Confessions of a Hillbilly

Growing up, I remember always having a nice house. It wasnt perfectly clean, decorated or fancy but it was always tidy and well kept. Our yard was always beautiful and we always had somewhere to be very proud of. Though I may sound like a judgemental little twit from the suburbs for saying this...when I would visit friends houses that werent clean I would get almost an anxiety about playing there. I remember being 5-6 years old and avoiding certain peoples houses because of the clutter. Lucky for me, almost all of my friends had very clean, very well kept houses and yards. When my mother passed away I quickly I soon found myself being one of those people that were a little embarrassed of my house. It wasnt as nice. It wasnt as clean. My dad worked hard and did a damn good job, but...its hard for one person to do what two people did. Especially, when that one person is a man. No offense. Women are just better at...well, everything.

My handsome man just turned 3. To me, this means that the whole 2 year old amnesia thing is wearing off and he's going to start developing memories of his house and home. I want him to be proud. I want him to invite people over and the only thought he and his friends have are playing.

With ALL that longwinded nonsense behind...here is where our hillbilly yard comes into play. Somewhere along the last couple years I have completely abandoned my backyard and it definately shows.



Yupp, thats a car tire. Thats also a ridiculous amount of seasonal toys that have been sitting back there since...last summer. Oh and a jogging stroller. Kind of embarrasing. Here's a close up of that nonsense just in case you didnt get enough the first time...



Not good, then there's our porch. It's little and has lots of unused potential. Here's a picture with our lovely Kita. See all that crap in the background behind her. I shamefully admit, it's been sitting there for a while.



As well as all the stuff sitting on the sides and underneath the porch.





To be completely honest, these pictures dont do the uglyness of our backyard justice. It truly is ugly. Uglier then I think I can even show in pictures. But the pictures are ugly enough to embarrass me. Thats kind of the point of this whole post, to embarrass me into getting this backyard into tip top shape. Nothing will move someone faster then embarrassment.

Our plans for the backyard arent lavish by any means but they will make our backyard somewhere where we can bbq, play and work. Mostly DIY and cheap-o projects to make this space feel more like an extended room off of our home.

Our backyard itinerary for this spring/summer:
1. Getting all that JUNK to the dump or goodwill
2. Powerwashing our pavers and then repaving our patio with them to make everything nice and even - lots of work but it'll be cheap!
3. Buying a new patio set, I'm thinking this one
4. Making a potted plant garden
5. Grass! Were gonna try and grow some grass!
6. Buying a shed to store our lawn mower and other outdoor tools
7. Powerwashing and restaining our porch
8. Making a sandy area for Patrick's water table
9. Putting up some sort of lattice under the deck to keep all the leaves and winter muck out from underneath
10. Adding some solar lighting for breezy summer nights

Today were taking stuff to the dump, cleaning it up and donating it. Hopefully our first little step will make a BIG difference.

Cheers to spring!

Tray'ding Spaces

...you like that post title? I know, I'm clever.

Lately, I have been seeing laquered trays all over design magazine, blogs and catalogs.

Like these from west elm


I came across a tray that I bought a little over 10 years ago from Pier 1. It's a solid little wood tray but is dark and drab and totally not our style. I thought that maybe I could use some left over paint and make it into something new. Something pretty that could serve as a catch all for everything the hubby dumps from his pockets every evening.

I stole a couple hours during nap times and started a new project.

Here's the tray before her facelift


And that super low...obviously 10 years ago price tag from Pier 1


I spray painted the entire thing white


I couldnt decide what I wanted to do with it from there...but I knew it needed something. As I was digging around our "house stuff" shelf in our laundry room storage I found this little guy.


I bought this originally intending for it to be the color of our guest bathroom. All the boys in our house objected. Suprised? Yeah, me niether.

Anyway, here's the tray after the first coat. First coats of paint always look like crap. Thats normally how you know your doing a good first coat. It's kind of thin, uneven and not cute by anyones standards. Oh, and as you can see...I didnt even bother using another paint brush. I just used the one right out of the bottle. Super easy.





Then the second and final coat. She's all done!



And here she is in her new home...




The best thing about this whole project...was that it was free! Gotta love free!

Getting Undressed

...this has little to do with actually getting naked. But does have everything to do with nudity. My nude dresser that is.

I have had this dresser for almost 10 years and its in amazing condition. There are a lot of knicks, scratches and even chunks of wood that have chipped off, but it creates a certain character that you can only get with real wood furniture and with all the faux wood furniture out there, you have got to respect a little character. She's pretty much perfect. But the color? Oh the color was killing me! It wasnt a bad finish or a bad stain but the color was not working for our bedroom at all. We needed something sexier. Something a little more modern and a little younger. I thought white would be perfect with super modern hardware to tie in the other modern elements in our little love nest.

