Nursery for Baby #2

So I'm currently 32 weeks pregnant and I can't believe it! I think because I'm a teacher and had the entire summer off this pregnancy has flown by! I feel pretty good and definitely cannot complain. 

We started working on the baby's nursery pretty much right after school got out. I didn't really have a plan of action until one night I was exploring on Instagram and this pic was recommended to me. 

Immediately I wanted to recreate it in the nursery; it was the jumping off point for sure!

I read Kelsey's blog post about the process and also Vintage Revivals original blog post tutorial as well. Once I was convinced I wanted to take this on, I roped in Dave to be my math guy. I can trace and outline but measuring is not my forte. I wish I had a "math brain" but I just was not blessed with that attribute. 

It took David a good 4-5 hours to measure and draw the entire pattern with a pencil and then it took me about three hours to trace over it with an oil based Sharpie pen [purchased at Michael's]. 

Kelsey used a few of the pens on her wall but my wall only took one. We do have pretty basic flat walls so that may be the case. Once everything dried I took a magic eraser to the rest of the wall to rid it of any stray pencil markings. It worked like an absolute charm. I am thrilled with the outcome and am so thankful to David for having the patience to make this happen!

We are reusing a lot of the furniture and [pretty much everything else] from Theron's baby days. 

I absolutely loved having a glider [although it looks like our particular glider nearly doubled in price since I bought it three years ago!] with Theron and hope it will be the same way for this baby. I can't even begin to imagine how many hours I clocked in that chair, nursing my Theron Drake. We're also reusing the pouf, although as of today I want to get a new one, and the crib is in tip top condition so that's going for round #2 as well. 

I know the room looks very mono chromatic right now but you guys know me and can assume, correctly, that I have since added some color. I can't seem to stay away no matter how hard I try! 

I'll definitely be sharing some updated pics soon! 

Thanks for stopping by! 

xo

Master Bedroom Updates

We've lived in our second home for nearly two years and while it doesn't feel that long, we've managed to undertake some minor home renos in that time.  For those of you that may have forgotten/never seen, this is what our master bedroom looked like when we first bought our home:

The previous owners had painted it a deep red and I repainted it almost immediately to a light blue-gray by Benjamin Moore.  I think the color was called "Grey Owl."

We had originally, upon move in, replaced their carpet with more carpet. But since our aging dog has seemed to revert to baby tendencies, we made the decision to rip the carpet up and extend the hardwood we laid in the rest of our home into our master and hallway as well. 

Additionally, I decided I wanted a little more architectural detail in this room by adding some wainscoting. I researched DIY tutorials and pinned some good options but ultimately my father-in-law found a company, I think based in Canada, that ships pre-made wood to you that fits together like puzzle pieces. He so sweetly prepared it for us and installed it and David and I caulked and painted it.

I am thrilled with how it turned out and with the flooring now installed I think it definitely makes the space look more custom. It also helps to ground the room since the vaulted ceilings make it seem so large. 

In the above pictures we still hadn't installed our baseboards but that now has been completed. We're waiting on moving everything back in until our new jute rug comes sometime soon. I'm excited to pull the space back together. 

Thanks for checking in! 

xo

DIY: Copycat Ribbon Wreath

Hi, guys! If I was a betting woman I'd wager no one stops around here anymore! I used to be obsessed with blogging, creating content, and reading 100s of blogs but somewhere down the line my priorities shifted or I got lazy--haha! I still pop in to some of my favorites but unfortunately [for me, at least] they've seemed to move on, too. Thank, God, for Instagram because I get to keep up with all my blog buddies from days past.  I feel like coming back to update this little space is almost like a reunion of sorts. 

The whole reason I'm having some time to sit down and get a post cranked out is because I'm on finals week and my students' finals aren't mandatory. It's a nice change of pace to actually be able to sit down at work, have some quiet time, and not be moving 100 mph all day! I had a decent teaching year [my 11th--say what?!?] but I'm looking forward to having the summer off to relax, spend a lot of quality time with my boys and reinvigorate myself for a hopefully better year 12!

Because I'm now obsessed with Instagram [joidan82 if you want to follow along!]--I guess one obsession just moved on to the next--I find myself buying and creating little things here and there that I've discovered via my friends' feeds or the explore option.  

The other evening I came across this beautiful DIY wreath via jenloveskev and knew I had to make a copycat version for my front door!

Jen said she used fabric scraps but for my version I used three spools of black and white striped ribbon from Michael's. 

I used a straw wreath form and kept the plastic on it as I wound the ribon around it. I used hot glue to secure it and the flowers as well. I really like Jen's color palette so I decided to not stray too far from it. I purchased all the flowers at Michael's as well and they had one of their 40% off sales so I scored all of my supplies for about $40. It took me about an hour [including a timeout for majorly burning my finger with the glue gun!] from start to finish. 

