Our December Kitchen

I had planned on doing an awesome 2 part post on our lovely kitchen makeover. But all that I managed to post was A Tiny Peek at Our Kitchen Makeover. No part 1. No part 2. No big kitchen reveal. Just a peek and not much of one.

I'd like to say that it's because I'm just too busy but that wouldn't really be true. I am super busy but the real reason I've haven't posted about my kitchen makeover is- I don't know if we'll ever really be "finished". It appears to be one of those projects (like every other project) that will take us years and years to actually complete. So I'll just try to post an update every now and then :) 

 

Let's start this kitchen post with a quick reminder of our kitchen last year.

Leaky dishwasher. Rotted floor. Bad wallpaper.  

 

 

 

 

Ugly huh? We really didn't change very much. Just the floor, backsplash, and color. There is still sooo much to be done.

And to be honest, the floor isn't finished, the backsplash isn't finished, and the paint isn't finished. I still have plenty of trim and caulking to do. Not to mention a few tiles that need to be repaired already.

So try to see past the dirt on the floor and stools, the rubber bumper on the corner of the counter, and the bad lighting, and just see how far we've come.

 

 

 



 

Thanks for stopping by :)

Monday Morning AND Big News

 

 

This Monday morning has been a lovely one! Yes, I could complain about at least a dozen things that haven't gone "right" already, but I'm not going to. I'm just going to say another little prayer for today's worries and move on. There' s plenty to get done around here and nobody has time to waste thinking about things that can't be changed!

 

My lone tomato plant is really flourishing!

 

 

The weather was amazing in Tennessee this morning. But when I went outside I noticed how bad my favorite place has been neglected (the front porch). But there is hope. I saw some tiny seedlings sprouting in one of my pots, and hopefully the window boxes will have sprouting activity soon. I've been using the porch for sanding and painting cabinets for weeks. I'll have to add "make porch beautiful" to my list.

 

 

 

 

 

This week's "to-do" list is already a mile long. The kitchen is close. Really, really close. Some more cabinet doors are going up tonight and I hope to have all cabinets totally finished by the end of the week.

 

Note to self: Never ever under any circumstances paint the kitchen again!

 

In other news....

 

I am SO excited to announce that I am hosting a fall craft party!! eeeeek!!

 

 

I love making things and I love opening my home up to my people. So why not put them together for some serious fun?! Come join me for a night of food, fellowship, and cute crafts!

 

 

Here's the details:

 

+ Fall craft party with Journey's Creations at my home in White House TN.

+ On Friday  September 25th at 6:00 pm.

+ Cost is $25 per person.

+ Materials, dinner, and dessert included in registration fee.

+ We will make three adorable crafts that will not disappoint!

 

 

 

Registration is OPEN NOW! Space is limited and some supplies need time for shipping, so please be sure to reserve your spot early.

A Tiny Peek at Our Kitchen Makeover

I guess we'll start with this crazy awful embarrassing picture. The right side is the dirty old green cabinets and the left side is the clean new grey cabinets (obviously). I actually like the old green color and seriously considered repainting them the same exact color. But then I thought, if I'm going to go through all the trouble of painting my entire kitchen, I may as well change the color.

 

What do you think about the grey?

 

 

I went back and forth after painting this one little section. I never really decided if I loved it or not but I didn't want to repaint what I had already finished. I'm really lazy and I can't work on any one project for very long. I usually have at least four things going at once. I like to hop around and have the choice of what I feel like working on. I like change, so I just keep on moving around and changing.

 

I know this is not much of a peek but I don't want to spoil the big reveal :)

 

 

Happy Tuesday Friends!

Homemade Wide Plank (Plywood) Hardwood Floors {Bedroom Makeover}

It's a good morning today! The babies both slept pretty much all night, the weather is amazing!!!, and I'm ready to share what we'll call "phase 1" in our girls' bedroom makeover.

 

 Our homemade wide plank  hardwood flooring in the girls room!

 

 

 

So we bought 5 sheets of plywood and had the guy at Home Depot cut them into 8" wide strips. We sanded the best side of each piece.

 

Then we removed the furniture, baseboards, carpet, and padding. And played around with the layout a bit.

