320 * Sycamore

master bedroom: details and pricing

2012-05-23T06:51:00.001-05:00

Wait! I found an even sweeter before :) Here is our master when we looked at our house:

Okay, now we can begin breaking it down!

from the above picture,

-the paint is a custom color I mixed with leftover paint, but then I ran out. Yea, you can read more here. Basically, I was trying to match Behr’s wheat bread, which I found as a top greige on Pinterest. (actually, I called Kristin from Lowes and made her look it up for me so I could get the testers, thanks KRISHIN!!) So, let’s call the paint Wheat Bread by Behr, I put the samples up to my paint I mixed up and they are basically identical. Quart I had to pick up because I ran out: $10

-the mirror above the bed was provided by Kirklands. free

-the headboard was a diy you can find here. $40

the chalkboard was free! more here.

We kept the same bedding we had in our Texas home, with the addition of a new coverlet from Target $80

and this Ralph Lauren pillow from TJ Maxx $15

The bamboo shade is from Overstock. $27

we put a new glass cover on the fan. $12

The curtains. The curtains!! Here is the story in the longest, most drawn out form possible. I saw the curtains online at Home Depot. Hmmm, those might be pretty in the bedroom. AND they come in 95” lengths. I’m just going to order one to see if I really like it. It comes….I tear it out of the package, pin it up with a pushpin, I love it. Just what I’m looking for~Martha makes some beautiful curtains. These are heavy, lined, PERFECT! I let time go by, it stays tacked to the wall. I finish painting. Well, almost. I put the rod up, then the curtain. Oh, yea! I need another one. Go to the website, and you guessed it: they are out of stock. Arrgggghhhh. Okay, Melissa. Don’t panic, use your brain. How about we just cut it in half? They are big and full and it might work to have one half on each side.Out come the scissors. I don’t like the way it looks…too skimpy. So now I have one panel cut in half…

I call Home Depot. Are you SURE you are out of stock?? The nice lady says, yes, but I can give you the manufacturer’s phone number. I call them, she looks it up and says she can get back to me in a few days. (Amy at Spring Global…nicest person ever.) She calls me back the next week, they found one, and says if I send a check, they can ship it out to me. I send her a check, I see that they cash it on our online banking. I wait. and wait. and wait. for over a week and a half….nothing. I call Amy, she said they shipped it..oh wait, no they didn’t. So I wait another 4 days and finally get my second panel. If you look really closely, you’ll see that the right panel is nice and normal. The left panel is cut in half and just kind of tucked together. And that is the story of the curtains in our bedroom. $65

-the lamps were from our previous room, with new shades and jute trim. $25

-the magazine holder on the side of the dresser that we use as a wannabe nightstand was from TJ Maxx. $15

the $10.56 gallery wall-more here.

-the lamps and shades were from Tuesday morning~a birthday gift from my Grandma.

-basket from Target $15.00

-the dresser was $75.00 at the thrift store.

-the monogram plates were from our previous master bath—more here.

The frame is just a frame we all ready had that we spray painted.

I think that’s it?? Total: $389.56 for a new to us bedroom.

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below~thanks for reading!

tip no. 5

2012-05-21T14:25:00.001-05:00

My friend Lynee taught me this trick when we lived in Idaho. Instead of cases everywhere, store all of your dvds in a protective dvd binder. We take the sheet out of the case, cut it to size, and place it in the sleeve so we know where it goes when we are finished. Uhh, maybe I should clarify: so that I know where they should go when they are piling up on top of the dvd player. I’m pretty sure I’m the only one in the house that puts them away.

They are *somewhat* alphabetical~sometimes I give my girls the job of organizing it when it gets out of hand.

Here is one on Amazon ~ they can be pricey, but here is a BONUS tip :) My Rite Aid is clearancing half of their store and these

were 75% off! Some of our pages are ripping, so it was perfect timing. You may want to call yours to see if they have some!

Happy Monday~

courage for the week 5.20.12

2012-05-20T00:02:00.000-05:00

Willow House Giveaway!

2012-05-18T11:19:00.001-05:00

We have an awesome giveaway here for the weekend from Willow House! Please meet Hannah, an Independent Willow House Consultant “I am a graduate student at the University of Central Arkansas studying speech language pathology. I have a heart for youth ministry & at risk youth! In my spare time I love playing with my dogs, bike riding, hammocking, cooking & decorating my house (of course, with Willow House)!!
My favorite Willow House item is the Athena Crackle Vase! I love sharing my ideas and love of Willow House with others!”

