Meet Anna From My Life & Kids

Hi everyone!  Hope you're having a fabulous day.  As you're reading this, I'm hopefully getting the curtains for The Babe's room done!  My mom volunteered to help me, so The Babe and I headed out of town for a little DIY assistance.  In my absence, though, please meet my blogger BFF, Anna!  She is a hilarious, down to earth mom, and I am so excited to introduce her to you today.  So without further delay, here's Anna!  :)

I’m so excited to be stopping by the Tall Chick’s blog today (even though I’m not so tall myself). I am beyond inspired by this crafty girl’s DIY projects, and I have tons of plans for my house after reading her blog!

First, I’ll tell you a little bit about myself. My name is Anna, and I’m married to my college sweetheart, Even Steven. I had three kids in three years; I moved to the suburbs, quit my job and bought a minivan. Whew, has my life changed!

During naptimes, I update the neglected house we bought in the suburbs and blog about it at all www.mylifeandkids.com.

                      

When we bought our house last year, there was dated wallpaper on nearly every single wall (and some ceilings), the owner hadn't lived here in over two years, (and she chain-smoked for the 30 years she did live here) and there was mold in the basement. PERFECT!


In the past year, we’ve done a lot of cleaning, painting, yanking up carpet and peeling down wallpaper. You can see what we’ve done so far by clicking here!


But there is still a lot to be done!  Next on my to-do list? Redoing our master bedroom.

This is what the room looked like when the previous owner lived here. See that stain on the headboard? That would be a nicotine stain – think she smoked in here much?


Unfortunately, after living here for a year, our room doesn’t look much better now than it did then.  (Although we don’t have any nicotine stains on our bed.)

I have big plans for this room. On my list?

• creating a gallery wall
• modpodging the ceiling fan
• stenciling the area rug (we ripped out that carpet immediately!)
• And the best part? I’ll be painting at least one wall in stripes – just like the Tall Chick’s hallway!

After I finish the master bedroom, I’ll be working on some of the lighting in my house.  Remember the Tall Chick’s upcycled chandy?

My house came with one just like it. At first I was looking for a replacement, but then I saw how the Tall Chick painted hers, so now I’m keeping it and picking paint colors. What do you think? Can I pull off a funky color – or should I stick with white? 

And my three-year-old is turning 4 in October (sob!). We are in the process of moving him from a toddler bed into a twin bed. And I’m totally going to copy the Tall Chick again and make an upholstered headboard for him. You can see Miles’s room right here. 


I would love for you to stop over to www.mylifeandkids.com and say hi. And while you’re there, you can see some of my favorite projects so far – like the curtains I made out of twin sheets,  the scrapbook paper map I made for my son’s room, and you can see why I put all three of my kids in time out one day (even my 3-month-old).


And if you want to hear the behind-the-scenes news on my DIY attempts, you can connect with me on Facebook.


Be sure stop by www.mylifeandkids.com in the next few days.  I’ll show you why my master bathroom has been smelling so bad. It’s not what you think – it’s much, much worse!

Thanks, Anna, for sharing all of that with my readers!  If you enjoyed Anna's post won't you do me a favor and become her friend, too?  :)  Plus, she has a poll going on right now asking for advice on whether to paint a brick fireplace surround, so she needs your input!

Lights, stencils and spray paint, oh my!

First, let me just say...WOW.  Is it possible that a one year old + 3 days can be more exhausting than an under one year old?  I swear this kid has found a new level of energy since her birthday, but maybe that has something to do with the amount of cake, ice cream and banana pudding she had the last few days. I certainly needed a breather yesterday so I didn't blog, but I managed to get a few more things done with The Babe's room and since I'm blogging the progress in real-time...here's my update!  :)

If you're a Facebook fan or Twitter follower, you already know that I headed out to our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore last week.  While I was there, I picked up a fun light fixture I plan on hanging in the dormer area of her room.  It's kind of bird-cagey which I thought would be fun, and it's not heavy looking which shouldn't overwhelm the small space.  The price had been $25, but it was marked down to $15.  Ummm, yes, I'll take it!

Once I picked it up, I started debating about what color to paint it.  You know me and my crazy light fixture color choices!  I tossed around leaving it silver, painting it white, or pulling out one of the curtain fabric colors as inspiration.  In the end, I decided on a nice vibrant red, Rustoleum's Sunrise Red.

