Nursery Dresser Transformation

To say that I am happy with how the dresser/changing table combo turned out would be a gross understatement.    I'm obsessed with it.  I'm making anyone who comes to my house go upstairs and look at it.  And for good reason...it turned out flipping amazing!  This is what I started with:

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 There wasn't anything wrong with it.  Actually, like the crib that it came with, it was in near perfect condition.  You will notice the stack of books underneath it though - and that's because it kinda droops in the middle and makes it difficult to open the drawers.  Once The Sailor gets home I'll have him create a more permanent fix for that; for now, a stack of books works just fine!

Step one was to take out the drawers, remove the door (on the right), remove all the knobs, scrub that sucker down, and sand it.  Which, by the way, I finally bought a sander and it's the best thing that ever happened to me.  I'm just sayin' though...

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Then I primed it (with normal primer) and I painted it gray with spray paint.  Don't worry people - it was plenty ventilated (in the garage with the garage door open) and I wore a mask!

All that is boring.  Let's face it.  But now is when it gets exciting...the drawers on the left.

I've wanted to infuse as much color into the nursery through furniture/decorations since the walls are white and the carpet is beige.  I could paint it, but we'd have to paint it back before we left.  The last thing I will be wanting to deal with when we move (probably/hopefully in two and a half years) is painting.  So I decided to decoupage the drawers using brightly colored fabric.

I actually got the fabrics on sale from Joann's and they're perfect.

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The first step was to cut out a rectangle of fabric to cover the front of the drawer.  I didn't worry about having the edges be perfect since I planned to cover the border with ribbon anyway.

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Then I used a sponge brush to spread a thin layer of Mod Podge on each drawer and I slowly applied the fabric.  I used the Mod Podge Decoupage Kit (that I got from Michael's a while back and includes a roller thingy and a flat tool  that you use to get out any air bubbles) to make sure that the fabric was applied evenly and without any air bubbles.  Again, I didn't worry too much about the edges.  This took about 20-25 minutes for each drawer.  Not fun, but the results are awesome.  Then I applied a thin off white ribbon around the edge using a hot glue gun.

I waited about 24 hours and then I sealed the whole thing with another layer of Mod Podge.  This time I diluted it slightly with water (about 2/3 Mod Podge, 1/3 water) and again used a sponge brush to saturate the whole face of the drawer.  While that started to dry, I painted the fronts of the small drawer and door (for the right side of the dresser) an off-white color (to match the ribbon).  I had considered applying fabric to these as well, but I thought that would be a little overwhelming.

The last step was to put on the new knobs I got (just clear acrylic ones; I got them at Target) and bring the whole thing upstairs!  Since I'm broken (damn back problems), I was lucky enough that Navy Wife Kim and her 12 year old son were willing to carry it upstairs, et voila...

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Have I mentioned I love this thing???

Don't worry, I am getting a cover for the changing pad!  The one I want is currently back-ordered though:

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It has elephants and it's the perfect colors!!!  I'm super excited.  And you'll notice the left hand side is just a big boring gray space:

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Eventually I plan on either placing a diaper pail there, or I might just hang a large wet bag (which is what you keep dirty cloth diapers in until you wash them) off a hook there.  I'm thinking either finding a cool patterned wet bag or just going with a plain yellow one (to match my crib).

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the little white dog thing is a night light.  I got it from Marshall's.  It can glow in a variety of colors and is actually portable (it's sitting on the charging base in the pictures).  I think it's precious and it matches my totally general "theme" - which is animals (any animal, lol) and blue, green, and orange, haha.

So, my first project for "decorate the nursery month" is officially done!  Next up is my DIY mobile, which I'm also very excited about (and shouldn't take nearly as long as the dresser did).  If you have any questions about how I completed the dresser, ask away, and of course I'll never turn down compliments on my work...

Until next time...

So, yeah, I'm an idiot...

