Closet Re-do #2

We did a closet project in our bedroom a few months ago, so now it was time to move onto the coat closet in our hallway/living room.

As Eric had the door removed to paint it (since we're painting all the trim white in the house), I decided that it looked messy and blah and we should give it a facelift :)


My purses resided in a plastic tub on the floor, with Eric's bowling ball, under our coats (which always had a few falling off the hangers)

As you can see from Eric's face, he was also shocked at the state of our closet....

So here we go:

1 - Remove everything from the closet and assess the situation.  We found a scrape that needed to be patched an realized that the baseboards had been removed and hung up higher so there was something sturdy to screw the bar into.



2 - Unscrew bar, remove boards, spackle.
3 - Sand and paint trim and walls.
4 - Paint new boards and hang.





5 - Attach hooks.
6 - Sort coats and other items, donate unwanted or ill-fitting items, and hang the rest in our new closet :)
7 - Re-attached freshly painted white door.

Sounds simple right??  Really, it wasn't bad.  I thought it was going to be a bada-bing-bada-boom 5 hour project.  I was wrong.  But really it was about 9 hours in all, and $20.

Major improvement right?!?!

THIS guy is PUMPED!

The closet doesn't look perfect, because I still need to part with a few of my coats, but I need to ease into it a few at a time.

Before

After

"Lets do a closet makeover"

So about a week ago, a conversation (via email, while at work) between Eric and I went something like this:

Me: Lets do a closet makeover!

Eric: Didn't we already do that?

Me: Not our bedroom closet, I mean the coat closet in the living room, it'll be easy.

Eric: Ok....

Me: All we have to do is remove the bar, paint, and hang some hooks, a few hours and we're done!  It will be great!

Eric: Oh really?  It will be that easy, huh?

Me: YES!  A 1 day project, since we have to let paint dry.

4 days later....here we are, ALMOST finished.

I will share before and after pics soon.


But we ran into a few small snags -
#1 the previous owner removed the baseboards to attach them 5 feet higher to have something to screw the bar into....
#2 there was a MAJOR hole/dent in the wall...almost the size of a cantalope
#3 the previous paint job was shoddy to say the least

So we are 3/4 of the way done with plans to be 100% finished this evening.  I can't waaaaaaaaaiiiiit!!!!

What sparked this?  Eric has been painting the closet door for about 2 weeks (it has slats and is a little tricky) so the closet has been doorless, forcing me to look at the disorganized mess.  Maybe we'll even weed out a few coats we have no use for and donate them. 

Thankful Friday

I realize Thanksgiving was yesterday, however, I was with family, not anywhere near a computer, so today I'll recap all the things I'm thankful for, afterall, we shouldn't JUST be thankful on Thanksgiving, but everyday.

#1 - My family, including my husband, parents, siblings, in-laws, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, nephews.  Wish we all lived closer, but we all manage to do a pretty great job of staying in touch despite the distance between us.

#2 - Friends that are like family.  I have such great friends, some that I have carried with me throughout high school and college years, into adulthood and now we are sharing the joys of watching families grow and change together.  Other friends came along later, but it seems like they've been around for ages :)

#3 - Technology.  Although it is sometimes sad to look around a group of relatives or friends in the same room and realize that everyone is on their phone, it is those phones that keep us in touch on the days we can't be together.  If it weren't for Skype and ipads, I wouldn't have the pleasure of seeing frequent photos and video of my nephews as they grow up.

#4 - My job.  I am SO thankful that Eric and I both have steady incomes and don't have to wonder how we will make ends meet.  Sure, there are times we have to be careful, but we have the luxury of cable tv, internet, and other non-necessities that many people go without these days. 

#5 - Our home.  No, it isn't big, no, it isn't fancy, but it is ours! (well sort of, technically speaking it belongs to the bank for 28 more years, but its KIND of ours haha).  We are able to be in a place that we call our own, with plenty of space for what our life requires, a cozy place to call home and to be together at the end of everyday.

#6 - Our health.  For those of you that know me, I am not a particularly healthy person all the time, but I am well enough to get out of bed everyday and live a normal life!  My husband apparently has the body and immune system of steel, and is healthy as a horse (are horses even healthy? why do we say that?).

