Our New Laundry Room

NOTE:  this project is still ongoing - but this post shows the basics of what we did. I was just lazy about uploading the pictures - sad but true.  Also, I want to give a big thank you to my wonderful hubby for taking his 2 week vacation to get this done for me.  I love you honey!!!!!!


Hey, everyone. It's finally done! (Well, almost!) Yippee Skippy!! Hip Hip Hurray!!!  Can you tell I'm doing jigs?  I am so happy - funny though, I never thought I'd be excited to do laundry.....but being inside instead of in the garage is awesome!!!!!!!

Here are pics of the process of changing the room from a playroom to our new and improved laundry/pantry:

June 2006 - looking to deck

June 2006 - toward the front of the house

Isn't Cristian cute?  He was almost 4 years old here. I can't believe he'll be 9 in September! The room changed a few times over the last 5 years but you get the idea.  Now on to the transformation!

The carpet removed and taking out all the staples from the carpet padding!

New paint color - Valspar Natural in Satin finish! My awesome hubby!

Room prepped and sealed for new flooring.

Beginning of new flooring being installed.

New Utility Sink and Sink Base

Sink and Base Installed

Washing Machine Installed

The Whole Thing Done (almost)

Well, it's mostly done.  We still have a few things to do.  Like finish the base of the sink and replace some storage cabinets with new white cabinets on the other side. I'd also like either shelving or cabinets above the sink and washer and dryer.  But, all in all, I am tickled to death about the new room! We put our upright freezer and our extra refrigerator in this room also.  Awesome!

That's it for now.  Have a great day.  See ya soon!

After Irene and Upcycled Wipes Container!!

Good afternoon. Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!  


Hurricane Irene passed over North Carolina on Saturday.  We were hoping to be inland far enough to not be affected that much.  Unfortunately that wasn't the case.  Our town experienced quite a bit of damage.  The rain came down in buckets and the wind blew harder than I'd ever seen.  And we were on the outskirts of the storm!  Can't even imagine being closer to the eye.   We watched and waited with bated breathe for the storm to subside....only to lose power at 4:00 Saturday afternoon and for the storm to continue through the evening.


We finally had our power restored last night!  Hurray!!!  The biggest benefit of having power again is air conditioning!  It was super hot the day after the storm and it heated up the house pretty fast.  But all is well again here at our house and other than school being cancelled for a 2nd day we are getting back to normal.  


So on to today's post.

If you have an overabundance of plastic Walmart bags like we do then this should help. Not only does it help keep them organized, but it also makes them handy to transport in your car or boat or wherever you need to have a bag available!

Now I know you could just clean out the container and put the bags in and be done with the whole thing. But why not take it a step further and make it cute, right? Heck you might even want to put this on your kitchen counter after you spice it up!  This might even make a nice teacher gift - it certainly is unique!

Want to know how it's done?  Go here to find out:

Wipes Container Reuse — Infarrantly Creative

Adorable and useful all in one!  What more can you ask for?

Have a fantastic day.  See ya soon!

Hurricane Irene

Good Friday to all!  What a crazy week of weather we are having.....first the earthquake and now Irene!

You may or may not know that we are located in North Carolina. Thankfully we are inland enough that the effects of Hurricane Irene will be minor in comparison to what our coastal areas will be experiencing. We are expecting heavy rain bands and tropical force wind gusts, though. We have secured everything for the just in case if the storm tracks further west. My hubby is a city mail carrier and, of course, my biggest concern is for his welfare. As of right now, he will be in the thick of things delivering the mail during this storm.  

As we watch and wait for Hurricane Irene to arrive, we are captivated by the images of this massive storm. The image below is from NASA's website. It was taken on August 22nd as the storm was crossing the Caribbean. The image was captured by the International Space Station. Although this storm is quite large and dangerous, it also is an amazing sight to see. Especially from space.  I thought that you may be interested in seeing it too - so here it is.

If you are interested in video from the Space Station, you can go here (it's about 6 minutes long):

NASA Video from 8-24-2011 of Hurricane Irene

I'm hoping that everyone is safe as this storm travels up the East Coast.  Have a great Friday.  See ya soon!

Towel Cake

Hello there!

Well, the 1st day of school has arrived.  Melancholy is the best way to describe how I'm feeling today.  The summer always goes soooooo fast. But, we are looking forward to a terrific school year!

So - I've been wanting to show this project to you for some time now.  I just kept forgetting to upload the pics!  

