a shot of red

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.

speaking of the little things. . .

when we moved into our home three years ago i was itching

to get started making it our own.

removing some of that "builder" look and adding

a bit of interest.

i think we had been in the house all of 8 hours before

i bought some new switch plates for our kitchen.

most people over look switch plates. and why wouldn't you when

there are always larger projects to attack.

but the little things can really pull the larger picture together.

our old switch plates

everybody has them. white and plastic.

there is nothing wrong with them.

but isn't this better?

these are tin with a brushed nickel finish.

and they averaged $1 each, depending on the size, at Lowe's.

they are much more decorative and for a small

price add a touch more interest to any space.

it's been three years and i have only changed out our kitchen

but will finish out the downstairs this year if we don't sell our home

by the end of this month.

in the days to come i'll share a few more "little things" we did around here to

warm things up.

it's the little things, y'all

while i was watering some plants on our front porch today

i got a good look at our doorbell.

in a word. blah.

it's just cheap yellowed plastic.

suddenly it really bugged me. i mean, really bugged me.

i know, i have issues.

so what does a paint obsessed person like me do?

paint it!

i just unscrewed it, disconnected it and put a coat of primer on it followed by a coat of black.

i sprayed the screws, too, so they would blend better.

i even put a couple coats of wipe-on poly on it to protect if from my boys sticky fingers.

so much better, don't ya think?

i'm sure no one, including my husband, will notice.

but that's okay.

it makes me happy.

now i can water my plants in peace.

linking up to domestically speaking and shabby chic cottage.