Front Door Makeover

After the completion of each project, our house feels a little more like home. I have been contemplating the color of the front door for quite some time (read about that here)- Classic Red or Teal? and the winner is...

We chose Lowe's Valspar Premium Exterior Paint in a semi-gloss. I only bought a quart, and I am so glad - we didn't even use half of the can. The back door may be getting a couple coats in the near future.

 

While I worked on gathering supplies, (which included these fabulous sponge rollers that my dad told me about - they work great on furniture, cabinets, etc.) my genius husband attached plastic to the door frame - so that we could leave the door open during painting without letting all the bugs in! 

After the first bit of paint made it onto the door, I knew I had made the perfect color choice - don't get me wrong, red is still my favorite color - but I wanted to try something different for our front door. It seems that red is becoming too much of the norm for me. Who knows, I may re-paint it a totally different color in a few years.

Two coats of paint later - I was so giddy with my newly painted door! I'm sure the neighbors thought I was crazy. Let's be honest, this isn't a typical front door color. But I was in love!

When we were first looking at buying this house, we were interested to see how much work the previous owner had put into the exterior of the house - We knew that new siding, roof, etc. was in the mix. After looking at Google's streetview, we were quite please with the current look - (I'm not sure why this photo is so tilted...) I love the added shutters and the change in the roof by the front door.

After seeing this blog post, I knew that I wanted to try to tackle painting our house numbers directly on the door. I had looked at the house numbers at a few home improvement store, but I had yet to see a font I fell in love with. I purchased a paint pen from Hobby Lobby, printed my numbers, and got to work. I used "Elephant" front -

The paint pen made it so easy to get those fine lines looking neat and clean. These paint pens come in a plethora of colors.

I am on the hunt for a different wreath idea for the fall. But for now, my book page wreath that I made from a "Dollar Tree" book completed the look. I purchased a magnetic hook from Hobby Lobby so that I could place the wreath at the exact height that would still allow me to see out the peep-hole.

 

Each time I pull up to my house, I still smile - loving my front door. It's different. It's bright. It's ours. What element of your home makes you smile?

Little Bit of Dreaming...

Often, decorations in my house come from inspiration I've found in magazines and online (probably why I'm so addicted to Pinterest). I recently came across this gorgeous photo from here, House of Turquoise.

 

I'm completely in love with this eclectic style - from the ottomans covered in words to the crates for an end table! These colors do not go with my living room style at all, but I am looking frantically for ways to implement some of these ideas in my home. The wall color here, however, does match my kitchen...so....I'm thinking of painting the chandelier/light fixture over the kitchen table RED! 

The previous owners of our home had just put new light fixtures in the home - and it is a nice one, but it doesn't fit my kitchen style. I was hoping to change it out from day one, until I saw the same fixture at Lowe's for $144! It is a nice light - but not really "me."

The other night, Jeremiah said, "Just paint it red!" After seeing the above inspiration picture, I may do just that - I would also be in the market for some clear or frosted white globes. No decisions have been made yet - I'm still dreaming.

However, I am painting the front door this weekend. Read about my choices of color here, and wait for the big reveal!

The Challenge Continues...

Last week, I accepted the Pinterest Challenge - to actually do some of the ideas I've pinned. Read about my first project here.

This week, I'm on to bigger and better things. The hall bathroom has a very large blank wall - just begging for a little inspiration. While digging through millions of pinterest ideas, I happened across this idea from here.

For some reason, I miss my crazy Covey family the most on Sunday evenings - Perhaps its because this was the night my family would always come home from church (a busy day for us since my dad is a pastor), fix something fun for dinner and watch a movie together. Sometimes it was simple food: grilled cheese or a bowl of cereal. Sometimes we'd play games. Sometimes mom and I would take a walk - regardless of what we did, we were together. This past Sunday night, I talked to my mom on the phone - she was ready to tackle a project of her own. This motivated me to get to work...

The original idea is an actual towel rack - I decided to make this a costless DIY project. Since I don't operate electric tools, I had to change up the materials needed.

Using a page from my journal, I sketched my tree out here...

Since we are still unpacking some things, I was unable to quickly locate my yardstick. But a piece of molding would do to help me make long straight lines for the trunk. After sketching the tree on the wall with a pencil, I gathered my painting supplies. I grabbed the can of white paint that we had in the garage from painting my kitchen cabinets. After digging through my craft supplies, I realized there was only one option for my choice of paint brush if I wanted to use supplies I had on hand...

The trunk was a breeze - just simple lines. But I had a lot more details before this would resemble my inspiration photo. With just the trunk painted, it was looking a little like a skinny version of the Washington Monument - Although my husband loves DC, I was not planning to decorate the hall bathroom in such a theme.

After all the lines were filled in with one coat, I was satisfied with the amount of branches.

