Back to School Organizing

I think the one time of year that I am most organized is when the kids go back to school.  I tend to start pulling everything out of cabinets and start making things more accessible.   So the other day I was sooo tired of not being able to find anything in the pantry that I yanked it all out and began to organize it. 

 

 I will share those photos tomorrow, but today, I was in Homegoods and came across a drawer organizer that I had just seen on Pinterest the other day.   So I snagged two of them, well, because this is what I was dealing with...

 

 

 

How can one little drawer cause so much trouble!!!

 

 

 

In comes the help.  A two tray sliding organizer for $7.99.

 

 

 

 

 

And I'm a happy girl.  I really like that it has the additional tray on top that slides and a great spot for my scissors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't know about you, but I always feel less stressed when things have a place.

 

 

On that note, I will leave you with the mess of the pantry clean out and I will share the after tomorrow :)

 

 

 

 

 

Fence Painting

We are so excited to be nearly done with the outside projects that we began, well, FOREVER ago.  We always think a project is going to be quick and then we are months into stuff and wonder where the time went.  The shed and fence project began in the early part of summer and is now nearing completion.

For the fence, we went with a white wood stain.  Dustin did the spraying and I went behind and rolled any heavier spots.  It worked great and didn't take long at all, but since we had family come over, we where only able to get the inside and outside of the left side of the fence.  So you know what we are doing today instead of sitting on the couch and watching House Flippers on TV. 

Probably would have been a good idea to put on a mask or at least close his mouth while spraying, lol. 

 This is a closer shot of the first coat where you can still see the wood grain quite a bit.  I took of the excess paint with the roller and used that to roller the tops of the pickets so that I didn't have too much paint on my roller. 

 It's funny how the white actually makes the fence feel even more weightier.  I'm pretty darn sure that's not correct English, but you get what I mean right? 

Below is a picture when we where working on the fence...





And here is the near after shot.  Seriously weightier!!!  Lol

Fall Fever!

I am so ready for fall and I continue to dream of outside places we can gather.  Places that I want to build, hence, want my husband to build ;-)  I was searching over on www.houzz.com and came across a couple beautiful outdoor gathering spots.

Traditional Landscape design by Portland Landscape Architect beautiful bones and purple stones

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Everyone gets their own spot to kick back and relax.  Nice!  The stone wall surround is so pretty with the lanterns to finish it off.  Look at the color changes of the trees in the background. Ahh!

 

Traditional Landscape design by Other Metros Landscape Architect The Collins Group

 

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 I really like how this backyard getaway is nestled into the tree line.  It looks like such a great place to entertain and relax for the evening!

 

 

Inspiration for the Remodel

Hey guys, I hope you had a wonderful labor day weekend!!!  We had such a great weekend that I need to take a day off, lol.  My doggy and I are relaxing on the couch and doing laundry all day today.  Well, he's not doing the laundry but he's doing the relaxing and he's very good at that part. ;-)

 

So, needless to say, what better time to take a break...

 

The kids started school today, the house is quiet, things are slowly getting cleaned up, and I am starting the mental process of transforming several rooms in our home.  So I hopped on pinterest and found some really great inspirational pictures for our home that I wanted to share!!!

 

 

Laundry Room

 

 

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Our laundry room might not be a big space, but you won't hear me complaining since our laundry room in our last home was a laundry closet.  When I came across this picture of the washer and dryer and the spacing, it has a very similar feel to my laundry room.  I had mentioned to my husband last week that I would like to tile the back wall behind the machines and now I have a picture of reference for him to weigh in on his opinion.  I am not looking for marble counters, I would just like a basic white counter that goes across the units from wall to wall.  Then above that, I like how they have cabinets on either side and shelving in the middle, so I can store the not so cute stuff inside the cabinets and then the pretty stuff on the shelving in some organized baskets.  I had not even thought about a TV in the laundry room, but I say why not?  If you want me to do the laundry without griping and complaining, this would shut me up!  Although, I am only in there for 5 minutes at a time, folding and changing loads.  So ok, I will just go with a few shelves there instead ;( 

 

 

 

Dining Room

 

 

 

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There is something about this little nook, that I think is so comforting!  Maybe it's the Chocolate cake recipe or maybe it's the Phrase "If uncertain, Eat dessert first!"  It could be the actual cakes on pedestals to the left.  But let's be real,  I am pretty sure it's the gorgeous fridge filled with beautiful wine, lol!  I know there are a lot of chalkboard walls floating around the blogs, but this area would be great to post a recipe or put a menu up for a nice dinner.  If I had to pick one specific thing that I love it would be the combination of the chalkboard wall with the lighting.  I will have to figure out how to bring something like this design into my dining room.

 

 

 

Family Room

 

 

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For the backs of the bookcases in the family room, I am going to paint it gray, but after seeing this picture, maybe it should have a little bead board put up first.  Either way, this is a really pretty shade of gray.

 

 

 

 

Kitchen

 

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This is such a gorgeous kitchen!!!   What I know so far is that I want white cabinets with silver hardware.  I am pretty darn sure I want this style of pendant lighting.  Our cabinets do not currently go all the way up to the ceiling, so we are thinking to either do small cabinets with glass doors on top or maybe take the finishing crown molding up like in this shot and possibly do some glass doors instead of the already existing solid doors.  I am going to paint the island the same gray I choose for the back of the built ins to keep the flow running through both areas.  I haven't decided on a back splash, but maybe something with a bit of color.  Out of everything, my biggest fear is not picking the right color floors!!!  Ahh!!  Not something I can really change if I don't like it.  Dustin is liking the gray washed floors.  While I am having a hard time deciding between gray washed floors and a medium to dark brown floor.  I also like the look of the smooth floor and the look of the hand grooved flooring. 

 

I am sure I will find a lot more inspirational pictures along the way that I will share :)  Even though it is a little ways away before the transformations get under way, I am starting to get really excited!