Holy thrifty find!

It was one of those finds where you look around the store to see if you are on candid camera or something. I took the tag right off and RAN to the check out.

Headboard, footboard and rails.

$10!!!!!

Ten dollars. Ten! This bed is pretty much why I check Salvation Army twice a week. It will go in Ellie's new room. She's still in her crib converted to a toddler bed so she needs a regular bed soon. I plan on just putting a piece of thick plywood over the rails then the mattress (which I did not and would not buy second hand) over that so she's not too far off the ground.

Ten buck, people!

I was going to go white. But her walls will be soft yellow. Now I'm thinking bright yellow. If she hates it, I can always paint it again, right?

Fall table runner

One more thing off the to do list!

Why I save things/junk.

Our dining room, after the previous owner moved out.

I had a hard time even finding this picture. I first looked in my 2007 pictures. Then I realized we'd taken these in December 2006. John's parents bought this house from the lady who had lived here for 30 years. We bought it from them in June 2007. John's Step-Mom had the carpet pulled out the day THEY closed on the house. It was that bad. Ugh. John tore out the baseboard heater and the corner "cabinet" before we moved in so that the carpet could be replaced. Notice the "cabinet" doesn't have a back to it.

"Can you scoot over, Ellie?"
"This okay, Mommy?"
"Sure."

We saved all the parts to the cabinet to use a scrap wood. This door has been sitting in the shed for 3.5 years! I am so glad we saved it. (Currently kicking myself for trashing the chandelier even though a couple of globes were broken. I so could have replaced them and spray painted the darn thing!)

I decided to use the door finally. How funny that it is the first thing our guests will see. I also got a new lamp (need to hide the cord!), centered the table, and got the doorknob installed. Still need to put up the new light fixture.

The lamp was $12 at Big Lots of all places. It is mercury glass and super cool looking. The wreath is a Dollar Tree novel that the girls and I tore apart and stained with coffee to make the paper look old. Apparently there was a similar wreath (not for sale I don't think) in a Pottery Barn catalog a while back.

I think this room is my favorite in the house now.

Next up: Ellie's room. I have paint chips for the walls and her dresser. I have curtains and a little cork board that I fancied up with fabric and ribbon. Kicking her out of our room is bittersweet, but the poor thing doesn't even have a room of her own. It's currently the junk room.

My friend Karen says I need to get to Christmas crafting, but I'm ignoring her and doing more house stuff!

Slow, slow going.

My log cabin blanket is roughly 29 inches by 31 inches. Each strip now takes about 2 hours to pick up the stitches, knit 18 rows and bind off. I am a slow knitter. I'm hoping to get 2 more strips of each color done before I run out of yarn.

Ellie's hat is done and already being worn:). Some people tell me she doesn't look like a baby anymore. Hmmm. She's still MY baby. A very, very independent one.


Mary loves her hat. I think that I'll make them new ones every year until they don't want them from me anymore. I need to find Mary's from last year and save it for her. (Poor Ellie didn't get one last year. Sorry, Ellie!)

I started....2?.....3? more projects and now realize I need to start my Christmas knitting/sewing too. I wish I could shut my brain off sometimes.

I sewed!

John's gone on business this week. Instead of working on any of my 500 projects that I have going, I just started a new one.

I made the cording myself. It was my first time making any, and I was surprised that it was so easy.

I feel that the entry needs several pops of color since the walls are white.  

I bought supplies for yet another new project. Maybe I'll work on it tonight. And maybe my log cabin blanket will knit itself. I can always dream.

Entry way: before and close enough to after

Close enough for pictures that is.

Old view from the front door.

From the kitchen.

Looking into the kitchen.

I love this little corner.

Here's my oh dear, what have I done moment.

So John was out of town for a week, and this is what I got to look at for several days. I was doubting my vision to put up new wood trim over the paneling. I told myself that even if I hated the paneling after it was painted, I wouldn't tell John. That I would live with it for at least 20 years before I made him rip out all the trim he had bought, cut, routed, and installed. Well, thank goodness I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

View from the front door now.

(I need a new lamp, so I just borrowed the dinning room centerpiece. And I really wish I'd centered the painting and table.)

Still need to install my new light fixture.

Loving my green front door with a new doorknob.

This is my view down the hallway as I blog.

