Our 4 Year Houseiversary: Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of our 4 Year Houseiversary!  Last time we looked outside; today we're going to take a gander inside around our 1st floor and some of the changes that have happened over the past 4 years.  Two of our big projects early on were installing recessed lighting in three of the rooms (living room, master bedroom, and one of the upstairs bedrooms) and getting replacement windows.  I don't really have any pictures of these projects, but trust me, they were needed.  Our yard is shaded, and our rooms without ceiling lights were sooo dark.  And our windows...some were painted shut, others let a draft in...it was definitely time for some new windows.  Our heating and air conditioning bills are quite happy about that decision also.

I've already given a living room tour, talked about our hideous kitchen, and early on in the life of this blog I posted about our "dog room" turned laundry & mud room, so we'll skip those for today, but feel free to go check them out!

Our dining room served as an office for our home's previous owners.  Here it was back then:

And here it is now (you can also see another view here):

The previous owners had their dining room where we now have a toy room.  Then:

Now.....hello there, clutter:

You can also see more toy room pictures here and here.

Our Master Bed & Bath are also on the first floor.  Here's a bedroom before (yep, it's small for a master bedroom!):

It's looking like this nowadays (wishing I would have fixed the curtains before I took the picture):

We haven't done much to the master bath yet, but just for kicks here's a "before"....

(Nope.  It clearly wasn't enough that nearly all the trim in the entire house was painted blue.  The toilet paper had to match).  We have gotten a new toilet since the "before" picture was taken during our home inspection.  There's just something that wasn't working with the faux wood look....plus I kept thinking I could get a splinter on my....well, you know!

Disclaimer:  I'm sure the previous owners probably loved their home, and this post isn't meant to diss their style (is "diss" still a word?)  Everyone likes different things, and some of you might be thinking I'm crazy!  That's okay!  Life would be boring if we all did everything exactly the same.  I just enjoy seeing the changes and progress we have made in making our house ~ our home.

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Remember a few weeks ago when I posted about my 31-gifts fundraiser, with all proceeds going toward our adoption??  The good news is:  I'm sooo excited about how well it's been going!  The even better news is:  we've decided to extend the fundraiser until Wednesday!!!  Need some great Christmas gifts?  Head on over and check out the fundraiser....click here for a direct link.  This month's special:  For each $31 you spend, get 50% off specified items.  

Looking for a great deal?  Zipper pouches (9"Hx7.5"Wx1.5"D; available in 8 different patterns) are normally $12.  Buy 3 and get the 4th one for only $6!  Stuff them with some treats and they would make a great gift!  Think....school supplies for teachers, makeup for your sister, a manicure kit for your babysitter, or maybe it's just a really great way to give a gift card!

Linking to a few of my favorites ~ check them out!

Our 4 Year Houseiversary: Part 1

Yay!  It's our 4 Year Houseiversary!!!  We moved into our 1961 Cape Cod four years ago, knowing our home would be a work in progress for quite awhile.  Sometimes I forget that was the plan all along, and get frustrated thinking of all the projects that still haven't been completed.  We are committed to not going into debt (unless there would be an emergency) for house renovations, so the "big projects" take some time to save for (especially now with an adoption and two trips to Ethiopia in the not too distant future!)  Anyway, when I sit back and think about it, we actually have done quite a bit in the four years we have lived here.  Interested?  Keep reading.....and stay tuned for our "inside" updates, coming soon!

Today we'll start with the outside.  Here's what it looked like when we moved in...sorry for the poor quality pictures....they were taken with an old camera in a rainstorm....

We started by pulling out lots and lots and lots of ivy.  I wish we would have kept track of the number of hours spent ivy-pulling....it was insane.  We also took out all the shrubs in front of the house - we wanted to be able to see our cute house, not have it covered up by a hedge!  We reseeded the lawn and took out some of the trees (and the fountain/birdbath).  Just this summer we painted the shutters from the country blue color to "Lincoln Cottage Black" and redid the porch swing.  Here's what our house looks like currently....

Still a work in progress....I'm still wishing for that new red front door and we need some landscaping on the left side, but it's improved, don't you think?

Here's the front porch before....

and currently....

Woohoo for being able to see past hedges!

Moving around back...picture life deep in the Amazon jungle.  Add some chainlink fence in random places, and you've got our backyard.  Seriously, it was bad.  I even entered it in an "Ugliest Yard" contest and I'm pretty sure I didn't win because whoever was choosing the winners probably thought it was just a joke.  Here's some "before" pictures (although most of the random chainlink was gone by this point, and we have kept what was around the perimeter)....