I love Willow House, and know you will too. I have the trivet set photo by willow house

and it’s a beautiful way to protect my table and countertops from hot pots and pans. I appreciate the quality of everything Willow House that I have.

Today, we are giving away a Villa Stone Appetizer Tray (pound cake not included—ha!)

and 2 garden stakes~these garden stakes are on "vacation" right now so this is an exclusive giveaway! (herbs and pots not included :)

I love having these in my kitchen and have obviously put these right to work! We’ll see if I can keep the herbs alive, otherwise maybe we’ll have to use the tags to label something else :)

You can have three chances to enter:

1. Tell me your favorite item from Hannah's Willow House website in the comments below: http://hannahmurry.store.willowhouse.com/Default.aspx

2. Like Hannah's Willow House Facebook Page here, then tell us that you did in the comments.

3. Sign up for the newsletter on the right hand side of her web page and let us know you signed up in the comments.

Here is a fantastic deal:ANY customer that spends $39.96 or more, gets an item under $40 for 1/2 price (it will prompt them to pick this item)~You must enter Three Twenty (first name) & Sycamore (last name) as the "Host" when you check out.
A few more things:

--Every Monday Hannah posts the weekly deals & Mystery Deals at random--these are posted on her Facebook page

--There is also an outlet with items from previous catalogs at 25-85% off in her store--it's under the outlet tab

-- if you have any questions about this giveaway or anything Willow House, you are welcome to contact Hannah hmurry@suddenlink.net or at (870) 995-7572

This giveaway will be open for until Thursday, May 24 at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Good luck!!

master bedroom after

2012-05-16T12:01:00.001-05:00

Here is our master bedroom today:

Oh wait, we’ve got to back and look at the BEFORE!

My goal? A soothing, calm, neutral retreat without spending much.

Do you know what I love? When the rest of the house is in chaos (okay, maybe I don’t love that?), the kitchen is hot and messy, and I come into our bedroom and the bed is made, it is cool from the fan, and it is quiet. Sometimes I shut the door and try to soak in the calm before I go back to the madness. You know I adore my kids, I love our whole family, we have kid & family pics and art plastered all over the house, but I wanted our bedroom just to be us. No pictures of the kids or work, or anything else, just a reminder of how we began and where we’ll end.

http://www.320sycamoreblog.com/2012/05/day-after.html

Mostly, I’m proud of myself for cleaning off my nightstand. Yea, it looks all calm and peaceful and super easy to put together, but it wasn’t. More on that later along with prices, and sources!

Happy Wednesday~

day after

2012-05-14T09:41:00.001-05:00

Happy Day After Mother’s Day!

This is how things are looking around here:

my nightstand:

pile at the top of the stairs that has been sitting for over a week:

pretty mother’s day flowers:

star wars torture device (yikes! run for your life, Landon!)

leftovers from the father son campout:

The smoothie that never got blended. I was out of spinach….so I opted for leftover mother’s day cake for breakfast instead.

Rear ended. Endless insurance calls.

My kitchen sink with all my new mother’s day treasures:

How’s your day shaping up?

Happy Mother’s Day!

2012-05-12T23:11:00.001-05:00

The posts this week have made me laugh, helped me know I’m not alone, lifted me and reminded me of why it’s the most important job in the world. If you didn’t get a chance to read them, you can click here. Thank you again

Shawni,

Chrissie Grace,

Robyn,

and Kate

for your beautiful words!

Happy Mother’s Day to each of you~

Five Things I’ve Learned from Being a Mom by Kate

2012-05-11T05:00:00.000-05:00

Our final guest for the week is the fabulous Kate from Centsational Girl. She is a mother to 3 and a “bargain hunter, design lover, incurable DIYer, living in Northern California’s Wine Country.”

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I’m so honored to be here Melissa, thank you for including me in your “Things I’ve Learned About Being a Mom” series! Becoming a mom is a life changing experience and in my mind the most influential job a woman will ever have. I consider it an honor and privilege to be blessed with little souls and consider motherhood to be an amazing gift from God. I often marvel how I was entrusted with something so important as the ultimate caretaker in the life of another human being. I could talk for days about what motherhood has taught me but I’ll try to be succinct today and keep it short! Here are five things I’ve learned from being a mom.

