House Goals of 2015

Every year when the new year starts to roll around, I start contemplating what goals I would like to accomplish in the house. My home is my haven, and I love to change things up and make it work for us. Our house has made tremendous progress since we moved in two years ago, but there are still more changes waiting to be made. It’s always nice to see what I have accomplished at the end of the year.

Last year, I completed every goal except for one {technically two, but I got rid of the rocking chair, so there was no need for it to be reupholstered}. The one goal that was left will be transferred to this year.

Without further adieu, my house goals of 2015…

1. Purchase the rest of the bedding for the guest room.
2. Get curtains for the guest bedroom.
3. Paint the guest bedroom.
4. Get lamps for the guest bedroom.
5. Paint the kitchen cabinets.
6. Get new hardware for the kitchen cabinets.
7. Plant flowers/plants in the courtyard.
8. Finish the privacy fence in the backyard.
9. Re-paint all closet doors.
10. Get a new mailbox and post with decal.

What do you think? Some of these are big goals, but Colby and I have been seriously talking about doing most of the big things for a while. We have just had other large projects that needed to be tackled first.

I seriously cannot wait for our house to start taking shape in the next year. I am already in the process of marking some of these items off my list…just waiting on pay day!

Do you set goals for yourself? For your home?

{Thankfulness} Freedom

Today, my thankfulness cannot be expressed in words alone. My thankfulness comes deep down from in my heart.

The men and women who have fought for our country have sacrificed way more than I could ever imagine. The leave their homes, their families, their friends, and essentially their lives to go off and fight to keep us free.

Not only am I thankful for those that have made the ultimate sacrifice of dedicated themselves to our country, but I am thankful for their families. I have never had to experience this first hand, and I knew from the very beginning that I could never be a military wife. It is safe to admit that I am not strong enough to deal with the worry and stress that comes from that experience.

I am lucky to say, though, that I have many Veterans in my family. My Paw retired from the Air Force. I have cousins, uncles, and plenty of friends who have fought for my freedom.

Thank you.

Thank you for everything.

And if you didn’t tell a Veteran thank you today, please do it before the day is up. They deserve it.

{Thankfulness} Parents

Today I wanted to share just how thankful I am for my parents and my in-laws.

Pop Pop has the best tractor noises. He could once say nearly every word of the Jungle Book. He’s handy and can make nearly anything you want. He has the best sense of humor and is always the life of the party.

Nonna makes some mean chocolate oatmeal cookies. She has the best toy stash in her secret compartment under the stairs. She can sing a baby to sleep in no time flat and loves sharing her love for the farm with her grandbabies. Those goats are prime entertainment for the kiddos!

Mimi is a teacher through and through. All of those years of teaching elementary school don’t go away easily, so she puts her skills to good use with Landry. She’s Landry’s babysitter while I work and makes sure he gets his share of veggies and good nutrition.

Paw gives the best lawn mower rides on all of Travis Street. It’s a daily ritual. He spends more time at home now that Landry is around, and we are thankful that he moves the car out every morning, so we don’t have to get out in the wet grass, cold, or rain more than we have to.

Each of these are such a special part of our lives, and they are each more than what these three or four sentences say. We {Colby and I} are more grateful for them than we could ever express. They have sacrificed for us and have shown love for Landry like no one else would be able to do. We love you all!

{Thankfulness} A Small Token of Kindness

Today’s thankfulness is a result of what happened to me this morning…

I drove up to drop Landry off at his Mimi and Paw’s when his Paw realized my tire looked a little slack.

You should know that the only way I’m going to realize my tire is “slack” is if it’s flat to the ground and is VERY NOTICEABLE! Like non-drivable noticeable.

Act of kindness one:

My FIL offered to come to the school to give my tire a little lift in the air department. The problem? When he went to add air, he found a screw.

This screw.

Act of kindness two:

He took my car to have my tire repaired, so I didn’t have to do it after school.

So, I’m thankful for my FIL and the fact that he takes care of me like I’m his own….especially since Colby was not in town to do it for me either. My stressful day was a little less stressful.

Small acts of kindness, people.

It’s what makes the world go ‘round.

{Thankfulness} Sister, Sister

We talk everyday. If we don’t, someone is deathly ill.

She’s my polar opposite. You would never know we were sisters.

She’s my personal hairstylist {and Landry’s}.

She’s my built-in best friend.

She gets my jokes.

She listens to my rants.

