Kitchen Update!

     We moved in our home late 2010. We had to give it a pretty big makeover just to make it comfortable enough to move in. Paint, flooring, new interior doors, new base boards, etc... We have been saving up to remodel our kitchen for some time now, but for the past year we have started making progress a little at a time. Then in November this year we really got the ball rolling!

Our Kitchen November 2010 ( the wall that the old refrigerator is on divided the living room from the kitchen)

This is our kitchen one Sunday night in January 2013. We decided to pull out the sledge hammer and get rid of this wall. My theory was that if we did this then we would force ourselves to save up the rest of the money to completely remodel the kitchen sooner.


Another view of our kitchen Jan 2013. We lost some cabinet space on this wall which is why there is stuff everywhere!


And that is pretty much the way my kitchen looked until more renovating continued in November 2013. Scary I know!



 The wall we took out was a supporting wall (it was supporting the trusses basically) so we (Charlie) built a temporary wall  so that we could replace our supporting wall with a long power beam.

Pretty Cool huh? He had to put more support inside the walls at each end of the beam. It was basically a post that was put under each end of the beam once the beam was in place. Then the posts and beam were covered  with drywall which we hired someone to do.



Throughout December our kitchen started to transform. Charlie also added some recessed lighting.

  


   We had our counter tops installed on Saturday and this is what my kitchen currently looks like. I wanted the marble look for my counters but I was advised not to use marble in my kitchen, especially having five kids. I went with a quartz (the one I chose is not man made, some quartz is). I was told by everyone that it was one of the most durable and dense materials which I could use. It was definitely pricey but I am in Heaven! I absolutely love my kitchen now and its not even complete. My kitchen, dining room, and living room are all pretty open to each other and I cannot wait to entertain some of my friends and family in this new space. We still have a lot on our to do list but we are getting there. Keep checking back for more updates.
Still to do:
  1. New window covering
  2. Pendant lights over the bar
  3. Paint ceiling and beam
  4. Install wood/laminate flooring into the kitchen (same as living area)
  5. Install white plain fan flush to the ceiling ( the fan we have now is too distracting and we have the recessed lights now)
  6. Style the kitchen counters
I hope everyone is having a wonderful Monday!
xo,
Brittany



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DIY New Years Confetti Stemware



    Oh the New Year is coming! It is kind of like a new beginning. People making New Year's resolutions and vowing to make this year better than the last.  I really don't have a New Year's resolution but I always have the same goals like being healthy, more organized, hold on to less, etc.... While getting ready to celebrate New Year's Eve with my  family I decided to bring you a simple  DIY project.  This DIY Confetti stemware project is as simple as it gets and requires very few materials. 
You need: 
Stemware of your choice 
sharpie paint pen




I taped off a section where I wanted to write 2014 so that I could make sure I got it straight and the numbers all the same size.



I then just drew the numbers on with the pen.  Then I just made random dots at the top of the gals to create the confetti effect.
This project was so easy I literally did it in bed! I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year!
xo,
Brittany



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DIY Tie Dye Ornaments

 
 
   After making the superhero ornaments my daughter and I played around with the extra glass ornaments we had. When you add two colors you end up with this pretty tie dye effect. It looks more like color blocking when you first start moving the two colors around together, but when you are hanging it upside down as its drying then it starts to look like this. To make these ornaments follow the same directions as the DIY Superhero Ornaments=Perfect for My Little Boy except add two colors instead of one.

Happy Holidays!
xo,
Brittany

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DIY Superhero Ornaments=Perfect for My Little Boy




   I saw a picture of ornaments on Pinterest that I just had to make for my little boy. He lives in a home with 4 little girls so I like to do something special for him from time to time. The kid sure has to deal with a lot of girl drama! He is definitely all boy though. He loves monster trucks, pirate swords, and of course Superheroes! I always make time to watch a movie with him like Thor, Captain America, etc. I have to say that I have come to enjoy them myself or maybe that's just because I know how much he enjoys them. This project was especially fun for me because my little guy got to help.

Items needed:
Craft paint (in the colors of your choosing)
Clear glass ornaments with removable tops ( I purchase mine from Hobby Lobby)
Glue ( I used Hodge Podge)
Paper ( I printed the logos I found online on plain paper)
Empty toilet paper roll ( I used it to set the ornaments on to dry)

Remove the metal piece from the top of the ornament.


