A little DIY Action

So I've always been told "Courtney, you're so crafty!" by friends and family, especially through high school and college. I will admit I love a good craft or three, and I'm a paper & pen junkie, but I'm really just beginning to dip my toes into the whole DIY world. Mr. Bee is pretty darn good at getting his hands dirty and producing wonderful results. Just within the past two weeks, he has constructed a storage building in our backyard for our lawnmower and tools he doesn't frequently use. {*More on that later, this is about MY project!* :)}

Some time ago we were out perusing flea markets and yard sales, and my eyes spied a lovely little footstool. (Yes, we sometimes feel like Grandma and Gramps, looking at flea markets! Mos of the time, we are the younges LOL) My wallet smiled too, because if memory serves correctly, I believe I only shelled out about $5.00-$7.00 for the thing. It's been so long ago that I don't have or just can't find a picture of how she originally looked in all her circa 1992 glory. I will say she had a dark cherry stain and country blue cushion.

Here's a picture of the cushion, a' la Home Interior 1992:

In other words, "it ain't my style!"

So what's a DIY girlie to do? I grabbed a can of spray paint and a yard of much cuter fabric and got to work!

Step 1: PAINT-

My weapon of choice: Krylon Indoor/Outdoor White Gloss. Simple as that. I will say that I had previously painted the legs with a different type of spraypaint, and it was an ugly flat color. So I guess it sort of served as my primer, ha! So really this was my second go-round with getting this footstool back into action!

Step 2: FABRIC-
Next, I began to cover the cushion with my new fabric while I waited on the paint to dry. I completed this project on my front porch while my daughter played nearby. The sky was overcas, so the pics are a little blueish. I basically layed the cushion over my lap and wrapped the fabric around it. I then used Mr. Bee's staple gun to staple the fabric to the bottom of the cushion.

Stapled around the corners:

The newly re-covered cushion with my handy staple gun:

~Voila!~

The finished project:

(So proud I actually started and finished a project, even a small one like this, ha!)

I have the perfect spot for this little jewel...our home office/treadmill room :)

Have a great Wednesday! :)

An Office Story

Well, now that I'm back for a third time (!), I figured I would start with a little home project. An entire room makeover, actually. I have no idea how long this will take, but I'm so excited. My brother-in-law lived with us from November through just a few weeks ago, so I emptied the room of all furniture and I'm ready to reclaim our 3rd bedroom. No longer will it be used as a guest room, but as an office. I'm a part-time photographer on the side while working full time and also pursuing my Master of Arts in Teaching degree, so I really need a place to be organized so I can work more efficiently. I also have a 17 month old sweet beautiful baby girl, so it also needs to be somewhat kid-friendly.

I'd love to buy a simple white or cream (kid friendly, right? lol) writing desk and build the room around that one piece. I want simplicity and organization. I don't want some big heavy "executive" piece that weighs down the entire room. The room has a vaulted ceiling and is painted a light yellow, so I want the room to feel light and airy, and comfy as well.

Here are a few ideas of what I want my overall "look" to be:

Josephine Antique White Writing Desk, found at Overstock.com

Here are a few other inspiration photos:

I hope that that Mister and I can agree on a desk to put in here...we seem to have differing ideas on what we should buy...hahaha. I'll just have to work on him a little!

Green Guilt...

Source

I have to get something off my chest...I've been feeling a little guilty for a while...

Since the 2007 release of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," everyone has taken a much greater notice of our Mother Earth and how we've been treating her...Which is great. Awesome.

I'm all for Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

And cue the green guilt:

We don't eat organic. {No where even close, actually.}

My 5 month old daughter doesn't sport cute cloth diapers, and I don't make her pureed food. She also doesn't wear organic onesies, or sleep on an organic mattress.

We both drive a Toyota, but not a Prius, that's for sure. {And we both have over a 30 minute commute!}

Sometimes, we're known to drink our water from a plastic bottle! And when I go to the grocery store, those nice, eco-friendly totes that I have bought {I promise!}, are left, forgotten at home on the counter or under the sink.

We don't compost. {Even though we've discussed it, since we'd like to start a garden next summer.}

I may wear Bare Escentuals, but that's about as far as my green beauty routine goes...Even though I do love some Burt's Bees every now and again.

In saying all of that, I do try to contribute at least some...Those plastic grocery bags {I can hear the gasps} that I inevitably come home with every week, are stored up and then returned to the store so they can recycle them.

I'm also working on using up all of my household cleaners to be replaced with greener alternatives, such as Clorox's GreenWorks line of cleaning supplies. I've even tried the baking soda+vinegar mix of cleaning our tub, but my hubby didn't appreciate the smell too much. Or the fact that I also cleaned out his lunchbox with this concoction...

I guess I've just been feeling a little guilty while reading about how so many others are choosing to go green, and doing a fantastic job at it.

So, forgive me, Mother Earth. I'm doing the best I can, dang it!

Outdoor Upgrades, Part II

Our Friday holiday was spent updating the front landscaping...I say the term "our" very loosely, as I was basically the ice water runner...LOL. Nick's BFF Matt came over to help, and baby girl and I watched from the side-lines. They started by ripping out the scraggly boxwoods that were barely hanging on...

The before-before: {This was before we installed the concrete curbing.}

In progress: the new yellow bushes are in the ground, and our weeping cherry white snowfall tree is hanging out on the corner... next up: more lava rock!