I hung it on our front door and I think it is the perfect wreath to welcome sweet summertime! 

I hope all of you are doing fabulous and maybe I'll be back here and there this summer! We do have some small updates taking place in our home and some more exciting ones as well! 

Thanks for checking in! 

xo

DIY Dining Table [Round 2]

When we sold our house last summer the buyers negotiated to keep a lot of our furniture. I didn't even know that was a "thing" but they did it! It's a sore spot for David and me, but we're getting over it--if slowly. They wanted nearly every single piece of furniture we had in our home-it was so odd.  We negotiated back and forth, and I put my foot down to keep our sofa [that we had just purchased!], our arc lamp, and Theron's dresser.  They had the nerve to ask for Theron's dresser.  I mean, really? It was in my son's room holding my son's personal items. Low, I tell you.  

But I digress, I'm getting over it, remember? Haha! In the end, they got to keep a lot, including our dining room table that my sweet father-in-law custom built for us. I was rather emotional about the whole thing but he reassured us that he would build us a better table anyway! If the buyers wanted the table--let them have the table.  "Less to move" he said. He was right. 

For the last 9 or so months we lived with a $100 table and chairs set that I found off of craigslist.  

I liked them well enough but when Theron's birthday came rolling around Dan hopped to building us a new and improved table. I've shared many a time that he can build anything. It's unbelievable. He measured the space, asked me what I wanted, and about two weeks later I had a table to stain.  

With our first table I stained it a dark deep walnut color, almost the color of our floors. But more recently I have been drawn to a more gray washed & lighter/imperfect stain shades.  

I ending up searching awhile on Pinterest after a trip to Lowe's for stain turned out to be unsuccessful.  I came across this post about a custom stain made from two ready-made minwax colors [special walnut & weathered oak] and I was sold.  

There are so many tutorials on staining furniture and I basically followed them all. My father-in-law sanded the table perfectly so all I had to do was apply a pre-stain wood conditioner and then followed that with the special walnut stain.  Then I applied, I think, 4 coats of the weathered oak stain over a handful of days.  I finished it off with the water-based polycrylic top coat and brought it in for T's party. 

I think this pic was after the first two coats of walnut and weathered oak. 

Another up close shot somewhere in the process. [I think my DIY blogger card is being revoked as I type-whoops!]

The table takes up a much more substantial space in our dining room and of course has special meaning to us since it was custom built by our family for our little family. 

I think I could've gone even lighter with the stain but I love it even so!

I kept the chairs from the craigslist table and like them so much that I'm in no hurry to replace them.  I have plans to add upholstered captain's chairs on either end but I'm in no hurry to do that as well.

Those flowers were originally purchased for outside but they look pretty happy on our table indoors. 

So that's how our new and improved table is hanging. We love it and hope you guys do, too!

xoxo

Floral Tea Towel "Art"

Hi, guys. I totally didn't plan to be away for a whole month, but by now, you know how that goes. We've been mostly trying to stay warm and sneak playtime outside if the temps creep above freezing! 

Theron Drake is mildly obsessed with anything to do with outside so this spring and summer should be interesting.  Let's just say he's not the biggest fan of having to come inside on our terms.  I foresee a lot of tears in our future, that--and sunscreen.  

Things on the home front are pretty much the same.  We recently got a new bed! How exciting, right? It sure is for this 31 year old! Of course, I'm constantly changing things so our master bedroom is undergoing a gradual makeover.  I posted this picture to Instagram the other day showcasing our brigade of pillows.   Dave just loves all those pillows.  Can you sense my sorry attempt at sarcasm? 

The blue ones in back were from Kmart, the striped ones came from Target, the scalloped Euro shams are from PB Teen, and the floral ones are from Plum Pretty Sugar. 

I don't have big or detailed plans for the room, but I'll be sure to share some progress pics as it evolves. 

In the dining room we added a large piece of "art" that I copied from my best friend, Cori.  [Who, by the way, has recently co-pioneered a great new blogging adventure called The Secret Sister Project]. She texted me a pic of a gorgeous floral tea towel calendar framed and I knew I HAD to have it. Problem was she got it from a local shop awhile back, and she lives nearly 4 hours away.  Bummer. 

But, thanks to Google, and the super obvious "floral tea towel calendar" keywords, I was able to find it quick and easy on this website.  It was only $8 or so and I used a 40% off coupon to snag a frame for about $20 at Michael's!

The only pics I have are from my iPhone, lazy I know.  But that's how things are done around here nowadays.  Haha!

I did iron the towel, but I think my iron is on the fritz.  I need to reposition it, but for now, the wrinkles will remain.  I'm not sure it will stay on that dresser, I actually think it would look really great on our striped laundry room walls.  

I'm thinking some of you need this towel in your lives, too! Am I right? 

