds
1 cup dried cranberries

In a large bowl, mix the oats, coconut, wheat germ, salt and cinnamon together. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, honey, brown sugar and vanilla. It will be pretty thick, but that's exactly what you want.
Pour half of the honey mixture over the oat mixture. Use your hands to mix it up. After the first half of the honey mixture is well mixed, go ahead and add the rest of the honey to the oats. Make sure all of the oats are covered.
Cover 2 cookie sheets with wax paper or Silpats. Spread it all out evenly.
Bake at 250 for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
After the granola is done, I laid out some parchment paper on my kitchen table and spread out the granola so it would cool quicker. When it is cooled, mix in the chopped almonds and dried cranberries. Store it in an airtight container.

The container I made just 5 days ago is almost completely gone at my house. We love it as cereal or as a topping for yogurt or a mix in with vanilla ice cream. YUM!

A First for the Timberlakes...

2011-12-14T21:00:00.003-06:00

I am totally digging all the lovely vintage deer that are popping up in decor everywhere these days...

However, one that I am not loving is the one that did this...

No one was hurt. Well, unless you include the deer. He was definitely hurt. Permanently. Poor guy. Not sure if I will ever be able to wipe that image from my mind...his eyes staring directly into mine as he rolled over the hood and went into an 180 degree airborne spin. Let's just say it was very scarring for me. But thankfully the girls had no idea what happened. We told Haven later, but she really wasn't that upset about it. (Really? The girl who cried for hours when I threw away the top plastic strip from a shredded cheese bag?!? I don't think I will ever figure her out!)

This was only the second car accident I have been in and the first deer either of us has hit and thankfully, it wasn't serious at all. At first, we thought the car was going to be a total loss. However, after consulting with my Dad and spending an evening digging shards of headlight plastic and deer hair out of the front of the car, Adam thinks that it is just fine. We have been hood and fender shopping online and could have this thing back in functioning order within a couple of weeks. Having a handy husband and a mechanic brother-in-law really ends up saving a ton of money!!

Although I could complain about this happening right at Christmas time, I am honestly thankful that a couple of new body parts for the car is all we are dealing with. Last year, we had to deal with getting a new body part for Adam. And I never want to go through that again. After vegetative bacterias and destroyed heart valves and open heart surgeries and rooms in the ICU, not much is really a big deal anymore. I guess that is one good thing that we can take away from that whole experience!

So lesson learned (again!) - material things are not forever. It's the people in your life that are the most important thing. Always wear your seatbelt. Make good friends with a mechanic. And deer don't always look both ways before crossing dark country roads.

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds...Again!

2011-12-07T20:30:00.003-06:00

This is totally a repost from last December, but it's totally worth it. Whenever I make these, they don't last long! They are so tasty and easy to make. They are perfect for sharing, either as an addition to a holiday party or as gifts for co-workers. That is, if you don't end up eating all of them first!

....

So you know when you are walking around a fall festival and the smell of roasted nuts suddenly hits your nose? And you instantly gain 13 pounds? No? Just me?? Well, I do love roasted nuts and I have never even entertained the notion that I could make them at home. Until I was browsing granola recipes and I found a good looking recipe that called for Cinnamon Roasted Almonds. Like it's totally a normal ingredient. Oh great, I thought, now I'm going to have to find a fall festival to go to so I can buy some of those so I can make granola. But then I noticed that the granola recipe explained how to make the almonds! Jackpot!! I have made 2 batches in the last week and may be addicted. And they make the house smell fabulous! So here is the recipe...

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds

1 egg white

1 teaspoon cold water

2 cups whole raw almonds

3 Tablespoons white sugar

3 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. In a medium bowl, beat the egg white and water with a whisk until frothy.

Add the almonds and stir until they are well coated.

Mix the sugars, salt and cinnamon together and sprinkle over the nuts, stirring until they are well coated.

Spread the almonds evenly onto a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper or a Silpat.

Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Allow to cool, then store in an airtight container.

So there you have it! They are so easy and so delicious! And they get you into the holiday spirit too! What type of holiday baking are you doing?

Maelie's Room Featured!!

2011-12-02T17:06:00.006-06:00

Remodelaholic is featuring Maelie's room makeover today! Click on over and check it out!!

It's done. And I'm stuffed.....still....

2011-11-25T16:22:00.006-06:00

Yesterday was the big day! The first big holiday celebration at the new house. Everything turned out great! Even Haven's (my) last minute hand turkey place cards and brown felt placemats. That's right...I've got class out the wazoo. But seriously, it was a really great, low-key day. The guest list changed a few times and there was a bit of panic at one point that my small table wouldn't fit everyone, but then I realized that I was counting Maelie twice. Silly me! Here is how the super fancy pants tablescape turned out...

(Please realize that description is totally full of sarcasm!! I didn't even have matching napkins! GASP!)

Oh well. It turned out great anyway! We had turkey, Adam's lovely smashed potatoes, my sweet potatoes (with walnuts, pumpkin pie spice and a bit of ground cloves!), corn casserole, green bean casserole, stuffing, whole berry cranberry sauce and rolls. And just when it seemed as though we couldn't eat another bite, we broke out the desserts. Apple pie, cherry cobbler, pumpkin pie and my pumpkin swirl cheesecake. Oof. So much food! When we could finally lift ourselves from our chairs, we packed up plates to send home to those that couldn't join us. And just like the loaves and fishes, my fridge is STILL packed full of food!

And because we didn't get enough of each other yesterday, my sister and I have already started planning the Christmas Eve Soup Spectacular and Board Game Bonanza!! (My poor family!)

Easy Slow Cooker Chicken for Tacos...

2011-11-20T18:30:00.004-06:00

Ok, maybe not the best title for a recipe, but it is the easiest and tastiest recipe for chicken for tacos. Actually, I've used this recipe for burritos, tostadas, enchiladas...just about any Mexican-type dish you could think of. So here are the details...

1 pound of chicken - boneless breasts are probably the best. They tend to shred very nicely!

4 cloves of garlic, minced

3/4 cup of salsa

1 Tablespoon of chili powder

Combine all in the slow cooker, set on high and forget about it for 4 hours or so. Actually, you won't be able to because your entire house will smell SO good! And the best part is that the slow cooker shreds the chicken for you as it cooks! Here is what you get in the end...

Ok, maybe not the most appetizing picture, but it is very delish! Tonight I made chicken and black bean tostadas with the meat and they were super yummy...

Just another reason why I LOVE my slow cooker!

Haven's Desk...

2011-11-12T16:41:00.009-06:00

With all the craziness of the last week with getting Maelie's room done, Haven's desk project was pushed into the corner. Literally. But now that Mae's room is done and the massive bookshelf is moved out of Haven's room, we could finally give her a place dedicated to learning. So here is her $5 thrift store desk when I brought it home...

And here it is in all it's pink girly glory...

Adam was able to rescue the wood top. It had been caked in glue, glitter, sticker and I don't know what else. He laid a towel soaked with warm water and wood soap on it for a few minutes and everything just lifted off! I thought we were going to have to completely strip refinish it, so I was so relieved to see the magic that wood soap did! Haven picked glossy candy pink for the desk bottom. I was surprised that it did such a good job of covering that dark hunter green. I was sure it would need multiple coats, but I only ended up doing one full coat and one light coat.

The wall pockets are from JoAnn's from their back to school stuff. I waited until they were on clearance, then snagged them for cheap. They are perfect to store art projects and special papers in. The chair was my Mom's contribution. The $5 chair that I bought from the thrift store to go with the desk was too tall once Haven was sitting in it. Thankfully, my Mom (who I learned all my hoarding from) had 2 little wooden chairs hanging out in her attic and this one was the perfect height. She has already sat at the desk to do one homework assignment this week and had a great time!

With the super tall bookcase traveling down the hall to Mae's room, Haven needed something to store all her books in. I have started buying vintage children's books and classics for her over the last year and needed to keep them separate from Maelie's books. So a quick trip to Target and we were home with this guy...

We still need to pick up some fabric bins to go in some of the spaces for super important things like Littlest Pet Shop stuff handed down from cousin Anna, but she can live without them for a few days.

She loves the changes in her room and so do I! It's so hard to see her growing up and becoming a big girl. I keep asking her to PUHLEESE stay 5 forever. She always answers back "I am trying, but I still keep growing!" :) How I love her. But watching her get bigger and more self reliant really makes me happy. And now that she has a homework zone, hopefully it will be easier to focus and learn. So 3 cheers for thrift store makeovers!

DIY: How To Change An Outlet And Light Switch...

2011-11-12T15:42:00.028-06:00

Once upon a time, I was terrified of doing anything even remotely electrical. I finally asked Adam to teach me how to do some basic electrical things...and I'm still afraid. But you should be, I guess. Electricity is not something to mess around with! But if you are careful and attentive, it's not hard to do some basic things, like changing a light fixture or updating an outlet. And that's what I'm going to show you how to do today.

Since we live in an older house, we are updating the outlets and switches room by room. The original ones are almond colored, full of dust and grime and the most of the outlets are 2 pronged, not 3. And to show you how gross and outdated they are, here is a pic...

Ick. Check out that grime.

So let's get started. Here are the tools you will need to change an outlet or switch...

You will need a utility knife, a flathead screwdriver, a Phillip's screwdriver, needle nose pliers, a replacement outlet and a new outlet cover. You can buy the new outlets and covers in contractor's packs at your home improvement store. The outlets come in packs of 10 and will run about $4-5. Not a bad investment! You can also find the covers in a contractor pack as well, which run around $2.

The most important step in changing an outlet is to make sure all the power is off! Our house is wired a little screwy, so when Adam went to change the outlets in Haven's room, he only tested one to make sure it was off. As it turns out, the 4 outlets in her room are wired to 3 different breakers. So guess who got zapped? I was extra careful in Maelie's room, because of what happened to Adam. I plugged in a lamp to each outlet and made sure it would not turn on....twice. Once you are sure there is no juice running through those puppies, it's time to get to work. If I have a freshly painted room, I start by running the utility knife around the top and bottom of the outlet...

That way, if the paint job has really stuck to the outlet, I'm not going to rip paint off the wall when I remove the outlet. I would especially recommend this step if you have painted with a semi-gloss or glossy paint. Then you are ready to start unscrewing the outlet from the outlet box...

When you have all the screws out, you can use the screwdriver as leverage to pop the outlet out of the box.

Once the outlet is out, you can see there are 2 sets of wires: one set of 2 black wires and one set of 2 white wires. (Unless you are at the end of the circuit - then you will just see one black and one white wire.)

There are two ways the outlet can be wired: with the wires going straight into the holes in the back, or with the wires wrapped around the screws on the side. This outlet was wired with the black and white wires going straight into the back of the outlet. Because the wires can be kind of hard to get bent around the screws just right (at least for me!), I decided to wire the new one exactly the same way. So using my needle nose pliers, I pulled each of the wires out...

Now that they are out, throw that grimy thing away! Take your new outlet...

And read where the wires need to go. (Hint: on this one, the white wires go on the side with the silver screws. The black wires go on the side with the coppery colored screws.) Then, take your trusty needle nose pliers again and push the wires into the correct slots...

Once you are done, you are ready to attach the outlet back into the outlet box.

Then slip on a new white cover and...

You are done!!! (Pat yourself on the back and feel free to call you Mom and brag a little. 'Cause I totally did!)

Next, we will move on to the light switch. Light switches are pretty much straight forward. Again, make sure that the power is off! In Maelie's room, her ceiling light is on a different breaker than the outlets. So remember that just because it seems logical that everything in a room is connected, that isn't always the truth! I used the utility knife on the switch just like I did on the outlet. And just so you can be grossed out again, here is a pic of the switch before...

My poor baby has been living in this room for 6 months! Gross!!!! Use your screwdriver again to pop the switch out of it's box...

As you can see, the switch only has 2 wires: one black and one white. Easy peasy! Unscrew the screws until you can get the wires loose...

Then take your new outlet - making sure to position the OFF part as the top of the outlet! - and wind your wire around the screw, then tighten the screw.

Attach the new outlet back into the box...

Attach your new cover...

And you are done! It really is an amazing feeling to step back and look at a room full of bright new shiny grime free 3 pronged outlets! And now I feel like I don't have to depend on Adam to do quite so much around here. In fact, I'm on such a roll, I'm gonna do the living room outlets tonight!

Maelie's Finished Room!

2011-11-12T15:01:00.015-06:00

Well, it turned out to be a MUCH bigger project than I anticipated, but it's FINALLY done!! Just to make it seem even more awesome than it is....here is the before...

