Pieces of Molly

The Next Basement Room

2012-01-19T17:00:00.000-08:00

We've been finishing our basement for almost 2 years now. Two years ago in March, I started work on the first room. We really needed another bedroom. Lincoln was gone for a few days for work, so I enlisted the help of my cousin and her handy husband and we began construction. In anticipation of the start of the project, I had been saving some cash to put toward materials. I had something like $200 or $300. Not a lot of money, but when you do the work yourself (or have your handy cousin-in-law do it), it's just the cost of materials. I was able to get the 2x4s for framing the walls, electrical supplies, drywall, nails for the nail gun (which I think was my greatest cost!), screws for the drywall, and a building permit. It's been two years, there may have been more. So about a year later, we had the first room complete. (Actually, we still don't have closet doors in, the outlet spacers in, and a couple pieces of trim up.)

Next we focused on closing off the hallway, so the girls wouldn't feel like they were sleeping out in the unfinished basement. We've been plugging away at that, very slowly.

Along the way, we also began some work on the next bedroom. We had my cousin-in-law come over and frame up a closet for us.

A few months later, Lincoln put a heat run in.

When my parents came to visit over the summer, we hung the drywall ceiling. This got us excited and motivated. We thought.

Work halted for a while, and then this past fall we hired a friend to come put in another window in the room. One of the concerns about this room was that there was not enough square inches of window compared to square footage of the room for it to pass code as a bedroom. We really wanted to be able to sell this home as a 5 bedroom someday and we had a new construction window sitting in our basement, (apparently left over from construction of the home- it's been here since we bought the house), so we decided to install it. Installing a window was a bit intimidating for us. It's not hard, but it is precise.

The window looks out on our garden. Our garden that is a frozen tundra currently.

This winter we began work on drywalling the walls. We switched our focus to the hallway again, hoping to close off the unheated part of the basement with winter upon us.

We have insulated the wall in the unheated portion of the basement and our door we ordered is in and just waiting for us to pick it up and install it. Once that is in, we will return to this room. I am SO excited to get this done!

Electrical Spacers

2012-01-18T06:45:00.000-08:00

Despite the lack of posting going here this week, I am actually getting lots of stuff done. I have hung all the chair rail in the dining area and I am now in the process of installing a beadboard backsplash in the kitchen. This is a project that I started about 2(!) years ago. I bought beadboard planking and began cutting it into backsplash lengths. I was excited about the project and anxious to see the result. But then I looked around the kitchen at the nine outlets I would have to cut around and I got intimidated. I didn't know what to do about the outlets. I knew that even if I got energetic and went ahead and made all those cuts with my jigsaw, I still didn't know how to get them flush with the new wallcovering. So my pieces of beadboard sat in my garage for months and months. They narrowly escaped being thrown out by my husband on more than one garage cleaning/purging. Then, about a year ago, I heard about electrical spacers. Basically, all I knew was that these little doohickies could be installed behind the outlet to bring it flush with the new wall. So I went in search of them. Let me save you a lot of wandering and searching time by telling you to just ask someone where the electrical outlet spacers are. Trust me. Even when I know exactly what they look like and what I'm looking for, I usually need to get an employee to point them out to me. I purchased some about a year ago, knowing I needed some for the girls' bedroom, my kitchen island (where I had previously installed beadboard and simply cut around the outlet cover), and my kitchen backsplash. But here's the kicker. I was still intimidated to try using them because I didn't know exactly how they worked. Let me just say that this was weird for me. I am generally not intimidated by home improvement projects. I have installed many light fixtures, pulled and reinstalled a few toilets, tiled floors and backsplashes, hung crown moulding, installed hardwood floors, hung wallpaper, installed sinks, changed faucets, hung mudded and taped drywall, installed heating ductwork, etc etc. But these intimidated me. Go figure. When my mom/hero/electrician was here last summer, I asked her if she would help me install them in my kitchen island outlet. We made sure the power was shut off to it and pulled the outlet cover off. At this point we realized this was much simpler than we had thought. So, to avoid anyone else feeling like I did about these puppies, I took some pictures of the process as I installed some during my backsplash project yesterday and created a little tutorial.

1. Remove your outlet cover by unscrewing the center screw. Set aside. This is what you'll see:

2. Loosen the screws at the top and bottom of the outlet. They have a little washer that will prevent them from coming out completely. This is good, because you don't want to expose any wires.

3. Grab your bag of spacers that the helpful employee helped you locate at your local hardware store. In the bag you will find strips of spacers.

4. You will need to determine how many spacers you will need to bring the outlet flush to your new wall. For me, it was three. Twist to tear off the appropriate amount.

5. Now, fold them together to get your determined thickness. They have little holes and posts that snap into each other, although sometimes not very neatly. That's OK. You will need two for each outlet, one for each screw.

6. Insert the spacer behind the main body of the outlet, onto the screw.

7. Repeat with the other screw. In this picture you can see a little better the u-shaped opening on the spacer allowing you to snap it onto the screw without completely removing the screw.

8. Because I didn't have this piece cut yet, I don't have a picture of the new wall here, but you should install your new wallcovering now so that the little metal lips at the top and bottom of the outlet can rest on top of it, just like they did on the wall before (see top picture). Then, tighten the screws, securing the outlet to the new wall.

*Edit- I finished this area this morning, so here is a picture of the outlet resting against the new wall.

9. Replace the outlet cover and you're done!

Go ahead and shut off the breaker to your outlet(s) before beginning to avoid any electrocution mishaps. I did not, but better safe than sorry when working with electricity.

Really, so very simple and incredibly useful!

Updates and a Sneak Peek

2012-01-13T10:24:00.000-08:00

Remember I said I would have some great after pictures for you? Well, let's start in the basement. I spent the morning cleaning and organizing and moving stuff around. Although it is still a lot of stuff, I did haul out a couple bags of clothes to go to Goodwill, along with a few other items. I went through the kids' clothes that were in storage and pulled out lots of things they can be wearing now. I finally got all the Christmas stuff consolidated and packed away properly. I also consolidated Kennedy's stuff down into a laundry basket. I put all the building supplies in one corner and, the best part, cleared the pathway to my food storage and freezer.

(You are seeing the backs of our Christmas caroler decorations. I finally brought them in since we were experiencing a heat wave. I have to store them with their backs to the door so they don't creep the kids out. I must admit, it can be a bit unnerving to walk into the basement, flick on the light, and see four people staring at you.)

Last night Lincoln and I (mostly Lincoln) got the entire wall insulated. Now we're just waiting on that door order to process so we can close this section off.

Another after picture I took was of the weather. Remember the day I took Jesse to the park?

24 hours later it looked like this around here:

I'm not complaining. It IS January, after all.

Today (like most days, honestly) my bed is unmade and piled with laundry. I just walked in to find the dog there:

That's her idea of a great way to spend a winter's day.

The other project I have been working on is something I'm pretty excited about: A face lift for our dining area. This has been in the works for a while. Back in the fall when I painted the trim, I painted the bottom portion of the walls in the dining area in the same white, intending to install chair rail. Considering our open floor plan, I thought the chair rail would be nice to kind of set the dining area apart. The thing that has held the process up was choosing a paint color for the top portion of the wall. I finally took the plunge with the Glidden color, Polished Limestone. I LOVE it! It is light and bright during the day, a little more warm at night. It is similar in tone to the other grays in the house, but leans a little toward green. I painted yesterday and today I am cutting chair rail. Unfortunately I need one more piece of chair rail, so this project probably won't be done today. But as promised, a sneak peek!

Scary Basement Pictures

2012-01-11T19:20:00.000-08:00

I worked hard this morning. Our never ending basement project has come to a point where we are thisclose to having the unfinished portion closed off from the rest of the basement. We have ordered a prehung door for the doorway, and yesterday I picked up some insulation. We plan to insulate the entire interior wall between the unfinished basement and the finished portion. Not only will it help keep things warmer, but it will also help keep the noise from the furnace and the water softener down a bit.

My project today was to clear, clean, and organize the storage space so that we can get to the wall to hang insulation. I know I can't possibly be the only one with a dumping ground, right? Right? Let me lay it out for you. Clothes. Lots of clothes. Furniture. Furniture that is waiting to be used, furniture that is junk but I have no way to get rid of until junk day. Patio furniture being stored for the winter. Building materials. Holiday decoration bins completely unorganized. Lots of stuff from Kennedy's room, waiting for her new room to be completed. And I'm not gonna lie. An occasional dog turd here or there. She's mostly house trained, but from time to time she will sneak down there and poo. It seems like there is always another dried out nugget showing up down there. Hopefully a door will put a stop to her secret potty habits.

Anyhooooooo...

So when things have to go to storage, and especially if I send them down with the kids, they usually just get chucked in here. It was really out of control. So I moved stuff around, consolidated, organized, swept, threw stuff away, picked up dog poo nuggets, etc.

Around noon I stopped to have lunch. I took the dog out to go potty and discovered that the weather was absolutely gorgeous. The sun was warm and the breeze was minimal. I decided the basement could wait. After lunch Jesse and I went to the park to soak up some sunshine and get some fresh air in our lungs. Before we left I opened some windows so the house could get fresh air in its lungs as well. We were lucky that some of our friends were there too. Jesse ran around and I parked my BEhind in the SUNshine.

January in Wisconsin?! What?

The tree I was sitting under had huge buds on it- in January. That can't be good.

So I've decided that tonight I'm only posting before pictures, because I think I'm going to get some great afters tomorrow.

Playing Cat and Mouse

2012-01-09T19:12:00.000-08:00

A little bit different kind of post tonight, but this IS called Pieces of Molly, and my kids/family are definitely pieces of me. Tonight for Family Home Evening we played Cat and Mouse. This is a game my parents played with us when we were little. My kids LOVE this game so I thought I'd take a couple pictures as we were playing and share them here because chances are the kids in your life will like to play this too.

So it's a simple concept. Two people play at a time. Both players put on a blindfold and begin at each end of the table.

You'll want to play at a large dining room table. One player is the cat, the other is the mouse. The cat is trying to catch the mouse, by moving around the table. Both players must keep both hands on the table in front of them at all times. It's important to be quiet and try to listen for the other player.

The great thing about this game (besides not requiring special equipment) is that it is as much fun to watch as it is to play.

We do a rotation so that each person plays two times in a row, the first time they are the cat, the second the mouse, then they rotate out.

Don't worry, because you're in stealth mode, it is rare to have any collisions. Usually your hands meet before anything else, or maybe your shoulders. That's why it's important to follow the rule about keeping your hands on the table.

Go play this with your kids! I promise you will all be giggling!

Drop Cloth Chairs

2012-01-08T18:12:00.000-08:00

See my beautiful chairs?

OK, so in that state they are a bit dated. Perhaps the gold velour upholstery is not exactly my cup of tea and the dark wood is a bit...dark. But I love the caning and the shape of these chairs. I spotted them for sale by the side of the road. I stopped and knocked on the door to find out the price but alas, no one was home. Fearing that someone might grab them before me, I left a note on the door with my name and number. Later that day I got a call from the owner. It was an older lady (maybe late 60s) and she was so very sweet. She started in telling me that they had belonged to her mother and that she had purchased them about 4 or 5 years before for $200 a piece. She explained the sturdiness and quality of the construction. All I was hearing were the red flags flapping in the breeze. I just knew she was going to be asking at LEAST $100 for the pair, so I was shocked when she told me she would take $40 for the pair. I grabbed some cash and headed right over.

When I pulled up the husband was out front. He came over with a big smile on his face, shook my hand like I was an old friend, introduced himself, and called toward the open door to let his wife know I had arrived. She came out looking so delighted that I was there. In fact, I thought she might hug me. We all chatted for a while about how long we had lived in the area, our families, the weather. I absolutely loved them. I can't even describe what a delightful experience it was. They were thrilled to know that the chairs were going to a family with lots of kids. The husband was so helpful, in such a gentlemanly way, with loading them in my SUV. And they obviously adored each other. Seriously, the most pleasant couple I have maybe EVER met. They live just across a field from our house. I was very concerned later in the summer to see an ambulance at their house. I wish I knew why it was there. I sure hope they are both OK. I love that I have this little connection with them, a little piece of their sweet and positive energy, a little glimpse into their lives. I'll probably never meet them again, unfortunately, but they truly made my day and left a lasting impression.

So- here is the first chair completed. I must confess, I am still in the process of pulling the second one apart. It was actually a more complex process then I thought it would be, and the staple pulling is never fun.

I put rosettes at the corners. The original plan was to go all the way across the top with them. Opinions? Should I still do that? I still think I might.

Obviously, I painted the frame in an off-white, and I used a drop cloth for the upholstery. I was too lazy to do the tufting. Actually I liked it that way, but I may make an attempt at the tufting with the second one, just to see if I like that better. But I don't like the thought of pulling the other one apart again if I DO like it better.

Here's what it looks like in the room.

Hopefully soon(ish) I'll have the other one done! I have lots of projects I'd like to get done before our annual Valentine's Day party. I guess I had better get busy!

I'm linking up to Meet Me Monday

Living Room Shuffle

2012-01-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

So the folks in my home are a bit under the weather. My nose is getting a bit tender from wiping and I'm getting sick of hearing myself sniffle. I can't imagine how everyone around me must feel about it. But none of us are just flat out sick...yet. I fear I may be down and out this weekend. Maybe it will just improve from here. Here's hoping.

On Wednesday I had the carpets cleaned. The guy was scheduled to come at 9:00 am, so as soon as the kids left for school I started moving furniture out of the way. I emptied the living room of everything but the piano, moved all the toys in the boys' room onto their beds, and cleared the family room as best I could. Then I quickly vacuumed through each room. I made sure the bathroom was tidied up in case he got a glimpse in there, and then I proceeded to clean up breakfast and tidy the kitchen. By this time I had worked up quite a sweat. It was after 9 at this point, so I finished up what I was working on and decided to take a break and check Facebook. When it was almost 10 and he still wasn't here, I decided to give them a call. Turns out, in the process of switching over from the 2011 appointment book to the new 2012 one, my appointment did not get transferred. I really did not want to put all the furniture back and do it all over again another day, so I reluctantly took a time slot later in the day for about an hour before my kids were due home from school. Not ideal. Five kids, wet carpet. None of this is really relevant to this post, except to tell you that they were so sweet and apologetic. They gave me a big discount on the cleaning and even let me use the big fans for drying the carpet overnight. What IS relevant, is that having all the furniture moved out of the room meant that it was very easy to put everything back in a different place. I think that's really the key with rearranging furniture: take everything out and start with a clean slate.

