Firepit in retaining wall project part 357

 Well, this weekend I dug out the cinder blocks and started over. It looked too trashy for what I already have going on. Each day the boys (all three of them) have had to help me with this project. On the left side was 3 rose bushes I tore out the summer we moved in. I never filled in the holes and because of my laziness this ground cover took over. It was deep and thick. It had roots dug into the lava rock. OMG. I never want to see lava rock again.

On the right side of the firepit I want to do a water feature. I just haven't figured out if I want another pond or a pondless feature. All these choices. In the mean time, Prince Charming ordered Dri-Lock paint to fix the fountain out front. It is beautiful and working like a champ. As I went to get the hose to fill up the front fountain I discovered we had a visitor to our yard! A MOLE.....now, Special K (the Golden Retriever) have been digging under my tarp of dirt and I couldn't figure it out. When I lifted the tarp to back fill the firepit a baby mole came running out. Prince Charming stepped on it and it was dead. The trap we set by the hose caught Mama or Daddy Mole. We reset the trap and we will see if we get any more. I'm really glad Special K didn't get the mole. Those things are nasty.

Painting Strips with Satin and Flat Paints

Before the fire pit/fire place project I knew I had to complete a project I started back in March--painting the guest room. We had some water damage to the wall from when we moved in. I thought I would have to replace the sheetrock and at the least use Kilz Paint. Prince Charming challenged me stating that Sherwin Williams paint would probably cover up the water stain. HE was right! (This never happens!) How dare I doubt SW Paints. They really are worth the price you pay.

I had just ran a roller over the stain and didn't do it up and down, but nope, sideways, thus forcing me to paint the entire room. NOOOOOooooooo. I have always wanted to do stripes, so now was as good as time as any. I spent Father's Day 2017 taping, measuring, taping, measuring. The room was a nice Satin and I added a beautiful flat. It coordinated with my nautical, beach loving theme. It is perfect.

I also decided the bathroom mirror needed to go. It is the Construction Grade mirror and I hate those things. I had a lovely framed mirror from Kirklands hanging out in the storage room. I took a hammer and a crowbar and removed said mirror. In the process of removing the mirror I totally destroyed the sheetrock. I had to get out the putty knife and fix/patch the damage. I then got to visit my lovely SW store and picked up paint. THEY matched 13 year old paint from a CHIP the size of a french fry. It was amazing. Matches perfectly.

I felt like a Mouse who got a cookie on this project. (Haven't read the book? You should. It is hilarious!) As I was painting around the light fixture I noticed it was rusty and horrible. Prince Charming took it down to spray paint it and fix it up again. HA! For once even he couldn't polish the turd. We went to Menards and got a new fixture. The bathroom and bedroom are done and look fantastic!

Floating Shelves for the Bathroom done by a GIRL!

I have enjoyed getting to know my power tools. Technically, they are the DH's, but when he is gone, he shares. He shares when he is home too, but this makes it easier on me! :) 

I went to Pinterest and have been spending more time on there figuring out what I want to do with my house than the actual doing, so I figured before school started, ti was time to make the Pinterest boards a  reality. There are floating shelf DIYs all over the place. The trick is to realizing which ones know what they are talking about. The Shanty2Chic is the website I keep referencing. Probably because they are also female and have way more confidence than I think is possible. 

It is amazing how these little shelves turned out. It was the perfect fix for this bare spot. My sister and I had looked at the space every time she comes to town, so now she has a little surprise waiting for her when she returns! 

Jedi Knight Bathroom! How to redo a boys bathroom to Star Wars

It was time. Time to take the boring tan walls and make this room a boy bathroom. I started with painting the walls "Rain" by Sherwin Williams. I went to Pinterest and Etsy to find inspiring Star Wars ideas. I discovered a vinyl on Etsy (which I bought) which started the madness of this room.

I also was told by my darling hubby NOT to paint the vanity. I am trying out new paints and discovered with Chalk Paint you don't have to prime or sand. I figured while he is away what he doesn't know won't hurt him. I also figured if I did it correctly--by taking off all hardware and not skipping a step the cabinets would turn out okay. I was a little worried when the polyurethane wasn't drying, but after 7 days it is perfect. I just didn't realize how long it would take to settle in.

I crafted a sign:

I LOVE my Silhouette Cameo! J-Bird is in to Funko Pops, so I ordered a few Funko Pops to put on a shelf above the toilet. I ordered a Star Wars shower curtain and even a R2-D2 shower head! Who would have thought? I think the redo cost me around $300 with the paint and the trim for the mirror. I put trim around the bathroom mirror. The construction grade 'stuff' is all over my house. It is nice and all, but there are ways to improve the 'grade.'

All in all I am totally impressed with the new bathroom. I don't think my Jedi Knights care either way as they just brush their teeth in there, but I do. AND that is all that matters! :)

Look towards the back and you can see the shower head peaking out. It is too fun! 

