Encouraging Words

I was reading one of my favorite blogs today and came across this really encouraging article, "10 Ways to be a Happier Mom". Read it. It is so insightful. It made me think about how I am at home, always rushing after work to make dinner, clean the house, spend some time with the girls, get them ready for bed, do this, fold laundry, do that, etc. I feel like I am always going and never stopping. I hate to be that way, to not make myself slow down and enjoy the moments, enjoy my husband, the girls, life. It makes me feel horrible sometimes, that I don't spend more time with them and less time cleaning.
I am one of those women that feels stressed and frazzled when the house is turned upside down. I can't function. So, naturally, a clean house makes me feel more calm, happy, & satisfied. BUT, I think one thing I struggle with is making a clean house my priority. When I come home, I should be able to love on my family, enjoy dinner with them, and let the girls run wild and make messes with their dolls and coloring books, while I enjoy a conversation with my best friend, my husband. I shouldn't care if the laundry is piled up and there are crumbs all over the floor (there are always crumbs on the floor). It shouldn't phase me that there is paper work all over the kitchen table, and on the counters, and on the TV console. But it does.
So, one thing I want to work on, is slowing down. And being a little more carefree. I want to fully embrace each moment with joy. I want to have wonderful memories of my husband and I playing with the girls, laughing, and making sure they get all of the attention we can possibly give them before they are gone from our home and making memories of their own.
It's a simple thing, but I'm going to start with easier dinners-crockpot dinners, sandwiches, whatever can be done quick so that I can focus on my family. And as for cleaning, it can wait until after the girls are in bed. Unless, of course, it's something like spilled juice or something that really needs to be done right away. Obviously. And as for joy--joy comes from the Lord. I've been so busy with life, being a full time employee and a mom to two little girls, a wife, a cook, a small business owner...I haven't spent time with God like I should be, and that's something that is really important to me. I am going to make it a priority to spend more time with Him; in prayer, in worship, in scripture.
I hope you get something from that article, it really was a blessing to my heart. The encouragement I needed and God knew. He always does.
Do any of you struggle with slowing down and really enjoying the moments? What do you do to help make more time for your family and what matters to you?

-Tara

My Weekend of Before's & After's: Successes, Failures, and Debateables

This past weekend I was really trying to get stuff done. I kept looking at our house and I noticed so many things that needed some attention. Most of them were paint projects, so I got out what I needed and got to work. 

First I started on the bathroom trim. It was a yellow tint, dirty, the paint was chipped in areas, and it just looked sad. I cleaned it up with a Magic Eraser and then got a sample of Benjamin Moore's Simply White, which is a color I've been wanting to try out for some time now. Here are the BEFORE'S:

AFTER'S:

(sorry for the bad lighting, ours is really old and half of it doesn't work, hence the yellowed lighting)

I had Stephen working on installing the kitchen cabinet hardware, since I'm no good at that. 

BEFORE:

                                         

AFTER:

(side note: Those streaks are from the pencil marks I tried to erase-I will be touching those spots up with fresh paint)

We are doing things on a tight budget right now and I have some ideas for the vanity in the middle bathroom, but until we can fully upgrade, I decided to just paint it the same color as the kitchen base cabinets.

BEFORE:

(it's been primed for months, so this was not original)

AFTER:

This is the trim in the kitchen. BEFORE (with primer):

AFTER:

This next one might disgust you, but let me explain. When we moved in (almost 3 years ago) this is what the shower looked like. I tried so many different cleaners and couldn't get the stains out. Eventually, I gave up and we just put a bath mat over the shower floor. Well, I tried out Bartender's Friend in the sink and it worked like magic, so I thought, "hey why not try it in the tub?" I scrubbed til my back and arms and neck were sore, but it worked!!

BEFORE: 

(PLEASE don't judge me!)

EWWWWWW!! Believe me, it wreaked coming out!

AFTER:

SO MUCH BETTER!

I did try out something I saw on Pinterest. It was a vinegar, baking soda, water and lemon mixture that is supposed to clean your grout. I just assumed ours was dirty instead of just plain...dark grout. :) So I did what the directions said and let it soak for an hour. Behold, the before and after. 

Yes, that is the same picture. Absolutely no difference, what a shock!