A week ago my living room looked like this:

Today it looks like this:

We are loving the new furniture arrangement. I pulled in the lamp from the guest room, put the curtains back up, pulled the throw pillows back out, and shuffled shuffled shuffled.

A few months ago I painted the room in the two tones of gray and painted the trim white. Now I'm agonizing over what color to paint the stairway and the hallway. (And the dining room too, for that matter.)

The living room, kitchen, dining room area used to all be a neutral tan-ish color. There was so much beige/wood tones/tan going on in this house it made me crazy: carpet, cabinets, walls, piano, furniture, trim. So I don't want to turn around and just paint everything gray now. Suggestions? I have a whole palette of neutral, lighter colors picked out. I think any of them would work, actually. But I'm finding it hard to commit. I actually think it's easier to work with stronger colors, but I'm loving how the lighter colors brighten the place up.

Linking up to Feathered Nest Friday

Food Storage Solution

2012-01-05T18:49:00.000-08:00

In my wanderings around blogland I see so many beautiful images of pretty pantries peppered with eye-popping paper, perfect parcels, and pleasant paned doors. I think about how fun it would be to organize and beautify my OWN pantry closet. Then I remember that I don't HAVE a pantry and I get sad. But only for a minute because #1 I have PLENTY of spaces that need organizing and beautifying and #2 I have something even better than a rinky-dink pantry closet. I have a pantry ROOM. It may not be pretty, but it is absolutely a hidden, unassuming gem in this home. It is down in the basement, so another big benefit is the extra exercise I get running up and down the stairs, especially when I'm putting away groceries.

So here it is; a concrete storage room.

Not beautiful to look at, but very functional. The shelving came from Costco. These are super heavy duty. I think each shelf can hold up to 400 pounds. Um yeah. They are also very easy to assemble. No screwing, they just slide and lock together. The only tool you'll need is a rubber mallet to tap them into place. I believe they were $60 each? I need to buy at least two more, and maybe another for the garage.

So let's talk logistics. I know it doesn't sound very convenient to store all our pantry items in the basement...a looong walk from the kitchen, but it works pretty well. I do keep some items in my kitchen cupboards. I have a cabinet and a drawer with spice type items, a corner cupboard with cereal, bread, and school lunch supplies, a cabinet with pastas and one can each of commonly used items like soups, corn, peanut butter etc. I also have two cabinets designated as baking supplies areas. I keep a large Tupperware container of flour and one of sugar there. I keep all the baking staples (baking soda, baking powder, salt, vanilla, powdered sugar, brown sugar, oils, cocoa etc) there.

In the basement I store my home canned items (tomatoes, pickles, grape juice, jams, salsas, carrots, green beans, relishes, applesauce, tomato sauce, etc), bulk items (wheat, additional flour, beans, sugars, oats, rice etc), extra pantry items (cereal, granola bars, cups of fruit, olives, soups, lemon juice, salt, ketchup, etc), bulk paper goods, toiletries and cleaning supplies (toothpaste, toilet paper, Clorox wipes, Ziploc bags, paper towels, shampoo, toilet bowl cleaner, etc), and my canning supplies. I also keep my coolers down here. Our potato bin is down here where it is dark and cool as well.

(Those are Hubbard squash in there with what is left of the potatoes we grew this year. They were given to me by some friends. I need to process them...)
So basically, I stock my kitchen cabinets from my storage room in the basement. It works well.

Another benefit of having the food stored down there is that I can kind of ration the food in the kitchen a bit. The kids do NOT like to go down to that section of the basement, so I can store things down there that I don't want them to get into. Believe me, with 5 kids who are apparently always STARVING, this is handy. As you may have noticed in the picture, I also have water stored down there. I try to refill beverage containers with water and keep them down there. It never hurts to store water if you have the space. I need to get a shelf for the water. (I also need a shelf for our sleeping bags and camping gear that are heaped at one end.)

Just a few steps away, just outside the doorway of this storage room, is our chest freezer. When my Mom was here visiting this past summer she installed an outlet in this corner for me. I had envisioned a freezer in this spot when we first moved in. I eventually got the freezer, but it was another couple years before I had it settled into its permanent home.

I love having this space for storage (and as a great tornado shelter) and I love seeing my shelves fill up- especially with items I have grown and canned myself.

So that's my concrete pantry--and I love it!

Linking up:
Remodelaholic

This Blog in 2012

2012-01-04T08:31:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are in 2012. Why are we not living on the moon yet? Or at the very least, driving around in hovercrafts?! I was so sure...

So with the start of a new year, I've been contemplating what I want to accomplish in the coming months. I've considered my health, my family, my self, and of course, my home. But I'm also doing a lot of thinking about this here blog. I enjoy blogging, but I get easily distracted and busy with other things and suddenly realize I haven't posted in a while. But I think I'm ready to try to grow it a bit. Here's the catch: I am SO clueless when it comes to technology. I fear that I don't know enough about those mysterious things I hear whispered around blogland like, "code" and "format" and "link". I'm kind of a "if Blogger doesn't walk me through it I can't do it" kind of gal. So, we shall see where this goes. Maybe nowhere. But I know I shouldn't let fear hold me back. Right? Isn't that what everyone always says? So here's to another year and learning something I'm afraid of.

Favorite Christmas Stories

2011-12-19T10:31:00.000-08:00

I've posted on my Christmas blog about some of our family's favorite Christmas stories, but I thought I'd make a list here as well of some of our favorites. My husband thought I was a little cuckoo when I wrapped up several of the Christmas books we already owned and put them under our living room tree. The idea was to open one each night and read it together. I also wrapped two brand new ones so there would be a couple mixed in that would be a fun surprise. Despite Lincoln's doubts, the kids have really enjoyed this. Here are some of the stories we have read together:

What Think Ye of Christmas by Esther Rasband

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost illustrated by Susan Jeffers

Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl S. Buck

The Very First Christmas by Paul L. Maier

Paul's Christmas Birthday by Carol Carrick

Moosletoe by Margie Palatini

Father Christmas and the Donkey by Elizabeth Clark

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski

A Christmas Prayer by Rian Anderson

(Sorry, this is the link to the Kindle book. It is also available in hardcover.)

Cranberry Christmas by Wende and Harry Devlin

(I LOVE this writer/illustrator husband and wife team!)
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

(A classic! So funny and heartwarming. We *big heart* love this book!)

My very favorite is Christmas Day in the Morning, but all of these rank up there on our favorites list. We have tons more than this, but these are the must-reads as a family.

Rustic Country Tree

2011-12-13T20:47:00.000-08:00

If you read my last post about my mantel, you got a sneak peak at the Christmas tree. As we've done in the past, we put a big family tree down in the family room, but upstairs in the living room, I get my very own smaller tree to decorate. This makes me very happy.

I've never been great at decorating a Christmas tree, but it's fun to play around with it anyway. I always do all white lights on the tree but this year I kept it very simple. In the past I have used the regular small white lights, a string of clear C9 lights, the rattan ball lights, and some faux candle lights. This year you will only see small white lights and the rattan balls. I love the rustic, natural element the balls add.

I put the wooden, handmade ornaments that Lincoln's step-dad has made us on this tree.

These are such a treasure to us! They are absolutely stunning. I also put on the wooden bead candycanes we made last year,

as well as the vintage/antique ornaments I have collected.

There are a few pops of red here and there, and just a few other ornaments and berry picks.

For a tree skirt, I just wrapped a large piece of plaid fabric around the base of the tree. (This is the same fabric that I used on my table decor.)

I love my antique wooden crate, and with its red letters and rustic feel it is perfect for holding our collection of Christmas books under the tree. Tucked behind/on it is the little wooden sled I found at Goodwill a couple years ago. When I found it, it was 1980s country blue and I think there may have even been a goose painted on it. A new paint job, some sanding, a new jute twine pull rope, and a few pinecones have really brought it into this decade...and century!

The whole she-bang is backed by my old screen door, the perfect backdrop. And the tree is topped by my (new) old rusty star.

I LOVE it! And I love to stand in the kitchen and look over to the living room. So cozy and inviting!

I can't seem to get the pretty button below to work, but I'm linking up to the Christmas Tree Party at Thrifty Decor Chick.

Rustic Country Mantel

2011-12-12T14:45:00.000-08:00

So if you've been around here for a while, you know I don't have a mantel, but I have two fantels. I use the top of my piano upstairs in the living room, and a long ledge downstairs in the family room. In the family room, I did the same thing I did last year. My yarn wreath and trees are the stars with the old shed door as the rustic backdrop.

Upstairs was not so easy. I reworked the piano top several times. I've learned that taking pictures along the way really helps me get a vision of what it is looking like. I knew I wanted to use my willow Christmas tree that I got at the barn sale.

I also wanted to put in the candy-cane-striped candle sticks I got last year at the same sale, and I was sure I wanted to use the little bird. In keeping with the rest of the decor, I wanted to stick to reds and natural elements in a rustic country style. But I had originally used this pepper berry garland. It just wasn't right. At all. Then I remembered my barn wood frames that I made last year. They had been dropped and fallen apart, but it was a quick fix. This added the rustic look I was after, pulling in some reds and whites.

But it still had no warmth. I tried adding in something else on top. Yarn trees.

Nope. Glass dish of ornaments.

No way. Then I remembered the fluffy pinecone garland that had been placed on the TV stand without much thought. Last year it had been one of the pieces that for some reason I didn't like that much. This year it is the perfect addition to the "mantel" and I love it! Isn't that weird how that works?

Linking up at Meet Me Monday

Rustic Christmas Tablescape

2011-12-05T10:25:00.001-08:00

If you've been following along, you know that I had vacillated a bit between Christmas decor themes. I was leaning toward rustic anyway, but when I found two spools of this beautiful gingham wired ribbon,

this adorable willow tree,
this cutie-patootie garland,
and these nostalgic glasses
at the vintage sale here in town, my mind was made up! I've done all of my decorating with rustic and/or natural elements, with a few glittery things thrown in for sparkle. Today I want to show you the tablescape I put together so I could play along with the linky party over at The Lettered Cottage.

Keeping things casual and rustic, I used a mix up of dishes for the place settings.

I got the Christmasy plates at the vintage sale as well, but they only had 4 dinner size plates. I got a little creative by mixing them with sturdy, rustic looking dishes from Ikea. But let's start at the bottom and work up. Red, woven straw mats I got on clearance one year from Walmart, I think. Next up, chargers with natural elements around the rim. These are also from Walmart (hey, it's the only place to shop in this town!), and I usually use them for Thanksgiving, but I thought they worked nicely with this theme. Then we have the plates and bowls from Ikea and the vintage sale. The goblets are a clearance item from Walmart and the glasses, as mentioned before, are from the vintage sale. The napkin rings match the chargers, from Walmart, and the napkins are cut from the same piece of fabric that the runner is from. The fabric came from a freebie pile at church. The big lantern is from Walmart a few seasons ago, the small lanterns are from Ikea. The big lantern is sitting on a white cake pedestal from Marshalls placed inside a clearance wreath from Walmart from last season. My kids gathered the pinecones for me on the walk home from school.

I used some of the ribbon from the vintage sale on the chain of my chandelier (a $7 fixture from the ReStore), and also hung from it some big mercury glass ornaments I've been collecting from Hobby Lobby whenever they are on sale.

It's hard to capture the feeling in a photo, but this is such a warm, inviting, cozy table setting! It really makes me want to settle in and enjoy a steaming plate of ham and scalloped potatoes with a hot, buttery roll on the side. Some sparkling cider would be perfect to wash it down. Some warm apple pie would finish it off nicely. Or maybe a big mug of hot cocoa and a slice of pumpkin pie.

Maybe it's a bad thing when your decorating makes you want to eat...

Not if it's your table, right?

More rustic decor to come.

Linking up to Funky Junk's SNS

Boo!

2011-10-27T20:54:00.000-07:00

Let's talk about the easiest Halloween decor project ever. I always have these three plates hanging on my wall. At Halloween time, I grab a dry erase black marker and draw on the word Boo. A little embellishment and three minutes later, the room has a little extra holiday spirit!

Halloween Mantel

2011-10-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

I've switched over from fall to Halloween decor. I'm not feeling very energetic about coming up with or creating new decorations this year, so I'm doing the same thing I did last year. (Click on the link to read the details about the parts of the vignette.) The only big change you might notice is the paint color on the wall. This picture shows the truest representation of the color. It's called Stormy Day.

That's what I'm in the middle of now: Painting walls and trim. That might explain my lack of energy toward craft projects currently. You may also notice that my piano bench bit the dust. I loved my pretty blue bench. I may try to resurrect it. We'll see.

I've also been playing with my camera and trying to learn how to capture light more accurately and more attractively. I've just never taken the time to learn it, and am finally taking a few minutes here and there to experiment.

I'm looking forward to wrapping up some projects around here and sharing them. Here's a sneak peek at what I've been doing in the hall bathroom.

Fall Mantel

2011-09-27T12:09:00.000-07:00

Boy it seems like the seasons pass quickly these days! I can't believe we're on to fall already! I'm not complaining. It happens to be my very favorite season. I guess I've probably mentioned that before, but I can't help saying it over and over each year. I've had the autumn decorations out for a couple weeks now. My kids love fall as well, and they had been begging me to get out the decorations. I thought I'd share some of them with you today and then link up to the fall mantel party going on at The Lettered Cottage.

So let's start with the piano that serves as my mantel. Let me warn you, I'm not known for my subtlety when it comes to fall decorations. OK, here goes.

Lots and lots of nature elements. Leaves, acorns, birds, berries. LOVE.

Perhaps you can imagine my husband's reaction when I asked the neighbors if I could have their old screen door when they removed it. They were happy they didn't have to haul it off somewhere, I was happy to have a nicely weathered screen door, and my husband considered calling the casting folks at Hoarders. I really love it, though, and I think he's even coming around to it.

But the piano is not the only spot to get cozied up. The front porch is still a work in progress, but here are a few bits.

The caddy on the table was a find at a local barn sale.

