Outdoor Lighting

I won the white cabinet battle.

Cary gave in and said he'll just tell me "I-told-you-so" later on down the line. I'm ok with that since regardless of what I choose, I WILL want to change it in a few years.

 Duh.☺

OK, so I thought I had all my outdoor lighting picked out (and bought), but when the guys started doing stucco, sophit, and facia, it became obvious that the light fixtures I had were not going to work for the front entrance. The sophit is only a few inches above the lights.

So I now need to find fixtures that will fit in the front, but still flow with the back. (somewhat)

Here is what we'll have in the back for lighting. See the loop-de-doop on top, it's too tall for the front entrance.

I already bought them months ago, so this one is not negotiable.

So now I need to find two lights that are budget friendly to go in the front. Here is what I have found so far...

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

OK, I just found this one, it matches my other ones pretty well.

7.

Which one would you choose?

None?

Other suggestions?

White Cabinets

So we thought we had decided on the color of cabinets in our new house

 (the Espresso color), but I keep coming back to wanting white cabinets. Our house is going to be small (tiny) so I think having white cabinets will help make it feel larger, lighter, and more open. The hubs doesn't like the idea of white, so I want to hear what other people think about the subject. So you love or hate white cabinets?

BEFORE: (photos from younghouselove.com)

AFTER:

What's not to love?



Photos from centsationalgirl.com

source

(home depot)

Toy/ Storage Box

We go through lots of diaper boxes around here, so I try to find uses for them other than just throwing them away.

I use them for storing kids clothes that aren't currently being used, and I was using one in the living room because it was the perfect size for all of the balls that are everywhere.

The problem is...my kids think boxes in themselves make for a great play thing and they kept dumping all of the balls out of my makeshift toy box and then trying to destroy my box!

So I thought I'd see if giving it a makeover would help set that box apart and keep them from ruining it.

First I fortified it by hot gluing pieces from another diaper box to all the sides.

Purty, eh?

Next I watered down some Elmer's glue and glued some paper to the sides.

 (Modge Podge type stuff would work really well too, obviously!)

*side note* I used tissue paper because it was all I had, and while I can say that it "worked", it definitely would have looked better with gift wrap paper or any other kind of thicker paper.

See the wrinkles?

After gluing all the paper on the sides, I then did another layer of watered down glue on the outside of the paper.

So far it seems to have done the trick.

Don't know why, but the kids are less drawn to terrorizing the poor box.

(and it looks slightly better then a plain ole diaper box sitting in my corner.) ☺

Color!

I don't know if it's me suffering from the winter time depression or what, but I've been needing color in my life.

I always love blue but right now I'm totally digging the color orange!

I have this lamp that I made awhile back 

and this one that we got as a wedding gift.

I like the shape of both of them, but decided to jazz them up a bit.

Who's to say, it may be the pregnancy hormones and you know you aren't supposed to do drastic things, so we'll see!

It's just paint, so if I end up hating it in a month I can always do something different.

The lamps are now blue and orange, and the now blue lamp got a new lamp shade.

I also added a little pop of color to this throw pillow with some orange ribbon flowers.

So, am I crazy or what? ☺

Necklace Hanger

  I've really been needing a way to hang my necklaces.

So I came up with something from a scrap piece of wood from a different project and then some cup hooks I've had around for awhile.

The hooks were gold so I spray painted them with brushed nickel paint, and painted the wood piece, white.

Marked out how many hooks I wanted to go in, and then pounded a nail in to make little holes so it was easier to screw the hooks in.

For now I'm just using ribbon to hang it up, but I'm thinking that after we move I'll find a different way to hang it, and maybe even incorporate it with the way I hang my earrings.

Stool

Wow, I've really been neglecting this blog.

I actually have a couple of posts coming up, but don't get used to it as I'm about to have baby #3. ;o)

Here is a little project I finished quite awhile back and apparently never posted it.

Our neighbors were throwing this out in the trash, so I confiscated it.

The lid opens to a litte cubby inside.

(the kids LOVE that!)

The inside was pretty icky.

So after cleaning, sanding, primer (to keep those stains at bay), a few coats of white paint, and 4 coats of polycrylic, it looks like a new stool.

And so far has withstood the daily abuse from the kids.

It's in our kitchen and they use it to store toys (or hide toys from one another), turn on lights, and sit on it while eating a snack.

For fun, I modge podged some paper to the bottom, it gives it color and the modge podge seals it for wipe-ability.

Bath towels: Hung or folded?

If you have/ had the option to install towel rods or some kind of hanger for your bath towels....what would/ did you choose?

I like the convenience of just hanging them over a peg or hanger, but I really like the crispness of the folded towels.

So what do you prefer?

And what should I do in my house?

☺