Watching Grass Grow, Paint Dry and Other Adventures at Forever and Ever House

Hello Internets!

Let me tell you, we have been very busy over here at "Forever and Ever House" watching the grass grow and the paint dry while also completing a few other projects!

We inherited a lawn that was a mess with weeds and bare patches. Since "the budget" is always an issue, we thought we would try growing the grass back from seed rather than re-sodding the lawn. I am excited to report that the first few sprouts of grass begin to appear from the earth!
I also have been waiting for the "paint to dry" on a night stand that I painted for Madison's room. It has been so damp here that it took almost a week for the paint to thoroughly dry (the fact that it was painted in our already damp basement didn't help).
The night stand was mine as a child. Prior to painting it, it looked like a typical "1970ish" piece of furniture complete with gold trim. I gave it two coats of melamine paint and added glass knobs. It's as "good as new"!

I've also been busy adding accessories to my master bedroom. Here is my wedding photo along with a "Happily ever after" sign that I ordered online.

Here are pictures of my hubby and I as children. I had these photos displayed in the nursery of our starter home and liked them so much, I thought I would move them to our master bedroom in our new home.
Here are some new plates that I bought from Home Sense last week....

Finally, here is a heart "tassle" that I made out of leftover fabric from the pillows on my bed. I have it hanging on my closet door.

You are really a mom when...

Image courtesy of Martha Stewart Living

You're Really A Mom When...
-You count the number of sprinkles on each kid's cupcake to make sure they are equal.
-You want to take out a contract on the kid who broke your child's favorite toy and made him/her cry.
-You have time to shave only one leg at a time.
-You hide in the bathroom to be alone.
-Your child throws up and you catch it.
-Someone else's kid throws up at a party and you keep eating.
-You consider finger paint to be a controlled substance.
-You mastered the art of placing food on a plate without anything touching.
-Your child insists that you read "Once upon a Potty" out loud in the lobby of the doctor's office and you do it.
-You hire a baby sitter because you haven't been out with your husband in ages, then you spend half the night talking about and checking on the kids.
-You hope ketchup is a vegetable because it's the only one your child eats.
-You find yourself cutting your husband's sandwiches into unusual shapes.
-You fast-forward through the scene when the hunter shoots Bambi's mother.
-You obsess when your child clings to you upon parting during his first month at school, then you obsess when he skips in without looking back.
-You can't bear to give away baby clothes--it's so final.
-You hear your mother's voice coming out of your mouth when you say, "Not in your good clothes."
-You stop criticizing the way your mother raised you.
-You read that the average-five-year old asks 437 questions a day and feel proud that your kid is "above average."

Wishing you a Happy Mother's Day!!

More Kitchen Plans

I thought that I would show you some more of my kitchen plans.

We have already purchased a sink. It is sitting in a box in my basement waiting to be installed. Here is a picture of a sink that looks similar to the sink that we have purchased. As I am typing this, my hubby just told me to tell you that it is made out of silistone quartz and that he got a really good deal on it by purchasing it from E-Bay (everyone can simultaneously give a "shout out" to him on that one!!). Apparently, the sink normally cost about $400 but he got it for $150. What do I know. I just live here. :O)

Here is also a picture of our custom range hood that Dale purchased from E-Bay. The plan is to paint it white along with the cabinets.

I am thinking about going with butcher block countertops from Ikea. I love granite but it "isn't in the budget" and I am not a fan of granite tile. I would rather go with natural material than do laminate so that leads to butcher block. Here is a picture of what I had in mind...

I've heard that sealing butcher block countertops with Waterlox really helps to protect it. Waterlox is a tung oil based product that waterproofs the wood. I am not one to cut directly onto my countertop so I think that this might "work" for me.

My plan is to refinish the floors on the entire main floor to match the countertop as I read somewhere that you are supposed to have all of your horizontal surfaces be the same tone (floor and countertop) and all of your vertical surfaces be the same tone (cabinets, backsplash etc.)

I like the suggestion about adding crown moulding to the cabinets. I have seen this on One Woman's Cottage Life and also Chris from Just Beachy . I think that this looks great. Since I have a space between my cabinet and my ceiling, I was thinking of adding some more height to the cabinets by adding a strip (3-4") of MDF and then the crown moulding on top of that. If anyone has done this or knows a blog that has, please let me know as I would like to see pictures.