(Notice the grimy line in the blue paint where the wallpaper border used to be!)

(Notice the filth on the wall above the register!)

(Taking the light switch plate immediately made me gag! SO GROSS!!)

And the amazing after...

It's like a breath of fresh air now! We really didn't realize how disgusting the walls were until we moved her furniture out to paint. On the day we moved in, we were so concerned with getting the girls' rooms unpacked first so that they could take naps and have somewhere to escape to amid all the craziness that we didn't notice the grime on the walls. We really don't think the room had been painted in 40+ years. Plus, we didn't even hang anything on her walls, because we knew we would just have to patch the holes when we painted. I really didn't think it would take over 6 months to get to her room, but it did. And part of the reason it took so long is because I had the bright idea to make this "little" pennant banner...

All together, I sewed 110 of them. I thought I was never going to finish! But once I got started, I couldn't give up!! Most of the fabrics were from my stash and my mother-in-law contributed the rest from her AMAZING stash. I really love the way they turned out! While painting the walls, I started to get a little nervous that the yellow was going to be too blah for her. (For those of you who have met Maelie, you will know immediately that "blah" is NOT a word that would ever describe her!) But as soon as we got the pennants up, the whole room came alive!

I think the room really fits her personality and will be a great room for a BIG girl (although I am trying very hard to make her promise to be a baby forever). I did have a sad moment when the changing table moved out, but I powered through and had a great time arranging her books on the bookshelf. I even moved her christening gown (made by Lolly) out to be on display. Both of the girls wore it on their special days, so it's even more special. Eventually, I want to get the gown and the outfit that they both wore home from the hospital framed. But until then, I really like being able to see something that they both once swam in!

I think Maelie really likes her new room too. She slept longer last night than she has for the last 2 weeks, so I'd say it's got everyone's stamp of approval!

Desk Makeover...

2011-11-08T19:50:00.004-06:00

Haven is up to her eyeballs in school. She only goes 3 hours a day, but it is a jam packed 3 hours. I look at all the papers that come home and feel very happy that she is actually doing and learning something at Kindergarten. She has already started learning to read and her handwriting has really improved over the last 3 months. She doesn't have homework on a regular basis, but every now and then, she brings a paper or two home that she has to bring back the next day. And there's not really a place for her to sit and concentrate in the house. There is the kitchen table...which is pretty much the hub of the house and probably not the best place to work on writing the number 6. Too much craziness! The dining room table is not a comfy height for her, at least to write on. So I was thinking about getting her a desk when I stopped by my new favorite thrift store (named God's Storehouse) and literally pulled this off a delivery truck that had just returned from a pick up...

(Disregard the dog food bags....I got a little hasty in my paint prep and almost forgot to take a pic!)

It's an old school desk!! And it's forest green. Blech. And the top is covered in glue and glitter. But it was totally the perfect size and price - $5! Part of the lure of making over Maelie's room is that we are going to move the huge bookshelf out of Haven's room into Mae's room...which will make room for a desk and chair in Haven's room. So I will have a desk makeover ready for you by the end of the week!

Maelie's Room...

2011-11-07T09:56:00.006-06:00

I'm at home today, taking care of a sick Maelie. While I realize that no sick 2 year old is a barrel of monkeys, Maelie is especially difficult when not feeling well. It's almost as though she is angry at the world for feeling sick and decides to take it out on the rest of the people (and sometimes dogs) in the house. I hear so many Moms describing their sick little ones as only wanting to snuggle all day and just be held by their Mommies. Maelie would be the absolute opposite of that. She won't sleep, won't eat, yells at the top of her lungs for her nose to be wiped (at least once every 3 minutes), is very picky about what kind of kleenexes she will allow us to use (even though they are all the same brand), etc. Poor child. So we all do what we can to make her as happy as possible. We watch hour after hour of Little Einsteins, keep her juice sippy full and hold her when she finally allows us to.

We decided to finally start her room makeover this weekend....just in time for her to move into our room and not sleep all night. Awesome timing. But I am SO glad we have started. Here is a pic of her room during our first walkthrough in March...

The curtains were most likely orginal to the house (1962!) and rotten. The walls are flat paint, so every little scuff shows. We are thinking the paint might have been original to the house or close to it. I pulled down the wallpaper border last week and thankfully, it came off in one continuous piece! No scraping needed!! Once the border was down, it was pretty obvious how dirty the walls were, so that gave us even more motivation to get it done.

The color I chose is Banana Cream by Behr in satin finish - it's a lovely light yellow. We painted her room a nice sage green color in the old house...

I still love that color, but we decided to change it because I bought new bedding for her big girl bed (a week after she was born!) that is almost that same color of sage green...

Can you believe it's from Walmart?!? We went in to get dog food (the only thing we buy at Walmart!) and on the way to the pet department, I spied this set on clearance for $15! And not only is it adorable, it's also made from organic cotton! It's the trifecta! (Good deal, cute & earth friendly!!) Anyway, I knew that painting her room that same sage color would be a bit of overkill once she moves into her big bed, so green was out.

My next thought was robin's egg blue. My sister even bought Maelie a gallon of robin's egg blue paint for her room for her birthday this year. But then I decided to paint my living room - and incidentally the hallway - that same robin's egg blue. I decided that would be WAY too much blue.

Pink finally popped into my mind...but quickly was eliminated. Maelie's rocking chair and shaggy rug are both pink.

Finally, I decided to go yellow. Her room gets a lot of natural light from it's 2 big windows, so yellow seems like a natural choice.

Almost all the furniture will stay......except for the changing table. *sniff* Now that she's potty trained, we haven't used the table in months. We have been using it more as a place to dump clothes and shoes lately. So she is going to get the bookcase from Haven's room and Haven is getting a "new" desk and chair and a really new bookcase! Mae's room needs at least one more coat of yellow before it's done, but hopefully I can tackle that today. Between nose wipes. And starting the Little Einsteins DVD over. Maybe a new room will help her feel better??

Fantastic Mrs. Fox and a Bumblebee...

2011-11-05T17:25:00.010-05:00

Happy Halloween!!!!

(um...a week ago)

We had the best Halloween ever! The girls both loved their costumes and ended up with more candy than they could carry home!

Haven decided early on that she wanted to be Felicity Fox from Fantastic Mr. Fox. I thought it would be super easy, but then started to realize all of the little things that make Felicity special. Here's a pic of her from a promo for the film...

She has a yellow dress with apples on it, a pocket for her paintbrushes and a fox cameo she wears on her left shoulder.

I scoured the internet for pics of her to get as close as I could to replicating her. And this is what I ended up with...

The fabric for the dress was a happy accident. Years ago, when I started my kitchen + cherries love affair, I started collecting any fabrics I could find with cherries on it. I have had this Mary Engelbreit fabric for years and hadn't even cut into it. So it's not apples, but it was close enough! The scary thing was that I only had 1 yard, so I couldn't make any mistakes. I used one of her dresses as a pattern, took a deep breath and started cutting. I am not really happy with the quality of the sewing, but it was good enough for 2 nights of trick or treating. :)

I found an image of cameo on a website and used cardstock for the back. Haven had fun hunting for all the paintbrushes around the house. The mask was a $2 plain mask I found at Target that Adam painted. I think he did a great job!

And here she is all ready to head out for trick or treating!

Maelie was originally supposed to be a chicken, but once she saw a bumblebee costume that Haven wore when she was 18 months old, she would not let it go. She barely fit into it, but she did look super cute! She was impossible to get a pic of because she was moving constantly that night. (That's pretty much how she rolls normally!) But here is a pic I grabbed while she was covered in Cheeto dust...

Our neighborhood made for the most perfect trick or treating! We ended up with TONS of candy, cans of soda, bags of chips, tubs of cotton candy. It was ridiculous! And the weather was perfect, 75 degrees. It was a really great night!

...

I took a quick break from sewing Haven's costume and did this...

I took a HUGE risk and went to a new hair girl and told her to cut all my hair off. And it turned out great! I really love it and it's so much easier to take care of. It's cut a lot of time off of my morning routine.

Fall Fun...

2011-10-23T11:43:00.019-05:00

I take every opportunity to shout it from the mountaintops that Fall is my most favorite season. I have been a bit behind on blogging lately and this is why: I have spent every non-sleeping and non-working moment cramming my life full of Fall festivals and chilly weather experiences as I possibly could. We started out the month with the Auburn Community Fair. I was born and raised in Auburn, a tiny bedroom community just south of Topeka. Auburn has not yet hit the "big" small town status of having a Casey's. Or a stop light. Maybe some day!

The biggest day of the entire year for Auburn is the Community Fair. This year was it's 102nd year. There are all sorts of games you can enter - the egg toss, turtle races, 3 legged race, etc. And a parade that anyone can enter. The amount of people that turn out for the parade is easily 3 times as much as the population. Everyone who is in the parade is expected to toss out handfuls of candy. Kids line up with plastic bags and rake in more candy that a regular kid can get on Halloween night! All the area marching bands participate

and the volunteer fire department brings out every piece of machinery, from the brand new pumper truck to their brush trucks. There is a carnival, which we end up dropping an impressive amount of cash at every year, even though we drastically limit the number of rides the girls can go on. Maelie chose the carousel (of course!)

and Haven chose the Ferris wheel (which I didn't get a pic of). And we ate nachos with neon orange cheese and watermelon slices from the Lions. It was wonderful.

The next weekend, we went to Kansas City for the First Friday vintage sales and to see my husband's family. I couldn't believe how many people had turned out for the West Bottoms sales! It's getting bigger and bigger every month!

(an awesome advertisement from the 1960's....hello Mad Men!)

And the Halloween decor was extra spooky!!

We all went to the pumpkin patch by my in-law's house.

And I got a chance to sneak in to another one of my in-law's neighbor's shop, Mom's Ole Stuff. I picked up this adorable Boston...

and this beautiful HUGE antique frame...

I have something totally awesome in mind for that frame. Stay tuned for that!

Last weekend was the Baldwin Maple Leaf Festival. My most favorite fall activity ever. Thousands of people descend on this adorable little town every year for the biggest craft festival in the area. We went on Sunday for the first time this year, since soccer dominated Saturday. It was pleasantly uncrowded! We might be doing the Sunday thing from here on out! I didn't buy anything, but took every opportunity to stuff my face at this festival too. We devoured ribbon fries (fresh spiral cut potato chips) and I had a pork burger (made by a small local pork farmer).

Again, we were sucked into the carnival. Maelie again chose the carousel...

and the motorcycles...

(here is a pic of Haven on the same ride last year!!)

Haven choose Skeeball for some odd reason and didn't want to go on a ride. We all left exhausted and happy with full bellies. :)

We had to keep the perfect fall streak going, so yesterday we dropped the girls off at my Aunt Jafawn's and went to the KU - K State football game. I got tickets through my job and parked in a residential area, so it was pretty much a free event! Here is the marching band before the game started...

It was my first ever KU game and the first college level football game I have ever been to. It was pretty impressive how big of a production it was! Things started out ok, but then started heading south for the Jayhawks. Adam and I had a great time (even though KU took a beating) and remembered how important it is for us to spend some time alone every once in a while.

My house and laundry and DIY projects have been put on the back burner this month, but it has been totally worth it! All the family time, making fun memories, enjoying the amazing weather, doing new things and continuing old traditions is what Fall is all about for us. I have sworn to stay home more in November (and start working off all the Fall Festival pounds I've accumulated!) and get a lot of low cost, high impact projects done. So keep checking in to see if I can actually deliver!

Who Knew??

2011-10-13T22:52:00.008-05:00

Remember when we first saw the dining room of my house? No? Of course you don't. I haven't posted that pic. And for good reason. Check it out...

Bleh. So awful! Notice that the table is centered in the room....but the light is not. It is actually 2 feet away from the wall. Why? I have absolutely no idea. Anyway, here is another pic of that UFO thing...

While I LOVE mid century design, this light is just something I couldn't love. Possibly because it was placed off center? Or because it brought back so many memories of yellow matted carpet and grandma wallpaper and ridiculous draperies. Well, after we took it down, I decided to list it on Craigslist yet again to try to get some serious interest. Last time I listed it, a scammy sort of guy kept emailing me about it, offering me more money than I had it listed, wanting me to bring it to his house that was pretty far away (1 1/2 hours!), etc. But I thought I would brave the CL territory again because I was totally sure that someone out there would love and appreciate the UFO. Then Adam asked me why I wasn't going to put it on eBay. Eureka!! I listed it and several hours later had my first bid! 5 days later, I came home to fabulous news - it had sold for $90! And it had 12 bids! Who knew that many people were looking for a UFO light?!? Well, the guy who won was SO excited, he even sent us extra money for insurance and emailed us almost daily until he got it. Adam ended up packing the light in fiber fill and we nervously waited to see if it would make it in one piece. (The first night after we shipped it, I even woke up at 2, scared to death that it would arrive completely shattered. Seriously, that stinkin' light fixture caused me more stress than it was worth!) We finally got an email from the guy with a picture attached. I opened it up and here is what I found...

