Friday, December 31, 2010

Happy New Year and some Progress....

Well, I am finally getting a couple pics of the bathroom changes we have done...I don't have the best pics and we are still in the process of updating the bathroom but wanted to share a few things we have done in the past couple weeks...

Before:


These are the changes we have done!!
1. Painted stripes (wainscotting level) around the bathroom and a single strip on the top where it meets the ceiling.
2. Painted almost EVERYTHING that was oak (or fake oak) to a bright white
3. Painted all the walls and ceiling a cream color (it was pink, and 2 shades of green)
4. Installed new lighting above tub and sink
5. Installed new cabinet knobs (the cutest litle Starfish)
6. Hung our inspriation picture for our bathroom (Coastal theme)
7. Removed all the trim around the whole bathroom and in the process of priming/painting it.
8. Took down the various colored outlet/switch covers and put new decora white switches
9. Hung Medicine cabinet (freshly painted white) and a storage cabinet above the toilet

Progress:




Note: There is 3 different types of TEXTURE on EACH WALL!! Where the border was is a smooth texture, right below that is a Horizontal linen/orange peel texture and about 1/3 up the wall to the floor is yet another texture (and it is more of an orange peel texture) It is REALLY weird to have that many textures but that is why we are doing the stripes to kinda of hide the fact we have sooo many textures...

What we have left to do:
We still need to finish the trim, do another coat on the stripes, put the shelf up next to the tub, hang up some art I bought in Hawaii, finish the stairs and beadboard that goes around the tub, put up some Uppercase Vinyl and finish painting in the magazine storage cubby next to the toilet and install NEW toilet....but we are making progress so that is all that matters right now :)

OH and here is the update on the craigslist mirror, that I redid:
1. Painted white with Bin Primer and then white paint and then another layer of Black paint and Rubbed edges to give an antique look
2. Put on Uppercase Living saying "Make yourself at HOME" the only thing is I think the E on the Home is going downhill, so I might buy another E and fix it, but so far no says anything until I point it out....but they could just being nice :)
BEFORE:


AFTER:



Well, Happy New Year to everyone and be safe!!
See you Next YEAR!!
~Fawn

Friday, December 24, 2010

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone!!
I pray you and yours will have a blessed Christmas and a wonderful 2011...
I will be posting some major progress on our bathroom (upstairs bathroom, downstairs bathroom is also making some progress)!! I am soooo excited to show you all the changes!! :)
~Fawn

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Kitchen Cabinets

Well, I am very happy to say we have bought our kitchen cabinets for our kitchen!!! When we bought the house we knew we would have to redo the kitchen as the cabinets were falling apart and had holes in weird not convenient locations... but I had been looking at craigslist off and on all year and watching to see if I could find a deal...I saw about a week or so ago some cabinets with an antique black finish, that I thought were pretty but way over my budget at $1900...well a week later they were marked down to $1000, still over our budget but I convinced my now laid off hubby to atleast take a look at them.. Well, we both liked them, they were older (10 year) oak cabinets that the seller had personally antiqued black and they looked cool. She was pretty firm at $800 and we had in our heads that we could ONLY pay $500 as we really didn't even have that...but she texted me back and decided yes she could take the $500!! So, YEAH we are going to get new kitchen cabinets!!!!!!!! (ok not new but new to us)


So, I am attaching the photo she had put on her ad from craigslist to give you an idea on what we they look like....it is going to most likely be a project for after the baby is born, but one can only hope by chance we will be able to do it before.... one can dream right :)
Please check them out and let me know what you think!!!! Also, what you recommend for a color of countertops....
~Fawn

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Life and Kids...