She encourages me and then tells me of awesome deals at the “Dirty Chicken.”

She’s the best, and she’s mine. Sorry folks!

{Thankfulness} My Baby

He’s my heart.

For him, I’m thankful for…

His open mouth kisses.

His comedian personality.

His love for the outdoors.

His need for his Mommy just because.

His contagious laugh.

His spunk.

His sweet smile.

His daringness.

The Lord could not have blessed me with a greater kid. He’s a blessing that just keeps on giving.

{Thankfulness} My Best Friend

So many days are spent without a minute to spare, but there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of something I am so thankful for. Most of the time it is a bit of appreciation for the little things in life.

Since it is November and the month of thankfulness, I thought I would take the time to share a snippet of what I’m grateful for in life each day this month.

What better way to start the month off than to express my thankfulness for my best friend and husband, Colby. I could make a list of all the reasons I’m thankful for him, but let’s be honest…you don’t want to read that. I’d rather not get mushy.

Just a few fun facts…

1. He plays all the things with Landry that mommy is not so good at. Mommies just don’t make tractor noises like Daddies.
2. He does all of the chores I hate doing the most or just don’t have the stomach to do….you now the ones…cleaning the tub, taking out the trash, putting the nasty dishes in the dishwasher. He’s the best at it, and I have a happier stomach because of it.
3. He encourages me to be my best person, to make goals and reach them (all while helping me make them reality), and is an amazing provider for our family.

Thanks for being such a great husband, best friend, listener, therapist, yard man, painter, fixer-upper, dad, diaper changer, bill payer, money saver, and all of the other jobs you do around here that I can’t think of at the moment. We love you and are very grateful for you!

A Check-Check Here & A Check-Check There

Buffalo checks. It’s the “theme” so to speak.

I finally found the perfect inspiration photo of what I had already been planning before I discovered it.

You see, I found this awesomely priced duvet cover from Ikea. Can you say 49.99?

Then, I was making plans on how to buy an extra duvet cover to turn them into matching curtains. And then…I found this picture.

My heart skipped a beat when the blogger of Dixie Delight said that she bought the fabric from Ikea. Say what??? No need to cut up a duvet cover to get the look I wanted? I could just buy the fabric. Ah-MAZ-ING!

To make this bedroom a total hit, I’ve got to make a lot of changes, but if I start now maybe I can get it done in a couple of years. Sad, right? Teacher= P.O.O.R.

Here’s the list…

• Headboard
• Light fixture
• Duvet and Duvet Cover from Ikea
• White quilt
• PB Sheets {like those above}….might just settle for plain white ones
• Curtain fabric from Ikea
• Lamps
• Possibly switch nightstands from master bedroom to guest bedroom
• Artwork on walls {might use Uncle Judd’s contributions}
• Curtain rods
• Dresser {possibly}
• Desk set-up
• Euro pillows and shams
• Boyish, natural accessories
• And paint! {shhh….don’t tell Colby! He’ll kill me}

Don’t worry about the toys….I’m sure we will be making plenty of room for them in his closet.

There you have it, folks! A big boy room in the making!

Big Boy in the Making

Y’all have no idea how fast Landry is growing up! Every day it’s a new word or a new “trick”. It’s so crazy how fast he picks up on things that we do. He learns it and runs with it. We are having to really mind our p’s and q’s around here. We want to be a good example for him after all.

 

Lately, I’ve been thinking about our guest bedroom. I’m sick of looking at all of the random stuff that has piled up in there. It’s really pathetic what the mess has turned in to. Burlap, paper lanterns, random paperwork, books…the list goes on.

One day, this room will be Landry’s big boy room. Don’t get any ideas though. Landry will be comfortable in his nursery for a few more years. In the mean time, I would like to start moving in the right direction, so I won’t be creating a nursery and a big boy room at the same time. Plus, I want to have a room that is comfortable for guests if some of our family or friends come from out of town and needs a place to stay.

I don’t think a pile of junk on the bed is exactly comfortable.

I’ve been looking for some inspiration rooms, and so far I’ve found that I’m fond of buffalo checks for his future space, and I would love for it to be a neutral type space.

Here is a look at what I’ve found so far…

 

 

Of course….those pictures are not my absolute favorites. I’ll share that tomorrow.

I want to be back to blogging. I am NEEDING this outlet to share about my family, my projects, my home, my struggles, and my life.

It’s real life here, folks. Don’t ever get the idea that it’s all sunshine and rainbows. That would be a false perception.

