bovagoods

Summer Goods: Keeping the House Clean

2012-06-18T07:00:00.000-04:00

We all know how it goes during the summer with the kids home from school.

More bodies at home ='s more bodies to make messes.

Here is my plan for battling the clutter trail that seems to follow my children around the house in the summer.

A Ransom Box!

No big surprise here, I found this idea on Pinterest.

This cute and free printable comes from Just Another Day in Paradise. Head on over to print your own ransom box sign.

Here are a few of our chores:

-Get a wet wipe and wipe down all the bathroom sinks

-Clean the toilets

-Write a letter to a friend or relative

-Make your bed and your siblings bed

-Clean off the trampoline

-Call a relative

-Dust the windowsills

-Dust the family room

-Clean the clutter off of the stairs in the garage

-Clean out the van

So far the ransom box has worked pretty well. Sad to say, however, we have so much stuff around here that half of what ends up in the ransom box isn't missed for days. Not only that, our children aren't really motivated to do chores to get everything back. I think there are a pair of Crocs, some random toys and a few books that have been in there for two weeks! Hmmmmm...well, I can't really blame them. Why would you choose to clean toilets to get your Crocs out if you have 5 other pairs of flip flops, sandals, or sneakers to wear??? My solution is this: we are going to DONATE the items if they aren't rescued from the box within one week. If our kids can live without it for a week and they aren't willing to do a chore to get it back, then there is probably someone else out there who needs it more than they do.

Wait a minute.

Ummm...

Maybe grownups need ransom boxes too! ;)

Hope you are finding ways to have a clutter free summer!

xoxo,

Elisabeth

Daddy Goods: Father's Day DIY

2012-06-16T17:28:00.004-04:00

Happy Father's Day to all the hardworking Dad's out there!

I had a few other things planned for Mr. Bovagoods this year but I am thinking next year this closet organizer is a sure thing!

How great is this?

I found this super great DIY on pinterest, of course.

You can go straight on over to Lookie What I Did for the complete step by step.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

xo,

Elisabeth

Summer Goods: The List

2012-06-04T21:13:00.001-04:00

We made our summer list today.

I got the idea here.

Meg's a pro at the summer list.

Here's ours:

I hope you are planning lots of fun this summer!

xo,

Elisabeth

BIG Baby Goods: Easy Colorful Baby Shower

2012-05-15T10:36:00.001-04:00

I recently co-hosted a baby shower for a close friend of mine.

This is her fourth kiddo and we wanted to shower her with love and gifts before life gets even more crazy.

She totally deserves it. What mom doesn't?

And, by the way, she had the baby on Mother's Day...........

{{{ELEVEN POUNDS, THREE OUNCES!}}}

Not only that, she sent me a text that her water broke and they were on the way to the hospital and less than three hours later I received another text that the ~~little~~ big guy was here. Whew! That is fast!

Um, yeah...she totally deserved to be pampered!

So, the shower was at my house. We kept things pretty simple, but not without lots of fun and color.

It was a brunch, so we served mini-muffins, carrot cake cupcakes, fruit and breakfast casserole cupcakes.

Glass mason jars for drinks. (Casserole muffins in the oven.)

Sweet tea, pink lemonade, and water served in $5 Wal-Mart drink jugs.

I loved the opportunity to pull out my Great-Grandmother's china, my milk glass, and other serving pieces that typically sit around collecting dust.

And a bit of a splurge here....Starbucks! Do you know about these "Coffee Travelers"? So great for serving a large number of people...and with my coffee making skills, our guests were much better off!!! (Make sure you call ahead-the Coffee Traveler takes about 15 minutes to make.)

I made about 30 fabric flowers (go here for the tutorial) and added brooches to the backs. They served as the center piece for the shower and at the end the guests got to choose one to take home.

Now, back to that big beautiful baby boy!

Have you ever seen an 11 pound, 3 ounce newborn?

Isn't he just the cutest thing? The best Mother's Day gift, ever! I cannot wait to get my hands on him. He looks perfect for snuggling!

xoxo,

Elisabeth

Someone Else's Goods

2012-03-20T11:35:00.001-04:00

I spent a little bit of time on Craigslist this morning. Remember when I vented about how frustrating the list is where I live? Well, I still think things are overpriced here in the low-country but I was able to find a few goods that caught my attention.

Hear me out on this one....this cabinet is listed for $90. That seems like a deal to me. Look at all the storage this would offer. I like how the curved lines of the bottom and that it has legs. And, yes of course I would paint the heck out of it!

There are two of these cute little cafe chairs. They are listed for $25 each. I love the rustic quality of the woven seat paired with the quirky swirled metal back.

I actually think this china hutch is pretty in it's natural wood finish....although, imagine it in sleek shiny black with patterned wallpaper lining the back of the shelves! I like the clean simple lines and at $200 I would really consider this piece if I needed something like this. I kind of wish it had some legs to stand on though.

How cool is this restored vintage floor fan? Oh, those red blades are calling out to me! And look a the base...how pretty is that? It's listed for $125. Because I have children this wouldn't be a safe choice for us- with the unprotected blades- or I would be taking some action!

I really love old metal beds. This one needs some paint but for $50 I think it is priced right.