The big pumpkins we grew ourselves! It was my first time growing pumpkins and I'm thrilled to have something to show for it.

The large black tool box came from the barn sale as well.

And lastly, back inside, here's my hutch. The large bread bucket was my great grandmother's. The old scale I picked up at the same barn sale last fall. The rusty metal star I picked up this year at the barn sale. It's actually a tree topper, but I loved it so much I convinced myself I could start using it now!

One last thing. You may have noticed a little stinker trying to sneak into my photos. He may be a stinker, but he's a darn cute one!

Linking up to :

Guest Room...A Work in Progress

2011-09-06T18:47:00.001-07:00

Remember when I mentioned way back here that I was redoing Kennedy's room as a guest room? We were planning to get going on her new room in the basement and figured with company coming we might as well get her moved out of the room and get it ready for guests. Well, since then we've had my niece and her kids come for a visit, my sister came and stayed with us for a few weeks, and my parents were here for 10 days and just left this morning. So I've made some progress on the guest room, but haven't quite got the finishing touches on it yet. And now school has started back up and Kennedy's bedroom still isn't finished so she's going to have to move back into the guest room for a while.

So this is what it looked like before.

Kind of a typical tweenie type room.

Here's where we're at today:

I painted the room in two different colors, planning for an eventual chair rail and wainscoting. I went with lighter colors because this room does not get a lot of natural light except first thing in the morning. Painting the trim white went a long way toward remedying the brightness issue.

I bought this lamp at Goodwill for a couple bucks.

It was dirty and dingy and had a tube in the center that had a little light in it so the base would glow when lit. The tube was ugly in there but I could see the potential of the glass lamp base. I wasn't sure about the frosted roses on the glass at first, but after I took out the tube and washed the glass, I decided they were actually pretty. While I had the entire lamp disassembled, I spray painted all the metal parts with oil rubbed bronze. If the glass wasn't a bit amber, I was going to paint the metal in brushed nickel. But it was amber, so I went with the ORB. I rewired the lamp and reassembled it and fell in love! I think it's gorgeous. I am still looking for the perfect shade for the lamp, but this one will do for now.

The headboard is an old door I bought at a Lands End Prop Sale. I love this door and I've used it in a few different places in my home. I knew that someday I would probably want to use it somewhere else again, so I did nothing to the structure or patina of the door. I just anchored it to the wall.

The bedding I ordered from ebay. When it arrived, the colors were not as faded as they looked in the picture online, but they seem to have faded a bit with a couple washings. I had considered washing them in some bleach when they first arrived, but decided against it. I'm glad I did.

So at this point, I'm trying to decide on artwork for the walls. I took a series of photos at the State Capitol recently, and I'm thinking about enlarging, printing, and framing those to use in the room. Hopefully soon I'll have the finishing details in the room and I'll be able to share it with you in its entirety.

I'm linking up to:
http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2011/09/september-before-and-after-new-light.html

You Are Talking Too Much!

Fresh Raspberry Crumb Cake

2011-08-20T20:46:00.000-07:00

Hello, friends. In all the summertime craziness, I just haven't found time to blog. I've been filing things away in the back of mind to pull back out and post about. Because I'm a big fan of raspberries and eating, this post is the first to be pulled from the far reaches of my brain. Plus, I figure it's about time for fall raspberries, so maybe someone can use this now. I don't remember the source for this recipe. I'm pretty sure I found it on the internet somewhere, most likely Allrecipes, because that's my favorite recipe finder.

Fresh Raspberry Crumb Cake

Cake:
2 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C butter, softened
3/4 C sugar
1 large egg
1/2 C milk
2 C fresh raspberries

Topping:
1/2 C light brown sugar
3 tablespoons Flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 375'

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar, beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture and milk. Stir only until moistened. Fold in the berries and turn into a greased and floured 9" springform pan.

Stir together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon and cut in the butter with a pastry blender until fine.

Sprinkle the streusel topping on the cake and bake for 45-50 minutes. Loosen the edges of the pan and remove the springform. Serve warm.

This is so very yummy. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Where Were We?

2011-07-22T10:52:00.000-07:00

Have you been wondering where I've been and what I've been doing?

No?

Oh well, I'm going to tell you anyway.

For the past two weeks I've been watching lots of this:

4 of my 5 kids participated in Gymnastics through the Park and Rec program. I have been so pleased with the opportunities provided to our kids through our city parks and recreation program. Throughout the summer they offer tee ball right on up through little league, swim team, volleyball, golf, softball, gymnastics, dance, theater, and track and field. It is only $15 to participate in a program, and they cap it at something like $75 for a family. So for us- that is a great deal. The kids can participate in as many things as they want to, and the most it will cost us is $75. Not bad.

Julia and Kennedy also did the 2 week dance camp. Dance camp took place over the same two weeks as gymnastics, so it's been a little hectic around here.

Devon is also playing coach pitch baseball. Lincoln is his coach, so that has been fun for them.

I've also been doing this:

Thanks to some friends who gave me raspberries and rhubarb, I was able to make several jars of strawberry rhubarb jam and a few jars of raspberry jam. I just got some more rhubarb today and I'm planning to make a batch of rhubarb jam. I've never made just plain rhubarb jam before, so I'm excited and I hope it turns out.

You can also see in the picture that I canned my first batch of green beans this week. I LOVE home canned green beans and I'm thrilled to be off and running with those.

There is one lonely jar of pickles up there. My cucumbers have just started to come on and I didn't want to waste the few that were starting to come, so I made just one jar. I just used a seasoning mix so it was easy to do just one.

In between rec programs, canning, and gardening, we've been spending lots of time at the city pool. This heat wave has had us seeking relief in the afternoons.

And in the few moments of spare time that have popped up here and there, I've been working on redecorating the bathroom. It's not done yet, but I hope to have a post up soon!

We had a guy come this past week to give us an estimate on hanging and mudding and taping some drywall for us. We're anxious to hear back from him so we can get moving on Kennedy's room in the basement. We also have a friend who is willing to come over and help us put in a window in that room. As if all that isn't enough, we are also picking out flooring for our basement. Once we make our decision we'll have that to install. So, yeah, we're busy. In the middle of all this, we'll be taking a 10 day vacation to drive to NY to visit our families and attend family reunions on both sides. So if I'm not back to the blogging world again soon, I hope you'll understand why!

Another Cake

2011-07-03T19:27:00.000-07:00

Wow, has life been crazy lately. The kids have been out of school for nearly a month already. The fourth of July is upon us. My niece has come for a two week visit. My responsibilities at church are feeling a bit weighty of late. My gardens require constant attention. Sometimes I feel like I can barely keep up. It doesn't leave much time for blogging or projects. Today I was at church from 8:30 in the morning and didn't get home until 4:00 this afternoon. By that point I was starving and had a pounding headache. I laid down to take a nap and woke up at 7:30. Tomorrow is the Fourth and I feel completely unprepared. But I did squeeze in a date with my hubby last night and a cake order yesterday. I also did a cake last weekend, and, as proof that I've been barely keeping up, i completely forgot to take a picture of it. I didn't take a single one. But I did photograph this week's cake. In April I donated a custom cake for an auction at the kids' elementary school. The winner of the auction finally contacted me about the cake. She said a superhero cake would be great, as this was a birthday cake for her 3 and 10 year old sons. She especially liked the Spiderman cake I had previously done, so I used it and some other ideas I saw on the internet as inspiration. She left all the details up to me and really gave me the freedom to be creative. Here's what I did:

I love when this happens...

2011-06-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my clematis decided it was time to burst into bloom. This may finally be the year that it really establishes itself so that next year it will be much more full. I love this time of year!

Little Girl Room to Guest Room

2011-06-02T06:57:00.000-07:00

I have been given the green light from my husband to go ahead and redecorate pretty much the whole house. (Have I mentioned before how much I like that guy?!) I am starting in what is currently Kennedy's room. We will be moving her to a new room in the basement this summer (hopefully sooner than later), and I am going to turn her room into a guest room. Why am I starting the guest room first? Well, we recently were given a king size mattress set and metal bed frame. Given. It's in great condition. We put it in Kennedy's room since that will ultimately be the guest room. Then, I made plans for my niece and her two children to come visit. I'd really like to have the guest room done before they arrive. In 11 days. Sooooo.....

Here is the before picture:

I redid the room for Kennedy a couple years ago. It was a lovely little girl room. BUT...

I hate the oak trim in this house. I really really do. Personal preference. So I am starting by painting the trim white. I think this will really help with the limited natural light in this room. The trim paint is a nice shiny, reflective, glossy white.

I have already ordered bedding for the room. Since this is the first king size bed we have owned, we didn't have any king size bedding other than the threadbare sheets our friend gave us with the bed.

So trim is started, bedding is on its way, and I am totally excited to get this moving. Of course, I also need to get moving on Kennedy's new room in the basement so I should have plenty to keep me busy for the summer!

Good Luck to You (In Chinese)

2011-05-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

I know the cake posts are getting a bit out of hand, but here's the latest:

Our good friends have had a lovely foreign exchange student this year from China. Her name is Mo and today she left for her home in Beijing. Yesterday her host family threw her a fun farewell party. As a gift to her, I made the cake for the party.

This is a strawberry cake with strawberry buttercream frosting. I did the very popular ruffle cake design, and added the message on fondant on the top.
I used google translate to find the correct characters, then I practiced a few times before I painted them on the fondant with decorating gel, thinned out to a paint-like consistency. I was worried I might make one stroke incorrect and totally change the message, but luckily, that didn't happen. It was so much fun to learn these characters and I think I would really enjoy the art of learning to write them.

Best of luck to you, Mo! You will be missed!

Summer Mantel

2011-05-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

For me, summer decorating has a lot to do with patriotism and Americana. There is something about decking the house in red, white, and blue and stars and stripes that just feels warm, fun, and nostalgic to me. I've just started the process in preparation for Memorial Day. Hopefully I'll get the rest of it out soon. Today I thought I would focus on my piano "mantel" in honor of the summer mantel linky party going on right now. So, without further ado, here it is:

I've kept a lot of the elements from previous mantelscapes, changing out a few items here and there to freshen the look and keep it in season. For spring I changed out the red berry garland for this one in creamy white. I added a dried hydrangea blossom because even though it's dried, I think it adds a light and summery feel to the area.

And lastly, some patriotic Americana- a painted flag with the Pledge of Allegiance printed on it. I love this simple piece.

So that's it. Nothing fancy, but I think it fits the bill!

Here a couple other spots:

The top of my hutch:

The front door:

This is a work in progress. Hopefully I'll add to it soon!
Linking to:

Mary Mary Quite Contrary

2011-05-25T16:00:00.000-07:00

Here's how my garden grows:

When we first moved here there was no garden spot. I very much wanted to have a garden, so the following summer we broke sod and put in our first decent sized garden. It was so exciting! I LOVED learning to can the produce I had raised in my own back yard. I canned salsa that first year, and a few green beans. I ate delicious tomato sandwiches and Lincoln made a few quarts of pickles.

The next year, I planted more beans, and brother, did I get more beans! It was fantastic! I canned between 40 and 50 quarts of beans. I was also the happy recipient of extra tomatoes and cucumbers from friends. I pickled and canned and preserved like a mad woman. I was in heaven! In fact, I took inventory at the end of the season.

The following year, which was last year, I expanded my garden by a few feet. I tried planting a few potatoes and was excited for another banner year. But then my garden died. I went on vacation and by the time I got home, it was beyond saving. I froze a few quarts of green beans, made a stew with the potatoes and carrots and that was it. It was so disappointing.

Well, this year, I'm hoping to get back in the game. I have doubled my garden size by renting a plot at the Lands End garden. In that plot I have planted:

One pumpkin plant. This is my first attempt at growing pumpkins. This is an experiment to see how it goes.

One yellow squash

Two zucchinis

6 cucumbers

A row of onions

6 rows of potatoes

Here in the backyard garden I have planted:

A row of lettuce

A row of mixed greens

A row of carrots

green onions

cilantro

basil

20 pepper plants

3 rows of green beans

32 tomato plants

And this year, I am finally trying to grow a pea teepee. (And one row of peas in the garden.)

I am still very much a beginner, but hopefully the addition of some nice, aged horse manure this year will help provide the boost my garden needs. I am determined to get some mulch in there as well. I need all the help I can get keeping the weeds down!

A great pair of Wellies make rainy days fun!

So, fingers crossed! It's time to build up my green bean supply again! Last year my tomatoes did nothing...I really need those to produce well. Any tomato growing tips for me?

More Cakes

2011-05-25T10:52:00.001-07:00

I completed a cake order today for one of the teachers at the high school. She called me last week with an order for two sheet cakes. She requested a lemon cake with a bridal shower theme and a chocolate cake with a farewell theme for the other. Today the teachers were having a combined farewell and bridal shower party for two fellow teachers.

I sometimes find it hard to be creative with a basic sheet cake. Sheet cakes were ordered for ease of cutting and serving, however, so that's what I worked with. I also would have preferred covering the cakes in fondant for a clean, smooth finish. But Buttercream frosting was ordered as well. I think the chocolate cake would have been better with chocolate frosting, but the color didn't work with my theme. If I could have covered it in fondant, we could have had the best of both worlds. But that's OK. I'm here to make what the customer wants!

The farewell cake was for the music teacher at the middle and high schools.

My design changed from more complex to rather simple when I faced a bit of a time crunch. I really love the tuxedo ruffles around the cake, however.

They turned out just how I envisioned.

I really love how the bridal shower cake turned out.

This was a fun one to play with. My favorite part is the beaded bodice on the dress and the border around the cake that looks like a string of pearls.

I worked all day on these cakes yesterday. I finally had them done and was just finishing up cleaning the kitchen, when I turned around to see the dog sticking her nose up to the table to chomp my bridal cake! I yelled, Lincoln yelled, and we both chased her down. I was initially so mad I couldn't see straight! I was so angry that she had ruined the pretty dress! Lincoln tried to be helpful and make some suggestions for how I could fix it, but I just needed to walk away from it for a while. I took an American Idol break (lamest finale since Jordin Sparks), then with fresh eyes and less spitting anger, I looked the cake over again. As you look at the cake, the dress hangs off the bottom left corner. She had bit that, but hadn't gotten in as far as the cake. I was able to cut off the fondant she had touched and scrape off the frosting she had breathed on, then I replaced and redesigned. I actually like the dress better with the added band detail on the hem.

