And Then There Was Home

Featured on Budget Decorating!

2011-08-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to log onto Blogger in quite a few days, so I'm late in posting a HUGE thank you... but THANKS to Tonya Lee for featuring my plate wall in her Budget Decorating column at About.com!

You can see the article HERE!

:) Courtney

A party for a Super Hero. Part 1

2011-08-04T07:52:00.000-07:00

Our Rylan is ALL boy. He is REALLY into superheroes, which is very interesting and fun to us since Brodie has always been more into building towers with blocks or Lego's than dressing up as a powerful caped person. LOL.

So, since he really wouldn't have it any other way, for Rylan's 5th birthday last week, we threw him a little Captain America birthday party.

I had fun putting everything together, and we really lucked out on the red, white, and blue decorations. Our local party supply store had all of the Fourth of July Patriotic stuff on clearance, but it worked perfectly with a Captain America theme.

A photo backdrop I painted hung on the wall and I set up the art project area on the dining table.

In the kitchen/family room area, I set up a drink station to the right and had our hotdog bar fixings on the bar.

I didn't take a big photo of the hotdog bar. I meant to do it after the hotdogs and buns were in place, but by then we'd started doing activities and I got distracted taking photos of the kids. :) I did manage to take photos of each of the food labels during setup though. I found the little yellow bowls on the clearance aisle of WalMart for $.75 for a pack of four.

I'd also set up fruit salad and potato salad, but they were lidded at this point and didn't have their labels on. I believe they read, "Power Boosting Fruit Mix" and "Hero Worthy Potato Salad"... in case anyone was wondering. :)

Chili stayed warm in the crock pot, and chips were served in a basket lined with brown craft paper.

First up, the kiddos worked on their art project, which was decorating their own Captain America shields. I assembled the shields themselves before the party, and put out sticky letters, precut out circles, glue, construction paper, and coloring sheets for them to use to decorate their shields.

This photo cracks me up because my husband's mother and grandmother appear to be
SO serious about these shields, lol!

Next up, I cleared away the art supplies, we ate, and then came CANDLES and presents! Yay!!!

My heroes..... <3

The Birthday Boy...

Brodie and my Super Hero Husband... LOL!

and... our sweet little friends who were our neighbors when we lived in Austin, and now live only about 5 miles from us. Crazy right?

Overall, everything turned out really great and our little boy had a GREAT day. I'll be back in a few days with a post about specific little projects I did for the big day.

:) Courtney

Do you Pinterest?

2011-08-04T06:27:00.000-07:00

I've added a link on the sidebar to follow me at Pinterest if you'd like!

Do you Pinterest? Let me know if you do!

:) Courtney

A new addition to the office...

2011-08-02T08:43:00.000-07:00

Gotta love the rotating 50% off sales at Hobby Lobby. We're getting there.... slowly. :)

-Courtney

Day in the Life - Sun, Mon, Tues.

2011-07-12T20:45:00.000-07:00

Well I'm just a complete failure at this Day in the Life thing, lol! Actually I went to post Sunday night and suddenly watching a movie, wrapped in a blanket, with the husband, sounded a lot more appealing than updating the blog.

This will be the shortened, condensed version since I didn't post for the last 2 days!

Yes I did actually write that on the chalkboard. I have been in a pretty foul mood lately, and I really need the reminder. Positive, Thankful, Kind mom is a lot more fun to be around than Negative, Ungrateful, Moody mom.

We didn't do much on Sunday other than homework. I don't even remember what I fixed for any meals, but I do remember that we rented movies that night and I made brownies. Yum.

Oh yeah, I did take this photo of leftovers, ha! Since strawberries are in season, I've been putting them on EVERYTHING... we really love them on salads.

My husband is always off of work on Mondays, and he let me sleep in yesterday. Oh my goodness, it was so needed. Actually, the reason he probably let me sleep in is because I had somewhat of a meltdown on Sunday about the fact that I hadn't had any decent sleep in over 2 months. lol! To be honest, it has been more like 8 months (Liam is still not sleeping through the night), but I do remember getting to sleep in while Brandon took Brodie to school, sometime in early May. ha! I've been running on anywhere from 3-6 hours of sleep a night and it just ISN'T enough for me to function on. Baby just does NOT like to sleep. Anyhoo, I had my little temper tantrum and I got to sleep in. LOL. It is what it is.

Oh, look... he's sleeping. :) I knew I'd better take a picture! ha!

We spent a wee bit of yesterday fertilizing the plants around the yard and my pumpkins and squash.

Yesterday evening I started applying the board and batten look to the staircase area. So far, so good, but I still need to prime and paint.

Dare. Devil.

The tooth fairy visited our house last night. Brodie lost his fourth baby tooth.

We've spent most of today doing little art projects. I also washed sheets and cleaned a bit.

Here are some other photos of the last few days.

Watching How to Train your Dragon

Building wooden cities..

Being Superheroes.

:) Courtney

Day in the Life - Saturday

2011-07-09T21:25:00.000-07:00

First I'd like to just post a little reminder that the Plate Wall Party is still going on, if you'd like to link up HERE. A big Thank You to those that did!

I spent most of the day painting and didn't really take any good mental notes on what we did, so this might not make much sense.

Liam and I (notice how we always wake up at the same time? lol) woke up at around 7 this morning. I was SO tired because he did NOT sleep well at all last night, and I really wanted to stay in bed but he just wasn't having it. I finally took him out of the room so that Brandon could sleep in, and I let him play on the floor in the living room while I attempted to lay back down on the couch. That was short lived because soon the other boys were up looking for their breakfast.

After that, the morning is a blur because I started painting our ginormous two story wall above the staircase.

I was thinking I'd have to hire a painter to come in with a big extension ladder, but then I was watching a staging show on HGTV that showed the host using an extension pole with a rectangular pad on it (I forget what these things are called) to cut in high up. Genius I tell you. Unless you have weird angles on your walls like we do. Yeah, I probably shouldn't have been cheap and just paid someone with a ladder. LOL!

