Living room project

I'm excited to share with you another completed house project! {am I on a roll or what?!}

Our fireplace wall in the living room always felt very blah. It is situated between two 'doorways' and it needed a little sprucing up.

All of our walls in the living room are the same color, which I can't remember what it's called right now. But, they are all pretty bland. I wanted this wall to stand out and be more defined. We were thinking of painting it a solid color, but then I've really been into chevron patterns recently. So I bought a stencil {over a year ago!} and finally was able to spend two days working on it.

 

I wanted it to be visible, but still subtle so I chose to use this Martha Stewart  paint:

 

I decided to use pencil and trace the stencil, instead of painting over the stencil, then moving it, and painting it again. Since it was a chevron pattern, I knew it had to be level and straight. Fortunately my Mom was just a phone call away and gave me some tips. Unfortunately, I called her after already getting started, so I was super thankful for the Magic Eraser I had on hand to erase the lines I had already drawn. 

I spent about an hour erasing my pencil marks but the Magic Eraser worked amazingly well!

I decided to go with Frogtape because I heard that it works better than the blue painters tape. It was a little more costly, but I knew I needed clean lines so I felt it was worth it.

 

After I got the pencil lines correct it was time to tape:

and tape...

and tape...

{I indulged in a venti caramel macchiato as a way to keep me going!}

 

Phew! That was a lot of taping! It took an entire roll plus a little more from a second roll to complete the pattern.

 

The painting itself only took a couple of hours and two coats of paint.

 

I LOVE how the gold stands out and shimmers in the light. I don't think that it looks too busy, it just makes the fireplace wall defined which is what I was hoping for. The gold paint reflects some gold specks we have in our tile surrounding the fireplace, tying everything in nicely.

 

The tape did bleed a little bit in some places so I have some touch ups to do, but overall I am really happy with how the frogtape held up, compared to the regular blue painters tape.

 

{and I just looked on the Frogtape website and saw that they have shape tape and they have it in chevron pattern!} 

For the most part, the lines are crisp and came out exactly as I hoped!

 

I am so happy with the wall. The paint is great and even with the few touch ups needed, I can take my time with those.

 

Have you done anything to spruce up your space lately?

Happy Sunday!

Happy Sunday Friends!
I hope that your weekend is going well and that you are looking forward to a great week. This is my little space to share with you some things that are making me happy recently. Enjoy!

I found this little drink at Target and it is so delicious! The right amount of fruity-ness and fizziness and the perfect drink for these hot days we are having!

One day at work, we had 3 boxes of doughnuts brought in. We were also bbq'ing hamburgers that afternoon, so of course one of my co-workers decided to try making a doughnut burger. He went all out: ketchup, mustard, lettuce, cheese. He could only take about 3 bites before he was done with it. It looked pretty, but not appetizing! Sometimes we have to make work fun!

Yay, another project completed!

We have a half fence between out house and the neighbors. Fortunately, it's between our side yards that don't get a lot of use, but our den window looks out that way. We decided that instead of raising the fence we would add lattice and jasmine plants opposite the window. This was a quick project {less than an hour to complete!} and it makes such a difference already!  

 

I picked Bailey up from Chris' Mom and since it was already warm at 8am, we went to hang out at the mall. It was so quiet and Bailey really enjoyed riding the little mechanical cars. Seeing that smile was worth the 75 cents!

I have been looking for leopard print shoes for awhile and when I saw Gen post her new shoes, I knew they were what I was looking for. Although, they did gave me blisters the first time I wore them, I still love them and will keep breaking them in.

 

I hope that you have a great week!

Happy Sunday! 

 

 

Veggetti

I'm not big on buying things from infomercials (although being awake at 3am at work those things start to look almost necessary!) but when I saw the Veggetti during daytime TV, I decided it was worth the $10 and I bought one.

 

I was pretty excited about this, making "noodles" from vegetables and making healthier meals? Sign me up! I decided to start off easy and just use some zucchini.

It is so easy to use! You cut the ends off of your vegetable, put it into the end and spin it clockwise. You then get "noodles"! I used three zucchini for Chris and I and just boiled them for about 5 minutes! I topped the zucchini with some sausage and pasta sauce to complete the dish.

 

After dishing up our plates, Chris quickly gobbled it up! I think he was shocked that he enjoyed the meal as much as he did because he was less than excited to try it.  

{of course I didn't get any pictures of the plated food because we ate it all so fast}

I am so happy to have found this kitchen tool! I even brought it to work tonight and made the meal again.

 

Amazon has a variety of them in different prices.

 

Did you know that if you shop at:

smile.amazon.com

you can designate a charity and Amazon will donate a portion of your purchase price to that charity? At no additional cost to you!

 

Let me know if you have any fun Veggetti recipies! 

Getaway

Last Monday night we were able to have a mini-getaway, just Chris and I.

