The Best Toy in the WORLD!

The other day I ordered Luvs for a completely fabulous price on Amazon.com, and when it was delivered...wonder of wonders!!...it came with the best toy in the WORLD....A FREE BOX! The boys had a blast with it. You know what they say.."The best things in life are cardboard".

Bathroom Vanity Before/After

Before: After:

This was the most affordable project so far in our new abode. I wanted to explain that all the woodwork,cabinets,doors,casing...ect are in horrible shape having been scratched and battered by pets, so we aren't "destroying" beautiful woodwork, we are trying to resusitate it. We used leftover white paint, moulding from Star Lumber(right now you can get $10 gift cards from Recyclebank for just 100 points...I got 6!) Anyway after the GC, my total was $2 for the moulding, iron piece(painted white from Hobby Lobby) $5 and leftover brushed nickel spray paint for the original knobs and hinges with a touch of white paint on the knobs to show the detail, and .77 cent drawer pulls from Lowe's for a grand total of.....>$10....WAHOO!! It is a satisfactory fix until we can afford to replace the vanity.We also used the leftover Foyer paint to color the walls in Brown Teepee...we like the contrast with the white. The next project is to transform the linen closets in the same way. As a side note, we do most of our time consuming aspects of our projects after the kids are in bed. We like to wear them out first with swimming or tennis...works like a charm...they can sleep through a volcanic eruption!

Linked to Thrifty Decor Chic's Before and After Party http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/

Linked to http://www.remodelaholic.com/

Foyer Before/After

Before: After:

The foyer is such a small area, but it is the first impression of a home. We are s..l..o..w..l..y replacing each door, all the trim in the house, all the flooring, painting every single wall and replacing those wicked little yellowish-beige outlets and light switches. I can't wait to replace the porch railing...someday, at least spray painting it in a brushed nickel finish updates it a little.(the best I could do with such a tight budget!!) The foyer is the first completely done room in our house! Yay!! I think this will be a long process...but so rewarding!!

Tile High

Before: After:

My Hero

I am on a tile high, we just finished our tile in the foyer....well almost anyway, we still have to put the sealer on tonight. Don is AMAZING! This is his second attempt at tiling and I can't believe how much he has improved! This house is starting to feel like home. There are still lots of projects left, but the new tile really lightens up the foyer along with the new track lighting.

Totus Tuus

This week my kids enjoyed Totus Tuus, everyday they came home and told me about the Saints, and lessons they learned about our faith. They went to Mass everyday and had plenty of time for confession. We are so blessed to have Totus Tuus in our diocese and it is growing...even spreading to Guam. It was awesome getting to know Inny, Adam, Clay and Mary Kate, they were even able to come over for dinner and the girls spent one night with our family. They told us that Totus Tuus is responsible for supplying over 50 vocations to the religious life....WOW!! If you have the opportunity to host these wonderful young people...I hope you jump at the chance, it will indeed bless your family.

Will it Blend??

The latest craze around our house is this fascinating series of videos where this guy blends everything from light bulbs to shoes and always answers the question..."Will it blend"?
http://www.willitblend.com/ Our favorites are glowsticks and bic lighters.

Custom Art

A little molding, paint, iron center piece, and a nail gun... and voila, custom art! I am tickled green pear with how it turned out.(despite several little flaws that I need to fix)

I can't wait until we get our leather furniture moved to see how it all goes together. The furniture is at the old house doing it's best to sell the place. The finished product measures 35"X 36", a nice scale for the sofa wall. Btw...this idea was stolen from Thrifty Decor Chic's living room!