<![CDATA[Accidentally MJ

<![CDATA[Accidentally MJ - Blog]]>Fri, 10 Oct 2025 18:10:33 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[DIY Blanket Ladder and Plate Decor]]>Wed, 22 Apr 2020 15:18:17 GMThttp://www.accidentallymj.com/blog/diy-blanket-ladder-and-plate-decorGood Day Everyone! At least, I hope you are having a good day. Many of us are having bouts of anxiety, that tight feeling in your chest that comes out of nowhere. It hit me yesterday without warning and, luckily, I was messaging my Bestie at the time. Just connecting with her made me feel better. This is a scary time for many and that feeling of limbo, sort of drifting through the days, hits at the oddest times. Find a purpose and keep busy they say. But then you have a "free" moment and that anxiety creeps in again, short-circuiting the calm... "Keep calm and carry on," they said in England during World War II. Easier said than done sometimes. I'm wishing you all the calm and ability to work through those bouts of anxiety.

Carrying on! Hubby and I threw together a quick DIY blanket ladder yesterday on a whim. There was a little blank slice of wall in the living room where I had a basket of throws and I thought, "Hey, wouldn't a blanket ladder look cute there?" He agreed and my search was on! Ya'll, there are TONS of DIY blanket ladder tutorials/posts on the web. I was honestly a little overwhelmed. After some perusing, I decided on the simplest, cheapest DIY ever. Here is the result:

We made it out of scrap wood we had laying around the shed. A piece of 2X4 that had some live edge left to it and a 1X4 scrap of cedar cut into rungs. I measured and Hubby cut the pieces for me to sand. He used 3 brad nails to attach each rung to the uprights and done! I left it natural since the wood looked nice as it was.

It looks right at home next to the living room built ins...

Now that basket is holding various scrapbooks and photo albums that we can easily access to reminisce on times when we could actually go on vacations, or ANYWHERE... ;-)

Another quick update was adding a plate display to the kitchen wall. I had a nice local, framed print here, but wanted something more dimensional. We picked up the woven basket on our last trip to our hometown earlier this year and I had the other plates scattered around the house. They just happen to go perfectly together!

Since I had the plate hangers in my hardware stash, this took all of 10 minutes. Not bad for such a cute display! Just looking at it calms my mind. Making my environment pleasing always helps keep me calm, which is more important then ever right now...
“Calm mind brings inner strength and self-confidence,
so that’s very important for good health,"
- Dalai Lama.
Here's to your good health! Keep calm Everyone, and, you know, carry on... ;-)
Cheers!
M J

]]><![CDATA[Outdoor and Master Suite Updates]]>Tue, 14 Apr 2020 15:37:16 GMThttp://www.accidentallymj.com/blog/outdoor-and-master-suite-updatesHello there Everyone! It's been three weeks since my last post and it's been an interesting three weeks here in the 'ole U S of A. COVID-19 numbers are still increasing in many areas, so our quarantine and social distancing will continue until further notice. Distance walking and distance fire pit chats are the only things saving our sanity here. Stay safe out there and wear those masks out in public!

Hubs and I have been making good use of the time. Last time I updated you on the Outdoor Kitchen and Deck. Today, I just wanted to give you a peek at the updates we've made in the last three weeks and a little tour of our Boho Master Suite.
I got around to spray painting some decorative elements to add some flair above the outdoor kitchen:

If you look closely, you can see Vader in his new favorite spot under the sink...
The pea gravel patio was updated in the fall with heavy-duty landscaping fabric to keep the weeds down and new stepping stones...

We also built a garden enclosure off the gable side of the shed last summer that has been great at keeping the local wildlife from pilfering all of our veggies. Just need to paint that screen door now that it has weathered...

A while back I updated our master suite in our last house and that decor moved with us to this house. Last year, I decided the master and en suite needed a refresh. With a new duvet set, borrowed curtains from my friend and a new shower curtain, all I had to do was update the decor with what I had laying around the house.

As you can see, I went in a Boho direction with the decor. I have also been propagating pothos plants like crazy... :-)

Our en suite is pretty small. When we bought this house, we had to be living in it in 60 days due to Fannie Mae, so this iteration of the bathroom is a placeholder until we complete it with a new shower, tile and vanity. It serves its' purpose quite well until then... ;-)

We retrofitted an Ikea dresser for the vanity to save some space. It was just a matter of re-configuring the inside of the drawers around the plumbing. We also installed a towel warming rack.
See - SMALL... :-)

I just made some quick tassels and tied them to the macrame shower curtain. Easy peasy.
The shelves above the toilet have actually been updated as well. After having our kitchen countertops replaced with quartz, we have made good use of that old butcher block...

