More Work on the Deck

Happy Sunday everybody!

It's a beautiful day here today and I have lots left to do on my "to do" list.  But I am slowly marking things off (and adding more) every day.  

You all know how I've been working on the back deck, right?  Well, the entry was driving me a little bonkers because of all of the straight lines.  I had said earlier that I was thinking of moving my scrolly piece that I had in my "laundry room" to it and I did just that.  Of course it sparked all sorts of new ideas for me...which is usually how it goes.  I tell ya, I am ADD when it comes to focusing on one task at hand.  

So here's the scrolly piece in the laundry room...

I loved it but we all know that lint and dust gathers especially in a room like this so it was no fun trying to keep it clean with all of the little scrolly pieces.

So this is what I did in it's place....I love it!

You all should know by now just how much I love china....

Much easier to keep clean too!

And here is the scrolly piece over the entrance to the deck which can bee seen from our yard and driveway.

It is much prettier in person.  I've had so much fun hanging all sorts of iron work back here.  I found some old bracket hangers from last year that I had stored away and added them to the corners.

Don't they add a little more charm?  I am loving my deck!  Mom came up the other day and she said "it's so nice back here."  We both really hated it back here years ago...always so hot and you couldn't walk on the deck barefooted without burning our footsies!  The white floor has really helped and the roof we built sure has too!

I made bench cushions for the bench areas....they sure feel nice on the fanny.  (grinning in comfort)

I found this little birdhouse stored away and it got a new paint job.  Hanging it on the window sure did add some pretty pink color....

And here is a project we finished on Saturday.  One of those "honey, can we do this?" as I was working on other things.... lol  Like I wasn't busy enough!

Of course I will be painting it in a little while.  I think it'll add that charm and character I am wanting so bad this year.  We are making another one for our other door by the garage.  I am planning on trimming out this door also...I think it'll look better once I do that.  Please excuse the dirt...the pollen has been awful so I am not cleaning the floor or washing the house down until it dies down a little.  Until then, I think I can stay busy don't you?

Happy Easter

Hannah and I went to the store this evening and I asked her what Easter was all about.  She always gets confused for some reason with Christmas and Easter. 

 So, as I was making the girls their Easter baskets (a ritual I do every year), I wanted to do something that would help them remember what Easter is all about in a simple way.   

They both know the story, have seen many plays and heard sermons preached in church all about what Jesus did for you and me.  

But this little poem just jumped out at me as I searched online for something cute and simple.  I found the border online also and thought how cute it would be together. 

I know they are getting too old as some would think for this...but they are my babies and they look forward to their little surprises on Easter Sunday morning.  

I think this is simple enough for anyone to appreciate what Jesus did, don't you?  

Normally, we go to church but I have other plans.  I am taking them to see Heaven is for Real.  I read the book when I first came home from the hospital 3 years ago and it was such a special read for me.  I want them to experience something new that will maybe hit home with them, make them think a little more since they are 15 and 19.  That age, we all started to wonder, ask questions and doubt.  So a movie it is...hopefully plant some new seeds that will blossom into something great!

May God bless your Easter and remember....Jesus gave us life ever after!

Adding a Little Character

The deck needed a little character I thought...and what could I do?  And cheaply....

The first thing that sparked the idea was adding an old door to the back of this make shift bench we built last year.  The old door did the trick and made me want to do more.

So I added a window in the open space above it.  Perfect...but then I wanted more!

So I came up with the idea of building an open frame around the uncovered part of the deck.  I knew I wanted to add more old windows, so this idea was perfect!  The frame only cost a little over $20.  I already had the stain and the door.  
My kind of project!

Mom had found an old crib by the road that someone was throwing away.  I've used parts of it in different places.  These spindles have been in the garage calling to me to do something with them....so this is what I did.  I can't wait to go to our Farmers Market and buy some HUGE hanging baskets of flowers to hang on the brackets.  I think that'd add the finishing touch, don't you?

I left a window out of this open space on purpose and on the other side of the other two.  Trying to not get it too busy looking....I am not a fan of that.

I pulled out all of the cushions I made last year and the umbrella cover.  The smelled so good!  My cushions all faded from the sun, but still were in great shape.  So I seen no need to make new ones....easy peasy!

I also painted my table white from the pink I had done last year.  It just looks better with all of the white I think.

I made the sign over the entrance...but want to find a large scrolly piece.  I may take the one down that I have in the laundry room and put here if I don't find one soon.  Things like this drive me crazy...

I cannot wait for the petunias to get all nice and bushy!!!

Flowers make everything look so much prettier!  They fill in bare spaces and add a cozy touch....

This deck is still in a "work in progress" state...so I'll be posting more photos of the updates, and when my flowers grow. (Happy Face)

I've held onto this wicker chair all Winter long in the garage....I am so happy I did!  It used to be in our Master Retreat.

I had to buy some ferns....I love how they soften up surroundings and give that beautiful green pop to blah colors.

Last night, I came out carrying my cushions and knocked over my petunias here....I have to replant them with more dirt since most of it is laying on the ground, lol.  I was so mad at myself for being so clumsy!

And to think, this all started from an old door....

