Green Seed Creations

christmas 2011 tour

2011-12-14T19:07:00.000-08:00

i've never been one to go over the top with

christmas decor. i'm not that drawn to the idea of

transforming every room and every surface for the holiday's.

maybe it's because i feel perpetually tired as a mom

to three boys and wife of a church planting pastor.

tired in a good way, but still, TIRED.

also, our home is small and our living space is open so a little bit

goes a long way!

this year i pulled some greens from the yard to make

a swag for the front door. i see in this picture the holly is starting to curl up so it

may be time to cut some more. :)

our tree is a little guy and this year we opted to block

our back door for the month. we have a side door around

the corner that also leads to the back yard and our wood pile

so it's worked out pretty well.

brown wrapping, a red locker basket to hold some gifts for

out-of-towners, and some red lanterns hang around the tree which sits in a galvanized

bucket and is wrapped in burlap.

the mantle is a mix of silver, natural elements and red and white accents.

the stockings are held up with a bit of twine.

the boys come downstairs each morning to see how many days

remain before christmas.

the above chalkboard, by the way, has had many lives. it was

originally a silver framed mirror.

a simple grouping of candles and a couple of deer on the buffet.

and on the table a few decorative balls and some greenery from the yard.

otherwise, i've just tucked some greenery from the yard around the house.

y'all go check out all the great house tours over at the nester's

tour of homes and thanks for stopping by!

~ stacy ~

adapting a sconce

2011-12-03T18:58:00.001-08:00

in my effort to draw out the makeover of the boys'

rooms i accomplished only one more tiny thing this week.

you may remember the wall treatment i finished up

several weeks ago behind bean's bed.

it's a dark little recessed area but a perfect nook

for his bed.

the outlet on that wall is wired to the light switch for the room

so i wanted to put up a plug in sconce.

then i started pricing them. good grief!

since that wasn't in the budget i found an inexpensive

candlelight sconce from lowes that i thought would be

perfect for the space.

only problem, not a plug in.

so, i did what any self respecting diy'er would do.

i adapted it.

all that was needed was a lamp cord set, some

wood screws and a cord mate.

all you do is take the two wires from the light,

that would normally be tied

into the wires from the wall box, and tie them

into the plug. the ground

wire can either be left alone or wrapped around

the screw on the mounting bar.

i picked up some wood screws because the screws

that came with the light

were not meant for wood. and because i was using

metal against wood i grabbed some washers.

the mounting bars would normally screw into the box in the wall or ceiling but

in this case i secured it directly to the wall.

and then i attached the fixture. easy peasy.

sorry, no styling photos around here! what you see is

what you get. :) who spots my nail gun waiting patiently for step 84 of boy room reno?

i have since gone back and put the cord mate on so the

cord is nice and tucked in behind a strip that adheres to the wall.

i spray painted it orb so that it will blend a little better.

now, everyone keep your fingers crossed that bean doesn't

pull it off the wall!

~ stacy ~

a few of my favorite things

2011-11-30T15:47:00.001-08:00

i have been slowly pulling out our

christmas decor the last few days.

i'm having a hard time getting going this year.

not feeling super creative or energetic when

it comes to decorating.

i did manage to get a few cuttings from the yard to

make a fresh door swag

and i've been piddling with the mantle but am not happy with it yet.

my lack of holiday decorating mojo might have something to do with the

impending sinus and ear infection i feel building in my head.

in the meantime i thought i would participate in the nester's

favorite things party by sharing a few of my

own.

so, here we go. a few things i'd rather not live without.

1. john frieda's frizz ease dream curls :: i have seriously tried almost

every product available for curly hair. from the expensive stuff to the

cheap stuff and everything in between. about two years ago i picked this up

during a buy one get one sale and have never looked back. it's cheap and it

controls frizz and softens my curls like nothing else ever has. you can find it in any drugstore.

2. blue chips with flax seed :: love these. alone. with humus. with homemade

pimento cheese. with salsa. for lunch, snack or dinner. i love them. blue chips

are naturally organic and the flax seed is full of health benefits. my favorite brand

is target's archer farms. i find it to be the most flavorful and it is also the least

expensive. double like.

3. my (not so) storybook life, by elizabeth owen :: i really enjoy a good

memoir. i also really enjoy a book that can make me laugh. this book made me

laugh. and cry. and then laugh again. i had to put it down while reading

during a hair appt recently because i literally could not contain my laughter and then, moments later,

had to ask for a tissue because tears of sadness were streaming down my face. (i received a 'poor thing' kind of smile from my hairdresser's apprentice and then i picked up people magazine) liz is talented i tell ya.

her story of friendship and personal growth will leave you feeling warm and hopeful

and longing for the next chapter. you can find it here. oh, and liz blogs here.

4. tazo organic chai tea concentrate :: my favorite hot drink is a

starbucks chai tea latte. really, i think i'm addicted. i craaave them and

my day doesn't feel underway until i take that first sip. problem is a gande is just

under 4 bucks. not a habit we can support on our budget.so, i set out to come up

with my own chai latte at home and tried many different brands of chai tea in the process.

then. . . THEN. . .

i came across this at, of all places, wal mart. just over $3 and it lasts me a week

and is EXACTLY what is used at starbucks. my barista friend told me so!

5. sweet leaf green tea with mint and honey :: when i'm not drinking
hot chai i am drinking this. love is also not too strong a word here. the only
two places i have found this in our town is earth fare, a whole foods grocery
store, and publix, a typical (but not!) grocery store. way cheaper at publix and often on sale.
i currently have four 64 oz bottles in the fridge. i'll need more by saturday.

6. campbell hausfeld compressor and nail gun :: with all the projects
i've done around here this year this has been invaluable! it's user friendly, lightweight,
and packs just the right amount of punch for the average diy'er.

is it weird that three of my six favorite things are food/drinks? don't answer that.

instead go check out all the favorite things linked up at the nester's party. there's sure to be
some great gift ideas in there.

~ stacy ~

musical chairs

2011-11-17T16:32:00.001-08:00

in my quest to get the scale of things right in our little cottage

i made some changes around our table this week.

we've had windsor back chairs around our farm table for several years

now. and while i like them they just weren't working for us in

this house. they felt too heavy for the smaller space.

so, i craigs listed them on tuesday and they were gone 24 hours later.

i knew i wanted something lighter in feel and in weight. and something that would

tuck under the table a little more. i narrowed it

down to the two below.

i threw it out to friends on my personal fb account and the majority

voted for the wood chair.

but i couldn't get images like these out of my head. . .

images above are from my pinterest boards.

so, i went with the metal tolix inspired chairs. how awesome are they in yellow

by the way?!

i like the retro look and the pairing of a more industrial chair

with our distressed farmhouse table. i also decided that wiping

pasta sauce off these chairs would be way easier

than the caned seating of the wood chair. kid friendly

is at the top of the list around here!

i got ours at a local place called southern salvage. they were literally a quarter

of the price of an original tolix. they had several colors and i was tempted by them all

but settled on a matte gunmetal grey since the colors

in my house are in constant flux.

i did keep the wood french bistro chair. i just couldn't part with it. :)

i envision it in the kitchen when we get our "one day" banquette built.

~ stacy ~

wall makeovers (& a lot of pictures)

2011-11-06T18:56:00.000-08:00

i think someone spiked my chai tea latte's with some

red bull this weekend.

after 14 months in our current home our to-do list is still

pretty long. some big projects and some small.

saturday i was determined to cross off some of the

small projects i'd been dragging my feet on.

namely, dressing up some walls.

i've been working on the boy's room's upstairs as i'm able to get materials.

the stairwell leading up to their space is dark, has poor lighting, and up to now

has had nothing on the walls. bOrInG!

i knew i wanted to deck it out with color and with stuff that would be

fun for the boys. i want them to love their rooms, and the walk up!

everything on the wall came from around the house. i didn't spend a dime.

the above print is hanging on an old barn door which is leaning in the corner

on the landing at the bottom of the stairs.

most of the frames received a fresh look with

either spray or craft paint or both.

five keys representing the five of us.

an 8x10 print from my friend jessie. hopefully she won't

mind i cut it up to achieve a different look.

the boys' artwork. . .

the excerpt above is from a book "the clowns of god" talking

about children with down syndrome, challenging the things on which most

people place value.

there are three framed numbers on the wall. a 3, 5, and 7, the ages of the boys

when we moved into quinby cottage.

i can't remember where i got this print. it was years ago. it was on etsy.

that's all i know.

i have just a few spots to fill in and i'm sure

it will be ever changing as the boys grow.

next up is the wall on the other side of the staircase. it looked like this for a

long time. . .

one of our problems in this house has been lack of space for

bookshelves. after tripping over books stacked in wire baskets

and even an old antique wash tub i'd had enough and decided to

throw up a couple shelves on this wall.