Have a happy week.  

xoxo

Joi

Hodge Podge of Updates

In my blogging heyday [I use that term lightly!] I used to always wait until I had a pretty "after" shot or well-documented photos of the "process" before I dare shared any updates. But in the beginning, before Pinterest [gasp!], my pictures were crazy bad. I mean, I don't know what I'm doing now, but take a look at my archives and you'll be lol-ing for awhile. I promise.  

I had no idea when I first started this blog years ago that my DIY tutorials would be pinned thousands of times with my crappy pictures! But you know what? So what! It's silly for me to worry about that.  My day job, that helps to put food on our table and keep our little household running, is teaching.  

I blog for fun. I had to laugh the other day when a student asked me, "What's a blog and why would anyone have one?" Haha.  

Yes, I've had so many fun things happen because of this blog that I would have never anticipated, but in no way shape or form, have I "made it".  

And, I'm glad I haven't.  The pressure seems insane and cut-throat.  And there seems to be too many dang rules to follow.  For example...

Your pictures have to always be magazine worthy and you can only have two fonts on their descriptions. You must post at least 5 times a week. If you Instagram make sure to only Instagram sparingly. And don't be a nuisance. If you do a giveaway only do them once a month. Don't get too personal, but yet don't be too vague.  Blah-blah-blah-blah... 

Oh, and let's not forget the sneaky posts with affiliate links littered throughout...THOSE are the worst. You are no better than a celebrity endorsing makeup or haircare who you know never uses that stuff. It's dishonest AND misleading.  

Ugh.  It's all super annoying.

I miss bloggers who blogged because they wanted to keep a journal for themselves and their families and genuinely share their DIY successes and failures with us, enlighten us with their experiences, and brag on their fun times.  My favorite product of blogging has been getting to be real life friends with some of my favorite bloggers who are still like this -> true to themselves, funny, witty, honest, chill, all of whom break those stupid "rules" I mentioned above. 

But, if I'm being honest, I can't stand the bloggers who are trying so dang hard to be famous. To be the next Youngsters. To be the next whomever. Their "trying too hard" gives me second hand embarrassment.  You know, when you're watching a show on TV or at a talent show and someone is singing because they think they are awesome when in reality it's just all too much.  That's what I'm talking about.  

Wow, I didn't mean for this to turn into a rant--haha! It's just that after reading this blog post from my soulmate momma-friend, Janice, and this post from my sassy friend, Terri, it all just hit home.  

So here we are, nowhere near finished with our spaces and places in this home, but I'm going to share what we have going on now anyway. For me. For my memories years down the road. And for my real-life friends & blog friends who take an interest in my little life.  

Phew.  That feels good. 

Let's do it, shall we? 

Recently we added some new stuff to our entryway! My awesome father-in-law rewired this light from Urban Outfitters to be hard wired and then hung it for me as well. I love it's shape and it's so much better than the light that was there before. 

I'm not convinced I love the styling of my entryway table but it's ok for now.  

I really did just take some random stuff out of some boxes and place it there after we moved. I should probably just start fresh but like I said, it works for now!

We also printed off some IG pics at Walgreens via their app [so easy!] and placed them in a heart shape on the wall with some painter's tape. 

It's been up for a couple weeks now and nothing has budged. It was a cheap and easy way to bring in some personal photos! I really want a long bench to go on this wall but haven't found anything in my price range that I love. I think it's going to be a DIY for my father-in-law if I can twist his arm.

Then, finally, I scooped up this little cookie jar at World Market the other day for $6. She is so cute on our countertop.

Our stove recently went kaput so now we're on the hunt for a newer one. And of course, we want all new matching appliance to go with it.  When can I win the lottery?! Ha!

So that's it for now. But I'll be sharing more soon. We're doing a staircase remodel and when I take some pics, I"ll let you in on all the deets!

Have a happy Friday and sweet weekend, guys!

xoxo

Joi

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Simple VDay Banner

I've never been a huge Valentine's Day fan but I'm ready this year. It's not that I've ever been an anti-Vday gal but rather it was just something that was never really on my radar. However,  I do love me some hearts and pink--wow, typical girl--and I have a week's worth of red outfits planned for my little buddy. Can you blame me? I'm now that mom. Whoops!

We don't do much holiday decorating but I did add my trusty foam heart banner to the mantel that I made from a Target find.

I simply threaded some fishing wire through the holes and I was done.  

I bought the hearts years ago but I saw the same ones in-store last week.  While I was there I bought another banner that I am going to add to the bottom of this one.  

Oh, and that basket? I feel like it was made for me.  You gotta check them out if you haven't yet. 

Target is so my happy place. 

xoxo

DIY: Young, Wild, & Free

I may not be creative, but when I see a good idea I sure can find a way to recreate it! Haha!

