Getting Off My 'But'

So after a long hiatus, I am back and it feels good!Lately, it seems like my life has been so busy with different activities, but yet nothing productive. I have unfinished projects lying around, my house is still in dire need of attention, my husband's office is not yet completed, and the list goes on. However, I did manage to get some much needed R&R in during my long break. Not only did I have a vacation to Puerto Rico with my husband, but I also got in 2 girls weekends filled with shopping, massages, and great quality time with my mom and sister! This spring is packed with different activities, but they are all exciting opportunities to learn more and grow.
As I am quickly approaching my last year of my twenties I want to make this the best year yet! I want to fill it with activities that have impact on the quality of my life!! In preparation I read an amazing book: Get Off Your "But" by Sean Stephenson.
It is a great reminder to remind you not to let your fears/doubts hold you back. I think I often let my "But" get in the way of blogging: "But I don't have time, I am working full time and I have two small children." "But what if it is not any good." "But it doesn't compare to all of the other blogs."However, I an quickly realizing why I wanted to start blogging and it wasn't to compare myself to others or to add another 'to do' on my list. I choose to start this blog as creative outlet and help me truly find my passions. Writing/journaling is a great way to get to know ourselves better and I think this blog can do just that. I am by no means a fantastic writer, but it helps me reflect and for that alone I enjoy it!
For my last year of my twenties I am making a conscious effort to surround myself with positive people and invest time in things that make a difference! Look forward to seeing more regular postings from me!
Make it a great day!

 

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Lighting

Don't you just love a great Craigslist buy!  For weeks I was scouring CL to find a lovely little chandelier for Little Misses room.  I love the shabby chic look for a little girl and wanted the same for Lil.  I came across a really great deal for this chandelier, only $40.  I quickly emailed the seller and they were willing to meet that night.  As usual I get a little apprehensive going to pick up a CL buy without my husband.  After making a quick phone call to the seller I was relieved to hear it was a female, but then on my drive there she called to let me know her husband would be the only one home.  Ugh! I had to have a quick pep talk in the car:  1.  Seller was in a suburb and not to far from my home. - Check  2.  My husband knows where I am and has directions; I will call him before and right after.  If I don't call in 10 minutes.... panic .  - Check 3.  I will do a drive by first.  -Check Ok, so maybe I am a little paranoid, but can you blame me! Any ways on with the story, the seller's husband was very nice and they had just moved into their house and wanted to make lighting changes of their own!  However, when he loaded it into my car I realized how big this was!!  

Ok, so the description did say 12 lights, however, I was so excited about the deal that I didn't take time to think of how big this was going to be.   Change of plans, this would not fit in Lil's room!   As pictured above I started prepping for the first coat of spray paint.  I wiped the entire thing down and taped all the parts I did not want painted.  We decided on white since we were going to be putting in our dining room and we had a combination of white board and batten and dark gray walls.   After several coats of spray paint it was ready to be hung!  Good for us our awesome neighbor is an electrician and was happy to help!  (As much as I want to DIY, I better read up before I dabble in the electricity business!)

Here is a better shot of the dining room.  I am still not loving the window coverings, but I am leaving this up for now until I find something better suited.

Lit up in all her glory!  

Things left to do in the dining room:

1.  New sconces.

2.  Paintings.

3.  Change window coverings.

4.  Decorate and fill the built in buffet.

Hope you like it!

Linking up with Liz Marie Blog :)

Dining Progress

One thing that I have read and now am experiencing first hand is how much changing a light fixture and adding architectural elements can transform a room!!   With our goal of hosting Thanksgiving, finishing the dining room was a top priority. Here is a before picture of our dining room from the MLS listing.  While I think the room looks fine it was just not my style and we needed to make our own. via  I had a few ideas, but this started out as a VERY slow process.  I absolutely love board and batten and knew this would be the best place in our house to add it.  About a month after we moved in I wanted to get started.  I was a little ambitious and began measuring the walls and trying to determine out spacing and dimensions for the boards.  If you are a blog follower like me, many people have posted different tutorials on tackling this project.  I began by wanting 1/4 inch thick boards so I wouldn't have to change my base boards.  I started by going to Lowes, Home Depot, and Mills Fleet Farm to realize this was going to be a tough order to fill.  So I brought home a couple different sizes to determine what we liked best.  We choose to have the boards 1/2 "x 4" x 4' so I began calculating our spacing as suggested over here.   Before we began putting up the boards I started painting the lower half of the walls white since it would be easier to paint without the boards.  After about 3 coats ( dark brown to white, I highly suggest primer) I called it good since I knew I would give it a couple extra coats once the boards were up.  

