Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!

Hey all you faithful visitors, I have an invitation for you at the end of this entry:)

In the meantime...

Tuesday's cleaning spree turned into my quarterly spring cleaning escapade (or as close to spring cleaning as one can get in a "house of projects"). Somehow things here seem to quickly multiply in all the dark places like the closets and dresser drawers and toy baskets. It drives me batty. Why does the road to simplicity have to be so complicated and tedious, lol!?! I've hauled out of the playroom several garbage bags full of unused toys and now I'm working on clothing. Next? The art/coat closet and the master bedroom closet. The laundry room needs to be tackled yet again because it seems to be the catch all for all kinds of things...

Not ten minutes ago, I neatly and carefully put away the girls clothing in their dresser drawers. I pulled all their clothing out a few days ago to sort through them and they've been in a pile in my bedroom until now. Zoe has already come to me twice in the last five minutes to show me two different shirts she's going to wear tonight. That means there are about eight shirts on her bedroom floor now. Multiply that by three daughters...This is why a mother's work - and laundry - is never done. So I'm going to take a few more days to finish up my spring cleaning and spend some time with the girls while they are on spring break, which begins the week after next and ends March 31st:)

Until then, I'd like to ask - beseech - plead - implore - BEG (lol!) all of you visitors to drop me a line here. I know all about lurking and I'm quite good at it myself. I realized today when a good friend commented on her own last entry..."Does anybody read this???" that we all like to know when others stop by to "visit" with us:) If you're really, really shy, feel free to drop me an email at twilightmama@hotmail.com. Otherwise, I'll be looking forward to "meeting" all of you for the first time right here!

On the Agenda Today

So today there will be no sanding, priming, or painting of anything. Today is going to be one of those days that more mundane chores must be done. I really feel like I'm chasing my tail - living in a this sad little fixer upper that is in the middle of a major renovation. The word shanty comes to mind. But I guess the only thing worse than living in a shanty is living in a dirty shanty, right? Zoe has a friend over for the day, so they'll be busy playing while I attack the scary parts of the house. Lord help me.

On the agenda today:

1) Give two dogs their baths

2) Sweep, vacuum, dust, sweep, vacuum, dust, sweep, vacuum, dust

3) Spray foamy stuff on bedroom carpets in an attempt to make them smell fresher (I can't wait to get rid of the bedroom carpets! They aren't stained up or nasty looking...they're just odor and allergy traps:(EDIT: Hmmm, apparently Zoe took the foamy stuff out of the cart at the store - I remember her looking at it and asking me what it was...I got home and it wasn't in a bag or on the receipt, lol. Don't kids usually put stuff *in* the cart when you're not looking? Oh well, project for another day...

4) Spray carpets and upholstered furniture down with allergy reducer

5) Laundry, laundry, and more laundry EDIT: For the record, this will never be marked off my list of things to do. The piles of clothing are just smaller somedays than others:)

What a Difference Trim Makes! Window and Cabinet photos...

It's a crazy busy Saturday morning here and the house is *wrecked*. Before I go and attempt to restore some order, I wanted to post a few before and after pics of our dining room and living room windows, plus a sneak peak of the crown moulding we've added to our cottage kitchen cabinets.

Our house was built sans window trim. I've always thought that windows without trim look very naked and cold. Our plan is to go through the house and add casing and "old fashioned", simple trim to all the windows, but we've started with the kitchen and dining area. We chose 6 inch wide pine for the sides and top and 4 inch wide for the apron (our baseboard is going to be 5 or 6 inches wide, so the a 6 inch wide apron would have been *too* wide.)

Now, the dining room windows are new, so here are the before and after shots. I apologize for the washed out photos...they came out a little dark and I had to brighten them a bit in a photo editor. (Laurie, I took step by step photos of the whole process, which I will post later - I think you were asking me about that...)

(Click photos to enlarge)

Before:


After:


And now the living room window...(ignore the tv cabinet that hasn't yet been moved back into the corner)

Before:


After:


And lastly, here are a few shots of one of our primed kitchen cabinets with it's completed trim work. We added crown and rope moulding to the top and simple moulding to the bottom. Yes, these were OAK cabinets and we're painting them, lol. I know some may be cringing, but OAK 'just ain't my thang'. :) Later I'll add pics of what the cabinet currently looks like - would you believe I've painted it out in red and given it it's antiqued, distressed finish? I'm really pleased with the result - it looks like an antique cabinet I'd pick up at a flea market - I can't wait to share photos:) I need to finish painting out the doors and put them back up - and when I add the new hardware, I'll give another "sneak peek":) For now - the "before" shot of one of our cabinets and then the same "just primed" trimmed out cabinet...

Before:


After trimwork was added:






Have a great day, everyone!

Too Much Makeup for Work Clothes

Yesterday, I had on too much makeup for the work I was doing here at home (painting window trim). I had eaten at an eclectic, whimsical restaurant for lunch and didn't bother removing my "face" when I got back.

Knowing that I don't really get all dressed that often, or go to too many unique restaurants, I really went all out yesterday in getting ready for this special lunch. I pulled out a long, ankle length shimmering purple skirt (has been in my closet for 2 years...tags still on). I decided that I'd go for "gypsy style"...so I wore a little black tank with it and a flowy bright green lacy shawl over that. On my head, I tied back a large silk colorful purple/pink/green scarf...the gypsy look almost complete! I layered some beaded necklaces, put on some dangling earrings, and then slipped on some flats. Next- makeup. I purposely went overboard with the blush. And the purple eyeshadow. I don't even remember owning any purple eyeshadow! Before walking out the door, I grabbed my red crocheted purse and slipped my blush and purple eyeshadow into it...just in case. And I brought Fetch, one of my dogs. I was going to probably the only restaurant in the city that allowed you to bring your (well behaved) pets. He's small...he slipped right into my red purse.