 

 

I painted the room an awesome griege color. You'll see through the pictures how the color changes in different lighting. All of the pictures were taken from my phone, just at different times of the day.

 

The next day we layed down a sheet of thick plastic to protect the cheap particle board subfloor underneath.

 

 

And then we pretty much mixed and matched the pieces and nailed them down with the nail gun when we had the look we were after. While he nailed, I came behind him and stained.

 

 

We started out seperating the boards with a penny to leave space for expanding but it wasnt really necessary because of the slight variation in the size of the boards. It worked out just perfectly.

 

When the stain dried, we did two layers of polyurethane.

 

 

The only mistake that we made (and I mean "I" made) was not letting the poly dry enough before eagerly skidding the box springs across. I'll have to fix that another day.

 

 

 

Paint color: Whiskers by Porter Paints

Stain color: Walnut by Porter Paints
Room size: 11x13
Floor cost: Around $150


 

Monday Stuff

Monday is kinda wonderful and kind of a bummer. Glad to get back to the new routine but the weekend seriously was not long enough. 

The babies continued to... we'll say adjust, over the weekend. I sure hope this adjustment period passes quickly. It turns out that my super sweet Paze is a full blown fit throwing toddler now. I know her sweetness will eventually win and she will come back to me. But for now, she stinks!
 
I seriously loved having my big girls home. They played and cooked and crafted.

 

 

Just like I expected, absence does make the heart grow fonder :)
  

 

I can't wait to share our floor project but I'm not quite done yet. We've finished painting the room, and installing, staining, and sealing the floor. When it's dry we'll get everything put back together and then share.
 
I was a little overwhelmed selecting the stain. I didn't have a real vision so I just picked something from the Paint N Paper Shoppe (one of my favorite stores) and went with it. I was going to do a white wash originally and then I considered a light blue stain but didn't go with either of those. Maybe tomorrow I can share. Maybe!

 

While I painted and stained all weekend, I brainstormed, as usual. For a long time, my heart has been deeply searching to find a cause to immerse myself in. But there are just so many needs out there, how can I know exactly where God wants me! And where will He be able to use me best? And how can I use my talents and interests to glorify Him? And how much time and energy am I willing to commit? Ugh! So many questions!

The needs of others are endless. Abortion, adoption, orphans, hunger, missionary work, poverty, politics, and so on. 

I want to mention that I'd love to hear any ideas that you all may have. My mind is all over the place. I know one thing is for sure, I'm happier when I'm serving God by serving others. Serving others feeds my soul. When God is using me to to do His work, it's brings a whole new perspective to my life. What a privilege it is to be His hands and feet. It's so easy to neglect His work for things that we think are important, but are actually meaningless. I'll keep praying and searching until the right thing comes along.
 

To serve is to love. Get out there and love! 

"I Love You Because...." Valentines

I know there are millions of people out there that despise Valentine's Day but I am not one of them. I love it! What better than a whole day devoted entirely to love?! Nothing :)

So this year we did this very awesome activity with the girls. Each person decorated there own Valentine's Day box with their name on it. Then starting on February 1st, we each had to write one reason why we love each person in our family and put it in their box.

The first 3 or 4 days were easy, but after the obvious reasons were done, we had to do a little more thinking. Why did we love each person? What is so special about them?

Then after we gave the kids our gifts from us, we all dumped out our boxes and read aloud each little note we were given. We started by saying "I love you because....." and then finished with the note. I was AMAZED at some of the things we came up with. The girls thought of things about their sister that I would have never guessed. Some reasons were funny and some were emotional. But when it was over (and it took like an hour) everyone was happy. The kids begged to do it again next year. It was free and it was special. Isn't that what were all looking for?!

 

For dinner we enjoyed heart shaped pizza and a heart cake. Simple but exciting for the little ones.

 

Valentine's Day- Love and Pretty {Journey's Decorating- Nashville TN}

 

I don't know how many families celebrate Valentine's Day as a kids holiday or a holiday for Mom and Dad, but we like to involve the kids in our Valentine's Day fun. Our anniversary is on February 11th so we usually have a special date day to celebrate our marriage on that day. Then for Valentine's Day, we celebrate with the girls.

