Refurbishing the Laundry Room... DONE!

All I can say is, "It's about TIME!" LOL. Seriously, I've been wanting to post these photos for SOOOOO long. Sorry about the delay. Hope it's worth it! ;-)

And because no renovation post is complete without the horrible "before" picture:

Umm... that's embarrassing. LOL. There *was* a shelf there when we moved in, and we had to TEAR it out of the wall, so that's why it looks so gross. I did the spackling, priming, and painting myself, and here's what it looks like now:

And the top, without the washer/dryer:

Want to know what's in all the containers? Left to right, top to bottom: cleaning supplies, trash bags, paper towels, carpet cleaning supplies, rags (in flowered basket), wash bags (for delicates in washer), lightbulbs, trash (for lint and things), cat food. And then on far right is detergent, fabric softener, OXY clean (in spray bottle), Downy Wrinkle Releaser, and dryer sheets/toothbrush (for scrubbing)/cap for pouring detergent.

I should have done close-ups of the wall above the shelves. Darn it! I *will* try to get some of those, so you can get a better look! ;-)

And some close-ups:

The left-hand wall that holds brooms and such is not *completely* done yet. *My* part is done, but hubby still needs to get out his Dremel tool and do one little project for me. I'll post that in the future when it's done.

And the breakdown...

Benjamin Moore Robin's Nest Paint (matched at Home Depot) - $9 (umm... they messed up, and I got a discount)

Plywood (for top of washer/dryer) - free (again, Home Depot messed up... lucky me!)

Shelves - had on hand (for your reference: would've probably been around $150, *without* my discount)

White baskets - $16

Yellow folding cube/bin (Walmart Clearance) - $5

Pink basket - $10

Liberty of London basket (Target) - had on hand

Yellow baskets (IKEA and spray painted yellow) - had on hand

Spray paint - $5

Trash can - $5

Cat food container (I added white contact paper to outside)- had on hand

Aluminum spray bottle - $5

Glass bottles (for detergent and fabric softener) - $9

Yellow tulip container - $4

Jenni Bowlin Labels - $3.50

Yellow Clock (Target) - $5?

Styrofoam (covered in white cardstock and used as blocks on wall) - $4

White fabric (JoAnn Fabrics: for curtain above washer/dryer) - $2

White frames (Michaels and Target) - had on hand

Hambly Overlay (in two frames) - $3

Laundry Tote (on floor, for clean clothes) - had on hand (I actually have two... one is missing from this photo)

Total spent: $85 - ish

Altering a Jar with FabRips.

I totally forgot to post this pickle jar I altered with FabRips!

See, I had this to-do list. And it wasn't like a "must get done today" list. It was more like an "over time" to-do list (like... paint china cabinet, make huge batch of bean soup, make a mini album, etc). Instead of having that daunting list, I decided that I would write each one on a strip of paper and stick them in a jar. So when I needed a project or a to-do, I'd just choose one!

So here's how it went down...

I cut some strips and laid them vertically... making sure only the top was stuck down. Then I took another strip and wove it through the vertical pieces. I cut off the remaining amount:

Then I took a 2nd strip and wove it through, making sure to have it be over and under the other strips:

(Okay, after I did this step, I decided to "change it up" and make the horizontal strips all different patterns... tee hee.) So after I had three woven in, it looked like this:

Then I took some bigger pieces of FabRips and just laid them on top of the lid. I used my CutterBee scissors to go around the inside of the lid, getting rid of the FabRips that hung over:

Then again with a little piece, so that it was all covered!

And I needed a small piece for the edge, so it would still look pretty. :-)

I did use the bicycle stamp on some white paper, cut it out, and glued it to the top (see top photo), just for something else cool to have on the lid. ;-) And then I added some Thickers on top of the FabRips on the front! And... DONE!

A totally fun project AND a great way to hold my "to do" lists. ;-)

Jumping Up and Down.

I have become one of those crazy moms who gets all giddy when she sees her little baby on screen. No tears. Just laughing and giggling and barely-controlled glee.

