Our Visitor, Murphy

Some mornings I wake up and have NO clue what I’m going to blog about that night. I rarely schedule posts ahead – I’m a fly by the seat of my pants kind of blogger.

This morning I was thinking of the projects I could complete to blog about, and was trying to figure out what I’d have the time to finish up.

Well…I got some blog material. Just not the kind I wanted. ;)

If you follow me on Twitter you’ve heard some of the goings on around here over the past few days. It started Saturday morning when we woke up to a puddle of water in front of the refrigerator.

Turns out the computer on the fridge had died, so everything inside (including a huge ice bucket) had melted, and then spilled out onto our floor. AWESOME, letmetellyou.

Long story short, the repair guy couldn’t fix the fridge with the parts he had, but he did fix the one in the garage that had been broken for months (we got it free from friends, so it was worth fixing, considering we had NOTHING otherwise).

Because we’ve had so many issues with our kitchen refrigerator (GE Profile) we decided to purchase a new one. I was annoyed and upset, but after a while was a little excited to get a new fridge, I’m not gonna lie. :)

But then we noticed the floors…the laminate was bubbling and buckling and all those bad “B” words you don’t want to use to describe flooring. ;)

Our insurance company sent someone out today to see how bad it was, and within a few hours of him arriving, this:

Had turned into this:

(Different angle, bear with me.)

Needless to say…it was bad. :)

We have no idea how long the water sat on the floors – we figure at least six hours. Because our laminate is “floating” – not glued or nailed down, the water traveled under the floors throughout half of the kitchen.

It also reached the basement, but luckily we got to it before it got too bad. They had to cut a huge section of the floors out – the laminate, underlayment, original vinyl floors and plywood under that all had to be pulled out.

So for the next few days, we have four blowers and an industrial dehumidifier in our kitchen, and three blowers and a dehumidifier in the basement:

I was doing OK with everything, considering, until they had to move the kitchen island.

My lovely beadboard island had to be taken apart so they could move it. It’s now sitting in the office:

And I was actually making progress on that office. ;) I had hoped to finish painting it today.

HAR. That so didn’t happen. :)

Because they had to remove the island, they took the trash compactor out too – it’s now in the garage. So this is our trash can for the next week, two weeks…month?:

We have no idea what the timeline will be. Because our flooring goes throughout the kitchen and family room, it’s ALL going to have to be pulled up and replaced.

For now, we will be living upstairs for the next few days. You can’t hear much over the blowers. :)

Our trash can is a chair and our refrigerator is in the garage (opposite side of the house from the kitchen, of course). Good thing I’m not a cook!!

That’s a joke Dad. ;) (Kind of.)

I’m not good at having our house turned upside down – messes and toys I’m OK with. But this…this is going to give me hives and I’m well aware of that. I’m trying to fight them off by at least cleaning up the kitchen. It’s been a disaster all day, so I tried cleaning tonight:

It’s just a MESS. And the blowers send all the dust back onto the surfaces all over again, so I’m not sure why I’m even trying…but I’ll keep doing so. I must. :)

Tomorrow the insurance adjuster comes out to check it all out and we’re hoping for good news. We’ve never had to file any claims on our house, so we’re kind of learning as we go.

This has been an eventful summer around here – first the back door disaster, then we had some siding fall off in a storm, then we realized a couple weeks ago that our back door frame is rotting away (like, crumbling) and needs to be replaced and now we need a new fridge, new flooring and let’s not forget a whole fridge full of food. (Of course I had gone grocery shopping just two days before.)

We’re rolling with it though, and I’m reminded again how thankful I am that we are all safe, happy and healthy. That’s all that matters to me, and I am certainly counting my blessings tonight, even while the hives form. ;)

Soooo…Murphy has been hanging out around here fo sho and we need to kick him to the curb. He’s been sleeping on the couch waaaay too long. Gots to pack his bags and GO. He doesn’t have to go home but he can’t stay here. ;)

Any recommendations on flooring? We’re looking into engineered wood this time. Seems to be a good in between option – better than laminate but not as expensive as hardwoods. Because our kitchen and family room is one big space, we won’t break it up with two different types of flooring (like tile and hardwoods). If the kitchen was a separate room I would use tile for sure.

