Office Rearrange

I needed a change. Since I work from home, I am in one small room for 8 hours a day. It was the first room that was set up in my house because I started working in my home before I moved in. And even after I moved in, it was my office, family room and dining room. I had no furniture downstairs and was going through a 3-month kitchen remodel. I have spent a lot of time in this one room.

I have actually lived with the bookcase and tv set up in a few of my apartments. It filled the wall nicely, but I wanted something a little different.

This room is extremely large, so I don't have a lot of options, but one I had been mulling over was moving the bookcases to either side of the window. So finally I moved them.

I like this arrangement a lot better. The bookcases were so heavy right inside the door and this is a nicer view from the doorway.

I eventually want to do white furniture in here because the dark wood makes the room feel darker, but it definitely works for the time being.

I love my books so it is nice to have them close by.

My TV is staying on the same wall, but it is sitting on a console table. I really like this table, but I didn't have a good spot for it downstairs, but this is a nice spot for it.

Now I can start hanging things on the wall! Always a work in progress...

Bed Dilemma

All the bedrooms in my house are roughly the same size. What makes my bedroom the "master" bedroom is the size of the closet. It is by far the biggest and has a his/her quality to it. Although I claim it all as my own. The one down side to my bedroom is the lack of options when it comes to arranging furniture. And my bed was no exception.

For about a year, I had my bed at an angle. It was right in between the 2 windows and I had room to walk around it when I made it. But it took up so much space. I also got a little bored with this.

So I moved it. I am limited to this side of the room because the other wall that could be used has a dresser against it.

But the side of the bed was right against the wall. It was such a pain to try and make because I was having to move it. I also don't think Luna was really thrilled with this option.

So I moved it again. This is the option I like the best. I have so much more floor space even with a little bit of room to walk around the bed.

I am also going to get 2 more curtains. When the bed was in the middle it wasn't too bad only having one curtain on each window, but now I don't like it. Now I have to decide what to put above the bed.

Backyard Un-Beauty

One day, I hope to have a post titled Backyard Beauty. One day....

That day is not going to come unless I put quite a bit of sweat equity into the backyard I have now. I have a big backyard. It is a great size and of course, Luna loves it. However, it is far from being a relaxing hang out. There are few things that needs to be taken out like the rusted clothes hanger. Every time I mow, I am terrified that I am going to hit my head.

The previous owners of my house were an elderly couple, who I believe kept their yard up while they were physically able. I know they even had a garden for a while. Unfortunately, the remnants of the garden are still visible. I even found some rhubarb growing along the fence this year.

Last spring during my first backyard clean up, I found several barren spots where leaves had sat all winter in addition to the huge barren area on the right side. Late last fall, I discovered why the grass may have stopped growing. Because of the trees in my yard, as well as my neighbors' yards, a thick carpet of fallen leaves covers the ground.

This pile of leaves is all from my backyard. Thankfully, they were out by the curb in time for the city to pick them up.

This year, I am seeing a little bit of growth where there had previously been nothing. I am going to put grass seed down in the fall and probably again next spring. In the meantime, there is plenty of work to do as my yard moves forward to become a backyard beauty.

Bathroom Vanity Makeover

Ugh....this bathroom vanity was gross! Peeling paint, yucky hardware, blah color. Nothing was good about it. But it was also the easiest thing to remedy. This green-tiled bathroom doesn't have a lot going for it, but the tile color is manageable and it is all in really good shape. Any updates or major overhauls to this bathroom will be in the distant future.

Enter my cousin and Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. She has lots of experience working with the paint. On a trip up north, she offered to pretty up my vanity. I was thrilled to pieces. I have a vision for this bathroom even in its interim state. Because the green is an okay color, it can still look nice and not dated.

I knew I wanted gray. It would work well with the green tile. This bathroom is also pretty dark. There is only one small window and the lighting isn't that great, so going dark was not an option.

To glam up the vanity, I used acrylic and brushed silver hardware. I really like it and it doesn't weigh the vanity down. It looks so much better than the chipping hardware that previously lived on the drawers.

This room still needs some attention - see the lovely floral wall paper. But this one fix made a huge difference in making the vanity a little prettier.

One Mess At A Time - The Pantry

I wish I had a before picture of my pantry. It was a disaster. To be honest, I thought my little pantry was not nearly enough space for the things that I had. It is about 18 inches wide, but it is really deep. The depth was making it quite easy for things to disappear into the back, never to be seen again.

So, like any good organization project, the first step is clearing everything out. In mind, I had already designated this top area to be my extra stock of whatever is in the below section.

This is the main section of the pantry. It is a decent size, but not huge by any means.

The top row became "can goods central". Everything is lined up and I can see what I have. Whatever extra that didn't fit, went up to the top cabinet.

Nice and high and out of the way. A good place for things that I might not need right away.

