My First Project

At long last, the stars have aligned and I actually got the console table I built decorated. This was my first foray into building something with power tools. And I still have all my limbs! I found the plan at Knock-Off Wood. Dad loaned (and has since gifted) me his nail gun and air compressor and Husband found a deal of the day on Amazon for a miter saw 50% off. I also had some gift cards saved up, so this project cost about $100, for power tools and lumber. When I went to by lumber, the total came at $70, but I was buying for two separate projects (the other of which will get revealed in a little bit). My point in all that rambling is that, assuming you have the basic
power tools, this project would probably cost about $30.



Building: The directions were very clear about what goes where and how to attach it. Ana includes pictures for each step, which is great for us visual learners! However, I recommend NOT resizing the pictures to print. In trying to save paper, I made the pictures too small and couldn't really see what I was supposed to do. As a result, the bottom support isn't attached where it is supposed to be. I was wondering why some of my pieces were too long! I think it still turned out OK.
Also, make sure you take a tape measure with you to Lowe's (or be prepared to do some math BEFORE you start). My 1x12 actually measured 11", therefore, when I went to attach the top (the very last step--ARGH!), I had a half inch sticking out from the bottom on each side. Since I don't have a circular saw (yet), I had to cut 2-6" pieces the old fashioned way and sanded it almost even. You can only tell by looking directly over it, so I think I'm good. Also, because I had to cut apart my 1x12, I cut out the last step for the top top. I don't think it suffered!










Finish: I stained it in Minwax walnut and used 2 coats of Minwax polyurethane semi-gloss.














I've actually since bought a buffet lamp, but here's the table in all of its glory! I'd love to get a fall table runner, but I think the sideboard in the dining room may win out on getting that first.

Thank you so much, Ana, for giving average people with small budgets the confidence to create nice things themselves. Despite the issues (which were all noob mistakes), I had a blast building this and look forward to working on the Rustic Modern Console table for our entry way (as well as plenty of other projects)!

Show Me Your Life - Dining Room

A long time ago, I mentioned I painted the dining room RED. I never got around to posting pictures because we took our sweet time buying furniture. It's still not decorated as well or as much as I'd like, but it's another room that's so close to finished, I don't feel bad participating once again in Kelly's Show Us Your Life series.












Our side board with tea cups and saucer

















Our beautiful wedding china on display













The whole room (an part of the butler's pantry) today, mostly decorated


















The whole room from another angle.

I still want something on the wall over the side board. A rug would be nice. And the candle sticks don't really fit the color scheme of the house (I promise I do actually have one), but my grandmother bought them on her trip to Latvia in 2007, her first since WW II. They're a little special :)

The Puppy Dog

I have been remiss. Oh my goodness. How I have let this drag on for so long, I have no idea! A little while (ok, like 2 posts and 3 months ago), I mentioned we adopted a four-legged bundle of joy. We're almost 3 months into this whole dog-parent thing (don't be surprised when I refer to him as "puppy." He's not. He's just too cute to not call him my puppy) now and that lone post remains the only evidence of Mister in our lives :(.
We've had an...interesting time so far! We've had to deal with separation anxiety, so if y'all have any tips, let them roll! Consequently, we've been working with a behaviorist. Becoming confident leaders has been tough, but he's catching on to not being first and not getting attention because he's asking for it. We still struggle with his constant barking when he's in his crate and I'm gone (I'm the one he's attached to), though. Our trainer keeps reminding us that "Separation anxiety is a marathon, not a sprint." The goal is to have him be able to stay home after Christmas when I head to Ohio for a wedding and Husband stays home. That gives us 3 months. Sigh. Start praying now!
Don't get me wrong! When we're home, Mister is the sweetest thing. He loves his weekend belly rubs and ear scratches. He never barks at other people or animals. He's perfectly content to lay around and sleep all day. We're in love and we're trying our best to help him understand he's a keeper!
Enough words though. This little boy is too cute to not post a zillion pictures!
















