Home Improvement

April 19, 2016

Working on the Outdoors

My favorite season is typically Autumn, but Spring is a close second. I love planting a garden and I think my black thumb is turning somewhat green.

An herb garden is a must. I’ve already used basil and rosemary and mint will be next for mojitos this summer.

We had 5 tons of rock delivered for our front yard and it’s really spruced up the space nicely. I did all of the work myself. Am I bragging? Maybe. I’m not sure if that bush on the left is dead or if it’s coming back to life. Pretty sure it’s dead, but I don’t want to be the one to pull the plug.

The weather has been crazy. It goes from hot to cold, two months of no rain and then lots of rain. I’m not sure what Mother Nature is up to. Our skies typically don’t look like this, but after a good rain, it’s so nice to see those puffy white things. The kids were very excited to put on their hats and gloves and jump in puddles.

We put up a shed. It was a pain and I’m glad it’s done. The end.

I also planted a couple of these plants. I forget the name now. Fireball? Fireflower? I don’t know. Anyway, I bought two. One was half dead for five bucks and I’m hoping to revive it. This is the more alive one.

First time I’ve had to dig a trench for installing watering hoses for the new plants. Let’s just say I don’t want to do it for a living.

I’ve been “dragging” my boys along for my runs in the afternoon. I only do it twice a week because they aren’t fans of my shenanigans. It usually goes down like this…I say we’re going on a stroller ride…they cry, kick and scream…I’m about to lose my cool…I bribe them with snacks…they’re hesitant, but oblige…five minutes later, they’re asleep and I enjoy my peace and quiet for 3.5 miles…we pick up big girl from school…they wake up as soon as we get home and then party til 11pm. Now, if someone offered to push me in the stroller for a nice ride and view of the outdoors, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t throw a fit, but whatever.

I’ve been redoing our entire laundry room. That makes it sounds like it’s a huge room, but it’s really not. I just mean that everything is being redone in there. I actually have my hubby working on framing the window for me. Then, I need a shelf built. I hope to share it all real soon, that is if I live to tell about it. He gets kind of cranky about when I ask him to build stuff. I mean, who wouldn’t want to frame a window that is crooked as all get up and everything needs to be tweaked?! I told him we could be the Chip and JoAnna (Fixer Upper – LOVE that show!) of the desert, but I think he’d rather poke his eyes out with a dull pencil. I’d marry him all over again, but I’m beginning to wonder if the feeling is mutual. Hmmmm? Hey! Remember that time that I shoved 5 tons of rock all by myself? Ya, me too ;-) Happy Tuesday!

September 25, 2015

More Updates to the Master Bathroom

Ahhh Friday, we meet again. Can you believe this is the last Friday of September this year? ROctober is right around the corner. I call it that because it’s the cat’s birthday (yes, we celebrate), the hubby’s and my wedding anniversary, his birthday and my birthday, all wrapped up into one little month. Craaaaazy. Anyway, onto more reno of the master bathroom, shall we?

Now, I don’t have a true “before” pic of the toilet room. Is that what you call it? I think it’s called a water cooler. No wait. I think that’s where people stand around to talk at work. Well, maybe that’s right then because I tend to have a crowd of three little people around me while I’m at “work” conducting my “business” sometimes. I don’t remember. Maybe it was water closet? Let’s just called it a toilet room. Anywho, just imagine this little toilet room without the shelves being built and that is the “before”.

I found some plans for floating shelves on Pinterest (found here) and asked the hubby if he could build them for me us. After an eye roll and a deep sigh, he obliged. Love ya babe!

After they were built, I sanded them a bit and stained them. You can use whatever color stain you’d like. There are lots to choose from, but I went with Minwax Dark Walnut 2716 (found here). If you’ve never stained anything before, it can be pretty intimidating at first. There are several ways to apply the stain, but I choose to use an old washcloth to apply the stain. It will get on your hands. It will stink. It will stain (obviously). It’s somewhat of a mess. I’ve tried gloves. The stink was still there. Meh, what can ya do. It’s totally worth it and really not that bad after you’ve done it a time or two. Besides, it doesn’t last forever on your hands, just a couple of days. Also, a little stain goes a long way.

After staining, I applied some Minwax Past Finishing Wax (found here). Apply this all over the shelves and then buff out with a rag after 15 minutes. I let them set for a couple of days to let them air out (they do smell pretty powerful from the stain) before putting up decor.

Just look at this poor, pathetic looking window. What are we to do about such an eye-sore? Oh wait, “Honey, do you know how to frame a window? I’ve got a picture of how I want it to look. Do you think you can make it happen? I don’t have any real plans, but I think we can make something work.” (Insert me tilting head, smiling prettily and batting eyes.)

Poof! Just like that, it was framed. I knew all of those saws I bought him over the years would be put to good use. He rocks. I love him lots.

A million times better. Am I right? It really helps complete this little room and looks sooooo good. And now I want all of my windows to look like this. Lol. I think I’d better get used to using that saw in the garage ;-) . I just really don’t want to lose a digit or worse yet, a limb. Yikes.

After the frame was built, I put a coat of primer and two coats of paint on to complete the look. I just used a can of “white” paint from HD off the shelf, no tinting.

I decided to put up some artwork I had already had because it was a tad boring to look at a blank wall while sitting on the throne of our castle.

I really love how it all turned out and I’m happy to say that this little water closet is complete. A small room, yet a good sense of accomplishment. AND, it was relatively cheap for such a big impact (under $60). I hope you feel inspired and have a great weekend!

September 22, 2015

Fall Wreath – A Pinterest Fail (My Fault)

Once upon a time (last week), some friends and I decided to get together and try to make the wreath you see above (click pic for source). This blogger said that he took her 20 minutes to make it. I’ve never made a wreath before, but I figured it shouldn’t be that hard.

WOW! Doesn’t it look amazing?! I mean, it looks exactly like the example above. Am I right? No really, look closer. Give it time, you’ll see it eventually. Lolz. It’s just so sad and pathetic-looking. I ended up spending 4 hours (really only like 2 actual hours of being productive) working on it and I came home with this. I would not give up though. To be fair, I didn’t have the right kind of burlap. After getting the correct supplies, I worked on it over the weekend (about an hour total) and produced a finish product.

Much better. I’m kind of digging it. A little proud of myself. It’s not the same as the Pinterest one, but much of the burlap she had was unavailable, so I just kind of made stuff up as I went. Good ol’ trial and error. Also, watching a two minute YouTube video did wonders for me.

Don’t be surprised if the next time you see my front door it’s a different color and has a new handle. I’m in all out remodel mode and nobody can stop me now.

I’ve been ready for Autumn for over a month now. I could “feel” it in the air. I don’t do a lot of decorating for Autumn, so it will be this and some random pumpkins around the house. I did spy some cinnamon scented pine cones at the the grocery store that were subtly calling my name. They’re on my list to pick up this week. They smell so amazing and I just can’t resist!