Best way to hang a plate

Over the past few months I've been collecting plates to display in my kitchen nook.  It started when I found this adorable gold antique plate at a shop up north.  I loved it's design and imperfections!  I began venturing out to the Goodwill's around me collecting pieces that I thought would fit.  I finally finished my collection today with a few plates from West Elm - the only two that cost more than 99 cents! 

I got lucky finding some great plates, and I just added a few small touches to 3 of them.  One had pink flowers that I changed to a lighter grey color with porcelain paint.  The two with text on them, I hand drew with a industrial strength sharpie. 

I'm not sure (now, of course) why I thought this was the best idea, but I use 3M strips for everything.  I actually hung quite a few (heavy even) items above my fireplace that stayed up for over a year.  I also recently hung some mirrors with 3M strips.  They are really a wonderful tool to have around the house!  Well, come to find out, not so good for plates.  The biggest challenge was the lips on the back of the dishes.  I had quite a few placed on there and, I thought it was a rather secure way to hang them up. 

Here is round one.  They looked amazing, I was loving the spacing of the plates and the coloring.  However, after about an hour, I went outside to finish spray painting, and I hear one hit the ground.  I knew it was bound to happen, but not so soon.  Although I liked the plate on top, I wasn't super worried about replacing it. 

The heart breaking one was my favorite plate, which broke in half after I tried to put it up a second time.   I push just a little too hard and it just cracked.  This was the very first one I found, ugh.  So of course, I had to find a new way to hang them.  After doing some research online, I read that hot glue was actually one of the best and easiest ways to go.  I was little weary, but my mom agreed that it should be pretty secure. 

I thought I might as well test my luck and used a ton of hot glue and a paper clip on each of the plates.  Just make sure your glue is really hot, so the hold will be strong enough.  It looks horrible, but feels really secure, so I placed them up with nails using these hooks.

Now you can see the new arrangement is a little different than the first.  I really liked the first better, of course, but this one is growing on me.  I was able to find a plate to replace the top, but I don't think I'm going to stumble upon the other plate any time soon.  I still feel that I need 2 more to fill in the bottom center gap and one more on the top left.  We'll see what I can find!

Here are two shots of the ones I wrote on with sharpie:

So, if you are ever looking to hang some pretty little plates from your wall, I'd suggest using hot glue.  Or you'll get to hang them all over again! 

Love B

Exterior Face Lift

The latest project in the Walker household has been trying to give our house a little face lift.  MUCH needed if you ask me.  I'm not loving the pinkish trim and can't wait to paint it!!!  Seriously though, it has to be the one rainy week this summer that we decided to get started.  So maybe next week we can start again. Here are some pictures from Sunday's work:

Not sure what he's looking at but thought he looked pretty cute in the pix - Super serious. You can see we are having to replace a bunch of trim and a few panels. 

Yep, D had to hang out on the top of the house to get the siding off.  I'm sure that's totally safe, right?

There we go.  Luckily we got this all replaced before it decided to pour Sunday night. 

Oh, and did I mention that I ripped up our dining room carpet since I wasn't much help outside.  I'm using a Dremel tool to cut off the nails that were put into the cement.  It was pretty fun!  I'm planning on pulling up all the carpet in our living room and possibly painting the floor until we can afford some nice hardwood. 

Now just waiting for everything to stay dry so we can keep working.
Love B. 

Summer Projects

Is it Friday yet?  This week seems to be dragging for me, and yet, I feel summer in the air.  I'm ready for the long days of summer where your only plan is to lay by the pool and relax.  I need some me time.  It's like I can taste it and I can't wait to have a little down time to start on some projects I've spotted recently. 

Another HUGE item on our to do list is to pick out paint for the outside of our house. We've been waiting for Lowe's big rebate sale on paint and it's finally here.  We have until Saturday to take advantage, so I'll be sharing colors soon.  I can not tell you how much I am dying to paint the outside of our house!!!! 

Projects

I love my pretty little home, but I definitely still need to show it some TLC.  Everyday, walking in, I see those empty walls glaring at me to spice them up.  Here are a few little projects that I think will help fill up some space, organize my life, and make my home feel a little further in the right direction!

{Decor for my walls}
My walls are just so big and tall, and it's such a daunting task.  I have a love hate relationship with them.  Every time I think of a good idea, I sit on it and want to change it after a few days.  Here is one my ideas I'm liking right now...  I have a space in my kitchen nook that I thought about doing a little arrangement like this:

I love the gold.  I am hoping to find some great plates, but I can always DIY some white ones as well. 

{Build a bench with cushion to decorate and hide items in the bedroom}
Something like this, with storage for blankets and maybe a cute cushion on top! 

{Organize my jewelry in my closet}
Really need to do this!  I have some knobs, but need to get a large frame to put around them.

Love this idea as well for the little items

{Find an entry way table}
Love the color pop and needs to be something small.

Just adore this one.

{Make a dog bed}
Yes, that's right, our 90+ pound Great Dane sleeps in our bed.  Yeah, we need to do something like this so Steel stops taking up all our leg room.  I would like something that pulls out from under our bed, so it easily can be hidden and pulled out at night.