Doesn't that look totally awesome in his house?? All I know is it looks WAY better in his house than in mine! :) And let's just do a little before and after, now that the UFO is completely out of our lives...

BEFORE

AFTER

Phew! Much better, huh?? This room still isn't done, we have to deal with the paneling somehow. And eventually we want to replace the windows with sliding glass doors that will lead to the deck we are going to build that will be surrounded by our new fence. Ug, we have a LONG way to go on this house. But at least that light is gone!

One Year & 37 Million Beats Later...

2011-10-07T20:33:00.006-05:00

I am a few hours early on posting this, but our day tomorrow is going to be busy with soccer games, family time and celebrating a major milestone. Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of Adam's open heart surgery. Here is a pic of what he looked like on that day...

I was somehow able to keep my mind pretty busy during the 8 hours in the waiting room. But when I was finally allowed to sit with him in the ICU, things got pretty scary for me. I had never seen him like this. They had to put him so far under for the surgery, that it took the rest of the day/evening for him to regain consciousness. In order to stop his heart, the Doctors had to lower his body temperature drastically. I remember his hands being ice cold. They were clenched tightly into fists, so much so that I couldn't even unclench them to hold his hand. He had 11 IV bags pumping into his body at once. He was on a respirator for hours.

It was absolutely terrifying. For a man that could walk into a Lifeguard certification test without preparing at all and pass, run a 5K without a moment of training, and climb a mountain while a vegetation was taking over his heart, it was unreal to see him like this. But he woke up. It took a while. A lot longer than normally expected. But he finally woke up. And everything worked. And he was coherent. He had not had a stroke. He could move all his limbs. He would be just fine. In the 28 hours that he was in ICU, 3 people passed away on the 6 room unit. It was heart wrenching to be that close to death's door. But so exhilarating to begin his journey back to good health.

In the last year, I have watched him manage his health more closely than ever before. This is a good thing. He now forces himself to eat regularly and actually says something if he is tired or feeling light headed. His blood levels have been stabilized and his scars are almost completely indistinguishable. He joined The Zipper Club, a Facebook group that you can only be a member of if you have the open heart zipper scar. He posted a picture of his scar on that page and it has healed so well, that someone even questioned if he had really had the surgery.

He got some lettering done around his birds recently, and it means more to me than I can put into words...

It took him 10 years of marriage and a near death experience to get it, but it's finally done. (I got mine a few months after we got married. It's been a running joke between us ever since.)

This whole thing has been life changing. I have no idea how we managed getting through this in one piece (and with an excellent credit rating!), but we did. Our entire perspective on life has changed. Don't get me wrong, we still have our moments where we drive each other insane. But we have this experience to look back on and we are stronger for it. And still baffled how it all happened. So here's to a wonderful year with Adam's valve. That wonderful, glorious clicking thing. It still keeps me up at night. But I honestly don't mind.

Light Fixture Heaven!!

2011-09-25T14:46:00.002-05:00

So a couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of combining Maj-R Thrift's 50% off Labor Day sale with a great deal from Social Living. I had purchased a couple of the "$10 for $20 worth of merchandise" vouchers for Maj-R Thrift several months ago, but since moving from KC, hadn't had the chance to use them. They were going to expire soon, so I read all the fine print and made sure I could use them on a sale day, then planned a big trip.

My haul netted a lot of great finds. I got the ceramic key that I posted about a couple of days ago for 70 cents, 4 alabaster glass shades to update my ceiling fan in the living room for $1.50 a piece (at Lowe's, they are $8!) and a DSM-IV casebook for $1 (a tool to help diagnose mental disorders - truly a find only my mental health professional husband would appreciate. They regularly sell for $75 new!). And I picked up this lovely brass guy for $10...

I picked it up to replace the original off-centered "UFO" cantilevered thing that came with my dining room. Remember??

So bizarre! I just couldn't bear to live with it any longer! The thing that attracted me to the "new" light fixture were the alabaster shades. That's what I have throughout most of the house, so I thought that I could jazz it up with some spray paint and make it work. It wasn't until I was in the (super long) check out line that I really took a look at it and realized it matched my entry way light exactly!

It was meant to be! So yesterday, I taped it off and sprayed it the same glossy black that I did the entry way light with and here's how it looks now...

And Adam was super nice and crawled up in the attic to cut out a new hole in the ceiling, so that this light fixture can actually be centered in the room, not up next to the wall. And that means that now my dining table can be centered in the room too!

It's feels so great to get another piece of the puzzle in place! Each little thing we do to this house makes it more and more ours.

Ornate Frame Hoarders Anonymous...

2011-09-24T19:51:00.010-05:00

I officially have a problem.

I actually said those words to Adam this morning after I got back in the car from picking up my 4th gold framed mirror in a week. This one was from a garage sale. But in my defense, it was only a dollar! And just look at the one I snagged last week at a garage sale just 2 houses down...

Wow, right?? Well, I got this one for $2 and figured I could paint it glossy black and use it on my dresser. Everything changed when I realized that the back popped off and the mirror was not attached to the frame! I stole a piece of glass out of another 8x10 frame, grabbed my glossy white spray paint and now it looks like this...

I have been looking for the right frame for this Black Apple print for a looong time. Who knew it was masquerading as a gaudy gold mirror?? So that's totally my excuse for continuing to buy them. It's a totally harmless addiction. I'm sure I can quit at any time.

So it's hanging above my piano, keeping Mr. Hoots and Sir Skully company for Halloween. I've only today started on the main floor decorating for Halloween, so it's not complete yet. More like something I just threw together, but here it is...

Sir Skully is actually a little paper mache skull ($1.99) that I picked up at Michael's, then spray painted with Kyrlon's new Glitter Blast spray paint.

It was SUPER pricey ($8 for a tiny can!), but I used a 40% coupon to lighten the blow. I LOVED the paint! It covered so great and the glitter doesn't come off if you touch it, like I was afraid it would. I would totally buy it again, if I have a super special project. It's totally not an every day use kinda paint!

And I have already put my super sweet antique window to use that I got last weekend at ReStore. Here is Adam showing it off as soon as I brought it in the house...

(And yes I know...that is Adam holding an antique window...while standing in front of another antique window. I get it. Gold gaudy mirrors might not be my only issue...)

I bought some cool window clings last year at Target and popped them on, then added another glittery skull ($2.50 at Target), a glittery raven ($3 at Michael's) and a bag of black eyed peas. They look kinda creepy...right?? I need something else for the smaller apothecary jar. Maybe some skeleton hands I spied at Michael's? So it's not done yet, but I have a good start. I still have 5 weeks to work on it!

And something else I only have 5 weeks to work on...Halloween costumes! Haven has decided that she wants to be Mrs. Felicity Fox from Fantastic Mr. Fox! I love her!!

I found a fox-like sort of mask at Target last night that I think I can paint to look something like a fox. (Fingers crossed!) And I am officially on the hunt to find fabric that matches her dress as closely as possible. Then I will just need to gather brown leggings and a fox tail and she will be set!

Never Ending Befores & Afters...

2011-09-20T22:04:00.004-05:00

I feel like I am constantly making over something. Will I ever just be content with something the way it is? Probably not. :)

This weekend was one of the most successful treasure hunts that I have had in a long time...maybe even ever! My collection of gaudy gold framed mirrors added 2 more to it's numbers. I picked up a super rad antique window and a mid century modern table for $5 each. The window is to sit on my mantle for seasonal decorating. The little table is just the perfect size to hold my record player...which I really needed to get off of my mantle so I could do some seasonal decorating. And I also picked up this beauty at the garage sale going on 2 houses down from mine...

Don't worry. It's not done yet. And it's not a mirror anymore either!

I also struck a gold mine on the way to work this morning. We (all 4 of us carpool to work and school on most days now!) had just pulled out of the driveway and had only made it 3 houses down the street, when eagle eyed Adam spied a super curbside score. An antique door!! It's a 4 panel door, painted minty green with the most lovely doorknob. 3 of the 4 panels are glass - the kind that completely comes out of the door and can be replaced with screen. Bonus - the screen part was lying underneath the door, so it's a complete set! I was nearly late to work, but it was totally worth it! So keep stopping by - because things keep changing around here!

Italian Wedding Soup...

2011-09-18T19:38:00.006-05:00

Fall is my season. I LOVE rainy, drizzly, chilly days. And I love a big pot of soup simmering away on the stove top. Today was one of those perfect days. The high was around 75 and the sky was overcast. So I got to work on a lovely pot of soup. Italian Wedding Soup has a chicken stock base and is filled with veggies, pasta and tiny little meatballs. YUM! I got the original recipe off of All Recipes a few years back and have since played around with it, personalizing it for our house. Here is what I threw in the pot today

Italian Wedding Soup

Soup -

2 48 oz containers of chicken stock

1 medium onion, diced

4-5 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 ribs of celery, chopped

1 10 oz package of frozen spinach, thawed and drained (you can totally use fresh spinach)

8 oz Orzo pasta

salt and pepper to taste

Bring the stock to a boil and add the onion, carrot and celery. Simmer until the veggies are tender.

Meatballs -

1 lb ground meat (we are a red meat free house, so I use either chicken, turkey or pork.)

1 egg

3 cloves garlic, diced

1/4 cup (or so) of bread crumbs

a bit of basil, chopped

1 Tblsp Italian seasoning

A generous shake of grated Parmesan cheese

Mix everything together and roll into tiny meatballs. (I use a 1/2 Tblsp to make them uniform.) Place them on a broiler pan (especially if using pork - they tend to render a bit of fat off during their bake time.) Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

About 10 minutes before the meatballs are done, add the Orzo and spinach to the simmering pot of goodness. When the meatballs are done, add them to the pot and simmer for a few minutes longer so they can soak up a little bit of that goodness. Serve with a crusty loaf of garlic bread.

I had to make Adam a spinach free portion, because of his heart meds. He commented that he missed the spinach, but he was still more than happy to finish off the entire little pot that I made just for him. The girls love the little meatballs and the Orzo. And I love the entire thing. And fall. :)

My Magnetic Chalkboard and Art Wall...

2011-09-15T19:24:00.010-05:00

So here's the deal. I am incredibly unorganized in my life right now. All in the span of 2 weeks, Haven started Kindergarten, soccer and Awana and I started a "new" job. My brain, which normally is constantly multitasking and filing things away and sending reminders to myself, has been clogged up with locating shin guards and me remembering to pay attention in the elevator, so I don't get off on the wrong level of the parking garage. Which happened. Right in front of my new boss. Embarrassing. And poor Haven is suffering because of my brain issues...I didn't even know for the first 2 weeks of Kindergarten that she had a memory verse due every Friday. Whoops. I had to do something. I had to get organized. Enter a piece of sheet metal, some clearance knobs at Hobby Lobby and a can of chalkboard spray paint. Yes, even with my foggy grey matter, I was able to formulate a sure success of a project.

Here's a little before...

Oh this wall. So ugly. So messy. So full of useless technology and outdated fixtures. And so empty too. In this split level house, it's hard to figure these hallways out. The walls at their tallest point are 16 feet tall. That's a lot of empty space! We started by taking off everything on this wall - the original 1962 doorbell cover (that would be the almond and gold monstrosity), the hardwired security system and phone jack (does anyone have a house phone anymore??) and a random mystery speaker thing (the white thing next to the doorbell cover). We patched everything up, except for the doorbell cover. I do still need that. Because someone could be bulldozing my door down, but my dogs won't bark until they hear a doorbell ring. They are amazing watchdogs.

I couldn't possibly live with that almond and gold doorbell cover, so I painted with some spray paint made for plastics. Then the real fun began. I picked up a 4'x2' sheet of sheet metal from Lowe's and a can of chalkboard spray paint and some metal primer. I also got two 7' sections of trim. I primed the sheet metal, then sprayed it with a couple of coats of the chalkboard. When I say a couple, I actually mean 5. For normal people, 2 coats will do just fine. But my dogs actually walked across it while it was laying in the entryway - TWICE - and scratched it with their nails. Then as we were attaching it, we had another scratchy sort of accident. Seriously. This family is a walking disaster. After I painted the hall with 3 coats of Behr's Antique Red, I finally remembered why I swore 5 years ago that I would never ever paint anything red ever again. Oops, I mean, after I painted the hall, Adam & I attached the sheet metal (now magnetic chalkboard) to the wall with a screw through each corner, then I popped some trim around it to make it even more lovely. Two coats of white paint later and it's done. (Actually 2 coats of white on the trim and another 2 coats of red on the wall where Maelie "helped" me paint with the white trim paint. I told you....walking disaster.)