 

Pretty, huh?  Yeah, I was scared to walk back there because of all the creatures I knew were lurking in the weeds.  Our little dog actually caught a mouse in the backyard the first week after we moved in.  Not cool.  Well, it was a little cool that our dog caught a mouse, but not cool at all that I had certain proof of rodent life.  And the shed?  I pretty much feared for my husband's life every time he walked in.  On the brighter side, demolition was quite easy - a few kicks and it was down!

Lots more weed & ivy pulling, a landscaping crew, a firepit (blocked in the following picture by trees), a swingset, and a new shed later....

We do still plan on putting pavers or stamped concrete in the firepit, but again, much better, don't you think?  Come back later this week to see some of the changes that have happened inside the house!

Click here for a list of parties I may have linked up to!

Operation Organized Bathroom Cabinet

I am the first to admit it - organizing and cleaning are NOT my strong points.  I love to cook, bake, etc....but cleaning?  Ugh.  No thank you.  That being said, I've come to realize lately that I need to get on the ball.  Maybe it's partially because of an impending home study, maybe because I know life will be easier when it's organized, or maybe it's just time.
My first project?  The "linen closet" in our master bathroom.  We don't have an actual linen closet - so when we moved in we added one of our cabinets.  It doesn't fit well in the space, but it works.
Ready for the "before?"  Please keep in mind that we haven't done anything as far as painting in this room....so please don't think the blue trim was my idea!.....

 

Yikes, pretty bad right?  Not a lot of linens in the linen closet, because I had already taken step one awhile ago - storing our sheets in an under-the-bed box.  It's handy and saves room - love it!  (Oh, and I also picked up that tip about folding the sheets and storing each set in a matching pillowcase - love that too!)

I cleaned out the cabinet, threw away all the expired medicines (what?  I shouldn't drink Nyquil from 6 years ago?!) and things we don't use, rolled the towels, and organized like items in little plastic bins, and here's what I ended up with....

Much improved, right?  Look at all that extra space!!  I was even able to move a bunch of things from our counter, and it's looking amazing too...

Of course I had to add some labels.  I thought of labeling each container with its contents, but couldn't get it to look how I wanted it to, and plus, the containers are already see-through, so I just labeled each one with an alphabet sticker.

Here's the cabinet with the containers labeled (a little hard to see because of our terrible lighting).....

In case you were wondering....here's the rundown on what goes where:  a=razors (one of my stockpile items...you can almost always find them free or super cheap....so why not get them in advance and never pay full price!), b=first aid stuff, c=medicines (all of these are safely out of the reach of little hands!)  1st Big Basket=daily stuff like hairbrushes, deodorant, contact solution, etc.  The blue thing in front of the basket?  Oh yeah, that's for my mouth guard.  Cause I'm cool like that.
2nd shelf from the top:  2nd big basket includes random stuff we don't use daily, like lotions, aloe gel, etc.  D=hair stuff like headbands, ponytail holders.  Everything else in that little cubby is also hair-related, like my hairdryer and the clippers I use to cut Jon's hair.
3rd shelf:  E=makeup, chapsticks; F=toothbrushes & floss (other stockpile items!)  The old wipes container (ran out of the clear plastic tubs!) currently has pantyhose, and the jar next to it has little flower pins and accessories.  And of course you can see the bottom shelf is filled with towels.  Amazing how much room it saves to roll them!

I'll keep you updated as I continue my quest for a more organized home!  What are your best organizing tips?

Linking up to some of my favorites - check them out!

Laundry Hamper: Drab to Fab

I've been totally overwhelmed and drowning in adoption paperwork lately and tonight I really needed to take a break and do something different.....when I was going over my mental "to-do" list, I thought of my boring, drab, blah laundry hamper.  I spend enough time with this thing ~ might as well cutesy it up a bit!

No, it doesn't normally sit in the middle of our living room, but that's where I do most of my projects.  And please, when you look at this picture, try to ignore all the baby toys, the empty Dunkin' Donuts bag, the 4th of July decorations that are still out, and the fact that yep, there's dirty laundry in the hamper (which could stand to meet an iron).  The hamper certainly serves it's purpose, and was really inexpensive, but it's just so boring.  Enter my love of all things labeled.

I grabbed my favorite chipboard letters (same ones I used to stencil on the porch swing) and some fabric paint.  I first traced the letters...

and then, totally ignoring the paint's instructions to lay the fabric flat, I painted in the letters.  Super easy!

So "gentle" went downhill a smidge.  That's probably due to my refusal to measure.  But I'm still happy with the finished product!

Anybody else crafting to relieve stress tonight?

Linking up to a few of my favorites ~ go check them out!

The Red Chair

A few weeks ago, I had the urge to paint something red.

Does that ever happen to anyone else?  The color comes before the project?  A little weird, but I went with it.