I have a few questions for you based on your suggestions/comments:

Paint Colours:

Blueberry mentioned that the yellow on my paint chip and the yellow on the curtains may not match. I see her point. I had plans to paint "butter cream" and then got all excited about the curtains in Linen's N' Things that I didn't look very closely to see if they would match (told you I am an amateur)!! So, thanks Blueberry for pointing that out. I'll have to look at it "in real life" to see if it matches or perhaps look at the other colour you thought might work.

Also, Chris wondered if Cloud White is the right colour. I will definately look at the whites you suggested. I appreciate the suggestions and also Blueberry's offer to send me paint suggestions when she gets her fan deck back!! While it is "just paint", it is still painting cupboards which is a huge commitment. I want to make sure I get it right the first time. You all have great taste and I welcome your comments and suggestions!! ;O) My goodness! What good friends I have made on my blog! How lucky am I?!!?!

Glass on Cabinet Doors:
Do you think that I should do all of the cabinets above the counter top or just a few? If just a few, then which ones? I was thinking of just doing the corner cabinet?? Also, do you think that frosted glass will work? I like the look of glass but not how it shows my mess behind the glass.

This has turned into a long post! Thansk for taking the time to read it!!

New look and an award

How do you like my new header? I made it myself using digital scrapbook supplies from Heather Ann Design. It is 12:00 p.m. and I am about ready for B-E-D. I have been obsessing over this header all night and I am "done"! I am beyond the point of knowing if it looks good. I probably shouldn't even be putting it up on my blog except that I want the satisfaction of knowing that I "finished" what I started to do tonight!!

Before I go to bed, allow me to whine for a minute longer. Is it me or does Blogger make things waaaay to complicated?? I have been trying to figure out how to make the header go all the way across the screen and do you think that I can figure it out? NO! Yes, I am new at all of this blog stuff so maybe there is a way and I just haven't figured it out yet??? Why can't they write instructions in normal language that even people like me can understand? Why is it so hard to search for things in the Help section?

Why? Why? Why? Waaa Waa Waa!! LOL! Yes, I am complaining so I better move on to happier news before I go to sleep..

So I wanted to tell all of you that I am sooooooo excited! I was given an award from my new bloggy best friend, Marie (from "Watch the Wind Blow By) who now shares the role with Kate. Marie is sooo funny and has amazing taste. You really have to go and visit her blog. You won't regret it! While I am talking about my bloggy friends...you should also go visit Kate. She has a really interesting post about Dorothy Draper which I think you would enjoy reading about. I know that I did.

So the award that Marie gave me is called the Art y Pico award. I am so thrilled...especially because I totally feel like I am making all of this blog stuff up as I go along. When I started blogging regulary in January, I was so "green" to the blog community, I really had no idea of all of the amazingly talented, creative and inspiring home decorating blogs that there are out there. I am kind of glad that I didn't know because I know I would have been intimidated and would probably not have started a blog. My renovating/decorating is all very much "trial and error" at my house . There are "many a misses"...amongst the "hits", that is for sure!

So...here are the rules for this award:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserving of this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also contribute to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2. Each award has to have the name of the author and a link to his/her blog to be visited by everyone.

3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that presented her/him with the award.

4. The award winner and one who has given the prize have to show the link of "Arte y Pico" blog so everyone will know the origin of this award.

5. Each award winner has to show these rules.

O.K. so now here is the fun part...giving the award to some of the blogs that I just LOVE. Now with that said, it is also the hard part because there are sooooo many talented people out there. I really had a hard time narrowing it down! So here are my 5 in no particular order...

A Pretty Home

Just Beachy

Remodeling This Life

The Inspired Room

Coastal Nest

Now, it is 12:12 p.m. and I have to go to bed. I have to work tomorrow for crying out loud!! I am not going to notify the award winners until tomorrow so if you are reading this and see your name...surprise and congrats!!

Night! Night!!

Kitchen Dreamin'

Hello Internets!!

How are you? I am dusty from unpacking boxes in my basement this weekend.Yes, you read that correctly. I am still unpacking even though we moved in August 2007. It was rainy in my "part of the woods" this weekend so it was a good day to tackle the disaster that I have been avoiding down there!!

I've been meaning to show you some of my plans for my kitchen renovations for a while now. Since part of the plan is to paint the walls yellow, I thought I would share my plans along with the Cottage Magpie's "yellow post challenge".

So, first of all, here is a scan of the paint chip that has been on my bulletin board in my kitchen for months now. It is the colour "Butter Cream" by Benjamin Moore and it is the colour that I am "leaning towards" for my kitchen walls.