Here is what we FINALLY ended up with...

Isn't that fab?? The soccer ball and school bus are some of those prepainted wood pieces from Hobby Lobby. I just hot glued some magnets on the back. The magnets are to help me keep memory verses straight. She has one due every week in school and soccer.

For the art wall, I snagged some super awesome ceramic knobs at Hobby Lobby. These I actually didn't have to drain my bank account for. They were actually on clearance! $1.36 marked down from $3.99. I found 4 H's and 4 M's, so each of my girls can have their own display areas. I sunk some sheetrock anchors into the wall and just screwed the knobs in, then tied on some hemp cord and used some mini clothespins to hang up my favorite works of art by my favorite little in-house artists.

So there you have it. Form AND function. My favorite combination right after chocolate, marshmallow and graham cracker. Well, I'm so dang proud of my accomplishments that I am entering the Crafting with the Stars competition.

So wish me luck! Or at least express your sympathies for my painting disasters. And my fogginess. And my embarrassing early exit from the parking garage elevator. I so need a vacation!

The Key to a Well Balanced Entryway...

2011-09-11T18:32:00.008-05:00

It all starts with a 1970's brown ceramic key. I snagged this one from Maj-R Thrift last week on their big Labor Day sale. Housewares were 30% off and this key was marked 99 cents, so I ended up shelling out 70 measly cents for this beauty...

Apparently, no one else could see the beauty in this thing. I will have to admit, I nearly passed it up too. But then I realized it would look amazing in my entry way. So I threw it in my heaping cart and hurried toward the checkout. Today, I gave it a generous spraying of red and here it is at it's new home, right below some Amy Butler fabric and to the lower left of my Grandma's painting...

And the entire wall...

It looks like it was meant to be, doesn't it? Not bad for 70 cents!

Haven's Room Reveal!

2011-09-11T15:53:00.003-05:00

I can finally cross something off the official list! It has taken forever to tie up the ends of this room, but the finished result is definitely worth it. Haven loves it and it looks almost identical to her old room, which was very important for her. Baby girl doesn't like change, apparently. And to show how identical to the old house it turned out to be, how about a little side by side?

The old house...

And the new house...

Her bookcase in the old house...

And her bookcase in the new house...

Her owls went from the soffit over her bedroom window...

To her mirrored closet door (at least what ones survived the move!)...

(Please note the lovely SILVER handles on the closet doors. Fake gold was so 1962 people.)

And since I can't for the life of me find a pic of her dresser from the old house, here is a pic of the dresser in the new house...

She requested that her mirrors be placed over her dresser. And it's just easier to do what she says. Seriously. The drama.

And just for giggles, here is a pic of what we started with...

I only have 3 things left until this room is really finished:

1. Replace her floor vent with a white version. It's pretty old and gross and I am so not into even trying to spray paint it. So out it will go!

2. Make some replacement tissue paper pompoms to hang above her bed. We tossed the old ones when we moved - I knew they would never survive and since they cost under $3 to make, I figured I would just spare the dashing of my hopes and make new ones.

3. Refinish the floors on that level of the house. But honestly, that's probably a few years away from happening.

I think I have finally appeased her ~~demands~~ wishes. She's pretty happy with the way things have turned out and so am I!

Guest Posting at Auntie Lolo Crafts!

2011-09-02T07:04:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone, I'm a guest poster today at Auntie Lolo Crafts! I wrote a little piece about Maelie's Shaun the Sheep birthday party. Auntie Lolo is doing a series on fun and different party themes...what could be more fitting than a party centered around a British claymation sheep?? :) But seriously, check out her fun blog for lots of ideas and inspiration!

It's almost finished!

2011-09-01T14:32:00.005-05:00

...

I wish I was referring to the entire house makeover, but alas, we've got a ways to go. We are almost finished with Haven's room though! We have been putting it off since we moved in at the end of April because 1) we couldn't agree on a color and 2) once we agreed on a color, we knew that we would have to paint her trim (and door and closet doors and eventually all the trim on that entire floor). At first, I wanted to paint her room Corn Husk Green, the color of my entryway. I thought if we did that, we wouldn't have to paint the trim. (Let me point out - I am a HUGE fan of crisp white trim. Adam, however, had his fill of painting and endlessly touching up the trim at our old house, so he was putting up quite a fight to leave it wood toned.) My lovely, opinionated 5 year old was not about to live in a green room. She was VERY clear that she expected her room to be painted, decorated and arranged EXACTLY how her old room was. Told you she was opinionated! Here is her old room...

And here is what we had to work with in the new house...

Pretty much a blank slate, thankfully. We took down the rotten 40+ year old curtains on move in day and also took out a wall of cabinets on the wall opposite the window. However, we quickly discovered that the room at some point was painted a dark peach color WITH an orange ceiling. My poor baby has lived with a huge peach rectangle on the wall and another huge rectangle of orange on her ceiling for 4 months. How she suffers. I guess Adam finally had enough of my "gentle" prodding, because he shut himself in her room all weekend and got EVERYTHING done! So since moving Haven in, we have

- Taken down rotten curtains and antiquated rods and rehung her ribbon curtains with a decorative rod. ($3 clearance rod from JoAnn's, $2.50 repackaged - thus discounted - silver curtain clips from Target.)

- Replaced the 30+ year old fan (white + gold = gaudy!) with a plain white ceiling fan with alabaster shades. ($60 Hunter fan)

- Replaced the almond colored central vacuum outlet on her wall with a nice new white one. ($11.95 including shipping from eBay.)

- 1 new door knob, 1 new window lock and 2 new door handles for her closet - all in brushed nickel. ($14 for all. One of the easiest and cheapest ways to bring an older house into the 21st century. The old ones were fake brass that were chipped and faded and disgusting. Simply swapping the hardware out makes everything look so much cleaner and modern.)

- Chocolate brown paint for the walls, semi-gloss white paint for the trim and ceiling paint. ($70. The brown is completely gone, but the trim and ceiling paint will be used in other rooms.)

Total cost was $161.95. Not bad for a complete makeover! I am still finishing up her room. Her bedskirt won't stay on at the new house (need to figure that one out!) and her closet is a disaster. There are a couple more decorative things that I need to add too. In the old house, I had a huge white mirror on her wall, but I am snagging it in anticipation of their bathroom makeover. So the "After" pics won't be posted for a little while longer. We also need to replace all the outlets, covers and light switch and plate. Talk about another way to instantly update a room for pennies!

Another fun thing this week...I have been named GooGone's GooRu of the Week on their Facebook page! Check out my little bio here! I actually used some Goo Gone in Haven's bedroom makeover. Adam had accidentally gotten some brown paint on her white daybed and it dried! Goo Gone to the rescue!

I'm going to be posting Maelie's Shaun the Sheep birthday party over at Auntie Lolo Crafts tomorrow. Be sure to check out her adorable blog and get some great ideas and inspiration!

This Happened Today...

2011-08-23T13:37:00.007-05:00

I became the mother of a Kindergartner. Haven started her school year at Cair Paravel Latin today. Yep, she went to school for all of 3 hours today. A lot shorter of a day than Preschool, but Preschool was only 2 days a week and Kindergarten is 5. So it's kind of a step up...right? This is what she looked like this morning...

Isn't she adorable? And yes, she is wearing a uniform. Ug. But at least she has options, something I never had during my K-6th grade years of wearing a uniform. I wore the same white shirt and plaid jumper combo for ALL 7 years. Feel free to pity me now. Haven, on the other hand, has a plethora of different combinations available to her each morning. 3 colors of shirts, khaki or navy skirts, pants or shorts and a snazzy plaid kilt or jumper option. And in cooler weather, she gets to wear school crest emblazoned fleeces, sweaters and sweatshirts too. I got her some new Paul Frank socks to go with her Paul Frank shoes so she could have some pizzazz with that uniform. I think she looked absolutely adorable!!

Here's a pic with Daddy...

And a pic with sister...

A school bus had just pulled up to the corner right in front of our house and they both got REALLY excited to see it! But then I had to break the news that Cair Paravel doesn't have school buses and Mommy would be driving them to school in my super uninteresting SUV. Sad face.

And a pic I got of her hard at work in her classroom. She thought I was long gone by the time I took this pic. Little did she know I was in the cafeteria with the other Kindergarten Mommies and Daddies busily drowning our tears in muffins at the Kindergarten Boo Hoo Breakfast.

I took the entire day off of work to shuttle her back and forth and also to meet Adam for lunch downtown. It's been nice being off again...it makes me wish I still worked part time! Hopefully I can get to work finishing a project for Maelie's room that I have been working on for a while. And get some housework done. And dinner made. All before we have to be at Haven's first soccer practice at 5:45. Poor kid!

One year ago today, we were at the beginning of Adam's medical crisis. On this day, we were sitting in hospital waiting rooms, waiting for blood test results, CAT scan results, consultations with a hematologist, etc. We had been told that Adam most likely had Leukemia. It was a very scary day for us. Finally, Leukemia was ruled out, but we still didn't have answers. We had to wait a couple more days to find out about the mass growing inside Adam's heart, blocking blood flow, destroying his aortic valve, growing larger every day. One year. I can't believe it was that long ago. But the fear and anticipation still feels very real. One year ago, he could barely stand he was so sick. One year ago, his 6 foot frame was down to 132 pounds. One year ago, if circumstances were different, his time wouldn't have been long on this earth. What an incredible juxtaposition between August 23rd, 2010 and August 23rd, 2011. Last year, we started a terrifying and life changing medical journey. This year, we embark on a journey of education and enlightenment. With Paul Frank socks. And a leopard printed backpack. Yes, I much prefer August 23rd, 2011.

My Staycation 2011...

2011-08-14T16:59:00.022-05:00

I haven't blogged for a while because I've been too busy. Busy wearing my jammies all day and going through multiple junk drawers and organizing my sewing area and taking my girls to Chick Fil A for lunch and celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary (WOOT!) and my birthday (BOO!). I took the last week off to fulfill the 5 day off requirement for Banks (really, it's a federal regulation! If you work for a bank, you have to take 5 consecutive days off per calender year.) And I got some great news right before I left my office for my vacay - I got a new position! I will be working behind the scenes at the corporate headquarters. Cubicle land, here I come! It really was the best news I could have received!

So anyway, on to the projects! I won't be showing you organized drawers and closets, because really, who wants to see that. (ME!!!! ME!!!!!) But I will show you this little lamp I snagged from the Goodwill a couple of weeks ago for $2.99.

Ew, right? I really loved the shape of the lamp though. The shade was left behind at Goodwill. It was pretty gross. I picked up some Avocado spray paint and an $8 shade from Target and this is how my little lamp looks now...

Whew! Much better! The color, by the way, is the new direction my master bedroom is heading. I picked up this bedding set a couple of weeks ago on the clearance endcap at Target...

It was on online only item that someone had returned to the store. I guess they didn't know what to do with it, so it got marked $26. As soon as I got home, I checked out the website to see how good of a deal I got and found that the set sells online for $70. SCORE!!! I found another great deal a couple of months ago on the clearance endcap - a $50 white bedskirt marked down to $12. Seriously, you have to check the clearance endcaps EVERY time you shop. You never know what will be hanging out back there! Anywho, my bedroom is eventually going to be painted a medium grey and that chartreuse bedding is going to be quite the focal point!

Another fun project was replacing the light fixtures in the family room. There were 3 different fixtures in that one big room. This one with no shade...

This one with the florescent light bulb and no shade...

And this nice, new fan with alabaster shades. (Should have turned the fan off, huh?)

I love the look of alabaster and plan to eventually replace almost every light fixture in the house with it, so I picked up 2 matching fixtures to compliment the fan.

So not the most exciting thing in the world, but it has made a HUGE difference down there! I also found some time to drop by Michael's and picked up a couple of album frames...

Adam and I poured over his HUGE album collection and picked out a few of our favorites. The great thing about these frames is that they are super easy to change out.

(Excuse the naked outlet. We are in the process of replacing all of the almond outlets, switches and plates to white!)

