She-Shed...Yes Please!

Organizing is supposed to make things better right? So why do I feel so overwhelmed? Over the weekend I purchased a shoe organizer--if one more shoe made it's way in front of our door I was going to scream. Sometimes just getting out of my house felt harder than trying to bust out of  Alcatraz. I'm usually the type of person that NEED order in my life, so I'm not really sure whether to be proud or concerned that I let the situation slide for so long. Nonetheless, the problem is fixed now, but it's only opened the door for, dun, dun, dun... more issues. I feel confined! I've been working hard to ensure that everything has a place, things are where they should be and easily accessible, etc., etc., etc.; however,  now I feel that there is no space for me to create (aka be messy). I use to do all of my arts & crafts in my "sun-room", but now that its been turned into my "romantic writing room" doing anything that could possibly get a little out of control is a definite no-no. No biggie right?  I decided to move on to the dinning room--our dinning room table was the perfect place to experiment. But after doing my first tablescape the hubby asked me to leave it set, taking away yet another area for me to create. Whomp, whomp, whomp.

Here's a pic of the set up that got me booted out. Never mind the missing plates, we were about to get down to business! :-)

 

The only space that I have left now is our third floor--which is slowly but surely being turned into a closet *sigh*. What's a girl to do? I love to plug in my hot glue gun and let loose, spray painting excites me, and making a mess is all a part of the process...
In my quest to become more organized I've lost my freedom. I guess it's true that artist thrive best in chaos (controlled of course). Now even the smallest projects require me to go out into the garage, weather permitting...and that sucks.

Not one to be confined to my current circumstances, I started researching some reasonable ways to add a little square footage to my life. I came across garden sheds--the woman's answer to the man cave. Yes, I realize that I already have a room to call my own, but I truly do need this. If I don't spray paint something soon I just might lose my mind. There are so many styles of sheds, the possibilities are endless-- if my hubby gets up off his butt. Usually, if he sees me doing something it will prompt him to come help...let's hope that happens. I'm thinking about just going to buy the wood and standing around looking like a damsel in distress. That's all I've got. That's my plan. *wink*

Blueprints for sheds are accessible right from Pinterest. Just in case you have no idea what I'm talking about here's some eye-candy:

 

Love the storage space options <3

 

I can already imagine my colorful/artsy work studio :-)

 

How awesome is this?! If you tell me that you don't want it that's a lie (Tupac mode)

 

I'm so praying this becomes a reality for me soon. I'd want to make one for our bambino first though. I can just imagine his squeals of happiness as he spends hours on end in his very own space! He could also learn a thing or two while tending to his "house." Everything is a learning experience right (building my argument)?

 

 

Yes, this is the mini-me version...

 

Kids are living so good these days!

 

My husband is quick to remind me that our yard isn't that big, and I am quick to remind him that it isn't that small either. WHERE THERE IS A WILL THERE IS A WAY! And I am without a doubt sold on the idea of a shed...currently stacking my coins now. What about you? 'Yes Please' or 'Pass' on the shed? 

 



From Eek to Chic

Apparently, back  in the day cherub tables were all the rage (think 1960's-ish). I begged my granny's table off of her even before I knew where I would put it. I had grown up seeing the table and thought it would be nice to "remix" a small piece of my childhood. However,  nothing, and I do mean nothing, ever works as planned. As soon as I opened my trunk the table rolled out, slammed on my foot and broke apart. WTH! It had survived all those years and I broke it in the matter of minutes, I  could have cried. I didn't have the heart to just throw it out, so I limped to the garage and put it with the rest of the stuff that was quickly piling up.

Fast-forward a couple of months later and I had the best idea: I could glue the table together! Who cared if it was broken? It was old anyways and the crack would add character. Antique is in! I could hardly contain myself as I ran out to the garage to get started on my project. I searched all over-- but no table. Come to find out, my husband had thrown it away just days earlier. Talk about an angry woman. There was so much rubbish piling up in our garage but he picked THAT to throw away?! Just my luck...

So I was back to square one; only now my heart was a little heavier as I imagined my granny's table in some landfill somewhere. There was nothing I could do to get it back, so I did the next best thing. I jumped on the net and started searching for a replica. I eventually came across what I was looking for, but the pieces were higher than expected--I'm talking much higher, in the hundreds :-(
I finally settled on a reasonable one, but it was still more than I would have liked to pay. Luckily my husband bought it for me for Mother's Day. Good save.

Of course, while I was searching for a table I came across similar styled lamps--naturally, my life wouldn't be complete without one. But again I ran into the same problem--the lamps were just too much darn money ($169 was the cheapest). After a little more digging I spotted one on Craigslist for a whopping...TEN BUCKS! I bought that thing so fast it would make your head swim (can you tell my grandparents are from the south?) :-)  I was super excited, however the pieces had just been sitting tucked away into a corner of my writing room until this past weekend.