(please ignore the different color trim. still working on painting it all out.)

i bought a few scrolly brackets and two 1 x 6 x 6 boards, stained them

and slapped 'em up there.

it really warms up that wall.

looking at this side of the room is totally different now. i love it.

so, that's what i did on saturday.

oh, one other thing got changed. i wanted to use the little mirrors from

our front room in the stairwell.

and the 'w' and the chalkboard which i spray painted red. so i had to

re-do this wall.

here it is now. prints from jones design company.

whew!

love checking things off my list!

~ stacy ~

sick day equals progress upstairs

2011-10-20T16:41:00.000-07:00

i had other plans today.

plans to hang out with a friend

and help her with a project.

but when tank wandered into my room at 4.30am

with a high fever i knew plans were a changin'.

after dropping spinner and bean at school and getting tank settled on the sofa with some blankets and cartoons

i decided to knock out one

of the 150 things on my to-do list.

the boys' room's have been under a slow over-haul

for a good month or more.

so far i have painted various walls in both rooms

and planked the hall landing at the

top of the stairs that connects their rooms.

today was all about planking a small bit of wall behind

bean's bed.

there is so little light upstairs (as it is nestled in the trees) so pics

are nearly impossible to take. what i'm saying is, forgive the grain!

before i started i realized i needed to slap some

dark paint on that wall because i wanted the

gaps between my wood to be large and

haphazard (and i didn't want butter yellow showing through).

i used 1 x 4's and 1 x 6's cut at varying lengths.

i layed it out on the patio as i cut so that

the seams were where i wanted them.

the rest was pretty easy. i just used my nail gun to put the

cut wood up, starting on the right side to make

sure the wood was flush with the wall's edge.

i did have to extend the outlet.

i use these little plastic doohickeys. they work

great and are super easy.

once extended i finished up and put on the new outlet cover.

like i said, i wanted it to look haphazard and piecemeal with

random gaps and spacing. this picture really shows the gray

wall through the cracks put in the room the spaces just

look dark, which is what i was hoping for.

i'm pretty pleased with it. i love the natural color

and will just top it off with a coat or two of

wipe-on polyurethane.

now i need to find a swing arm, plug in, wall lamp to put

in the upper right quarter so my little guy can

read in bed.

next step for their rooms is beadboard for the rest of the half-walls.

fingers crossed i have this all done before thanksgiving.

and when i do, i'll give you the full reveal.

~ stacy ~

homemade laundry detergent

2011-10-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

laundry detergent is expensive.

have you noticed? of course you have.

even with coupons and sales and combining the two.

no, that's not grated cheese

so, i made my own.

there are all sorts of homemade recipes out there

for liquid and powder detergents.

here's what i used:

2 cups borax ($3/box)

2 cups arm & hammer super washing soda ($3/box)

1 bar fels-naptha soap (less than a buck/bar)

mix the two powders and "grate" the soap. stir it all up

good then throw itin your food processor and mix until

the soad is so fine you just see pretty yellow specs

throughout the powder.

pour it into a suitable container, i used a glass

canister that has been sitting empty.

then make a pretty label and enjoy.

i use 1 tablespoon per load.

with three smelly/dirty little boys and one big

boy that runs and cycles and sweats like no one

i've ever met i knew this stuff was going to have to work hard.

after 3 weeks i am very pleased. everything is

clean and smell super fresh.

i doubled the recipe so i'd be set for a while and there is plenty

left in both boxes of powder for another batch!

happy laundering!

life and a yard sale

2011-10-12T11:01:00.000-07:00

mornings are always a bit hectic around here.

school drop off is 7.00am.

we walk out of the door at 6.55am.

at 6.45am the hall bathroom looked something

like this.

the toilet lid was closed prior to the snapping of

this picture in order to protect your eyeballs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

while waiting on the plumber i got busy with sorting items for

our yard sale this saturday.

need some china? linens? vintage aprons?

home accessories? come on out. we'll have furniture

and lamps, too.

and ironstone. it's killing me but i'm thinning my collection

in order to maintain my simple living commitment.

if you're local holler and i'll give you directions.

~ stacy ~

project updates: whitewash and boy rooms!

2011-10-01T06:50:00.000-07:00

i did it.

i made a decision on the brick fireplace treatment.

it's not done yet but i have had a few people ask to see what i'd done so far,

so here ya go.

i used a 50/50 ratio of primer to water, grabbed a brush

and started applying.

the whitewash is on. it took about 1.5 hours and dried super

fast.

next step is to take a wire brush to it to rough it up just a bit and

expose a little more of the brick.

we love it! even without the roughing up.

pastor j has been wanting me to paint

it for a while so he is especially pleased with it which

makes me happy.

we also have a few things going on upstairs in the boys'

quarters. it involved this. . .

and some of this. . .

and now we are here. . .

this is luke's corner. he styled the shelves himself. :)

next week beadboard will go up on the side walls, beneath

the pitched ceiling.

wil's corner is gonna be sweet, too.

and timmy? he's getting a splash of green in his room!

to paint or not to paint?

2011-09-22T16:38:00.000-07:00

* paint brick fireplace!

that's on my project to-do list.

it should have been checked off by now so that

it would be ready for use this winter.

it's not.

i'm generally not one to shy away from slapping

paint on anything but for some reason

i feel tentative about painting the brick.

does that mean i shouldn't do it?

after we moved in i immediately painted the shiny brass

fireplace insert black.

that was easy and greatly improved things.

but in the back of my mind i knew i'd eventually paint the brick.

in anticipation of painting it this summer i cleaned her

out really well in the spring and removed the big

honking insert.

this is how it sits now.

when i took the insert out i realized i'd done a rotten

prep job before painting it. note the black rim around the opening.

so, now, i have to paint the brick.

right?

i do like the warmth of brick. i think i'm afraid i'm going to want

it back and this is one paint job you just can't undo.

however, every time i see a painted brick fireplace, like this one from

younghouselove,

i'm ready to pull out my brush!

i also love the brick treatment in this kitchen.

and this whitewash treatment is great.

source

what to do, what to do?

i'm leaning toward a whitewash so that some of the warmth

of the brick will come through.

any opinions? i'm wide open.

~stacy~

a shot of red

2011-09-21T18:29:00.000-07:00

One year ago my family moved into Quinby Cottage.

Since then we have been busy trying to make this downsize

work for our family of five by creating a warm

and functional space.

We're getting there.

You can see a little of what we've done

here, here, and here (where she's all cleaned up for Christmas).

We've knocked out wall's, pulled out kitchen cabinetry, painted,

put up board and batten and horizontal planks, and changed out some lighting.

There is still so much more to be done and I've been in a bit of

a diy rut lately!

I knew that in order to get out of the rut I needed

to tackle a quick project that would provide instant

gratification. And it needed to be cheap.

So, I finally painted our front porch swing.

My mom and dad gave us this swing the week we moved in and it's

been on my long "project" list ever since. It was the perfect project

to get me going again.

I decided to paint it the same red as our front door, which I had on hand.

Nothing like an easy update that packs a punch to

get the diy juices flowing!

It's time to re-visit my project list and get busy!

Stay tuned!

linking up with The Shabby Nest for Frugal Friday.

bringing in some color

2011-07-30T17:31:00.000-07:00

i've been a bit sick lately. mostly with migraines. i have them

often. really often. last week i had one that

just about did me in and lasted almost a full five days.

my meds weren't touching it.

it's over now. normally i would just

move on and take advantage of the feel good days

before the next one hits but this one

kicked me in the tail in a good way.

in an effort to (possibly) help with my migraines

and just feel better, more energetic, in general (which would in turn

help my mirgaines) i have given up caffeine and sugar. and more than

that am shifting my family toward a more

"whole foods" diet.

i know this isn't a food blog but i have decided that from

time to time i will document how i'm doing with this

lifestyle change, for my own sake.

i have been off caffiene and sugar for several days now

and today i woke up migraine free and feeling great!

so, after being nearly non-functional for the last week i was

ready to clean and spruce and brighten up the place.

i had some fabric i was going to use to make lamp shades

but decided it was just what i needed in the kitchen to replace my old

meshy, neutral curtains.

i liked how the above curtains let light in and felt very airy

but they were just a little to beige for our fairly neutral kitchen.

this floral fabric was just right. it was a quick transformation thanks to

stitch witchery!

I'm linking up with Donna and Funky Junk Interiors.

master update :: repurpose, repaint, repair

2011-07-15T10:43:00.000-07:00

i've been sloooowly chipping away at our master

bedroom for some time now.

i started here, then did this and this.

then stalled out.

because we have virtually no budget for this re-do

i have had to repupose, repaint, and repair

things we already have.

i do enjoy a decorating challenge.