The list could go on and on, but that is the gist.  Basically, I hope everyone has non-material things/people in their life to be thankful for, because THOSE are what really matter.  I spend too much time worrying if my shoes are the right color, where we should go out to dinner on a Friday night, and who will win a football game.  It's good to take a step back and look at the big picture, and be aware of what this life is REALLY about.

Hope you all enjoyed the holiday with someone you love!

The space of nothing

Part of what won us over when looking at this house was all of the beautiful built-in wooden furniture.
My absolute favorite is our china cabinet.  The previous owner did an AMAZING job on this.  Glass shelves, lighting, beautiful finish.

This pic was taken just after we moved in, so we were still filling it up.

See the space in the middle?  Where those bowls are?  It quickly became a space of nothing.  There isn't a light under there, so it was always a little dark, which made it easy to just throw things and not give them another thought.  Kinda like this...

We needed to remedy this situation, so we started with the idea of making it a drink station.  First thing was taking this lovely wooden tray, one of my very first DIY projects...incase you can't tell (maybe I'm being arrogant but I think I've come a long way), and giving it new life with....you guessed it...SPRAY PAINT!

Sweet wine bottle holder from our good friend Scot.

Finished product! Doesn't that tray look SOOO much better?!?!

Kitchen update

We are busy little bees here (as always) working on projects, but I think there are quite a few that I haven't updated you on, so lets get started.

Have you seen the kitchen???  Remember how there was SO. MUCH. WOOD.???? Not so much anymore!

What we saw when we took the end off.

We felt a little like Dexter with the walls draped in plastic, but Olive seemed to like it and it kept the paint off the counters.

Caught someone in the fridge...

WHOA!  Checkout that red!  And that wooden rooster.

Fall camping

A few weeks ago, we went camping with about 12 of our friends from the State College area.

Yes, we are crazy, and we camp (in tents) in mid-October.  Does that make us insane?!?! YES!

We have a great time around the fire, playing games, just having a generally great time.
This year was particularly cold overnight, so luckily I packed my Forever Lazy to sleep in at night.  If you aren't familiar, look it up.  When you see it, you will understand why my friend Sarah lovingly referred to me as a Teletubby all weekend! hahaha

Typically, Eric and I take an air mattress, but this year we had a theory.  The theory was that the air inside said mattress gets COLD so then we are sleeping on 3 inches of cold air.  So we skipped it. This year, we took ground pads and about 3 comforters for padding, then sleeping bags and blankets for warmth.  It was great!  We were WAY warmer than in years passed.

I ventured a few miles away to Trough Creek State Park with a few of the girls on Saturday for a bit to take a little hike.  It was BEAUTIFUL!
Check it out.  This cool guy below is the Balancing Rock.  It is huuuuuge and is literally balancing on the edge of a cliff.

Switcheroo

Our 2 kitties are the center of our world! (I mean aside from house projects, loving our nephews, Penn State football, and all those other things we love).

Everyday when I come home from work, I am greeted by a paw under the door as I come up the basement steps.  Little miss Olive (the black and white one) is excited to see me!  We are buds.  She comes to bed with me at night, and snuggles while I watch tv or read.
Now that cooler weather is here, she has been crawling under the covers and spooning with me (she's the little spoon of course).  SO. STINKIN.CUTE.

Izzy, the grey one, is a year older and she's a timid girl.  Usually hangs back and observes, but the second my feet hit the floor every morning, she lets out a little cry and wants me to follow her to her food bowl.  I'll never understand why because it is NEVER empty.  But mainly, she's a daddy's girl.  Always hangs out stretched out on his leg.  Lately she's been hanging out with me more.  Not sure why, but Eric is jealous, so I'll take it :)

Olive was SUPER TINY when we got her.  I managed to snap a pic of them this past weekend in almost the same position as a very early one (except they are on opposite sides).  Seeing how much Olive has grown, and as taken over Izzy as the "big cat" is unbelievable.

How sweet are my sleeping girls?!?!?!

Open door policy

We've been living without a bathroom door for 2 days now.  Some of you might be thinking YIKES, but really, it hasn't phased us in the least.

See, with a cat who feels the need to be involved in everything, if you go in the bathroom (for ANY reason) and latch the door closed with her on the other side, you spend the entire time listening to her paw at the door and cry.  That would be little miss Olive.  

