Let's Talk About Vacuums

This 1980's hideous awesomeness will soon be coming to live at my house! And I am actually SUPER excited about it!! My current vacuum just bit the dust a few days ago, and my parents were nice enough to foot the bill for the majority of this bad boy from their dealer in Tulsa. It will be shipped to my house for FREE and have a TEN year warranty! I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to have a vacuum cleaner that is guaranteed for TEN YEARS! Can you tell how excited I am?????!!!!!

I can't believe I am so excited about a vacuum cleaner. I think that's how you know you are an old lady. Excited for a vacuum cleaner at age 25. But guess what. My mom has had her vacuum like this for 25 years. WHICH MEANS....I could still be using this vacuum cleaner when I have grand children. Sah-weet! Looking at my record so far with vacuums (two for about $200 in the last 4 years) this vacuum cleaner will have paid for itself in like 8 years, and anything after that is just awesome free vacuuming!!

Since I burned everyone's eyeballs with that hideous vacuum photo above, here is a picture of my little fruit thief at the grocery store:

I turn my head for 5 seconds to grab some peaches, and I must have had the cart too close to the produce, because when I turned back around she had taken a nectarine and already eaten two bites. At least my girl loves good food! It could definitely be worse!

Voilà!

Yesterday I left y'all with an almost finished picture frame. I had spray painted it white with just one coat. After applying the second coat,  I liked how it looked kind of white washed and I could still see the wood grain through the paint, BUT the look I was going for was a pretty solid white. I got out my handy dandy Kilz spray primer and did a quick coat to get more coverage. Two more coats of white satin spray paint and I was high as a kite and my frame was good to go! (Just kidding about the high part, but I spray paint in my garage so I could definitely smell it a bit in our living area...woops.)

After all my paint was dry, I set the glass in the frame, then laid the matte and photo down on top of it. Then I used some trusty duct tape to secure the glass. It might not sound very safe, but with the notch in the wood, the glass was flush with outside of the frame (if that makes sense?) So the duct tape has a pretty easy job.

With everything secured, I slapped three 3M picture hanging strips on the back (two on top, one of bottom...this sucker is a little heavy!). Then I took down the mess of a gallery wall above my sofa, and popped this guy up using a small level and my best guess as to the center of our sofa!

Here is a close up of the finished product:

And here is a somewhat zoomed out view. Please ignore my shelf disaster in the corner!

Soon the other two will go up on either side. I am waiting for my photos from MPIX to arrive. Snapfish threw a bog ol' wrench in my plans for an 8x10 close up of each kid on either side when they sent the close-up of Bubba with like an inch of his head cut off. I was able to adjust the cropping on MPIX though, so I am crossing my fingers for frame-worthy prints this time!

Speaking of my adorable babies, here they are out running errands yesterday: 

Abigail has really been loving her Bubba lately.She has always liked asking to hold him, but usually would try to push him off saying "all done!" as soon as he hit her lap. Well the last couple days she has actually held him for minutes  at a time! And she loves giving him kisses! Whenever  I pick her up from daycare (she goes twice a week to get some little kid play-time) she looks for him in his carseat and says BUBBA!!! If Patrick happens to be home and able to keep him, she gets very concerned and asks where he is, it's so cute! 

A Quickie Frame

I love quick projects that I can actually get done after the kids go to sleep, but don't require me to stay up way too late! So tonight I made myself a frame for our family photos from the slats that were originally supposed to support my bed. Might as well use them for something, right? So I now have three free photo frames. Well, technically I paid for these materials at some point, but today they were all free!

I really want some big white frames from Ikea, but I don't feel like driving an hour and spending like $20x3, plus all 10 (I think?) 5x7 frames I need. {I am hoping those will be a late birthday present from my parents when they visit in a couple weeks.} Anyway, in another timely blog post, I saw younghouselove post about some easy frames they made for a recent pinterest project. I didn't really need to see how to make frames, but the timing was great to spark the idea and head to the garage.

