Master Bedroom Update!

Things are moving right along, and it is SO exciting to see it all coming together!!!! I love love LOVE what I am doing to my master bedroom and am so thrilled that even though I have like a jillion kids and a billion things to do -- if I work on just one thing every single day then eventually it does get done! I just have to not stress about it and let it work itself out as it just does. Not on my timeline but my family's.

Today I made leaps and SPRINTS in the progress though, and I thought to share a bit of what I'm working on with you! First of all I have to show off my bed, it is coming together so beautifully! I found the most gorgeous sheer cotton bedskirt that is sweeping and romantic and I love it!

I don't have very many pillows for my bed, and our twin duvet covers are coming in the mail (white, of course!) and I don't have a coverlet to go OVER those duvets so...I just kind of improvised (which is what my life is ALLLL about these days anyway! =) and used the white king duvet I got at a garage sale for $5 over the twin duvets. The king duvet is okay for now, but it barely hangs over the edges unlike a coverlet which would cover all the edges nicely, down to the bedskirt. I have one in mind that I LOVE but it is $99 AND it is dry clean only. =( Waaah! So probably not happening for me...another one I really like is from JCPenney and is only $69 and is washable, but of course I really love the "forbidden" one lol.

Yesterday I spent some time washing the front of the cabinet that holds our sink in our bedroom - the sink is actually IN our bedroom with a mirror and cabinets, and then there is another door that leads to the toilet/bathtub. So this cabinet is pretty much "in your face" as far as matching with the rest of the bedroom - I have included that whole area in the new plan for my room.

I also had to repair a big long crack in the main cabinet door so I used Elmer's wood glue to take care of that - it came out okay. I had to fill in the gap still with wood filler today and sand it down and it definitely does not look 100% but with the black paint I don't think I'll be able to see it.

I don't know how exactly it happened, but I was able to spend about 3 hours total on the cabinets today/tonight - first priming them all, and that is paintable in just 1 hour so I was able to move right along to painting! That was SUPER fun because I have been painting with WHITE for months and months now. White primer, white paint - yum, but it gets old after a while. Painting the blue of my room was really fun and I lay in bed looking at the dreamy-ness of it in the mornings...I love it!

So I was able to paint ALL the cabinet including the doors with one coat of primer, and then about 95% of it with one coat of black paint today! yay! It already looks AMAZING and the white just POPS -- I can't wait to do another coat (or two? We'll see) and then add the knobs...that is going to be so cool. None of our cabinets in our entire house have knobs, not even in the kitchen - so lame. Have you ever seen a Pottery Barn anything without knobs? Me neither, it's so mid 90's!

Here's a few pictures to leave you with - and yes, I am on pins & needles that one of the kids is going to touch the paint drying in my bedroom...aack! But they've been pretty good so far besides always asking if they can paint too. I just tell them not in my room, BUT when we do their room, they can help!

Pardon the mess - I'm realizing more & more that the beautiful after pictures of ANYTHING never show how extremely messy it was in the interum!

I enjoy painting very much. It is really rewarding to see something spring forth with new life from my own hands, and the only thing it takes is my time - it is very low cost once you have all the materials. I purchased a quart of very high end paint to do my cabinets (Benjamin Moore Advance Satin Blank) - it cost me $22, I know, TRUST me, ouch. But after painting just one coat on the cabinets, it looks like I barely made a dent in that can. So one more coat, is going to be not much either. I should have enough left over to paint a chair for my bedroom, and a king bedframe, AND maybe even the front door! I'd say that's a pretty good investment.

I also love shopping the "oops" paints at Home Depot and Lowe's - you can get pretty good paint for super duper cheap. I can't wait to do even more projects when I have had the baby and all the postpartum stuff is behind me...I have 6 weeks left to go until d-day now! =)

YOU can have the house of your dreams....!

The first part of this article really caught my attention and was so motivating for me, I wanted to share it with you! From Tim Layton at remodelingguy.net, who runs an awesome website with TONS of articles and how-to's:

Here’s the truth: You deserve the home of your dreams.

You do. I’m totally serious and I’m talking to you. No if’s, and’s, or but’s about it.

Write this on a little index card: “I live in the house of my dreams.” and read that out loud every day, like ten times in a row. I don’t care if anyone thinks you're crazy, even you.

The important thing isn’t that you’re sane, it’s that you live in a rockin’ abode. This will get you there. You just can’t quit doing it. Eventually you’ll make it true even if it’s not even close today. I’m telling you the truth.

Soon, you will start to feel a little motivated. RUN with it. Start doing something to make it happen. Like now. Maybe even just a little paint to start with?

This really resounded with me because, well, it's how I live like, my entire life! I simply can't just tackle one big project over the weekend because 1)I have almost 8 children ages 12 & under, and 2) I'm humongously pregnant right now. I know THAT will change, but the busy-ness of life definitely won't.