I am sorry, but my baby is cuuuuuute! Sure, he/she is only like 11 inches long and looks like a bunch of black and white squiggly lines, but look at that profile! ;-)

And not only is he/she cute, but he/she is super flexible! ;-) We're sitting there, waiting for a good shot of Baby K, and what does he/she do? The legs came up (how cute are little baby knees?!?!?), he/she grabbed that foot, and it went straight for his/her mouth! My baby is *already* a flexible gymnast. ;-)
Seriously, it was the cutest thing ever. It's playing over and over in my head. And every.single.time I think about it, I get this goofy grin on my face, and I want to jump up and down at the thought of *my* baby in there! HA! Just too cool for words. :-)

Baby is doing VERY well, by the way. A very strong heartbeat and actually he/she is growing faster than expected and measuring about a week ahead of schedule! (Baby may "even out," so they won't be changing our due date...)

We were also *very* strong when the tech discovered the sex of the baby. Nope. We don't want to know. We love surprises WAY too much. And yes, I'm a planner, and yes, I LOVE organization (a lot), but I love surprises way more. And you know... I'm actually saving loads of money *not* buying baby clothes right now. LOL. :-p (Because honestly... those of you parents who know, how do you resist adorable clothes?!?!?)

This post has gotten ridiculous, so I'll be stopping now. :-) Thank you for reading my babbling. :-)

Altering a Notepad.

I love to alter stuff. LOVE it. SOOO much. I *just* may like it better than scrapping. Yeah, probably. Maybe just a little bit. LOL. :-)

I got this cute notepad as a gift a few years ago. It's pretty, but not my style, and it certainly doesn't match my scrap room (that's important, you know)! ;-)

And when I got my new Studio Calico stuff in the mail, I HAD to do something with it. Quickly. :-D I'm not into the super-embellishing (though I do *love* looking at projects with lots of embellishments... tee hee). I just wanted a nice, small touch. I really like how it turned out...

I used the FabRips to do the edge/spine, and I folded them over, so you could see the pattern on the inside too. :-)

Here's another angle, so you can kinda see the FabRips at the top...

Products used:

Flowery paper

Birdy/Ledger paper

Woodgrain paper

Green alphas

Label sticker

Mod Podge

I had so much fun with this project! Have you seen the new Studio Calico stuff? Done anything cool? Altered anything lately? Link me up! :-D

Re-capping the Last Month.

I've been meaning to post these photos and things from the last month or so, but haven't gotten around to it. :-p We have had SUCH a busy February/March!

We ended up getting ONE day of snow in Austin. Amber was in HEAVEN!

Poor Ruby had a growth on her eyelid, we had that removed, and two days later, she had to go in for emergency surgery because an ulcer *in her eye* developed and then burst. They had to sew her eyelids closed for a couple weeks. Poor thing. :-( She's doing SOOO much better and healing nicely. The doc thought she'd lose her sight completely, but it looks like it's coming back! YAY! :-)

Then Caroline came to visit! We had so much fun! We ate, shopped and took photos. That's about it. LOL. :-p (Okay, I DID scrap one page. LOL. :-p)

Two days after Caroline left, Paige came to visit! Of course, she brought along cute, little Fox!

She came for our baptism (and was awesome enough to take this photo [with two missionaries] afterward), and it was SOOOO nice to have her here. :-) We had such an awesome time!

Then the weather got SUPER nice... like 70s and 80s every, single day. And Kissa? She is LOOOOOOVING it...

She spends ALL day outside, just sleeping on our deck. She never leaves our backyard. LOL. You know, unless of course Jeremy is on his iPhone because Kissa *loves* that thing. ;-)

Okay, not really... she just loves cuddling with whichever one of us is sitting on the couch. LOL.

And that's about it. :-) Oh, and I *did* finish our laundry room... finally. LOL. I'll post photos soon. Promise. :-D

Looking at the Stats...

I just may like the headless belly shots better! ;-) Tee hee.

How far along: 20.5 weeks (photo taken at 19 weeks)

Inches grown around tummy: 10 inches

Weight gained: 15 pounds (I started out under-weight, so this is fine)

Sex of baby: it's a surprise!

Heart rate of baby: 154 (so my sister thinks boy because her boy's current heart rate is 153... LOL :-p )

Cravings: cinnamon raisin Mochi, stir-fry, and dessert after every meal (tee hee)

Movement: have not felt baby yet... but probably this week, I hear! ;-)

Next ultra-sound: March 17th! (I'll scan the photos!)