 

I thought I'd share some of our Valentine's Day fun from last year as well as our plan for this year.

 

Decorating is a huge part of the fun. We always start with the center of our family room, the mantel! I love a beautifully decorated mantel. I started on ours this week. Here's a picture. As we get a little closer to February, I'll start changing things around and adding more fun decorations.

 

 

We like to "adopt" a special Valentine friend every year.

Someone we can do something nice for. Last year we picked one of my daughter's friends who has been battling cancer for two years now. She is a sweet, adorable little girl. We made her this gift bag and delivered it when she wasn't home. The girls love doing good deeds and serving others. This year our lucky "friend" is going to be Ray (our preacher). We love him dearly and he just may need a cheering up on his first Valentine's Day without his wife.

 

 

Something new, we're starting on February 1st we're calling "I love you because...". Each person in our family will have a box on the counter, which they will decorate and every day we will all write down one reason that we love each person and put it in their box. I feel like we spend so much time correcting the littles and pointing out all of the things they do wrong, so I though it would be a good idea to share with them all of the wonderful things that make each one of us unique and valued. What a fun way to do it! Then on Valentine's Day we can dump out our boxes and see why we're loved so much.

 

I'll share pictures and posts on how it works out.

 

When February 14th finally arrives, I like to surprise the kids with a fun breakfast of some sort. I found this on Pinterest last year. It's literally canned cinnamon rolls shaped like a heart with sprinkles. They were so happy about them, you would have thought I had slaved in the kitchen all morning. It's the little things, the attention to detail that makes life special. Add cute straws, some pretty napkins, and a candle and BAM- It's a Valentine's Day candlelit breakfast for a queen (or four).

 

 

 

When Daddy gets home, the real fun begins!!! We usually surprise the girls with goodies and gifts. But seriously, we only buy them things that they will be needing anyway. The picture below is from last year. Looks like we went all out right? That's the point! But we didn't. I just think it's more fun to give them a new outfit in a special way. I should also mention that my kids rarely get new clothing. We pass down everything we can, so new clothes are special to them. And sometimes, every girl just needs a new outfit.

 

 

 

 This year, I've bought the three little girls coordinating bathing suits with flip flops and mating accessories (I had Gymbucks so I got it all at a great price). The 2 babies also got pajamas and some chocolate. The 2 big girls got a box of chocolates. Mary (7) got a stuffed owl and Taylor (14) I have no idea what else to get her but I'll figure something out. 

 

I hope you'll embrace this little holiday this year and make it extra special for your family too. This is the stuff they'll remember forever :)

 

 

 

Our Christmas Tree and Mantel {Journey's Decorating - Nashville TN}

  

Today I'm sharing our Christmas tree and mantel. This year we didn't buy a live tree. We had planned on buying one but the very week that we expected to get it, my in-laws said they were buying a new tree and taking this old one to the dump. Needless to say, it's perfect for our little corner in the den :)



 

 

If you're wondering why the bottom looks so bare, it is not because of my medioker decorating skills. In fact, it was decorated but we have lots of little hands who specialize in un-decorating. After a few broken ornaments I decided it was best to just put the rest of them up for another year. So I bought some ribbon and attempted to use it on the tree. I think pretty ribbon on a tree takes practice. It's clear I need more practice. This was my second attempt and I'm giving up for this year.

 

 

The mantel is my favorite thing to decorate! This wreath came from my mom a few years ago (I'm sure from a yard sale). The tall angel on the left is from Cracker Barrel a few years ago. The candelabra was a gift from my husband (from Target). I know there are lots of people who change up their mantel every year but I love mine so much that it's probably the only thing that is almost the same each Christmas. This year I added the red plate. I'll post a photo at the bottom from last Christmas.

 



 

I'm so proud of the new built ins that my husband put in this fall. These babies are completely from scratch! I designed, he built, I painted. I'm so happy with the way our den is coming together but we have a lot of work left.  



 

Here's a close up of the tree. My daughter was kind enough to notice that our snowman is falling off of the tree in this picture. Haha! See if you can find him!

 

 

Thanks to everyone for visiting :)

Here's a shot of last year's tree and mantel.