A Long Work Weekend

Silly us - what do we decide to do on our Fourth Anniversary weekend AND pepito is at the grandparents house for four whole days?  Relax?  Not a chance!!  We painted the kitchen cabinets and countertops of course!  Doesn't that sound like a wonderful way to recoup from taking care of a sick baby?  Ha!  Though, it is much nicer being in the kitchen at 3am making a bottle now then it was a week ago.

Friday morning I drove baby up to Atlanta to meet my Dad at Grandmother's house and ended up she was having a lunch thing with my aunt/uncle and their kids, a close friend with her baby and an aunt who had managed not to meet pepito yet - so I was there a little longer than planned.  Lucky for me - I got to miss taking down all the doors, with 13 screws each, and painting them.  Sweet.

We've always loved white cabinets, black countertops, checkered floor.  Nothing fancy.  Just simple.  Classic.  Can't go wrong.  This was our plan and we had figured out a way that we could do it NOW and not later.  Well the floor is later, but whatever.  I can NOT look down.  Maybe.  We'll see...  So we had a plan.  (and let me note here, that THE PLAN had been made when we chose all the colors and schemes in the house, not made on a whim, just saying.  there was no backup)

Sam made the executive decision that he wanted to spray paint the doors - fine by me - it's really his deal this time.  The cost was a little more but the finish would be so much better he said.  And truth - the enamel finish is nice.  Shiny - but super cleanable.  Perfect.  So, I get home, change into paint clothes (you know you have some too), and start painting the boxes.  I almost forgot to mention - that we learned the hard way that when painting with spray paint, it is an absolute necessity to make sure you get ALL coats done in a timely fashion.  If you wait until the next day to finish up - you will be stripping the paint off and starting all over.  Yay us. Atleast it was only on five of the doors...

Three coats later - we're done.  Easy cheesey.  We might get to go to bed at a relatively decent hour.  Wait - Sam wanted to hang a couple doors to see how it all looked - and what do you know - the whites don't match.  Of course they don't.  So at 11:00 pm, we're sitting on the floor, well I'm sitting - Sam is pacing like always, trying to figure out what we can do to fix it that hopefully doesn't involve spending anymore money.  I go digging through the storage/paint closet and come out with the only two semi-gloss paints we own.  One is Forest Lichen, our bathroom color, and the other is a leftover from a job, which is a pretty blue gray.

I grab a craft paint brush and crudely put up samples.  We sit.  We stare.  We talk it out.  I really thought we'd have all white cabinets.  But the two tone look could be good.  Or it could be bad.  Very bad.  We don't want to look like we're taking the kitchen backwards.  How much worse than what we got could it be.  Only us. What color should the walls be.  Do you think I could find fabric to make the blue work then and then we don't have to repaint the walls.  But I love my poppies.  And so on and so forth.

We end up choosing Forest Lichen.  I can keep my poppy window treatments, it's less of a contrast, much softer, but we have to repaint the walls.  I just can't make the china blue work anymore.  No big deal.  I'm sure we have a gallon of something that work....  I believe we got one coat on that night, then two more in the morning.  And three fresh new coats on the buffet that was previously D.O.N.E.  Yep - 12 more doors that had to come off with 13 screws each.  Thank goodness we had a spaghetti/garbage disposal incident a couple years ago and needed a drill with a cord - best thing we ever bought.

I'll sum up the rest of the kitchen - we couldn't get the sprayer hardware out of the sink and thought we were going to have to replace our entire sink because of it.  Which was going to be irritating because the only one we could afford to put back was the exact one we have - not in the plan.  But Sam remembered the reciprocating saw and just cut the thing off - 60 minutes and a lot of sink searching later.  I don't know why we can't be brilliant immediately...  Sam redid the plumbing underneath because the pipe had rotted out.  Whoever did it the first time didn't install the pipes at the right level so it never drains right and we will have to do this every year.  No big deal - just add it to the list.  Faucet gets installed without a hitch, I tape off the freshly painted cabinets, and we start painting the countertops.  Somehow we didn't get it quite as even as I would've preferred, but it was hard enough to live without putting things on the counter this time and I don't plan to do it again anytime in the near future.  It's good enough and a vast improvement anyhow.