I also moved around some furniture in the house. I know, shocker. But the piece that I moved into the house is very special to me. It belonged to Adam's Granny and I am so happy to have it in my home. It needs some refinishing work in the future, but for now it is doing a great job holding my 1955 Metlox Poppytrail Del Rey stoneware.

I picked the color of the room based solely on the dishes. I love love love these dishes. They were an engagement gift from my parents and I have only gotten up the nerve to use them once. They have been packed away for the last 10 years and I have been dying to have them out on display, but never had the right piece of furniture to display them in. I am over the moon that they are finally out!

Aren't they totally fab?? The other reason I really wanted this piece in the dining room was that it has drawers. My Isabel table was fabulous in that spot, but I was getting frustrated with all the bookbags and purses piled under the table. Now they fit perfectly in the drawers. And my keys and sunglasses fit perfectly in the silverware drawer (since I don't have fancy silverware!)...

I did actually find some time to leave the house. Adam took a couple of days off too and we took the girls to the Mulvane Art Museum...

We all had a great time exploring the gigantic sculptures made from sticks by Partrick Dougherty...

Inside, we checked out some amazing Lego sculptures by Nathan Sawaya...

And this one is called the "Why The Face, Haven?" picture. (Hello, Modern Family!!)

Overall, it was a great week at home. I had a LOT of time with my girls and Maelie is well on her way to being potty trained. I got a lot accomplished around the house and we had some great shopping trips. I am actually kind of excited to get back to work and start my new position!

Why I Love Craigslist Reason #72...

2011-07-24T16:27:00.007-05:00

So here is what my living room looked like last week...

And here's what it looks like today...

Isn't that a HUGE difference??

Wait...you don't see it? Well, I will fill you in. It's the couch. We got a new couch! Or I should say "new" couch! Our old couch was old. Ancient. Falling apart. We bought it for $5 from an estate sale across the street and down 3 houses when we lived in KC. Our subdivision there was built in the mid-1950's and I am pretty sure the couch was just as old as the house. But we were super broke and needed a couch and we only had to carry it down the street and into our basement. I am still a little hazy on the details of how it went from being a basement couch to our main everyday couch, but I am certain that it has needed to go to couch heaven for a while. Last winter, I remember declaring "I have stitched up this couch for the last time! I WILL buy a new couch soon!"

Fast forward to the present day. The 1950's couch is still falling apart. It's synthetic fabric is still giving us rashes when we unwittingly scooch across it. And I'm pretty sure there is enough dog hair embedded in it to build a new Frank. Or Lucy. Or both. A brand new couch just wasn't in the budget for now, so I spent an evening clicking around Craigslist. And there it was! My dream couch!! It was in Olathe, but Adam still works there 2 days a week. We scheduled a meeting and it was ours!

We got it home and spent an hour trying to figure out how to get it inside (answer: removed the door to the garage from it's hinges!). Then I got to Googling to find out what we had on our hands. It turns out, it's a Tribeca Sofa made by Joe Ruggiero, an interior designer and former HGTV host!

I couldn't find any prices for our sofa (pretty sure he only does custom orders), but did find that the Tribeca sectional is listed on a website somewhere for $3,800! So I'm guessing our sofa was probably around $2,000 new. And here comes the super exciting part...we paid $250 for it!! The girl we bought it from was around our age, single, no kids or pets and lives in a pretty pricey apartment. Adam said her garage was full of really nice furniture she was getting rid of. And I'm happy to say that I put my haggling skillz to use. She had it priced at $300, but I offered $250 since it had been listed for a couple of weeks.

So there you have it. Just another reason why I love Craigslist! What's your best Craigslist score?

My ReStore Light Fixture Makeover!

2011-07-24T15:37:00.007-05:00

As if Topeka had advanced warning that we were coming to town and purchasing a fixer, ReStore decided to open up a location in Topeka the same month we bought our house.

Our old house had benefited from the Kansas City locations - we purchased 2 brand new 6 panel doors for our basement for $10 a piece. We had also donated all kind of things we pulled out of the old house to ReStore. (If you aren't familar, ReStore is a store operated by Habitat for Humanity that functions as a sort of thrift store for building materials and fixtures.) A couple of weekends ago, we checked out the new location to drop off a fan removed from Haven's room and decided to snoop around for some good deals. Even though they just opened in May, they were already stocked to the gills with anything you could imagine. Besides light fixtures, there were cabinets, countertops, a room full of toilets, boxes of hinges and cabinet pulls, even 2 pianos! I found a gold light fixture that seemed to have some promise...

The best part was the price...

YAY! So it's sat in a corner of the living room for the last couple of weeks neglected while I did more important things in the house. (Prepare for carpet, move 4 couches up and down stairs for fun, etc.) Finally I tackled it today. I had some other things I wanted to spray paint for my bedroom makeover, so I sped off to Lowe's and picked up 3 seeded glass shades and a can of glossy black spray paint. After taping off the light bulb sockets (isn't that the right word??), I sprayed to my hearts content! Of course, I nearly wilted in the heat and swore to never step foot outside again until late October. But in the end, my efforts paid off. Adam even taught me how to hook it up! My first electrical project!! So here is what it looks like now...

And a close up...

I can't believe it's the same light fixture! It's amazing how dramatically a coat of paint can change something!

I'm A Goo Gone GooRu!

2011-07-24T14:15:00.006-05:00

That's right folks! The people at Goo Gone have named me one of their GooRus! Basically, they noticed that I mention Goo Gone approximately every 3rd post and decided I must be a GooRu to sing it's praises without sponsorship. They are rewarding my frequent use with a Goo Gone care package, a GooRu shirt (which I am sure to wear with pride!) and a featured spot on their Facebook page. Seriously, if you have never tried this stuff, you have to pick some up. It will remove just about anything with no worries about it ruining anything!

If you recall, I have used it recently on my Dry Erase Board Redo project...

as well as on Petunia the Pig. Goo Gone not only took off the stubborn red clearance sticker, but also some red marks on her body...

Seriously, it's a great product that I would (and have been!) endorsing for a long time and I'm excited to become a GooRu!

Ahem....Privacy Please!

2011-07-18T22:20:00.004-05:00

So for the first time in my adult life, I am parking my car in a garage. In college, I had a carport. The last 2 houses we have lived in had one car garages, so we never parked in them. But now, we have a very spacious 2 car garage. And while I am loving it and it's new insulated door (which Super Realtor Patrick assures me is a high dollar item), I was not loving the plethora of windows. Nice for daylight...not so much for privacy. Especially when you live on a corner lot. So I picked up a roll of frosty Contact Paper at Home Depot for about 6 bucks, measured carefully and used 19 year old Adam's driver's license to smooth out the air bubbles. (He got the license 2 months before I met him. I keep it in my wallet and look at his 19 year old face daily and smile and think to myself "you have no idea who you are about to meet!") Anyway, here is a pic of the view before...

and the after...

And the best thing is that it comes off completely clean if you want to change it. It's a great alternative to applying the frosting film which can be very time consuming and difficult to get perfectly applied. So 3 cheers for super easy projects and added privacy!

July Vintage Goodness...

2011-07-11T23:11:00.015-05:00

Even though I have moved away from KC and have thrown myself into house projects, I am still finding time to check out the vintage sales - both in KC and in Topeka. The sales I go to happen the first weekend of every month. This month I was a super lucky girl! I got to go to Two Days Market in Topeka and to the West Bottoms in KC for the "Holy Trinity of Vintage Goodness" - Good Ju Ju, Liberty Belle and Bella Patina.

On Saturday morning, I headed across the Kansas River to North Topeka. Even though I am not at all familiar with the area, it was easy to find. The outside of the buildings were beautiful!

And I really love their sign...

They had some really great pieces!

A mid century bar...with a built in refrigerator underneath?? Yes please!

I love this sign! Meat Market...tee hee!!

A classic Eames chair...

and a bathtub! The second floor was definitely worth the trip up the stairs...

A 3 person bicycle?? Crazy!!

And there were chandeliers everywhere! I was in light fixture heaven!

I *almost* walked out with this lovely thing...

For only $95, it was a steal! I couldn't get ahold of Adam though, so I ended up walking away. It was probably for the better, as I only allowed myself $100 spending money for the entire weekend! I loved the store and will definitely be back!

On Sunday, I met with my friend Kem and her friend Megan in the West Bottoms over July 4th weekend for some excellent vintage goodness. We started at Liberty Belle, then made our way to Bella Patina and ended up at Good Ju Ju. Here are a few of the many pieces of eye candy that caught my eye over the course of the day...

I really wanted to bring this lovely thing home with me!

I am such a sucker for vintage kitchen stuff!

I love the color of this room!

I fell in love with this upholstered headboard!!

Megan making friends with the mannequin.

I love Union Station in the background!

We had a great time perusing all the treasures in all 3 stores. Then we enjoyed lunch at Blanc Burgers + Bottles on the Plaza. It was a great afternoon indeed! And the croquet set that almost got away at Bella Patina found a corner on my front porch...

I had my eye on it, but walked away to see what Good Ju Ju had. When I didn't find anything I couldn't live without, I returned, only to find it behind the counter on hold for someone else! I sweet talked the girls behind the counter and ended up leaving my name and number just in case the person didn't show up to claim it. They called just as we were leaving Blanc and we sped back down to the West Bottoms! I snatched it up for $25! I have been looking for one for quite some time. Croquet sets always remind me of my lovely Great Aunt Ruby. Me and my sisters would play with her set in her backyard in Clay Center whenever we would visit.

Overall, I had the best shopping I have had in a while over the weekend of the 4th. In addition to my croquet set, I managed to purchase a bag full of clothing from Old Navy for 84 cents, snagged a big mirror for my 1/2 bath for $3 from my favorite thrift store and even got my lunch comped at the Olive Garden! So I came home with money in my pocket! And to quote someone much more crafty than me "that's a good thing!"

Blog Swappin' - Kem from Chronicles of a Sweet Tooth!

2011-07-11T22:06:00.005-05:00

Today I am blog swapping with my lovely friend Kem! We met last weekend for some vintage-y fun in the West Bottoms and it was so much fun! I was definitely the least tattooed girl in the group - Kem and her friend Megan have some GORGEOUS pieces! Kem blogs about vintage goodness, home decor, tattoo collecting and other fun things.

Hello, My name is Kem and I write over at Chronicles of a Sweet tooth.

Last weekend was a blast. Along with it being my birthday weekend, I got to enjoy the company of new and old friends while vintage shopping. Could it get any more fun? I doubt it.

I have known Kodie for about 10 years, in fact, she was a bridesmaid in my wedding! Wowza.

Me, Megan, and Kodie

Fascinators are fascinating.

Who doesn't need a swan hood ornament?

It was boiling hot that day, but we all had a good time. Kodie got a vintage croquet set, I got an American Flag, and Megan got a vintage corset.

Stay Sweet,

Kem

A Little Vanity Update...

2011-07-09T17:21:00.010-05:00

One thing I am loving about my new town is the proximity to everything. Having lived in Kansas City for almost the last decade, I was totally used to having to drive at least 15 minutes or more to get to a specific store. Hobby Lobby was one of those stores that I rarely visited because it just wasn't convenient. But now that I live in Topeka, it seems like everything is just down the street. So I have been visiting the Hob Lob on a semi regular basis. Today, I ventured in to make a return and decided to walk around the entire store, since I was kid free and didn't have anywhere else to be. I was almost done with my tour when I found the decorative knobs. I immediately fell in love with some polka dots knobs and pounced on them. I had the perfect place for them...

It's my girls' bathroom! Our house was built in 1962 and this bathroom has stayed exactly the same for almost 50 years. It's actually a pretty big bathroom for the size of the house. It is L shaped, with the vanity visible from the hallway and the tub and toilet tucked around the corner. We have big plans for this bath. Wallpaper removal, paint, new light fixtures, new sink top, painting the vanity, new floors and walls and a shower head added to the tub. Whew! But while that is still a ways off, I thought fun knobs would be a cute update. Here is a closeup of the knobs before...

Here is what I brought home...

They play off the polka dot soap dispenser and toothbrush holder perfectly! And since I haven't shown any pics of this room before, here are some quirky things about this room.

1. The totally trippy wallpaper.

Do you see the little birds in there? It could be worse, I am aware. It could be Koi fish. (Oh wait - that's in our bath.) But it's still totally not what I want in their bathroom. I can't wait to pull it off and paint a solid color!

