Goodbye October, Hello November & Home Improvements

Has October seriously already gone?   What happened to my favorite month???  Wow!  And looking back now, not one blog post?

What have I been doing?  Lots and lots of decluttering and home improvement projects.  Now we're asking ourselves "Why didn't we do this 5 years ago?"

Today,  I'll start with pictures of the kitchen.....

BEFORE:

I can't believe I'm showing these!  

So cluttered!

Excuse the dirty dishes!

Kitchen counter all prepped for it's makeover. 

 I found this awesome paint at Lowe's made by Rustoleum called Countertop Paint.  This stuff is amazing!   If you ever use it, my advice?  Be sure to wear a mask and use a sponge roller.  It said to use a roller for smooth surfaces which I did, but it left pieces of lint, so my countertops are not perfectly smooth.  Oh well, if we were going to stay here another 5 years I would consider sanding and starting over, but to get it sold, it is fine.

Countertops after their facelift

Daniel getting the floors prepped for new flooring

Here it is!  We love it.... AND are asking ourselves why we didn't do this sooner.

You can't see the fridge in the picture, but I assure you, there is not one thing on it.... 

And on top?  

Just a small, neat stack of cookbooks.

Desperately Needed Front Door Make Over

Updated 8/16/10!
About a month ago, I painted our front door which was desperately in the need of a coat of paint.  It was another thing that I've been meaning to do since we bought the house almost five years ago. 

So, let's take a look at the before....

Since then, I've gone back and forth between red and chocolate brown.  I finally decided on chocolate brown because it was a little more neutral AND because I had some leftover from my bathroom cabinet re-do.  Sorry red, but FREE won this time. 

Update:  My husband pointed out to me that I forgot to include a full length picture of the finished product.... Here it is.....

By the way, do you know how hard it is to find the perfect chocolate brown paint?  I searched forever and finally found one at Lowe's.  The color that I used was Phantom Mist by Valspar.  Seriously, it is perfect.

Today, I finally got around to making a wreath for my beautiful chocolate door. 

Here's a close up...

I already had some strips and circles of fabric cut out that was leftover from my

Veggie Steamer Wreath from a few months back, so I used this. 

I wanted to make a quick wreath, so I used what was on hand and ready to go! 

Want to take a guess on what the base of the wreath is?

An embroidery hoop!  It was the perfect size and I had this on hand also! 

I just took the strips of fabric and burlap and tied them around the hoop.  That's it!

This make over was completly free since everything I needed I had on hand!

I love how it turned out!

Linking up to these Parties:

Someday Crafts Whatever Goes Wednesday

 

It only took me 3 years.....

Well, actually over 4 years! 

Seriously, when we bought this house, Daniel and his dad installed this cabinet on the wall of our bathroom for storage space..... that was almost 5 years ago!  I've planned to finish it since then.

Here it is before......

See the sides?  It is pressed wood.  Now, I had planned to paint the cabinet to match the mirror, however, since the sides were pressed wood, I didn't think it would look good painted .

(not that it looks good the way it is!)

So, finally, I recently went to Lowes and had the wood guy cut two pieces out of beadboard that would fit the sides.  Daniel used wood glue and nails to put the beadboard up, and then it was ready for me to paint.

Yay!  I love to paint. 

It is amazing how color can totally change the look of something! 

Here it is finished.....

What an improvement!  I only wish now that I had done it years ago!

Here is a close-up......

Check out the handle that I found at Hobby Lobby for less than $3.00! 

I couldn't decide how to position it.... vertical....horizontal.... as you can see, I decided on a diagonal.

Do you have a project that you have been putting off?  Go ahead and do it.  You'll feel so much better!

Next up for the bathroom is the floor.  Currently, it is an old piece of linoleum.  We found vinyl tiles on clearance at Lowes and plan on doing that real soon.  The guy at Lowes said that we can lay it over the linoleum that is in there now as long as it is really clean and recommended a floor cleaner and glue to help with the adhesion. 

Any other helpful tips out there before we tackle the floor?

 

 

Cookies + Canvas= Lots of fun!

Tuesday night our church hosted a "Cookies & Canvas" night.  I had signed up to bring a sweet treat.  Since this was the first time I've brought a dish to an event at church (we've recently placed membership at a different church), so I wanted to be sure my treat was really yummy!  Silly isn't it?  Anyway, Monday, I was flipping through my new issue of Better Homes and Garden magazine and I found the perfect recipe... feminine, yet sophisticated.

Rosemary-Kissed Orange Thumbprint Cookies!

Here is the recipe....

1 c all purpose flour

1/2 c cornstarch

1 t snipped fresh rosemary

1/4 t salt

3/4 c butter, softened

1/3 c powdered sugar

Few drops of almond extract

1/4 c orange marmalade

powdered sugar for finishing touch

1.  In small bowl stir together flour, cornstarch, rosemary and salt.  Set aside. 

2.  In medium mixing bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer on med-high for 30 seconds.  Add 1/3 c powdered sugar and a few drops of almond extract.  Add flour mixture and beat until combined. 

3.  Wrap and chill dough 1 hour or until easy to handle.

4.  Preheat oven to 325.

5.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

6.  Shape dough into 24 1" balls.  Arrange 2" apart of baking sheets. 

7.  Use thumb to make indentions.

8.  Spoon 1/2 t of marmalade onto each cookie.

9.  Bake 14 minutes or until edges are lightly golden.

10.  Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets.  Remove and cool on wire racks. Sprinkle with additional powedered sugar to serve.

Yield: 24 cookies

Well, if you're wondering, they went over really well.  A friend of mine was telling me that I impressed the churches "resident cook"... an older lady that is a fabulous cook...  I felt so proud! 

Oh, and here is my painting! 

Now, let me tell you, I'm no artist!!!!  We had an awesome instructor who taught us some basic techniques as she went through the steps.  She let us use whatever colors we wanted.  I tried my best to match our living/ den area.  I think it will look perfect!  Now I just need to frame it.