Blog Archives

Small Patio Updates

4/27/2018

Hi 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

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Renewed Vase

4/20/2018

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Happy 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

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New Driveway and Sidewalks!

4/13/2018

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It 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

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Parents' Pantry Organized

4/6/2018

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Happy 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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Small Patio Updates

Renewed Vase

New Driveway and Sidewalks!

Parents' Pantry Organized

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