Ahhh, don't you just love pretty AND functional storage?? Heart eyes!
I hope this little update and tour has been a welcome distraction for at least a few minutes...
I am sending good vibrations and strength out to all of you. I know this situation has been terrifying for some down to an inconvenience to others. We all handle stress differently...
"When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on."
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
Hold on Everyone. We can do this!
Cheers!
M J

]]><![CDATA[DIYing in the Time of COVID-19]]>Tue, 24 Mar 2020 14:13:03 GMThttp://www.accidentallymj.com/blog/diying-in-the-time-of-covid-19Well Howdy Friends! While the COVID-19 virus has caused a slew of shut downs, postponements and social distancing, I have been staying home to avoid the possibility of infecting anyone in my community who is at high risk. Since we live in a community with a high number of retirees, it is super important to keep those members safe. Unfortunately, my Hubs has been forced to work in close contact with personnel in his office, fixing their computers and touching their desk areas. Until he can stop being exposed, I cannot be sure I am not being exposed. It's a numbers game as any epidemiologist will tell you. You have to wait out your last possible exposure for at least two weeks. Until the people in this country take this seriously, this virus will continue to spread. You do not have to be a brain surgeon to understand this simple fact...
Ok, off my biologist soap box now... ;-) I am just hoping you are all staying safe and healthy!

Hubby and I have worked the last two weekends building a new outdoor kitchen area adjacent to our new deck. OH! The new deck! I have been negligent in posting here, but may I introduce you to our new outdoor space...

These pictures are from last November when it was just finished. Our contractor did a fabulous job, but the weather and the Trex decking availability didn't always cooperate for them. The end result is pretty great! We are looking forward to many neighborhood parties when we can all actually be together again.

If you look to the top right of the above photo, this is the area that needed some help. There is a blank wall of holey vinyl siding right where the grill is...

We spent the last two weekends building this addition to that area:

Urgh, that siding. I cannot wait to get new siding put on this house! Unfortunately, that is not in the budget for quite a while, so we get it cleaned and live with it...
I do have plans to add a bit more flare to this wall and maybe hide some of those holes... ;-)

We built this using mostly leftover materials from the deck and other projects. We had the 6X6 posts and 2X4's leftover from other projects and the Trex was left by our contractor from the deck project. The sink is our old kitchen sink we kept after getting new countertops. With a few plumbing supplies and a clearance faucet, we spent less than 100 bucks on this build. Man, I love a good bargain DIY!
We decided not to integrate the grill into the build due to fire issues and grill longevity. Who knows how long that grill will last and when we replace it we didn't want to have to retro-fit anything into this build. It is also freestanding and movable for future projects on the house.

We still have the camping trailer renovation to complete and the shed roof is in dire need of replacing. These are projects we can do ourselves without exposing anyone else.

Just remember, it may seem like forever when you have no symptoms, but this quarantine is key in preventing the spread of COVID-19 to our most vulnerable citizens. #itsnotaboutyou

Just look around your home. I am betting there is something you can DIY to keep yourself distracted and busy... OH, and wash your hands! ;-)
Cheers!
M J

]]><![CDATA[Luxury Vinyl Flooring Completed! (Sorry for the hiatus!)]]>Fri, 02 Aug 2019 16:34:47 GMThttp://www.accidentallymj.com/blog/luxury-vinyl-flooring-completed-sorry-for-the-hiatusHappy August! Yep, August. WTH? Last time I looked it was May! It has been super busy until the last couple weeks, so I am not going to beat myself up for being absent here. This blog is my hobby after all. It's not a job, I make no money from it and putting stress on doing this only makes me run away from it. Why? Well, when we are expected to do something, sometimes we rebel against that something. I do admit to feeling guilt for not posting since February, but, hey, we been busy! ;-)
Back to the pretty stuff! We finally finished the floors! We started them in February, hence the hiatus, and Hubby finished up the fiddly bits in June. JUNE! Let me tell you, this project is not for the faint of heart. I can't even tell you how many times I broke down working on this one. Not to mention my back is still in recovery. Anywho, here is the finished floor:

AND we also had a new front door installed! The previous black hole in the living room is no more!