We have a busy weekend this weekend...not as busy as some of you, but still busy...started out with a 1 year old birthday party last night..then a 7 yr.old birthday party this afternoon...and the Awana Jesus' Birthday party on Sunday...
so it is a weekend of birthdays!! :) We love everyone one of the kids and of course Jesus so it will be a fun weekend, but still a busy one :) I am thankful we don't have recitals/practices too to really make it busy... so I will thankfully take this weekend of birthday parties and enjoy every minute of it...
We had some very unexpected news too on Friday afternoon when my hubby came home around 2pm, he was laid off his job. He was taking it really well and just keep reassuring me God has provided everytime before and He will continue to provide...
I do have to say I wasn't as quick to just trust, I think my words were "What, it is less than 3 weeks before Christmas, we are 10 weeks from having another baby and we have a mortgage payment due!!!!"
I did quickly compose myself and let my hubby know that I know God will provide and I just need to trust God...sometimes it is easier to just vent/complain/question first then you have to let sit back for a second and realize it will be ok!
So, I am mainly using my blog today as a venting board...My husband doesn't want to tell anyone but (my immediate family) BUT sometimes I just need to vent, so here I am venting :)
Well, I guess I am done venting and thankfully my hubby did tell me he has some possible side jobs to do between now and Christmas, he should be able to still keep busy and bring some money home, so Thank God for that and that we have our home, and 3 soon to be 4 healthy children :)
~Fawn

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Christmas

Ok, I didn't get either project finished but I did finish the last coat of paint on the mirror... and I will get them done but for now I wanted to post a picture of the Christmas Tree and the kiddos.... I let the kids decorate it and yes it is rather a small tree, but it was FREE (the previous homeowner left it with the house) and it is fake, but here in Alaska where even the tiny real trees cost WAY too much a fake one is the best way to go.....
I think it is beautiful especially since the kids decorated it and it has every ornament we own on it :)

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Projects....

I haven't finished these projects yet, but I am going to show the BEFORE PICS then head downstairs to the family room and finally finish them up (in the next couple days)....I am using this posting as motivation.. :)
First is a 4 poster Pineapple Twin Bed I picked up on Craigslist in late September for $30..


Second is a mirror I also picked up the same day for $25.


Both were rather beat up and well loved, but I thought they atleast were actual wood and structurally sounds...
So, here is the before and hopefully in the next day or two I will get the after done and pics on so you can see what I did with them..... :)
~Fawn

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Oilcloth Dining Chair Slipcover

Well, I tried something I have never tried before...sewing with oilcloth (ie.vinyl with alittle bit of fabric on the back side of the vinyl).... and made another slipcover for our dining room chairs...
I had bought the red polka dot oilcloth for our old dining table and used it for awhile but it kept slipping on the table and the kids painted once on it and I couldn't get it off... so I had it sitting in the tablecloth bench for awhile and thought...I wonder if you can make this into a slipcover????
So, I gave it a try... It definently wasn't the easiest fabric to work with, but you know what it did work and I think looks rather cute.. I ended up using all the yard and a half I had for it to do the whole thing...
I think it will be easier to wash off when the kids get food on it then the dropcloth slipcovers and next time I will research a little more on what type of stitch I should use for sewing with oilcloth... the stitch I used have NO Idea what it is called but it was the one I used for the dropcloths and don't know how well it will hold up, I can see the white thread poking through already in a few spots...but atleast it is done and usable... :) It took me about 1-1/2 hrs to finish, that is start to cut to finish the knife edging...so think that is pretty good time wise..
Though it does make me think I should make more of them for the other chairs and who knows I might try and actually upholster the chairs instead of just doing slipcovers....

I only took the one photo and it was taken right after I finished and put it on the chair so it doesn't lay the flatest or have all the folds out, but atleast you get the idea.... :)

Oh, I did use the same pattern as with the dropcloths but I did add the top flap to give it more room, since oilcloth has NO give in it!!
Would love to hear your opinions on it.....and any suggestions...
~Fawn

UPDATE:
The seams are coming undone where the seat back and the seat meet....and I also discovered I did NOT use the right type of seam...I guess I was supposed to use a long running seam NOT a hemming seam :) The good thing is I do have some extra fabric in that area so I should be able to fix it and not have to redo it..... :)

Friday, November 19, 2010

Aloha Trip

a Few pictures of our trip....
A Rainbow on the Road to Hana...

Breakfast for my hubby, scrambled eggs and ham with fresh picked herbs, english muffin with Passion fruit butter, milk and a fresh picked plumeria....

Hubby and I at the Old Lahaina Luau...

