I {heart} pallet wood! {Wordless Wednesday} 11.29.11

I started this blog to keep me on track and actually finish my home projects. See, Hubs and I have a tendency to start other projects before the ones we're working on are actually finished.
So.... due to my seems-like-it-will-never-end-but-is-almost-finished hallway make-over, I'm waiting patiently to start my pallet wood project. Thanks, Hubs, for helping me get the wood ready! ((Hugs!))

I pallet wood

 

Save a Brush - Painting Tip

Here's a picture of my fridge:

Haha! No.. that's not dinner. It's my painting tip!

If you have been reading my blog posts, you know that I sometimes procrastinate work long hours and don't get to starting and finishing home projects.

Hubs and I have taken on a big project, and I've learned a lot from blogland. I thought I'd share with you a painting tip that I use. (You've already guessed it from the picture.)

If I'm in the middle of a project and I know that the painting will stretch over a few days, I wrap the brushes and rollers with plastic wrap and store them in the fridge. I've never had any problems, and the brushes stay just great.

For our current project, I've had to do A LOT of caulking. I've used Diane's ice water trick which has been very helpful. Here's a trick I didn't know even existed:

When I got ready to caulk, Hubs brought this baby out. Didn't even know they made things like this for caulking. It reminded me of a Pampered Chef pan scraper!

Anywho... it's been a lifesaver with all the corners of the board and batten.

Just my two cents. Hope it's been helpful.

Love,

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Board and Batten Treatment

Since we got our new front door, we decided that we wanted to make some changes to our foyer and hallway. Of course, we decided to tackle this project over the holidays when there's nothing else going on ((cough, cough)).

Here's one of my inspiration pictures from Pinterest:

Source: evolutionofstyleblog.blogspot.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Here's the other inspiration:

Source: piccsy.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

We love the beach and lake, and we just have too much brown in our home. We're trying to slowly change out the decor to reflect our love of the water.

Kimba has a great tutorial on board and batten treatments, and so does Karla. We think we're pretty handy, so we decided to tackle it!

Here you can see a picture of the (previous) foyer and hallway wall color:

Actually, all the walls on the main floor are this color (with the exception of master bedroom). 

{Can you say Brown Overload?!}

We thought that changing the foyer and hallway would define the space even more and would be a beautiful welcome for our guests.

Hubs did the first job of removing all the baseboards. Then he painted the first coat of primer on the walls. (We had primer left over from another project. Yay!)

(Fancy curtains, huh?!)

A view of the hallway from the living area.

The next step was choosing a color for the top part of the walls. We picked out 11 paint chips... all in the blue/gray/green family. It was a pretty overwhelming thought to have to choose one.

But then we found it! Our color! Valspar Sea Salt Blue.

It's a grayish-blue, but in different lights it looks more green.

I'm in love!

For the next step, we measured down from the ceiling and used the level to draw a line for where we wanted our top rail. We painted the Sea Salt Blue above the line and a coat of white semi-gloss on the bottom. (We goofed and painted semi-gloss on the top at first. The second coat was with a satin finish.)

View from the living area.

View from the master bedroom.

(Yes, we are Bama fans in this house! Notice the A on the door.)

After we got the paint on the walls, we measured & cut the boards and used a nail gun and Gorilla Wood Glue to attach them to the walls. {We used 1x4's for the bottom and top rails, and we used 1x2's for the battens.} 

View from the front porch.

Note the laundry basket in the master bedroom. Putting away laundry has taken a backseat to this project!

This is where we are now. I've filled in the nail holes and sanded. We're going to prime the wood today and get the first coat of semi-gloss on. (We had a little state-rivalry football game to watch yesterday.)

I'll post pictures when we're finished. I'm going to use Brittany's tips for painting and Diane's tips for caulking. Wish me luck!

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I have a Christmas List!!!

Ugh! It's been a week since my last post. I've thought about posting like a bazillion times, but I never made it!

What have I been up to?

Working on my Christmas List.

I have a Christmas List this year? My.family.was.shocked.

See... I NEVER have a Christmas List. I always just say, "Get me something that you think I'll like."

This weekend, I think I figured out why I never have a Christmas List. Here's the story my mom told to my youngest daughter while we were out shopping this weekend:

Jenna: Grandma, will you get me_________ (fill in the blank with about a hundred things that 13-year-old girls like) for Christmas?

Grandma: I will, Jenna, but you won't do like your mom will you?

Jenna: What's that, Grandma?

Grandma: Well, when your mom was about your age.... one year for Christmas she told me what she wanted, and I got it for her. On Christmas morning, she opened all of her presents. Next thing you know, she was crying! Boo-hooing!  I asked her, "What's wrong?!?"  And she said, "I wanted all that, but I wanted other things, too!"

LOL!

I had forgotten about that story (since the time that she told it last year)... perhaps that's why I never have a list.

Maybe I'm all grown up... or maybe I'm just coveting all the beautiful ideas on Pinterest.

Here's one item on my Christmas List:

(Not the pencil. It was in the picture to show the size of the starfish.)

I want a bag of these. Strange item for a Christmas List?

What's your strangest gift you've ever asked for?

Why do we need boxed potatoes?