(the wall planks have been the one expense so far

but i sold furniture to get the funds for those!)

headboard . . .

i knew i wanted it to be rustic and it had to be cheap.

finally i decided to use an old barndoor

that we hauled from nc last year.

so, i brought it in from the shed and set to work

giving it some legs.

i used some scrap wood, cut it to length, and

used the nail gun to secure it.

it's a heavy door so i bulked up the legs a good bit.

i knew they wouldn't be seen so wasn't too concerned

with how they looked.

and here she stands.

i'm really liking it.

with all the straight lines - wall planks and

headboard - i wanted something with some softer edges

on and over the bed.

the pillows also bring in the bright pops of color i wanted.

the mirror over the bed was a clearance

item from tjmaxx. it's cheap, cheap but i knew

i would paint it.

it's rustoleum's leaf green.

this old quilt was handed down from pastor j's side of the family

and has so many fun colors. it's a bit tattered so

i just drape it across the bed.

i'm still chipping away at the room as a whole but have done a few things

here and there. i still have a number of things to do

before it all comes together. some of that involves

spending so once the kids are back in school i'm

going to work on some furniture to sell and try to get this room done!

in the meantime,

here are a few sneak peeks of other little projects going on in the room.

hoping to finish it up and share the reveal by the end of september.

like i said, i'm moving slow! :)

linking up with the shabby nest today for frugal friday.

re-doing a re-do :: my chalk paint experience

2011-06-02T19:17:00.000-07:00

i may be the last on the chalk paint bandwagon.

don't judge, it takes me a while to be convinced to try new things.

however, after seeing so many great projects and reading equally

great reviews i thought i would try it.

if you are one of the rare few that has not heard of chalk paint

please don't be confused with chalkBOARD paint.

not the same.

chalk paint is a particular blend of matte paint

created and patented by annie sloan.

i bought mine here.

i'll tell you what i think about it in a moment but first i'll

show you what i did.

last year i purchased a basic broyhill nightstand in

a cherry finish for $10 at a yard sale.

here it is after a coat of a mossy green/gray mistint

from home depot.

after we moved last september and i started

re-doing our master i knew this would eventually

get a new look but wasn't sure what it would be.

i had no plans to paint this week but avoiding larger projects

will get me to finish up all sorts of smaller projects! so

on wednesday i unexpectedly found myself painting her with some chalk paint.

her she is now.

i'm really liking it! so much more interesting to me

than the last look.

here's my two cents on chalk paint for what it's worth.

1. love the way it goes on. super easy to work with.

2. the fact that primer and sanding are not required is amazing. it is almost

like a primer as it dries to a very matte finish.

3. it dries quickly - 20 minutes or so.

4. it sands easily, coming off almost like. . . well, chalk.
5. no odor!

6. the biggest con for me is the price.

7. and tied into that is it's availability. unless you live near

one of the providers it must be mail ordered. and shipping paint ain't cheap.

8. the color options are limited. but i do like what they have and if

you are adventurous you can mix your own colors.

on my piece i used "duck egg" all over then

went over the drawer fronts with "old white."

after rubbing it up with a mid grain sanding block

i used a clear wax as a protective coat. i then

mixed a little dark walnut wax into some clear wax

to age it a bit and add some depth, then put a final coat on.

i'm linking up to miss mustard seed and funky junk interiors. go on over and get some

furniture inspiration!

bringing out the ducks and seeing yellow!

2011-05-26T05:03:00.000-07:00

i've had these ducks for a while.

in our last house they sat perched atop our

large built-in's.

in this house they have been sanctioned to the hall closet with

some of the items i couldn't bare to part with when

i was "simplifying."

but now they are front and center on the mantel.

i also threw up a few books, some blue ball jars, and a colorful

little crafty candle stick holder.

craving more yellow in the house i spray painted

an old mirror that had been gathering dust in our shed.

it's similar in color to this dresser across the room which i love.

say yes to yellow!

back to the mantel.

it's pretty simple. . . i just gathered stuff from around the house.

but it feels fresh and it makes me smile.

once again, i apologize for the poor quality pics.

i wanted to show you the bottom, though, as it's getting a

face lift soon.

we recently took the fireplace insert out - it was brass that i had

spray painted black - so that i can do a whitewash

treatment on the brick.

'twill be interesting.

i'm a little nervous since you can't really go back to the brick

once that's done, ya know?

while i do my research on that i made use of the space.

we have lots of books floating around the house that need a place to

land. those built-ins i mentioned earlier? we don't have any in this house

so i am having to get creative with where our books are stored.

they are in nooks and crannies all over the house.

i also didn't want to pack away my candles so

i just brought them from the mantel to the hearth

and threw up a few empty frames behind them.

i'm kinda diggin' it.

also, it's hot.

yes, it's may and that needle is pushing 100!

y'all stay cool this weekend and have a great

memorial day weekend!

i'm linking up with kevin and layla at the lettered cottage today!
go check it out cause there will be lot's of mantel inspiration.
and as usual, the lettered couple's mantel is amazing!

the den is done

2011-05-05T17:45:00.000-07:00

i finally finished planking the wall in our den.

man it took a long time to finish that one little wall!

but that's how it is when you pay as you go i guess.

i have been buying the planks as i make cash off selling

random items on craig's list.

if you want to make over a space in your house but

are short on funds don't overlook getting

rid of some things around your house that you don't really need.

or things that you aren't crazy about.

doing it this way has really helped me to simplify.

and how can you go wrong getting rid of

things you don't really love in order to make your home

a place you do love? you can't!

and best of all. . . you don't mess with the budget!

quickly, to refresh your memory, you can read here to see the

"before" till last week pictures.

and here is my finished wall.

i also took down the yellowish faux bamboo roman shade

from the previous owners and threw up my old

stand by curtains, aka, drop cloths.

the planks are mdf and are a little under 1 x 6 .

i ran a 1x 4 across the top, caulked and painted it out

to finish it off. and yes, that is popcorn ceiling.

it's all over the house and i am banking on it coming back into

style one day. what?

geez, sorry i didn't straighten and fluff the pillows for you! this is why

i will never make it big as a home blogger!

anyway. . .

it's really hard to get a full picture of this room. another reason

i need a new fancy schmancy camera with a wide angled lense.

alas, my point and shoot will have to do for now.

now that the wall is done i am itching to change the

grouping above the sofa but that will have to wait as well.

my herbs have gone nuts so they are showing up all over my house

as i wait for my zinnia, shasta daisy, and black eyed susan to bloom

and take over all my blue ball jars and old coke bottles.

the painting, by the way, was done by my brother many years ago.

i've always been drawn to it and love the contrast

it brings to this otherwise cheery space.

i'm on the hunt for a new lamp shade but other than that

i am calling this room done. well, as done as i get anyway.

i'm always tweaking!

before
(as entry is being opened up)

after

linking up with donna at funky junk interiors
and erin at 3 meadow lake cottage

bringing up boys

2011-05-03T08:49:00.000-07:00

“I rode my bike for 8 miles on the trail. And I flipped over the bars like this (demonstration) and hit a metal sign. I might be a legend.” – 8yo

“Mom? Whales. . . or trees. Which one?” - 4 yo

“mom. . . mom. . . mom. . . mom. . .mom. . .” – 6 yo

“mom! Why you toot? You not daddy! – 4 yo

“I’m full. Can I have dessert now?” – 8 yo

“I don’t want a turkey sandwich. I want a cookie. Five of them.” – 4 yo

“mom, take this.” – 6 yo

“what took so long for these shorts to get clean?” – 8 yo

“I did take a bath. . . I don’t know why there is still pizza sauce on my face.” – 8 yo

“mom? Rain or. . . trucks. Which one? – 4 yo

“MIIIILLLLLK” – 6 yo

“I don’t like flowers. I like guns and basketball.” – 4 yo

“mom, i like to burp. You like to burp?” – 4 yo

“mom, my reading level is 5.8. what’s yours?” – 8 yo

“I didn’t pee on the toilet seat, he did it.” – 4, 6, 8 yo

“I don’t know how the bath water got on the bathroom ceiling.” – 4, 6, 8 yo

“I did not break the lamp, spinner did it. No, bean did it. Wait, no, dad did it. *sigh* okay, I did it.” – 4 yo

"hey mom, listen to this. i can burp and toot at the same time." - 8 yo

naptime diaries

2011-05-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

meet jesse.

she and her husband, nick, and

their three little ones

have become an active part

of our church plant.

they are with us for a season

and then, Lord willing, they plan

to go do the same in boston.

plant a church that is.