I started with an old black 11x14 (I think?) frame and stole the glass and the paper matte. Using the glass, I measured how long each side needed to be. I didn't take any pictures of this step, but hopefully I can explain it clearly...I planned to use the table saw to make notches on the inside of the frame for the glass to set in, like in "real" frames, so when I measured the length, I slid the glass about 1/4 inch onto the board. Maybe it will make better sense when you see what I did to make the notches. Here is a close up of the board pretending to go through the saw: 

See the notch cut out? That's how far in I had the glass setting when I measured how long the inside length needed to be. Here's another shot just for fun:

When I measured the inside length, I marked a small line where the corner of my 45 degree angle cut needed to be. I marked it 1/4inch shorter than the glass on both the top and the bottom, to account for the 1/4inch notch that would also be on the top and bottom boards. Then I clamped the two side boards together to ensure that they would be exactly the same size and got to work on my miter saw. 

Clamp:

I did the same steps with the two top and bottom boards. Then I busted out the Kreg Jig and drilled a hole in each end of the two side boards. It doesn't matter where you drill the pocket hole, as long as you have one hole in each corner. I just found it to be easiest to only drill on two pieces instead of four. 

Got a picture of the hole for you this time! It looks exactly like the photo from the bed post, only it's mine.

Next I put some wood glue along each corner and assembled the frame. After I applied the glue, I screwed in all four pocket screws to hold it extra tight. This wood is super soft pine, so I could have also used my staple gun just as easily. I am just excited about my Kreg right now and want to use it for everything! Even just wood glue alone would probably be enough to hold it together if you were able to clamp it tight while it was drying. 

Here she is after the first coat of white spray paint:

Check back tomorrow (hopefully) for an update on the finished product hanging on my wall! 

A Bed Tutorial

I should probably say this is less like a tutorial, and more like a "here's what I did, copy at your own risk" sort of thing.

I knew I wanted something very simple with clean lines. I'm picturing 1x6 sides, flush with the top of 14" square or tapered square legs. I buy my stuff, and even spring for the spendy oak furniture grade 1x6 because they were so pretty! I had everything cut to size at Lowes. Here is what I got:

2 1x6x77" oak boards
2 1x6x81" oak boards
5 1x4x77" pine boards (for slates across the bed)
2 1x2x77" pine boards to run along the sides and hold up the planks
2 2x2x28in oak table legs

First I busted out the Kreg Jig to test drive it. Then I drove two holes into each side of the 1x6 boards. I didn't take a picture, but the holes turn out to look something like this:

(photo from centsational girl)

Next I tried to screw the boards into the side of the legs. Note the use of the word "tried." It didn't work so well, even when I drilled pilot holes. So I devise a genius plan to use the pine 1x2's as legs because they are softer. Works like a charm, screws go right in. Here is a photo of my laundry hamper supporting one side so it doesn't fall over while I was working on something else:

The joints are strong enough, but not as strong as I was hoping for. They would be stonger it I had been able to use the more substantial oak legs I think, but I just could not get the screws to go in all the way. This is kind of a theme in my life. Whenever I try to build something, or work with power tools in any way, something inevitably goes wrong, even if it is just a simple, straightforward project. I run into stupid road blocks, like not being able to screw the screws in all the way and stripping out the screw head in the process. Sigh. Nothing can ever be easy!

After lots of craziness, balancing acts, and careful maneuvering, I ended up with this:

The hardest part was screwing the legs to the boards without my upright boards falling over! Hence the laundry hamper support above. Anyway, you can see in this picture the small 1x2s running along the side. Because I improvised the legs, it added a little width to the bed, making my 77in slats too short to be supported by the 1x2. Womp womp. I had some remnants of the 1x4s so I decided to cut 3/4in pieces and screw them into the ends of each slat to elongate them. Worked ok, but will not be a permanent solution! Then I screwed 2x4 pieces to each slat, perpendicular to the floor to support the middle of our bed. The man at Lowes said the 1x4s would be fine and 2x4s would be overkill. I think he was wrong. Our bed is HEAVY. And my husband sleeps like he is being stung by a bunch of bees, flopping all over the place. A solid 230lb man throwing his weight around in his sleep is serious business for a bed frame to handle. 

So that set up will be temporary. I have plans for a platform made out of 2x4s and plywood to just set inside this frame, and be covered with a bed skirt. I also have some sanding to do where my joints didn't stay exactly flush. :-( But overall, I am happy with it. It is much more my style, and the room already feels bigger without our big giant bed. I can't wait to get the headboard up!!

A New Bed!