I'm going to be mean and withhold pictures of it in mid-makeover, but I'll be back soon with photos!  I am really, really, really loving it, and I'm so glad I decided to go bold with the color.  It's also has a nice glossy finish which is spectacular.  BUT, more pictures and a tutorial on this one a little later.  Oh and a quick warning.  Don't use spray paint near your baby monitor, or this may happen!  Oopsy!  Mr. Man was not very happy when he realized it was a lovely pink shade.

I have also been thinking about using a stencil to create a pattern in the dormer area of the room.  I love the look of stencils and they're everywhere in blogland these days.  BUT, you know me...I'm cheap so I decided to create my own last night.  It took about two hours and it was pretty simple.  As of this morning, I started painting with it and abruptly stopped.  I think the design is too small and it just doesn't feel right.  I solicited your thoughts on Facebook, but the direction I'm leaning in right now is to stop with the stencil completely.  Once I get the new red light fixture and curtains hung, then I'll reconsider.  The light fixture alone may be enough to carry the space without making it too busy with a stencil.  But, we'll see.  So let this be a lesson to you on "real time" blogging.  Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don't.  Now, I get to add repainting this section of the dormer to my to-do list.  :(

I'm also still debating on the color for the antique sideboard.  We had friends over for The Babe's birthday and the majority voted for a yellow color.  Yesterday, we went to Home Depot to pick up some paint swatches, but I'm still not convinced I have found the right color.  Here are a few potential options, though... Any opinions?

Ohhh, and here's a list of other things I still have to do in the room.  I thought this may help you visualize the overall plan for the space (along with a picture to refresh your memory!).

--Lights:  Hang new red light fixture in dormer area and get new light to replace gold ceiling light (maybe track lights to use as spots on sideboard, diy artwork, etc)

--Paint:  Remove stencil mistake (ugh) and consider painting some sort of detail in dormer area once room is closer to complete

--Sideboard:  Refinish and paint in funky color

--DIY Artwork:  Paint sign to hang above closet (need to figure out what exactly), paint mat on existing frame and custom alphabet artwork, create custom canvas  to hang above crib

--Curtains:  Finish sewing and hang them with custom rod solution (otherwise known as plumbing pipe)

The Babe and I are heading out of town for the rest of this week, so things on the blog will be quiet this week (except for a guest post I'm super psyched about, so stay tuned for that!).  Hopefully, when I get back, you'll get to see the finished curtains!  Please send happy sewing vibes that my mom and I get her machine working and finish these up!  Once the curtains are done, things should start coming together pretty nicely.

So, that's it from me for now.... The Babe is napping so it's time to head out and inspect the new light fixture!  Have a great day!

Happy Birthday To The Babe!

It has been one year full of amazing moments.  First embraces, first words, first steps.  You have changed our lives forever, and we are so blessed to have you.  No words can describe it...just know we love you, now and always.

Photos by the amazing Julia Wade

Help Me Decide On The Dresser Color

Hi everyone!

Quick post from me today since birthday preparation is in full effect around here!  :)  The Babe is turning one this weekend, and I fully intend to spend my day spoiling her instead of browsing Pinterest, Facebook, or Twitter... *
*Except during nap time... I fully intend to use this time to feed my internet addiction  ;)

If you're a regular reader, then you know I'm blogging progress in The Babe's room makeover real time.  You'll get to see exactly how long it takes me to finish her room, and if I hit snags along the way, you'll be the first to know.

I'm happy to report that as of today things are going incredibly well.  The big task I completed was cutting out all the fabric panels for her curtains.  Next week, The Babe and I are headed out of town to get a little sewing / babysitting help from Granny.  I won't be able to blog that progress in real time, though, because Granny doesn't have the internet.  Ummmm....yea.  I'm not joking.  So unless things are going really well and I can drag the gang to "town" 20 minutes away, there won't be any progress updates while I'm away.

Once I get the curtains done, the next big project is the dresser makeover.  AND THIS IS WHERE YOU COME IN.  Take a minute here to peruse the curtain fabric, the wall color and a few of my favorite colors.  Now, start imagining what color / finish you would give to the antique sideboard I'm going to be using as The Babe's dresser / changing table.

