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Interior Barn Doors - I'm drooling now...

I couldn't be any more in love.

Barn Doors...

INSIDE?!

Yes please!!

Look at how gorgeous they are??

I just texted Husby a picture of the one below...saying "how great would a barn door be in the basement as the door for the pantry??"

Poor guy is cranking out work as fast as he can to prepare for our new carpet/flooring being installed in less than a month!

(side note...how cute is the chalkboard note "dog" pointing to the dog bowl in the picture above?)

And sure...we just built the pantry and installed a pocket door. So covering it up wouldn't be too harmful!! Right?!

+++ (and here's my Husby selling point) we can make it totally masculine looking...since that's the vibe we are going for down there (in the front half of the basement at least). I am thinking metal hardware and maybe a whitewashed grey/blue door to match the walls??? ehh? ehh? I love it!!

What are you lovin' right now?

Spring Fever

Flooring - We are madly in love.

Well, we just signed away our first born a hefty chunk of cash mon-ayy on the flooring for our basement. Hardwood laminate and some deliciously soft frieze carpet.

But let's talk about the laminate flooring shall we? Beccause I certainly can't STOP talking about it or looking at it!!!

It's Armstrong's Timber Bay Barnyard Gray. Isn't it spectacular?!

Ugghhhh...I just had to share. Now we have to wait for it :)

Oh...and pay for it too. Ay ay ay!!

Cabinet Door RE-Do–Trash to Pleasure

Remember when I found the free cabinet doors on the side of the road? Well I had plenty of ideas on how to use them but I had never touched them since we loaded them in the attic almost a year ago. Until a friends birthday approached and I saw an idea online that led me back to them.

I didn’t have any cool tables like that lying around, but I did have a few cabinet doors…and an idea of a serving tray from an old cabinet door…

So I set my goal and got started. I remembered back to a school project in middle school where I died paper with tea bags, baked  them and burned edges, etc. to make the paper look aged. Here’s a quick how to for that: You’ll need tea bags, (any will do) a cup of water, a cookie sheet and your paper. For my project I printed out the Hymn sheet music to my Friends favorite Praise and Worship song.

Preheat your oven anywhere from 100-175 degrees.

Soak the tea bag and squeeze it over the paper, occasionally rubbing it into the paper. If some of the tea spills out it’s ok, it will add to the look.

I laid each page on a towel, to decrease the opportunity for a huge mess! :)

Some pages I crinkled and allowed the tea to pool in areas to make darker stains.

I allowed them to dry a little, then I put each into the oven for 3-5 minutes until they were just about dry. Then I took a candle and held the pages over the flame to get small burn marks and to burn the edges.

Once I was done, I laid out the pages some I ripped, others full pages onto the cabinet door. I coated the door with modge podge and began to press the pages onto the cabinet door, especially in the dipped area.

Then I coated the top with modge podge (two layers) and let it dry over night.

Once it dried…Oh I had already fallen in love with it. Husby helped me to attach the handles I got 50% off at Hobby Lobby (total of $2.00).

Here’s the best finished picture I have. Sorry I didn’t think to take a better one, but I LOVE the final result!! Good thing is, my friend loved it too!! I plan to make a few more, for other friends as well…trust me, there is no shortage of cabinet doors in our attic!

It was a great little project, not too hard…thoughts? I LOVE it :)

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30 Before 30 Update

It's been nearly a month since I last updated...so let's see how I am doing...

