Mom Time on a Dime

Hearth and Hand piggy bank hack!

2019-07-14T14:23:00.000-05:00

Let's just start by saying Joanna Gaines can do no wrong.  The woman has style, class, manners, and design oozing from every strand of her beautiful, Disney-Princess-like head of hair.

I think nearly every woman over the age of 27 squealed like an excited pig when we heard she would be working on a home decor line with Target, Hearth and Hand, and money has been flying from our wallets ever since.

It was actually a recent flier that Target mailed out that peaked my interest in one of Magnolia's new items; their set of mini piggy banks.

Give, Save, Spend Piggy Bank Sour Cream - Hearth & Hand™ with Magnolia

With my oldest not even being 6, but OBSESSED with making a buck, having the division of "Give","Save","Spend" I thought was near genius and much needed for my boy.

I know the $25 price tag doesn't SEEM like a lot, but its a piggy bank, a glorified jar.  I knew I could do the same thing but for MUCH cheaper... so off to the Dollar Tree I went.

They didn't have any "banks" per se, but they did have two types of glass jars that caught my eye... this one...

..and this one...

I figured I could make 2 sets, especially since I have two boys and God knows the "he got one and I didn't" complaints are REAL.  Plus, each jar only being $1, I figured I could spare it.

I also found these sticker letters and figured since my handwriting is rubbish, these would probably work out best.

With everything being a dollar, I threw in these brushes too.

So here are my supplies.

The enamel paint and spray paint are a fairly significant part of this project, but lucky for me, I already had them on hand.  If you were to go out and buy them at Joann's or Michaels, the spray paint is probably $3.50 and the enamel paint (for painting on glass) $2.00.

First, I went ahead and painted the area where I wanted my black letters with my black paint and dollar brushes.

These $1 brushes are trash... this kids painting sponge I had on hand from my kids' projects worked MUCH better and gave a smoother result.

After that dried, I stuffed it with some paper towels, taped off the top (so I wouldn't get any spray paint on the inside,  and applied the stickers letters.  Honestly just tried my darnest to get it all straight.

Took the sucker outside to spray paint.

And after two thin, even coats, and letting it dry, I brought it back inside to take the letters off.

I found it was a little easier to use tweezers and save the paint job.

Seriously, its that simple.  And here's the results.

I also did the other jars and think they turned out adorable too.

I'm no Joanna, but not a bad little hack for $4.

Have you guys ever seen something in Target and though, "Eh, I could do that?"  Anything you want to see me try and tackle? I always welcome the ideas!  Follow me @MomTimeonaDime for more ideas, easy projects, and great finds! Thanks!

Plan of attack

2018-01-23T13:50:00.001-06:00

"ummm hello??"

Yea sorry I didn't mean to drop the bomb of "Hey we're knocking down our house and building new. Don't worry, I'll document everything" and then just disappear for a couple weeks.

I had honestly planned on posting our architect's design and floor lay out so everyone could get a better idea of what we having planned for going where. But, true to form, everything is taking JUST a bit longer than planned and we're waiting on the final FINAL lay out of the house from the architect so I won't have to keep changing what I'm showing you. We've gone through SEVERAL revisions that I have on my phone and when I bust it out to show people, I end up explaining half the time that "none of this is going to look like this anymore". ...

To which people respond "Ok, then why are you showing me?"...

Exactly.

So, I should have that soon.

For right now though, I can kinda give you a rundown of everything I will be discussing in the coming months.

- how we plan to find a place to live while our new place is being built.

- our thoughts on packing and moving

- how we're going to juggle all this with three kids 4 and under.

- Hard choices and comprises

- Where we plan on spending the big bucks

- Design choices for each room (I can't wait to talk about the kids' rooms)... (and the laundry room... hold on to your hats)

- sacrifices for building vs moving

- inspiration

- greatest fears/looking forward to the best

- staying alive and living to 2019

That last one is really our main goal.

So, please bare with me as I try to get everything sorted out and hopefully don't change things a million more times to confuse y'all.

Anything you guys specifically want to hear about? Honestly, Im an open book so ask away!!

Big Announcement

2018-01-08T10:01:00.000-06:00

Hey all,

Long time no talk! Yea, in case you've haven't been following me on Instagram (which I recommend you do @LittleHouseintheBigD) but in the nearly YEAR AND A HALF since Ive posted, I actually popped out another kid (Davis Dae, born 7/1/17 and she's amazing) and she's actually the reason I stopped posting long ago because I had such awful morning sickness I could barely function. But with all that aside, we actually have some BIG news (not baby related) which is why I've begun blogging again...

TA-DA!

We are officially redoing the house!

And you maybe thinking, "Hey, that doesn't look like your house? That must be one hell of a remodel." Well, thats because we are tearing down our house and building a new one on the lot.

Let that sink in.

We are TEARING DOWN my little awesome amazing perfect tiny house.

It's so sad especially after all the remodels and updates we've done, but 1,450 sq ft for 5 people and 2 dogs just isn't cutting it.

And we've actually been contemplating this for a long time, and even looked into moving; same neighborhood, different neighborhood, fixer uppers, already reno-ed. And with the explosive Dallas market, nothing caught our eye or budget.

Then after meeting with different architects about just adding on to our little house, we kept getting the same answer "Honestly, to add a second story on a pier and beam foundation will cost just as much to build a new house."... AND, that way, we could get the EXACT layout we wanted.

So, October of last year (read: 2016, not 2017), we met with Eddie Maestri of Maestri Studio. We met and discussed what we wanted, design ideas, and budget. Our ideas seemed to mesh so we signed a contract and he went to town.

I'll have another blog post detailing what we want in a house, what I demanded we have (that didn't make it into the final layout (sad face)), and what my favorite feature of the new house is (spoiler alert, it isn't even INSIDE the house).

So stuff there is a TON of stuff coming up... and a TON of stuff I'll need help with (that I will pawn off as my own ideas and tell Chris). Get excited guys... 2018 is going to be CRAZY.

P.S- Yes, we're still flipping condos and just sold #10. We really gotta catch up y'all...

the "Befores" of #4

2016-09-20T14:34:00.003-05:00

So yes, we went ahead and bough numero 4.

The condo Gods must have been smiling down on us since this one really fell in our lap.