Stupid dark grout, you make my tile look dirty. :(

My "debate-able" would be peel and stick tile over the existing real tile. I just don't like the tile. You can't tell from the above picture, but around the toilet, the previous owner left all kinds of paint stains and stuff on the floor. Right now it's either rip up the old tile and replace (which isn't in our budget for now) ore replace with the cheap peel and stick. I wouldn't really mind keeping it in the long run, but Stephen's afraid it would hurt us when we re-sell. I don't think it would, but what do you all think? 

This is a (bad) picture of the tile piece I'm considering. 

Love it or leave it?

I'm off now to finish up some other house projects, but I would love to hear feedback on the tile issue. Hope you all have a great week!

-Tara

Laundry Room-Part 1

Hey everyone! Today I'm going to share with you our laundry room before & after, so far. I don't think I've posted pictures of it, ever, because I was so embarrassed by it. It was an ugly blue color and dirt showed up so easily on the walls. For 2 years, that room still made me feel like it didn't belong to us, or in our house for that matter. I wanted something lighter that flowed better with the kitchen. I picked up some more "Cream in my Coffee" paint, the same color that we used in the kitchen, and some supplies and got to work. These are old pictures (sorry about the clutter! This is what happens to a room I don't love).

 

 

First off, we're cleared the clutter and my awesome husband removed the cabinets. He couldn't get them out without removing some trim, so if you notice it missing around the door, you know why.

 

 

This is the view facing the laundry room entrance and then the view facing the kitchen

 

I primed:

 

 

 

 And then painted!

 

 

I absolutely love this color. And the name, which is of course what sold me. My husband and I love open shelving and I knew I wanted to do that in this small room to help open it up a bit. We had extra wood from when we built our kitchen counters and used that and some scraps as shelf ledges.

 

I'm not super crazy about the ledge piece against the wall. We were planning on doing one long piece, but the wall wasn't flat, so we had to come up with another solution. Eventually I want to get some ledges like the ones we have in the kitchen.

 

Aren't those pretty! But...for now, I'm just glad I have something to put my things on. The decor that's up on the shelves will definitely be changing, but it's a temporary fix til we finish the laundry room. Here's what the list looks like:

• Remove the cabinets
• Prime/paint the walls
• Stain the shelves and hang
• Paint the trim-Simply White by Benjamin Moore
• Install beadboard on the ceiling
• Install quarter round
• Re-install the air vent
• Put in a new light fixture.make a light fixture
• Add some art/pictures
• Add a rug
• Replace the outlets and covers
• Replace ugly brown door

We still have much to do! These next two days will be a little crazy, but I am trying to get around to at least painting the trim and putting the trim back up around the door. {Cross fingers}.



I hope you all are having a great Thursday night and looking forward to the weekend. I know I am!

 

-Tara

 

 

 

 



.The Kitchen Sink.

So today I am going to show you a super fun thing to do when you're bored. Clean the kitchen sink! 
No, but really..it was kind of fun. You know, to watch the dirt go away. I'm weird like that. I like to vaccuum and sweep and make things look new and tidy again. You'd think my house would be spotless. HA! So, when my husband and I remodeled our kitchen (still a work in progress), we found a ceramic Kohler sink on CList that was the exact one we were going to buy from Lowes. We bought it and installed it and it was beautiful! After lots of use, though, it was looking naaastyyyyyy. I've never owned a ceramic anything before that required cleaning so this was my first attempt at getting the dirt off. It was super easy. I bought this cleaner called Bar
Keeper's Friend and it was awesome.

 

 

This is what I started with.

 

See all that grossness?

You simply sprinkle some cleaner on the dirty spots and wipe them down. I really didn't have to scrub too hard. That cleaner is my best friend.

The white area below shows the difference between where I already scrubbed and the still-dirty spots.

 

 

TA-DA! I know it still looks yellow-ish against the back of the sink, but I promise that's just from the shadows and the way the light hits it. It is sparkling white now! LOVE that sink! 

 

 

There you have it. Bar Keeper's Friend. Tara's Friend is what it should be called. ;)

Have a great night!

 

-Tara

 

PS: my cabinet hardware came in yesterday!! I am so excited to show you how they look once they're installed! Hopefully I will have a post by this weekend. I've got 4 orders to fill by Friday and Saturday.



