A whole lot of painting goin' on

Hello Everyone!

How has your week been?  I have enjoyed having several days off in a row from work. I have taken advantage of the time to get things done. I was so happy when Paint week happen to coincide with my little down time. Sure made it easier for me to participate!

I love to paint! I love to paint so much that Dear Husband loves to accuse me of wanting to paint everything. I protest! That is not entirely true. I just believe in the power of paint! You can see what paint did for my yarn basket and a few other things here. I can also thank my Grandpa for those painting genes I have. He loves to paint too!  Needless to say you can imagine my excitement when Painting made it as an event on the Bloggy Olympics.  Don't you just love how Gwen's mirrors from The Bold Abode came out?  I do! You really need to check them out if you have not. I am a huge fan of blue so I just swooned when I saw the final result of Gwen's project for this event!

There has been a whole lot of painting goin' on around here. I had originally intended to give this to you in small doses. You know give you something to read about everyday till today with the big reveal. Alas that is not how my life went down, so you get it all in one big swallow!

Tuesday afternoon started out with taking this guy out to the front yard...

This is my night stand and it was high time it received a makeover. There were nail polish stains and water rings all over this guy. After a light sanding and dusting I began the make over.

See all that wear and nail polish?

Soon followed some other pieces from the bedroom...

These other wood pieces were going to receive an update using Kylon's Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.

Fast forward to today where the painting frenzy continued. I couldn't help my self. What started out at updating and making over my night stand turned into my opening this guy that I have had sitting in my closet since December.

Can you see where this is all headed? Eight hours later, and after much sweat and blood(yes I managed to nick myself in this process. I will spare you the horror and not show you that picture), I have my completed Master Bedroom!

Sorry about the photos being taken at night with the light but it  was the only what to get this done on time.

I just love how it looks!!! Don't you? Its so fresh and crisp. But calm and relaxing too!  I have a very light lilac color on three of the four walls and on the ceiling. Then I mixed a grey that I had with a slightly darker purple than the Lilac to achieve the look on the wall above where our dresser sits.  Remember that wooden heart shaped shelf from above? Now it looks like this...

I love how the purple on the walls matches this picture so perfectly.

The corner shelves came out great and and they tie in with the bed and the art work so well( that was now accident. I admit I planned for that to happen). I bought a new curtain rod for the curtains to tie everything in.  And now for my pop of color! The thing that makes me smile when I walk into the room...here is what started the whole thing.

The nightstand, in all its radiant glory. Its turned out great! Its the perfect touch to compliment the curtains on the closet. You may remember my adding them not to long ago, you can read about that here, and get a sense of what the room looked like before.

I love that my candle holder is so much more noticeable on the green table now!  So there you have it.  That is my painting adventure for this event. I am so happy to have the bedroom done and finally decorated just the way I want it. I am so ready for the next event which is coming up on Saturday. And you know its right up my alley since the event is Crafts. Hmmm...what Crazy, Craftiness will I be up to? You will just have to stop by and see!

Till Next Time,

Enter as Guests...Leave as Friends

Hello Everyone!

Its time for the Bloggy Olympics link up! I loved all the posts on Hating Martha this week. They were all wonderful.  I am so excited to be sharing with you my little project! It was a super simple project, but it made a HUGE impact!

BEFORE

This has been a space in my home that has had me at a stand still for a while. The picture is a little old, taken when we first moved in. But other than the boxes having been moved out of the way it still looked the same. As you can see that wall and window are completely blank! No I haven't been trying to go for the minimalist look, I just didn't know what to do with the space!  I love the sun light that streams in thru that window all through out the day and I did not want to short myself of that by placing a heavy curtain over it. I was hoping a smaller curtain would be OK. However the window is a funny size and has a funny placement on the wall. Well I think its funny.  However this week I found just the cure for this space.

AFTER

I just LOVE how this all turned out! It came together so nicely! And best of all it only cost me $2 to make! I know "Shut the front door!" Right?  The Welcome Sign is all DIY design. That only cost me a $1, the other $1 came from buying the curtain rod brackets to hang the curtain with.