NONTHELESS I love love love what he said, about how I DO already live in the house of my dreams!!! Meaning ---- that I can transform each room into something beautiful that I love, slooooooowly but surely.

I'm working on the master bedroom right now, and I have such a vision for it!!! It carries me through exhausted days when I just don't feel like I can do anything in there, being 7 months pregnant and all, yet I just want it to change and look how it does in my head! So I just give it 30 minutes, and if that's all, it will slowly but surely transform.

Looking forward to sharing before & afters with you!! =)

"....and let patience have it's perfect work..."

Patience has been my motto lately. We had to put ourselves on a complete spending FREEZE for the past 20 days, for various unexpected reasons. We didn't even have money for bandaids!

So I've been just...waiting. Lots and lots and LOTS of ideas and chomping at the bit to get started with my home, but just concentrating on cleaning it more so that when I DO want to start painting, for example, it will be ready.

Yesterday we got paid and it looks like it's going to be another extremely tight month. We have more things demanding our money than we have money FOR, so even the small allowance we give ourselves each month, it looks like isn't going to happen.

After doing alot of research, though, it sounds like prep work is 75% of the work when it comes to painting. I have to first clean the area, which in itself takes quite a bit of time, soooooooo many fingerprints!!!! And then I have to spackle and repair the wall's many holes and little indents from various accidents through the years. THEN I have to use painter's tape and go over everything, oh that is also after removing the lightswitch covers, etc. THEN I get to do the priming of the walls. After that, I can paint.

So everything up to the priming is practically free, it's just my time. So I've been working on that.

But today I went to Sherwin Williams to browse and get pricing on some things - I have a 30% off all paint coupon that expires on Sunday. Waaaah! I don't think I'm going to be able to use it because ONE gallon of the good paint costs like $42! Ouch. With my 30% off coupon it would be just $29! That savings is hard to ignore....maybe I can squeeze it out of my grocery money? But then, the argument is that if I COULD squeeze it out of the groceries (and thus live on truly rice & beans, which I actually have a TON of, ROFL!) then theoretically that money should go for the new shoes my husband needs. Or the $180 copay for my dentist appointment.

I told myself that I am just going to be patient. I know I am going to do this - I feel like it is just time. My baby is getting older, I've never actually had a baby this old and not been pregnant (she's almost 15 months). In the meantime, I am looking at color swatches and borrowing books from the Library about how to paint, and doing a ton of research.

Thrift Store Finds!

I'm looking forward to posting some before/afters of different things I find at thrift stores soon! Still working on getting my house turned right side up so I can work in a clean environment - clutter just makes me crazy!

For now, I'll show you some fab finds I got at the thrift store recently. They instantly bring new life into my house and I love how little things do that - especially love the price tag. =)

First - a beautiful pillar-like stand for whatever I want! It cost me $6.99 but I was returning something so only had to pay $.59. The oranges didn't last long (my 11 year old decided to see if she could juggle, rrrrrrr) and now they have 3 pretty candles on them. In the future I plan to put a pretty cascading green plant on it to add some green to my home.

Next I found this GORGEOUS clock! It was $9.99 but I just couldn't pass it up, since I had store credit to use up at Goodwill. I didn't have a place in my mind to put it, but I knew it would look beautiful in my house. Turns out it looks really nice sitting under my Italian Chef I inherited when my grandparents passed away. I enjoy it in my kitchen every single day!

I hesitated when I saw this picture, but it just drew me. The colors are IDENTICAL to what I have in my house, except it's missing a splash of red. It really brings together the browns, greens, and tans so I ended up buying it for $4.99.

I put it above our 2nd computer desk in the family room, a room that has been sadly neglected for the entire 11 years we have lived here. Later, I added the fall bead wreath on the other side and an orange candle below with a black curly iron candleholder. Now this room looks a bit more loved!

Laundry Basket Name Tags

This is my very first project! It seems like all I do every day is clean, clean, clean so it's hard to find time for actual home IMPROVEMENT vs. home CLEANING. But I've been working overtime hard so that the house is clean enough that I can start redecorating, reorganizing, etc.

In our house, we have a family closet of sorts. All 7 of our children have their own laundry basket of clean clothing that sits on a shelf in our family room. Normally this would be in the laundry room or ideally even in a separate larger closet. But that's okay - I like it so much that I don't care where it is!

The problem: babysitters have no idea whose clothing is whose. So I decided to make name tags! Inspired by different blogs and ideas I've seen online, I got to work. My baskets are not matching but I did my best with what I had, and now they look much nicer just because they are *slightly* more uniform looking, lol.

First I did a search for free fonts on Google. Found a site right away, and then found a good Tuscan type font that I loved. Downloaded it onto my computer, then opened a word document and typed the names of my children in large font.

