Friday, August 17, 2012

Major Kitchen Organization Overhaul Update: Washer/Dryer Pedestal Has Been Built!

Whew! That took a looong time! We started the washer/dryer pedestal in May and we're technically not finished (I'm still putting the finishing painting touches on it, but we'll save that for another post, shall we?). It didn't need to take that long. And, actually, the part I'm posting about today didn't; it only took a few hours one Sunday. It's been the painting and trim and all that stuff that has gone sloooowly. 

The main reason why the project crawled along at a snail's pace was because the pedestal can't be brought in until the wall behind the washer and dryer is finished and painted, so there's no sense worrying too much about getting it done in a hurry. But now that there is a visible (albeit faint) light at the end of the Wall Treatment Tunnel, I wanted to get the pedestal all finished up so it's ready when the walls are done. I took some pictures of the progress. Like I said, the final, finished painted project will be discussed in a forth-coming post. 

Our pedestal was inspired by Sausha's pedestal that we found on Ana White's blog.

We started with 2 x 4s, 2 x 6s, 4 x 4s (treated)...
...and a big ol' piece of 3/4" treated plywood.
A few hours of this...
Got us this...
...then this...

....and, finally, THIS!

Ok, I know this isn't all that impressive, but it was a super big deal to me. Our first big "furniture" carpentry project!

I'll probably finish the rest of the pedestal this weekend, so stop by again for a final reveal :-)

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Sunday Style - Perfect Autumn Outfits


Though those of us living in Texas still have at least a month of hot, 90-100+ temps to contend with before things start to get comfy around here in October, I've got fall on the brain bad. Even then, the weather really won't be conducive to the kind of clothes that my New England brain will always associate with fall: cardigans, leather boots, pretty scarves. But, hey, a girl can dream (and plan for Texas autumn, which happens in about...oh-I-don't-know...December). In dreaming, I discovered Polyvore this morning, so now I really probably will never get anymore DIY projects done! But at least I created a few perfect fall outfits.

They have some ridiculously over-priced items in them, but I looooove to try to find cheap versions of expensive stuff to achieve the same look on a dime. I'm going to do that with these outfits, so I'll keep you updated on my finds. For now, dream with me...of pumpkin lattes, a fire in the hearth, and the ability to go outside once more. 

Fall 2012 - Perfectly Simple





Fall 2012 - Simple Red Flats and Top Shop Blazer


LBD with Autumn Twist


Sunday, August 5, 2012

Major Kitchen Organization Overhaul Update 7: Paneling is All Up!

The walls of my laundry room are covered in horizontal paneling!!! 



Big Tex and I finished putting up the panels this afternoon. In total, it took six packages of EverTrue Plank Paneling. At $10.97 a package, that's a pretty darn cheap wall treatment! Thanks to Karen at the The Quaint Cottage for leading me to these super affordable and easy-to-work-with panels. 

The project is far from done. The panels still need to be trimmed out, caulked, primed, and painted, but this is still a huge step. It feels like a major milestone and I'm super psyched :-)