These vintage chairs are so fun. If the fabric is in good condition, it might even be fun to leave the orange and paint the wood white. They are listed for $150 for the pair. That's a lot of personality for $150.

This cute little wagon is listed for $50. I could see using this to cart supplies around the yard while gardening.

I am a sucker for rooms that have matching twin beds. These sleigh beds look like they are in pretty good condition. I think $350 is a great price for both of these.

Ahhh....more metal beds. I'm not sure if it's the beds I like or the fact that they are sitting in the middle of a field. You can get both of these for $180.

Old typewriters are so cool. I love the way they look on display. This one at $20 would be a fun purchase.

Please remember to be safe with Craigslist transactions. Never go alone to someone's home and always meet at a public space like a Wal-mart parking lot whenever possible.

XO,

Tile Goods: One project I am glad I didn't DIY!

2012-03-16T11:53:00.001-04:00

We have a friend that just happens to be a very talented craftsmen when it comes to all things renovation related. A while back we hired him to transform our dull kitchen to something a bit more interesting and custom. We needed to get a lot of bang for our buck and Chad was able to help us do that with his crazy tile skills. It was his idea to lay the floor tile on a diagonal brick pattern and I couldn't be happier with the results. I was also very impressed with the amount of brain power it took for him to lay out this pattern. My brain hurt watching him do it....but he did it perfectly and the end result takes our "affordable" tile to a whole new custom level. We also had him add a white subway tile back splash. We used very very very affordable tile from Lowe's. (I had considered tackling this project on my own but after watching Chad painstakingly and efficiently make sure everything was level, lined up, flat, straight, etc....I am so glad I left this project to him!)

{VIA}

If you live in the Low-country and have a renovation project that needs a professional, we 100% recommend Chad and his team. Click on the link to go to his blog, or call the number on the photos. You can also find Absolute Renovations (his company) on Facebook.

XO,

Elisabeth

Pinterest Goods: Your Pins Could Be Illegal!

2012-03-08T07:00:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine Pinned this image the other day:

{VIA}

I re-Pinned.

Then I clicked through and actually read the article.

How often do you do that? Actually click through and read it now instead of, "Whew, it's pinned...now I can go back and read that later".

Wow, I am so glad I read it right away.

This blogger is raising some very important Legal issues regarding Pinterest that I had no clue existed!

While I'm not running over Pinterest and deleting all my boards, I am definitely Pinning forward with Care and Caution.

If you are a Pinner...then I highly suggest you click on through and read this very well written post by "Blogging With Amy".

XOXO,

Elisabeth

Organized Goods: 8 Ways to Repurpose a Shoe Organizer

2012-03-05T07:00:00.000-05:00

{One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight}

Happy Organizing!

xoxo,

Elisabeth

Family Goods: Loving this...

2012-01-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

Have you seen this?

So beautiful...

{via}

xoxo,

Eliabeth

blogging goods: guest posting today!

2012-01-25T09:38:00.001-05:00

I am over at P&P today sharing some fabric flower love.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!!!

xoxo,

Elisabeth

Linking Goods: Trash to Treasure Party

2012-01-24T13:49:00.003-05:00

Linking up today over at I Heart Organizing...come join the fun!

xoxo,

Elisabeth

Retail Goods: World Market Love

2012-01-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

I was recently in World Market looking for some wall hooks.

Why do I always forget about this place?

I was completely impressed with the furniture they have right now and was even more impressed with the prices.

Here are 7 items that really caught my attention:

{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}

Keep up the good work World Market!

xoxo,

Elisabeth

PS. Go here to see what my gal Rachel found at Target!

Pinned and Pondered Goods

2012-01-12T12:56:00.001-05:00

{pinned here}

We have a corner fireplace in our family room. NEVER AGAIN! It really makes it hard to arrange a room. I found this pin the other day and it gave me inspiration. Maybe there is hope!

What are you pinning today?

xoxo,

Elisabeth

donated your goods: what now?

2012-01-06T10:51:00.000-05:00

Yeeeahhhh....nothing at ALL fancy about this.

Here is how I do it, the Bovagoods way.

Grab a binder.

{Does my Tolix chair make the binder seem a bit more exciting?}

Fill your binder with some notebook paper and keep a pen or pencil nearby it at all times.

Keep your binder in a convenient place. Mine resides in my sewing room which seems to be the dumping ground for anything and everything unwanted. When I am working on my 40 bags, it goes where I go.

Every single time you put something in a box or bag to give away...

...Write. It. Down...NOW. Not later. Got it?

And while you are at it, jot down the value. (See below for helpful links if you need suggestions for valuation.)

{See my hash marks at the top? That's how I keep track of my bags, for my 40 bags project. Every time I tie up a trash bag I mark it on the top of the page.}

If you wait until tax time to value everything the task will seem daunting. I had 3 sheets back and front full of donations this year...I am so glad I priced as I went.

Don't stress about the value of the items. Basically, I glanced over the Goodwill Donation Valuation Guide (see below) to get an idea of the value of certain items: shoes, pants, kitchen items, etc. and now I have an idea and I just make my best guess. This system has to be simple or you won't follow through with it.

When tax time rolls around and your husband says, "Hey do you have all the information for the donations for this year?"

