The Big Move

Brace yourselves and bear with me, I have a lot of catching up to do! Much has happened since my last post, the biggest one being that we are once again proud homeowners! We were once homeowners to a small brand new starter type home 3 years ago right before the infamous housing market crash. We were totally upside down on that home and after much prayer we decided to short-sale the house which in hindsight was one of our best decisions because we would have still been drowning there. The rules are that you much wait at least 3 years before qualifying to purchase another home and while we were forced to jump between two rentals until our time arrived, it was worth the wait and pain of moving! We got our keys on Halloween night and were ecstatic!

We weren't expecting to get our keys until about the following week so we were on cloud nine. The house was pretty much move-in ready with the exception of needing paint in every single room.

This was the very next day going by to officially test out the keys lol. The yard was left to die in both the front and back by the renters who previously occupied it unfortunately, so out of everything, this is what is going to take longest and the most money (fixing all the landscaping).
The inside has laminate wood floors and tile and carpet only in the bedrooms (which still need to be replaced eventually) but all the walls needed paint because they were scratched and touched up with the wrong color. It wasn't a terrible color (the infamous swiss coffee I believe) but of course, I had other plans hehe.

I spend the next week every day going to the house and painting my butt off. I had help two days out of the week which I was grateful for from my mom and her boyfriend. The entire house with the exception of the master bath and kids rooms (because I was honestly burnt out on painting) was painted two shades of grey.

Most of the house was painted in "Cathedral grey" by Behr and our master was painted a darker shade in "creek bend" also by Behr.

My room is my favorite, but then again I'm biased. We already had the furniture and bedding the only thing I added was the fabric garland above the bed that I had made for another occasion and it just happened to look amazing with the direction I was going.

These are quite easy to make and a good use of fabric scraps too (tons of tutorials on Pinterest to check out).

We also have a foyer for the first time ever!! I realized after this move how much STUFF we have (I am still mysteriously missing a moving box!) but up until now, we had nowhere to put it all, I mean we were stuffing things under beds, in closets and in every little corner we could find.. we were bursting at the seams practically and now we have the opposite problem here, go figure.

A trip to the farmers market brings a lovely fresh touch for my shabby mason jars! The rainbow succulent unfortunately is fake...but too pretty to care!!

So there you have it! A quick peek into our new place I hope you enjoyed or at least for those of you who were wondering were able to satisfy your curiosity lol. What do you all think? I would love to hear your opinions in the comments :)

Minty Fresh

I LOVE to paint...I mean, actually painting walls and wood and things. Whenever a friend tells me in their dreaded tone that they have to paint the house, I usually shoot my hand up in the air to volunteer like an excited 5 year old with an answer. Ok, maybe not exactly that way, but I DO enjoy it. I recently received a voucher for a free pre-mixed paint sample from Valspar.

As you can see, I couldn't wait to start using it (sorry for the mess!)! The color is called "sweet mint" and I am overly in love with this color right now. I had a yarn-wrapped bottle that fell over and broke into pieces (along with my heart because it took FOREVER to make that thing!). So I needed a replacement. Luckily, I saved a clear bottle from a soda earlier that was clean and waiting to be used. I poured some paint inside the bottle, placed the cap back on and shook it up some.

I tried to cover as much inside the bottle as I could without pouring in more, but alas, I needed a wee bit more so after having enough paint in I turned it upside down on a cloth I didn't mind ruining and let sit upside down for a few hours.

Once the paint poured out as much as it could, I turned it back up and sit overnight to completely dry. I salvaged what yarn I could from the bottle that broke and decided to wrap just the bottom part of the bottle using super glue (because I was out of hot glue).

When I was happy with how it looked, that was it!

Voila!

I am very happy with it. It was an easy project, hardest part was the waiting of course :/. Here are a couple more crafts/projects I did with this beautiful paint color:

Up-cycled a coffee can by using masking tape (or painter's tape) to tape off the parts I wanted exposed, and just painted the rest with a couple of coats.

This is a decorative porcelain bowl that was all one color, I just added a little "pop" of color by painting the inside bottom.

 This was a candlestick holder (originally the same color as the bowl as part of a set) I painted it and glued (with superglue) the jar to it, painted the lid the same color and glued a flat marble to the top. Now it's an apothecary jar.

And finally this extra wood we had in our garage (left over from a previous project). I painted the whole thing with a couple coats and when it was completely dry, I added this vinyl decal via Uppercase Living, and then a coat of Mod Podge over that.
So there ya have it! My craft/project round up with the free paint sample! The voucher came in my Better Homes and Gardens magazine last month and I redeemed it at Lowe's. Always take advantage of those little freebies when you see them, ESPECIALLY paint (this is my second free paint sample, the first I got a couple years ago through Facebook)!