Okay, now that we have the colors in mind, here are a few dresser inspiration pictures I have saved to my pinterest boards.

Do you like any of the inspiration pictures above?  Would you go an entirely different route, hello coral-y pink and aqua) like another commenter posted yesterday?  

I keep flip flopping between something "traditional" (white, light gray) or something a bit more funky (dark gray, turquoise, coral-y, etc).  BUT right now, I'm leaning towards a dark gray base coat with a top glaze / light brush strokes of turquoise.

Now, what say you?!  I'm going to use your comments to help make my decision.  Please leave me a comment below or on my Facebook page so I can see what you recommend.  

Have a fabulous weekend!!

3 Month-ish Quick Fixes

Whew!!  It's almost Friday!  Thank goodness because it has been a smokin' hot, super busy week around here, and I'm beyond ready to celebrate The Babe's 1st birthday!

Speaking of her birthday, we've made some additional progress in her room.  Last night, we finished painting the 2nd coat of paint on the walls and this morning I got all the outlet covers reinstalled.  We're going to have family in town for the weekend, so having a deadline certainly helped force me into action.  I'm feeling mighty good that we have all the painting done and it is getting time for the fun stuff.  Yesterday, I also cut all of the curtain liners and one of the actual curtain panels.  I also ironed and pinned it, so I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about the next dreaded task of sewing.

Sometimes when things get so busy and overwhelming, though, I feel the need to knock out a quick project so I can have instant gratification. I'm one of those impatient types, and I have always been that way much to Mr. Man's sadness.  I can even remember my dad telling me when I was very little to be more patient..."good things comes to he who waits", "we'll cross that bridge when we come to it", etc.  Unfortunately, despite everyone's best efforts to reform me, I'm still impatient but at least I'm busting it and getting things done.  RIGHT?!

Which leads me into one of my quick, gotta do it now projects.  Back in April when the tornado hit, our backyard took the brunt of it.  We had a bunch of super tall pine trees crash into the house and patio area.  You can see a picture of the damage below (you can also click on it to make it larger).  Well since then, we've been super busy trying to repair it all.  Thankfully the house is done and we've chipped away at all of the exterior repairs. Some of the main things we've done include repairing the broken fence sections, replacing all the landscape lighting, planting new flowers and buying new patio furniture and a grill.

I guess three months of repair work isn't exactly quick, but the latest project I finished got completed in about 2 days.  :)

If you can't tell from the before pictures above, the rear steps leading onto the patio were damaged beyond repair.  We hired the construction of new, wider steps out to a local contractor and once he was finished building them...it was my turn!  

New, wider steps allow for easier entry into the house

I headed out to Home Depot to pick up some wood stain and decided on a nice "dark gray" color from the Behr line.  Ummm, seriously the name was "dark gray".  How very creative, huh?  

I thought it would pick up on the colors from the stamped concrete patio nicely and add a little something special.  What do you think?   Here it is all stained up and ready to go!

I liked the color, but I didn't love it.  So, I decided I couldn't stop with just one color.  So, why not make every other step on the top landing a different color?  I chose white since it would match the house, and I thought it would weather nicely and eventually get worn into a well loved detail that kind of looks like a rug.

Now, I love it.  :)  And that's the end of my super quick transformation on the steps!  I also wanted to give you a quick peek at our backyard and patio area since I haven't really blogged about that since the tornado.  I have a few projects out there I would love to blog about soon, but we'll see how things go with The Babe's room.  Who knows..I may even find a few more quick projects to knock out just to keep me motivated!

So, what do you think?  Love or hate the stripes?  Also, surely I'm not alone in my quest for quick fixes?  I would love to hear some of your stories!

Thanks for reading and have an amazing Thursday!  I'm going to head back upstairs and continue cutting out curtains!  Thank goodness for nap time!

How Do I Love Thee?

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  Hope you're having a great week so far!

I've been making very slow progress in The Babe's room this week....meaning I pretty much haven't done anything.  I've been thinking about things quite a bit and buying a few things here and there, but I certainly haven't broken a sweat.  I guess this is the uglier side of blogging "real time", but it's real life and sometimes you feel like "doin" and sometimes you just don't.