2. The HUGE storage cabinet.

This is actually over the space above the stairs down to the family room. I am impressed that the builder squeezed every last inch of space out of this house! There is a full linen closet behind the bathroom door too, so the storage space in this bath is crazy! Right now it is holding a chandelier, a huge mirror and a laundry basket for dirty clothes...plus other random things. It's huge!

The best thing about this mini makeover was that the knobs were on sale. They were regularly $3 a piece, but were on sale for 50% off. The bad news is I forgot to get one for the storage cabinet, so I am heading back over to Hob Lob to snag the last one. But it's just down the street, so I don't mind!

A Glue Removal Story Of Epic Proportions...

2011-07-09T16:36:00.009-05:00

We had a solid month between purchasing our family room carpet and actually having it installed. The installers only wanted a couple of days between purchase and install, but I needed more time. Lots more time. I had to get all the wallpaper glue off the walls before we could paint, and I wanted to paint before the new carpet came. Because last time I painted, my lovely 2 year old appointed herself Official Assistant while I stepped out of the room. So painting before new carpet was the only option!

Normally, I act as Design Maven and Adam is the Do Everything The Design Maven Says guy. But I really wanted to be more hands on this time. I owe it to the poor guy! So I am proud to say that I was responsible for this task, from beginning to end. Yay me! The only way to completely rid the walls of the wallpaper glue was to soak the walls with a wet sponge. I had to change the water every couple of minutes because the glue had been applied so thick to the walls. Here is a pic showing glue on the wall and the glue gone...

Another challenge is the paneling on this level of the house. Since the level is a partial basement, the bottom half of the walls is concrete, which is then covered in paneling. I wanted to avoid getting water all over the paneling (and especially from behind the paneling), so I taped up plastic sheeting to divert all the water from the wall to the floor. Since the part of the room that had the wallpaper also had linoleum on the floor, I didn't have to worry about the water pooling on the floor. I just laid some old towels down to absorb the water. Here is my set up...

This worked fairly well at first when the glue was thin and didn't need much water to get it off. However, the thickness of the glue increased as I worked my way around the room and water eventually ended up getting underneath the tape and pooling on the ledge above the paneling. So I had to work quickly so I could remove the sheeting and wipe the ledge dry. But it did work to divert the majority of the water toward the floor.

So after this task was finally finished, Adam did take over for the mudding and patching of the sheetrock. Then we both joined forces to paint. So let's do the whole before and after thing...

Midway to the after...

And the after...

Isn't that so much better?? The color is Grass Cloth by Behr. It is one shade darker than the Corn Husk color I used in my entryway. I am so happy to be done with this project! I am really proud of all the work I put into this room! And I may or may not have hugged the carpet installers when they arrived! The carpet is in and this level of the house looks absolutely fabulous. I will be cleaning up and unpacking and rearranging this weekend, so look for a finished family room post later this week!!

It's Not A Wrap Around, But I Love It Anyway...

2011-06-25T13:58:00.007-05:00

I have always wanted a huge 4 square house with a wrap around porch. Something like this...

(pic from here)

Within 5 minutes drive of a Sonic and Target, preferably.

My new house has a porch. A small one, but it's still a porch. And we are getting so much use out of it! And we have done a small makeover since we've moved in. Here's a before...

You can't really see much from this view, I know. But it had absolutely nothing going on except for green indoor/outdoor carpet and 2 green plastic chairs. The house had a whole lotta green going on. Right after we ripped out the carpet in the main floor (as soon as we got the keys!), Adam gave the indoor/outdoor carpet a gentle tug and - VOILA! - it came loose! The difference was amazing!

We moved my great Granny Mac's super sweet swing onto the porch and I snagged some outdoor pillows from Target for $12 a piece. (I already had the beige ones, the green and brown ones punched it up a little!) I need to add a small side table for drinks, so I am currently on the hunt for that.

We live on a corner lot, but we also live on a Terrace, so there isn't that much traffic. Especially at night. And the evenings have been pleasantly mild over the last week or two, so we have been chilling on the porch most evenings. Haven is usually running around the yard trying to catch fireflies or enjoying an ice cream cone or frozen Gogurt with Maelie on the front steps. Adam and I sit out on the porch after we put the girls to bed and chat about our days. The dogs have even been invited out. Surprisingly, although Lucy has run away from home 5 times since the move, she won't budge off the front porch when we are all out there. And of course Frank will never be more than 4 feet away from his humans at any given time, so we don't need to worry about him.

We aren't typically the type of people that have a flag out, but I thought I would put one out for July 4th. The neighbors across from us in the beautiful Colonial inspired me with their festive bunting on the back yard fence, so we dug out our vintage-y flag and hung it up.

I hope to eventually take down the iron railing and cut out some of the bushes so we can have a sidewalk poured from the street our house faces to the front door. But that will be in a few years. So in the mean time, we love to sit out on our porch and talk about how much we love this house...quirks and all.

I Went In For A Purse & Walked Out With 10 Plates...

2011-06-23T20:02:00.006-05:00

I have decided that I desperately need a new purse. This is not good. I am pretty picky when it comes to bags. Well, not really TOO picky. They just need to be able to hold 42 pounds of stuff, that's all. Seriously, I am aware that I carry WAY too much stuff around, but who knows when you will need fabric swatches or a tape measure or a level. Yep. A level. But it's a small one...attached to my tape measure. So it's a space saver.

Ok, back to the point of this post. I wandered into Kohl's today - without a coupon! - on the hunt for a new bag. I was specifically looking for a deeply discounted Vera Wang. I didn't find one that I couldn't live without, so I proceeded to wander around the store because I am a glutton for punishment. (Explanation - Maelie had just had 4 shots and Haven was determined to keep her mind off her princess bandaged legs. Even if that meant insisting on walking backwards, in front of the stroller, while holding both her hands. Hijinks ensued.)

I came across the "Outdoor Living" section and BEHOLD! My red plate dilemma was solved! Recap - I have a plate ledge in my dining room that spans 2 walls. Those 2 walls are covered in paneling. Which my hubs refuses to pull down. At least for now. So I desperately needed a punch to break up all the wood tones goin' on in there. They are the heavy plastic kind that look like stoneware from afar. They were regularly $4.99, but I scored them for $1.74 per plate! My original plan was to gather plates from thrift stores, then spray paint them red, but I think I ended up coming out ahead by buying them new! So here they are, punching up the WOOD in the dining room...

(Please pardon the ridiculous light fixture. I don't understand why it's hung in the corner of the room like that. And that's why the table is shoved over to the side of the room as well. I can't wait to get rid of that thing!) Here's some more angles...

And yes, I have mad paint skillz. Not really. If you would please notice the arrows pointing to the empty space that will have 2 more plates when I make a trip back to Kohl's. Preferably before the sale ends. Or they run out of plates. And here is my "Isabel" table. So named for the name that is sweetly carved into it's top. And on the table, a picture of Harbor and Eula Mae. My great grandparents. The ones I accidentally named BOTH of my children after. (Harbor = Haven, Eula Mae = Maelie. And I didn't notice until after they were both born. Crazy coincidence?? I think not!)

And there you have it. Another piece of the puzzle that is my house. It is slowly coming along, but every single thing we do makes me feel like this is my home more and more.

A post about a front porch makeover is in the works!

The Wallpaper So Ugly, It Tried To Take Itself Down...

2011-06-18T15:54:00.008-05:00

Seriously. It is. Or was. HOORAY!!!

So the other night, I realized that we were pretty much done with main floor painting and my wall o' mirrors and that it was time to start thinking about our next project. So, instead of thinking, I walked down to the family room and started pulling wallpaper off the walls. It came down in a snap! YAY! And as I got started, I realized that the wallpaper had been trying to take itself down for quite some time. However, with some quick thinking and the contents of a junk drawer, the former owners had managed to keep it in place for a while longer. Here is the evidence...

Yes people. That is a nail. They nailed the wallpaper down. What a brilliant solution. I would have noticed the wallpaper peeling and decided that enough was enough and took it down. But not these people! But it wasn't just a nail or two. It was packing tape too...

And maybe they ran out of nails and packing tape, because then I found plain ol' Scotch tape...

Wow. That is so not obvious, huh? The good news is, despite their MacGyver-esque efforts, the wallpaper did not protest when I gave it a tug. So this is what my basement family room looked like before...

And here is the after...

Ok, so not the AFTER after, but still. No crazy seizure inducing RED wallpaper.

*sigh*

Now, I just have to get all the residual ineffective glue off the walls, then I can paint! The carpet guys should have our carpet installed within the next couple of weeks, so we are really looking forward to the end result. This room is going to be the best makeover EVER! :o)

My Hallway Mirror Wall...

2011-06-10T07:39:00.007-05:00

It's done! It's done! I am so excited that this project worked out exactly like I had it pictured in my head. A recap of the problem - the upstairs hallway is very dark and only has one light fixture. (We will replace it eventually, but it's not on our Top 100 Things to Do in the First 100 Days list. There's not really an official list with that title, but at this point, there should be.) I hit up the Auburn Garage Sale day last Saturday and scored some amazing mirrors. Although you probably won't think so when I show you the before...

Lots of ugly fake gold and heavy wood. Ug. So I grabbed a couple of cans of glossy white spray paint, made a template out of ugly Christmas wrapping paper and put my hubs to work with the hammering. (For some reason he won't trust me with a hammer. Perhaps past experience??) And here's how it turned out...

(Do you realize how hard it is to take a pic of a wall of mirrors without having your face in one of the mirrors?)

The ornate one is my favorite. I paid $1 at a garage sale for that one! I had to scrub off about 2 inches of dust, cobwebs and grime before I painted it, but it was totally worth the work! (Side note, 2 days later, I found an identical mirror at a thrift store for $7.50! I bit the bullet and bought that one too!)

All together the wall of mirrors cost $21 (the $3 mirror at the very bottom was my mom's contribution to the project - also from the Auburn Garage Sale Day!) The only thing I purchased new was the T (from Hobby Lobby - 1/2 price at $5!!) Not too bad for such a great project!

I am entering the CSI Project's Garage Sale Finds and Makeovers Link Party, judged this week by my fav blogger, Mandi from Vintage Revivals. Hop on over to check out all the entries!

My Latest Obsession...

2011-06-09T21:13:00.002-05:00

I have been desperately seeking out garage sales and thrift stores for my latest project. It has to do with a very poorly lit hallway and what I totally thought was a brilliant and original idea. Well, it's definitely brilliant. But original....perhaps not. But it will still be awesome! After doing some painting for this project, I was checking up on my fav design and DIY blogger the other day and suddenly remembered that she has something similar in her house. Are you super curious?? Here is Mandi's version from Vintage Revivals...

Yep! It's the mirror wall! I have spent a couple of nights this week spray painting my mirrors and spent tonight painting the hallway walls and laying out the mirrors for the perfect arrangement. I am so excited to finally get this done!

Dry Erase Message Board Redo...

2011-06-06T15:18:00.005-05:00

On Memorial Day, I hopped outta bed and hightailed it to my favorite thrift store, Maj-R Thrift. And hour and 15 minutes away. Ok, so I might be crazy. But I knew they would be having a super rare 50% off sale. So it was totally worth it. I ended up getting 19 articles of clothing, a mirror and a dry erase board for $26. (And when I say "articles of clothing", I am talking about all practically brand new perfect condition babyGap/Old Navy/Gymboree items. I snagged each one for around a dollar a piece! Now you know why I LOVE this store!)

Right before I headed to the checkout line, I had to track down Adam. He was going through picture frames. And I spotted something that I thought could use some help...

It was obviously from a sorority sister and in pretty bad shape. It had a ribbon laced through the holes that had the same Greek letters on it (sorry, I took Latin, not Greek. I know the first one is pi....and that's about it). But the ribbon was totally rotten and in pieces, so I left it with the thrift store and headed home to give it a new life. As you can see, it was $2.99, so that means I paid $1.50 for it. I cleaned it up with some Goo Gone. It got the price off of it, along with some old marker remnants, but the Greek letters wouldn't come off. So I flipped it over and used the back. I thought it would be a cute little reminder board for the girls' bathroom, like "Brush Your Teeth!" You know, so I could totally nag them when I wasn't even in the room. Bonus. I dug out some Valentine's window clings from Target from a few years ago and laced some new ribbon in and VOILA! It was complete.

I love it! It will look even better when their bathroom is no longer lavender. Not too bad for $1.50. Now do you understand my Maj-R Thrift Store obsession?!?

Before & After Entryway...