So - that's our kitchen makeover.  Oh, and Sam spent 2 hours detailing our oven because he's decided it's the centerpiece to our new kitchen.  Fine by me - it was old and dirty.  Plus, he figured out to get the nonworking huge timer box off the top, so I'm super pleased.  Happy new kitchen.  Now, to paint the walls and maybe we'll  be done with paint.  Yeah right - I've said that before! Ha!!

New, sort of, Countertop!!

We never go to Lowe's anymore.   We used to go almost every day and three times a day on the weekend with the Dream House.  If we were friendlier (ha!) I'm sure we would've been on a first name basis with every. single. employee.  We were there THAT much.  I think the paint guys would run when we came in.  Anyhow.

before we moved in

Pepito's room gets lit up at night by our inconsiderate neighbor's spotlight - seriously - why are you playing with your four dog at 9pm?!! In your backyard that is literally 5 feet from my baby's bedroom?!!!  Just saying.  So the time had come that blackout roller shades were necessary for our sanity - we don't work well together on only a couple hours of interrupted sleep and it seems that being on the same page is a good thing when parenting together... heehee.

Sam's test run on painting cabinets

Off we went to the big blue box to get some roller shades cut.  William will put up with errands in the cart as long as he is moving and has new things to look at.  So, while Sam waited with the shades, we rolled over to the paint section.  I love looking at all the spray paint colors.  I swear, one day, I am going to buy a fun color and do something fun with it.  One day.  Put it on the list.  But while I was dreaming of how to use the perfect happy green spray paint - lo and behold - there it was.

Laminate Countertop Paint.

OMG - I think I yelled at Sam I was so excited.  I absolutely despise our countertops.  Mint green yucky geometric disasterness.  And it was on our list to replace them, just with black laminate (money spent on granite, or even a solid surface, would not be recouped in our neighborhood), but we don't have tons of money just laying around, so there it stayed, on the list.  That infamous list.

This paint is $20.  Done and done.  We actually waited a whole week to buy it.  So proud of us.  Got it tinted in black and home again home again twiddly dee.  I had to go to a party a friend was hosting that afternoon, but by the time I got back, Sam had fixed the broken spots, sanded, cleaned, and painted two coats.

The surprising part about it was - it kept looking better and better the more days passed.  The instructions say to give it three days to fully cure and for once in our lives we obeyed the instructions - so I've gotten to assess the finish often.  We just tested it on the buffet for the time being.  We can't be without countertops for three days with pepito needing to be fed, constantly... so this was perfect.

We're still trying to decide if the backsplash should stay black or if we should paint it blue to match the walls.  I think we're leaving towards blue, but I'm not sure how the blue paint would do on the laminate and this stuff is MADE for laminate...anyhow - I'm waffling.  It would be an AWFUL LOT of black.  We'll see.

Now here's hoping we can get the rest of the cabinets and countertops painted on the other side of the kitchen over Memorial Day weekend - any grandparents want to keep pepito?  Four days of fun for everyone!!!

Problem Meet Solution

Ok - so I'm going to have to admit that the hubs and I are terrible at doing dishes.  I think it might be both of ours most unfavorite chore.  And on top of that - we are constantly asking each other if the dishwasher is clean or dirty.  Because without fail, one of us will grab a baby spoon or something out of the clean dishwasher without unloading it and then the "clean" light will go off.  Then - neither one of us will unload it because we think it's dirty...cycle...  It's kinda ridiculous.  But anyway.

I had this thought that maybe if I made a sign that clearly said Clean/Dirty then we would know and maybe the dishes would get unloaded/loaded appropriately.  The hubster is going to think this is juvenile and SILLY but if it works - I'm going to feel brilliant.