 Next we put up the top horizontal boards.  Since we don't have an air gun to nail the boards in we pre-driled holes into the boards and then nailed the boards into the studs.  While this was very tedious this went much faster than the vertical boards. 

  The vertical boards presented their own challenge since the spacing did not always account for a stud.  I could tell the husband was getting frustrated because we would nail in the boards and they would pull away from the wall.  Since I convinced him to help he asked, "what the blogs say about this issue?"  HAHA!   Unfortunately every blog has a slightly different  variation to this tutorial/process, so we concluded to use liquid nail to help adhere the boards to the wall!  

 Awe, can't you see the love he had for me while completing this project?

I wish I could say this all happened in a weekend, but unfortunately this project spanned across many weekends and the dining room was a disaster zone.  Finally all the boards were up and it was time to caulk and putty the boards to make a seamless look.  This is a crucial step and since this was my first major project I learned a lot of what not to do:  Take your time! Don't forget to sand and clean all the boards before painting again to get a smooth finish! I wish I could say our results are flawless, but you can seem some of seams, but overall I think it turned out pretty good!  Here are a few poor pictures since I have more projects I don't want to spoil  :)

 A sneak peek at my Pinterest Project below from this great blog .  Also, the light you see below is gone...

   1 Don't forget to Like my page on Facebook for more updates!

Holiday Prep List

Less than 2 weeks to Thanksgiving!!!!   Oh dear!
We are going to be hosting Thanksgiving this year and I couldn't be more excited/nervous! It was our goal to be in a new house by Thanksgiving so we could host and we did it!!! Since we moved in 3 months ago we have been focusing on the bigger project likes painting, but it is time to shift the focus onto the finer decoration detail. Here is my check list before the holiday season is upon us:
Dining Room: 1.  Buy a table and chairs for the dining room.  Details to follow! 2.  Hang the chandelier in the dining room I found on Criagslist for $40!!  3.  Change out the sconces!   4.  Put up drapes
Kitchen/Sitting Room: 1.  Get rid of the random stuff from moving and decorate the shelves. 2. Re-arrange furniture. 3.  Complete painting for above fireplace. 4.  Change coffee table. 5.  Install receiver to get the speakers/music up and running.  We accomplished this with the help of my awesome brother.  
Guest Quarters (sounds so stuffy but trying to sum it up): 1.  Get a new bed for little B's room to allow our guest to have a place to sleep since we only have a toddler bed in there now. 2.  Get a shower curtain/rug for the kids bathroom upstairs. 3.  Get towels and bath mats for the bathroom downstairs. 4.  Set up Lil's big girl bed! 5.  Organize toys in an dedicated area.
Main half Bath: 1.  Get a mirror. 2.  Get hand towels/rug. 3.  Add decorations. 4.  Paint
Foyer: 1.  Add rug (checkout this great Groupon from USA Rug) details to follow 2.  Add chair/bench 3.  Add table
Office: 1.  Add drapes 2. Get a new desk/chair
Last but certainly not least - Menu: 1.  Create a healthy thanksgiving menu!  This may sound simple, but I am stressing out since I want to be able to test it out before T-Day itself.
So I may be a little over ambitious to get all of this completed within 13 days, but if I can get a huge chunk of this accomplished I will be very happy!! I better get going.....     

Random Happenings

Just a few random things:
1.  Dishwasher broke, wahwah!  After one month of living here and living in denial that something was wrong with the dishwasher it was confirmed when it wouldn't start any more!  The panel that would start the dishwasher and select different cycles is faulty.  We are now waiting for the part and in the meantime I am grateful for the invention of dishwashers because there is nothing worse than always having a stack of dishes to wash.  I am also grateful we added a policy to cover appliances and other random things in the house for the first year we live here.   If you are buying a home make sure to add this into the Purchase Agreement.