Unfortunately, when you get down low and look from this angle, you can see that I should have trim more fondant away, or made the ruffle a little longer.

You don't notice this when you're just looking down at the cake, but I wish I would have noticed before. This could have been so much worse. If she had actually bit into the cake I think I might have had to send her packing!

I'm linking up to:

Horsin' Around

2011-05-20T18:13:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I went to my friend Eileen's house to get some horse manure for my garden. Jesse and Carson always enjoy going there. Eileen has a buffalo ranch, a couple horses, and 2 dogs that the boys have lovingly nicknamed Mario and Luigi. The boys always talk about riding the horses when we are there, but Carson has yet to get up the courage to actually do it. Jesse, however, shows no reluctance whatsoever. He is completely fearless and totally thrilled to hop up there!

In the corner of the frame on this one, you can see the nose of Maverick, the other horse. He was very curious about my camera, but the noise it made when the shutter closed startled him.

I confess, I love going to the ranch as well. I'm looking forward to my chance to ride the horses! Thanks so much, Eileen, for sharing your piece of paradise and your horse poop with us!

Sweet Sixteen Cakes

2011-05-07T15:13:00.000-07:00

They're done! This has been a great learning experience for me. The number one thing I've learned is that I need to charge a lot more for my cakes! I haven't even stopped to figure up how much time and ingredients I put into these, but I know it's more than what I charged. Which is OK, because right now I'm happy to have people giving me the chance to do this and practice and actually get some money for it. But going forward, I think it's time to reevaluate what I'm charging.

Remember the inspiration picture?

Cake #1

Vanilla cake, vanilla buttercream frosting. This is a ruffle cake, just like the pink cake in the inspiration picture.

Cake #2

Fresh strawberry cake, strawberry buttercream between the four layers, marshmallow fondant ruffle tiered covering, gum paste flowers. The cake gets all its flavoring from fresh strawberries in the batter, no artificial color or flavor.

Cake #3

Chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream between two layers, marshmallow fondant covering, gum paste daisies. I love these daisies. I want to do a cake with daisies and brown eyed susans. They are my favorite flowers!

I think these are so summery and fun, while still being beautiful. I hope the clients like them! They will be here shortly to pick them up.

I'm linking up to Funky Junk Interiors' Saturday Night Special:

Trying to catch up

2011-05-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

This has been a busy week, but it seems they all are lately. I wouldn't say it has been crazy, just busy. I guess I'm starting to adjust to life with a fuller schedule. As I mentioned in the previous post, I'm doing a cake order for a sweet sixteen party this weekend. We decided on three cakes and I'm really excited about them. I can hardly wait for Saturday when I will actually decorate them. In preparation, I have been experimenting with gum paste. Gum paste is similar to fondant, in that it is a powdered sugar-based edible clay. But unlike fondant, gum paste dries very hard, to the point that, although it is technically edible, you probably wouldn't want to eat it. Because of this, it really holds its shape well. For my birthday, Lincoln got me a set of gum paste flower cutters. These are great for cutting out the basic shape of the leaves and petals, then you can assemble and sculpt and mold them into the final product.

The design for the cakes I am doing is very simple and elegant. The client sent me this inspiration picture.

The colors requested are purple and white. I will do one tier ruffle cake, like the pink one in the picture, one larger layer cake in white with a ring of daisies around it, and one smaller cake with very simple, understated ruffles around it and violets either in a border around the base, or cascading from the top to the base. I'll have to play with that a little to decide what I like best with the ruffles. I don't want it to be too busy, since clean, elegant lines are what we are looking for, with the variance in size, shape, and texture taking center stage.

I have worked a little bit the last couple of days creating these:

I added a little glitter to the violets which you can see a little better in this photo (you might have to click it to enlarge):

Cake decorating has really proven to be a great creative outlet for me. Every cake I do I try to learn something, create something I haven't before. This weekend I need to print off some pictures of my cakes for an auction at the elementary school. I am donating a cake to be auctioned and I need people to be able to see some of the cakes I've done so they know what their options are. I'm hoping this might be some good publicity/advertising that will land me a few more cake orders.

I'm looking forward to sharing my final product with you this weekend!

I told you the posts would be sparse...

2011-04-26T20:51:00.001-07:00

Life has been pretty busy around these parts. I just got back from a spring break vacation to North Carolina. Since Lincoln didn't have enough vacation days to cover this trip and our two summer trips we have planned, I took the kids and went without him. Spring break fell at the perfect time- the weather in NC was perfect, and the weather here was miserable.
Now that I'm back, I have only a few days to get ready for a garage sale this weekend. They are so much work! But on the bright side, I am doing some major unloading of clutter and unused items. Nothing is coming back in. If it doesn't sell it goes to Goodwill or the dump. I'm done.
Next weekend I have my first large cake order. I'm doing four cakes for a dual sweet sixteen party with 75 guests. I'm nervous, but excited. These two projects should keep me pretty busy. I have lots of plans swimming around in my mind of projects I am itching to do on the house. I can't decide which to do first. Hopefully I'll have something to show you soon!

Today is my birthday and Lincoln got me one of these:

...a grain mill attachment for my Kitchenaid mixer. We've been organizing our food storage lately and decided it was high time we got a better grain mill so we can use our wheat. I can't wait to share pictures of our new shelves, and I can't wait to start canning produce from our garden to fill those shelves!

Spiderman Cake, and Apologies

2011-04-04T06:33:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I did a cake order for the boy I babysit. It's especially fun to do a cake for someone I know well. It becomes a lot more personal and lots of extra love goes into it. When I do birthday cakes for my kids, they are entirely works of love. Carson had changed his mind many times about the theme for his cake. It started as Spiderman, then went to Kung Fu Panda, then to Megamind. His Mom and I were both having more success finding ideas and decorations for the Spiderman theme, so we talked him into going with that. I let him look at cake ideas with me online and he found one he really liked. He was most excited about the fact that it had little mini cakes around it. So I modified the design a bit and came up with this:

He requested a toy Spiderman on it, so his Mom brought me one of his to set on top.

The cake itself is red velvet with blue buttercream frosting, covered by marshmallow fondant. That way, when you cut into it, you see the Spiderman colors. I made the red velvet cake from scratch. I thought it turned out rather dry, so I guess I need to find a different red velvet recipe. I think I need to do a little experimenting with cake flavors and recipes. It's got to taste good on the inside, not just look cute on the outside.

As you may have noticed, posting has become few and far between lately. My life has suddenly gotten busier as I've been asked to serve as the Relief Society president at church. Relief Society is the women's organization in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and entails lots of duties that will require me to prioritize my time. Time that I would normally spend in the blogosphere will now be spent in other ways. But hopefully, once I get into the swing of things, I'll settle in and be able to blog more frequently again. And maybe that will happen sooner than I think. Creating and sharing is an outlet for me, so I'm sure I'll be around.

Baby Shower

2011-03-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

Boy oh boy has it been a crazy week. Just busy stuff. A big part of this week was getting ready for a baby shower I hosted today. I did my now standard pom-poms for decorations. Yes, it IS my go-to party decor. And I'm totally good with that. Fun, easy, economical.

I also made the cake for the shower. I decided to try a different cake. It is orange almond with orange buttercream frosting and fondant flavored with orange juice instead of vanilla. The jury is still out on the cake. I thought it was a bit heavy and rich for my liking. Almond extract tends to be that way, in my opinion.

I decorated the cake based on the invitation she chose. I just blatantly copied it. Well, maybe not blatantly. I tried a new border I've never done, with different sized balls. I think it's fun and whimsical, playing off the different sized circles on the rest of the cake.

Here's a tip for bridal or baby showers. I'm sure a lot of you have seen or used the idea of having the guest of honor bring her thank you card envelopes and then the host has everyone write their name and address on an envelope as they arrive. The host can draw one from a basket at the end of the shower and give the individual a door prize, and the guest of honor can leave the party with all her thank you cards already addressed.

I decided to take it one step further. I had the guest of honor bring her thank you cards as well. I bought some sticky notes, and as she opened each gift, I wrote down what she received on a sticky note, then affixed the sticky note inside a card and stuck it in the envelope of the person she received it from. When she is ready to write her notes, she can look at the name on the envelope, pull out the note, see what they gave her, write the note, put it back in the envelope, seal, and done.

I love throwing parties, big and small. The only part I don't like is cleaning my house in preparation. Oh for a maid.

Cheese Crackers

2011-03-08T14:25:00.000-08:00

Alright folks, here we go.

Cheese Crackers

1/2 lb grated extra sharp cheese
1/4 lb butter, softened
1 1/2 C sifted flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red pepper (or less, for kids)
1/4 tsp paprika
3 tsp hot water

In stand mixer, cream cheese, butter, and water until smooth. Add all dry ingredients.

Refrigerate at least an hour.

Now, here's what I do. I roll the dough out right on my stone. I bought a stone without sides specifically for this purpose. If you don't have a stone or cookie sheet without sides, you can either 1)use a pastry bag and border tip, pipe out mixture to desired length and shape (Cheese straws) or 2) roll dough into a log, wrap in plastic and freezer paper. Freeze. Slice thin before baking. I didn't like either of those methods, but just do what works for you.

Anyway, I roll it out very thin (like 1/8"), on my stone (or ungreased cookie sheet), then I cut it into cheese cracker shapes with a pastry cutter. Bake at 350' for 20 minutes. Let cool. Store in an airtight container. I like them best a little overdone, perhaps. When they are browning a bit and getting crispy they are ready by my standards. Again, just see what you like.

I wouldn't worry much about the red pepper. I don't think it makes it that hot.

Don't worry about the massive quantities in the photos, I quadrupled the batch, using a big ol' 2 lb brick of cheese from Costco.

So there you go. Cheese crackers without any preservatives and additives and fake powder cheese flavored stuff. And you know that where it was made is clean, as far as allergies go.

Be careful. They're addicting!

The Walls Are Closing In...

2011-03-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

Finally, FINALLY, we found some time to work on the hallway in the basement. Yesterday afternoon we decided it was high time we got to work in there. For the first time in weeks, we didn't have anything else going on to take up our Saturday. The kids classes at Lands' End had finished up for the session and we hadn't signed them up for anything else. We spent the morning cleaning the house, then Lincoln and I got to it. We had been dreading trying to hang the ceiling with just the two of us, but we managed just fine. The first two pieces went up pretty easily, but the last ceiling piece threw us off. We have to remove the hardwired smoke detector in order to hang the drywall, and we can't figure out how to take it down. Anybody know? We couldn't find the breaker switch, and hated to flip the main breaker. It looks like the wires should just unplug from the unit, but the connection seems impossible to pull apart. Any ideas?

Since we were stumped, we stopped with the ceiling and decided to hang walls where we had already installed the ceiling drywall.

We got four pieces up and Wow! what a difference!

It makes the basement seem huge with that continuous wall and ceiling. And it makes us excited to get the other bedroom and the bathroom done. It will add sooo much space!

For now, I hope to be able to show you all the drywall up in the hallway by the end of the week. My other goal for the week is to get the caulking done in the girls' room. That should keep me busy! Here's hoping we all have a productive week! What's on your plate this week?

Dropcloth Slipcover---Finally!

2011-03-03T13:19:00.000-08:00

Well folks. I did it. And I didn't even swear in the process! I did break two needles on my sewing machine and I did almost break down and cry a time or two, but in the end, I ended up with a decent looking slipcover.
I was inspired by this double ruffle/pleat look I saw over at the home of always inspiring Miss Mustard Seed. I thought there was a chair with a similar look which was truly my inspiration, but I can't find it.

***Edit- I found it!

Gorgeous, right!?

It sure beats what the bench/ottoman looks like without the slipcover!

This is the beginnings of my master bedroom makeover...but I have to finish downstairs first!

This lamp redo is part of the bedroom project as well. I've really been into the deconstructed shade look lately. I decided to rip apart a shade I had, right down to the bones. Once the rest of the bedroom comes together, I'll decide if I want to add any wire and beading to it. Right now, I'm loving the bare bones look of it.

Remember when I found this lamp at Goodwill? A little paint and a nekked shade give it a whole new look!

Go see Miss Mustard Seed and she'll give you some useful tips on making dropcloth slipcovers.

I'm also linking up again to the slipcover Saturday Night Special linky party at Funky Junk Interiors.

http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/2011/02/sns-70-brings-you-slipcovers.html
Funky Junk's SNS

Busy Day Ahead

2011-03-03T05:58:00.000-08:00

I have a pretty heavy To-Do List today. Last night I pulled a muscle in my back lifting two kids at once. I'm using that as an excuse not to go exercise today. Yesterday I came home with this,

the materials to finish trimming the girls' room. I really have to prioritize right now, so the pulled muscle helps me justify skipping the gym today. This room has GOT to get done. Tomorrow is my day to make the trek to Costco, so I really need to forget about other stuff and just seriously get to it today! So, I'm going to head to the basement and try to work my tail off, because there are a few other things on my list that I'd like to get to today...like finishing that slipcover and making cheese crackers. Several people have asked me to share the cheese cracker recipe, so look for that soon as well.

OK, here I go!

A Few Thoughts Before I Drift Off To Sleep...

2011-03-01T21:26:00.000-08:00

I spent a couple hours today fighting with my sewing machine in an attempt to finish up the slipcover for my ottoman in my bedroom. My fingertips are tender, though no longer bleeding, (time to buy a thimble), but still it is unfinished. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, a seamstress. I can figure out how to cut out fabric and how to piece it together, but I guess I just don't know the ins and outs of working my machine. Or maybe everyone fights with their machine, I don't know. I'm convinced, though, that there is some secret formula, like tension x stitch length squared = my machine not jamming up. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with working with the heavy dropcloth. Either way, I decided I needed a break. Tomorrow, hopefully, I will attach the skirt and be done.

I've been brainstorming a blog topic idea today. I'm kind of excited about it. I'm thinking of featuring one of my inherited dishes from my grandmothers each week. I've been wanting to document the story behind each piece along with a picture so I'll always remember and be able to tell my kids about them. So why not do that here? And actually, I probably won't just do dishes, I'll also feature things like hankies, aprons, costume jewelry, and any other baubles I inherited from my grandmothers. What do you think? I was actually inspired by Lynn at Cottage and Creek. Her hankies and nostalgic tone got me thinking. Thanks, Lynn!