So that's.....new ceiling trim installed, new baseboards and quarter round, new door trim. New plywood floor (gave up on saving the old one) painted with floor and porch paint then polyurethane applied over the paint, doors sanded down, trim added, painted, hinges painted and new knobs installed. Walls and trim all painted in a white semi-gloss. Front door painted in a green semi-gloss. New rug from Ikea. I had the table and the painting in another room. I wonder if I forgot anything? I think that's all we've done so far. I still need to paint the backs of the closet doors. The knob isn't installed on the chalkboard door as the trim around the chalkboard doesn't leave enough space for the new knob. John will have to fix that. The "new" light needs to be installed. It's an awesome $5 yard sale find.

Now, I sleep.....well, tonight.

Knits

Who needs sleep?

Mary's 2010 hat, in progress. Started Tuesday night and will finish it tonight.

Longies for Ellie! She'll probably potty train next week as there is no way they will fit without a diaper under them. That would be my luck. Look at those LONG legs! She's in a 3T in pants now just so they are long enough. (Current stats 27 pounds, 36.5 inches tall!!!! Two years, one month old)


Another pair I made in late September. Just now got them lanolized and blocked.

Next, Ellie's hat. Then, back to the blanket. Then?? More longies? Maybe. I hate to make them if she really is going to potty train soon. Mary woke up and was basically potty trained in a day when she was 27.5 months old. I assume I won't get off that easy this time around.

Entry way floor is drying. The dry time on the poly was 24 hours at 77 degrees. It's been between 67 and 70 degrees in here all week, so it is drying slowly. I'm hoping it will be dry Friday. John's almost done working on the doors for me. Then I need to paint them.

Back to work!

October to do

Working on the entry way is so slow going. But we are getting there. I hope to be done by....hmmm. Maybe another week? I really hope so. Then I plan on doing several small projects so I can feel like I've actually done something this fall. We've been working on the entry way for a month already. I hate long projects. I like instant results.

1. Finish knitting Ellie's cabled longies.
2. Knit hat for Mary.
3. Knit hat for Ellie.
4. Sew fall table runner for dining room.
5. work on shelf area over my desk. New shelves? Paint?? Hide intercom??


See?? I took the cabinet doors down the day we moved in. But those little round side shelves are all hanging by a thread I'm thinking of of taking them off and running 2 or 3 shelves across there. But the intercom is in the way. I don't want to take it out and patch the wall. Too much work. I'm thinking of making shelves out of a 1x12 that I already have. Then painting them and just those two cabinets. To the right of this is the refrigerator, and two cabinets over it. I'd leave those brown. There's no way I'm painting all the kitchen cabinets, but I think if I just paint over the desk it will look okay. Plus if I don't remove/patch the intercom, I can do this for free. And have more space for my books.

Alright. Where was I?

6. Paint Ellie's dresser. (Ellie's moving to her own room soon!)
7. Plant the 300-ish daffodil bulbs I bought/saved this year. Most are going into my planter boxes by the garage. The girls and I got 150 or so planted this morning.

Stay tuned!

The two dollar mirror

A few weeks ago, I was on my way to Lowes for supplies for the entry way. John had asked his Mom to watch the girls for us so that he could work on his part of the entry way while I was out shopping. I had two hours. On the drive in to town, I called my Mom to see if she still needed more mirrors. I had been looking here and there, but hadn't had any luck. I also had a price point. For a dollar fifty, it would have to be a pretty cool mirror. I'd given her previous ones that cost--free, fifty cents, and I think a dollar. Two dollars was really more than I had planned to spend. So after Lowes, I had maybe 20 minutes to spare. I quickly went over to the little independent store I love. I'll be honest. It is sort of creepy inside, and it is in a bad neighborhood. I saw a mirror on the wall and it was two dollars. I almost didn't give it a second look. But I am so glad I did.

Look! It's our garage ceiling! The paint was still wet on it tonight, and I am giving it to Mom tomorrow. It was plain wood before. I had to do a little repair work on it, and we had to replace the back. Tonight while the mirror was out, I weighed it. Just the mirror (without the frame) weighs just over 8 pounds. The back is stamped "Lenior Mirror Company February 1928." I am slightly sad that I am giving it away. I know Mom will love it though, and I also know that she will give it back to me if/when she's done with it.

I left the price tag on it for her:)

Happy Birthday, Mom!