Other things: I'm tired (especially if I *do* something... ha ha), but sleeping at night is not my favorite. I toss and turn and get up to pee like... umm... a lot. :-p I get these waves of energy, where I want to do anything and EVERYTHING around the house. Then I start getting Braxton Hicks and have to sit down. Tee hee. Scrappy mojo has not come back yet. Grrr. No swelling or stretch marks yet (knock on wood), so I'm enjoying that part of it. :-)

This whole thing is SOOOO surreal! But I'm loving every second. :-)

Choosing a Winner!

So... using Random.org's generator, the lucky number is...

Which means... Jennie M is the winner! Yay! Congratulations, Jennie!

Send me your address, and I will get that stuff out to you! :-)

Thank you everyone SOOOO much for your sweet comments!

Giving Away... Lots of Stuff!

It's my 9th Blogiversary!

HOORAY!

Yup, I've now been blogging for nine fun-filled years. And I'm giving stuff away! Hooray again! ;-)

So I thought I'd give away some of my favorite things this year. :-D

First up... I loved this bag from World Market SO much that I bought three of them. LOL. (Well, two for me to use and one to give away to you guys!) The outside is burlap, and the inside is a wipeable plastic. I use one for paper scraps in my scrap room and the other for non-paper trash. I hang them on hooks (well, technically a bookend hooked to my elfa hanging standards). It's about 18" long! Isn't it the cutest trash bag ever?!?!?

Next up is one of my favorite water bottles by Reduce. They're BPA free and only 20 oz, so small enough to stash in your purse! That's why I love it so. :-D Also, these SUPER-cute rhinestone magnets and a camera keychain that when you click the button, it flashes and makes a "click click" sound. Probably impractical for most sets of keys, but SOOO cute.

This next item may seem silly to you (in a giveaway, at least), but I don't care. I LOOOOOVE these (I even made a layout about them here)! And *because* I love them so, the wonderful people at Hearos sent me some to give away! You'll get a bunch of earplugs (with case) and the matching sleep mask too. :-)

(Images from Sleep Pretty in Pink website.)

Isn't this knit hat adorable?! It's made by Maggie of Assorted Musings. I bought it at the Austin Etsy Fair... just for YOU! :-D

What would a giveaway be without some Studio Calico? ;-) This is the More Patterned Paper Add-on from February's delicious kit! It has that exclusive Crate Paper that sold out in about ten seconds! ;-) So cute! :-)

And...

A $25 Studio Calico gift card!!!

Mmhmm... I love you *that* much! Thanks so much for reading my blog!

Just leave a comment to win! :-D

p.s. Last year, I closed the giveaway to international readers, but hey, if you wanna pay the difference in shipping, I'd be more than happy to open it to you too! ;-)

p.p.s. You have until this Friday, March 11, at 11:59pm EST to enter!

Happy 9th Blogiversary to Me!!

Well, nine years ago today, I started blogging. I should have WAY more blog posts by now than I do, but well... I just don't blog every day. I should change that. ;-)

Today got crazy, and I have to leave to go watch some cool, little girls. I'll have to post my giveaway tomorrow or Monday. Sorry to leave you hangin. Hope you'll come back then though! ;-)

Painting and Nesting!

So... many of my friends suggested we start on the baby's room, so I'm not painting and building and hanging stuff in my ninth month. Sounds good to me! ;-)

Perhaps halfway is a bit early, but we don't care. Since we're having a surprise, I'd love to still plan things out!

First... colors! I thought we'd really go with one of these two color schemes:

... but... I LOVE aqua and grey together. And especially if it's a girl, I would love, LOVE to have peach/aqua/grey. Just so cute. And *then* after I saw Vivi's beautiful nursery, I knew I had to do that color scheme.

Did Joni not do an AMAZING job on her daughter's room? It's gorgeous! (LOVE her website too! How fun is it that she makes nursery inspiration/style boards?)

Anywho... So my sister suggested we choose white/aqua/grey/beige... and then add peach/coral for a girl and charcoal for a boy. She's a genius, I tell you!

So... I needed to set out on a search for an inspiration piece or fabric with these colors. And wouldn't you know it? The 2nd day of my search (and after looking at HUNDREDS of swatches), I came across this gem of a baby line...