A Swollen Heart. The heart’s capacity to love grows exponentially when we’re entrusted with the life of a child from the moment of their birth. Every step of their development adds a new layer so that after many years your heart swells as it grows larger and larger and by the time they reach adulthood, you’ve experienced great joy, pride, contentment, anxiety, and sometimes even sorrow all because of the layers of love that have built up on your heart.

Children Are Teachers Too I don’t remember much of my childhood but now I get to live it all again vicariously through my kids. Their inquisitiveness and innocence continually teach me to appreciate the world with new eyes and they are great reminders to slow down and live in the moment. Last August, I was encouraged by their words to savor the season, and even a recent interview with them taught me some important lessons as an adult.

It’s Not a Competition. I’ve met several moms over the years who tout their seven year old’s “pre-Ivy League” resume of accomplishments from their brilliant musical recitals to membership on elite sports teams. Yes it’s our job to encourage our children to be the best they can be, but I’ve never been a big believer in pushing children for the sake of parental bragging rights. Kids need time to be just kids and as moms we need to be careful of buying into that mentality that if our kids are not mini Mozarts then we’re bad mothers. I think that’s nonsense. Sometimes kids just need be kids and build a fort! We as moms need to remember to make decisions that are best for our family’s welfare and happiness. IN other words, we need to build our own forts and resist the pressures that can creep inside from comparisons to other moms of the world.

Messy is Meaningful. My children wear T-shirts from Walmart and shoes from Target, and it’s a rare day when my son is wearing matching socks. That’s just how we roll. My children are typically dirty after a full day of play and my house is rarely in a state of perfect cleanliness. There are signs of life inside our walls from the popsicle stick homemade jail on the kitchen table to the toys scattered across a floor to the piles of laundry needing to be folded. The fact that my house is not perfect is actually symbol of pride for me – those messes represent there are children at play in a world of their imagination and I know from having raised a stepdaughter (now off at college) that those moments are fleeting. It’s important to embrace those sticky fingerprints we hurry to clean and recognize there will come a day when they’re not there anymore, and we will miss them for what they represented – a home filled with growing children.

The Priceless Gift. There is no greater gift in life than receiving the love of a child. Period. Will it matter twenty years from now that my home was featured in a magazine or that I had at one time a popular blog? Nope. What will matter twenty years from now is that I was loved by a child unconditionally for all the long selfless hours of devotion. To me, that gift of love is worth more than any amount of money or worldly definitions of “success”.

Thank you Melissa for inviting me to be your guest today and recognizing the value of motherhood with moms as guests from across the blogosphere! Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

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Some Things I’ve Learned About Being a Mom by Robyn

2012-05-10T06:00:00.000-05:00

Please help me welcome my friend Robyn from the Pink Peony of Le Jardin to 320 Sycamore today! She lives in a colonial with 3 amazing children & a loving husband that is always (mostly!) supportive of her passion for creating and endless projects.

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On Motherhood
Let's be honest. Some days I want to stay under the covers instead of face the many tasks that lay ahead. Each day I think I will get caught up, yet each day brings new surprises to remind me that there will always be more to do. More dirty clothes to pick up that didn’t make it to the hamper. More dishes to wash, and crumbs to sweep away. More school papers to sign, and more schedules to keep up with. Endless shopping, organizing, refereeing, loving, listening, and reminding.

How did you do it mom? You made it look so easy.

And I think I only saw you cry once! You never stopped moving when I was a kid, and even though we are all grown and gone, you still don’t stop. If you are not trying out new recipes in the kitchen, you are either preparing lessons for your church assignments, working your part time job, volunteering at the church’s temple, exercising, cleaning, visiting and caring for your old or sick neighbors (even watching the children of your young neighbors), decorating your home, or shopping…all of which I try to emulate in my life. Then you are flying around the country to visit your children and grand kids that moved away from you…and still looking out for us and loving us even though we are all grown and gone.

You taught me to embrace being a homemaker, of which I am eternally grateful (even if I feel inadequate at times). From you, I inherited a serious drive for creativity and resourcefulness…skills and a mind set that have saved me in a lot of pinches, and brought me much joy.

I’m trying…

And in the name of creativity, I still let them pull every pillow, sofa cushion, and blanket in the house to the family room to make forts, and try to smile when the weekend is over and I have to put it all away.

I try to say “yes” more often than I say “no”.

I follow through on consequences

I expect them to work without allowance

I expect them to do their best in school and in church responsibilities

They understand that what their friends have is not important. That “things” don’t buy happiness.

They know we treat each other with love and respect. More importantly, they know we apologize and forgive.