The guy overseeing all of the clean up said they have special mats that soak up any water damage from engineered flooring now, if it’s caught early. (Crossing my fingers and toes we’ll never have to find out how that works!!) Any thoughts? Anyone have them and like them?

That was my exciting weekend…how was yours? ;)

My Clutter Nemesis

Well, the hubby started back to school last week. And the Bub starts again next week. This year it’s Pre-K and he will be gone more than ever.

I don’t know if I should cry or do a happy dance. I’m so confused.

Next year he goes to all day kindergarten and I’m quite sure they will have to pry him from my white knuckles. ;) I am already dreading it.

But it’s back to school time! I’m supposed to be happy, right?

Yay.

:)

Anyhoo, every change of seasons brings up some major organizing mojo in me. After Christmas I’m ready for a clean slate, in the spring I’m cleaning like mad (OK, not really, but I feel like I should), summer I’m a slug, and then in the fall, I’m determined to get our lives back in order before the holiday madness hits.

Back to school always bring this up too. This year I’m determined to conquer one of my biggest and baddest clutter spots. I’ve told you about the piles. And the laundry room. I’ve hinted at the disaster that is the master closet.

But this one is waaaay up there at the top. I mean bottom. Wherever the biggest catastrophes go. ;)

It’s the car. I just can’t keep it under control. It’s like, physically impossible. For real. But this year, I want to at least try. Trying is something right?

There’s one thing I notice each morning when I drop off the Bub at school. It’s that every Mom seems to be a size two.

Wait, that’s not it. (But seriously, how??)

It’s that my car seems to be the worst of them – not one is as messy as mine. It makes no sense. Actually, it does, cause they go to the gym after drop off and I go to Goodwill. And then fill my car with crap. But whatever. Details schmetails.

Well, I’m done – I’m going to make a REAL effort this year. For at least a week. ;)

I started yesterday by pulling the car out of the garage so I’d have plenty of space. I then pulled EVERYTHING out and dumped it behind the car:

Yes, all of that was in my car. No, it’s not a big car. And this does not include the trash -- I spared you that. You’re welcome. :)

I had a meeting last night so I dumped everything behind the car on purpose – I had to get it all put away before I left, or I wasn’t going anywhere. Brillz, yes?

Let’s see what was in my car, shall we?:

Randomness. My specialty.

I took out every last bit of bits. Emptied consoles and drawers and nooks.

About half I put away. The other half is in the garage (my next project) and the laundry room. Moving piles around is my other specialty. ;) But it’s OUT of my car!

I took the car seat cover off and washed it, then hosed down the seat.

Yes, hosed. This might clue you in to why there are no before pictures.

The only things I put back in were the car seat and the car manual:

And a state map. Cause I’ll need that. You never know.

Back in high school and college, when things weren’t so good financially, I would scrounge up change and take the car (mom’s or later mine) to the car wash. Cleaning it out and and using their awesomesauce vacuums would always completely change my mindset. I felt so in control of life when my car was clean.

So now, even though we have a shop vac at home, I always go to the car wash to vacuum out the car:

It’s just one of those weird things, you know?

I talk about how amazing it is to rid your home of the stuff you don’t use or need or appreciate. It will make you feel control over your home and your life – there’s something really powerful about it.

It’s the same for the car, in my opinion. Some of us spend a LOT of time in the car – and when it’s clutter-free, it’s a much more peaceful place.

I need to take my own advice more often. ;)

The only things left in the back are items I need to return and our outdoor blanket I always keep in there, just in case.

I’m determined to keep the car spotless for a week. If I can do it a week, I can do it two. If two, well, I’m going for a MONTH. Shooting for the stars people!! WHOO!