The other day, you know, before Snowmageddon 2014, I bundled up for what I thought would be one of my last days of break for a girls' day!  I joined my sweet Maw Maw for pedicures, lunch and shopping and then met two of my most dear friends for lunch and catching up. So good for the soul. 

I posted the above [albeit fuzzy] pic on Instagram [@Joidan82] and I really wish you could see my shoes! I found them [on accident] at Journeys for Kids and they have the best leopard detailing on the side. Who knew my size 8.5 foot could fit into girls' sized shoes. Duly noted!

After lunch we stopped at TJ Maxx and Marshall's and found this cute little sign.

I loved it for Theron's room and it wasn't expensive at all.  I think it was less than $10.  However, the fonts weren't doing it for me.  

I snapped a picture of it on my iPhone--seriously, how convenient is life in 2014?!--and decided to make my own version at home.  

I've made a lot of copycat images at home on PowerPoint but this time I used PicMonkey.  I LOVE PicMonkey.  I pay the $4.99 a month for the premium membership and it is totally worth it. I would say I use it just as much, if not more, than I use my photoshop.  It's so user friendly and easy to navigate. And, this is not an ad for them--promise!

To make my own version I simply downloaded a free chalkboard background via a google search, and used the available fonts on PicMonkey.  I played around with the sizing and saved my image. It only took about an hour or so.  I uploaded it to Walgreens and spent less than $3 printing it out in a 5x7. 

I used one of the tens of frames I had in the basement and planned on hanging it in Theron's room.  But after I saw it, I knew it'd look best smack dab on the TV wall in the living room next to our "This is so the happy place" DIY copycat art.  David and I like to think we're 'Young, Wild & Free" but Theron Drake actually lives it. Ha!

I think I need a nice green plant atop that brass Target table for some height! 

If you'd like the my version just right click and save! Happy day, guys!

xoxo

Kitchen Progress

We've made quite a bit of progress on our kitchen since moving in this past July.  To remind you, this is how it was set up when we took ownership:

My father-in-law talked me into getting rid of the peninsula, which I had originally protested, but now am much happier we did.  He kept telling me that I wouldn't regret it and he was right. However, since we got rid of the peninsula that meant we had to get new countertops.  I debated on getting a version of laminate that mimics marble or the manmade Cambria Torquay that looks like marble, as well.  I had them both priced and shockingly, the Cambria option wasn't a ton more expensive.  With that figured out, we ordered it and had it installed a couple months ago.  

I was inspired to use this brass faucet from Jenny! She can do no wrong in my book! I bought mine off of Amazon.  And, since the old sink was lilliputian in size, we got a new Kohler one from Lowe's. We figured it would be silly to update the countertops and keep the piddly sink.  

As you guys already know, we painted the walls white and got hardwood floors throughout the living room, kitchen and dining room.  We also took down all of the light fixtures in the kitchen and we are waiting on an electrician to come out to see what he can do to move some of the ones in the ceiling in both the kitchen and dining room.  It's driving me crazy because I think it would look a lot more finished with lighting. But oh well, I can live!

During the weeks before we moved in I painted all the cabinets downstairs.  We chose just a plain white that was standard [since the paint guy said it matched my choice--I don't even remember what it was--so closely!] in an oil based finish from Sherwin Williams and had another oil based paint color matched to Benjamin Moore's Chelsea Gray.  I frequently get emails about how I paint my cabinets and why I like oil based paints.  My method is fairly simple:

1. Clean the cabinets with TSP

2. Lightly sand

3. Wipe with a tacky cloth

4. Use a high quality primer

5. Paint at least two coats with an oil based paint [and natural hair brush] to eliminate brush strokes and it will give your cabinets a nice durable finish with a subtle shine.  

I won't paint cabinets any other way.  The only bummer part is that it is a rather smelly process and you must clean up with mineral spirits.  Also, the time to cure is a little longer but totally worth it!

Ok, back to the kitchen hardware! I knew I wanted to do brass hardware on the cabinets so I purchased the vintage knobs from this Etsy seller and these pulls from Rejuvenation. 

On the last weekend of summer David and my sister and brother-in-law took a trip to Ikea [won't have to do that for long--Eek! St. Louis is getting one in 2015!] and came back with this island.  It was totally an unexpected purchase but fits the space perfectly! 

The island had a spot for counter height barstools so I scored these at CB2.

I know the styling is rough and could use some work.  I'm kind of stalling out because I want to replace the appliances, get the wiring straight for the light fixtures, install a subway tile backsplash, and probably most of all, get new taller upper cabinets!  A homeowner's list is never complete, you guys feel me, right?

Overall, though, it is a vast improvement from where we started.  And I know that patience is a virtue and with time and saved money, it will all come together. 

So there you have it.  Such a long post; hope you guys got to the end of it!

Have a happy week!

xoxo