mixing it up

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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. . .