Now, I haven't been totally lazy around here, though.  I have been shopping!  :)  Yesterday, The Babe and I dropped some donations off at Goodwill and also made a few basket / container purchases.  A couple of these will definitely make their way into her room once I spruce them up a bit.  We also went to Lowe's and bought another gallon of paint for her room (I totally underestimated how much we would need), and then we casually dropped into our local Home Goods Store.  Which means I lost another hour of potential productivity because I had to go up and down every. single. aisle.

Ohhh Home Goods how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.  I love you for your lamps, your chairs, your mirrors, your random assortment of future clutter...blah, blah, blah.  Have I mentioned I love Home Goods?  AND yesterday they totally didn't disappoint in the lamp department.  They hardly ever do, but I had a hard time not buying a bunch, especially since all the lovelies below were less than $40.

I had an especially hard time saying no to the three lamps on the far left, but since I didn't know exactly where they would go in The Babe's room I didn't get anything...yet.  BUT, now I have an idea where the lamps may go!  Which leads me into my next big update.

I've been stalking Craig and his list pretty hard over the last day or two in search of the perfect new dresser for The Babe's room.  I had been hoping to find a mid-century modern piece, but I wasn't finding much in the way of quality for the money I was willing to spend (surprise, surprise).  When we got back from our afternoon of shopping, though, I found a new listing for an antique sideboard.  The list price was $175 and I liked the lines from what I saw online.  I emailed the seller and found out she lived 0.9 miles from me!  A sign?  Yes, I think so.  When The Babe woke up from her nap, we went to see it in person, and I immediately knew it was the one.  Plus, the seller agreed to drop the price to $100!  Ummm, yes, I'll take it.

Mr. Man was not harmed in the taking of this photo.  He's just annoyed.  :)

So, it doesn't have the clean lines of a mid-century piece, but I think it's charming nonetheless.  I'm hoping to funkify it a bit with paint, so we'll see where I end up.  I have been searching through Pinterest for inspiration and if you have any thoughts on what color I should paint it (keeping in mind the wall and fabric colors), let me know!!  I'm struggling between a basic distressed white finish or going all out with a bolder color.  What says you?

I'm hoping to get up the nerve to start cutting and pinning fabric today for the curtains.  Wish me luck and lots of motivation!

Introspective: Week 7

Today, I'm keeping busy making plans for The Babe's room and her birthday this weekend, so I'm going to post a quick photo that I truly love.

I took this in Sydney, Australia almost two years ago and it's been one of my favorite images ever since. When I look at it, I always wonder whether this man and woman were meeting or if they were simply strangers I happened to capture.  If they were meeting, what were they going to talk about?  Surely it must have been something super important and deep.  Anyway, I just love looking at this photo and getting transported back into this scene.  Sydney is one of the most amazing places I've ever visited, and I would love to go back someday.  So for all of my Aussie friends, g'day and I'll never forget your hospitality and hilarity (ahem...budgie smugglers!).

Project Launch - The Babe's Room!

Hi everyone!  Hope you had a great weekend!

Things around our house were certainly busy.  We celebrated the birthdays of three fabulous kiddos this weekend, and we're also getting ready for The Babe's first birthday next weekend.  So, lots of celebrating around here!  We also officially started the transformation of The Babe's future room.  If you remember from a previous post, we are redoing her room as part of her birthday present.

When we moved in last year, I was super pregnant and we had zero time to actually prepare a nursery for her.  So, this is kind of a do-over on that, and we're having a blast.  In the spirit of keeping it fun for her, though, she's also getting this super cool play kitchen.  But, let's just keep that between us.  I'd hate to ruin her surprise.  Good thing she can't read yet, too, huh?  ;)

Now, let's move on to her room makeover!  I'm going to blog this project in real-time.  So, you'll actually get to see how long it takes to pull it all together.  I have a grand plan for the room, but I also have lots of DIY projects planned that are going to take some time.  So, I'm not promising this room is going to be done soon.  I also think The Babe is starting to transition to one nap a day instead of two, so that's going to throw a wrench (pun intended!) in my productivity.

