a tisket, a tasket....

I updated an old basket!!  I actually did it about a year ago but it still counts, right??


This is a basket I bought a Goodwill and spray painted it white.

We used it for stuffed animals and what not for awhile.  Then the paint began chipping off and I thought about getting rid of it.

Then we got new couches!

I realized our old, horrible blankets didn't go with the newness of the couches so I wanted to put them in a basket.   I schlepped the basket into the Family Room and used it in there.

I like the style of rope baskets but they were too pricey so I figured I would try to make my own. Armed with two rolls of rope from HD, my glue gun, almost 40 glue sticks (the big ones) and a few hours. I made this.

As you can see I didn't quite have enough rope for the bottom (of course not!! This is a Lisa project after all)! I did buy more rope and finished the rest.

 All in all, I love it! Besides burning myself a few times, it was very easy and satisfying. That make it win win in my book!

Junk Drawer Org

Maybe when the kids go back to school I will find another purpose in life because right now I have way to much time on my hands.  Today I organized the junk drawer!  In the old house, mine was tiny.  I had junk drawer envy of one of my friends.  Her was huge, spacious and very organized!

So here is what it looked like before I started.  Not too bad but I really just threw everything in when we moved in.

 I took everything out and put it on the counter.

There were 7 different kinds of tape and 7 decks of cards.

 The usual assembly of pencils and pens.  I checked all the pens and threw out the dead ones.

This is what it looked like when empty.  I went through the house and grabbed some more bins.  I am not that anal that they all needed to match.

 I corralled all the tape except for the scotch and put them in the Laundry Room.

This is what it looked like when I was done.  Still plenty of room!

I put some tape on the bottom of each bin so they won't slide when the drawer opens and closes.

I know.  I need a life!

Paper Goods

I have been storing the paper goods on a high shelf in the Laundry Room but the mess was bothering me.

Some people may not want their toilet paper on display (I could care less) but I like things to look neat and tidy.  So I grabbed some baskets.

Each product has their own basket.

Looks like we are low on tissues.

Paper towels

Toilet paper!

Then I put all the baskets back up on the shelf.  I can't see what is in each but it looks good.  The shelf is too tall for me to reach without a step stool anyway but I am happy with the results.

The Clutter Queen in me is at peace now....

The Organized Spice Rack

The new house came with a built in spice rack on the Pantry Door. 

At first I thought it was great until we realized the standard spice bottles were too tall to fit.  Plus I had most of my spices in their precious, airtight Tupperware containers that The Husband hated, lovingly written on with a Sharpie!

I had been stockpiling baby food jars for other craft related goodness and  I was able to hoard some when I was babysitting.

Well, they fit perfectly in the racks!!  So I took as many spices as I could, armed myself with a label maker and ta da!!

 

It looks more organized and pretty!

 

 

I still have some of the smaller spice and Tupperware containers and I am fine with them but The Husband, who has some OCD, is looking for more baby food jars!

I did alphabetize them.

 

I have a basket of the leftover spices and the ones that never made it into a jar but as of now, it is much easier to find what we need, see what is running low and it is a nice, organized sight to see when I open that door!

gallery, rug and a bath update

There is a hallway that separates the dining room and kitchen.  I believe it was labeled as the Mud Room.  On one side of the all there are rows of hooks (picture back packs and winter coats and a very twitchy Husband).  On the other side we made a Gallery Wall!  No measuring, no matchy match frames.  Just hung up some hooks and bam!  Wall is done!

For a house that is bigger than the old one, there is less room for me to stick my framed pictures.  Part of it is that I am (not) patiently waiting for us to find more furniture to stick them on.  I have also taken some older baby pics out of frames.  Sigh.  I love my pictures all over a home but I feel like it is becoming to cluttered.  Need the less is more approach. 

I found an entry way rug for the front door at Overstock!

It was almost the one I had envisioned and the price was great (sale.)  I always wanted a better rug for the old house but there were so many layers on that floor, a door couldn't open over it and a rug.   I am happy with the quality and it feels it cushy under barefeet,

I forgot to update y'all about the bathtub situation. After a big hike on Sunday, I thought a bath would be a great way to relax.  First of all, those tubs are kind of hard to clean.  I was crawling in and out of it while the water dripped down at me!!  Then I began filling it and added bubbles.  Because I was covered in dirt, the water became dirty and icky and it was hard to relax after that!!  I emptied the tub and took a quick shower...which I should have done first!!  I will try again but it did work, although it still makes no sense to me! 

Pillows!

Thanks to an idea on Pinterest, I made pillows!

It was pretty easy to do and I know I will do it again!

I had to buy double lined placements, which I finally found at Target.  They were harder to find than I thought. At $3.99 each I had a minor heart attack but this experiment would yield me 2 inexpensive pillows.

