i struggle with my stairs--just sayin'

i must have spent 30 minutes cleaning 14 stairs today.  between the cat hair, my hair, and general dust bunnies i could have ripped every other hair that hadn't already fallen out and attached itself to our burgundy carpet runner on our stairs.

i swear i am going to rip that mess up before the end of the summer...just sayin'.

i've had in my mind for over a year now that i wanted to do this, but just haven't done it because i just don't know what's under there.

well, if i get around to it this summer, i will certainly post pictures.

Cameron's "new" room

I've been wanting to rearrange Cam's room since we got her "big girl bed" but I just haven't gotten around to it.

The best part about this transformation is I did not spend a single dime!  I just found stuff around the house and utilized what I had!

In this progress I definitely wanted to incorporate a 'reading nook' in the closet.  I've been dying to do that in one of the kids rooms for awhile...I think i even blogged about it.  The one I created today is no where near as fancy as the pictures I posted of the reading nook closets I found online and in magazines, but it certainly didn't cost me as much either!

Here are the befores...

Yeah, we're THAT messy.  Well, I should clarify, the GIRLS in this family are THAT MESSY!

and the afters...

drum roll for the closet reading nook please...

yay!

add this to my want list

okay, given that we have had everything from

tonsillitis (x2)

to

impetigo

to

stomach bug (x2)

to

laryngitis

to

pink eye (x2)

to

ear infection

this week, I really only want everyone to get better...

BUT...

as i'm sitting here trying to catch up on blogs, I saw this AMAZING bookshelf and want it...good thing it is from a Korean website of which i can read NOTHING other than 1,900,000, which makes it very clear that no matter what currency, i won't be buying it! SUPER CUTE, though.

closet-->reading nook

I can add this to the long list of "some day, I'll..." list. I really want to make reading nooks in each of the kids closets...a cozy place for them to snuggle up and be read to and eventually read on their own. I came across these cute ideas, all of which are too elaborate for what I will have time and space to do, but inspiring nonetheless.

menu board and dick clark's corn fritters

the other morning when i made the message board and dry erase board i had one piece left over. i've been the world's worst at making dinner lately, so i thought making a menu board might help me get my act together.

i just took smaller pieces of the dry erase sheet from Michael's that i used for the other board and made 7 little areas.

so far so good. i went to the grocery store today and stocked up. i'm hoping i can keep this up!

for part of tonight's dinner we had "Dick Clark's Corn Fritters." I think i initially gathered the recipe from a Rachael Ray magazine. i have plenty of fritters to munch on during the week at school...yes...i go back tomorrow...so sad. here is the recipe in case you're interested:

Dick Clark's Corn Fritters

1 15oz can creamed corn
4 large eggs
1 c frozen corn
2 T sugar
salt and pepper
1/2 c flour
cooking spray

In a medium bowl, combine creamed corn, eggs, frozen corn and sugar; season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle flour gradually, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.

Spray a skillet with cooking spray. Drop tablespoonfuls of mixture into the pan to form small pancakes. Cook until browned on both sides.

message boards

I went through the effort (if you've shopped with me you know i hum and haw about stuff) to buy a seagrass board and a dry erase board at the end of last week. I put them up in the kitchen and not 24 hours later...BOOM...yes...feel on the floor. One would think that I would just secure them a little better and be done with it, but I think in the back of my mind that wasn't really for that space in the first place.

so....

I created these little numbers this morning out of foam board, fabric and a hot glue gun. they are secured by my favorite putter-uppers...command strips. oh, and the dry erase part is from Michaels...if you haven't seen these they are in the poster board section. I think they are simply called dry erase sheets. they are great!

midnight construction crew at it again!

goodbye ugly orange construction fence...

hello beautiful classy pool fence!

shaun and aaron have been working their tails off lately to get this fence up. THANK YOU to both of them and a special thank you to the Harlow gals! We appreciate his help more than we can express. The whole thing will be up before we know it!

pool update--concrete all in!

the sealer is being put on today!!! Shaun worked like crazy last night to get the water in the pool back up and get it running again. we're almost there!

pool update--we have (some) concrete!!!!