Upon closing on #3, Chris and my brother in law David met with the manager of the complex to do a quick walk thru (ie. find out where the dumpster was, know which parking spots were for our unit, etc) and they started talking about WHY we had bought the place and were planning on flipping it. The guy mentioned how he might know of another good unit if we were interested and called up the owner of a unit directly across the breeze way from us! The owner said he was actually planning on meeting with a realtor the next day, but after seeing the unit, we decided to put in an offer and save him the money on a realtor. Done! And with a super quick close might I add!!

We are only a couple weeks behind #3 on this one but to keep everything from getting a bit too confusing, I think Im going to finish out #3 with you guys before I start showing you progress shots of #4. Don't worry though, you'll still see it all!

And now on with the walk through! If you have time and aren't at work so you can hear it, here's the video walk though to give you the best idea of the space. It's a one bedroom, one bathroom, about 750sq ft.

So if you couldn't see that, or just want a better explanation rather than my muttered ramblings, here are photos!

The view right when you walk in...

Now I know you're thinking, "Wow, not too bad", but yes, bad. The floors are that $0.39 laminate and are cheap beyond cheap. And that bookcase? Much like #3, we are going to take this one down too to create a pass through.

Here's the view of the kitchen from the dining.

The kitchen is pretty darn small...

And we are going to lose even more storage when we take out these three top cabinets on the right...

Heading back out the kitchen and toward the master is a tiny little hallway with the bathroom on the right.

Again, small, but I have big plans for this one...

The master is a good size with two entry points for the large closet.

From the other side...

And yes, the carpet has to go...

Back out the master towards the mini hallway, there is storage directly across from the bathroom.

And back out to the living/dining...

Ugh I can't wait to open up that bookcase and brighten this whole thing up!

Speaking of brightening, did you notice anything missing?? Yea, lights... other than that GORGEOUS chandelier in the dining, the place has no lights... not in the living room or master... really people? Just gunna live off floor laps? Thats not the way we roll in 2016. Its going to be a pricey addition to removal all the ceiling drywall and install everything, but its a must.

Anyway, there you have it! What do you think? I know the befores are always kind of boring but I think this one is going to be cool!

Enjoy!

Samm

Ugh... so far behind!

2016-09-15T15:17:00.001-05:00

Guys, ugh Im the worst! I was doing so good keeping y'all updated and then life got crazy for a couple weeks and you fell to the wayside. Sorry about that!

My oldest little dude turned three and with my parents in town, little everyday details on the condos became lost... here's a picture of Brooks with his gigantic, over-the-top-because-we're-like-that yard balloon.

After that, we shared the little secret on my Instagram account (LittleHouseintheBigD) that we have in fact bought condo flip #4!

I plan on posting more about #4 tomorrow with a complete "before" walk through video and pictures. Get excited.

After that, Chris surprised me for an early anniversary trip up to Seattle to enjoy the cooler weather and watch our Texas Rangers play.

A buddy of mine that I used to work with at EPSN now works for the Mariners and got us on the field for Rangers batting practice. In this picture, you can see me holding Chris up since he near fainting the entire time out of sheer excitement.

Happy fan with a ball from the bullpen!

We JUST got back a few days ago and really had to hit the ground running. There is a LOT going on with #3 and I can't wait to fill you in... including new (dirty) floor and dry wall that's up!

More to come tomorrow! See ya then!

Demo of #3

2016-08-24T14:01:00.000-05:00

Hey all... well now that #2 has wrapped and #3 is well underway, I thought I would give you an update of how its going...

To sum it up in a word: Demolition.

To rewind and reaccustom yourself, you might want to go back and read THIS POST when we did the walk through of #3... go ahead, it will open another window... I'll wait.

See... ok to continue here's the kitchen as seen before:

Yea, remember how we were going to take down those uppers and open this thing up, getting ride of the bookcase on the other side... well, we took down the wall and found these suckers.

UGH!!! OMG! Pipes, from the unit above us?! First strike against flipping condos... you have to worry about the other units in your complex.

Such a major bummer...can't do a countertop island with pipes in the middle...

So here's a view of the old bookcase:

and here's where we are now...

Going back around the place, here's the front door and the closet that used to be there.

And a VERY scary picture of the guest room(as remembered before here):

And in the master... a before of the en suite.

and the now...

Back to the kitchen... demoed the far wall and now looks 1,000x better like this:

and, yet another sad view of the pipes on the opposite wall, because, ugh... le sigh...

Sooooo yea... we're detailing with that... options? Hopefully our plumber can work something out.

Fingers crossed.

Before and afters of Condo #2

2016-08-22T12:05:00.003-05:00

Hey all... thanks for baring with me on getting these out to you! I've tried pairing these a bunch of different ways to make the most sense but since I have a lot more "afters" then comparable side by sides, I wanted to do it like this, but I'm going to try something different.

See...would have just a post of easy viewing side by sides looked great? I'll try that for #3 and do a better job of matching up the before and afters... in the mean time, I'll show you a room of the before and then different views of the after...

Like in the living room.

And the dining room example I just showed you:

And the Kitchen

The bathroom:

The tub/shower:

Master/master closet

and my personal favorite... the laundry:

Here it is, zoomed out so you can see the awesome barn door the Chris made and installed:

and back out the master looking toward the living:

Ugh, goodness this place turned out awesome!!

And we MAY have some good news about it, but I don't want to jinx anything yet, so keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram (LittleHouseintheBigD) about that :-)

Well, what do you think? If you want the full before and after walk through, here it is one more time :-)
Before:

and After:

Yay! Updates on #3 coming soon!!!

Condo #2 is done!!!

2016-08-15T13:14:00.001-05:00

Hooray! #2 is in the books!

We actually just finished up last Friday and although I don't have before/after pictures done yet, I DID take a video walk through so you can see how everything turned out!

Again, sorry I don't have more pictures but PROMISE I will by Wednesdays post! To see the side by side of this one will be crazy!

Anyway, we started this project June 20th and wrapped up August 12th... that's under two months to flip an entire condo from the studs back to life!! AHHH can't believe we're done!

Here's the direct YouTube link if for some reason its not playing on the page: Condo #2 finished

Oh and just for fun... here's the walk through of when we first got it... what a change!

Again, heres the link: Condo #2 the before

LETS GET THIS SUCKER SOLD!!

Quick update (bc we're almost finished!)

