ikea recap

A few weeks ago, my mom, sister and I made the trip down south to the big blue store. Ikea! It's amazing what a few throw pillows and curtains can do for an area.

Recap of purchases:

Ikea Stockholm throw pillow -  $12.99

West Elm silk floral pillow - $19.99 (no longer online) *too spring/summer?? I kind of like the added texture and pop

sleeping puppies - Priceless :)

I know you can't really tell, but I'm kind of playing around with two living room tables. The round wood and the black chest. Very functional and adds different elements to the area. Love it.

The dining room is the hottest in the house. Before we weren't able to eat dinner in there between 6-8 because you'd get sunburned. Poor planning on my part, I know I need a curtain on each side of the window, but I was one set short. And we need the windows covered completely most of the time.

Ritva curtains in grey - $19.99

BESKÅDA curtain rods - $7.99

Our corner window in the front was a bit of an issue. I didn't know whether the window needed two sets of curtains, or just along each side. We need the shade but it's nice at time to have the light, and the dogs always love dirtying up the window sill barking at the neighbors. I'm happy what I decided for now.

Ritva curtains in grey - $19.99

BESKÅDA curtain rods - $7.99

We used two rods, and just had them meet in the corner. Exactly like John and Sherry did.

At first I didn't think I'd use the finials, but I ended up liking them. I may extend the rods a bit over the hooks.

The white filter panels are Ikea Lill - $4.99. They are 108" long and come with two. You can cut these to whatever desired length or width desired. I love that they add the extra privacy but are light and airy. I actually used one here, and just placed it on both rods.

What are you opinions on the billowing at the bottom? I don't own an iron, but hemming is possible. Two weeks later and the doggy hair the curtains are collecting is bugging the crap out of me.

Many other items were purcahsed at lovely Ikea. Kitchen stuff and hooks and bars mainly. Love that place.

Did I tell ya'll I got my FIRST speeding ticket on our way out of town? After all the money we spent in Dallas, they stuck me with an 82 in a 70. I have yet to look up how much this is going to cost me. (Still contemplating showing up at court since the date is the day after OU/TX.. do you think it's worth it??)

Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we'll have enough time.

Name that movie?! Preston and I had a nice little weekend, including two trips to the grocery store, two trips to Lowe's, a trip to the park with the dogs, a sooner win (a bummer of a tigers loss), all topped off with a yummy steak dinner cooked by the man of the house and a wrap up of Dexter season 4 (WOWZA). I also watched a little more True Blood. I still can't say I'm hooked, but I am digging the opening song.

I completed and started a lot of projects around the house that I can't wait to share this week. I was concerned about the interior doors needing trim, but figured I could always go back later and add it if needed. I got about half of the doors painted, and I am IN LOVE. I can't wait to have them all finished. We used Valspar's Dark Kettle Black (4011-2) in a semi gloss interior/exterior paint.

The owners before us did a crappy/quick job repainting the doors and trim, so all if it was really sloppy. All door handles were painted on, trim has just been primed, etc. Real annoying when you're trying to get knobs off the door.

front door before

 (I hate that freakin' white storm door, but P swears he'll die before we get rid of it, so storm door it is)

back side of front door and front closet. see the cream?

back of front door after

front closet during :) I used old magazine pages so I wasn't using gobs of tape.

office closet doors (iPhone pic. call me over eager. whatevs)

office door

The doors are really glossy. And again, I'm in love! I can't wait to have them completed, especially the doors to our closets. They're currently blue.

After a long, productive game day, we were all exhausted. Some more than others..

This week's menu:

Sunday

Steak, potatoes and pasta salad

Monday

meatloaf

Tuesday

creamy Italian crock pot chicken

Wednesday

pizza

Thursday

pork chops

Friday

My first time to cook Tilapia!

Hope everyone had a productive, sunny, victory filled weekend! Check back throughout the week for more projects from the weekend!

glossed over

I was forced to watch way too much football last weekend. (If you call Thursday-Monday the weekend) This weekend we're planning on having a nice, quiet two days at home, with more football at sure. So I'm thinking, now is the time to bite the bullet and paint the front door and maybe start with the interiors.

I love the front door in this commercial.

I told ya I've been watching too much football.

I love this door and this cute little couple.

source

But my sister said no. Maybe she's right. I'm not that "hip".

This door blows my mind.  LOVE.

source

I really love love love high gloss black doors. I've posted about black interior doors before, but I think this weekend we'll actually get the ball rolling. I'm kind of hesitant to begin because I can't decide whether or not the door needs some molding detail first. (All our doors are flat and currently painted to match the previous wall color. Can you say cream?? ick) I don't know if the high gloss draw too much attention to our plain doors. But I'm not really wanting to take all the doors off the hinges to properly DIY add the trim. I'm thinking I go ahead and paint, and if they need the extra trim, I can add at a later date.

 source 

And a few more..

Janice painted her front door a deep navy. I think she plans on doing the rest of her interior doors this same color. What do you think?

One more yellow door and I'll let the dream die :)

 source

a lot can get accomplished in a 3 day weekend!

My body's still trying to recover from all the work we did last weekend. The fourth of July festivities didn't help much either :)

Saturday it rained in the morning, so I started taping the dreaded office. THE.WORST.ROOM. EVER to tape.




I did a lot of complaining.



And  recieved a little sympathy..



