Things are moving along.  Last week my living room floor looked like this!

Now it looks like this.

And I finished texturing, sanding and priming!  I just have to paint, put on some moulding and baseboards and change out some light fixtures — then I think that will wrap up the living room.

Oh… and do something with that coat closet!  And no, it will not be accessible in December if the Christmas tree is in front of it but we’ll have to live with that.  This might be one of the things that the next owners say, “What in the world were THEY thinking”!  LOL

There wasn’t enough to put a door in the hallway and I didn’t want to just waste that space so “it is what it is”.

At least we’ll have a storage closet for the majority of the year…something we currently do not have.  Other than the bedroom closets, this big house has one single storage closet upstairs in the giant room that will someday be Madison’s “Teen Hangout”.   Not nearly enough storage, though there is plenty of room for more.

In time, along with 1001 other things, that will be remedied.  :-)

I use a work light when I texture, sand or paint walls.  Set to shine on the wall at an angle, it creates shadows and illuminates flaws.

It allows me to see what I would otherwise only notice months later, while sitting on the couch enjoying a cold root beer float and trying to admire my work, when the sun shines in a certain window at just the right angle and BAM, there is a big drip, roller line, glob of joint compound, ect.

It doesn’t have to be a gargantuan light, like the one I have.  You could use a small clip on or hanging light — if you have something to clip or hang it onto.

Or a small light that sits on the floor.   The key is to position it so it shines at an angle on the wall you’re working on.  You might be surprised at the difference it makes.  What looks like a perfect finish without the light suddenly looks like the craters on the moon.

Better to see those flaws sooner than later!  Plus, it’s fun to make wacky shadows on the wall while you work!

*I also use a work light (shining at an angle) on  large, flat wood surfaces that I’m building.  During the sanding, painting or staining process, the same concept applies:  illuminate the flaws so you can remove them, check for level and make sure it’s smooth.

See, a simple work light really is a workshop – must have.  :-)

That’s right!  I know it because I’m a TICK magnet!

I’ve had 3 tick bites so far this Spring.  They FREAK me out!

Wes and Madison haven’t had ONE tick bite and they’ve been doing a lot of BushWacking (because we’ve gotten into GeoCaching).  Not one on either of them.

I’m not complaining, don’t get me wrong.  I’m SUPER glad neither of them have had one.

I just don’t understand what it is about ME that they love!  Just me and Brody.  We’ve found 5 ticks on Brody.  Two of them had just jumped on for a ride and hadn’t sunk their fangs in yet.  Friggin’ ticks!

This winter was so mild, we didn’t have enough freezing days in a row to kill them off, apparently.  (According to our Vet.)

We are religious about doing Brody’s Flea and Tick treatment.

I use Tea Tree oil products on my hair once a week.  I don’t wipe myself down with Deet every time I  go outside.  That would get old after about the 5 time each day.

Eat more onions?

Bathe in Tea Tree oil every morning?

Hang a string of garlic around my neck?

I’m seriously thinking this might be my best option!

(Found at Amazon.)

Seriously, anyone have any Tick Avoidance advice?   (Other than “Don’t go outside”.)   I’m kind of desperate here!

We’ve been enjoying our new grassy yard.

So we’re really excited that Pennington Seed is going to give one lucky reader a $100 American Express Gift Card to use on “Sprucing Up Your Yard”.

Who knows, soon you might be feeling the tickle of a new, lush, green lawn on your tootsies.

My “dogs” love the feel of a lush lawn…so does Brody!

Interested in being the “Lucky Reader”?  Here’s what you do:

-Leave me a comment on this post telling me you want to win (maybe add the why)!

*Giveaway starts today and ends Friday May 25, 2012 at 10:00 PM EST. One winner will be randomly selected.  The winner will be announced by May 28, 2012.  Limit one comment (entry) per person. US residents, 18 or older. Void where prohibited by law.

Good Luck!

Disclosure: Pennington Seed, Inc. and their parent company Central Garden & Pet partnered with bloggers such as me to help educate us all about grass seed. As part of this program, I received compensation and was hosted by the company for a kickoff event. They did not tell me what to what to say about the use of the products. Central Garden & Pet believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Central Garden & Pet’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

I wanted to create wood plank ceiling in this small hallway.  I thought I’d save some money and use ‘faux” Wood Planks.

I also had to get rid of that nasty light.  Now that those have been labeled “boob lights”, I can’t look at them and NOT see it.

Yeah, much better!

It’s just 1/8″ hardboard.  $8 for a 4′x8′ sheet.  I ripped it into 4″ strips.  (Just shy of 4″ to allow for my sawblade on each cut.)  I primed and painted them.

Then dragged my chop saw up to the porch because I didn’t want to run downstairs a thousand times.

I didn’t want nail holes so I used panel adhesive…I spent $23 on that so I’m not sure if it actually saved me money using the hardboard instead of nailing up actual planks.  If you did this on your walls, you wouldn’t have to use so much and would have an easier time installing.

