It's a Christmas Miracle: The Playroom is Finished!

If you remember, we've been working on turning our cold, dirty, wasted space of a basement into a playroom for our Bug. 

Here's what it looked like before. 

Well, it took months of literal blood, sweat and tears, and we didn't go to bed until well after midnight last night, but we managed to finish in time (by the skin of our teeth, mind you). It's finally, FINALLY done! 

We needed all new flooring to make the space comfortable and usable, and we bought a few other items, but mostly we begged, borrowed and recycled things we already had. 

The yellow bookshelf and sailboat are from my parents' house. In fact, my dad built the boat from scratch several years ago, and we offered to store it in the off season if he let us fill it with pillows and use it as a reading nook. Win-win.

The oars also came from my parents' old house, and I painted some cheap craft store letters to hang around the walls. 

As much as I love the way the room turned out, I have to admit it's missing a few finishing touches. It's around 900 square feet (roughly the size of our first apartment), and comes complete with LOADS of empty wall space. It definitely needs a little something more, and someday I might get around to tackling it. Right after I get around to cleaning our guest bathroom and folding the constantly expanding pile of mystery laundry in the middle of our bedroom floor (Is it clean? Is it dirty? Does it even belong to us?). So, basically, never. 

Poor, sad little "PLAY" wall. Womp-womp...

The little art table was once our coffee table in our first apartment, and before that it belonged to Justin's dad and step-mom. Justin added casters, and I painted and waxed it. Now Buggy can use it for art, play-doh, puzzles, plotting new ways to keep his poor, exhausted parents from sleeping ever again, etc. 

It's also  a cast-off hand-me-down, so when he inevitably draws on it with a permanent marker his momma absentmindedly left lying around, there's no harm done. 

At some point I'd also like to decorate the bulletin board and use it to display the Bug's art. Right now it's more sad, empty void than gallery wall, but it'll get there. 

I'm kind of in love with our storage system, though. We've already stashed tons of junk in there, and we've barely touched those little fabric cubes. We debated on getting something smaller, but I definitely think we made the right call. Bring on the plastic crap; we've got a place for it!

We added a fun little creation station with a magnetic chalkboard, felt board, and pegboard for hanging art supplies out of reach of little hands. I still need to get some little baskets to hang up there. 

Well, that's it! It wasn't easy, but it was totally worth it to see Buggy Boy's face when he came downstairs this morning and saw a real live boat sitting in his basement. He loves his new room, and so do we. Best. Project. Ever!

Happy holidays, everyone!

A Last Minute, End of the Year Project

Welcome back!

We've been pretty busy around here the past few days weeks. 

If you remember, this past summer during our annual monsoon season, the Bug and I were camped out in the basement waiting out a storm and playing "alive or dead?" with the myriad spiders and crickets on the basement floor when I realized we were taking on water. 

So this happened.

About a month ago we had a new drain, vapor barrier and sump pump installed. We're currently on the "broke as a joke" home improvement plan, so this involved tearing the wall down ourselves (obviously by "ourselves" I mean Justin and his dad tore the wall down while Buggy and I munched on doughnuts and complained about all the dust), ripping out the weird brick trench my dad swears the original owners used to grow their own marijuana, and completely rebuilding the wall (This time my dad helped while the Bug and I camped out at my parents' house and watched Cars. It was all very trying).

During the "ripping out" stage in the process, we uncovered this little gem. 

What's that? You can't tell exactly how long that gigantic, disgusting, utterly creepy horror show of a snakeskin is?

Allow me to clarify.

It's roughly THREE FEET long. That's right, friends. There's a 3+ foot snake living in the ceiling above our basement. Dis. Gust. Ing. 

But I digress. 

Because we also have jobs and lives outside the four walls of our basement, Justin just started putting the wall back up this past weekend. 

(Here he is, admiring his work. Ah, such a beautiful wall frame!)

Unfortunately, we're on a bit of a time crunch. We've been talking about reclaiming our living room in the name of all things grown-up and turning this space into a playroom for Buggy for some time now, and we've decided to finally pull the trigger and make this our Christmas gift to him. 