How did this marvelous sign come to be?  I took this board I had lying around my house(I knew I would need it some day!)

I sanded the board a bit and then cleaned it off. I proceeded to paint it with the lovely little sample bottle of paint, called Turquoise Bay(picked up the little guy at ACE Hardware for under $5), that I had among my stash. Then I pulled out the Decor Sticker I picked up at the Dollar Tree for...you guessed it a dollar, and applied it to the board.

I glued the ribbon to the back of the board to hang it with. Krazy glue works great as would hot glue. I had that in among my craft supplies!  See now wasn't that simple?  I really am thrilled with the results. Let's take one last look shall we??

Now I have a warm and welcoming window treatment over my dinning room table. I still get all the light that I want and a huge smile on my face every time I walk into the room. That's a double win if you ask me! Have you done any DIY projects that have left crafty shivers up your spine? Or tingled all the way down to your toes?  I would love to hear all about them! Have a happy Friday!

Till Next Time,

Amanda

Blogger's A.D.D

Hello Everyone!

How has your week been? Mine has been like a non stop flight of activity, only with out the relaxing movie or cocktails in which to enjoy my flight with. This is why I have not posted anything this week.  I feel like I have bloggers A.D.D. Is such a thing even possible?? Simply put I feel my mind wanting to go everywhere and talk about  everything.  I have new crafting projects I want to share with you. I have knitting that's been completed. There are link up parties I am attending. The list goes on and on...but now I have lost you right? What on earth is this girl rambling on about. Because that is probably what I sound like right? Like I am rambling or babbling.

I feel that about every other post I write is about something different.  While that is not a bad thing, I feel like things just do not flow very well. Thus the feeling like I have A.D.D. Can't seem to focus longer that a flea on a hot skillet.  This could be all in my head for all I know.  Hey! The title of this Blog says I'm crazy don't ya know. Well I am sorry. I do want to regain focus and be a bit more orderly with my posts, so you don't get dizzy from my constant shift in attention. (You think the posts are bad try being in my head!)

So here is a list of things I feel I need to address, to regain order.

• What happened to the 21 day challenge?
• Will I actually talk about knitting again?
• Whats up with all the home improvement posts?  Did I suddenly become a Design Diva?

Heehee. These questions I ask just as much of myself as you may be asking of me...

