Make ready the house…

I finally finished the numbers over the hooks…why didn’t I do this sooner? I just used a sharpie, and I love it!

I put this lamp in the laundry room yesterday. Again, why did I not do this sooner? Doesn’t it look like an actual room that you’d like to spend time in now? {like I have a choice}

I see you…

Hung this bucket that I got at Target for .50 cents on the chalk wall. I also picked up a .99 cent box of chalk. Ethan has been entertained for long periods of time with this “new” idea. Go figure.

Okay, now on to some party decor. Here is the skeleton outline. His bones are hidden in the house and as they are found we will tape them up. His face (which you saw above) is decked out with ribbon hair and a sparkly #8 crown! His, or rather her, torso is wearing a grass skirt and lei.

Erin is making “Happy Birthday” wishes on the chalk wall.

Jack. He is so excited for the party. He wears his emotions on his sleeve.

A few more streamers and balloons. We can’t wait!!

Stairs, continued::

After lots of comments on painting the spindles and/or runners white, I should probably say that there is NO white trim anywhere in my house. And I kind of promised my oh-so-patient husband that I would under no circumstances paint ANY trim in the house. I do think that I will find some cream sticky vinyl and cut some numbers or something to put on the risers. Any ideas besides numbers? Some cute saying?

Stairs::Part Two

When I started painting, I really thought I had made a huge mistake. But with the pad and carpet already off the steps and in the trash, there was no turning back.
In the end, I really do love them! I still have one coat left to do, and then I'd like to do something (words, stencil, ??) on the risers. Suggestions?

commence countdown to uber organized house:: 5...4...3...2...

Today, for whatever reason, I decided to embark on a "change everything around/get this place in shape/become organized/cleaning spree". I did the living room, the front room, made some "weekly work" things for the kids to keep their spelling words/verse of the week for school in, cleaned my bedroom, ate 4 cookies, laundry in the washer, nearly killed the dogs for constantly barking, cleaned the playroom, organized the bookshelf, um...that's about it, I think. It's a bit out of the ordinary for me to get so much done in one day, but it feels good. I still have to tackle the dishes and putting loads of laundry away, but we have no soccer tonight, and due to the still hanging around cold we are staying home from church. One rare night of no activities...lovely.

Vic just texted to remind me that we are going to the Country Living Fair together on Friday during the day. I am super excited, and I had totally forgotten!! Ethan is tagging along, but with Grandma there, he should be fine...

Also, I woke up to a rock concert this morning...as my boy was drumming away at 6:45 am. Rules need to be made concerning the drums, and I'll be glad when he learns more than just that one beat...

Painting, inside out.

I always love when I select pictures to upload to a post, and then they appear in the most random order possible.

Okay, to start, these are some of the shelves that I rescued from the neighbor's trash a few months ago. I decided that they needed painted black yesterday. I had a great plan to paint and then hang them on the big wall going up the stairs. I could {and really still can} imagine cool frames of different sizes sitting on the shelves, leaning on the wall. They are each about six feet long. Doug no-no'd the location, saying the kids would be hitting into the shelves all of the time. Perhaps I neglected to think the entire plan through. Anyhow, they are now painted black and one is hanging in Owen's room with pirate ships and soccer trophies sitting on it. The other is at the top of the stairs, with nothing on it. Well, there is a clock and two small pictures, but they are not permanent. I just needed to put something up there. I have no pictures because I am lazy, and it's nine pm and I don't want to go take any. Maybe tomorrow.

This picture is bizarre, but needed to be included because today for lunch I made spaghetti and meatballs. I get Kraft Food and Family magazine that comes out like four times a year, or something. It had a recipe for meatballs in it, but these are not them. The recipe called for stove top, and I didn't have any. I used crackers and salt and pepper and ground turkey. So I guess I didn't use the recipe at all, did I? Anyhow, to my jar sauce I added chopped, fresh basil {from the neighbor} and cream cheese. It was awesome, and all the kids were like "Mom, you made meatballs? I love meatballs?" Who knew. Doug said that his plate {pictured above} looked like the quintessential plate of spaghetti, and so he took a picture. Here it is. Lunch. It's the first meal I have ever cooked that someone wanted to take a picture of.

Oh, hey, while I had the black paint out, I decided to paint the inside of all the exterior doors. This is the front door, with only one coat, and no paint on the side window-y thing yet. It's a work in progress. I did some more this evening, but again, no new pictures.

Here is the back door. See how it has that white line between the door and the trim? That's the old door color, and I thought that I didn't need to paint that part. This door is done, but Doug said I needed to paint that edge. Really it's the sides of the door. What do you think?

And here is my helper. He's feeling better today, by the way.

