Someone, Please Pinch Me!

Prepared to be Wowed!  FawnDear finally completed another milestone in my De-hoarding.  The Dining room is DONE!!!  Happy Dance.  I know it seems like forever since I’ve last shared a completed room in my recovery from hoarding.  Honestly it’s because our family has stretched out to be working on 4-5 rooms at the same time.  But we are progressing.

Because it’s taken just that long, let me remind you of the abysmal state of the dining room last November.

Every surface so cluttered you could barely see the table from the front room.

So sit back and relax, this is a long, picture heavy post.

Remember how I de-cluttered in time for Thanksgiving.  Switched the wall that the China Cabinet went on… with reservations.  Ms. Passion told me to trust her and I did.  Now I’m so glad that I listened.  Are you ready???

 

From that to this…

And yes, it is the same house.  It’s amazing what a lot of hard work can do.  I know blue might not be most people’s first choice of color, but it’s mine.  I need the calm it brings.

Many thanks to my big boys for wielding the poles of paint rollers.  Painting cathedral ceilings are not fun.

So the Tall Wall went from this mayhem of mess…

To this…

Say it with me, ‘Ahhhhhh.  So refreshing, Yes?’  Ms. Passion helped me find my voice and style.  It’s been there all along.  I love antique linens and the color blue.  The wall however we painted a Mt. Rainier Grey (True Value), but it looks blue all the same.

The large framed doily was made by my talented Mom.  It had been sitting in a drawer because I was too afraid of my kids damaging it.  But I’ve pulled out the best linen’s.  I’m going to live in my Dream home today and not wait for a someday home that may never happen.  In the Movie ‘Knight and Day’ the comment is made about Someday being the code word for Never.  That struck a nerve with me.  So I’m redefining my Dreams.  My Someday is Today.

 

In deciding on an arrangement of plates, Ms. Passion and myself tried out several different configurations on the floor.

Then, when we finally settled on the one we liked the best we laid it out on the back side of some old wrapping paper I had stashed away in my closet. 

You mark where the plates are positioned by outlining them on the paper.  Then tape the paper to your wall, adjust the height if necessary.   Then without removing the paper, add your nails, or whatever means you decided to use, to hang your art.  Then once they are all in place, slowly tear away the paper.  Ms. Passion and my neighbor Ethel kindly helped with this part.

It’s the easiest way, I believe to hang a collage, and make sure you get  the positioning you want, right the first time.

I wanted more doily art but until my mom sends me more (hint, hint), or better yet until she comes to visit and can teach me how to do them, I settled for filling a couple of my frames with $1 store doilies.  I took a frame and  lined it with blue material from a thrift store T-shirt dress that I found that matched (nearly exactly) my accent wall. I folded the material over the cardboard that came with the frame and taped it onto the back side.   On the large doily display I actually laid the material on a piece of cardboard that had been treated with a spray adhesive.  Trying to insure that the weight of the crochet wouldn’t cause the knit material to sag.  It turned out beautiful.

I used an acid-free glue stick in a couple of places on the back of the doilies to have them stick better to the knit material background.  I also tried to do something a bit different and cut the $1 store crocheted find in pieces.  Yes, I hacked up a doily.  So one doily was used in two different frames.

And the all the coordinating dishes I’ve found over the past few months (super cheap) at the Thrift store or the local antique mall.  It required a lot of patience and multiple trips.

My favorite one, the top platter, I did get on EBay.  I love that it’s of Washington Crossing the Delaware.  And another plate pays homage to my pioneer heritage.  Go Wagon Train!

I love my new Stitch and Dish Wall.

“Each decision we make becomes a stitch in the pattern of our life.”  ~My Mom

Okay, onto another dreadful before view.  Here’s another Clutter War Zone before photo.

 

And here’s the after.