My hubby and I went to Maui for 5 days and 4 nights and LOVED it!! It was the first trip we have taken without children since having children (except overnight stays at Grandma/Papa) so it was nice to truly relax! We rented a Mustang Convertible and really enjoyed driving around with the top down! So, I thought I would show a couple pictures of our trip....have to say it was HARD to come back to cold and snow but not hard to come back to our kiddos :)
~Fawn

DIY Dining Chair Slipcover

After:

Before:

Ok, I tried my hand at making a Dining Chair Slipcover! I have never tried making one or any type of slipcover so I was extremely intimidated by it. BUT Ana White from Knock off Wood Made it seem really easy so I gave it a try...I did NOT make her parson chair but I altered her measurement to fit my dining chair. It is NOT perfect but I am ok with it... I did use a drop cloth for fabric that I prewashed. I have 6 dining chairs without arms and 2 with arms so I have a LOT more to sew but atleast I know I can do it and I did this one all cut and sewed while my girls took their afternoon nap...Pretty happy with that!! :) I did have to do a little altering to the way she sewed it since the back was ending up way too long, but that is most likely my own fault with measurements not hers...Now I get to see if it will hold up to 3 kids and a hubby :)
~Fawn
Cost Breakdown:
Drop Cloth I had for another project but never used it (only used half of it)
Thread already had $0
Chair was FREE was given the dining table and chairs $0


I am linking this up with Remodelaholic.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Aloha!!

We, my hubby and I are taking off tonight to MAUI!! We did a rather spur of a moment planned trip...I know it sounds like an oxymoron...We bought our tickets spur of the moment in August for just the hubby and I for 5 days 4 nights in Maui. We have never left all 3 kids for more than a night since our oldest was born almost 7 years ago! So, we are looking forward to sunshine, convertible and quiet!! Also, a luau is in store and a drive to Hana...and some beach time... Thank God for family who love our kids and have no problem taking them all!! So, hopefully I will post a photo or two when we get back!!
~Aloha, Fawn

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Sausage Tomato Pasta Pressure Cooker Recipe


So, I made another pressure cooker recipe today and once again it involved noodles, though this time it was whole wheat spegetti noodles...
This is how I made it.....
Sausage Tomato Pasta
4 link sausages (these were cooked country sausage left over from breakfast)
4 c. of frozen diced tomatoes
1 diced green pepper
1 c. beef broth
4 garlic cloves
1 t. Italian Seasoning
1 t. Garlic and Herb Seasoning
1 splash of olive oil or coconut oil
1 pkg. whole wheat spegetti noodles

First I put the EVERYTHING except the noodles in the pressure cooker (I did dice the sausages in slices) bring to full pressure then let cook for 8 min. Then I took off the burner and let cool to take pressure off then put the noodles in (I did break them in half). I then put the pressure back on and let cook for another 10 min. Then opened it up after a cool down and saw it needed a min/or so on the hot burner to steam off alittle more liquid. Then it was perfect... I did add a little salt and pepper to taste....Yummy!! :)
~Fawn

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Pressure Cooking

I just bought a set of pressure cookers last Thursday and am LOVING it!! I have made applesauce, mac 'n cheese, brisket, mashed potatoes, egg custard and stroganoff. I made the stroganoff and egg custard tonight for dinner and once again it turned out YUMMY!!! The egg custard recipe I got off another blog, BUT the Stroganoff I created myself...I am not the best at taking pics of the food as I make them and since my family ate the entire pot of stroganoff, I can't even show you the leftovers...I will give you the recipe though!
Pressure Cooker Stroganoff (NO Mushrooms)
3 round steaks
3 c. beef broth
1 chopped green pepper
Pressure cook that for about 12 min. at high pressure. Then let cool so you can take the lid off to add the green peppers. Then bring back to pressure and cook for 8min. Then Remove steaks and let rest.
Meanwhile, add 3 heaping scoops of sour cream (probably 1 1/2 cups) to the broth and beef dripping/peppers and whisk for a min. Add alittle salt and pepper and put back to pressure for 4 min. Let it cool naturally or do a quick release and add 3 1/2cups of noodles (I used tri color rotini) and once again bring back to pressure and cook for 10 min. While that is cooking, cut up the steaks to bite size pieces and when the noodles and sauce is done add the meat. (If you want you can bring to pressure again or just serve)
It made about 3 quarts of stroganoff and fed my family of 5, with everyone having seconds and some thirds... I served it with green beans, lemonade and sweet tea..
This was a VERY easy way of preparing stroganoff and especially a tougher/cheaper meat that was SUPER tender and just delicious!!
Let me know if you try it and if liked it...
~Fawn

Friday, October 29, 2010

Homemade Vanilla...