So far so good. It’s only been a day. You have no idea what a big deal that is. ;)

I’m on a mission –  if I can’t be a size two, I can at least have the cleanest car in the school parking lot! Yesssss…

Do you keep your car clean, or is a problem area for you too? Have you tried and tried to keep it clean like me? Any success stories? I’d love to hear!

DIY Potting Bench with Dad

Well hello there! Thanks so much for your excitement over our patio project. ;) Today they finished installing and mortaring the fireplace. (It was dry fitted before.)Tomorrow they start applying the stone. YIPPEE!! I think the landscaping may start as early as Thursday or Friday.

SO. EXCITED.

Because we are on an outdoor roll lately, I got some mojo up in here and tackled a project I’ve wanted to do for years.

I’ve always wanted a potting bench…you know, for all the plants I can’t keep alive. ;) I wanted it for planting, but also for entertaining. A separate spot to put ice, drinks, food, whatever, sounds awesome.

So the potting bench was the perfect answer. And my Dad said he’d help me build one. GLEE!!

He came over and I showed him my inspiration photo from Pinterest:

That would be the Abbott Island from Pottery Barn (of course) and it is pretty awesome, yes? The price is pretty awesome too – as in I’m pretty awesomely going to pass out, $1000.

Dad’s response? “We can totally do that.”

OK, I added the totally…he didn’t say that part. But he knew we could do it!

We took a trip to my fave True Value (Pendleton, IN) and looked through the HUGE lumber yard:

(That’s only half of it.)

We talked about what type of wood I wanted to use. Initially I wanted cedar (because it would hold up best outside) but it is a bit more expensive. Then Dad asked if I’m good about putting outdoor stuff away or covering it for the winter and my response it was a quick and definite NO.

So we went with cedar. :)

We got our supplies – 4 x 4’s, a few 1 x 4’s and a bunch of 1 x 6’s. (If you have no idea what I’m talking about, I’ll show you those in a video below.)

We cut the 4 x 4’s to 36 inches, then stood them up to start our design:

We cut the 1 x 4’s to the length we needed (more on that in a bit), then attached them with screws to the top of each 4 x 4 and about a foot from the bottom of each as well (for the bottom shelf I wanted):

You can see here how the 1 x 4’s (the long horizontal boards) go off the edge of the legs a bit:

That’s because we created a “frame” around the whole thing, on top and bottom:

No mitered (angled) cuts – just simple, straight ones. The best kind. ;)

For added support, we put a couple more boards on the inside of each leg as well:

See in that upper right picture, how basic this is? It’s just boards screwed into boards. If you have tools, YOU can do this. I mean it!! Yes, I am yelling at you!!

We added a couple more boards to the middle, again with screws – just for a bit more support:

More support never hurts. ;)

Then we cut 1 x 6’s to the depth of the table (about 25 inches) and laid them across the bottom. Yet again, we just screwed them in. No glue, no nails. Just screws.

Easy peasy. I swear.

We cut more 1 x 6’s to fit the top, this way going with the length of the table. Our cuts were a bit off and we were getting a little tired and a lot hot, so we just installed them, then Dad cut down the edge with the jigsaw:

 

It worked like charm!

And then…we were done. Start to finish, it took us two hours. TWO HOURS. Yes, I am yelling at you! ;) I can’t believe how fast it went!

We were both in a groove, because this whole thing went like buttah. Not one issue -- we couldn’t believe it.

I found some basic, low profile hooks at True Value as well and attached those to the sides:

I have no idea what I’ll hang on them but they look FAB!

I love it so much!! (Yelling!):

I did a quick video to show you the details up close, just in case this isn’t clear. It really is a basic as it looks though – it came together easily.

Here’s the video and I cannot believe I put my face on here, seriously. I had been sweating profusely for two hours straight. And I say “um,” “basic,” and “just” an awful lot. I’m no TV star people:

 

You can see on the video that the bench is placed over our fireplace vent right now but the fireplace is not on and the pilot light is not lit. It will be moved over. Do not put anything near your vent!