Three coats later, my painting was done.

 

 After a quick trip to Lowe's with my husband, he installed the hooks - I chose simple white robe hooks, thinking that when a towel wasn't hanging from these branches that the hooks would blend in nicely with the tree. I added 3 hooks. Two on the left side of the trunk and one on the right. 

 

I'm so pleased with the results! 

While my husband had out his tools - he graciously hung a few more things for me in the kitchen. My $3 tray for the latest Treasure Hunt made an adorable message board.

And I chose to hang my favorite birdie hook under it to told my measuring cups and spoons. I'm in search of something else cute to hang to the left of the bird...maybe another hook. 

 He also hung the word "EAT" over the pantry door. 

 

Have you hung anything new lately? Or tackled any Pinterest ideas? Join me in the challenge! 

Need an invite to begin pinning on Pinterest? Comment with your email address, and I'll send an invite link your way! 

Giant Oreo Cake

The other night, I made a favorite cake of ours - In the end, it looks like a giant Oreo. Some friends came over for an impromptu game night. They taught me how to play the "Hand and Foot" version of Canasta. We had a blast.

For our snack, we enjoyed this yummy chocolate cake. I thought I'd share the recipe with you. The recipe came from here, Kraft Foods. I love how simple and delicious their recipes are.

At this point, it looked like 2 giant hamburgers - but I assure you, it is chocolate!

What You Need

1 pkg. (2-layer size) devil's food chocolate cake mix

4 squares  BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate (I used chocolate chips)

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 pkg.  (8 oz.)  Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups  thawed Whipped Topping

12 OREO Cookies, coarsely crushed

Make It

HEAT oven to 350ºF. PREPARE cake batter and bake in 2 (9-inch) round pans as directed on package. Cool cakes in pans 10 min. Invert cakes onto wire racks; gently remove pans. Cool cakes completely. MICROWAVE chocolate and butter in small microwaveable bowl on HIGH 2 min. or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Cool 5 min. MEANWHILE, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in COOL WHIP and crushed cookies. Stack cake layers on plate, spreading cream cheese mixture between layers. Spread top with chocolate glaze; let stand until firm. Keep refrigerated. 

 See my fun bowls that I found on my recent family vacation in Florida? I am trying to come up with a creative way to display them!

Treasuring Hunting

I love yard sales, thrift stores, furniture set out on the side of the road...anything that helps me get unique items for cheap! Yesterday, my friend Tina and I set out to conquer part of the world's longest yard sale on 127 - It happens to go real close to Chattanooga - We set out early with our granola bar's and cash, hoping to find some sweet stuff.

Two hours and 14 stops later, we still had not found anything that we "had to have!" I had seen a metal tray, but the seller wanted $10 bucks for it. I quickly put that item down! Lots of driving, and lots of weird parking. Sometimes it would just be one house that claimed to have a HUGE SALE....but in the end, it was overpriced, moldy items. Other times, it was a stretch of a number of sellers. One crazy lady asked if Tina and I were sisters, telling us that if we found out we really were, we should put the story on TV (apparently she found a brother she never knew she had and thought her story was TV worthy). We also had a very large dragon fly/beetle thing in the car that we had to maneuver out - All in all, it was a fun day!

Finally, we scored some nice deals at a little mini flea market - I got a metal tray for just a couple bucks, as well as some adorable coffee mugs and a little "Chattanooga Choo Choo" dish for my sponge at the kitchen sink! It seemed once we caught a few deals, we were out of "the funk" (as my British treasure hunting friend called it).

I did find one purchase that made me squeal and scream! It had started to sprinkle rain, but Tina and I trudged along, looking in tents and under tarps. It was under one such tarp that Tina spotted some large black letters that seemed to have come from an old store front. I quickly dug through the pile, hoping to happen across a C....but no such luck. Next to this pile, however, was a stack of 3 large red letters....and the one on top was a C! I snatched the prize up quickly. After bartering with the seller for a bit, I proudly hugged my new treasure.

Unfortunately, we still had lots of stops at this particular area - So, I had the privilege for lugging this giant C from booth to booth, yard to yard. All the while, I was getting strange looks and even stranger comments. "Your name must be Catherine or something."  "That's a really big C."  "Hope you don't have to carry that all day." "Is that from a 'Crush' pop sign?" (to this comment I shrugged my shoulders, not wanting to tell the old man it was clearly red and not orange.)  And my favorite comment "This Yard Sale is brought to us today by the letter C!"  (I had to explain the Sesame Street reference to Tina - guess they don't have that over in England).

After returning home, I hosed off my treasures outside - here's a picture of what I brought home!