"planting"

that is the language used

for beginning a church from scratch.

i once thought it strange but now i find

it appropriate.

everyone that tends a garden knows that

planting requires a great deal of

care, attention, watering, light, the right kind of soil,

the right kind of food,

pulling weeds so the plant doesn't get

choked out, patience, and so on.

that's how our plants grow.

and that's how the church (the people) grows.

we need to be fed and poured into.

we need a good foundation.

we need to be constantly pulling

"weeds" from our own life

that threaten to choke us spiritually.

we also need to be in community - doing

it all together. not just receiving encouragement

but offering encouragement.

jesse has a real desire to encourage.

to plant seeds of hope and truth into other

women and watch them grow.

just as she is growing and learning

and struggling and rejoicing herself.

it won't take you long to see that on her blog,

which you can find here.

this week she is celebrating

women with a fun giveaway and i

thought i would let you know.

i threw in a couple of items for the giveaway. nothing

fancy - one of my chalkboard pots and a couple of

frames. they are leftover items from the stock

i had at the thomas company.

(i pulled that stock, btw, don't think i ever mentioned

that or changed the info here on the blog.

i'll get to that. soon, very soon.)

anyway, go check it out. you are sure to find

something you like.

i for one love the fabric necklace and may have

to drop a hint to pastor j about that one.

::on the quinby cottage project front::

the den planking is complete. on the next

bright sunny day i will get some pics.

i forgot how dark it is inside

during the summer with the

tree canopy around our house.

when it's cloudy outside you can forget about

taking any decent pictures. and let's face it,

my pics struggle enough as it is.

tweeting, planking, gardening and such

2011-04-14T18:03:00.000-07:00

do you have a twitter account?

the whole twitter phemon has been a mystery to me.

i just didn't get it.

i wasn't terribly interested.

and then patricia heaton of everybody loves raymond fame

wrote this note on facebook about reeces rainbow, a ministry

that is dear to me. patricia heaton got wind

of reeces rainbow on her twitter feed. . .

then she read more about it. . .

she visited the blogs of families waiting to

bring their kids home. . .

and she got the word out.

through twitter.

awesome!

and even though i keep up with reeces rainbow

through their website i got myself a twitter account

so i could officially follow them, to help them reach their goal of 10,000

followers.

so now, i'm a tweaton. not sure if i will ever use it to actually tweet

or just to follow a handful of other folks but there it is.

i caved.

for a good cause. :)

::in other news::

the planking continues here at quinby cottage.

so does the master bedroom reno, which as i have said

before is moving at a snails pace.

the latest, some sheets turned curtains.

i grew some grass. wheat grass. i'm hooked and will

now do this every year for spring decor.

all it takes is the container of your choice,

some soil, and some wheat. i got about

$1 worth from the bin at our local health food

store. and the pail was from the dollar spot at target.

my hosta is coming in beautifully!

i'm working on a butterfly garden.

and tank continues to be the most mismatched dresser

in his preschool. he doesn't care. neither do i.

cottage love

2011-03-22T10:51:00.000-07:00

if you haven't already picked up the

summer 2011 issue of cottage style

then you haven't seen this.

go to jerusalem's blog pronto

and check out the pics of her home

featured in the summer issue.

i think i'm in love.

what is a girl to do. . .

2011-03-19T06:52:00.000-07:00

when it's nearly 90 degrees in march?

fill up a window box.

freshen up the front porch

for sittin' and chattin' and readin'.

plant a pretty vine to crawl the mailbox.

buy some lavender and dianthus.

and seed some basil, oregeno, and cilantro.

happy spring, y'all!!

the inbetween-projects project

2011-03-06T19:31:00.000-08:00

i have diy a.d.d

there is a little bit of something

going on in every room of our house.

almost done projects,

barely started projects,

projects needing professional attn.,

projects that need tweaking.

so why not add another project?

outside.

i put out an all call for bricks on facebook

and was given enough to start an

outdoor project.

we have this triangle of yard between our one car drive

and the walk to the front door

that is basically dirt.

it gets stepped on when getting out of the car and

9 times out of 10 the left car tires are on it

because the right side of the drive is so close to

a row of shrubs.

it also gets cut across with bikes and skateboards

and six little boy feet running from the side of the
house to the front and back again.

so. . . i have a plan for this area. the portion that gets most of

the foot traffic is going to be bricked and the rest will

be decked out with some sort of ground cover.

i haven't a clue what i'm doing.

i'm just fitting the bricks in best i can and

filling the spaces with dirt.

if i have my way the cracks will be

covered in green moss.

can you believe that people try to get

rid of moss between their brick paths?!

this is going to be a slow project and will fall

in line with the rest of my house.

as the funds are available another portion will

be complete.

like so many of the rooms in our home i love

that this little bricked section of our yard

will have a back story.

these bricks came from our friends, matt and julia's,

yard. they had a few random piles laying around

from the previous owners' project's

they're all a bit different which adds to the

mish mash look i want.

what are you planning for your outdoor spaces?

bright spot

2011-03-01T08:17:00.000-08:00

it's hard to believe that a broken

hot water heater can disrupt

day to day life so much.

today is tuesday, the problem started

saturday and the job is still not done.

it's getting close, though.

since the house is overrun with

dirty dishes and clothes that cannot be

washed, and all our living spaces are piled

with the contents of the ruined closet, i thought i

would tweak the only space that is not

cluttered.

the mantel!

i decided to bring in an old shutter that i picked up

a year or so ago at a junktique place.

i also gathered the white candle's that look just

like they did from christmas. that's the great thing about

using white and burlap!

and what's a spring mantel without flowers?

i also threw some empty frames behind the

candles and flowers.

i love the rustic features of the shutter.

the texture and weight of it really adds some

interest against the white walls and white mantel.

it's the bright spot amongst the current mess

here at quinby cottage!

don't be fooled. the mess is there. i just moved it right outside

the frame of this picture. :)

plank er up!

2011-02-28T18:56:00.000-08:00

last friday was planking day.

finally!

all those planks that have been hanging

out in our bedroom have made

their way home.

i am loving the results.

big time.

i am now happy to report that there are NO MORE

fleshy, pinky, underbelly-of-a-pig colored

walls in our home.

woohoo!!

because it was a rainy morning (though you wouldn't

know it from the alien like light coming

in through the door and window!) we had to set up

shop inside.

my dad was uber helpful and having him there gave me the

confidence i'll need to finish walls in two other rooms with the same treatment.

i finally got to break out my christmas present, a nail gun, and put

it to work. it was so easy and made all the difference in

how quickly we moved through getting the planks up.

after we finished up the wall in the bedroom, and my parents left, i looked

at the clock and determined to make use of the time i had

before the kids came home.

and, i was on a roll.

so, i got started on our den.

this picture isn't all that clear but you can see where i started

to the right of the window. that exterior wall be planked

and then the window will get some drop cloth curtains.

so, a productive day on friday.

which was a good thing.

because on saturday?

this happened:

our hot water heater died. and had apparently had a slow death

without our realizing.

(this is after everything was removed, including some of the flooring)

the closet where it's located (also our coat and "other storage" closet)

was flooded and mold had already started to form.

that was saturday morning.

tonight my house looks like this

and this

because we haven't had water since saturday at 9am.

the plumbers just left and will be back in the morning to finish installing our new

water heater, which is being re-routed so it can be OUTSIDE of the house!

the good news is i will have more closet space!

so, to sum up:

1. bedroom wall is planked. hooray!

2. i can now move to the next phase of our master makeover. hooray!

3. planking has begun in our den and i will totally be able to finish

it on my own. hooray!

4. hot water heater. dead. boo.

5. floors in closet. ruined. boo.

6. water has been turned off since saturday and my boys

have become a little too comfortable using the backyard

as their outhouse. boo.

7. new hot water heater: bigger and more efficient and outside. hooray!

8. got rid of the nappy carpet that was in the closet. hooray!

9. opportunity to do something creative (and cheap) with the

floor in there. hooray!

