Chapter37

Something to think about

March 30, 2014 - 5:30 am | The Refocus Challenge

Junk shopping vs. Bargain Buys vs. Handmade

March 27, 2014 - 5:00 am | Thrift store shopping

It’s no secret that second hand shopping and DIY creations are on a major high. Personally, I don’t think it’s anything new, I think it just gets more attention now with social media and internet. I know plenty of older people who have been using paint, junk and imagination to adorn beautiful homes for decades, long before anyone ever thought about making it trendy. Mention anything about a blog or Pinterest to them and they’ll look at you like you have three heads…but they could out-DIY the best of us. That said, because it is getting to be so popular to junk shop (or whatever you call it), it is handy to know a few things about what you are doing before heading out to shop for a deal to ensure you get the most bang for your buck. Where is the best places to get good deals anyway? Every … Continue reading →

A sunny sunroom makeover

March 25, 2014 - 5:00 am | before and afters, Room remodels, sun room

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Question of the day…is “sunroom” supposed to be spelled as one word? Or two? Spell check says it is two, Wikipedia says it is one. Far be it from me to defy spell check since I can hardly spell my name without it, but I’m going with one word…it looks better. Know what else looks better? Sunrooms with white benches and bright cushions and jolly looking plants with lots of sunshine bouncing around. This space was pretty much a blank slate to start with, I didn’t do much of anything to the bones of the room. We had plumbing run out here to put the washer and dryer in half the room, and the other half was left for other purposes. For the last year it’s purpose was junk pile-up room, and I’ll spare you the pictures of that. It was not pretty. After pinterest browsing and picture shopping, I … Continue reading →

When God doesn’t listen

March 23, 2014 - 1:16 pm | The Refocus Challenge

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Today I am feeling grateful. Grateful for a working vehicle. Grateful for the hot shower I had this morning. Grateful for the little person twirling in circles singing at the top of her lungs beside me as I type this post. Grateful that God doesn’t always listen to me. Just suppose God did listen to me all the time. Those long sighs I sigh at the end of the day when I’m faced with the trail of mess stretching from one end of the house to the other created by the energetic labors of two little blond heads cozily asleep in their beds…suppose He decided to lighten my work load and take one, or both away, just to help me out? I’m grateful He doesn’t always listen. I’m grateful He doesn’t listen when I’m annoyed at the hot water heater leaking, and the pipe under the house breaking, and the vehicle … Continue reading →

Chalk paint talk and dresser painting

March 18, 2014 - 4:30 am | Bedroom, before and afters, furniture, Home Decor, painting tips

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You know what will guarantee a remodel to take way longer than it should? Take a guess. Budget? Labor? Earthquakes? Bug infestations? All very valid guesses. The answer is furniture. I would recommend to all persons anxious to spend staggering amounts of time working on a house, to not complicate matters by investing in copious amounts of homeless furniture that also needs to be re-done. Not that I would know. Because I totally follow my own advise. Always. See this dresser for instance, it’s not technically an investment because I got it for free. Poor little dear. I can’t say no to free furniture. It’s like turning away a puppy. Who has the heart to do that?? ( I can say that because my kids aren’t old enough to read this blog or kidnap stray animals. I reserve the right to change my opinions on puppies at a later date.) … Continue reading →

Yellow, the other Spring color

March 13, 2014 - 5:30 am | before and afters, furniture, Home Decor, Kitchen, Spring

Transform a room with paint and polyurethane

March 11, 2014 - 5:30 am | Bedroom, before and afters, Room remodels, walls

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This might be my favorite room in the whole house. Never mind it needs furniture still. Never mind I say that with every section I get done. I can’t help it. I just love white paint, and sunlight bouncing off walls, and shiny clean floors, and pretty ceilings. It just sort of shocks your eyeballs when your eyes are used to seeing this room… …And then one day you see this room instead. Nothing special to see here, just some paint and polyurethane. And elbow grease. Lots of elbow grease. Worth it? Oh, I think so! The furniture isn’t all necessarily staying. I just threw some pieces in here to get an idea of how much room I had to work with. I’m still searching high and low for a bed that will fit this room. I spent all day Saturday searching every thrift store, garage sale and antique store in … Continue reading →

What if four years was it?

March 9, 2014 - 5:30 am | The Refocus Challenge

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It might be the anguish of attempting to potty train a stubborn two year old, or it might be the weird pregnancy cravings for pineapple slushies when its thirty degrees outside, but I’ve had the enormous subject of parenting on the brain lately. It doesn’t matter what anyone could have told me, warned me, or coached me about parenting…the plain fact is, I had no idea what I was getting into before that first little girl of mine showed up. Have you ever noticed the only people who are experts at parenting are the ones who either don’t have any, or those who have had theirs so long ago they conveniently don’t recall half the things their kids did. Anybody who gets up every morning to face the day’s battles with a bewilderingly active, cantankerous and mischievous child or a mysteriously complex teenager will be the last person to claim … Continue reading →

Thursday Snap Shots

March 6, 2014 - 5:00 am | Snap Shot Thursdays

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You’ll have to excuse the silence on the old blog this week…sometimes it seems I have to choose between being productive or blogging. This week has been a grand slam for getting things done, just not so much on the blogging side of it! No matter, we’ll catch back up in no time. So here’s what I’ve been up too… I’ve been putting in some crazy long hours giving the master bedroom a paint job. I’ll do a full blog post on this next week with further details. I couldn’t be more relieved that it is done! I just love the ceiling color, I bought it on a whim and it works really well in here. The Mister has been making excellent progress on the hall library. It needs a little more work and some trim and then I’ll hit it with a paint brush. So excited to get some books on … Continue reading →

Excuses or Opportunities?

March 2, 2014 - 5:00 am | The Refocus Challenge

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Ever thought that God can’t do anything with you? Ever thought that you weren’t worth His time? Ever come up with a real dandy of an excuse as to why God shouldn’t expect you to do some particular thing? Pretty sure I have a time or ten! Funny thing is, God has been dealing with us humans for a long time…and He’s never yet met one that He couldn’t use… …How odd. The Bible is just chuck full of ordinary, rotten people just like you and me who did amazing things all because they let God use them. So what was that excuse I had again?? Maybe that excuse is really just an opportunity for God to do something amazing. Maybe God does a little “dumpster diving” Himself now and then to find that perfect piece of junk…to make into His treasure. If people can do it with pallets, and … Continue reading →

Monthly Archives: March 2014