Lets talk.

Hey. How are you? I haven't talked to you in a while. Sorry about it. Sometimes I just hit a dry spell and I really don't have much to say. Also, sometimes I feel like life gets a bit monotonous, boring and very repetitive.

But things are good. You know, can't complain. Everyone is healthy, and happy and we are gainfully employed and have had no critical emergencies. So yes.  I guess sometimes its just hard to feel fulfilled you know? Motherhood, its rough. I've read a couple of articles and blog posts that articulate my feelings much more accurately than I ever can, but its rough. Somedays how I WISH I could just go to work, do my time, clock out and go home and be done with my job. Get a paycheck, leave work at work...

I mean. Really. *sigh*

I'm starting to sound depressed and pathetic aren't I? I'm neither depressed nor am I pathetic (at least I say I'm not) so don't worry.

So what have I been doing you ask? Well. I've been playing with my cute boy and slowly working up the energy to clean out what used to be my sewing room and convert it into a bedroom. I've sold or got rid of piles and piles of clothes, furniture, random home decor and fabric. Oh the fabric. Its disgusting. I have so much *hoarder* and its like no matter how much I use or sell or throw away, I have more than I know what to do with. In fact, I found a pile of minky fabric laying around and I had enough to make not one, not two but THREE receiving blankets using said minky and other fabric from my stash (some of which I didn't even know I had) for baby purple. Ridiculous.

I've also been working on finishing projects. You know, cause I have a serious problem with that. So, I FINALLY painted the baseboards in my hallway (10 months later) and I got down to some nitty gritty finishing in my kitchen. It is seriously SO close to being done. I think we only need about two more pieces of trim and a couple coats of paint and we can check that sucker off the list.

I have projects I want to complete piling up in my mind so here's a little brain dump of what I want to get done:

• install outlets in the laundry closet turned sewing nook so I can, you know, sew in there.
• get carpet secured in the hallway and install transitions
• paint (?) or whitewash (?) the fireplace and trim it out so its lovely (anyone have experience with this?)
• remove the built in cabinet in the former sewing room and patch the wall if necessary for baby
• buy Liam a mattress for his big boy bed and transfer crib to baby purple's room
• paint the ceiling in the first bathroom
• paint the outside trim so our house doesn't look so shabby
• paint the garage door
• contain rock pile in the back yard and make a raised flower bed.
• install closet organizer in our closet so its a more functional space.
• new windows erywhere
• new gutters
• paint the master bedroom

I'm sure there are LOTS more things I want to do, and this list doesn't even start to cover the basement projects downstairs (lets just say there are drop down ceilings that have got to go and a fully wood paneled bathroom the looks like it belongs in a cabin somewhere). Obviously, some of those projects will have to wait a while so we can have money, and others need to wait until next spring. Some will clearly be getting done faster (hello, baby is coming in february) than others. So I guess we'll just see where we get. I know windows are quite a ways off considering we had to buy a new furnace before winter so that took up our big money spend for the year. But I'm totally not complaining about that, I mean as much fun as it was to wake up to a house that was 55 degrees because the furnace wasn't working, I much prefer my house to be in the 70's when we wake up. So much nicer. So, so nice. 

Also, we are still working on paying off our debt and even though it will take us longer than we were hoping to pay off our car, it will be paid off at least a year ahead of schedule so virtual bum pat for us there. We have shifter our focus from paying off the debts we have (while maintaing our zero balance on credit cards) to saving as much as we can so we don't have emergencies pop up that we have no savings to cover. It really makes things much less stressful knowing we have that cushion.

And we've jumped back on the dieting state of being. I know, I know I'm pregnant. But look. I gained 40 pounds with Liam. 40. Want to know how much of that I lost? 20. rocking. And then I gained a little on top of that. Which was depressing. So, I've pretty much been trying SO hard to gain as little weight as possible this pregnancy. It hard, and it would be so much easier to just give in to my wants and make a whole pan of brownies and just eat it. But I would be stuck trying to lose that weight until the next time I get pregnant so no thank you. I'm almost 24 weeks and have gained under 10 pounds still. I really really don't want to gain more than 10. I won't cry over it if I do, but 10 sounds pretty ideal. Also, husband would like to lose weight so we're in this together. Being healthy and stuff. 