The flooring flows throughout the entire house save the two bathrooms. Both bathrooms will receive full upgrades to ceramic tile in the future, just not now. We need a serious break from flooring for a good minute... :-)
This flooring is by COREtec, 5 inch Plank in Rocky Mountain Oak. It was a bit touchy at first learning the click-lock on this particular product, but after realizing we could run the flooring in both directions with no issues, we were sold. Just being able to install this flooring in any direction allowed us to flow the flooring from room to room with no thresholds. One of the best attributes of this flooring is the fact that it is waterproof throughout. This floor will not absorb water and warp like laminate. Believe me, after a washing machine overflow in our first house, we learned quickly just how bad laminate reacts to water. NOT GOOD. May sound gross, but if you have animals, especially a cat (or two), cleaning up after the occasional hairball incident is soooooo much easier now! LOL!

When I mentioned the fiddly bits earlier, I was talking about areas around doorways where we were left with small gaps. This is due to the click-lock nature of the flooring. You always need to give yourself space to lift up the piece of flooring you are installing to fit the tongue into the groove. Hubby filled the small gaps with matching wood putty that flexes a bit. It works well enough and you can barely see it unless you get down on your hands and knees to look. Man, I hope no one does that at our next party! LOL!
The other issue was HVAC floor vents. Since we went with a fairly light oak color flooring, we were able to purchase off the shelf oak vents that match pretty well...

There are tutorials on the COREtec website and plenty of YouTube video tutorials out there if you are interested in this product. I won't go through the entire process, but I will show you what state our subfloor was in:

Yeah, there was A LOT of hand planing of swollen subfloor. This particle subfloor is the entire reason we went with a floating floor instead of real hardwood. We had two contractors give us quotes and the better of the two refused to attach anything to this subfloor. He said he would just float the floor and if he was doing that, we may as well install it ourselves. NOT what I wanted to hear (my aching back!), but I was impressed with his honesty. Oh well, it's done now!
And look how purdy!

Thank you for hanging in there with me! I am currently on a lifestyle-changing journey and am giving myself space to allow health and wellness to flow to the forefront. If I am absent from this little corner of the web, I hope you will understand!
It's not that some people have will power and some don't, it's that some people are ready to change and others are not.
-Carl Sandburg
Well, I'm ready to live a healthier, happier life WITH new floors! ;-)
Cheers!
M J

]]><![CDATA[DIY Chinoiserie Lamp]]>Fri, 01 Feb 2019 14:30:36 GMThttp://www.accidentallymj.com/blog/diy-chinoiserie-lampOne small DIY project that I was able to complete last year was a new lamp for the side table in the living room. I have a collection of blue and white Chinoiserie pottery scattered around in the living room, so I thought a coordinating lamp would be cute. I did do a little shopping for a Chinoiserie lamp and, Yikes! Sorry, but $260 bucks for a small table lamp is NOT happening. After a quick trip to Lowe's and 12 bucks later, I had a blue and white mosaic tile to work with...

I already had the cheapo Ikea lamp on hand. I updated a similar lamp for our bedroom here.
After I measured carefully, Hubby cut me some scrap wood to create the base onto which I could glue the tiles...

After the base dried, it was a simple task to glue the tile into place! I did have to use some painters tape to secure the tiles while they dried.
Here is the end result:

Not bad for 12 bucks! It gives just the right amount of pattern to our otherwise boring side table.

This was an easy project to complete while I was recovering from surgery last year. It became obvious that it would take longer to recover after that new sofa was delivered in pieces and I could not budge a few of them! When I have to call in a neighbor for help, you know I'm hurting! LOL! These small projects helped me recover, slowly, day by day...
Your body cannot heal without play. Your mind cannot heal without laughter. Your soul cannot heal without joy.
-Catherine Rippenger
Have a fabulous weekend Everyone!
Cheers!
M J

]]><![CDATA[Long Time - No See!]]>Sun, 27 Jan 2019 20:44:41 GMThttp://www.accidentallymj.com/blog/long-time-no-seeHappy Belated New Year! I have been totally MIA from blogging for a while due to many reasons, but let's not dwell, hhmm? Let's just say I put my personal health on top priority and that's that. I have, however, continued to DIY and create on my wee hiatus from this blog! So happy to be back and catch you up!
First of all, we finally had our quartz countertops installed in the kitchen, purchased new pendant lights and counter stools. Here is a before and after:

If you can tell, the peninsula was cut much wider to allow for true counter seating. This allowed us to fit four stools instead of three. The quartz is beautiful and is fashioned to mimic Carrara marble...