Oh, so many projects.  If it wasn't wedding season, I might get some of them done!

Ramblings

:: I really want to paint my bedroom this color.  

Isn't it amazing?  Currently my bedroom is a brighter blue, and the feel doesn't really match the rest of the house.  It's been 2 years since we have been in the house, so I feel the change is needed.  This might be happening this weekend.

:: I went on a wine tour in the hill country yesterday.  It was the 3rd I've been on and it was (as always) amazing!  Can I say, I LOVE my job.  My favorite winery that I've been to is Flat Creek Winery.  They have a beautiful facility with gorgeous views and delicious award winning wines.  My favorite is their Almond Sparkling Wine.  They don't sell it here in the stores, so I had to get a bottle. It is sweet, bubbly and delicious. 

:: I finally have motivation to get back in the groove of working out.  I have decided to not just run, but incorporate strength training on the days I can't go running.  I had two main excuses I seemed to use quite often - 1. Hate running in the cold and 2. I can't run in the dark.  Since I'm using select P90X videos for the training, I can do it inside which eliminates those excuses.  I've done a few works outs this week, and let me tell you I am sore!  It has felt so good to work out.  I notice I sleep and feel so much better, and I have to keep reminding myself that. 

:: Our poor little Bella bean has had a hurt little leg for the last few weeks.  We took her to the vet last week, and she thought it was actually her knee and not her hip which we had first thought.  She was on some anti-inflamatory medicine that helped a little, but she is just so hyper.  We were told to let her rest and not let her really run or play on it, which we try to, but she is nuts.  At night around 7:30-8 she just starts barking at us, wanting us to play with her.  Plus how can your resist this face and her adorable little smile??!

She has gotten a little better, but if she runs or gets a little crazy, it starts to hurt her again.  I think she'll be revisiting the vet if it doesn't get better soon!

I'm excited for the weekend, how about you?
Love B

So. Many. Pillows.

I love pillows - sorry D, but it's true! He thinks I'd cover our whole house with them if I could... and I just might. Ha. No, really! I tend to quickly get tired of decor in the house, so I decided to spice up the living room a little bit. I had a few pillows in there, so I re-covered 2, kept 2 the same, and added a smaller one. This is mostly thanks to my momma. She rocks them out so quickly, and sometimes I feel that I'm just there for moral support. :o)

These are the ones that we re-covered. This shows both sides - pattern on one and grey on the back.

  The was the smaller pillow that we made with the pulled fabric stripe down the side.

Here is a closer look to the pulled view. The left over fabric was not quite long enough, so there are less folds then I originally planned. I still really like the end result though.

Here is the side view of the pattern/grey mix. 

If you recognize the material from the larger pillows, it's because it was hanging on the wall behind our dining room table. Now... what to do with all that new wall space? I found this inspiration picture that I love. I think it could look really amazing in my space AND we have this huge mirror piece from our bathroom remodel I could use. I foresee another DIY project in my future.

I am also in the process of making some yummy mango sorbet as I type this... Can't finish fast enough! Love B

Busy. Busy.

We had such a busy weekend with all the projects we've got going on.  I found this wreath online, from House of Smiths Blog, that I just had to make for my front door.  I've made these flowers with fabric for a pillow that is on my bed.  I under estimated the number of flowers needed to fill the size of foam I got.  However, tissues flowers are way easier to make than fabric ones.  What I thought would be a day project, is now a week project!  Finished pictures to come.

What I am most excited about is what has been happening in our bathroom.  TILE!!!!!!!!  That's right, we finally got the time to start on the wall.  We hope to finish it tonight and grout tomorrow..  Here are a few pictures and I'm off to get started!

The subway tiles look green in this image, but they are grey.  The shelf is not really blue, just covered in tape and those are pretty glass tiles in the shelf.  We are getting stuff done!!!  Love B

A Classic.

I've felt a little off today, but not really sure why.  I'm sure I just need some more sleep, but I tried to be productive today.  We started off with our Sunday tradition of coffee and walking B down by town lake.  She loves to be outside, and I enjoy being with her and the boy embracing nature.  I wish I could start every morning this way.  Those two warm my heart.

We have had a pretty great weekend.  We kicked it off on Friday night by putting up signs for the yard sale, made by yours truly, and finally watching Inception.  I really enjoyed it and definitely think I need to watch it a second time to make sure I didn't miss anything.  7 a.m. Saturday morning kicked off our yard sale.  We rolled out of bed at 6 since we had to take everything out of the garage and set it up.  Really, all the items were just piled in one section of the garage.  This is the only picture I was able to take of the sale, which is a picture of the boys getting items out of the garage...

Right at 7, we had our first 'customer' and that started the whirlwind of the morning.  We were super busy at first with the hard core people, and then it tapered off after 11.  We decided to pack up around noon since we sold almost all of the items.  It was crazy how much we sold.  I was pleasantly surprised and we made about $300.   I was mostly surprised about how many of my shoes and clothes sold.  I'm not sure why, but I was not expecting that.  I really think they all found us by my awesome signs, but I also posted an ad on Craigslist.  We also didn't mark prices on anything and just let people ask if they were interested in an item.  It was a good day!

