Our Boldest Pinterest Project...EVER!!!

  
    You may recall awhile back the post I did where my husband got our family room painted.  That has since also evolved into our upstairs hallway and foyer. 
     I saw this on Pinterest and am not sure I would have put it on our "to do" list if it wasn't for how dramatically different the Before and After pictures were.  I liked it and all these months later, we (ok, mostly my husband) are wrapping up this dramatic door makeover.
     I guess this may not be for everyone, but I am loving it!  It brings a depth element to the overall look.  Plus, it's just a nice change!! 
     Meanwhile, I am so behind on keeping you peeps updated on this ol' bloggy scrapbook of mine.  I am not going to make excuses (I have a million), but I will say we have been keeping busy and getting a lot done around here.  For those who have asked, my mom is still hanging in there and hopefully I will give an update on Monday. 
     This was inspired by Pinterest and for us was definitely more of a game changer than a recipe or craft project!!   What is your boldest Pinterest project ever??? 

**The pictures don't do it justice, but you guys don't want to wait another month for a post do ya???

A Hardware Change, Too

 

 

 

All Work and No Play...

     Well, there has not been as much fun around here as usual.  We have wrapped up our fall sports, parent teacher conferences and the first marking period are over.  With a couple of weekends in a row that were fairly free, we were able to regroup around here and do some fall cleaning before the holidays are here.  As I have said before, with my mom living here for six months, a lot of things got put to the side, like spring cleaning...or sometimes...just cleaning!

     So, we have been doing a lot of sorting -- keep, donate or toss.  It is amazing how many CDs, DVDs, and books one family can accumulate.  Oh, and some videos, too.  So many things have become almost obsolete with the internet being so readily available now to younger kids. 

     We reorganized our tv entertainment unit and the kids were helpful in that.  In fact, the kids helped out with a lot of stuff that I needed them to sort through,  I needed the kids to see which clothes fit, and if they still had use for certain books, movies or music.

     "Nowadays" with the internet and things like Pinterest, you can find almost any recipe you want on the internet...so do I really need all of these recipe books??

     We have also rearranged some furniture, (found some new pets -- dust bunnies), put up some new blinds, and just generally trying to get things back under control.  Converted our dining room back to... a dining room.  You may remember, my mom had been using it as a bedroom and I was hesitant to put my dining room furniture back until I was sure things were going to work out for my mom at her new place.

     Oh, and so much paperwork to go through....always.  Keeping track of the kids school papers, my mom bills for both her old condo and her new place, and just those forms seem never ending.

     Feels good to make some progress and have some help from the whole family!  My kids are finally old enough to be able to truly be helpful with getting organized and cleaning up around the house -- hooray for that!! 

     

There's plenty more of these!

More!

Cookbooks?

What's Left of Our Children's Books (except I saved Golden Books and Dr. Seuss)

This Floor Is So Hard to Keep Clean

Yuk!

From Ewww to New!

On the Porch for a Purple Heart Pickup

Fall Mantel...Finally

     Gosh, I feel like I'm probably the only one who still has their "Fall" decorations out, but I'm determined not to "rush" the seasons this year.  There will be 15 of us for Thanksgiving dinner here, and so I'm holding on to the Fall look until probably December 1st.  Here's a quick glimpse of my fall mantel.  I have tweaked it several times since this picture was taken.  In fact, I keep on adding and eliminating and moving things around.  Now I have to stop fussing with the mantel and concentrate on house cleaning preparing for turkey dinner!

     What about you?  Are you already decorated for the holidays or still holding on to Fall like me??

Those Lanterns...and Spray!