10. opportunity to turn the closet into something

more functional, like a mini built in office. or a storage area

with great function and design. hooray!

so, while unexpected and a bit inconvenient, not horrible.

fresh flowers

2011-02-21T17:00:00.000-08:00

i hosted a baby shower here

at quinby cottage over

the weekend.

it was the perfect opportunity to

bring in some fresh flowers.

and to find creative ways to display them.

dollar pails from target, blue ball jars, mason jars hung

with wire or twine, old white porcelain vase. . .

no matter how they are displayed they sure brighten

up a room!

what's your favorite way to display fresh flowers?

the camellia's, by the way, are from my yard.

the tulip's and sunflower's are from

our local market. :)

one thing leads to another

2011-02-16T09:11:00.000-08:00

you know the old story about putting a rose in

a room? then you clean the table on which it is perched.

then you open the drapes. then you pick up the clutter and vacuum

and on and on until you have an

easy on the eyes room.

make one small pretty change and it leads to more.

that happened to me this week.

and it started with painting my door red.

that led to completely rearranging the furniture

in our living room. which meant moving furniture out

and into our bedroom. which meant moving furniture out

of our bedroom and into our den (pictured above).

which led to painting the moved furniture since

it had a new home. i'll show you that later.

it also led to finally hanging the big distressed mirror that

i have hauled through three moves (always writing into the contract

that my mirror does not convey).

in our small space it adds a big punch, throwing light

and reflections around the room. i love it.

hanging the mirror also led me to do something on the opposite wall,

which to this point had yet to be treated. but having that wall in

the mirror's reflection pushed me to get

something up there.

so i dug around in our shed (grabbing the empty frames)

and the storage closet and threw this

up there. kind of haphazard but it works for now.

there was a mahogany secretary desk here but it got the

boot because it was just too chunky for this space.

my grandmother's old drop leaf table is now perched here.

it's just the right depth allowing us to move the sofa and

have a walkway between the back of the sofa and the wall.

see the wall to the right of the black door? that's where the

drop leaf table was but we could never open the

back door all the way. and my three little guys would

inevitably slam that table every time they swung the door open.

now the door opens all the way!

but now i need to do something with that wall.

don't like the picture there.

with summer coming i anticipate lots of in and out over in that

corner so i may throw some kind of treatment on that wall

and put up some hooks.

and it all started with the red door.

now, back to my planned projects!

does this ever happen to you? please tell me i'm not the only one. :)

what i wore wednesday

2011-02-16T07:33:00.000-08:00

linking up with lindsey again for

what i wore wednesday.

heading out to our favorite eatery

in asheville, nc.

tuxedo top and cardi, loft; jeans, lucky;

boots, luchesse; necklace, darlybird.

off to church

dress, mast general store (patagonia); tank and tights, target; cardi, loft;

darlybird necklace again; boots, miz mooz.

ciao

at long last

2011-02-15T08:03:00.000-08:00

i love red doors.

on homes.

on churches.

on quirky old delapodated buildings.

love them.
always wanted one.

finally, after perusing photos of yellow homes

with red doors i decided to go for it.

i love how all the colors come together.
yellow house, red door, blue porch ceiling.
(i realize i took these photos at the worst time of day - shadows
and all - but i had to take advantage of my three free minutes!)

i didn't want to spend money on a new
door handle and lock (it was brass) so
i took it off and painted it.

the finish came out great.
first i spray primed it with kilz,
then sprayed three coats of rustoleum's
hammered bronze, then followed it
up with three coats of deft's spray
lacquer.

BEFORE

AFTER

now, we just need a little spring green to liven things up!

i'm linking up to coastal charm and domestically speaking.

bedroom update (don't get too excited) and some eye candy

2011-02-11T10:27:00.000-08:00

as promised i have a master bedroom update for you.

what i didn't tell you is there's not much to

report. :)

sorry, didn't mean to tease you like
that. i do have a little eye candy for you
from some of my favorite
antique spots in asheville.

pastor j and i spent last weekend there compliments
of my parents. i know. awesome, right?

but first. . . our master.
the busyness of life stalled things after i painted
three of the walls. BUT i have done this. . .

collected all my planks! that's something right? they are only 1/4 in. thick
which i am happy about because hopefully that means i won't
have to take down the existing crown molding and baseboard.
fingers crossed.

i also got rid of the awful 1980's skinny blinds and put up
some dark bamboo roman shades. still looking for the
right fabric for panels.

my loose plan for the weekend is to begin putting up the planks.
i'll let you know how that goes!

okay, on to the fun stuff.

tobacco baskets
and
crates
o'plenty!

i loved the clock above!
wonder if i can recreate it??

and, oh, if i had the money i
would have stocked up on these
baskets for the boys'
suite makeover!

perfection!

old french shoe forms. these would look great hung on a wall
in a grouping!

love, love, love this empire chest! the color, the amount
of distressing, the curves. beautiful!

transit letters
and
chippy furniture
abound!

i exercised great self control and
walked away with only one item.
this rusty, pale yellow, rectangular basket.

a girl can never have too many rusty wire
baskets!

bedrooms, bathroom, red door, and a speaking engagment

2011-02-10T10:11:00.000-08:00

it's been quiet on the blog because it's been

busy at quinby cottage!

just wanted to pop in and say i'm still here

and will be back tomorrow to give a

cottage improvement update!

i have two big projects underway.

the master bedroom and the kids'

suite upstairs, which includes their bedrooms,

bathroom and a hall that joins the two.

and, as usual, i found myself diving into

an unplanned project in the midst

of those two things.

inspired by the above picture (source unknown) and this

i have decided to paint our front door red.

it's sanded and ready for some makeup.

pics to come when she's all prettied up!

but first pastor j and i have been asked to speak at

campus crusade for christ at the university of south carolina

tonight.

the topic?

the boundaries of love

wish us luck!

what i wore. . . no. 2

2011-01-26T04:42:00.000-08:00

alrighty, i'm back for another week of

"what i wore wednesday" because you ladies

made it so much fun.

i had a request for larger photos in

order to see fabric and detail better.

while i hesitate because i'm afraid the only

thing that will show up better are my wrinkles, gray hair,

and grand canyon pores i do am aim to please, so here ya go. . .

wednesday

(meeting with school principle -no, no one's in trouble!)

white top: old school j.jill

navy cardigan: loft

pins: the pleated poppy herself

jeans: lucky's

shoes: target

thursday

(errands for our church)

plum top: anthropologie (sale upon sale item)

cardi: gap

neclace: target

jeans: loft

shoes: target

friday

(painting, running, cleaning)

sorry, can't bring myself to enlarge this one. really, there's nothing

to see here!

top: pastor j's closet, vintage gap

sweatpants: target

saturday

(son's basketball game)

cream top: loft

cardi: backpacker, local

necklace: indy craft show, local

purse: loose lucy's, local

pants: oops! (reject jcrew chino's), local

shoes: gift

here are some detail of the top and cardi. . .

sunday

(church)

top: anthro, sale

jacket: loft

neclaces: target

jeans: levi's

more detail. . .

monday

(chillin at home with a sick kiddo)

cowl neck top (more sweatshirt than sweater): target

cardi: loft

jeans: lucky's (i finally wore these jeans out today, i noticed

a tear in the knee as i was getting in my car. sadness.)

and that's all i got for the week!

make sure you visit all the other wwiw participants. you're sure to

find some inspiration!

master makeover in progress

2011-01-24T13:33:00.000-08:00

i was a little caught off gaurd by the calender today.

january has really gotten away from me!

we've had snow days, scheduled days off, and sick kids.

the only thing all this means is that my project list is

getting restructured.

but that's life right?

if having kids has taught me anything it's that

flexibility makes life a lot easier.

a lesson that has not come easy for this highly structured gal!

today, because bean was home and passed out on the sofa

i decided to get started on our master bedroom which

is within earshot of the sofa.

it's a project i wasn't going to hit until spring,

but, i had the paint so i figured why not!

i have done absolutely nothing to our master since

we moved in last september other than our bathroom

and my closet.

below is a very before picture. it's actually an mls pic and what we saw

when we first looked at the home. so, none of it is our stuff.

their bedframe, while very nice, really overwhelmed this room so we sold our

bedframe before we moved

with plans to do something a little different for a headboard.

it's impossible to see the wall color with the lighting in this photo.

it's a fleshy pink color. i have previously described

it as resembling the underbelly of a pig. not a great color.

this looked a lot better on my camera than it does here.

the left side is the new color, rice grain by sherwin williams, mixed

by home depot. love behr's paint and primer in one.

the right side is the old pinkish wall.

rice grain. it only took one coat of behr p and p. awesome!

the trim and molding, currently a creamy white, will

be painted a bright white.

all walls were painted today except this one. it's going to be an accent

wall and will receive a treatment of horizontal

planks, painted white.

source

i'm hoping to land somewhere between these two looks.

the above pic is clean and fresh and below is

rustic and fresh, and a little less perfect which suits

us better.

source

it will be my first project using my new nail gun and compressor so

join me in praying that i don't land in the hospital with a nail driven through

my hand. just kidding, mom! i'll be fine.

mixing it up

2011-01-19T03:28:00.000-08:00

i know this is a diy/home decorating/seehowstacyreworkshersmallhousesoitsfunctionalfor5

kind of a blog. but i thought it would be fun to mix it up just a bit.

once a week.

i have been enjoying lindsey's "what i wore wednesday,"

or wiww for the acronym lovers among us, over at

the pleated poppy since she started the series.

because i have more projects than i can count going

on around the cottage i thought it would be a fun (for me, anyway)

diversion to play along.

