kitchen progress: laying new flooring

Laying new floor........

old painted sub-floor got a coat of flooring primer

real life mess people.  keepin it real. 

It's actually all done and I can't wait to show you it when it's all put back together!

xoxo

Faux Subway Tile Back Splash and Kitchen/Dining updates

So, our kitchen is slowly being redone.  We have been working on little projects here and there and it's coming along.  It's nearly impossible with a hubs who works full time, I babysit and spray paint things, we have 4 heathens and a plethora of other things going on, to completely tear apart our kitchen for the sake of aesthetics.   Slow and steady wins the race for us.  Plus, I lack funds to go much faster. Keepin' it real.

I am dying to have a subway tile back splash.  It will happen, but not until spring break.  So, I started out by painting the wall white.  It was already so much brighter.  I was going to patiently wait for subway tile.

One wild hair up my ass and a sharpie later and I drew on my subway tile.  I have had some people over and they went, "Hey you got subway tile, then I say nope just paint and a sharpie marker!! Plus Mr. TSL put up/made some shelves for the kitchen :)

Before we moved in:

                                Currently:

-ripped out the nasty ass crapet (yep tile looking disgustingly filthy carpet)
-painted the subfloor (temporary)
-moved the cabinets up and added a shelf underneath
-took out the cabinet above the sink and replaced with shelves
-put in above stove microwave
-changed all the appliances to black that we scored sweet deals on and/or got from craigslist
-took out weird pergola top off island and straightened the island.
-replaced the light with barn lights from upstairs
-replaced faucet
-painted walls, trim, pantry doors and shutter door medicine cabinet.


Now on to the dining room, the view from the kitchen when we moved in:

and now:

more dining room pics and some simple fall decorating:

my i will survive planter....i gently ease plants to their death, so i was hoping for a planter that encouraged survival!

xoxo

Creating with the Stars Entry

So, I am entering Creating with the Stars over at East Coast Creative!!
Go over and click on my link!!  The top 11 will be chosen by the stars...have you seen who the blog stars are?  I die!  Anywho, the 12th is chosen by the link that has the most clicks!!

I entered my Chevron Painted Subfloor!

xoxo

{Re} Painted Stairs

When we first moved in our stairs looked like this:

After I ripped the carpet off the stairs, I painted them:

They were starting to look a little shabby, so I decided to paint them again.  Don't be mad at me....I painted them months ago, like before Oliver was even born!!

When we built the barn door baby gate, the little stairs looked even worse.

The whole front edge had rubbed off.  blah.


I decided to paint them gray...only problem is that it is just slightly off of the wall color.  Making the dining room and kitchen look a little drab.  Floor and wall matching is a no no for me.
I painted it anyway and just went with it :)  Which means once again, I will be changing it up again!

Here are the pics before I change it again!! :)

A clue on the new changes.....brown paint, this rug from urban outfitters,

and inspiration from this picture.

Did you figure out what I'm doing?!?  Didya, huh?

xoxo

 SUNDAY:

The Girl Creative ,
The DIY Showoff,
Sisters of the Wild West,
The Tattered Tag,
Flamingo Toes,
Under the Table and Dreaming,
I Heart Nap Time

 MONDAY:

Skip To My Lou, 
Thrifty Decor Chick, 
C.R.A.F.T., 
Sew Can Do,
Dittle Dattle,
Between Naps On the Porch 
Homemaker on a Dime
Making the World Cuter

TUESDAY:

Tip Junkie,
Type A
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Today's Creative Blog
Funky Polkadot Giraffe 
Strictly Homemade
A Diamond in the Stuff
All Thingz Related
Handmade Tuesday

WEDNESDAY:

Blue Cricket Design
Not Just A Housewife
Someday CraftsHandy Man, Crafty Woman
Sew Much Ado
Organize Your Stuff Now 
Seven Thirty Three
Sugar and Dots 
The Mommy Club  

THURSDAY:

My Repurposed Life
Paisley Passions
House of Hepworths
Beyond The Picket Fence
Inspired by Charm
The Shabby Chic Cottage
Somewhat Simple 