Here's what the current guest room / soon to be Babe's room looked like earlier this morning.  YAWN!  This room is boooooring, but it has good bones.  I love the detail in the dormer window area + it's big.  Hello fun reading / lounging nook!  Goodbye gold light fixtures and peachy-beige walls.

The Babe's Room : BEFORE

And here's the plan for The Babe's future room.

So, what do you think?  I really think it's going to be a fun space for her to grow up in... Lots of color, girly but modern, and hopefully interesting enough to spark her own creativity (just not with crayons on the wall...fingers crossed!).

Now that you've seen the plan, here's what we've actually done so far:
1) FABRIC:  I already have the fabric, along with blackout liner, but I am trying to put together a plan / get up the nerve to sew the curtains myself.  I'll be making a trip up to my mom's next week to get her sewing machine and hopefully get a lesson on how in the world to do this.  I had some great pointers from a friend, but I'm still nervous to tackle this on my own with $150 worth of fabric!  Have I mentioned I've never used a sewing machine before?  I just want to go on the record now to say that I'm pretty sure this part of the project is going to take me forever, and I'm probably going to cry at least three times because of it.  There I've said it, I think I'm crazy for trying this on my own, but hopefully it will go okay.

2) DIY Alphabet Artwork:  I finished creating her alphabet artwork, but I need to get it printed and framed.  I plan on painting the frame a funky color, too.

3) DIY Curtain Rod:  I have the parts for the curtain rod, but this one will be a post all its own because of the drama I had in getting the right size and finalizing a plan for hanging it.  Mr. Man and I have already had a "disagreement" about it.  Ahhh, the drama.

4) PAINT:  The paint has been selected and we've done one coat!  One more coat to go!  Oh and point #4 is better with a pic of The Babe helping select her paint color.  How excited does she look?!  :)  Love it.

5) DRESSER:  I've found a couple of dressers on Craiglist that I like, and I've emailed the owners about them.  Hopefully, one of them will work out!  I need a dresser to also serve as her diaper changing table since I don't want to move her current dresser.

So, that's all the progress we've made so far!  Wish me luck as we finish up our final week with a less than one year old, and we continue work on her new bedroom!

Did you do anything fun this weekend or start any new projects?  I would love to see what you've been up to...just leave me a comment or do a quick post on Facebook.  AND if you have any encouraging words on the whole sewing / curtain drama...please, please make me feel better.  :)

Have a great Monday, folks, and thanks for reading!

It's Not A Secret Anymore! :)

Hi there, everyone!  Are you glad it's Friday??  I know I sure am!  To get the weekend kicked off around here, I'm going to do some laundry, clean up the house and go to a kids consignment sale.  Sounds like loads of fun, huh?  Errrr, maybe not... But at least it's Friday!

Speaking of Friday, I realize it's time I let the cat out of the bag!  If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can click here.  If you already know I have a secret, indulge me by laughing at this picture and then scroll on down for the big reveal.

The cat coming out of the bag (Source)

Sooooo, the big secret that I've been beyond thrilled to announce is that I landed my first guest spot on a blog!  Okay, don't get mad at me.  I realize the only person this thrills beyond belief is me, but I'm way excited and want to thank each one of you for the support you've given the blog so far!  Every visit you make means so much and gives me the inspiration to keep doing and keep writing.  Seriously, I wouldn't be anywhere near as productive if I didn't have my virtual support network.  So, THANK YOU!

Without further delay, please hop on over to Michell's blog, Girl In Air, to see my guest post!

Click here to go to my guest post!

Have a fabulous weekend!!!!

Flea Market = Fail

So, it's T-minus 1 day until I share my big secret with you... What it could be?  Any guesses out there, folks?  I know you're all waiting on pins and needles, so I thought I would share an update with you on my flea market visit this past Saturday in the meantime.  Maybe it can help fill the gap until tomorrow.  ;)

Way back in April, I wrote a post about how I was dying to go to the Raleigh Flea Market.  If you missed it, you can read about it here.  Well, after a couple months of drama and other commitments, we finally made it this past Saturday.  I happily woke everyone up early, got the crew fed and we were out the door by 9 AM.  Miracle.  Anywho, once we got there, I tried to come up with a strategic plan for visiting all of the booths without missing any treasures, and the first thing we came across that caught my eye was this chicken coop.  