i like fashion. i'm not particularly good at it but am always

looking for inspiration on how to put together

what i already own in ways that are new.

that's one of the things i've been trying to do in 2011

since our budget is getting smaller, not larger!

so here we go. . . i managed to find my camera three days last week

but my goal will be a daily shot of "what i wore," even when i'm in my

painting clothes.

sunday

(church. . . we're a casual bunch)

black quarter lenght t - shade

blk/red top - oops!

jeans - levi's

boots - jcrew from like 18 years ago.

necklace - gift from loft

here's a close up of my top in case the design wasn't clear. i love it. it's wool and

i'll be sad when the season's change and i can't wear this.

monday

(hanging out with local college student on campus)

striped top - target

scarf - target

brown sweater - loft

jeans - levi's

boots - luchesse

tuesday

(school meeting, errands)

green and cream t's - shade

long cardy - tjmaxx

cords - loft

boots - miz mooz

my youngest didn't want to miss out on the action.
plus i can sum his style up in one outfit.

everyday

(4 year old uniform)

top/bottom - oldest brother's old soccer uniform.

worn daily around the house, occasionally out if the weather suits,

sometimes to church because i have

learned to pick my battles, and almost always to bed.

go check out the fun fashion at the pleated poppy!

snow, botched plans, and a closet re-do

2011-01-14T20:05:00.000-08:00

my plans for last week did not go quite as expected.

i was going to start working on the boys' rooms and bathroom.

and then this happened. . .

we live in south carolina. which means that this kind of snowfall

shuts us down. the snow fell on a monday which meant no school.

it also meant no school for. . . tuesday. or wednesday. and late starts

on thursday and friday. no, it did not continue to snow on those days but it was

cold and there was ice. and apparently the powers that be are

afraid to allow south carolinians to drive on icy roads.
apparently there is good reason for that.

what this meant is that my plans for the boys' space was put on hold.

next week i'll take you on a tour of their awkward space but for today you get to see

my new and improved closet.

i had no plans to re-do my closet at this time but it was an easy project to

tackle while the boys were at home.

can you say blah! our twin closets. pastor j's on the left, mine on the right.

have i ever mentioned that when we bought this house

all the walls were a fleshy color with pink undertones. like the underbelly

of a pig. not the prettiest color i've ever seen.

our bedroom is still this color. it's on the makeover list for this year.

because i tackled my closet makeover on a whim i didn't get

a before picture. i know, blogger fail.

but, i have the next best thing. pastor j's closet. which pretty much mirrors mine.

except his is neater than my before was. please note the light. every closet in this house

lacks a fixture. is this normal? i'm on a mission to change this.

here's my after.

the lighting is horrible. sorry about that. i painted the top blue hubbard
(had it on hand from our bathroom and den) and the bottom

white (also on hand).

i put some floral craft paper on the backs of the cubbies

using spray adhesive. chances are i'll

change this out when i find a paper i like better but

this will do just fine for now.

i started collecting velvet covered hangers in our old house, in preparation

of our move and the reality of smaller closets. these are much less bulky

and keep things feeling so much neater.

i scaled my purses down to one for each season plus a few

clutches for special occasions and threw them all in this galvanized

bucket.

apparently i cut off my light fixture. just noticed this. if someone is dying to

see it i'll snap another photo, otherwise just trust me that it

is tons better. baskets hold shorts and t-shirts.

since i took this photo i have put a rug in here and it warms it

up all the more.

so there you have it. my quickie closet makeover.

this is part of a larger plan for our bedroom. last weekend i sold

our dressers and plan to use my closet for all my clothes. so,

it was necessary for it to be more functional.

now i'm ready to get busy on the rest of our room.
and our closet doors?

i'm thinking this would look great.

kevin and layla nailed it again!

i'm linking up with beneath my heart and funky junk interiors.

an organized pantry

2011-01-07T07:49:00.000-08:00

we have a small pantry. in fact it is combined with

our laundry room, right off our kitchen. it's about three feet

deep and nine feet wide. to the left is just enough

room for the washer, to the right is just enough room

for the dryer. above each we have some shelves.

not exactly a ton of room or even easy access to pantry items.

i love our little cottage but oh, how i would love a pantry like this.

or this.

all photos above from country living

i love an organized space!

apart from being more functional and accessible it's just so much

nicer to look at. and that counts for something. if you enjoy your

space, if it inspires you, if it is functional and warm, you will

want to be there.

as a stay at home mom, my home is where i spend nearly all

my time. it's important to me that it makes me smile.

this week i decided to tackle my pantry/laundry room.

it's been in process since we moved in so it was time to finish

it up.

as i mentioned, our pantry is tiny. here are some

before pics. . .

there it is, right through that door. like i said. small.

the day after we moved in i took the bi-fold door off to

let light into the kitchen through that great floor to ceiling window.

this is the washer side.
lots o clutter. i put up the shelves on the right a month

or so ago in an effort to provide a bit more shelf space.

this is the dryer side. there are two cabs above which i have left alone.

the top of the dryer has become a major dumping ground for just about

anything you can imagine. we have meds, dapp putty, random tools,

pie crust, lunch boxes. a mess!

i don't have a before shot but the overhead light was just a bulb hanging out of the

ceiling so i knew purchasing a fixture was on the to-do list.

apart from that, my goal was to spruce up the space without

spending any money.

here it is now. de-cluttered and much more functional.

i pulled all my canisters i could find around the house to sort

dry food, cleared off the area on top of the washer of

everything except detergents, and hung

up a couple vintage food charts, framed a verse from

deuteronomy and put it in an old frame i painted yellow.

the dryer side was decluttered. i have a red locker basket

with the boys lunch boxes and a tray for medicines. on the wall to the

right are hooks for grocery bags and some of the boys' art.

and i now have a proper light fixture. this is meant to be an outdoor

light but i like it here.

a wreath i had stuffed in our hall closet was pulled up to add

a little pretty to this highly used space.

all in all, it's much better. i can't stop thinking about that red screen door up above, though.

that would be the perfect solution here, no? it would let the light in and be awfully cute!

i'm linking up at domestically speaking for maryanne's "let's organize" party.

coffee filter wreath

2011-01-06T08:18:00.000-08:00

coffee filter wreath's were all over blogland last year.

you've seen them.

a soft place to land

they are puffy and feminine and interesting.

the nester

i'm a little late to the coffee filter craze but all the stars

aligned last night; i had my filters, glue sticks, wreath form,

and the biggy - a chunk of time to see it through.

FOUR hours to be exact.

yep, that's how long it took. i was determined not

to stop halfway through for fear i wouldn't come back to finish her off.

this is what you see when you enter our front door.

another door. it's our coat closet and it is

directly across from the front door so i like to have something pretty

there.

mine's not quite as puffy. my filters are glued closer to the

wreath from and then i went over it with a pair of scissors

to trim her up and even out some spots. still needs a little more evening

out, i think.

a very cheap project. my wreath from was half off from hobby lobby - so, 2.50 - and

i bought store brand natural coffee filters for .89 a pack. I used two packs.

the only casualty in this project were my finger tips. i lost approximately

2.5 finger prints.

if you try this don't give up. you will think at many points along the way

it looks horrible but keep at it. once you get all your filters on

you'll be happy with it!

life {in} grace

2011-01-04T08:10:00.000-08:00

New Beginnings. Sometimes we choose them. Sometimes we wake up and find ourselves facing them, whether we want to or not.

Edie, from life{in}grace, has found herself facing a new beginning. The kind that you don't go looking for. The kind that shows up out of nowhere and redirects your life. A few days before Christmas her home burned to the ground. Her family escaped unharmed and, together, they are facing their new beginning. You can read her story here.

Today is Edie's birthday. Her friends in blogland, compelled by the impact Edie has had on them, are throwing a virtual "surprise party" for her. They have hijacked her blog and set up a linky party so that all of us can have an opportunity to express not only our well wishes but the impressions Edie has made on our lives.

I have never met Edie.

I started reading her blog somewhere around the time she painted her kitchen cabs turquoise.

There was a collective sigh among diy bloggers when she revealed her kitchen. It was fresh, inspiring, creative, beautiful, and full of personality.

Just like the woman behind the paintbrush.

I was hooked.

Every time I visited Edie's blog I was inspired; whether it be diy projects, amazing crafts/sewing skills, cooking, or her obvious love for her family.

And then there were posts like these.

For me, reading Edie's blog is like opening up a great devotional. She not only inspires me in my home but challenges me in my faith. Her intention in her home has everything to do with her faith.

And for me. . . a Christian, wife, mom to three young boys staying home to be with them, desiring a creative and inspired home. . . Edie's blog is a daily destination.

