Not such a tame world....

And here's a touch o'Green....

The foyer tree:

 

So here was the Valentine's Decor....

 At the front door was my $5 find from Wal-mart:

 

And in the foyer is my seasonal tree. I try to limit my decorating to my foyer tree and the living room mantle. Mainly so that a) I'm not storing gobs of stuff and b) the house doesn't start to look like a theme park. I do hope that down the road in a few decades,Tabitha remembers how much fun the house was around the holidays. And she may remember how giddy, looney I get about decorating. :-)

So here's my foyer tree with the banner I made this year with my cricut. And yup - I was goofy enough to special order pink lights off the 'net. (I planned ahead and got some green ones at the same time, too.)

 

Some close up's:

 
 

This year, I wanted pink lights for the kitchen bar space. And of course, lots of fluffy white marabou feathers just add to the fun factor.

 

I decided that the dining room table would indulge my "glamour" girl.

 

And then I went all hearts all over the mantle.

I had treated myself to tulips during Feb, but they finally were past their prime. So I ditched'em before the pics. Bad feng shui to have dead stuff around the house anyway....

I had found this adorable pink feather bird at Michael's. I loved it right away even though I had no idea how I'd use it. So for good measure -- I bought two! And they were right at home perching at each end of my homemade banner. Again, I put my cricut thru it's paces.

 
 

So that wraps up the Valentine's Day 2011 Showcase. I'm in the process of decking out in green for the month of March. So far, the foyer tree is sort of done. And that's about it. I'm still dreaming up what to do for the mantle etc.... I need to go on a shopping excursion in search of glassware. But I guarantee that green will be there!

Stay tuned....

"Oh Happy Day!" It's March 1st and that means....

It's time to start celebrating a month of Green!

Wahoo!! My favorite color, for a whole month -- what more could a girl want?

So the project for today is to take down the Valentine's Day decor. The theme this year was pink. And honestly, I'm not sure that I've even taken photos of what I did this year. Well, except for this one:

 
This the collection of jars in the center of my kitchen island. I started decorating with jars of candy about 4 years ago. It was the only way I could think of to keep clutter from accumulating on the island instead. Which was what was happening. And it drove me nuts! Nowadays, instead I have no clutter and a reputation in the neighborhood as having the "good stuff" out on the counter all the time. What can I say? I know kids & how they think. [Big & small, by-the-way....]

I'll go take some pics and post tomorrow. I got pretty darn crafty with my Cricut this year.

So moving right along to March and GREEN, I'm sprucing the place up with some bright green touches. The one that I've gotten done so far was making slip covers for some couch pillows.

This project came about because:

1. I got some new Christmas decoration this past year and didn't want to buy another storage bin to store. So something had to give and not get packed up. After some selective purging -- the best I could figure was that the Christmas pillows that usually live on the couch would get to stay.
2. But it would be totally weird to have Christmas pillows out after December, right?
3. "Sew simple solution" was slip covers. I've done this before and even though I've got sewing skills, this is just super easy straight lines.
4. Then when I happened to be combing the remnants at a nearby fabric store, I found the most striking remnant of green upholstery velvet. I've used this type of fabric before and it holds up well to abuse. And Baby - can my kid & critters pass out abuse? Oh Yes they can! Besides it was cheap and really wide.


So voila!

Before:

 

After:

 

Not too shabby, I think. So now I'm off to work on the rest of the house. I'm feeling a trip to Michael's or Hobby Lobby coming on. Oh -- and then I need to find some bulk candy in green....

So you can tell what time of year it is....

Just by looking at the candy jars around here:

 

In case you're wondering, it is difficult to find "thematic" candy, but this was something I wanted to do for festive color while my nephews visit. So I ended up at the local Central Market and had to buy individual flavors of jelly bellys in bulk, as well as the old-fashioned rock candy. [Geez, that brings back memories!] So since I'm the major jellybean addict in our house, I solely chose for color and selected pomegranate, coconut & blueberry. Tab & Michael are picking out all the red ones, which is a tad annoying, but I only need color balance thru Saturday. The big jar has Kitkats (red), Hersey's kisses (silver), peppermint patties (silver), Hersey's Cookies & Cream kisses (blue), and Almond Joy bars (blue). Seeing as how I love coconut, I'm in hog-heaven right now!