Updates

::Avery's cast had gotten to the point that I was afraid that it was becoming more of a health hazard than a help. It was SUPER funky and stinky and it was broken near her palm, and really what purpose was it even serving anymore? She could flex her wrist in all directions. I called the Orthopedic doc this morning and we headed in for either 1. A new cast or 2. To get the cast off.
He cut off the old one, and checked her out, X rayed to see how she was healing, and decided she could skip the recast and just go for the brace. She was amazed at how light her arm felt, and glad that we could finally wash her hand. Her skin was peeling on her fingers from the funk. It's tender and she was given strict instructions to take it easy for three or four weeks still.

::Bathroom hooks are finally done, well they are 90% done. I painted the board, hung it on the wall, patched the screw holes and hung three of the hooks. I still have to wait for the spackle to dry and then sand it smooth, touch up the paint, and then hang the last hook {which is too close to wet spackle to hang right now}. I will post a pic when it's all done tomorrow! It looks so great.
The best part?? I did all of the work {except cutting the board and routing a nice edge on it} MYSELF!! I painted the board, found the studs, drilled counter sink holes, hung the board (making sure it was level), spackled the holes, marked out the hook placement, and then mounted the hooks. Tomorrow I'll finish with sanding, touch up paint and the last hook! I am Norm Abrams. You are jealous.

bathroom, edited plans

Due to the lack of any suitable beadboard product at Home Depot that we could use in the bathroom {the one thing we did find specifically said not for bathroom use}, we resorted to plan B. Doug found this can of green paint on the mistint rack {$1 for the quart} and it works good with the blue!

This is the wall behind the door, across from the toilet where the hooks will go. The board for the hooks will still be white, and we got silver hooks.

It's impossible to get a good shot of a room that is the size of a postage stamp.
That is the board there in the front. Doug routed the edges and it is going to look really great hanging up!

I also added the green to the bottom of the wall behind the toilet. There is no reason for this, except the blue paint was already put up, and my brush was covered in green.
I probably will not paint the cab now that I look at this picture. It wouldn't look good with that beige-y vanity top, AND white toilet AND white tub. Maybe black? There is black on the shower curtain, so hmmmm....
I'm at a standstill right now, with no white paint to do the board. Tomorrow, maybe?

bathroom, continued...

Today Doug played in a volleyball tournament for the Fire Department, a fund raiser if you will. He's not here right now, but I'll snap a pic of him posing with his first place trophy when he gets back and add it in to this post. Anyhow, I was trolling the internet trying to find some information about how to remove these HORRID towel bars that the builder of this house thought needed to be attached at silly heights and in multiple places in each of our bathrooms. I would love to remove the one in the kid's bath, since I have big plans to modify that space soon. I found some helpful information pertaining to removal of those unsightly things, and was just about to go upstairs and wrap the porcelain end in a towel and hammer it off of the wall when Doug called. Maybe it was serendipity. Since he was on the phone, I decided I should share what I was going to do, and he said that it would be a mistake, citing drywall damage and all. Couldn't' we just spackle it?, my question. No go, the bar stays.
I did share with him the idea for the beadboard and hooks, and I even had measurements and prices for material. I don't think he is totally on board, since he asked me if I had bought all that stuff yet. But he's a softie...
Can't wait to show pictures!!!

A change of heart

I love the way the bathroom cab turned out, and the fact that Doug liked it so much he made the insane comment that we should do the kitchen cabs...I'll never forget that...

I love these hooks in the front room. They are so practical and cute and someday I'll finish painting those numbers over them...

I love these pictures in the stairway even if they aren't hung in the best arrangement and even if the frames don't all match and even if two of them are color pictures and the rest are black and white.

I love this clock that hangs in the hall. It was a Christmas gift, and it just fits here perfectly.

Doug bought this lone pear at the store today. Isn't it pretty?

I love these pictures of the kids and the stars and the small black bookshelf that is just the right proximity to the couch so it encourages lots of "read this book to me" times.

And I love this light that hangs over our table because it was one of those u-g-l-y brass things that every builder slaps into a house and thinks it's cool since it's a "chandelier" but in reality it's the cheesiest thing ever. Anyhow, I painted mine black, and then got the shades for my bday and then at some point added this {very fakey} berry garland. But the colors are just right, and when I look at it I still love it.

It seems as if I am constantly complaining about what I want to change in this house. Truth is, it's a great house, and we are blessed to have it. It's big enough {which is saying something, 'cuz there are a lot of us!} and it's warm in the winter and cool in the summer...what else do I need? So in light of that new line of thinking I thought I would take some pictures of some of my favorite things in my house, and share that with you...and because I can't get my cursor to let me tell you all of this before the pics, you'll have to scroll back up to see them. Sorry.

What do you love about your house?

if you are looking for excitement, you're at the wrong blog...

Cleaning the walls in the stairway/entry hall today. They are terribly scuffed and fingerprinted and just plain funky. Maybe this will help me from thinking that they need to be repainted every time I look at them. I promised "no painting", remember? I took down all of the frames on the stair wall, and then rearranged them. There must be 100 nail holes up there now. I am happier with this arrangement, though. They are closer together and ready for additional frames to be added eventually. I'll work my way down the hall later and then rethink the cables hanging in there. Maybe small peg racks with frames hanging from ribbons? I don't know...something.

