It's been over a month so I guess it's time to blog again. I've been busy building, painting and rearranging but before all of that, yesterday was Kirstin's birthday.
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| What a beauty our little girl has turned out to be! |
I surprised her with a Bacon Bouquet. She loved it. Lest you think I'm crazy, she's really into bacon right now. (Don't ask, I have no idea.) I didn't come up with the idea- I saw it on a blog I follow, Our Best Bites. It was an idea for Fathers Day.
And since she wouldn't tell me what she wanted for dinner I had to make birthday cake pancakes (add a cup of cake mix in the pancake mix and sprinkles). They were really good- and double chocolate sprinkle cookies which I have eaten entirely too many of and they were also stupendous. I found it all on Pinterest which has been a blessing and a curse.
We sure love Kirstin and her high energy, love of life, spontaneity, sweet spirit and humor. What a blessing to have spent the last 17 years with this girl wonder.
OK- on to crafty things......
When our home was built we had wire shelves in all the closets as well as the pantry.
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| Before |
While economical, they aren't the the sturdiest shelves, so last year I built my first wood shelf in our hall closet and this year I redid the pantry. I still have the trim on the top shelf to paint but otherwise it's done!
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| After |
It didn't give me any more room but I no longer have to worry about items tipping over or the shelves sagging because my flour is too heavy.
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| I loved this half shelf height. It works great for al my baking pans that are weird shaped or sized. |
I also incorporated a higher bottom shelf to put my buckets of sugar and flour into the pantry. Emil was very happy as they had been hanging out in the corner of the dining room for years.
I totally feel empowered now and want to do all the closets. First on the list is my bathroom closet which is sagging under the weight of heavy shampoo.
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| I always forget to take a" before" picture! |
The dining room that has been red the past 6 or so years and it was time for a change. I decided I wanted something lighter so I painted it Distinct Natural Taupe. (Found the paint swatch at Walmart but got the paint at Home Depot. Martha Stewart) It's a nice neutral color and has been a wonderful way to dispel the winter blues!
We went to Ikea a couple weekends ago on the way home from a temple trip and found a buffet for the dining room that has a tiny scratch and was $150 off. I had been looking for a buffet like this for years!
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| Sweet! Thank you very much! I'll take that! |
Now I'm in the process of selling my dining room table and 10 chairs that go with it and getting something smaller and less formal. When it's all done I'll post a better picture of the entire room.
I have my eye on a project that I would love to try to do but I'm not sure my skill set is up to snuff. Actually this photo was the inspiration to my entire dining room redo.
I just love that table. I don't know why but I feel like it wants to be a member of my family. I'm not usually this way about furniture so it's strange to me but I love it.
I also want to make bookcases like this for our Board Room (aka Study, where all of Emil's surfboards live) . Well minus the pink backing but some color backing. Emil's on board so once he's mobile again that project should move pretty quickly. These are just 3 bookcases from Ikea with crown moulding on the tops and bottom. I love the custom look.
We got the center bookshelf when we were at Ikea along with the buffet but they were out of the 2 side bookcases so, for now, we'll have to hold off on that. I couldn't get Emil to agree to paint the study. Oh well- it'll make the bookcase "pop" when it's all said and done.
And I did get my first project from my New Years Resolution done. A photo scrapbook of Scotland. Yea!
Oh, last but not least, Emil had his surgery done on his other Achilles this past Friday. It was earlier than expected but since his last surgery went so well and he was a "model patient" they went ahead with this one. Of course his entire motivation is such that he'll be able to be out in the water this summer surfing. It's gone better than the last. I think that is because he knew what to expect and how far he could push himself. Yesterday was rough though. He gets nauseous from the painkillers they give him and he could hardly sit up for 5 minutes without feeling like he was going to be sick. He's not good at lying around and doing nothing. Today he's going to try to make it without any painkillers and hopefully it'll be a better day.
What fun things are you doing for Valentines Day?