I found some sturdy white card paper and printed the names out. Then I cut them into the same shape as best I could, and glued them onto black construction paper.

Next, I cut the black construction paper into nice even-looking labels, and covered the face of each one with packing tape. Ha ha! I'm finding out that to be crafty you get, well, creative. =) The end results - ta da! (and these ARE white in real life, lol)

Frustrations = Realism

Today I am thinking about all the things I want to do to my home, things that are even simple that would brighten things like cleaning and shining up my kitchen stove burners. Or like just now, I was putting laundry into the ever demanding machine and noticing how badly it needs to be wiped down.

So I suppose that Rejuvenation does not necessarily mean a "project" as in changing the actual color or shape of something. It can even mean cleaning!

But today I am faced with a decision...I can give in to thoughts of frustration and POOR ME and my life in general makes me feel like I am bound hand and foot and I can't do ANYTHING I want to do.

Which of course is a lie becuase yesterday I got to go shopping by myself at the thrift store for 2 hours! So - see how deceptive the enemy is with his darts of self pity?

But what has me feeling frustrated today is seeing so much potential around my home, and thinking how simple it SEEMS to just take a couple of hours or even ONE hour per day, to work on a project.

Instead I look around me and see my real live situation. That tonight I have a birthday party for my DS turning 8, and probably 10 family members will be coming. I still have to 1) make dinner, 2) decorate, 3) wrap the presents, and 4) clean the house and 5) unpack the rest of the stuff from staying at our church this weekend.

Have you ever felt that feeling? Like you just really really REALLY want to just DO THIS ONE THING, yet there is so so so much staring at you and that MUST be done like, within the next 2 hours?

So that is me today. Dealing with thoughts of what is REAL and what is my life and also, how to live my life pleasing to Jesus - because that is what it's all for, anyway, right?

The little secret is that if I was left to my own devices and was able to do my little projects without interruption or work - there would be something else that made me feel like "poor me" and my life is like a ball and chain. Those thoughts have to be dealt with and can't be allowed to live or they'll take over my life and make me M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E.

So this is me today: =) =) =) With a big smile on my face. =0 I know that soon enough I'll get a chance to do my projects. =0

This song has been on my heart today:

Better than gold is faithfulness.
Riches you'll gain that will remain,
And you'll have constant joy and peace.
Firm to your mind faithfulness bind.

Blest are you who in peace or strife (anyone else's kids seem to create strife? Ha ha!)Hour by hour, lay down your life.
Fighting 'gainst lies, deceit, empty ways,
Day after day you're growing in grace!

I'm thankful for blogging, too - it helps me turn my world right side up as I see things in black and white when they're written out! =)

Aaaagh what to start on??!!

Ooooh the agony of actually STARTING!! Ha ha! Here's the thing. Kids go back to school tomorrow, and just today we got back from a 4-day stay at our local church retreat. MAJORLY not on a schedule. Then in just 4 days, we're going back there for the weekend. The weekend after that, DH and I are taking a lil vacation break for 3 nights.

I HATE having my schedule all planned out like that! I crave routine this time of year. Waaah, poor me lol. My problem is that there is just not enough time in the week to do what I need to do, and the weekends are going to be all crazy busy. Read: we'll be GONE.

Sigh.

Oh well, I suppose fall/winter will be here before I know it, with endlessly boring weekends. LOL.

I can't decide what do to first, though. Should I do the bathroom? But I kind of wanted it to be the same theme as the rest of the house, and since the rest of the house DOES have a theme but I can't actually SEE it --- it's hard to match it really well. I guess I'm also kind of conflicted because I love the Pottery Barn style of decor - simple, yet beautiful and FUNCTIONAL with lots of storage, clean lines. Is it lame to have different styles of decor in your home?

The first step I've taken to renovating my home is to get the carpets cleaned. That is happening tomorrow, with a coupon for $115 for most of our home, just excluding 2 bedrooms. I'm paying for that out of my Ebay money and I'm excited - one SMALL step to making my home nicer, and I know it'll motivate me to continue on!

The other quandry I'm in as well, is that right now we are smack dab in the middle of Halloween costume season on Ebay. I can do fantastically well with those if I put my mind to it, and take the time. For instance, this is my costume I have up on Ebay that I got for $2. It's currently at $42 and still has a couple of days to go on auction.

And the thing is, that money is what I am going to use (my extra "egg" money, so to speak) to start slowly but surely renovating my home, doing most of it myself. So I need to concentrate on earning the money now, since I only have about a 6-week window to do it in. I have to scour the thrift stores in my area, some of them several times, and then take the time - it's ALOT of time - to write up the auctions, package, etc, all while doing my normal activities it requires to run a home.

AND all I want to do is surf blogs and get more ideas. And I want to DO them! Not sell things on Ebay. waaahhh!!

I suppose I better go get busy....