Seriously?! How cute is THAT?!?! SOOOO perfect! We had already decided on the paint color we wanted, so when I received the swatches from here, I was OVER THE MOON excited that they matched perfectly. Wahoo! Then I used the swatches to choose a grey and beige. So yummy. :-)

It's much more fun to see the progress of a room, don't ya think?! ;-) Here is what the room looked like when we moved in:

And here it is after we painted it Benjamin Moore's Antiguan Sky. (Please excuse the messy bookshelf in the center. That *will* be removed.) I really love how it turned out. It's so lovely. The closet will be grey, and that's what I'm doing today. :-)

What do you think? I'll keep you updated with the progress!

p.s. Tomorrow is my NINTH Blogiversary! Check back for a giveaway! :-D

Growing: 4 Weeks - 16 Weeks

Man... nearly 19 weeks pregnant and yet to share belly shots. I'm such a scrapbooking slacker. :-p Also, I always take these after I get out of the shower, so hair and makeup are not done. And now that I'm posting them and seeing them on here, that will change next time! LOL. :-p I look so tired! LOL. Ah well. :-p

Here is me at 4 weeks (the day after we found out, I think...):

Then at 12 weeks (the 8 weeks photo is MIA... it must have accidentally gotten deleted. Oops. :-p ):

And 16 weeks (my hair looks SOOOO silly. I should look in the mirror before taking these! LOL):

So that was 2.5 weeks ago now. I may or may not be bigger now. ;-) I'm going to say... yes, bigger. LOL.

Sharing the New (and Improved ;-) Version!

Our wonderful friend, Traci, brought this to life for us. So excited. I'll probably have it made into a Shutterfly book too. You know... sans wonderful music. ;-)

Quoting my Pregnancy Brain... and Oh, These Crazy Hormones.

Pregnancy Brain Quotes of the Day:

(when I noticed that my alphabets had fallen off my layout) "Oh no! My vegetables fell off my layout!"

"Hey! Let's go lawn the mow!"

Pregnancy Story of the Day:

Night before last, we were watching a movie, and I was eating dinner. I had three biscuits on my plate. Just as I was eating the last bite, I thought in my head, "Ahhh, bummer! I'm all done."

And then... without ANY warning, I just burst into tears. It was so sudden that I actually had NO idea why I was crying. LOL. Hubby looked at me and was like, "Ohmigosh! Are you okay?! What happened?"

I then realized that I was crying because I finished my biscuits! LOL. And though I was hysterical by that point, I burst out laughing... uncontrollably, mind you... at the thought of crying over finishing BISCUITS when I had five more in the kitchen! So here I am... empty plate, crying and laughing, not having any idea what is going on in my head. LOL.

I looked up at Jeremy and said through tears, "Umm... I think I need more biscuits." These hormones are CRAZY! :-p And yes, I went to the kitchen and got four more biscuits.

Mmhmm. This is fun. :-)

*Photo by Cooking Light.

Missing Bailey.

Just realized I never did a post about Bailey, my dad's dog.

My sister got her for Christmas in 1998. But she really latched on to my dad. She was *his*, and they did EVERYTHING together.

She died suddenly on July 31st, and we still aren't sure what caused it. She was only 11... she had a good few years left! The doctor thinks it could have been something inside her that burst. Or she could have eaten something poisonous. We all miss her, but especially Dad. :-(

Here is an adorable photo of Bailey (center) with my pups, Amber (left) and Ruby (right). Bailey liked to keep to herself, but she would share my dad occasionally. ;-)

And this was the when she was here visiting in May. I think they had a fun time. :-)

And the last photo of her with my parents. She was a good dog. I'm hoping to make a mini album for my Dad... full of wonderful photos (read: most are blurry because they were taken before digi cameras... LOL.) But... I know he'll love it. :-)

We love you, Bailey! And you are missed. Dad *still* cries over you and thinks about you every single day. :-)

Amusing.

I've pretty much always been easily amused. But am I overly-so in recent days? I wonder.

I received an email from a church we attended in Rhode Island... three years ago. I decided I should just remove my email from their list. When I visited their site, I saw this (you can click on it to make it larger):

And it made me laugh till I cried. Easily amused? Maybe.

Does anyone else find it funny that they have the words "Recommended" and "NOT Recommended" next to their email preferences?! LOL. I mean, of COURSE they wouldn't recommend you canceling their email updates. But to to have it there in bold... to me, that's just too funny.

*sigh*

It's okay to be easily amused, I'm thinkin...

What has easily amused you lately?