Tomorrow I'm going to pick up a load of materials for finishing the girls' bedroom. I'm soooo excited to wrap up this eternal project!

Right now, though, it's waaaaay past my bedtime!

Slipcover

2011-02-27T11:47:00.000-08:00

Some time ago, like months and months, I mentioned this slipcover that I had made. Today I thought I'd show you a better picture and write a bit of a post about it so I can link it up to this:
http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/2011/02/sns-70-brings-you-slipcovers.html
(I have been having issues with putting button links in here. Not sure what's going on. Sorry.)

The fabric for the slipcover is actually from a couch slipcover that I bought at Walmart on clearance. From that slipcover I covered these chairs,

this ottoman,

this chair,

and made these valances.

This is kind of an older project, but I am currently working on another slipcover project that I'm not sure if I will complete in time to link up or not.

I did think that in a world of white slipcovers, this might be a nice change. Having said that, my current project is drop cloth slipcovers, like everyone else in the world is making right now. I LOVE them.

I'm also linking up here:

Bib Necklace

2011-02-24T09:27:00.000-08:00

I had really been wanting to create one of these for a while, so when we went out to dinner for my friend's birthday, I made her one. Unfortunately, I threw it together in about 2 minutes (literally!), so I wasn't able to be a perfectionist with it. And because I can't create something without taking a picture of the end product, I laid it on my bed and snapped a couple pictures quickly. Sorry, I know they are dark and not very flattering. I can't seem to find the link to the tutorial I used. I'll try to add it later.

The Eternal Project

2011-02-24T09:09:00.000-08:00

So here's the thing about DIY. Sometimes a project takes FOR. EVER. Like building the girls' bedroom. Granted, we started almost from scratch. We built walls, put in electrical, we ran a heat run, we drywalled, we taped, we mudded, we primed, we painted, we carpeted, we redid furniture and artwork, we trimmed, and I continue to trim. The trimming is at a standstill at the moment because we need a few more materials. So in the meantime, I decided today to start filling some nail holes with putty and caulking some cracks. And now, here's the thing about caulking. It's time-consuming and a little bit messy, but I really enjoy it. It makes SUCH a huge difference. I looked around the room at the trim I had put up and I thought, "Wow. What a crappy job I did!" BUT, when you start filling in cracks, suddenly it doesn't look so crappy anymore. It gives me hope that once the caulk is all in place and the faux board and batten has all received a final coat of paint, it might not look too bad! Here's hoping!

Uncaulked

Caulked

Uncaulked

Caulked

Uncaulked/Caulked

Uncaulked

Caulked

This project began almost a year ago. My goal is to finish this room before the building permit expires on March 15th. That involves getting the rest of the trim done, finishing up the caulking and puttying, painting, putting in vent covers, trimming out the doorway and putting up a door. Wish me luck!

Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate

2011-02-23T16:15:00.000-08:00

I happen to love chocolate. So when I'm making a cake for someone, if they don't specifically request something else, chocolate is my default. This first cake I made for a friend's birthday. She told me she liked chocolate and raspberry. So- deep, dark, chocolate cake with yellow raspberry filling, chocolate buttercream, and chocolate chips. I did this one pretty quickly and just used fondant I had on hand, which is why I made another brown and pink cake. But I love that combination, so I might have made it that way anyway! This was my first attempt at this rose techinique.

And here is Devon's birthday cake. He requested Lego Indiana Jones. I wish I had covered the cake board, but I was being a little lazy.

A Thank You and Some Faves

2011-02-20T11:59:00.000-08:00

This last week I was very flattered to receive an award from Tara at Just Devine Style.

Thank you, Tara, I am truly honored.

The rules of the Stylish Blogger Award are:
Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
Share seven things about yourself.
Award seven recently discovered new blogs.
Contact these bloggers and let them know they've received the award.

Alrighty, folks. Are you ready for this?

1. I have a really hard time coming up with anything interesting to say about myself when I do this type of thing. (Is that cheating?!)

2. I am desperate to move to the country. (I am living vicariously through the Farmgirl of Critter Farm. See below.)

3. I hate mopping the floor. Every time I do it I think, "That's not that bad. If I would just do it each evening it would be simple." But I never do. I just hate it.

4. I am toying with the idea of running my first half marathon this year. The idea scares me and excites me at the same time.

5. My dream vacation is a week in the Maldives, sleeping in a hut over the Indian Ocean. This dream almost takes over my life in February in Wisconsin.

6. I have 5 surviving children, but I was pregnant 7 times in 8 years. Like rabbits, I tell ya.

7. I have a goal this year to really learn how to use my camera and take great photos for my blog.

I did it! OK, maybe I didn't come up with interesting things, but it was, indeed, seven things.

Here are my seven recently discovered blogs, and a confession. A couple of them aren't that recently discovered, but are good ones nonetheless. There are others that I discovered recently, but I wanted to keep it to folks who had less than 100 followers, so they would be more likely to be new to you.

You're Talking Too Much

On the Way To Critter Farm

Rosella's Lane

A Little Piece of Heaven

Moments

Luna's Baublebilities

Diapers and Divinity

These ladies are funny, inspirational, crafty, talented, and diverse. All of them are a good read, so go check them out. I promise there is something for everyone.

Thanks again, Tara!

Valentine's Day Leftovers

2011-02-15T10:45:00.000-08:00

Today I want to share a few things that I did for Valentine's Day but I never got around to highlighting until now.

First off, I gave you a sneak peek at the pom-poms I made for our party the other night. Here are some more pictures of those. I didn't manage to get a good picture of the table all dressed up, but these are pretty good.

Seriously, these pom-poms are so easy and fun. I used this tutorial, and just adjusted for size. The big ones are full sheets of tissue paper, like what you buy to put in a gift bag. The medium ones are 1/2 a sheet, and the small ones are 1/4. Pretty simple.

I also made these little little pom-poms for my tree out of cupcake liners. I used 5 for each one. Two opened just a little, two opened a little more, and 1 opened all the way. Then I used a needle and thread to do one stitch in and back, cutting the thread long for hanging. Again, easy.

This morning Jesse's preschool class had a Valentine's Party. I just wasn't feeling like baking, after doing three cakes, party desserts, and birthday cupcakes since the beginning of the month, and having a couple more cakes still to go before the end of the month. In fact, I put off planning anything until it was almost time to go. I figured I'd just stop at the store on my way. But I didn't really want to spend the time or money to stop, so I looked in the pantry to see what I had. Here's what I came up with:

Graham crackers with frosting and Valentine's sprinkles. Quick, easy, and still kind of cute!

You may have noticed my "Be Mine" blocks in my hutch. I made those a couple years ago with some scrap wood. It's all freehand. They have turned out to be one of my very favorite Valentine's decorations.

Another is my "Love" pennant style banner I made. Scrapbook paper, jute twine, and empty cereal boxes were used for this. They remind me a bit of conversation hearts.

And one last thing, remember when I bought my huge enamelware pitcher and I said it would look great with peonies in it this summer? I think these pom-poms look a lot like double cotton candy colored peonies and I was right. I love them in it!

Today's cake order...

2011-02-12T15:35:00.000-08:00

Today I did a cake for my friend Torre's daughter, Natalie, hence the N on the cake. My first attempt at zebra stripes, here in the wavy band around the cake.

Died and Pom Pom to Heaven

2011-02-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

Here's a little sneak peak at what I did last night in preparation for our Valentine's party tomorrow. I've loved these things for a while and finally decided to give them a try. Sooo easy and fun! I'm addicted!

Linking up to Funky Junk's SNS

This is the story of a hutch...

2011-02-09T10:57:00.000-08:00

We had been married about two years. We were living in Washington, NJ. We were about to move to Columbus, OH. We were out garage sale-ing. We came across a table and hutch, $40 for the pair. We needed a bigger, made of actual wood, table. The hutch was icing on the cake. Being a young married couple with our first baby, we didn't have a lot of extra cash. This was a great deal, and we knew it. However, I wasn't crazy about the color of the wood, or the shiny finish on the tabletop. We put them both in our storage area because there was no room in our tiny, one bedroom, barely more than a studio, apartment.

When we moved to Columbus, the table and hutch came out of storage and took their places in the new, much larger, apartment. But the Mr. was still not loving the hutch. I have pictures of the hutch in its original finish, but they were taken in our pre-digital days and I'm too lazy to scan one. We made a couple more moves, and ended up buying a house in Charlotte, NC. One day I was looking at the hutch. Lincoln had mentioned a few times that he just didn't like the hutch and wanted to get rid of it. So I thought, "I'm going to paint this puppy with a crackle finish. What have I got to lose?" So I did. I started first thing in the morning and had it mostly done by the time Lincoln got home that evening. (I didn't do a base coat because I wanted the wood to show through the crackle. That made it quicker.) I loved it. Lincoln loved it. We loved it for many years.

But it is now 2011. Crackle finish is very 2000. The finish on the hutch served us well for many years. It got lots of compliments from company. But it was definitely beginning to look dated and dingy. It was time to go.

I decided not to sand it down. I went back and forth on that decision many times. I proceeded with it unsanded because I thought the crackly paint underneath would add to the chippy, layers of paint look I wanted. Remember, I wasn't looking for a clean, smooth, look. Once the paint was on and dry, I started distressing. I sanded edges here and there, there and here. The more I sanded, the more the layers of paint seemed right.

And you know what? I love the hutch again.

I left the inside the way I painted it when I did the crackle finish. I kind of just painted on and wiped off and added water for a wash and anything else I could think of to give it a rough look. I still love that.

I think maybe I'll replace the cabinet door pulls with sparkly glass knobs. I think it is begging for just a touch of sparkle.

And did you notice the Valentine's tree? The girls did that the other day. They put anything pink that they could find on it. That's a stuffed hippo with Build a Bear fairy wings sitting proudly atop the tree. It's very funny and cute.

A Breath of Fresh Air

2011-02-02T21:34:00.000-08:00

Isn't this lovely? I think this picture truly feels like a breath of fresh air. It's a couple of my favorite things: The enamel-wear pitcher I got this fall and a salt sack that came from my Grandmother's stuff. It looked like she had used it as a bib, with a hole cut in it to pass the head through. I trimmed it, because it just looked raggedy. I'm agonizing over how to use it. I put it with this new flour sack towel thinking I might sew it on the larger piece and then make a pillow out of it. Just brainstorming...

Sick Sick Sick

2011-01-31T12:31:00.000-08:00

We're sick here. So very sick. So very sick of being sick. Once I'm feeling better, I'll have some good stuff to share with you. I'm working in the girls' room again. I'm so close, and yet so very far from having it done. Trim work is SOOOOOO time-consuming. The wood filler, sanding, painting part seems like it will take forever. But I haven't even gotten there yet. A little more wall trim, half the window trim,and all the crown molding still have to go up. I hope I get my energy back soon. We also have drywall to hang in the hallway.

For now, here's a sneak peak.

French Toast

2011-01-26T08:36:00.000-08:00

(I got this image from learningtocook(dot)com. It was the closest to what mine looked like. I tried to take a picture but it was late and I didn't have decent light.)

Alrighty, here it it. Now, this isn't exactly a cutting edge recipe. It's your basic french toast. The key is that you'll slice your sourdough bread at least 1/2 an inch thick. That's what makes this good. A hearty slice of homemade bread. (Which reminds me of a sign Lincoln and I saw in northern WI one night outside of a restaurant. They were advertising their "homade pizza". That was fuel for some great jokes about ho-made food for the whole weekend.) Anywho, back to french toast. This particular recipe comes from "Cooking With Mickey: Gourmet Mickey Cookbook", the most requested recipes from Walt Disney World and Disneyland. I got it in a consignment shop.

Cinnamon Sugar French Toast

1/4 C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
4 slices sourdough bread, 1/2 inch thick
4 eggs, well beaten
Soy bean oil (I just use whatever I have)
Confectioners sugar
Butter, whipped (though I skip the butter on it and like it just fine, especially if I cook them in a little butter)
Maple syrup, warm (Don't make me get on my soapbox about maple syrup. Just use the real, pure stuff and not that plasticky, fabricated garbage, OK?)

Mix cinnamon and sugar and set aside.

Cut bread slices in half diagonally. Dip in beaten eggs, soaking bread well with egg. Heat oil in a skillet and fry bread, turning to brown both sides. Roll at once in sugar and cinnamon and dust with confectioners sugar.

Serve with butter and syrup.

So there it is. We had this for dinner last night and the kids couldn't get enough.

Linking up to Funky Junk's SNS

Sourdough Bread

2011-01-24T09:40:00.000-08:00

Ok, folks, it's a recipe today. Just trust me when I tell you to get your starter going for this, because tomorrow I'm going to share a French Toast recipe that you HAVE to make with slices of homemade sourdough.

It will take you approximately 2 minutes to make the starter, so what do you have to lose? You could make this while you're swishing your mouthwash around your mouth, I bet.

Here it is:

2C all-purpose flour
2C warm water
1 pkg active dry yeast (or a scant tablespoon if you're using bulk.)

Mix together flour, warm water, and yeast in a large glass bowl.
That's it for the mixing! See? Easy!

Let stand uncovered in a warm place overnight (up to 48 hours). The longer it stands, the stronger the ferment will be.

After fermenting, the starter is ready to use or store covered in the fridge. Feed once or twice a week with 1 C milk, 1 C flour, and 1/4 C sugar. Allow the starter to rest at room temperature for several hours after feeding.

*Side note: Don't worry if your starter has a "skin" over it after fermenting. Once you cover and refrigerate it, it softens up.

Sourdough Bread:

4 3/4 C bread flour
3 T sugar
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 pkg yeast
1 C warm milk
2 T margarine or butter softened
1 1/2 C starter
1 extra large egg
1 T water
1/4 C chopped onion (optional)

1. In a large bowl, combine 1 C flour, sugar, salt, yeast. Add milk and butter. Stir in starter. Mix in up to 3 3/4 C flour. (I often don't need all of that. Yesterday I only used 3 and I still felt like it was a little too much.)

2. Turn dough out onto floured surface, knead 8-10 minutes. (You can also use your Kitchenaid or Bosch mixer with dough hook attachment).