I mean, it looks okay... unless you look closely. BUT, it is painted, which is more than we can say for the past year of us living here.

Lunch time was here before I knew it and I fixed soup and sandwiches for the four of us that eat real food. I fed Liam, cleaned the kitchen, and then did some school work with the boys. Brodie has a long list of words he needs to learn before school starts in August and I'm trying to get Rylan ahead of the curve, so he's learning the words Brodie was tasked with in the first few weeks of Kinder. We also did some addition problems, which they both did amazing at. It actually really impressed me because we haven't been focusing on math much.

I can't really tell you what they did after that because I went upstairs and continued painting in the hallway.

I did snap this one photo of Liam and Brandon in the playroom.. I meant to get a photo of everyone playing in there, but the older boys ran off while I was getting my camera.

I love weekends because I feel like I can actually get stuff done without having to stop every 5 seconds to tend to a child. I know how horrible that sounds, but I'm sure you other mothers can relate. It's nice to have an extra set of hands there so that you can finish up a task.

Before I knew it (again) it was dinner time and I fixed wheat spaghetti and green beans.

If you're a detail oriented person and are wondering about the tons of beer bottles on the counter, my husband has gotten into home brewing and is saving bottles to reuse, lol.

I actually cut up a few noodles and let Liam self feed himself a bit. He LOVED it. He made quite the mess, but he thought it was quite tasty. :)

After dinner, Brandon took the boys out to swim and Liam to swing while I cleaned the kitchen.

I finished up and they were still outside enjoying themselves so I went ahead and fluffed the pillows on the couch, picked up toys, swept the 1st floor and then dusted the front room. About that time Brandon came in asking me to bring my camera out.

Liam had fallen asleep in his swing. He never would take an afternoon nap, and he finally gave in. Brandon brought him in to lay him in his crib and he woke up, so I couldn't clean anymore after that.

We needed diapers, and a friend and cousin of mine had passed along codes to get free movies at a Blockbuster kiosk. So, we loaded in the car and went to our local Randall's, which has a kiosk in the store. The boys picked out a movie and Brandon picked out Battle Los Angeles, and I picked up diapers. LOL. Does that seem fair?

We came home, cleaned up the boys and started homework for ourselves.

Currently the boys are in their playroom watching their movie and Brandon just put in his, I have a feeling I'll be sleeping through half of it because I am TIRED!

Courtney

Day in the Life - Friday

2011-07-08T21:04:00.000-07:00

Day 2 of this 7 day series. :)

Liam and I woke up at around 7:30 this morning. I fed him a bottle while I ate a bowl of cereal (I'm talented like that.. ha!). I'm actually trying to wean him right now and we're doing good with bottles during the day. We watched the news for a bit until the boys woke up around 8-8:30. I put coffee on and made them cereal and we all watched cartoons while they ate.

The older boys have been obsessed lately with the little 99 cent hot wheels cars. I'm glad a .$99 toy can bring them so much joy, but they're small so they lose them everywhere. In fact, Brodie lost one in the ocean this past weekend. Anyway, my point is that they're easy to lose and we spent a good deal of time this morning searching for a car that Rylan somehow lost in OUR (Brandon and I) bed last night. Every night he comes down and tries to climb in bed with us, and every night we turn him away or I'll go make a bed for him on the couch. Never fails. lol. We did find the car though, so all was well with the world again.

Liam laid down for his morning nap at about 10 and woke up at around 11. During this time the boys played in their playroom with their cars, and I looked online for some things for Rylan's birthday.

After Liam woke up at 11, I started lunch and Brandon showed up at around 11:30. I failed to mention this yesterday since it was an abnormal day for us, but he usually comes home around then for lunch everyday. I love that we live so close to his work and that he's able to do this- 1) it saves an insane amount of money and 2) it breaks up the monotony of the day for the boys and myself. After lunch, Brandon headed back to work and we went out back to swim.

I also think I may have finally figured out how to take pictures of people with my new camera. I've been having to take about 20 photos to get one good one lately - good as in non-blurry. So annoying, but now they're all turning out halfway decent... at least, not blurry.. which I'm ecstatic about. :)

I attempted to lay Liam down for nap number 2 around 2pm and he just wasn't having it, so I took him out with me to water my pumpkin and squash plants.

We also vacuumed the area rugs downstairs. While I was getting out the vacuum I found a box in the closet from Pottery Barn Kids, and it was Rylan's backpack that I'd ordered a few days before. Talk about fast shipping... Brandon found it on the porch when he came home from lunch and just stuck it in the closet so Rylan wouldn't see it. I had his name monogrammed on and it looks so cute, and I was super impressed with the fast turnover. I may have to talk Brodie into getting a new one.

I took it out to take that picture, but it is actually still in hiding. He really wants a superhero backpack, so I'm going to try and find a Captain America patch to sew on it before the "big reveal" ha!

Anyhoo, Brandon came home a bit early from work, around 2:45, and we got the boys dressed (they were all running around half naked from swimming earlier) and we went to Lowe's for a few things. We ended up buying paint roller sleeves, a gallon of paint for the staircase, some stuff for the weed eater, and a paintbrush. We also spent some time talking to the guy at the door and window section and left with several brochures. We'll have to get HOA approval on design, but we're hoping to pick out new doors soon. You can actually SEE daylight under our doors. Pretty sure that isn't energy efficient. ha!
We also swung through the lighting section while we were there just because I'm in the market for a new fixture over the dining table and in the entry. I look every time we go, which is at least once a week.. so I'm not sure while I look at all anymore, but I was happily surprised to see a bunch of new fixtures hanging.

I love this one because it is similar to those found normally in a chrome finish. This is the first of this type I've ever seen in a darker finish, which is what we would need to not look completely ridiculous. I'm not 100% sure it is right for OUR house, but I like it nonetheless.

I found these three fixtures to be really awesome because of the blown glass look and the filament bulbs. I'm actually considering the 3 light one for over the table, but I held the photo up in the room and I'm not so sure anymore. It might be a little too camper-esque.