1. What happened to the 21 Day Challenge I was doing from A Bowl Full of Lemons?- I haven't stopped or quit the 21 Day Challenge. I didn't make the goal, however, to complete the challenge by the end of May! Life happened. There have been quite a few of our family members who have been ill.  Also since I ended up going a little out of order with the challenge(see I knew I shouldn't have done that!), I decided to roll what was left of everything on the challenge into ONE. HUGE. PROJECT!!! Its taken a while, but that's how badly it needed to be done!  Its very close to being revealed in all of its glory!  Had I been smart, I would have posted little tidbits to keep you hanging onto the edge of your seat for the big reveal!  Alas I did not. I will know better for next time. After all I am still learning how to work my mad blogging skills! Despite this little lump in the 21 Day Challenge, I have been so grateful to Toni for creating that challenge.  What I have accomplished so far is all due to her. I needed to get organized and get clutter cleared out.  And really the 21 days is just the beginning. Organizing like home development or personal style is always evolving and needing to be adjusted.  So keep on the look out there will be a few more posts yet on the 21 Day Challenge. Oops! Now that I think about it, I do believe there was a Laundry Room challenge that I failed to post about! I will have to get right on that!
2. Will I actually talk about knitting again?- This question I ask myself all the time. Especially here of late when my posts have seemed to be more about home improvement, decorating, and gardening instead of what I had originally said I wanted to Blog about (Here) in my very first post.  Why is that?  I have wondered.  Its not like I have lost an interest in knitting, far from it. And I have finished projects in which to share, new patterns I am excited about. So what's the deal? Upon reflection, I think the problem has stemmed from what my initial ideal for what my blog would be when I started(I am willing to bet all the chocolate in my house, that this is something that happens to all new bloggers). When I thought about and decided to start this blog, I had this vision that it would be very much like Susan B Anderson's Blog, or like the Yarn Harlot. I have admired their work ever since I became a knitter and very much wanted to be like them. I AM NOT THEM. Admitting to this helps clear up a lot of that illusion that I had. First off they have been at this for a while, so they are PROS and know what they are doing. I am like an infant to them. Also they have the wonderful privilege of getting to do what they LOVE for their employment! Along with that privilege comes a lot of responsibility of course but they do it with style! I DO NOT get to do knitting or any other crafting for a living. I still have to go out there and work for an employer, then come home and take care of the responsibilities of a wife and homemaker. So its like working two full time jobs. Not to say that Stephanie and Susan don't have these same responsibilities and then some because they do what they love for work. Just that it is a little different. Someday I dream of being able to make a living at my craft, but for now it is my stress relief and hobby.  Now that I have admitted and realized what I had originally in mind for my blog, I can see that I was starting out to high! I think a part of me knew that from the beginning, that's how the Blog got its name from the beginning. I love doing crafts and trying to new things. That's what I want to write about and share with you. The new things that I try, my success, my failure and everything in between. There will be plenty of writing on yarn and knitting, it just wont be that way everyday.
3.  Whats up with all the home improvement posts?  Did I suddenly become a Design Diva?- In no way am I a Design Diva! However I do love design and making my home something to be proud of.  I have been a fan of Better Homes and Gardens since I was 7!  I always knew, just like I knew I wanted to get married, that I wanted my own home to make beautiful! So it is only natural that I would want to talk about it. Especially since there are sooo many great design blogs out there, plus with Pinterest, the ideas are never ending for what one can do in your home! And your style and tastes are always changing. Plus you get an idea in your head for something but when it actually gets put into action, it doesn't turn out so good. So you have to start over. And since a lot of what is in my home is actually the result of some craft I have done(a shoe string budget would have something to do with that), the two just seem to go hand in hand.

 Whew! That was a lot to cover, sorry for the novel length post here(hopefully I am keeping it snappy enough I have not lost you! Hey you! Ya you! Quit that yawning!).  I hope my answers to those questions helped clear things up, and if it didn't clear things up for you it did for me. So you just got to be privy to the inner ramblings of my mind! Aren't you just lucky?! Now that I have given you a look into my mind and what all is going on up there, what IS next for Crazy, Crafty & Caffeinated?  What do we have to look forward to?

Its summer! And summer means fun and lots of goings on! One thing I am looking forward to doing is the Bloggy Olympics created by Janel at Hating Martha. I am so excited. Hating Martha has been running decorating posts all week with some great hosts for the first event that starts off the Bloggy Olympics. Friday is the link up and I look forward to sharing my own projects, plus checking out what everyone else has been doing. The next few weeks will primarily  be dedicated to the Bloggy Olympics!

I hope to see more updates on the yard and how its coming along. After all this is the season to be getting that done!  There will be a Blog Makeover coming very soon. I am learning more and more everyday about the blogging world and well I need to reflect that. Speaking of a Blog Makeover I want your opinion...What do you like about my blog? What don't you like? What would you like to see more of or to hear more about?  Your comments and ideas can only help improve me! So lay it on me!

One last note, I want to thank my readers for staying with me thus far. Have a Wonderful Wednesday everyone!

Till Next Time,
Amanda

I now pronounce the kitchen done!

Hello Everyone!

How was everyone's weekend? I forgot to ask that in my last post yesterday. I was looking ahead at the next few challenges on Toni's blog and I saw that there were several on the kitchen coming up. Like the pantry, fridge, freezer, and spice cabinet. Well since my last post was on clearing up the counter and shelf that divides my kitchen and living room I thought I would stick with the kitchen theme and get the rest of the challenges involving the kitchen done and out of the way.

First on the list is the pantry.  My pantry is also not ideal. But I think you may have guessed that was coming from the other posts where I have mentioned I am not in my dream kitchen. However its is what I have and so what I have must be organized. Here is what my pantry looked like before.