1. My large red "C"
2. 15 inch mustard colored tin tray (It has already found a home on my coffee table)
3. An embroidered "There's no place like home" picture
4. My little "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" dish for my kitchen sink sponge (the seller also threw in a little matching pitcher...but I am not sure where this will end up)
5. My cheaply priced tin tray (I plan to make a magnetic measure board out of this)
6. A yellow cast iron pot that looks like a giant tea cup (I will probably put a plant in this)
7. 2 random coffee mugs: one looks like a Campbell's soup can and the other was just cute and blue

 

Did any of you venture out this weekend to thrift stores or yard sales? 

Let me know what treasures you found! 

Anyone have an idea for the little pitcher?  

When you can't sleep...

The other night, it was 2:30 am and I was having a hard time going to sleep. For some reason, I could not calm my mind down. It seemed the longer I remained awake, the more I found to be anxious over.

So, I turned to the Word.

"Why am I discouraged? Why so sad?

I will put my hope in God!

I will praise Him again -- my Savior and my God

Through each day the Lord pours His unfailing love upon me,

and through each night I sing His songs, praying to God who gives me life."

Ps. 42:5, 8 

"Yet I still belong to you; you are holding my right hand.

You will keep on guiding me with your counsel,

leading me to a glorious destiny.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

I desire you more than anything on earth.

My heart and flesh may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,

But God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever

But as for me, how good it is to be near God!

I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,

and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things You do"

Psalm 73:23-26, 28 (NLT)

As the Lord continued to minister to me through the Psalms, it seemed as if I was reading David's journal -

Since 10th grade, I have journaled pretty regularly my spiritual walk with the Lord. Sometimes, I write out my prayers to help me remained focused. Other times, I record what the Lord is teaching me. I love having a place to pour out my emotions, fears, praises and questions to God. - It seems to me that Psalms was written as if it were David's journal.

I was also intrigued by the fact that the phrases found in Ps 42:5 ("Why so downcast, Oh my soul? Put your hope in God -") appear other places in the following chapters. What a comfort to . know that David was feeling as I do sometimes, knowing that God is the One I must hope and trust in - yet needing to remind myself of that over and over.  

I quickly found myself relaxed, putting my hope in God - I went to sleep with a song to God in my heart - a old song from my youth group days playing over and over in my head. When you're discouraged - Put your hope in God! He'll give you the peace you are searching for!

A little extra cash in your pocket...

Just thought I would pass on a website that I frequently use - It's called Ebates. Basically, if you ever make any purchases online (and who doesn't these days?), you can get a percentage of your purchases sent back to you.

When planning my wedding, I used this website for all my purchases (Jeremiah even used it for our Honeymoon Cruise) and we got a nice check back! They send out checks quarterly - and I just got my email today that my check is on its way.

Like to check it out? Simply go here! They are currently offering a $10 gift card to either Barnes and Noble, Target, or Home Depot just for signing up.

After signing up, simply go to this site first before making any online purchases.

On the left hand side of the screen, you'll find a list of the stores supported by Ebates and the percentage of cash back you'll receive.

It's always a nice surprise to receive this "Big Fat Check" (as they call it)! Maybe I can use this for my garage sale trip tomorrow! I plan to check out the World's Largest Yard Sale!

Challenge Accepted

Anyone else out there share in my addiction to Pinterest....yet, haven't really tackled any of the ideas they've found there? Well, Katie @ BowerPower inspired me with her self-declared Pinterest Challenge...

 

Last night, my wonderful husband helped me tackle a photo collage wall - I found the idea here. 

 

Wrangling all my previously owned black frames from around the house and out of boxes seemed to be one of the hardest parts. After rearranging the frames on the basement floor twenty or thirty times, I finally found a pattern that pleased me. Next, I had to carry them up to the living room, trying to remember the perfect pattern. Jeremiah, being the best at hanging things on the wall, came to the rescue and helped with the actual placement of the frames on the wall. He is so detailed and so fast at getting the frames to hang straight and even. I do have a bit of a habit of hanging lots of things on the wall, giving him lots of practice. 

I plan to put all black and white pictures in the frames, making the collage look more uniform (like the inspiration picture). For now, the frames were hung with whatever was in them before - some containing the pretty people who came in the frames, others with my photos now hanging the wrong direction...I hope to collect pictures of our grandparents and parents and other relatives  -- but for now, the wall looks like this.

This morning, as I walked into my living room, I smiled :) The pictures are everything I hoped they would be! And for those of you who are wondering, the color of the living room walls is closer to the picture on the right. The camera on my phone decides to make things different colors at times. 

Do any of you find yourselves in the same Pinterest addiction? Who will join me in the challenge to actually do some of the ideas we've pinned? Let me know what projects you've tackled or tried.

And for those of you who are not in know about Pinterest, it is a website where you can pin ideas and tutorials found on the internet. You can categorize your pins and even re-pin ideas others have found - if you need an invite to join this amazing site, comment with your email address, and I'll send an invite your way!