I was really surprised to see this because it reminds me of a Restoration Hardware fixture for about 5 times the money. Once again, probably not right for our house, but still really cool.

Does it make me completely boring that I think something simple might look best? I still haven't decided. We could put the small one in the entry and the large one over the table.

After that we went to Home Depot, but just I ran in while the boys stayed in the car with Brandon, and I picked up another gallon of paint. Yep, we have colors picked out from all over town, lol.

We then came home and I started dinner while Brandon fed Liam a bottle. I fixed hamburgers and sauteed squash for on the side. After dinner I cleaned the kitchen, the boys were sent upstairs to pick up their playroom, and Brandon took Liam out to help water the front yard.

I started painting the walls near the staircase while they were out watering, and finished up while Brandon gave the boys a bath and got them ready for bed. It looks sooo much better than it did. This doesn't show too much but you can at least see the color.

I fed the baby and Brandon put the boys to bed in their playroom. I'm hoping to head to bed within the next hour. Liam was up a lot last night - I think he's starting to cut his SIXTH tooth, and none of us got very much sleep. lol. Hopefully we'll do better tonight.

:) Courtney

Day in the Life - Thursday

2011-07-07T20:49:00.000-07:00

For the next 7 days I'm going to document what we do each day. I can't guarantee it will be interesting, but here I go regardless. ha!

Liam and I woke up this morning around 6:45. I fed him his morning bottle while I drank several cups of coffee and browsed around on the internet.

I actually bought a new pair of glasses from coastalcontacts.com using one of their free glasses codes this morning. I'm hoping they turn out okay.. I've never bought glasses without first trying the frames on, so I'm somewhat nervous. They actually weren't FREE, since I'm practically blind as a bat and have to have the extra thin lenses, but it was a great deal regardless.

The other boys woke up around 8:30 and I fed them breakfast (cereal), then went to get dressed for the day. At around 9:30 my husband came home from work so he could watch Rylan and Liam while Brodie and I went to a podiatrist to address his toe walking.

The appointment went really well. We really liked the doctor we saw and Brodie had x-rays done of his feet which he LOVED.

He's been really obsessed with bones, muscles, blood cells and everything else in his body lately, so this was huge for him. lol.

After questions, watching Brodie walk, and looking at the x-rays he determined that his toe walking is habitual and not congenital, meaning he does not need surgery to fix it. We'll go back in a few weeks (hopefully just a few weeks.. we have to wait on insurance to process everything) and he'll be fitted for custom inserts for his shoes. The doctor also sent us home with stretches to do for his calf muscles.

While we were at the dr. I picked up a copy of a local parent's magazine, and was happy to find Rylan's photo under their birthday page. I'd uploaded it to them in June, for the July issue, and he was super excited to see it later in the day. I told him he was famous! lol!

After the doctor we went ahead and went to the grocery store while we were out.

While we were at the store I picked up one of those net feeder things for Liam. You cut up fruit (or whatever really) and they can chew it through the netting, so that they get the food but do not choke. Either they didn't make these things when the other boys were babies, or I was just living under a rock then, ha!

Liam tried it out and LOVED it. Right after this picture was taken he had a major diaper mishap and had a bath. lol. So that was tons of fun.

My husband went back to work and the kids and I lounged around watching cartoons and playing with toys in the family room.

We then went swimming until Liam decided it was nap time. We actually have a pool in our neighborhood, but even the shallow end is pretty deep at 4 ft, and I just don't feel comfortable taking all three kids there by myself. I talked Brandon into getting this for the boys a few weeks ago and they have spent SO many hours in it so far this summer.

Since it is only 30 inches deep, I feel comfortable floating around with Liam while they play or even sitting out on the side. What I find incredibly funny about all this is that we both insisted on NOT buying a house with a pool when we were house shopping. I was SO nervous for safety reasons. Now we both talk about one day getting a built in.

I find this setup so funny. Its like we're the backyard version of the redneck yacht club, with a pool and an awning, but they're the foldable, put up at the end of season versions, lol.

While Liam napped the boys took turns playing games on the computer while I cleaned the kitchen and then read some blogs. He was up pretty soon after that (the kid hates to sleep) and we all just lounged around until Brandon came home from work.

Brandon and I talked about our day and then he went out and mowed the yard while I fed Liam and then started dinner, which was chicken fajitas. We ate and then I took the older boys into the backyard to swim again while Brandon took Liam on a walk to check the mail. If Liam could do one thing everyday, it would be walk to the mailbox.. he loves it!

Liam took a little dip with us and then decided he'd rather swing, so Brandon did that until we all went inside and showered up for bed.

Liam fell asleep eating a bottle around 9 and the boys are currently up in their playroom watching a movie. We're not really strict about bedtimes during the summer and we usually let them fall asleep watching movies on their futon up there.

All in all, it has been a great day, with very little stresses.. which is honestly odd for this house, ha! Until tomorrow - Courtney

Plate Wall Link up!

2011-07-05T20:29:00.000-07:00

I'm sure we all have great methods on how to hang plates, but I thought I'd share my method in case anyone cares, ha!

I start by arranging the plates on the floor, trying to find a design that looks right. It usually takes one or two times before I get it right.

I start by finding the center of the wall. Ignore the mess, we were busy moving things around.

I then use a level to run a line of painters tape vertically up the center of the wall, and horizontally as shown.

These tape lines act as a guide so that the plates are all level.

In this case, I placed the horizontal row as a starting point, and then grew the design off of that.

I then just remove the plates one by one, removing the tape, and replacing the plates as I go. As you can see, I just nail straight through the tape.

Aren't those melamine Ikat plates from Target just too cute?

I also love the little pop of spring green. I was originally thinking I would do an all white arrangement for this wall, but after doing the Board and Batten treatment with the stark blue and white, I felt this area needed a little more pop than just white.

I'm really loving it. Here is a reminder of how this spot looked just one month ago. :)

So much better! Now it's YOUR turn! :)

Please be a follower of And Then There Was Home.

