~ORC~{week 5}

Holy Moly, that's all I have to say.

I am going to make this short and sweet because I have to go right back to working.

It will be a miracle if I finish this in time! 

Let's take it day by day since the last updated post…….

Wednesday we ripped up the old granite tile counters. The came up surprisingly easy. 

I also had to empty the contents of all the cupboards which made my dining room look like an episode of hoarders.

Somewhere in there I got the crazy idea that I needed to plant my window boxes.

Thursday I sanded the rough drywall edges smooth where the new back splash will go, as well as in the nook area. I sanded and painted the skylight area that had the bad patch job. 

Then I painted all the trim work in the kitchen a bright white.

Oh, we also made a pipe contraption to hold 2 pendant lights above the island!

Friday the marble installers came.

I sat at my island and painted custom sign orders while they installed it.

Love, love, love it!

Why did I not do this sooner?

 That is the good news.

The bad news is  that my newly painted Annie Sloan Old White cabinets looked just that~OLD!

Old, dirty, and dingy next to the new marble.

So, I made the decision to RE PAINT all the cabinets in Ben Moore Dove White and I am so happy with it! Although, I might die if I have to paint anything again. 

{pic. below shows the original yellowy color on the drawer fronts and the dove white is on the doors}

I spent the entire day Saturday from 6 am to 9 pm sanding, priming, and painting.

 Sunday I painted the island the same green as the pantry doors.

{still wet in this photo}

Monday I had to wash all the dishes before putting them back in the cupboards because they had gotten so dusty from the construction. I think I must have washed 12 loads. Thank goodness for a dishwasher! 

Tuesday I painted our bar stools. 

Here is a before and after:

 I primed them with spray primer and then painted them with 3 coats of Dove White.

Luckily it was a sunny day and we also have a television outside, so I watched episode after episode of Investment Properties.

 The wallpaper also got installed in the nook!

I LOVE it!

Any suggestions for shelving? 

I still have a ton to do.

I sure wish I could get an extension…..

Ha, yeah right.

Keep your fingers crossed that I finish by next Wednesday!

To see everyone else's spaces click on the blogs below:

Abby M. Interiors 

Because it’s Awesome 

Bijou & Boheme 

Calling It Home 

Chez V 

Chinoiserie Chic 

Copy Cat Chic 

The Decorista 

Design Crisis 

Design Indulgence 

Design Manifest 

The English Room

The Glam Pad 

Little Black Door 

Mimosa Lane 

My Notting Hill 

The Pink Pagoda 

Simple Details 

My Sweet Savannah 

Verandah House

xoxo

~a healthy lunch option~

It's sorta like a BLT, and really you can add anything you like.

This is just my version of one of my favorite quick lunches.

What are some of your favorite healthy go to lunches?

xoxo

~mother's day with Uncommon Goods~

Mother's Day is right around the corner.

Do you need some gift ideas?

I like to make gifts, or if I don't have time, at least get creative with cute packaging. 

If I don't have time to go shopping

{because my kitchen and rest of our home is torn apart!}

I will turn to the internet and do my shopping online.

It really is nice to be able to shop from the comfort of your own home, right?

So, in my recent web browsing I discovered Uncommon Goods and 

realized they have a section dedicated just for Mother's Day!

Uncommon Goods was founded in 1999 and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. It's a privately-owned retailer that endeavors to feature unique designs and handcrafted gifts created in harmony with the environment and without harm to animals or people. They make it their mission to support and provide a platform for artists and designers; in fact, half of what they sell is made by hand! Most of their products are created in the USA, and about one-third of their entire collection incorporated recycled and/or up cycled materials.

Check out some of the gifts on their page:

http://www.uncommongoods.com/occasions/mothers-day-gifts/mothers-day-gifts

Also check out:

http://www.uncommongoods.com/gifts/by-recipient/gifts-for-women

and

http://www.uncommongoods.com/for-her/gifts-for-her/gifts-for-mom

Here are a few of my favorites that I picked from their site:

This cozy in the garden print is so sweet and I love the colors!

 You can't go wrong with stoneware.