Mr. Man thought it was a lobster pot, which I am sure would have fetched more $$$.  I was kind of nervous to ask the price, being that I'm a flea market newbie and all, so I persuaded Mr. Man to ask for me.  :)  They wanted $60 buckaroos for a crate of wood that chickens have pooped in.  Ummmmm, no thank you.  As much as I would have liked to use it as a coffee table, I just don't have it in me for that kind of money.  If it would have been a bit cheeper (hehehehe!), I would have picked it up and made it into something like this from The Lettered Cottage.  They got this one for $28, and, of course, refinished it.

Source, The Lettered Cottage

I was also on the lookout for some crates, and I found these from a seller that was using them as part of his display.  I thought for sure I could get a good deal from him, but he wanted $25 bucks per crate.  I wasn't willing to spend that much, since I would need at least 8 of them for the project I envision.  I've also looked on Ebay a bit and I think $25 is a somewhat reasonable price, I just can't quite stomach it.  So, if you find some cheaper crates for me, we'll party with the savings!

If the price would have been a bit lower, though, I would have totally scooped them up and started working on my shelving unit like this one.

Source

I also found this super cute pig thingy.  :)  That's an official name!  Anyway, I loved it and thought it would make such an unexpected statement in our guest bathroom downstairs or even in a kitchen.  But, I flaked out on the price again.  $15 seemed a bit steep for a glorified towel holder.  

I also came across this vintage Orange Crush sign (over on the far left) that I thought would be perfect above our doorway leading into the dining room.  I really liked the colors and the vibe.  Got any guesses how much this bad boy was?  I'll give you a minute to think about it, then you can scroll down to the caption for the answer.

Ready for the answer?  If you guessed, $150 you're right.
I obviously didn't get it because Mr. Man
would not have been very happy with me.  

So, those were some of my favorite flea market finds.  I have to tell you, though, I was pretty disappointed.  A lot of the furniture that I saw had already been hastily refinished, and the sellers were asking way more money than I expected.  I totally get that you're supposed to negotiate with them, but I just thought their first price was super high and that I could never get them down to what I would consider a "good deal".  I also just want to clarify what I mean by hastily refinished.  On some of the pieces, I actually could smell the fresh paint and see drips.  Not good.  

I guess I came away with a respect for the flea market.  If you went every week, you're bound to get lucky and find some real treasures....eventually.  BUT, I just don't have that kind of commitment or patience.  I think I'll stick to Craigslist or yard sales.  I think the odds of finding better pieces for less money are higher in these places.  Maybe I'm wrong, but for now, I think I'm over my flea market obsession.

So, tell me what you think.  Do you like going to flea markets?  Have you found some great finds at amazing prices?  I would love to hear your thoughts, even if you disagree with my assessment.  I honestly hope I was just there on an off week!

Hope you all have a great Thursday, and I'll be back tomorrow with the dish on my big secret!  :)  

Introspective: Week 6

This photo of elephant seals was taken at Piedras Blancas along the Central Coast of California last April.  Mr. Man and I were vacationing before The Babe was born, and we had such an amazing time.  We spent a couple of mornings with these lovely animals at sunrise and were all alone with them on the beach.  It's so interesting how the animals congregate together on land, but they are solitary at sea.  You can read more about these amazing animals here.  

I have a secret!

Happy Hump Day everybody!  Thanks for stopping by the blog!

It has been a crazy week around here.  The Babe is just settling in for her afternoon nap, and I finally have a couple of minutes to post.  Things have been moving at a million miles an hour since I have so many different projects going on all at once!  BUT, I'm enjoying the high energy!

The biggest things I've been working on are getting all of the projects lined up for The Babe's room.  As I mentioned here, I'm going to be designing our guest room so The Babe can move in as part of her birthday present.  This is my first total room makeover since moving in the house, so the project list is a mile long.  Here are some of the things I'm working on:

• Bought the curtain fabric and blackout drapery lining
• Getting ready for a lunch date with a friend tomorrow to learn all her tips and tricks for curtain making
• Picked a paint color for the room and bought a gallon - this makes me smile
• Cleaning up the guest room since it was a disaster
• Taking pictures of the guest room so I can show you what it looks like in its current state 
• Making some custom alphabet artwork
• Coming up with a plan and buying components for the industrial strength curtain rod I'm going to be using.  The Babe and I actually just got back from doing this, and it went really well.  Once I stopped muttering numbers to myself trying to figure out the exact dimensions I needed.  Here's a quick pic I grabbed of the FREE! pipe threading and cutting station we took full advantage of!