Please link up to your specific blog post URL and not just your blog.

It does not need to be a post dedicated to a plate wall, but it does need to at least show the wall featuring the plates in the post.

Place a link on your post leading back here.

Visit others and leave comments! We all love them and the whole point of this is to share ideas.

Thanks! :) Courtney

Weekend Recap and Party reminder

2011-07-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a great Fourth of July!

My sister's family came into visit this weekend and we had a great time viewing fireworks on Friday..

Going to the beach on Saturday...

And, going to an Astros game Saturday night.

We're very lucky that we live in an area with SO much to do.

I love how the bay fills up with boats before each firework show.

Liam and I at the beach before he threw his hat off. ha!

Our family, after the beach, but before leaving for the baseball game

My sister, Samantha, and Liam.

Overexposed, but still cute. That is my sister's stepson next to the baby in the black hat. :)

Last night we went out again to view fireworks.. and let me tell you, we'll never do it like that again. Next year we're either chartering a boat or we're doing it smart like these people! LOL.

Bathroom.. Kitchen... TVs... Beds for the little ones? Now THAT is how you wait out a 2 hour traffic jam in style. ha! We made friends with them toward the end of the night, and they said all the kiddos were in bed in the TWELVE bunkbeds. Nice. :)

Here was our crew.

I'm throwing this one in because it makes me laugh. Man it is hard to work out with kids in tow. Our bike ride/mommy walk time turned into whiny kids, mommy pushing everyone AND two bikes time. lol.

----------------------

Remember, the Plate Wall Party opens tomorrow! I hope you'll join in!

:)Courtney

Starting Wed!

2011-07-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

I am super excited about hosting my first link-up party, and I hope you'll join me!

This party is all about the plates. To me, there is just something classic about plates displayed as art. I hope you'll join me on Wednesday and link up any posts and photos you have displaying plate collections. I think this will be a great way for us to see great examples of plate walls all in one spot. :)

I'd also be super appreciative if you spread the word. See you then, and Happy Fourth!

-Courtney

Yesterday's Purchases

2011-07-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

The boys and I went shopping at Target yesterday morning and picked up a few things for the front room redo. Michelle over at Dream Home DIY does this little thing called Inside My Shopping Bag, and I've always enjoyed reading it (perhaps because I'm nosy and like seeing what other people spend money on, ha!). So, I thought I'd completely copy her today. :) If you're reading this, thanks for the inspiration, Michelle. LOL.

What's inside Courtney's Shopping Bag..

I actually need about three more of these magazine holders, but the Target I visited yesterday only had one left in green. If you look into the background you can see the real reason we went to the store, ha! Yep, toilet paper. Tell me I'm not the only one who goes into a store for one thing and leaves with a $100 debit to the account. LOL. Anyhoo, this magazine holder was $4.99 and was available in about 4 other colors.

These saucer size melamine plates were only $.99 and I bought two of them to be used as coasters on our desk.

I also picked up this four pack of 7.5 inch diameter salad plates. $7.99 for the four pack.

And finally, something that isn't green! ha! All of these plates are melamine, but from afar, look like real dishware. Price wise, I'll start with the white ones first. The small round plates and the small square plates were $1.79 each. The larger round plates were $1.99 each and the two blue ikat plates were $2.99 each.

So, why on Earth did I buy so many random plates? For a plate wall, of course! Actually, I'm thinking about hosting a plate wall link up party so we call all share ideas. Is that something any of you would be interested in? I'd hate to host my first party only for no one to link up, ha!

I'm also thinking of doing a few day in the life posts. One of my favorite blogs, Kelly's Korner, just did a few and I really enjoyed reading about her activities, especially since she's a stay at home mom like myself.

Let me know what you think, please, especially about the Plate Wall Link up Party. I'm thinking about setting it to debut sometime next week.

:) Courtney

What I found this morning...

2011-06-28T08:58:00.000-07:00

Apparently I need to take the baby gating to the bathrooms too. (Or at least learn how to close doors, ha!)

Liam is loving toilet paper these days.

Have a great day!

:) Courtney

Custom Baby Gate HOW TO

2011-06-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

Custom Baby Gate How To.

Welcome TLC Party People. :)

This is strictly a guide to how we constructed our custom baby gate. If you would like to see more photos of the finished product, they can be viewed in THIS POST. :)

Materials:

24 inch x 48 inch x 1 inch woodworkers panel (found in the trim/moldings aisle) at Lowe's.

Also seen, the baby to be gated. :)

One 4 inch x 1 inch x 4 ft board

One 3 inch x 1 inch x 8 ft board

One 1.5 inch x 1 inch x 8 ft board

We also used several small pieces of bender board left over from the Board and Batten project found HERE.

Brandon placed the 3 inch wide board on top of the 4 inch wide board to create the stacked look that the hinges are attached to. Below you can see a dry run we did, with the hinges and the main door panel, done to make sure everything was aligning correctly. We also used this chance to trace the outline of the steps, which would need to be cut so that the gate could pass freely over.

Below is a close up shot of the boards used to hold the hinges. You can see how the stacked the 3 inch and 4 inch boards are arranged, as previously described. We needed the 2 inch thickness, and could have just used two 4 inch pieces, but we felt this looked better. We were left with recessed screw holes, which I then filled with wood filler.

I tend to overfill and sand off any excess later.

I took this photo to show you how Brandon measured the center of each trim piece as a guide before nailing on, but I'm posting it because it just looks so funny. I know it is just the perspective and because he is such a tall guy, but his legs look so little here! ha! He looks like he's in a fun house mirror. :)

The leftover 3 inch board that was not used as part of the hinge contraption was nailed to the top of the gate. We used the 1.5 inch trim piece for the bottom of the gate, and the side.

We spaced out the bender board to an eye pleasing look, and then measured and cut to fit.

Since the bender boards are 1/4 inch thick, and we used them on the front and on the back of the gate, our 1.5 inch piece on the bottom fit flush with the edges of the bender boards. We used the liquid nails to attach the bender board pieces.