We moved into our house on base a significant amount of time ago, right?  Long enough that I've decorated a good bit and once my damn dining set comes in it won't look like we just moved in anymore (word on the street is it should be here Friday, but more on that once it actually comes).  Well, then how the hell can I explain just realizing that there's a second closet in my downstairs hallway???

Okay, so here's my downstairs hallway:

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That picture is basically taken from the front door (which is to the left of me).  To my right is my living room.  And right across from door number 2 is my kitchen/dining area.

Behind door number 1 is a closet.  I keep my light jackets, a bunch of shoes, my purse, dog leashes, and even the vacuum in there.  It's a basic closet.  For now we'll skip over door number 2.  Door number 3 leads into my laundry/dog crate room (which then leads into our garage).  Obviously the bathroom is the downstairs bathroom.

Wanna know what's behind door number 2???

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NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah, I totally haven't even opened that door since we did our initial walk through.  Who the fuck just doesn't realize there's another closet in their downstairs hallway???  This gal, apparently.

And what's even worse is it is right across from the kitchen, so I could easily use it to store kitchen stuff.  And since I've been stocking up on kitchen stuff I've been bitching about how there's no where to put small kitchen appliances.  Like a crockpot, for example, which is currently in one of my upper cabinets and preventing the cabinet door from completely closing.

There's already a double sliding door pantry in the kitchen so I have enough space for food, but this mystery closet is seriously a life saver.  And since I now have a place to put it and I just got a refund check from the hell-hole apartments we were living in before I think I'm finally gonna buy the Kitchenaid mixer I've been lusting over...

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::Swoon::

That thing would make my life.  My Ex had gotten me a Kitchenaid way back when, and when I left him the mother-effer wouldn't let me take it! He bought it...yeah, but it was a flipping gift!  Whatevs, this one is way nicer anyway because it doesn't have a tilty head, instead the bowl lifts up, so eventually I can get the ice cream attachment.  Eat that Ex, and enjoy watching your Kitchenaid collect dust since you would never use it.  (I'm a little hostile over that, can you tell?)

I'm still in awe of my own stupidity.  Like seriously...I don't care that I'm pregnant.  I don't care that I don't have that much stuff so I don't really need tons of storage.  I just can't stop asking myself who the hell doesn't realize there's an additional closet in the hallway, especially since I've been complaining about storage.

Have you ever done anything this dumb, or am I alone in this one?

Until next time...

Random Updates

I blame moving for feeling like I've fallen behind. In reality I missed one, maybe two, of my normal posts, but I honestly feel like SO much has happened, so I'm just gonna do an update post...

1 - We moved! Yes, we're in our house on base, and I couldn't be happier. Our house is awesome, but it'll be WAY more awesome once we get more furniture, lol. And once we get a few more pieces I'll be happy to share the whole place with you. For now you'll have to settle for a picture of the outside (below).

2 - I quit my job at Michael's. I know, I'm pathetic. But honestly, its quite a hike from our new place, so the commute isn't really worth 4 hours of minimum wage. And standing in place on a cement floor was giving me back spasms. I asked if I could be switch to working on the sales floor, thinking walking around would hurt less and they said no - I was hired to be a cashier. So, eff them. I'm over it!

3 - I forgot to take an 11 week photo of my belly growth. I'm kinda pissed at myself for it. But in the grand scheme of things, its no big deal.

4 - I think the end of my first-trimester-exhaustion is in site. First of all, I've actually been cooking dinner. And not feeling disgusted by it. And yesterday I brought the dogs on not one, but two walks (a short - 25 minute - one in the morning and a longer - 40 minute - one in the evening) and I went to the gym! I did 3.5 miles on the treadmill, running some and speed walking the rest! It felt great! And this morning I brought the dogs on a short walk and I'm getting ready to head to the gym soon! Go me!

5 - The Sailor may be shipped out as early as next week. Hopefully we'll get more details today.