So here’s the PB version:

And ours:

The PB version is 50” wide, 28” deep and 36” high. Mine is 60” wide, 28” deep and 37” high. I didn’t even plan on the dimensions matching up so much, it just worked out that way. :)

The cedar wood cost about $130 – not a cheap project, but considering it’s $870 cheaper than my inspiration, I’m thrilled. And mine is even wider than theirs!

I’m trying to decide if I’m going to add some wheels – I found these super cool casters at True Value:

I just don’t know if they’re chunky enough. I may put them on just to see – it won’t hurt!

Now…the BIG question! What to do now? I had planned all along to stain or paint it. When I mentioned that to my Dad I think he may have had a small conniption. ;) He said the cedar will age beautifully over time and he would just leave it.

And when I hosed everything off, it was even more gorgeous – the water brought out all the beauty in the wood:

So now I’m leaning toward just a coat of poly or Tung oil, to bring out the tones of the wood.

What would you do? Paint it? Stain it? Leave it as is? I know what my Dad would do. ;) Once I figure that out, I’m going to start using it and I cannot wait!

Speaking of my Dad – HE IS AWESOME!! It thrills me to no end that we can DIY together like this. I love that we continue to make father/daughter memories, even as I get older. And he reads this blog, every day.  :) Thanks Dad, I love you!

 

I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as my writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

Pottery Barn pillows (on the cheap!)

Well hello! Hope you are having a great week! There has been awesome progress on our outdoor project this week, and I’ll show you that very soon! It is SO exciting to watch an ongoing project that I don’t have to complete myself. It’s an odd feeling to not be doing the work…but pretty a cool one. :)

Anyhoo…so I may have mentioned a few times that I’m nutty for the Pottery Barn catalog. I’m pretty much counting the days till the fall version arrives. (There will be some gleeful squeals. Get ready.)

It’s totally free inspiration, as is a trip through the store. ;) The store version is more dangerous though…cause you may or may not find a couple $3 mercury votive holders you MUST. HAVE.

Or something.

Last week I took a trip though to see if they had fall stuff out check out the inspiration, and I ended up at the table linens area. I noticed a few things – first, they were on sale. SCORE. Secondly, they had so many fantastic napkins, in some fabulous colors and combos.

I put a few together to show how they could work together:

 

Why would you want to combine napkins in different colors in designs you ask?

To make them into pillows of course! I noticed a trend while there – many of their napkins are also versions of their pillows:

So my brain got to thinkin’. And you know that’s dangerous…for Pottery Barn anyway. ;)

I wanted some late summerish, (almost) fallish pillows in our living room, and wanted to break away from the standard reds and browns I’ve always used. I’ve been pulling in blues over the past year and was determined to make the blues work for fall(ish. It’s not fall yet. I know. Ish.).

I have a love/hate relationship with our sofa in that room – it’s OH so comfy, and actually a great, sturdy couch. It’s just the fabric…oh my dear, it drives me NUTS. And the color, it’s as gold as gold can be. I want to recover it but that’s an entirely different post. Altogether. A long one.

Anyhoo again. I decided to just work with the gold instead of fighting it, and PB had some beautiful yellow and blue combos that I loved! There was an awesome ikat pillow in the store that day:

(It was the one on the left but I love both!)

I’ve never been a big ikat girl, and I know it’s trendy, and I’m probably coming in at the end of the trend, and all the sudden I like it. Of course. I’m OK with that. I like what I like, when I like it. Don’t try to make sense of it, your head will hurt. ;)

So I grabbed a couple of napkins and made myself a pillow:

Boom.

Their (embroidered) pillow cover, $59. Mine, I think $8?

I had some fabric for another (upcoming) project, and thought it worked great with the blues in the PB linens. So I made another pillow. LOVE. (I got that blue fabric at Joann’s a couple months ago.)

I found a blue and yellow placemat at PB that day as well, and I knew just what to do with it. I opened the side seam and stuffed it:

Like I’ve shown you here. And a how-to here.

Two Pottery Barn pillows for less than $20 – gotta love it! And I could have made three if I used the ikat napkin on one side and a basic white fabric on the back.