~Bath House~

I always seem to come up with ideas on how to make things look and function better in my sleep.  Ya see....in our master bath, there was a pipe that ran up the wall on the outside of the drywall that drove me nuts.  I cannot stand for things to not look finished when everything else in the room is.  I could never figure out why the builder didn't enclose it.  Was it just an afterthought?

I tried camouflaging it with a shutter but it just wasn't working perfectly.  For years, I wanted to build a cabinet on top of the base beside the sink which hides the plumbing.  But we all know how that is...time flies by and I seem to be ADHD with ideas, jumping from one to another.

So finally, one early morning when I couldn't sleep too well, this came to me.

 I scowered the garage and my storage room for wood, moulding and the drawers that came from my old sewing machine cabinet that was Mammaw's.  I worked all day long figuring, measuring, cutting, nailing, and gluing.  I had no plan, I just made it up as I went along.

Sorry for the bad photo...it was late and I was tired.

Originally, I had visioned a door so that I could store shampoo, toilette paper and so on, but the outlet made that impossible!

Don't judge me with the drawers....evidently the drawers weren't square and the top of the base cabinet wasn't level.  I still need to sand them down to fit properly...but you get the idea.  I had already painted them a pale blue years ago and decided to leave them that color since they were blue.

So I thought I could then store my cotton ball container in it...but it was too wide at the lid.  I just left it here for the time being.

I knew a trip to Home Goods was a definite.... to find a slim and tall glass container to fit was the goal.

But until then, I did this.

Loved how the topiary looked. But not too crazy about the hand towels.

So off I went today and found this.  It was a an old timey straw container that was the perfect size!  I just had to take it apart to remove the guts that held the straws.

Perfect!  And the drawers hold the hubby's shaving stuff and toothpaste, tooth brushes ect.  All the little stuff....

I had a time with not being able to make ithe cabinet flush against the wall.  So I re-hung the moulding and then added the tin plaques to kind of hide the gap.  

But doesn't it look so much better than seeing that old pipe?  Plus it's more practical with it's use.  Not just clutter...

Well...then one thing led to another.  I had bought a shower curtain with the plans of not using it that way.  I was going to use it for new curtains.

Here's what I did have....

Now this....

Sorry for the wrinkles...but I like it that way.  The steam will eventually help release them...but I really do like wrinkles.

Ruffles are always prettier too! 

I added another tin to the bottom of the mirror since it is one of those cheapies to spruce it up a bit.

I love birdhouses...so I thought this looked cute here after I found a new cotton ball container.

And I love my "Shabby Chic" rose hooks!  

And of course...my new/old door!  The other door is one that we made years ago when we made the space into a closet.  This bathroom didn't have enough storage back then...but now it definitely does!  Every little bit of space we could find, we've used.

This photo was a card my Aunt Linda gave to me years ago when she moved away to Florida.   She has since passed away, but her humor lives on.  I sure do miss her giggles...

When I remodeled this bath, I knew I didn't want towel bars.  I wanted hooks.  This picture and metal scroll piece were the perfect size for the bare space in between.

 I love a lamp in the bathroom.  A very long time ago, I visited a beautiful home and she had a lamp on her sink...I fell in love!  So ever since, I've had one in each of our baths.

This bath may be small to many...but I love it!  It functions great and is pretty at the same time!

Sara bought this little sign for me one Christmas....now isn't that just the cutest sign?!!  But we don't skip baths on Sunday....

The Garage Got a Facelift

I had a dear friend show me a photo of her son's new home and how they did around the garage.  She thought I may like it and she was right!  It got my mind pondering how I could make the bare looking garage look nice and tie it better into the rest of the home.  So I began pinning photos on Pinterest, searching Google and just dreaming of how I could do it.

Last year we enclosed the stairs in...which I was so pleased with!  But there was something missing even after I added the brackets to the door opening of the garage.

My sweet Ozzy...how I miss him so.

It just wasn't giving me that "ahhh" feeling, you know, contentment?!

Don't get me wrong, I love our home!  I just have a vision in my head on how I want it to look but money stands in the way most of the time.  

But after thinking about the easiest and cheapest way to get the look I was wanting, I figured it out when we did the door!

We still have to frame out the windows, but I am really getting into sprucing up the outside!

So here it is....I couldn't be any happier!  My welcome sign that I had above our entry door looks great now above the garage.  I didn't want to break the bank with this project, so I decided to just frame it out with the vinyl moulding I found at Lowes when we did the door.  This project cost under $120!  

Way cheaper and easier than adding a ledge like I've seen, kind of like a mini pergola.  Plus we didn't want to drill into the brick.  We used a quick adheisive....which worked great!  

Now I can't wait for all of the pretty flowers, my ferns, and the sunny warm weather to come!

I have my planters ready!

And here's a look at our neighbors dog that has been coming over to visit.  He's such a doll...I think he likes us because he has swam a high creek to get to us, lol.  After all of the rain we've had, our creek has been really high.  Gabe usually goes over to play with him but he's not quite as brave as this little fella.

He just stares a hole right through you....

So there ya have what I've been up to the past couple of days!  I hope you all have a great weekend!