Anyway, there you have a look into my scrambled thoughts. 

Until next time

How to paint your cabinets: Part 2

So last I left off I had filled all the cabinet doors and drawers (and a few spot on the frames) and was getting ready to sand.

Sanding.

What a joy.

Not really. Safety first. That dust could kill ya. I actually don't know if thats true but it will give you a mad case of the sneezes if you're not careful.

Also, please not that when doing any sort of home project it is NOT acceptable to wash or fix your hair. Putting in contacts is totally optional.

Moving on.

I sanded those doors and drawers. Busted it out. It was Aw.Ful. Not fun. My whole arm was vibrating for like a day and I think my hips got a good work out. Also, sanding on the ground might have contributed to all those problems.

 Also, you must wear your grossest, worn out shoes when you do home projects.

So once the doors were sanded, I used some liquid deglosser/sander to wipe down the fronts and backs to get rid of any left over shine and/or grease and oil that might have been on them. I also used it to wipe down the edges of all the doors. Mine are slightly curved so I couldn't get to them with a sander. This just roughed them up a bit and helped clean them. And it made me feel better about not sanding them and that is the most important part.

Then I took on the super fun task of sanding down the cabinet frames and the lazy susans. I couldn't for the life of my figure out if it was even possible to take those darn doors off so I just left them on and sanded them along with everything else. It worked like a peach. Sanding the cabinet frames was only a little bit more awful than I was anticipating. I unloaded all the cabinets (which I might not have reloaded quite yet) and covered up the things I didn't want to get super duper dusty and went for it. It was gross. And the worst part was that our water was still shut off because we hadn't finished installing our dishwasher and so it was pretty hard to get everything cleaned up. And lets face it, the dishwasher has been hooked up and the water running for almost two days and I still haven't quite gotten all the dust wiped up. There's just that much of it. Anyway, it was about at this point:

that I really started to wonder what I'd gotten myself into. I mean, what if they turn out awful? What if they just look bad, or they don't hold up? I was talking to husband about it and he said "well the worst that can happen is that they turn out bad, but at least it will be something new to look at!" Stud. Right there. It seriously can't look worse than they were looking.

I've actually gotten farther along in this project and... I'm not going to give it away but I don't think I need to worry about it looking as bad as it did before ;)

I'm pretty excited about how its turning out!



I'm linking up to these fun parties:
http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net
http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/
http://romanceonadime.com/
http://lilluna.com
http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com/
http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com
http://ladybug-blessings.com/

http://www.allthingswithpurpose.com
http://www.houseofhepworths.com
http://www.firefliesandjellybeans.com
http://chasethestar.net

http://tatertotsandjello.com

How To Paint Your Cabinets

Just kidding. I have no idea what I'm doing.

Pretty much since the week after we moved in (because that first two weeks of owning the house was dedicated to getting the basement ready and the one after that was to unpacking and organizing the chaos) I have dreamed about painting my cabinets. Here's why:

The previous owner apparently thought that it was a good idea to "distress" the cabinets. And by distress I mean, hit the door fronts with chains and other interesting objects and hammer the edges with, well, a hammer. And then they decided that it was even awesomer to stain the cabinets a really dreadful, uneven color. I hate them. I hate them real bad.

So.

I've read and read and read and read (and read and read and read) every blog post and article I can find about painting cabinets. I've tried to glean every bit of info I can on what type of paint to use, which tools, if I should sand or not, if I should prime or not, how they finish, how the stand up to daily use... etc. If its our there, I've probably read it or some variation on it. I finally found this post one day as I was perusing pinterest but didn't pin it and forgot about it. Then one day I was google searching the type of paint to use on cabinets and what do you know? The same post popped up again! I must have living under a brick or something because apparently, these two are quite the home DIY'ers. Anyway, I love the explanation they use on how to finish cabinets and so I'm pretty much copying them.