Happy Birthday, Edie! I pray that as you purpose to rebuild your home this year you will experience the depth of God's mercy and love. That as you wait on so many things to fall into place you will, too, be waiting on the Lord.
"In waiting, I waited, for the Lord." Ps. 40:1

new year, new projects

2011-01-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

2010 went out with a fizzle for us here at quinby cottage.

the last week of the year was spent in submission

to an evil stomach virus. one by one it took out each of us.

so my plans to get a jump on some of my projects went down the

toilet with. . . well, you know.

instead, the last week of 2010 started with me running

back and forth between these two guys who, for the first two hours of the

onset of the virus, refused to leave the toilet.

i grabbed a bench for each of them.

eventually bean succumbed and made his way to a pallet

i set up for him outside our bathroom.

tank, however, was too afraid to leave for fear that

"more sick come out."

while i didn't get started on any diy projects i did firm up my list.

there are lots of small things to finish up like patching and caulking

nail holes and trim from our wall demo, painting interior doors (they are all going

black), finishing touches in the kitchen, final coat of paint in our

stairwell.

my big projects include: an overhaul of the boys suite upstairs. our cottage

is 1.5 stories so the upstairs consists of two bedrooms with a bath in the middle.

the ceilings are pitched which makes for challenging

furniture arrangement. my plans are shaping up for the room so stay tuned.

our master bedroom will also get some attention this year in the form

of paint, vertical planks, and a diy headboard. pastor j and i are both content to

wait on this. the boys area and a few other projects take priority.

with my new nailgun (a gift from my parents) and a hand-me-down

jigsaw from my mother-in-law i look forward to tackling it all myself.

what does your project list look like?

alan, alan, alan. . .

2010-12-31T05:07:00.000-08:00

christmas home tour 2010

2010-12-13T07:44:00.000-08:00

the nester is hosting a

christmas home tour today and i thought it would

be fun to participate.

living in a smaller space has really changed

the way we live. everything is a bit simpler.

less clutter. everything has a function.

decorating for christmas this year was dictated

by this new way of living.

this is the first view as you enter our cottage.

i am in process of painting

all interior doors and am loving

that the closet door you see as you enter the

house now stands out. on it, i hung some

greens from the yard.

the faux board and batten to the left has

been a great way to define and add function

to our entry. and for christmas, a simple red scarf.

this room is immediately to the left when you enter

the house. most of my christmas decor

this year was shopping the house and pulling

red in to various spaces, like the pillows in our

family room.

the kids and i also threw up some

christmasy words on the chalkboard.

our mantel, which you can see more of here.

again, just pulled in some red here. a jar filled with a strand of

red wooden beads and one filled with green moss

and a few small pine cones. the candle

received a burlap and twine treatment like all my candles have

right now.

finding a place for a tree was a real trick in quinby cottage.

our options were really limited unless we wanted to

block our back door, which we did not.

so, we bought a small fakey this year, put it in a large galvanized

bucket and wrapped it in burlap. the tree is simply

decorated with white lights, twine, and ornaments

collected through the years.

we recently did a board and batten treatment in our

hall bathroom as well. i love it. for the holiday's

i just wrapped some greenery from the yard, a bit

of holly and some tree cuttings, with some twine and hung

them up.

i also brought in some red with some

candy canes. you know, because who isn't looking

for some peppermint while using the

toilet?

over in the kitchen i am just hanging my red dish towels. . .

put out a little holly here and there. . .

and threw some vintage, red crates atop my

hutch.

and that's that.

our simple cottage christmas. thanks for stopping by!

now go check out all the beautiful homes linked up over at

the nesting place.

i'm no seamstress. . .

2010-12-06T10:22:00.000-08:00

if there were any skill i could achieve with a snap of the

fingers - no lessons, trial and error, time to perfect, etc - it would be sewing.

or photography.

no. sewing would be first.

oh if i could sew! i would make

new pillow covers for every season, curtains to soften

up all my rooms out of great fabric, and flirty a-line skirts.

but. i can't.

i can barely sew a button on my boys' shirts.

i wanted some light, airy curtains for my evolving kitchen

but have yet to come across any i like

or could afford so i decided to take the

stitch witchery plunge.

i'm sure i am the last person on earth to hear of this stuff

but now i'm sold!

in addition to stitch witchery all i needed was my fabric, a

damp cloth and a hot iron.

please overlook the poor lighting and photography (remember that is

second on my list of desired skills) to my

new light, airy curtains.

i picked up just enough muslin in a light brown for the bottom and ivory,

with specs of brown making it look almost like a grain

sack, for the top.

after following the instructions on the package this

is my finished product. they are just what i wanted.

i didn't "hem" the bottom because i liked the

unfinished look. it works well with the feel of the kitchen.

i'm pretty pleased with them and think they really

soften up and balance all the straight edges of the open shelving

and the harshness of the aluminum brackets.

they aren't perfect but they are exactly what

i was looking for.

flash mob, hallelujah chorus

2010-12-02T13:08:00.000-08:00

praise God!
why don't flash mobs ever break out in junktique stores? :)

one little vignette

2010-12-02T10:45:00.000-08:00

i didn't do a ton of decorating this year. and what i did was

kept relatively simple.

like this vignette.

the twig wreath is actually two. an 18 in. and a 12 in.

i just tied them together for added bulk and

a little more depth. both of these i already had on hand.

the NOEL banner i made last year.

burlap, acrylic paint, stencil and jute.

the candle holder is a duplicat of the one on my mantle, also distressed

and rubbed down with walnut stain.

the red lanterns are from ikea, one is sitting in a silver bowl which rests

on a white cake stand. the white candles have

the same treatment as the candles on my mantel, burlap and jute.

and that's it.

tres simple.

i'm a sucker for slate blue and red together so i am

digging that my lamps and lanterns

get to mingle together this month.

i'm linking up to another holiday party today; it's all about vignette's.
rhoda at southern hospitality is hosting. go pay
a visit!

spreading the word

2010-12-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

For those of us that love all things house and home, and work hard

to make our own homes our dream home in which to raise

and enjoy our family. . . this is unimaginable.

This couple purchased their dream home only to find out

it was a meth house. They are now stuck with the

aftermath.

If you have a minute go read their story.

If you want to start from the beginning start on this page and begin at the bottom

with the first post and work your way to the present.

The story has been picked up by their local papers and most

recently CNN. Hopefully as word spreads

they will receive the help they need.

I really feel for them. They only want to do what so many of

us are doing, decorating their home for the holiday's while entertaining

family and friends in their home.

If you feel compelled, maybe you can help them spread the word!

quniby cottage christmas mantel

2010-11-30T12:52:00.000-08:00

hey y'all! i'm joining the mantel party over at the lettered cottage today.

there will be no lack of creativity so go over and have a look if you are

needing some inspiration for your own christmas mantel.

i kept it pretty simple this year. no garland or lights, just a

few things gathered from around the house.

on each end i have a small frazier fur (fake) wrapped in burlap and

tied with some of my favorite ribbon.

i threw a couple of empty white frames i had laying around, along with a lone

white candle, next to one fake frazier fur.

i once swore, by the way, that a fake christmas tree would never

cross the threshold of any home in which i lived. never say never, right?

that changed this year. not only are these little cuties on the mantel

fake but our tree is fake. i think it pains pastor j more than me. like me, he loves

the scent of a freshly cut tree.

anyway, more on that later! back to the topic at hand. . .

on the other end three more candles, all wrapped in burlap and twine

to add a bit more texture and interest, along with a more natural

feel.

the candle holder i picked up from ikea when

i went for my butcher block. it was shiny and white so i

distressed it, of course, and rubbed my fave walnut

stain over the whole thing.

much better.

i picked up the letters for the JOY sign at hobby lobby for pennies

on the dollar, painted and distressed them, and hot glued

them to some jute.

beneath the mirror. . . three simple, tattered, green books.

i have two more stockings to replace (how do stockings disappear over

the course of the 11 months they sit in a plastic bin

in the attic?) and then it'll be done.

also, i painted the back door black. did you notice?

it makes such a difference! the interior of all our exterior doors

are now black and now i am seriously thinking

about painting all my interior doors black. too much? :)

enjoy the mantel party! check in periodically for all the new links, you are sure

to see lot's of amazing ideas!

saturday

2010-11-27T15:07:00.000-08:00

the house is trimmed and the halls are decked.

and now, it's time for some football!

