The Big Reveal!

Here's the front of the house

The dining room

The kitchen

The kitchen part 2

The kitchen/living room

The living room

The master bedroom (downstairs)

The master bathroom (downstairs)

The master bathroom part 2 (downstairs)

The game room (upstairs)

The inset in the hallway (upstairs)

The guest bathroom (upstairs)

The guest room (upstairs room #1)

The work out room (upstairs room #2)

The incomplete "art" room (upstairs room #3)

The patio & backyard

The patio

The backyard

Anyone want to buy it? ;)

Changes, Part Deux

I'm about to head off to bed super early (for me, at least...it's not 10pm yet), but wanted to type a few things up before drifting off to dreamland.

First off, I'm so unbelievably amazed by our church family. We had our building campaign today, and all of our congregation pledged what they could contribute to the fund...we were aiming for $150,000...and we ended up with $226,554 -- I'm blown away and so encouraged! It was really humbling to realize that God really has it all under control, and will provide...we have so little faith sometimes, and don't trust Him with the details...then He reminds us that He is the provider, and will meet our needs (even exceed them!). So amazing.

Here's a picture of the piece I did for the big reveal. I painted it on the front of cardboard boxes, and they stacked them all on top of each other to create the picture. At the top, there was another four boxes, and that had the total amount that was pledged. I think it came out pretty well :)
Second off, I'm going to be saying goodbye to soda, sweet tea, excessive sweets, and poor eating habits; and saying hello to more exercise, drinking lots of water, going back to Krav, and eating better! I am going to make a more specific plan for myself, but you don't need all the gory details. I hope to reach my goal weight by my birthday, and once I've lost the first 20 pounds, I'm going to get my red streaks in my hair! I was supposed to get them this last time I had my hair done, but (as I mentioned) they didn't come out quite right, so I figured I'd use them as motivation for losing weight!

I kind of lost my momentum once I quit my job and all the summer Great Adventure stuff kicked into high gear. I'm ready to get back to business, and see what kind of changes I can make!

I'm hoping to change a lot on the outside, but also on the inside too. I have battled for a long time with countless insecurities, and my husband has challenged me a lot lately about them, and I'm tired of dragging them around like baggage. They're at least going to be turned into lesser issues, if not be eradicated completely. I will go more into detail of my plan and progress with that later.

Goodnight, All!

Ketchup!

I'm a little behind on these. So, here are a few :)

35. I have lots and LOTS of hair. Usually, I'm not going to lie, I hate this. It's thick, it's coarse, it's frizzy, it's dementedly curly (as in, curly without a purpose or pattern), and it very rarely does what I want it to do. However, after a hair stylist mess-up this week, I got to go back in today for a fixer-upper, and it took a RIDICULOUSLY long time to blow dry and style, which I loved. I'm sure it was made better by the fact that it was free (since it was a re-do), but it was so nice to have someone just play with my hair. It was very relaxing. ^_^

36. My skin color? I don't mean this in the racist sense, but in the sense that I seem to have some sort of magic skin. I can have whatever hair color I want, and don't look repulsive. I don't always look fantastic with every hair color, but despite the plethora of colors I have attempted (even by accident), none of them have been extraordinarily unbecoming. Weird.

37. When things you think might be bad turn out to be good. Take, for example, my new hair (I know, I'm talking a lot about my hair right now...my apologies). When she first rinsed out the color, and I saw what it was, I was not super happy. It was WAY darker than what I had expected. I naturally have a medium to barely dark brown hair color, and that's what I had requested...with red highlights underneath. What I got was an extremely dark brown (almost black) with purple-ish highlights underneath. I still have dark hair, and I just have a few more purplish highlights than I previously did, but I can roll with it. And, wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, My Love seems to like it :) So, I'll keep it as is for now, and hope it lightens up just a smidge over the next few weeks.

38. Shark movies. I can't believe I haven't mentioned this before. Seriously. I read through my old blogs twice to make sure I hadn't mentioned it already. I am crazy obsessed with shark movies. Not just any old shark movies, but particularly bad ones. Okay...are there really any EPICALLY FANTASTIC shark movies? JAWS revolutionized movies in general, and it's my favorite movie of all time, but still has its cheesy bits...especially once you get to JAWS 2-4. But I love them all. Sharks in Venice was truly awful...almost to the point of me not enjoying it at all...only then I got to make fun of it, so it was somewhat redeemed. Megaladon was a disappointment. Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus was horrific, but hilarious (in my opinion...please keep in mind that I enjoy these sorts of terrible movies...so me saying it's funny might not mean that you should see it). Deep Blue Sea scares me, despite its shameful excuse for graphics. Speaking of terrible shark movies, I think I'm going to watch one on Netflix now, while hubby is otherwise engaged...as he doesn't share my enthusiasm for the genre ;)