I’ve learned…

To listen more than talk

That it’s okay if their rooms aren't spotless all the time.

That their disappointments and heartaches are actually blessings for growth.

That it is not a safe world out there, and I need to protect them from physical and moral harm, yet teach them to survive and thrive in a morally decaying world.

That they are not mine, just entrusted to my care.

To trust in God and listen for His guidance.

Recently, my 12 year old son started opening doors for me. He gives me hugs and tells me how much he loves me. My 15 year old son is quick to ask forgiveness, and smiles when he sees me…even when I pick him up from track in front of his friends in my rusty old van. He thanks me for all I do for him. And my little daughter, she gave me a two hour spa the other weekend…just because. She writes me notes and tells me how much she loves me, and still picks me flowers.

It is during these tender moments that God lets me know, that I must be doing something right,

and I am truly blessed.

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Some Things I’ve Learned About Being a Mom by Chrissie Grace

2012-05-09T06:16:00.001-05:00

I am so thrilled to have Chrissie Grace from In His Grace with us today. She is wife, a mother to 4 adorable children, and an artist. She made the pillow in Lauren’s room and I have admired her blog and her work ever since.

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When Melissa asked me if I'd like to write a guest-post for Mothers Day coming up, I was honored!

Being a mother is one of (if not the greatest) joys in my life. And then I read the line-up of the other mothers. Seriously, I have to go after Shawni from 71 Toes? She has it all...she is like Mom of the Year...no literally, she is!

I got a little nervous and insecure...little ol'me with my flaws and my never-ending mistakes. Who am I to talk about motherhood? Let's screech all that to all a halt right now.

And so I come to #1 on my top 5 list of things I've learned by Becoming a Mother:

1. Don't compare yourself to anyone else...

It starts when we're pregnant...we feel bad if we can't breastfeed. We look at our neighbor's 8 month old walking and get embarrased when our 18 month old isn't yet.We feel pressured to buy our daughter cute Gymboree clothes to fit in when we can't afford it and have been blessed with a set of hand-me-downs.

You know the drill... we compare ourselves (and our children) to what "everyone" else has or is doing. What an unfortunate deal to pass on to our kids. Let's stop that nonsense now. Let's teach our kids that God makes everyone different for our reason.

There is so much beauty in that.

2. Magic Erasers really are magical.

(No, I was not paid to say that. Trust me. Think black permanent marker on your white leather couch)

3. Be Loud and Proud.

(My kids ever-growing art gallery)

Yes, I know it can be a little obnoxious to brag about your kids. But guess what? The world can be a little tough sometimes. It's nice for a child to know that they will go home to their biggest fans. Sitting in the 90 degree heat watching baseball isn't my idea of a great time, but I will dang sure try to be there when it's my son on the field. My husband is not a big ballet fan, but what would a recital be without Daddy showing up with flowers?

We celebrate the little things too. When an anxious child steps out of her comfort zone, she is praised for being brave. When a child who tends to be a little self-centered shows generosity, he is thanked for his kindness. When one studies for a test and tearfully brings home a C, we gently remind him that he was responsible and showed great effort.

4. Play outside every day.

Yes, this is a big one for me. It's probably a little easier living in Florida, where we don't deal with snow and freezing temperatures. But as the world becomes more and more dependent on electronics, I insist that kids get off the dang T.V. (computer, ipad, nintendo 3ds etc.) and GO OUTSIDE! Ride bikes, scooters, jump rope, run, swim, play soccer, baseball, tennis, play with sidewalk chalk, climb trees, search for frogs, and more. I want my children to love the outdoors.

5. Read this book.

This book changed me as a parent.

Because I am completely and totally not qualified to give advice on having grace.

Because I lose my patience and hide in the bathroom sometimes.

Because I wonder sometimes how I will get through a particular moment, or a particular day.

Because I forget to be the tooth fairy sometimes and feed my kids sugar laden cereal for breakfast 20 mornings in a row.

Because I need to remember that God is in ultimate control, not me.

But mostly because I love my children unconditionally. I want to love them like God loves me. I want to parent them the way He parents me.

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Some Things I Have Learned About Being a Mom by Shawni

2012-05-08T06:43:00.001-05:00

our first guest poster for the week, is Shawni! She is a mom to 5 and blogs at 71 Toes. In her own words, her “blog has become a way to share photography and parenting ideas, to promote the joy of motherhood, and has been a huge comfort as we have dealt with various issues involving our daughter's syndrome diagnosis.”

