Brown Brick House

Absent Minded

2010-04-13T19:24:00.000-04:00

Sorry I have been absent, I have had alot on my mind lately!

I spent the last week and a half in San Diego, to celebrate my brothers graduation from the police academy.

Then once I got back, I was sick for three days.

And finally, we added a new member to our family this afternoon.

This is Moe.

Catch ya later!!

Spring is finally here

2010-03-21T11:41:00.000-04:00

The clocks have changed,

Days are warmer,

Afternoons are filled with walks in the park,

Flowers are popping up everywhere,

Spring is finally here.

Hallway Makeover

2010-03-17T09:18:00.005-04:00

This is a picture of the hallway before we moved in.

Dark red walls

Stained dirty carpet

Doors with peeling wood veneer

Old broken light fixture

Step one,
Paint walls white.

Step two

Remove all carpet, Replace with hickory hardwoods

Step three

Makeover doors until money arrives to replace them.

Enter sandpaper and 8 cans of $0.97 Home Depot black spray paint.

Step four

Replace light fixture

(Not my favorite, but we had an extra on hand..and I like free)

Step five

Hang pictures on the walls.

(work in progress..Still need a few more frames to fill in the gaps)

We also went from this

To this digital one

(sshhh! don't look at the spot on the wall I have to paint over, IF YOU DON"T LOOK AT IT, ITS NOT THERE!! =D )

Plus I put a little frame around it to camoflage it.

Total cost:

$8 for the spray paint

Everything else I already had

BEFORE

AFTER

STOP THE CAR!

2010-03-16T09:46:00.000-04:00

We were driving out of our neighborhood to go the the post office, and I spotted a treasure. I yelled for my husband to stop the car and grab that chair!

It deff needs to be reupholstered or slipcovered, but you can't beat the price!

My husband hates picking things up off the side of the road, but I love it. Im such a nerd, but it kinda gives me this adrenaline rush. =D

Thank you Freecycle

2010-03-14T18:25:00.000-04:00

I got this chair off of Freecycle...

Its a recliner and my husband has claimed it for his own...

I have plans to reupholster it, but I am gonna let that wait for a while.

Where I wash my clothes

2010-03-13T08:45:00.002-05:00

Welcome to my laundry room in progress.

There are no before pictures because it was just that bad.

It was SO dirty and had a rotting vinyl floor we tore up because the previous owners had a leaky washing machine.

The floor sat with no vinyl, no anything, just plywood subfloor, since we moved in last May.

We had the tile bought, even before we tore the vinyl floor up, but it has just sat in our garage, and I have been walking on subfloor to do my laundry.

Until this week.

I laid the tile this week.

Not really laid it, but just laid it out to see what pattern I wanted.

and I love having a real floor.

Here is the laundry room in its current state:

view from the kitchen

pantry shelves (the door leads to the garage)

built-in shelves above washer/dryer

(they were here when we moved in)

washer and dryer

corner I don't really know what to do with..

Any ideas?

ugly light fixture that won't make it past this update

I have tried a few tile layouts....

I think this one might be the one.

I am not sure what color to paint in here.

I would like to use a color we already have...

Light blue, same as the kitchen

Brown, leftover gallon from painting a tree in playroom

Grey, same as the living room

I was thinking that the brown would be nice because of the floor tile, and then doing pink accents but hubby thinks it would make the room look way to small....

The light blue would be nice, because it would be an easy transition from the kitchen...and I prob still could do pink accents....

With the grey, I could do black and white accents (I have 3 black and white print baskets that are currently homeless...), and throw in a dash of pink somewhere....

What do you guys think?

Any brilliant ideas? I could use some.. =D

It is raining outside.

2010-03-12T10:24:00.001-05:00

It is rainy out today. Grey and Dreary. I love days like this.

(Although I do long for warm sunshiney days too..)

Make some tea. (Vanilla Chai is my fave)

Make some breakfast

Little man couldn't wait for eggs and toast, he found the cereal himself.

(Is it bad I let him eat off the floor? oops)

It only takes him a matter of minutes to tear apart a room.

(Luckily, he thinks cleaning is fun =D )

Birdwatching

Run a load of laundry

I wouldn't normally let you in here, but projects for this room have FINALLY begun. I will be sharing my laundry room plans this week..hopefully.

I don my apron (I <3 Williams & Sonoma)

and bake some bread.

We seem to go through alot of bread, like 3 loaves every 2 days. That's alot right?

I am baking a double batch every other day.

How fast do you go through bread?