2011-06-06T14:41:00.008-05:00

My whole adult life I have wanted an entryway. Yes, I'm that lame. The last couple of houses I have lived in had a front door that opened into the living room. Not much privacy that way. (Read: I usually keep my house messy, yo. And my kids in nothing but diapers. And it would be all exposed if someone knocked at my door. So if someone did knock at my door, I would have to pretend I wasn't home. Except my car would be in the driveway and totally throw my whole plan outta whack.)

But that is neither here nor there.

So I finally got my entryway in my new house. Granted, it's not totally ideal. There isn't a window and it took swapping out a door with a peephole with a door with a window in it to get some light in there. And the 50 year old linoleum is REALLY gross (and apparently completely unable to be cleaned.) But the coat closet is MASSIVE. And I have my entryway. Here is what it looked like when I moved in...

Ok, so not the greatest pic. It was the day we closed, we had just gotten the keys and we were chomping at the bit to get the carpet torn out. (Btw, notice the carpet in the entryway. Can you say GROSS!!!) The entryway had the same wallpaper as you see on the living room walls. Yes, that would be "Wedding Present Wrapping Paper" wallpaper. So next, this happened...

That's my mom and my niece participating in the most exciting after-school activity known to 2nd graders: wallpaper removal. They were having a contest to see who could pull off the biggest piece. Of course, I didn't let them have all the fun. I scraped to my heart's content. Last weekend, I painted...

And then made my template on some not-so-cute Christmas wrapping paper...

And hung up all my thrift store and garage sale frames with our silhouettes and pieces of favorite fabrics...

I also added a small bird painting that my Grandma did a few years back. She decided to start taking painting classes and discovered she was pretty good at it! I love having it on display finally!

I still have a few more tweaks to make. And another thing or two to add. The gold frame in the corner (with the Amy Butler Wallflower fabric in it) needs to be painted really bad. And I can't find my crate of spray paint anywhere. It is either at Adam's office in Olathe (1 hour away) or locked inside a random compartment of my sister's horse trailer...and she can't find the keys. So I might have to end up buying new spray paint. (GASP!) But I'm sure it will all work out in the end. Overall, I love my new entry way and love that visitors can see it through the window in the door when they come to visit. Although that means that I can't pretend I'm not home anymore. Drat.

What I've Been Up To Lately...

2011-06-06T11:56:00.006-05:00

I have been busy lately. Like crazy busy. I've been sewing, removing wallpaper, cleaning, organizing, painting, more sewing, thrifting, and whatever else it takes to avoid cooking apparently. And I have actually accomplished a few things.

First order of business. The sewing of the curtains. My mother's day present to myself was 5 yards of Amy Bulter's Wallflower in Cherry from her Lotus line. I almost panicked when I couldn't get anyone to sell it to me though. I sent a message to an Etsy seller and here is exactly what went down...

Me: I am needing 5 yards for my project. Do you have that much? And how much would shipping be? Thanks!

Etsy Seller: Thank you for your question. Unfortunately I have exactly 5 yards and I need to save it as I'm still using it and it's incredibly difficult to get in.

Umm....why do you have it for sale then. Seriously? I was so confused. And panicked. But I finally found someone who actually had 5 yards AND wanted to actually sell it to me. So I got it in the mail and was super excited. Then I decided to scrape wallpaper off my living room for a week. Then I sewed one panel. Then I painted my living room for a week. Well, today was the day of action. I tackled it and got it done. Finally. Here they are...

I love them! (What I don't love is the paneling. I think. I haven't decided yet. Hopefully it won't be there forever...??) Notice the milk glass planter directly above the curtain rod. I have a plate rack shelf thing that spans 2 walls of the dining room. I am not brave enough to put my vintage stoneware up there, so my thrift store collection of milk glass planters have found a new home. Solid red plates are on my shopping list to alternate between the planters too. That should add a punch of color to the paneling.

Before the curtains, the living room consumed all my time. Stripping the "wedding present wrapping paper" wallpaper took forever. (Naming of wallpaper credit to my pal Bree!) It not only covered 2 walls of my living room, but also went all the way up the staircase and covered every inch of the hallway. Of course, after stripping, Adam had to come in and mud some problem areas. So we had to prime too. Finally I was ready to bust out the paint on Thursday. It took a couple of hours Thursday, an hour or so Saturday night and 2 hours Sunday morning to get everything done. And we ran out of paint. There is a small part of the hallway that is totally rocking the Kilz primer right now, but we should be able to tackle it in the next week. Or so. Here is the before (the first time we looked at the house)...

And the finished product...

Awww...complete with a snoozing Lucy on the couch. And a pile of junk on the TV console. Oh well. All that's left is hanging stuff on the walls, painting my marble topped TV console yellow (I think) and figuring out how to get the grime off of all the windows. Since they are all painted shut, this should be an interesting undertaking.

(I did a lot more stuff the last couple of weeks, so there are more posts coming. I have re-worked my silhouette wall and relocated it in the entry. And I love it with all my heart.)

A Dino-mite 5th Birthday Party!

2011-05-22T22:26:00.006-05:00

Today was Haven's birthday party. And I am worn out. Both Adam and I worked yesterday and did a lot of cleaning/organizing/unpacking yesterday afternoon and evening, getting the house ready for the party. Some people told me I was crazy for planning a party at my house 3 weeks after moving in, but I knew that it would just push me to get the house looking like our home, instead of a sea of boxes and laundry baskets. (Just don't look in our room!) We were in a really good groove...until the tornado sirens went off. We had golf ball sized hail for about 15 minutes, but no tornado damage. Thank God we have a 2 car garage now! I have seen people's pics on Facebook today who live in our area of town with car windows shattered out from the hail. We were very lucky indeed!

After we emerged from the basement, we continued getting ready for her party. And I think we did a pretty good job! The theme was (what else??) - DINOSAURS! Here is the spread in the kitchen...

We had 3 categories: Dino Drinks - tea & lemonade

Herbivore - salad with oranges, red onion and toasted sesame dressing, gummy dinos, twigs (pretzels) and dino eggs (grapes), and

Carnivore - dino shaped chicken nuggets.

The cake was just a simple sheet cake with lotsa frosting and plastic dinos, thanks to a loan from Haven's collection...

I originally wanted to have a volcano on top of the cake with dry ice inside....but found the dry ice place has a 10 pound minimum purchase. That was a bit more than I was wanting to spend on a volcano cake, to be quite honest! So Adam went out and got me some blue gel icing and we made a watering hole for those thirsty dinos.

I think my favorite thing about the party was the plates. I picked these up the day after Valentines Day for 1/2 price because I knew that she wanted a dino party...

So adorable!

Overall, this party was the least effort I have put into a party for my kids...but I think it still turned out great. She was happy and that's all that matters. And her birthday means the end of the birthday crunch! YAY!

The Best Decision I've Ever Made...

2011-05-10T22:59:00.002-05:00

Ok, so not really. But it is a huge one and a good one. I am paying a guy to redo my hardwood floors. Yes, that's right. CHEEPMOMMA is paying someone to do all the work for her. It's so strange. So foreign. So easy!

Today was the first day, so they were sanded and stained. Tomorrow is poly day! WOOHOO!! And the best part is, we don't even have to leave the house. We can go from the basement family room, up 7 steps to the kitchen, then swing a leg around to reach the 7 stairs that go up to the bedrooms. We have closed off the stairways with baby gates so Maelie doesn't escape and walk on the floors. But the dogs did have to go to Grandma's house for a few days because they can (and will!) jump baby gates. I am so excited to get the next couple of days done and over with and the couch and piano moved out of my kitchen! But I really can't complain. I am getting them done 10 days after moving in, because of a cancellation the floor guy had this week. He is also giving me a (small) discount because he had this week completely open. And Adam and I don't have to do it ourselves! YAY! So here is what they looked like this morning...

And this is what it looked like when I got home a few hours later...

Aren't those beautiful? Can you believe they are 49 years old? They look like they were just installed today! We got really lucky with these floors - in our old house, the original hardwoods were badly stained from non-housetrained pets and leaky window AC units. But these are gorgeous! Ok, enough raving about my hardwoods for today. Good grief, they're not even finished yet!

PS. Tomorrow I get something very awesome in the mail. Give me a couple more days and I will (hopefully) have it done and hanging up!

My Chaotic Life, Volume 1

2011-05-03T17:07:00.006-05:00

The closing went off without a hitch! We have now spent 3 nights in our new house. Well, I have at least. CheepDaddy is still commuting an hour each way to Olathe, but only for the next week. He starts his new job on Monday as a Therapeutic Case Manager for an organization that handles all the Foster Care for the county. I have been thinking a lot in the last couple of days about how crazy our lives have been for the last couple of weeks. Me staying with my parents, Adam living in our empty house, then with his parents. All of us split up and nothing really stable. Thank goodness that only lasted 2 weeks! I couldn't handle any more!

As soon as we walked into the house on Friday, I grabbed the corner of the carpet and pulled. Hello hardwoods! Although it was lovely to see the hardwoods, it was disappointing to realize that they are completely unfinished. As in sanded, but not sealed. Really? There are also a few paint splatters, but nothing that shouldn't be able to be sanded out. I have called for a few quotes to have them professionally redone, but I'm not at all happy with what I have been told so far. I am starting to think I might try to talk Adam into doing them ourselves. In our previous house, we had all the floors professionally redone, but mainly because they were very damaged by water and pet stains. They needed all the help they could get! However, these floors seem to be pretty straight forward, so we just might give it a go and hopefully save TONS of money in the process.

So without further ado, here is a pic of the before...

Taken the first time we saw the house. Notice the crazy drapes and the ugly, outdated, matted carpet. Ick. Now here's what it looked like less than 48 hours after possession...

And the view of the entry...

Better...right? Well, it will be once that wallpaper is down and some paint is on the walls. So that's what I've been up to. What have you been doing? Have you ever attempted to refinish your own hardwoods. If so, please advise!

P.S. I have a neighbor who is a rock star in the world of crime scene investigation. He is apparently a consultant to several big time TV shows and has even invented a special light for detecting fingerprints. Seriously. I just might find him to be the most intriguing thing ever!

That's right...I bought this house...

2011-04-21T00:10:00.010-05:00

So, the hubs and I are 9 days away from moving 4 trailers full of crap into our new lovely house. (I know, I'm a hoarder. That's why we are moving to a bigger house. Duh.) And as I've mentioned before, it's got some quirks. Maybe not quirks, maybe decor flubs. Circa 1973. Like the foiled Koi fish wallpaper in the master bath. That's not still in?? Or the "draperies" with multiple rods and sheers and valances, etc. It literally took us 3 minutes to figure out how to work the drapes while trying to scope out the backyard view from the dining room. Oh, and there's this...

But wait there's more...

And because one room just isn't enough, the half bath around the corner...

I know, I know. You want to move in with me. I seriously have plans though. If I didn't, I wouldn't have bought the house! Believe me!! So let's start with the family room.

The obvious place to start would be the wallpaper and carpet. Those are both going right away. I know I have professed my love of the color red, but I seriously meant as a pop, not a "cover-every-possible-surface" sort of attack.

I don't know if we will be keeping the fireplace insert. My dad tells me it has a blower thingy in it that makes it heat the whole level of the house. Which could be very useful during an ice storm. (This evokes memories of that winter when I was about 5 where 3 other families moved in with my family during a crazy ice storm/power outage that lasted the better part of a week. My parent's were apparently the only ones in town with a gas stove and a wood burning fireplace.) But I am not at all crazy about all the gold/brass accents going on. I have seen people on HGTV spray paint their fireplace inserts with heat resistant paint, so this could be a direction to head in. And I may end up painting the entire brick face of the fireplace a la Young House Love...

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Doesn't that feel so much lighter? Aaahhh....

The paneling will probably go white. Even though we will still get daylight in that level, I feel like the wood tones weigh the room down.

In the back corner of the room, I am planning on some day (most likely around 2023) adding a simple bar and beer/soda fridge. Wouldn't that be perfect in that area? It's like it's begging for it...

Add new light fixtures, frame up some old band shirts and album covers, add some comfy couches and the TV and my Atari 2600, and you have the coolest family room ever. And I have a great antique piece that currently sits in my living room that I am wanting to make over to hold all of those electronic items too. But you know what would kick my room up a notch? Having this chick do it with me...

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It's Mandi from Vintage Revivals! And I am officially tossing my hat into the ring for her accurately titled Epic Room Makeover Giveaway!!!!!

(Isn't that the best button EVER???)

So here's how you can help me out. And seriously...now you've seen the pictures, so you KNOW I need professional help! Voting for the contest will be taking place on her blog, Vintage Revivals. It will start on May 2nd and trust me, I will totally let you know when you can go vote for me. Help rescue me from the sea of RED!!! Thanks!