FRIDAY:

Whipperberry

Fingerprints on the Fridge
Miss Mustard Seed
Remodelaholic 
Chic on a Shoestring
Shabby Nest
Tidy Mom
Little Lucy Lu
My Simple HomeLife

SATURDAY:

Funky Junk Interiors
Be Different Act Normal 
Tatertots and Jello 
Young and Crafty

Painted Stairs and Floor a year later

It all started with the stairs...the nasty crapet (yes, I know I typed crapet for a reason).  It had to go.  So, I ripped it off while Mr. TSL was at work.  Then I was just going to leave it....it got dirty and untreated wood is impossible to clean.  So, I painted them!

After the stairs were painted, I got a wild hair up my....anyways I painted the floor in the dining room and kitchen.

When I painted the kitchen floor I had to paint over some nasty foam crapet glue junk and it made it look like a thousand times better!  However, when I did this I used every last drop of my custom colored porch paint for the project. Bummer.

A year has passed and the floors and edges of the stairs and looking really shabby.  The kitchen floor constantly looks dirty even when it's not!  Bull crap.  I would just touch up the paint, but I'm out.

So, I attempted to paint a runner in the kitchen. It was okay, but I totally kind of stopped measuring and blah, it was a little jacked up.  The suckiest part was that the tape pulled up paint off the floor and looked awful!

The stairs look like this now...yuck!

So, I bought some gray and I am repainting them.  What's that you say?  You haven't seen afters of our Master Bathroom project...oh, that's because it's not done :)  We have had one of those months where if it could go wrong, it does.

Mr. TSL is suppose to be working on the butcher block countertop in his shop at school.  However, we came home from the grocery store and Morgan asked if daddy left the sprinkler on....we had a river coming out of one of our spigots.  It had sprayed the side of the house with mud and Mr. TSL basically had to dig a giant grave to fix the problem.  Morgan, the eternally funny kid, said "Well, we did want a water feature in our yard!"  I laughed hysterically and then told her not to tell Mr. TSL until everything was fixed.  Then some propane tank crap went down and our foundation has cracked due to the extreme drought!  Suckola!

It will eventually get done, I am just thankful to have a toilet in there now!! :)

My goal is to have this project done by Audrey's 2nd Birthday Party at the beginning of September!

-Make your life beautiful!!

Chevron Runner and my 30th Bday!

My dining room floor got a little upgrade when I painted it all Chevrony and stuff!  I still love it.  It's so much better than the subfloor!  I still can't wait to put down the wood floor as soon as we get some tax money back.

Until then, the painted floor does me fine.

With one exception...the kitchen floor.
It had that nasty foam backed tile-looking crapet (yep, I said crapet)

Please note the crapet in the above pic....the decor was left from the previous owner and found its way to the GW or the trash can :)

After a wild hair up my ass, I pulled the carpet up to expose this nasty ass yellow foam crap that I had to scrape off.  It was awful!

Paint made it light years better!  However, where the foam use to be is a serious stain looking dirt collector.  Gross.  I can scrub and scrub and just the paint comes off.  Boo.

After a few months, the spots reminded me of flashing.  No not the kind where you show your boobs.  The kind when you paint over a patch on the wall with out priming . The wall is shiny except where the patch is.

Long story, well long.  I decided I would have to paint over it to make it look clean.  Problem is I am out of the green paint.

Looks like a new runner was in the works.

So, I sat down and taped off the floor and started painting.

Things I discovered.  The painters tape pulls the paint up that is on the foam yellow crap.  So, the runner looks cool, but you can see the tape marks...oops.

My second discovery.  The vent on the front of the fridge looked like it was nursing a batch of kittens.  I couldn't even see the vent.  Honestly, I thought the carpet was covering it.  If you look at the pic above you will see that there was a bit of carpet left under the fridge, dishwasher, and stove.

When I pointed out the batch of kittens to Mr. TSL and I decided the fridge would have to wean them, it was time for them to be on there own...in the garbage.

So, after that tirade...here it is.