Here it is primed and ready for paint.

3 coats later (ugh! ha!), it was time to attach the caster. We attached it to the edge farthest from the hinges in order to help with the weight load.

The receiving end of the gate latch was attached first.

After attaching the gate to the wall with the hinges, we attached the gate pin, ensuring it fit correctly into the gate latch.

Done!

The gate took about 5 hours to build and assemble, and we couldn't be happier with the finished product.

And, just for convenience, here is the LINK to the post with more finished photos.

Thanks for reading!

:) Courtney

Custom Made Baby Gate

2011-06-26T19:56:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of our baby gate the hubby and I constructed this weekend!

Okay, well.. we both designed, he constructed most of it, and I did the painting.

Here it is!

Please, someone, tell this little guy that he is 7 months old and is NOT supposed to be scaling mountain size stairs! LOL.

I thought we'd have a few more months before we'd have to figure out a solution to baby gate off these weird shaped stairs, but the time came sooner than any of us were prepared for.

We debated a supergate around, or building a similar style gate around the base of the stairs, but after Liam decided the computer cords in the front room made a nice teether, we decided to go ahead and gate off the whole front room. :) Sorry little guy.

View from the front room Before

After

View from the kitchen/family room Before

And, a few detail shots.

Ahh, just love that little caster on the bottom. :)

I ultimately want to find a nice little glass knob to put on it, but it works just fine for now,

....although it isn't making Liam too happy. ha!

Aww. Poor baby. Better safe than sorry though!

Here are semi-detailed directions on how we built it LINK HERE. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

:) Courtney

Linking to: Just a girl.

Between Naps on the Porch

Savvy Southern Style

Board and Batten treatment

2011-06-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

I've known for months now that I ultimately wanted a board and batten look in our front room.

However, I mentioned it to my husband those many months ago and he was really less than enthusiastic about it. So, the compromising lady that I am, decided that I could make do without the lovely architectural addition and just get away with painting one wall blue. The husband was on board with that idea, so I ran with it, and you can read about the results of that in THIS POST

And here is a little photo of how that turned out...

Well. I liked the results, I really did, but something was bothering me about it. I guess since one blue wall wasn't really my initial vision, I was having a hard time with it flowing with the rest of my plans. Our neutral walls were now looking really yellow and it was beginning to look very kindergarten classroom-ish, with our one blue wall, yellow-y looking other walls, and our bright red filing console on the other end of the room.

So, I pulled up some images of board and batten, done well, on Decorpad.com and showed them to Brandon. He was totally on board this time; I'm guessing the room was looking just as odd to him as it was to me.

We measured out the room and determined that we would need 20 ten foot boards to do the whole room minus the one blue wall. I still wanted it left the same.

So, off to Home Depot we went. Our ten foot boards were about $5 and some change each, so we loaded them up, and also put in our cart a gallon of white paint. Cheapo that I am was a little disappointed that our total was going to be around $150 for this wall treatment. $100 + for lumber, almost $30 for paint, and a few paint brushes thrown in there added to the total. I was also I little bummed because the wood that existed in my mind, didn't seem to exist in real life. Ultra thin (to not stick out over the baseboards), and ultra cheap. Oh well. I really wanted it done. So, we were standing in line at the contractor checkout, since our local Home Depot has EVERY other register as self-check out now. Ugh.. how annoying is that? I like self checkout stations, but I like at least one other normal register open.. especially for lumber and whatnot.

Anyhoo, we were standing there with our cart full of lumber and I notice this display of bender board, 3 3/4 inch wide, 1/4 inch thick, by 96 inch long strips of MDF, used by concrete contractors to shape curvy sidewalks or driveways.

In hindsight, had we not been in the contractor line, I'd have never seen these strips! I thought to myself that these would be perfect... and wandered over to the display to see how much they were. $1.60 something each. Say what! Needless to say, we put all of our other lumber back and loaded up on 30 strips of the MDF. We ended up picking up more since the lengths were shorter and we didn't want any weird seams. Actually we over estimated and we have about 10 strips leftover! ha! I have another project in mind for them though, so I'm happy we over bought. Anyway, at this point our $150 project was now around $80. How great is that?? I have no idea if others have done the board and batten look with these bender boards, but I highly recommend it. Cheap, thin, PERFECT! You definitely need to prime first, since the MDF is absorbent, but if you're planning on doing that anyway, then it is really no big deal.

So, after all that jibber jabber, time for more photos!

We are no where near being finished with this space, but we've seen quite the progress so far!

Here is a reminder before (actually more like a during):

And a few during the wall treatment addition:

Ahhh. This room is finally starting to feel like it is a part of our home. Love it.

Thanks for reading!

Linking to : Between Naps on the Porch

:) Courtney

More Home Office updates.

2011-06-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

So, as you can see here we decided to go with the Ethan office chair, a modern white chair, from World Market. Before buying, I was still really undecided on what I wanted, so we decided to stop by the store to see it in person. The minute I sat down, I knew it was the chair for us. SO comfortable. Seriously. My visions of having something cushy to sink in to, just melted away. I assumed the chair I wanted look wise, would not be the chair I wanted hiney wise. Not true.

They also had a banker's type chair that my husband was favoring, but after he tried out the Ethan chair, he was sold too.

How come every gosh darn thing we buy is assemble it yourself? LOL!

At least this item only took about 5 minutes.

I could go ON and ON about the frustrations we had with getting this desk. Reminder to self: check reviews of local furniture stores before proceeding with purchase! Apparently the specific store we dealt with is known for not delivering on time and just feeding you lies. Of course, we didn't realize this until after we'd paid and placed our order, and waited over two weeks when we were told it would be 3 days. BUT.. it finally came.

While we did have to attach the legs, it was pretty much in one piece. Thank goodness. ha! Ignore our cords. We need to replace this desktop with a laptop, but until then, I guess our cords will just show. But hopefully not quite this badly.. sheesh! I really need to do something about that!

:) Courtney

Our new filing console.