2016-08-10T14:02:00.002-05:00

I don't have a ton to share today since 99% of the condo is done and I want to unveil its glory all at once, but finishing touches are definitely being made.

Chris and his dad are building the barn door for the master/laundry.

Here's another look at the back...

Or maybe thats the front, Im not 100% sure... either way it looks great!

And we decided to keep it simple and just paint it the same color as the other doors.

We had debated using a grey, rustic wood, or perhaps even staining it, but in the end I thought all the other options would fight everything that we had already done (ie. matching/not matching the floor or the stain not matching the butcher block wood tone), so Im happy with the white! Just can't wait to see it hung up!

We also got the lighting fixture hung up... so thats nice.

Home Depot: $119... love it (although we still need to raise it a bit higher...)

And the kitchen finally got its backsplash.

We brought in tile guys for this just like the bathroom because its well the money if you have guys that can do a great job and save you the time and hassle. Just a white subway with grey grout but it looks great!

Here it is before the cleaned it up.

And the after...

Not too shabby!

I don't think the white subway SUPER goes with the white cabinets and marble counters, but its good enough for this flip.

Seeing what I'm seeing now, I think a grey subway would have looked a bit nicer... like this one from Home Depot at a little one $5 a sq ft.

But hey, live and learn.

In #3, I plan on doing a FANCY backsplash since we're trying our best to get super top dollar out of it (ie. if all goes well, it will sell for more than what we paid for our house! Hooray Dallas housing market!)

So that's all Im going to share for now. We could be done by TOMORROW guys! Thats crazy! If we are, I'll do my best to have something up for you guys to see on Friday! Fingers crossed! Hooray for #2!

Walk through and "befores" for #3

2016-08-08T13:05:00.000-05:00

So while we're still working on condo #2, we snuck away and bought flip #3.

This one actually reminds me a lot of condo #1... needs a LOT of help.

The good news? Its a 2/2, nearly 1,200 sq ft (which is only 200sq ft less than our HOUSE, ha!) and about, oh 2 minutes away from our house... seriously.

I filmed a walk through so you can get a better idea of the lay out, but I'll also go through "before" pictures below :-)

Phew... ok, so here's a play by play.

First, the lovely view when you walk in...

I know you really can't tell since its a bit dark, but the carpet is mint green and has not been replaced since 1971... "gross" barely covers it.

Moving to the corner of the room, you get a better idea of the gigantic walled built-in.

See those doors to the left, thats the entry for the kitchen, so yea, that built-in is coming down and we are opening this sucker up.

Here's a look into the galley kitchen.

Yea, its as sexy as it looks.

Here's a bit of a better view.

Its funny that it just SCREAMS 70's. And yes, all those uppers will be coming down to open up the sight line from the sink to the front door, but we're adding storage, don't worry.

Here's the other side.

The whole kitchen is getting gutted so a full over-haul is coming.

Back on the other sink side, there's this little door... that doesn't shut.

Can you see whats in there?

Yep, the washer dryer.

We plan on taking these out and moving them, but thats only if we can get the plumbing moved. But can we all agree that its weird having them shoved in this little closet and they don't even fit? Hopefully, if we CAN move them, we'll turn that area into a pantry to compensate for the loss of storage above the sink.

Continuing through the kitchen and to the left, is another door to another "front"... faces more to the interior of the complex.

Oh, and they left us their spice rack... how nice!

Turning around, here's a look down the hallway.

More fun gross carpet.

First room on the left is the master.

First door on the right is a walk in closet.

If all goes well, it'd be nice to wall this up and then put an opening that has access to the hallway. Boom, laundry room. Again, that's if we can make plumbing work out.

If you walk into the master a bit more and peak behind the door, there's some built in storage.

Honestly, Im not sure what we are doing with this... leave it? Take it out? Take off the doors and leave it as open storage? We'll see...

Here's a full view of the master.

Sexy, right?

You can walk on through to the ensuite.

Super short vanity, a SEASHELL sink (why where these a thing?!) and toilet/shower combo. We plan to take down that dividing wall and open up a bit.

Directly opposite the sink is another walk-in closet

Having this closet is why we think its ok to lose the closet in the front and turn it into the laundry room.

Oh and here's a better look of that back toilet/shower/tub

We haven't decided yet if we're going to turn this into a standup shower or not, but eh, we'll see.

Leaving the master and going directly across the hall is the other full bath.

and here's the shower...

And all the way back down the hall is the other bedroom...

And thats just the closet back there...

Also notice how dark it is in these rooms? Yea, no lighting in the ceiling... no ceiling fans, recessed lighting, nothing. We're probably just going to rip all the drywall off the ceiling to add lights since there's absolutely nothing up there.

Here's the view leaving bedroom #2 looking back down the hall.

Going immediately to the left takes you back to the front door and the little entry way.

Here's a better look from the living area back to the front door and coat closet.

So... pretty scary, right? Only means it will be a more dramatic change once all is said and done!

AHHH #3!! Let the chaos begin!

Countertop fairies

2016-08-05T13:56:00.001-05:00

OK so I know I promised a walk through of our new #3, but guys, the COUNTERTOP FAIRIES came yesterday!!!

They weren't supposed to come until the middle of next week, but called us up to see if they could install Thursday (aka yesterday) but with only a couple hours notice.

Of course our answer was not only "ummm yes please" but "holy hell, omg, yes yes yes"... and then I did a dance resembling this one:

via GIPHY

It did turn our day up a bit since Chris and his brother had to quickly put down the plywood base so the counters could be laid on them and install our undermount sink.

But once they arrived, it was just a matter of putting everything into place

yes... oh yes... and the other side?

The marble looks like a million bucks and is seriously just beautiful!

We still have to add hardware to the cabinets and put up the backsplash, but having counters always makes it feel so "real" for me.

I was also I bit concerned with having the grey in the marble clash with the grey on the walls (especially since we committed to the marble without seeing a swatch of the paint color next to it) but I'm happy to report it looks pretty darn good.

Hopefully we will have backsplash installed on Monday or Tuesday and hardware to go in sometime soon as well.

AHHH I still can't believe its in! This project is really wrapping up!

What do you think of it? Love it or hate it, please lie to me and tell me you love it cause I think its pretty darn cool :-)

Cabinets coming together

2016-08-03T14:31:00.000-05:00

So last we checked on the kitchen, we at least had paint but it looked like it this...