39. My husband's quirks. Specifically, all the random songs he composes for every day life. He just randomly bursts into song, and makes up jingles for things ranging from our dogs' names to what he is making for dinner. This isn't my favorite trait first thing in the morning, but it's still endearing. He is funny and makes me laugh and smile a lot. Which should hopefully mean that we'll have a long, happy life together :)

40. Hoodies. I feel like I wrote this somewhere already, but I double checked, and couldn't see it so, hoodies it is. I love them. They are like a hug made of fabric. I love them so much that My Love's very first Christmas present to me was 10 hoodies. We got them from various places. Technically, I don't think we've reached ten quite yet (who's counting?), but it was just about the sweetest gift ever. He just let me get another one! Voila!


Combining two of my very favorite things! Yes, Ladies, I got a good one! Good man, that is. Nobody would dispute that this is a most excellent hoodie. Can't wait to get it in the mail!

41. eBay/Craigslist/Amazon.com - Yes, it's true. I'm a bargain shopper. I've gotten much better at it in recent years, but that's also largely due to the creation and improvement of the aforementioned websites. I love bargain hunting, bidding wars, and buying used like new things for unbelievably cheap. ^_^

I Spy With My Little Eye...

A "For Sale" sign in my front yard ^_^


Still a few minor things to take care of, and pictures will be taken Wednesday (hopefully) by the realtor, then we'll be all kinds of official. But, we're on the market!

I hope we sell the house quickly, and get as much as possible for it! We're having to ask for much less than I thought, because of the market :( But, I have faith that it will all work out. I really do. I'm disappointed, but not discouraged. :)

Ta-da!

And here we have the final of the three pieces for our game room! I'm very happy with it. It's not 100% complete, because I have to finish the inside, but it's done enough to put in the room for the realtor to do the final run through...and that's all I'm interested in :)
What do you think?



I love the flower detail, and the grain on the door was a lot rougher than I expected, which was a fortunate turn of events. I love the way it picked up the glaze.



Here it is with one of the finished lamps on top of it, in its proper place! I'm loving the whole transformation of the game room...and I really love these pieces!


Well? What do you think?

Still a few things to do around the house...I actually have to get on that now, because the realtor is coming today to take pictures of our house and put it on the market!!!

YEE-HAW!

Pow-pow-Power Tools!

I just used this beautiful and deadly thing this morning :)



I know I said the dresser would have to wait, but I'd already borrowed the saw, so I went ahead and cut the pieces out like I wanted. Here's the teaser!



So, I took out the bottom three drawers, and then sawed out the "supports" that went in between the drawers. I also pried out the side tracks, and now it's all empty and ready for my next step! Can't wait!

I'm going to get going on this housework now. I have a story to tell that's long overdue later. It was from our mission trip, and I thought it was pretty funny. Little did I know it was the prelude to the insanity of the rest of the week :)

Updates

So, we've been working hard to get the house together. I wish I'd been more diligent at taking before and after pictures. I guess I could dig some up somewhere else, but I'm not going to right now. Maybe I'll come across some later. Anyway, here are some updates we've made...

This is the game room, still in progress (note the re-finished furniture, and re-done lamp!)

Here it is again, only improved!

I got a black one-piece slip cover instead of the brown two-piece, I got beautiful red blackout curtains, and amazing red sheer curtains embroidered with designs! I also got two awesome throw pillows, on sale at Bed Bath and Beyond on sale! Whaddya think?


Moving along brings me to one of the things I've been dreading most...and anticipating the most. Our back door has been GHASTLY since right after we installed the dog door. We had a friend do it for us, and it didn't work out the way I had hoped. I forgot to take a picture of what it looked like before, I was so eager to get the existing trim down. But here's what it looked like before we applied the new trim...that's right, you can say it...EW!!!!



But now, just look at it! Isn't it divine? I'm going to wait until Saturday, probably, and pressure wash it all, then paint the trim the same color as the wall. It's going to look fabulous! But, let's face it...it already does :)


I couldn't have done any of this so efficiently or with near as much fun if it hadn't been for my friend, Shannon. She's crazy...that really about sums it up. I can't explain it another way; who else would want to come over countless times and help me clean/repair/organize/etc. my house? She's definitely good people, and I'm so thankful to have her as a friend :)

More improvements to come soon. We're reaching the finish line!

2 Down...

One more to go!