GO GAMECOCKS!!

beat clemson!

diy fail

2010-11-22T17:39:00.000-08:00

when we ripped the upper cabinets out of our kitchen pieces of our

undesireable popcorn ceiling came down with them. i seriously thought about

scraping the whole thing right then and there but pastor j

would have been most unhappy with me. we have had

a disrupt-the-routine kind of project going

on since we moved in. . . so, the popcorn

ceiling stays.

but, the patches need touching up. i did paint the strips that

had drywall exposed so it wasn't so obvious but it still looks bad.

today was my day to tackle the patch work. something i should have done before

i put the open shelves up but i was a tad impatient to get those up

and decked out. i covered everything up and pulled out the can-o-texture.

it sounded easy enough.

1. cover everything.

2. shake can for 1 minute.

3. hold upright.

4. pull trigger making half second sweeps.

5. there are 8-10 "sweeps" in the can.

okay, cool.

NOT!!

this was a disaster of a diy project!! first, this stuff flies everywhere when you spray it.

everywhere! except the place i want it to go. the area i need to cover

is a long thin line, about 12 feet. for the life of me i could not hit that

thin line. after about five failed sweeps the nozzle clogged and i had to step down to

wash the goey textured mess out of my hair.

there has got to be a better way!

South Carolina vs Florida. . . draining the swamp!

2010-11-15T16:02:00.000-08:00

I interrupt reno and home decor news to bring you this AWESOME video highlighting

the many sweet moments of the SEC East title game last Saturday.

WHAT. A. GAME!

thank you for indulging me,

a proud gamecock

love me some open shelves!

2010-11-14T10:28:00.000-08:00

progress is being made in the kitchen. i have a few more details

to work out and then i'll show ya around.

a decision and some board and batten

2010-11-07T19:09:00.000-08:00

thanks for the input on my small counter top dilemma.

while the difference in wood doesn't bother me i have decided

to do bead board. i think the 1x4 would have shortened

the wall once we got the open shelving up and the whole purpose of doing

this was to create a feeling of more space. kinda like

someone with short legs wearing a large cuffed pant, it shortens an already

short leg. or something like that.

while going back and forth on this decision i couldn't just sit idle so here's what i worked on

over the weekend.

a faux board and batten treatment.

try not to be distracted by the mess in the foreground and background.

our focus here are the two walls on each side of the

room opening.

to the left, just out of the picture is our front door.

so when you walk in the house the sitting room is on your left and the dining

on your right. after we opened up all this space

if left a very non-distinct entry. i wanted to do something that

defined the space and give us a place to hang

stuff.

this did the job. using mdf we just cut it to size and

put it up with a bit of glue and a nail gun.

i put it on the short wall just to the right of the door which you cannot

really see, the wall behind the door and to the left after walking in, just past

the sitting room.

after the mdf was attached i caulked it, primed it, and painted it with

a semi gloss ultra white, same as the trim.

also, don't mind the little boys wandering around aimlessly

wondering what mom is doing now.

i added some hooks for our coats and bags

and they will never come down because. . . putting screws

into mdf? kind of a mess. at least for me. but they are in there

good!

it's certainly not perfect but i'm pretty happy with it. the mdf

was cheap and i was able to get all my cuts out of one sheet.

the horizontal pieces are 3.5 inches and the verticle pieces are

1.5 inches.

after it was nailed to the wall i applied putty and sanded. i found the mdf to be pretty hard to sand.

as a result it is not as smooth as i would like and those flaws really

show with a semi-gloss paint. i may try to go back later with my palm sander

and smooth out the imperfections and repaint. but for now this will

be just fine.

i will be doing the same treatment in our hall bathroom (and those cuts have already been made out of the same sheet purchased for the entry) so i'll have

another chance to work out the kinks.

also, i hung this guy. little by little we

are replacing all the brass light fixtures in the house.

we can't afford to buy the fixtures i really want from barn light electric

so, for the entry, i settled for an outdoor light from lowes.

it works just fine. and, i hung it myself. that was a first for me. :)

think i'll link up at cottage instincts!

calling all diy'ers!

2010-11-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

i need opinions!!

our kitchen reno is under way. the upper cabs are out.

the walls are prepped and drying waiting for the next step.

the butcher block counter is in.

the sink is in.

when i started this i didn't know what

i was going to do for backsplash. i knew i wasn't

going to buy another slab of butcher block

just to get a 1x4 cut for the backsplash.

if money weren't an issue i may have

done that, but as it stands. . . not happening.

so, i was thinking i may not have one and rather

do beadboard all the way up. or maybe board and batten.

in the end i decided against these because there

is not a natural stop point on that wall. i would

have had to cover the whole wall on that side of

the kitchen and i didn't want to do that.

so, i ran up to lowes and bought a 1x4, came home and made my cuts

and tried to stain it to match my counters. impossible.

here is my question. do you think it looks bad. like really bad

to have the mix of wood and varying color?

be honest.

here are some pics to give you some different angles. the darker spots

are a rougher texture on the wood.

i know the real designers out there might give this a giant
no but there are probably lots of things in my
house that would get that

so i need other input. i am normally pretty decisive on
decor issues but not this one.

i am open to scrapping it or keeping it.

linking up to funky junk interiors.

out with the old. . .

2010-11-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

it's a rainy, cool, fall day here in south

carolina.

a good day to stay inside, enjoy a hot drink,

light some candles, and. . .

enjoy the sounds of a kitchen demo!

this is what's happening around here today.

upper cabs and soffit are coming out. old white laminate that stains

super easily is coming out. old sink that was only 5 inches deep is coming out.

going in. . .

oak butcher block, a deep white sink, and open shelving.

my inpiration kitchen is laura's from pure style home.

isn't it great? my colors will be different and i have a window

over the sink (and a much smaller space!) but the

concept will be similar. want to see this kitchen's before?

check it out here.

by the time the sun is shining again my countertops and sink will be installed

and my walls will be ready for me to tackle. to save some money

i'll be doing the open shelving myself. fingers crossed that

i can pull it off!!

is it 2011 yet?

2010-11-01T17:57:00.000-07:00

man, we have had one of those "one thing after another" seasons over the last six weeks. you know the kind. . . the car that starts becoming a money pit, unexpected medical bills, sick kid after sick kid, a growing list of household projects on a shrinking budget, blah, blah, blah. . .

i seem to be unable to rest until this little cottage of ours is to our liking. with the last several weeks being so hectic i couldn't tackle some of the larger projects but i did manage to get our tiny little bathroom updated.

it was one of those projects that just happened. you know the kind? i didn't have a plan or a vision and it wasn't on my agenda for the day. as a result i didn't even snap a before picture for you, so i'll have to 'paint' you a picture of the before.

here it is today. not an "after," but an "almost done."

what we started with in here were walls that were a fleshy color.

i honestly don't know how to describe the color; most of the house was painted

with it. fleshy with pink undertones. not attractive. the cabinet

in this bath was a standard oak with modern silver pulls.

because i needed to do this one on a dime i went to

our shed and pulled from paint we already had.

the vanity was painted alabaster by sherwin williams and i used some old rusty pulls

i had on hand from a project that never saw the light of day.

the walls are blue hubbard, a sherwin williams color i had mixed

at home depot with behr paint and primer in one. this color was

used in our front room and i had just enough left over for

our small bath.

the wall over the toilet had a standard towel bar. i removed that and filled

the holes and personalized the space a bit with pics of

the boys and warmed it up with a couple candles.

you can see the wall across from the toilet in the reflection of the mirror. that is the only

floor to ceiling wall space in the bathroom. the previous owners had

a vertical towel holder on that wall that held about six towels.

i put up a chippy shelf with four rusty hooks.

i picked this up at hobby lobby for 50% off, making it $10.

so, now we have a place to hang our towels. hanging them over the doors was

not working for me! :)

this is another hook i had on hand. it has three different

sized hooks that pivot. i took down the ring towel hook on the wall

beside the vanity and replaced it with this. i need to go back and

paint the silver screws i used to put it up. i touch of hammered bronze spray

paint should do the job!

and because i love to display my blue ball and atlas jars i had to

make a spot for one. i just shoved a bunch of

white candles in and called it done.

to finish it out i will frame out the mirror and change the lighting

and faucet. i will likely put a couple cute knobs on those

two faux drawer fronts on the vanity, too.

but for now, it's a big improvement!

and the best part? the total out of pocket was $10 because we used what we had.

mabel's house

2010-10-13T10:21:00.000-07:00

at some point each day

i sit down and peruse some of

my favorite blogs.

one that i never miss is mabel's house.

liz posts on all sorts of things: home decor (mostly vintage inspired and thrifty!),

family life, her childhood, food (cooked by her husband, usually), and of course, mabel.

her dog.

she was recently asked, along with three other blogger's, by better homes and garden to

participate in a fall contest.

i love her latest creation.

liz is a great writer. that's what takes me back each day.

she writes thoughtfully. she is witty. every sentence is robust. she's become

one of my favorite reads in blogland.

so, go check her out. and read through her archives.

i think you'll be hooked, too.