     Remember these lanterns I stumbled on at Lowe's at the end of the summer.  Well, it's been on my list of things to do for awhile...I wanted to paint them a dark brown color and finally got around to it. 
     While I was getting the paint for the lanterns, I realized I should grab some black paint since my brassy fireplace tools have been bugging me for years.  Monday it was raining and windy, so when the sun was shining yesterday I decided to take advantage of it.  After taping up my lanterns and laying out my stuff, I started spraying away.  Although I have spray painted a few items in the past, for some reason I was really enjoying this.  Talk about instant gratification -- I'm all about it!!  I enjoyed it so much, I started walking around the house and grabbing things and spraying them.  I did an old step stool that was white...made it black, I did a brass lamp that I had, and I think I'm going to go for round 2 in the next few days...LOL!!
     I had to stop myself from spray painting my whole kitchen...it was so fun!  Don't forget the $$$$ I saved by doing this.  Similar lanterns at Pottery Barn start at around $40 and a new fireplace set would probably cost me around $40.  I got 4 lanterns for $6 and a can of spray paint is around $5...yay!  Stay tuned for some more reveals...   In the meantime, spray paint therapy -- I recommend it!!

    

that was a good deal

taped up lanterns

painted

 enjoy

those brassy fireplace tools

ahhh, much better

Finally Feeling Fall

     It's a beautiful Fall weekend here in Michigan, blue skies, sunny, bright, fall colors and about 55 degrees!!!!  Seems our weekends have been one extreme or the other...either in the 80s (which is nice, but not "Fallish") or rainy, windy and chilly.  Today, well, it's "just right"!
     Today our kids have played in two baseball and two soccer games, but tomorrow we are finally hoping to get to the cider mill and take in some Fall activities as a family.  Only one more weekend of outdoor Fall sports (insert mom doing the "happy dance").
     Thought I would take a minute to share my front porch.  This year, I have decorated my front porch the way I like it.  Less (no) Halloween and more Fall.  Now that my kids are 11 (x2) and 14, I am phasing out the Halloween decor.  No worries, my light up pumpkins, skeletons and ghosts are still around, just not on the porch this year.  I'll probably move them around for Halloween night, but for now mom's taking back "the porch"

     Hope you are enjoying your Fall weekend, too!!

Adirondack Chairs Facelift

     There are many projects I'd like to get done around the house, and among them was giving new life to these Adirondack chairs we have had for over ten years.  My husband made the chairs himself from scratch and they actually have sentimental value to us (or at least me).  We tend to store the chairs outside during the rough Michigan winters, so they have taken a beating.  They had a dark stain on them, but that had worn off.  I was inspired to finally get to this project when I saw Kerri had given some color to her Adirondack chairs and I thought it looked great!  (Thanks, Kerri!)

     I figured each of my three kids could do a chair and I would do the other.  However, lucky for me, I got to pick out the paint colors with my "assistants" and then Megan, Jacob and my husband ended up color staining them (I ended up being busy helping my mom).

     I have to say, it is very unlike me to pick out 4 different colors like this, but I decided to take the plunge and am very happy with the fresh fun colors.  We use these chairs quite a lot for bonfires and relaxing in the backyard.  So glad they have been given this facelift!!!  What do you think??

     The only problem, we have a family of five...better have hubby make another chair!!  (That honey dew list just keeps growing!)

Creating a Calm...Before the Storm

     Here in the Midwest, we are not preparing for Hurricane Irene.  However, we are thinking of those of you who are and pray for your safety on the East Coast.

     Our family has been simply trying to have some last minute family/relaxation time ("calm") before summers end and the "storm", which in this case is sports, school, and a lot of transitions taking place at the same time.  We are grateful for the last few days, which have brought us closer together and will help us feel prepared for both the chaos and fun that lies ahead.

     Thanks to my brother and sister-in-law, Mike and Melissa, for taking care of my mom so we could get away for a few days!!

Love this picture of my Lucky "chillin' on the beach!

My Girls Insisted On This Picture of a Handstand in Lake Huron
(Four Legs and a Buoy)

Jacob After Surfing Lake Huron

Kristin Found Some Bubbles at Our Cottage

Furniture Fiasco (from Ewwww to New!)