Is Your Home A "Hospital?"

As a young adult living with my parents, I enjoyed helping to host gatherings and events at our home. Of course, at the time for me that meant entertaining and chatting with everyone, LOL! It wasn't until after I got married and ran my own home that it took on a whole new meaning. I was now responsible for making sure others felt welcome in our home. This is a walk in the park when your guests are tidy, polite, and come at a totally convenient and pre-planned time. But what about the unexpected, messy, needy guest that comes with baggage? If you are like me (an almost OCD, clean-freak, schedule-loving introvert), then the latter guest may shake you up a bit.
Recently in my devotions, I came across Acts 16 where Paul and Silas were called into Macedonia. While there, they shared the message of Jesus with a group of women, one of which was named Lydia. Lydia was a seller of purple cloth (a very expensive fabric at the time). She was a busy business woman who was also responsible for her own household. When she converted, without hesitation she begged them to stay in her home. "And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, 'If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.' So she persuaded us." -Acts 16:15.
The word "hospitality" is derived from the word "hospital." While staying in a hospital, it is the staff's duty to make you comfortable, help you heal, and make sure you are well taken care of so that when you leave that hospital you are healthier and feeling better than when you came. When a guest needs a place to stay, do you put out the welcome mat and go out of your way to make them feel at home? Do we adjust ourselves and our schedules to accommodate their needs? I'm sure this is how many, if not, all of us expect to be treated ourselves in hospitals or hotels or any place we are a guest at. We need to be like Lydia, opening our home to our guests even if at a moment's notice. We should make sure their needs are met to the best of our abilities. They may come in needing emotional or spiritual healing. When they leave, are they healthier and feeling better than when they came? More importantly, would YOU want to be a returning guest in your home if you were in their shoes? We need to remember to treat others as we wish to be treated, not expect. I would encourage you all to really stretch yourselves in this area and be a "hospital" that you yourself would want to come back to. 

A place to put your drink...and rest your legs and hide the remotes

Since I have been married, we have only owned one coffee table, it was during our first year of marriage in a nice, open townhouse with plenty of living space. It was a hand-me-down, all glass oval table straight out of the early 90's complete with tacky brass accents which suited it's purpose for the time that we owned it. We moved into our first home where our living space became much smaller...I mean, we probably COULD have found a small enough coffee table to fit the space but then we had our daughter and being brand new parents we feared the sharp corners and glass. So fast forward 6 years later and I was on the hunt for a coffee table. I was originally wanting a large wooden trunk of some sort, but the prices on that were pretty outrageous brand new and used was hard to find. I faithfully searched the local online classifieds and came across this guy.

I loved the shape and the fact that it had the drawers for storage...we have been CONSTANTLY losing our remotes (we have 4 of them) and I was slightly fed up with it. This was in great shape, "distressed" by the manufacturer, and a few little nicks here and there which I think added to the look. Those little white circles you see in the picture are "painted" white which lead me to believe that it had been painted white before and restored to its original finish but they got lazy in removing the paint in the crevices. I wanted to re-finish this in white so I did my research on how to get this done as quickly as possible and with as little experience or tools as possible because professionally sanding, priming, and painting multiple coats and watching paint dry; "ain't nobody got time for that!"

 Enter in this perfect product: Rust-Oleum Universal Satin Paint and Primer in white. I read rave reviews about this being the ultimate spray paint for the impatient like myself. It was said that this would cover anything without sanding and leave a smooth, even finish.

 This was after the first coat. I removed all the drawers and painted them separate. Like any spray paint, I had to constantly shake this especially since the primer built in could clog the sprayer if you wait too long between sprays. I tried to work as quickly as possible with long, even strokes making sure i got into the little crevices as well.

 Aaaaannnnddd.. TA-DA!!! Here it is 2 cans later and about 3 hours of drying. I suppose you should wait longer for it to dry but it was a breezy day and it dried pretty quick and like I said before..I'm more of an "instant gratification" kind of girl. The finish was a bit gritty feeling and not smooth like a glossy finish would be but I don't mind.

I am SO happy with it! I was considering doing a "distress paint" technique to make it appear more "shabby chic" but I think it looks great without it. I love having the extra storage and it fits perfect in our living space.

Supplies I used:
Coffee table (found online classifieds) -$25
2 cans of Rust-Oleum Universal Satin Paint and Primer spray paint - $6.70 each (Home Depot)

TOTAL COST of this project- about $38 bucks :)