I got up early Saturday morning and headed to Lowes on a mission. This would be the day that I got down to business. Let me tell you, sample paint is everything! I got more than enough paint and a pan for just a little over 3 bucks. Now I am trying to figure out if there is anything else in my house that I wouldn't mind being Vessel Gray ;-)

Again I headed out to the garage and got to work. The finished product was even better than I hoped. It's amazing what just a little paint can do--it took my pieces to a whole new level and I am more than happy to display them now. :)

Here's some befores & afters:

 Preparing to start the paint job...yes, I currently have to do all of my painting outside :-(

 



 Table top view...my granny's table was a bit taller (which is what I wanted) but whatever...

 



Close up of cherubs...I LOVE that detail!

 And after! Pics aren't as clear as I would like them to be, but you get the idea.

 

The Color is Vessel Gray and it gives my pieces a really refined look. By the way, I didn't have a roller at the time so everything was painted by brush. The table top shows just a bit of brush strokes--which I actually like. If that isn't your thing make sure you have a roller on hand for the flat surfaces.

The lamp! Cool huh? Again, the detail was stupendous. Nice on its own, but I knew I could upgrade it ;-)

 

Turned out fab! Now the hunt is on for the perfect lamp shade.

 

So there you have it, with just a little paint these pieces went from eek (well not really eek to me, but you know...) to chic. The next time you come across something that needs a little love consider salvaging it by slapping a coat of paint on it, the results could truly be amazing. Happy Transforming! 



Bag Lady

If you're like me then you're all about saving shopping bags--they're good for so many things--packing lunches, toys, lining small wastebaskets--the possibilities are endless. Not long ago my grandmother purchased a plastic bag holder similar to this one:

Cute right? Hers is a kitty in a dress :-)



And it got me to thinking, maybe stuffing all of my bags under the sink wasn't the best option.

"One Day All them Bags Gon' Get In Your Way...I Said One Day All Them Bags Gon' Get In Your Way... "

 

So I headed over to Pinterest to see what I could see, and low and behold I came across this:

Kinda cool huh? At least I thought so...

All that was needed to create this look was a coffee can and some paint. Even though I don't drink coffee I knew that getting my hands on a can would be pretty easy--we throw away a ton of them at my job.

Rescuring Coffee cans from Landfills since 2015



The first thing I did was peel off the label and thoroughly wash the can (inside and out). Keep in mind, the spot where the label was glued will be a tab bit tattered, be mindful of that when determining what will be the front of your dispenser.

Ready to be transformed. Ha! I didn't even wait for this to dry before I snapped a pic.

 

My first attempt  was a complete failure. I used real paint, and when I tried to wash it for a second time it peeled like Elmer's glue on the hand of a child (I'm not the only person that did that, right? Right?). No worries. I always have my trusty spray paint nearby!

I had the great idea of altering between gold and silver, so I sectioned it off.

Once I removed the tape I realized that it didn't look anything like I wanted it to (not even worth the time to snap the pic), so I decided to paint the whole thing gold.

And Wahla! Here is the finished product :-)

 

I didn't cut the slit in the top to actually make it a "dispenser", I kinda liked it as is. There is still a lot of time to decide if I want to slice the lid or not; I'm not tripping about it. If you're super crafty & coordinated you can paint the words on yourself, or if you want it to look 'just so' and would rather not bother with trying to have a sturdy hand, you can cheat like me and buy adhesives. I recommend the adhesives--I'll be using them for many more projects in the future.

 

In the end, it's no kitty in a dress...but it was nearly zero dollars and now the cabinet beneath my sink will be a lot less messy. I think that's a WIN!











Detroit Castles, Say What?!

This past weekend I was in the mood for a little adventure, so when I happened to come across what they call "Detroit Castles" on Pinterest I was ready to go. One of my absolute favorite pastimes is touring historical districts. How was it that I had never happened upon these castles? Being a frequent visitor of the "D", and a vehement historic lover, a part of me was embarrassed that I had no clue that these homes existed. I decided to rectify that situation ASAP! And there was one house in particular that caught my eye: James Scott Mansion, better known as Peterboro Castle. I mean, look at it!!!

 

 THAT is indeed a castle, at least in my opinion.

Shout out to the photographer...it took skills to capture this bad boy!

Here's Bodiam Castle in Sussex England for a little comparison. Detroit's Castle is just as grad. Don't think so? Put a moat around it.