     We have been on the lookout for furniture for a few years.  (Yes, I said a few years.)  Our family room couch and loveseat got so bad that I have been gradually adding them and the two matching chairs to our trash (they only let you throw out one big item per week).  I figured that would force us to start looking more seriously, plus I was just sooooo tired of looking at it that it became a daily eyesore.  The furniture got soooo bad and had been through soooo much.  We got it when we first moved to this house which was in 1996.  (Yes, I said 1996...)  To say it was falling apart would be an understatement.  I hesitate to even show a picture of the old stuff for fear of 'causing you to scream in fright -- and heaven forbid if one of those great designer bloggers chose today to check out my blog!!??  I shudder to think....  So, instead, I have gone into the garage where the beast awaits garbage day and snapped a picture of the "pattern" so you would get the idea...  (Was I right??  You're welcome...lol)

     Apparently, here at our house my husband we like to go from procrastination to spontaneity in the blink of an eye.  On a recent trip to Costco (love) we ended up browsing around.  (Side Note:  I actually stopped to get the kids an inexpensive but yummy lunch because we were already in the area.)  When we came upon the furniture aisles, I instantly was eyeing this leather sofa and loveseat.  We had been leaning towards leather and this seemed to have the color, texture and comfort I was looking for!  I had the kids give it a test run and we took a quick picture to show dad later on.  I know leather furniture is by no means hard to find, but we despise furniture shopping when there are salespeople involved, and the husband loathes pretty much any kind of shopping.  In our prior attempts to check out furniture stores, we came up empty handed and usually left not loving anything and feeling that the markup was ridiculous. 

     I had sort of forgotten that Costco is one of the few stores where my husband does seem to feel "at home".  That could explain why the very next day after I had showed a picture of the furniture to my husband, he came home early from work and said "let's go check it out".  Well, we saw it, loved it, and then realized it was a little late to be borrowing or renting a truck and all that jazz.  So, we kinda left without a plan, except we agreed we liked it.

     Next day husband comes home and without any conferencing with me, rents a U-Haul, takes the kids, picks it up, and after quite a fiasco, some help from Jacob and my brother, and chaos moving furniture out and in, we are now the proud owners of new furniture.  This, of course, means I have to redo the whole family room.  Wait for that "reveal" in another month to ten years!? 

     All's well that ends well I guess...  Is anyone else not a furniture shopping fan?  There must be a better way, right!?

Ewww!

(Maybe Good for a Pillow...not the Entire Set of Furniture)

New!!

(The sun happened to be coming in as if to say....Hallelujah!!!!)

Ding Dong...Ding Dong...Police!?

     Sunday night I went to bed somewhere between 11:30 pm and midnite.  Often I stay up later, but not last night.  Suddenly, around 12:45 am I  thought I heard the doorbell ring.  I startled awake and then I realized I really did hear the doorbell ring!  I whack my snoring husband....twice...and say "I think someone is ringing the doorbell".  I kinda throw on a robe and go down the stairs...peek out and see a car with headlights in the driveway, but could not tell what kind of car it was.  My heart is pounding...I peek through the blinds and see a policeman (a rather handsome policeman) on my front porch.  My husband was slowly following behind me.  I crack open the door, and he says..."sorry to bother you...I noticed your garage door was open and there have been a number of thefts in the area recently so I wanted to check and make sure everything's okay"...  I thanked him and told him the kids must have left it open -- all the while fumbling and trying to keep my robe tied tightly so as not to be arrested for indecent exposure...lol.

     Those kids....that husband!!  The husband recently put in a new garage door opener but apparently the laser or whatever, sometimes gets out of alignment and the door does not close all the way.  The kids were outside last night and thought it closed, but it didn't. 

     Meanwhile, did my dog, who sleeps in a crate on our main floor even bark or stand up during this door bell/policeman exchange???  Nope!  Did my mom*, who happens to be staying with us on our main floor, wake up?  Nope.  So much for security...  From now on I will be doublechecking our garage door like I used to before I  go to bed.  If for no other reason than to avoid interrupting my sleep. 

     I went back to bed a little shaken (something about seeing a policeman at your front door in the middle of the night....when you did not call them...thought my house was on fire or something!?).   I guess that would have been a firefighter....


and they wake you up to tell you so!!!

 *More on my mom in a future post.