What a steal of a DEAL!!- Computer Nook

Here is our new little computer nook. We used to have our desktop computer in our third bedroom. The problem was we never used it in there. So, we decided that we should move it into the kitchen area where it would be more convenient.

Problem #1: we didn't have a nice desk to put it on.

Solution: Find a cute simple white desk from Ikea on Craigslist. I wanted a white desk to match my new white cabinets.

Problem #2: Ugly hunk of junk 15" computer monitor

Solution: a new flat screen 22" monitor.

Doesn't it look wonderful? We found the monitor on clearance at Target. It was originally $160, but we got it for about $50. I was so excited!

Now, I have all the important calendars and information within arms reach of the computer (Look on the fridge to the left of the computer).

Here is a close up of the desk! Yay! I am so happy with the results!

A New Hobby

When I found this blog, I instantly fell in love! Ana is the creative genius behind Knock Off Wood. She designs furniture plans for the true DIYer. Her plans not only Knock-Off stores like Pottery Barn and Land of Nod, but they completely knock them out! Go visit her blog and take a look yourself.

For my first building project, I wanted something simple. I have been on the hunt for a nice inexpensive entry table for some time now. When she posted these plans for the "Easiest, Rustic, Modern Console Table Ever" I knew this was my answer. So, I headed off to Home Depot and bought the lumber and had them cut it to size.

Then, my husband and I built the table from Ana's plans and added a shelf for extra storage space. Here it is after being built. It still needs paint.

Then I sanded and painted. It took two coats of paint.

Here is the table with a lovely model.

DONE!!

I am so excited it! I turned out better than I thought it would. It was so easy to build! I can't wait to start on more building projects. Maybe a table? a bed? entertainment center? cubbies? Oh the possibilities are endless. And she posts new plans just about everyday!!

I am linking to:

Kitchen Makeover: Part II- Painting the Countertops

If you remember in a previous post we took my kitchen looking like this:

to this:

After I had my cabinets painted and looking MUCH better. It was time to tackle the countertops!!

First, I painted all surfaces and edges of the countertops using Glidden Gripper Primer in Grey. (Notice how nasty the original counter look in this picture)

Then, I covered all walls, cabinets, and sinks that would be exposed to the spray paint.

 I used  Valspar Stone spray paint (from Michaels) and sprayed about 2 coats on all surfaces of the countertop.

It then looked like this:

I let the spray paint dry overnight.

Next I used Envirotex Lite (from Michaels- using 50% off coupons) and covered the countertops with a thick layer.

I let it dry for 72 hours without putting anything on the countertop.

And a close up:

To review here are the 3 stages of my kitchen transformation:

What a difference a little paint can make!!!

I am linking to:




and  

 
And speaking of makeovers Traci has a giveaway on her blog for $50 gift certificates for interior design services. Go now and enter!

the Local Taco

Hailey and I ate lunch with KK at a cute little joint called the Local Taco. We enjoyed seeing KK before she leaves for a mission trip to Guatamala.

Kitchen Makeover: Part I- Painting the Cabinets

Alright, here is the LONG overdue kitchen makeover post, beginning with the kitchen cabinets. When we bought our house the kitchen looked like this (it hurts my eyes just to look at it):

Note the lovely wood paneling and wallpaper pictured below....

We removed the wallpaper and painted the walls the day we moved in. Which turned into this (yes, I know... horrible picture)...

Yes, better.... but still completely horrible. So, I finally decided to paint the cabinets (best decision ever). Here are some photos during the makeover:

Here is the easier on the eyes AFTER:

There was not a dishwasher in the house when we moved in. In order to put one in, we moved the fridge to the opposite wall. The dishwasher is in the fridge's old location. We bought a cheap peice of countertop at the habitat home store, and cut it to fit. It obviously doesn't match, but it was fine temporarily....



Click HERE for Kitchen Makeover Part II: Painting the Countertops.


I am linking to:
http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2010/03/welcome-to-63rd-metamorphosis-monday.html

Memorable Moments of 2009

These are some of the most memorable comments (that I thought of writing down) of 2009. I already have a list started for this year. ENJOY!

