We don't even care that it doesn't have good bones!

We are so excited to have finally purchased a house of our own after renting for almost 7 years.   This house is a complete renovation.  Not just bathrooms and kitchens, but everything from top to bottom.  The only materials that will remain are the concrete slab, and a few wires and some of the studs.   Our original plan was not to completely tear down this house, but as we got deeper into the demo, we discovered mold, dry rot, rodent stuff, hornets nests, and other unnamed disasters. The bright sides, are the lovely cul-de-sac with the sweetest neighbors, nearly a third of an acre, and as realtors coin it, a sparkling blue pool. We originally thought the purchase price was a steal, but we are now having second thoughts, as we need to rebuild from the outside in.  We are three weeks in to demolition now, and have had a large city dumpster 20'X8'X6' emptied and returned twice so far, and we are well on our way to having it emptied again.

 This is a carport that was closed in.  Eventually it will become part of our existing family room, and a bedroom and bathroom. The floors need to be poured up with concrete to meet the level of the rest of the house. Doorway moved into a hallway, and of course plumbing brought in from the street.

 This photo is looking in from the front door.  Notice the vaulted ceiling.  Unfortunately the vault needs to go because it was not done correctly and has to be repaired.  To repair and continue the vault was just going to be too costly for us.  We decided to repair the cut trusses and lower the ceiling to meet the dining room (just beyond the arch).   Do you love the color scheme? Were the colors an afterthought, or planned out?

 This picture is looking out from the kitchen, and is an exit to the makeshift workshop.  Notice all of the gates.  We are eliminating the space to the right of the gates, and carrying our kitchen across this entire wall.  It will be much brighter with that workshop eliminated.  Of course, the gates will go as well.

 Here is our kitchen, just waiting for a makeover.

Nightstand Kitchen

A few years ago, I made a Kitchen for my cousins daughter, and my sister saw it.  She went and bought a nightstand, so I could "help" her make one for her daughter.  With Christmas coming up, I knew she could use a "little" help.  I went ahead and picked it up.  I am sad to say that I forgot to take a before picture, but I do have a photo of the almost finished product.

The  Reason it is only almost finished is because I added an adorable chrome timer, and my sister added a chrome towel rack on the side.  For my cousins daughter, I made an apron, hot pads, and towels to hang on a coat hook.  So adorable.  It makes me wish I had a toddler, who would enjoy one too!!

Chalkboard Gem

I follow this instagram called @decordeals.  You should check them out if you live in the Phoenix area.  They don't do any shipping.  I bought a gem from a recent Saturday sale, because I cannot pass up a sale. I bought this scalloped coffee table already done. I want to share it because it was simple to do and super clever.  The top is painted with (yep you guessed it) chalkboard paint.  You do know how much I love Chalkboard paint.  If I still had some little preschoolers (oh how I wish I did) I would definately use this in a bedroom/playroom with some itty bitty chairs all around.  I paid $50.00.  I know it is a little much for what I usually would have spent, but it was done.  I didn't do one thing to it, but write on it. 

This messy room (and notice the clutterfilled table) is apparently how my children prefer to live.  This actually looks pretty good (I folded the blanket).  Clutter galore is what inspired me to write one of my favorite quotes on my new table.  "If life is meeting your expectations, lower your expectations." Thank you Marjorie Pay Hinckley.  This brings me peace.

 

I prefer my family room to look more like this.  I am the only one home for the moment, so maybe it will stay like this for a bit. 

Note:  I google searched this quote and could not find it online, I believe she states this in her book, one way or another. 

 

 

Chalkboard Labels

I was at a full price retailer the other day and saw some cute cannisters with black chalkboard labels on them.  They were $30.00 each.  I was bored one day, and decided to duplicate the cannisters. They aren't an exact match, but they turned out pretty good.  I have a sticker maker, which has been very handy for labeling and scrapbooking.  When I bought my sticker maker, it was on clearance and I wasn't sure I would use it much, but to my pleasure, I have used it a ton.  It worked great for this project.  I just took three jars.  You can buy them in a set of  3 (3 different sizes) for about $17 at Walmart.  If you prefer three the same size, you can buy them at Hobby Lobby for  about $8 a piece.  I had mine laying around my house, and if I remember correctly, I paid about $6 each at Big Lots.