Goodbye Curly Locks

2010-03-10T15:38:00.000-05:00

This weekend, we said goodbye to Daniel's long curly locks.

I was totally against getting his haircut for the longest time, but lately it has gotten to be too much. His hair was always in his eyes and it was bothering him.

So Sunday afternoon, we let him take a bath,

then I sat him in the bathroom sink and hoped he would sit still while I cut his hair.

Ashton had the bright idea to give him his toothbrush, so he sat in the sink, looked in the mirror and watched himself brush his teeth the entire time I was cutting his hair. Go daddy!

BEFORE

AFTER

So, what do ya think?

I cut my hair too... I chopped off 9 inches!!

Make-Do-Mud-Room Progress

2010-03-09T15:00:00.000-05:00

Well, it is getting there...

This is what we started with:

I took off the door and removed the middle shelves. I added a bench seat. Then I gave it a coat of Dutch Boy's Artful Red. I then added some peel and stick laminate tiles from Lowes.

I have yet to start on the cushion for the bench seat... Still deciding on the fabric... And I am considering doing a second coat of the red... I usually always do 2 coats with any paint job, but the little mister has been especially...."helpful" this week.

This is what he did while I put the first coat of paint on.

I still want to paint the wall under the seat....

But my child would have to actually take a nap for me to do that.

What do you think so far? Love the red? Hate it?

The hubby loves it. It is used as an accent color throughout the living room, so he wanted to have the "mudroom" be red too..

I am going to let you in on a little secret...

2010-03-03T09:58:00.000-05:00

I have a dirty little secret...

I want that mudroom/closet.

Wendy at The Shabby Nest turned her front closet into a mudroom,

and today I am doing the same.

With the help of my wonderful hubby of course.

He just doesn't know it yet!

And that is my little secret.

March Goals

2010-03-01T09:44:00.001-05:00

Emily over at Imperfect has inspired me to write down my monthly goals and see how I have done at the end of the month.

Goals for March

1. Finish and send off last set of paperwork.

2. Plan this years vegetable and herb garden.

3. Clean up yard, in prepration for spring planting.

4. Add a few more things to My Etsy Shop.

5. Finish cutting out squares for Daniel's quilt.

6. Teach myself to knit. (I bough needles and yarn a few weeks ago and haven't done anything yet)

7. Make the bed everyday.

8. Start using my daily cleaning calendar again. It makes it so much easier to stay on top of the housework.

Oh, Happy Days...

2010-02-26T09:27:00.000-05:00

Quick note, Remember this Art Hanging wall we made for Daniel's playroom? Well it is part of Frugal Friday over at The Shabby Nest. Go ahead and check out all the cheap or free decorating ideas. =D

Back to the Happy Post,
Heather, (doesn't she have the prettiest name?) over at McKinney Living awarded me the Happy 101 award. (Thanks girl!)

So here we go, ten things that make me glad are:

1. this little Daniel man

2. That wonderful husband of mine

3. a clean house

4. arts and crafts with my monkey

5. cooking, and old cookbooks (you know, the ones that have grandmas handwriting, added ingredients in the side column, or a secret family recipe hand written on a random page...)

6. the library

7. Vanilla Chai Tea

8. fabric (and sewing =D )

9. the beach (its where we got married)

10. packages in the mail

Best Deal Ever

2010-02-23T09:26:00.000-05:00

The hubs and I went to an estate sale this weekend. The deal there was, fill your car for $20, fit anything you like inside and its yours! (They had never seen me pack a car before I guess. =D )

We got well over 200 individual items, making the cost per item less than $0.10 each.

Disclaimer : I am a total clean freak, and everything has gone through the washing machine, the dishwasher, or been scrubbed to death with lysol before entering my home. =D Thanks

This is SOME of what we got:

some kitchen stuff for Daniel's play kitchen

lots of glass jars, bottles, vases, etc

Bodum coffee french press

LOTS of baskets

more baskets...

several baskets full of fake fruit

box of plastic toys

envelopes, square crafting mirrors, clipboard, ribbon, glitter, etc

tons of ribbon, yarn and crafting accessories

a few board games

about 50 frames

brand new Braun immersion hand blender

some tools and masks, and boxes and boxes of wood screws

more ceramics and glassware

huge pile of fabrics

including this fabric which I am using to make something for Meg of House Notes' Craft Off Challenge this Wednesday. (Stay tuned this week to see what I made!)

an antique polariod camera and some photography books

some very yellow pillows

stuffed animals and toys

my favorite, about 20 antique cookbooks =D

I have lots work to do to turn that stuff into items that fit my style and my familys needs!