Here's the befores...



...and a courtesy before shot with my little helper



and now...my new dresser, all jazzed up



...and a close up of the hardware



How'd I do it? It was ridiculously easy.
1. Undress this pretty little thing. Take all the hardware off. Simple enough.
2. Use wood putty to fill in the holes were the old hardware used to be.
3. Very lightly sand the entire piece. This piece didnt take much sanding because it only had a very light stain. Anything shiny or with any kind of gloss would need MUCH more sanding.
4. Give her a bath. I took an old wash cloth and wiped down the entire thing. It helps clean up all the dust from sanding so your paint goes on smoothly.
5. Paint! I used a simple straight off the rack white paint in a satin finish. If your prego like me I suggest a low VOC paint, a room with lots of windows and a mask. Just to be safe.
6. Add new hardware. Measure and line it up. Drill the holes and screw in the new pieces. Easy peasy!

AND it was super cheap.
I literally paid...
$12 paint
$9 brush
$0 sandpaper (already had on hand)
$17 hardware
$38 TOTAL!

The makeover was super simple, super cheap and changed the entire look of our bedroom. With a piece this big we needed something that would pull everything together and I think this did it. High paint brush fives!

Boy or Girl?

I am OFFICIALLY 2 weeks away from finding out whether I have a little boy or a little girl in my belly. I'm thinking it's a boy.

Do I want a boy more? No. Is that all I can picture? Yes. I can see me having "my boys" so much that I am having dreams based loosely around that term. I can see football games, broken arms, pizza and LOTS of grass stains in my future. As hard as I try it's really fuzzy trying to picture polka dot leggings, mini ugg boots and tea parties. As much as I would LOVE that I just dont see it happening.

I know the hubby would be over the moon for a little boy too. He keeps telling Patrick that his little brother is in my tummy. Thats a pretty certain statement.

At least I know that in 2 weeks, if they tell me ITS A GIRL! I'm not going to be the only shocked one.

On a whats going on now note...I cant stop thinking about TGI Fridays Mozzarella Sticks. And I'm wondering if they can make cheese fries?

Looking at life...through my patent leather pumps

Before I was a mommy...I literally lived for shoes. I was never really a party girl, never a big drinker. Partying got expensive and quite frankly I wasnt down for losing control and messing up the shoes that I worked so hard for. My life literally revolved around my girlfriends, whoever my boyfriend was at the time and shoes. How to attain them, where to find them, what to wear with them, how my feet looked in them. I was obsessed with pedicures...mostly because, of shoes. Ugly feet can seriously ruin a pretty pair of peeptoes. I had a journal. I would write about shoes and outfits to go with them, then I would go out and hunt for them. At one point in my life, I probably had more shoes then the average girl should ever have. Obsessive Compulsive Shoe Habit. OCSH. Self diagnosed. It was an addiction. Though, many addictions, especially in the charming areas surrounding where I reside, have side effects like you know, stealing, robbing and overall yuckiness for the things they need, I simply would steal from myself. If you could guess the amounts I have paid in NSF Fees...(thats non sufficient fund fees for all you assholes that dont know, if you are one of those people, kindly click on the little x at the top of this screen) I have paid in just the past 8 years, well...you would be shocked to know I could have a much nicer kitchen, or a good couple more years of college education on my resume.

As my life developed more meaning, my shoe collection started to fade. By fade I mean, disappear. After my first born, I started noticing my shoe collection dull. Fall would come and I wouldnt have a fun new pair of boots to tuck jeans into. Winter would come and I would put on the same water stained uggs from the year before. Then we bought our house. No more pedicures. No more fun sandals. You know the the gladiator trend? Yeah, I LOVED it from the very beginning. Did I participate? No. I didnt. I wore the same sandals from the spring and summers before. I found myself indulging in expensive nail polish as opposed to my beloved Shoes. It was cheaper, it was pretty...and at least it was something to look at down there.

It seems the more my life grew in significance, the less bright (and full) the shoe rack in my closet became.

Now with number 2 on the way, it seems the days of shoe collecting are just a faint little doop in my past.

I guess this is my way of looking at how my life has changed. If you would have told me 5 years ago that my closet would look as well, lonely as it does now...I would have probably cried. But looking at my lonely closet has simply made me realize how empty my life was BEFORE when my closet was, well...popular. Now that my life is full of SO much love, real love, not shoe love, my closet is...well empty.

