Nursery & The One Room Challenge

I'm linking up to the Spring One Room Challenge 2018 with one of my best blogging friends Sam at Away She Went Blog. She always inspires me to do the things so, here we go. What better reason, right?

We've decided to turn our second bedroom from a guest room/office into a nursery for the baby when it gets here. We luckily have a great landlord who lets us customize our space and, since we're staying for sure another year, we figure we may as well make baby comfy in the meantime. Right now, it is a hot filthy mess. Luckily we've got a few months left to get it all together.

Full disclosure: The following photos may trigger you into organizing your entire house. If this mood strikes you please let me know in the comments below and you can use that passion on this room! just kidding of course... but... here is a picture of the room as it is currently:

Our DIY Wedding: Invitation Suite on a Budget

 

We are so excited to be getting married! One of the first pieces to that process was how we planned to communicate to our families our pending nuptials and information that they needed to have to plan or determine if they would be able to travel to be a part of it.  So. Step one in our DIY budget wedding planning?

Selecting a Wedding Suite on a Budget! 

What to look for, what you need, and how to get it in your budget.

Making Our Rental Feel Like Home: Bedroom & Bath

I won't lie to you, friends, I very seriously miss my GIGANTIC old bedroom, huge closet, attached master bath, and wood floors. I loved that I had room for a chair, bed, dressers, desks, nightstands... all the things. However, what I've quickly realized since we moved is that we don't really need all of those things. In many ways it is much easier to keep the bathroom cleaned without it, I have less places to stack items I don't need in the bedroom, and cleaning is much faster with less floor to mop or vacuum. 

Our new room is probably just over half the size of our old one. Here's a small angle of what the master looked like when we first toured:

Making Our Rental Feel Like Home: The Kitchen & Dining Room

We spent a lot of time after we moved in making the house cozier for us. We love the kitchen and dining room area, but it definitely lacks in storage and the washer and dryer are in the kitchen right there. That was a compromise, for sure. At our old house it was off of the kitchen but separate enough that it worked. I wanted to make sure that it was at least as attractive as it could be. Having a place with a washer and dryer hook up was big, so dealing with it in the kitchen and not having shared laundry seemed a fine trade.

Making New Choices: Do You FarmShare?

The dude and I have been working to make some serious lifestyle changes around our house. We want to first start with our bodies and the physical. We want to live more naturally and organically, but still be frugal about it. One of the great ways we can do that in our community is by participating in a CSA Farm Share. For $410.00/year (June-October-ish) we get fresh, organic, locally grown produce! When your dude is vegan, that's amazing!

We started by first doing some research and had some basic questions:

1. What is a Farm Share?

    Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season. (According to Local Harvest)

2. How will it benefit our health?

   Eating organically helps protect us from overexposure to GMOs (genetically modified organisms), helps with our allergies, and supports a clean eating lifestyle. It also encourages us to be social and puts some of that back into our experience with food. For centuries of the human experience, food was a community-based social event with sharing and trade taking place. In America especially, that is something we tend to lack. 

3. What benefits will it have for our community?

   Knowing the exact location where your lettuce grew is pretty cool, I won't lie. It feels pretty awesome to be able to drive past the farm each day on my way to work and see what they're up to. Also, shopping local is statistically proven to strengthen the economy in your area. As a local public school teacher. I'm down with that. This great infographic really breaks it down:

{source}

4. Is it worth the price?

  For us, it definitely is. On average we would make 3-4 trips a week to the store for produce. My guy being vegan means that produce and veggies are our main source of nutrients because our diet is plant based. So, it averages to about $15-20 dollars a week. We were spending triple that. It really helps us keep our budget under control. 

   

5. How does it work?

  Each CSA works differently but ours is pretty straightforward. Our CSA, Field to Fork, has several different sized options for families to choose from. The price varies by that size also, which is great. It really works within our budget and amounts we're comfortable with.  You do get a lot of food too! So far we have really enjoyed our experience and highly recommend joining a CSA! 

Here's some images we snapped during last weeks pick up!

I'm not going to lie... we ate almost all the cherries in the car on the way back to the house. They were so delicious!

