A way overdue post...

So just when I thought life was calming down...it didn't!

I got this little cutie (photo from the breeder, Bella @ Belmark Shelties):

She's been a handful since mid-July, when I got her, and somehow time got away from me! Meet Ellie!

My house improvements & changes slowed down when I got her. But I did do something that I love in my kitchen. Ellie, my newest addition, came with some supplies (aka food & treats). I didn't want them just sitting on the counter.

So I made a pit stop at Goodwill one afternoon and ended up with 4 sealed glass containers for under $10! I purchased a gigantic one from Target, too, for $10! And then I made little labels out of black contact paper for the front of my jars!

It was a great way to get those things that have to be on my counter looking organized and uniform.

As the weather gets cooler, I think I'll have more indoor time to spend doing those little projects around the house.

Have I mentioned how much. I. love. fall.?

Apple cider, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin anything :), cool weather, changing leaves, and oh, yeah, FOOTBALL!

And now something's cooking in my pot on the stove...that is closely related to fall.

A post will be coming soon related to that, so be looking for the new yummy recipe!

Go Colts tomorrow!

Love at first sight

One of my most favorite parts of my house is my little dining room set. It was love at first sight.

I found it on craigslist before I was even sure I was moving to Indiana, but I saw it and just had to have it. You would have, too, if you had seen it. It was adorable, with lots of details.

My parents & sister went to pick it up--and it turns out that the antique set, which is about 100 years old, needed a little TLC.

Ok, maybe a lot.

But the buffet was in remarkably good condition. It really only had to be primed & painted. I had gotten samples of two shades of yellow from Sherwin Williams when I was contemplating painting my hardwood floors. I'd wanted beautiful yellow painted floors, but that didn't work out. Yet. I'm still holding out hope that I'll be motivated to one day distress & paint my floors.

But that's a whole other story.

So I used the golden yellow paint sampler to paint the buffet, and for $5, my buffet looked totally different and very cheerful!

Look at the detail on her legs...how can you not fall in love with this??

And here's the buffet...all painted and poly-ed. I reused the original hardware. I'm still decorating the top (it looks a little like a catch-all now, huh?) and figuring out what works best in the room.

The photos from the rest of the set will have to be another day...because I still have a bit of work to do on them!

Kitchen re-do complete!

My kitchen is now one of my most favorite places in my house! It is finally done, except for my water softener now needs fixed. The joys of home ownership!

So here's what my kitchen started like:

Since the previous owners were taking the fridge from above, I decided to go ahead and get all new stainless steel appliances. I had some time to shop for appliances in between the time my offer was accepted on the house & until I closed to find the best deals.

I found a fridge at Sears Outlet, a double oven & microwave at Best Buy and a dishwasher off Craigslist. When all was said and done, I paid around $1200 or so for a stainless steel upgrade--the fraction of the original costs. I love the double oven. The top part heats up quickly and cuts back on the time it takes to cook.

I also did a hardwood floor upgrade in part of my house. I ended up getting real hardwood floors for under $1 a square foot off Craigslist. Such an unbelievable deal!

The countertops are one of my most favorite parts, and they were about $50/piece (I needed less than 3 pieces but had to buy 3 to make it work). They came from Ikea and were a light wood. I conditioned them first with wood conditioner. Then, I stained them Special Walnut from Minwax with 2-3 coats. Finally, I sealed them with a food-safe wood sealer. And when I say I, I actually mean my sister and myself. She helped out as you have to wait 6 hours between each application. Here's a close-up of the countertops:

I splurged on a great sink-faucet combo from Lowe's that was totally worth it. Don't you love it??

Finally, I used beadboard as my backsplash and just painted it white to make it neutral.

And my final product ended up being a kitchen I love and that looks custom & higher end. I've got more red accents that I'll be adding slowly as I get time to finish those projects, so stay tuned for little additions and changes to my sweet little kitchen!

i.am.not.that.person.

This post is way overdue, but it's because I've been so busy finishing up the house! I'm in the home stretch--like two tiny projects left, and then all will be done.

Finally.

I hit the jackpot today. A "free" sign with a pile of treasures on the side of the road on my way home from work. Just begging me to stop, especially when I glimpsed an

antique window. I had to go up to the next light and turn around, and the entire time, I'm warily watching every car, willing them not to stop. As I loaded my treasures up into my car, I had to groan. I.had.become.that.person.

You know, the one who gets other people's junk. But there will be no hoarders for me. If it can't find a place in my home, it will be sold. Because.I.will.not.be.that.person.

But on to the master bathroom renovation.

I realized that I had no before photos of my master bathroom. But here's the countertop that was on the counters. It had only one vanity underneath, and one sink.

So I knew immediately that I would want to make it a double vanity. But on a budget. So my dad suggested taking the hall bathroom vanity out and attaching the existing vanity to the hall bath one to make two. While he did that, I primed & painted the vanities. Once again, with my amazing gripper.

Then I painted it white with a gallon of paint I had been using for other projects. I visited a local tile store hoping to purchase tile for my countertop, but I guess I wasn't their "ideal" clientele, so after 30 minutes of being ignored, I snapped photos of their displays that I liked to create my own look, without their hefty price tags. Thanks pricey tile store for the inspiration without the price!