The interesting development I've found is that once I put out all this candy & told the kids they could help themselves to one piece per day, they have a tendency to walk right on by & not even see the candy there. The lids never even got lifted on Tuesday. So they know they can help themselves, but now there's no interest because it's not "off-limits" anymore. In fact, I'm the one going after the rock candy the most!!

[Amazingly enough, this strategy has worked with them for all sorts of other food types as well. On Sunday, I took the nephews grocery shopping with me to pick out sodas, snacks, chips, breakfast foods, etc. The rules were one item per category per day, and healthy items had to be worked in also. So you know what I keep running out of? Cheese sticks, yougurt/go-gurt, chocolate milk & bananas! They haven't touched the sodas yet. Only one bag of chips has been opened & that was the "baked" kind. And so far, no one has noticed that I hid the bag of oreos. And I had a request from 2 of 3 kids for salmon for dinner....]

Still, this is one of my most favorite ways to decorate for the holidays. Edible Decor -- Ya' gotta' love it!!

Updates abound this past weekend....

The Coca-cola signs all arrived on Friday. So one of the weekend projects was getting them hung up before catastrophe occurred. [A fairly regular occurrence living with 4 cats, 1 dog, and 3 accident prone people -- some more than others....]

So with lots of help from the local munchkins, I got the signs up on Saturday. Oh. And in spite of the ladder being in the photo -- I never got up on it. I managed to reach from just the step-stool. ['No brain injury stunts were pulled in the act of hanging signs"....]

Had a haircut on Sunday and went with yet another new "do". Do you think I've taken my yen for all thing "Twilight" to an obsessed level when I fell in love with Alice's hair style? [YES! Something that us chicks with fine stick-straight hair can do!!!] Sunday I headed to the salon. Showed my hair guy, Bryan, the pictures I'd found on the Internet, and an hour later -- I was feeling pretty darn sassy. Michael calls Bryan my "Hair God" and how's this for compliments? When I walked in Sunday afternoon, Michael looked at me and said that now I "was probably going to get carded for lotto tickets." I can only hope! Truly,this is a departure in style from my usual nice neat bob, but quite fun. I'm going to have to learn to actually use [gasp] product in my hair. But styling wise I pulled it off this morning & had a good hair day. And I really like my hair intentionally "messy".

So, here's a shot of the wall  & one of me in front of the wall from late Sunday night.

 

Ta-Dah!!!!

So since my MIL is anxious to see how the new red paint turned out -- here's some photos:

"Going up"

 

 

And after three coats, I present you my new RED kitchen -- I'm in love....

 

 

Michael & I later went on Ebay & won bids on a number of "vintage" coca-cola signs. They will be arriving later this week. Turns out that I really only had two when I thought I had more, and now I have a lot of pretty red wall space to decorate. :-) Color me HaPpY!!!

Suddenly, the room actually looks like it has a plan. A cohesive theme even.... The white appliances seem intentional; I actually love the color of my cabinets now; and the hunter green silestone counters PoP!

The painters I had did such an awesome job. They'll be getting more business for sure. Especially since now the dining room looks pale & anemic in comparison. The guys got done with the walls & then decided my trim didn't looks so great -- so then they put a fresh coat of bright white enamel on all of my trim. Love that!

So anyway, I just giggle when I go in the kitchen now. It finally feels like we're putting our own stamp on this house and making it our own, some four years after the fact....

STOP THE PRESSES....

NEWSFLASH: "The Wallpaper is Gone!"

In a stunning development, after just 3.5 hours of work, the infamous wallpaper in the kitchen is now down & completely removed. The walls have had the first "repair" layer of mud spread on. You know the wallpaper was truly hideous when two visitors have already commented on how much better the bare, naked, non-primed drywall looks.