Need more information on Farm Shares? Here are some great sources!

• Local Harvest
• USDA
• Is CSA for me?

Happy eating, my friends!

Living Room: To Sectionals and Beyond

It has been a whirl wind in my life since May, which is why I haven't posted. I guess you just find that life takes over. We spent a great deal of the summer in South Dakota with family after two huge losses in our family. My Speech & Debate Team also competed for a week in Dallas, Texas winning third in the WORLD for our debate skills. I was so proud of them! I can't take any credit for their success, they were great all without me!

Now we are also focusing on redoing our family home about a mile from where I live, we are going to be selling it. We purchased the house in 1998 and it was where my siblings and I all grew up. It will be hard to let it go.

However, it has gotten me inspired to redo my own house a bit! I want to sell but I also want to be debt free, so I am going to stick it out a bit longer so that I can be prepared for a new project. I feel like I am almost there!

So the revamping is going to start in the living room, remember what it looked like the first time we went to the place?

After the first remodel it looked a lot better! A little bit collegey for my liking. Notice the couches? That was back when I first bought the slipcovers and they looked great! I was so excited about them! That was in 2009. It also looks pretty empty to me...

Here is what it looks like nowadays! I think it's a little cluttery and I am working on cutting down on some of my knick knacks and the like. It is so easy to accumulate stuff!

I want to stream line some of the colors and add a sectional for more efficient space usage. Check out my inspiration board:

Living Room Re-Do by megmcd featuring a fabric loveseat

I have managed to find substitutions that are less expensive. I can't wait to  buy some new pillows! I am also going to try a flat weave indoor/outdoor rug for the pets to see if that helps with the animals. I have so many of them creatures.

I did find a version of the couch that is pretty close to perfect at American Furniture Warehouse (you can buy an add on to make one side longer):

Source List and Budget:

{Sectional} $700.00 (American Furniture)

{rocking chair} $50.00 (WalMart)

{Flat Weave Rug} $100 (5'7' Target)

{Accent Table} $80.00 (Target)

I also want to pick up some new baskets for the extra blankets and such. I have plenty of knick knacks, wall decor, and stuff like that so I won't need much. I'm just coming to that stage where all the expensive furniture needs to be replaced. 

Now that I have eliminated so much debt I will have the funds to be able to make some of this happen! With good choices, of course. 

What do you think?

The Counter Attack

It has finally happened! My counter tops are fully installed! I am going to do a few touch-ups and redos before I post a new "Kitchen Tour" picture page but for now... Let me just show you the final before and afters! 

The initial look of the kitchen in 2008: 

And after my second remodel of the cabinets back in 2010/2011:

My absolute favorite part!! How it looks now:

Bahhhh I can't even get over how holy-crap pretty these are! I seriously sped home as fast as possible from work so I could hang out with my counter tops! (Though ignore the over flow on the bar area. It was a catch-all during this process.) Remember last week when I pointed out that funky spot under the end of the bar? It was a big ole gap but now! It is fully filled in and I even added tile wallpaper on the right side of the counters instead of getting an end chunk of countertop, I think it looks better.

Even the cat liked em! Actually she got caulking on her fur. Which she wasn't a fan of. Therefore she had to lay on the counter until I served her properly and cleaned it up. 

Here's a run down of the things I kept from 2008 and the things that are new. I have to say so far this is one of the biggest impact projects I've done so far!

New vs. Old:

• old hardware, just spray painted with oil-rubbed bronze.
• old cabinets, painted with crisp white paint. (Does require maintenance of paint but worth it)
• old sink. Just a couple repairs and it was solid again.
• old stove. It works, it works for me.
• new counters!
• new back splash. I used tile looking paintable wallpaper by Allen Roth from Lowe's. The old stuff was twenty cent bathroom tile.
• new fridge and dishwasher
• new wall color
• new switch plate and outlet covers
• new light fixture (might update it again though, that one was $3.00 on clearance but it is rather modern for this space now.)
• new window covering

Now I just have to figure out something for the "L" shaped bar area. I thought it'd be fine with the new counters. But now... that looks trashy compared to all the other remodel work I've done recently.

