Momma's Bathroom

Recently my mom re-did her hall bath. I really wish I had before pictures to show you because the transformation was pretty amazing. Picture it with no bead board, wall paper, blue counter top, and an oak vanity and you're there. It wasn't as tacky as I'm making it sound, but it definitely needed an update. So Dad got to work and added bead board, crafted a countertop out of bowling lane wood, painted, painted, and painted, and created this.

I chalked this for Momma.

For the record, Momma stole that rug from me.

Momma had one color picked out, but didn't like it, so Dad mixed this one up for her.

Bowling Lane Countertop. We love bowling lane wood in my family. :)

:j

Fridge Clean Out

Last week at Weight Watchers, we talked about cleaning out our fridges. It was more of a metaphor about getting the junk food out and the healthy food in, but I took it literally. My fridge was in high need of TLC. Take a look for yourself...

Yeah, it was pretty gross. I won't get into details, but lets just say the holidays hadn't left my refrigerator yet. #yuck The first thing I did was turn the fridge off. I didn't even know you could do this, but as I started the process I realized that there was an off knob on my fridge thermostat.

Yes, I do see the grossness surrounding the thermostat. I'm happy to say that is no longer there.

Then I took EVERYTHING out. I mean everything....food, shelves, the butter tray, everything.

This left me with a nice blank canvas to being cleaning.

At this point, I learned if I ever need to mail myself somewhere, a box the size of my refrigerator would be sufficient. I literally climbed right in there. I wiped everything down with a hot, wet wash cloth first, then I bleached it, and then I wiped it down one more time. If there were stubborn spots (like that huge gross one you see in the photo above), I got out the baking soda. Once the spots sat with baking soda on them for a minute, they came right up. I also took glass cleaner to the shelves while they were out of the fridge.

Then it was time to put the shelves back, but first I lined them with non-sticky, heavy duty shelf liner.

I also threw away some stuff, repackaged a few things, and got my fridge organized. Now it looks like this....

I moved the stuff that I don't really need to be eating down low. My veggies are nice and center.

Now it's time to get some grocery shopping done!

:j

My Living Room

I can't believe it's been almost 3 years since I bought my house. I'll never forget the day I got the keys. Mom and I were walking around it, and I was jabbering on about all my plans to renovate it. Momma lovingly said, "You have no idea what you've gotten yourself into." And she was kind of right. I thought it was going to be a simple make over of painting and decorating, but it ended up being insulation, roofing, flooring, tearing out tile, etc, etc, etc. Lucky for me, I have a Daddy who works hard and has more knowledge about building and fixing than anyone I know, and the major renovations were finished within months. Since then I've decorated, redecorated, and tried my best to keep it clean, which is really where Momma's line of me having no idea comes into play. Who knew keeping a three bedroom ranch house with only one occupant (and a huge dog) clean would be so much work?

Regardless, I love my house. The place I love the most is either the kitchen or the living room, so today I'm going to talk about the living room. When I bought my house, it looked like this....

After pulling the carpet, laying down hardwood, removing the built in, and switching up a few things, it now looks like this.

You may remember that I got new couches about a year ago. Nothing has really changed since then.

I'm kind of getting an itch to switch it up, but I really like the way it is, so we'll see.

Since you all have seen this before, I thought I'd get into a few details. You should know that I did not decorate the place by myself. My Momma, Grandma, and her friend, Paulette, helped me a lot. And here are the three lessons I learned from them while decorating my living room.

1. It's all about balance.

Sometimes I sit in a room, and something just isn't right. All of the furniture is beautiful, the nicknacks are adorable, but it just isn't quite right. A lot of times that's because it isn't balanced. 

This took me a bit to learn, but if you use a pop of color on one side of the room, it needs to appear on the other side. Like the color orange below. The same with furniture. You can't put a heave couch on one side, and a small TV stand on the other. It isn't balanced if you do that. At the same time, negative space has it's place. Notice that I don't have anything hanging to the left of the door. It's all about balance.

2. Think outside of the box.

When I decorated my living room, I couldn't really afford a lot of stuff because I'm a poor teacher. So I had to get a little creative. I knew I needed something large scale for above the couch (which goes back to balance). To find a painting the size I needed, I would have been spending a few hundred dollars. There was one at Pier 1 that I adored. It was $499. I didn't adore it that much. One day we were in Hobby Lobby and I found a mirror that had cracked. They marked it down from $300 to $30 because of the crack. Paulette told me to buy it, so I did. When we got home, Daddy removed the mirror from the frame for us, and we hung it above the couch. Then we put two smaller paintings that we got from a garage sale for $5. For $35 I got a large scale wall piece that is perfect. (Side note: I never did like the smaller paintings, but the colors are right, so it works beautifully.)