I grew up with stars in my eyes about motherhood. I daydreamed about my future family on a continual basis. I pictured my children all lined up in a row, perfectly groomed with matching outfits. Their hair would be perfectly in place and of course there would never be any arguing.

In my dreams I never pictured that I’d have a baby with reflux that would result in this:

And I forgot to factor in the whole tantrum thing.

I never calculated how tough it would be to try to keep my cool in a grocery store with a daughter who looks like this:

I didn’t factor in that my teenagers would have their own opinions about things or that they may not be delivered into my care being thoughtful of others and knowing how to make good decisions. I didn’t know how emotionally draining it would be to help them maneuver through life, sometimes letting them fail to help them grow.

I was unaware of how draining it would be to try to get five sets of teeth brushed, 50 toenails clipped, and multiple heads of hair done on a regular basis. And I certainly didn't factor in the herculean efforts of balance and determination it would take to really "be there" for a husband and five children…all the time, right smack-dab in the middle of a life filled to the brim with busy-ness.

But one of the very biggest epiphanies I have had as a mother is that that motherhood joy I dreamed about all those years ago doesn’t come in monumental packages. No, it does not manifest itself in the sterile disguise of those matching outfits or even those perfect manners I had hoped for.

I have discovered that motherhood joy is most often found in the small moments. Not the monumental ones.

I remember one afternoon on a road trip with my family. No one had slept, the children had had their share of fighting in the car, and everyone was hungry and needed to use the bathroom. We pulled over to the closest place we could…some fast-food hamburger place where the children piled out of the car to stretch. We found a little cement table where we laid out our “gourmet” meal.

As I sat there, completely frazzled, I looked around at my children. Their faces were smudged and dirty.

But somehow the way that sun caught their impressively disarrayed hair spoke to me. It was as if they each wore a glowing halo. I sat there on that bench as my heart filled to the very brim with love for them. For what I get to do as their mother. For what I learn from them each day. For the opportunity I have to “do hard things” and fend for them each day.

That moment of stillness (along with many others I have engraved into my memory) helped me identify my motherhood joy.

I get to be a mother.

Sure, not all “moments” in motherhood are going to be good ones. Some days it seems the only moments are the crazy ones...not the ones that make time stand still and turn my heart to mush.

But if we step back and not take it all quite so seriously we realize that life is good.

So very good.

And that brings the joy into even the craziest memories.
I love this quote:

INTERRUPTIONS
"When you are exasperated by interruptions, try to remember that their very frequency may indicate the value of your life. Only people who are full of help and strength are burdened by other persons' needs. The interruptions which we chafe at are the credentials of our indispensability. The greatest condemnation that anybody could incur - and it is a danger to guard against - is to be so independent, so unhelpful, that nobody ever interrupts us, and we are left comfortably alone."

-Anonymous
from The Anglican Digest

Those interruptions to what could otherwise be sweet moments can be our "moments" as well. And it all works together to make up the beautiful tapestry of motherhood we are weaving day-by-day, crazy minute by crazy minute.
In my mind there is nothing quite so good as to be a Mother…the one who is interrupted the most. And I must cherish those moments of interruptions while they last. Because before I know it these children will grow up and leave off to create their own stories, and I'll be left with just the memories of all those life-enriching interruptions echoing through my house.

How I hope we can all freeze those moments of stillness and weave them beautifully into our own tapestries of motherhood to bring true joy.

tidbits 5.7.12

2012-05-07T10:49:00.000-05:00

Just a whole lot of nothing and everything going on around here. I always forget how darn busy the end of the school year is!

I thought the lily pads were so cool.

I finally took Easter down….oh, 2 days ago.

lots of games in the rain

and end of the year concerts

and cousins

I asked the girls to set some drinks out for a bbq…love the lineup.

The topiaries were back at my walmart for $11.77!

I just tell my husband I don’t want flowers for Mother’s Day~topiaries (ahem....that I buy myself) and hand-picked dandelions are perfect.

So, I planted my pots with my mixtures of cut up grocery store hanging baskets.

My boys cannot handle the spikey plants~they get the urge to just pull them out (??) they didn’t last 2 weeks last year.

We’ll see how they look in August.

The best part about this week??

I have some spectacular guest posts coming every day this week with thoughts on being a mom. You will love them~you can also read years’ past guest posts here.

Can you believe Mother’s Day is on Sunday? I’ve got to get some packages in the mail…yikes!