In my search around the house, I came across this old chair.  I'm not exactly sure where it came from, but we've been using it as a replacement chair at our dining room table since one of our other chairs kept breaking.  (High quality stuff we've got!).  The only problem with it was the little crack (middle rung on the backrest), but oh well.....free and on hand....what could be better?

I found a great shade of red ~ Rustoleum Colonial Red in Satin ~ and went to work.  Cleaned it and sanded it.  The chair, as you can see, has one of the woven seats.  Since I really didn't want to get paint on it I fixed it up with a little painter's tape and some Glad Press N Seal ~ which actually worked really well!  I might have to start using it for my projects more often!!

The spray paint I used was Rustoleum's Ultra Cover (2x the coverage) and I was pleased at how well it went on.  After it dried, I decided to distress it with some sandpaper....but then I didn't like how it looked.  So I painted over the part I distressed, and for this chair, I was much happier with a non-distressed look.  Here's the finished piece...

I love the fun pop of color it adds!

What is your favorite brand/shade of spraypaint?  I'm always looking for great colors!

Linking to a few of my favorites ~ check them out!

Rocking Chair Redo

Back here I showed you this kid's rocking chair that I bought at a yard sale...

Our Carly has this weird fascination with anything she can sit in or on.  She will find the strangest things to use as a seat....for example, back around Easter....

Yep, that would be her brother's Easter bucket.  Anyway, when I saw the rocker pictured above at a yard sale, I knew she would love it.  It was priced at $5 but I offered the $3 I had in my pocket and they accepted ~ good deal!

A few coats (ok, a lot of coats) of Rustoleum's "Sweet Pea" and here's what it looks like now...

The stuffed monkey is in place of my little monkey who wouldn't sit still long enough to have her picture taken!  She really does love her new and improved chair though.  And I should clarify...it wasn't Rustoleum's fault that it took so many coats of paint.  My primer spraypaint was clogged and I couldn't get it to work, but I really wanted to do the project right then and there (ever happen to you?!), so I didn't use a primer....which won't be happening again.  (Note to self:  buy more primer, or else this will happen again!)

Linking to a few of my favorites ~ check them out!

Always such an honor to be featured ~ THANK YOU!

First Aqua Experience

Remember back here when I showed you this cute little table I found at my fave thrift?

If you don't remember, that's ok.  I know you were probably so stunned and amazed at my favorite find (Steven Q Urkel) that you couldn't concentrate on all my other great stuff!  The table was only $4.50 and since I didn't spend an arm and a leg I decided to experiment with a color I don't normally go for.  I have been seeing so much great turquoise and aqua furniture and thought it would be fun to try.  I bought a can of Rustoleum's "Aqua" and got to work!

Here she is after the paint was all dry (it's clearly a she, didn't you see those legs?!)....

She was looking a little too clean-cut for me, so I sanded some of the edges to let the original black paint show through for a more distressed look.

Sanding was a definite improvement, but I still wanted to tone down the color a little, so I mixed up a little glaze (I just added some water to the black paint we had left over from the shutters and porch swing).  I used a sponge brush and did a small section at a time, painting and then wiping off.  (I really have no idea if this was the correct way to do anything, but it worked for me!)

The finished product was looking a little "beachy" to me ~ perfect for summer.  I threw on some random summery-type things from around the house ~ a bottle, an old picture of Jon & I at the beach, and I took the bird nest out of the cloche and put in some sand dollars and starfish.  Here's the result...

Yep, the baseboard is half painted.  This is in our upstairs hallway, where we ripped up carpet and still haven't gotten around to finishing up the painting.  Just pretend you don't see it.

I do like how the table turned out and I'm glad I took the aqua plunge.  I'm not sure if it's really me, but at $4.50 and a can of spray paint, I won't feel bad if I decide to change it again in a few months!

Linking up to a few of my favorites ~ check them out!

Chalkboard Wall

I'm pretty late in hopping onto the chalkboard wall bandwagon, but I'm super happy with our new one nonetheless!  We decided to paint part of our toy room wall with chalkboard paint to give our budding artists a new canvas.  We already have a chair rail going around the room, and a shorter wall that would be the perfect spot.  Here's the "before" picture:

 A little chalkboard paint, 2 little hooks and cute buckets later...

The buckets are cute Hobby Lobby clearance finds for 89cents apiece!  I put white chalk in one and colored chalk in the other.  (Not that I have high hopes of them staying separated for long!)
Here's the kids getting creative...

Maybe a little too creative...

We've had the chalkboard wall for a little while now and are still loving it.  I didn't take into consideration all the chalk dust, but i just have to wipe the floor up a little more often.  Carly had previously only played with sidewalk chalk, so I have found her in various parts of the house drawing on the floor with her new easily accessible chalk.  And, the dog may have eaten a few pieces of chalk.  Other than those minor inconveniences, I'd do it all again!

 Linking to a few of my favorites!