1. Finish all drywalling in the basement.
2. Recover a chair. 
3. Complete our Master Bedroom. (Paint, Furniture & Decor) 
4. Sew a dress for myself.
5. Make Sushi from scratch.
6. Get pregnant.
7. Pay down Credit Cards. (I am sure you see what I did...changed "pay-off" to "pay down." It was a lofty goal at best, but we did put over $3000 towards Credit pay down since the list creation date...so I am marking this off. Deal with it, it's MY list! :) haha!)
8. Print out photobooks of my favorite photos. *adding photos...
9. Have a Family Photo taken. Husby and I...and us with the Pups. 
10. Grow vegetables.
11. Learn how to use my DSLR in manual mode. 
12. Start journaling.
13. Lose 20+ pounds. *still on WW...losing slowly but surely.
14. Make new curtains for my kitchen. *getting ready to purchase fabric.
15. Successfully launch my Photography business...aePhotography.
16. Grow out my hair.
17. Bake my own bread.
18. Surprise Husby at least once a month with something fun. August, September, October, November, December, January, February Planning March now...
19. Create our "Family Story" wall. *Gotta make the shelves
20. Organize and add shelving to our Master Bedroom Closet.
21. Hit 35,000 visitors on our Blog.
22. Successfully keep an Orchid for more than 30 days.
23. Have a successful Yard Sale.
24. Paint a picture. *Painting soon
25. Slow dance with Husby.
26. Go to a show on Broadway.
27. Hold a puppy.
28. Make a necklace.
29. Grow Peonies. Planted!
30. Get Husby to dress up for Halloween.

16 out of 30 completed, and that leaves 14 that I still need to complete. 5 of which I am about to jump on this month. I do realize that I will not COMPLETE this list, however for the first time doing this I am pretty darn excited! And I have 77 days left...I  still may surprise myself!

I am really gonna hit the list now that March is here and the weather is on it's way to gorgeous! Come May, I think I am going to challenge the Husby and I to make monthly lists in the areas of:

Enjoy, Create, Organize, Grow, Save, Home, Cook and Health. (Idea taken from here)

I think it should be fun to challenge ourselves!!

Oscars 2011 - Fashion

I'm gonna mix it up a little this time...

Let's start with a NO...

Cate Blanchett - This is simply horrible...not that she routinely makes great fashion choices anyhow...but what kind of yellow, wart looking beading is that?!

Hillary Swank - Gorgeous. I love it.

Penelope Cruz - Dang...and after having a baby about a month ago too! She looks amazing!

Sharon Stone - What in the ??? Does anyone else think her hair makes her look like a bug? Seriously...it's like she has antennae!!

Anne Hathaway - She looks STUNNING...one of my favorite Anne looks of the night...

Natalie Portman - Gag, she's stunning! If ONLY we could all look like Natalie when we are that pregnant!

Halle Berry - I feel like this a bad art project.

Scarlett Johansson - It's like wearing lingerie, without actually wearing lingerie. Nope. Although, the color is good on her...that's about it.

Reese Witherspoon - #1 BAD Prom hair...#2 could your dress get ANY less exciting?

Mila Kunis - Tattered and torn...like she pulled it from a jumbo shredder. Me no likey.

Hailee Steinfeld - Ahhhh-dorable!! So age appropriate and cute!

Melissa Leo - cough, cough, DOILY, cough, cough!

Gweneth Paltrow -  I guess I can say it looks ALRIGHT...I just really don't like her and it totally impacts my decision.

Nicole Kidman - Boring. Even for Nicole.

So...what were your thoughts? Did you have any favorite fashions from the evening?!

Air Plants and Mini Orchids

I might admit that I have become a little cocky when it comes to my Orchid. It's been alive and thriving for nearly two months and I am ready to step up my game in the indoor house plants arena, it's really making me look forward to spring!

So today I've done a little research and here's what I'm lovin'...

Air Plants

Air plants are described as "An epiphyte is a plant that grows upon another plant (such as a tree) non-parasitically or sometimes upon some other object deriving its moisture and nutrients from the air and rain and sometimes from debris accumulating around it.

Caring for them seems fairly easy: They grow differently than most other house plants, and it may be confusing to the beginner. They are really very hardy, and require much less attention than other house plants.