I am trying my hand at homemade vanilla....it takes 2-3 months to sit but hopefully it should turn out...
Here are the EASY directions:
Homemade Vanilla
1 glass bottle of Vodka (750ml)
8 vanilla beans split in half (I ordered at Azure Standard co-op)

Pour out about a capful out of the vodka and stick the vanilla beans into
the jar. Put somewhere cool and dark, for 2-3 months and then use.. Leave
the beans in the jar while using so it will continue to get more vanilla
flavor or pour into smaller glass bottles and give as christmas gifts...

Will post pics in a month or so to show how it is doing....
~Fawn

Saturday, October 23, 2010

A dresser reborn.....

Before:



This is the dresser I have been saying I would post.... It involved sanding, priming, painting, distressing, polyurethane spray and new knobs.....
Cost breakdown:
Dresser $10
Paint/Primer FREE stuff I had laying around
New Knobs .89 x 8 $7.12
Can of Polyurethane Spray $4.00
Total Cost: $21.12

What do you think?
~Fawn

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

More projects.....

Ok, Have you ever heard the saying "finish one project before you start the next."
Well, it is a good idea, but I have a really hard time accomplishing it... :) I did finish the dresser redo (and I do have pics and will post as soon as I can get my sister to email me her before pic from her camera) and have started primering the bathroom closet doors and vanity... BUT I found today on CL an awesome 4 poster pineapple twin bed for $30 and a HUGE Heavy mirror for $25... I am going to prime and paint the bed and mirror... My son wants the bed to be Blue, but I am not sure yet...I will see, I'll prime it and then see if maybe an antiqued blue bed might work... The mirror I want to antique the frame and have some awesome vinyl I want to put on it, for our front entry.. sooooo hopefully soon I'll be back with some before and after pics!! :)
~Fawn

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Projects, Company and progress

Well, I have been gone awhile but don't worry we have been busy!! :) Not a ton done on the house BUT we had our first official company at our home for 12 days, it was Grandma and Grandpa from North Carolina!!! WE had a great time!!! and took a couple days to recover...
We tried to get our downstairs bathroom done in time, but alas it just didn't get finished so that is now our fall project, along with taking all the garden in, fertilizing our 2 acre yard, cleaning up the yard for snow, and selling some more things on craigslist...(oh and I am sure a couple more projects...as in my secret project of painting our kitchen cabinets!!) Yep, I am going to try and paint our ugly mismatached kitchen cabinets without my hubby's knowledge....We will see how it goes....(I already got the TSP, primer and sanding paper...)
Oh and I got a dresser off Craigslist for $10 that I am ALMOST finished, as in I should be done tomorrow!! I will post some pics for you all :) I think it turned out great and I got it done for $5 (the spray polyurethane can) and $5 for the drawer knobs so plus the $10 dresser it ended up being $20....
~Fawn

Monday, August 16, 2010

3 monkeys in a room





Ok, so I really don't have "literally" 3 monkeys but I do have all 3 kids right now in one room!! Thank God it is a big room with 2 closets (1 is for their clothes, the other is a walk-in called "reading room" though I don't know how much reading goes on in there.. mainly playing...) It is actually working, they go to sleep at night and the girls will take a nap at naptime. They all love sharing a room, yes they are 6 and under but hopefully they will enjoy this for a few more years until our oldest is ready to move downstairs to his own room...
I am linking this up with Cottage Instincts.

Friday, July 16, 2010

the never ending bathroom.....