Here is another picture from yesterday...

So I hung the shelves...

{Thanks Anni for the inspiration} and realized two things:

1. The shelves themselves are not level on the top, and
2. If you answer "yes" to the question "Did you use THAT level?" then there is a possibility that the wall anchors that you hammered into the drywall, put screws into and then hung the shelves on may NOT be entirely level either.

The bird::

Pics of the birdie that came from Lewa's Designs today! Free, free, free!!
Isn't he cute there, over the door?

todays goodies::

First up, I blogged about Lewa's Designs and added her button to the side bar over there and for all that {which isn't much} I got this little vinyl wall caterpillar {and another birdie} for free! They came in the mail today. Her things are cute and cheaper than some other companies that sell this same stuff. Go check her out! The 'pillar is now at home over Ethan's closet door, so cute!!

I worked in Ethan's room today. These are two of the shelves that I got from my neighbor's trash. They are the same length, and I painted them red. Not sure where to hang them in his room, so I need some advice.

I moved his bed, and hung the garland here, too. It was previously over the dresser. Also on the "bed" wall is his hook rack, hung at his height, and the two Duck on A Bike framed pages, pic below. This wall is full now.

Below is the wall opposite the bed. Blank now without the garland. I am thinking the shelves here, but how? Side by side? One hanging over the other? Opinions?

A summer project list...

You are going to have to sit down. Unless you already know how awesome Doug is, then feel free to remain standing. A while back I painted the bathroom cab black. It looked so great that Doug suggested that the kitchen cabs would look good painted. Maybe he said it as a passing comment, but I gasped and started trolling blog land for ideas. I re-mentioned it to him not long ago, and {I think} he said yes, we could do it this summer if I would not then say that the walls need repainted in the kitchen or living room. At least that is how I interpreted his comment.
I was checking out the Nester's blog today and she linked to a great post about some painted cabs and a cute un-conventional kitchen island. Check it out and feel inspired!
And look for some stuff to be painted around here...soon. My bathroom is calling for some paint {yes black, Matt} and maybe even the kids bath and I have a small project in the works. I love no school.

Garland pictures

Okay, these pictures are in a crazy order and I can't get it to fix, so stay with me.
The garland I made was supposed to go with the colors in these letters. Here's hoping.

Here is my garland hanging over my desk. Not sure if this is it's final resting place, but for now...here she is.

Close up of fabrics.

Garland that I made today for Ethan's room. Looks...you guessed it...SUPER CUTE!

Now, go and see Beth's garland HERE.

Bathroom

Bathroom cab is painted and I would add a picture, but again, my girl has her camera with her at grandma's. My next quest is to find someone who knows where the blog is that talked about how to frame the builder's mirror out. I found a company online that sells the mirrors, but they want $164!!! Might as well be a million! Anyhow, I KNOW I can do it myself for way cheaper. So, have you come across anything like this in blog land? Any ideas about how it could be done? Don't they (whoever THEY are) make that light weight moulding that I could paint black and glue up there? Someone knows something, and hopefully you'll share ;)

front.room.

So, here we go...first a quick shot of the small bookcase and star, both with their new black coats on.

Second, these letters that Beth picked up for me long ago. I finally decided on colors and painted them. Although, I am thinking they need a wipe with some watered down black. They are super bright. We'll see.

Desk is looking much more grown up. Love the way the shelf looks black. Sorry to say I dropped it's twin while I was painting it, so I have screws and wall anchors that need to be hid. I have an idea, but am still working on executing my plan.

Numbers above the hooks. Always wanted to do this...just lacked the inspiration. I found a way to do it on another blog, and I'm pretty happy with the results. Just need to finish 1, 2 and 3. We were thinking about using this as a ranking system for family members. Good behavior?? Well then, move on up a number or two. Bring home Butter Pecan ice cream for me, heck, move on up to #1! Do something lame, down you go. I don't know, though. Could cause some confidence issues among the kids. :)

So, that's it so far. Black bookshelf is currently getting it's books back, and some pretties on the top shelf. I let Doug have his space back, providing that he keeps it neat. :) I'll add that picture when I am done.

take a peek. but don't tell.

Oh, hello. What could possibly be happening here???

Yesterday we looked like this...today we look much better. Check back tomorrow and see us all snug in our new room!!

Carpet pictures. You know you are dying to see them.

First of all, hellllooooo, super cute carpet cleaning guy.

Totally nasty. I know. This is the front room, the landing pad, the one everyone walks through. Tip: If you don't want to know how gross your carpet is really, don't take all of the furniture out of the room. Only makes it worse.

Oh my...same room...don't you want to find a baby just to let it crawl around on these fabulously clean carpets???

Living room. No before pictures. Literally...the county would have been here to take the kids. Squalor. Not even a dog to blame it on. But not anymore, fluffy and clean and great!

Playroom, loving those lines.