Here's really the only picture of it I have: 

The problem is the strange shape of the counter. To buy a piece of laminate that matches and then chop it up just seems ridiculous. It would cost a lot of money. I'm sort of thinking to take some wood and build a surface. It has to be relatively light since the cabinets aren't the most solid things ever.

Here's a couple images for the overall look I'm thinking:

Eclectic Kitchen by Minneapolis Design-Build Firms the gudhouse company

{source}

Obviously those are a little fancier than what I would probably go with. But I think the contrast is nice and would keep the cottage feel of the house and add some desperately needed character to my house. "Do all things with character!" 

For instance I found an example of someone doing their entire counters with wood and then staining and sealing, I think that could look awesome!

{source}

I am excited to update that portion but one big project at a time is probably for the best. Not having countertops and microwaving dinner in my dining room wasn't my favorite experience. 

Kitchen Botox

Have you ever done one of those DIY remodeling things and had to cut something out of the budget, even though you knew eventually you were going to end up replacing it anyway? Well. That is the case in my kitchen. Back in December of 2011 when I first started remodeling the kitchen I had a very small budget. Like $300.00 dollars budget. For a college kid not bad and for the most part it has held up rather well.

For instance the cabinets used to all look like this: 

They were so dated. Being the English nerd I am I always feel compelled to hum a little Poe; "Once upon a midnight dreary while I wandered weak and weary." I just feel it describes the mood in the kitchen so well. Several gallons of white paint and elbow grease I was able to paint them white and pretty which made them look wayyyyy better. Not to mention painting the existing hardware a few years ago.

I have always hated the pink counter tops that were original to the house, which was built in the late '80s. They're older than me. So I used some counter top paint product, which has actually lasted pretty well since then. This was my scared face....

Here's what it looked like after all the paint was dried and applied:

The counters have held up pretty well in terms of the paint, I mean it has some wear and tear from hard use by roommates and just time. The problem with these counters is that they are rotting and sagging. So much that in one point from the wall to the end of the counter top there is a 3/4" slope by the sink and everywhere else a 1/4" slope. I was finally able to put some money away and save up for new counters.

Here's a demonstration with just my mini baby level.

So with the image of my present kitchen in mind and the overall theme and colors in my house... I headed off to the home improvement stores to start my journey...

I was super excited! It was painful and I spent probably 2 hours in home improvement stores on a glorious Saturday deliberating between whether or not to actually buy them. I had to call my sister into the store to help push me to do it. I decided to go with a pre-fab laminate product because it's a small galley kitchen which means I only needed to buy a 6' piece and a 4' piece to cover all the counter top space. Plus if I have a manufactured home it wouldn't be smart/practical/logical to pay for real stone, just to be honest on that score.

I was between two different counters, dark granite-y looking stuff, or light granite-y looking.

I went with the lighter. The reason being that with the dark counters I already have it felt to dark for such a small space, I am hoping with the light color it will make the space look larger and fit better with the classy, chic cottage thing I've got going on.

The nice fellers at Lowe's helped us get them loaded into the truck that my Dad's friend, Tony, brought to help me out. It was super nice of him! He's even going to help me install them! They look clean and fresh in the sun!

Total cost break down for the counter tops:

• 6 foot section: $120.00
• 4 foot section: $92.00

Discount: $22.00

Total Cost of Counters: 205.00

Not too bad really, when you think about it. I also bought a new thing of oil-rubbed bronze spray paint for the cabinet hardware, since I'm giving the whole thing a new face, I may as well touch those up as well. Plus a new faucet that is a bit taller is going in, even though I'm just going to refit the existing stainless steel sink. There's no point buying a new one since the cabinet is so small it's not like I can fit a deeper one.

I'm pretty excited! They should be installed within the next couple weeks!

Easy & Cheap: DIY TV Console

Good news! The website that had been stealing my content finally removed all of it! No longer have to put up that tacky warning sign at the beginning of my posts! Much thanks to Crystal at Mobile Home Living for advocating for our little trailer trash niche!