3. Place in greased bowl, turn to coat with oil, cover. Let rise one hour or until doubled.

4. Punch down. Let rest for 15 minutes.

5. Shape into loaves, place in greased baking pan. (I shape them into round loaves and cook them on my stones. I like the round loaf when I'm going to make French Toast, because it gives me a nice, long , slice of bread.) Let rise 1 hour, or until doubled.

6. Brush with egg wash. Bake at 375' for 30 minutes.

****EDITED to add- If you're adding the chopped onions, they go on after the egg wash!

Ok, now go get your starter started. You'll be making french toast in a couple days. My kids LOVED this french toast, and the key to the whole thing is to make it with this sourdough bread.

Happy baking!

Still Here

2011-01-22T21:07:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to work out some kinks with getting access to my photos. Long story involving a new router and wireless and me only wanting to work on my new laptop and issues with accessing my network and blah blah blah. I've got stuff I want to share. Hopefully soon.

The Maldives

2011-01-18T17:11:00.000-08:00

Yes, please.

Winter Mantel

2011-01-13T14:59:00.000-08:00

With Christmas gone and the holiday decor packed up for 11 months, it was time to redo the piano mantel for January. I wanted lots of warm, rustic, winter whites. I threw in lots of natural elements- the birds, the pinecones, the berry garland, the iced wreath-and items that speak to family and tradition.

Here it is:

I'm happy with how it turned out, but not so happy with my pictures. I took about 6 million pictures and still couldn't capture the light the way I wanted. Someday I'll figure this photography thing out.

I'm linking up to the Winter Mantel Linky Party at Stories of A to Z

Basement Progress

2011-01-12T06:47:00.000-08:00

Basement progress might be overstating what we have done of late in the area. But progress is progress, no matter how small...Right? We NEED to get the hallway in this area finished off. As part of that process, we planned to rip out the doorway to the unfinished portion, opening it up without an archway or anything, just a continuation of the wall and ceiling, one smooth line. Well, one smooth line with a soffit in the middle of it.

A few days after Christmas, Lincoln got to work with a Saws All and a crowbar, and tore out the doorway.
I couldn't believe how much bigger it made the family room space look! It will be amazing when we get it finished. And warmer. A lot of cold air comes in from the unfinished basement. Right now, getting drywall up in the hallway is top priority. If we can get the ceiling up, I can plug away at the walls on my own.

There are so many projects I want to get working on, but this is where our money and efforts need to be concentrated right now. I'm hoping we can get to it on Saturday. We shall see.

My Craigslist Addiction

2011-01-08T20:02:00.000-08:00

Yes. It is true. I absolutely have a Craigslist addiction. I try to stay away, I really do. But despite my best efforts, I suddenly find myself scrolling through the antiques section of my local list. I've done well lately, browsing without buying. But I recently came across a lovely antique table painted in a soft creamy white. Remember my inspiration picture I shared in my last post?
I hemmed and hawed. We already have two perfectly serviceable tables. But I really have been yearning for a lighter, airy look in our dining room. The large dining room table we have is rustic and dark. It is a farmhouse style with slate inlaid on the top. It is heavy and solid.
We loved it when we bought it. We loved that it came with a large leaf so we could easily fit 10 people at it. Well, unfortunately, it has never opened easily, and a couple years ago we finally gave up completely on ever putting the leaf in it again. And, as I mentioned, I'm just ready for a different look.

So, with my babysitting money, I bought the new table.
I love it. It is delicate looking,(but amazingly sturdy), bright, and beautiful. Unfortunately, it is too small for our family. It does open, but doesn't have a leaf. I could have one made for it, I'm sure, but I'm not sure what that will cost.

So plan B is to put it in my craft area I've been working on. I need a good work surface in there, so my pretty little table will be it. I think the old dining room table might become the game table, and the game table might move upstairs to the dining room. You may recall that the game table was a Craigslist purchase that I refinished. Well, partially. There are two large leaves to the table that I never got around to finishing because we didn't really need them. However, the table opens like buttah, so it would be perfect for using in the dining room in terms of ease of use. Plus, the lines of the table are curvier and more delicate like what I'm craving upstairs. So I need to get to work sanding, staining, painting, and sealing the leaves. When that is all done, we'll do the swap.

And y'know what? When I put the original table back in place, I actually liked the scale better. I think the downstairs table will be the perfect compromise. Bigger than the new white table, curvier than the old slate table, easy to open, plenty of room for our crew and a little company. And in the meantime, I'll dress it up a bit and I think I'll be pretty content.

And, FYI, it's very difficult to get a G-rated photo of anything with a half nude child constantly running into the frame.

Christmas Come and Gone...

2010-12-26T16:29:00.000-08:00

I can't believe that Christmas has come and gone already! It goes by way too fast! I love the day after Christmas, though, I must admit. I have tons of leftover food to give my family, so I don't have to spend any time cooking. I don't have to wrap anything, come up with any last minute gifts, or think about crafting one more project before Christmas. Basically, I'm all done making Christmas and I can just sit around in my PJs enjoying the quiet. I did have to get up and get dressed today to go to church, but that just added to the joy of the day. I got to sing with the choir in the Christmas program, which is always enjoyable.

This is also a great time to reflect on the past year and look toward the coming one. My mind is brimming with ideas for the house. I recently found a house that seemed just perfect for us. I called my realtor and asked her to take us to see it. I started imagining all the wonderful things i would do with this amazing fixer-upper. Then, a couple days later, my realtor sent me a message telling me the house was already under contract. I was unbearably disappointed. I have watched four fantastic homes in the country come on and off the market in the last couple of years. This was almost more than I could take. But I have been trying to stop looking elsewhere, stop trying to force it. I realize that I need to try harder to be content where I am. But what that means for me is a lot of changes to the home I have. And so the wheels are turning. One of my big issues with this home is how generic it feels. I am hoping to make some changes that will make it feel a little more unique, a little more me. So that's what is on my mind. Here are some inspiration pictures.

From Nikki at Grand Design:

This bedroom is so light and bright, without being colorless. I love the look of all white rooms, but I know I'm not the kind of gal who can actually live in them. One of my goals is to lighten up our bedroom. It currently has a very similar color scheme, but many many shades darker of each color.

I've also been wanting to lighten my dining room. I love this inspiration for the table and chairs from Miss Mustard Seed.

As part of my dining room plan, I intend to paint my china cabinet. Ten or so years ago we purchased the hutch at a yard sale. I painted it in a crackle finish, back when crackle was all the rage. I LOVED it. However, I think it's time for the crackle to go and a cleaner, fresher finish to take its place.

I'm considering painting my piano as well, but that might be a bit ambitious. It just seems like the big brown elephant in the room. I want to paint my great room area, the open kitchen, dining, and living rooms. And, as if all that isn't enough, I'd like to put up some shelves in my laundry room, install a countertop, and replace the light fixture. Oh yeah, and come up with better storage for my mudroom. Oh, and did I mention painting all the trim? As in, throughout the whole house? That should keep me busy, eh? Obviously I won't get to all of it, but I'm excited to see what I can accomplish.

Living Room Tree

2010-12-16T06:38:00.000-08:00

How do people keep up with blogging during the holiday season? I missed the Christmas tree party over at Thrifty Decor Chick, but still wanted to share my tree. So here goes.

We had an absolutely gorgeous day for tree-getting. Seriously, we couldn't have asked for more perfect weather. It was warm, with a light snow falling and sunshine weakly shining through, just enough to create a warm glow.

We traipsed out to the back portion of the tree farm and searched carefully for the perfect tree, shaking showers of snow from evergreen boughs.

We finally settled on a full, medium height tree for the family room, and a small, narrow but full tree for the living room.

We were able to catch a ride back to the barn on the hay wagon.

We enjoyed (free!) hot chocolate in the barn while the workers sent our trees through the shaker and binder. Lincoln and I secured them to the top of our car and we merrily toted them home.

The family room tree is the one we decorate together. This one gets colored lights, (we bought new LED lights for it this year and we LOVE them), and all the ornaments collected over the years. There are ornaments that I made as a kid, ornaments my kids have made, ornaments I purchased at the Dollar Store before I was married, and colorful, rustic ornaments we've collected as a family.

The living room tree is mine to decorate. I start with all white lights. This tree gets regular small lights, a couple strings of C9 white lights, and a couple strings of candle lights that I found at Goodwill several years ago. On this tree I put some antique ornaments I purchased at an antique store this year on our anniversary trip. ( I tried to stick with colors that were similar, but I couldn't resist the train one, knowing Jesse would love it.)

I also put our glitzier ornaments here that fall into the gold, crystal, shiny, category.

I placed the Symbols of Christmas ornaments on this tree, too.

I like to juxtapose glittery ornaments with rustic, which is how these wooden bead candy canes we made this year ended up on this tree.

Plus, they look great with our set of wooden ornaments that Lincoln's step-father has made for us. For a while he was making a new one for us every year.

The whole look gets set off with some red, glittery snowflakes I bought at Walmart last year. I just can't resist throwing in some red. Plus, it helps tie in the train ornament. The base gets wrapped in red burlap.

The cat finds it cozy.

And in the same room, the piano "mantle".

*Disclaimer: Will I ever gain the patience to hide my lights cords better? This is obviously not my forte.

***Looks like I'm not too late. This is the last day!
I can't get the button to work, but here's the link to the Christmas Tree Party!

Symbols of Christmas Ornaments

2010-12-08T07:44:00.000-08:00

Now that you've seen my trees, here's another craft I did this year. This is not an original idea. I got this from Gooseberry Patch Christmas. For four of the ornaments, I used stickers from Hobby Lobby that depicted the symbol.

But for two of them, the bunny and the fruit basket, I could not find stickers that worked with the style of the others, so I handpainted them. This was a project that I taught at our church's Super Saturday craft event. I did finally find stickers for all the symbols, but I'm kind of liking the handpainted ones and I'm considering redoing the others with paint as well.

The ornaments are frosted glass. I used paint-on textured snow with a little glitter sprinkled on top while it was wet for the snow around each picture. Gold highlights were added with a gold paint pen. I used regular cardstock tags for the labels, with handwritten words written with a black Sharpie and accented with the gold paint pen. I added in some gold snowflakes and some antiquing glaze, then softened it all with more snow paint and glitter.

A Christmas Craft

2010-12-08T06:43:00.000-08:00

I mentioned these cone trees in my last post, but I thought I'd talk about them in a little more detail here. I did not create a tutorial, but I can tell you exactly what i did.

First of all, as I mentioned before, when I went to the craft store I was surprised at how much the styrofoam cones, that are generally used as a base, cost. Knowing I wanted to make at least three, but not wanting to spend a lot of money, I went home from the craft store empty handed and racking my brain for an idea for the base that would cost me little or no money. I thought about it for a few days until I found myself in Dollar Tree. I was scooping up items I wanted for crafting when I came across the posterboard. Finally the lightbulb went on. 2 large pieces of posterboard for $1. That's more my price range. I brought them home and just cut and folded into a cone shape. I made all three from one piece of posterboard. (If I ever find a spare moment, I'll probably make more with the other piece.) I just stapled and masking taped the seams and I had three cones in varying sizes.

Next, I wrapped them in yarn. The first one took me forever because I started at the base and worked up toward the tip. I had to hot-glue every single bit of the yarn down. On the other two, I was wiser and started at the tip. It holds together better as you go, and then I just glued a little section every couple of inches.

I added the wire stars on top. I used needle-nose pliers to bend it into the star shape. I left a couple of inches of wire as a stem, then stuck the stem down in the tip of the cone shape, attaching with a dollop of hot glue. The wire I used is very heavy-duty and stiff. I got it at the hardware store. I think it's called rebar wire? I got about a million yards of it for $3-4. I will never have to buy more. Ever. I couldn't find a more pliable craft wire in a gauge I liked or for a price i liked. I've used this on a couple crafts and I've been happy with it, but i know there will probably be something I'll make that I'll wish it was more pliable.

I embellished with twine I had on hand, and a berry sprig I got at Hobby Lobby a while ago for $.50.

I love that they are rustic and cozy. I have always loved the idea of decorating with yarn, and this year I've kind of run with it.

Family Room "Mantle"

2010-12-01T14:53:00.000-08:00

I don't have a fireplace. This makes me sad for a couple reasons, but this time of year one of the biggies is that I don't have a lovely place to hang the stockings. What I DO have is a half wall with a ledge. This helps, but it's actually a really awkward space to decorate. It's big, it's not centered in the room, it's narrow. Last year I kind of wimped out. I decorated my piano "mantle" and just strung some lights up on the ledge. This year I was determined to do it up right.

I started with an old shed door. When my cousin moved into her house and announced she would be tearing down the old shed in the backyard, I told her I would be happy to help if I could have the door and some of the barnwood. Thinking I was a sucker, she readily agreed. I haven't used the door until now. It has sat in my garage, much to my husband's chagrin, waiting for the perfect project. Do you ever do that? Find something you love and then not use it forever because you want it to be just right? Well, this is not a permanent spot, but it is perfect for what I wanted to accomplish. Rustic, country Christmas.

I built on the look with a yarn ball wreath I made this year, inspired by this at Recaptured Charm. I think I will add a little greenery to it- sparingly- after our trip to the tree farm on Saturday.

These were inspired primarily by my friend Erin, over at Sutton Grace. My take on the many variations of foam cone trees flooding blogland.

I have a secret though. I found the foam cones to be a bit pricey, so I made my base out of posterboard stapled into a cone shape. I made all my bases for $.50. Not too shabby. The red frames I made from some of that barnwood I scored from my cousin. The little bird is a dollar store find. I spray painted it with oil rubbed bronze paint and I love it now.

The stocking board I made a couple years ago with knobs from Hobby Lobby. I free-handed the letters. Everything here was either hand made, thrifted, or a dollar store score. Except the rattan lights. They are from Walmart.

You might have noticed that the accessories changed a bit from picture to picture, but I think I've settled on the bottom picture. I may be adding some greenery, however. I think that's all it is lacking. We'll see what I can find at the tree farm.

I'm linking up over at The Lettered Cottage's Christmas Mantle Party.