The guys just got back from lunch and it sounds like the second layer of mud is on it's way up.

 

Got Kids? Got Stains???

If so, allow me to introduce some of my new best friends....

Of the house keeping kind, that is....

So a friend of a friend had mentioned this company called Melaluca to me back in April. I didn't think too much of it back then. But then Mrs K. next door got some of their products and was raving about them, to the point that it got my attention again. So being extremely dubious about just how well the cleaning products worked, I ended up touring Mrs. K's master bathroom to see for myself. I decided to give the company a try and started off with the laundry products.

Allow me to rave about them for a few minutes....

You can only guess how hard Tabitha is on her clothes. Seriously. How one small girl manages to completely wear whatever mess she encounters/creates/runs into, I will never truly know. I have/had a devil of a time getting her clothes completely clean. The worst were all the Technicolor marker stains from her elbows down and across the fronts of her shirts. Crayolas are supposed to be washable now, but I don't really believe that. So the first week that I got my new batch of products, Tabitha manages to get chocolate syrup embedded on the front of her light khaki corduroy skirt. I forgot about the pre-spot stuff and just tossed the skirt in the wash. I figured that I could do a repeat wash if needed. Well -- color me shocked when I pulled the skirt out & it was stain free. Since then, I have yet to meet a stain that lasts past this line-up. Wish I'd found these products about 2 years ago. Then I might not have been so much of a spaz about Tabitha wearing white.

I love the fact that the products are so concentrated that 1/2 an ounce does the job for a full load of laundry. I love the fact that I order on-line, on my own schedule [i.e. 11:30pm] and a week later the stuff arrives at my front door. And tapping into my inner "Greenie", I love that none of the products are chemically harmful to the environment. They are made to work with my HE washer, and that's awesome. I was willing to give this stuff a try because even though I was a devout Wisk-Girl, it was getting nearly impossible to find the large jug of the HE Wisk. I was having to make special trips to a Target about 10 miles away. And even though I'd go in for just one item, I'd always come out with more -- Target is just like that. So I was "open to change" at the time and so far so good.

I've since gone on to try more product including the Tub & Tile cleaner. I tried an experiment for a month where all I did was spray the cleaner in my shower enclosure every other day for 1 month. I didn't scrub a bit. Just Spray & Go. And being the cleaning geek that I am -- I took before & after pictures.

Behold: "The Before"Please notice all the hard water spots. I grew up as a serious Lime-a-way & Scrubbing Bubbles kind-of-girl, so I had this mind set that the fumes had to be nearly overwhelming, or else cleaning wasn't really happening. So it was a little startling to see progress occurring, without needing a gas mask and without me having to scrub.

And here is the "After":

 

The hard-water spots are almost gone actually. I purposely took a photo of a place with some still there, but much lighter, just so you could see the progress. This is a section that I haven't scrubbed a bit. On the sections that I have scrubbed a little, they gleam like mirrors. I also love the fact that I can spray this cleaner while I'm still in the shower -- and I don't mind it a bit. No fumes to choke on or to irritate my airway. And the stuff works with minimal effort on my part -- Always a selling point in my book!

My other two favorites are the general surface cleaner called "Tough & Tender". This stuff helps me keep my granite [silestone] counters sparkling. Before it would take me about 45 minutes of constant scrubbing & buffing to get a nice gleam. Now it's about 10 minutes & all I do is spritz and wipe. No buffing/polishing required. Product #2 that I'm currently in love with is the furniture polish. I used it on my desks & project table in my office. My desks look nearly new versus being 5 years old with wear & tear on the tops. I also polished up some serious shine for our kitchen table, but Tab has damaged the veneer in a few places badly enough, that it is looking fairly "loved" these days.