Chris and his brother David started adding the drawers to the bases and that's when things start to get a little tricky...

Here's a video he sent me to better explain:

Ha! Uh, ya... how luck is that?!?!

The rest of it is coming together nicely though...

And Im really digging these drawers that we did on the other side...

And with the uppers, its starting to look like a real kitchen.

Even more so with the fronts on them!

I mean, look at this side... look at that sexy glass....

We did glass on this side because its the one you see looking in from the living and dining room... also, it being such a small kitchen, the glass will help make it feel just a bit more open.

Ugh I can't believe we have to wait until next week to get the counters in!!

Everything is coming together in the laundry room too.

30 inch base cabinets for extra storage:

and two uppers as well...

We actually plan to do some floating shelves in there too... just as an extra spot for "stuff". In a 750sq ft condo, no space should go unused!

So that's about where we are right now! I'll post pictures of the counters in as soon as they're up... in the mean time, I'll post a quick update about our next adventure... the buying of condo #3.... on Friday!

Cant wait to show it to your guys!

Picking out our countertops

2016-08-02T15:12:00.001-05:00

Ok so picking out a counter probably my favorite part of the entire reno, mostly because its one of the biggest statements you can make in a flip.
1. You can either go super cheap and get the basic granite (we've all seen that pamento-loaf looking granite... gross)
or
2. You can really put some effort into in and go above and beyond to make sure you set yourself up as a QUALITY flipper (which Im hoping we are!)

Our go-to place here in Dallas is Best Granite in Richardson. Its a small little business in a random warehouse, but I always find that the more secluded the site, the better the pricing!

The inside is really cool and full of tons of granite, marble, and quartz slabs.... of course I don't have a picture of this, but lucky for you, we DID film here a day for the show and will use a screen shot they sent us.

Fun huh?! #liveshot (P.S- still don't know when our episode airs... sometime this Fall... as soon as I know, you'll know)

Anyway, back to picking out counters without cameras following us, I brought our cream/off-white cabinets with me to help see how the counters would contrast. Looking back, I wish I would have brought a sample of the floors and backsplash too, just to make sure it all looked cohesive.

First up, was a dark grey quartz.

Not bad, but worries how it would look with the grey walls.

Next was a light grey quartz... (the one in the middle)...

Not bad, but I didn't think there was enough contrast, and again I worried about the grey matching the walls.

Here's a better look at the grey with a flash... sorry its kind of a dark warehouse.

Next was this swirled granite...

Honestly, not too terribly bad and I liked the movement in it...

But I worried about how much yellow was in it and how it would look against an all white kitchen.

Since I was just by myself, I didn't want to pull the trigger on anything until Chris agreed.

A couple days later we went back and showed Chris all the options, including just a white quartz like we did in condo #1...

Pretty, huh?!

However, knowing that we are pretty set on doing a white subway tile backsplash and have already bought our white cabinets, having white counters just seemed like overkill.

We couldn't really find anything that we "loved" and were jonesing around looking at the marble, when the man who owns Best Granite said he actually had a crazy good deal on 2cm Marble.

And this time, we did bring the flooring, cabinets, and backsplash.

For only $50 more for the slab than we paid for our quartz (a different in a little over $2 a sq ft once all is said and done), we were hooked. Plus, how fancy does it sound to have a flip with MARBLE countertops?!

So, we pulled the trigger on the marble and I'm PRAYING the grey in the carrera goes with the grey we painted on the walls (of course the only color I didn't bring with us to match the counters)...

They go in next week and I can't wait to see everything put together! Chris and his brother David are working hard putting the kitchen and laundry together and can't wait to share what it all looks like!

Until then!
Samm

P.S- if you follow me on Instagram, we just made another BIG announcement!... Look me up: LittleHouseintheBigD also on Facebook: just click here: Little House in the Bid D

Hodgepodge mess of pictures

2016-07-27T15:59:00.000-05:00

So... keeping things real... here's where we're at right now.

Ya, boxes and just stuff everywhere... if you can see through it all, you will noticed its painted! #hooraysmallvictories

The one clean room in the condo so far? The future laundry room.

Oh! ah! So fresh and so clean!

But if you turn around, you see this:

What we CAN take away from all this is yes, paint, AND doors! Did you see those suckers? All nicely painted crisp white and acting fancy.

If we leave the master and head out to the living area, you can see the paint color a little better.

I know it looks a little dark right now, and honestly, that's my fault. It will lighten up a LOT when everything is off the floor and a white mantle is put around the fireplace.

I went with the color Functional Grey for the walls and Elephant Ear for an accent color on the brick wall and fireplace. Both Sherwin Williams colors.

Of course, AFTER I picked the colors, I decided to purchase a color wheel (ummm AMAZING! Where has this thing been all my life?!) but it told me I could have stayed in the same color family and done a shad or two lighter and kept the brick wall the same Elephant Ear color to differentiate more as a "accent" wall. Right now, these colors are only one shade different from each other and wish I would have done something more drastic.

Oh well, you learn, right?!

And its not like it looks bad!

Chris even pulled back some of the floor so you can see how the color would look against the new flooring.

And this is probably the best way to see the difference in wall color, plus see it with the floors.

Luckily enough, while I was there, our new range arrived!

Yippie!

Lowe's was having a super awesome 4th of July sale a few weeks back (one of the best times of the year to buy appliances in case you were wondering) and this brand new beauty only set us back $400, which isn't terrible.

Trust me, it will look a lot better when its installed and OUT of the box.

Lets see here, more around the condo.... here's a good looking closet:

And a shot of the front door...

If you're looking at the crown and see those wood corner pieces, yes we still have to paint those.

The kitchen is looking awesome...

We are installing the base cabinets first so the countertop guy can come in and measure and start working on fabrication (which typically takes a week).

Hooray cabinets!

And here's a parting awkward shot that I'll probably get yelled at for later...

So other than seeing the paint through the boxes, tools, and half assembled base cabinets, not a ton to show just yet.

The good news is that on Friday I will share with you our choice for countertop! Chris and I have different ideas but we're going together to make a plan. Cant wait to show you all our options!

Bathroom update!

