Catching My Breath

I have finally taken a moment to catch my breath (for a second or two...ha!) today since we move-in to our new home tomorrow.  Allow me to under-exaggerated the situation and say that I am TIRED.

Here's the 'dealio' about the past few days:
Monday:  We closed on the house at 3:00pm, and walked into the house at 4:00pm.  We unloaded packed up things from his car, my car, and his mom's car.  We cleaned all the kitchen baseboards, mopped the floor, removed all the light fixtures and switchplates, and put down painter's tape.  We then proceeded to paint the Kitchen with its first coat of paint.  This wouldn't have been so bad if the Kitchen was a normal sized Kitchen, but it is two rooms in one.  The previous owners took down the wall between the Dining Room and Kitchen to create one large room.  They (and we) are going to use the old Dining Room area as a Kitchen Lounge/Coffee Bar.  This process lasted until 9:00pm.  My mother-in-law thankfully brought us our first meal (ARBY'S), which I had the foresight to take a photo of us eating!

Tuesday:  My husband has to work this week, so I was left to my own devices as far as prepping the house was concerned.  I brought over another car load of things to unload, and then I cleaned the all the kitchen appliances inside and out.  I then started to clean the section of cabinets closest to the stove, which took forever.  The previous owners must have:  A.  Never Cleaned the Cabinets in the entire time they lived there and B. Cooked with a LOT of grease and oil.  That section of cabinets felt like someone had sprayed PAM spray on them and let it soak in.  It was g-r-o-s-s.
I also went to the hardware store to buy another can of Kitchen paint and proceeded to paint the whole thing again myself, for a second coat.  THEN I went and tutored a 2nd grader, and I returned an hour later to clean the windows until my husband got off of work, and we unloaded his car full of stuff.  Eventually, we went to the store to get paint for the bedroom, and my husband prepped the bedroom for painting.  We went home at 8:00pm.

Wednesday:  I unloaded another car full of stuff at the house.  I tend put down painter's tape in the bedroom, and painted the entire thing.  Thankfully it covered in one coat.  I also cleaned another section of the Kitchen Cabinets, cleaned the toilets/light fixtures/mirrors, and vacuumed the whole house.  My husband got off of work, and we unloaded his car.  He tend put all the light fixtures and switchplates back up in the Kitchen.  We went home early at 7:00pm.

Thursday:  I unloaded yet another car full of things (yay! *sense my sarcasm).  I wiped down the inside of all the closets since they had some dust and cobwebs.  I cleaned all the sinks and another section of the Kitchen  cabinets while I waited for the closets to dry.  I then proceeded to paint both closets in the Master Bedroom and the Linen closet.  Afterwards I got cleaned up and went to tutor my 2nd grade student.  When I returned I helped hubby unload his car....again.  We moved a ceiling fan to another room, and put up our DIY Chandelier in the bedroom (I'll divulge about that later on).  We finally ate dinner on a card table with a random assortment of chairs, plastic utensils, and no plates, which his mom brought (such a sweetie).  Then hubby removed all the switchplates in the Living Room, and I started to put down painter's tape until I ran out.  We left fairly early at 8:00pm.

Today:  I have started to load my car (are you
seeing a trend?) and I'm doing laundry here at my Mother/Father-in-laws
house.  Eventually I'll unload more stuff at the house, buy more painter's tape for the Living Room and put it down, and clean the rest of the kitchen cabinets.  I'll put all the shelves back up in the closets since the paint is dry and start putting in clothes, shoes, towels, and sheets.  Then I'll start painting the Living Room until hubby comes to help me.  *BIG BIG BIG BIG SIGH*

My Family

Tomorrow:  We move ALL of our stuff in with family/friends.  I am only looking forward to 2 Things tomorrow.  #1  We will have our LULA
DOG back!








#2  I will get to spend a well deserved night on  my Tempurpedic bed again- I seriously have issues about loving that bed so much.  I'd definitely recommend splurging on one.

