Love Nest Update!

 

Hey guys—I’m still alive! Just buried under a mountain of boxes…

We’re moving on Saturday and I still have LOTS to do!  I think subconsciously I’ve been putting off packing because it means that this move is real.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m super excited about our upcoming move to Taiwan, but I’m still sad to say goodbye to this sweet little apartment.  It has been Dave and my first house together.  So many memories…but that’s a tale for another day.

 

Now onto the progress in our love nest.  (You can see the first installment of pics here).

96% of the work is being done by my brother-in-law, Alan, who is gutting the bathroom.  He stripped the room down to the studs and has been doing all the work by himself. I can’t say enough of how amazed I am at this guy.  He and my sister did a gut job on their kitchen as well, and most of it he learned by checking out books from the library.  Are.you.kidding.me?  You can see pics of their kitchen and some of the bathroom at their blog, All Things to Allmen.

My small contribution has been painting, and I finally finished what will be our bedroom.

and…

 

I still need to paint all the trim and the door.  Here’s a quick (and really bad) photo shop mock up of what it will look like when I finish tonight:

 

I have never painted a room with so many crazy angles.  I was essentially bent over backward for most of the time painting (and have the sore back to prove it!) 

And now onto the bathroom (can I repeat that I am NOT doing any of the bathroom work, it’s all my bro-in-law so you wont find any how-to’s here. Sorry!)

 

A quick refresher of what it looked like before:

 

Here’s our new tub (which I think is being installed as I type this—woot woot!)

 

The new vanity…

 

…and the oh-so-important toilet.

 

My sister found boxes of tile at a community garage sale and brought home these different varieties for only $5 a box!  She got more than enough tile to tile the walls of the shower, and the floor.  Score!

 

 

For the walls of the shower this white tile will be used and laid out in a subway style…

 

…and we’ll use this beautiful slate grey tile for the floor.

 

Here are some in-the-middle-of-construction photos for ya:

 

 

 

Here’s a shot of my sister new landlord standing next to the window her hubby installed

 

That’s all for now!

I’m off to try and prepare dinner with only small picnic-type plastic utensils.  Since we’ve already sold most of our kitchen stuff I’ve had to improvise in the kitchen lately. I warmed up my coffee this morning in a saucepan on the stove!

Next time I post I’ll officially be a Northsider—crazy!! (to all of you Chicagoans, you know what it means to move from Sox territory to Cubs territory).

Trade School session #10- Get your paint on!

 

Hey friends! Time for another Trade School session—I can’t believe we’re already at number 10!  As I mentioned yesterday, things are just a little bit crazy around here (I hope you’re catching the sarcasm there) so I’m so happy to have Heidi from All That Brings Joy taking the reigns.  Her post is for all of you out there who see awesome DIY painting projects on other blogs and think “I couldn’t do that.”  She’s hear to tell you “Yes you can!”  And if you’re a pro-painter she even has some different painting tips that you’ll find helpful.  Enjoy!

 

Hey everyone!! I'm Heidi from All That Brings Joy. I'm so excited and honored to be writing my first guest post ever for Sarah and her Trade School Tuesdays!!

On my blog I write about all the things that bring joy to my life but mainly I focus on my passion, PAINTING. Every time I pick up a brush to get started on a new project I get a total rush. Turning something from old and ugly to new and beautiful is so much fun!

But sometimes and for some people just the act of picking up the brush can seem scary and daunting. If I want to try out a new technique and am unsure of how exactly to do it I might just put it off for weeks out of fear. Has this happened to you? Do you have a piece of furniture at home that you'd love to paint but are letting fear stop you from ever doing it?

Well I have a small, inexpensive project just for you to help you get over that fear and feel comfortable enough with that paint brush in your hand to take on that dresser/side table/whatever!!

Stop by your local thrift store or even search your house and get together a few wood picture frames. The chunkier the better! I got these three for about $3.00 each at a thrift store by me called Savers.

Now get yourself a paintbrush and some paint. I like to use the Purdy XL Cub paint brush available at Home Depot for about $11.00, but if you're just going to be doing some frames a cheaper one will do the job just fine. I have to say though, if you're planning on eventually doing a piece of furniture I'd suggest getting yourself a nice brush, it's worth the money!!

For the paint you can get the very small sample sized paints at home depot for a few dollars or even check out the oops! cart for even cheaper ones!

Then get painting!! Use these frames to get comfortable with paint and paint brushes. Don't be scared, if it's a disaster it was only a $3.oo frame and you'll still have plenty of paint to try again!! :)

I used these frames to try out a few different techniques that I've been a little nervous about. The first one I wanted to try highlighting with a white washed effect. I painted the whole frame blue then mixed a little water in with some white paint and used a cloth and a mini art brush to wipe it on.

I of course did some distressing too, nothing looks complete to me until it has been distressed. Just rip off a small piece of fine sandpaper (I bet your husband has some in the garage) and rub it on the edges and corners. Do as little or as much as you want!!

