My life hacks!

This week YHL posted about their pantry and mentioned their "artfully jumbled pile of bags!"  My suggestion (I think I read it in Real Simple magazine 5+ years ago) put plastic bags in an empty kleenex box - one at a time so you can pull them out individually!

This works great for us!  We use the bags for litter cleanup and on walks with Molly.

The next life hack is essential oil - peppermint oil.  We use this in the shower.  Just a few drops on the shower floor at the beginning of the shower and you will perk right up!  This is the best when you have a cold or are just not feeling great.  The label says you can add it to a bath - a few drops in a cup of cold water, then add it to the bath.  I have tried it a few times and it sucks!!  The peppermint burns and you feel cold no matter the water temperature.  Definitely want to skip this!

Fun with my new lens - 85mm, f1.8

What life hacks to you have??
Enjoy!
ELH

Baby P's art wall

This wall has formed organically - a piece here, a piece there.  The placement isn't perfect and there are numerous tutorials on pinterest on how to layout a collage of pictures.  I'll try that in the next house since I think we are done!  I say that until we go to another craft show....  Regardless I like it!

The pillow is from Crate and Barrel after Christmas sale.  Not a perfect fit, but I like the colors for the room.  It actually looks better on the grey chair in the opposite corner.

The clock is set to the time P was born.  2:50.

My 2 favorite latest additions.  The turtle was a birthday card I received this past year!

I got this during the summer.  We had a boys name picked out since February!  The girls name was still under debate.  Good thing baby was a boy!

Enjoy!
ELH

Thankful

I am thankful everyday and I make sure to say "Thank-you" to everyone I interact with during the day.

I wanted to give a shout out to our yard guys!  We live on a corner = lots of yard and we have a ton of pine trees.  In the Fall, our yard is covered in pine straw and leaves.  I raked leaves as a kid.  It is fun once.  We need to do it every weekend.  Not interested!

Our yard guys come every other Monday and I love them.

This is our yard Sunday -

This is our yard Monday after the yard guys came - So pretty!

This is our yard on Wednesday -

Not to bad.

Tons of pine straw.  Hate it!

I love the yard guys and if we had unlimited funds, I'd have the yard guys come every week!
Thank-you yard guys!

-ELH

Finished Nursery!!

The last touch was the mobile from etsy.

My mom crocheted the grey blanket.

I really love how everything came out - not too baby and some of my favorite colors right now.

Source list -
Rug - USA Rugs in turquoise
Crib (I just copied YHL) - Walmart
Quilt - Target
Grey Chair - La-Z-Boy
Paint - Rainforest by Martha Stewart and Bedford Grey by Behr
Curtains - Ikea with my added ribbon trim
Dresser/Changing table - Unpainted Furniture (purchased in 2001)
Recovered flower chair - info here and here

Enjoy!
ELH

Super easy project

I love ceiling fans.  I know they are considered ugly and all the home decorators frown upon them, but I need that constant air moving, especially at night.

The nursery didn't have one and since it is in the back of the house and doesn't get a lot of air movement, we installed a nice looking one from home depot.  I had also read that constant air movement while the baby sleeps can help prevent SIDS.

I do think the ugly part of the fan are the light and fan pulls.

Turns out that our bedroom has the same ceiling fan!

I've had colored painted state quarters that I received from family members when I moved - GA and NM.  I've never really known what do with them, so they have just sort of been around the house. 

Then I go the bright idea, that they would make great fan and light pulls on the new ceiling fan! 

I just used some needle nose pliers to destroy the old pulls, slip on the quarters, and crimp the ends to secure the quarters.  A ~5min project that adds the perfect amount of details to a ceiling fan!

What easy home projects have you been up to??
The nursery is just about finished.  I got a beautiful colorful mobile from etsy that needs to be hung and then I can take finished pics! 
-ELH

Butterfly bush

Have I ever told you that we have yard-guys?  They've been doing our yard for ~18month or so and it is money well spent! 
I love pulling up to the house every other Monday and seeing the yard looking spectacular!  Especially in the fall when all the pinestraw is cleaned up!

The back yard is a little over grown because of all the pine trees preventing grass to grow in a majority of the yard.  We do have some lovely flowering bushes, which I have been told are pretty pricy plants!  One plant it particular is a butterfly bush.  In my opinion it is a hot mess of a plant and looks like a big fat weed.  What do I know??

Doesn't it look like a hot mess?

Butterflies on the butterfly bush!

I talked to the owner of the lawn company about our options with this butterfly bush.  He told me it was a pricy plant and the best option would be to trim it back now and then in the late fall they could move it to a more ideal location.  Cool!

Not sure I would call that a "trim," but it looks great!

The spot it is in used to be a vegetable garden and I would like to get that area cleaned up, put some grass in, and make a much smaller vegetable garden.  Keeping house plants alive it about the extent of my gardening skills/experience.  Starting out small seems like a good idea.

I'll keep you posted on the bush's new home later this year!
Enjoy!
ELH

Keeping It Real!

We have been air conditioner free since Monday!  Keeping it real with the windows up and ceiling fans on high!

Are you jealous??

We have been having lots of thunderstorms that cause the power to flicker or go out for a few minutes.  The latest storm on Monday killed the A/C compressor.  We did think it might just be a bad circuit braker, so the EE is both of us, ran to Home Depot and replaced the braker.  No dice.
Tuesday, G's dad came over and took care of getting quotes and service people out to the house.  Fixing it that day = $800, fixing it on Wednesday = $300.  Monday night we slept with the windows open, ceiling fan on, and box fan in the window pushing air.  It wasn't a big deal.  So saving $500 was just fine with me.
Well as the story goes, the part wasn't in stock for Wednesday and then Thursday the delivery people wouldn't over night an oil compressor.  Keeping my fingers crossed for getting A/C back on Friday.