 

Saturday was a dreary day in my neck of the woods and quite frankly, time seemed to escape us. After doing a few impromptu projects around the house (painting, electrical work, etc.) and waiting for our little guy to wake up from his super duper long nap, my husband thought that it would be best if we put off our castle search until another day. I wasn't having it. I had already gone my whole life being deprived, I didn't want to wait another day. Besides, what better than an ominous, dark evening to go to an old castle? I batted my lashes a few times and by eight o'clock we were on the road.  *Happy wife happy life, right fellas?*

 

I was in awe when we pulled up to the mansion. Perhaps it wouldn't have done anything for you, but *insert old southern accent* baybee, it floated my boat! Historic? House? Ruins? Yes, I was on ten and a half :-) 

Talk about a challenge...couldn't even fit all of this house into my camera lens...

Naturally I had to take a few pics with me and my little guy :-)

Perhaps my excitement rubbed off on him just a bit! Hey cutie!

My camera just couldn't capture all of it :-( Still, how dope is this?!

 

The only thing that would have enhanced the experience for me would have been getting the chance to explore the inside. Since I had my baby love with me that was out of the question, but I've never been above a good ol' trespass. Don't believe me?

 





 Yea, moving right along...

 

 

That same day we also went to Brush Park and checked out these pretty cool homesteads, unfortunately, they are currently returning to the wild:

Nope, definitely not cookie-cutter...

I'd take it!

Rumor has it, that the area is getting a major makeover--let's hope so!

 

 

After having such a nice time we wasn't quite ready to end our day, so, we headed downtown and decided to let our little guy take in the night air and the city lights. He had a absolute ball :-)

 

 Canada just across the water

 

Night Rider...hanging like wet clothes.

Proud display of U.S.A flags

I was taking shots like a tourist ;-)

 

 

 The Spirit of Detroit!

 

Of course we chilled by the fountain and listened to jazz...

 

City Streets, looka there!

The "beach" between the buildings...cool right? 

 Headed home...the night was good to us...

 

 

So there you have it, our night in a nutshell. We do self-guided historic tours quite often and I NEVER grow tired of them. I hope to go back to Detroit soon (much earlier in the day, obviously) to hunt down more "castles". Just thinking about it fills me with childlike excitement, then again, I'm a bit odd :-P. Anywho, what did you think about the Peterboro Castle? Would you give it a visit?



 

The Great Door Fiasco

So we got a new door. The process should have been all butterflies and gumdrops, but remember what I said about my world? Yea. :-/ The first issue was that my husband and I couldn't agree on a style. I wanted a plain black door. Something simple. He wanted something with windows up top. Now don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with more detailed doors, in fact many people prefer them. However, I wanted a simple backdrop to display my wreaths. In my opinion, wreaths MAKE a door.

 

You can't convince me that this wreath doesn't take this door to another level

 

 

 

So because I wanted a plain door and because it was the cheaper option the hubby agreed. Win for me! However, when we got up to the counter we found out that it would be an extra $200 to get the door in black. Insane! And to top it off, since we wanted black (and we weren't budging on that) it would take another month for them to get the door in. No thank you! The point was to get the door that day, and I would be a fool to pay an extra 200 bucks when I was standing in Lowes with all types of black paint. So we moseyed on over to the paint counter after inquiring about which paint would be best for the job.

 

 

Sherwin-Williams Exterior Satin is what was recommended. We didn't need a whole gallon so we paid our $18.99 and got a move on...much better than $200 wouldn't you say? We purchased that white door LIKE A BOSS!

But the next morning my husband woke up with a change of heart. He still wanted the door with the windows and said that even if it cost more money we should get what we really wanted. I DID have what I really wanted, but if the Peeping Tom friendly feature meant so much to him then he could have at it. So we once again made our way up to Lowes. Whomp, whomp, whomp.


Finally we found the door he wanted, but there was only one left in stock. The man took it down and I instantly noticed the slightest, teeny tiny ding in it. Not wanting to exchange the door in the first place I quickly pointed it out. Yea, I was being a bit petty, but it paid off. To my surprise the associate knocked the price down so that the door was even cheaper than the original one we had without the windows. I was definitely on board with that!! Like magic, I turned into a happy camper. :-D

Now all we had to do was paint the door, easy right? Wrong! We probably considered divorce five times just painting the darn thing! Tensions always run high when my husband and I take on a project. We're both very passionate people and believe that things should be done 'just so'. Unfortunately for us, our 'just so's' never seem to align. Really it shouldn't be that hard to slap some paint on a door...but it was, Lord knows it was.  If patience really isn't your thing or you and your work partner's relationship is like mine and the hubby's, just pay the money. By the time it was all said and done, we would have gladly paid  $200 OR MORE just to be done with it. The next day I got smart and went it alone. It was a much smoother process, if I say so myself :)

 

Letting our little guy get in on the action :-) BTW when painting your door do NOT use a sponge-that was just for him ;-)

So now that the door was painted all we had to do was have the man come put it on--unscrew a few screws, screw in a few screws--done--go on about the day. Cute idea. Coming behind someone who couldn't have cared less about the house attributed to all kinds of problems. Some mastermind had the bright idea to install the door UNDER the siding...so the siding on the side had to be removed *groans*.