Patrick built our bed a few months ago, right before T Patrick was born. It was a good first attempt, but it was a little sloppy, albiet the sturdiest bed you have ever seen! It was all 2x4s and 2x6s screwed together with huge screws and 3in bolts...heavy stuff. We had made panels to go around three sides, with big plans to make hinges on the top so they could be lifted for storage under the bed. They might be visible in the pictures in the "House Tour" page. Anyway, they were just leaning up against the bed for the last 6 months, pretending to be attached. And they were magnets for stubbing toes, knocking them over, exposing the particle board on the other side, just kind of a pain in general. One we hadn't been able to come up with a solution for. Also the sides of the headboard were unfinished, and our plan for finishing them wasn't making much progress and I didn't really have a lot of confidence that it would do the trick. So after six months, I decided we needed a change. Something lighter, sleeker, less of a big deal.

Here is what I ended up with after a few hours last night:

I love how it looks, even though it's still raw wood. I couldn't decide on a finish so I just made it and I can do something to it later. It definitely needs some more support too. But for now it's ok. And at least it's pretty! Up next is a headboard in this fabric:

I saw this on younghouselove and fell in LOVE with it. It is SO pretty! And incorporates both of the colors I have going on in my bedroom so nicely! I can't wait til it gets here! 

Abigail is waking up so this is going to be a quick post. I did take some photos of the bed-making process and will post more later!

Gallery Wall, Take Two

I LOVE gallery walls. The only reason I had a big wedding, and had babies is so I could have tons of lovely photos to fill up gallery walls all over my house! Ok, that is not the only reason, but it is a happy by-product of those life events! Anyway, I thought the wall about my sofa in the the living room would be a great place for a gallery wall. Original, I know. I really liked the idea of this project from Iheart Organizing:

I like how the clips add some interest, and allow you to change the artwork/photos on a whim, without the work of picking those little tabs and taking out the old photos, getting the frame back in the right spot, etc. 

Then there is this cute wall, from younghouselove:

And also from younghouselove, the ultimate gallery wall, it's like picture frame wallpaper! 

Now that I've shared with you my inspiration, let me show you my first attempt at a gallery wall:

Not very pretty, is it? I bought a bunch of these frames from Ikea a long time ago in anticipation of some great family photos after Tee Patrick was born. (That's cajun for Little Patrick, and it's what we decided to call him after nobody in either of our families was thrilled about calling him PJ.) Oh, and there used to be a vertical white 8x10 frame hanging in that blank spot, but I stole it for some art in Abigail's room because this wall was stupid anyway. 

I used that photo hanging thing, I forget what it's called, but it has an infomercial, it's like a little thumbtack gun you hit with a hammer and it puts an angled tack into the wall...anyway, not worth it, if you are considering getting one, don't waste your time! The other big problems with this wall are, in no particular order: the black thing that makes the frame able to stand on a table skews the frame and makes them all look wonky and slanted, I do not exactly have the most artistic eye when it comes to making "random" arrangements like this, and I didn't measure. Woops. However, I did at least lay them out on my kitchen table in an arrangement I was fairly happy with. I guess something got lost in translation from the table to the wall! 

All that to say, I have new plans for a different arrangement with different frames. I am going to get some flat white frames from Ikea soon and use those. I think I will still keep my eye out at our local ReStore (habitat for humanity) for some plain cabinet doors for a future project though! 

I don't have an after photo yet, but I did get my prints in the mail, and I think this is the arrangement I have settled on:

What do you all think? Yay or nay? Also, does anyone know of a REALLY GOOD photo printing site? I have been really unhappy with Riteaid lately, and ordered these prints from snapfish.com, and they are very grainy. Anyone have any better luck with another company? Please let me know! thanks :-)

{Almost} Finished Backsplashes!

I am really excited to have ALMOST completed my very first tile installation! I was feeling motivated this morning, and demo'd the tile backsplash around the sinks in our bathroom before I dropped Abigail off at daycare. I hadn't originally planned on doing that part this soon because I thought I would have to take the mirror down in order to knock of the tile, but I figured out a way to do it without taking off the mirror. I knocked the tiles from each side off easy peasy, but the back wall was tricky because there was wall on one side. and mirror on top, so my options were limited in terms of crow-bar placement. (I was hammering a crow bar between the tiles and the wall to pry them off.) Then I got the bright idea to take off the outlet cover and start there where I had some space and an exposed edge of tile to work with. Well I grabbed the outlet to pull it out of the way a little after removing the cover, and it turns out those screws on the top with copper wire around them have electricity running through them. Yep, I sure did electrocute myself, y'all. It wasn't terrible though, my arm started tingling and I was like "huh that's weird...Oh! I think I'm being electrocuted..." So, moral of the story: don't touch the screws on the top of the outlet.