BEFORE

Everything was just crammed in there. Very hard to find anything. Not exactly helpful to doing meal planning. As per the routine I pulled everything out and took inventory.  It looks so much better now.  Its still a deep deep cupboard and that makes it hard to get it just the way I want it. I prefer shallower cupboards for a pantry.  Then you can't stock to much and you can see exactly what you have and know when you have run out of and item. Some day in the future I will do a kitchen remodel that I will be all to happy to share with you.

AFTER

Now the rest of the kitchen challenges are pretty easy because they are all ready done! I can't show you any before pictures because I don't have any. But I can show you current photos of how I have already organized and maintained my Fridge, Freezer and Spice Cabinet.

Freezer

Fridge

Spice Cabinet

Baking cupboard

The fridge and freezer looks a little sparse but there are only two people living in this house so I don't keep much on hand.  I believe I can now finally call the kitchen done, at least as far as being organized.  There is still a lot of style to be added to this kitchen. But that is a story for another time. What have you done in your kitchen lately? Have you made any tweaks to it lately, or have you gone and done a complete overhaul?

Till Next Time,
Amanda

F.I.N.E

I just got passed turning another year older.  I have faced a lot of changes over this past year. I have moved twice and changed jobs three times. That is a lot to do in a year.  And it tends to leave you feeling a little up in the air. Like you are looking for a place to land. Its been a while since I have felt settled. I hope I am making my way there.  With all this happening and seeing another year in my life go by, I can help but reflect on what I have accomplished so far and where am I headed.


I feel its important to have goals for yourself and your life. With out them I think you end up being the dog that is chasing its tail, never actually getting it.


I'M FINE.

F.I.N.E

I am Freaked Out. Insecure. Neurotic. And Emotional. Ya I'm fine. That sums up my current state perfectly. You know from my last post that there has been quiet the emotional upset in my family with  the death of a dear friend. Well my week only went further down hill from there. I had to go get my license renewed. I got into the office and everything was going well, till the DMV person went to input my info. Apparently I have neglected an important step in claiming my identity. I never changed my maiden name to my married name on my SS card after getting married. So the DMV, which is now linked to the Social Security Department would not renew my license till I rectified the problem. This means I have been grounded. I can't drive. I never knew how much that would bother me till...well... it happened. Suddenly I couldn't be spontaneous anymore. I have to arrange what errands I do and going to work around when Dear Husband can take me. This was a hard blow. And made me mad! Made me frustrated. And most of all it made me mad at myself.

After all this was not the DMV's fault. Sure I would like to blame them. How dare they be connected to the system and demand that I prove who I am! DUH! That's how things are run. I am not a special person everyone has to do this, either that or be considered outlaws! As romantic as the notion of being an outlaw sounds, I don't think I could survive! So I am mad at myself because this whole stressful shebang could have been avoided, if I had not procrastinated and been a little more on top of things. That what it boils down to! After getting married I didn't do it right away because I kept thinking "Oh I have time. No hurries. No worries". Well last week was when it all came to bite me in the butt.

Of course this whole fiasco brought me to full attention to other, should have's, could have's and so on. This caused me to stop and really think about where I am at in my current life path(turning another year older was also a good reminder of all this).  On a positive note I am very happy with being a crazy over caffeinated bundle of joy something.  I am not a morning person. That is never going to change, I have come to that conclusion. Even if I have a billion kids and I am forced to be up early morning, it does not mean I am going to suddenly start singing joyfully because I am up at an ungodly hour. I love musicals and old movies featuring Cary Grant, Gene Kelly, or Frank Sinatra. I like things to be simple and as carefree as possible.

This is all good and well, but I also found on my self reflecting moment that while I want things to be simple and carefree, I don't actually have things set up to accomplish that! I can never find paper work that I really to find. Bills that come in get tossed here and there. Forget about asking me where last years tax return is! My pantry? No clue what in there. The laundry room?  OSHA would probably condemn it. Craft room? The room that is to be my sanctuary and creative happy place? Non existent. Budget? What budget?

 See what I mean? All of that is very important to living a successful stress free life, I would think. And mine is no where to be found! Oh I have made feeble attempts but obviously nothing that took or stuck. At this rate I am doing more damage and harm than good. I am making myself work harder, thus creating more stress for myself. If that's not being counter-intuitive then I don't know what to call it.

