2012 - A New Look & Outlook

Wowza, look at my clean blog! Wahoo! I did some cleaning up on the blog this weekend. I changed the template to make it look more simple and clean with a white background, and I took out some of the extra lists on the side. I really like it, what do you think? I think it's a nice and clean template for the new year.

I also did a small project this morning. I was inspired by Ashley's Manifesto over at From Dahlias to Doxies, a way of simplifying and writing down goals for the new year. So, I created one myself! Check it out:

 

I'm planning on  printing a few copies on card stock for my work and home offices. Looking forward to using this as inspiration for the year! Have any of you written down or crafted up some goals for 2012?

Bathroom Remodel Reveal

Today is an exciting day - revealing our bathroom remodel! This room was first on our list to fix up in our home, so I am super happy that it's freshened up and looking so much better.

Just as a reminder of where we were before, here are a few quick photos. But, to see the full tutorial and information on our wallpaper removal, check this out.

The first two photos are from the first time we saw the house at the Open House, and the last photo was taken after the wallpaper was removed, but wanted to be sure I had a decent shot of the grape light fixtures. 

 Grape light fixtures, seashell wallpaper and pink water themed laminate: 

Brown shower tiles:

 

Grape Light Fixtures: 

Now for the after photos!! We stuck with the brown tile, but used blue Martha Stewart paint and updated the light fixtures (and of course removed the wallpaper).

When we moved in, the shower was missing a shower head and shower curtain rod. So, our first steps were getting those two things at the hardware store. We also got the same shower curtain featured on one of my favorite blogs, Young House Love.

We were surprised when we visited hardware stores that Lowes had a better lighting selection for bathroom fixtures than Home Depot. Lowes had a pretty cool section where you pick out the base / finish vanity fixture you want, and then there are a variety of shades for you to choose from. 

It was a nice option for us to choose a more modern fixture, but still tie in the vintage brown swirls you see in the shower tile and flooring. 

We replaced the hardware (towel rod, robe hook and toilet paper holder) at Home Depot. 

Rugs were purchased from TJ Maxx. Small table and plant from Ikea. 

Flowers are from my garden!

Lastly, a quick list of what we would still like to accomplish in the bathroom:

• Raise up the vanity
• Frame the bathroom mirror (I see this DIY project in my future this fall)
• Replace the countertop
• Replace the sink
• Get the tub professionally reglazed

So, there you go! That gives you a snapshot of where we started, where we are now, and what is still left for finishing our bathroom remodel project. I am really pleased with the results so far, it feel so far away from the dated feel before, with a much more fresh and clean feel.

Are you loving any projects you've finished up lately around the house?

SURPRISE! It's Party Time!

I had a great time planning birthday surprises for my husband, Kyle, this year! He has had a crazy year, so I wanted to surprise him with some extra loving from close friends and family.

We started off with a low-key birthday week by opening gifts at home, and having takeout Tony's pizza on his actual birthday while we sat outside and enjoyed the view from our backyard. It was lovely. We also spent time with his parents on his birthday-eve, and my parents spent time with us the night of his birthday for dessert.

This year, his birthday gift from me was a new salmon rod to do some fishing right out of our backyard! I got him the rod, reel and line, and my parents got him some tackle and a big new fishing net. His parents got him an awesome pair of binoculars, which we have used at least once a day since he got them! This is a fun photo the night he got his new fishing gear:

But, it wasn't about the gifts this year, it was mostly about the surprise! The Saturday after his birthday, I threw a big surprise party for him, and he had no idea! The best part is, I was able to keep a secret. Normally I am really bad at keeping birthday secrets, so I was proud of myself that he really had no clue come Saturday afternoon when he showed up at home to a bunch of his screaming family and friends. Here are a few photos my friend Sarah took of the party (thanks for helping document this special day, Sarah!!):

 Kyle is super surprised! Yes!

I created tissue paper party pouf's for my fireplace mantle,

which had various family photos displayed that I framed as part of Kyle's birthday gift

I got lots of help with the food for the party! Thanks friends and family!

 My friend, Liz, made these awesome cupcakes. She needs to open a cupcake cafe, I think!

The flags were super cute but still guy-appropriate.

I printed off family photos of Kyle when he was young to display on our coffee table.

This was with the help of my sister-in-law, thanks Heather!

 My peonies are just starting to bloom. Perfect timing for a party!

We also got to put to use my newly upholstered chairs!

Overall, the party was a huge success. Kyle was surprised, and it felt so good for all of us to spend time with family and close friends to really celebrate him this year. The sun didn't come out much for us, but we were still able to enjoy our patio in the typical Pacific Northwest weather!

What about you guys, did you do anything fun or suprising last weekend?