This wall run’s the length of my dining room/family room and is a much darker blue.  ‘Blue Dusk’ from True Value, is the name of this paint.  It isn’t too overwhelming because the huge China Cabinet helps break up the color nicely.  You’ll have to wait to see what it amazingly does to my front room.

Notice how my huge sagging rectangle table is gone.  We replaced it with a Thrift Store treasure.  Ms. Passion found me this solid wood, Diamond-In-The-Rough, oval table, with two inserts, last October for just $43.  But it needed a lot of help.  Stripping the stain and varnish, then sanding, and re-staining to match the dining room chairs and finally applying nearly 6 coats of varnish.  Yes, my kids are that tough on tables.

We decided that the new oval shape would help simplify the room.  Not only is it simple and beautiful, but it’s shape actually gives us more room in which to move around.  And we didn’t lose any seating.

Once again T-rev and Abner were major Elbow-Grease contributors.

Sanding the little crevices are not too much fun.  Special thanks to my little Dremel tool for getting all the nooks and crannies for me.

I also went the extra step and recovered the Dining room tables chairs.  Good-bye brown.

Hello Beautiful.

Love it.

We also, took down the bronze colored ceiling fan and replaced it with a craigslist find.  I nearly jumped for joy when I found this on Craigslist, as it matches (style- wise) a smaller one that I found for the entry way. 

However the old brass didn’t really fit the new rooms color scheme. So, I taped up the candle sticks and pulled out the metal friendly Spray Paint.

I did spray a Primer on first, then followed that up with a couple coats of Silver. 

Now it fit’s the room perfectly.

I also made my first ever woodworking project. I love doing FawnDear firsts.  This first was attempting wood cornices to go over the windows.

The molding was a little tricky, so I must say thank you to whomever invented Wood Putty, sanding and a couple coats of good thick paint to hide my little flaws.

Oh, and another kudos to Prince Erik for mounting the heavy sucker’s on the wall.  Thanks Stud for being such a Stud Finder.  I ended up making a total of three box Cornices in total for the two rooms.

It took me a couple of months to find the curtain material.  But I finally went with a Waverly Toile Print from JoAnn’s.  Home Decorating Fabric can be a jaw dropper at times, but I made sure to only buy it after it reached the 50% off.  I then scored with another 20% off total purchase coupon so ended up getting nearly 70% off regular price.  The lining for the curtains was… can you guess??? Thrifted White flat sheets.  The rods… cheapo Electrical Pipe from Home Depot hung on Closet Rod Holders.  I punched grommets through the top of my curtain material and hung them on the pipe with shower curtain hooks.  So they slide open and shut so easily.  And you would never know about the unconventional assembly because it’s hidden up in the cornice.

 

The white cornice box was beautiful, but adding a stripe of my accent ‘Blue Dusk’ really made the molding stand out. 

Not only am I decorating with colors I love but I’m adding more of me.

The yellow roses remind me of the wild yellow rose bush that flanked the small walkway to the farmhouse I grew up in.

And if you look closely… you might spy something magical.

My wee little friends have picked little play spots all over the room.

The wire bird cages I found super cheap at the local antique mall.  I did spray them with an heirloom white to match.

And they provide even more play space for my pixie and wee feathered friends.

My whole starting point for this room lies with the china that my Grandmother gave me when I got married.

My fairies have their own personality.  Some are more shy and only peak out at you if you’re very patient.

Others dance in the open, loving the spotlight of my mix & match china.

It feels so good to finally express me, in the decorating of my home.  I know it might not be what is most current in the design world, but it’s calming,peaceful, magical and downright perfect for me.  For the first time in my married life I finally feel like this is my home.

Surrounded with items reminding me of my contributing heritage…

As well as my love of Imagination.

There you have it.  My new dining room.  The bonus is our family has had dinner at this table every night for the past two weeks and ‘Glory Be’ we are keeping it this nice all the time.  I’m not even tempted to bring clutter in this magical space.  Thank you Ms. Passion.  You are my Angel.