DIY Coffee Bar Mug Shelf

As I've mentioned previously, my husband created a Coffee Bar for our Kitchen (Found in a Blurry Photo on this Post).  Well, after I mentioned the idea to him and shoved Pinterest inspiration photos in his face while grinning like a madman.  :-)  However, I wanted a cute rack to hang above part of the Coffee Bar to hold decorative Mugs to add to the theme and decor.

I aimlessly searched around the web for inspiration, but I wasn't quite finding anything that suited my fancy.  Finally I gave in and decided to sketch the idea I had in mind, but I couldn't quite find a photo of.

First of all, I have loved finding DIY Kitchen Decor online, which used real forks, spoons, and knives. Like the cute mirror below from FlamingoToes.com (tutorial).
 I ended up sketching a flat shelf with a decorative lip (using a type of molding).  I drew the shelf having a longer flat panel, which would be flush with the wall to attach curved utensils (to use as hooks for the mugs).  I liked the sketch, and I liked the idea in my head.  However, I wasn't sure if hubby could bring my inspiration to life.  He delightfully surprised me.

Coffee Bar Shelf minus the Hooks

He ended up using leftover wood scrapes and molding from the Coffee Bar Project to create this....

Well, that is all well and good, but we needed hooks for my cute black mugs (with a little white bird perched on the handle!).

We took a trip to Goodwill to find some spoons for our project.  Lo and Behold Goodwill had a Spoon shortage. . . soooo we tried ANOTHER Goodwill, and they were suffering from a Spoon shortage as well.  SHOOT!  What the HECK are people doing with all the Spoons!?!?

We finally gave in and went to Wally-World (Wal-Mart) - which is not my favorite place, in search of spoons on the cheap.  We ended up finding a bundle of  Four Mainstay's Spoons for $0.94.  Woo-hoo!  Thank You Wally-World...now get me the heck out of there.

We took our beloved spoons home.  Hubby and I contemplated which end of the spoons would be best to drill through.  I wanted the Spoon End to be hanging outward, but I was worried the small end would split when drilled through.  We figured the spoons were cheap enough to experiment with, so we (he) drilled through the handle of the spoon anddddd....

SUCCESS!!!

Here's a delightful side view, for your pleasure...

See The Cute White Birds on the Mug Handles?

I'm pumped!  I think I'll set my decorative twine letter "T" on top of the shelf (Found Here).  I haven't quite decided what else to put on the shelf, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.

*Btw,  on the side view Mug Shelf Photo is a sneak peak at the DIY Headboard we made, I described the materials and tutorial (Here), but I wanted to wait for a final unveil when we set up our bedroom fully.

We close on OUR new House TODAY!  I'm SO excited, but I'm MORE excited to get our dog Lula back (this weekend).  I start painting our new kitchen tomorrow...wish me luck!

Rosette Neck Pillow

I felt motivated and inspired to try my hand at another pillow.  I saw a cute tutorial on Pinterest for a Rosette Pillow (they call it a Fat Quarter).  The tutorial can be found at The House of Smiths.  It seemed simple enough for a sewing novice like myself...so I took a stab at it

AND. . . . . . .

TA-DA!  MY ROSETTE PILLOW!

I thought I did pretty good for a first time attempting such a thing.  I think it will look gorgeous as a neck pillow on our bed.  Our duvet is white paisley with grey sheets.  I want to have an assortment of different grey and white pillows filling the bed.

My mother-in-law (who I'm pretty certain was a Personal Shopper + Interior Decorator in another life) has an assortment of items in their basement, which I have been given free reign to take, repurpose, and use for our own home.  I found a 4 inch tall letter "T", which is our last initial.   Perfect decor for our Coffee Bar except it was a BRIGHT BRASSY GOLD.  Bleck!  My solution?  A ball of leftover twine + hot glue + burnt fingertips = Cute Little Letter "T"!

Eiffel Tower Piggy Bank & Twine "T" Letter

Check out how cute it looks next to the Eiffel Tower Piggy Bank I found at Burlington Coat Factory (I figured it would be great for the kitchen because my husband always empties his pockets and puts spare change on the counter -UGH!  The Eiffel Tower Piggy Bank solves my problem and adds a cute decor touch!)