Office Redo

Last year I knew I wanted shelves for the office as this had diddle squat on it for storing all my beloved books, so I went to IKEA and found good shelves. Even though I love my shelves, I have never been happy with all the pumpkin orange colored walls in my house. I wanted to redo this room, but with the shelves, the different walls and insets this was going to be a mega task.

I went in to Sherwin Williams--my fav paint store--- to look at samples when my friendly paint lady told me to hold off and buy my paint in a few weeks during the 40% off sale. Oh how I love her! She also is great with colors, so with this being said I am looking and discussing colors with her while I am in there. Darn it all if someone else walks in and she has to leave me to help them. While she is away I wander towards the pamphlets they display with their color choices for different rooms for the house. AND much to my surprise is a room done in pumpkin orange, coral and turquoise. Not the actual names because those are too difficult to remember, but I fell in love with the choices. They were completely outside my box, but if it meant less work, I was tempted to go outside my box!

So, I did. I did an accent wall. I consulted the sisters and the KS bff and am in love with my new and updated office! I did buy new desks for all three of the boys. They were from IKEA. Instead of driving there I discovered it was a mere $100 to have it all delivered to my door! AWESOME.

The boys and I did learn when it comes to IKEA I cuss like a SAILOR. IKEA is great furniture for the price, but when it comes to their directions, there is MUCH to be desired. It doesn't help matters when I am trying to put the desks together at 2:30 a.m. I was beyond tired.

Photo BOMBED!

I got up the next morning and was working on the desks when Zach walks into the room. He grunts and asks if I'm done yet, to which I reply, almost. And he just walked away shaking his head. He didn't want to be anywhere near me and IKEA furniture. I did get the desks done, but still had a cube shelf to put together. J-Bird wanted to make some money, so I told him I would pay him to help me put together this shelf. We are working on it around 11 at night. He looks at the clock, looks at me and says, "We need to hurry Mom."

"Why?" I ask.

"Because at midnight you start dropping the F-Bomb and cussing....."  Muwhahahaha.

One of our family quotes is "To Infinity & Beyond" Not too many people will get this and that is exactly the point!!!

It runs in the family....we like ponds and we cannot lie!

So, I have this area off my deck which used to have six Knock-Out Rose bushes. They had seen their day and needed to be extracted. I did this when the deck/pergola was being built last June. I was "supposed" to complete this garden with nice low maintenance shrubs and mulch; HOWEVER, I do like ponds. I like the sound of them, the look of them and watching my fish grow. I don't really like watching my fish die or having to deal with the maintenance of a pond, but.... after 16 months of not having a pond, I must have forgotten the work and effort involved because I decided to dig another one.

I figured it was a sign from God when at a church yard sale a few weeks ago I was able to score a pond liner for $10--actually it was $20, but shortly after I arrived the pastor announced ALL lawn & garden was 50% off. So, it was meant to be. I loaded my treasure up in the ol' mini van and off I went to dig a hole. I wish it was that simple, but this liner was a bit more complex than just throwing down a plastic liner which allow you a bit more error. I first had to remove the rest of the lava rock, then I had to dig a hole and then the rain came. Sigh.

The rain allowed me to go shopping and buy the rest of the supplies. I found a cheap rock place, Earth First in Sellersburg, IN. Awesome ladies who helped me realize I could load rocks in my minivan and I wouldn't have to pay the delivery fee. AWESOME! A few trips later and I have a nice stash of rocks.

I also needed a filter, a pump and since I have never had a rock waterfall....I thought why not? I called my brother who has a roaring pondless waterfall and got some advice. His budget was a tad bit larger than mine as I wanted to do mine for nothing....HA! My father also offered advice on what to do/not to do. I listened to what they offered and turned to the Internet for all other things. I found a pump at Harbor Freight for a fraction of the cost and with my 20% off coupon I was in heaven. I found Lowe's was cheaper than any where else for my tubing. Amazon helped me out with a larger filter and a liner to make my waterfall. I have spent hours on Pinterest. When I get tired of digging I go inside and research some more. It is an ongoing project!

I had the help of the Jedi Knights and Prince Charming yesterday. We made some mega progress!

While the dog also helped, she was more destructive than helpful. You can see the start of my waterfall in the background. I will continue to work on this today as the weather has dropped and it is a gorgeous day!

Kitchen Pantry Remodel!

Here is my awesome pantry. Wire shelves and all. Things would get lost, fall through and was a disorganized mess. I have been complaining about it for over a year, but this was LOW on the to-do list for the ol' hubby.

Well, he decided a month or so ago he wanted to start cooking. He has always been awesome with the way he spices the meats he barbecues and smokes, so it was no surprise when we discovered he was good in the kitchen too. He went so far as to buy himself a 1974 edition of the Joy of Cooking.

This was wonderful because when he could not find spices and food in the pantry, my to-do list was prioritized differently and the pantry went to numbero UNO! Sweet.