6 - I'm making all sorts of decorating/DIY plans. But, I'll just share them with you all as I actually start them, I just wanted to give you something to look forward to, lol.

Ummm, I think that's all for now!

Until next time...

Praise Buddha!

WE'RE MOVING OUT OF THIS HELL HOLE OF AN APARTMENT!!!!!!!!!

The Sailor just got the call from Lincoln Military Housing that they have a house for us. A three-bedroom house at that!!!!

Let me tell you - a three bedroom house is gonna feel like a mansion compared to the sad excuse for a one-bedroom apartment we've been in. And no more stinky water! And it'll just be more convenient overall! Seriously this is the best news I've heard in a while.

We can move in anytime we want. Since we have a month to month lease here we'll probably just take our time moving, but we'll go get our keys and check it out tomorrow when we're on base to see the doctor. What a big day...an ultrasound and a house! Eeeeeeeek!

Until next time...

PS - this picture is stolen from the Lincoln Military Housing site and its of a house in the neighborhood we'll be living in...and each house within a neighborhood is essentially identical, lol.

A Place to Call Home

I'm still having some issues wrapping my head around being a military wife; my biggest issue with this is the restrictions on where The Sailor and I can live.

Honestly, moving every 3 years doesn't bother me.  Moving across the country doesn't even bother me (I'm actually pretty pumped about it - yay for minimal humidity).  What does bother me is that I feel like I won't really be able to make wherever we end up living our "home."

Honestly, it would be stupid not to live in base housing (even though we all know how much I love Lincoln Military Housing).  See, The Sailor's actual paycheck really isn't all that great even though he's closer to being at the top of the enlisted career ladder than he is to being at the bottom and, you know, it's thanks to people like him that the US gets to live comfortably free like we've become accustomed to.  But he (and by he I now mean we) also gets money towards housing (among other things).  Depending where he's stationed the housing allowance is different and if you live off base they basically add that amount to your pay so then you can pay your landlord.  It is actually possible to make a little extra if you find a really good deal on an apartment.

But, if you live on base, you just don't ever see the money.  It goes from the Navy to Lincoln Military Housing.  What's awesome about that is it isn't even just one bill you don't have to think about every month, you also don't have to worry about any utilities.  Yeah - it's all included.  That means when we're in the gross heat of the summer we don't have to worry about our electric bill going through the roof.  Sign me up!

But there are also stupid rules.  Like I'm not really supposed to paint.  Argh.  I love decorating.  And since we've basically ditched all our belongings it would totally be a clean slate for me to have a blast and a half decorating!  But, I really want the ease of living on base.  Not to mention I would just feel safer on base, especially when The Sailor gets deployed.

So, I've been coming up with ideas to make statements with my decorating without doing anything permanent to the walls and today, I stumbled upon this amazing tutorial to make your own headboard!

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::Swoon and a half::  Seriously, I'm in love! I think I would make it over-sized though, so it would almost take up the whole wall behind the bed in the master bedroom, but we'll see!  Now I just have to start dreaming of color palettes and different fabrics to use!

Do you have any ideas on how to make a statement in your home decor while keeping stupid white walls?  If so, please, please, please let me know - I need all the help I can get!

Until next time...

Dear Lincoln Military Housing...

I hate you.
I'm sitting here on the front lawn when we should already be on our way to North Carolina all because you say you don't have anyone that comes and picks up bulky trash from the curb (outside of the bin) when I literally have pictures of one of your employees doing just that as he told us he would be back later to pick up the rest.
The truck is packed already or else we would just bring all this crap to the dump ourselves, so now we sit here trying to figure out what the eff to do so we can flipping check out and leave Maryland already.
Words can't express how excited I am to have to deal with you for the next 3 years in California. Especially if/when my oh so level-headed sailor is on deployment and you have to actually deal with ME!
Love always,
Amanda
PS - did I mention I fucking hate you?