In addition to everything going on in The Babe's room, I've also been staining our deck and getting ready to reveal a big secret to you on Friday!   That's right, I just told you I have a secret, but I'm going to make you wait two days to figure out what it is.  :)  

Anywho, I'll be back tomorrow with some more specific project updates!  Until then, please stop by these fabulous blogs that were sweet enough to feature the upcycled chandelier project.  These ladies are simply fabulous and their projects always turn out beautifully.

Click **HERE** to view the feature on The Inspired Room and **HERE** to view the feature on Suburbs Mama.

Just Say No To OSHA

If you're a Facebook fan of The Tall Chick, then you already know the chandelier is hung in its forever place.  Let me repeat...It is hung in its forever place.  I am never touching that light fixture again, for a couple of reasons.  Reason #1, I love it.  Reason #2, I'm not willing to risk my life again.

So, what do I mean by risking my life and the post title, "just say no to OSHA"?  Well, let's just say that this Tall Chick miscalculated exactly how tall she was and how tall our ladders were.  I grossly undercalculated and once we had cut the new hole in the stairwell to get the light to hang perfectly in the center (because the original light was at the top of the stairs), we didn't have a ladder that was tall enough.  Imagine that!  Me miscalculate!?!?  You all know how much I love math!  Hmph!

Anywho, once we realized the ladder wouldn't reach and we now had TWO holes in our ceiling, desperation set in.  I refused to take no for an answer despite Mr. Man's pleas about The Babe needing her mother and how it just wasn't worth it.  I just shook my head, said whatever, and begged Mr. Man to hold the ladder while I did this.

Please join me in laughing at the title of the
 top book, Stand Up For Your Life.  :)

That's right folks, I used books to hold up my ladder.  Brilliantly stupid.  If you can't tell from the picture, basically I had to prop up one side on books to bring it level with the other side.  This allowed me to climb up and reach the tip-top of the ceiling in the middle of the stairwell.  We tried a million other ladder combinations before I hit rock bottom and did this, but it worked.  And I survived.  And the light works.  And The Babe still has her momma :)  But, it was sooo not OSHA approved.  Don't tell.

Before we got to all the ladder drama, though, we had to move the ceiling box.  Here's a quick series of pictures to help guide you through how we did this.  Basically, we reused all of the ceiling box components and just cut a new hole in ceiling directly in the middle of the stairwell.  We had to add some electrical line onto the existing, but it was easy to join it up in a new junction box.  I won't bore you with the step-by-step, but if you're curious how to do this yourself, you can look up some easy directions here or email me and I'll give you the 4-1-1.

Once we got the light box moved, it was time to install the light.  This is when the project stalled for one night while we contemplated how we were going to reach the top of the ceiling.  Neither one of us came up with any cheap ideas, so enter Harry Potter's magical books.  :)  This is what the light looked like once we finally got it installed.

Finally installed!  Only one more step to go!

From the beginning of this project, I had been contemplating a creative way to cover the old chain and electrical wires without using paint.  I finally decided that I would make a chain cover out of coordinating fabric.  It was super easy and here are a few quick pictures!  Basically, I just cut fabric twice the length of the chain (so it would be scrunchy) and then hemmed it with iron on hem tape and then applied velcro so it can be removed later if needed.

Once I got the cord cover ready, it was time to head back up the ladder.  I also changed out the light bulbs to these slightly funkier round bulbs.  I love these so much more than the traditional candle shapes.  

So after risking life and limb for my $30 chandelier, it's done.  So take that OSHA!  We did it!  :)  And now I have to take one more minute to celebrate with this before and after.

I don't know about you, but I'm glad this project is over!  I think I'm going to take it easy for a couple of days; Momma needs a break!

Have you ever risked life and limb for a home project?  If you have, let me know I'm not alone!  :)

PS - If you're a new reader and missed the complete project tutorial including costs, click **here**!  Please also become a Facebook **fan** so you get all the latest updates from The Tall Chick!