Yes, this picture does capture her in a "normal" state...which, for her, is INSANE!


So back to the door thing...

Our friends laugh at what they call our "open door policy", which is maybe TMI for some of you, but we aren't big on privacy in our house/marriage.  No matter what either of us is doing, the other is welcome to come into whatever room, during whatever event.  Changing clothes? Come on in! Talking on the phone? Be my guest! Taking a seat on the potty? Come talk about your day!  Why not???

So living without a bathroom door hasn't phased us, but we have guests coming this weekend.  They will probably want to "sit" and shower alone dontcha think? Although Olive will stick her paws under the door in hopes that someday she'll fit in that small space between the door and the floor...and Izzy will stare at her like she's insane (cuz she is).

Reason we have no door??  Biggest project of our lives thus far....painting ALL of the wood trim and ALL of the doors in our house.  Stay tuned!

Chambray?

Getting ready for work Friday morning (it has gotten pretty chilly here in PA) and figured I needed long sleeves and pants, but nothing too heavy.

I decided to go with this "chambray" shirt.  Now, as of Friday, I thought chambray was just a denim-looking article that was actually cotton and much softer and lighter-weight than denim.  Since then, I have come to learn that it actually has quite a bit more white than what this shirt is, but I'll still refer to it as my chambray shirt.

Since I work in an office setting and visit with customers, I can't look casual, but on Fridays I sometimes dress down a bit more.  So I say to Eric in the morning (as he's still in bed) "Hey, do the pearls negate the casual feel of this chambray shirt?"

His response, a groggy one at that, "I don't even know what those words mean".  Then he got up and walked around the house asking me how my "shmoshmorshin" outfit was treating me for the next 10 minutes until I walked out the door.

People always say to be "Oh, to be a fly on the wall in your house", and now I know why....

Life is stressful

Therefore.....I give you this...a great way to keep your hair out of your face while eating, because getting a noodle in your hair would make you look RIDICULOUS...

Photo courtesy of some random person on Pinterest.  Holy moly do I love the "Humor" category!

3 pronged hole

Our Tuesday evening can be summed up with no words, and simply a picture...

But, of course, you must hear the story behind it.

So we spent our Labor Day weekend at the cabin in Tioga County with 10 friends and had an AMAZING time as always.
Monday, when we got home, as usual, we had about 15 loads of laundry...that is obvi an exaggeration since we're only 2 people.

Anyways, it was time to start tackling the beast.  The first load of laundry dried for 70 minutes, that is correct, OVER an hour, and the dryer wasn't even warm and the clothes were SOAKED.

"I think we have a problem."  Not something anyone wants to say or hear on the day you get home from a great weekend but all you want is to sit on the couch all day and watch TV.

So what did we do?  Like the true lazy people we sometimes are, we opened the dryer door and left it for the next day.

Come Tuesday, Eric tries to run the dryer again, with no luck.

Tuesday evening, swap dryers.  When we moved into our house we already had a washer and dryer, but there was a set left there and already hooked up, so we decided to use what was there until it died and then we'd just have a backup.

Easy-peasy.  Unplug the old, move it 5 feet, move the new one over and just hook that puppy up.

In the words of my brother WRONG-O DONG-O.  Can't fit a 4-pronged plug into a 3-pronged hole.

I would have given up, gone to the hardware store the next day, purchased a new outlet and proceeded from there.  Not my husband though.  He has spent 2 summers now working with a friend of his who is a painter by trade but really a Jason-of-all-trades.  So Eric decides, "I know how to fix this", and proceeds to remove the plate covering the electrical wires and unscrewing the power cords. He's going to just swap them out.  I'm thinking "this is going nowhere".

Much to my surprise (sorry for doubting you my dear), about 35 min later the new dryer was in place, running like a dream and it was HOT!  YAY!!!
Who knew you could even do such a thing?!?!?

So Eric gets the award for being more valuable than I gave him credit for, and I award myself with the Best Assistant a Handyman Could Ever Have medal.  Yes, that's right folks, I sat on the basement floor the entire time, watching and saying "are you sure this is safe", "are you positive we won't burn our house down", and contributed no actual help.

Photos courtesy of Yahoo! Images

Social technology dilemma

So here's the deal, I now have the following forms of social media/technology:
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Blog
Email (2 personal accounts)
Pinterest

My problem here is, how to share the same thing on multiple platforms without uploading the same picture and typing a similar story/description of it 4 times?