Of course, the quartz is worry-free compared to marble. No sealing required and no special care needs besides using trivets for very hot pots and pans. It has been a dream compared to the butcher block we had previously! All we did was take a spare subway tile with us to match the whites and the choice was simple. The company measured so perfectly, the counter snugged right up to my DIY backsplash. A small bead of silicone and done!
The pendant lights are the Cora pendants from Lamps Plus. I stalked these pendants until they came back into stock and I got a price drop email for half price. I just knew they would add sparkle to that new countertop...

The counter stools were from Houzz HERE. These are much more comfortable than our previous stools and were also a bargain. I really wanted something a bit modern with a wood tone that would coordinate with our other furniture pieces in the space. These fit the bill perfectly...

As you can see above, the floors are still awaiting attention. I am happy to report that the Hubs has ordered the flooring for the entire house and it is on a truck headed our way! Of course, our knees and backs won't be so happy very soon... LOL! We are putting the flooring down ourselves, again. Joy. ;-) We have plenty of experience, I think it is just the sheer square footage that is a bit daunting at the moment...
The most rewarding things you do in life are often the ones that look like they cannot be done.
- Arnold Palmer
We are firm believers that anyone can accomplish anything (even 1600 square feet of flooring) with a bit of research and hard work. Oh - and a good set of knee pads! :-)
Cheers!
M J

]]><![CDATA[Small Patio Updates]]>Fri, 27 Apr 2018 14:29:32 GMThttp://www.accidentallymj.com/blog/small-patio-updatesHi there Everyone! I hope your week has been great and you are ready for the weekend! I know we are! We got to hang out with Friends last night on our little back patio and it was so lovely. Last weekend my Friend and I did a little shopping and wound up at Pier 1 for their outdoor sale. We were in need of seat cushions for the 2 metal bistro chairs, so, of course, I bought cushions, pillows, placemats, and melamine plates... LOL!

We also FINALLY invested in new umbrellas and what a deal they were! While food shopping at Aldi, they had these beautiful 9 foot wooden market umbrellas for 30 bucks each! That is less than half the price in the big box stores, so Hubby snapped up two! Our original umbrella is over 20 years old, faded, heavy and super hard for me to put up. These are lighter and have a pulley system that makes them really easy to open. The other umbrella will replace the old beach umbrella by the conversation area, but it needs an in-ground stand. Hubby is working on it! :-)

The cushions I covered and pillows I made with outdoor fabric are still holding up well. Of course, we put our outdoor cushions into the shed when we are done using them each time. This is why our old umbrella has lasted for over 20 years! ;-) If you plan on leaving your cushions and pillows outside all season, I would recommend treating them with an outdoor waterproof spray. There are many options on the internet. Since our shed is so conveniently close, it is just easier to throw them in and shut the door!

This was my view yesterday afternoon. I actually got to relax with a magazine and my lemon water! :-)
And, yes, we are still parking out back since the concrete guy said to wait 2 weeks to park on the new driveway. I am parking on it today, darn it!! LOL!
Have an absolutely fabulous weekend Everyone!
Cheers!
M J

]]><![CDATA[Renewed Vase]]>Fri, 20 Apr 2018 19:05:49 GMThttp://www.accidentallymj.com/blog/renewed-vaseHappy Friday Everyone! It was a busy week, but I carved out a bit of time today to complete a small project. I've had this vase with faux orchid arrangement for ages. I put it together way back in our first house. I was sitting in the living room last night and thought, "That vase just disappears, I think I'll paint it!". Here is the before and after:

In the before, can you see how that vase is barely visible? Not anymore! The finish idea came from a little vase/arrangement I picked up at my local Tuesday Morning...

Here they are side by side:

While my attempt to mimic a glazed ceramic is a bit wanting, the color I mixed is pretty spot on! I painted the vase with white satin paint, let it dry, then glazed it with a mix of acrylics and glazing medium, wiping away the blue glaze where I wanted the white to show through.
I just like how the vase actually pops now, and hey, a little bit of a handmade look is always welcome in my house...

We are working on outside projects as soon as the weather breaks, so I'll check in with Ya'll soon!
Have a fabulous weekend!
Cheers!
M J

]]><![CDATA[New Driveway and Sidewalks!]]>Fri, 13 Apr 2018 18:17:36 GMThttp://www.accidentallymj.com/blog/new-driveway-and-sidewalksIt has finally happened! Our terrible driveway and sidewalks have been replaced with brand-spanking new concrete! They are cleaning up as I type and they just started yesterday morning!

