Good Intentions

Aaagggghhhh!!!!  February really snuck up on me.  I had all these great, crafty intentions.  I spent some time on Pinterest and really wanted to make something like this:



or this:



or this:



But, sadly, it's February 1st.  Do you think I spent even a minute with my glue gun getting one of these put together for my door?  Um, no!!  I wanted to so badly, but now,  I will set my sights on Easter.

Instead of a pretty Valentine's wreath, my kiddies and I will get to work on our valentines.  We have a homeschool party coming up on the 16th.  I think we'll make some of these:



or these:



Yes, we WILL show up to our party with lovely somethings to give away.  I am DETERMINED!!

What do you have up your sleeve for February?  Any quick or easy ideas you'd like to share?  I'd love to hear them!

Family Feature

So I don't know if I've been rubbing off on Baby Sis, or if having her own home just inspires her the way it inspires me!  She is becoming quite the little homemaker - managing her budget, planning meals for the hubs, and decorating has really become a recent passion of hers!  Her home is looking just beautiful!  I just have to share with you a project she completed yesterday.

I stopped by her house the other day and she was putting together a new bookshelf.  There was a sad piece of furniture in the corner of the room she was working on.  We got into a discussion over it.  "Are you going to keep that?"  I asked.  She shrugged, "Not if you want it."  

Now this particular piece of furniture belonged to my mom.  Baby Sis and I have all sorts of different pieces of mom's furniture because she left them with us when she and dad moved.  Baby Sis and I are always swapping these pieces of furniture back and forth.  Anyway, I tell Baby Sis, " I think I'm going to ask Mom if I can paint it".  To which she responds, "Oh if we can paint it, then I want it!"

And so, she transformed that piece of furniture into a thing of beauty!

Here it is before:

And here it is after:

Wow, I mean, just wow.  Wouldn't you have walked right by that thing without even a second glance if you had been at Goodwill?  I will never cease to be amazed at what a few cans of spray paint and some new hardware can do. It just goes to show that with a couple of bucks and a few hours out of your day, you can turn what some people would put out on the curb, into something your guests will admire.

Way to go Baby Sis, I'm proud of you!  Now, I wonder how long it will be before she's tired of it?  Hmmm . . .

Happy Homemaking my friends!

Happy Monday my homemaking friends!  It's all dreary and drizzly here in Texas, which is not good painting weather.  I'm still working on those dining room chairs and can't wait to show you the finished product!  I just can't finish today because it's all yuck outside and the paint is taking for.  ev.   er.  to dry.  I'm hoping to have them all done soon. 

I was able to finish a few smaller projects today.  Do you remember me telling you that I was able to get some thrifting in over the weekend?  I found two very cool items for my kitchen:

I think I paid 5 bucks for the pair.  Score!  The only problem was they were the totally wrong color.  So I went to Wal-mart to pick up my BFF:

Just a few minutes later, I was adoring them:

Aren't they so pretty?  I've been wanting some color in my kitchen, and this was a great start!  These things are made of some heavy duty metal and I've seen them in department stores at ridiculous prices - I'm completely satisfied with my thrift store knock-offs!

Another thing I'm super excited to tell you about is that the hubs took the time to teach me how to use a few tools this weekend!  Jump up and down and clap, ok?  Cause that's what I did after I made my first project in all of 5 minutes.

First, I asked him to show me how to use the miter saw.  I already knew how to use it to make straight cuts, I had just never attempted to miter or join any corners before.

(Ignore the junk in the background people.  This is a working garage!)

Then I asked him to show me how to use the brad nailer ( I think that's what it is called?)

Heck yes, people, I am in LOVE with these tools!

So, after hubby's demonstration, I used the miter saw and the brad nailer and I made a

few cuts and put in a few staples.  It took all of 5 minutes to produce this:

What is it, you ask?  It looks just like a plain old picture frame, right?

Well, it is!  I made it out of some scrap wood hubby had laying around in the garage.  But the point of the lesson was not to learn how to make a picture frame, it was to learn how to miter corners.  I plan to use those skills to do something like this:

Do you see the character that molding adds to the room?  Ugh.  Love it!  I have been totally inspired by this woman and know that if she can do it, I can do it!  After completing the picture frame, I have every confidence something like this is possible for me.  I can't wait to put my new skills to work!

Have you learned any new skills recently that will help you make your house more of a home?  I'd love to hear about them!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!  It was absolutely beautiful in Texas with lots of sun and nice temperatures.  I just LOVE Spring, it is my favorite time of year!  I always feel so full of energy and ready to tackle new projects when the sun is shining and the birds are singing.  Don't you?  I'm really looking forward to Daylight Savings Time ending in a few weeks.  It means I'll have more hours of sunlight to finish all those painting projects I haven't gotten around to yet.

I got my Scentsy order in today (yippee!) and couldn't wait to plug my warmers in.  I just love walking into our home when it smells all fresh and clean.  These things are amazing!  Just one little block of wax is all it takes to freshen the entire front half of the house.  I'm so excited about all the money I'm going to save not buying all those Glade plug-ins that get used up so quickly.  I bought one for the living room:

And one for the bathroom:



The colors go great with my decor and they work like a charm!  If you don't have one yet, and you want your house to smell as good as mine, you can visit my friend Brandi's website here.  She'll be more than happy to help you make a selection and tell you all about the other great products Scentsy has to offer. 

Another thing I checked off my to-do list today was chair shopping.  Remember me telling you those chairs in my front room just weren't cutting it?  Here's another pic just in case you didn't catch that post:

Um, yeah, it's time for these sad little things to go.  Little sis's shower is just around the corner and these just.    won't.      do.    Now, I also told you I don't like to shop at fancy furniture stores, which is mostly true, but it's because I dislike paying full price!  Well, today I found some real beauties on clearance at Dillard's.   I mean, real clearance.  Marked down like 65%.  And these chairs will last FOR-EV-ER.  If your grandmother never told you about how awesome Lane Furniture is, you can glean that information from me.  My grandmother has Lane chairs in her home that she bought in the 60's, or maybe even before that!  She has them recovered whenever she's ready for a change, but other than that, they are built with amazing quality, so I'm sure these chairs will be around when I'm cuddling my own grandkids!

 Now you have to look past the fabric because this is NOT the color I chose.  While it is beautiful, it's not my style and it definitely would not go in this room.  Anyway, the fabric I ordered is a taupe color, which will be so perfect against the teals and whites in this room.  I bought two, and they recline!  Oh I can just picture us now.  Hubby and I might actually be able to hear each other talk while we sip coffee and work a puzzle.  We can finally leave the kids to their movies and video games in the family room once I have the formal all put together.  I can't wait until they arrive!

 I'll be sure to post pics once they're in so you can see the actual fabric.  Now I just have to do my best to find the perfect second-hand coffee table.  Craigslist is disappointing me lately.  However, a friend of mine has a table in her garage she isn't using, so that's an option.  I just have to see how much she's willing to let it go for and whether she can pry that amount of cash out of my fingers!  Another thing I heard is we have a Value Village not far from here.  I've never been, but I may just have to check it out!  I've been told it's a great home decor/furniture thrift store and that is what I am all about.

I hope you had a productive Monday, and that you have lots of plans for your home this week.  Whether you're doing your spring cleaning, setting up more structure for your kids with chores, or just trying to plan a meal for each night, my prayer is that you find joy in doing so!

Happy Homemaking my friends!