"That one is a crack house Mommy."- HGJ (Feb. 2009) **refers to picture below**

"I want my teeth to fall out." -HGJ (Feb 26, 2009)

While praying....
"Thankyou for those big things.... in Mommy's shirt." -HGJ (Feb 28, 2009)
"Your tummy's big, suck it in." - HGJ (Mar. 1, 2009)


"KK's outside talking to herself." -HGJ (Apr. 16, 2009)

"Daddy's a genius. He can put things upside down." -HGJ (Apr. 16, 2009)
"Nobody comes into my room until they bring money to put into my piggy bank." -HGJ (May 25, 2009)
Mike: "We're such a weird family."
Hailey: "Yeah, ya'll are." - (June 3, 2009)
Mike: "Hailey did you know we are going on a trip?"
Hailey: "Yes. Are we going on an airplane?"
Mike: "No, we are taking a long car ride.
Hailey: "To God, or Jesus, or Heaven?" - (June 3, 2009)


Hailey's Prayer Tonight:
"Dear God,
Thank you for Gmom and Gpop. Let us all go to heaven so we can see gmom.
Amen." - (July 9, 2009)

Hailey: "I want to see the rock obama."
Mike: "What do you want to do?"
Hailey: "I want to see the rock obama."
Mike: "What do you want to see Barrack Obama do?"
Hailey: "I want to see the rock obama eat." (September 14, 2009)


"Do we take an airplane to heaven?"- HGJ (September 20,2009)

"Is there a potty in heaven?" -HGJ (September20,2009)


Hailey: "I don't know who I am."
Mike: "You're Hailey Grace Jones."
Hailey: "I don't really feel like Hailey Grace Jones." (November 3, 2009)

A Hint of Things to Come

Warmer weather that is.....

We had beautiful upper 60 degree weather last weekend. Unfortunately, Mike had to work, so Hailey and I spent Saturday going to several consignment sales. Then we enjoyed a treat at Sweet CeCe's. YUMMO! Sunday after church we went to a Stone Soup lunch at our church. After that, we spent the afternoon at the park. You can tell in these pictures that the weather was fabulous!

Valentine's Day Card

I wanted to share with you, Hailey's Valentine's Day cards this year. This is the first year we have made cards to give out, and I thought it would be fun to do something a little more personable than store bought valentines. As I was searching the web for cute and easy ideas, I came across this tutorial featured on Ucreate.  When I saw it I knew it would be perfect! So without further ado,

Also, check out those awesome new countertops. I will be posting about them a little later!

Handmade Princess Pillow

LOOK! I made that pillow!! I am so proud. I am definitely NOT an exprienced seamstress, but I had bought some princess fabric a while back to make Hailey something and hadn't used it yet. I saw a castle sencil at Micheal's and thought... that would be really cute on a throw pillow. First, I stenciled the castle onto freezer paper. Then I cut out each little peice.Next, I ironed the freezer paper onto the fabric, then I used spray paint to paint the fabric purple. Then, I let the paint dry and removed the freezer paper. Look how cute the castle looks!! I love it and so does Hailey! Then I just sewed the pillow, stuffed and closed it.

DONE!

Here is the back of the pillow in the princess fabric:

And a side shot:

This was a really simple, cheap, easy, and cute project! I can't wait to make more pillows for our living room!

Ready to Nap

I just had to document this day in history. Today, at 10 AM, Hailey asks to eat lunch and take a nap. WOW! She never wants to take a nap, and today, 2 hours early, she is asking for it! She must have been exhasted. And, yes, I let her eat lunch at at 10AM and nap. What mother wouldn't? That is all.

Making Cookies....

My great aunt and uncle gave me this Cookie Factory for Christmas in 1993. My mom just found it buried away and gave it to me. So, Hailey and I decided to try it.

Luckily, we had Nestle Sugar Cookie dough on hand!! :)

The Cookie Factory comes with a "normal" flat cookie pan and cookie molds. Hailey wanted to make animal cookies. The molded pans are so much easier and faster than rolling out the dough and using cookie cutters. You just press the dough onto the mold.