Here's the reveal of my first end table. I tried to take similar pictures so you could see the before and after "side by side":

Here's the overall

Close-up on the details

Close-up on the side details

There are a few more places I need to run and go wipe off some glaze, now that I've gotten a close look at the pictures, but I just love the way it turned out! I'm also going to put a coat of polyacrylic on the tops of the end tables when I'm done with both of them, to try to prevent any wearing or water damage from condensation or whatever.

I'm just very happy with the way these are coming along :)

I'm hoping to finish the other one by the end of today!

Out of Primer

Good grief! I guess I can believe it, but I'm out of primer! I'm going to go run and grab some more, so I can finish this other end table.

Here's the first one I've been working on, with it's beautiful red paint applied:



We had a torrential downpour the other night for about 45 minutes, and it was outside! I freaked out, and dragged it in...you can see the detail better in the sunlight, but I wasn't going to take it back out again. Sorry. But it's still pretty :) Can't wait to see what it looks like when the glaze is applied, and I reattach the hardware!

And, the reason I need more primer - my third and final piece of this particular series:



It's similar to the other one, but different enough to keep things interesting. Don't you just love the little flower detail in the top corners of the doors? I think what makes this one particularly pretty is that it only cost me $10!!! Like I said, I'm on my way out to get more primer so I can get this baby primed, painted, and inside...then I'll glaze both of them and post pictures! :)

A Day of Rest?

So, today I didn't work on projects. I had to clean the house this morning, move all the furniture I could onto tile or stack it somewhere, in preparation for the carpets being cleaned. I worked my tail off! And it paid off! The carpets look amazing, and the house smells so good!

I'm so close to finishing the end table I posted pictures of earlier...I plan on finishing it in the morning. To tide you over, here are the pictures of it primed. Doesn't it look beautiful already?




Depending on the weather tomorrow, I might get to start on my third and final table! I'll post the before pictures tomorrow. I'm hoping it doesn't rain until the late afternoon/early evening. We'll see what happens.

I'm going to have to postpone work on the white dresser I posted pictures of earlier. Remember this?


The realtor said that it probably shouldn't even be in the foyer area, because it will prevent the house from looking as open as possible. So, no reason to use valuable time doing something that will just go straight into storage. But keep it in your memory, because the transformation is going to be epic!

I'm just really looking forward to getting all the new and improved furniture in their proper places, and the most beautiful lamps on top of them!
Argh! I just realized I didn't take a full before picture of the room they're going in. Blerg. Oh well. There are much worse things.

After these projects, I've got to go back and redo/complete two that I started before I knew what I was doing. A beautiful secretary's desk, and then a small cabinet thing I got from Target a while ago. I didn't prime either of them before painting them, and then I used a flat spray paint instead of a gloss. :sigh: I just didn't know any better.

Have a great night! More to come tomorrow...

Another Update

Sorry, guys...I'm getting stuff done, and rewarding myself with posting pictures of my projects. It seems to be working for now. :)
Here are the pot "coasters" I painted, and now hung up in that inset I was talking about. I'm going to buy some marbles and flowers to put in the vase at the bottom there.


I took a picture with the light lit at the top, but it made the colors look weird on the camera, so I just used this one :)

Quickie

Here is the final product of my lamps! I just posted a picture of one, but what do you think?



I'm quite pleased with the final results.
Also, I've had a blank canvas hanging on the wall in our dining room for quite some time, just waiting for me to paint something brilliant on it...only I haven't had time. Before we started to show the house, I had to find a temporary fix. I ordered some beautiful fabric from JoAnn's, then stretched it across the canvas and pinned it on the back. Here's the result:



You can't really tell, but the wall behind it is a very light green.
All in all, I'm happy with my projects so far! I'm going to finish that end table later today, but I'm going to clean, do laundry, etc. and get the house ready for when the realtor comes by today.

More Progress...

A friend of mine and I were chatting briefly tonight, and came to the conclusion that life was never going to slow down. I expressed frustration that I always felt like "a break" was just around the next bend, or that I would somehow catch up soon, and things would slow down. I drew the comparison to greyhounds, running around the track after that stupid fake rabbit. I feel like achieving my goals, and life falling into some sort of structure or schedule is right in front of me. I can see it, and can almost catch it. I'm doing everything I can to try to catch it...pressing onward, pushing harder, fully exerting myself to try to get it...and somehow the distance between us remains the same. Lame-o! I don't know...maybe I should move to Jamaica or somewhere else they aren't as concerned with busyness as we seem to be here. Hahahaha. Something tells me this isn't a geographical problem.

