Finally! We are done!

I know. This isn't a Christmas post. And it's to close to Christmas to be posting about anything else. But I really wanted to share this little (big) project. Remember this post? Yeah, probably have forgotten or given up because it has been so long. Well, we are finally done with it.

A long time ago, it has probably been about 10 years, I saw an episode of Trading Spaces in which Laurie Smith (by the way I love her style) did something similar. Ever since then I have wanted to do this. We had to retire our old (literally) rope bed that was for our guests. It was pretty unsteady and we had to give warnings before people slept in it. I am very surprised it never crumbled. So we needed a replacement and this was cheap and sassy!

I love how it turned out. I still have some work to do with all the accessories. I want to get an ivory colored duvet to replace this white coverlet. And as you will see in the later pictures, we need a bed skirt as well. I am also in the process of painting an end table. And then someday I will move on to getting curtains. I am at a loss on what to do. Any suggestions?

I have to give most of the credit to my wonderful hubs. I could not have done it without him. He worked very hard on this headboard to get it hung on the wall. That was no easy feat. I just hope it stays there!

And of course I need to get an outlet plate to cover up all the outlet wires! Did anybody notice that? It is driving me crazy, but I just keep forgetting to put it on my list. And if it's not on my list it doesn't enter my mind when I am at the store. Good thing we don't have kids yet!

Yes, the room is a little bare. I am working on that. There is a dresser in front of the bed that you can't see in the picture. I want a really fun lamp, maybe blue or green. Actually, the color I am looking for is cheap! I can make do with just about anything!

This little-big guy was not very happy. He didn't like the staple gun. Whenever I picked it up he ran the other direction. Looks can be very deceiving!

I would give detailed instructions, but it's kind of self-explanatory. I had my dad cut plywood that was about 5/8" thick. I think he cut them to 18" square. Then I wrapped each board with batting and stapled it to the back. Then centered the fabric on each board and stapled it. Michael then took a really thin piece of plywood and screwed it on the back to attach all nine pieces together. He made key hole holes in the back and then we hung it. The hanging part sounds easier than it really was. There might be an easier way to do it, but after much brainstorming this was our best solution.

Hope you have a great Friday and weekend!





Linking to: Today's Creative Blog &

One down, many more to go.

One project that is. And many more to go. But that's fine by me! There will always be another project. This has been on my list for a long time. I never did anything with it because I never had a place for it. But now I do. My mom gave me this when I was in college. It was nice for my apartment, but I am trying to keep the college memorabilia to one room, the study. Coat hangers don't have much of a place in a study so it was time to fix this baby up.

I added a few coats of black satin spray paint. Then where the GSU part is showing I cut out some fabric and mod podged it on. Then finished with another layer on top. I couldn't stop there because it needed an extra touch. I added some crimson colored fabric flowers (not red because then it would be red and black and we are not big fans of red and black) to finish it off.

I love how it turned out. I am scouring the house to find some things to go on top. I have a few ideas, but of course I would have to spend money.

This is the entrance from the garage. The dresser below is facing the garage door. This is another project. I want to paint it and glaze it. I can't decide to go green or blue. And of course I would like something for the wall above the dresser.

Putting it to good use!

Pretty flowers.

Enjoy your beautiful fall day!

House Pictures

So here are the pictures I began to post last time, but got a little distracted.... Here is our front entrance. The beautiful wreaths were given to me as a house warming gift from my lovely mom. I added the yellow bows. I think I eventually want to paint the doors green. I have realized that greens are my favorite color, as you will soon find out too... Anyway, I am thinking about Great Green from Sherwin-Williams. That might take a little more convincing from the hubs.

I don't have a picture of the whole front of the house. That will have to come later. 1) because I don't feel like doing it (I just got done running six miles) and 2) there is a guy from water billing in my front yard and I have no idea what he is doing. I don't want to bother him!

Here is our courtyard in the front of the house. It is to the right of the picture above. It has a beautiful crape myrtle tree and lots of plants. I don't know exactly what I want to do with this area, but I do plan to add an herb garden in here somewhere.

Here is our backyard. This is a picture of our sun room.

This is our storage shed and workroom. The room on the right has counters and cabinets. It even has electricity and plumbing. It is Michael's dream to turn it into a man cave. We shall see!

Here is another crape myrtle. I have never seen one like this. The blooms are mostly pink, but there is white around the edges. Apparently the man who built the house was a landscape architecture for which I am very thankful. He did a great job. We have tons of camellias and I can't wait for them to start blooming!

This is our patio in the backyard. It is lacking furniture, but that is way down on the list. We will make do with what we have for now. I love coming out here in the mornings or afternoons and read while Tyler (our crazy dog) plays outside. He loves our backyard too!