We headed up to Santa Barbara to see the Jack Johnson concert. Chris' mom stayed with Bailey and it made the trip even better knowing that she was getting in some good Mema/Bailey time.

 

First stop: Starbucks for Grande Iced Caramel Macchiatos, upside down.

(Upside down just means mixed up, not layered)

 

We enjoyed a leisurely drive up the coast, it only took us about 30 minutes to get to our lovely hotel {the Fess Parker Doubletree}.

They gave us cookies upon check-in and I devoured mine. What a nice welcome!

 

Since we were early, we decided to walk from the hotel to State Street since it was such a beautiful day outside.

We decided to stop at Sandbar to have dinner and margaritas before catching a cab to the concert.

I posted this collage on Instagram and my friend commented:

"Alcohol, caffeine, and the one you love! Sounds perfect."

and it was!

It was unbelievably amazing, spending time alone together. The weather was perfect and just being able to sit next to Chris, a little dressed up, made for a perfect evening. 

The concert itself was wonderful! Jack was so funny and relaxed and played all our favorite songs. This song was our first dance as husband and wife and it made us cuddle closer and smile when he played it.

 

We caught the shuttle back to our hotel and sat at the bar for a few minutes, people watching and enjoying being out together before heading to bed.

 

We decided to eat breakfast at the hotel and they had the most amazing bread pudding!

Chris was a little wary of it, but after tasting mine, he asked for a bowl of his own.

 

We decided to head home after breakfast to work on some house projects while Bailey was at daycare. It was nice not having to rush home and we had a productive day at home.

 

I am so thankful that we were able to get away together, it was a much needed beak from everyday life and helped us to reconnect as a couple. We have another concert next month and I'm excited to have that date night to look forward to!

The Best

Today is Grandparent's Day!

 

We have been blessed to have some of the most wonderful Grandparents in our lives!

Bailey with her Nana and Grandpa

Bottom row: My Nana and Pawpaw, my Grandma and Grandpa, Chris and his Grandpa.

Right side: Chris' Grandma, Bailey and her Mema

 

I am so lucky to have grown up surrounded by so much love and we are so blessed that Bailey has so many people who love her and are helping to raise her.

 

To all of the Grandparents in our lives:

We love you and are forever grateful to have you!

Some completed projects

I am SO happy to report that we've been able to complete some projects lately. The house has taken a backseat to a certain two year old and it felt really good to cross off some to-do's {even if they were only on the list in my head}.

 

Remember THIS project?

{the never-ending project that we started September 2011}

 

WE FINALLY FINISHED IT!!!!

{almost 3 years later}

{minus a few minute details}

It is no where near perfect or professional looking, but it is done!

It is such a relief having that project off our backs and I'm happy to say that we made it though without any big fights erupting!

Our next step is to plant some drought tolerant plants along the edge. I'm looking forward to decorating our porch for holidays and spending time enjoying our front yard a bit more.

 

An easy paint project.

 

I bought a bench on sale from World Market a few years ago {similar here} and it was basic wood. I always envisioned it having a place on our front porch one day.

The screws had come loose and it was starting to weather a bit, so I knew it needed some paint to spruce it up and to make it last longer.

 

I decided to use green paint because we are contemplating painting our house trim and eaves the same color.

Who knew two coats of paint could breathe such new life into a drab piece of furniture! I added two red pillows for contrast and I love how it both pops and seamlessly fits in at the same time on our new porch. 

We moved our small fountain from the backyard to the front {tying in the red pillows and red bricks} and we bought a new hose reel at Home Depot. We still want to make a cover for our water softener, just out of sight on the right, and add some wall décor to the left.

 

Den Décor

 

Our den has a huge wall, running the length of our garage, and I was stumped at how to fill up the space without making it too busy.

 

A before picture:

{Right after we moved in, so we do have a new coffee table and pillows}

 

I had a picture of the three of us blown up and framed. That was all that was on the wall for a few months. I finally shopped our own home for some smaller frames and candle holders to flank the big picture.

{sorry for the iPhone photo}

Each small frame holds a picture of our family members.

Top Left: Chris and his parents at his Paramedic graduation

Bottom Left: Chris' sister and her family

Bottom Right: My brother and sister-in-law

Top Right: My parents and Bailey

 

I haven't decided if I like the black or white mats in the frames, but I am so happy having something up on the wall!

 

 It makes me feel so accomplished and happy to have completed a project (or three)! Hopefully we will have time to complete a few more to-do's in the near future!

 

Some other projects on our list:

~ Paint the house and eaves

~ Dual paned windows

~ Plant front and back flower beds

~ Remove a small wall in the guest bathroom

~ Change the wall décor in the hallway

~ Make a flower privacy screen next to den window

~ Organize back sheds

 

Etc., Etc., Etc.