This is what you do:

1. Grab your binder, a pencil, a calculator, and set aside 5 minutes. (This could be more or less depending on your ~~math~~ calculator skills.)

2. Add up each page and write that number at the bottom of the page.

3. Add the totals from each page together and write that big final number on the front page and circle it. (Pat yourself on the back for donating so much, blessing others with your unwanted items, and actually logging it so you can get a few bucks back. Yeah!)

4. Locate the receipts that the donation center gave you when you gave them your items. (We keep these in a file folder labeled, "2011 Tax Donations".) (Other suggestions might be: bottom of your purse, wallet, glove compartment of your car, under the rug in your car along with 52 stale french fries, etc.)

5. Staple the above receipts to the pages from the notebook.

Celebrate! You are finished. Now hand it all over to the really smart tax person who will do whatever it is they do with all that information.

{By the way, I am NOT a really smart tax person. This is simply a suggestion...a method that works for us and that our really smart tax person says is OK.}

Now go find your binder and get started for 2012!

xoxo,

Elisabeth

Helpful Resources

Goodwill

Salvation Army

Donation Guide

Pin this Post:

family goods: old pictures

2012-01-05T09:45:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

My brother posted some photos of my Dad the other day on facebook.

I could look at photos like these all day long.

{my favorite}

Don't you wish people still dressed like this?

{That's my mom next to my dad. Aren't they just perfect?}

What an amazing time to be in your 20s. The fashion was so great.

Come back in a couple days to see how I organize our yearly donations for tax purposes. (Thrilling, I know.) (I promise it won't be too painful. The whole process is really quite easy!!!)

XOXO,

Elisabeth

bovagoods top ten: #1

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-05:00

hi everyone! well, here we are down to first place. this is my post with the most! it's my easy peasy ikea drape project. i don't blame you all for liking it so much, it's seriously about the biggest bang for your buck you will ever get! ever. it's been so fun taking this walk down memory lane. before i share #1 with you i just wanted to say...

... when i first started blogging i really had no clue what i was doing. now, i have about a tenth of a clue. but i sure do have fun sharing my goods with you all. i want you to know how much i love and appreciate my readers; there are so many awesome blogs to read and i think it's really cool that a few people out there like it here and come back again and again. i am really looking forward to 2012 and all the goods it will bring! happy new year everyone!!!

First Place: "ikea goods: how i made my dining room drapes"

happy monday everyone!

it's going to be a big bag week! my goal is to get at least 10 bags done this week. i think i'm going to tackle the attic, and maybe, just maybe my sewing room....yikes! i'll let you know how it goes.

i have had some questions about the drapes in our dining room and some of my friends and family who have seen them in person are very curious about how i made them. so, here goes...

one of my favorite parts of my dining room is the curtains.

i think it's not only because i like the way they turned out...but they were insanely inexpensive and easy.

they are the "lenda" curtains from ikea.

$24.99 for two 118"X55" panels.

they also come in 98"X55" panels for $14.99.

let me repeat, this is for TWO panels!

i cannot tell you how pleased i am with these babies. nice thick cotton, great weight, super quality. amazing price. the possibilities are endless...you could add ribbon, fringe, fabric appliques, borders, etc. they come in a few different colors...a friend of mine has the oatmeal/natural color in her family room. that color is great. looks like natural linen. the choices are limited on ikea's website though, you are better off to shop for these in the store.

of course, i had to go and bovagoods mine all up. ;)

first i cut off the tabs.

then i folded the top hem over and stitched.

(i used drapery hooks to hang mine but you could also make a rod pocket during this step if you wanted to hand your drapes right on the rod.)

no pinning necessary. just fold over and stitch.

i stitched right over ikea's stitching. you can see where i cut off the tab in this picture. that's why i folded the top over. so the "cut off tab" wouldn't show. and it beefs up the top of the drape and gives it nice weight.

next, i threw them in the washing machine.

i didn't hem the drapes because i knew i wanted them to puddle on the floor like this...

... but almost all of the ikea curtains come with hem tape if you aren't a puddle-on-the-floor kind of person. so nice of ikea, isn't it?

i wanted extra drama in this room so i hung the curtain rods almost all the way up to the crown molding.

this really helps make the ceilings look taller. i wish i had done this in all of our rooms with curtains.

see the drapery rings? i got those at the habitat for humanity restore for around $1. (i had to spray paint them white.) the rest of the drapery hardware is from the home depot.

i also picked up the drapery hooks at the restore.

wanna see that price a little closer?

i LOVE my restore!!!

moving on....
i took my curtains out of the washing machine and hung them up.
yes that's right,
.
.
.
wet.

i wanted the look of linen and/or silk dupioni...not being picky here.
by letting the curtains dry while hanging they dried a bit crinkley-wrinkley...

like the look of linen or dupioni.