I created a border and then filled it with vertical slats.  (Because that’s how I wanted to do it.)   I was about to tear it all down when I finished and it looked like this!

But then I caulked and painted it and decided I loved it after all.

Don’t you hate those moments in a project, when you’ve spent a ridiculous amount of hours working on something, when you look at it and decide it looks like crap?  I’m glad I didn’t throw in the towel too soon because my neck is killing me from working above my head all day.

I made a little DIY Bootcamp Video to show you how to cut drywall…in case you didn’t know.

Voila!

I think I’m about half way done with this project.  I was taping and mudding and decided to just retexture ALL the walls.

I was originally thinking I’d hide the REALLY HEAVY texture by applying wainscoting in choice spots.  I’ll probably still do that but I want the house to look good now, not just …whenever I get to the wainscoting.  It’s not going to help the house be more functional so it’s not a priority right now.  So I’m troweling joint compound on the walls, smooshing it into the voids and then smoothing it out.  I’m not making the walls Completely Smooth.  I’m going for more of a “California Texture” or “Hand Troweled” look.  It’s really hard to get walls PERFECTLY smooth, especially since there’s already SO much texture there.

We’ll see how it looks after it’s primed.  I think no matter what it looks like when I’m done, I’ll like it better than I do now.  I’m not stressing about this project.  I’m  just going with the flow and taking things as they come.

Thought I’d share a Mid Project -Video.

Hope you have a great weekend.  Don’t work to hard!

Looking for inspiration is what I find myself doing in between coats of joint compound.  (It was either browse Pinterest or take a hairdryer to it!)

I thought I’d share some of my Powder Room Inspiration pics with you.

Skona Hem

 Sarah Richardson

HGTV

Lake Jane

COCOCOZY

These spaces are bigger than what I’m working with for my Powder Room but I can work around that.  I’m loving furniture style vanities, unexpected light fixtures and lots of white and grey.

I can’t wait to get to the fun part of renovation…Decorating!

I must be the messiest mudder there is.  I’m covered in the stuff!  I am making progress though.

I usually leave big “Mudding” jobs to the professionals and I may hire someone in for the last coat.  Right now I’m just doing the messy prep work:  taping, filling screw dimples, leveling the new drywall out with the old stuff that is CAKED with texture.  It’s a lot of work but I’m so happy I tore out that closet and opened up that doorway into the Formal Living room.

It feels 100% better already.  (Still not spilling the beans on what my plans are on that new coat closet…because I still haven’t made up my mind.)

Yep, 100% glad I tore out that BIG OLE’ coat closet!

Remember…way back when…I shared with you my Weed Lawn?

I wanted to Round Up the whole thing and start fres.  But WE decided that we should try to preserve what meager grass was there, fighting for survival!  So we used a weed killer.  The kind that doesn’t kill the grass.  Which, if you use that kind of weed killer, you have to wait a VERY long time to seed.  (Like 4 to 6 weeks.)

Weeds are like cockroaches!  They…just…won’t die.  Well, they will, you just have to keep trying until you get the right product or combination of products.  Sheesh!

Now the weeds are gone and this is what’s left.  Nice, right?

 It’s finally been long enough that we can seed now.  I’m going to cover all those bare spots with some some of Pennington Seed’s 1 Step Complete because it is so EASY.

I tried it on my front lawn in some bare spots.  These are apparently favorite spots for Brody to relieve himself.

I used the product for Dense Shade Areas because that part of the lawn almost never sees any sun.

I don’t usually do “outside” work.  It’s funny that I grew up on a farm and yet I know NOTHING about gardening or keeping anything alive that needs even the tiniest amount of nurturing.  I was really hoping this product was as easy to be successful with as it sounds.

All I did was:

1.  Rake up the dead leaves and grass.

2.  Spread the product on the bare spots.  I raked it out to spread it evenly.

3.  Watered it!  I watered it whenever it started to look dry (light green).

After two weeks, this is what has come up.  See the baby blades of grass?  There all skinny and delicate compared to the older grass.

These are the same two spots that were bare before.

It was so fun to watch the grass sprout and grow.

Now that my front lawn is looking good, that sorry back yard really needs to step up to the plate!   I don’t want to look at this any more. LOL

p.s.  If you have shady areas where the drainage is poor and you have issues with Moss, try Moss Out.  Just make sure you get the kind for your application.  There is a product for lawns and another one for structures.  (Speaking of which, I’m thinking of leaving some on my “neighbor up the street’s” doorstep.  The whole side of their house is green…and that is NOT the color of their house!)

Disclosure: Pennington Seed, Inc. and their parent company Central Garden & Pet partnered with bloggers such as me to help educate us all about grass seed. As part of this program, I received compensation and was hosted by the company for a kickoff event. They did not tell me what to what to say about the use of the products. Central Garden & Pet believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Central Garden & Pet’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.