It is very obvious to me that I need a proverbial kick in the butt. I need to create effective change in my life to reflect all the change that keeps evolving in my life.  When I came across Toni's blog A bowl full of lemons, I knew I had found the place where my transformation could begin. She talks about Organizing, Budgeting and of course Decorating. She has a down to earth approach and she did something I could not pass up. She created a challenge. As soon as some one challenges me or tells me I can't do it, I become even more determined to do it.

Toni came up with a 21 Day Organizing Challenge. It takes 21 days to form or break a habit. In my case I think its a bit of both. Deciding to do this could not come at a better time and in case there wasn't enough reason to get whipped into shape, I also have my parents coming down for a visit in 6 weeks. So I want my house in good presenting order!  And what I love is that I have to post it here on my blog(which I would have anyway), as well as hers. That's a lot of accountability! But motivational as well.  Any one else feel like they need an organization intervention or boot-camp? Stop by every day to see what progress I am making. I feel very excited to get this going what a way to kick off the month of May(can you believe its May already?).

Till next time,

Amanda

Mary Mary quite contrary...

How does your garden grow?? I believe that is how the song went anyway. Course I am thinking of the song from the movie The Secret Garden. I liked the 1993 British version of the story. Have you ever seen it? If you haven't I recommend it. Its imaginative, and like most good stories has an underlying issue than just a young girl with a garden. Although I admit even to this day I wish to have my own mystical secret garden.

Which brings me to my topic today.  Gardening.  We are in that time of year, where trees are budding, Tulips are blooming, and planning ones garden is in the works. Mine is definitely a work in progress.  What about you? How is your garden coming along? Is it all ready in tip top shape and all you have to do is maintain, or are you just beginning like me?

This is just one section of my yard. This spot I have designated as the garden spot. Now I have not decided yet if I want to make it the vegetable garden, or maybe my very own whimsical secret garden. What I worry about as far as a vegetable garden goes is that it is such a large area, that honestly I could probably grow enough veggies to feed our neighborhood!

One thing is for sure that I have A LOT of weed pulling to do! As shown by the lovely circle I drew on the picture.  And the arrow is pointing out a bush that I am not sure about. First off I am not sure it is even alive! It looks dead to me! But then again what do I know. I certainly do not have a Horticultural Degree! And if this bush is a live, I have no idea what kind of bush it is. I mean is it a flowering bush? A berry making bush? I have no clue. I think experts need to be called.

Here is further evidence of work needing to be done. Can we say curb appeal? Or more like lack there of. I am in desperate need to get curb appeal. I have been scouring Pinterest for ideas on how to address this issue. Again its one of those things where it is just going to take time and I have to accept that. I don't want to. My inner "want it now" self is being quite loud and pushy. And while this could be a good motivating factor to ACTUALLY get something done, if she gets TOO loud, then she is obnoxious and hinders the process. In conclusion these are the areas I want to concentrate my efforts on. Clearing the garden area of all the weeds and dead shrubbery and adding curb appeal to the front of the house. Part of that will include actually relocating the brick.  In the mean time I have a few tricks up my sleeves to get a little garden going so we can have as much fresh produce as possible this summer.

Till next time,

Amanda

Yard Sale Season

It is yard sale season and I am so thrilled...I love the hunt for that special item. Or that really great deal. I remember, when growing up, looking forward to the Yard Sales my mom and family would do. I would make cupcakes or cookies.  My mom would help me make cupcakes or cookies so I could sell them for a quarter at the yard sale. With the money I earned I got to buy whatever I wanted. It was always exciting to see the comings and goings on that would take place during the weekend of the yard sale.

Granted there came a time when I would have died of embarrassment to be caught at a yard sale or even a second hand store. It wasn't cool and I was ashamed that we couldn't afford straight from the store things. That had to be the reason why my mother shopped at second hand stores right? She didn't go to yard sales and second hand stores because she liked it, right? Ha that very much was the case. Sure there were times when the budget was tight(I know this now). But  my mom liked to go. She enjoyed the hunt and getting that great find. You know the one I am talking about. Where you get that great item you know the value of, but the person you are buying it from does not or does not care!

