It's Spring at my nest

I must confess I had left the christmas glitz in my apocrathy jars all this time.

So today was the day to update for spring. And possibly longer. Who knows when I'll decide to do something different. So here's what they have in them now. eggs (yes plastic easter eggs I painted to be more natrual and match my decor)

butterflies from feathers and this little birdy that also happened to get a paint job

So happy spring for my home!

Bookcase Up-do

We have a bookcase in our living room, and I sorta despise it. I hate how it always looks like a cluttered mess. I'd love a fancy new one with the sliding glass doors, but my budget says NO! So I ran across a bit of inspiration in the Serena & Lilly catalog.

I love how all the books are covered to match, I've actually seen this done in a few catalogs, where they are covered to match the decor.

So I set out to give my bookcase a bit of an up-do: and this is what I have accomplished so far...a work in progress, so use your imagination I haven't made it to the bottom half.

Hopefully I'll get around to finishing the bottom part soon.

A few more

things I love from the catalog previously mentioned.

Really I love everything in the catalog, but these are some really cute and unique ideas that I would love to replicate (some day).

Just a little something I made

I received a great catalog in the mail a while back. LOVE it. Can't afford one single item from it. But I've hidden it in a special place to refer to for inspiration.
Well they had this awesome Note Holder Frame, and I said to myself "Self you can make that!" So here is my much cheaper version of it. I used a $4 frame from the church resale shop, some jute twine, and a few binder clips. Simply just tacked down the twine, and I'm ready to go. (Okay Okay, being me I spray painted the frame black to match everything else I have!) So overall savings $35!

Tada!

So here's the pictures of our paint job. (this picture makes it look a lot lighter than it really is, the first one is a more acurate picture)And here is a pre- paint pictures from when we first moved in.

Brushed Up and Rolled Out

Well Friday night I worked on a portion of the painting, then Saturday morning we started out. It turned out to be a huge disaster in my husbands eyes. Basically it set the groundwork for a horrible weekend together. Yes that's right I'm freaking pissy! But all his b*tch*ng aside, and my sore arms, I learned a few things about painting that I had not realized before.
1) Although that blue tape barely sticks when you want it to get a dab of paint on it and it won't peel off for anything. Horrible that there are little sections of blue tape still stuck to the trim of my house. Perhaps someday I'll get fed up with it and get a knife and start scraping.
2) More important than the paint or the rollers or that crappy tape is carpet cleaner. I know, I know, why didn't you use a drop cloth? Those suckers are a huge mess to deal with, you have to unroll, lay out, move around, hope not to smear the paint that's on it onto the floor or furniture...not to mention that it sticks to your feet when you walk around on it. So my reason for NEEDING carpet cleaner. - Not that my carpet isn't horrible as it is, I mean we had that little dog (RIP) that refused to use the doggy door when he was mad, and I have a three year old that eats anywhere in the house she wants to.
3)I learned that 11 ft ceilings, a 6 ft ladder, and 5'5" girl with a fear of heights doesn't work out real well especially when trying not to paint the ceiling.
4) Guilt will occur when you happen to decide to paint the house in "Not a color your husband would choose" and he gets pissed because painting sucks..lets face it it's not a day at the playground.
5) Those really big refrigerators have wheels, Amazing...too bad I can't get the water to come out the door.
6) Prison cell grey does in fact bleed through one coat of Toasted Coconut. 2 layers of paint are required.
7) Spongy brushes are a waste. As are any product that is "for corners"
8) Apparently the paint they sell these days aren't strong enough to get you high...making the whole process a lot less fun.
So all in all I sacrificed my child's cleanliness in order to finish my project. I didn't make her take a bath on Friday night. I know I'm a terrible mom! I pissed my husband off real good, by making it to where the TV was unplugged for more than 5 hours. And we didn't get the bedroom done. So more to do next weekend! On the upside I don't have to look at Prison Cell Grey anymore (except in my bedroom).

I will share pics as soon as I take some.

Too Busy Thursday

After a full busy day at work..and what day isn't? I came home and got to work! I was modivated!

I've decided and convinced my husband that we need to paint the inside of our house this weekend. Right before we bought the house the last people painted it this light blue grey color...and it depresses the heck out of me. It's like a cloudy winter day everyday. So in an effort to speed up the process I started taping off the trim and areas we don't want to get paint on. That blue tape doesn't stick very well. I have a feeling I'm going to come home tomorrow and re-tape the whole thing over again. I did most of the area's I will need taped off, so a small percentage of the way there.

I washed a small bit of clothes, which I refuse to fold, or switch into the dryer until later. So Yeah, what I'm a little lazy?!

I made a wonderful little dress for Neely, because that's right I got my sewing machine figured out! Very excited. however I feel like such a spaz because I have so many half started, planned out not started and needs to just be done projects...so you can't expect too much from me. This took me maybe an hour. Glad it was a quick project. She's such a little show off.

I also cut a slip of fabric to put in her new cup that I bought her, it's one where you can decorate the paper on the inside. So she will be sporting her new dress and matching cup to "school" tomorrow.

I also saw the cutest idea on The Shabby Nest...and it was like the answer to my prayers (or at least frustrations). I have a dresser that we repainted and use for our TV stand..and it holds almost all of Dal's Cd's so it's perfect...however when I repainted it I took off the hardware, and once they dried I put them in a grocery bag to put back on later...long story short, Dal thought it was a bag for trash, and I no longer have pulls for the drawers. I've not been able to find any that fit the holes either. So I used this twine I bought last week to make some pulls. I like the rustic, casual look. I'm sorry for the poopy pic. It's dark!

So I feel very accomplished that I have completed not one, but THREE Projects as well as a small bit of cleaning.

Tomorrow I will purchase my paint, and attempt to start painting the small areas with a brush. Wish me luck...I think the eleven foot ceilings might be an issue. Poor Dal doesn't have a clue what this project will entail. So wish us luck. Updates to follow!

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

And the WORST B&B award goes to...

Robins Nest Bed and Breakfast, Lake Travis

Saturday we met up with Dal's grandparents (in Madisonville, TX) and gave them our little angel for the week. We decided to hit the road and head to Austin to spend the weekend. I'm thinking, we'll get there and we'll get a crap hotel room we can afford, and buy a toothbrush and deodorant at Wal-Mart and enjoy our weekend in our favorite town. Well, apparently Dallas had something already in mind. He called this little place and reserved a room on Lake Travis. So..we drive, and we arrive at the Robin's Nest around 5 in the afternoon. Of coarse he checked with me for my okay before we even left Madisonville to Austin to get my approval on the room (I Phones are the best). I was delighted. Because this is what I see online:Anyhow, we drive up to this place and it looks so cute and eclectic. I'm excited. We meet the front desk girl, and she shows us to our room.

HOLY CRAP, what is wrong with this place? Seriously? This is what $200+ got me? Oh man, your website is a HUGE FRAUD!

Here is what the room actually looks like...

and I can't even discribe the filth on the floors (thank God I wore flipflops in February) or the musty smell it had.
We kept thinking, "How is this supposed to make you feel romantic, when all I want to do is run?" And "Why wouldn't you keep the room clean, and where the heck to you get this ugly junk from?" We were holding out hope that breakfast would redeem the situation...but instead this is what we ended up with:

Cold eggs, undercooked bacon, cold mushy potatoes, and rotting fruit salad on paper plates. YUM! Needless to say I give this place a negative 10 on my hotel stars rating!
Stay tuned for the good part of our weekend...