Vday 2015

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy (Belated) Valentine’s Day

While we’re not huge fans of Hallmark holidays, we do like to celebrate special occasions in our own way. I’m big on spending quality time together, so I figured there was no better time to sign Joe up for some volunteer activities. Hey, that was my Valentine’s Day wish.

Leah and Joe volunteering Cheerful Givers

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Guest Bathroom: Paint Job

New Paint Smell header

Painting

There’s just nothing like that new paint smell. Ahhhh. I hate the new car smell, but paint I can handle. We painted the main-level bathroom. We felt like this was just the thing the room needed. Something inside me said, “Silver.” And so it was. I have an unusual infatuation with the color gray. I wanted to find just the right one and ended on this Pittsburg version called “Antique Silver.” Come have a look!

Paint Swatch Sample gray

Much deliberation took place. Actually, we just looked at the options and went with our gut. Joe was worried that it wouldn’t match the brown hardware and counter, but this particular shade of silver had some brown tones to it.

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Guest Bathroom: From Popcorn to Knockdown

knocking out popcorn

Popcorn vs Knockdown

Are you like Joe and hate popcorn ceiling with a passion? It never bothered me much, until I realized how many alternatives are out there! Joe has always wanted to try doing a knockdown ceiling treatment, so we decided to pick a sample room and try our hand. Since Steve’s bathroom is basically unoccupied now, we figured it was the perfect small space for a test run!

The Supplies

You’ll need to buy a few things before attempting this yourself.

how to DIY knockdown ceiling supplies

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Storage Alert

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Bookshelf Hack

Not exactly a hack, but I’m using a bookshelf as shelving for pants. I have a bad habit of over-stuffing drawers full of my clothes, so I needed a remedy. Bingo – used bookshelf! It’s now an extension of my closet and dresser space. I swung by the Goodwill and snatched this up for the cool price of $3.99! I was hoping to find an old dresser that I could gut and refinish, but this thing is the perfect size and needs no work at all. Practically new. And for the price, I couldn’t say no.

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Happy New Year!

3, 2, 1 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We hope you truly have a blessed year in 2015 and beyond. And a very fun and safe night tonight. Joe and I are still deciding how we want to ring in the new year, but I’m sure we’ll make it a memorable one 🙂 We hope you’ll hang around next year for some new adventures. Many surprises to come.

Here are some fun highlights from our blog. Click below if you’re curious and want to see the full infographic.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 3,300 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 55 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

 

What are YOU doing for New Year’s? And what are your resolutions?

Gingerbread House

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I absolutely love making gingerbread houses and try to build one every year! Last year I bought a kit, but after seeing this log cabin, I decided I should try making one myself! So I found a handy contractor and hired him and his cousin to help me out 🙂

At first, they were acting way too cool for such childish activities, but once I got started they kind of took over! The outcome wasn’t as picturesque as this, but there was joy in the process. And isn’t that what matters?

The Tools

I rounded up all the graham crackers, gumdrops, peppermint candies, hard candy, frosting, pretzel rods, and sprinkles I could find.

how to make a gingerbread house tools

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Doggy Training

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Well now that Joe is recovering from his triple wisdom tooth extraction surgery, (Oh you, didn’t hear about that? Yeah he was pretty miserable) he’s ready for a bunch of projects. Those are his words, not mine. Most people would be thrilled at the chance to take three days off work, lay on the couch and watch movies while eating ice cream. Ok, maybe not thrilled. It wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. Nevertheless, he’s been going crazy not being able to do anything.

Here’s one of his ideas from last weekend: The Puppy Trainer 3000™

How to Train your Dragon Pooch

Shila is the best puppy ever, but she has a slight problem letting us know when she needs to go outside to do her business. So he thought that if she had some sort of bell system, she could let us know what she needs. She doesn’t really bark, so there’s no vocal cue. The ideas is, she rings the bell and we take her out.

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It’s Gonna be a Crafty Christmas

it's gonna be a crafty Christmas header

Crafty Christmas

Looking for Christmas crafts this year? I’ve got some super simple ideas that you can whip up. Honestly, if I can make them, so can you. It’s always fun to give/receive a personalized gift. Bonus points if you make it. If that’s not your style, no big deal. But this post is for all the Christmas DIY’ers.

Coasters

I made coaters again, this time for my coworkers. I had to reference my tutorial from last year just to remember how. But they’re just like riding a bike – pretty simple to pick up again. I found these funny napkins at World Market last year.

Christmas crafts coasters

DIY coasters mod podge

Candles

I bought a few little candles and peeled the labels from them. I took some music paper and stamped the names of my friends on the paper, then cut them to the size of the labels. The jars were still sticky, so it was easy to stick the new labels on. The candles were less than $1 each. Then just added some twine bows!

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Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving header

Giving Thanks

It’s that time of year again. The turkey, the touchdowns, the togetherness. Can you wait?! Well this year is probably not as crazy as last year, but I’m definitely looking forward to whatever tomorrow brings.

Got the urge to bake some cookies for the big T-Day tomorrow? I’ve got two super simple styles for you. They’re both sugar cookies so you don’t even need to use two bowls. How great is that?

owl and pumpkin pie cookie

Pumpkin Pies

A simple bowl will work for cutting out circles. Or if you own a triangle cookie cutter, even better for you! I just have a pizza cutter. And hey, you could even make Santa hats out of some of them!

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Spare Room Conversion

spare room redo

Brown or Purple?

You be the judge. We really love this paint color, but everyone seems to have a different take on it. Depending on the lighting and time of day, it looks either brown or purple. Or both! For the record, it was in the brown section of Pittsburg Paint, but it must have some purple undertones.

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