3 1/2 rolls of tape (and 24 hours) later it was completed. And the trimming began. And more complaining.



I forgot what the color's called (Mark Twain's something?? By Valspar) but it's a  dirtier, browner grey looking olive then in the pictures. I really love it. I didn't want to be too brown because of our new desk (post to come) and I didn't think a bluer grey was the way to go. I can't wait to add some white drapes and a nice white chaise by the window.

I didn't literally spend 24 hours taping. It did take a huge chunk of my time. I took some breaks to help Preston in the yard Saturday afternoon and Sunday. We both really love being outside; I would prefer not being outside pulling weeds, but at the time, it was more appealing than taping.

So after all the tree trimming, yard cleanup, flower planting, mowing and three trips to Lowe's, we had a beautified yard.


I planted some cilantro in this old owl tea pot I had. I'm in dire need for herb markers. Does anyone have any homeade ideas? I struggle to remember what's what, and only have the store labels for a few.


Sans paint job. Preston liked him the way he was.

On Monday, after painting the final coats in the office, and cramming all the boxes and junk back in there, we somehow found more to do around the house. We hung blinds in all three rooms and our bathroom. Trimmed more trees. Preston fixed a leaky faucet, changed a door handle...He's pretty handy :)

I have some exciting projects started to hang in the office! Can't wait to share. Hope everyone had a good holiday! I know we're looking forward to having this weekend to recover!

our first house guests!

A few weeks ago some good friends were in town from Ohio for their Grandma's 80th birthday. Preston and I were lucky enough to have Chris and his girlfriend Whitney stay with us for a couple of nights. I'd never met Whitney, but after spending the weekend with them I think Chris is a very lucky guy! We had a lot of fun cooking out and spending time with the families. Wish they could've stayed longer!

aw, hail no

We got pummeled by a freak hail storm Sunday afternoon. Thankfully, Preston made it off the lake and I made it home from Wally world just in time. My car got the garage spot. We thought P’s truck would be safer next to the house, under a tree but no such luck.


 
  
 
Poor grill :( Claims have been filed…AFTER Directv was called. Why did I think a satellite would be smart in Oklahoma weather?
Thank the tv gods, I recorded the “Tori & Dean” marathon or I would be stuck watching “The Hangover” and “Avatar” until Thursday.

the finished product

First off – I lived the last 7 days thinking Kate got kicked off DWTS and was looking forward to not watching her temper tantrum with poor Tony. I must’ve dreamt it..
I finally finished some furniture I started refinishing. It was my first project and I really wanted to prove I could 1. complete it. 2. it look good! Not professional..pottery barn good, just good enough that it didn’t look off the street. Preston and I have mismatched bedroom furniture so I thought redoing some of the pieces could bring some unity.
I’ve been so inspired seeing all these furniture redo's online, but I started simple. Black and white. White for our bedroom and black for the guest room. The pieces were from a set given to me in college. (We have guests staying in a few weeks so we HAVE to get that room settled!) I studied up. Bought my supplies. And took the proper steps to insure success.

Prime

I used Zinsser’s 1-2-3. Worked great. (Like I know any different.) There are more priming pictures here.

Paint

I used Rustoleum Heirloom White spray paint and Valspar New Black 4011-1.

I about had a freak out when I started with the black. But I figured I have no plan for the room, so a purple nightstand wouldn’t ruin anything, right? It ended up taking 3 coats of the paint and 2 of the spray paint.

Poly

This step scared me the most. Like I said I had been reading up, and it seemed everyone had a different poly preference. I decided to go with wipe-on. It was so easy! No mess! I thought it was going to be a big goopy disaster. My two coats with a sand in between took a day. Love the wipe on.

I ended up sanding the black a little more than planned but I like the unfinished edges. It’ll go with our unfinished room. And I actually kind of love the black/navy/purple. It looks really gorgeous in the light. Not just plain ol’ black. What do you think of the knobs? I haven’t found any I love.
I know I expressed my concern about the spray paint, but I’m loving it. I’m not sure if the sanding or poly toned down the creamy-ness but I love it! Do you like these knobs? Hobby Lobby’s knobs have been half off the last week, so I got all 6 for under $20.
Now that' I’ve completed two pieces I can’t wait to start more! I need to finish the mirror. Shouldn’t take me too long. The hardest part is finding somewhere to put our clothes while painting them.
P and I had a busy weekend. He got a new mower and I (think I) finally found some throw pillows. My mom also got me this lamp we found at TJ. Had to have it. I think it will go beside the bed. On my side of course. We were also given this banquette. (iPhone photo sorry.) Preston isn’t in love like I am.. and I’m in l.o.v.e. I would like it to be used with our dining table. It has wheels. This little beauty is making me have second thoughts about my throw pillows. The red’s are way different. Is that bad, (sister)? The dining and living are pretty much the same room…maybe it’s too much red. Just as the living room starts looking like a room I’m questioning color choices. I thought we could put the banquette in the office but I think I’m getting some extra special chairs from my grandma.
P and I don’t want to have the house where furniture comes to die. But we’ve got to start somewhere! And to get started we’d rather not spend the money on furnishing the entire house. Travel and play is much more important :) I think we’re getting a armoire that was my grandma’s grandmothers..count ‘em 5 generations. And the chairs I mentioned above. Which may need a fabric redo. We’ll see!
Hope ya’ll had a good weekend!