A Real Closet

2010-11-22T13:26:00.001-08:00

I FINALLY got around to installing a closet system in the girls' new closet last weekend. Since I moved them in they've only had a big ugly dresser in there with an overflowing basket on top of it. Oh, and a basket for shoes on the floor. This doesn't sound as bad as it truly was, and I don't have photos for proof. But trust me, it was a mess. The stupid thing about it is that I've had a ClosetMaid rack system sitting in an unopened box in my basement since we moved here. We bought it for our last house in NC and never installed it. I've known all along that I would use it in this room, but frankly, I was a little intimidated about getting started. Turns out, it wasn't that bad, with the exception of cutting down the wire shelves to size using a hacksaw. That was not fun, but it was doable. Basically, if you can use a tape measure, a drill, and a screwdriver, and of coarse, the hacksaw, you can do this. I'd rate it in the easy to moderate category of DIY for a beginner. I'm thrilled with how it turned out, though I couldn't get a very good picture. I'm very happy with all the shelf space since the room is small and I don't want dressers in here. This gives us plenty of room to hang dresses and shirts, with room still for baskets of jammies, piles of pants, a basket of belts and such, a small set of drawers for socks, panties, and tights, a hanging organizer for school outfits, and a hanging shoe organizer. There's even room for a big basket of purses and bags.

For some reason, blogger refuses to let me add any photos to this post. What's up with that?!

Wreaths are my thing this year...

2010-11-18T06:39:00.001-08:00

I love pinecones. I also love acorns. On a recent walk at the state park I brought along a bag for collecting both, because more than anything I like FREE items for decorating. I had been dreaming about a pinecone wreath and piles of acorns.

Yesterday I finally got around to making the wreath and putting the acorns here and there around the house.

First let me tell you that all the acorns we found had lost their tops. So we collected a bajillion tops and bottoms and I hot-glued them back together. This took a little time, but it wasn't as bad as I feared it would be.

For the wreath, I planned on purchasing a Styrofoam wreath form, painting it brown, and gluing on the pinecones. Then I remembered an old wreath in my basement that we (my family) had made a few years back. It was falling apart and honestly, I don't think it was that great to begin with. It seemed nice at the time...

I yanked off the pieces that were still hanging on and was left with just the grapevine wreath form- which was perfect because I didn't have to worry about it showing through. No painting, fabric wrapping, or anything required. I glued on the pinecones in a few different sizes and kept one sweet gum ball from the old wreath because we collected it from the yard in our home in NC. I hung it on the door along with my indian corn and I think I looks great. I have no idea why the wreath appears lop-sided in the picture because it doesn't look that way in real life. Maybe it's the shadows? Weird.

And here are a few gratuitous Thanksgiving decor pictures...

Thrifty Finds

2010-11-11T13:00:00.001-08:00

For months and months I've been seeing hand written signs around town that say, "Vintage Sale". I've been curious, but never made it over to investigate. Today the signs also said, "1/2 Price Sale TODAY". Now THAT I couldn't resist. I drove on over to check it out and holy moly, it was heaven on earth. It's a barn full of antique and vintage items, furniture items, architectural items, farm items, dishes, knick knacks, linens...you get the idea. Their prices are fantastic to begin with, and EVERY item was 1/2 price today. I may need to go back. I tried to control myself, but COME ON! I spent $29.50 and got the following items:

I've been keeping my eyes open for a large enamel ware pitcher. Won't that look gorgeous with peonies in it next summer!? I've also been looking for an old scale. I don't know. I think they're cool and just a fun country item. I've also been looking for milk bottles. These tend to be a bit pricey. This one is little, but it has the name of a local dairy company and it will be a perfect little bud vase. (And it was only $4)

I just loved the vintage cake plate and carrier, especially the crystal knob.

Those candlesticks will be the perfect addition to my Christmas decor. Why not for $6 for the pair?

The most expensive item was the giant pitcher- $11. What?! The scale was also $6 and the cake plate was $2.50. Too fun!

Fall in a Flash

2010-10-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

Somehow, fall has flown by-- and we didn't even pick grapes or buy apples! Actually, let's be honest, I know exactly what happened to our fall: SOCCER. The three oldest kids played soccer this fall, the oldest being on a traveling team. That equals practice on Monday nights, three practices on Thursday nights, and three soccer games on Saturdays, half of Kennedy's in other towns usually about an hour away. Which explains why we missed grape season this year. I'm very sad that I won't be able to make grape jam, especially considering it is my family's favorite and I made less strawberry and raspberry in anticipation of making more grape than usual. Now we'll probably run out of jam this year and have to resort to buying the store stuff.
Despite not being able to pick grapes, we still made our annual pilgrimage to Peck's Farm Market to pet the animals,

ride the train,

play around,

and admire the produce. Behold the harvest.

I'm hoping to still get my hands on a couple bushels of apples. We shall see.

Cake Project

2010-10-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

By cake project I mean a project in which I make a cake, NOT a project that is ridiculously easy, like "Making this sandwich was a piece of cake."

One of the ladies who reports to my husband at work celebrated her 25th work anniversary yesterday. My husband thought that it would be nice to bring her a nice homemade cake for the celebration, rather than pick one up at the store. He asked me if I would make one for her. I enjoy making cakes, so I said I would take the challenge.

The lady being celebrated likes chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, (who doesn't?!). Since my vision involved fondant, I thought I would make it with cocoa powder. This was probably a bad idea since it was my first time making my own fondant. The fondant I did not flavor with cocoa was very easy to work with. The fondant I DID flavor with cocoa tasted great, but was too dry and tended to crack and tear easily. I may or may not have flung a handful of fondant across my kitchen at one point. There were no witnesses to the event so we will never know.

I made a delicious chocolate cake and spread some blackberry preserves between the layers. I covered the entire thing with a layer of chocolate buttercream frosting, then decorated it with a large Lands' End label, the words 25 Years, some braiding, and a bunch of fondant leaves. It did not turn out as well as the vision in my head, but each time I work with fondant I learn a little more. Someday maybe I'll be good at it. Anyone have any good tips for me? And every time I work with fondant I am more impressed with folks who create masterpieces with the stuff, like Angie, a woman I went to school with. You've got mad skills, Angie.

Guess what arrived!

2010-10-12T10:23:00.000-07:00

I scored the Land of Nod quilt I wanted on Ebay! Lincoln about fell over when I told him I paid $100, but, BUT---that's including shipping. And a pillowcase and very cute curtains made from the sheets. The quilt alone retails for about $160.

So it really was a great deal. And everything is in pristine condition. I was worried about whether I had picked the right pink for this and it is perfect. And I had hoped that the diamonds on the wall would repeat the diamonds in the quilt nicely. Success! I love it.

I'm going to put in a little plug for The Land of Nod here. A couple years ago I purchased 2 Land of Nod quilts from a seller on Craigs List.

These USED quilts have been on my boys' beds since then and have held up amazingly well. Devon has had frequent bed-wetting issues and nosebleeds, so these quilts have been washed about a bazillion times since I purchased them and they still look great.

That's why I figured even if I had to pay retail for this quilt, it would be worth it.

I'm hoping to finally get to putting in some of the trim in this room this weekend. I had kind of reached a point where I just needed a break from this room. Now that I have the quilt and the curtains, I'm excited to get moving in there again. I think I'm going to use the curtains in place of a closet door. They are really too big for the window anyway. Hopefully soon I'll have some better quality photos up and more progress to show you!

H-A-Double L-O-W-Double E-N Spells Halloween...

2010-10-07T07:13:00.000-07:00

Anybody remember that song?

I have been busily shuffling around my fall decorations to make way for the Halloween decor. It's funny, I really look forward to putting up the fall decorations, but I forget every year how fun it is to do Halloween until I get started. Early on, I didn't decorate for Halloween beyond jack o' lanterns the week of. But little by little over the years I've gotten more and more into the fun of it.

One of my favorite decorations I've done was an idea I got I believe, from Martha Stewart five or so years ago. But I may be wrong. Anyway, it's easy, fun, and big impact. Unfortunately the picture quality is poor because I still haven't figured out how to take a decent night time photo with my camera.

These are pieces of felt purchased off a bolt. Just cut out ghostly eyes and a mouth and hang it in your window. Voila! Big creepy faces!

Last year I began pulling together pieces for a spooky "mantle' vignette. (*Note* I do not have a mantle. I use the top of my piano as a mantle replacement.) I really love the haunted mansion look of this vignette.
In the day:

At night:

This year I added the subway art.

It's not perfect. I did it freehand. But I like it that way. So there. The frame from the subway art was a lucky find. I was purchasing a bunk bed I had found on Craigs List. It was in the lady's storage unit. She told me she had recently gotten married (they were both in their 50s) so they were combining households. She was trying to sell almost all the stuff in her storage unit. So I kind of went shopping in there. I got two big old antique frames for a dollar each. I LOVE them. The other one is in the late stage of transformation so it can be placed in the girls' new bedroom. This one was to be transformed as well, but until then, it works perfectly in all its chippy, antiquey glory, as part of this wall.

The other frames I purchased for very little at Goodwill, then spray painted them all in matte black. Inside the frames are images I found online. This one has two of my ancestors, then a werewolf (?) I found online. I like the juxtaposition of the normal with the creepy.

Nobody gets this one.

It's a family of albinos. I wanted something that wouldn't totally creep my kids out, but was considered an oddity. (This is a freak show poster. Not so PC, I guess.) But no one gets it, which is good, actually, because it means we've come a long way since this was considered freak show material. So this year I need to find a picture that is more appropriate (on several levels) and that fits my frame better.

This Frankenstein photo is my kids' limit for creepy.

Throw in some skulls, a cool candelabra painted black,

a crow (raven?), spiders, tattered fabric, and a few other accessories, and I think it's pretty fun.

Oh yes, and my $2.99 tree from Goodwill with some jack o' lantern lanterns in it.

So what about you? Do you do creepy? Gorey? Cutesy? Just fall?

Freshening up the Master Bath

2010-09-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a project I've been picking away at all summer. Our master bathroom was nice before. Our house is not too old so nothing was terribly outdated or even worn out.

But I had been hating all the orangey oak cabinets in this place.

You may recall I painted our kitchen island to break up some of that oak expanse. Then I decided i would use the same chocolate brown on the bathroom cabinetry. My next complaint about the room was the boring paint color.

I am usually pretty happy with earthy tones, but I had always wanted a bathroom with a fresh, spa-like feel to it. Plus, one of my daughters had gotten into nail polish one day and when it spilled she wiped some of the excess on the walls. (She then proceeded to cover the spill on the floor with toilet paper and walk away. Like that's going to go unnoticed. But that's another story.)

So the walls needed a fresh coat of paint. I liked the shower curtain I had purchased and took the rest of the room colors from it.

I have also always wanted beadboard wainscoting in my bathroom, so that was top on my list of improvements. After a recent trip to Nova Scotia I decided to take the whole room in a beachy direction.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Let's talk accessories.

This painting over the toilet is one i did in high school. I always liked it so it got a spot in the room. I need to build a frame for it.

The beach sign i made from a driftwood board i found on the beach in Nova Scotia.

Everything in the apothecary jar was found in Nova Scotia.

The driftwood stick- also from NS.

On the back of the toilet is a bowl of NS seashells and a pile of drifted wood pieces awaiting hanging---if i can figure how to hang them.

The sparkly glass knobs are from Hobby Lobby,
The pulls are from Walmart (a package of 4 for $9),

The glass knob towel hooks are from Home Depot.

I have some photos i took in NS that I was going to print, frame, and hang in the room. Will that be too much going on? I'm thinking so. I'm also wondering if i should do a little distressing on the cabinets? That would make them a little more beachy and less formal, I'm thinking. I'm not sure yet if I'll replace the doors with white ones, or if I'll paint them white. I'm thinking I would add some molding to them if we just keep them.

Opinions?

Fall is my Fav

2010-09-17T06:21:00.000-07:00

So fall is in the air. I LOVE fall. Like, big ol' heart LOOVE fall. Lincoln and I got married in the fall because of our mutual adoration for the season. I've been putting out the fall decor a little at a time, though I usually do it as soon as the kids are back in school.

This year I have felt like I had a lot of stuff I wanted to get done around the house before I got it out. So as I check something off my list I let myself do a little more. But I think it's time to just get it done now. As I was getting stuff out, I came across this banner I made last fall and I thought I'd share it here.

I used yummy textural items like felt, raffia, and twine.

The cutting and stitching was a little time consuming, but I love how it turned out.

This year I decided to display it in my mudroom on my storage bench- an antique Craig's List find. I love my bench. I was looking for a storage bench for the mudroom, but I didn't want something that looked like everybody else's mudroom storage benches. I fell in love with this old piece, repurposed from an old bed, I'm assuming. I think it had been stored in a barn or something, it was pretty dirty when I got it. But I love it and love that it's one of a kind.

Bunkbeds are up...

2010-09-08T12:15:00.000-07:00

OR

This Should Not Have Taken Half The Day...

Whichever title you prefer.

This took lots of sweat. And frustration. But they are up.

Now, I wish I had the bedding, but I think that will be a Christmas gift.

I'd like to find it on ebay or Craigs List, but if not, then I'll get it right from Land of Nod.

Julia requested that this antique lamp come with her to the new room. What do you think? Leave the original finish or paint it?

Horses are the order for this room. More plans for that, including the bedding, obviously.

Now we need to put up some walls in the hallway outside their bedroom so it doesn't feel like they are living in the unfinished basement...even though they are.

We're getting there...

2010-09-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

Since Thursday I have been painting walls,

having carpet installed,

painting bunk beds,

painting a light fixture,

installing a light fixture,

trying to assemble bunk beds, running to Farm and Fleet for new hardware for bunk beds, trying to assemble bunk beds, running to Walmart for new new hardware for bunk beds, trying to assemble bunk beds, giving up up on assembling bunk beds, eating peanut M&Ms.

I still have some paint touch ups to do and all the trim and molding, shelving in the closet, etc etc, but if I can get the right stinkin' hardware for the bunk beds, we'll get the girls moved in and keep plugging away at stuff once they are settled in a bit.

Primer and touch ups...(Or Wordless Wednesday)

2010-09-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Built-in Bookshelves...

2010-09-01T15:09:00.000-07:00

Remember months ago when I mentioned I was building shelves in our niche where we put our computer? I did it, but never posted about it. Here it is, despite the fact that the shelves are not at all staged.