I showed him some Pinterest ideas. He took it farther and designed our pantry in his 3D software program. This is nifty because it allowed him to know exactly how much wood and supplies he would need. It also allowed both of us to see what he was going to create.

I will say removing wire shelves is painful. They use serious mounting brackets and leave nice holes in the wall.

Once everything was removed, he mudded the wall and I was brought in to paint! I do love painting! I didn't even tape anything off as it was an easy paint job.

DH realized we had a lot of wasted space at the bottom of the pantry and a high ceiling. With some fancy measuring (since this is his REL job!) he was able to add another shelf. I didn't want cans in my pantry; I like them on the lazy Susan. I'm so short cans would just get lost!

The shelves only took one day. It was pretty easy since he already knew all the angles and cuts needed. The back of the pantry bowed and this made it difficult. There wasn't a 90 degree angle anywhere to be found. Thank goodness he does measure for a living or this could have been a nightmare. 

IT was perfect! I went to Dollar Tree and bought three more baskets. I labeled them for the new chef in the house. I'm so excited to see everything and, best yet, it will allow me to know when I need to go to the grocery store! 

Before!!

After! So nice and clean!

Front Garden goes GREEN!

Remember this lovely garden I planted this spring and there were wonderful treasures hidden in the ground? It has been  few months and I wanted to show you what this has turned into!

 
I'm pretty impressed with the garden. My neighbors are always giving me compliments on it. I will say my water bill has gone up these past few weeks as we got into the 90s, but fall is upon us and I won't have to water as much.

I have a neighbor who has bee hives. The bees have found my fountain to be a free water spot! At any given time (during the day) you can usually see 20 bees sipping at the fountain. It is kinda intimidating to see so many bees gathered. It is fun to sit on the bench an watch them. I need to get more flowers to draw more butterflies.

I have a humming bird who visits the back deck, but I also have two butterfly bushes, pink gladiolus and a lilac bush. I think the pink is drawing the bird to the flower. It is beauitful to watch while I sip my coffee in the morning. I have created a peaceful place to enjoy nature and, best part, it is all in the shade in the morning and at dusk! And I don't even know which direction my house faces, so that is an added bonus!

Library Room needs shelves....

 This is the library. It is a pumpkin orange color and white trim. YUCK. 

I was struggling with what to do with this room. I didn't even take pictures of it in its full glory with a shelf full of fish and remote controlled cars. I have a lot of books. I have a lot of stuff. I have this beautiful room with so much potential. 10 FOOT ceilings people. 10 foot. Unfortunately, one cannot find shelves of this magnitude. I have gone on Pinterest and found awesome inspiring ideas, but you have to have someone with wood working knowledge. I have that someone, but there is not enough money to buy enough beers to make him build shelves. I don't just want any shelves. I want cabinets and glass doors and TALL ones. Sigh.

Several months ago I found exactly what I wanted at IKEA, but they were out of stock everywhere. I even tried looking at the store in St. Louis and KS City. I drive through there enough I could justify buying them and making a trip! Thank goodness they were out of stock. No road trips for me. Well, as luck would have it, when I went online to find the shelves for my trip to IKEA they WERE IN STOCK. Sweetness.

Before:









After:

Kitchen Redo

So, I haven't blogged much this past week because I was up to my ears in fluid. Honest. I finally went to the doctor and was told I have so much fluid on my ear she couldn't even see my ear drum. My goodness. I figured the dentist had just left a whole in my mouth from the root canal and crown I got earlier in the week, but no, I have a solid ear infection and I have so much fluid it has flooded down my throat and I have pus pockets of fluid on my throat. FOR THE LOVE OF PETE. Geez Louise. Because Mommys cannot call in sick, I have been blowing off the gym, but for everything else in life, I have been goin' and doin'. I must say it has been nice because Prince Charming has been home every day this past week, so that was helpful. ESPECIALLY since I decided to redo the scrapbook room this week and redo the kitchen this week.
















I promised him I would not start on the kitchen until the scrapbooking room was done. We have a tendency (in my family) to start something and not quite finish it....just saying!

So here is my diarrhea kitchen. It wasn't bad. I just felt it was dark and boding. The whole house was freshly painted when we moved in. Most people would have been thankful and sat on their ass. BUT NOT ME. Color is important. It sets the mood of the house. And boy is my mood important to the people who reside in this house. I also ADORE painting. Now that my dear ol' dad taught me the proper way to tape, paint and not make a mess of ceilings and door knobs I am much better.

Prince Charming still likes to tell people about how I painted door knobs. In my defense, HE was supposed to replace said doorknobs so it didn't matter that I painted them because they were supposed to go in the trash. ARG.

Anyways, I got the kitchen done in time to lay with my head full of liquid on a pillow and watch endless amounts of Gilmore Girls. I'm in love with that show.

Before & After -- same spot for picture taking!