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Its the little things. . .

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Having your own home is WONDERFUL … but until you actually own a home you really never thing about the little things. I have lived in our home for about a year and never really noticed that the blinds on the front of the house didnt match. All of a sudden within the last week, It has really been bugging me.

Yesterday when I got off work, we went to the store and purchased MATCHING blinds… Woo-hoo! Never thought I would be so excited about that. But wait . . . there is another delimma. Because the original wood blinds have probably been on the window for some time now, the sun has gotten to them. The new blinds are richer in color and we will just have to wait for time to take its toll on them. Good thing the sun hits the front of the house the most! sorry for the picutre, the sun was rising in the back ground. you still get the point !

Yay for new blinds. In addition to that little annoyance, I have also began to really hate all the light switches, the doors, and the bi-folds around the house. We have started to replace all the switches and plugs to a ‘rocker’ style switch instead of the ole’ toggle switch. Not to mention this is some what of a dangerous DIY job !

I look forward to replacing the ALL the doors in the house NEXT ! What are your home improvements ?

Happy Weekend !!!!

Asking the girls

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I picked 6 close girls that I wanted to share this intimate day with, 2 being family and 4 being friends. This was one of first hurdles to get over since we started to plan our wedding. I seriously could have had several attendants but I was encouraged not to by several people, less is more! I love and adore all of my friends and wish I could have them all in the wedding.

I really wanted a fun, random way of asking my bridesmaids. I actually remembered this really cute idea I pinned on my wedding pinterest board.

Source: 2.bp.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest

I definitely used this same concept, however I chose my own wording. The letters on the outside of the boxes are the first initial of each bridesmaids name. Two of the boxes actually had their full name, only because I had each letter :0)

I made confetti out of BRIGHT printing paper I had in my scrapbook box. After the confetti came the tags that read, “I cant say I DO, with out YOU, Will you be my bridesmaid, ( one said maid of honor).

and last BUT not least, I added the special touch…. A RING POP … how appropriate :0) I thought it was the cutest idea and I think some of my bridesmaids did to ! I kept mine in the package because I was asking everyone at random times and did not need ants crawling in my house and car!

I look forward to introducing you to my bridal party, at least my side… Don is still in the making ! Happy Monday, and if you are like me and live in FLORIDA, try and stay dry !!!!

A little home project for organization !

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I have been wanting to do some organizing with my jewelry since we moved into our home. I have been on pinterest and found SEVERAL different and nifty ideas I could use. I wish I had enough jewelry to use all of the ideas. . . maybe one day! I had necklaces and bracelets laying , in, on, next to my big jewelry box, both night stands, my dresser and even hanging from my closet and bathroom doors. I was getting sick of it, and I surely know Don was!

This morning I was gathering somethings together and needed to close the bathroom door to get behind it. I noticed there was a nice, blank, hidden space where I could use one of the pinterest ideas. I pulled up the pin and discussed with Don to get his approval. We try and agree on everything that we do in the house.

Source: Uploaded by user via Kimberly on Pinterest

I thought it was a great way to hang the jewelry especially necklaces and bracelets do not get crimped and ruined. We purchased 2 cafe rods to match the bed room ( brushed nickel ). I was extremely eager to put them up. I usually let Don do all the leveling and hanging because I typically think everything is crooked and it always gives me a headache. As soon as we pulled in the garage, I grabbed the tools I needed and ran up stairs. I managed to get one side in perfectly however the second side did not go as planned. The angle I was coming from I kept slipping with the drill and hitting the freshly painted wall… Uh-oh!
I called for Don to come and help. He was able to get both rods in and secure as long as it took me to get one bracket up. I am so thankful for a handy man ! Although he did say I am not aloud to touch the drill any more. I am okay with that :) It turned out great.

Its easily hidden by the bathroom door which is open a majority of the time. It was a piece of cake  and not time consuming one bit. I am happy !

Happy Mothers Day !

Our First DIY

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One day I was sitting in our family room and got the itch to sand down the mantle and re stain OR paint it. I instantly pulled out our electric sander and began sanding. Don quickly stopped me so we could go to Home Depot to purchase all the items needed to finish this project. **Beware… the photos REALLY enhanced my wall color… i can assure you they are not that color***

When we started the project, we did not have a clue on how to stain wood. Naturally we asked the person at Home Depot what to purchase and the process of staining wood. He recommended  paint stripper, prestain, stain and protective laquer.

We got home and instantly painted the mantle with the stripper.  We both were a little excited that we weren’t going to have to put the leg work into sanding… boy were we wrong…or misinformed I should say

It only took off the clear laquer. The employee said it would strip the entire stain off the wood. I knew it sounded to good to be true…so for the next couple of days and a few curse words here and there, the mantle was fully sanded. For any one who is going to be sanding down any kind of wood with intricate grooves and frame work , I WOULD NOT SUGGEST USING THE PAINT STRIPPER ( Its really hard to remove from the small hard to reach areas).

After all of  Dons hard relentless work, I was second guessing whether I wanted to stain the mantle OR paint it white to match the molding around the floors. Three people suggested  to paint it white. One of those three being an interior designer. Well… Dons mother is also an interior designer and suggested for us to stain the mantle. At this point I am going crazy and I literally have the rest of my work day to decide, because when I got home from work we were going to begin staining. I called Don and talked to him about it, He was very quick to state, we did not do all of that sanding just to paint the darn thing.  I agreed and we were to continue our original plan.

We prestained and stained the mantle. Finally after a weeks worth of work we were getting to see what all this work was for.

I am really happy with how it turned out. The wood stain matches all the furniture we purchased for this room and adds richness. The tile on the other hand was done very poorly, and will need to be redone soon.

There were a few disadvantages to doing this …

1.We had freshly painted walls, during the sanding process the walls around the mantle were scratched and will need to be repainted ( See above photo) .

2.The tile within the mantle was so poorly done that the grout extends onto the mantle so when you are close up you can see stained grout.

3.Due to our lack of knowledge about staining, we purchased way to much pre stain and stain. We could have saved a few dollars knowing that a little goes along way. Oh well…

I am glad we ended up doing it, I am much happier with this mantle than the old mantle :0)

Happy Pi Day !!!