On the second frame I painted the whole thing white then attempted to dry brush over it with some gray. Meaning I barely got any gray on my brush then dabbed on a paper towel before lightly brushing it over the white. I think I still got too much gray on it to really say it was dry brushed and maybe I should have started with gray and then put the white over it but oh well, only $3.00!!! ;)

This next picture is more accurate to what the gray looks like, don't know why the first one looks so tan!!

For the third frame I wanted to try out a new color green I bought. It's bright and was making me nervous about committing to using it on an entire dresser but sure enough with some dark wax over it I'm loving the color!!

 

So there you go, if you're brand new to painting and just the thought of picking up that brush is scaring you just go for it and paint one frame with one color. Get used to how the brush feels in your hand and how the paint glides on the wood. The more comfortable you get with your paint and brush the more likely you'll be to finally get around to painting that piece of furniture you've always wanted to do!!

And in the mean time you'll have made some nice accessories to use around the house!

I hope my post helps you and that you're feeling inspired to go pick up that paint brush!!

(the graphics in the first two frames were printed from The Graphics Fairy)

(I used Annie Sloan Chalk Paint on all three frames, the 1st is a mixture of provence and antibes green with highlighting done in old white, the 2nd is old white with french linen over it, the 3rd is antibes green with dark wax)

 

Thanks, Ms. Heidi!  I really loved your lesson today and can attest to the joy of buying $3.00 frames and fixing them up.  There’s something just so delightfully magical about taking something not-so-pretty and dressing it up with paint!

Ok, your homework is pretty easy this week!  Just take a pic of something you painted this week (doesn’t have to be a frame), email it to me, and you’ll get a gold star and a feature here on Adventures of Our Fami-Ly.

Happy painting!

Breaking up is hard to do…

 

Ok, I know that I’m not supposed to be attached to my earthly possessions.  I know that.

 

I know that we’re supposed to store up our treasures in heaven, and not on earth.

¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew: 6:19-21

 

 

But I still felt a distinct sadness when I saw so many of my things laid out on a table with small purple, green, and yellow stickers on them this past weekend.

 

I still felt that twinge of anger when someone asked for a “bargain price” on the very possessions that I have come to love.

 

You see, these branches that most would overlook, were used as the centerpiece at our place card table at our wedding.

They have a deep, special meaning to me and I’ve had to say goodbye to them.

 

And see the plain red and black bowl below?  My mom bought it for me many years ago.  It’s the very bowl where I’ve eaten countless servings of soup on chilly Chicago nights, and savored many a leftover.

Will someone else love it as much as I have?

 

In this whole moving process I’ve come to realize how much I love my “stuff”—the same stuff that I’ve threatened to get rid of each spring.  But when staring at it on a moving sale table I realized just how deep my attachment to it was.  And I’d be lying if I said that selling it all doesn’t suck.  A lot.  It does.

 

I have to pray constantly for the Lord to help me let it all go.  Because He truly is worth losing all of this “stuff.”  Changing my life in obedience to Him isn’t easy, but it’s an amazing privilege. 

 

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere-Psalm 84:10

 

That being said…anyone in the Chicago area want some stuff?  We’ve got lots left to sell!

Dunder Mifflin this is Pam…err Sarah…

 

So as I hinted in my birthday post, I had a “The Office” themed birthday party this year.

(Yes, I’m one of those dorks who still has themed birthday parties…last year was “A Minute to Win It” and it was pure awesomeness)

“The Office” is one of my favorite TV shows and while watching it one day I had a birthday inspiration moment:

Come on, this is hilarious! Dwight and Jim forget about Kelly’s birthday and so they set about planning and decorating in their usual ridiculous ways.  “It is your birthday.”  Classic.

So here is my own version of an “The Office” birthday party:

Of course I had to have this banner!

Decorating for the party was pretty simple since it was supposed to look bad.  I just partially blew up balloons, taped and tied them to streamers, and scattered some more balloons on the table.  I also used pencils to help tie into the theme.

 

 

All the food I chose was from a specific episode.  Next to the food I typed up the dialogue from the particular scene the food coincided with.  It was so much fun choosing the food…I forgot how many different foods are a part of the show.

 

Ok, I realize the food is out of focus.  It was a peach cobbler pie!

 

 

Forgot to take a picture of the quote that went along with the bacon.  it was Michael’s little speech about how he stepped on his George Foreman grill while cooking bacon in the morning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also had an ice cream cake with a quote from Andy requesting a fudgie the whale ice cream cake, but alas somehow it didn’t get photographed.

 

After we ate we played a couple of “The Office” trivia games and I gave away little notepads as prizes.

It was a great night, and I think everyone enjoyed the theme (even if I had to explain the references to quite a few people).

 

So, do you still have themed parties? Is anyone else obsessed with “The Office?” Is anyone else totally disappointed with the current season, and basically every episode since Michael left?