So all I did was cut a piece of white copy paper, and rounded the edges with a scrapbooking photo punch, and then punched the corners.  I then cut another piece of copy paper slightly smaller and painted it with chalkboard paint.  I used a small bottle that I bought at Michaels, which was left over from another project.  I ran  both the white and the painted paper through my sticker maker (you could use double stick tape) and put all of the pieces together.  I made these handy cannisters (which by the way can no longer go in the dishwasher) with items I had laying around my house, saving me a whopping $90. NOT BAD!!  As a side note, I am pretty sure you can purchase chalkboard labels at Michaels and Hobby Lobby. 

Lost Virtues

I have been trying to teach my children some of the lost virtues that don't come naturally to children, such as thinking of others first, looking out for the feelings of others, and being appreciative.  This can be really difficult with a thirteen year old boy at home.  Several years ago, my sister gave me this book, and it makes the logical side of teaching these values very simple. 

Once a week my family gathers for lessons of spirituality, and fun games. I have been teaching these virtues to my kiddos at family night, and have been challenging them to implement these virtues in their daily activities.  As a reminder, I have written this weeks virtue on my chalkboard. I found this chalkboard idea on pinterest, and tweeked it a little to make it my own. I just love chalkboard paint, and have been finding myself using it more and more.!!

Not the best picture, there is somewhat of a glare.  Everyone that comes into my house comments on the chalkboard.  I bought a $10.00 mirror at Target, and two .49 cent wooden decals from Hobby Lobby (they are much pricier at Home Depot).  I glued them on the mirror using wood glue, and let them dry.  I then mistakenly tried to brush on some chalkboard paint.  DO NOT BRUSH IT ON!!  That didn't work, so I had to run back to the store and buy chalk board spray paint.  Michaels is right down the street, but they were out.  AAARG!! So I ran to Home Depot, and there it was with the rest of the spray paint. Halleluia!!  I let the paint set as instructed, and put some double sided felt tape on the back, and whala!! I have loved my chalkboard.  We use it all of the time for grocery lists, to do lists, virtues we need to work on, or whatever we feel like. 

Its been a while

I haven't posted in a while.  Life has been, well you know.  I did accomplish a huge project though.  I have a ginormous extended family.  6 sisters and 2 brothers all older than me.  Up until the last 5 years or so I recieved all of this great hand-me-down furniture and clothes and stuff.  Now all of my brothers and sisters have married children, so I am afraid the hand-me-down furniture has come to a halt.  I do however have this table that was given to me probably 9 years ago, and I have just left it alone, not wanting to tackle the chairs.  Well, I finally did it, and of course, all of the dred was not worth waiting 9 years over. 

I don't know if you can tell by this picture, but the color on the chairs is Forrest Green (big color in the early 90's).  I have to say for years (since my early marriage) I coveted this table. Once the color went out, thanks to my generous sister in law, I no longer had to hope for it.  She gave it to me.  I love hand me down furniture. 

I think it turned out pretty great.  I only lightly sanded it, and then washed it with tsp.  I did one chair at a time, so we could use the table, and we didn't even miss one chair at dinnertime.  It took me a while to finish, but I think my darling chair covers from Pier One Imports look so much cuter against the white.  It really brightened up my kitchen.

I don't have a paint sprayer, and the spindels on the chairs can reak havok on a painter with a brush, so I picked up 4 cans of spray paint (since I only did one chair at a time).  I use Rustoleum.  I have had terrible luck with cheap paint coming out of the can with chunks.  I chose heirloom white.  It took about 4 cans per chair, so roughly $12.00 a chair.  I then took the cap to the home depot counter and bought a quart of Behr premium paint using the cap for a color match.  Color turned out perfect.  I brushed on the bottom part of the table, which took me about 4 hours. 

Whatever you do, don't skip the sanding on the table legs.  Because if you do, you will end up with this problem.

That big ugly mark happened almost immediately after painting it.  Someday maybe I will get around to touching it up.  It is always worth taking your time, and doing the job right the first time.  Lesson learned. 

 

Homemade Fried Pickles

Have you ever tried fried pickles?  If you like pickles, you will love these.  MMM!!


2 sliced dill pickles
1/2 C buttermilk
(for spicier add some tobasco to the buttermilk)

combine
3/4C white flour
1/3C corn bread stuffing
1 tsp. seasoning salt
1/4 tsp. barbecue spice

Dip the pickles in the buttermilk, and then in the flour mixture. fry in deep fryer 375 degrees for about 3 minutes. You can use a pan of oil as well. 

First attempt turned out pretty good. I must admit, I only estimated the ingredients measurements for you. I will definately make them again.