J:"Yeesh, planes, trains, and automobiles to get home, babe!" C:"Trains?" J:"...hmmm. Well, OO OO! The trains in the airports that take us to the different concourses!" C:"Or, there were trains in the movie!" (We watched Water for Elephants on the plane.) We didn't get home yesterday like we expected. In fact, the last 24 hours […]
Last Thursday, in the middle of the night, we left for Tallahassee, Florida to see our best friends. We thought a red eye flight would allow Greta to sleep the whole way--we were wrong. No matter how trying it was to fly with a 17 month old (yes, I pulled out all the tricks), we […]
Ah, it is the day of the great Pinterest challenge reveal. The Pinterest challenge was issued by a few ladies that are not affiliated with our latest obsession, but just wanted to actually create something they have been drooling over. And they invited everyone else to do so, as well. Hear all about it here. […]
We have weeds that are 5' tall. Taller than our half-dead bushes. Our little evergreen bushes used to be shaped all swirly--they aren't anymore. The perimeter of our front yard is completely grown over and it is all my fault. It feels like it is the wife's job to weed, doesn't it? It […]
If you've known me longer than 15 minutes, you know I think grilling is the most bombay way to cook. Grilling is, hands down, the best way I've found to create crazy amounts of flavor while simultaneously cutting out calories (and reducing dirty dishes - which I'm all for). Being a frequent griller, I've sort […]
Le sigh. It seems like just yesterday that I set up this vignette above the couch. It's hard to believe that it was two months ago. It's harder to believe it is already disassembling itself. It lasted a solid 2 weeks before Greta noticed it and ever since, it has been a battle. She […]
When RYOBI caught word that we were having issues with our drill a few weeks back, they were happy to help us understand how a drill should work. In true Jedi fashion, Ryobi promised to hold up infinitely better than our drill and that it wouldn't stop when it hit a stud like our current […]
I love free money. It gets me out of the house and onto one of my favorite activities: treasure hunting. Yesterday, Pier 1 was doing a little promoting and giving all of their facebook fans $10 off a $10 (or more) purchase. I sprung on that and set a few ground rules for myself. Mainly--I […]
A little over a week ago, I got a stencil in the mail from Royal Design Studio. I was anxious to give it a try. Chris was... .... ...apprehensive. You may remember (if you don't check out the house tour) that all of the bedrooms and bathrooms have stenciling around the ceiling and some of […]
Were you worried something happened to me? Something did. A little thing called vay-cay and I didn't want to announce it to all of blog land because that's dangerous. I repeat--announcing that you will be gone from your house for a set amount of time on the internet is dangerous. But we have returned now--pictureless […]
Especially for this reason: Last night, I shared laughs with 2 of my 4 sisters, Andi and Patty. We are the three youngest in our family and don't get to see each other very often. Even though Andi lives in Mexico and Patty lives in Idaho, I am so grateful that we can all hop […]
It's hard when you work really hard on something and it just doesn't look right. Or feel right. Or you flat out, don't like it. For some people, the hours put into a project alone are enough for them to live with it. Even when I put hours into something, and even when I blog […]
It was one of those weekends where it felt like there was no down time (except for those late nights we spent watching LOST on instant play). I guess with a toddler and a new house that needs fixin' up--it's kinda expected these days. On Saturday, while Chris was busy tending to the yard during […]
Or at least how I did it. There are about 150 tutorials online on painting cabinets and I researched thoroughly the different possibilities and techniques. Some things I did, some things I threw out the window and there are some points that I wish I did. But the main goal was achieved. Our kitchen […]
Today is the big hanging-the-cabinets day! Unfortunately it's also find-a-dentist-quick day because Chris's filling and part of his tooth came out while brushing his teeth at work. And Greta has decided to continue her cranky streak because of her teeth, too. Except, in her case, they are busting through her gums--not out of her mouth. […]
While browsing around Pinterest last week, I came across a little tip that said you can clean out all of that old paint that gets dried and stuck in your paintbrush with boiling vinegar. When my brush gets to that point, I usually just throw it out and get a new one for around $5 […]
First things first: Yes, I finished painting the cabinets. We are gonna give them a few days to dry before hanging them, but you can definitely look forward to after pictures along with the whole process (pronounce it with a long O for fun) later this week. Quite a few of you mentioned that you […]
After extensive tutorial research and 5 hours of internal battling over whether to start or not, I took the plunge: That's just primer, fyi. I'm sure I'll have a whole list of tips and dos and don't-worry-abouts when I'm done, but right now--I gotta say the sounds of Jim Gaffigan and a few other comedians […]
It took me ALL day to hang curtains in the dining room. All day long yesterday. Of course, Greta needed attention and some outside time and we had to run a couple errands, but I was thinking it was gonna be a quick during-her-nap project. But, I was wrong. Next to paint, window treatments can […]
While I am here wrestling with a power drill that is seriously lacking power (I don't think I am supposed to have to use a regular screwdriver once I hit a stud because my drill stops working), I am serving you up a special treat. Real life in our casa. Greta insists I chase her […]
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Welcome to our online community where we've posted home, DIY, style, renovations, and family since '09. Renovating our #cljmoderncottage in Idaho and headed for new adventures in Raleigh, NC. #cljfam #cljtransformations