.....or at least that's what i'm telling myself.

i like it.

a lot.

see the drapery hooks? i just slipped them under the hem that i made and between the stitches.

i slid the rings on the rods and voila!

every time i come in here, i find myself "primping" the "puddling". :)

let me know if you have any questions.

i am off to clean out our attic. it's pretty cold here today so i think i'm going to take advantage. cleaning out an attic is no fun in the heat. well, it's really no fun any time, but at least i won't be a hot sweaty mess.

that's all for now!

have a great week,

~elisabeth

bovagoods top ten: #2

2011-12-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

{i am taking the remainder of 2011 to count down the all-time top ten posts here on bovagoods}

Second Place: "dining room goods: the details"

thank you all for your sweet comments about our dining room here. it was really fun developing this room over the past, ehemmm, four years. i had amazing inspiration (my brother, jamie's painting). having great inspiration is so important; it reeeeeally helps a lot. for me, ~~looking at blogs all day long~~ doing lots of research and taking things slow until i get things right seems to be working. that being said, there are still some aspects of this room that i would like to improve on: the rug, the accessories on the buffet, the table (LOVE the table, but it really belongs in our kitchen) and the general "styling" of the room. for now, since the room is somewhat completed, i'm going to sit back and wait for exactly what i want. (or what happens to be dirt cheap at a thrift store, or better yet, free!)

listed below are some of the details from the room. there will be a few more posts to follow including some tutorials, or at the very least, some pictures of my progress as i worked on things like the curtains, vanity bench, and china cabinet.

disclaimer: this post might be one of my longest. if you make it to the end, then you must really like it here. that, or you're my mom. either way, i thank you and i love you. ;)

paint color

sherwin williams "black fox". i may have told some of you it was gray fox. it is not. apparently foxes can be black too. who knew?

it looks like charcoal gray on the paint chip, doesn't it? but in the pictures and at night it looks pretty brown. we weren't expecting it to look brown at all. i was hoping for really dark dark gray. but it's gray enough and i kinda love it.

painting

this is one of my brother's original watercolor paintings. gosh, i have no idea what the name of this painting is. i wonder if it has a name. jamie???? i'll have to ask him. anyway, i found the painting unframed, leaning against a wall in the middle of a stack of other paintings. at this point, i didn't own any of jamie's originals. so, in my best most sweetest little sister voice, i asked if i could have this one. he said yes. i did a little happy dance. oh my goodness....the colors in this painting! i wish you could see it in person. i have no clue how he achieves these colors with watercolor but man alive is he good at it. my father-in-law made the frame. the wood is reclaimed pine. the boards came from my brother's art studio. yes. the same place he painted the painting. cool, right? my mom designed the space and tore out some old rafters in the process. she kept them and they have since been made, by my father-in-law, into a changing table for my daughters and this frame. (you can click on the pictures to see them full size.)

buffet:

this is my best craigslist score yet. you can read about how it was "meant to be" here.

lamps

the lamps are from marshall's. they were $29.99 each. i'm not really head over heels for the lamp bases. i think i would prefer something a bit more clean and modern to contrast with the buffet. glass would be great. but the teal color was perfect and the price was right. i debated whether i even wanted lamps. now that we have them, i can't imagine not having them. we turn them on at night and the light in the room is so pretty...i just stand there like an idiot and stare.

stuff on buffet

a few months after i bought the buffet, the lady i bought it from had a garage sale. she is an interior designer so she was selling some good stuff. everything on the buffet (except the lamps) are from her sale. i think each of these things were about $1 each but i bought so much stuff from her that at the end she was just giving stuff to me. score!

vanity bench

$15 at a local antique store. it used to look like this:

now it looks like this: (tutorial coming soon)

blue chair

this chair was my grandparent's and a long time ago it was my great-great-grandparent's. the shade of blue is a bit dirty for this room but i just don't know if i can paint over it. there are a couple of reasons why. 1. this chair used to sit in my grandparent's bedroom. it sat to the left of a dresser. on the other side of the chair was the door to their closet. see how the front left leg of the chair is a bit worn? i am sure this is from the vacuum cleaner bumping into it, or from an occasional suitcase hitting it on its way by. whatever the reason, it's a reminder that this isn't just a chair. it's a chair that my grandparents used and lived with and bumped into. i cherish those "proof of life" flaws. 2. my grandma was an amazingly organized woman and did a great job with family history and archives. she glued little notes on the bottom of important furniture so that we would know where it came from. on the bottom of this chair is a little yellow piece of paper. in tiny perfect printing it reads, "Hand made by "visiting" carpenter to the home of Aaron and Malinda. 1870's. Was painted black with gold stencils...rather primitive." now, if you know my grandma, you probably know that she didn't mean "rather primitive" in a nice way. she was not saying, "this is a primitive chair, therefore it's special." those who know her know -without a doubt- that she meant, "the black paint on this chair was way too old and dark and so i painted it this beautiful robin's egg blue and doesn't it look so much better this way?" and this, my friends, is why i cannot paint over this chair. i actually love this blue and i love my grandma for making it her own and painting a "primitive" antique that was her grandmother's. i mean, just imagine, you inherit a chair that was your grandmother's. it was built by hand in the 1870's by a visiting carpenter-a friend of the family perhaps?- and most likely painted by said carpenter or said grandmother. and then you paint. over. it.......blue. yep. that's exactly what i would've done! love it. (and just to let you know...if you ever have a carpenter "visiting" your home, hire him to build you a chair. this thing might as well be poured out of concrete. it is by far the most solid piece of furniture in my whole house.)