Anddddddddd Another View

Under the Influence

Lately I've been under the influence of the decorating bug.  We close on our house Monday, so my ideas have been going into overdrive.

My husband and I created a headboard for our bedroom, which looks amazing.  I don't want to upload a photo of it until you can see the full picture with it actually attached to the bed.  We bought wood from Lowes for $11.25, Painters Canvas for $13.00, Foam Batting for $9.99, Nail Head Trim for $17.99, and a Full Size Bed Cushion for $13.99.  We already had the staple gun and wood working tools to cut the wood.  Our headboard (which I saw a replica of at Pier One for $399.00) only cost us $66.22 + a few hours of gathering supplies and labor.  SCORE!

Our Kitchen (Not a fan of the Wall Color or Tiles!)

We followed the tutorial found here:  Centsational Girl Upholstered Headboard Tutorial

I didn't intend for our Kitchen to have a Paris Vibe, but as I collect more elements it seems to be heading in that direction.

I also bought fabric for our kitchen windows.  Keep in mind I haven't touched a sewing machine since my introductory lesson in 7th grade Home Economics...soooooo.... I did the majority of the measuring and cutting, while my mother-in-law manned the sewing machine.

Sitting Area Valance

Grape Haze

Kitchen Sitting Area

During our previous visit to our home we measured the windows, so my husband created wood brackets to fit the windows.  We have one small window over the sink and a window in the kitchen sitting area (used to be a dining room, which the former owners removed when they redid the kitchen).We are going to repaint the Kitchen Bluish Purple (Grape Haze), Put our Coffee Bar where the baker's rack is, and new window treatments.  We decided to hang the curtains higher and wider than the window to make them appear larger.


My in-laws are giving us two large comfy blue arm chairs (not

the prettiest, but they'll do for now) for the Kitchen Sitting Area.  I braved the sewing machine and made pillow to match the curtains.

The Canvas on the chair is the completed version of the DIY Wall Art I wrote a tutorial on.  The Spoon is some of our wall art for the Kitchen.  It has a matching fork and knife.

Sitting Area Pillows for the Blue Chairs

Below is a photo of our Coffee Bar (it will go where the Baker's Rack is).  My crafty husband made it - It is very detailed, whereas I wasn't even able to take an unblurry photo of it!  I purchased numbered organization boxes from Pier One for the openings to store small cluttery kitchen items.   I drew plans for a Decorative Shelf/Coffee Mug Holder, and he made it to go above the Coffee Bar as well.  God I love having a handy husband!

Blurry Coffee Bar Photo

The Parson Chairs also have a French Script Pattern on them, but they will be the head chairs in the dining room, which I figured will help the color palette flow throughout the house.  My husband is going to tackle making a dining room table (fingers crossed!)

I can't wait to get all these elements together and see a final picture of the finished product!

Monster-In-Law

As you know, my husband and I are living with his parents while we wait for our house closing.  I assure you that I am counting each day until the second we move out.  Granted, I love his mom to pieces.  (Odd that I would love my Mother-in-Law, right?  As I thought that was supposed to be the mortal enemy of a daughter-in-law)

My Father-in-Law annoys me, frustrates me, and angers me until my blood feels like its boiling.  He is charming and funny when he wants to be, which isn't the majority of the time.
He is irritable and on edge at all times.  He barks at his family over the smallest things.  He has caused his wife and sons to walk around him on eggshells, and I hate him for it.
He is extremely lazy when it comes to spending any time with his family.  He wakes up at 3-4 am and goes to bed each night after dinner (Tonight he went into his bedroom and shut the door at 6pm).  He doesn't speak to anyone when he comes home, sits in his LazyBoy, watches TV, and plays games on his computer.  He expects his wife to serve him dinner in his LazyBoy.  He won't get up and join the family at the table, except on Sundays.