For Christmas my parents got me a brand spankin' new 32" TV! The old monster was a 60" but it was broken and I never got around to fixing it. It was just too massive for the space anyway. Forever ago I found this old dresser at Salvation Army for $20.00 and thought it would make an excellent TV stand. I originally was going to paint it white but found I liked the honey wood color much better, sometimes less white is more.

My parents came for Christmas and my dad purchased hole saw adapters for my drill (even though he put it on my rug hot and it burned it. sad face.) The center of the dresser was perfect for the electronic components. I only have a cable box, Xbox, and Super NES game console from when we were kids. He drilled 6 holes for wires and ventilation. Electronics get HOT so they need that breathing room.

Running the wires was easy, I just slid them through the top holes. I didn't get a picture of it but I just bought a plate shelf from the thrift store (its a wire one that you can get easily at WalMart) and stacked the components on that. I learned from working at Circuit City years ago that it is better for the components not to be on top of each other, so I made sure to keep them separate, plus it increases ventilation.

And voila! No more cluttered up TV stand! All the ugly electronics are out of sight! I'd mount the TV but the walls aren't quite sturdy enough for me to be wanting to actually do that.

A reminder of the before:

The overall effect and another beautiful view of my new door:

Not too bad right? Looks all grow-ed up!

Total cost for my TV stand:

•  Dresser from Salvation Army thrift shop: $20.00
• Wire rack from thrift store (or WalMart): $2.00
• Hole saw from Harbor Freight: $11.00

Total cost for upgrade: $33.00

Way better than the $300.00 dollar set up I originally wanted from IKEA!

The Master Bedroom Fiasco

****If you are seeing this content on http://manufacturedhomefacts.com/ please be advised it is there without permission!thismessybusiness.com is the OFFICIAL and only site I publish on!***

Every so often I start to get really bored with my house. Just in general and I've been really looking into the financial aspect of what I need to do to consider moving in the nearish future. You know somewhere with a garage... fenced in backyard... space between neighbors... closets.... those things. Our real estate market is starting to pick back up which could really be a good sign. Until that moment however, I am going to start working on the rooms in my house that I am most bored with, to see if that staves off the "I want a new house" feelings for awhile.

One such location is my master bedroom. Here's of course the love and appealing before photos when we first bought the house:

So certainly the most recent look is leagues better:

Gotta love that my furbabies bomb every photo. However since I've moved the computer desk and equipment to the office as you saw in a more recent post {here}.

That means now I have a real mess. Be warned. These following photos are not awesome.

I have taken most of the wall art down because I was bored with it and have moved it to either the living room or the office so now the walls are a little bare:

Presently I only have one nighstand because I put the old ones in my sister's room to give her storage. Now my one solo stand is laden with books, journals, more books, and more books. What? I'm an English teacher.

I've rearranged the book case and turned the old wine rack into a shoe holder. But its still not quite right. Maybe it's the blank wall on the left?

Or perhaps is the gigantic old TV that I have to sell and get rid of that is taking up one entire side of the room. My parents got me a new, smaller, and more energy efficient model for Christmas. They know my enthusiasm for gigantor TVs is a bit limited.

Check out my rigged nightstand. DIY at its absolute finest! My box of home repair materials and a laundry basket on top! Beautiful. Convenient. Awesome.

Then of course there is space being consumed by dog kennels. It's cold enough here in Colorado that we have to have them covered up with a blankey. Part of the reason it looks so messy.

And to top it off, I recently had to throw out my shag rug that was in there. It was a victim to the animals. I was saddened. 

Not going to lie. I feel as though this bedroom is cringe worthy. That rug really needs to be replaced. It's stained and dirty. I love how high pile rugs feel but not their functionality. The whole space really lacks romance and appeal that's for sure.

 I have a few ideas of how to make this prettier, it could take me a few months since I'm going to try and get some new things but here's what I've got so far as a list:

Master Bedroom Update:

• find a second short dresser as a nightstand- paint it white
• get a new rug situation
• make/find a new headboard
• update the shams and bedding
• new wall art
• patch and repaint sections
• replace door
• organize dog kennel area 
• clear clutter/donate unworn clothes

Golly. If you think of anything else that might help this situation please let me know! Or send me pictures on Pinterest I love that place.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin