Kid Friendly Bathroom

When we moved into this house- our second bathroom was an odd shade of blue.  Now everyone knows I love blue- but this wasn't a good situation people- so as usual- I geared up for a 4 day quick project!  Pulled out my favorite Benjamin Moore paint color- Shaker Beige and got to work.

What I didn't realize is that the reason the walls looked a little funny is because the original owners had removed the wallpaper- bless them- but had not textured the walls- and because all walls in our house are essentially made from cottage cheese- they soak in paint like they are dying from dehydration in Death Valley!!

That being said- this is not a lot of wall space and I figured I could bang it out quickly.  As usual- my enthusiasm was a bit much for everyone... no windows- TX summer- bathroom next to the baby's room so I would work at night as quietly as I could... are you getting a sweaty, red-faced, exhausted picture here?!  And I swear I was not taking advice from these guys... but they did keep giving me the stink eye...

Well- in the end it was done and looked a lot better- much brighter- so that was that.  But not really- cause then we had baby boy #2! Now we had double bath time- double towels- double trouble in there! and two towel racks that were hung on the cottage cheese walls that shockingly wouldn't stay up! (that was dry humor people if you couldn't tell)

So- why not jump on the board and batten band wagon!? If I put that up with some hooks it would solve the following problems...

1.  The hooks would actually stay in the wood on the wall
2.  I could place the hooks so that there is a possibility that maybe someday sometime someone besides me will hang up a towel
3.  It makes it user friendly - no one can say... well I didn't know how to hang it neatly... it's just hooks!!

So... here we go...
there was no real rhyme or reason to the measurments- just wanted to avoid the light switch and wanted it to be at a level that was reasonable for towels to hang and not touch the floor and also that the boys can reach.  I don't have the measurements but I just used a very thin- light wood- 1 strip did it for $3.99 at Lowe's-

I hand sawed it to the lengths I wanted.   I attached them to the wall with trim nails and then countersunk them and caulked over them as well.

I caulked every where because paintable caulk is the best medicine for any little mistake!:)  Then I primed- don't forget how the walls soak up paint- and then painted it a nice, bright white.  Huh... the door and trim around it aren't bright white... bummer.

So- off to get a nice almost white and Thank you Very Much, I am done! and I love it! and the boys love it too- I am sure they will put their towels on the hooks for two more days  for always and forever!

Kinda not so easy to take a lot of pictures in a tiny bathroom... so I put on my thinking hat and that didn't really help either- but here is a shot of it in the reflection of the mirror...

and one more to prove that towels do actually stay on them and the hooks don't fall out of the wall!
Hope everyone is having a great week!

B:)

Linking up with:
Centsational Girl
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Savvy Southern Style
Goodbye City, Hello Suburbs
Thrifty Decorating
Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After
Remodelaholics
Simple Home Life
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Baby, Baby, Baby!!

No... I am not singing a Justin Beiber song... well maybe a little bit now... Anyhoo! My big kitchen reveal needs a couple more days- still need to take after pics but my whole weekend was hijacked by this rediculous TX wind and it blowing our fence down! yikes!

So the Hubs and I tackled it on our own to try to save a dime (big shocker there) and it actually went pretty well all things considered.  And by all things, I mean the toddlers who were our lead foremen.

But hey- some digging, some cement, three new pretty posts and a bunch of screws and we were back in business... by Sunday afternoon... sigh.. oh well- had to be done!

If you want a rebuilding a fence tutorial let me know....;)

So- pretty new/old fence= no bloggy, bloggy.

And to push back the kitchen even further are the multiple additions coming into our lives lately!

Lots of new babies this spring- some for old friends, some new, and a little pink bundle coming to my Sis at the end of the summer!

I wanted to make them some cute little wall plaques with the baby's initials on them- so I asked what the nursery's themes were and just kind of walked completely randomly  with purpose around several one craft store.

Now I would love to tell you that these ideas come to me and then I execute them perfectly- just like the drawn out architectural plans I have for them... but they don't.  I used their themes and then just went off the cuff!

A few sheets of cute paper- a cute owl on a gift bag- a couple wood cut outs- and a three pack of 8x10 canvases- throw in some Mod Podge and feast your eyes on these!

Baby #1- Nursery Theme- Alligators and Golf- how cute is that?!  I know that this nursery if Full of color so I tried to layer several fun craft papers and give it some texture- and then the Alligator will be what I hot glue ribbon on to hang it from.  All just laid out and Mod Podged!

Baby #2- Animals- and I threw in some camo paper because I know the Daddy loves him some hunting! and the baby owl was so cute on it's own that I didn't want to make it too busy for their room.  But looking at it again I think I might find a friend for him...

Baby #3- Dr. Seuss/ Baby Girl-  For my newest niece I wanted to use one of my favorite Seuss quotes- Oh the Places You Will Go- also because her father is in the military I found it fitting with them having to relocate-  So I used some map paper and mod podged it onto the letter C (initial of her first name) and painted a very casual Chevron print in a color I hope will coordinate with her bedding-  Added some cute ribbon and the little pink paw prints (they are big dog lovers) and voila!

I hope they like them! If not... well I am sure they have some closet wall space or circular storage to put them in:)

Good night to All and pray that our fence holds up- the winds are howling again!!

B:)

Linking to: My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia Tuesday's Treasures
Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style
Goodbye City Hello Suburbs
Thrifty Thursdays!
Saved By Love Creations

Thank You!!

