Summer in February? Yes Please!

While I hoped that the snow days we had (8 total) would be productive, they turned out to be just the opposite. We did nothing but lay around and make things more messy. This recent string of warm weather has given me the motivation I needed to get a few things done around here. I started outside!

We have one post on our back patio that was in desparate need of something. It started looking something like this:




Lots of cracks

 So I started by caulking all of the cracks and little holes. I used a latex paintable caulk and a metal putty knife.

I waited for it to dry and then painted a fresh coat of our outdoor paint.



Tada good as new!

 It was a pretty quick project, and it looks muuuuch better. Here's the before and after again...



While I was waiting for the caulking to dry, I took to the kitchen. We have a lovely glass cooktop, which I normally like.

The thing about the glass top is that if something spills on it and you cook again without cleaning it up... it's stuck. Forever and ever. So when we moved in, there were several cooked on spots.



  I tried cleaning them with everything possible. The problem is, anything too abrasive can scratch the glass forever. Sooooo... I went to Lowes and found this:

It goes on like lotion. You let it sit. And then "softly buff with a clean cotton rag"

Yeah right... it took a ton of elbow grease! But it was well worth it because check this out...



It looks so much better!!!!! I was pretty amazed.

All this motivation required a much bigger project - the "guest" bedroom. More like the "catch-all-crap" room. Since we moved in, if something didn't have a place, it landed in the front bedroom. Then one day a while ago, a friend needed to stay the night at the last minute. So I freaked out. And stuffed it all in the closet. Then Christmas rolled around and everything Christmas got dumped in the front bedroom. The poor room had been neglected long enough. Here it is in all of its finest.

From the doorway

The dreaded closet

From the other side of the room

I started with the closet because it is the biggest source of storage which is what we need this room for. I took everything out to start with. Now I feel like I need to explain something about this room... Someday (not any time soon) when we have a child this will be the nursery. So I made a decision when we moved that we weren't going to do anything to decorate this room until that time comes. So there were a few things that need to be done that I will wait to do until a later date. Okay, onto the closet.

There were several holes in that wall that I patched. The whole closet needs a fresh coat of paint - someday.

Good shelving on one side

And space on the other side

The majority of the stuff that I keep in this closet is my always growing crafting stuff. So I went shopping around the house and found some plastic drawers that weren't being used and filled it with crafting stuff.

It's so much better to have it all in one place!

Then filled it back up with everything from luggage to Christmas decorations to my sewing machine and step ladder.

Then I moved onto the room itself. The entertainment center (from our old living room) needed some TLC, and I threw away 2 trashbags full of crap! I also hung up some curtains that I had laying around.

And there's actually a floor under there!!!

Much better! So while I was in the decluttering mood, I moved next door to the office.

The major thing that needed to be done was the filing. I have a bad habit of just stacking and stacking and stacking until I can't find anything. So I took everything out of the "to file" basket and made ORGANIZED stacks :)

The "during" stage

Much better

and everything got put back in order

It's been a very productive weekend! Hope you are enjoying the beautiful weather and getting some stuff done around the house! (I am ashamed to say we just took our Chrsitmas lights down this weekend).

Blizzard 2011!!!!

This storm has been hyped up pretty well - so much so that schools and businesses were closing before a single flurry fell from the sky. So we were expecting nothing short of a BLIZZARD! The ice started last night, and we got a really thick layer of ice before the snow ever started. We ventured out at about 11:00am, and the dogs hated it just as much as I did! Here are some funny pics!

The back door to our bedroom

Bentley wasn't excited at all

At one point he just stopped and started crying

His poor little legs kept getting stuck (that lawnchair didn't make it indoors before the blizzard)

He's trekking!

Huey was outside for a total of 12 seconds

Back to the house

He wasn't interested

The view from inside the front door

The snow drifts were CRAZY

Our street - abandoned and cold

Home Sweet (snow covered) Home!

The International Finals Rodeo

Charlie and I have some pretty awesome people on our life. Randy and Suzie Gilbert who make sure that we always have something fun to do, and Kashen and Katie Urban who are always there to do something fun with us! (and most of the time, at the drop of a hat)

This weekend, the Gilbert's gave us tickets to the IFR at the State Fair. We took Kashen and Katie, and we had a blast!

We had awesome seats!

Katie and I both got these adorable flower head bands :)

The New Entry Table

I've been complaining about how boring our entry way is for a long time. Well, since we moved in. It needed something. I've been looking for an entry table for about 2 months now with no luck. I either didn't like them, they were too expensive, or they were to deep for the entry way. This table is actually a sofa table, but who cares. I got it at Garden Ridge for $50.

Before... boring

After - I haven't decided what accessories I want to keep for sure, but it's not so boring!

It took like 2 minutes to assemble, and it's super sturdy!

Much better - I'm working on deciding what I really want to do with our mantel so when I make that decision, I will know for sure what I'm going to decorate with in the entry. I also think I need a table like this in our living room in our empty spot. Remember?

I think a rectangular table would be good with a lamp and what not. Thoughts?

Cowboy Blocks

I knew about a year ago that I wanted to try my hand at this little craft. And boy am I glad I finally got around to it! I LOVE THESE LITTLE BLOCKS! This first go round was quite the learning experience though. I made them a little too big (they take up our entire mantel), and I wanted to give this first set to my mom (they are going to take up her entire windo sill at work, but oh well).

It started with a trip to Lowe's that was originally for the boys (Charlie and James), but Annie Jo and I tagged along to play in the lumber yard. I learned what a 2x4 was. And I learned that they aren't all straight. When I got the boards home, I also learned that some of them aren't REALLY 2x4s. Some are 2x3.9s. Anyway - at Lowe's and Home Depot, they will cut the wood for you in whatever dimensions you need (fo' free!) But when it became our turn, and Charlie got his plywood cut, our little wood cutter guy wasn't exactly the friendliest so I decided it wasn't the right time to tell him I needed 3- 6 in pieces, 2- 5 in pieces, and 2- 5.5 inch pieces. We just left with the 2x4.

So I had to convince Charlie to cut the wood for me - which he surprisingly agreed to. But only because he sucks at it. He cut them all wonky and cockeyed. Next time, I will just politely ask the man at Lowe's to do it. Their crazy monster of a saw cuts the wood so painlessly. Here we go!

The wood was cut into varying height pieces

I spray painted the backs and sides to make them a little cleaner

Then I mod podged different patterned scrapbook paper onto the fronts of them. I used a kitchen scraper tool to work the air bubbles out.



I cut the letters out using my AMAZING Silhouette Digital Craft Cutter (SOOOO EASY)



I mod podged the letters on, and TA-DA! Love them.

I have one more embellishment I want to try to add, so there may be an update to this post in the future. Like I said though, these are going to my mom (if she wants them - they are a little wonky). I have plans for some Choctaw Yellowjackets blocks too, so you might get to see another set of these - now that I've worked the kinks out!