It's another MAKEOVER!

Apparently the bug has bitten me lately ~ I have paint all over my hands to prove it!  So last week (or maybe it's been 2 already), I gave this mirror an updated look ~

Nice enough, but kinda boring and didn't fit in with my color scheme anymore.

Much better!

At the time, I had it displayed like this ~

This was okay, but I wasn't really happy with it. 

I knew that I wouldn't be leaving here for long.  It just didn't pop.  However, I decided that it would be fine there until I could figure out what wall to hang it on.  DH was a trooper and held that mirror up to every wall in the house (some twice), but it just didn't look right anywhere.  I was about to give up and accept the fact that this would be it's home until I was organizing the basement.  Two little treasures appeared that gave me a brilliant idea.

What were those treasures you ask?  Well, here they are ~

Two plain barn stars! 

The idea came to mind and I was just hoping that I could make it work.  The first thing that needed to be done was a coat of black paint.

On their way!

The excitement was building.  They still needed a little something.  How about these? ~

DH and my first initials

Black on black wasn't going to work, so out came the colonial red spray paint. Add a little glue and some time.  

Custom monogram barn stars!

The arrangement needed something to finish it off.  How about something significant from our lives?

The year we were married ~ almost 15 years ago!

Put it all together and this is what you get ~

Perfect!!

I couldn't be happier with how it turned out!  Personalized and one of a kind!  It was worth digging into the basement for this!

Beware of the Basement!

Our basement has been hit by a tornado!  Okay ~ maybe not.  Maybe it was just a bunch of guys in charge of unloading a moving truck and having no idea how to organize according to labels.  I'm beyond thankful to our wonderful friends that helped us move while I was recovering from surgery.  However, guys just don't get how to move.  These are photos of what our basement looked like today at 6pm.  Almost all of the boxes have been unpacked, but everything is scattered all over.

The treadmill is hiding somewhere in this photo ~ not really sure where though :)  There was no rhyme or reason to where they put anything.  Holiday totes are with toy totes, school supply totes are with gift wrapping totes.  UGH!  I like things in their places at all times, so this has been driving nuts since I've been able to go down the stairs again.  Plus, trying to get the upstairs decorated and pulled together has been challenging to say the least.

I wasn't planning on tackling it today ~ the pool opened and I had planned to spend the day soaking in some much needed sun.  However, DH went for a motorcycle trip with a friend and DD went camping with a friend.  That left DS and me alone (which never happens).  So, we decided to have some bonding time ~ we went out for lunch, hit a new bookstore, and then (oh how I love this kid) we spent 2 hours leisurely strolling thru an antiques mall.  I didn't have any luck, but he found a Jurassic Park movie book that he didn't have.  I did pick up 2 new Disney books at the bookstore though ~ one with Disney World trivia and one about the hidden Mickeys.  DS found the original The Lost World in hardcover.

We got back home late this afternoon and talked about heading over to the pool, but decided it wasn't quite warm enough.  So I browsed thru a few of my favorite blogs and started a quick makeover while he dove into the new books. 

Since it was so quiet, I headed to the basement.  No time like the present, I figured.  It's 5 hours later and I'm just emerging.  I've emptied the last few boxes and have separated everything into categories.  There's a good size pile for Goodwill and a pile that I'm going to try and sell.  I can already tell that I pushed my body's limit too far and will pay for it tomorrow :(  I just got on such a roll, I didn't want to quit!  But, as I turned off the lights, I felt much better and the basement looks much more open.

No after photos yet ~ still want to organize more.  Maybe tomorrow I'll share a photo of the Goodwill pile at least ~ that's if I can make it down and back up the stairs :)

Summer is officially here!

I'm sitting here stalking  surfing thru some of my favorite blogs, listening to the sounds of 3 sleeping in the living room.  We have a tradition that on the last day of school the kids get to stay up as late as they can watching movies.  Well, here it is 10 pm and they are both zonked (as is DH)!  I think this is the earliest they have ever caved.  I, on the other hand, am wide awake and so thought that I would do a quick post.

This summer is going to be our busiest yet.  Softball practices and games, swim team practices and meets, dance camps, hitting the pool (probably every day now that we live across the street), sleepovers, day trips, county fairs and the state fair ~ it's going to be full!  I'm hoping to do a few makeovers, if I can find the time ~ not a lot, as we don't have the room for much, but I can't seem to get them out of my system :)

I'm hoping to do at least 1 post a week ~ before and after shots of our home, some Disney tips.  Maybe even include cleaning out the basement.  We had move so fast that DH and some friends had to do all the packing.  They also did all the moving and unloading without any direction from me as to where anything went ~ I was pretty much confined to the recliner and unable to move.  Needless to say, the basement looks like a war zone.  I have been able to get down there and unpack most of the boxes.  All the junk treasures have been put on the shelving that's down there.  I've been trying to sort thru things ~ Goodwill should send me a huge thank you this year ;)  Some stuff has been sold.  But there is still so much down there that I just need to get thru.  My goal is to spend a minimum of 1 hour per day down there ~ we'll see how that goes once things get into full summer schedule next week.

Keep checking for new posts ~ you'll never know what you're going to find in them!

Finish Friday! And a little Disney savings idea!

It's Friday!  Both kids are on their way to field trips today and there's only 3.5 days before summer vacation starts.  They can't wait for the pool to open ~ we moved to a home that is directly across from the pool :)  For the last week, it's been driving them nuts to watch it being filled and all the prep work that's been taking place.  I was a bit disgusted when it was first filled ~ the water was totally brown!  Now it's finally looking crystal clear and very inviting (especially since the temps have been in the 80s).

