The Never Ending Projects.

Hello!

Here I am again.  Sam is down for a nap.  Well, he is suppose to be anyway.  He is in there talking and grunting to himself.  I can't believe my baby turns 5 months tomorrow.  That will have to be a whole different blog post.  :)

First of all I want to say THANK YOU to Sherry over atwww.thriftmyhouse.blogspot.com for giving me a warm welcome into blog land, and a shout out!  She really is the sweetest!  Thank you everyone for the sweet comments on my last post. You all made my day! And how exciting to have comments!!!   Love!  Sherry's blog is absolutely gorgeous.  Her pictures are beautiful, and so inviting!  I want to go live in her house!  So if you haven't already, make sure you go check her out!

Where to begin. I feel like there are so many projects going on over here.  And they are all taking FOREVER and a day to finish.  Mainly, due to a little Mr. that dictates our time. We always joke around we are on Sam O'clock.  The main project we hubs has been working on, is the bathroom counter top.  The girls' bathroom is in desperate need of a makeover and one of the last rooms we have pretty much not given any attention too.  When we first got the keys,  it was painted, and the cabinetry was painted, and knobs replaced.  That's about it.  I painted it a really pale yellow. I quickly grew tired of it. As with most things. And about 2 years ago painted it gray.  Which of course, I love. And we replaced the faucet.  Even with those things, it just wasn't enough.  I think we both just kept ignoring it because of the amount of work we know it's going to take.
About 2 months ago, I got a wild hair and couldn't take it anymore.  I showed the hubs a few pins I had found on Pinterest about cementing over existing countertops.  We weren't sure it would work, because our sink is attached to the countertop. It's all one big slab of cultured yellow marble.  Ick.  The more I researched the more I found out it would be fine.  We would just have to seal it really well.  I thought it would be done in a weekend.  HA HA HA! Not.  It has taken 2 months so far.  Mainly because of that little cutie pie I mentioned above.  And his bedroom is near the bathroom, which makes it hard to work when he is down for a nap... Nobody wants to wake up a sleeping baby!
So here is what it looked like when we started:

Yup. Ugly.  You can see the sink has cracks in it, and it's just an over all ugly countertop. Who wants yellow swirl?  I don't.  Hubs sanded it down, and prepped it for it's first coat of Henry Fine Feather cement, which can be found at Home Depot.  

Here it is after one coat. It looks like a hot mess!  

Scary huh?  I was totally freaking out at this point.  But I was trying to play it cool, and told the hubs.. It's suppose to look like that.  

After a few more coats and lots of sanding in between: 

It's finally coming together!  Right now we are just touching up some spots.  Every time we sand, it starts to show thru to the countertop, so then we put more cement on, and repeat.  So it's just a matter of getting it perfect right now.  But I can't wait to see it finished!  I contemplated stenciling before sealing, but I think I would get tired of it.  Plus, I want to paint the cement floor, and stencil on that. So I think that would be too much stenciling.  

The other project I took on this weekend, was painting our dark hallway cabinetry.  

Ick.  We have a long hallway, and all of it is filled with this.  I started tackling this project 3 years ago, ( yes you read that right.)  And I stopped because it was time consuming lol. I actually hate painting, but love the outcome. But I started to feel overwhelmed because there is is just so many of them.  I figured if I just tackle 4 doors at a time, it'll be ok, right?  I have the trim, and the top two doors done ( white).  I will start the bottom two tomorrow.  It's looking better already! Can't wait to share the finished look to these as well!  Still debating on what color the knobs should be.  Silver, Gold, or ORB.  Any opinions?  

Ignore the ugly blue carpet you see.  The whole house was covered in this when we moved in.  This is the part of the house that hasn't had much work done to it.  The rest of the flooring needs to be laid, baseboards are off, ect... It's a mess.  Hopefully we will get it taken care of soon!  

I hope by the next post you will get to see the finished photos!  Stay tuned! 

And on that note, I need to go make dinner.  The kids have voted chocolate chip pancakes and eggs.  I'm not one to argue over that. :)  I hope you all are having a great week!  

xoxo Lisa

MIA

So it's been awhile.  I apologize.  When I first started the blog I was all " oh i'll post like 2-3 times a week, i'll be really good about it, and not fall behind... " HA HA HA.  Life kinda got in the way.  Whenever I would think about possibly start writing something, I would either:
A) Opt for a nap
B) Opt for a nap OR
C) Opt for a nap

Sam makes me tired.  I'm too old to have anymore babies.  I don't remember feeling this tired all the time with the other 3 kids.  Hubs and I have come to the conclusion that he's gonna get the snip snip. We be DONE.  D-O-N-E.  That ship has sailed.  We were talking this morning and one of the main reasons we decided to be done, is when Sam is graduating high school, I'll be 53 and Hubs 55.  That is SO OLD.  I also remember thinking when I was 20, that 36 was SO OLD.  So that was a major ramble about basically nothing.  This is me warming up to writing a blog post.