On to tasks/projects that I've been working on...and even though I'm finishing stuff, more things seem to be added to the list constantly. :sigh:

One thing that has been driving me crazy are these sconces I bought a while back.
They're supposed to look like this:


However, someone (who shall remain nameless) :cough cough: My Love :cough cough: decided to throw his jeans down over the opening from our gameroom down into our living room...with his belt still attached. The belt buckle hit one of the sconces on the way down, shattering it...leaving us with one sconce that looked normal, and one that looked like this:



It was quite sad...and, try as I may, I couldn't find a replacement glass part (no idea what that's called) for the sconces. As far as I could tell, I was going to have to buy an entire new sconce in order to just replace the part that broke...or donate the one good sconce to Goodwill or something.
Only, today, it dawned on me. Why not try to get (yet another thing I don't know the real name of) one of the glass parts of a chandelier, turn it upside down, and see if that will work? So, I took my empty sconce to Home Depot (sorry, Lowe's! I still love you), and managed to find these pretty little things:



Aren't they lovely? So, they're meant to go between the hardware of a chandelier and the lightbulb. Instead, I flipped them upside down, and stuck a candle in them. Voila!



New and improved, no? I love them! I'm going to have to figure out some way to seal the bottom if I want to light the candles, though. Can't have wax leaking out all over everywhere.

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Moving along to my next awesome find. Have I mentioned that I really like craigslist? It's almost like a dream come true...except for the fact that you can't trust your fellow man not to kill you or kidnap you, or worse, and you have to find someone to go with you any time you want to pick something up. When you have a husband who is totally not into crafty things like mine, it makes justifying craigslist purchases and runs very difficult.

Enter the dillema: we had two lamps that I purchased from Target not terribly long ago, for a very cheap price. Can't remember how much, though I think they were around $9. Recently, and not very far apart, they both pretty much crapped out. One completely stopped turning on (and no, it wasn't because the bulb was burned out), and the other one had some sort of terrible problem with the switch, where you almost needed one of those rubber jar opener things to get it to twist to turn on. Those went in the trash. Which left me with a room with no lamps, and two beautiful lampshades with nowhere to go.

Enter online shopping: all of my most trusted resources for this sort of thing were failing me. Bed Bath & Beyond's prices for lamp bases was so mortifying that I had to avert my eyes. Lowe's was considerably more palatable, but still not really what I was looking for. Why pay more than you want for something that isn't exactly what you want? Right. That would be stupid.

Enter craigslist: I hunted around for a while, and found a posting advertising two lamps for the cheapest price I had been able to find for one new lamp: $15. TWO lamps, for under the price of ONE. I was ecstatic. After several days, and several failed attempts to go retrieve said lamps, I finally was able to go! Here they are:



They...are brass...you might be thinking. Yes. Yes they are. But I happen to have left over Rustoleum hammered black! I've been able to use it for so many things - I'm so incredibly pleased with it!

So, I removed the lampshades that I will not be keeping, along with those bendy wire things that keep them in place, and just took the lamp bases. I cleaned them off with all purpose cleaner, and made sure I got all the dust out of various crevices. I coiled the cords so that they tucked underneath the bases of the lamps. I then cut out two "corners" of a WalMart shopping bag, and taped them around the electrical bits of the lamps, a-like-so:
(As you can see, they're ready for their makeover on our patio, which has turned into my furniture/project headquarters)



I sprayed them each with a coat of Rustoleum hammered black. They looked awesome.




I just added one final coat, and am going to let them dry overnight. Tomorrow, I'll put them in their rightful place, with their amazing lampshades, and they will have a party to celebrate how amazing they are, and the new life they've been given.

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Alrighty, last "project" of the night. We have one of those awkward inset walls upstairs, and have never really known what to do with it. It doesn't help that there's a phone jack in the middle of it, and an outlet. No idea who thought that one up, but whatever.

So, as I was sorting through things in the garage, I came across these:



They're supposed to be hot plates or hot coasters, or whatever you call the things you put pots on when they're warm and you don't want them to mark up the counter or table. I bought them at Linens 'N Things at their going out of business sale...I think they were $6.

I got a sample of Glidden's Olivewood, and painted the interior of the inset, as well as added an LED light to the top middle, so it could illuminate whatever I chose to put in there. I am strongly leaning toward these babies.

I have, yet again, employed the use of Rustoleum hammered black (I'm afraid I'm going to end up in a situation like those Stride gum commercials, and have the Rustoleum folks tackle me and steal my can away so that I'm forced to buy a new one), and have painted them. I'm going to hang them up in the inset, and probably put a hurricane-ish vase on the shelf part. I'll post a picture once it's actually done. I might need some feedback on whether it looks cool or lame.

That's all for tonight. Long, emotional day, and I've got A TON to get done tomorrow before the realtor gets here. Wish me luck! Goodnight all!