How about a custom map pillow?

I happen to think this dog blueprint is FABULOUS!

 Love, love, love this cuff!

And of course I had to include something for the kitchen!

These dishtowels are super cool.

~happy shopping~

xoxo

~curtain help from World Market~{& a winner}

There is so many different kinds of curtains out there.

Drapes, blinds, valances, roman shades, etc.

How do you choose and what will look best on your windows?

Well, I was pleased to see that one of my favorite stores, World Market has a couple of different style guides on their website to help with this.

The first one is called CURTAIN STYLES AND TREATMENTS and you can view it here.

 The second one is called, GUIDE TO MEASURING FOR CURTAINS, and you can view it here.

I've also chosen my top 3 curtains from there site just for fun!

The one below can be found here.

And grey linen, oh grey linen…..

And finally, the Bird Of Paradise.

Click here to view them.

Speaking of World Market, check out my latest purchase!

I got the larger one, and I have no idea what I am going to do with it yet, but I love it!

I swear, every time I go in that store there is something new and fabulous!

Ok, onto the winner of the Paper Moon Shop $50 giveaway!!

Drum roll please……

Jo that writes the blog, Food For My Family!

Congratulations! I do not see your email listed, so pls. contact me asap to claim your gift card!

Thank you Mary for another fantastic giveaway.

xoxo

~thrifty thursday~barn wood & burlap frame

This weeks thrifty Thursday project includes more scrap wood. 

You can use new wood, painted and distressed to look old, or you can use old pallets, barn wood, etc. 

Here is what I made:

{try to ignore the shadows!}

Besides the scrap wood you will also need white paint, black paint, spray adhesive, glass, 2 screws, mdf, and burlap.

The first thing I did

{and didn't get a picture of}

was to line all my scrap wood up and then cut them all to length. 

There was no rhyme or reason to how long or wide each piece was, I just eyeballed it.

Next you want to cut 3 pieces of mdf

{medium density fiberboard}

You will want to figure how big you want your glass to be before cutting the mdf pieces.

I used a piece of 8x10 glass, so I cut one piece that same size, 8x10.

Then I cut another one slightly bigger. Again, I eyeballed it.

Then I cut a third piece slightly bigger than that.

Lay everything out like in the photo below.

You are going to paint one piece of mdf white, one black, and you are going to cover one in burlap.

I wrote with pencil on each one so I wouldn't accidentally paint one the wrong color.

Biggest one black.

Middle one burlap.

Smallest one white.

I should back up here and say that I added strips of mdf to the back and used wood glue and screws to hold my scrap wood pieces together, running them horizontally.

Sorry, didn't get a picture of that ever.

Do I win a prize for worst tutorial?

OK, now gather your spray adhesive and all your materials.

Paint your black and white pieces and set aside to dry.

While those pieces are drying you can cut a piece of burlap slightly 

bigger than your middle piece of mdf.

 Outdoors, spray the burlap and the mdf with spray adhesive and fold over and wrap like a present.

Let dry.

Now you can put all your pieces together.

I used a air nailer with short nails.

Lay out your scrap pieces then place your black painted piece and nail into place.

{if you don't have an air nailer, you could use wood glue, or another strong glue and some finish nails}

Next, lay the burlap piece on top, then the white piece, attaching each one. 

Then you can add a photo.

I cut my 8 x10 photo down a bit so the white wood showed.

This is also just a photo copy.

Place your glass on top.

Here is a tip.

Instead of getting a piece of glass cut, consider picking up a ugly frame at a thrift store for around 99 cents and using the glass out of it.

Now, I used 2 screws on either side of the glass to hold in place. However, I think it looks ugly and am currently trying to find other ways to attach it that looks a little nicer.

Suggestions welcome!

xoxo

~one room challenge week 4~

We are on week 4 and my kitchen looks like this:

I went to take the back splash off……

It went well for about a minute.

Then big chunks of drywall started coming out which, long story short, had me removing it all.

That's the bad news. 

The good news is that we are able now to add new outlets, and have them all straight!