So.... I started an IG account.  And for those peeps out there that don't know what IG is, it's Instagram.  I started it about a month ago. I wanted to connect with some fellow peeps who also love to decorate.  Oh. My. Word.  I found my people!  And then some.  Most everyone has been so very nice.  But it's so hard not to feel overwhelmed.  SO. MANY. PRETTY. THINGS.  and full of so many talented people.  I started to feel like a fly on a wall. And even had doubts that I wasn't good enough to post on there.  I started talking negatively to myself... " your pictures aren't good enough, your decor isn't right, your house is a mess, I need to buy more stuff...ect... " the list goes on and on.  I'll be the first to admit.  I'm on a budget.  We are a large family, and well, there isn't much to spend on home decor. If I could I would forgo grocery shopping monthly just to buy one of everything from Target.  But sadly, that's not possible.  A lot of my items come from thrift stores, clearance sections, and dollar spots.  It's really hard sometimes too see these BEAUTIFUL photos of peoples homes and not feel envious.  I had to step away for a bit and realize, I'm doing the best that I can do, with our budget, and it's something I enjoy doing. The minute it becomes a chore, or job, then it's not fun anymore. If i'm having fun with it, who cares if no one likes it.  I like it.  So there. So I shall post my to my little hearts content.  And if you would like to follow me on there,  I would love it!  Shameless plug: www.intstagram.com  Search: Thethriftedhouse. Mmmkay? thanks. :)

I recently posted a picture on IG about a Fall tablescape I had done.  I was pretty proud of it.  As it only costed me about $35.  Here is my budget friendly tables cape:

So here is a little bit of a break down of the cost... Those bowls and plates are from the Dollar Tree. The vase holding the Indian Corn, was .50 cents from a yard sale.  The pumpkins are from the grocery store.. I believe 3 for $6.  The cute little sign was on sale for $5 at Hob Lobs.  LOVE Hobby Lobby.  So was that cute little wicker tray.  They always have good sales.  Most of the time things are 50% off, or you can use their 40% off coupon on their app.  The candles were from the dollar store as well.  Oh and that runner was $5 at Hob Lobs too.  That tin bucket was from Cost Plus years ago, and I honestly don't remember how much it was, but I know it wasn't expensive. And the little plant that was in it was a couple bucks from Michaels. I have a towel rolled up on the bottom so it sits up higher and makes it look bigger than it is. :) The only thing that wasn't bought on sale, was the cake stand. Altho it was thrifted,  it was $15 at a flea market type store.  But I've seen them all over the place for cheaper.  I'm in the process of sewing some placemats for Thanksgiving.  I'll post those when i'm finished. :) 

Here's a little bit of my other favorite Fall decor around the house.  If you know me in real life, you know i'm obsessed   love vintage pyrex.  And I have quite the stash.  So I've been having fun decorating with that.  I really wish I had a place to display all my pieces.  Ive been keeping my eye open on Craigslist, looking for just the perfect piece.  So hopefully it will find me soon.

Hubs bought me this set for our Anniversary 3 years ago over on the Coast.  I love it today as much as I did then.. oh and hims too. :)  

I don't have the complete set of bowls in this pattern but I wish I did. I'm missing the smallest nest bowl.  But I love this print, and it's perfect for Fall.  I have to say I was pretty proud of this photo.  I have a hard time with making vignettes.  It's not my strong point.  But I feel like i'm getting better at it.  I was laying in bed wracking my brain, on where to photograph this photo.  I was wanting to do it on a chair, and I was so desperately wishing I had a ladder back chair.  Which silly me forgot I had one at my kitchen table. You know, the chair the kids fight over who DOESN'T sit in it.  I have to say it's not the most coziest chair, but I love how it looks. I was pretty excited to use the rung to hang my kitchen towel.  Loving the gray and yellow to gather, and of course the Pyrex.  And the white and the rust together.  So yup. I am tooting my own horn.  :)  

And on that note.  Sam is just waking up from a nap, and is needing my assistance.  lol.  And then there's dinner to be made, and baths to be taken, and home work to work on.  It's never ending.  So until next time...