2011-06-22T19:38:00.000-07:00

So, a few weeks ago I posted THIS, sharing with you which filing console we ordered, along with the desk we picked out.

Well, the filing console arrived a few days after posting those photos, in two VERY large boxes. (Too bad I can't say the same thing for the desk! It did finally arrive, but two weeks late!) Anyhoo...

As you can tell from the bottom, right of the above photo, the boxes were pretty badly damaged, but no fear. Each and every item in the boxes were encased in about 2inch thick pieces of Styrofoam. These boxes could have fallen off the truck, gotten ran over a few times, and I'm pretty sure the contents would still be in tip top shape.

After about 5 hours, (NO, I am NOT kidding... not a single part was assembled, not even the drawer handles), I finally had that sucker together. Believe it or not, the hardest, most time consuming part was getting the darn drawers in! Oh. My. Word. I actually plan on writing a pretty detailed review of this item on their website, to help out future buyers, because after about an hour I finally figured out a trick to get them to go in.

Talk about a labor of love.

Look at these bums... I should have been down on the floor with them after all that!

Oh, and I have a secret... that I guess I'm going to go ahead and tell you.. ha! Those walls in the above photo don't look a thing like that anymore. We've been busy the past few days!

I'll probably post about that in a day or two.

Oh, and here's another baby on the boxes photo, just because he is so darn cute. :)

-Courtney

Why Home Matters to ME.

2011-06-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

Go ahead and grab some coffee, because this is mighty long winded. :)

Recently, my step-mom, who I love dearly, passed to me a beautiful set of Fostoria glassware. She actually gave it to me almost a year ago, but we just recently purchased a new-to-us china cabinet and so I sat down with the Rubbermaid boxes full of the newspaper wrapped glasses and bowls and glee-fully went through it all.

Rewind to a few days before...

My aunt sent me a picture text asking if I wanted a dual photo frame thing from my grandparent's house.

Rewind to a few weeks before that... Am I confusing you yet? Perhaps I should have started at the beginning? Oh well.

A few weeks ago, my grandpa announced he was getting re-married. My late grandmother passed away in early 2009. I know I speak for the whole family when I say that we all miss my grandmother dearly. She was such an important part of my family and such an important part of many of my memories growing up. I'm also very happy that my grandpa has found someone to love and have companionship with again, I can only imagine how lonely it must be to go through losing someone so important after so many years together.

I guess now would be a good time for a disclaimer, for any family members that might read this. Although this may mention my childhood, my parents did not short come me in any way.. They loved me, do love me, and I love them. This may also mention other people, but it really isn't about the people at all. Well, then, what is it about, you ask?

Home.

Thinking about it now, it may seem to be about things, but it really isn't about the things I mention either. It's all about Home and the memories that are made there.

When I think of my childhood home, I draw a blank. My parents worked for the prison system and when I was what you would consider a child, we lived in prison housing.. somewhat like army housing I guess, for those of you who aren't familiar. When my parents divorced, we moved into an apartment with my mom for a few years. She then transferred to a new prison, across the state, and we moved into a cute little rental house. We lived there for a year or two until she purchased home in a town about 15 miles away. It is a beautiful, older home, with a ton of character.. and I suppose I should consider it the house I grew up in, the house I put down roots, but I don't. After all, we moved there when I was in 9th grade and I eventually grew up and moved out. The one house that is a constant of my childhood, up until this point in my life, has been my grandparent's house. Even with the moves, I could go there and it was still the same. Even with the huge emptiness of my grandmother not being there in the recent visits, it has still been the same house, which is a huge comfort to me.

I remember Summers there, riding four wheelers through the pastures and woods behind their house. I remember Christmas and Thanksgiving gatherings with all of my many, many cousins. I remember the year they put in their pool, and my cousin Dana and I were allowed to get in while it filled, but only on the steps. :) I remember when my grandpa tried to get into the Emu business and there were emu cages with emu babies behind the house, and big green emu eggs. I remember my grandmother cleaning out their travel trailer, getting it ready to go to the lake. I remember helping her clean the house, when I was a bit older, during the summers when I would stay there.. and I remember my grandpa walking in from checking his cows and commenting how clean the house smelled, with a big smile; and, I would be so proud. A moment he may not remember, but a moment that meant a lot to a child seeking approval. I even remember not being allowed in my grandmother's formal dining room when I was really young, and now, as an adult, it makes me smile.

I believe, deep down, my grandmother, and her house, is the reason that I insist on decorating like a crazy person at Christmas, because she did and I loved it. I loved her. I miss her.

Now here is a little insight into my psych, that I find a little disturbing, and you might too. I don't really cry. I guess I do when I'm really mad, or I'm really stressed; but overall, I'm not a big crier like most girls.

However, when I was pulling out those newspaper wrapped tea glasses and plates, I started sobbing as memory after memory of my grandmother and her house, came flooding back. She owned a set of Fostoria just like my step-mom, and she never hesitated to bring it out and set her table with it. She would claim any day a special occasion while we were there, which made me feel special.

My grandfather's new bride to be is moving in her things (as expected) and part of me wonders what is moving out. Family photos? I know at least a few, since my aunt offered one to me. I know when we go there for their wedding next month, the house will look completely different. Actually, I've been warned and I'm okay with that. After all, it isn't my house and I would do the same thing in their situation. Still, part of me is grieving the house that has been my constant over the last 27 years.

Which brings me to my point. Finally, you say! :)

Home is very important to me. I'm slowly realizing why this house, and making it a place that my children will remember, is such a priority that I'm so fixated on. New shoes? No. I need to buy paint. NEED to. NEED. $50 for a dinner out? Why on Earth would we do that when there are pillows to buy? Pillows! How insane is that? Pretty gosh darn insane, I know.

So I guess this is my Public Service Announcement to those of you who are just as insane as I am.

Buy that pillow. Roll on that paint. Use the special dishes just to make your children feel special. Do whatever it is, that you have to do, to create a home that will be a constant for your family. It might end up meaning more to them one day, than you might think.