I clearly have yet to master the full gamut of e-socializing.

Anyways, Instagram is super fun, if you aren't into it yet.  Its bascially Facebook without all the games, drama, quizzes, etc.  Its just photos of people you love.

And my vent for the day......OVER.

Mondays stink.  Go eat some chocolate.

Through the eyes of a child

What a great weekend!

Friday night we checked out the Bellefonte Arts and Crafts Fair and ate some Scott's Roasting bbq sammies for dinner....holy crap were they good.

Then we wandered around and bought some Mocha Syrup from a coffee maker, can't WAIT to put that stuff on some ice cream.

On our way to the car, I stopped at 1 final vendor to checkout their gourd birdhouses, and I found these AMAZING vintage rose rings.  I bought 3 :)  Better yet....THEY WERE ONLY $2.  Go ahead. Be jealous.

Saturday came the best part of the weekend.  We went to my brother's house to babysit our nephew for the evening while they were at a wedding.  He is a little over 13 months at this point, walking all over the place like a crazy man and jabbering constantly.  He isn't really making actual words yet (however, I think he has "move" down pretty well when he wants to get through and Uncle E's feet are in the way).

Every time he walked my way and reached up for me to get him, my heart melted just a little.

Life is THRILLING through the eyes of a child, and for the evening I felt that way too.  When we played, every single toy seemed like he had never seen it before.  Dinner time was an adventure.  Playing outside, riding in his new wagon was THE. MOST. EXCITING. THING. EVER.

He was smiling the entire time, as were we in seeing how much he enjoyed it. 

We also discovered that guitar playing is captivating to a 1-year-old.  Uncle E is a star according to this little boy*

Wish we lived close enough to babysit more, but we did get a solid 8 hours, and I must say, we did pretty darn great!

Oh Chicago

I spent about 3 days in Chicago recently for business, and although our conference was jam-packed full of meetings, lunches, seminars, group dinners, etc., I did manage to get out of the Hilton for a very brief time to checkout the few blocks nearby.

By a very brief time, I mean that I ventured out for about 20 min over the lunch break one day and walked 2 blocks in either direction of the hotel, just so I could really feel like I saw something, which I did!

On this little walk I saw, a fountain, a sweet little park, and got to pet a police horse named Francis.



We did have a dinner party at the Navy Pier one night, and this was the view of the sunset from the balcony

 My travels were less than smooth, with flight delays, sprinting through the airport on more than one occasion, almost missing my layovers, having a broken seat which resulted in sitting in the very front of the plane with the flight attendant, but all in all, I ended up making it to my final destinations on time and in one piece.

Borrowing good reads

I'm sure that everyone has been to a library and borrowed a book at some point in their life.

I used to go to the Carnegie Library with my dad when I was a kid and borrow books all the time.  For some reason I can still remember the smell in there, and when I open a hardback book from any library now, the pages take me back.

A semi-recent discovery I have made is borrowing books from other Kindle users.  I, myself, have an iPad, but the Kindle App is free.






This is my second borrowed book.

Not all books can be loaned, but when you have one that can be:
The original purchaser can select to loan a book, put in an email address to send it to and then the recipient has (I think) 1 week to accept and then 2 weeks to read before the book goes back.

You can't both be reading it at the same time, so make sure you finish before you loan, and if you are the recipient, make SURE you read it all in 2 weeks before it disappears!  This book, I'm at around 40% with only 4 days left and I will be pretty disappointed if I miss the ending, so I better get crackin!

Does it get any cooler than that?!?!?!  YES IT DOES MY FRIENDS!

I have 2 iPads actually, a personal one and one that I use for work (belongs to my company), but I have the Kindle app on each, because when I travel or have my lunch break or take my work iPad home for the evening, I want to have access to all my personal fun things.
When I open my Kindle app on either iPad, and a book that I was reading on the other one, it asks me if I want to skip to the spot where I last left off on my other device.

That's right, they talk to each other and keep my same spot no matter which one I read from!

The joys of modern technology!

PS, these 2 books by Rick Murcer are GREAT if you are looking for a captivating thriller that is also an easy read.
Images courtesy of Amazon.com