Since we spent so much time outside yesterday and got a lot of junk out of our garage, we decided to be productive and clean out the remaining items and organize.  This was mainly the boys, and I went off to tackle my own 'beasts'.  The boys did a great job on their projects, but this was mine.

And let me tell you, this remains of a tree is not my friend.  I had some choice words for it this afternoon.  Basically, it sits right up against the wall in our front walkway.  It is literally a pain in the butt and we can not dig it up.  All the roots have basically turned as hard as cement and we've tried so many different things, shovels, chain saw, and drill.  I really want it out, so if you have any solutions... Please let me know!!!  For now, it has won the battle.

For the first time, we got a car in the garage!!!  Woo.

This evening while the boys finished in the garage, I decided to whip up a classic treat that I haven't made in quite a while.  I tend to spice up this well known favorite with Cheerios or peanut butter, but tonight I kept it simple.  I mean how can you not love this
ooie...
gooie..
favorite? 

Oh so delicious Rice Krispy Treats.
Love B

Revamp of our Master Closet

Very exciting news...  My dad accepted a great job opportunity down in Austin that begins January 1st.  I can not tell you how happy I am that they finally are moving down here!  I've been actively on them to move since we arrived almost three years ago.  Mom will be staying in Lawrence for a little bit, but will be moved down here before long. 

That said, until my mom gets officially moved, we are excited to have my dad stay with us for a few months.  All I know is that my carpet is going to be so clean!!  (He loves to vacuum)  Since we moved into our house, and immediately started remodeling our bathroom, we have not been able to use our master closet either.  It had some water damage from the shower leak and needed a little revamping anyways.  I have been using the extra room's closet, while D has been keeping his clothes in the hall closet.  Can I just say how happy I will be to be able to have everything in it's place.  I like things organized, and this has not been working for me. 

So before the holidays got here, we wanted to get the closet done.  I measured the walls, and using Ikea furniture, I came up with a design for the space.  I wanted to utilize all the wall space that I could, and I think we found a fit that I will really enjoy.  It's not done yet, but here is a video of what it is in it's current stage.  We still need bars put up and the top shelves.  I am talking in the video and  I always hate listening to myself on recordings.  Silly I know, but it gives you a little preview. 

Ikea also has options to make some of the spaces either drawers or put doors on them.  I also plan on using baskets that can be placed in the spaces as well.  Since we have such a large closet, I am hoping to fit everything in there and not need a dresser in our bedroom.  I can not wait to see the end result!!

My DIY project for the closet was a small ottoman seat for in there.  I am not quite finished, but will post pictures once it's done. 

On a side note, since we were driving all night we got to watch the whole lunar eclipse last night.  Amazing to see.  I never have seen anything quite like it.  So pretty and not something you see everyday. 

Only a few more days until Christmas!!!!
Love B

Sneak Peek of Bathroom Updates

This holiday season has snuck up on me and it doesn't help how busy we have been lately.  Did I mention our crazy idea to completely redo our mater bathroom.  Oh yeah, that. :o)  Well it's still not done, but I had to share a few sneak peek pictures of the major changes so far.  They aren't the best pictures since I took them with my iPhone, but let me know what you think!

 We just put the vanity in last night.  We still need the mirrors up, but so far it's looking good! 

 Little wider view of that wall.

 The shower floor we put in pebble stones! Can't wait to try that one out.  Oh, the walls aren't red, they just haven't been tiled yet and what you see is the moisture barrier.

Did I mention that we have TWO working toilets in the house finally!!  Oh and check out the pretty slate floor.  

Yay for getting things done! 

Love B

Featured

So excited to say that my chairs are being featured on The DIY Show Off today.  Check us out at the link below.

Will be showing off our Turkey celebration, with more DIY items that mom and I made, soon!  Til then, hope everyone enjoyed their Black Friday shopping.  We enjoyed ours in our warms beds. :o)

Love B 

Bathroom Update

Here is our Monday update on the bathroom, we painted!  I matched the wall color to one of the colors from our glass tile.  We still need to do another layer of paint, but it's so humid here, we have to wait all night before it will dry.  Progress. Progress.  Next item on the menu is the floor!!  

It's slowly coming together!!! 

Love B

Comfy, Cozy, Lazy kind of night

Happy Thursday!  Although I know I live in Texas, and yes I grew up with much colder weather, I still can't seem to get warm today.  It's amazing how quickly your body adjust to this warmer climate, and even the temperature getting into the 30's makes me cold.  Tonight has turned out to be a night for me and Bella on the couch.  She likes to snuggle up to me and is quite the little heater, which I love.  

 The boys, however, have been pretty busy on the bathroom.  Here are a few picture from what we have done so far.  They are currently working on putting on the new door that will open up the other way.  We should be painting and putting the floors down in the next few days! 

Here's to warm snugglie blankets! 
B