So, we have T minus 2 months to turn this...

(The leaning tower of junk)

...into something remotely usable and child-friendly. 

Hopefully we can get rid of the snake before then. Otherwise, I guess we can always add a new pet to the list of Christmas gifts...

I'll keep you posted as things get rolling. Wish us luck!

DIY Patio Herb Garden

Welcome back!

We're still in the throes of our patio makeover, but I thought I'd take a break to show you the compact herb garden I threw together for our patio table. 

But first, a story.

This past weekend, Justin volunteered to take Buggy Boy for an entire day so my mom and I could attend an antique festival without the pressure of nap time and toddler-boredom-destruction mode.

It was supposed to rain later in the day, so we hightailed it out of here at 7:30 in the morning headed east, high on caffein and freedom.

While there, I spotted this little piece of rusted gorgeousness for $12, and the completely unjustified wave of I-love-it-so-everyone-else-must-love-it-I-gotta-get-it-first panic crashed over me (You know the feeling). I sent my mom out to hunt down the man who owned the booth so I could snag it before anyone else. I stood guard, staring squinty-eyed at anyone who came suspiciously close to my precious.

Fortunately, I was not the only crazy person there. Another woman stood next to me guarding a set of square washtubs while her poor, desperate husband searched for the very same absent booth owner (He's lucky we're so honest, by the way).

After a few short minutes, she declared her husband a failure and waved him and their young son over to take up her post.

Eventually, the booth owner was located, several yards away on the other side of the street. While his mother waited in line to speak with the vendor, the boy next to me looked up at his father with utter disgust and let out a loud, "Ewwww!"

Then he bellowed to his mother across the street, "MOM, DAD MADE A STENCH!"

Just about everyone in a seven mile radius heard, and much like myself, stared politely at the ground trying not to laugh while the boy's father turned twelve shades of red and clamped his hand over his son's mouth. 

I personally counted my blessings that I have my own goofy, unpredictable boy to love. And even better, that he was at home.

This vintage chicken feeder is the perfect size for my patio table (which is in the process of being stained). I just loaded it up with some gravel for good drainage, a little vegetable garden potting soil, and a mess of my favorite herbs. 

It smells heavenly, which may be useful if if you happen to have an overly-observant boy on your hands... 

DIY Outdoor Sectional Update: Done!

Well, it took a lot of work, patience, and babysitting by Curious George to get it done, but here it is!

I know it was crazy to get white cushions for outdoor furniture, especially with a toddler, a dog and my own flock of this kind of chicken. But when I missed the sale deadline on some other cushions I had picked out, the budget and I had a nice long sit down about the whole thing. 

I was all, "Let's get these pretty blue cushions that hide muddy paw prints and popsicle goo." And the budget was all, "Sure! You can get enough to cover half of this ginormous monstrosity you've built. Which side do you want?"

We hashed it out, and I've agreed accept a little goo in my life. Plus, the cushion covers are removable, washable, and bleachable. And if all else fails, I've been dying to try fabric spray paint...

A little chippy paint glamour shot for you. Gorgeous, no?

The rest of the porch is still very much a work in progress, so please excuse the broom. And pardon Sully in the background. He's waiting patiently for me to finish up so he can snag the first nap.

After he wipes his paws, of course...

A Patio Update and the Three Greatest Words in the English Language

It's been slow going around here, and the sun porch still isn't done, but we're determined to finish this thing by Memorial Day Labor Day Christmas.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a quick update on the outdoor sectional Justin is building. 

Here she is, in all her chippy glory. The world's largest, most complicated piece of diy furniture ever built.

The vintage blue, green and yellow beadboard came from Refab in St. Louis, our favorite salvage shop. It adds so much character to the newly built sectional, and I'm completely smitten with the colors. 

Funny story about this glorious, chippy beadboard.

See this man, here? The one cheerfully hammering thousand year old tongue and groove boards into their destiny? The man kneeling before the glory of perfectly patina-ed boards quietly contemplating their casual, sophisticated beauty?

This is the man who thought it was all a BAD IDEA! Can you even believe it?