Do you ever have a project that you feel are never are going to get done???? I do and it my
upstairs bathroom.....I found a deal on craigslist for a vanity and my hubby and I took a look at it this morning and we bought it..$55, it white with beadboard trim and with the new top we bought at Lowes a couple weeks ago it should be beautiful!! (now just got to convince the hubby to help install it sooner rather than later.....)
We are enjoying summer around here and enjoying the garden (I have eaten atleast a dozen cherry tomatoes in the past couple days) and even have the radio playing day and night to keep the MOOSE out of it!! The moose came in and wiped out my cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprout and collard plants...some of them are going to survive some are not!! :( Oh, well guess maybe my hubby will get the electric fence up next year....
We had a wonderful evening, night and morning all to ourselves courtesy of my Mom/Dad and sister, they took all the kids overnight so we could celebrate our 9 year wedding anniversary!! It was lovely to go out to dinner and then to B/N for a couple hours then head home..it was especially nice to sleep into almost 10 am this morning!! :)
Hopefully soon I will have some more pictures to show of the never ending bathroom and maybe a couple of our gold claim (we are headed out for a day trip tomorrow) .........
~Fawn

Friday, July 2, 2010

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY WEEKEND

We have a very exciting weekend planned!!!
1st-My sister who just graduated from nursing school in Virginia and just drove for a month back to Alaska will be here!!!!
2nd- My brother and his wife and two kids are driving down
3rd- The whole family is renting a campground with pond, cabins, firepit, etc....and we are all hanging out all weekend together!!! YEAH!!!!!!!! (11 adults and 9 kids)
4th- can you tell we are excited!!!!!
The kids have been sooo excited that it wasn't too difficult to get them to help me clean the house so we can leave the house in some sort of order :)
So Happy Independence Day to Everyone and Thank you to all who have, are or going to Serve our Country!!!
Love
~Fawn

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Number 4
















Well, as I type this, I have baby number 3 crawling all over me while I lay on my bed basically flat so that way Baby #4 doesn't make me puke....Yep, I am officially pregnant with Baby #4, my hubby and I are very happy and feel very blessed!! We don't know exactly when the baby will be due, but as we always have our kids in Jan/Feb..we think this one will be born around the same time :) So, as I still try to spray paint (yes I am wearing a mask) and finish painting the bathroom, my time is going to be limited if this nauseousness doesn't go away...
Though we did do family photos yesterday morning and got back the photos today and LOVE them!!! I will post a couple so you can see!! I found my photographer on craigslist, and she was the right price and a wonderful photographer!!
Enjoy!!!

~Fawn

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Garage Sale Cleaning

Have to say I have a love hate relationship with Garage Sales...I love getting the money for them, but I hate the organizing, pricing, arguing with my hubby about the prices, the set up, clean up, etc....We did one this weekend..and I have to say my opinions haven't changed :) We did make a little money and got rid of some more stuff, but still have a couple tables full of stuff we need to haul to the reuse area at the dump (we accidently left everything out for the night and it decided to rain, so we are just taking the rest of it to the reuse area) So, I guess I will enjoy the money for a few minutes as we have already decided where it is going to go and be glad we are done with that for the summer and got rid of alot of stuff we don't need or use!! :) Oh and we did something fun after the yard sale, after we closed on Saturday, I put a posting on Craigslist that everything was free!! Yep, gave everything else away to the first people who showed up..did if for a couple hours and then deleted the ad, had about 5 cars of people show up and 1 family had just moved into town so they got some stuff for their new place, it was nice to give it to people who would use it and we don't have to haul it!!

~Fawn

Friday, June 11, 2010

Bathroom Saga

Well, I am still....painting the bathroom, it is taking forever, not because it is overly hard, just that the weather was beautiful so it has been hard to justify painting inside...Well, the weather has changed and has been pretty rainy so I now have the ceiling done and removed all the trim around the doors, floors,etc... so will try and finish the painting soon, though now I have a wedding 2 hrs away tomorrow, and friends are coming to stay with us until Wednesday....hmmm I think this bathroom painting might have to wait a bit once again.....oh well, I really am not in that big of hurry :) Except that I did find some Awesome artwork for the bathroom...Found a huge $10 white frame in clearance at Michaels and a cute poster at Joann's for $7 and they look sooo cute that I really want to finish so I can hang them up and found an awesome rug by Dash and Albert rug that would work PERFECT as a bath mat in there too, haven't purchased that yet, but hopefully soon :) Oh and I still have some amazing custom graphics from Uppercase Living that I really want to stick up too.....Guess I had better find some time to do some painting...oh wait, this is time I guess I should get off and do some painting so until next time......
~Fawn

Thursday, May 13, 2010

JJ's Headboard and bathroom part 1

This is part of the bathroom after 1 coat of cream paint (the previous homeowner left us a 5 gallon bucket of this)......we still plan on
1. Change lights out
2. Remove the ugly oak toilet thing and put a white storage thing there
3. Sand and paint all trim a bright White
4. Finish tiling around the tub...