You are going to use an empty toilet paper roll as a place for the ornaments to sit and dry. I didn't have enough so I cut some of them in half.
Pour your desired color into the ornament.

Then you are going to roll the paint around in the ornament until all the inside surface is covered with paint.
 

I printed logos I found on the internet to plain white paper.







Put glue on the back side of the paper and then stick it onto your ornament.

Let them hang upside down so that all the excess paint can run out and the ornaments dry.

Merry Christmas Everyone!
xo,
Brittany

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Ranch Oyster Cracks

     I found this cute and super yummy recipe on Sucre.com's blog page. They sell really cute scoops, utensils, paper straws, and cute little gift tags like the ones in this picture. What a great snack to send to your child's classroom before Christmas break instead of candy! The recipe is so simple!
 
Sucre Shop Blog: Ranch Oyster Crackers - The Best Neighbor Gift:


INGREDIENTS

1/2 tsp. dill
1/4 c oil
16 oz. oyster crackers
1 packet (1 oz.) powdered ranch mix
1/4 tsp. lemon pepper or garlic powder (optional)

Add all ingredients to gallon size zipper bag and toss to coat.
Bake at 250 degrees for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes

I hope everyone is enjoying their holiday season!
xo,
Brittany

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Painted Desk

     We bought some second hand furniture for my daughter's room  a little while back. It looked pretty good at first, but after a while we noticed that the previous owner had touched it up. Whatever they used was impossible to clean. Every mess my daughter made just seemed to stay there, I was rarely able to wipe it clean. I was so tired of looking at it in this condition so I started exploring the option of buying new furniture. I quickly decided that I didn't want to spend a lot of money for furniture that will more than likely have a lot of wear over the years (She will be 9 in Jan). I have seen plenty of painted furniture on Pinterest.com which is where I got this idea.


Here is how I did it:






I used a Black and Decker electric hand sander on the top surface of the desk because there were a lot of imperfections and I wanted a smooth surface to paint.



I then used an enamel primer that the Sherwin Williams associate recommended and I let it dry overnight.
The next day I  started applying Marshmallow by Sherwin Williams to the parts I wanted white and SW Hibiscus by Sherwin Williams to the sections I wanted pink. I used an enamel with a gloss finish. I repeated another coat the following day.

     I am really happy with the results and so is my daughter. I am going to buy a few more things to decorate it  and probably some new hardware. The keyboard pullout is missing in the picture above because I will be replacing it completely with a new piece of wood, it was not salvageable. I also need to refinish her desk-chair and the rest of her bedroom furniture! This is the first time I have refinished a piece of furniture this large. I think I will be trying it a lot more since the end result was so great with this desk. I find myself looking around my house thinking "hmmm...what else can I paint?"



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A Minnie Mouse Inspired Birthday and Dessert Buffet

     Last April our youngest child Alyla turned 4. Most of the time our children want their birthday's to take place at Chuck E Cheese or Pump it Up but she wanted to have her birthday at home. She loves Minnie Mouse so I decided to get creative, but since I have 5 children there is not always a lot of time to create my vision.
      I love the traditional colors for Minnie Mouse and I wasn't  thrilled about going to the store and purchasing all the pink and white polka dot Minnie items which most stores carry. So with the help of Etsy.com I was able to order a printable kit to use for her party. It had banners, water bottle labels, circle labels (which I cut out and taped to toothpicks for the cupcakes), etc.. I then ordered some balloons, table clothes, and ribbon on amazon.com ( I am a Prime member so I get free two day shipping on any Prime products).

Etsy.com party kit can be purchase now at www.printablepartydesigns.com



      For the Candy buffet I picked up random sized glass containers and scoops from Marshalls, Home Goods, and Party City ( I later repurposed some of the glass containers in my powder room, they now hold cotton balls and q-tips). I also cut out some of the pintable labels and glued them to some candy bags I picked up at party city. The kids all filled up a bag of candy to take home with them. The Minnie Mouse faces are die cuts I also ordered through Etsy.com



       I also found this dress through Etsy.com but they have now relocated to www.RocknBabyBoutique.com . That is my mom in the picture with Alyla.

   I started picking things up and ordering about 6 weeks prior to the birthday. Purchasing everything at once would have been difficult for my budget.  Everything for this party was very easy to put together and all of the guests, big and small, really enjoyed the dessert buffet!

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