I already had everything I needed, so it took maybe 2 minutes to do this.  Cardboard, pretty papers, stickers, velcro, glue stick.  Easy cheesey..

update:  my hubby came home for lunch and LIKES the sign!!!  SUCCESS!!!!

Poppies Make Me Happy

Knocking projects off the never-ending project list does too - so happy Two for One to me! ha!

In honor of my new sewing station - I decided it was about time I finally got these window treatments marked off the list.  After looking at the ribbon, even though it was yellow polka dots, I decided that a self tie was what would be best.  Easy cheesey.  I cut four, sewed four, and tied them on this morning.

And I will say - I'm not sure why exactly I put this off for so long - but the finished product is worth it.  I am in love.  These are the easiest, prettiest window treatments ever.  Sew a rectangle (with or without lining), sew the ties, make cute little bows and you're good to go.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm repeating the style above my sewing table (as soon as I pick up more lining). 

They make me happy.  (the weird light does not - another day...)

I did it again

Yep - sewing has once again been monopolizing my time. In between, of course, going to school, washing bottles and trying to keep the house in some sort or order. I've been playing with a couple of different projects...

My best friend in the whole wide world recently got her very own studio space and I am lucky enough to turn it into fun land. Seriously - go check her out - she's awesome. Hadley Scott Photography. Also, check out her blog - there is a ridiculously cute baby on it...just saying. We're not going too crazy - leaving the walls white - better for the whole picture taking thing - we don't need a haze of green or turquoise all over the babies. I've been busy turning readymade Target curtains into semi-custom fun ones. It is remarkably easy to do this and much more cost effective, especially when you need "luxury" length panels. I'll probably go into more detail later - so here's just a quick sneak peak.

Ah..my kitchen. We have been in need of proper treatments for these windows forever (and they're still not quite done, but y'know) but I've had a bit of difficulty wrapping my head around fabric selections and what to do about the shutters which threw off the proportions.

these were the first idea - stage coach valances; loved the print, picked up on the blues and greens in the other rooms, but the measurements got a little off and I wasn't thrilled and at this point, Sam was insisting we had to keep the shutters - so it always felt off. And obviously I never truly committed because I never hemmed the ties... Though, for one of the first sewing projects I tackled, it was a good learning experience.

Then, over the weekend we had the prettiest weather - sun out, just warm enough, birds chirping - it was perfect. But our kitchen was SO dark. And we just decided to take down the panels on the french doors because we were missing out on the light and so I decided to take down the shutters and it was lovely. All the light!!

Second idea, really did this as a "test run" for a friend, but then we decided that the inverted pleat valance was more appropriate for her room. I was never really happy with how this turned out anyway. But, you can see how I am already thinking "these shutters have to go!"

And I'll be honest, I put off handwashing the baby bottles a little less now and when it is officially spring & summer I will get to stare at my neighbor's blooming roses and other pretty flowers.

So I ripped the seams of the "faux roman shade" and sewed a large rectangle with lining. The lining is really more the view from the outside but I could go on and on about that - another day. I'm still trying to decide whether I want ribbon ties or accent fabric ties so they are tied up temporarily with scraps from the ribbon drawer... I am super pleased with the result though. And I LOVE having a view now instead of staring at shutters that constantly need to be dusted! ha!

On a whim today, and because I saw that the flannel was on sale, I got the idea to make William a new blanket. Something a little lighter weight than his plushy ones but still large enough to wrap him in the carseat/stroller. Plus, we have lots of friends expecting babies, and I was dying to practice making a flannel blanket. Fun for me - it only took about an hour and that included keeping the baby out of the trashcan. Cut out the size you want with fabric stacked, line up, pin bias tape, sew the tape, fold over and sew the other side of the tape shut and done. Easy cheesey. It's so cute and I think he likes it too...

It's yellow gingham, green pinstripes, and blue binding. It's just shy of 36"x36" I think. I had four yards of bias tape, so I needed to keep the dimensions under this because I wasn't interested in attaching more pieces midway... I think it's adorable. Almost as cute as my sweet little button.