2016-07-25T21:07:00.000-05:00

Now I don't know if you remember, but we kinda went back on forth on making this a walk-in shower or keeping it a tub. We decided to stick with tub (especially since there are "bath people" out there AND heaven forbid you have to wash a small child). But we couldn't decide what to do on the wall and surround.

I have been riding the subway tile craze lately and figured for a 1-bed/1-bath this maybe the place to give it a try.

I went to Floor and Decor to price out my options.

First was this awesome beveled subway tile.

And at $0.29 a piece... thats not bad. They are 3x6 pieces so you need 8pcs to make a square foot. 8pc x $0.29 is $2.32 a sq ft! Good price!

Next was just a classic white subway

I actually liked how they laid these vertically but felt a bit plain. However, they were priced at $0.19 a piece (aka. $1.52 a sq ft... $0.80 cheaper than the beveled... ... ... I told you we really count our pennies)

I thought I could jazz them up a bit and tried out a herringbone pattern that might be fun.

It was when I was playing with tiles on the floor that the manager came over and kindly asked if I needed any help. Although I told her I thought I was good, she informed me she had a couple of open boxes of the plain subway they were looking to get rid of and would sell them to me at $0.10 a piece (only $0.80 a square foot! Now a whole $1.52 cheaper than the other ones).

Sold.

Then, a hiccup in my plan... Although, after getting the go-ahead from Chris on the subway tile, I was was given the no-go on the herringbone pattern. Since we are hiring some help for some of the more technically stuff (i.e. tile work), they told us it would be an additional $300 to lay them in that pattern due to more cuts and work. Pretty much, its like adding $7.50 a sq ft... waaa-waaa... sorry.

Again, when every penny counts, you sometimes don't always get what you want. However, I did compromise and settle for at least laying the tile vertically with a dark grey grout. At least to give it "something".

After the tile was dropped off at the condo, and a day before the tile guy was set to show up, I saw the subway next to the tile floors for the bathroom... and it just rubbed me the wrong way.

I ADORE these floors and loved how they looked in condo #1, but with doing a stark white subway and putting in a floor with light grey and absolutely no white, it just didn't sit right with me.

So after batting my eyelashes to my dear husband and saying that it would quite possibly RUIN the ENTIRE project if we put those floors in, I was allowed to race back to Floor and Decor to find a more suitable option.

After pricing myself out of a couple options (no, I'm paying $15 a sq ft no matter how pretty it is... this is still a flip), I found this little beauty.

VERY similar to the other one I like, still has good texture lines and under $2.99 a sq ft, it was great. Plus it looked great with the white subway.

See what I mean by there needing to be a little ACTUAL white in the floor as well?

It even looked good next to the vertical subway tile display.

AND, also very important, it would look good when it transitioned into the floor for the rest of the house.

sorry, blurry pic... blame the child hand you see and the other kid I'm probably holding)

When T-day finally came ("Tile day"), I was psyched. And the results looked amazing.

This is after they JUST put it up so its still a bit messy... and sorry about the lighting. Since we still have to paint and everything at this point, lighting isn't up yet and we are just working by work lamps.

Here's a bit better

And no, the tub isn't an off-white. It DOES match, just not according to my camera.

And one more for the flooring.

EEEE!!!! So fun! I love the dark grey grout and really think it makes it pop!

Again, sorry I know its hard to tell from these pictures, but hopefully I'll be able to take better ones tomorrow since everything has finally been painted (AHHH!)

We also went ahead and picked out a vanity.

Its actually from Drew and Jonathan Scott's new line (you know, "the property brothers"... basically the living example of what I want my children to grow up and become) and it was on super sale since they just launched... only $399! Not too bad!

I seriously cannot wait to swing by the condo later today and see how everything is turning out!... Cabinets were delivered Saturday and will probably spend a good amount of time assembling them today and tomorrow so we can have the countertop people come out and measure and start fabricating.

Seriously you guys! Still so much to do but I feel it coming together!

I'll update you all on Wednesday with paint pictures... prepare to have your minds blown :-)

Samm

New Floors!

2016-07-20T09:39:00.000-05:00

So why we were galavanting around California in the 65-degree weather, Chris's brother, dad, and our buddy Blake were hard at work at condo #2 putting in the flooring!

We first had to level out the floor by the door...

Uneven floors, especially right when you walk in, typically don't sell too well.

Since the floors we bought this time don't have the padding attached, we had to lay down a vapor barrier and underlayment.

The guys, busy, blurry, and hard at work...

And for those of you that wanna know why we keep our buddy Blake around, edging like this is why:

Yes people, cuts like that are near impossible... the dude is a genius... and yes ladies, he's single.

But back to the flooring... not bad right?! Sorry, about these incredibly blurry pictures, dear God. Yikes... from now on I'll make sure to be the one taking pictures... because, wow...

And don't judge the floors next to the yellow brick wall... we're painting it.

Oh and that brick fireplace too...

Sadly enough, we had to cover up most of the flooring to keep it safe and pretty while we continue with the rest of our updates.

But it's looking good in the kitchen!

I still can't get over how different the place looks with walls...

And how much better it will look once it's painted!!!... which actually happens today! We still have to let it dry and what-not so pictures probably won't be up Friday, but hopefully by the beginning of next week!

We actually had a tile guy come in today and do the bathroom so THAT will be my update for Friday... it looks AMAZING! Can't wait to share! Until then!
-Samm

MIA: our little vaca

2016-07-18T12:30:00.000-05:00

Hey all! Sorry for the MIA but we were on a much needed vacation last week to visit my grandparents and cousins in California!

After filming the show, working no-stop to get condo #1 finished, well underway with condo #2, and more down the pipeline, we really needed a recharge and a break from the 100-degree Texas days.

Boys did well on the flight out (not so much on the way back but hey, we'll focus on the positive.)

A big reason for the vacation timing was that two of my cousins just had babies (one in April and one in June) AND our other cousin, his wife, and son were in town from NYC.

For the first time, we were able to get a picture of cousins (some of us... there are 14 of us just on my dad's side), our kids (6 out of the 7 at least) and our grandparents who started it all.

Brooks is the oldest and he's not even 3. Its fun to see so many of us in the next stage of our lives and hope to raise our babies as close "cousins" especially since Brooks and Collins don't have any "true" cousins yet. Cousins of cousins? 3rd cousins? I dunno... its all family.