I am so excited about this blog and am so excited to have already had almost 1000 hits and just want to say thank you to everyone and all my new friends on here! Love the feedback and love all the great ideas I get to see out there! Where is out there? well not really sure... but I love it!
I am working on my biggest post yet- my kitchen redo- but I need to get the after pics taken... I would take them right now but I am soooo busy typing this... and it has dishes, food, paperwork a few things I need to move around first... ;)
ok, ok... I'll get on it!

ps... I am loving all of this Target Blue and White Wonderfulness right now!


B:)

Quick Pantry Redo!

OK- I will get to the pantry in a minute but first I need to give a big Shout Out to Sarah, at Thrifty Decor Chick- she commented on my Fake Built in Post and she is like a home make-over genius in my book- so it made me stupid giddy this morning when I saw it! Thanks Sarah for the comment and for inspiring me to make things happen and for our quest to become debt free... one day at a time!
So click the link below to check out her awesome blog! oh... but come back too!!:)
Thrifty Decor Chic


This will shock some of you but my pantry isn't always perfect.... did everyone else hear that laughter? I try, but I don't have much storage and things just end up getting shoved where ever they can fit!

But being fairly type A- I needed it to not look like this anymore!!!.....

This had to be a quick project because as so many of mine are- it was a last minute one! So out came all of the like things- soups, cooking stuff, snacks, extra snacks, and more snacks (don't forget I have two boys), cookbooks, teas, jello, popcorn, etc, etc...
once empty I wiped it all down and then fought the urge to make it into a much bigger project involving paint and a pop of color on the back wall! I know I have an illness...
Anyhooo.... what stopped me was a sign... well not really a sign but some tea...

This tea told me to Calm Down and just work with what you've got because the boys are starting to roll green bean cans across the floor like bowling pins!!!

I then formulated a plan of which shelf should house what- most importantly what needed to be on the highest shelves so that my two year old couldn't reach any of it and then went down from there.  I used a couple plastic containers from Ikea (The Mother Ship of Cheap Organization)

and a few old baskets I had laying around for all those pesky envelope foods (really not sure what to call them... wait... packets... yea... dur... that's what I was trying to say...)

The biggest thing I did in here that I love though is get rid of the boxes- no more cereal boxes, cheez-it boxes... none! They take up a lot of room and all I did was either put the snacks in the canisters for easy access or put the bags with clips on them in the clear Ikea storage so I can still see what I have but it's all bundled out of the way! and a little two screw bath caddy holds those annoying must haves up on the door!

and just because I am a picture freak a few more shots...

and this last shot is a little tea holder from Ikea as well that was just a couple bucks but I love it! how great is that to get rid of all of those tea boxes?! it's the little things people...

Still crowded, but it always will be- but at least now I have better access to everything and can see it all better!

I would love to get some of those chalk board labels and put them in a few places... and there is still a part of me that feels strongly that a pantry shouldn't be left out of color and style... a pretty chevron stencil in a soft grey... oohhh ahhhh....
some other day.... sigh...

Enjoy your day! and in a few days I will show the major pantry makeover I helped a friend do- and she has a much nicer one!!

B:)

Faking the Built Ins...

I dream of built in shelves... so pretty- so clean and neat... but alas... they are only a dream!
But then the maker of dreams dropped into my lap in the form of Craig and His List!!
A nice lady that lived near me wanted her three piece entertainment center out of her garage for $200- two end bookshelves and a center Armoire.  Now the center piece I couldn't use because it does not fit the Hubs big flat screen TV- but she went down to $150 as long as I took it all so I did! and as of yesterday I sold the middle unit for $60, so I think I am doing ok on the deal!

This is how the beauties came to me...












Fine- but I have mostly dark wood in my house and I knew that this would be white to match with what we already had the TV on.
Because I am not a fan of sanding- it is way to tedious for me- I primed them both with Zinsser- it is awesome and will create a surface that anything will stick to!!
At a certain point in a project like this though I suddenly think...

Why, why am I doing this to myself? My arms hurt, I am sweating in the garage, realizing that the garage is a complete disaster and is probably what I should be working on... but I trudge on!
and still going...

It was at this point that I popped off the particle board backing- which if you have furniture with that on the back don't waste your time pulling each staple out... just give it a few bangs with your fist through the front and it will most likely just pop off.
I had satin white paint on hand so that is what my final coat was- and then I was feeling a little creative so I decided to do my fave stencil that I am obsessed with right now on the backing and nail it back on.
Now this was going fine until I decided to get fancy and had my polyurethane out for another project and just thought... hmmm... why don't I just put some on here too to make it shiny and nice and protected?!

Bad idea!! it has a yellowish tint to it so it looks yucky now! yes, Yucky is what I am going with.  But I left them on for now to wait for energy inspiration to strike again and now it has! I think it would add a lot more interest if I switched the stencil- meaning- repainted the particle board the tan-ish color and then did the stencil in white- because it will then bounce off of the color in my curtains (more on that later).

ok, ok... here they are... but what are your thoughts... darker background for the stencil? no backing? sand down what I have and just leave it?

and cut me some slack with this final pick because I had to take any nice little treasures off of the bottom reachable shelves due to some sticky fingers and a pretty exciting March Madness Basketball game that was going on in the family room...

But there you have it for now... my pretend built ins:)

Bee:)

I am linking up to 'My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia: Tuesday's Treasures!'
and also to Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesdays #10!
and to Thrifty Decorating!
and to Tater Tots and Jello!
and Saved By Love Creations!
and Thrifty 101
and Censational Girl
and Goodbye City, Hello Suburbs
and Saved By Love Creations
and Remodelaholics
Simple Home Life
Social Salutations