I have found, like mother, I too enjoy going to the yard sales to see what I can find, what can I re-purpose. And since I know, in my case my shoe string budget does not allow me to go to Pottery Barn when ever I feel like it to decorate my home, I have to be creative and crafty!

For example check out what I found at a few yard sales I hit last week...

This wonderful white rack is going to the bathroom. It cost me a grand total of $4. Now that I can afford!  I have been looking around for a shelf for over the toilet since we moved into our house four months ago, and I could not find anything under $20.  And look at this guy! He has great structure and character, what with the scrolls and the overlapping circle border! What is not to love? There is a chance he won't stay white, but that has not been determined as of yet.  Look at how nice he looks in the bathroom! Its a perfect fit.

Just needs some peachy hand towels to finish the look.

I think we need a new picture for that frame. That on of Dear Husband just doesn't fit the surroundings of a bathroom!

I scored this beauty for $2. Now I am sure you frugal pros out there are probably yelling at me! Two dollars you say, why .25 cents is all you should have paid. That would have been a score! And maybe you are right, however they just don't make things like this anymore. Not that I have found anyway. And it was coming home with me that was for sure!  And it makes a great addition to the bathroom, especially once I get the arrangement all right, because what you saw before was just a first attempt. I am going to have to live with it a few days to see what else needs to be done with it!

As for the fabric scrap I got at the yard sale, I picked it up for free. Now you can't beat that. I don't know yet what its going to become. I loved its color and the texture of the fabric. Who knows maybe it will cover a frame? Or become hoop art? It destiny is unknown at the moment. Clearly if this what I have discovered at the beginning of Yard Sale season, I feel that hold out high hopes of it being a treasure filled summer! What about you? Has Yard Sale season begun for you? What treasures are you hoping to get?

Happy Yard Saling,

Amanda

How about some House Love??

Hello Everyone,

Its Monday and a bright sunshiny day. I am not bright and sunny today. Which is why I am mad at the sun for strutting its brightness all over the place. The sun with its golden rays is practically forcing cheerfulness down my throat, and I am just not up to that speed yet. Later today I will be after I have had my cup(s) of coffee.  Besides I love cloudy rainy days.  Especially when I have work to do in the house. A cloudy day represents to me  an easy going day. I clean, I straighten things up and then I sit down and watch a nice movie while working on the latest knitting project. However with a  bright sunny day its harder to sit and watch a movie. I want there to be light in the house, the windows should be open letting fresh air in and I should be outside. So you see my mood does not match what the sun is doing. Oh well we can not all get our way.  So instead of crying about the sunshine, I will talk about how it's Monday. The beginning of a new week. We usually base how the rest of our week is going to go on how Monday turns out.  I know I do. I feel like if my Monday was good and steady and I got a lot accomplished, then the rest of my week is going to go well and be productive. If Monday is hectic and chaotic, then I start chugging the espresso's because  I am not getting much peace or down time the rest of the week.  Well I want this Monday to mean a fresh start for a whole lot more than my week. I want it to be the fresh start on my housed debacle.

I mentioned awhile back that I was having some house fits(here). Or more like I was having fits with my house.  I may have even declared war on my house. I think my house had nothing against me. It was just trying to do its job, by keeping me dry and warm. My problem with the house? The interior was not coming together like I wanted it to fast enough(that right there is probably my problem. I want it now but these things take time). I did my usual thing and started doing some research to see what help I needed. Frankly I just wanted the little house fairies to come and make everything pretty for me while I slept and I could just enjoy it. Hey I have a loose hold on reality, OK? When I came across the book The House Always Wins, I thought I found the ticket in. Don't get me wrong Marni was spot on, she was very insightful, she made me laugh and I knew I wasn't the only one suffering from this problem. But I felt like I was already doing most everything she had suggested. I felt like most of the rooms in the house were actually coming together. The one I was stressing about was the Craft room. Come to find out that wasn't the only room I was having problems with.