Because I saved so much on those, I splurged on the big blue medallion pillow in the back. I have purchased PB pillow covers before and they hold up GREAT.

But like always, I used a pillow we had to fill it – but it was still a bit wimpy. I hate wimpy pillows. So I stuffed a bed pillow in there:

I do what it takes. :) It worked great!

And like always…my versions are not for the faint of heart up close. A little rough. So let’s stay far away:

:)

I’ve been trying to be more adventurous with mixing patterns and colors – the colors in the pillows are in the drapes and I love how they all tie together!

And I love that ikat so darn much I think I’m going to make another one to put on another chair in the room. :)

I have to show you another find for this room! I have wanted to replace our chunky Goodwill coffee table that has been in and out of there:

(Old pic from the red and black days.)

While on a trip to Garden Ridge last week, I found pretty much EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for:

It opens up the space SO much! I LOVE it.

It was $60, but I figure if I sell a couple Craigslist coffee tables (on Craigslist), I’ll make up for that easy. (I've got a couple.)  ;)

I have a few more changes planned for this room, but for now, I’m so happy with how it’s changed over the past year:

The pillows and coffee table have transformed it yet again…for $80. And yet again…I have ensured that Pottery Barn will never advertise on TDC. ;)

You can make pillows out of just about anything – linens, shower curtains, sheets, whatever! The possibilities are endless! Have you made any unconventional pillows? Link to them in the comments if so!

Vintage treasures

Hey hey! I hope your weekend was GREAT! I felt like we were moving constantly but didn’t accomplish much – ever feel like that?

Last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting up with my friend Myra from My Blessed Life – her family was in town and we took advantage of the chance to spend an afternoon together!

At first I suggested we go shopping at HomeGoods, but then I remembered one of my very favorite spots in Indy:

Midland Arts and Antiques is a glorious spot for any shopper/thrifter/DIYer. Two massive floors of antique and vintage goodies. It’s ahhhmazing. I knew Myra would love it too!

Some trips I only find a couple things, some I find so many I can’t decide what I’m going to get. This was one of those trips! Here’s some of my favorites!

This aqua chip and dip bowl was gorgeous:

I’m still kicking myself for not getting it! But alas, I had run out of hands. ;)

I LOVED this huge bell:

I got a smaller version at HomeGoods a few months ago and this one was HUGE!

I’m still kicking myself for not getting it. ;)

The Bub wanted me to show you the choo choo:

He’s crazy about trains! :)

I was nuts for this mirror:

It was awesome – it was a concave antiqued mirror and the frame was so. cool. But it was already sold – DRATS.

Such a tease.

This one had us both salivating:

It was HUGE – we thought it would be a fantastic kitchen island! (In a HUGE kitchen.)

So here’s what I filled my hands with – an old, rusty in all the right places watering can:

It works great – no leaks!

The Bub loved this phone:

And I am slightly offended that it’s considered antique, or even vintage. I used those phones, hellooo. ;)

It works too! We all get a kick out of it.

I loved this platter:

It was only $6, and the tag said it was made in Italy:

I still can’t tell if it was made in Italy or made by someone named Jaly. ;)

I found a big honkin’ wide mouth Ball jar:

It was only $6 – I’ve never seen a Ball jar that big!

It makes a perfect vase:

Sunflowers – they scream it’s late summer and fall is coming soon!! LOVE.

They have had a TON of these amber jars for months now:

Both Myra and I were thinking up ideas because they were such a beautiful color and only $2 each!

I ended up getting three, and so far one is a vase:

And I filled one with sand and plopped a tea light inside:

It will look a whole lot better with dry sand. Nice.

It was hot as HADES in Midland that day – geesh. But we had such a great time! We just needed a shopping cart (or two).

See? Hot mess. Myra, of course, looked as beautiful as always. It’s like she doesn’t sweat! :)

You can see some of Myra’s treasures here! Love you girl!

What would you do with my finds? How about the amber jars? Found any fun antique finds lately? Want to go to Midland with me? ;) Do tell!