2.  We FINALLY closed on the refinance of the town home.  I will not go into the frustrating details in fear I will start ranting, but know that it took almost 4 months and having to reschedule the closing on at least 5 different times!  Needless to say I am happy that is completed and hopefully I will not have to sign another mortgage for many years to come.
3.  We did not make the top ten for Mandi's Epic Makeover :(, but do not fret I have plans for little B's room.  It is not on the top of the long list of things to do to the house, but hopefully we can start soon.
4.  I am doing Dr. DelRae's Detox!!  I started this past weekend and already see results.  I do not do the program for weight loss, but rather to help clean the slate.  We consume so much junk on any given day it is good to reboot.  Her program helps make me conscious of my food choices and helps me achieve my goals quicker.  Not to mention this is the BEST protein powder I have tasted ever!!  
5.  We have almost brewed a good batch of Kombucha.  It has been a work in progress trying to perfect the tea, water, sugar and brew times just perfectly, but do you see the bubbles?  That is a good sign and the taste is pretty good too.    

And a quick picture of some good cuddles...

Have a great night!
   

All votes needed!!!

We need your votes!!!!

UPDATE:  Voting is now open for the EPIC Room Makeover! We are number 63! You can vote up to once per day.  http://www.vintagerevivals.com/2012/08/epic-room-makeover-giveaway-contest-2012.html#more

I am so excited to be entering in Mandi's EPIC Room Makeover!   I absolutely LOVE her style and I desperately need her help!  

Ahhh, where do I start!  If we rewind the tape you can remember that on August 1st we closed on this beautiful house and everything was perfect!  


Well almost!   I think my husband thought that we were going to be able just to move in, get settled and organized and life would be good.  However, thanks to Mandi's blog with all of her EPIC ideas there is no way I can just move into someone elses house and call it our home.  There are things to be done people!  Behind this beautiful brick are bare brown walls, popcorn ceilings, and no Mandilicousness!!  We need a makeover and when Mandi posted this contest it was a sign!  But what one room needs the makeover the most?  After much discussion with my husband we decided we need a lot help with my son's room.  Here is why..

Bennett is 3 and easily one of the coolest and cutest most handsome kids around!

Problem is his room is boring and lacks the creativity he needs at 3 years old.   Also not to mention he finds it SO boring he wants to sleep in our room! All of the time!  Not cool!!  But can I blame him?!  The room consists of a toddler bed which he has outgrown with blue walls and a dresser.  Too boot there is a ugly ceiling fan/light fixture combo with popcorn ceilings.

 The toys are pathetically scattered on the ground with no home of their own, unless the closet floor counts?!?

Other reasons why we think we should win this contest:
1.  Who wouldn't want to come to MN in October???  Ok, so maybe that is not the biggest seller.
2.  1.  We are hosting Thanksgiving this year and have many guests coming in from out of town.  Even though this house would seem like it has more than 3 bedrooms it does not.  The previous owners finished the basement, but did not build out an extra room.  Since my sister-in-law is having a new baby in October,  I would love nothing more than to provide a bedroom for her and her family to stay.  I would hate to put her in a room with a little toddler bed and nothing to look at while she is up at 2 AM feeding the babe...
2.  We need power tools and a few proper lessons so we can finish the rest of the projects around the house.  Look at this poor set-up we have to install our board and batten.  The tailgate of our car + hand saw + "miter" box does NOT = great miter cuts!  :(  But don't act like you are not impressed!

3.  I could pick Mandi and Hailee's brain for other creative ideas and roadblocks that this new house presents us.  Like these odd tile shelves??  What?!?!?

Or what to do with textured bathroom walls (not to mention the missing a mirror and burnt out light bulb)...

Please Mandi we really need your help to make our son's room a fun and creative place for him to be (and sleep)!  He even said himself that he wanted his room to be more Mandilicious! 

A Belated Birthday Recap

The weekend after we moved in we were fortunate enough to have a few guests stay at the house.  It was also my husband's big 3-0!  Luckily for me I was able to blame all of the unorganized mess on the recent move which helped ease the pressure of hosting.  

While my husband's big day included an all day seminar I don't think he would have changed it for the world!  The seminar is held quarterly for chiropractors  Rhinos all over the nation.  The EPIC crew really puts on a good event and while it is normally hosted in San Diego they changed it up and had this past one in Minneapolis.  It was great to see everyone and catch up over a competitive game of lawn bowling at Brits (I forgot to take any pictures, boooo).  
I can't say enough good things about the EPIC community!   We are truly blessed to be working with such great leaders/mentors in chiropractic.  
The following night we were able to host Jeff's uncle from Hawaii and had a nice dinner on the lake.

Happy Belated Birthday Post, Love!!!!  I hope you had a wonderful weekend!!!