Bird House Project

One of the things on our Home Spring Project List was to figure out what we wanted to do with our bird houses, which were on the backside of our garage near our patio. Check out a before photo here:

We were trying to determine whether we wanted to refinish the existing bird houses, or just build or buy new bird houses. After getting them down from the garage, we determined pretty quickly that new bird houses were the way to go. The old bird houses were made of really thin wood and had peeling paint, and they were stuffed to the brim with yucky nests. To be honest, I’m not sure how our little bird friends even got inside, I’m telling you, they were stuffed full! I was secretly hoping for a cute little nest inside, but that was not the case. Check it out: 

So, we knew at that point we wanted to build or buy bird houses. I took a trip to Lowes and Home Depot, and determined that the bird houses were way too expensive. Most were $15-$25 each, even for the simple wood houses, and they were pretty small.  We solicited the help of my dad since he had all the tools we would need, and he gladly accompanied me to the hardware store to check out our options for construction materials.

We decided to get simple cedar planks so that we wouldn’t have to do any painting, and got about 6 boards for around $10. We also got some heavy duty fencing screws that wouldn’t rust, especially since we were leaving them exposed with the cedar and they wouldn’t be painted. Those were another $10 (which we could definitely use for future projects), so the grand total of our materials for three houses was only $20. Nice!

My dad was a huge help, he did most the work and I mostly gave him design ideas. We used the old bird houses as a template, and built them together at my parents house one Saturday. We used a wood sealant to help keep the wood looking nice for years to come. Here’s a photo of us in progress, working on the bird houses. My biggest task was sanding them down and putting the sealant on the wood afterwards. 

Here is a shot of the inside of the bigger bird house. We made smaller nesting cubbies inside so that each bird would be able to nest separately, and then made holes for each of those cubbies.

 

Then, we had to wait for a good day to put them up. It seemed like every weekend it was rainy, so we waited and we waited, and waited some more. Finally, one week night at dusk when it was nice outside, we decided to just go for it and put these babies up.  My mom and dad came over, and he put them up with a bit of my help.

So, here is one more thing we’re crossing off our Spring Project List. Love that feeling!   

We also want to give an extra big shout out of THANKS to my dad, it’s his birthday today! Happy Birthday, Dad!  Thanks for all your help this past year! Love you!

Spring Patio Furniture Project

Remember the antique show I went to a few months ago? I went with my girlfriends Sarah and Liz, we had a great time, and I found a few fun goodies to bring home with me.

I found two garden chairs for $15 each, and they happened to have the wrought iron look I was going for on our patio. I thought they had good bones, and this would be a fun and relatively easy project.  I originally thought I would just recover them, but after I brought them home I realized the cushions were in pretty bad shape (moldy - gross).

I used up my black Rustoleum spray paint to give the chairs a fresh coat of paint. Then, I purchased some plywood at Home Depot and had them cut it down to size for my new chair cushions. I brought my wood pieces to my parents, and my dad helped me round off the corners (thanks, dad!).

Once I brought the wood back home, I gave the corners a good sanding, and then used some outdoor foam and fabric from Joanne's to recover.

I stapled my fabric around the edges of my board, which is now the bottom of the chair. I screwed the seat into place on the chair.

I love the result! The black wrought iron look is what we're going for on the patio, so it fits in great with a new bench ($40) I purchased at Costco. They had cushions at Costco for the bench, and just so happened to have a mustard yellow color that matches great with the chair cushions.

Overall the patio is coming together! The combination of some new (to us) furniture, pruning of our bushes last fall, and newly planted spring plants is really helping. We're keeping our eyes open for ideas on what we want to do for a table, but for now our wooden crates stood up on end work great as end tables for drinks when we're outside.

Looking forward to more time outside on the patio, enjoying our new furniture! Come on, sunshine!

Laundry Room Updates

I have had this project up my sleeves for some time, but have finally finished it up.  I have to admit, one of my faults is starting a project, and then getting excited about a different project, so that in the end I have a few projects all in the works at the same time.  I just can't help myself!

This was a really fun, personal project for me. I got a few window frames from the farm where my mom grew up in Poulsbo, and I decided to paint mine and add mirrors to the back of them.

Initally I decided to paint them blue, but I decided I actually didn't like the color at all after they were finished.  They looked too much like baby blue, something that would be more appropriate in a little boys room.

So, using some leftover paint from our big paint project (color: Martha Stewart SEAL ), I repainted them and I love the result.  We're slowly working on turning our laundry room into more of a mudroom, and I think it's a nice addition to have the mirrors right by the back door. I also just think the color looks great. 

In addition to the window frame projects, I also added a painting by my grandma, Patricia Farrer. I loved this painting that she did that was on display at her art studio, and she decided I should keep it.  Lucky me!

So, our laundry room / mudroom is slowly coming together. I think at some point I would like to paint one of the walls, but for now it feels much more cozy. Not only that, but it's another project to cross off our 2011 Winter Home Project List, got to love that! 

PSST!!  Want to see some other Window Frame project photos? Hop on over to Sarah's blog to check out what she found at the Port Orchard Antique Mall!