At least I was there to keep things real.

I wear my "black sheep of the family" badge with pride.

We stayed with my grandparents for two days and the boys had a blast at the park by their house.

We then took the 1:45 hour trip down the coast from the Bay Area to Carmel, passing some fun stops along the way.

Artichoke capital of the world? You betcha.

Carmel was absolutely gorgeous and never broke 70-degrees the entire time.

Most of our days were spent at the beach.

We pretty much had to drag Brooks home by the end of the day he loved it so much.

Collins was a bit apprehensive at first, but nothing like the thrill of danger to get you moving.

We also went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for a day and it had my jaw hanging open nearly the entire time.

Collins road shotgun in the back of the ergo and was actually happy as a clam (sea pun).

Brooks and I even got to pet a stingray... which honestly may have been the highlight of my his trip.

I'm not sure who enjoyed the aquarium the most, but I could go back 100x over. Just amazing.

But other than that, it really just was a lot of relaxing, letting the kids stay up late watching movies, and sleeping in as much as we could.

Renovations on the condo were still underway while we were gone and I'll give you a full update on Wednesday. So much to share! Its crazy how fast things are going!

Hope you all are having a wonderful summer and are getting some rest and relaxation of your own!
-Samm

We have walls!!

2016-07-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

Dude, guys, yesterday, things got real...

As in real walls and ceilings!

Chris went by around 8am to let the workers in and man, are these guys fast!

They definitely know what they're doing and can do quick, quality work much faster than Chris and his dad could have done (not that I don't love you honey...)

After running to the office for a couple hours (yes, Chris still has a FULL TIME job that he does in addition to all the work on the condo) he was shocked when he stopped by after lunch that they're were nearly done!

I'll give you a quick walk through with the pictures Chris took... Here's from the living room looking toward the dining.

(front door is on your right and kitchen is to the back left)

Here's looking into the kitchen.

I don't know if I ever mentioned before but that back door leads out to the assigned parking spot.

In the kitchen, turned around looking back at the dining room/front door area.

Kitchen entry way looking toward the fireplace.

Wow, that looks 1,000x better now that we reenforced that brick and covered it back up with drywall.

What a difference!

Front door looking into the corner of the living room.

Living room looking toward the hallway with the master, bathroom, and hall closet.

That view is CRAZY since its the first time you can't see all the way from one corner of the condo to the other. Walls.

Quickie shot of the bathroom.

Sorry about the lighting... working on it.

And the master!

The nice big closet...

And the doorway to the laundry!

I know that entry looks kinda small, but its plenty big and we plan on doing a barn door along that wall to really make it a feature. Get excited... its going to be cute.

Well now we are cooking with gas! Walls, man, you get me every time. They still have to go through, tape and bed everything and then texture, but it's looking awesome!

I still have to double check with Chris on what exactly comes next... floors? but then we have to cover up everything to paint. I know that's why we are waiting on putting the kitchen in, so we don't have any paint splatter on our brand new cabinets... hmm... maybe after tape and bed we paint the walls? But wouldn't we wait to paint until crown and baseboards have gone in too?

Ugh, not sure... but hey! Walls!!!

Quick little update before the holiday weekend

2016-07-01T14:27:00.002-05:00

So lights are in, plumbing is fixed, and all the last minute prep is happening before walls actually go up.

Header and framing of the kitchen/dining room walk through is up, new, and looking sexy.

Ugh, Im so glad we got ride of that pantry... I think its going to make such a difference when you can turn the corner from the front door and look straight into that beautiful kitchen.

Speaking of the kitchen, all the electrical, new lights, and outlets are up and functional...

And the fireplace is put back together and ready for drywall.

Probably the most exciting thing that has happened so far is our drywall actually being delivered this morning!!

And there's a ton of it! In every room....

You forget how much drywall you actually need when your condo HAS NO WALLS...

Master and laundry...

Since drywalling a place takes multiple people, multiple hours, we are actually hiring out this step to a group of great guys my brother-in-law works with. It's going to cost us about $3,500 (yikes) which I know is a lot but it covers materials, hanging the drywall, tape/bed, and texture/finish out. And since that takes a LOT of time, the money is worth it so Chris can spend his valuable weekend time to spend with me and the kids and not working at the condo. Hooray!

Hope you all have a fun and safe Fourth of July!!

USA!

Update #2: Lights, pantry, and plumbing stuff!

2016-06-29T09:11:00.003-05:00

Well, things are moving and grooving!

As you can see, the can lights are installed!

Remember how I told you Chris was a can-light-ninja? I was right...

And in even bigger news... look what is gone!

If you need help, here is a picture for memory.

Not to downplay our buddy Blake, but we took the pantry out! Hazaa!!!

And look at all the extra room we have!

...and Chris wanted to give you all a big hug

If you remember from my first little update, I had the epiphany while writing the post about taking the pantry out and I'm SO glad we decided to do it since it just feels SOOO much better! I really do think will help make a difference in the feel of such a small kitchen. Countertop space is key! If the walkthrough from the dining into the kitchen wouldn't have been load-baring, we would have taken the whole thing out and expanded, but hey, work with whatcha got!

We also started the next, expensive process of putting in insulation.

Chris actually forgot about this in the budget and its crazy how quickly a couple hundred dollars can be spent on something that's behind the walls and never seen. But I guess thats what you get in a condo that's already down to the studs!

So up it went! In the kitchen...

and all the ceilings first. This is also helping keep the AC in since its 100+ here in Dallas and that cold air is just leaking out faster than we can cool it down.

Before we insulated the interior walls, we had our plumber come in and make sure all was done with easy accessibility.

See... ohhhh... ahhhhh.... plumbing stuff* (...*official term...)

We also moved a water line through the ceiling and over to the other side of the kitchen... so the fridge can have water and an ice maker.

The bathroom is really coming along too! Look! We even have a tub!

And see how tall the shower head is? Boom.

Yay kitchen pipes, water, and a shower above armpit level!

Full disclosure, I don't even know what Im supposed to be looking for in this picture. Photo by my loving husband.

We also completely updated the water line in the laundry room since it had an awful continuous drip which needed to be fixed ASAP.

See! Much better!

My awesome father-in-law is also working on the bricks above our fireplace.

The actual fire place itself is in fine shape but the brick above it (which was hidden by drywall) needed some help.