Courtney

Picking a color for the Dining Room

2011-06-13T07:50:00.000-07:00

Choices, Choices. Looks like we're going with blue, doesn't it? :)

I actually laid all of my swatches out on the floor, and put one of my blue and white pieces near them and automatically ruled out any that clashed with the china. I have so much, and intend on collecting more, and it just doesn't make any sense to pick a color that won't go with my already established blue and white.

I narrowed it down to a handful and taped them to the wall, observing them in the yellow-y light from the ceiling fan, and also in the morning with natural sunlight from the window.

I finally decided on Nautical Navy, a Valspar color from Lowe's.

To me, it isn't really a true Navy, but has more of a Peacock Blue quality to it.

Here is a Before picture of the wall and the space. Like I've said before, it's been sort of a mish-mash of furniture, and basically a storage space. You can see we've been using a dining buffet as a desk, our printer and router are on the floor, along with filing boxes; it's been one big ol' mess.

....and... Painted!

If you're having the same reaction I did, then you're probably thinking, "Whoa, now that is a lot of blue." Actually, it has taken me quite a few days to get used to it, and quite a few reminders to myself that this is the wall with nothing on it. My vision for the space includes several things hanging ON the wall, hopefully making the color become more of a pretty background.

Here is a wider angle.

I'm actually liking that it does seem to make the space feel like its own little room. To me, it is much cozier and more intimate feeling.

We still have to get our Internet cable relocated, and change out the light to a dining fixture.. and ... and ...and. But, we'll get there eventually. Small steps.

On another note, our desk, which should have shipped in on Friday is in a store on the other side of Houston. To drive and get it, or to wait another week for it to be delivered? I have a feeling we'll be driving to Katy (wayyyy on the West side of Houston) today.

:) Courtney

Damask meets the 1970s.

2011-06-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

If the 1970s and Damask were to meet and have a rug love child, it would be this.

Um. Yeah. That's not going to work for us.

At first I couldn't find the rug in the store, and then I finally saw what SORT of looked like it, but NO.... surely not. Then I saw that a runner was available to spread out on the floor.

Yep.

What looked brown in the online photo, was actually gold in real life. What looked like a compact weave, was actually a shag.

Yeah, baby, yeah. ha!

Do you know how annoying it is to load three children into a car, and then into a racecar cart..

only to leave empty handed? Hate that.

After my husband got off of work that evening, we went to 4 different stores, with no rug luck, finally making a full circle back to Lowes.

I showed him some of the rugs that peeked my interest earlier in the day...

but we ended up going with a tannish, yellowish rug with a very simple Berber like weave. I didn't even notice it on my earlier trip, but we both liked it and a great bonus was that it was ultra cheap. We scored TWO 8x10 rugs for under $200.

When we got home and unfurled them to see all of their glory, we both stood back and wondered if we measured the room correctly, ha!

(Ignore the crazy looking, disorganized room... exactly WHY this room is getting work done.)

Despite the size fitting scare, they do both fit, and I'm thinking we made a very good choice going with something so neutral.

Meanwhile, I've painted a wall in here, and our new console arrived today... in two big boxes, and in one million tinnnny little pieces. :)

-Courtney

Home Office.. Coming together.

2011-06-07T06:55:00.000-07:00

Maybe I shouldn't say coming together, lol. In all honestly nothing is actually in the space, but things have been ordered, which is major progress in this ol' book!

Yesterday we bit the bullet and bought THIS filing console:

and this desk:

..which, the desk isn't as red looking in person, it is more of a walnut color. If you've been around for my previous ponderings on the office, you'll remember that my husband wanted this style of desk. Honestly, it is growing on me and I'm excited about seeing it in the room.

We REALLY debated on the console since it is such a strong piece color wise, and part of me is regretting not getting it in black instead,

but it is on its way (in RED!)... so we shall see if it works! lol.

I'll be headed to a Lowes in our area to check out this rug today.. LINK HERE.

The price is great for an 8x10, but I'm a little concerned the curvy ornate desk, with the Chinoiserie-style console, and then such a boldly patterned rug might be a little overkill. Plus since this room is joined with the dining area, I want matching rugs for both. Pattern Pattern Pattern. I'm sure it will all come together, it's just making me nervous while we wait for everything to come in.

We're stuck on a chair though. Modern desk chair, or more traditional cushy chair? I love both, and I like the white in THIS chair,

but I want something I can really sink into also. Maybe something like THIS..

Too executive looking? We're also debating just finding a white slipped wingback and attaching casters the the bottom. Decisions, Decisions. What kind of chair would YOU go with?

-Courtney

Looking ahead to the Fall... installing a Pumpkin Patch.

2011-06-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

Every year, around September, the pumpkins start hitting the supermarkets. Every year, I want to buy about 50 of them to use around the house as decoration, or to carve with the kiddos.

I usually buy one or two, and then regret not having grown any myself. This also happens every spring when the bluebonnets start popping up here in Texas. You have to start those in the Fall, just like you have to start pumpkins in advance in the Spring. I'm just, in general, not good at starting projects so far ahead of time.

Except for this year. I was bound and determined to have my own little pumpkin patch this year.

I have read countless articles on how to grow pumpkins. I have watched way too many youtube videos on how to grow pumpkins. Finally, realizing I was reaching my deadline to get started if I wanted pumpkins by October, I knew I'd better get busy getting the bed ready.

I watched the yard for several days, watching the sun and the shade, trying to figure out a good, out of the way, place to build our planting bed. Pumpkins need full sun, and our big tree in the back blocks out most of it from about 3 pm on. Plus we have the t-ball field to work around.

Yes, that is my boys' GREAT Grandmother at bat. LOL.

I finally decided on this area of the side yard.

It is tucked out of the way, receives at least 8 hours of sun daily, and with no large trees near by, I knew I wouldn't have to worry about digging into roots.

Now, this is probably not the best way to build a garden bed, but it works for us because it was inexpensive, and easy. If it falls apart in a few years, we'll call it experience and rebuild in another fashion.