This was mine and Ava's view at one point...LOL:

{Just hangin' out with Mom...} I kinda <3> her!

Before:

After:



More pictures to come later! :)

How I Spent my Wednesday Afternoon...

I'm a huge Bakerella wannabe! {I love her stuff, she's incredible!}

Now-Who wants to come and pick these up so I don't have to stare at them all week and weekend?

PS-For something even sweeter, check out MrsRealLife's awesome summer giveaway! She's got some super cute stuff that is perfect for the sweet summertime! Contest can be found here!

PPS-Happy July!

Outdoor Upgrades...Part 1

In an effort to beautify our home, we decided to go with concrete curbing to add to our "curb appeal." LOL The man who owns this curbing company actually lives in the next subdivision over, so it was really convenient for the both of us! Here are some pics of the project in progress, after the curbing was complete. This weekend, we'll be filling in with more lava rock and hopefully some more greenery and pretty flowers! :)

This area needs the most help...the boxwoods need to be removed, as well as the unknown dark purple bush in the middle. The curb man suggested something taller, such as a weeping cherry tree, over there on the corner of the house where he brought the curb around. Any suggestions on what else we can put there in front of the big window?

This tree will also have some pretty lava rock put down around it as well.

I sense sore backs and blistered fingers this weekend! We'll have to be sure to slather on the sunscreen! Ouch!

Any big 4th of July plans for you all?

Cozy Bedrooms

A 'la Country Living style...take a look at these beauties!
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This would be a beautiful room for Ava when she's a little older...



This one look so plush and relaxing...love the little children's chair at the foot of the bed...



BEAUTIFUL wall paper...I absolutely love the pink/grey/white color combo...so sophisticated and elegant, but still comfortable!



I am in love with this chair:


There are a total of 70 pictures of beautiful bedrooms at Country Living! Check them out for some inspiration if you're looking for a bedroom re-do.

Summer Lovin'

I don't know about you, but when summer eventually (FINALLY!) rolls around, I start getting the itch to have lots of BBQ parties with our friends...I love entertaining and having people over, and getting everything all decorated and set up for the bash is my favorite part...We're fortunate our back deck is covered with shade, b/c the sun sets in the front of the house, so it's always nice and shaded in our back yard on those warm and cozy evenings...

I found some decorating inspiration below...I'd like to pull some ideas from these for our own soirees! LOL

These beautiful arrangements can be found at HGTV, and they are to die for...

This first one I love because of the calming, cool color combo...the white furniture, pale seashells, and light blue plates and glasses...It's absolutely beautiful!


I love the bright punch of colors used in this also...The big leafy fern, the adorable throw pillows, and the reds used on the tablescape...I love how they mixed in different colors and patterns...It all works so well together!



This one is a nice and simple setting for an intimate dinner affair...It wouldn't be too hard to buy a few different small pillows for your chairs, and have a couple of brightly colored chargers to place your settings on...I love it. (Having the pool nearby wouldn't be bad, either!)

Hope you have a fabulous kick-off to summer!

Do you have any easy entertaining tips or tricks?

Weekend Warriors-Part I, cont'd

As promised...here are the before and afters of our little weekend landscaping project!


Wow, these are kind of embarassing! Last years mulch had faded soooo much!

The damn weeds had totally taken over the place...you can't get rid of 'em!

And...drum roll please...a few boxwoods, grass, and Zinnia's later...plus a couple Bobcat scoops of mulch...

Our edging needs a little "neatening" up, and we need some grass seed in places, as well as cleaning up *under* the top level of the deck, {hence the concrete blocks} but I think it's a big improvement from before! (As do my sunburnt and painful shoulders. *tear*)

Budget breakdown may or may not follow...lol.

Birthday goodies comin' up next! :) (I'm now officially 24!)

Weekend Warriors-Part I

This weekend was alllll about the landscaping in our backyard...

Last summer, the hubby built an addition onto our back deck, which extended it to a whole other level...so nice and roomy. We did minimal landscaping around it, basically just throwing down some mulch, a few stepping stones, a few azalea bushes and called it a day.

Not for long! We started by pulling out the old and dead bushes, and then putting down a fresh layer of landscaping paper over that old layer of mulch to further help keep the weeds out. We layed fresh black mulch bought from a local family owned landscaping company. (They only sell mulch and rock, so then we headed to rusty trusty Lowe's.) We bought several Winter Gem Boxwoods, some "grassy" plants, and two other bushes, can't remember their name right now! What a difference they make! I also bought several hot pink Zinnia plants to add some color to our predominately green color scheme. We then re-laid the stepping stones coming off the bottom of our deck...and let me tell you, this took 2 days! We both have the sunburn to prove it, even after SPF 50 applied several times over!

I'll have a list and a budget break down as well as before and after pictures in a later post, so stay tuned!

Hope ya'll had a great weekend!

Ch-Ch-Chaaaanggess..

I am dying to get my hands on our living room...we have such huge furniture, it swallows up the whole room, and there's really only this one way to arrange the furniture...it's starting to get on my nerves...

I love our big brown couch, it's so comfortable...but it's so...brown. I'm done with the red striped curtains and the red paisley pillows...it's past time for a change! Here's a few options I'm thinking of...

This first one can be found at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I love the colors...

These tab top window panels are also nice...

The following two are from JCPenney.

This one is at Kohl's.

I sense a shopping weekend coming up while Mr. Bee is away visiting family...across the country in Seattle, WA. He may just come home to a new home!