A hot mess!!

 



Surprise, surprise...the frame was poorly pieced together with basically just scrap wood.  Now, I'm all about saving a buck, but come on people--do things right. Who would purposely do this to their home?! The gentleman doing the job was a professional, and there was no way he was going to leave it like that. So it turned into another trip to the home improvement store (this time Home Depot) for wood and a whole 101 in woodcutting. What I thought would have been maybe a two hour job tops turned into a whole day ordeal.

 

The Work Station

From 12:00 pm until 8:00 pm our house was filled with the sound of sawing, nailing, and banging--the joys of cleaning up someone else's mess! The guy doing our door was an absolute sweetheart though, didn't even charge extra. Of course we still paid him more--anything less would have been unethical, but it's good to know there are still good people in the world. Unfortunately, we ended up missing our good friends wedding anniversary celebration in the process, but since we were stationary it gave me a chance to work on my flower pots. Gotta find the rainbow in every cloud :-)

 

Container gardening anyone?

Now that the door is on it makes the house look a whole lot better--I mean a whole lot. And once I get my wreath I am sure it will work wonders.  Already our neighbors are stopping us when we're out in the yard and telling us how nice everything looks. Our adopted auntie across the street loves updating us on how slow the cars go pass our house trying to get a good look.

 

Drive slow homie-- in my Paul Wall voice! :-) 

But without a doubt we still have a lonnnng way to go. Ha! After all that I almost forgot to add an 'after' pic of the door. One moment please...

Yup, had to run outside real quick...SMH. It's a bit dark, but you get the point.

All I can say is that we're trying. We're definitely a lot further along than when we started! And I suppose that's all we can ask for!







If Money Were No Object

My computer is still down *sigh*. I am too lazy busy to load all of my pictures to the hubby's computer, so no post about my actual house just yet, but it's coming! Nevertheless, I've been thinking--and thinking usually turns into writing for me, so here goes:

I've always wanted a house of my own--well not just a house, but a home. I can remember being in elementary and scouring the real-estate section of the newspaper selecting what I thought I would like to be my home. Back then I wanted nothing more than a Bloomfield Hills manor--that was the life :-) I did the same with the furniture glossies. I'd pick out luxurious bedroom sets, classy living rooms, and so on and so forth. I was no  stranger to home improvement stores either, I'd go through the catalogs choosing the type of faucets and sinks I wanted, I planned everything right down to the tile. Fast-forward a couple of decades later and I cannot put into words the frustration I feel by not being able to get what I want. As a child it was easy to go through a magazine and draw a star or write 'THIS' in all caps to indicate my desires. As an adult, however, there is no gratification in this process unless it's followed up with a purchase. The unfortunate truth is I don't have it like that...at all. Some days all it takes is a mere flip of a home décor/improvement catalog to incite depression. Well, maybe not depression, but you know what I mean! Bottom line is, it sucks not to be able to get what you want in the timeframe that you want it. What's more is that I can't even afford my own taste*double sigh*. If there are two near identical furnishings it is inevitable that I will like the higher priced item more. It is also inevitable that whatever it is will be out of my price range, either by the manufacturers choice or mine. Let's face it, there are just some things I am not dropping a whole pay period (or more) worth of money on, I don't care if I have it to spend or not.

So today, only for a moment (before I get myself too down) I would like to transform into that little girl I was so long ago and look at things I would like if money were no object.

Lets start with the house. There are so many choices, I hate to be pinned down to just one  (I talk like I'm really getting this, lol). For the purpose of this post I will just 'pick one'.

 I love this house because there is nothing NOT to love about it. I could pull up to this everyday of my life…

The Living room:

Well, it’s not like I have pictures just laying around of my dream house. I am trying! What I like about this room is the neutral colors and the variations of textures and patterns. Yeah, I  absolutely love old homes—but don’t come at me with old furniture looking like George Washington is about to walk through the room at any moment, no thanks! 
  I’ll pass.
   

The Dinning Room:

 Baby, fire up the fireplace! I can imagine my family here.

The Bedroom:

Not too in love with the décor, but basically my room just needs to open up to something magnificent!

The Kitchen:

Suddenly I want to learn how to cook…like a pro...

The Bathroom:

Mannnnnnn! Talk about R&R.

My Secret Location:

Romantic Shabby Chic. No fellas allowed, momma’s got writing to do!

So there you have it, my life if money truly was no object. Hopefully one day it won't be, but until then I can dream right??? ;-) What about you, what would you have if you had the big bucks?