Check back tomorrow to see the photo collage I am creating in the hallway with some of the frames I got this weekend!

Hanging "works of art"

2010-02-22T09:11:00.000-05:00

Daniel loves to color and glue things together.

That means I have lots of works of art.

I needed a cheap or free way to hang them up where he could see them and be proud of his work.

This is what I came up with:

I used some old cabinet knobs and painted them red, then I had my hubby cut the heads off the cabinet screws so that I could screw one end into an anchor in the wall and the other end into the cabinet knob.

I tied some balloon ribbon around each knob, and TA-DA!! an art hanging wall for $0.

The perfect place to hang this..

Daniel's latest work of art.

And the perfect excuse to have this cute mason jar of clothespins on the shelf.

Working on "Daniel's Market"

2010-02-20T14:35:00.001-05:00

I had so much fun making Daniel's kitchen, that I decided he should have a market too!

I took inspiration from New York City Fruit Stand Vendors

And I came up with this:

Made up mainly by a IKEA lack table that I got from the AS-IS dept on my last visit for $14

and a awning I whipped up with some extra fabric and some wood scraps.

We already added the shelves on both sides, when it was a closet.

I added a tension rod with a curtain on it for some hidden storage for bins of food.

It is not finished, but it is coming along well...

Daniel is already buying and selling food to cook in his kitchen.

P.S. Tomorrow I will be sharing my first estate sale experience, and boy was it a good one!!!

Always improving...

2010-02-19T10:55:00.000-05:00

So Daniel is loving his play kitchen, and so am I.

Except for the fact that the black paint for the stove top has been scratching off,

because he likes to shake his pans around on the stove, just like daddy....

So I came up with a new idea.

I took a piece of black felt and cut it to the size of the stove top plus a little extra so I had room to tack it front and back. Then I cut out 4 circles of red felt using a small dish as a stencil. I then sewed those on the black felt in a circular pattern to make them look more like burners.

Then I used finishing nails to secure the fabric onto the kitchen,

pulling it nice and tight as I secured it on all four sides.

It is so much better!

Window Seat - Complete (almost)

2010-02-19T10:45:00.000-05:00

I did it!

I made a window seat for the playroom.

And it is STRONG!!

(Me and the hubby sat on it together to make sure!)

And then I made a little cushion for it. Now it is such a cozy place to sit and read.

I want to make some pillows for it too. And some new curtains because these ones are too long. I could hem them....but I saw these and would love to make them. Maybe with different red and white patterened fabrics... The color scheme in this room was dinosaurs and blue, but has been evolving to red/stripes/khacki (more gender neutral as we will be trying for a girl next time around) =D

Cross your fingers

2010-02-18T08:37:00.000-05:00

Planning to build a window seat and a cushion for the play room today.

I only wish this was my window seat.

There is a new chef in my house.

2010-02-17T09:25:00.000-05:00

Daniel's kitchen is finished. I have been so excited about making this for him because he LOVES to cook and be in the kitchen with me. He is such a good helper. He mixes things and pours things. =D

This is Daniel's very own kitchen

Base of Kitchen 16"x36" - As-Is cabinet from IKEA $15

Back Wall of Kitchen - Plywood from Home Depot $8

Used extra plywood to make center divider and self under the sink

Oven door - Extra cabinet door I had in the garage

Paint - All leftover from other projects

Tile Backsplash - leftover from tiling our Kitchen backsplash

Pot rack and hooks - IKEA Bygel rail $1.99 and Bygel hooks $0.99

Faucet - Lowes Clearance Section $10 (because it didn't have the pipes, isn't that perfect?)

Sink - Thrift Store mixing bowl $1.49

Oven handle - Lowes Cabinet Hardware $3

TOTAL COST $40.47

My little chef Daniel loves his kitchen.

He even uses a potholder to pull hot soup out of the oven. =D

He makes my heart smile.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T10:14:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

This year we mailed out a few valentines to family and close friends. Daniel and I spent an afternoon a few weeks ago using ink to stamp two thumbprints into the shape of a heart on some foam hearts we had leftover from last years decorations. We then wrote a little note on the back and stuck them in the mail!

The total cost was $0 (leftover decorations from last year- $0, stamping ink I already had- $0 )

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

I am off to make some chocolate covered strawberries with my monkey.

Nifty Thrifty Finds

2010-02-13T21:54:00.000-05:00

Some nifty thrifty finds from this week...

Green Bucket for $1.49

I am thinking it will be a "shopping basket" for play food and the like.