I was recently at Linen's n Things and found these curtains. They are dupoini silk and are lined. I have fallen in love with them and I am thinking about putting them in my kitchen. My thought is that I would use white curtain rods and white clip on rings.

Here are some "before pictures" of our kitchen as it appeared to us when we decided to purchase our home. I am going to paint the cupboards and replace the countertop. My thought is that I will paint the cupboards "Cloud White" by Benjamin Moore.

Yes, there is work to be done!! If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions for my kitchen, by all means, I would soooooo love to hear from you!!

Family Room Updates

After considering all of the suggestions from the family room post from a couple of weeks ago, I was so inspired with ideas on how to "finish" my family room. I thought I would show you where I am "at" with this room as of today.

First of all, here is my updated entertainment unit.

My husband and I are still hemming and hawing about painting it white or leaving it black. The debate is between leaving it black (and therefore the TV doesn't contrast as much as it will if it is painted white) vs painting it white (and therefore the dust doesn't show as quickly and won't be as "heavy looking")!! The bottom line is that there are about a bizillion other things that need to be updated at our house and we only have so much time in the week. I don't see us painting it any time soon!! I suspect that the rate we are going, it will remain black for a number of years. LOL!!

When arranging my book cases, I read somewhere that the best thing to do in this situation is arrange your books/knick knacks on one side and then simply "mirror" what is displayed on the other side. That is what I did here. I also used the old trick of removing the dust jackets from all of the hard cover books. In addition, I used black spray paint to update old baskets that I had from my starter home. I shopped for these baskets "in my basement". I had completely forgot that I owned them until I saw them in the pictures that I posted recently from my starter home!!

Moving on, here is a picture of my fireplace:

Some of you may recall that I had a mirror on the mantle. Well, I took it down because it was reflecting our crazy plaster ceiling (which we will be definately will be removing that at some point). The mirror was moved to our dining room and replaced with metal art work from Home Sense. I think I might buy some candle sticks to put on the mantel too but I just haven't gotten to that yet!

I "shopped in my basement" for most of the updates on the right side of the room: The dog wood branches and the metal sap bucket are Christmas decorations found in my basement (shhhhh!!!). The picture frames were also from my basement (although I updated the pictures --see my post about finding "Public Domain" photos and also below). The lantern was a house warming gift from my friend, Christine.

For the black and white frames, I ended up using a vintage sailboat photo because it was taken on Lake Ontario, Canada which is near my home. I also found a vintage photo of people mountain climbing in British Columbia, Canada (which is definately not near my home but is a photo that I just think is really interesting).



Finally, here is a picture of the left side of the room.


Someone had suggested moving the lamps to "frame" the couch. Good idea! I think it makes more sense this way. I am still working on art for this side of the room. I have some ideas up my sleeve. I just need to finish working on them!!

Well, there you have it! Thanks so much for stopping by and touring my family room!

Our Starter Home: Part 3 -Upper Level

In the last of my "three part series", I am going to show you the upper level of my starter home.

If you are just joining me in this series, allow me to bring you up to speed. This is the home that I lived in for about 10 years prior to living in our "forever and ever house" (we moved in Aug 2007). My friend and real estage agent, Leanne dropped by the other day for coffee and gave me photos of our starter home (the ones that she used to sell the house). I thought it would be fun to show them to all of my blog friends.

First, we have Madison's room.....Oh! I get so sentimental looking at this picture. This is the "one" room in our starter home that I wish that I could have moved in its entirety to our new house!! I know that it isn't much to look at...it is just that there are so memories for me with Madison as a baby in this room. Sniff Sniff!!!

O.K... moving on (before I have a nervous breakdown --lol), here is the room that was our home office. Now I know what you are thinking..."It doesn't look like a home office and I thought you only had one child???" Well, as we got our house ready to sell, we decided to "stage" this room as a nursery. We had just moved Madison into her "big girl bed" when we had decided to move. We moved her nursery items into the home office because our desks/computers are so messy looking. Fortunately, the bedding matched the yellow that was already on the walls so we didn't even have to paint.

Lastly, here is our master bedroom.
Well, thank you so much in joining me as I took a trip down memory lane. I have so many wonderful memories of our starter home. It was fun to share these photos with you!

I have been sooooo busy with a ton of projects for my "forever and ever house". I can't wait to show you some of the things I have been working on in my next post!!