Anyway, my hubby's cousin got married a couple of years ago and I wanted to make a towel cake as a bridal shower gift.  I knew we wouldn't be able to attend because of distance, but I was anxious to try my hand at this unique gift idea for the soon to be Mr. and Mrs!

I had seen a picture somewhere in the past and knew that eventually someone would get married so I could do this.  It was fairly simple.  Hard to tell that it is 2 complete bath towel sets, isn't it?  The bottom is the bath towels, the middle is the hand towels, and the top is the wash cloths. There are many tutorials out there and I honestly don't recall where I actually saw this but I'm sure finding a tutorial would be fairly easy.  I made this in an afternoon.  

The wedding party colors were pink and black so I wanted to stick with those colors. Added some beads, ribbons, and flowers - but basically it's up to your vision as to how you decorate it.  The towels are rolled and pinned with hat pins to keep them in place and then set on a dowel to keep them aligned and steady on the "platter".  As a finishing touch I decided to wrap the entire thing in tulle with curling ribbon since it was being shipped and I wanted to insure that it got there in one piece (and it did!!!).

Have you ever made a towel cake?  If so, I'd love to see them!

Have a great Thursday!  See ya soon.

Spice Cabinet Organization Tip #2

Good Morning!  How was your weekend? Ours went by too quickly! Summer vacation is winding down - doesn't it seem like the kids just got out of school for summer break?  It goes way too fast!

I previously posted an organization tip for our spice cabinets. Well, here's another idea that is just as fantastic!  In fact, I might even like this one better than the first!  Go here to check it out:

Spicin' Things Up: Part 2!

Magnetic paint is totally awesome!  We used it in Cristian's playroom and it worked very well.  So if you are hesitant to try it - don't be - you'll love it!


Have a great Monday!  See ya soon.

Spice Cabinet Organization Tip #1

Hey!

With school about to start and Cristian being gone all day - my days will become my own once again (at least during school hours!).  It will be strange for the first week or so, but I can guarantee that I'll get back into a routine quickly.   I'm want to tackle my to do list but there's so much on it that I don't know where to start!

Speaking of my to do list....when I came across this idea for organizing my spice cabinet - it immediately went on it!  I love that you can see the spices in the containers and it makes more room in the actual cabinet.  I checked online and the magnetic containers are $1.99 each - a bargain!

Do you have a messy spice cabinet like me?  Then don't wait another minute - check out how to get it in tip top shape here!

Kitchen - Spicin' Things Up!   

Don't you love it?  I also noticed that The Container Store has magnetic strips that you could use also.  Either way, it makes for a much more organized spice cabinet!

Have a great over the hump day!  See ya soon.

PVC Wreath #2

Happy Monday!

I don't know about you but I've never really been a fan of Monday.  It's a let down after the weekend, isn't it?  With the beginning of school looming, I'm looking even less forward to Mondays!  Back to a routine is good but back to homework and early bedtime and getting up with the alarm.  Only 9 days left for us.....boo hoo!

On Saturday I posted a PVC pipe wreath that was square and then later I came across this one.  Unique, I must say.  DIY Network even has a short video about how to do this as well.  So I've posted a link to both - picture and video instructions.  Go here:  Fantastic Plastic: PVC Wreath - Today's Nest

And here: diynetwork.com Funky Holiday Wreath Video

If you make one please leave me a comment and a link.  I'd love to see it!

Have a terrific day!  See ya soon.

DIY Square PVC Christmas Wreath

Hi!  Hope everyone is having a good Saturday morning.  We watched 'Mars Needs Moms' last night and we really enjoyed it.  It was very cute and had a nice message.  It was done the same way as Polar Express so the characters resembled the actors that did the voices.   

We got it at Redbox for $1.00.  It was at Blockbuster Express, too but for $2.99.  Big Savings!  And I had also earned a movie credit so we got a second movie for FREE.  You need to check out Redbox if you haven't already.  I put a link in yesterdays post to get started online - Check it out!!  No membership fees - so much better than Netflix!

Anyway, on to today's post.  Christmas is basically right around the corner.  I've already begun thinking about decorations that need replaced and gift lists. I've learned that it is easier to start early than to wait until November and December to shop - so much less strain on the pocketbook!!

So I've posted several PVC projects over the past month and I couldn't resist passing this one on, too!  I'm planning on making this for my front porch.  It is unusual and caught my eye.  I may even make it so that I can interchange decorations for each holiday or season.  

Want to see how it's done?  Go here:  Square Christmas Wreath

Thank you to the artofdoingstuff.com for sharing this fantastic idea!