Makeover Madness

So Makeover Madness has officially taken over our Household – The De-Hoarding is still progressing although it has slowed considerably.  I know I haven’t posted in ages because I wanted to show you a completed room.  As we speak I’ve got 4 area’s of my home that are hugely different from their original form, yet they are not quite there.  My Young and Gorgeous Counselor could sense my frustration with not having anything BIG so show (so to speak).  So, she sent me back home to WOW you with all the little accomplishments I’ve made over the past couple of weeks.

FawnDear completed her first-ever from scratch Woodworking Project.  I built some wooded, or maybe I should say composite based Cornices to hang over the windows in the front/dining rooms.  Here they are with only one coat of paint.

 

I know lousy lighting, but yes that’s molding.  Wow, I can’t believe I used Molding???  It involved a lot of kicking myself for not paying more attention in High School Math Class.  I never did master the lessons on Angles, and Percentages.  Fortunately, my husbands Big Boy Toy had a lot of the measurements already guesstimated for lumber Numbskulls like me.  I never would have figured out the angle I needed was 31.62.  Thank you saw company.

I’m totally digging trying out all the power tools.

Do guys intentionally say they will do the carpentry work because they are afraid that if we try it and like it – we might claim it?

Regardless, I measured and cut, and muffed up.  Then measured cut, nailed, glued and screwed my creation together.

I did ask the Hubster to mount them on the wall for me.  Of course they were mounted in studs and with some good Drywall anchors where no studs were to be found.

So Big Thanks to my Prince Erik for pitching in on this step. 

I rewarded him for his handy weekend contributions by turning the tables on him.  A couple of years ago he was 14-day-guy for me, so this year I surprised him with his very own 14 Days of Valentines. 

Each simple card went along with a little gift.  And although they might sound silly, it’s the thought that counts.  Examples were on Day 1, I gave him an adjustable spice rack (he loves to cook) for our new kitchen.  And the card mentioned thanks for the spice he brings to my life…  Ahhhhh, am I adding too much ooey –gooey?  Some gifts were dress socks, some nut packets or jerky.  I think his favorite day was day 4 because it was 4 lbs. of Seafood.  Oh, and he liked day 12 as well because I gave him 12… well something I can’t mention here.  Anyway it really did feel great to do something nice for the guy. 

Currently I’m furiously setting up my Dining room as the Curtain Sewing room.  Can’t wait to hang some curtains after a few months of giving the Neighbors more of a show than what they were intending to see.

I also filled the home with mind numbing oil paint fumes as I slowly put some touches on part of our kitchen cabinets.

Here’s T-rev sucking it in for your viewing pleasure.  So I’ve now let the cat out of the bag.  Yes, we have repainted nearly every surface in our home.

I also finally framed my carefully selected artwork for the Front Room.  After going to a framing store and nearly choking on their estimated price of $700 plus for frame, mat’s, glass etc.  I went the cheaper route of finding a similar size frame at Goodwill for $25.

I had to paint it white, and I did end up paying the craft store to cut the matting for me.  But then I put it together.  The matting was around $80, only because I didn’t wait for a dang sale.  But $105 compared with $700 is a great deal.

Here’s another peek, I haven’t really staged it yet, just hung the picture, and threw a couple or items on the mantle.  Hopefully it will do until I can get around to the thoughtful decorations.  The picture is by my favorite Artist Carl Bloch and is called Fra Hellebaek.

The two girls in the picture look almost exactly like my Lea and Hope.  I knew the moment I saw it that it was the perfect picture for our front room.  My husbands love of boating and ties to his Danish Roots are represented as well.  Just wait until you see how perfectly it ties my entire Front room together.    It gives me goose bumps that it fits so perfectly.

So Yes, the Home makeover is progressing.  Even though it’s now progressing slowly.

Our family is also following our sixth anniversary tradition of Unplugging for the month of February.  No T.V., no Computer or Internet (unless it’s homework).  No blog browsing (I promise I’ll come visit soon), No Video gaming…  More Madness.