This is the BEFORE!!! Notice Pink Ceiling..Floral Wallpaper...Green and Dark Green Textured walls...hollywood lights....oak....oak and more oak...




This is JJ's Bed with the new headboard up and his full bed..We still have to put his bed on risers
so it will fill in the gap between the bed and headboard.....


He likes it :)

~Fawn

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Kids Bedroom..Joy's bed....Take 2

Here is the AFTER of Joyelles side of the room with JJ's old twin bed that I put some watered down black latex paint over to darken it and make more chocolate brown...some pink Uppercase Living polka dots.....and some strawberry shortcake sheets with her PB quilt.....I am going to redo her canopy with a crown (found off etsy) with more polka dots and I have moved her name to the end of her bed.....

Another shot..you can see her old bed (toddler/crib that is now moved to Savannah) in
the background....

Here is the BEFORE!! ( this is before I rubbed on the black watered down black latex paint)


She loves it and that is what matters most!!!

I am also working on JJ's full bed...made half of the headboard today and hopefully will finish it tomorrow....

~Fawn

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Kitchen Part 2

Please note: This Kitchen is FAR from a show stopper.. It is just some minor fixing before I have to do a major kitchen remodel....mainly to make things atleast a little more presentable!! :)

This is the shelf.....with some things added..

This is the corner of the kitchen on one of my 3 different types of countertop (this being a sheet of lineolum) and some freshly baked cinnamon rolls cooling :)


A closer look at the stripe...


Well, I finished up the stripe in the kitchen and then decided I need to stick up a shelf above the sink.... there was a shelf when we bought the house, BUT it wasn't actually attached so when my little boy reached up to grab a cup...it all came tumbling down....so needless to say I actually screwed this one to the wall and to the shelf!!!

No, it is not perfect, but neither am I so I think it is just right :)
~Fawn
PS. We are now also doing a minor remodel in the bathroom so I will update you on that too...bathroom half painted...exhaust fan ready for a facelift...and new lights picked out..
new vanity top and faucets picked out....nothing bought but all in the works.....

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Kitchen....Part 1

This is The AFTER!!

The stripes are in...silver on top and black on the bottom and red paint inbetween..
Silver is 1/4 in. and black is 1/2 in.

This is the red stripe I painted....see my lines... not so pretty :)

This is the BEFORE!! (yes in the after I did move the cabinet and shelves closer to the wall-part 2 will show why :) )

This is the packaging for the stripes...see the picture of the car...told you it was Auto pinstripes :)

Ok, so I got this crazy idea to add auto pinstripes in my kitchen...
So I am going to show you some pics of the before and after...the dining area is basically done..
haven't tackled the actual kitchen yet.....so that is why this is only Part 1 :)
Please tell me what you think :)
~Fawn

Monday, May 3, 2010

Kitchen Paint and auto pinstripes....

Ok, I couldn't sleep real well last night so I laid in bed thinking... which if my husband could here my thoughts about our kitchen he probably would be scared... Well, when his alarm went off this morning at 5 am I decided to try something...

Leftover creamy white paint...free (previous owner left it)
Level....free
Pencil...free
Red Craft Paint....free (from our paint stash)
Paint brush/roller....free (from our paint stash)
Auto pin stripes in black and silver....$6.00

I have started it and it is already looking pretty cool!! Will post pics as soon as I am done...We can't afford a major kitchen remodel right now..but I am itching to do something to our kitchen....and do it extremely CHEAP!!
So....that is all I am saying today...if everything goes right I should be able to post pics on Wednesday!! :)
~Fawn

Saturday, May 1, 2010

What can you buy with a penny.....