Whatcha getting your mom??

courage for the week 5.6.12

2012-05-06T00:02:00.000-05:00

deals 5.2.12

2012-05-02T08:02:00.001-05:00

Happy Wednesday! Here are some deals that caught my eye, especially with Mother’s Day and some summer birthdays coming up:

* Best Buy’s deal of the day: Just Dance 3 for $13.99 w/ free ship

* Michael’s has an add’l 25% off your purchase coupon, including sale items!

* IPAD Leather Case With Stand for $7

*Crate and Barrel has their Analon Frittata Pan for $19.95.

* Taste of Home is having their $5 cookbook/kids book sale

* get a free quart of Clark + Kensington paint at Ace Hardware this Saturday

*10 ft HDMI cable for $2.25

*did you see that Sonic will have shakes for 1/2 prices after 8 p.m, every night, all summer long?? Is that a good thing or a very bad thing?

Feel free to add any other deals you know of in the comments~

flowers I can’t kill

2012-05-01T09:29:00.001-05:00

It’s flower season! It can be overwhelming walking into nurseries and seeing rows and rows of beautiful flowers.

Which ones to pick?? When we were first married, I bought a 4 pack of flowers at the grocery store for 99 cents along with a plastic pot. I scooped up some dirt from the empty lot next door and added the flowers.

They were dead within a month. I would buy cheap potting soil at the grocery store and could not figure out why my flowers weren’t doing well.

Soil is key! Invest in some good potting soil! My favorite is this one:

It’s very forgiving if you forget to water sometimes and has fertilizer mixed in.

Another favorite trick is to buy a hanging plant like this from the grocery store for $7.99 and split it up among 2 or 3 pots. You can also just plop the whole thing in a planter and be done.

Last year, I split up one hanging basket of pink vincas among 3 pots, added some sweet potato vine and look how they looked in August:They fill in beautifully!

Some of my favorite hardy, full sun, hard to kill flowers:

* sweet potato vine: above in pot. Grows very quickly, fills in pots.

*vincas! full sun, heat resistant deadheading not necessary.

*calibrachoa (also called Million Bells~yellow flower below) ~ they are heat tolerant, deadheading is not necessary, and they are resistant to disease.Geraniums: (pink flower above) you do have to dead-head, but they are pretty hard to kill.

*petunias: very low maintenance, inexpensive, and drought resistant, bloom all season long.

Do you have some favorite/proven winners that are pretty hard to kill? We would love to know yours..

courage for the week 4.29.12

2012-04-28T23:02:00.000-05:00

paint colors in our home

2012-04-27T09:16:00.001-05:00

My number one question in emails is: what is that paint color? Sooooo, I updated my FAQ. Did you even know I had a FAQ section? I’m working on it!

You can click each the picture for more info. As you can see, we’re not paint snobs. I think we’ve tried every brand there is! We’ve been through a lot of paint together, haven’t we? :)

fossil grey by Glidden

kitchen cabinets: white dove by Benjamin Moore

kitchen wall color (to the right around the door): kilim beige by sherwin williams

door color: oops paint

blue behind the white dishes: custom color found here. It's also in my back entryway:

front foyer/gallery wall: olivewood by glidden

living room: kilim beige by sherwin williams

downstairs playroom: kilim beige by sherwin williams

downstairs family room: kilim beige by sherwin williams

Lauren's room: sea turtle from color place at walmart

front door: rustoleum color accents in satin black (found at home depot in quart cans)

downstairs bath: pickling spice from pittsburgh paints

blue bath in our previous home: smoke infusion by Valspar

master bath in our previous home: lenox tan by benjamin moore

laundry room in our previous home: grasscloth by behr

master bedroom in our previous home: crisp khaki by kwal howell

girls bedroom in our previous home: ivoire by sherwin williams

Happy Weekend!!

a few quick updates

2012-04-26T14:19:00.001-05:00

Hi all! I am in a major funk. It’s raining, I’m in the middle of making reservations and plans for our summer vacation, calling around for the best deal on new tires for our van, hating how expensive everything is, and the day is half over. I almost forgot I had a blog this week :)

Can we talk ceiling fans in the bedroom?

I know some of you have strong opinions about them, and I don’t think many are pretty, but when I began to tackle the master bedroom, I asked my husband if there was anything in there he had strong feelings about. He said as long as the ceiling fan stayed, he trusted me with the rest. I would love a pretty light fixture in there, but we love air flowage in there too, especially in the summer. So, the ceiling fan isn’t going anywhere.