The kids have adjusted as expected.  First weeks a nightmare, then they start coming alive.  Hope had a hard time because I’ve been plugging her in over the past few months to work on my De-Hoarding.  So there were a few days of her mauling loving the cat and walking around moaning that she missed her electronics.  But she’s bounced right out of that zombie phase – Thank Goodness.  If I had it my way – I’d keep the blasted electronics turned off Forever!  With the exception of Blogging, of course.

And Pumpkin our Ninja Kitty Cat, we’ll let’s just say, it’s been his worst month yet.  With all the smothering loving from bored kids, he turned to the streets.  Sadly, the street cats didn’t take to kindly to him and the poor thing came home a bloody, sad mess.  Clearly his ninja skills have failed him.  Several set’s of stitches, some oozing drain shunts, a $305 dollar vet bill, and one humiliating Cone-Of-Shame Latter…

Pumpkin’s a much humbler fellow, realizing that hugs from Hope are not that bad after all.

And if painting a kitchen, building cornices, dealing with six, I mean seven unplugged kids and a maimed cat are not enough, I’ve added another Makeover project to the List – ME!

My husband and I applied for a contest where our local fitness center was going to select eight teams or couples and give them 12 weeks of trainer’s, nutritional counseling, weekly incentives, and a whole lot of support to essentially shed some pounds and build some Fab Muscles at the same time.  So four weeks ago Prince Erik and I were jumping for joy, more like jiggily bouncing, when we found out that we were one of the lucky teams that they selected.

Wa-hoo!  A perfect opportunity to lose that nasty 65 pounds of emotional eating I gained dealing with the Unbloggable.  And I’m doing it with past success information and even more help from my Young and Gorgeous counselor in dealing with the whole mental/emotional side of eating. 

I’m thrilled for the opportunity to get something like 24 training sessions from a personal trainer – it’s something I couldn’t afford on my own.  How blessed am I?

Of course they are judging on percentage of body weight lost and not lbs. lost.  So I was the recipient of a fabulous Dunk Tank experience.

  

Sorry about the view.  I  guess it would be an understatement to mention that I’m pasty white, right?

Apparently getting tanked gives them a more accurate measurement of how much of your body is fat and how much is finely tuned muscle.

 

According to the tank – I’ve got 72 lbs. of blubber to lose before I’m at optimal healthy weight. 

So there you have it.  The FawnDear and Prince Erik Makeovers have just been added to our list of current projects.

So here’s the dreaded Before’s.  Funny we must be married, or something, because our starting weight was an identical 227 lbs..

 

Can only get better right???  Well let’s hope so, because I KNOW you’re not tuning into my posts to see scary pictures like these posted every other day.

So week one came and went and guess which team lost the most?  Before I answer, I need to clarify that I want all the teams in the competition to do stupendous!  I want them all to hit their personal goals.  I’m their biggest cheerleader.  But, I’m pretty confident that I’ll be right up their with the best of them.  The A-Team (as we are called) are on everyone’s hit list because we won week one.  Between my husband and I, we lost a combined 21 lbs.  It’s week one.  We didn’t starve, but we did exercise 6 days a week, but never for more than an hour and we did count calories and keep them within our 1500-1800 calorie range.  We followed the rules and it felt great.  Our prize – Two haircuts, which we will use for our Fab makeover. 

Week 2 – I lost another 3.  Prince Erik hit a little wall and didn’t lose anything.  But we are still on track.  We came in forth the second week. 

We are currently in the middle of week #3.  This is my hardest week by far, but I haven’t given up.  In addition to competing with the other teams – there’s a little competition between me and the Prince.  Seeing who can outlast the other on planks (me) or weights (him).  It’s awesome to have a built in support system.

So there you have it.  The Month of February in a nutshell.  I promise not to hold out on projects until they are all completed.  It’s easier to just show a little at a time.