Except.

I thought it would be a really awesome idea to trim my plain jane cabinet fronts up. Add a little POP to 'em. So I'm enlisting husband to teach me how to use the circular saw I bought him (and me) for Christmas. We are going to rip down a sheet (or two or three) of hardboard and create custom cabinets from the ones we already have! I'm reaaaaallly excited. So excited that the other day I picked up a container of wood filler and went to town.

Just know, that my cabinets look like they've contracted a mad case of the chicken pox.

(and yes, the bottom ones look WAAAAY worse than the top, Charming.)

Also know that I think they almost look better this way.

Anywho, tomorrow I'm going to start the awesome job of sanding ALL of them down.
Thats:
13 cabinet doors
11 drawers
2 lazy susans

yup, I predict that my whole arm will have a left over sanding feeling for days by the time I'm done.

I'll let ya know whats up next when I get done sanding! Wish me luck!


I'm linking up to these parties:

http://www.savvysouthernstyle.net/
tatertotsandjello.com
http://www.gingersnapcrafts.com/
http://romanceonadime.com/
http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/
http://lilluna.com/
http://adiamondinthestuff.blogspot.com/
http://ladybug-blessings.com/
http://indesignerjeans.blogspot.com

going a little black

you know, i love my white. i love white trim in a house. white baseboards, crown moldings, door frames, cabinets, bead board... i love it all white. bright white. ultra high-gloss white. i think it makes everything look clean. so i was a little nervous when i asked husband if he thought i should paint the bathroom vanity white or black and he told me black. black? its just so... dark... but i usually paint things whatever color i want, despite what he says so this time i decided to go with it.

this morning, after baby fell asleep in the high chair and was taking a very early nap (we're talking nap started at 9:30 people...) i started thinking about what i wanted to paint today. i did just find the perfect shade of grey for my bedroom... but the trim isn't quite done and i'm not strong enough to move furniture blocking my way. same story for the front room. however, i could always get myself a quart of black paint... cabinets aren't so hard... i just finished my laundry room ones (pictures coming, i SWEAR). so as soon as nugget woke up from his nap, we headed to home depot. i picked out the blackest of black in the highest of high-gloss. i got home, put some gates up (nobody needs black baby hand prints every where) and got to work.

Here is my "before." okay, so i'm not the biggest fan of this bathroom. first it has carpet in it. yuck. second, i'm not a huge fan of the blue sink. combine that with the wierd blue tiles around the sink and vanity top and you get a gem of a bathroom. third, i don't really like oak cabinets. they are fine, just not really the style i want to have going on in my house. so here's what i did. i cleaned my door fronts, drawers and everything, you know, anything i wanted to paint, i cleaned. just some 409. i figured i didn't really need to worry about the finish since i was going to be painting over it. then i primed it. I used glidden gripper in grey. it. is. awesome. i hardly had to do two coats of the black at all. i only did because i wanted everything to have a nice super glossy finish to it. after the primer dried i painted the first coat of black. waited about an hour and then did the second coat. waited a little bit longer and then put all the hardware back on. i probably could have waited longer, but i was just too excited to see it all put together:

and here is is finished! i really really really like how it turned out. I'm way happy that i went with husbands idea of black and didn't do white instead. i like it so much that i just might do my other bathroom too. i do have more than half of the quart of paint left... we'll see! i think all i need now is some good drawer pulls. i'm thinking a brushed silver of some kind.

what do you think?



I just pulled out my phone and its covered in paint.

How, you ask, did my phone get covered in paint?

Very good question.

I don't know.

I don't remember touching it with painted hands, but then again, I also don't remember getting paint in my hair, on my arms and face and under my fingernails.

I guess we're using magic paint.

Speaking of which, I also don't know how it happened, some how my basement magically almost got completely painted yesterday. I don't remember doing it all by myself, but I know that nobody else had a paint brush in their hands...

weird.