rug

pier one. i am not lovin' this rug in here. but in here it will stay until i can figure out something better, and free.

table

i bought this table for $50 at an antique store in reading, ohio near cincinnati. one of my best purchases ever. i love this table and all of its green-ness. i bought this soon after we bought our first house, before children and while i was working for debra moreland. the antique store was down the street from where i worked. i stopped in one day and saw the table. i thought it was adorable. i loved the legs and the three leaves that got tucked away inside. and for $50? um, yes. i'll take it! so i paid the nice lady who was working and told her i would pick it up in a few days. that night cincinnati had one of the worst rain storms ever. well, probably not ever. but it was bad. we were watching the news the next day and there was a woman being interviewed about the roof that caved in on her business. i said to my husband, "that woman looks really familiar." as the interview went on i started putting it all together. antique store, reading, storm, roof caving in, no insurance....."uh, you know that table that i just bought? the one i already paid for and we are picking up tomorrow? i think the roof just caved in on it." we went to pick up the table and as we approached the store it was clear that there had been some serious damage. i walked in the front door; the entire back part of the store had no ceiling. i could see the sky. the store owner remembered me and happily showed me around the corner to where our table was waiting for us; safe and sound. apparently, it was one of the only things in the store that didn't sustain any damage. it didn't even get wet! this green watermelon table was so meant to come home with us. i get questions all the time about the finish. i have no idea who painted it this way or why, but they did a great job. the paint has held up so well over the past 10 years. like the blue chair, it's another piece of furniture that i'm just not sure i'll ever be able to repaint. it's truly one-of-a-kind. (child pretending to be a dog under table....also one-of-a-kind!)

chairs

the chairs are from target. you can buy them here. they are $67.99 for 2.

book shelf

this is the "spine book shelf" from west elm. they no longer make this one. i had been obsessing over this thing and then one day they were just gone. no where to be found on the website. so i called. they had a few left. bingo! they do carry similar styles here. cb2 has a very similar version here.

china cabinet

this is from my great-aunt's house in ohio. we bought the house from her and lived in it for one year before moving to SC. i talked a little about the china cabinet here.

curtains

"lenda" curtains from ikea. LOVE these curtains!!! these are the long ones and run around $24.99 per pair. i did alter them a bit. (tutorial coming soon.)

curtain rods

home depot.

chandelier

i found this chandelier at one of our local habitat for humanity re-stores. it was a whopping $7. (plus a can of white spray paint and a trip to an amazing old-school lighting store to buy a little tiny hook that was missing for one of the crystals.) (mom, i have come to realize you are my good luck charm. you were visiting when i found the buffet and this chandi. it's always a fun adventure. thanks!)

i think that covers it all. whew! is anyone still here? well, i know krista is, because she's a "details" person. believe it or not, there is more. i have before and after tutorials to post on the curtains, chandelier, vanity bench and china cabinet. help me decide...which one should i post first?

XO,

~elisabeth

bovagoods top ten: #3

2011-12-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

{i am taking the remainder of 2011 to count down the all-time top ten posts here on bovagoods}

Third Place: "organized goods: storage closet makeover"

the play room is coming along really well. it's almost ready to share. i need to hang the chandelier and do a modge podge project with my kiddos and then i will take pictures.

in the meantime i thought i would share this little closet re-do that i did a while back.

i think off season clothes storage for children is about one of the most daunting things to tackle. when the season's change and it's time to pull out those boxes of clothes, it takes me a whole day to rotate, switch out, try on, put away, sort and organize all the clothes. anyone with me here?

i already had a semi-organized system but i needed it to be better.

here is what i was working with- mismatched boxes, not very well labeled with all kinds of things thrown in together.

here is the closet that i decided to use. this closet is in our guest room. i moved all of the stuff you see into the closet in my sewing room. it made more sense to have the office supplies and artwork in my room.

enter the label making machine! thanks mom, i love it!

i already had a bunch of plastic bins. i rounded them up and started labeling.

each bin got an age; newborn, 3-6 months, 6-12 months, 12-24 months, 2T, 3T, etc....

there are also special bins for "shoes", "keepsake clothes", "family clothes/knit sweaters", etc. (my grandma- was an amazing knitter and we are very blessed to have dozens of sweaters that she made for my brothers and me, and for all of our children.

here are some of the boxes with labels:

now the long daunting task.

sort, fold, and place.

once everything was sorted and in the appropriate bins, i stacked them in the closet.

this closet also houses coats, extra hangers and the occasional halloween costume.

i am happy to report that after 9 months, the system is still in place and is working beautifully!

i have added an empty plastic bin on the top that i throw clothes in that are outgrown between seasons, or holiday clothes that need to be put away. i am not dragging out that box on the bottom just to put away one halloween shirt. so, i throw it in the empty bin and when spring comes and i'm "rotating" clothes, i'll put away whatever is in the empty bin at that time. this saves me from having random piles in the laundry room of "i don't know what to do with these clothes right now" clothes.

so, here was our closet before:

and the closet after!

i just love it when things are nicely organized like this. i wish my whole house looked like this closet. i think it saves so much time and effort when you have a good system in place. if you are inspired by this project and want some more organizing projects to explore you need to visit i heart organizing. jen has TONS of great systems in place in her house. her three year old even folds his own clothes! check her out.

i hope your weekend is full of goods!