The Back

The Front.  I wanted to add some color to the two dining room chairs that are now in the corners of the room.

Step one is to rip the seam open enough to get your hand in there to add the stuffing.  I found a bag of stuffing at Joann's for $9.00.  Clearly too excited to think, I bought it off sale and without a coupon!  I actually bought 2 bags (just in case) so I will return the other one.  Next time I will be more prepared.  *Hangs head in shame.*

After the pillow is stuffed, you sew up the edge.

I am no seamstress but this kind of sewing I can handle!

Isn't it cute?  I swear it took me less than 20 minutes to make both pillows.  I definitely want to make more for the Guest Room.  Both The Husband and I aren't really Decorative Pillow People when it comes to our bed but I know The Girl will want some for herself.  She helped me stuff them because she just had to help. 

I am estimating the pillows came to about $7.00 since I still have some stuffing leftover. It made me happy to be a little crafty, a little thrifty and a little decorative.

a few more house updates

I've done a little more shopping and tweaking to the house and here is what I've done.

First, this is Millie!  She loves to lounge around the deck, soaking up the sunshine.  Sometimes she needs help to hold up her ginormous dome.

Today we went to Target and I found these curtains for my bedroom.  I know they are a bit short but that could be fixed if The Husband wants to lower the curtain rod but I am fairly certain he won't.  If he gives me the ok to keep them, I will actually iron them.  They are a silver/grey two-toned silk.  I think they look sophisticated.

This is the wall one sees when walking down the basement stairs.  These are artsy pictures I took a few years ago on a family vacation.  I know it will bother me that they are too spaced out along the wall.  But we get extra points for having them perfectly spaced out from one another!

More Target curtains for The Girl's room.  Her walls are lavender but the blue kind of made a funky statement.  She really liked them and she only has one window in her room!  Score!

My lemon vase (pronounced voz).  I bought the lemons at a craft store and was hunting high and low for a clear glass cylinder.  Nothing at the thrift store or any other cheapo stores so I finally broke down and bought it at Target.  Luckily it was on clearance!  My friend had one on her counter and I always liked it.  Now that I have room, I wanted one for myself.

This is the view from the outside of The Office.  Pictures on the wall!!

This is part of the Powder Room.  This was a picture we previously had but we bought new towels.  I like how the blues play off each other.

I think the Dining Room is pretty much done but we need more things for the walls.  There is a lot of brown/neutral in this house and it works (and I am not ready for any type of painting project anytime soon!)

I just realized that we don't use the dining room as a dumping ground anymore!!  Maybe that's why it seems to get dusty so fast....

The old house had a bay and bow window that was perfect for my plants.  Not having anything like that here, I have to be a bit more creative in finding room/sun for houseplants.  I have resorted to finding plants that need low light and am hoping for the best.

That's it for now!  Let me know with a quick comment that you stopped by....

poppin tag$

*Disclaimer: 
I had to google what poppin tags meant and while I sang along with the song, I never actually listened to the words until today and realized it took place in a thrift store.

I am that stupid.

Anyway, today we finally made it to the local thrift store and I was beyond excited!!  It looked huge from the outside and while I am always happy to find some hidden treasure, there were things I had in mind that I was looking for.

Sadly, I was disappointed.  There were tons of clothes but the home goods sections were pretty crappy.  (I don't usually look for clothes.)

Sigh.

I did meander to the book section and I scored BIG!  I am a bit of a book snob, especially when it comes to Thrift Stores.  The books need to be in great condition because if it even looks like someone was eating or bathing when they read it, I don't want it!!  For $9.30 I found 6 books for me, one for The Girl and 2 comic books for The Boy.  They were authors that I like but haven't read and one bestseller.  The books were either $.65 or $1.95.  Although I am a huge fan of the public library, at those prices, how could I not indulge??

Then we headed to a big hardware store for picture hooks and plants!  The Girl wanted one for her room (she chose a Venus fly trap) and I found 3 for me...2 on clearance!  I will nurse those poor babies back to health!  I still miss some of my old plants.....

In other good news, The Husband has started hanging things on the walls!!  YAY!!!  He needs a calculator, tape measure and a laser level.  He hasn't busted out the stud finder yet (insert jokes here.)  Every time I pass a wall that has something on it, it makes my heart smile!

Rain shower tub?

The new house has a garden tub and I cannot wait to take my first bath!!  Isn't she pretty??

 Normally I love to do a hot, bubbly soak on a Sunday night, complete with candles and a magazine but I haven't made the time yet.

Recently The Girl was in my bathroom and wanted to turn the water on but hmmm....something is missing, no?

 

So we turned on the water and WTF???  It came out of the ceiling!!??

 

 

 

 

Can this be right?  Won't water splash everywhere?

 

 

Is this for real or just an Idaho thing???