Then you put the pan in the Cookie Factory. It only takes about 6 minutes and the cookies are baked perfectly!!

We made some heart cookies and then Hailey decorated them (with an INSANE amount of sprinkles...).

They my not look very cute, but they sure tasted good!

An Interview

..... with my four year old daughter. I saw someone else do this interview about money with thier child and thought it would be funny to see what Hailey's answers were.

1. How old are you?
four

2. Do you like money?
yes

3. What do you like about money?
i can buy a house

4. How much money do you have?
eleven

5. How much money does mom and dad have?
not a lot

6. How much money is there in the world?
a whole bunch

7. How do you get money?
i find it

8. What is a bank?
somewhere that you put it in the bank and get a house

9. If you had $100 dollars what would you do with it?
put in the bank and then buy a house at home depot or something like that

10. How much money would you like?
fifteen dollars

Let me explain some of her answers....

As you probably noticed she mentioned buying a house several times. Mike and I have been talking to her about how important it is to save money instead of spending it all. He has been explaining to her that he saved most of his money when he was younger, and was able to buy our house because of how much he had saved. He also explained to her that if she saves her money, she can buy her own house when she gets older. So, for now at least, this is her plan: save her money to buy a house.

The other thing she mentioned that needs some background explanation is home depot. We have just finished turning part of our basement into a room (thanks PawPaw), and we got all the supplies at Home Depot. So... therefore, to buy a house you buy the materials at Home Depot. She is one smart cookie! :)

Oh, and I loved her answer to number five! She was dead on! :)

I will try and post interviews with Hailey again. I love hearing her answers!

First Snow of 2010

Today marked the first snowfall for us of 2010. The forecast predicted we would get around 2 to 4 inches of snow early morning last night. However, at 7:00 AM there was still no snow in sight. Hailey learned at school on Wednesday that wearing her jammies inside out would make the snow come. So, she was very diappointed that there was no white stuff on the ground. Later in the morning, the snow finally decided to show up. It wasn't enough snow to cover the grass, but there was a pretty good coating on the driveway. So, this afternoon Hailey and I bundled
up and battled the cold to have a little fun in the half inch of snow we got. She had SO much fun making snow angels and making a "snow castle" (a small pile of snow).

Making snow angels was by far her favorite thing to do! Last year, she was too afraid of the cold snow to make them so I was excited that she like making them this year! The picture above is Hailey making a snow angel next to the one I made.

Note in the picture below that Hailey is wearing goggles!!!! When we were getting ready to go outside Haileygoes and gets her goggles. She tells me she needs her goggles so that the snow doesn't get in her eyes. She is such a silly girl....

Here she is trying to throw a snow ball at me. Unfortunately (for her, good for me) the snow was too powdery to make any good snow balls.

Here's to more snow this winter!

Happy Birthday Hailey

Happy Birthday Sweet Princess! Today is the day you turned FOUR! I can hardly believe it has been four years since you were born!

Here are a few things we know about you:

1) You are a girl of MANY words and always have an opinion.

2) You love school, and always ask when you get to go again!

3) You don't have a favorite color. When asked, you list the colors of the rainbow.

4) You have an incredible imagination.

5) You are VERY stubborn. I hope that will serve you well in the long run!

6) Your favorite toys are Barbies, my littlest pet shop, and anything imaginary. :)

7) You make the BEST facial expressions. You have a face for every situation.

8) You have a great memory!

9) You do not like chocolate, but you do like peanut butter cups!

10) You can dress yourself. Sometimes your clothes may be inside out or backwards, but that ok because YOU did it by yourself!

Hailey picked a princess theme for this years party. Here is her cake (which I am proud to say I made)!

Here are some decorations for her party. We decided to have a family only party this year, and invite her freinds in future years.

Here is a close up of the table.

The birthday girl herself!!

The inside of her cake: TIE-DYE. She requested it! It turned out really neat!

Opening presents was so much fun! Thanks to everyone who came!!

Here she is riding her new bike that Mike and I got her! I can't believe she is big enough to have a bike already. How the time flies!

Happy Birthday Hailey! Mommy and Daddy LOVE YOU!