I am very excited today....my hubby and I went to HD while the kids were in ballet and we found the best deal ever!!!! In a clearance basket, a exterior light for our front door....for 1 cent...yep you saw that right a PENNY!! It was $64.98 regular maked down to a penny!!! So, I am now going to wait patiently for my hubby to install it :) (sure beats the ugly motion light now)
oh and we stopped by Lowes, for my hubby to check out a price and we ended up finding our door bell and door chimes...for $8.50......no not a penny but still way cheaper....Ok...thats it....I know you probably didn't care..but as soon as my hubby gets them up..I'll take some before and afters and post them :) I was just too excited so had to tell you :)
-Fawn

Friday, April 23, 2010

Weekend..what weekend...

Funny how I look forward all week to the weekend...not because I get to do projects or anything...no because my hubby is home!! Though this weekend is going to be a busy one...
Ballet, land closing(sold a piece of property), baby shower, Ballet performance with the family, 6 yr. old b-day party, church, and a 3 yr. old, 1 yr. old and 35 yr. old birthday party!!! Whew that is going to be one busy weekend......oh and I still need to buy some birthday presents! I am actually looking forward to the parties!! If only my teeth didn't hurt...I have never had any probs with them but all of a sudden on Wednesday my jaw and teeth started really bothering me and it hasn't gone away....I HATE going to the dentist, but I am at the point I am going to have to just call and make an appointment.....Well, it is past midnight and I had better make myself go to bed or I won't be fit for all the parties this weekend :)
Have a GREAT and Blessed Weekend!!!!
~Fawn

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

What a day....

Here are a couple Kitchen Ideas that I am in love with....
Please tell me your favorite!!!
#1: is from Coastal Living

#2: from Sarah Richardson's Cottage

#3: This one is from A Beach Cottage

#4: last but not least is from Better Homes and Gardens
Ok, it wasn't a bad day...it wasn't even an ok day... it was just a day... got to sleep in...got to eat lucky charms cereal for breakfast...and then spent 4 hours at a homeschool curriculum fair...and ordered all of NEXT years curriculum for my soon to be 1st grader!!!...yes, that means I am 4 months ahead of schedule!!! compare that to this year when I ordered his curriculum in September.. after school had already started...I am soooo excited and ready for next year... he wants to start now and forget the rest of kindergarten...gotta love that!!
Now, both girls are napping and I am wandering in blogsville and debating on how I should redo my kitchen....yes, I have the ugliest kitchen in the world!!....No, really I do....I have bright orange countertops, linoleum countertops and plywood painted black countertops...YES, 3 Different countertops...about 10 or so different size cabinets, all not even remotely straight, some with large holes in the bottom so I have to be careful what I stick in them....oh and my orange countertop is rotting away and has a huge hole next to the sink so everything drains down towards it and ends up in the sink cabinet.. oh and the sink drain isn't actually hooked up so it all drains into 2 buckets that I dump daily!! Oh, did I mention that the floors which are tile aren't sealed so every stain is permently on the floor!!
Ok, I was having a good day...Now, I am just sad about my kitchen.... I do have plans....lots of amazing ideas for my kitchen, then I look on blogsville and get even more ideas.... I will post a couple here...
If anyone reads this let me know which one you like....
-Fawn

Monday, April 12, 2010

Plants...and a Cold

Well, I haven't posted anything in awhile soo.....here I am ...... funny how life just gets in the way of this blog...but as I am putting the baby down for a nap and she insists on me being in the room (ie..screams) then I am here on the lap top... we haven't done much on the house lately....just some family pics on the wall and rearranged the living room to discover I liked the original way better so rearranged it back...I have been doing some planting...tomatoes, onions, zinnia, vinca, sunflowers, lobelia, rosemary, dill, basil, hmmm think thats it.. The tomatoes and sunflowers are about 6 inches.. the rest about 2..they are now living downstairs in the bedroom/craft room in a nice sunny window and seem to doing well :) as long as I don't forget them and not water them...but being this is day 2 of them downstairs we will see.... I do have pics, but once again if I leave the room to download the pics, Savannah will start screaming and will have to start all over in getting her to sleep so instead you can just imagine the plants.....haven't we all seen starts anyways :) oh and I have a cold, thank you hubby and baby!! :) (I actually avoided kissing my hubby the past few days to make sure I wouldn't get the cold, but how can you not kiss your baby girl....so needless to say I know have a cold....)
Well, Savannah's eyes are getting heavy and in a few minutes I should be able to leave the bedroom.....we will see...................................
~Fawn

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Greenhouse...