P.S. The links to all of these images can be found on my Pinterest board {link at the top of the page} under Cozy Bedrooms.

1st Birthday Madness

This past week was crunch week in preparing for Landry’s 1st birthday. We went with a picnic theme. I figured we might as well keep the gingham theme going for this year.

I wanted it to be nice and cute, of course. I’ve tried not to go TOO over the top since he’s really not going to remember it or understand what’s going on. You all know I like to throw a good party though. It’s been difficult to reign things in a bit from what I really could have done.

No worries though. It won’t disappoint I don’t think. Let’s hope anyway.

In preparation, I made a banner to go on his high chair. It was a bit time consuming, and looking back I probably could have made things a LOT simpler, but hindsight is 20/20.

 

To make it, I gathered three colors of gingham fabric, pom pom trim, a needle and thread, pinking shears, and hem tape.

I measured the width of the area I was wanting to cover around the high chair and cut that amount off of the pom pom trim.

I then decided how wide I wanted my pennants and pretty much just eyeballed a pattern for the pennants. I traced {lightly} onto the fabric and cut them out with pinking shears.

After I had them all cut out, I laid them out across the pom pom trim just as I wanted them.

This is where I probably could have saved some time. I stitched each pennant {making three small stitches at the beginning, middle, and end….nothing fancy….think sewing a button on}. Truth be told, you probably could have used the hem tape and save tons of time.

After they were all on, I went onto the computer and typed ONE in the size and type font that I felt would look and fit best on the pennants. Printed them. Cut them out. and taped them onto gingham fabric and hoped for the best. THEY ARE NOT PERFECT {but that’s ok with me}. If Santa Claus brings me a Silhouette machine, I won’t ever be in that predicament again.

Once my letters were cut out, I applied them to the pennants with hem tape and an iron.

After reading this, you can see why I rarely do tutorials. I just kind of go for it. I use what I have and try to practice what we preach at school and be resourceful.

To hold it on the high chair, I just used some hot glue. I haven’t detached it yet though. I’ll let you know if that was a good idea or not. Let’s hope for the best.

Welcome to the Neighborhood

Recently, some new neighbors moved in across the street with two sweet children. We are so glad to see more children in the neighborhood. I never had neighbor children to play with, so I hope that we will be able to have that for Landry one day.

When we moved in, our neighbors from across the street made us brownies and brought them over to introduce themselves. I cannot tell you how thankful I was for those brownies and to have kind neighbors.

We literally have six sets of neighbors that are A-MAZ-ING. They have come to my rescue. They have looked out for our house. Really so great!

So, to welcome our new neighbors, I decided to whip up a small gift, so we could make an introduction and meet them.

I had an extra soap dispenser that I found {Dirt Cheap} and kept just to give as a small gift for something. If you find something on the clearance aisle or even at some place like Dirt Cheap, it’s good to buy it to have something on hand for things like this. You never know when you might need it!

I added some raffia, soap, and this cute little tag to complete it. On the back, I put our names and our telephone number in case they needed something or had some questions.

Don’t pass those small deals up, you might just can use it as a small token of thanks or as a welcome gift of some type.

Project Christmas Present

I haven’t even ordered Landry’s birthday present, and I’m already planning his Christmas present.

After suggestions from a few BGSG readers, I started watching Fixer Upper on HGTV.

Fell. In. Love.

Wish they would let me work with them. Or style my house. Or just meet them.

If you’ve never watched it, you’re missing out. Seriously. Joanna’s style is perfect, and I may or may not lust over her farmhouse.

She fixed up an old ranch home that had elements in it that I simply adored. I’ll talk more on that later.

For now though, let’s focus on this cute little farmhouse kids table and chairs. As soon as I saw it, I knew I needed it for Landry and all of his future coloring escapades.

I think this would be totally doable and a perfect addition to my office. I’ve already figured out that I’m going to have to make an area for him if I plan on getting any work done.

All they did was make a table top and attach four cut off table legs. My crafty daddy can totally make this table if I provide the legs. I, of course, could stain and paint and distress it, so it can meet the style you all know I love.

So…all of you antique and junk store shoppers. Be on the lookout for four table legs and four children’s chairs. The chairs can be just like in the picture {two pairs of matching chairs}.

I’ve also got my dad on the toolbox creation like what’s on the table. He’s already made me one super cute barn wood one to hold mason jars full of flowers. I’ve got to get the mason jars, so I can show it off with my lovely lime light hydrangea blooms. Cross your fingers that those blooms will last until his birthday!