3. Use pieces that you love

It's kind of ironic that I just said the thing abut not loving the leave prints in the large frame, but I don't hate them. They are just a little formal for me. In the end though, it's important to use the things you love. That's why I have Scrabble Tiles in a bowl on one of my tables. I have orange glass on my piano which most people would find a little gaudy. I have a coffee table made from a rusted cart. It's the little things that I love that make it home. That's why my house will never look like the pages of Pottery Barn, because I don't love perfectly matched sets. I love the random things that are found at garage sales and my grandma's basement. I love that my house is eclectic. If you love it, it's worth living in.

Like I said, I'm not a decorating expert, but hopefully if you're looking to re-do your room, these little tips will help. 

:j

P.S. This post is linked up to Kelly's Korner - Show Us Your Life!

Kitchen Update

For those of you who have been following my blog for a while, you know how much I love my kitchen. 

I love that the entire renovation cost me $1200. (You can read about that by clicking here.) 

I love that Daddy made my counter tops out of a bowling alley. 

I love that I have a bird clock like the type you see in infomercials on the wall. 

But the thing I love most about my kitchen is the way everyone gathers there when they are at my house. It makes me so happy that I have a space where my friends can feel like they are home. So since I love my kitchen so very much, I thought I'd share some of the latest photos seeing as I rearranged the accessories last week.

One of the new additions is my retro KitchenAid mixer. My gma found it for my aunt at a garage sale, so I traded my white one out. Plus I got the cool glass bowl for Christmas.

I really wanted open shelving when I was planning my kitchen, but Momma kept mentioning how difficult it can be to keep it looking organized. We struck an excellent compromise by having open shelving under the bar area. It's perfect for things I get to on a regular basis. 

My bowling lane counter tops. Best decisions ever. They've lasted 2 years now without any oiling, re-finishing, or other up keep.

:j

A Christmas Centerpiece

Am I the only one who dreams all through November about the amazing Christmas decor I'm going to whip out come Thanksgiving? I comb through Pinterest and Better Homes & Gardens and blogs for inspiration. I tell myself that my Christmas decor is going to be epic this year with wreaths, greenery, crafts, ornaments, ribbon, tinsel, candles, and glitter. Lots of glitter. 

Then come the fourth Friday in November, I drag out tote after tote of red and green. Then I look at all the boxes piled in my kitchen and get a bit overwhelmed. And I cry. No I don't really cry, but I kind of wish I could just show guests my pretty Holiday board on Pinterest when they visit. I'd say, "Oh, no, I didn't put up a Christmas tree this year, but I pinned 8 of them. All different themes. And I pinned 14 DIY wreaths. That's right, 14. How many do you have?"

Eventually I get over my despair, and I call Momma, and get to decorating. I find myself enjoying the memories each piece brings as I unwrap it and give it a home for the season. My decor may not end up being as epic as planned, and that's okay. My house looks like Christmas, which makes me happy. And the thing that makes me most happy right now (besides the sign I showed you yesterday) is my centerpiece. I like how simple and sweet it is. Who doesn't love Bell jars and empty picture frames? Well, I'm sure those people are out there, but they are not friends of mine, and I don't ever plan to be friends with those people. 

This post has been linked to: The Lettered Cottage Tablescapes for Christmas

:j

For those who are willing to make an effort, great miracles and wonderful treasures are in store. -Isaac Singer

The Lettered Cottage is hosting a Linky Party to show off this season's yard sale finds. Internet, you know I love a good garage sale, and that my grandma loves one even more. She is the yard sale queen, for those of you who don't remember. Seriously, you'd be amazed. My entire house is furnished by other people's unwanted treasures. I don't have a single thing that I bought at a "real store." Most of those things come from grandma's early morning hunting, but every now and then I join her in the chase. Here are a few from this summer.

Technically, this is from spring, and technically it isn't my find, but it is one of my favorites. This oil painting which hangs in my dining room was $1. Yep, you read that right, one dollar. Amazing, huh?

Disclaimer: The green in my entry way does not photograph well. It isn't quite this dark.

All of these things were from summer sales. The top stained glass was my grandma's find. I traded her an orange stained glass for this clear piece. The frame is also from a sale. It was 50 cents. I loved how it was distressed. The window at the bottom was $4, and my mom had the idea to group all the window pieces together on the wall. I love it.

This is my latest find. I got this while I was in Springfield visiting some friends. I went to get coffee and ended up at a few sales. My friends made fun of me, but it was worth it for this $4 chair.

This rug was another spring find. Mom gets credit for this one. She saw it and snatched it up. I honestly didn't like it at first, but it's really grown on me. I think she paid $10 for it, but I'm not positive.

I could keep going, but I have to go read about everyone else's finds!