I saw it there in the Refab parking lot, heaped in a pile under a sad, droopy tarp billowing in the wind and beckoning me hither. I knew it had to be mine.

In the meantime, Justin stood nearby hemming and hawing over the whole thing. He was all, "Yeaaaah. Are we sure this is really what we want? It's in pretty rough shape, and it's so... colorful. Don't you think it's maybe... too much?"

And I was all, "Sold! Load it up!"

So imagine my surprise this evening when he finished facing the first side of the sectional with this gorgeousness, and the words "You were right, this looks awesome!" actually escaped his mouth. 

 

You. Were. Right. Are there any three finer words in the English language? 

I think not.

Check back soon for more updates (or if a miracle befalls us, the big reveal)!

PSA: Just Say No to Outdoor Carpet

Disclaimer: This post has absolutely zero pretty "after" pictures. These are all befores, folks.

In the name of anonymity, I've tried to keep some details of my life a secret here. Granted, I've literally shown you the inside of my bedroom, dirty laundry and all, but I'd really hate for that one reader I have in Belgium to know every little detail of my personal life. Discretion, people.

Anyway, for those of you who may not know, I happen to have a day job that rhymes with spinglish beacher, from which I get an entire week off during spring break (My spellcheck just had a stroke). This year, I managed to convince Justin to take the week off with me. I wooed him with visions of trips to the zoo with Buggy Boy on bright, sunny days and afternoons spent sipping beer on the golf course. 

Enter reality. The first three days or so were beautiful, and we actually did make it to the zoo. And then it rained. And the temperature dropped. And we decided mid-week that, rather than relax for the rest of our staycation, we should use our remaining four days to tackle a ginormous house project complete with a respirator mask, a 16 foot diy outdoor sectional, and 12,000 trips to the hardware store. 

Totally legit. 

Here's a before shot of our screened-in porch. It's a perfect example of our home: huge with tons of potential, but a seriously hot mess to begin with.

Here's Justin, taping off where the furniture will eventually go and marking where the built-in bench supports should be installed. I believe the words "This is gonna be easy" actually came out of his mouth. That should have been our first clue. 

Side note: See how he's lining up the supports with the posts that run up to the ceiling? See the quiet wisdom in his eyes and the subtle confidence in his demeanor? It's because he thinks those are the studs. They are not. It took him over an hour to install the supports and the bench boards, sit on one of the boards, quickly discover it was supported by nothing, remove everything and start all over after finding the actual studs. Buggy Boy and I felt terrible about the whole thing while we ate Goldfish crackers and watched from the living room. Then we took a nap. It was exhausting.

In case you're wondering, yes, that is in fact carpet in our sun porch. Because apparently the people who built our house believed carpet belongs anywhere there is liquid, dirt, food, or bodily fluids. 

Can I just say on the record that outdoor carpet is a bad idea?

Thirty eight years of rain, snow, kids and dogs + a bum door that won't stay closed = a thick layer of mold, dirt and leaves. 

Just say no, people. 

(Hands off, ladies. He's all mine.)

 And here we are today:

Right now, it mostly looks like a construction zone. But, we finally got rid of that nasty carpet, and it instantly looked better. Justin already built a dining table and a bench that runs along the entire perimeter of the porch, and he's in the process of building a diy sectional. 

I know what you're thinking, but don't worry. This is a team effort, and I'm helping, too. I designed the sectional based on some cushions I found on sale. Then I waited too long to order them, the sale ended, and I ordered different ones that no longer fit the sectional. If you look closely, you can see where Justin had to build an addition to both sides of the sectional to accommodate the larger cushions. It took him an entire day. See? Teamwork.

Please also note the cracked foundation, which runs right down the center of the entire porch. We checked, and it would cost thousands of dollars to have it fixed. The porch is a separate slab from the house foundation, so it isn't structural. We've decided to live with it for now, but it's made building a gigantic wooden sectional in place super exciting and challenging (Read: we've considered burning the whole thing down on more than one occasion.) 

We still have lots of work to do, including having the entire house (porch included) stained a weathered gray color. I can't wait to see the finished product!

That's all for now, but I'll be posting updates as they come. Stay tuned!