Hope you’re all having a terrific week! We’re looking forward to meeting two new babies in a matter of days! My best friend and my SIL are having babies possibly on Sunday and Monday. One in Pensacola. One in Auburn. They’re keeping me on my toes, but I can hardly contain my excitement about these new little bundles of joy! I can see now that this time every year will be busy with birthday parties. Stay tuned to see some cute babies coming your way!

P.S. Go check out Joanna’s blog at Magnolia. It’s worth your time.

So Shiny and White

By now, y’all know how much I love white paint! We keep it in stock around here in all finishes.

So I told you all about my bookcase styling and accessory problems. Lately I’ve been considering just taking everything down and starting over and possibly even shopping some stores around town for some things to add.

Hello, Longevity, Treasure Chest, Habitat Restore, and The Rose Cottage! I will be a customer very soon!

Cross your fingers that I will find some good things while scouting out some accessories. I have to go to Andalusia this week, too. That might mean a stop by my favorite furniture/junk store, Peterson’s Furniture. If you’ve never been, you’re missing out.

That’s not what I’m here to share with you today though. A few months ago, my husband decided to tackle the built-in cabinets in our living room. Since I don’t paint things in the manner he would prefer, he did it all.

Before the built-ins were stained, which was fine, except that I like things to look bright and airy. This is how things looked on the day we first viewed the house.

I researched good cabinet paints for quite a bit before deciding on Benjamin Moore Advance Paint in White Diamond. Colby primed them first, but unfortunately I don’t remember what it was. It wasn’t anything fancy though.

This paint is everything I thought it would be. I knew I needed something that could be wiped easily and could take a good bit of abuse thanks to my growing little boy. Landry has rammed his walked into countless times, beat it with his wooden spoon, touched it all over with his sticky fingers and so far not. a. scratch.

It dried nicely and is so smooth thanks to delayed drying time to allow the paint to level out.

If you decide to tackle a project like this, talk to the paint expert in the hardware store that has lots of experience, so you can properly choose the right paint brushes and rollers. Remove the hardware and doors before painting. And if you don’t have a lot of money to spare for new hardware….break out the spray paint. It’s what we did!

Hope you all are enjoying your summer!

P.S. I’m still taking offers to come and style my bookcases {wink, wink}

A Weakness

I have this huge weakness when it comes to my house. I’m terrible at accessorizing. Seeing as how I’m not good at accessorizing myself, it comes as no surprise that I can’t apply the same techniques in my home.

What bothers me worse? Our built-in bookshelves. I cannot style them for the LIFE of me. It’s like it’s nearly impossible for me to do. I pin bookcases on Pinterest and always eye the ones I see on some HGTV show that just seem to pull the entire room together. I study these pictures and shows constantly, but I still have poorly styled bookcases in my home.

It’s like I just threw in everything that doesn’t have a home, which is basically true. Not to mention the fact that there’s not that much stuff around that doesn’t have a home to fill them up with since I can’t pick out accessories! It’s ridiculous really.

I think it’s really just a fear of having too many tchotchkes lying around that makes it look like your Great Aunt Milly moved in and brought her 100 years of possessions with her. I DO NOT like clutter, so I fail in the styling department. 

Remember that fear I told you not have in picking out paint colors and switching furniture around to different rooms? It’s the same fear I’m dealing with that I’m determined to beat. Then, I want have to be unhappy every time I watch television and see those mismatched accessories with no home.

I’m not going to show you my sad little built-ins today. I’m saving that for later this week since we {or I should say Colby} painted them and brightened the whole room up tremendously.

For now, I’m just going to show you some excellently styled bookcases for you to study and get some inspiration from.

What do you think is essential in making styled bookcases look amazing?

P.S. If you need more bookshelf inspiration, click on over to my Pinterest board linked here.

Workin’ in the Office

So, last week y’all saw my dresser makeover to hold all of my crafty supplies and fabric. Now, I would like to share with you the progress we’ve made so far in the entire office area.

Before, you walked from the garage straight into the dining room, which was a bit awkward. Now, it makes much more sense to walk into an office area. Shoes get kicked off. Bags get dropped….that sort of thing.

When deciding what to do with the room, I remembered a piece of furniture that I had sitting in our old garage waiting for me to finish it. Yes, I stripped it and sanded it and left it. Quite sad really.