These 2 identical stainless steel mixing bowls for $1.49 each.

One will be a sink for a play kitchen (More details on that project later), the other... a mixing bowl?

And last but not least, this cute little pot decided to jump in my basket and come home to be a play pot for that dear sweet child of mine. For only $1.49, who could resist?

It has already made 937 pots of pretend pepper and corn soup.

I also picked up "The Sesame Street 3-Minute Stories" Book for $1.

I love great finds.

Hobo Bag Tutorial from MADE

2010-02-10T10:40:00.001-05:00

Check out this super cute bag I made, thanks to a great tutorial from Dana over at MADE.

It is Boy month over there and they have come up with the greatest crafts and projects to make for little boys.

My little man is loving this bag. He puts all his "stuff" in it and carries it around the house.

Draft Guards

2010-02-09T11:40:00.003-05:00

In an effort to make our home as energy efficient as possible, on a budget. This weekend I set off to make a few draft guards (I saw them on tv for $20!! No thanks. I am crafty and I can make that!)

Time to shop! I bought 3 yards of clearance fabric ($1.50/yd) and one package of foam pipe insullation (4 pieces for $3).

First, measure the width of the door and cut your foam pipe (make sure it fits when the door is shut)

Cut your fabric 9 1/2 inches by the width of the door plus 6 or more inches.

My bedroom door is 30 inches wide, so I cut my foam piece to 30 inches and the fabric to 9 1/2 inches by 36 inches.

Fold fabric in half, lenghtwise, with the right sides facing.

Pin every few inches and sew three sides. Turn fabric right side out.

Insert 2 foam tubes and push the unfinished end all the way into the center of the tubes.

(You could also finish the end and seal with velcro.)

Ta Da!! A beautiful and inexpensive door draft guard!

(excuse my old ugly doors, they are on the "want to buy" list)

A TWO beautiful door guard for under $5 (plus I still have over 2 yards of fabric left over)

I hate mess

2010-02-05T21:13:00.000-05:00

I absolutely cannot stand mess. Yes, some mess is acceptable, like finger painting and or when my 20 month old pours out an entire box of cereal because he is helping make breakfast... Okay, so kid-mess is great, I love kid-mess. But this mess....

This is just bad... This has been a catchall closet for everything that doesn't have a home, or hasn't yet found one. This closet is in the hallway between our master bedroom and the playroom, and it will soon be my new craft closet.

I have always dreamed of having my own craft closet. I am crazy, I know. When I was a kid, my mom had a little craft closet and it had a bunch of deep shelves that were CRAMMED full of every crafty thing you could imagine. It was an absolute mess, but my mom knew where everything was (I inherited that talent.). There were many rolls of wrapping paper jammed from the top shelf to the ceiling and there were buckets of googlie eyes and pipe cleaners, every color construction paper, and crayons, markers and stamps galore. I could go on and on. I swear I thought that closet was magic when I was a kid. Everything for any craft you could think of was in there.

I am uber excited about my craft closet.

I dream of a closet with a workspace and lots of little bins and jars for craft pieces.

I cannot wait to begin...

Making Progress..

2010-02-02T11:26:00.000-05:00

We made a great deal of progress on Daniel's new bedroom this weekend, thank you to a few longer-than-usual naps and a great many thanks to "Little Einsteins". =D

I snuck away friday evening and spent about 30 minutes measuring the walls and drawing lines for my 2 chair rails. (I placed one at 36 inches from the floor and the second at 42 inches) This gave me a nice block of space for my chalkboard border.

Saturday we painted the wall above where the border would be Olympic paint Timeless Taupe(leftover from painting our den) and the wall below the border I painted a light blue (I used leftover paint from the playroom and added some white base paint to make the color much lighter).

After letting that dry overnight, I woke up early and used a roll of brown craft paper and masking tape to mark off the area for the chalk board border. (I didn't want to waste money on painters tape here because I was putting a chair rail over my line, it could be a little blurry/smudged).

Here is the room all taped and prepped.

Here is the border (I did one thick coat and removed the tape and border while it was still wet.)

As you can see, the edge is a little blurry, but once the chair rail is installed, we will be good to go.

My favorite little helper. =D

Here is the room, chair rail installed. Still needs finishing touches, but it is almost there!

Working on ideas for the closet, if anyone has any ideas, feel free to pass them along!

Any ideas, or suggestions?

I am already loving the chalkboard.

It will be so easy to change the theme in Daniel's room, just by changing out the sheets, curtains

and drawing something different on the chalkboard....

I already have so many ideas..