~elisabeth

bovagoods top ten: #4

2011-12-27T07:00:00.000-05:00

{i am taking the remainder of 2011 to count down the all-time top ten posts here on bovagoods}

Fourth Place: "before and after goods: my dining room!"

i am so excited to show you my dining room today! like i said yesterday...it's not "done" yet, but then again, my house will never be "done". but i dare say that it is blog worthy. ok, you've waited long enough.....

here is the dining room before:

and here it is after:

i have so much to tell you about the furniture, paint colors, thrift store finds, etc. but it's really late and i'm going to bed! hopefully i'll get a chance to post about some of the details in the next few days. until then, enjoy the photos! i know i'm enjoying the real thing.

have a great day!

~elisabeth

bovagoods top ten: #5

2011-12-26T07:00:00.000-05:00

{i am taking the remainder of 2011 to count down the all-time top ten posts here on bovagoods}

Fifth Place: "before and after goods: $7 chandelier"

hello!

first off, i want to assure you that as you read this i am more than likely in my master bathroom....purging and cleansing! (no, not the usual purging and cleansing that happens in a bathroom.) this kind of purging and cleansing. i wonder how many trash bags will come out of that room? i'll be sure to come back and tell you all about it. until then....

i'm going to show you the before and after of the chandelier in my dining room. we had a wonderful chandelier in here before. it was perfectly fine and i loved it. i just didn't love it in my dining room any more.

here's why:
1. i hated the black next to the gray/brown walls.
2. the shades were all wrong in here and new shades are really really really expensive.
3. it was too big with the green table.
4. it was too heavy in the room.
5. i wanted the painting to be the first thing you notice in the room. that big black chandi was just getting in the way!

(different paintings are pictured below. those are apples- also original watercolors by my brother.)

i had no intentions of replacing the old chandelier as we didn't have a budget for it at all. but then, my good luck charm came into town. my mom! when my mom comes for a visit we love to go to the habitat for humanity restore. this time, we went to a new one. good decision!

it was $7. no joke. i have proof.

it was missing a couple of crystals.
it was a hideous brass color.

the glass was splattered with plaster.
it was really dirty.

but we knew.....

so it came home with us.

i took it completely apart.

my mom washed all of it's girlie parts.

i taped it up and took it outside...

...for a little date with mr. rust-oleum.

i couldn't be more pleased with the results.

for the amount of money i spent, i am thrilled beyond belief.

if you have never tried installing a light in the ceiling...go ahead and do it.

there's nothing to be afraid of. i was scared too, but i did my research, made sure i was attaching the wires correctly and had the breaker turned off. (please make sure you have help!)

and it was fine! and actually quite easy! nothing a little youtube.com "how to install a chandelier" can't handle.

(i am no way qualified to give advice on how to install anything requiring electricity. do so at your own risk.)

did i scare you off? hope not. i just felt like i needed to say that. you never know.

it's exactly what the room needed.

so, again, here is the chandelier before:

and here is the after:

and here is the room before:

and the room after:

ahhhhh......much better!

next week i'll show you more on the china cabinet and the drapes.

i hope you are having a great ash wednesday. i am headed to church and then home to start bag #1.

blessings,
~elisabeth

bovagoods top ten: #6

2011-12-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

{i am taking the remainder of 2011 to count down the all-time top ten posts here on bovagoods}

Sixth Place: "organized goods: the shoe corner is no more!"

if there is one thing i would change about my house it's that we don't have a mud room or a downstairs laundry room. we have a tiny coat closet and some peg boards that my husband crafted, but that is it. the door from the garage enters right-smack-dab into our kitchen. we typically take our shoes off when we come inside and it ends up looking like this:

this is our "shoe corner". it's barely even a corner and resides in the main traffic area of our kitchen/family room. you can see that i made an attempt with a cute market tote but alas...the shoes end up spilling over onto the floor. the other day i was at wal-mart and spotted this. a basic over-the-door shoe rack. (it's cheaper in the store than online.) why didn't i think of this before? brilliant! now our shoes are nicely organized and hidden away in the coat closet. i love this solution because it doesn't take up floor space, the shoes are easily accessible- no more digging through the market tote looking for a lost shoe, they are hidden away from sight, and our children can easily reach their shoes on the bottom four rows. when our youngest walked in the door from school the other day she yelled, "what happened to the shoe corner?" i was happy to tell her it is no more!

bovagoods top ten: #7

2011-12-22T07:00:00.000-05:00

{i am taking the remainder of 2011 to count down the all-time top ten posts here on bovagoods}

Seventh Place: "inspiring goods: pictures from my files"

when i started reading blogs i created a file on my computer labeled "interior design ideas". these are my favorite photos from that folder. unfortunately, in the beginning i didn't take note as to where i found the pictures. so, if you see one and you know where it's from please feel free to leave a comment and give credit to the designer/blogger. {this was before i discovered pinterest!}

i really love seeing how people organize and display art and photographs. i love the unexpected blue frames here and how the common color ties together the miss-matched frames.

(absolutely beautiful things)

love this wall. love the different colors and how random it all is.