It's not life changing, but it does make the floor look a little cleaner.  I am totally irritated that the tape pulled up like that though.

Now on to my birthday...

today is my 30th Birthday!!!

Crazytalk.  So, I had this list.  I am a list maker.  I will make them and check them.  However, I abandon anything I feel like I am not got to thoroughly complete.  This list pissed me off because I knew I wouldn't complete all of it.

1.  Lose 30 lbs--didn't happen...still working on it though.  I am thinking more like 50-60lbs now and I plan to do that over the next year.  If I grow a pair, maybe I'll share it with you guys.
  
2. Get my wedding ring fixed- I bent the crap out of it when I was carrying in paint cans.  I don't know if that's how it got bent, or if that's when I noticed it.  But it happened in like January...needs fixed pronto!-didn't happen either.  I never remember to go to the jeweler when I run into Wichita.  Maybe, I will put all of the stuff in my purse and go do it Saturday.  I would really like it fixed.  

3.  Go out to dinner only 2 times a month-only on kids eat free night!  This should help with our budget :)  For the most part we have stuck to this.  However, sometimes our family pays for it, so I don't count that.

4.  Finish painting the kitchen and dining room floor-yep I started it!  DONE  :)  Read about it here.

5.  Finish painting the green dining chairs-they may be gray..not sure yet. They did end up gray.  Read about that here.

6.  Exercise twice a week-anything else is a bonus.  Totally slacked off on this one.  A few weeks this happened, but not every week.



7.  Organize the kitchen cabinets-totally did this one!  I am excited to start the kitchen redo for realskies soon!

8.  Help mom decorate her house-we didn't finish, it's a work in progress.  They are redoing both bathrooms, then we'll move on!

9.  Floss daily  I have managed to do it around 5 times a week, better than my old 2 times a week :)

10.  Build a baby gate-Mr. TSL is making one for me :)

11.  Get a mani/pedi-  I've had manicures twice, but never a pedicure!  So, I didn't go get professional mani/pedi. But Hayley did them for me, so it totally counts!

12.  Take vitamins everyday. 

13.  Paint dresser in the garage for Morgan and Hayley- I totally need to post it.

14.  Drink a cup of tea before breakfast. I've been drinking lots of tea...I quit drinking pop a year ago and it's fantastic!

15.  Build book shelves-still working on them.

16.  Do something nice for my brothers-all of them- I made them all Thanksgiving dinner and prayed for the one who couldn't make it. 

17.  Stencil a wall (I stenciled a tray and LURVE it!!) Read about that here.


18.  Host Thanksgiving for my family

19.  Plant flower bulbs in the fall, so we have beautiful flowers in the spring! 

20.  Go for a couples massage!   We'll be doing this soonish.

21.  Dress up for Halloween-I was a black cat! Meow:) 

22. Carve pumpkins and decorate the house at the beginning of October

23.  Make a faux fireplace mantel-Mr. TSL is working on this :)

24.  Make the girls' lunches everyday They like to eat at school, so I'll make their lunches when they ask me to.

25.  Declutter the house-Working on it!!  This is a work in progress

26.  Spend less time on the computer.  Only after the kids have gone to bed, or before they are awake. Still working on this.  I am only on it while Audrey is sleeping!

27.  Put clothes away after I fold them--I wash them, dry them, fold them and stack them on the dryer. Totally suck at this one.  Told Mr. TSL if we had a stackable washer and dryer I couldn't do this...no dice.

28.  Make dinner by 5:30 every night

29.  Teach Audrey to walk and wean her around 12 months or so.  She is amazing!!


30.  Read Janet Evanovich book 17



-Make your life beautiful!!


