Trying to Clean The House...

So that I can get a decorating post up!  Tissues are everywhere!

Friends Don't Let Friends...

Have a mat around the toilet.  Because, well, pee drops there.  And I know that I am much more likely to wipe a bare floor with a Chlorox Clean-Up wipe than to wash a rug every couple of days.  And to think I saw someone selling a used one for $5 on the internet-- ewww! 

And what about the rug that goes on top of the seat.  What is the purpose of such a carpet anyhow?

 

Think of this as a sort-of public service announcement. So, if I ever visit your potty and you are the proud owner of a pee rug know that I will be sliding it to the side.

Christmas Decor...

Can I just say how proud of myself I am for fixing my camera. I took apart all the little screws and put it back together again with only one spare part left! Unfortunately, that didn't work. Then I grabbed the camera and banged it a few times-- that worked :) Now, if only I could figure out what to do with that "spare" part...

Well I prob'ly shouldn't have looked at Thrifty Decor Chick's blog before posting my holiday decor... it puts mine to shame! Oh well, I still like mine too :)

Beautifying the Bathroom...

A simple change...

Holiday Decorating On A Dime...

An inexpensive idea for a holiday centerpiece-- an apothecary jar emptied of it's seashells and filled with extra ornaments and a Big Lots bow.

Our completed tree-- I like to get most of my ornaments, ribbons, and wreaths from the after-Christmas clearance at K-mart. I just love their Martha Stewart Holiday Traditions line. I think that I paid .75 for the gold and cream wired ribbon draping the tree. The pre-lit umbrella tree I got on clearance at Target for around $35.

Day After Thanksgiving Activities...

First, some holiday snacks-- to get the decorating juices flowing!

Rice Crispy Treats-- one of Nathan's favorite childhood memories.

Beef Sausage Balls-- a favorite childhood memory that we both share!

After a little hesitation, Nathan was kind enough to oblige me in putting up Christmas lights.

Elon helped and loved the finished results!

More holiday decorating posts to come!

A Snap Of The Fingers...

Ok, so I wasn't going to tell for a while yet, but after tonight, I think I just need a safe place to vent. Nathan and I are going to have another baby! We are so excited. After just two months of using this ovulation calendar, I was able to conceive. This is amazing to me because after my miscarriage I tried for months to get pregnant with no success. I don't really like sharing the intimate detail that I utilized a free trial version of this ovulation calendar, but I'm being open because I want any other ladies who may be trying to conceive to know about this tool.

Most of you know that in December I miscarried. Although I was upset and disappointed, I really did feel like it was all in God's hands... "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." I made it through that time by knowing that God had His best plan for me, and I did not need to question His intentions.



When I discovered that I was pregnant this time, I really thought that I would be ok with whatever outcome the Lord chose. But after spending all night with mild stomach cramps, I find that I am not ok. I am terrified that this pregnancy might end just like the last one did. I am so upset and worried and the extra hormones don't help! I am sure that those of you who have experienced a miscarriage followed by another pregnancy know just the turmoil that I am going through. My last pregnancy ended with what started as mild cramping. Now, with every cramp I beg God not to take this baby from me. This is supposed to be a happy time, yet I find that I cannot be truly joyful because of my fear. If I could just snap my fingers and make this first trimester fly by...

Little Wooden Shelf

Remember that small shelf I told you about? Well I finished it a while ago but hadn't posted a picture. Here it is-- it's no masterpiece but for a free shelf, it serves it's linen-y purpose just fine. {Who ever heard of a house with NO linen closet!?!} I roughed it up since it is an antique. I have an obsession with roughing things up-- especially my husband :} In a perfect world, all the towels and washcloths would be a pristine white. I've been wanting white towels for a while, but I can't justify getting more towels when the ones I have now are perfectly fine-- I can only do that with clothes!

Before:

After:

Father's Day Suprises

Here is a picture of Nathan's Father's Day Suprise:

Elizabeth, Marie and I fixed up his office dark and dreary-- just the way he likes it. He loves canvas and has been bugging me for years to use it as the bedding in our room. Of course, that whatn't gonna happen so I decided to give him his own little resting place. Elizabeth was able to secure this very nice sleigh bed for us for free! Now he can take a nap in a room that fosters dreams of living in a Vietnamese shack! Thank you Elizabeth and Marie for your help!

The rest of his gift consisted of a video game, a couple of bottles of wine, and dinner with Marie and John at a local greek restaurant. Nathan had falafel and I had the chicken gyro. It was SOOOO good! Nathan was very pleased with his Father's Day!

BTW, if you haven't seen it, watch that I Love Lucy episode on the previous post. It's hilarious!

"Toto, I've A Feeling We're Not In Colorado Anymore..."

I like refinishing furniture. I love turning ugly and seemingly worthless furniture into pieces that I, at least, find charming. There's just something about putting your own blood, sweat, and tears into a piece that makes it that much more valuable. There are plenty of shabby chic shops around here, but did you know I've never even visited one? I simply prefer to do it myself. I think it's a form of self-expression or something. But when it's 97* and I've got beads of sweat rolling down my back after 15 minutes, self-expression goes out the window and all I can think about is "Why didn't I just buy one at the store?" ACK!

My very limited progress...





I haven't even finished the first stage of stripping :( So I still have to 1. finish stripping paint, 2. prime, 3. first coat, 4. sand, 5. 2nd coat, 6. sand, 7. accent details, 8. hand sand edges, 9. varnish or gloss.

And it's in the 100*'s all week. AGHHHH!!!!

This Is What I'm Working On...