The farther I got into my project, the more space I had. It is amazing what happens when you throw things out and put things away in an orderly fashion.

One thing I was desperately needing was a place to put my onions and potatoes. They were hanging out on the counter and were really starting to annoy me. On a shopping to trip to Costco, I came across these nice baskets. I didn't think I was going to have space to stack them, but I had enough clearance. But they also fit nicely if I wasn't able to stack them. I was so happy about this find.

This project ended up being bigger than I had originally thought because I rearranged some other cabinets to better organize my kitchen. That included my baking center, which gained some more space. I will share that soon.

Feathering My Nest 2015

A new year and so many projects I want to complete. I have been making mental notes about what I would like to do in my house this year. Some projects are bigger than others and some cost more money than others.

I would really like to make the entry way a little prettier. I even wrote about this area back in October.  I have found a few tables that are the perfect size, but I haven't found one that I just have to have. So the search continues.

Growing up, my parents always had a picture wall. Now with the help of Pinterest, picture walls themselves have become a piece of art. This is the future home of my picture wall. It is in the hallway that leads to my kitchen, so it is one that I pass all the time. We had family pictures done in December, so I have plenty to choose from. But it is another project I want to check off my list.

It isn't just the picture wall that I want to complete, I have one thing hanging in my house. One thing. I have a lot of walls to fill. This spot is in my family room and I want to use some pictures that my dad took to fill this space.

I love these built-ins, but they are looking pretty bare at the moment. They need a little love to look more put together.

My dining room table and chairs came from an estate sale. One of the chairs is in really bad shape, so they need to be recovered. I know exactly what fabric I want, which is half the battle. But like most projects, it is a matter of time and money.

My upstairs bathroom has a bright future even without a major renovation. My cousin is coming in a few weeks and is hopefully going to paint my vanity. I am super excited about this. I need to get the peeling wallpaper down and paint, but this bathroom can be a keeper for a long time to come. I am even thinking about a new countertop. This would really put some life into this small space.

I know these aren't the only things that I want checked off my list, but they are some of the major ones. I am looking forward to accomplishing a lot to make my house feel more like home. Do you have lots of home updates planned?

Baking Center With a Holiday Spin

How can it be December already?!?!? I feel like I missed fall and all the wonderfulness it brings. Nevertheless, time moves on and the holidays are right around the corner.

I am hosting my first Christmas Open House in my new home on Friday, so my schedule is packed with cleaning, cooking and, of course, baking. My baking center is going to make my holiday baking - and all my baking throughout the year - a little bit easier is because everything is close at hand.

Along with my flour and sugars, this cute little Santa basket holds some of the special holiday baking items like M&Ms and Peppermint Hershey kisses. It provides a little fun holiday cheer to this area.

With flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar kept on the counter in pretty canisters, the top cabinet is left with lots of space for baking staples - cocoa, powdered sugar, vanilla, yummy baking spices. It also keeps some of my back stock items and some bowls.

Please don't pay too much attention to my messy drawer, but I know what is in here. Measuring spoons and cups, spatulas, pastry cutter. I am sure as I bake more and more this drawer will become more filled making organization a priority.

The cabinet below is the home for all my baking pans. My cookie sheets are missing, but that is because they have a special spot right next to my range that holds all those big flat items, like my cookie sheets and cutting boards.

Time is ticking away and I need to get baking. First on my list are these yummy White Chocolate Peppermint M&M cookies. Definitely give them a try!

Feathering My Nest - Where to Start

Since this is the last week of October, I decided that I should try to make an effort to finish out the month on a high note. I have not kept up with my Home Sweet Home series and I was really excited about it. But I have also learned that I need to be more prepared.

I started a second job this month at a popular home store, so my nights and weekends just got busier. On the plus side, I have a discount! And I am using the money to help pay off some bills, which I will talk more about next month.

Since I have had my kitchen redone, my dispensable income has dwindled quite a bit. However, this extra time is giving me opportunity to really think through want I want to do with a space.

As hard as it is to do, I am forcing myself to focus on one area at a time to complete. The first area is going to be my entryway.

Right now my entryway is a empty. This is the area I want to make pretty. The wall needs a little touch up painting done by the baseboard. It was damaged when my flooring was going down.

This area isn't very big. The wall is a little over 30 inches wide. My vision is to have a small table with a mirror above it. I found a little cabinet that I like at Hobby Lobby, but I am afraid that the color is too similar to the wall color and it will disappear in the space. My search is still on.

The other thing I want to change is the light fixture. I actually have one to replace it, but I haven't had it changed yet. I wouldn't mind learning how to change a light fixture, but I am terrified of electrocuting myself. I think that job is better left to someone else.

I am excited to get this space spruced up a bit. I want everyone who walks through my door to feel welcome and this will be the start.