This was taken for realtor ads by our sellers realtor..stepovich realty... hope our garden
does that well this year :)


See our greenhouse in the top left corner...and the white picket fence
is the garden!! :) can hardly wait!!


We had a greenhouse when we bought the house last November...but as it was November in Alaska... the previous owner had just stuffed it with everything that was around the yard.. soooo fast forward to today and we decided to take a look at what we could find in there......well, we officially have enough plastic pots to start seeds to last the rest of my life and my childrens...a pool that is about 10 years old we will see in June if we can make it work... 2 Boxes of 6 bags each of Organic fertilizer!! (YES!! now that should save me a few dollars!)...1x3 boards.. tomato cages... bird feeders....and bird seed... balls..bats..plastic horseshoe game..2 hammocks (YES!!! can't wait to try those out)....tons of plastic hanging baskets (don't know how many of those I will use as she also left us about 10 wooden planters for the deck..)....6 green plastic chairs, 3 white ones and 2 side tables..a green umbrella for the table on the deck..and green/white cushions for the plastic chairs...ok, that is all I can think of right now, but I am pretty happy for the stuff we did find :) The greenhouse was about 65 degrees and it was 32 degreese outside.. can you say we are a tad excited for summer..no, ok we are VERY EXCITED FOR SUMMER!!!! Bring it on summer bring it on!!!!! Well, I really need to make some pizza dough for homemade pizza tonight.... so hope you are enjoying this beautiful Spring day!!



-Fawn

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Homemade yummies and Spring...

I have been on a homemade food kick...homemade yogurt...homemade tortillas...I do usually make everything by scratch but not tortillas...well, I found it the Tasty Kitchen the other day..all things homemade and wanted to give them a try....well they are "resting" as I type but the yogurt I tried the other day was AMAZING!! So if you ever have a few minutes go to The Tasty Kitchen (it was on the Pioneer Women's blog too) and try some of their homemade recipes.... gotta love saving a dollar or two and having made something all your own. :)
Spring is here in Alaska... no that doesn't mean flowers and rain... that means brown grass and dirt peeking up from dripping gutters and sun sun sun!!! Gotta love it!! I am sooo excited for summer this year.... I think seeing our house in summer might have something to do with it.. oh and the tomatoes and flowers seed started in my living room and kitchen... I hope wherever you are you are in middle of your spring and enjoying it!!!
-Fawn
Update..about 30 minutes later.... ok the torillas are done and filled with beans, cheese and sour cream and in the oven! They turned out really good and will definently be making these again.. might try making a huge batch and freezing them for later. Also,while I was making them my little boy (6 yrs old) came up to me and asked what I was doing...when I told him I was making tortillas he said "Is that allowed?" I had to laugh and say of course it was allowed...to which his response was "oh, I just never knew you could do that" I guess I need to make more homemade things :)

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Thank you Rachelle

Ok, I added my before and after master bedroom project to a great blog-Rachelle's Fingerprints on the Fridge.... I honestly don't know how to link her blog to mine but to just cut and paste....so here is the link where she put a picture of my master bedroom redo... on her Feature yourself Friday...http://lovinmylovebugs.blogspot.com/ Thank you!! I am really new to this blog world and am learning something everyday!! You all in blog land are super talented!!! and very inspirational!!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Changing Table Before and After

This is a close up of the AFTER antiquing :)


Close up of the mattress pad (it is just a piece of fabric I had used as a tablecloth and wrapped around the mattress pad....easy to remove when it gets dirty to wash...might one day sew it into a pocket, but who knows I might not :) )


This is the AFTER all done with a few baskets I had around the house
to hold all the stuff...




This is During the process and my kids helping :)

Before..... well kinda of during as I forgot to get a true Before :) oops :)



We receiveItalicd from some good friends a changing table and a convertible crib to full bed right before we moved into our home. I have been using the changing table and was thinking the orange paint just didn't fit my bedroom and wanted to do something to spruce it up.... so I thought some white paint and some sandpaper might do the trick... I wanted it to look antiqued/whitewashed so with the help of my two kids we got it painted and sanded and put back into my bedroom the next day.....
Love opinions....