This is not saying that because you dont have kids your life is empty or that because you have kids you shouldnt have nice shoes...this simply is my experience.

Now, dont get me wrong. I'm not running around barefoot only accessorizing with a screaming 2 year old and a pregnant belly. I do have some fun shoes. I just dont have lots of them. This post also doesnt mean I dont want lots of shoes. I totally still do. I really, really do. I just cant afford them like I could with my babies. But I'm not too proud to take donations. I'm a 6 1/2, 7 at Aldo.

Merry Christmas.

The One Hundred

Fashion guru Nina Garcia has a book out called the 'The One Hundred'. This book is AMAZING. It's a pretty elaborate version of the usual lists your used to reading in magazines. I can say that after reading this over there are VERY little things on this list that I do not agree with.



Here's the list breakdown:

A: A-line Dress, Animal Print, Ankle Bootie, Aviators

B: Ballet Flat, Bangles, Belts, Bikini, BlackBerry, Black Opaque Tights, Blazer, Boyfriend Cardigan, Brooch

C: Cable-Knit Sweater, Caftan, Camel Coat, Cape, Cashmere Sweater, Charm Bracelet, Clutch, Cocktail Ring, Converse, Cosmetics Bag, Cowboy Boots, Cuff

D: Denim Jacket, Diamond Studs, Driving Shoe

E: Espadrilles, Evening Gown, Exotic Skin Bag

F: Fishnets, Frye Harness Boot, Fur

G: Gentlemen's Hat, Gloves

H: Havaianas, Hobo Bag, Hoop Earrings

I: Investment Bag, iPod

J: Jeans, Jewelry Pouches

K: Khakis, Knee Boots

L: Leather Pants, Lingerie, Little Black Dress, Little White Dress, L.L. Bean Tote, Luggage

M: Mad Money, Man's White Shirt, Mary Janes, Minnetonka Moccasin, Missoni Knit, Monogrammed Stationery, Motorcycle Jacket

N: Nail Polish

O: Old Concert T-Shirt, One-Piece Swimsuit

P: Pajamas, Peacoat, Pearl Necklace, Pencil Skirt, Perfume, Plain White Tee, Polo Shirt, Pucci, Push-Up Bra

Q: Quality Champagne

R: Red Lipstick, Robe

S: Safari Jacket, Sandals, Sarong, Signet Ring, Silk Scarf, Slippers, Spanx, Statement Necklace, Stilettos, Striped Sailor Shirt, Suit, Sunhat

T: Trench, Turquoise and Coral Jewelry, Tuxedo Jacket

U: Umbrella, Underwear

V: Valid Passport, Vans, Vintage

W: Watch, Wayfarers, Wellington Boot, Wide-Leg Trousers, Wrap Dress

X: (nothing for the X)

Y: Yoga Gear

Z: Zippered Hoodie

I italiced all of those that I just dont think are for me per say, but the list is pretty amazing. It's so amazing in fact I think I'm going to put this on my new years resolution list for 2011. I'll bold as I collect my wardrobe essentials. :)

Adding to the list for myself:
Appropriate Short Shorts, Burberry Scarf, Cognac Riding Boots (Frey's harness boots are too chunky for my short legs), Perfect Strapless Bra

I'll keep you posted.

Renovation Inspiration

I bought my house from a family member during the ARM (adjustable rate mortgage) boom that caused so many families to foreclose a couple years ago. My intentions were to help save this persons credit and then to somehow slip out of the loan. My 21 year old understanding of mortgages obviously wasnt very strong, because, well...duh? You cant slip out of a mortgage. Now, here I am doing my best to turn lemons into lemonade. I am going to renovate this house and make it shine.

First on my list of renovations is the bedroom. I'm going for glam, fun, sexy. Very Jonathan Adler. Somewhere where I can take my spaghetti covered mom clothes off and wind down in pretty pajamas with my love.

Ready to be inspired?






Images from Jonathan Adler

The thing I LOVE about all of these rooms is how fun they are, but are still chic, sexy and super glamorous.




Images courtesy of Design Sponge Sneak Peak of Amie Corley's house

Bedroom TO DO list:

1. Make DIY nailhead headboard
2. Find a beautiful old louis chair and reupholster in FUN fabric
3. Paint dresser white
4. Buy a BIG fluffy flokati rug
5. Hang curtains on windows
6. Hang mirrored closet doors
7. Spray paint old brass chandelier and hang

Before and Afters to come!