I ended up getting travertine for about $40 and some white edge tiles & braid for about $15 or so. My paint color was peach blossom from SW, and although it's more pink than I would have liked, I love it now. New sinks for $30 each, and new faucets for about $60 each got me to this point:

I found the cutest antique crystal knobs on ebay. I got a great light fixture for $20 on craigslist. And I needed mirrors, but I wanted them to match the beading on the edge tiles and they had to be white. Oh, and cheap. I finally found some I liked at HomeGoods, but in black.

Out came the trusty gripper & white paint, and after a little bit of work...the final result, all for well under $400!!

I love it.

bathroom reno

Isn't it cute?? I went into World Market to purchase a set of colored glasses that I saw online, and I came out with this cute little chair that matches my wall color almost exactly. I love it! And the pillow I stumbled across at Target. It took a nationwide hunt spanning three states, but I now have an *almost* complete set of pillows for my couches.

The upstairs hall bath is coming together. This is how it started:

Just a boring, basic bathroom. I had purchased new bathroom fixtures, including a new vanity & sink, for my downstairs bathroom. I wanted a double sink vanity in my master bathroom, so I ended up moving this vanity to the master bath, next to the one that was already there. We then moved the downstairs bathroom vanity up. Lots of moving & confusion, huh?

So my dad reinstalled it, and I painted the vanity chocolate brown. I primed it with gripper from Lowes (this stuff is really good), and then painted it with a quart of chocolate brown from Sherwin Williams. I added $2 knobs from Lowes, and purchased a new light fixture. I painted the walls Melange Green from SW, and a new faucet updated the old vanity top. I still have to re-hang and add the frame I created to the builders mirror that was in there. But here is the updated photo of the half bath:

More to come soon, including my new hardwood floors!

a garden, finally!

I finally had a few free hours to begin tackling the yard. It was a mess, to say the least. My first goal is to plan a vegetable garden, and this afternoon I got a few rows planted.

It started out looking similar to this (this is the next area I have to tackle):



For $2, I got a gigantic package of sugar snap peas seeds (note to self: I would never have room for even the entire $1 package) and planted two rows of beans. I will have to add poles to them as they sprout. Then for $1, I got 12 brussel sprout seedlings...seriously, these are one of my favorite veggies! It'll be cool to see them grow, as they grow in cascading clusters. And then in the front row, I planted marigolds to keep the cute but pesky bunnies away. The final result is:



I still have bell peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and maybe a few others to plant. I also want to plant some mini lilac to make it really fragrant in my backyard. It'll be the perfect addition to this:



I've got more projects coming, including some great finds at Goodwill!

ugly painting...no more...

It all started with a canvas painting.

A really ugly one at that. I picked it up for $3 at Goodwill (The cashier gave me that, "Really, you want to spend $3 on that?" kind of look as I proudly pulled my purchase up to the counter. I pretended to be oblivious.) I first bought magnetic paint, a bit of a splurge, but something that will last me a long time in a long time.

I painted right on top of the painting with the paint. While it dried, I took a 99 cent bottle of brown craft paint to a set of chipboard letters I picked up off of ebay. Then I used spray adhesive & Martha Stewart glitter (I highly recommend it--it is the most beautiful glitter out there--not cheesy at all). I attached mini magnets on the backs of each letter. The letters then looked like this.



When the magnetic paint dried, I spray painted a creamy color right on top of the magnetic paint & frame. It took several coats to cover, but it was time well spent.

The finished product is one of my favorite things I currently own (please just excuse the terrible photo quality). Just the perfect mix of recycled, new and antique-y. Love it! Now where to hang it...

renovations have started!

I have officially started fixing up my house!

My living room and dining room started like this color...



And they are now looking like this...





I LOVE the color that it turned out to be. Not really blue, not really green, but totally beautiful. These photos can't possibly do it justice. It looks great with the painted white trim & will look excellent with some other things I have up my sleeve.

Cost so far for these two rooms: $26.99 for a gallon of paint. Sherwin Williams matched a paint color I picked out a few months ago from a home improvement store.

More projects & photos to come later this week...including my fixed up patio set, in-the-midst-of-a-mess bathrooms (yes, I did say bathrooms, as in the plural) and my painted & started decorating guest bedroom. Whew, that's a mouthful...

so close...

I'm almost the homeowner of this cute little house...



...excitedly waiting get my hands on this little kitchen...


I've got some big plans for it that include painted hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances and new butcher block cabinets. I can't wait to get in and get started. It's going to be a fun decorating process. Notice, I said process. This will not be a one-night project. I've already spent hours dreaming and researching. Now comes the sweat and hard work.

butitwillallbeworthit. whew.

15 days and counting.

new year, new chapter

2009 has come and gone, and 2010 is already off and running in crazy directions. What has already happened in 2010? Quit my job? Check. Moved 500 miles across the country. Check. Getting ready to buy my first house? Check. Watched the Colts finally make it back to the Superbowl? Check. If January was this busy, what will the next 11 months bring??

Not really sure what my first week at a new job will bring next week, and I'm not really sure I can be ready for it. But with the amount of prayer that has gone into this job and move and fresh start at life, I know God has gone before me.

Will I miss the old? Yes. Am I ready for the new? Definitely. More updates to come soon with my latest projects and major undertakings. Stay tuned.

And Jesus bends to hear you breathe;

His tender hands are holding you tonight.

His heart is ravished when you look at Him,

and oh, the endless mercy in His eyes

-A.A.