It’s not BAD, it’s white and blends in, but the glass shade seemed a little genie-ish.

So, I picked up a new glass shade at Lowes, and I think it freshens it up a bit. Let’s not dwell on the dust though??

We have to make every inch count in our small bedroom. I have a nightstand and my husband gets a dresser on his side because we need since clothing storage is very limited in here. I added this metal book pocket to the side to make it work as a nightstand. Thank you again, TJ. You can see the one in our bathroom here.

Our lamps are from an old Target Global Bazaar (RIP global bazaar…I miss you every January). The bases are nice and solid, but the shades needed a little change:

I picked up an inexpensive white shade at Target, added some jute trim, and it was just the update our reading lamps needed.

The room is pretty much finished, but there has been a major fiasco with the window treatments. *sigh* I told you if there is a way to make things as difficult as possible, I’ll find it. I’ll fill you in later :)

Happy Thursday~

tip no. 4

2012-04-24T12:09:00.001-05:00

I remember Nate and Oprah talking about this. Why leave your most cherished cards or notes in a box or scrapbook? Frame a couple (or a whole wall full!) so they can bring a smile when you walk past. I told you I would tell the story of the note on my gallery wall in the bedroom.

May 30, 1995: Were were seniors in high school and we were beginning to like each other. I should note that we went to rival high schools. One afternoon in the middle of Mr. Hansen’s government class, the office runner comes in with an armful of lilacs and said, “Melissa Anderson..these are for you.” I could feel my face turning red and my heart racing as my classmates ooooOOOoooooooohhed. I read the note attached. It simply said, “Have a peachy day! Hobbit” (that was his nickname in high school) It completely made my day, my month, my year. That he:

remembered that I loved lilacs
came on to enemy territory to pick the lilacs
wrote a note on a piece of secretary’s scrap paper
talked her into looking up my room number and having them delivered.

That’s why I love it when lilacs come out every spring and the first note he ever sent me is my favorite. Do you have a favorite note or card or picture hiding away that you could pull out and frame?

courage for the week 4.22.12

2012-04-22T00:02:00.000-05:00

deals 4.19.12

2012-04-19T13:01:00.001-05:00

Wow, we haven’t shared deals in a long time. How about today??

* 4/20 wanted to add this one: get $2 of free mp3 credits at Amazon! follow this link, then enter code MOMROCKS to add it to your account.

*If you click here: Free Shutterfly Book you’ll get a free 20 page hardcover 8X8 shutterfly photo book. It can be for existing accounts, or new accounts and you have to use it by May 21. You do have to pay shipping though, so keep that in mind. Think Mothers Day!

*Old Navy is having their stuff & save online and in stores. Click here for a coupon for an additional 30% off with your card, or 20% if you don’t have one.

*There is a big home clearance at Target from the line they brought out at the beginning of the year.There wasn’t a ton left, but I scored these lampshades this morning for my boys’ room for $5.98 each!

*I also noticed a price cut on these big Smith & Hawken square chalkboard baskets~they are $24.99 for I don’t know how long? I was envisioning 7 of them lined up in a mudroom, and had to talk myself out of it and move on.

*We were just about ready to order mulch and I’m so glad I drove past Lowes! They have 2 cu ft bags of their premium 1 yr colorstay mulch (I think it’s Scott brand at our store?) for $2.50 a bag. 1 cu yard from my local nursery is $26, but they also charge a $50 delivery fee. At this price, it turns out to be ~~$22.50~~ sorrry, $33.75 a cubic yard (so maybe it’s not that great of a deal, but it’s the colorstay?) and our mini van is going to do the hauling so we still save some. In case you were in the market for mulch…

*I am using Pic Monkey now for my photo editing. Love that they are free and basically exactly the same as Picnik, with some cool additional features! Today is Picnik’s last day~RIP Picnik! You’ve been an awesome blog buddy.

* Do you have a Kindle? Here is a free Sandwiches Cookbook to download from Gooseberry Patch. I love their cookbooks.

*my sister Kristin at Favorite Paint Colors is doing an awesome paint giveaway to celebrate her 1 year anniversary. $100 to the paint store of your choice! 320 Sycamore ♥ FPC

Happy dealing~feel free to share anything else you’ve seen in the comments~

*no affiliation with these offers, just good stuff I saw. Some stuff goes quickly, so if it’s gone..sorry.

on being handy

2012-04-18T13:41:00.001-05:00

I have to laugh when I get an email or a comment saying, “you are so lucky to be married to such a handy guy” or “We’re just not handy around the house~we could never do these kinds of things.”