:j

Mud Room Episode 4

The other day my cousin, Kristen asked to see my kick room.
"What's a kick room?," I asked her.
"You know, that room you're re-doing in your house."
"Oh, you mean my mud room?"
"Yeah, but don't people call them kick rooms?"
"I've never heard of that," was my reply to her.
"I think they do because that's where you kick off your shoes."
"That's why it's a mud room. So you can take off your muddy boots."
"Oooh, so what's a kick room?"
"I don't think there is such thing as a kick room, Kristen."

So here is my kick room update, just for Kristen.

Here is a quick recap of Episode 3. The floor was raised and covered in hardwood, everything was studded in, and the closet doors were in place. Since then, Dad has added sheetrock and a little half wall to hide the dryer. Additionally, my BFF Craig found just the right set of cabinets on his list for only $50. Score!

I know you all really only care about the photos, so here you go.

My new cabinets! They will have a shelf underneath just like my kitchen cabinets.

If you look into the mud room from the kitchen, you can't see the washer and dryer thanks to this nifty wall. Usually I hate half walls, but this one is perfect.

And the room is already being used for it's purpose!

I can't believe I just put a photo of my dirty laundry on the internet. I always hate it when people air their dirty laundry in public!

:j

Mud Room Episode 3

This post is for my friend Meredith. She stalks my blog and then gets on to me when I haven't posted what she wants to read. :) Saturday she told me that it was time for Mud Room Episode Three, and she is very right.

The reason I've been procrastinating with Episode 3 is it look like not a ton has changed since Episode 2. In reality, Dad spent 2 days working on wiring, 1 day insulation walls, and a few random days doing random things, so a lot has changed, just not cosmetically.

The best part is the hardwood floors are now finished!

I've already started decorating, much to my dad's chagrin. I just had to put that little white chair in there once I saw the floors. It just looked too perfect!

Do you see the vanity in the bathroom? That was an antique dresser my grandma found at a garage sale. Unfortunately it isn't going to work, so it's back to the garage sales.

We had to put a closet around the hot water tank and furnace. I like the big doors, although I doubt I paint them green to match the kitchen door, but you never know.

In the next few episodes, you can look forward to finding out why I'm searching for vintage yard sticks, what vanity I choose, and my plans for a 25 cent basket from a garage sale.

:j

Mud Room Episode 2

A lot has happened since I last blogged about the mud room. The floor has been raised, the ceiling is hung, and the hardwood is starting to be laid. It's exciting to watch the transformation. 

Now there is only one step into the kitchen instead of 3.

The bathroom is framed in. It will be so nice to have 2 full bathrooms!!

I love the pre-finished hardwood. It's so durable and shiny! The best part is once it's nailed into place it's finished. No sanding dust or staining fumes.

Remember the garage sale find I mentioned a few posts ago? Here is a peek.

My garage is a mess. I promise it isn't normally, but with all the construction it has to be. Anyway, I plan to turn the bottom row (or both rows) into chalkboards instead of mirrors. That way I can write who gets to hang stuff where.

:j

The Mud Room Episode 1

When I was little, I always wanted a house with it's own laundry room. None of that laundry in the basement ridiculousness for me! I wanted a nice big room with pretty white floors and walls that looked like it stepped out of a Maytag/Tide/Martha Stewart commercial. When I bought my house it did come with it's own laundry room, but it was far from being white and pretty. In fact it is still far from being white and pretty, but it's getting there.

Here's what we're starting with...

Yeah, pretty gross, right? Hidden behind the sheetrock in the corner is a scary bathroom. 

The photo above is missing the best part which is the plaid ceiling. Here is what the mud room looked like a week ago. It had become a place for me to throw random stuff that I was too lazy to take to the attic.

Thankfully, the remodel has begun! Dad tore out the sheetrock, and we removed all the randomness.

The plan is to raise the floor, insulate, put in all new sheetrock, build a new bathroom (with a shower!), raise the window, raise the hot water heater and furnace, move the AC unit, move the washer and dryer, put in hardwood floors, change the door into the garage, build a half wall, add some storage cabinets or something, and make it look pretty. I'm ready to think about paint colors, but Daddy tells me I get too far ahead of him.

Oh, we also discovered an old wasp nest in the wall. Hopefully that is all we end up discovering!

Stay tuned for episode 2!

:j

Little Red Riding Door

I have a thing for colorful front doors. They are the first thing guests and passerbyers (yep, it's a word) see. Since people tend to make judgements in the first 15 seconds, you better give them something worth judging! That's why I decided my door needed a makeover. It was white which is nice a crisp, but not terribly inviting. I wanted a classic, bright color. Deep down I wanted orange, aqua, or bright green, but they were just a little too crazy for my house. According to Momma you are supposed to stay within the "look" of your house...I think she is just afraid of the color orange. It also wouldn't have led into my house very well, which is why I ended up with a red door. 

Isn't it cute?

It was still wet while I was photographing it, so the pictures aren't fabulous.

All I need is an exterior paint job and I'll be set!

:j