The brick is that groody 1970's/80's ugly bricks and not a pretty red brick worth saving, so Im pretty sure we are going to paint the fireplace. Im still working on my color scheme so stay tuned for that. Thinking maybe a dark grey with the walls a few shades lighter? And some crisp white base boards and trim?

I'm also working on our kitchen layout and best options for cabinet color, countertops, and backsplash. I think that will probably be my next post. Until then!... Thanks y'all! Hope you're staying cool in this super hot summer!

Shopping: Thrift Store Outlet and Home Depot

2016-06-27T14:41:00.002-05:00

Something that has always bugged me about "flippers" are when they redo a space by doing the least amount possible as cheaply as they can. Yes, this is a good way to make money, but the quality of what you CAN turn something into is always lacking. My theory? If you're going to do something make it amazing!

That doesn't alway mean you have to spend the big bucks though... you just have to know where to look! Like our local Habitat for Humanity resale store!

First thing I always check out is are the lights... like this guy who caught my eye right away.

A sputnik chandiler... Pretty funky! and very cool but at an asking price of $174.95 and I would still have to buy the lights, I decided to pass for now.

I also saw this guy, which read very "restoration hardware" to me.

Pretty... but also $149.95... eh, maybe if they have a sale later.

The whole reason I went in the first place was to look for a new front door for the condo.

Due to the HOA, it has to be something pretty plain that we can paint brown to match the rest of the units, but nothing really looked too good.

These ones I think came from an old school and were the brown color we needed... but were interior only.

This one would have been nice for the back door

But at $149, I can get a brand new one with the built in blind between the glass for $129... soooooo yea, gunna pass.

Then, found these AWESOME metal letters...

Not something I really "need" but at two bucks a pop I was thinking of decking out the boys' room. However, I had to stop myself and repeat the mantra, "We are poor condo flippers who have yet to close on the sale of our first flip... we are poor, we is poor, we be poor." The close date to condo #1 could not some soon enough!

I also found this little gem:

and told Chris to stop the search. If it can't be our exterior door, you bet your little Siegfried and Roy hiney that we're going to have white tigers leading into the bedroom.

Sadly, he did not agree.... ugh, he lacks such vision!!

Next, I went to Home Depot to grab our shower/tub fixtures and sink faucets for the bathroom (plumber is coming tomorrow (Tuesday) and we at least needed the shower fixtures). But when I walked through the lighting area I was super surprised to see this little guy.

Not a perfect spot on match for the one at the resale store but $30 cheaper and brand new.

Not sure if thats really what Im feeling for this flip, but we'll see.

I was there to plan out our bathroom and started with lighting.

Since the ceilings are dropped in the bathroom, we learned that we can't do over sink lighting without making the mirror tiny-human height (thanks for that lesson condo #1) so we are going to have two sconces on either side. I liked this one...

And on clearance, I liked it even better.

Heading over to bathroom fixture land, I got lucky with the clearance fairy again!

In all honesty, I actually really liked the large rain head shower to the right, but it didn't have a tub spout AND cost more, so clearance one it is. Plus, I really do like it! Brushed nickel with just a little bit of shine.

And for the vanity faucet? Matchy-Matchy.

Makes my job a LOT easier when I see those little yellow signs. Even more so when its really cute stuff! So that was easy.

I showed Chris the chandeliers when I go home and he LOVED the funky sputnik one. After doing some research to find one that looked like it (to make sure we would be getting a good deal), the closest one I could find to the one I saw was this guy.

Yeaaaa.... not dropping $3k on a light for a condo flip, so I decided to go back and get the one for $175.

And of course. It was gone... which had me feeling like:

via GIPHY

Oh well... good lesson. And who knows what I'll find next time. Where do you guys like to shop for hidden treasures? Ever get a big score on clearance?

First days of condo #2

2016-06-24T11:35:00.000-05:00

Well guys, even MLS is confirming condo #2 is officially ours!

We started work on Wednesday (and by we I mean Chris and our buddy Blake) and started the little bit of demo there was still to do.

Like opening up this wall.

Nothing crazy drastic, but opening up the space just a couple more feet definitely helps with the flow.

We also remeasured the kitchen so I could go and finalize our kitchen lay out for cabinets,

Oh and notice that build out space to the right of Blake?

Sorry for the impromptu shot Blake #reallife #ticketstothegunshow #ladiesheissingle

That's actually a little pantry.
...
...
...
Which as I sit here writing this, am debating getting rid of. Why is this just now dawning on me? To build out the doors, shelves, drywall, etc, it actually might make more sense to take it out, move the fridge down (which would have been where that little ladder is behind Blake) and add some more storage cabinets with pretty quartz countertops... ... ...

hmmm interesting. May have to run that by Chris. It would definitely open up the space and in such a TINY kitchen, it could really use it... decisions, decisions.... anyway, stay posted on that decision.

Turning around, we face the living room and need to decide how many can lights we are going to use.

Photographers note: warn Blake before every picture...

We decided to go with 6 lights and thanked the demo Gods again for giving us a place thats already gutted. Chris can get those installed in a day.

Regarding the bathroom;

We had toyed with the idea of making a walk-in shower, but Chris reminded me of the one bummer regarding the bathroom; the dropped ceiling, which makes it REALLY short in here (thanks AC unit) and just wouldn't have the space to do it properly.

That plus the added cost of the pluming, adding a little pony wall between the shower and the toilet, and then having to pay for the shower glass which is MUCHO expensive, a walk-in shower just isn't in the cards.

So tub it is... at least we will get to move the shower head up to give it some height.

heaven forbid you want to clean anything higher than your armpits. Were people in the 70's just 6" shorter than the are now?

I also got to make a run to one of my favorite "play places", Lumber Liquidators.

We had a great experience with them and their pricing with condo #1 so it was a no brainer to go back. PLUS a vast majority of their flooring (at least the laminate that we were interested in) come with pad already included. Easy and saves us a step, yes please.

True, we did have about 200 sq ft of the flooring from condo #1 left over, but I think we are going to save that for another project. This place was talking more "warm wood" to me than "trendy grey" flooring.

This is the first guy I saw and boom, I was in love.

Still has some grey tones to it, but I love the wide plank and the textural warmth to it.

Plus, did you see the price???

Umm yes please!