{new handrail for the steps...more practical location than on the side like we had before}

{close-up of stamp...a few more details to be added tomorrow, i believe}

{they got about 1/4 to 1/3 of it done today...i'm getting really excited to see the final product!}

no more mystery family in photo frame!

for those of you who have commented on the mystery family in the frame in our dining room...
you will be happy to finally recognize the new family who has occupied the frame!

(sorry for poor lighting)

nesting

apparently, nesting has begun. i spent an hour and a half cleaning two rooms yesterday. don't know if it's because i'm slow as molasses or just that they were THAT dirty.

i've been wanting to change around our room, so hubby helped me rearrange it last night. not only does the room look SO MUCH BIGGER we were laughing so hard we were crying in the process. LOVE THAT MAN! once i get it decorated, i'll post some pictures.

today i plan to tackle the living room, bathroom and L's room. then the entire upstairs would be done with the exception of the master bathroom, which is almost complete (yay! shout out to hubby and aaron) and C's nursery, which is a project i can't wait to get into it!

latest pool progress

they had to call in a bobcat to get the rest of the concrete up...it was crumbling too bad. most of the fence is gone. lookin kind of sad out there right now, but i know it'll look great once it's done.

more owls

pool re-vamp

so we got jealous of all of the bulldozers and such next door, so we decided to get a jack-hammer and bob-cat of our own going over on our property. Can't wait to show you the after pictures...looks like it'll be a week or two though.

paper clip chandelier--amazing

i don't have the patience to do this, but i thought it was neat.

http://dollarstorecrafts.com/2010/06/make-a-fabulous-paper-clip-chandelier/

above headboard decoration

since i recently covered our headboard with fabric, i have been contemplating what to do above it. it couldn't be anything with too much pattern. it was a nightmare trying to match the blues. i decided to write a message up there...i didn't want to go painting anything. i tried using my letter cut out thing, but that was acting ridiculous, so i simply took a white cabinet door frame, mounted it on the wall, placed 3 pieces of brown paper in the frame and then wrote, "at the very least i do," which is what we chose to say in our wedding vows rather than just "i do." i could have spent a little more time with the lettering, but this project was so simple and cheap that i could redo it a million times if i want to. for now, it's good!

ribbon jar

i realize it's february, but i am still handing out christmas gifts to folks! one of wish was inspired by little birdie secrets blog (see 'blogs i follow' list). i love this idea because not only is it a way to store ribbon, it is decorative!

canvas tree

when we moved into this house landon's room was bare...i know this is the case for most people, but you have to understand that Lauren painted the most awesome nursery for landon when we lived in our other house. we moved when landon was 18 months old, so we didn't really get to experience it that long.

one of my favorite things in his original room was a tree. by no means can i draw, much less paint, but i brought a tree to his room by taking 4 canvases (bought em at wally world) and creating this:

when i hung it on the wall (with command strips, of course) i separated the canvases a bit:

landon's room is in a transitional stage a the moment, but when i figure out what i want to do with it, i'd still like to have this in there.

2 second decoration

during my last trip to the dollar store to stock up on wall stickers to cover my car with, i came across a wall sticker with a message...one that i need to read on a daily basis. these stickers are super easy because if you put it somewhere and you don't like it, you just take it off and move it someplace else. i decided to put this one in the bathroom on the mirror so i would see it every morning.

"In a world where you can be anything, be yourself."

headboard transformation

for some reason our headboard has been getting on my nerves. we cannot afford to buy a new one, so i figured i'd transform it somehow.

here's what it started off as:

there's nothing wrong with it, i just wanted it to look softer and wanted to add color in some way.
i came across a shower curtain that i wasn't using that i really liked. luckily, i was able to find another shower curtain at bed, bath, and beyond to match it. i sewed the two shower curtains together, with the holes on the outside. i draped the curtain over the headboard and then fed brown ribbon through the holes and tied bows to secure it.




it adds color--one of my favorite combos these days--blue and brown--AND it's washable if needed, so i'm pleased!

after looking at these pictures, i need to concentrate on cleaning our room after i get all of the basement stuff settled, but at least the headboard looks decent and i was able to get that brown blanket at tar-jay for $23!