Our first family portrait, while on vacation in Canada












Helping Dad play his video games













"I love having my neck and belly scratched!

Enjoying the back yard


Naturally, as Halloween approaches, we will have super-adorable pictures of Mister in his costume. Not sure what he'll be yet. Husband has his heart set on Batman, but Target was sold out in stores and I don't really want to pay shipping for it. I might have to DIY Batman.

Show Me Your Life- Master Bedroom

Once again, I write my apologies. I promise I've been working on some projects. One is technically done, but I want to finish decorating it before I show it off. Don't worry, I just need a lamp. Too bad they're freakin' expensive!

Anyway, one of the blogs I read is starting up a home tour for "Show Me Your Life" every Friday. First up is the master bedroom. Luckily, this is one of the most finished rooms in our house, so I figured now was a great time to get involved is this as well as jumping back on the blogging wagon :)

So without further adieu, here's our master bedroom:

Obviously, this is our bed. All of our bedroom furniture came from Wal-Mart, of all places! It's surprisingly high quality and was extremely affordable. We asked for the nightstands for Christmas one year just to test it out. They ship for free site-to-store. My mom took advantage of this for the Christmas night stands, but we opted for delivery for the other pieces. No way were they going to fit in our cars!

This is Husband's dresser (which I'm trying to figure out how to steal for myself). The only complaints we have about our furniture are on this dresser--the drawers are a little snug. I could probably sand down the openings, but haven't gotten around to it.

This is my dresser (which I want to trade with for Husband's). I'm short and this dresser is not! I'd like to see what's sitting on top. Anyways, we also have a little reading area, even though most of our reading actually happens in the bed. This pictures on the wall are a cross-stitch prayer my grandmother made us for a wedding gift (which ended up being a first anniversary gift, but that doesn't make it less special)! In the middle is a Native American marriage blessing Husband's uncle gave for Christmas one year. Finally, we have a signature mat from our wedding with an engagement picture. We opted for a signature mat instead of a guest book just so we could be reminded of our loved ones all the time. Plus, we are rapidly running out of room on our book shelf!

So that's essentially our master bedroom. Nothing fancy and not completely done, but it suits us and it's a relaxing place to be at night!

Not a Real Update

One of these days I'll post a real update. I'm sure everyone wants to see some Mister! For now, this post is just so I can copy some pictures to a program so I can do a little decorating online before I start drilling into brick and digging up plants ;) Now you're really curious, huh? Let's just say this weekend has produced a nail gun and air compressor(not for keeps, but for borrows), so I'll have a few other updates.

So, remember how I mentioned I got motivated to fix up the laundry room due to "the impending arrival of a four-legged, furry friend?" Well, you were probably too caught up in my use of alliteration to think about what that meant. Meet Mister:

He's an about 5 year old Jack Russell mix. So far, he's pretty low-key which matches our lifestyle pretty nicely. We brought him home yesterday and seems to be settling in.

We're still working on making our yard essentially inescapable (and being a little perturbed at the fence people but that's another story), so we're not letting him out without a leash. Luckily, he's very good with it!

Just wanted to share our new bundle of joy ;)

Laundry Room

I finally got around to working on the laundry room. I had lofty goals, so it took awhile for me to get motivated...and to find time to actually get it all done! Turns out the impending arrival of a particular four-legged furry friend was all the motivation I needed (as the laundry room will be his temporary bedroom).

What I did: Painted, lowered the shelf over the washer/dryer, did a little DIY artwork/Amazon.com shopping

Art, folding table, and ironing board

Me reaching our new shelf! I subscribed to my mom's theory of home decorating/renovating which is do things for you and your everyday life. When we go to sell, the shelf will likely need to be raised back, as your average home buyer is NOT 4'8". But this is for ME, NOW.

Another view of our new shelf.

Now all we need is something for the suddenly expansive area over the shelf! Any ideas?