When my friend Jojo came for a visit I was thrilled. I couldn't wait to show her the house and get her opinion on things(because in my opinion she is the closest thing to a professional I am gonna get). I showed her this picture that is my inspiration for the house.

It has every color in it that I love and want to use thru out my home. It reminds me of some English town somewhere and back in older times gone by.  It makes me smile every time I see it. I thought it only proper to use it as my inspiration for my home. After all that is what the experts tell you to do. Find an object, picture or fabric that you just love and draw inspiration from that.  I had the inspiration but come to find out I sure wasn't using it to the full. I was trying to captivate the inspiration into one room. That would have been the craft room.  I wanted to hang this picture in the craft room where no one would see it but me really. 

Apparently I was not sharing the love. More than that I had become obsessed with the craft room. I had placed all my emphasis in that room and if it wasn't perfect I couldn't be happy. Thus why I was having a melt down by the time my friend came to visit. I was hoarding all the good things just for that room! But what about the rest of the house? Do I not care for the rest of my home and how it looks? Of course I do! That's when it hit me.  I needed to spread the colors of my inspiration thru out the house. I needed to share all the "good" things with the rest of my house.  Put a little of each room into each room. I needed to make this picture a focal point in my house, where everyone could see it and enjoy it!  Well Duh! I knew that. I had probably read that at least a thousand times. But clearly I had failed to apply it!  The second revelation of the evening was when Jojo went into the living room and said "This is the room that confuses me!" Huh? What?

 I have been attempting to go Safari themed in the living room. But frankly my heart has not been in it. I am not drawn to animal prints. I don't even own a piece of clothing with animal print in it. OK! I take that back, I do but I feel uncomfortable every time I wear it. That should have been my first hint that it really is not my style. I took one look at the living room and knew she was right. It was the room that was mismatched from everything else I had in my other rooms. So in that moment I knew it had to go. Fortunately I have not sunk a bunch of money into making a safari room. So some pieces in there are going to have to find a new home, the other pieces are going to be placed in different parts of the house.  Now I have a craft room, a living room and an office to redo.  The bedroom is on track, I need to add some more green to help disperse the purple in there. And I just need to add some pop of orange to the bathroom.  The whole house is in for redo! The bedroom and bathroom might have less done to it.

I have to say one of the biggest things Jojo did for me was redirecting me to John and Sheri's blog, Young House Love. I had kinda forgotten about them. It's a great blog and I can't believe I had shoved them into a dark closet and decided to give up checking up on them(when this happened I was not in my own home yet so I felt depressed every time I looked at what fabulous things they were doing). They do great, wonderful creative things and as cheaply as possible. I should be a devoted follower! Not ignoring them! They are accomplishing everyday, the same goals I wish to do, to be a DIY homemaker.  I should be learning from them.

I also came across some other great blogs that I think will help me in my house love quest. I love the sounds of and potential of this blog, called thrifty decor chick. Then to keep in step with DIY there is this blog DIY showoff. And the list would not be complete if there was not something about organizing. I am very obsessed with organizing and better ways to do it, which is why I was so excited to stumble across I heart Organizing. I am adding these guys to my inspiration list of blogs I follow!

So today, instead of being at war with my house I am gonna show it some love! First by starting with a clean slate. Making sure I am sticking to my inspiration and pulling strictly from it, not allowing myself to get distracted.  This means going back to the drawing board and rethinking what I am doing.  I am going to start taking the advice of John and Sheri more seriously when attacking DIY projects in my home. So stay tuned in.  There is going to be lots of home improvement going on here! To kick that off I am will start here.

With this window. I think it's about time to take of the winter decor, spring has quiet settled in and isn't going anywhere.  The other thing this window needs is a window treatment. Its a start.

Have a great Monday! Till next time,

Amanda

It must be spring!

Hello everyone,

Here it is Friday again! Gee whiz where does the time go? Speaking of time, I know I promised pictures of a certain finished hat by now, but I haven't had the time to model it or even get it modeled and snap pictures of it. So you are just going to have to be kept in suspense!