The only problem with this blog post is this: I obviously despised the old, gravel and grass mess of a driveway so much, I never took one picture of it! LOL! Soooooo, no before pic Ya'll. Sorry! Just imagine a pea gravel driveway that had become so overgrown with grass that we had to mow it... Can you see it? Ok, now wipe it from your mind completely 'cause it's GONE! ;-)
Here is the view from the front door:

It is still drying, but you can see that it is brushed with a windowpane edging. Love it! Also love that my high heels won't sink into the space between the old brick pavers that used to make up the walkway.
The walkway on the side of the house used to be a random mixture of red paving stones that was so deep into the ground, that any rain flooded it. Now, it is the perfect height to avoid any flooding:

So fresh and so clean, clean! Now we can really clean up the landscaping and make it beautiful. Any yard is always a work in progress, but this new concrete will give us motivation to take this yard up a notch!

It will look different after it dries, but I was so excited, I just had to share with you all! They prepped, installed the forms and poured the walks in one day. Then they poured the driveway today. They are almost done already and, we are so impressed with the quality of work.
I'll post updated pics later, but for now: Yay! Progress! :-)
Have a fabulous weekend Everyone!
Cheers!
M J

]]><![CDATA[Parents' Pantry Organized]]>Fri, 06 Apr 2018 13:48:17 GMThttp://www.accidentallymj.com/blog/parents-pantry-organizedHappy Spring Everyone! Well, for some of us anyway! They are calling for snow again this weekend, yay. Hope everyone enjoyed their last holiday weekend! We traveled up to see both of our Families, but while we were at my Parents' house, I wanted to make use of a few hours to re-organize their pantry. I gave it a first attempt a few years ago, but since I didn't have the supplies I needed, it slowly devolved into this:

While this may scare some people, it gives me a little tingle! All that stuff to organize!! ;-) Yeah, I'm weird...
Anywho! I bought them two battery powered, motion operated lights for this dark closet and I had to install them before I got started just to get some light in there for pictures. I purchased them at Lowes here. They are small and unobtrusive, turn on automatically when you open the door and automatically turn off in 30 seconds after you close it. They also come with 3M velcro strips to hang them! Perfect amount of light to show off the newly organized pantry!

I purchased the over-the-door shoe organizer from Target here. This thing is doing A LOT of heavy lifting in this pantry! Seriously, if you do not have space for crab mallets, party utensils, grilling utensils and other odd shaped items, this piece is a life changer. I was able to organize many of their smaller storage needs with this one item.

My previous attempt to organize wasn't terrible, I just didn't have the proper materials to corral everything and KEEP it organized. This time, Mom gave me the measurements and I hit Target with my handy tape measure. I wound up with 6 clear shoe bins and one under bed storage bin. After I got into the project, I realized I should have picked up more shoe bins. Doh! Mom had a few empty bins in the basement though, so it worked out fine!
I also snagged their old lazy susan that was destined for the trash and used it for their canned goods...

I labeled everything with my new Dymo MobileLabeler. This model has an app for your IOS or Android phone that connects with Bluetooth and prints directly to the labeler. It is awesome! You all know how I like to label ALL the things! Look out if you stop by my house, you just might get labeled... ;-) LOL! And look how cute and portable it is...

Since this pantry closet is still "graced" with the builder grade wire shelving, I used the lid of the larger bin to keep vases upright and other items from falling through. I mentioned to my Parents that taking the disposables out of their packaging when they get them home from the store makes them that much easier to grab when you need them. And - bonus! This simple step also makes the pantry more visually pleasing...

They wanted to keep their Crockpot, popcorn popper and other gadgets in this pantry as well. That is where the larger bin came into play. It easily slides on the vinyl flooring so they can pull it out and grab what they need...

I also picked up a folding step stool for my vertically challenged Mother, 'cause that top shelf with the coffee is WAY too important not to reach! ;-) The fire extinguisher lives here and I kept one reusable, insulated bag for them in here as well. As I was cleaning out the pantry, I asked how often they used all of the multitudinous reusable bags and the answer was, "Never, we re-use the plastic grocery bags for the cat's litter." Oki doki then! Out they went along with three bags of expired items and useless packaging. Here's one more look at my Parents' re-organized Pantry:

While my dream is to tear out the wire shelving and install a more efficient system in this closet for them, this isn't bad for a few hours worth of work! Let's just hope they stick to the system. At least I know Mom has been enjoying it! She has been opening the door just to see the lights go on and gaze at the cleanliness! ;-)
I hope this little project inspires some spring cleaning vibes for you all!
Have a great weekend!
Cheers!
M J

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