Remember The Sacrifice...

On this Memorial Day remember those who payed the ultimate price.

My FIRST Coach Purse

I sound like I am in Kindergarten with a "my first" post...lol!!!  Anyhow, what girl doesn't love a sleek designer bag??  My SIL {the one I have been helping on her remodel}  has a little addiction with them and I am always happy to take her "hand me downs".   Her current purse is a silver embossed Coach bag and I love love love it.  I keep encouraging her to get a new purse so I could have the old one, but she hasn't needed that much "retail therapy"  I guess. 

I received a phone call from SIL the other day asking me to go online and pick out a NEW Coach bag!!!  She wanted to get me one for all of my help on her new house.  I told her she did not have to do anything for me.  I felt lucky enough being able to make big design decisions on her remodel.  Who wouldn't love that!!!

She wouldn't take no for answer {she said something about it being equivalent to $0.52/hour on her house remodel...lol}.  I hopped online and picked out my new bag!!!  She ordered it and I received it this week.  It is stunning and I feel like my life as a woman is complete now....just kidding...my life is complete without a purse.  

Here she is.....

I can't wait to show the kitchen remodel to you all.  It is DONE!!!!!  Except we need to decorate it.  We have a family reunion this weekend so I hope to be able to post the remodel by the end of next week.  Then I will show you my niece's bedroom.  We have to do something with the hallway and I am trying to talk her into something fun, but she is a little hesitant yet....we will see if I can convince her.

Have a great Memorial Weekend and remember those who have served and are currently serving our GREAT LAND WE CALL THE USA!

{{{HUGS}}}

DIY Kitchen Remodel Progress

I must tell you these photos are not the greatest because I took them with my phone....at night.....at approximately 12:05AM....because that is when we get time to work on it.  That's how we roll!!!

After painting the gray on the walls we decided it was much too dark.  So we had to take matters into our own hands and mixed some white paint in with the gray paint.  We used the remaining gray paint and opened up the second gallon to find that the shade was MUCH lighter!!!  So, needless to say the paint mixer person must of messed up.  It is all good though, we repainted and it looks phenomenal with our "homemade" paint color.

Here is what it looks like now {if you can get past the horrible picture quality}.

Here is what it looked like before....very dark.

The countertops have been installed and the walls are ready for the backsplash.  If you follow me on Facebook you probably saw a sneak peek of the backsplash.

Another view of our much lighter shade of gray.

The next post will be the BIG REVEAL.  The flooring is in, the backsplash is done, and the hardware is going on the cabinets.  The plumber and electrician are coming this week and as soon as they are done I will show you the finished project.

The kitchen has not been the only project going on.  Remember, we are doing the whole house.  Here is a sneak peek at the before pictures of my niece's bedroom.  Lovely white walls.

And ugly green carpet.

Okay, okay....I won't leave you hanging.  Here is a look at what we have done in her room.

Why yes, that is BLACK!!!!!

Stay tuned for the kitchen reveal.  I can't wait to show you!!!

{{{HUGS}}}

Happy Mother's Day

Wishing all the mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and anyone who fulfills the role of MOM a very special day today!!!

{{{HUGS}}}

HELP....Any Hobby Lobby Shoppers Out There???

I am in desperate need of anyone who might be shopping at Hobby Lobby!  Anyone shop there?  Well, I have an upcoming project and it is currently on hold because of one little garden trellis {okay, not that a garden trellis is holding it up, but it is my next project and it won't be complete without it}.  I don't want to spoil the fun and tell you what I am using this for, but I am in need of FOUR count em' F~O~U~R of these and I only have three.  

Where did I get three?  Well, let me tell you.  The first one I picked up when my SIL and I went on a supply run to Kearney for the kitchen project {which is really coming together and it is stunning}.  I wasn't shopping for a garden trellis, but when I saw it I knew I could make it in to something I have been on the lookout for.  It was $27.99 and it was 40% off...SCORE!!  I asked one of the employees at the store to check and see if they had any more, but no luck...they didn't.  The second one my SIL picked up in Cheyenne, WY while on another supply run when she was back in her hometown.  The third one, my cousin picked up for me in Omaha.  IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO BUY FOUR!!!  I called three other stores in Nebraska and none of them had the trellis.  One employee from Hobby Lobby told me to check back on Monday because that is when the truck delivers to the store.  I also got online and contacted Hobby Lobby to see if they could locate one for me.  They informed me since it is a seasonal item they have no way of tracking whether or not a store has any in stock or if more would be shipped out.  REALLY!!

My other SIL was shopping in Kearney today and she stopped by to see if they had one in yet, but still no luck.  I was pondering where in the world I might find one and thought all of my lovely blog readers might be able to help me out.

Here is my plea...

If you are shopping at Hobby Lobby and wouldn't mind swinging down their Spring Shop isles and glancing to see if they have just one of these lovely garden trellis' I would be forever grateful!!!  If they do, would you please send me an email {under the contact me tab at the top of my blog} with the stores phone number so I can call them and beg them to ship it to me.  

