Bathroom Redo

We redid the bathroom this weekend.

So obviously it wasn't a total overhaul, but we prettied it up quiiiiiite a bit!

So I didn't get to any of my To-Do crafts or recipes.  But I did something a whole lot cooler.

Before:

It was just kinda ho-hum.  Other than putting in new floor(the old was carpet.  yes, carpet.) and put in a new sink and vanity(the old sink was PINK.  yes, pink.).  Nothing else has really been done and I just always felt like it looked incomplete.  So this weekend we finally did something with it and I am in LOVE with how it turned out.  So bright & fresh!

After:

The pictures don't do it justice.  It's so much "cleaner" and I don't mean that in a dirty v.s. clean sense.  It's freshened up, I think painting the mirror and stuff really changed the look too.  Oh, and the white curtain is just so nice & breezy too.  It's not totally complete, we're still on the search for more decor and wall stuff, but it's pretty much all the way there.  

Hope everyone had a productive weekend!

Let Him Sleep.....

"Let Him Sleep for when he wakes he will Move Mountains"

The first time I saw this quote on Pinterest, I loved it.  I thought it was the sweetest thing ever.  I knew I had to do something with this for Max.  So time went by, I did nothing, did lots of other things, then finally decided to do something.  Do something with the quote that is.  I hope you followed that last statement, because I barely did.  Anyway.  That exact day that I decided to do something, I got an email from Emily Jones Design. The email was a tutorial about how to embroider.  Ummm, perfect, it was fate!  So off to AC Moore I go, with an amazing vision in my head.  Well, as always, I get there and can't seem to find anything that is in my "vision".  So I continue to search for things that are kind of like my vision.  I came home with cross stitch fabric(I don't even know if that's what it's called..), a needle that definitely wasn't for cross stitch OR embroidery, an embroidery ring and a ton of navy blue cross stitch thread.  So I used what I got and made it work.  It turned out sooo cute, I'm totally smitten with the finished product.  I went and bought a cheap frame from Target, and that finished it off.  Now just to get it hung on Max's wall.  That will probably take us another 2 weeks.  Things usually end up taking 3-5 days too long around here.  Such is life...

 The close up

Framed up

I definitely want to do more projects involving embroidery, I really really liked doing it.  I would definitely have to play with differents though.  This funky, not lined up, weirdly spaced font works well for this particular project, but wouldn't for all. 

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Making a House into a Home

When we bought our house it was in decent shape.  No major renovations had to be done.  But LOTS of cosmetics had to happen.  One of the first things to go was the plush carpeting throughout.  Not only was it plush, but it was an aqua of sorts - ick.  Next was the bathroom, we ripped up the carpet(yes, MORE carpet, but this was more of an indoor/outdoor carpet, equally as hideous).   So up it came, a new vanity and sink put in(to replace the PINK sink that was there, it's a 60's house!).  Then we redid half of the basement living room area, put down laminate flooring, got some area rugs and painted.  Things are really coming together and here we are four years later with a house we now call a home.  Of course there's always more to be done, doorknobs to be change, ceiling fans to replace, etc, etc...  But little by little it's becoming "ours".  Some of the smallest changes can make such a HUGE difference.  Which is the point of this post.  I wanted to show some of the things we've done/put in our kitchen to make it feel like home.

My husband is to thank for this.  The butcher block portion of our countertop used to be light in color, felt waxy and dirty(no matter how hard I scrubbed) and was beat up.  My husband sanded it down, stained it and varnished it.  It's one of the most amazing things he's done.

Above:  Faucet before(old, dirty & calcified = not pretty hideous)

Below:  New Faucet(clean, shiny, NEW)

The rest is mostly just a hodge podge of decor that we've collected over the past 4 years, but this is the stuff that makes this our home.  Not the new counter or shiny faucet(although they do make the place easier on the eyes!)

 Vintage soup mugs, courtesy of my Great Grandma(yes, another thing I scavenged during her move!!)

 We got this rack while antiquing and converted it into a spice rack and a place for some of my vintage salt & pepper shakers(I collect those too!)

 An antique storage shelf.  The wine cork insert it also courtesy of my husband's handy work!

                                                 

Found these cute clogs antiquing.

Another antique find - an old movie theatre letter.  

I made these bulk spice jars out of mason jars.  I chalkboard painted the lids.  I use these for boullion and soup mixes.

My newest S&P shaker addition(and one of my favorites!) - thanks to my mother in law.

 My favorite shakers, and one of my very first buys!

Antiquing, just a random sign we found and fell in love with!!

 Hopefully I've given everyone a glimpse into our lives, our tastes and our home.  We're far from being done with our house, but I don't know if you're ever truly done.  I think it's a work in progress and changes as you grow.  The only thing that matters is that your house is not a house, but a home.  A place where love grows and memories are made.  A place where you laugh and cry.  A place to grow old in.

Just a typical night in our home.

Double Trouble!

I've got two big cleanups going on tonight.

One was a simple, one time cleanup.  The second is a cleanup that I find myself doing way too often.

Round One - My first piece of vintage Pyrex

This is probably close to 40ish years of baked on who knows what.  This dish is from my great grandma(she's 91!).  She recently moved and gave it to me.  This isn't technically my first piece of vintage Pyrex.  I have a few small, plain pieces.  This is the first piece of my "collection".  The real deal.  One with bright colors and cool patterns.  

Here she is all cleaned up.

WHAT a beaut!  A little elbow grease & a magic eraser(those things seriously ARE magic)

Round Two - The Kitchen

I have a big problem in the kitchen.  The counters are constantly cluttered & the kitchen is always covered with important things junk.  Half of this is our fault - we put the junk & clutter there.  Half of it is not our fault.  Our kitchen is ridiculously small with practically no storage space.  

 Cell phone, cords, mail/magazines, medicine, pens, gloves, a hat for Max that needs returned, and a bunch of other very random things, none of which belong on the kitchen table.

 Here we have a bunch of clean dishes that need put away and more cords.  Don't ask me why we have so many cords.

And last but not least, snacks that need put away, tea that needs put away, and clean dishes that need put away.  The reason these dishes aren't put away is because they are stored above the fridge and they're a pain to get to their spot.  Okay, enough excuses.  

The end result, all nice & neat.

 Up-cycled an old basket for the table items(because I'm sorry, but some things just have to stay on the table!!).  Spruced it up with a little fabric sash.

My kitchen is typically not this neat, but not as messy at the before pics.  So if i can keep a happy medium, I'm okay with that.