Shaun the Sheep Party!

2011-04-16T17:16:00.011-05:00

Today we celebrated Maelie's 2nd birthday with a Shaun the Sheep Extravaganza! He was everywhere - on a pennant banner I made in the living room, hanging from the ceiling, even on her birthday cake! It was really difficult to find anything Shaun the Sheep. In fact, I didn't find anything that was available for purchase in the US, besides a DVD at Target. I even called Brits on Mass in Lawrence and they said that normally the are the highest volume seller in the US of all things Shaun, but they have tragically been cut off from Shaun shipments in the last few months. So I was forced to make everything for the party.

I started by making 10 little paper Shauns for the invitations. I printed off a Shaun from Google image, then cut out the body parts and traced them on paper. A few hours and a lotta glue later, I had these...

Then I had the idea of making a banner. I took advantage of working my last week at my super slow branch and whipped this up...

It turned out HUGE! Then Adam and I put together these guys...

They are little tissue pompoms with Shaun heads and legs! They were super easy to make and my favorite part of the party!

We called in our lovely friend Lisa to make the cake...

Isn't that perfect? I couldn't believe how great he turned out! That Lisa is a cake genius! For the other treats, we had ice cream, cupcakes, Whoopie pies, carrots and celery with dip,pita chips, pastel M&Ms and cherry limeade soda.

Maelie stayed at my mom's last night, so when she walked in the house and saw all the different Shauns, she was really excited! Our families arrived and the cousins all watched an episode of Shaun before opening presents. Then she refused a piece of cake, instead making it very clear to all of us that she wanted to blow out candles on a cupcake. So she did...

I was able to get her a (non-authentic, I'm sure) stuffed Shaun (from Hong Kong...??) and here is an action shot of her totally in love...

And I am totally in love with my Maelie Kate. Almost 2 years ago, I sat in a hospital bed, hooked up to all kinds of monitors, not knowing if she would be able to make it through that day. My pregnancy was a risky one - I had some complications and my Doctor had been running weekly tests on us to make sure that she was developing on track. But on the day she was born, I nearly cancelled my last Doctor's appointment. I was scheduled to be induced 2 days later, so why go for the last test? I am so glad I kept it. The girl that did the tests saw that my placenta had ruptured and I was bleeding internally. I went straight to the hospital and waited, hoping I would be in good enough shape for them to induce me. But things went downhill very quickly and they had to take her via emergency C-section. Afterwards, I found out that around 40% of women who have this condition do not get to leave the hospital with a baby in their arms. We were very very fortunate. And through genetic testing, I discovered that I have a condition that should make it nearly impossible for me to carry a pregnancy to term. Yet my first child was born with no complications at all and my Maelie had made it out in the nick of time. I apologize for all the gory details, but it is part of the amazing story that put Maelie in our little family forever. I am amazed daily at the gift I have in my girls. And I'm so glad I get to celebrate their lives and milestones with all our family! Happy Birthday, Maelie Kate!

Pantry Prep

2011-04-11T23:25:00.004-05:00

I ran over to Mom's Ole Stuff the other day. And I found something great. In fact, a few somethings that were great. If you are in KC and like antiques and vintage pieces at really decent prices, please go there now. Seriously, you will thank me.

The shop used to be located just a few streets over from my house, but a few years ago the shop closed and a hair salon moved in. I was very sad for quite some time, thinking my favorite shop was gone forever. Then my mother-in-law casually mentioned one day shortly after she moved to Belton that she stopped at the greatest antique shop called Mom's Ole Stuff! Come to find out, Mary (the super nice lady that runs the shop) had moved out to Belton, just around the corner from my mother-in-law's house! So I have been able to keep visiting her lovely shop!

But back to my last visit. I ran over to the shop during my lunch hour because I couldn't stop thinking about these great canisters/candy jars/whatever you call them...

Aren't they great?? They will look great in my new pantry, holding granola bars or goldfish crackers. And the best part? They didn't cost me a penny! I still had a gift certificate left over from my birthday in August. I had been holding onto it because I had my eye on an antique twin sized bed for Maelie, but I decided that she could stay in her converted crib for a while longer. So YAY for great local shops and YAY for fun storage for my pantry! 6 days to go until I move!

Stenciling? Maybe??

2011-04-08T11:48:00.004-05:00

So I have been spending my time at work wisely lately. That's right, scouring the interwebs. (And sadly, my time is going to be better spent soon. Actually working, apparently. My transfer has come through and my new location will actually be busy, so I hear!) I have become obsessed with stenciling. Like this one from Mandi at Vintage Revivals...

And this one from Kim at Seven Thirty Three...

And this one in Shelley's pantry from House of Smiths...

Aren't those fabulous?? I am actually going to have a pantry for the first time in my life in the new house. YAY! There is a strange little empty room that we can't figure out what the sellers would have used it for, so I am going to transform it into a proper pantry. I think I will try stenciling the pantry first to see if I can really do it. And then if I am successful, I will try the entryway! I've got high hopes people! Only 3 more weeks to go until the move!

April Liberty Belle & Bella Patina...

2011-04-04T09:33:00.014-05:00

Alternate title - April Non-Good Ju Ju Post

After swearing to Adam that I wouldn't bring anything home, I hopped out of bed Saturday morning (the only day of the month I HOP out of bed!) and sped off to Good Ju Ju. I always look forward to my first-weekend-of-the-month visits not only for my fix of visual delights, but also for inspiration in the lovely seasonal displays. Last month, there were several Easter and spring themed displays, so I knew there had to be even more this month. I am ready for spring after the horrendous winter we have had!

Apparently, everyone else in greater KC had gotten the memo about Good Ju Ju. There were so many people there! While that makes me happy that great little businesses are taking off in the West Bottoms, it was a little too crowded for my comfort. That many people in a vintage store is not the best idea! After making my rounds and making sure there was nothing that needed to be stashed away in my car for future husband revelations, I got the heck outta there. Sorry - no pics of Good Ju Ju stuff this month!

So I decided to head a block down to a couple of new stores. This was the opening weekend for Bella Patina!

The inside of the store is beautiful. Of course, my point-and-shoot didn't get the greatest shots of the inside. Plus, I didn't want to totally freak out the shop keepers on my first visit. So I didn't take tons of pics, but you should check it out in person.

The first thing I noticed that was swoon-worthy was this little math helper...

Isn't that fab? Here are a few more (borrowed) pics...

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You should totally check out their beautiful website. And their store!

Next up was Liberty Belle. They have been around for a while, but they just recently moved to a new larger location on the same street as Good Ju Ju. I think this is going to help their traffic pick up. They used to be located in the building behind Good Ju Ju and I think most people had no idea they were back there. They have a great store front already...

Love it! They have a vintage pin-up vibe going on throughout the store that I adore.

I am always a sucker for a great light fixture...

Especially in Robin's Egg Blue! And these toadstools were killing me...

Aren't they adorable?? And the spring colors everywhere were putting a spring in my step (haha).

This was one of my favorite little areas...

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They have a great website that has a gallery of every month's goods. The new store was amazing! I think it's a great change that will bring them more traffic!

So not a whole lot of crafting or sewing going on at my house right now because of packing. We close on the new house exactly 4 weeks from today! YAY! But that means that I have sooo much to get into boxes between now and then. BOO! I did finish (finally!) a little project that I have been needing to get into the mailbox...

I have now cut out more skinny Shaun legs than I ever wanted to! But they turned out super cute!!

My New Friend...

2011-03-30T11:01:00.007-05:00

So I was in TJ Maxx a couple of weeks ago and spotted a new friend in the aisles. I went right up and gave her a hug and asked her if she could come home with me for a nice long visit. She said she was busy and reminded me that I have sworn to not invited any more friends to my home until after I move. I remembered this stupid promise I made to myself and told her I would see her later. And I did. I saw her again the other day and this time I totally convinced her to come home with me. Forever. And now she is sitting on my piano, bringing all kinds of springy cheer to that corner of the living room. Meet my new BFF, Petunia Pig...

Isn't she adorable?? She was marked down to $5 and I think it's because she had some red marks on her snout. But a gentle scrubbing with my trusty Goo Gone made those marks disappear (along with those pesky red clearance stickers!) and she looks like a brand new pig! I have long had a love affair with white ceramic animals, much like Sherry from Young House Love. And when I saw the other day that she found a Petunia of her own, I knew I had a soulmate.

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Sherry went for Petunia's bronz-y cousin, but still! Great taste, girl!!

Here are a few other of my ceramic menagerie. I already introduced you to Mr. Hoots last fall...

And here is BunBun (or HopHop as Maelie has started calling him) who makes an appearance during spring...

And I have several of these little birdies that are constantly traveling around the house...

So there are a few of my white ceramic animals. Now you know my addiction. (Well, one more of my addictions.) Do you have any addictions of your own??

(BTW, I can't believe my walls are so dark in these pics. Can't wait to repaint the new house in lighter colors. What was I thinking with that red?? Good thing I'm not gonna be the one that has to paint over it! Sorry buyers!!)

New House To Do List...

2011-03-25T23:51:00.009-05:00

I have been busy this week compiling lists of all the new things I want to do with the new house. I pretty much have the entire house planned out with everything I want to do. Nothing major. Just painting, new light fixtures, adding built-ins in the basement family room, laying tile in the entryway, kitchen and baths, moving the front door. Whoops! How did that last one sneak in?? Adam will never go for that one. (Maybe I need to just get brave with the sledgehammer? Then he will HAVE to move the door?)

One thing I want to try to tackle in the new house is board and batten paneling. It is really hot right now, but it is so classic that I don't think it stands a chance at becoming outdated. I have been Googling "board and batten DIY" at least every other day and have pretty much convinced myself that I could do it in an afternoon. (Of course we all know that is nothing but a pipe dream!) However, I do want to start being more handy around the house. Maybe this would be a good starter project for me? I am drawing the majority of my inspiration from Jen at Tatertots and Jello. She redid her half bath last year and added board and batten. Here is an awesome pic...

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Isn't that fab? I can totally handle that...right?

Another thing I want to try to figure out is how to tile. Adam has done a couple of tiling projects around the house and it looks pretty straightforward. I mean, if I can frost some killer cupcakes, I should be able to lay some tile. That's some logic right there for ya. Seriously though, I really want to learn how to lay this tile...

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Isn't that beautiful? I think so.

And of course I have been looking at fabric. You know nothing good (for my bank account) can come from that. I am going to have a bona fide dining room again. And although I am drooling over and dreaming about these beauties...

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I am actually re-directing my attention towards this lovely fabric...

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This is going to be what my dining room curtains are made of...if everything goes to plan.

And I have to find places to hang my Black Apple prints. Perhaps this one in the entryway?

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and this one will go above my piano...

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Can you tell I'm a little excited? A whole new blank slate awaits. (Well, sorta. More like a RED shaggy flowery slate. Not for long!)

A Proper Picture & A Dead Cat...

2011-03-23T16:04:00.004-05:00

There she is in all her glory!

(What is it with us and green houses?? Our current house is exactly the same odd green color. Bizarre!)

I totally stalked my own house today. Pulled up right in front and stared for several minutes. Then the picture taking began. Hello new neighbors. Might as well just establish up front that we are strange people.

Speaking of strange people....the people who are buying our current house gave Adam a ring last night. That's not really the weird part. (Even though we only have cell phones and you can't find our numbers anywhere online. It took us a few calls to find out how they got our number!) Anyway, after introducing himself as the buyer, he asked if there might be anyway that he could come over and bury his dead cat in our yard.

I'll just give you a moment to let that sink in.

Got it? Are you wallowing in the weirdness that just happened? He wants to bury a dead cat (who has been dead at this point for 5 days) in my yard. Is this normal? Does this happen often when you sell your house? This being the first time I have sold a house, I am not very familiar with all the intricacies that come along with the contract process.

So what can be weirder than that? Adam told him yes. Absolutely. Just bring your shovel and I can suggest a few place for you to lay FiFi to rest. So she can shuffle off this mortal coil to the big scratching post in the sky.

So what's my issue with this bizarre-ness? (Yes, that is most definitely a word!) Well, besides the obvious - having to open a door to a stranger with a 5-day long dead cat in his hands, it's my dogs. My dogs are terriers. Boston terriers.

This breed can more commonly known as the most adorable dog breed in existence. Or also as the gassiest dog breed in existence. Both completely true.

Do you know what terriers are good at? Besides being adorable and farting. (Sometimes simultaneously!)

Digging.

And rolling in the carcasses of dead things.

Do you see where this is going??

I'm doomed.