Here is the tag info:

THANK YOU!!!!

{{{HUGS}}}

DIY Kitchen Remodel Continues...

You know when you dive into a project hoping to have it finished within two weeks and it doesn't happen....yeah....that's the point we are at on our kitchen project.  Schedules have been hectic with spring programs, track meets, graduations and such.  Considering all that extra activities we are still making headway on the kitchen given the two times a week we have been able to work on it.  Oh, and planting flowers has been a little distracting too, but aren't they pretty!!!

Last time I posted on our progress we had finished the time consuming sanding and priming.  Thankfully that is done!!!

So here is our progress.

Red Solo Cup.....I fill you up.....let's have a paint party....  I used the cups to place the cupboard doors on while I painted them.  This kept them off of the plastic and just made things easier.  Painting the cupboard doors was really time consuming.  I gave them 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of white kitchen cupboard paint on each side.  There was a lot of watching paint dry....let me tell ya... ha!!!  

We {I say that like it is my house and my money...lol} of course, are trying to do this kitchen remodel as budget friendly as possible.  We decided to reuse the existing hardware.  It was pretty dirty.  To clean it, we placed the hardware in a crockpot with only water.  We set the heat to high and let em' cook!!!  This works well to remove old paint as well.  After about an hour in the crockpot you can see the old finish starting to come off.  We removed them with tongs to a paper towel and peeled off the old old finish.

Looks kind of gross huh!

Then a little "rattle can" silver and viola..."new" hardware!

I think it looks pretty good for a $4 can of spray paint!

We had to prime the walls and one of my precious readers and friend Nancy C. called me up and asked if she could help us out!!!!!  ARE YOU KIDDING ME....we don't turn down help!!  You have to LOVE volunteers!!!  Nancy C. recently moved to Podunkville {as she has named it...and I love the name} from the BIG city.  She and her family are living life on a farm and totally taking it all in.  I think they have adapted well to life in the sticks.....other than Starbucks being an hour and a half away.....that has been tough for Nancy C.  It was a fun night of girl talk about kids, family, hair, dieting, and Starbucks.  I made Nancy C. and my SIL some Strawberry Walnut Salad minus the carrots, green onion, & cucumbers {because I didn't have any on hand}, but made up for it by adding some Feta cheese!!!  We topped it off with some Starbucks Frappuccino drinks that I had picked up.  Oh, and we got the walls primed.

My SIL put the last coat of paint on the cabinets.  

I attempted hanging cabinet doors by myself.  I got 5 of them done {there are 21 total} and decided I need an extra leg and an extra foot to continue on {can you picture me trying to use my leg as a third arm???....okay erase that thought....please don't try to picture that}.   I had to call in my other SIL for reinforcement.  She thankfully spared 15 minutes of her time to save me from a dislocated hip.  They are all done except for one....because the refrigerator was pulled out from the wall and I couldn't reach it.  I will get it up eventually...ha!  

Last night we were finally able to start painting the walls.  From the picture below it looks like we painted two different colors, but we didn't.  It is hard to get good lighting at 11pm.  When we picked out the paint color there was a picture of room painted this color and it looked like a nice light shade of gray on the sample card.  However, once we got it on the walls it looks too dark.  The wall color looks slightly darker than the paint sample we chose when we hold it next to the painted walls.  I tend to repaint every few years and usually get the color picked out that I have in mind, but this was WAY off.  URGH!!!  We are trying to decide if we should repaint it or live with it.  THOUGHTS??????  I'm guessing we will repaint because I pictured a much lighter and airier space.  The half painted wall on the right......we have plans for the bottom half.  Maybe wallpaper....just kidding!!!!!  Oh, and we are going to do something with that door....it won't stay that ugly brown. 

As of tonight the carpet is gone!!!!!  Our brother in law has been working too....on the big stuff like scraping the popcorn off the ceiling....YUCK!!!  He is going to install the new counter tops and back splash which I am so excited to see.  

Be sure to follow me to keep up with the kitchen progress and like my Facebook page.

And our puppy Roscoe has nothing to do with the kitchen remodel, but I think he is cute!!  That's all.

Ok, not as cute here.

And digging up my newly planted flower beds is not so cute either!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

{{{HUGS}}}

Happy Cinco De Mayo

My sister in laws and I love to celebrate Cinco De Mayo!!!  One year I bought each of us a Cinco De Mayo t-shirts and they had a gift basket delivered to me at work full of chips and salsa.  We focus our day around food of course...and maybe a delicious margarita!!!!!!

Here are some of my past recipes that would be perfect for your Cinco De Mayo celebration.  

Cucumber Salsa

Sopapilla Dessert {this is always a HUGE hit}

Bacon No Lettuce & Tomato Dip

Fiesta Tortilla Roll-Ups

Happy Cinco De Mayo!!!

{{{HUGS}}}