So I started using Melaluca just to get the laundry clean & to avoid irritating trips for detergent. Since then I've tried lots of their products and have yet to find something that I don't like. What I have noticed is that what I use is way more effective that whatever brand I had used before, and with less amount, and with much less "toxicity" i.e. fumes. I love that the dishwasher detergent is so safe, that it doesn't even require a child proof cap. No phosphates and I can actually pronounce all the ingredients versus those on the side of a Cascade box. I'm not sure that I'm ever going to know why I had my pulmonary emboli, but I'd like to think that reducing my chemical exposure at home, has to be a good move.

So I mention all this cleaning product "stuff" because if you're interested in trying anything, now is the time to do so. Melaluca has dropped their usual membership fee from $29 to $1 through October 31. When I joined I did so during a 1/2 price month, so I paid $15. This is a one time fee, then annually there is a $12 fee to cover the cost of catalogs. The company has a huge range of products besides the cleaning ones, but those are what I love & use daily. Go check out their website, and if you decide you want to try something, let me know.

What a Week!!!

So Michael left for Germany on Monday and will be gone for a week, thus I'm doing the single parent "thing" -- on top of working a full day at the urban clinic and commuting 2 hours a day.

All I can say is "Thank God for the understanding women in my life!"

Ms. K next door watched Tab all afternoon since school got out 2+ hours early today. Then tomorrow another friendly neighbor is watching Tab with their daughter all afternoon. Monday was my local Women's Club Bunco group. It coincidentally was at one of my neighbor's homes and when I called to tell her I was sending a substitute (another sweet & lovable neighbor btw) since I couldn't get a babysitter for a school night, the hostess insisted that I bring Tab along and come play anyway. Then once we were there, her grandson (one of Tab's classmates & buddies) and she went to work as the wait-staff and took our snack orders and brought them to us. The kids did very well. Tab's manners were impeccable, and I might even consider taking her again.

In the meantime, I am exhausted. This past weekend was more work on my study. Michael moved mountains last week and found a concrete guy to refinish my floor with about 24 hours notice. The guy did fantastic work and is the owner of the company. We love the results so much that in the next few months, we want him back to do the dining room & living room. And I'm considering taking out the hardwood floor in the main hallway too. (I've never been a huge fan of the color. ) Besides, if all the floors end up on the same level, it just makes Michael's dream of owning a "roomba" that much more feasible. Pictures to follow....

So Saturday the floor work was done, just needed to dry overnight. Sunday found me skipping church to go with Michael to Home Depot [I feel so guilty.... <sigh>]. We needed a new door handle for the front door. The old one had seized up and we couldn't work the mechanism to open the door anymore. Since it was the front door, that seemed like a bit of a safety issue. So $300 later -- we went home with a new door handle set AND a power miter saw with a laser sight. [I am such the power tool junkie!] I'd wanted one of these ever since our first home together, where I put up chair railing using a hand held saw and a plastic miter box. Seriously, the power tool version works so much better! So I "needed" the miter saw becasue with my floor done it was obvious that I needed quarter round trim installed to cover the gap at the bottom of the base boards -- and really, trim work is not brain surgery! There is no reason that I can't do this job myself. So for less than a door handle ($149) I got the saw ($99) and 40 feet of trim. Turns out that I was about 6 feet short, but I'm still trying to get the time to go back for more. I had to get the window wall done in my office so that Michael could get my computer back together. I can not live without internet & e-mail for an entire 6 days. Just not happening!

So I'm half way done. Haven't gotten home early enough yet this week to do this project before Tab's bedtime. Seeing as how her bedroom is next door, it would be a bit rude for me to be sawing, banging & hammering after her bedtime.....

And interestingly enough, Tessa has miraculously recovered her ability to use the litter box.... Go figure?

Step #1. Carpet is gone, floor still needs cleaning

 

 

Step #2. Floor is diamond polished clean & smooth. Brie investigates.

Step #3. Second of 4 layers of stain being applied.

Step #4. Final product after wax & polishing.

Almost as good as Christmas!

See! Not just another cute Redhead!