Have a fantastic rest of your Saturday.  See ya soon!

Redbox vs Netflix

Good Morning!  Well, I guess it's almost afternoon, isn't it?

A few posts ago I mentioned that we cancelled our Netflix account due to the split in services that would incur higher pricing.  Well, I'm here to tell you that Redbox is the Bomb!!!  We love it.  We've actually seen more movies since cancelling Netflix than we did while we were subscribing! No joke!  How can you beat $1.00 for DVD and $1.50 for Blu-Ray????

Ok - so you're thinking "I have to drive to the rental kiosk to get my movie".  Well get this - you can reserve your movie online from the comfort of your home and then go get it at your convenience later in the day.  What more can you ask for?  They also have great programs to earn FREE movies.

Want to give them a try?  Follow this link to get started:

Rent a Movie Tonight at Redbox!!!! 

I promise you won't regret it!  Have a great movie night!  See ya soon.

Organizing Measuring Cups and Spoons

Good Morning!

If you are like me, your're measuring cups are in one drawer and the spoons in another.  Truthfully not very organized during cooking.  But, at last, I've discovered the solution and it's now on my to do list - right at the top.  It is ingenious!  As soon as we get our kitchen cabinets painted - this will be the next thing we do! Love it!!!

Organizing Measuring Cups and Spoons — Infarrantly Creative

Simply an awesome space saving solution!  Don't you agree?

Have a fantastic Thursday!  See ya soon.

Custom Paper Beads

Good Afternoon!  Hope all is well with everyone.

The 1st Day of School is drawing closer. We are down to 2 weeks.  I keep saying I can't wait, but in truth it will be strange to be home alone at first. It will take some time to get back into a routine!  I know that Cristian is not looking forward to the earlier bed time.  But having enough sleep is essential even though he doesn't realize it!  At least he will have a long weekend over Labor Day which coincides with his birthday this year!  

I'm loving the earrings from today's post.  Wouldn't they make nice teacher appreciation gifts?  Or a cute stocking stuffer for your favorite gal pal!  It really doesn't matter for what reason - just make 'em!  See how here:

How to Make Custom Paper Beads

Super cute and lightweight to wear anytime.  Why make them as a gift?  Do them for you and the shear pleasure of making something cute for yourself!  Enjoy!

Have a great day and see ya soon!

Watermark T-Shirt

Hey! Hope your weekend was great.  This weekend ended up being movie weekend.  We rented 'Soul Surfer' and 'Little Fockers' on Friday.  Both were very good.  Saturday we watched 'Life as We Know It'.  And finally, yesterday we went to see 'The Change Up' with Ryan Reynolds and Justin Bateman - it was hysterical!!!!! If that wasn't enough, we rented 'Alpha and Omega' last night!  WOW - 5 movies in 3 days!!!!  Sometimes you just need to chill, I guess.

I have to say that we have watched more movies since we cancelled Netflix and started using Red Box and Blockbuster Express!  The price increase that Netflix put in to place was ridiculous and so we said goodbye to them after almost 8 years.  And I have to say that it has been an easy switch to Red Box and Blockbuster and a whole bunch cheaper!!!!

So - on to today's post.  I think that this is a fun idea to change the look of a plain tee.  I love the idea of a poem or saying!  Cute stencils would be interesting, too.  It really is up to your imagination.  Cute - Cute - Cute!!

Go here to see how it's done!  Watermark Tee by Sweet Verbana

Thank you Sweet Verbana for sharing!

Hope your Monday is good.  See ya soon!

Rock Alphabet

Good morning!  

I know I've been MIA lately, but I've been suffering with terrible back and leg pain.  Plus the heat here is enough to kill you.  It is high time we get back to normal.  A lot of the country is suffering with these temperatures and I feel for everyone.  Especially people who work outside - like my hubby.  I see how drained and tired he is at the end of the day.  He says the best advice he can give is Drink Plenty of Water, take breaks, and get in the shade as much as possible!

Anyway, on to today's post.  I just love these rocks!  I wish I had come across these when Cristian was younger!  My dear friend is a 1st Grade teacher and we are going to make these for her classroom.  Most of the kids know their ABC's, but it will help with spelling and reading.  Aren't they cute?  Want some for your kids or grand kids?  Go here to see how it's done!  DIY Rock Alphabet

The sky is the limit!  Get your creative juices flowing and paint some alphabet rocks today!  Love 'em!  They totally ROCK!!! LOL

Have a great Sunday.  See ya soon!

(P.S. I'm almost ready to show you the laundry room/pantry)