Hopefully soon I can give you a tour of the inside! Have a great day!

Rain, Rain

Wow! It has been raining non-stop today. And Monday was the same. I am not complaining; I am so thankful for it. It has been so dry here lately. We really need it. Even though it has been raining, it has been such a pretty day. Sort of bright and cheery. And even getting out in the rain today hasn't been a hindrance. It has been a nice change of pace from the hot, muggy weather we have been having.
Today reminds me of a similar day. I was visiting my sister when she had her last baby, Abby. One day it was raining and had been all day. The older kids were getting stir crazy from being inside so we decided to go outside and play in the rain. They had so much fun running and driving tractors through the puddles. That is one of my favorite memories. Hannah who didn't like to get dirty was soaked and was screaming with laughter running through the puddles. Manny and Hannah were making mud patties. They had so much fun playing with their ordinary toys, but in a whole new way.

Rain can often be such a burden sometimes. We have to deal with getting wet while getting in and out of our cars. And even though we have an umbrella, getting in the car and collapsing the umbrella while not getting wet is a trick I have not mastered! Then we have to deal with wet shoes and tracking in leaves and water into the house. I think you get the picture. But rain is a necessity for life. We need it, the Earth needs it.

Thinking about that day reminds me to appreciate even the most inconvenient situations. The rain was a burden that day. We couldn't go out for a walk around the block or play on the swing set without the obvious happening, getting wet. So we decided to take what we were given and make the most of it. There was no lightening so playing in the rain was harmless. Even though we had to get the kids inside and in the bathtub while they were strongly protesting it was all worth it. I will always be reminded to make the most out of every moment, every situation, because you never know when one of the variables in the equation will change.

I would love to run through the puddles again with Hannah, but that will have to wait until a later time. Who knows, she might be running through mud puddles now, but in a much better place.

I hope you are able to find joy in un-enjoyable situations. I know I find great pleasure in days like today.

Well, this is not how I envisioned this post going. I was planning on showing pictures of the house. Since this post has turned out to be pretty long, I will post house pictures later.

I hope you all have a great day. Enjoy the rain!

Sneak peak to another project....

I am really excited about this one. I have been wanting to do this project for a long time and finally have the space to do it. Here is a sneak peak of part of the project.


Doesn't look like much I know. But if it turns out the way I think, it will look great! I can't show you anymore because that is about all I have done so far! Hopefully I will be done in the next day or two and then it is up to hubs to help finish the rest. So who knows how long that will be =) I will hopefully be showing the complete project by next week.

Have a great Monday!

What we've been up to lately

Well, we finally moved!!! About 2 1/2 weeks ago! We are very blessed to have been able to buy this house. We are in a great neighborhood with great neighbors. I still can't believe we live here. I will post some pictures of the outside of our house soon.

We were very close to buying another house, but it didn't work out. At first I was really upset about it, but looking back I am very thankful for the way things turned out. God had His gracious hand in this process and blessed us with a much nicer home that is in a better neighborhood and has more character. This house is definitely one we will grow into and not out of. I hope to be here for a long time.

So, as with any move, there has been a lot of unpacking.

I realized, I don't mind packing up, but unpacking is not very much fun. I feel like everything is in total chaos, but I know our home will be in order soon. Hopefully!

Now we have to get ride of all these boxes! Anyone need boxes!!

I feel like I just keep creating piles of stuff and not doing anything with them! This is a goodwill pile that I keep putting off taking.

Here are more piles of stuff I don't know what to do with. This room will eventually be my craft room, but until then it is a catch all. I just need to dedicate a full day to this room. I can't wait to get all my sewing stuff here and paint the room a cheery, inspiring color!

In between all the unpacking and putting things away I had to break out the paint brush and paint. My first home improvement project: paint the half bath. We have one half bath downstairs that needed some color. It is still not 100% complete, but it looks much better. The tile in this bathroom is original to the house. It looks really neat.

This picture doesn't do it justice. I wanted to pick up a color that was complementary of this tile and was a little bold.

Here are some pictures before.

It had textured wallpaper that wasn't too bad. It was just a little too neutral for me. It really needed some color. While sitting on the bathroom floor with my sister-in-law I came across Exclusive Plum by Sherwin-Williams. I really liked the color and it became one of the top choices. A couple days later I came across a list of colors I had picked out for the other house that fell through. One of those colors was Exclusive Plum, and I was going to use it in the half bath of that house also. So that sealed the decision for the color.

Here are some after pictures:

It is not quite as rich as I wanted, but I really like how it turned out. Here is what the walls look like against the tile floor.

We want to eventually replace the vanity with an antique (or antique looking) chest and insert a vessel sink.

I have a few more rooms and bathrooms to paint, but I haven't decided on the colors. So more to come!

Have a great day!