Quarter round in place but not yet painted.

Window Wall done & desk returned to a new configuration.

Brie approves of the new floor. She particularly likes flopping on it becasue it's smooth & cool. Comes in handy when it's 98 degrees outside....

So give the girl a paintbrush....

And she's liable to paint with it....

Actually, last Monday (5/19) the main a/c unit for the central "living" section of the house died. Technically, it wasn't the unit. Just the computer circuit board that tells the blower to cycle on & off. So much for a quiet week at home full of scrapbooking goodness, etc. By Wednesday, I reached the point that I was Fed Up, with just about everything. The the 1940's shade of "Battleship Grey" that my home office had been painted, courtesy of prior homeowners, was just tripping my personal circuit board. So by Wednesday I decided to paint. Off to Lowe's go Tab & I. The paint-gal handed me the gallon cans and asked:

"So is this your favorite shade of  green ?" "Sure. I guess so." "Just wondering since it's the same color as your purse."

Sure enough. Tabs & I looked, saw the resemblance and laughed all the way to the car.

 

 

[This is me being very happy with my new green wall....]

 

 

 

Thursday to today found me scaling the 8 foot ladder too many times to count. The room got painted by Saturday evening when all the girls for Tabs party showed up. Miss H. and I bailed and headed to Lowe's for more paint as I'd decided that now I wanted to paint the ceiling.

So this morning I got to the point where I could take down all the tape and this is what I have:

12 foot ceilings, with a huge wall of built-in book cases & shelves -- Yeah, I know. I'm spoiled.

 

 

 

 

 

 

At night with the flash, the color looses something, but the walls are a "spring green" and the ceiling is a "pale aqua". Between the two, there's enough punch that the cream crown molding is now visible. The true paint names are "Herb Cornucopia" and "Mystic Sea". As usual, I've renamed them "Kitty-Kat Green Eyes" and "Brie Brie Blue Eyes" since in general most of my decorating choices somehow tie into the cats that populate the household. At least that's what they think.

So about 40 minutes before all the in-laws show up for Michael's & my & my BIL's combined birthday, I realize that I am on a roll, have the energy, enthusiasm, & the knees still work. So I decided to just cut a bit of carpet to see what's underneath. The reason why....

Well, Tessa has lived in my study for about a year now, so that she can be an "only cat". As she nears 14 years old, there are some privileges for being the senior cat. Although mostly it was a form of self-defense since she had taken to peeing all over certain areas of carpet in the rest of the house. Naturally, she continued this behavior once she was confined to my study. Fortunately, after gross anatomy in medical school and sinus surgery, my sense of smell is nearly non-existent. So really, until the house was staying uncomfortably warm, all of the time, I wasn't really picking up how the smell was. But the pee stains were ruining the carpet. We've had them professionally cleaned & that was no help. So for a while now, I've been toying with the idea of putting down hardwood. Of course, that still leaves me with an indiscriminately peeing cat, and the high probability that I'd have to replace said wood floor down the road. So after talking with Ms. K a bit, I started to see the potential for stained concrete floors. They can be sealed. And most appealingly, they're about as close to cat-proof as I can get.

So about 40 minutes before family appears, I cut into the carpet and find this....

Hallelujah!!!! No GLUE!!! Just tacking strips....

So in very short order, [about 3 hours really] the carpet is gone. The carpet pad is gone, and 95% of the tacking strips are gone. As in stacked at the curb waiting for trash pick up tomorrow. When I get serious about something, I get serious! And the ammonia smell of cat pee is 100% absent!

So tonight, Tessa is sleeping on my desk. Completely gob-smacked. Interestingly enough, when there's no more carpet -- she pees in the litter box! Guess she's a little worried now that if I would get rid of the carpet, what will I do next?.... And the room looks like this:

I figure that over the course of the next month we'll find a contractor to polish the concrete & stain it a deep dark mahogany brown. And between my happy green walls, my aqua sky, and my cat proof floor, I will be one happy girl indeed!