SUNDAY: The Girl Creative ,The DIY Showoff ,Sisters of the Wild West ,The Tattered Tag ,Flamingo Toes, Under the Table and Dreaming , I Heart Nap Time  MONDAY:Skip To My Lou, Thrifty Decor Chick, C.R.A.F.T., Sew Can Do, Dittle Dattle, Between Naps On the Porch, Homemaker on a Dime,  Making the World Cuter TUESDAY: Tip Junkie, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Today's Creative Blog, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Strictly Homemade, A Diamond in the Stuff, Handmade Tuesday, Stories from A to Z WEDNESDAY: Primitive and Proper, Blue Cricket Design, Not Just A Housewife, Someday Crafts, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Sew Much Ado, Organize Your Stuff Now, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots The Mommy Club  THURSDAY: My Repurposed Life, Paisley Passions, House of Hepworths, Beyond The Picket Fence, The Shabby Chic Cottage, Somewhat Simple, Inspired by Charm FRIDAY: Remodelaholic, Fingerprints on the Fridge, Miss Mustard Seed, Chic on a Shoestring, Shabby Nest, Tidy Mom, Little Lucy Lu, My Simple Home Life, Whipperberry, 
SATURDAY: Funky Junk Interiors, be Different Act Normal, Tatertots and Jello, Young and Crafty

Chevron Painted Floor {Subfloor}

I did it!!  I painted the subfloor and it cost me only the price of 1.5 rolls of painters tape!!  I used the leftover paint from my painted stairs and some charcoal and white I already had also!!  I hand painted the whole floor with a brush.  I started just to see what it looked like and didn't stop :)

I FREAKING LOVE IT!!!!

Before we moved in it looked like this:

I ripped all the carpet out and exposed the subfloor.  We lived on that for 3 months before I decided to paint it.

Here are pics of the floor after the carpet was taken out.

This is actually the kitchen floor where the nasty foam carpet was.

So much better :)

During....

Ran out of painters tape twice...the yellow is automotive painters tape :) Use what you've got, right?

The stray yellow piece is from Audrey, she started pulling the tape off.

And all the Afters...........

 I know this floor is just temporary, so I didn't fill in the cracks, sand it, prime it or anything fancy.  I literally swept it and started painting.  I don't care if it wears off in spots or if it's perfect.  The dog walked across it in a spot, I was going to paint over it...but I like it :)  I also messed up a little in one spot where I went over the tape.  Oops!

I also painted the vents because I couldn't have the fabulous floor and nasty old vents.

BEFORE

 

AFTER

 I cleaned them and sprayed them with Krylon's oil rubbed bronze :) Love them!

This whole project took about 3 days.  I was only working in 15 min to hour time spans because that's all I could squeeze in.  I painted 2 coats of the white and it probably needed 3 or 4, but I am into the worn look :)

I just realized that I have a lot of :) in this post....I really love it :)  It makes me smile!

-Make your life beautiful!!





I also entered this in Creating with the Stars!!

SUNDAY: 
The Girl Creative ,
The DIY Showoff ,
Sisters of the Wild West ,
The Tattered Tag ,
Flamingo Toes,
Under the Table and Dreaming ,
I Heart Nap Time

 MONDAY:

Skip To My Lou,
Thrifty Decor Chick,
C.R.A.F.T.,
Sew Can Do,
Dittle Dattle,
Between Naps On the Porch 
Homemaker on a Dime
Making the World Cuter

TUESDAY:

Tip Junkie,
Type A
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Today's Creative Blog
Funky Polkadot Giraffe
Strictly Homemade
A Diamond in the Stuff
All Thingz Related
Handmade Tuesday

WEDNESDAY:

Blue Cricket Design
Not Just A Housewife
Someday Crafts 
Handy Man, Crafty Woman
Sew Much Ado
Organize Your Stuff Now
Seven Thirty Three
Sugar and Dots 
The Mommy Club 

THURSDAY:

My Repurposed Life
Paisley Passions
House of Hepworths
Beyond The Picket Fence
The Shabby Chic Cottage
Somewhat Simple

FRIDAY:
Whipperberry

Fingerprints on the Fridge
Miss Mustard Seed
Remodelaholic
Chic on a Shoestring
Shabby Nest
Tidy Mom
Little Lucy Lu
My Simple HomeLife

SATURDAY:

Funky Junk Interiors
Be Different Act Normal 
Tatertots and Jello
Young and Crafty