Trying to turn this ugly, discolored, but sturdy Craigslist table...

into this elegant, shabby chic one:

Memorial Day Happenings...

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Hope you enjoyed the long weekend. I sure did. I've been pending my time working on this...

Before:



And I finally got rid of this....



Oh, and while you're here, would you kindly take this...


Yay, now it's a little less crowded in my garage, I love Craigslist! We also grilled teryiaki chicken and had steamed rice, oriental veggies, and mangoes for dinner. It was sooo good and so nice to have Nathan at home with us. We went for walks, took Elon to the park, and watched episodes of Survivor and Lost on the net. What fun!

I'll have to wait for the paint to cure on the little shelf before I can post the after pictures. It'll be a couple of days.

Oh and in other news, I found a humongous scorpion {almost 3 inches long} in the kitchen this morning that I blindly stepped on with bare feet! Thankfully, it must've already been dead because I didn't get stung, but still, OH GROSS! That was my first encounter with a scorpion and I can tell you that it was the UGLIEST creature I've ever seen. That thing was so big I could've saddled it and rode it back to Colorado. {Which is exactly what I wanted to do, well not saddle it, but ride back to CO.} Sleep will come slowly tonight... oh where's the number to the pest control company?

The Yard Sale Sofa

Now for many of you, I know that a sofa in this style would seem atrocious. But for me, it's a shabby-chic delight! And only $100 too! Plus it matches these yard sale pictures that I adore!















Now if only I could do something about those drab green walls!

What I've Been Up To...

I don't have to look at those hideous burgandy walls and black trim and I get $200 knocked off this month's rent. It couldn't have happened at a better time! The Lord Provides!

New Old Armoire

Sorry I disappeared like that. This has been a busy week. Plus, I've had a little trouble sleeping lately so I've been napping when Elon naps and that means no time to sit in the office and blog! But I've been eagerly anticipating showing you all my new old armoire I got off of Craig's List. It matches my shabby-chic-spin-off-of-french-provencial-while-not-being-too-formal-somewhat-cottagey look. There are other pictures of my decorating style under the decorating link in the sidebar. Currently, I'm trying to go from a little less shabby to a little more chic. To "achieve" the shabby chic look well, you really need some interesting architecture in the house, which is something the home I am renting, lacks. I do the best I can with what I have, though, and continue to look for "the house" full of all the character I can dream of!

It is really a wardrobe armoire, but part of my fun in decorating is using furniture in unexpected/creative ways. So, this wardrobe armoire is in my living room and hold my tv, dvd player, sound system, movies, camera equiptment, and will soon have a shelf of baskets in which to stow Elon's toys. I know this old style isn't for everyone, but I love it! And only$150 baby!

Before/After Sideboard

I forgot to take a picture of the "sideboard" before, but it looked exactly like this except it was twice as wide and a little shorter. (I'm still working on this dresser. )

Before:

After:

Sideboard, Complete!

Ok, I know that I said I would post pictures of each step and I didn't. Sorry about that. Believe it or not, but in "real life," I hardly ever break my word. It was a somewhat lengthy process, but I am very pleased with the results. Here were my steps:

1. Strip old paint. (The stripper didn't work too well so I ended up mainly sanding).



2. Sand remaining paint off.



3. Vacuum and wipe down.



4. Paint first coat.



5. Paint second coat.



6. Lightly sand again.



7. Vacuum and wipe down again.



8. Line with shelve liners until I find some really cheap wallpaper.



9. The fun part-- decorate and fill!

I love my new "sideboard" because it frees up so much more space in the kitchen. In it, I am storing napkins, tablecloths, candle sticks, and some entertaining dishware I rarely use. So for around $15, I have a really functional new-old piece of furniture.

Stage 2: Incomplete

Time seemed to get away from me today. Met my husband's grandmother for lunch and didn't seem to get much else accomplished. But I WILL complete stage 2 tomorrow during Elon's nap time (God willing, of course). I can't wait to get these two dressers finished! Instead of the usual half-job I do on painting furniture, I decided to take my time and actually do it right this time. I am using the steps from Romantic Home. I love the way Cindy's dresser turned out and am hoping for similar results.

Tomorrow I will list all the steps to refinishing the dresser and update my blog with my progress. Got to hurry up and get this dresser done before I lose motivation! You know how it is... you start something gung ho, then it takes longer than you imagined, pretty soon you lose interest, next thing you know, it's taking up space in the garage instead of your car. Discipline I tell ya! I need more discipline!

Sideboard and Dresser-- Stage 1

CAUTION: Ladies, do not read this post and be inspired to head outside with that old table you've been thinking about refinishing unless you are ready to commit to a BIG task. Certainly doable, but not exactly easy...

Yardsale drawer before:

Stage 1: Stripping and Sanding-- completed!

I thought that my stripper was really going to take off all of that old paint... ummm, not so much. I ended up having to sand most of it off. This was probably the most difficult step.

Tommorrow (I hope) will be Stage 2: Vacuuming and Wiping Down-- Wish me luck!

Hand Embroidery

Last night I spent a couple of hours trying to learn how to hand embroider. I decided to try embroidering my cousin's name on a small blanket which I will then make into a burp cloth. First I drew the word "Caleb" on the blanket using washable marker (it was all I had at the time!) Then, I used blue embroidery floss to chain stitch over his name. After I have it finished, I'll be sure to post a pix.

Meanwhile, here is the website I used to learn the chain stitch: Needle And Thread The site is really a good tool to use because it has short videos that show you how to do the stitch. Like having someone at home helping you!