Moving on...backsplash demo'd. Filled in some holes with caulk so they could dry while I ran errands. Sadly, another daycare session not spent working on Lindsey's curtains. But hey, we needed pork from the commissary. Gotta eat to make curtains! (I can only sew when Abigail is at daycare because currently her bedroom is the only place I can sew in our house.) Sidetracked again...Anyway, I picked Abigail up from daycare at 12:15 and went to Home Depot to rent a wet saw. (I had already tried the Lowes right down the street, but they don't rent tools. Darn.) Fast forward an entire afternoon and here is where I ended up:

(Bonus: a nice view in the mirror of the pile of socks that need to be matched and put away on the dresser!) 

Can I just say that cutting little pieces of glass mosaic on a big saw is not very easy? Because it's not. It's actually pretty hard. But I did a good enough job I think, and it should look pretty darn good once it's grouted! 

I will post a more detailed post on how I did all this very soon, as well as a post about Abigail's birthday and some 4th of July photos! But for now it's late and I need to get some sleep!

Some Quick Storage

Our bathroom is quickly running out of storage space. We have the space underneath the two sinks, plus 4 drawers in between. There is a closet in the bathroom, but I turned it into our shoe closet quite a while ago since there wasn't room in our walk-in closet for shoes. So, no linen closet means towels must go under the sink, along with cleaning supplies, various medicines, toilet brush (can't have that out in the open with toddlers running around!), my make-up, hair dryer, brushes, straightener, you get the idea. We have a lot of stuff that needs a home. Enter these babies from Home Depot:

I got two of the 36" shelves for now. I will probably add a third on top in a couple pay-days. (How will I reach it, you ask? Fun fact: closed toilet doubles as a step stool! Genius, I know.) I could make my own shelves for cheaper probably, but the fact that I installed both of these in about 5 minutes makes the price tag worth it. Sometimes time is a precious commodity when you have two babies running around! (Or one running around, and one scooching backwards all over the floor...) Anyway, I didn't take a before picture, but just imagine that area with a blank wall and no shelves. That vertical space was definitely some valuable storage real estate that I can't believe I am just now getting around to using! I already plopped my make-up bag in that basket ($3 from goodwill) and my favorite earrings live in that turquoise ceramic egg crate on the top shelf. I need to add more to decorate, and once it's finished I will try to get a better picture. But for now, I am excited to have that egg crate off the counter and an almost empty drawer!

And, just because I love this guy so much, here is a photo of my squishy trying to eat my purse while I was packing for our trip to Louisiana:

Pardon my crappy picture taking, I was having trouble getting it to focus. Must keep practicing!

Need to get something off my chest...

I am crushing majorly on a sofa right now. Is that weird? I came thisclose to committing $2k on my credit card for this beauty and the matching loveseat:

It's the Ella leather sofa from Macy's, and is beautiful, and super long, and relatively inexpensive for such a nice looking leather sofa. BUT it is a closeout, which means that since I'm not buying it now I will never be able to buy it. Insert major sad face here. So, to heal my broken sofa heart, I started searching for others that I liked as much to remind myself that there are other fish in the sea. I came across this one, and I really like it too:

It's the Thomasville Carina sofa. But it does not come in leather, so that stinks. I think it would slip cover nicely though. We plan to move sometime next year, so I am trying to make myself feel better about my crappy sofa by knowing that I won't be sad if it gets messed up in the move. Or better yet, we can sell it right before and not even have to move it at all. We'll see! Anyone else have a furniture obsession? Anyone else have a problem trying to find something cheap that is "close enough" to the thing they REALLY want that is pricier, only to find that you should have just waited and saved your pennies for what you really wanted in the first place? Sigh. I have definitely learned some VERY expensive lessons throughout my experience as a first time home buyer and home furnish-er. 

Oh, and maybe leave me a comment and tell me which one you like better! I'm curious which one would be more popular...