Linked up @:  Home Stories A to Z, Coastal Charm, House of Grace, Hope Studios, Our House of Joyful Noise, Tater Tots & Jello, Not Just a Housewife, Sassy Sites, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe,  Polly Want A Crafter, Debbiedoos, Dittle Dattle, Tattered Tag, Centsational Girl, Under The Table & Dreaming, The DIY Showoff, Between Naps On The Porch, Saavy Southern Style, Someday Crafts, Lil Luna, Sugar & Dots, Shabby Chic Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Finding Fabulous, Remodelaholic, Stuff & Nonsense, At The Picket Fence, French Country Cottage, Hodge Podge Life, Spunky Junky, Tater Tots & Jello, Beneath My Heart, House of Hepworths, Under The Table & Dreaming

       

We Moved Over The Weekend :)

Just wanted to do a quick post to officially announce that the blog has moved from the previous blogspot address to www.thetallchickblog.com.

Your browser should automatically redirect you, but if you have any issues at all, please send an email to thetallchickblog@gmail.com!

I would love to see that you've made the move with us, so if you haven't liked The Tall Chick on Facebook yet, please click "like" over in that Facebook box on the right side of your screen!  :)  And if you've already done that, THANK YOU for being a friend Golden Girl style.  Gosh, I loved that show!!

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My New Pals @ B2B

Meet my new friends...  Holly, Shauna and Jay.  They have a lovely business called Business 2 Blogger, B2B in short.  B2B is basically a collaborative effort between bloggers and businesses and, hopefully, by working together they can create a win-win for everyone involved.

As a blogger, B2B sends you opportunities for compensated blogging.  They basically refer businesses to you, and hopefully you can work together for the better good!  There are lots of different ways you can work together.  For partnership examples, click here.  I find the charity category particularly intriguing!

As a business, B2B connects you with bloggers in complementary categories.  Then, the blogger helps promote your products and / or services.  The business simply compensates the blogger in some way, and the partnership blossoms from there.

I know I'm excited to be partnering with the B2B team.  If you're a fellow blogger or business owner, please go check them out and consider joining, too!

Introspective: Week 5

Photo taken April 2010 during our babymoon visit to Big Sur, California and Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  We are expecting guests, so I'll be spending today getting the house clean and recuperating from my harrowing chandelier installation last night.  More to come on that next week!  :)

Someday When I Grow Up

Do you ever find yourself swooning over dream house worthy pictures?  Like literally sitting on your couch pretending to be walking through the pictures on your screen and imagining what it would be like to actually sit on that comfy chair or wash your hands in the fabulous bathroom sink after using the loo?   ;) 

If you are a dreamer, like me...  THANK YOU for making me feel less crazy!  Because I've literally been sitting here for the last half hour looking at these pictures and wanting to live in this house.  If only for a day or even a night.

Someday when I grow up, I want to live in a house with style like this.  And I want it to be perched overlooking the calm waters of a bay.  And I want a hammock in the moss covered oaks out by the dock.  Ahhh, to dream.  Before you get lost in these images, though, please know someone does live in this fabulous New England house and her name is Joan from over at For The Love Of A House.

I love black front doors.  Especially chunky
doors like this.  And that blue porch ceiling.  I die.

I love the casual feel of this eat-in kitchen.  Wouldn't
you love a cup of coffee or tea sitting there warming yourself
by the fireplace?  I swear I can smell the cookies, too.

The other side of the kitchen is just as fabulous.
I love the countertops, the cabinets...
ummm...everything!

I'll be washing my hands at this amazing vanity.  I bet
she has lavender soap, too.

This is the image that captivated me and stole my heart.  A comfortable
chair in the bathroom.  With a for real rug.  And a pillow.
And a corner shower.  PERFECTION.

I just had to share these images with you....  The style of this house isn't necessarily the way I decorate my current home, but the feeling I got from these images just beckoned to me.  I could so see myself decorating this way a few years from now.  You know, when I can actually peruse the Paris Flea Market like Joan.  :)  Until then, I'm going to head back upstairs to work on my next project.  In my house in the suburbs.  With a kiddie pool instead of a bay.  :)

Do you have a dream house idea or images that inspire you?  I would love to see them and know that you can be equally swept away!