(absolutely beautiful things)

this room just makes me happy. love the rough bed.

this is one of lauren's (pure style home) favorite books. i must own it someday as i am constantly dreaming of white filled rooms.

love the combo of the floral with the stripe. what a fun laundry room!

(canadian house and home)

love this chandi. want one for my master bedroom.

closets are a perfect place for wallpaper.

(houzz)

genius use of a hall closet. a reading nook/coat closet. love it! so cute!

(houzz)

this pic has been everywhere on every blog but i still love it. some day i will turn a barn into a home and it will look like this. (cote de texas)

i am in love with the use of the blue-green shutters and porch floor boards. this picture has been on my mind a lot lately. i have been imagining this color scheme on every dreamy house i see these days.

(design sponge-corbin lee)

i can't get yellow out of my system lately. love these stairs.

(design sponge)

here's yellow again. beautiful room, eh?

(jeffrey bilhuber via colour me happy)

i have never seen a claw foot shower before and now i am pretty sure i need one.

(house of turquoise)

love how sophisticated this room is and then how quirky the patchwork sofa is. love the pop of color.

(colour me happy???)

hmmmm...yellow again. stripes.

(jenna lyons-domino)

dream kitchen. 'nuff said.

(house of turquoise)

did i mention i want to turn a barn into a home? bingo!!!

(nest egg)

numbered stairs number two. these are in my future.

like the ceiling here. and just about everything else.

love the pops of color here. love the sofa. love the artwork.

(rashida jones studio)

clean, simple, open, easy.

i will be doing this in my upstairs hallway. my frames will be yellow.

love the ceiling here. thinking about doing this in our kitchen but all white.

(style swoon)

i hope you have enjoyed a little peek into what inspires me. soon i am going to go through my piles and piles of magazines and try and get them as organized as the photos on my computer. i think doing this will help me hone in on my style. sometimes i feel like i am inspired by too much- too many different design styles. going through my magazines, tearing out what i love and getting it organized will help me focus.

i am envious of people who know exactly what they love and hate. that's sort of the whole reason why i started blogging. i need a place to put my thoughts down, experiment with what i'm inspired by, put it out there and then see how i feel about it a few months later. it's much cheaper than decorating and redecorating a room. on a blog you can change, grow and evolve more freely than in your own home or closet.

ok, it's late and i'm rambling...until next time!

~elisabeth

bovagoods top ten: #8

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

{i am taking the remainder of 2011 to count down the all-time top ten posts here on bovagoods.}

Eight Place: "how i paint a room"

most people know how to paint a room, right?

most of you reading this are probably diy-ers and paint all of your own rooms...

but if i can reach just one person...

...and inspire them...

...if i can touch the soul of just one closeted diy-er,

and show them the way...

...if this post saves just one person the $100 it would cost to hire a painter (is that even what it costs? i have no idea)....

....then my efforts will be worth it and i will be overjoyed.

ok, seriously,

here goes:

you'll need a room:

and some paint:

fill the holes in the walls.

i like using this stuff:

because it goes on pink and when it's white, you know it's dry!

see?

(after it turns white, you sand it smooth. then you can paint over it.)

oh, and i use this to apply the pink stuff to the wall.

take off any switch plates and outlet covers. (i store them in a zip lock bag so the screws don't get lost.)

next i lay plastic down all around the edges of the room. i like plastic because nothing is getting through it. i have used old sheets, towels, and drop clothes and if you have a major drip or spill, you are going to wish you had used plastic. i also like plastic because it sticks to painters tape. (i don't tape anymore but when i did, i would stick the plastic to the underside of the tape that was stuck to the baseboards to protect the baseboards from splatter. does that make sense?)

you will need a ladder. we have 9 ft. ceilings and since i don't tape i like to be right up where the ceiling meets the wall (or the crown molding meets the wall) so that i can see what i'm doing. my step stool is fine upstairs with the 8 ft. ceilings but down here i need a ladder.

this is my favorite brush. i love the short brushes. and will never buy anything else. i think this one is from sherwin williams. this very brush has probably edged three or four rooms and see how good it looks? soap and water, that's all you need.

i just bought this at lowe's and i love it. it's a hand held container that you can buy liners for. easy clean up! you will put your paint in here for edging.

the best thing is that it has a magnet in it so your brush sticks to the side of the container. this magnet comes in handy for:

~ bathroom breaks

~lunch breaks

~pick the kids up from school breaks

~oh _____ (insert word of choice)!, i dripped some paint and i need to clean it up right away breaks.

then, edge away!

i don't tape anymore. why? i decided it's a waste of time and money. have you bought painter's tape lately? it's expensive! and, half the time (especially the blue tape) it leaks and the paint goes under the tape and in my opinion, it looks worse when the paint leaks under the tape than when you edge without tape and get a little off track. but that's just me.

i edge first. usually it takes me two coats to edge and one coat to roller. not sure why. but that's just how it goes for me. so usually i:

1. edge

2. edge again

3. roller

unless you get lucky and only have to edge once, like i did this time. for whatever reason this time i only had to edge once. this paint went on like magic. i was giddy all day long. it put me in the best mood ever. every single time i start painting a room i hope and pray that it will only take one coat. it never does. so, i was really really happy this day.