On Sundays, I go to the grocery store and prepare food for the week. {Even yesterday, after my awful 6 mile trail run!}

I like to collect recipes, especially frugal ones. My recipe book consists of a 3-ring binder and page protectors. I cut recipes out of magazines, print them from the Internet, or collect them from friends. I can pop them right into those page protectors for safekeeping.

Hubs and I have gotten in a rut with our food lately, so I decided to try a new recipe. At 43 years of age, you would think that I would have made scalloped potatoes before. Nope.

Well... if you count these...I guess it's a yes?

These did serve a purpose in college and early married years. But Hubs never liked them. And as I got older and started eating more whole foods, I didn't enjoy the taste of them.

Have you seen the list of groceries that can be purchased for approximately $10? {I printed a long while ago, so I'm not sure that the $10 would still cover it.} Lissa Burnell of Budget101.com created it, along with a bunch of recipes.

Yay for Lissa's Scalloped Potatoes. I had all the ingredients on hand. And they looked pretty easy to make. So I went for it.

Here's the recipe, in case any of you want a yummy, easy, side dish for the upcoming Thanksgiving holidays.

Scalloped Potatoes
1 large onion, cut in rings
3 T. Butter
3 T. Flour {I only had almond flour on hand, it worked great}
Salt & Pepper
1 C. milk {I used fat-free}
1 C. Chicken broth
Potatoes, washed {I used 3 medium/large ones}

Cut potatoes into slices and toss 'em in a 9x13 pan. Place the onion (cut into rings) all over the potatoes.

Melt butter, add flour, mix until pasty. Add broth and milk. Stir constantly until creamy and thick (cooking over medium heat). (I think I could have cooked this a little longer til it got thicker.)

Pour the sauce over the potatoes and onions. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. (I had to cook mine for 1 hour.) ??

Here it is in all it's yumminess.

Mom's going to be so proud!

Bye, bye, Betty. We'll still be friends!



I would rather eat foods that my grandmother would have made in her kitchen. {In other words, if there's ingredients on the package that you can't pronounce, don't eat it.}

Do you have a dish that you can buy as a "convenience" food, but you would rather prepare "home-made"??

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My First Trail Run {a.k.a., death by horse trail}

This morning, I ran in the Dirty Spokes 10K trail run at a local state park.

10K... 6.2 miles... not something that was new to me.

6.2 miles on the trails -- very new.

A friend from high school told me about it on Facebook. I thought, "Suuure. I can do this. I'm a runner. I'm an athlete." I had never done a trail race... only road races.

We "talked" on Facebook. Along with two former students who were also running and also a friend from work. We talked about the email we got describing the last mile... steep uphill on the horse trails. Yikes!

You know in the old westerns where you see the horses going up and down steep mountains? That was us today. It was a killer!

(This picture doesn't do the steep hills justice. 
The way down was just as steep and scary, too!)

I learned some lessons today, too.

1. The air is warmer on the trails. I thought it would be cooler since it was in the shade, so I wore pants, SmartWool socks, a tank top, and two long-sleeve shirts. My friends, Kim and Jennifer, were wearing t-shirts and shorts! I felt like Matthew Modine in the movie Vision Quest (remember, that was the one Madonna was in?) Haha!

I wasn't the only one dressed like a wrestler trying to cut weight. I did see a guy wearing a toboggan. Wonder if he made it?

2. Races are about racing yourself (unless you're an Olympic athlete, which I clearly am not) and not others. While on the trails, it's pretty much a single track, which means single file line. As I was passed or saw others ahead of me on the switchbacks, I would get upset because I wasn't nearer to the front of the line. Around mile 3, it became clear that the race is about me vs. my mind. It was about finishing. About moving my body. About getting stronger.

Source: brantaringdale.com via Carissa on Pinterest

3. I've been in my comfort zone too long. As I ran walked barely made it up those hills, I realized that I was being pushed harder than I had been in a LONG time. Maybe since college. My training is better than average, but I realized that I can give more. That means that it's not enough.

Source: motivationintohabit.tumblr.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

4. Pushing through fear is the only way to beat it. I woke up in the middle of the night and plugged in my iPod. I stayed awake from 3:30 to 5:30 (anyone see the last two episodes Grey's Anatomy? They were good!) Fear was knocking at my door. This morning, I was battling my mind out there. For the first 3 miles or so, everything felt out of rhythm. My breathing was too fast, I felt anxious, my steps heavy. My mind wanted me to quit. Right before mile 4, it fell into place. I was more relaxed and confident, my stride felt good, and my breathing was calm. It was because I had made up my mind to win - to finish the race and not give in to negative thoughts.

Source: Uploaded by user via Larry on Pinterest

5. It's so important to have friends who will see you through the hard stuff. It was great to know that I would be seeing friends out there and who would be there at the finish. I knew four people who ran the 10K, and of those four, 3 of them won medals. I'm keeping pretty good company! :)

Source: iamlala.com via AngelBC^2 on Pinterest

I looked like my grandma as I pushed the buggy around in the grocery store today. {And, I got no DIY projects done today. Booo.} I'll be sore tomorrow, but not sorry!

Thanks, Kim, Jennifer, Mike, Kinsley, Beth, and Tiff!

P.S. Like my pins from Pinterest? Follow me here.