Colby joked that it only took me two years to finish it. I’m sad to say that as I was looking back on my blog I found that it took much longer than that.

Anyway, I knew I at least had the basis for the room already and that I could probably work with that and add in here and there. You can’t have much of an office without a desk, you know?

To get me started, I ordered a rug from Overstock {yes, again}. I wanted something that was less traditional, but not totally wild or completely out of my element. I wanted it to still go with the color scheme of the house.

In the end, I chose this one.

From there, I decided to dive in head first, buy some Annie Sloan chalk paint, and get to painting.

It was done in no time flat.

We went to Lowe’s and found some basic handles to give it an updated look. Colby, of course, helped out his poor wife and drilled the holes for me. No project would be possible without him, I swear.

Of course, you know that I also bought the dresser and painted it with the same paint {Annie Sloan in French Linen}.

To finish out the look, I purchased this gorgeous drum shade chandelier. Y’all, I can’t tell you how much I adore this light fixture. It is seriously my favorite in the whole house.

The crystals and beading and sparkliness make my heart sing. Anyone want to guess where I got it???

Overstock, of course! I will tell you this though. I should have read the reviews about all of the technical wiring stuff. It is not set up for an American wiring system, but rather a European wiring system. Take that into consideration when buying because you might need to make a run to Home Depot or Lowe’s before hanging it.

There’s a good bit more that needs to be done in this room, but I will share that on another day. For now, just enjoy the progress! 

Tuesday Talk

It’s summer! Actually, we are half way through the first month of summer break. Time must slow down. I’ll have to be back to work before I know it.

In the mean time, I’ve been making myself to-do lists, so I actually accomplish something on my days off. Otherwise, I think I would be permanently camped out on the couch watching cartoons as Landry plays on the floor.

We don’t do too much outside of the house…mostly because I’m a homebody. I’d rather be at home than anywhere else usually. I guess it helps that we love where we live and have a quiet neighborhood, so it is easy to relax here.

I’ve been going to the school to work in my new classroom two days a week. It’s looking more and more like a classroom. Yay for that! I’ll share finished product photos later. There is still so much more that I want to do, and I’m afraid time will run out before the school year starts. If you thought teachers didn’t work during the summer, you were wrong….very wrong. Those classrooms don’t put themselves together, and those papers in those folders don’t create and copy themselves.

Anyhow…that’s not why I’ve popped in today. I wanted to share a dresser makeover with you. As you saw last week, we moved the dining room into the old living room.

Some of you asked about the empty room that it left. Well, we decided it would make a much better office. It’s far from complete, but it’s certainly looking well on its way. The reveal will be later this week.

Remember how I mentioned the book “The Nesting Place”? In there, it suggests looking for pieces that suit your needs at a good price. Just because it is a dresser doesn’t mean it has to go in a bedroom. Put it where you need it!

For me, it was in the office.

I scored this dresser and mirror for $150 {if you’re a Brewtonian, I shop Longevity}. I thought it was a steal seeing as how I looked at another antique shop out of town and saw similar pieces for twice as much with no mirror! If you’re an early riser and don’t have a little one in tow, you could also shop yard sales for even better deals. Unfortunately, that’s not me.

Nothing perfect about it all…except for the fact that it was perfect for the room’s purpose.

I’ve been using Annie Sloan chalk paint to refinish my pieces that I can’t stand to look at as is. For this dresser, I used the color French Linen.

Just a suggestion, but I highly recommend the Annie Sloan brush that you can buy to apply the paint. Aside from the paint and brush though, I bought the Annie Sloan Clear Wax and applied it with a rag, but the lady at the shop suggested using those blue shop rags that mechanics like to use. I think you can even get some at the Dollar Tree or Dollar General.

Now, I’m going to be completely honest. The start up cost is a bit pricey, but once you’ve invested in a brush and wax, you’re pretty much set for a while. The paint goes a good ways, too. I have painted three pieces of furniture with one quart of paint. I’d say that was pretty good.

On the dresser, I did two coats of paint and added wax on the top of the dresser only. If you’re going to be touching it a lot, put wax on it. If not, don’t. For example, you don’t touch the sides, so don’t waste perfectly good wax.

If you’re in my area, go see the girls at Antigone’s. They are so helpful in helping you make your choices and gladly provide any tips and tricks that might be useful to you. If you’re still not confident, they offer classes twice a month.

As for me, I’ve got to put the little man down for a nap, so I can grab a quick shower before heading on over to the school.