i edge all around the top areas that i need the ladder for. so i only have to move the ladder around the room one time.

then i go all around the areas i can reach standing up.

then i go back around the lowest areas scooting around the floor on my tush.

when i am done with this step, i have a small celebration, jump up and down and bust out some old high school cheerleading moves (don't judge) because that means i am almost done. the only thing left is to roller, and that my friends, is the fun part.

this roller i use has an expandable handle which i love.

i buy the cheap fuzzy roller thingies because i throw them away when i'm done. there is no way on earth that i would ever attempt to rinse one out and reuse it and that's just how i roll. haha.

i like a lot of paint on my roller. i follow the directions on the paint can and paint a W and then go over it until it's covered. i go over each area a few times and work in 3ft-4ft sections. i almost never have to roller a second coat of paint. (darker colors require more coats usually-or if you are painting a really pale color over a darker color.)

when the rolling is done. you are done!

i clean my brush with hot water and dish soap, throw away the paint filled roller thingy (it goes in two grocery bags and into the trash). pick up my plastic, put away the ladder and step stool and any other tools, store or dispose of the extra paint, blah blah blah...you get it. clean up.

i think i've painted around 25 rooms in my life so far. i really don't mind doing it. the playroom, pictured here, took me about four hours from start to finish. it always feels so good finish painting a room. i almost always think to myself, "why didn't i do that sooner?"

i may have missed a few steps or not been detailed enough with my instructions here, so, if you are new to painting and feel like you need further instructions and you are the one person in this world that this post was written for and by golly, it's time that you stop paying the painters and do this yourself, then please feel free to leave a comment and/or contact me.

happy painting!

~elisabeth

bovagoods top ten: #9

2011-12-20T07:00:00.000-05:00

{i am taking the remainder of 2011 to count down the all-time top ten posts here on bovagoods}

Ninth Place: "do goods"

my head is ready to explode. do you ever feel like you have so many projects or potential projects on the brain that you feel like your head might just burst?

that's me. right now.

i am one project away from total overwhelmdom. and when that happens, i get paralyzed and nothing gets done.

but that's not happening this time. it's just not. why? because:

1. this wednesday is ash wednesday and i am really inspired by what i am doing for lent.

2. my father-in-law is coming to stay with us for a bit and he is ready to work! he told me to have projects ready because he doesn't want to run out of things to do. yeah, we are THAT lucky. and you better believe i have a list. so excited for him to come. he is going to help keep my head from bursting.

here's why i'm excited about lent:

so, last year i was really inspired by sarah from memories on clover lane. for lent she did a project she called "40 bags, 40 days". she went through her house and collected 40 trash bags of stuff to either throw away or donate. brilliant! i really need to do this and i am confident that i won't have any trouble coming up with 40 bags of stuff.

(my laundry room. keepin' it real)

so far, i have numbered 1 through 40 on a piece of notebook paper and i've listed the areas in my house that i want to clean out. which happens to be every single area. from the attic to the garage.

(my kitchen...a previous attempt)

i am really going to fight my urge to sell our stuff on ebay or take it to a consignment store to get some money out of it. i have done this in the past and it does feel good to get some money out of things that may still have some value. but this can prove to be very time consuming; especially ebay. right now my time needs to be used in better and more productive ways. sure it would be nice to have a few extra bucks but when i think about the bigger picture i realize what a blessing it is to be able to donate our stuff. there are people out there who aren't shopping at goodwill because they want to post a dramatic "before and after" on their blog. they shop there because they have to.

(my sewing room. the "dumping ground".)

i am excited to give it away.
bless someone else with it.
focus on what's important.
be less materialistic,
less greedy.
cleanse my spirit,
cleanse my home.
own less,
appreciate more.

i will be sure to post updates on how it's going. i am soooo ready to do this! want to do it with me? leave a comment and let me know...we can do it together!

thank you to sarah for being my inspiration in this. i have read every single post on her blog related to the 40 bags, 40 days topic, more than once. here is the link to all of sarah's 40 bags, 40 days posts.

have a great monday!
~elisabeth

bovagoods top ten: #10

2011-12-19T07:00:00.000-05:00

since 2011 is quickly coming to an end...

...i thought i would spend the next couple of weeks counting down my top ten posts.

i am really excited about what 2012 has in store for this blog.

there will be some little changes,

like i might just start using capitol letters. gasp!

and there are some exciting things going on behind the scenes....

but sorry, i can't tell you yet. i am sworn to secrecy!!!

so, lets take these last few days of 2011 and see what goods you all liked the best. shall we?

(and in the mean time....have a wonderful, safe, blessed, fun, relaxing, happy, merry holiday!)

xoxo,
elisabeth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenth Place: "collecting goods: books"

i have been having some fun recently collecting these books.

they are condensed reader's digest books.

i really love all the different colors.

and the patterned paper on the covers.

i only buy the ones with cute patterns and good colors.

i have been finding them for $.25-$2.00 each.

at garage sales, thrift stores and antique malls.

right now they live in our guest room.

i think my mom might have actually read one the last time she was here.

i love that.

i will probably never read one.

but i love looking at the colors.

it's fun to have something to search for that is inexpensive.