At the restaurant, I was greeted at the door by a short blonde girl with pink sparkly earrings and a long colorful necklace. She reminded me of a princess almost. She was wearing a short, light blue and purple shimmering dress. The skirt looked like a tutu. Her cheeks were rosy pink and I was comforted by the fact that she, too, was wearing an overabundance of purple eyeshadow. (Did I mention that this was a very eclectic restaurant? I blended right in!) Not only was it eclectic in style, but it was cozy in feel. The girl in the tutu showed Fetch and I our seats. There were no chairs in this restaurant, but there were comfy pillows on the floor. My table was in front of a grand fireplace, though it was too warm to be lit yesterday. There was light classical music playing...and a chirping caged bird right next to my table! I quickly forgot about all the work I had to do at home, the dishes piled up in the sink, the multitude of projects that needed my attention, the floors that needed sweeping...

I ordered a ham salad sandwich, corn on the cob, strawberries and unsweetened tea for lunch. It was heavenly! The waitress was even kind enough to bring a chew bone for Fetch, which she (Fetch) thoroughly enjoyed. For dessert, I had the most scrumptious cherry pie that I've ever had in my life! I quickly forgave myself for breaking my no sugar diet...it was a special day, after all.

As we were paying the bill, the young waitress brought a sweet treat for Fetch. She was a dog lover herself, and thought Fetch might like her very own strawberry icecream cone. My little dog must have thought she was dreaming!

On my way home, I thought about my memorable afternoon...hoping that I would never forget it. Life goes by so fast. There is always something to do, always a project to be completed...and so very little time. How important it is to make time for the most important things.

I walked down the hall to my bedroom and changed out of my fancy clothes, knowing that I would probably be wearing them again in the near future. After all, Zoe's Restaurant is the best in town. One would be crazy not to go back.

After changing back into my old clothes, I went to the kitchen. My little five year old Zoe was there, still wearing her purple eyeshadow, necklace, and tutu...It was time for me to make her lunch:) I was still wearing too much makeup for work clothes, but I didn't care.

Cottage Fireplace Makeover Finale! No more bling!

I stayed extremely busy working on projects this weekend. Boy, am I tired! Today, though, I'm excited to say that our fireplace makeover is finally complete! If you remember, I started by replaceing the tile, then I added a little age and texture with the use of glaze, paint, and extra grout. The last step, which I completed this weekend, was to paint the brass insert black...buh bye bling! Here are a few before, during, and after shots...(Click to Enlarge)











So there you go:) This fireplace was a lot of work but I'm very pleased with the result. About the painted insert...I first bought a can of American Tradition high heat paint. The finish was called BBQ black. I *thought* it was going to be a matte finish. I applied the first coat with a small foam roller brush. After a while I discovered that it was a very high gloss finish, which was NOT the look I wanted (read: "I was practically freaking out.") I ran back to Lowes to see if I could find a matte finish, but they didn't carry it. What I ended up buying was Rustoleum High Heat paint (satin finish) in a spray can. This worked SO much better. I regret that I didn't use it for the first coat! The spray produced a nice, smooth coat that dried to the touch within minutes - it looks great! So my advice, if you're going to tackle the bling on your insert,is to use Rustoleum High Heat in a spray can...cover and tape everything that isn't to be sprayed, and open the windows!

Cottage Kitchen Design Scheme

I know. Two posts in a day. I got the idea to make this design "scrapbook" page for our kitchen from Jessica at Westinmoreland House. Thanks, Jessica! It's helpful for me to see how all the pieces fit together and hopefully helpful to others who may be looking for resources. Keep in mind that colors on computer screens aren't really accurate (they are move vivid in reality), but you get an idea anyway. We officially have in our possession all our elements (and have ordered the ceiling planks and cabinet hardware)...it took us about a year to collect everything one piece at a time. Working on a budget! C'est la vie, eh?

Step by Step Cabinet Makeover / Hiding Undercabinet Lighting Illustration

Earlier I said I would give an indepth explanation on how we are going about transforming our plain (*yawn*) kitchen cabinets into ones with lots of cottage / farmhouse charm (plus how exactly how we are hiding the undercabinet lighting!). I know nothing about the electrical end of things - that's hubs area of expertise, but I can tell you about the rest...

Here's a rudimentary illustration that I put together to help you understand exactly what we are doing. I'm sure there are many ways to do this, but this is what we came up with. I've explained the illustration below...By the way, we got all of our trim pieces at Home Depot.



Important: If you want to add beadboard facing to the sides of your cabinet, make sure you do this first.

Step #1: Drill a small hole in the wall in the recessed area underneath the cabinets. These holes will accommodate the wiring, which leads to one switch (and can be put on a dimmer!)

Step #2: Measure and cut a thin, wood panel that is the same dimension as the bottom of the cabinet. In the center of the panel, cut a hole that will accommodate a recessed puck / disk light. Don't make this hole too large!

Step #3: Pull the wiring through the hole in the panel and then nail the panel to the bottom of the cabinet.

Step #4: At this point, you can attach your lights and insert them into the hole you cut in Step #2, but we decided to wait and do this after our cabinets were trimmed out and painted.

Step #5: Add stop moulding under the panel at the edges.

Step #6: Add decorative trim to the face of the cabinet right above the stop moulding to cover the panel.

Step #7: Add crown moulding to the top of the cabinet.

Step #8: Add decorative moulding below the crown moulding if desired.

Prime, sand, caulk, paint and enjoy! (In the future, I'll write another entry about the paint technique we're using...) If any of this doesn't make sense, please let me know and I'll be happy to answer your questions:)