{they were not level before and it drove me crazy}

And,

I got my new sconces hung.

 I also got the upper cabinets painted.

I used Annie Sloan in old white and just slightly distressed them and opted not to use the dark wax, only the clear.

 It's a subtle difference but you can tell by the photo below how yellow my old cabinets are next to the new"old white."

And tonight I am attempting to rip up the old granite tile counter top.

The measurements were taken last week and the new marble will be installed on Friday!

So, to sum up the last week:

I got the upper cabinets painted, in one day I might add.

I hung two sconces and didn't electrocute myself.

I took out the old back splash and only cursed 2 356 times.

The marble company came out and did a template for the new counter.

My new roman shades arrived but I have yet to open the box

 because it is such a dusty wet paint mess in here!

Between now and next week I hope to have the island lights put together and hung, have the skylight patched and sanded, have at least the lower cabinets painted, have the new counter tops in, have new drywall in, in order to prepare for the new back splash, and if I drink enough Red Bull, I might even be able to paint the island. 

But don't hold your breath.

To see how far ahead of me everyone else is, click on these links:

Abby M. Interiors 

Because it’s Awesome 

Bijou & Boheme 

Calling It Home 

Chez V 

Chinoiserie Chic 

Copy Cat Chic 

The Decorista 

Design Crisis 

Design Indulgence 

Design Manifest 

The English Room

The Glam Pad 

Little Black Door 

Mimosa Lane 

My Notting Hill 

The Pink Pagoda 

Simple Details 

My Sweet Savannah 

Verandah House

xoxo

~RedEnvelope~

Looking for another cool website to buy Mother's Day gifts, or a little something for yourself?

I recently got this cool garden tote bag with my monogram from RedEnvelope.

I am so ready for gardening season. 

If this rain would ever stop!

My gardens are filled with weeds but the leaves are starting to bloom and color is starting to pop up here and there. 

I have my eye on a few more coordinating pieces…….

Because looking good in the garden is a must, ha ha!

Oh, I am also drooling over this live succulent wreath:

Besides gardening items, RedEnvelope has a ton of super cool items for you and your home.

Check it out right here.

xoxo

~paper moon shop giveaway~

~a note from Mary of Paper Moon Shop~

Paper Moon Shop came up with a new line of personalized favor bags for fun summer parties!  This spring a bride came to us and asked for personalized favor bags with the bride and groom's names to decorate their reception table. They tied a special treat inside for each of their guests to take home.   We thought thought this was going to be a one time thing.  Weeks later another customer was throwing a big 60th birthday bash in Oregon's wine country.  Guests were coming from all over the U.S. to celebrate.  So, the hostess wanted to give those attending a special memento when they returned to their hotel rooms after a day of wine tasting and birthday dinner.  Paper Moon Shop created a personalized "thank you" bags.  The hostess had a great time filling the bag with wine openers, healthy snacks and plenty of aspirin!  The hotel graciously put the favor bags on each guests pillows that evening.  Paper Moon Shop just had to add this new product idea to our selection of note cards and labels www.papermoonshop.com.

The favor bags allow you to fill and tie with your own personal touch. The bags can be used for a number of occasions like weddings, birthdays, engagement parties, showers, teacher appreciation, hostess gifts, anniversary parties… the skies the limit for customers to make their parties extra special. 

We think another fun idea this summer would be to fill the "VINTAGE JAR" designed bag with homemade summer berry jam!  A perfect gift for neighbors and friends.  

For the Fourth of July we also think adding child safe fire works into a "CHEERS" favor bag and tying with a red white and blue ribbon would be a fantastic touch.  With graduation around the corner filling one of the "CHEERS" favor bags with a gift card and a memento to their future college would be a fun way to celebrate the graduate.  

Thank you Mary for this generous giveaway which 

includes a $50.00 Paper Moon Shop gift certificate .  Simply go to www.papermoonshop.com and "PIN" one (or two) items on Pinterest.  Each item on the website has a "PIN" button.  Simply click on it then come back here and leave me a comment which one[s} you pinned!

I will pick a winner and announce back here on Friday.

xoxo