Wish us luck on Keeping It Real - Night 4!
-ELH

PS - It was brought up on FB that at 30+ weeks pregnant, I should be miserable and staying at a hotel.  My parents house didn't and still doesn't have central A/C.  Within the last 5 years, they bought a few window A/C units - I guess menopause necessitates A/C.  Anyway.... not having A/C isn't a big deal for me.  So this Keeping It Real thing isn't too bad.  I do need circulating air.  I can't stand a stuffy-house. But if the A/C isn't fixed on Friday, I might be a little more interested in relocating somewhere else during the day.

PPS. - We are now considering getting a whole house panel protector to prevent any more expensive appliances from going out.  Do have something like this?  Any other recommendations?

New chair!

Did I tell you that the office is actually going to be the nursery??

Office - September 2012

That was my plan when I repainted the room back in September 2012.  I thought a grey/teal-turquoise/white color palate would be wonderful for a baby and for an office in the mean-time. 
I have been working off this color palate idea from pinterest -

The dresser I stained is going in the office/nursery and will be used as the changing table also.  Besides a crib the other thing we wanted to get was a rocker/glider chair.  I knew I wanted something more "furniture-like" as compared to "baby-only."  I have yet to set foot in Babies R Us and hope to keep it that way!!

I liked this chair and ottoman from Target (in either Halo anchor or Hlo string),

but worried about the height of the chair only being 38".  G is tall ~6'2" and he wanted a chair tall enough to rest his head.  As he called it, "No airplane chairs!"

My mom suggested La-Z-Boy, so we checked it out this past weekend.  I had pinned the Harbor Town recliner

and Lyndon recliner

previous so we started there.  I really liked the look of the Lyndon recliner because of the tufted back that could be cousins to the reupholstered chair we are keeping in the room, but it was deemed an "airplane chair!"

The Harbor Town was nice, but we weren't in love with it.
We ended up with the Lancer recliner in a fine whale corduroy fabric in light grey - called cobblestone.

It should be ready in ~45days, so room pics will have to wait.  Everything is coming together nicely!
Enjoy!
ELH

Another shout out to Nadeau!

Love Love Love this furniture store.  If I had a BIG house, everything would be from Nadeau.
Remember my recent post about my new friend - the small cabinet in our living room?  Love Nadeau!  And I can't recommend it enough.

G's brother recently moved from into a big house and they were in need of a solid wood table.  They mentioned looking at typical furniture stores and Cost Plus World Market, but finding solid wood and not particle board was turning out to be more difficult.  Of course when I heard this, I immediately told my SIL you need to check out Nadeau.  I am sure you can find the perfect solid wood table for ~$600-800.  The pricey part will be chairs and that they don't usually sell "dining room sets."

So I was surprised and excited to see this picture in my inbox last night -

In-laws new kitchen table!

If you are in the market for furniture or just like to shop find your local Nadeau and check it out!
-ELH

Dresser staining

Over the long weekend I tried out staining an old dresser (13 years old) a darker color.  I decided on Minwax PolyShades (stain and polyurethane in one) in American Chestnut.

The dresser was a light honey color before -

I sanded it with 80 grit paper and followed up with 220 grit.  Wow 220 grit paper is awesome!  It made the surface so flat and smooth.  Awesome!!

After the first coat -

Looking ok.  I liked the color, but not the finish.  The wood looked really dry.  I don't want it to be super shiny, but this look was bad.

After some more reading on the Minwax website, I decided I just need a clear polyurethane coat in semi-gloss.  The PolyShades only comes in satin.  Opps!

Before I bought the clear polyurethane, I had some touch-ups on the front of the dresser and the second coat really made the difference (sorry no pictures).  I let it dry overnight before I decided what to do on the rest of the dresser....

It needed a second coat!
I guess stain and paint are the same, the second coat makes all the difference!

I am going to let the dresser dry/outgas for ~a week before moving it inside and taking finished pictures, but I love how it looks.

Oh, since I didn't open the polyurethane and it isn't a special mixed paint, I'll probably return it and save ~$12 on my project!

Tips for wood staining -
1. Double check the wood chips for the stain finish.  If you are looking for something more than satin, then I wouldn't get PolyShades.
2. Trust the directions - do a second coat before making any opinions on your work.
3. Definitely get mineral spirits to clean up the brush.
4. Work in a well ventilated area!  Even though I was outside, I wore a respirator and didn't smell a thing!

Happy staining!
ELH  

Hallway update

The hallway gallery wall is finished!

Sorry the pics are a little dark, this hallway doesn't get any natural light.

This was taken at 3pm.

Artichoke print from etsy and "I belong with you, you belong with me, you're my sweet heart" print from etsy.

My Canadian coin art project, etsy state print, evening print of Sagrada Familia from Barcelona.

Opposite wall - Asparagus print from etsy, "Safe plants for kitty cats" print from etsy, our wedding invitation...

,

State print and Notre Dame print we got in Paris.

"We're all mad here" from the Cheshire cat! I found this in pinterest and printed it myself.

Bamboo forest picture from Maui - our first artwork purchase together! And a wedding collage on the right.

I like how the hallway has come together and am happy with all my etsy prints!
Enjoy!
-ELH