Supplies- 8 cedar fence pickets, 6 feet in length. 2 treated deck balusters, 42 inches in length.

Each picket was $1.98, each deck baluster was $0.98. Cost for supplies - approximately $18.

The bed itself is approximately 18 feet long (actually a little shorter), by about 4 1/2 feet wide. Ideally you would want a wider bed, but my husband wants to put a gate in on this side of the house, and we would need to reserve space for a path. We may end up putting another thin planting bed along the house wall after our path is constructed.

I cut 15 inches from 2 of the cedar fence pickets to use for the border at the small widths of the bed, leaving the other 6 pickets to line the length, 3 per side. I cut the dog ears from the pickets so they would fit flush together.

The 42 inch deck balusters, I cut into four pieces each, and then cut a wedge off of each end, making them into stakes. This provided me with 8 stakes to use at the junction of each fence picket. I used galvanized screws to hold the construction together.

The goal was not to make a complete raised bed, because then I would have to completely back fill with soil, which can get expensive. Plus, our soil is actually in pretty good condition as is, it just need a bit of amending, not a complete overhaul.

Because of this, I sank the border down a bit. We'll see how this works out in the long run. I may have a rotting border in just a few months, but I'm hoping to get at least a few years out of it.

I finished the construction of the bed yesterday morning, and we amended the soil yesterday evening. We'll let it rest for a day or so, and then start our planting. I am so excited, and I'll share our progress as our plants fill in.

:) Courtney

Featured, and a Garden.

2011-05-28T07:53:00.000-07:00

A big Thank You to Michelle @ Someday Crafts for featuring my book ledges today.

The post can be found HERE.

I'm also having some major garden prepping envy over here.

You have to check out what is going on over at AUGUST FIELDS.

Make sure you follow her link at the bottom to her inspiration post. It is to die for, and makes me wish we had some acreage to create something as beautiful on.

-Courtney

The first of many Playroom Projects

2011-05-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

So a few months ago, I posted this post about re-doing our playroom and why I wanted to update the space.

Since that post, I've given the room a lot of thought, and evolved several ideas.

Since storage and function is a priority for me, I'll start this playroom makeover with a highly functional project- Organizing my children's books.

This is what it looks like now..

This was the previous storage method...

Yet, imagine all of those books scattered on the floor, and that is what it generally looked like..

Why?

My boys would pull out books to look at, and then would have trouble putting them back onto the bookshelf correctly. Or, they would have a book in mind that they wanted to read, but they would pull off several books before they found the specific one they wanted. Then, of course, they couldn't get the books back onto the shelf because the other books were falling over.

I knew over a year ago that this book storage was just not working for us. I noticed at the library that the children's section displays several books with the cover forward, so that the little ones can see the pictures since the words on the spine mean very little to them.

I knew that this was the solution we needed.

However, what would I use to hold the books?

I have IKEA photo ledges in my family room..

and my immediate thought was to use them. However, I measured the space and I knew I wanted at least 10 shelves. The 45 inch version is $14.99... so for 10 shelves, not even measuring 4 ft, I'd be paying over $150.

Hmmm.

I noticed that another blog, The Stories of A to Z, used rain gutters. http://www.thestoriesofa2z.com/2009/09/rain-gutter-bookshelves.html

Super creative, but I wasn't sure that this would work in my space. I wanted something more streamlined, and the gutters in my local store were kinda sharp. Since I'm not all that great at supervising my children while they're playing in their dedicated space, I wasn't so sure sharp metal edges were a good idea.

My next thought was to just build something like the IKEA shelves, myself. I priced the wood, and it would was going to save me about $50 to DIY them, plus I could make them longer if I wanted - I was aiming for 5 feet.

I did plan to adapt the design to make them more durable, I planned on using a flat board as the base, with a quarter round trim piece to hold the books on the ledge. I thought the trim would give just enough bump to keep the books from sliding off, while being low profile enough to not catch the books when the boys were trying to remove them.

I decided this was my plan of action until I actually arrived at my local store to purchase my supplies. When browsing on the trim aisle, I came across this molding (which I'm assuming is used for baseboards).

A 10 foot strip was $6.90. What I liked about this particular trim, was that the board came with several grooves which work perfectly to catch the books and keep them from falling. Plus, each 10 foot length would give me TWO five feet ledges, making them 3.45 each (not including other supplies, tax, etc.).

I put 5 of the 10 foot lengths on my lovely blue rollie cart and strolled on over to the hardware section. I found the perfect sized L brackets in a pack of four for approximately $3.. it was a little less, but my receipt blew away in the Lowe's parking lot, so I really have no idea the exact amount. 3 per shelf x 10 shelves = 30.

I put 8 packs in my cart and also bought some heavy duty glue/adhesive.

Following the directions, I coated each bracket with the Goop and let sit for 2 min. Meanwhile I mended this guy.

The first casualty of the 2011 Mini-Teeball season. :( LOL.

After 2 minutes the adhesive was ready to attach the the trim pieces which I'd earlier cut to size.

I pressed the brackets firmly into place, placing one approximately 4 inches in from each end, and one in the center of each ledge.

Per the instructions, I then let them cure for 24 hours. Okay, maybe 16 hours. ha.

Then came installation.

I started at the bottom, knowing that I wanted the larger, heavier books near the floor to avoid any head injuries in case they were to fall.

I then placed the tallest of the books on the shelf, to make sure there was enough room before attaching the next up.

Just like I'd hoped, the grooves held the books perfectly.

Since the shelves have two deep grooves, I'm even able to double up the books if needed.

I used a long level when hanging the shelves, and even though the L brackets show when the shelves are empty, they cover up perfectly when full.

The final total was around $67. This included five strips of the 10 ft. moulding, 8 packages of 4 L brackets, adhesive, and a small chip brush to touch up the white paint.

I am beyond happy with the results.

Our books are OFF the floor, inviting my kiddos to sit and read a bit.

-Courtney

Linking to:whatever-goes-wednesday