(Why yes! That is Facebook on the computer.)

Notice the remnants of paper on that door to the right?

Julia decided to GLUE some signs to her door a while back. I should really finish removing those. Or rather, SHE should.

Despite very careful measuring, this was a beast to fit in here. You see, this area is narrower back near the doorways than it is in where the shelves are. I didn't think to measure out there. I even did a dry fit before assembling it, and of course, they fit, because I just held the pieces up where they would go. After I had it all glued and screwed together, I tried to slip it into place and couldn't get it in. I took off the trim around the doorways and it still wouldn't fit. Long story short, not once, but TWICE I had to take the entire unit apart, trim down the boards and reassemble. FRUSTRATING! But in the end, I'm pleased. And enough time has passed now that the I can talk about it.

Finishing Rock...

2010-08-30T07:48:00.000-07:00

Let me share with you a few things I've learned about finishing sheetrock. If you're experienced in this area, I won't be much help. But if you're a newbie like me, this might be useful.

#1- PAPER tape is a nightmare.

FIBERGLASS MESH ADHESIVE tape is the only way to go.

Now, there may be some reason that somebody prefers the other stuff, and maybe I just don't know enough about the process to know why it would be better, but I find the mesh stuff waaaaaay better to work with. I started out with the paper tape and didn't really feel like I was struggling with it, but one seam bubbled when it dried. And when I switched to the mesh tape, it was sooo easy to handle. With the paper tape, you spread on mud, bed the tape into it, then trowel off the excess mud as you smooth the tape down into the mud. With mesh tape, you lay the tape over the seam using the adhesive side, then trowel mud over it and smooth it down. No chance of bubbles.

#2- If you don't trust me and you go ahead and use paper tape and the paper tape bubbles, it is possible to repair the damage. I had a section of tape from the ceiling to the middle of the wall that had bubbles spread along it. I had three coats of mud on the tape (the coat it was embedded in, and two coats over it.) I just took a utility knife, cut out the entire section of tape, (which was very easy), laid in mesh tape over the joint, and mudded over it.

#3- I had several screw heads that stayed too far above the surface of the drywall. I had tried to set them deeper without success and then just mudded over them. When we sanded they were exposed again. I got a new dimple bit, scraped off the mud over the head, UNscrewed them a bit, then reset them. This worked with most of them. There is one that is stripped so we can't get it in or out. I just have to build the mud up over it and sand with care. If you can't get a screw to set and it ISN'T stripped, just remove it, mud the hole, and put in a new screw a couple inches beyond it on the joint.

#4- There seem to be 2 schools of thought about this process. Some folks will tell you it's all in the sanding. Other folks will tell you it's all in the mudding. I lean more toward the mudding. There really is a fine line between too much mud and not enough. As one book said, "There's no need to trowel on 5 gallons of mud and sand off 3." However, attention to detail in sanding is also crucial. And you must be patient. I only sanded after the final coat, but then found lots of places that needed to be touched up- screw heads, low spots, furred tape or drywall paper. I REALLY wanted to be done, but I touched up and sanded again. Do this as many times as necessary to achieve the smooth finish you're looking for. You'll be glad in the long run.

#5- Lastly, for now, is invest in a corner trowel.

The book I read did not even mention corner trowels. My corners looked terrible and I was dreading how much attention they were going to need to get them looking nice. Luckily, my mother came to visit and said, "Did you use a corner trowel?" "Corner trowel!?" said I. "What pray tell is a corner trowel? It sounds divine!" I sent my dear husband out for a corner trowel then slapped a coat of mud up in the corners with that. What a huge difference! They are now like buttah.

I still have to sand again and see where I'm at. If I think of any more tips and tidbits to share, I will. Wish me luck. The carpet is supposed to be installed on Friday. I'm running out of time!

Room Progress

2010-08-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

Oh boy oh boy oh boy. Life has been absolutely insane since my last post. What a hectic summer. Between visitors and trips and this construction project, I'm swamped. But despite the insanity, I wouldn't change a thing. Wait, that's a lie. I would gladly go back and keep my husband with me in NY during my family's work week, rather than letting him come back to work. And I would pass on two of my kids getting pneumonia. I think I would just opt out of that completely.

This past week I have been frantically trying to get Julia's room taped and mudded before she arrives home. I wanted it to be painted so it would look like some serious progress had taken place. Because she won't be able to see the hours and hours I've put into this mudding process. This evening I finally finished the skim coat on the room. Unfortunately, she arrives tomorrow afternoon, and unless the sanding goes really well, I'm afraid there will be no paint on the walls.

Just to keep things interesting, I'm also trying to refinish a bunk bed I picked up for the girls from Craig's List and a pretty little chandelier I scored at Goodwill. I have a guy coming tomorrow to measure for carpet and a door order on hold at Menard's that we discovered we have to cancel because the opening is not large enough. My vision for the paint in the room is more involved than what i can slap up tomorrow, but if i could at least get it primed I think she would be pleased.

So here are a few photos from the process. I think they were taken during coat #1.

Being a giant comes in handy when mudding the ceiling.

I need to collapse into bed, but maybe I'll put one more coat of spray paint on that chandelier first...

Oh how I love barnwood...

2010-07-08T18:03:00.000-07:00

My cousin had a shed in her backyard. A shed that she wanted to disappear. She mentioned wanting to tear it down, so I piped up and asked if I could have some of the wood if I helped tear it down. Thinking me some kind of sucker, she of course agreed. My original intention for the boards is probably not going to work out. I don't think I saved enough for the project. But here is my first piece:

Not a great picture, but here is a sneak peak at another project- the slipcover on this chair is part of a sewing project I've been working on. More of that later.

I see more frames and some window boxes in my future.

A Healthy Recipe and One That Is Anything But....But Is Unbelievably Delicious

2010-06-22T11:08:00.000-07:00

I've been working on lots of projects lately that I'm looking forward to sharing with you. I've done a bunch of home decor sewing, some redecorating in our master bath, and a fun project in the family room that I'm just beginning. I've had a kitchen project on the back burner for quite some time and I'm anxious to get moving on that too.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a couple delicious recipes. The first is gingerbread muffins. I have tweaked it a bit to up the nutritional value, but I'll list both options.

Gingerbread Muffins:

1C Flour (i use whole wheat)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp baking soda
dash of salt
1 slightly beaten egg white
1/3 C molasses
1/2 C water
3 T cooking oil (i use unsweetened apple sauce)
Sifted powdered sugar

Line eight 2 1/2" muffin cups with paper liners. In medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, b.p., ginger, cinnamon, b.s., and salt. Set aside.

In a small mixing bowl, stir together the egg white, water and oil. Stir the molasses mixture into the flour mixture just until blended. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin cups.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes in 350' oven. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm or cool.

This really only makes 8 muffins. You'll probably want to double it. And of course, you can add anything you think sounds good- raisins, nuts, craisins, chocolate chips, whatever floats your boat. These are really yummy and with the whole wheat and add-ins they are pretty filling. My kids love 'em.

The next recipe I got from a friend at church. She used to run her own bakery so she knows a thing or two about yummy recipes. This one she seems to have gotten from Martha Stewart, who also knows a thing or two about yummy recipes. And Martha seems to have gotten it from Julia Child, so there you go. Click on the link for the recipe.

Rhubarb Shortbread

I just used some vanilla extract instead of vanilla bean. I also threw in some strawberries with the rhubarb because I love that combination. This is simply to die for. Literally. A pound of butter. 4 cups of flour. I don't know an equivalent measurement for a pound of rhubarb. I wish the recipe called for cups instead of pounds. I just guesstimated.

Happy baking!

Another Little Project I've Been Working On...

2010-04-27T07:29:00.001-07:00

My kitchen has lots of the same wood tone in it. The cabinets, the floors, the island. Even the walls are a beige. I had to do something to break up all that wood tone.
(Here's a before and after within a before and after. I installed under cabinet lights recently. Boy do I LOVE the extra light in the kitchen and on my workspace.)

The island seemed like the perfect spot to get to work.

Dull, boring, more of the same.

I decided I would install beadboard around the sides and back, trim it out, and paint the whole thing in chocolate brown. I also added some hardware to dress it up a bit.

I love how this gives the island more of a furniture look. And it's hard to tell from the pictures, but the brown goes beautifully with the countertops.

Some recent treasure finds...

2010-04-27T06:46:00.000-07:00

Let's start with this cute little footstool I found at a garage sale. I LOVE the woven top.

I wasn't too crazy about the light bamboo base, though. Too much tan. So I spray painted it and I love the results.

And how 'bout this dresser and this bunny I've had around for a while. I got the bunny at Goodwill and the dresser off Craigs List for $10.

I FINALLY got the dresser done yesterday. I will probably get new handles, but for now the old ones spray painted in a brushed nickel finish will work nicely.

I love how this detail stands out now that the horrible rag painting finish is covered up.

And this bunny looks so much more sophisticated now, all dressed up for Easter.

And lastly, here are some pieces for my china hutch that I've collected from Goodwill and yard sales.

I love the ironstone tureen. And the pitcher/vase. Who am I kidding. I love them all.

My best find recently is not ready to show yet, but I am SO excited about it. I can't wait to share!

*Sorry about the poor quality photos. I'm still trying to find a good spot in my house for photographing stuff.

My Dream Home

2010-04-19T07:41:00.001-07:00

Recently I purchased a copy of the magazine House Beautiful because I did not have the power to resist the images of this gorgeous Houston home. I enjoy and appreciate many various decorating styles, but without a doubt, this is the one that is the most me.

Just look at this beautiful entry. All of the wood and stone in this house in reclaimed. This is a brand new house made of antique materials. I think I would change out the doors for something similar but with windows.

It's like being in a castle. I like the play of light from the window here.

I'm pretty sure I could be a better cook in this kitchen. My favorite part? The fridge covered in zinc. I love how rustic it is.

And after cooking a fantastic meal in the kitchen, we could retire to this fabulous dining room. I've already posted about my love affair with this clay color. I think the chairs are a bit ornate for my taste. I would replace the dining set with something more casual, a farm table perhaps.

After dinner, I would curl up next to the fire with a good book. My favorite thing in this image? Those double doors in the background.

Who doesn't want a gorgeous grand staircase like this?

And those shutters make me swoon.

I love love love the shutters here. The chandelier and chair are just the right touch in this space.

And my very favorite image:

Seriously, I love everything about this so much it makes my heart ache. I kid you not.

You can click on the link for a few more photos I didn't include here.

Progress at a Snail's Pace...

2010-04-06T06:40:00.000-07:00

The basement project is progressing, just very slowly at this point. We decided we would frame the bathroom and the next bedroom and install the electrical in both, before we proceeded with the drywall in the first bedroom. We needed to have the inspector come out to look at some changes to the electrical and we figured, why not have all the electrical done so he could make just one more inspection. This seemed simple enough, considering how quickly we banged out that first room. However, a few factors are now coming into play that weren't before. First of all, I had squirreled away some funds for the start of the project. Now we have to have some time to squirrel away some more. Next, now that Lincoln is here and participating, we need to work around his schedule as well. He and I want to learn as we go so we can do this ourselves at some point. And lastly, we have a plumbing question that needs to be answered before we can build the next wall.

But here is what we have accomplished in the past week or two.

More electrical work in the first bedroom and hallway. The proper outlets have been installed. The first ones we put in did not meet a brand new code. They must now be the tamper resistant kind. Doug also put in a light fixture in the new hallway and wired for the other two. These will eventually be recessed lights.

Our friend, Jesse, came and put two new circuits in the box to accommodate the bathroom and the second bedroom.

Lincoln and I put in a heat run to the first bedroom and consulted with our friend Spencer to determine what our plan for cold air returns should be.

We have picked up the building materials we need for framing the next two rooms. Hopefully I can get a plumber out here today to answer our question and give us an estimate on future plumbing work. Once that is done we can proceed with framing.

In the meantime, maybe I'll start working on my kitchen backsplash today...

While The Cat's Away...

2010-03-19T12:03:00.000-07:00

Lincoln recently had to travel to Boston for a few days for work. While I was sad to see him go, I was excited to start working on a project while he was gone to surprise him.
I hatched my plan a couple weeks ahead of time. I started squirreling money away and looking for accomplices to aid me in my scheme. Once I had my cousin, Karen, and her husband Jamie on board, I started to get really excited. My plan? To build a room in the unfinished basement.
I knew we wouldn't be able to complete it in the three days, but i figured it would be pretty fun to at least get it framed up.
Karen and Jamie came by a few days before Lincoln left and the three of us laid out our plan. With Jamie's professional, or at least, experience-based advice, we decided which room to start on and came up with a materials list. Lincoln left on Sunday, and Monday morning Jamie and I went to the home improvement store to pick up all the materials. On the way back into town, we stopped at the town hall and I acquired our building permit.
We returned home and unloaded the truck, with the assistance of Karen and our friend Billy. Jamie has some severe physical limitations due to a serious work injury a few years back, so we determined that we had accomplished enough for day one. That evening, our friend Doug came by to assess whether he felt he could do the electrical for us or not. He was sure he could and told me to let him know when we were ready for him.
On day 2, Jamie, with a little assistance from Karen and I, framed up the room almost in its entirety. I called Doug and told him we were ready and he came by that evening and put in all the electrical.
On day 3, the building inspector came to check the electrical. He determined we needed to change a couple things, but overall was pleased. Karen and Jamie came in the morning and framed up the closet.
Lincoln arrived home late that night and was surprised to see a building permit in our window, but not nearly as surprised as when he saw a room taking shape in the basement.
On day 4, yesterday, Jamie came over to put in a few nailers. Doug and the building inspector came at noon to talk through the electrical plans.
Tonight we will pick up what we need to tap into our HVAC and run heat and a cold air return. Hopefully that will go in tomorrow morning, then we can move on to drywall.
I'm looking forward to documenting our progress on this blog. This is soooo fun! OH! And the best news is that the window I thought was too small to meet code for a bedroom, isn't. So we can OFFICIALLY call it a fourth bedroom! Hurray!
(This is what the basement looked like when we first looked at the house.)

The rest of the pictures are of the new room.

(As you can see, unlike the previous fitness- and cleanliness-minded homeowners, we use the space as a dumping ground for dead furniture.)