Protect them from frosts.
Most prefer cool night temperatures - below 60 degrees if it can be provided.
Give them bright, filtered light.
Provided the atmosphere is not too dry (as in an air-conditioned home) they require relatively little watering.
If you are growing them indoors and the air is dry, you will need to submerge the plant in water for 2-3 hours about every two weeks. Otherwise, in a shade-house or unheated home, you can use a soaking mist once or twice a week in summer, once a month in cooler weather.

Not too bad, and they are super neat little plants.

Obviously, I love orchids too. They are so beautiful and dainty, just begging for extra special care; and mini orchids have caught my eye!

Orchids

(You can watch the video of how this wall hanging was made here.)

I really want to try and make an orchid wall hanging...gonna follow through with some research and pricing first! It may be a pretty intense undertaking.

Succulents

Succulents or fat plants, are water-retaining plants adapted to arid climates or soil conditions. Succulent plants store water in their leaves, stems and also in roots.

So...I have some plants picked out and some ideas on where to put them...I'll update you more soon on the outcome. I just hit "order" on some cork bark and the necessary tools needed for the Orchid wall hanging!

What's making you look forward to spring?!

CSN Stores Review–Keep an eye out!!

I was contacted by a customer service rep from CSN stores  to review one of their 200+ stores. I am totally excited about this opportunity and I can’t wait to search through all of their stores to find the perfect item for us! and I am thrilled to have the opportunity!  CSN offers so many products, you can literally find everything from a swing set for the back yard, to cute cookware to chic lighting pieces!

I can’t wait to check out CSN…be sure to drop by soon to see what I pick out!

Gettin' primed and ready!

We've been looking at alot of these lately...because it is almost time to PAINT the basement!! I know right...I'm kinda dying over here!!The exact colors will remain a mystery...unless you have been to my house in the past week, then you will have a good idea of what we are going with...although Husby has decided that now he is worried about some of our my bold color choices...*sigh*

(...and the lighting in this picture does these colors no justice at all...so stop gagging on the dirty mustard color to the left...I can hear you all the way over here. I haven't completely lost my mind.)

The basement as been completely drywalled and sanded...drywall guy has been paid...and we are ready for paint!

Wanna see?

Of course you do...and I know some of you are saying, "Wait! I thought it was going to be a secret?!" Well, that was our intention...errr well Husby's intention...but he has loosened the reigns and I am free to share photos!

yahoooo!

Before I show you...allow me to boggle your mind with how far we have come...(now, these are the original before's...but they are "before" enough to serve my point today.)

Remember, this is the original basic layout (computer renderings) of the basement...some things have changed...i.e. the Snack Bar area.

So, without further adieu...our new basement with legit photos...(more before and afters coming soon!)
 
This is just right of the bottom of the stairs...basically standing where our office desk will go...looking into the Game Room. The Pantry is in that room to the left. The far closet on the right holds utilities like BGE meter and sump pump. The Closer closet to the far right is storage and electronics (for TV).


Please note each corner, besides doors and windows is a rounded bullnose corner...I am in love with them!

This was our view about 6 months ago, basically looking towards that far wall between the left wall and the first coloumn...

And here's another before...kinda...in this picture you are actually in the Game room standing by the pantry door and looking towards the closet areas...

In comparison to original rendering...not too bad!

This view is standing in the Snack Bar/Bathroom hall area facing the TV wall...where we will put our new 55" LED HDTV....booyaaahhh!
The Office will go to the right...

Snack bar area...

Which will look something like this...colors and arrangement may change, but will include cabinets and a mini-fridge.

Here, you are looking into my Studio here. The set up has been arranged in my head about 80 different ways...I think I am just going to have to wait for furniture to really lay it all out. More than likely though, you are looking at the Photo Nook, where I will house my backdrops, etc.

This is pretty much the same view from before...

This is the left side of the same room above.
My TV will sit up in that top left hand corner (where the blue tape is).

 

Isn't it GREAT?!?!! We are just too excited. Next is paint, then flooring...if all goes well...we may have a complete basement by...June?! That's my hope at least!!

We'll share more soon!!