I'm participating in a fun blog party on Decor Chick. Of course, my molding trouble, um, projects are not yet finished, but I do love seeing what other are doing! If youlove the lok of moldings as much as I do, take a few mnutes to check out some of the amazing projects others have tackled!
The last ceiling is DONE. The FAN is IN! The scaffolding is GONE!
Of course,there is is still a punch list to do, including patching nail holes and painting trim and buying a new couch, but it was nearly 60 degree today and the sun was shining brightly and I simply HAD to do a little decorating!
Here’s a peek of the dining room:
I have a collection of Pekinese sketches and paintings, and I’m so excited to be able to finally put them up! I have more, but I need to get some mats cute…. just a start!
Little Winkie jumping in the shot. I need to finish painting the window sashes.
See the sweet kitty napping?
How adorable are these little birdies?
I have a complete new attitude- the sun is out, its warm, all the major construction is done, and I can easily handle the stuff left over. I’m really getting excited now!
Well,not all, perhaps, but it helps.
After my mini-meltdown yesterday, my house STILL looks like this:
But I am seeing it in a different way. Look at how much SPACE there is! Look at how open it is! And soon enough it’ll all get done. :)
This is what I concentrated on yesterday:
NUTELLA COOKIES!!
and HOPE.
I read a lovely post yesterday at A Soft Place to Land. Kimba had the words I completely needed to hear at that moment. She wrote “Some days I need a reminder to choose joy….a reminder that spring will come again.” So, I chose JOY! When I was out, I picked up a bunch of daffodils to remind me that no matter how bleak it seems, the beauty will come out!
I had all the ingredients pre measured for when Aedan came home. He was THRILLED to help, and only ONE egg ended up on the floor! The Nutella cookies we great ( I would reduce the sugar next time, though. It was a wee bit too sweet to me)
A lot of people asked for the recipe, to make their own Nutella Goodness
Nutella Cures All Cookies
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1/2 cup nutella
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup miniature semi-sweet, chocolate chips
Directions
1. Cream butter and sugars on high speed about 3 minutes until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the egg and vanilla. Then add Nutella and mix until well combined.
2. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium and mix just until the dough is smooth. Fold in chocolate chips.
3. Form the dough into balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes or until set (they should start to crack on top). Let cookies cool about 5 minutes and transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Not sure exactly where I got this recipe- it’s on my saved mail written to myself, but everyone else loves them. I doubled the recipe, and baked half, and scooped out the remaining dough, please it on cookie sheets on waxed paper,and froze it. I then transferred it frozen to a Ziploc baggie, where I can remove a few at a time and bake them when we need a quick cookie.
Is my project going to be finished today? probably not. Probably not even this weekend. But it will get done. And then it will be BEAUTIFUL!
I have read enough decor and DIY blogs to know that they are almost always sweet, upbeat, & positive. There are before and after photos of a huge mess, or a plain room, or an ugly lamp, and then…TA DA!! a big reveal where stuff is magically transformed and everyone oohs and aahs! Am I the only one who gets frustrated and annoyed and just plain SICK OF CONSTRUCTIONS AND ALL IT ENTAILS?
I have a secret. Come closer,so I can share it with you.
I really, really hate painting. I'm tired of construction, and filling nail holes. and sanding.
Oh,I love the accomplished feeling I get when it is all done. But truthfully, I can feel very accomplished when I see the end product when I pay some wonderful person to do it! Am I lazy? Maybe a teeny bit. But mostly, I'm not so good at it. I do not have a lot of patience. I wanted to real in this blog, and be truthful. I wanted to show the real journey of making our house into our home. and it’s not all sweetness and light.
I don’t find many places on-line where people say-- hey, this stinks. I'm tried of it-- I QUIT! Of course I'm not going to quit- I will follow through and make sure it all gets done. But my real joy isn't in the construction part of it. I love the decorating. Putting it all together - finding unexpected pieces to use to reflect who my family is- how my home lives. I love (and have to!!) do it on a steep budget. It’s a challenge but I'm pretty good at it. (To be honest I do love painting furniture, just not walls.) I love to find something unloved, and making it lovely.
Could there be some deep seated psychology in there? I hate painting now, but liked it when my Mom and I did it together- and she died 7 years ago this month, on the 21st -I miss her). I love making the changes in our home that finally make it OURS, looking nothing like the 2 previous owners, but maybe it niggles at me a bit seeing how easy it was to "erase" them? Maybe I'm over thinking. Maybe I'm just cranky from being over budget, for both time and money, and I'm simply TIRED of tools and cardboard and dust. Maybe I'm tired of rain, and knowing it will most likely flood again with this rain pouring down, and I can't really paint in this weather. (Not sure if I l should cheer this or not!)
This is my lovely view for today. Gloomy, right?
I look at 10,000 nail holes that need to be filled, and my eyes tear up.
See all those nail holes?
I am overwhelmed.