{Love Handles}

Hey everyone, I hope you have had a fantastic week and are ready for the weekend! I know I am! This weekend, I am focusing on the kitchen again. We bought the tile for the backsplash, but still haven't had time to get that done, so the kitchen has been a little neglected lately. This weekend, I am going to paint over the base cabinets to touch them up and seal them, and then I should be expecting a package by Wednesday to give the cabinets a more polished look.

love handles!

Aren't they pretty?! Maybe not your style, but I love them! They're oil rubbed bronze, which will go with our sink faucet, and they've got the perfect vintage rustic vibe to them. Aaaaand....they were only $0.82 a piece. Seriously?!! Yes, please. I'll take 21 of them. So for $17, I am a happy camper. I can't wait to install them. Opening drawers without handles is no fun. I will post pictures as soon as I get them installed. In the meantime, I will be finishing up the last of the shelves in the laundry room, so I will share our Laundry Room Reveal with you! Gonna be a busy weekend!

See you tomorrow,

{Tara}

{Things Addison Says}

#1. Addison (while taking a bath): "Mommy, there's cookies in the tub! Mommeeee! Mommy!" (starts crying). I run to the bathroom to see what she means. I find poop in the tub.

#2. Addison runs down the hall laughing and says, "I fart. Watch" Stands there for a minute with a blank face and then says "it not work."

#3. Showing us a picture of stick figures she drew, she points and says, "That's Daddy, that's Mommy, that's baby Zoey, that's aunt Hannah, that's Daveed (David), that's grandma, and that's bob."
Me: "Who's Bob?"
Addison: "bob pants. I wanna watch bob pants!" (Spongebob, for those of you who aren't sure who bob pants is.)

#4. Addison: "Daddy, I want cake."
Stephen: "No, you need to eat dinner."
Addison: "Daddy, please! I need cake."

#5. Addison sees me licking my ice cream cone while driving (it was dripping, I had to do something!)  and says "Mommy, I wanna wick it!"
Me: "You have some in your cup that you can have when we get home."
Addison: "Mommy, please, I wanna wick it!!"

#6. I find Addison in the bathroom putting on some of my chapstick.
Me: "What are you doing?"
Addison: "Mommy, I put my wips on!"

Anyone else's kids saying some funny things? Share them with me! I need a good laugh for today. :)


-Tara

//Summer to-do List\\

This summer we've got some projects up our sleeves. We're the type of people that like to tackle everything at once and work on it as we can afford the time and money, which then makes our home look like a warzone workzone. When we first moved in, in November 2010, we pulled up the nasty carpet and replaced it with laminate wood flooring. We took the baseboards out to help with the installation of the new floors and then decided that we would replace them. We have yet to do so.
Our living room had "decorative" beams that were not to our liking (I know this is in now, please don't hate me), but we couldn't stand them and ripped them out. They were ugly, trust me. So our living rooms ceiling is popcorn, with off white spots where the beams used to live and small little holes where my husband had to use extra force to rip them out. They were really in there.
Also in our living room, lives our creepy back door. It's dark, it's had the yellow blinds on them since we've moved in, and its beaten up. Bad. That thing doesn't even deserve pretty new blinds. That's why they haven't been replaced. I'm horrible.
We will also be painting our 2 year old's bedroom a prettier color, and I'm even wanting to do something fun with her wall. It is absolutely adorable and I can't WAIT to show you! Our bedroom will also be painted, because I've always hated the baby blue walls that were supposed to be more white than blue. And then there's the kitchen-we are finally installing our subway tile backsplash and putting in new "marble" tile flooring that will look real purty with our wood countertops. And the laundry room, which is right off the kitchen, will get a makeover-same color walls as the kitchen, for a nice transition, and wood shelves to match the kitchen shelves. This might take us all summer to complete these projects, because we work and are currently in school, AND we have two children. :)
I know I'm horrible with updates, but I promise I will keep it up this time. We also probably won't start until we are back from a wedding in June, but the first thing we are doing is getting new windows installed!! Our are OLD, like over 30 years old. You can't see out of any of them and they have aweful brown trim, no screens, and aren't enery efficient. They make for cold winters and hot summers. So I'm pretty pumped about those. I will definitely have some before and after pictures for you. And all the details to go with them. I hope you're all having a marvelous week!

ps. In Sutton Home Interior news...I have opened shop on Etsy and already had some great orders! I'm feeling the love, keep it coming!

{Tara}