I believe Spring must finally be here! The days are so warm now, I have every window in the house open and the fans going. Not to mention the greenery I am beginning to see about the place. This reminds me how badly I am in need of getting outside and playing in that dirt!

I could tell Spring fever must have kicked in for me when the other day I began to attack my cupboards. Dear Husband and I like to buy in bulk whenever we can, its cheaper that way. Not initially but in the long run it is! So here not to long ago when he was at the store and I asked him to pick me up some flour, this is what he came home with...

A twenty pound bag of flour. Wow! The amount of cupcakes that can be made just boggles my mind.  I could barely fit it into my small cupboards! I did finally manage to shove it in there but it was a pain to get to.  Plus once it was opened I worried about it spoiling, and  I didn't have any air tight containers. Now I was going to have to go to the store and get some and that wasn't going to make Dear Husband happy because that  was $$ out the window!

Then the old saying "Necessity is the mother of invention" came to me, that and I started to think about what my mom would do(which took me back for a moment. What? Come on how many of you out there are going to admit that you are suddenly becoming your mother and like it right off the bat?) My mom would put extra flour into Ziploc bags and store it in  the freezer till she needed it! Brilliant! And then I remembered I had this guy just laying around waiting to be useful.

I put most of the flour into the freezer and the left over into this cookie can I had. Mmm...I see a future DIY project coming up. Bet you can't guess what it is? To dress up the can of course! Maybe some nice scrapbook paper and a pretty label. Yes I think that will do the trick!

I didn't have time to finish the rest of the pantry cupboard, but I at least cleared up some space by doing the flour.  What about you? What has Spring fever go you doing? Any cool trick you have come across that makes cleaning and organizing easier?

Have a great TGIF and weekend! I hope you get lots of spring stuff done! Gotta run.

Till next time

Amanda

Paint Happy

Hello everyone!

How is your weekend going so far. I have been painting! It has been so lovely outside, sunny and warm that spring projects have been beckoning me to go do them! Dear Husband thinks I am paint crazy! He insists that I paint everything in my path! I do not however paint everything in my way.  Just some things, that really really need it. Besides painting something is the cheapest way to change your look, or get a face lift without spending LOTS of money. And that is the kind of budget I have, the DON't spend a LOT of money budget!

Anyway back to the beautiful spring day and how I had several things laying around in my work in progress craft room(more on that later) that had just been waiting for a good day to be taken out and spray painted! So here you go its show and tell time:

Before:

Here is the little French Press I picked up the other day at Goodwill for $1.99(I love finding good deals)

Here it is about to be spray painted

 After:

TaDa it is now a pretty Cherry Red French Press all for under $6. Now that is what I call a bargain!

 Next up to be painted was a fruit stand Dear Husband had from before we were married. I forgot to get a before shot of it in my excitement to paint it. Just imagine it dark green!

This guy is going to hold my lovely yarn I wish to display! Because my yarn stash is definitely bigger than this basket can hold! I will get a picture of it with the yarn here in a few days!

A green vine rack with hooks got thrown into the mix too!

And finally I had this cd tower. That's its original purpose but I have never used it that way! Instead it holds little trinkets I have collected!

Here it is in all its brown glory! It wasn't too bad looking but I thought it need pazzaz! mmm Maybe Dear Husband is on to something?? Nah!

Now it is a pretty Cherry Red! It will go nicely in the craft room/ Guest room as a pop of color!

There you have it! All that I have painted today. It wont be the last. There is another little table roaming around here that needs a facelift of some kind, plus our bedroom is in desperate need of painting. So stay tuned to the drama that has been named the House Wars!

Till next time,

Amanda
P.S on a knitting note I am almost done with the Stockholm Scarf! See... Course also note those little strings

of yarn right next to it. Do you see them? That is what I have left to work with to bind off! Do you see the deli-ma I have just run into? I clearly under estimated what the pattern called for in yarn yardage. When I calculated I admit, I got cocky. I did my math and I said "Hey that is close I will be fine! I have been fine in the past with plenty left over!" Well  not this TIME! Here I am so close to being finished! So I am going to try and see if I can finish with these few short strings I have left! And if not I have to break down and buy a whole new ball for the last 20 stitches!