Here’s what my house looks like today:
messy
yup. scaffolding & Cardboard
Hated paint cans can’t be put away
Yes, that is a saw
Notice no curtains. Neighbors have.
ok, I do ADORE that buffet, but it needs some love- to be cleaned off, my”magic” to bring it to life.
So now that I’ve just vented like crazy, and whined, here’s what I’m going to do:
I am going to make another cup of coffee, I am going to count my blessings, and I’m pretty sure they will add up to more than those dreaded nail holes. I’m going to pray for a little bit, pray for some strength, for clearer vision, for patience. Then I’m going to change out of my paint clothes, and go to Wally-world and get some pet food. Then I am going to come home and make Nutella chocolate chip cookies for my kids as I have been promising for days. Maybe I’ll fill holes tonight, maybe i won’t. They will still be there tomorrow. I hope tomorrow I’ll have a totally different attitude.
Well, not really, but I hate trying to hang it.
Here’s our first attempt:
Looks great, right? It’s UPSIDE DOWN.
We had to take it down. I tried really hard NOT to cry. So then I took the next day off and got the most FANTABULOUS AMAZING PERFECT buffet at Goodwill.Seriously, I HEART that thing! But, this is just a teaser—I’ll show ya later!
A few days later a friend and I tried.
This is what we ended up with:
See all those pieces of scrap molding I wasted as I was trying to figure out the angles? There was more—much much more.
So I did what every DIYer needs to do when they’ve tried and tried and it just doesn't work.
Call in someone. I found a great guy who came over and helped me with the molding, and it looks AWESOME! Tune in tomorrow to see some of the progress I’ve made!
UPDATE: To prove I didn't quit, here's some pics of quasi-finished rooms. There may be a bit of paintng left, but it's done for the most past! Check out THIS POST
I’m so flippin’ excited! I have all the power tools set up,and they are ready to go! I got to play with the table saw the other day, now I got unpack and set up my new 12” sliding compound miter saw. Somehow, that sounds so much better to me than just “miter saw”
I set that baby up, took some measurements, and got to sawing…
oh, yeah.. I conquered it, baby!
Notice my Home Depot apron—I felt like a true carpenter—I was all “WHERE IS MY TAPE!!!” and “WHO TOOK MY PENCIL!!!” ‘till I got smart and picked one of these bad boys up at the Depot. I asked for an orange one, but apparently those are for employees only. More on my love affair with my local Home Depot later….
After all the trim was cut, I got to figure out the ….DA DA DUM….
pneumatic nail guns!
How FUN are these guys? Ok, Sarah at Thifty Decor Chick totally has me inspired and amazed at some of her project, and SHE has one, and loves it so I needed one!
Conquered that, too!
And I loved the board and batten project that Myra did at the Casabella Project, so I decided to do it myself.
Since I’m still working on it, I’ll just give a wee sneak peek – still need to take care of the crown molding, and a few little touches, then I’ll reveal my new dining room. (I’m a bit perturbed that I can’t hand crown molding by myself, but it’s TOO LONG!) Hubs will help me tonight.
A few weeks have gone by—and a lot of work has been done- We are THIS CLOSE to finishing up the construction part of the remodel.
We got behind a bit by the terrible winter we’ve been having. I got to experience having my roof shoveled off so that the weight wouldn’t cause the roof to collapse!
This is the part of our property that I fenced in for our dog’s safety. The fence is a 4 foot chain link. Oh, you can’t see the fence? That’s because it’s buried. Poor doggies. (If you look hard, on the upper left, a bit of the fence peeks out over the snow)
This is on the way to my house. Wonder why the contractor couldn’t get up my windy, hilly street?
AND then we all got sick form construction dust, and allergies , but we are ALMOST there! ALMOST!
My bestie Ali and I painted…. and painted…. and painted—look at how brave she was painting the vaulted wall ok, that was the coffee break, but still-
Yes, this is the insanity that I have been living in.. but I’ve learned a lot – like how to use a table saw to rip down 1 x 6’s to make columns-
My child pointed out that I am wearing short sleeves and it’s snowy out, and I am always making HER put on a jacket, why don’t I have one on? First of all, do as I say…. and safety first! ;)
Hopefully I can show you photos of my FINISHED floor tomorrow--- hopefully!
It’s gonna be a bright.. bright sunshiney day!
Just LOOK at what happened today!
The boy got to help demo! Demo-ing makes even sick kids feel better.
The false support wall is up, and the new support beam is going in..
TADA! It’s gone!
Before:
After!
Those itty bitty support beams will be fleshed out by me to be lovely columns!
OPEN SPACE! This is looking towards the front door.
AND I got a great quote to finish up the ceilings- no more dust. (We’ve all gotten sick from all the dust). Next up- scraping the dining room and family room ceilings to prep for the plasterer. He’ll sheetrock the the beam, and do a little sheetrock magic! Can’t wait!