True the pad isn't attached on this one, but FREE PADDING is just as good! Chris gave me a budget to keep it under $2 a sq foot so I was THRILLED with this find!

I took a couple samples back to the condo just to double check...

First one: too yellow
Second one: I like, but probably not for this project. Just a tad too grey
Third: The most expensive, by nearly $1 more than the original one I liked, so that one was vetoed.
Fourth: The Super Sale one is our winner.

Plus I think it looks good with our bathroom tile (which it will meet in a transition to the bathroom) and the kitchen backsplash.

See how it reads a little darker in that pic? I think its really versatile and the "wood grain" variance will look great throughout the condo.

We will need 800sq ft, even though the condo is around 750sq ft, for cuts and stuff and you can always return boxes you don't open.

$1.29 x 800sq ft = $1,032.00

If we were hiring someone to install this, it would probably be 3x that cost. Hooray for handy husband-man!

So thats it for right now!

Not much else to report... other than we went shopping with our plumber (who lets us walk Home Depot with him and buy the supplies he needs. Saves us the up-charge!) and were hit with this fun bill on our first day... just on plumbing supplies.

sorry for the heart... didn't want the internet to see our credit card information

Money adds up quick on these things. Our budget is $20,000 so we'll see how we do. I'll keep y'all updated!

Flip #2... the one I can actually talk about!

2016-06-21T15:22:00.000-05:00

First let me start of by saying I am SO sorry, and normally Im not that big of a tease; telling y'all we were doing a condo flip and then documenting NONE OF IT. When we landed the show (more details on that later as soon as Im allowed to talk about it) they made us sign our lives away, which included no posts or updates online of the property we were doing (little things on my personal Facebook and talking about "a tv show" were fine as long as no major details, network name, or show name were posted. No fun, I know.

The good news is that we are officially DONE with condo #1! We are currently under contract and will close in a few weeks. As soon as we are signed and sealed, I can talk a little more openly about that project, even though I'll have to leave some detail out until AFTER the show airs (THIS FALL! YAY!)

AND we JUST closed on our SECOND condo flip! Whoo hoo!!

This one was actually a really fun find, especially since we were in a bidding war with 8 other people (....suckas....)!

As you can see, its only a 1/1 but trust me when I say we got it for a STEAL! (I know finding out how much we are paying on these things is half the fun, but until it's sold, Im going to keep the beginning and end dollars under wraps. I PROMISE to post a FULL and honest breakdown as soon as its sold though!)

The reason we got it for such a great price is due to the inside of the unit. Its gutted.

Yea, as in NOTHING... no floor, dry wall, nada...

But hey, what do we care? We like working with a blank slate anyway! And this way, it a LOT easier to get to plumbing, put it recessed can lights, electrical, the works!

So Im going to give you guys a little walk through of the place so you can get a bit better idea of what we are working with.

Let's back up and start with the view right when you walk in the front door; the living room.

Not much to look at, but the exposed brick is pretty cool. A white-washing in it's future? Probably.

Next we turn around...

and are facing the dining room and entrance to the kitchen. We will probably knock that wall to the left of the front door back a bit to open up the space, but leave a little divide so you have a spot to put and entry table and place to drop your keys.

Next is the view into the kitchen...

The stinky think about this is the tiny door way and wall to the left is structural. We can't open it up ALL the way, but will try to take it back to at least counter depth to give it SOME feeling of space. This kitchen is TINY... I think maybe a 10x10? I could pretty much do a spin and hit all the walls with my freaky long arms.

Heading back to the living room into the hallway, you have your bathroom...

It too is pretty darn small...

Sink/vanity area

shower and toilet

We're going to have to raise the shower head and are debating turning this into a standing shower. Maybe bring the shower head all the way up to the ceiling and make it a rain shower? That might get pretty pricey though. And with flips, its all about the $$$.

Across the bath, you have a storage closet (sorry no picture... its just an open square right now. Feel free to use your imagination). So with the bath on the right and the closet on your left, you walk into your master...

Sorry this is such a terrible pictures, but it does bring up the fact that the windows in this unit are new. Score!

The room is a good size, maybe 14x14? and it has a decent sized closet...

From the corner I was taking that picture, if you turn around, you'd be facing the laundry room...

Its actually a really good size! I think a 6.5x6.5. And from having a 3x4 at our house for laundry, I'm a bit envious...

We plan to that that back area and put in some storage, floating shelves, and make a nice butcher block top folding area. In my mind, it looks great.

So that's about it! Its nothing crazy at -750sq ft, but I think we can turn it into something pretty cute, and hopefully make some good money off it (Common' baby... mama needs a new laundry room).

I also shot a walk through video of the "before" if you want to get a better sense of how everything is laid out.

So what do you guys think! What are you most excited to see? Any suggestions or things that you think would look cool in such a small space? Im always opened to ideas!

P.S.- I plan to post a LOT more about this flip on here, but usually upload sneak peaks and fun pics of our flips on my Instagram, LittleHouseintheBigD ... you can also see me sharing super cute pictures of my kids, because lets face it, I'm a mom.

Glad to be back!

Quick update on the condo

2016-03-14T15:57:00.002-05:00

Sooo... as you may (or may not) have noticed, I've been a little MIA from the blog lately.

And for good reason.

Actually, here's a sneak picture as to why I haven't been able to post much lately.

Yep. Chris and I gunna be on the TV.

I can't say what show, or network for that matter, but its a recognizable one.

We're having to keep everything on the "hush hush" for now since they're pretty strict about what I can and cannot post on the blog, but I'll still be able to update y'all on here when I can.

We've been holding on to this secret for a several weeks now but have JUST begun filming. Today was just meeting everyone and shooting "before" shots, but actual interviews and demo starts tomorrow.

Chris and I are THRILLED to start and to see a first hand behind-the-scenes process of these "home reno" shows. Actually, I guess its a "in-the-scenes" look.

AHHHH stayed tuned!!

Ummm do you know where my camera cord is?

2016-02-09T09:35:00.001-06:00

So I finally took all the "before" pictures of the condo now that it's finally cleared out, and of course, can't find my camera cord to upload the pics.

Ugh. My struggle is real.

As soon as I track that sucker down, I will post all pics soon! (Just didnt want you to think I was being a dead-beat blogger... aka: me for the past 6 months)

Thanks, and hold on.