When we were married, we knew nothing about diy or home repair. NOTHING.our first apartment: what in the heck is wrong with this shower head?

In fact, when my husband and I were getting serious, it was a bit of a concern for me because my dad is the ultimate handy guy. My dad was wisely told me that my future husband already had the most important traits:he was honest, a hard worker, and loved me and the Lord. Everything else could be learned and come with time. If he wanted to. But I couldn’t expect to change him or make him be what I though he should be. It was advice that came back to me when I would see what other husbands were building and repairing and creating. I would try to remember why I married him and what I loved about him…and it had nothing to do with his carpentry skills.

We have learned slowly together over the past 13 years, thanks to patient neighbors and friends, my dad, and the ultimate diy tool: youtube how-to videos. It’s crazy what you can learn when you don’t have money to hire someone. My husband amazes me with what he does now and his willingness to save money by trying to do it himself. A lot of things we try to tackle ourselves. Some things we get into and look at each other and wish we would have hired someone. We’ve even had to hire out to fix our mistakes!

Saturday afternoons are precious now with 5 kids in multiple activities and we really have to determine what is diy worthy and what is worth hiring someone for. Sometimes that is the only time we have all together and so we don’t want to always fill it with projects. My neighbor was doing a kitchen re-model and I noticed an electrician’s van in her driveway. I went over and asked the guys if they could come over at lunch for an estimate and ran home and scribbled down every electrical project I could think of that we’d been wanting to get done.

They told me I’d have to wait for a rainy day since they were so busy, but if I could be flexible, they would call me if they had a cancellation or an opening for a couple of hours. I got the call today and they got everything done on my list in an hour and a half. It would have taken us a whole Saturday, if not more. Worth every penny of that $100. And they got a chuckle out of my hot-glued corbels, but they were easy off for them to hardwire the lights and then I hot-glued them right back up.

Sometimes I can look at the diy world and feel a bit guilty if I don’t try to tackle it myself.

Or get a bit envious when I look at these Ty Pennington husbands that can build a dream house out of scrap 2X4’s in a week.

But it always feels soooo good just to get some long-awaited things done around here when we hire someone.

What about you? When do you hire out or how do you decide when to diy?

tidbits 4.17.12

2012-04-17T14:51:00.001-05:00

the last of the peeps. My kids’ favorite thing is to microwave them for 12 seconds and eat them with a spoon. I have never been a fan of them in any form.

My parents and sister came to visit! Oh, I miss them so much. When they come, it’s like Christmas for us all.

They adored my sister Kelsey and think she’s the coolest aunt ever.

We headed to Floyd and had fun exploring~we had some luck at Schoolhouse Fabrics with their $5.98/yd upholstery fabric!

We also took them to our favorite bridge for a picnic~we couldn’t have asked for better weather.

These web pockets-cocoons-whatever they are of caterpillars are everywhere around here. They make me gag a little, but I guess it would be so cool to see them come out transformed?

My dad had a conference up in DC, so I was able to head up with them for a night~I love that city. It was 88 degrees! In April?? It was unbelievable.

And I took my first train ride home. I loved it…I would take the train over flying any day. Maybe it was because I was by myself and I had a whole seat to myself and could catch up on some sleep?

Back to reality.

Happy Tuesday~

courage for the week 4.15.12

2012-04-15T00:02:00.000-05:00

Under $10 Under 1 Hour: spring spotlights

2012-04-12T04:02:00.000-05:00

I loved looking through each of your spring projects that were little money, little time. It’s fun to get to know you all a little better and see your crazy creative skills. Here is just a sampling from the party:

I love this happy spring wreath from My Little Corner of the World

this nautical map pillow from DIY Newlyweds

monogram frames from 11 Magnolia Lane

knockoff toms glitter shoes at Curb Alert

Decorating with an oversized BOOST jug at Do Not Disturb This Groove

a personalized birthday sign at A Grace Full Life

grass candles from the Elegant Nest

Anthro knockoff numbers at Naked Thrift

$7 spring wreath at Decor to Adore

DIY Twist Ties at Organize & Decorate Everything

painted vases at Turtles and Tails

DIY Faux Metal Wall Art at Blissfully Ever After

Framed peacock art at Primer & Painted Nails

Go visit all of these wonderful ladies, and please pin from their sites so they get the credit. We will be back in the fall for our next Under $10 Under 1 Hour Party!

Happy Thursday~