The makeover is completed ~ it felt so good to get that spray paint out again!  I'm more than pleased with how it looks.

Remember what it looked like before ~

It was a nice navy blue mirror ~ quite plain and boring.  Plus it didn't fit in with the new home's decor.  So I used some creativity and turned it into this ~

Add some colonial red spray paint and a black metal G ~ it's a whole new piece!  It adds such a nice pop of color and goes so well with everything.  I almost (although I can't believe I'm admitting it) donated it to Goodwill when we were moving because I didn't think I could use it. 

Here's how I have it displayed for the time ~

It's sitting on top of the entertainment center in the family room along with our Disney savings jars.  One for me, one for DH, one for DS, one for DD, one for gas, and one for food.  That's an idea I snagged from pinterest :)  The kids are allowed to put whatever money they want into the jars (money from birthdays, Christmas, etc.).  They can then use the money for their souvenirs ~ we usually buy their special one (or in other words, the expensive one).

We give them opportunities to earn Disney dollars through different things ~ chores, trying new foods (for our picky eater), when we "catch" them doing nice things for each other/us, etc.  DH and I "earn" our money from each other too.  We have decided not to buy cards or gifts for each other, but instead put that money in one of the other 4 jars.  Any spare changes goes in as well.

We just started doing this after we settled in to our new home, so there's not a lot of money in them yet.  Although DD did empty my change jar into hers and DS :)  So they have a little start.  But, since we probably won't be heading back to the World for a year, there's plenty of time to fill 'em up!



A Makeover!!!!

Most of the boxes are unpacked ~ a lot has found it's way to Goodwill.  However, there are still a few makeovers to be found :) 

When we purchased this home, it needed a LOT of updating.  The good news was we had time to do it ~ the acreage had not sold so we didn't have to move yet.  The old wool carpet was pulled out, the stuck-on tile was chiseled out, new paint in every room, new light fixtures hung. 

I decided to go a different way in decorating this home.  While I still like the prim look, it just doesn't "fit" in this house.  So I went with a color called cork for all the walls, ceilings, and woodwork.  Yes ~ we painted the ceilings and workwood all the same color as the walls.  We cut our living space in half and felt that by painting everything the same color, it would open the space up and give more of a flow to the house.  Loving it! 

I'm using black for most of the accessories with just a hint of red here and there.  I took my inspiration from a pip berry garland that I have.  So I've been busy painting picture frames and anything else that I have displayed black ~ mostly gloss.  I didn't think I would like the shine of gloss, but it is giving everything a nice finish. 

Because I don't have as much display room, I've been downsizing and downsizing all my "pretties".  Plus with everything that happened during my surgery, I have found myself craving anything with a connection to our family ~ photos, artwork, etc.  Everything that I had out at the acreage just doesn't seem to matter to me anymore.  As I've been unpacking them, I don't want to display them and just want to get rid of them.  I have always loved displaying DS and DD artwork, but now that's about all I have on the walls besides photos.  There is just something about doing this that makes our home so cozy!

I came across a window frame mirror that I have had for years in one of the boxes and an idea came to me on how I could incorporate it into our home.  It was a glossy navy blue and needed some updating. 

Here's the before ~

It's painted, now I'm just waiting for it to dry to finish it up.  Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to post the finished project!

The Last 11 Weeks

Where to start?  11 weeks ago ~ Feb. 20 to be exact, I went in for a scheduled hysterectomy.  It was a Da Vinci (robotic) which was to take about 2 hours.  I would stay overnight, go home, and be back to normal in about 2 weeks.

Well ~ my dr. was about 90% done with about 15 minutes to go when something seriously went wrong.  The assisting dr. hit and cut my inferior vena cava.  In a matter of seconds, it went from routine to life-threatening.  My dr. basically put his finger in the cut and waited until the general surgeon could get in the OR.  Thankfully, the best general surgeon was there and within a few more seconds, he had the vein sutured up.  My dr.'s nurse told me when I was back in a week later to have the staples removed that the room went from having 4-5 people in to being jammed packed.

I ended up in the ICU for 2.5 days and in the hospital for 6,  had to have 7 units of blood transfused, and instead of 4 small incisions, came home with those 4 plus a vertical abdominal incision that is about 9 inches long, all held together with staples.  I also had 30 pounds of fluid weight from all the ivs and transfusions.  To say I was sore would be an understatement.

Two weeks after surgery, I began running a temperature of 102.5 and knew something was wrong.  I ended up having a CT scan.  It showed that everything appeared to look good and that the vein was healing properly.  So my dr. diagnosed it as an infection somewhere and I found myself back in the hospital ~ thankfully just overnight ~ to pump antibiotics into my system.  Went back home and was on meds for 7 days.

In the middle of all this, we accepted an offer on our acreage and moved! A bit crazy?  I blame it on my pain meds, DH doesn't know what to blame it on :)

Both drs. told me that had I been older or not in good health, I won't have made it.  I still get a little emotional when I think about that.  I can't put into words how my heart feels knowing God was there holding me and guiding their hands to save me.  The pain is getting less every day and I'm learning to live with the scar.  I have good days and bad days ~ but am so thankful to still be here.

So, please forgive the lapse in posts ~ I'm going to try to get back at it again.  I've got lots to share about Disney and a whole house full of new rooms to decorate!