Instances:
*My husband hurt his leg while doing outside landscaping work for his father (because his Dad is too lazy to do it).  My husband was getting ice to put on a large bruise.  His father YELLED at him for "Taking All The Ice".  (He was angry because he wanted enough ice for his Bacardi and Cokes that he drinks)

*My husband and I were doing the outside landscaping work.  His Dad wanted to haul it away.  We reluctantly bagged it up to put it in the back of our NEW SUV because his Dad didn't want to put the bags in HIS car.  Then his Dad proceeded to slam my SUV trunk REPEATEDLY because it wouldn't shut (something was obviously in the way).  My husband yelled at him to stop slamming the trunk.  His Dad's comment was, "You always tore up my car when you were younger", and he proceeded to try slamming the trunk closed.  I finally yelled at him, "PLEASE STOP DOING THAT TO MY CAR.  I WOULDN'T DO THAT TO YOURS!"  Finally, he quit.  He never did apologize.  He filled my SUV up with a full tank of gas instead.  It irked me that #1 He didn't respect his son's property enough, #2 Didn't respect his son's wishes, #3 He thinks its okay to treat someone else's stuff poorly because isn't a luxury model like his.  He is rude and selfish.

*I pulled a cup out of the kitchen cabinets to get a drink.  A plastic cup accidentally fell out and hit the kitchen floor.  His Dad immediately yelled from his LazyBoy, "WHAT WAS THAT?"  Wow... a cup... chill out...it was an accident.  It causes his family to walk on eggshells around him.

*He complained to my husband that I was doing "too many loads of laundry".  Therefore, I've adjusted my laundry schedule.  I do laundry when he isn't home, so he doesn't see how much laundry I do.  I still do the same amount, but now he can't complain about it.

*He complained to my husband I left laundry in the washer too long.  The washer timer went off while he was there, and I was running an errand.  I was going to switch the laundry when I got back.  Once again, another reason to do laundry when he isn't home.

*He complained to my husband that I put food containers in the recycling bin.  FINE!  I won't recycle.

*He complained that I filled up the recycling (inside) bin, and I should have emptied it into the big bin in the garage.  Guess what Sherlock... if you see it full, how about you get up off of your lazy, fat ass and empty it yourself?

*I left the garage door open because I knew he would be home soon.  He scolded my husband that I left the garage door open.  Okay, I'll leave it shut for you.

*He complained our dog peed on their carpet....over two years ago when she stayed here during our engagement trip.  She isn't even staying here right now because he won't let her.  Therefore, why the heck is he STILL complaining about her?!  Not to mention, it's a DOG... it was an ACCIDENT!  I keep wondering aloud (in front of my husband and mother-in-law) how he will react when we have children and they accidentally spit-up on the carpet...spill milk...drop food on the floor...play loudly.  If he yells at them for doing NORMAL children things I will NOT have him TERRORIZE them the way he has done his wife and sons.  They have completely adapted their lives to accommodate his selfish, lazy, and super controlling way of life.  It is completely unacceptable.  I wouldn't tolerate it if I was married to him.  I told my husband flat out, "If you act like that when you're older you can bet that I won't deal with it.  I'll divorce you".

*My husband purchased wood and made a sideboard/hutch for a Coffee Bar in our new home, which I'll have to take a photo of later because it's awesome!  His Dad complained about the sawdust it created in the garage, even though my husband cleaned it out afterwards.  His Dad didn't even comment on the good work my husband was doing...his only comment was, "You'd better clean all that shit up!"  Really?  Do you think your son is 10 years old still?  Do you think he needs to be reminded at almost 30 years old to clean up after himself?  What an ignorant ass.

*His wife has to brush her teeth downstairs at the kitchen sink before bed.  She isn't allowed to brush her teeth in the master bathroom because it will wake him up, and he will yell at her.  She goes to bed at 9:30 pm, like a normal person.

*These are only a FEW examples of instances while we have been staying here the past month and a half.

The longer we are here, the more irritable my husband gets.  I can tell he is boiling over.  He told me yesterday, "I can't wait to move out of here, so I don't have to deal with him.  I can't wait to not see him for a long time"  How terrible that your children think that about you. . .
I wish I could vent about it to my husband, but obviously nobody appreciates their spouse talking poorly about parent.  However, he knows how I feel.  I agree with him when he says something, but I try to keep my more "colorful" statements about his Dad to myself.

His wife says its because he's stressed at work and brings it home.  It's an excuse that I don't accept.