I told y'all the other day that I'd been having some camera issues that had greatly impeded my ability to document our important family days much less capture any fascinating blog content.

That, my friends, has all changed.

Sunday, we ate lunch at our favorite Mexican Restaurant with our dear friends, Sam and Lou. Imagine my surprise when she handed me a shoe box and told me she wanted to give me some shoes that didn't fit her. I knew something was up when Sam said, "Yeah, Lou said you had a big 'ole foot and she thought you may could use those." First, Lou would never have said such a thing. Second, you have to know Sam, but his being involved with this mysterious gift had me full well expecting something to jump out and bite me.


It didn't bite. It was this.

Oh my gosh, y'all. I absolutely love it. The pictures are beautiful and it does every single thing I could ever want and more. I would say I can't believe they did this, but again, you have to know Sam and Lou. They are forever on the look out for ways to bless people and my goodness, have they blessed us. I've hugged them a million times, but it only seems appropriate to thank them once more.

Now that I've taken pictures of everything in the house, I thought I'd show you a couple of projects I mentioned a while back.

The Girl got a comforter for Christmas. Remember my telling you I finally painted her room pale yellow to match? It really looks great. You will think me overprotective, but I'm a little weird about showing her whole bedroom. Even so, here is the fabric of the comforter. I've finally gotten over how grown up it looks.

I bought white letters at Hobby Lobby because she wanted her name on the wall. These were on clearance for $1.50 each. I painted them brown but they were too boring. I started playing with the idea of outlining them in green but when I got across the bottom of the letter, I decided I liked the look. I originally planned on using the ribbon to hang them, but that was looking awkward. That's when I decided to hot glue the bows and mount them straight to the wall. I think I like the result? I can't help but think they need something more but for right now, I have to turn attention to the curtains. I'm embellishing some white ones with fabric scraps from the bag the comforter set came in. Believe me, when they are done, you'll be seeing pictures!

Welcome to Under My Bed. What's so great about that you ask? The fact that you can see the floor - what else? There is now nothing living there but a few residual dust bunnies and my sewing table. I can't even talk about how giddy that makes me. While I was at it, I had Luke help me rearrange all the furniture. He wasn't thrilled until we were done. The new set up is so much more functional and if I can make enough money from my upcoming yard sale, I'll be shopping Target for my own new comforter. And guess what? I'll take pictures of it! *squeal*

Finally, this picture is of The Girl wearing more colors than should be allowed in one day.

Just because I can..

I mentioned in my last post that I was going to tackle cleaning out the closet. Tackle it I did and after two full garbage bags of throwaways, I can finally see the floor. However, I am still missing one tennis shoe and favorite flip flop that I'm hoping are under my bed. Under the bed just happens to be my next project.

*sigh*

Being a ministry family, we've moved a lot. As in we've lived in 9 houses in the past 11 years. Obviously there are lots of negatives to that type of gypsy/semi-nomadic existence. However, the one good thing is that instead of spring cleaning we just packed up everything and moved pretty well guaranteeing my closets and cabinets stayed acceptably presentable.

In June, we will have been at our current pastorate for four years. I think we have already beaten the record for the length of time ever lived in one home. That makes me 37 kinds of happy but the negative is there is not one organized, decluttered thing in my house - except for my closet. We've accumulated and it's major time for a purge.

With that said, I may be a little scarce. As if I haven't been anyway. But, I will try to document some of my project completions for your grins and my own sense of acccomplishment. Am I the only one who will stand and stare at a freshly painted room or organized space just because I'm so proud I finally got it done?

Yeah, it doesn't take much to thrill me anymore.

Okay, it's time to crawl under the bed.

Here's hoping nothing gets me.

Once upon a time I was crafty.

This parenthetical season of life was pretty well limited to my years as a student wife at Clear Creek Bible College. I was cloistered in a Utopian bubble with many other women whose husbands were also called to ministry. To say I was intimidated by their multi-talentedness would be an epic understatement. In order to fit in, I tried my hand at sewing and also with other various projects involving glue guns and a plethora of Delta Ceramcoat paints. I was a little surprised to find I actually enjoyed making things for my home. I think one of my first masterpieces was a clay pot pilgrim and his wife.

Classy.


The more kids I birthed the less time I had to indulge any urge to create a table centerpiece with glued-on straw for hair. The sewing machine has been under my bed for four years and the glue gun is in the back of my closet in a Rubbermaid container underneath another that contains our old income tax records. They may have remained there forever were it not for a six-year old girl who got a new comforter for Christmas.

Yes, she asked Santa for a room makeover. Thankfully, Santa shops at Target so she was able to choose this bedding all by her self. She decided to leave behind the pink and purple of her childhood and graduate to a mature green, brown, and yellow palette. {It's actually a darling comforter. This picture doesn't show the reverse print which is actually the cutest part and the one we display.}

My precious girl has been waiting patiently since December for her mother to get the energy to repaint her room. This past week, I finally got sick to death of looking at all the pink and purple wall hangings clashing with the brown, green, and yellow. I had self-determined to take a couple days off from studying/writing and decided it was now or never to finish her room. SO, I used my days off to remove every fairy-themed thing from her room and paint her walls a beautiful shade of pale yellow all while watching the best movie I've seen in a great long while: Australia. {Y'all just have to see it. Nicole Kidman's perfomance was perfection. Brooke and I both agree we would now like to be referred to as "Mrs. Boss" by our children. And our husbands too for that matter, but then we enter the realm of "biblical appropriateness" and so it seems best to limit our desire for dominance to our children who have no say in the matter.}

{ Go away, rabbit. No time to chase you today!}

Problem is, this left her walls completely bare which required my asking what she might like to replace all the things we'd taken down. Her reply? "I want my name in letters on the wall like (her bff) Alayna's. And I want you to paint swirlies all over them like my comforter and hang them with ribbons."

*Gulp* Last time I checked that required the Delta paints and glue gun.

So as not to be a major failure in my girl's eyes and also to capitalize on the impulsiveness that started me on the project to begin with, I made a trip to Chattanooga with Michael's and Hobby Lobby coupons in hand. I should preface what I am saying next by reminding you I've not been in a craft store in years. With that in mind, my route took me by Michael's first. I only have one thing to say about that.

Michael's, I know you try, but the truth is...well, you are inferior.

I left quickly after not finding what I had in mind and headed over to Hobby Lobby.

Y'all. My breath. I still can't catch my breath.

I'm pretty sure there were angels singing the hallelujah chorus when I hit the front door and tried to take in what I was seeing before me. Aisles and aisles of brightly lit craft supplies awakened every ADHD/OCD tendency lying dormant in my overwhelmed body. There were adorable Easter chatzky's to my left, color-coordinated home accessories immediately before me, and rows and rows of flowers to my right. I literally had to chant to myself, "Lisa, one thing at a time. Concentrate. You are here for letters and paint. That is all. Complete the letters and I will allow you to return but ONLY when you actually complete the letters. Letters, Lisa. That is it."

And it was SO hard but I stuck to my plan and only got what was necessary to do the one project. God was obviously present with me because my letters? I found them on sale for 1/2 price! They were only $1.50 a stinkin' piece! Now if that isn't some divine favor I have no idea what qualifies.

So now, we've painted the letters with three coats of brown paint but I think they need one more to be perfect. I'm going to finish working on those tomorrow and hopefully have a completed project to show you soon. Do you notice I use the word 'complete' a lot? That's not accidental. I have this issue with starting with a bang and finishing with a whimper, if at all. So, y'all pray I'll keep striking while the iron is hot and we'll have a lovely new room to show for it when I'm done.

Now that the redecorating bug has bitten, I'm thinkin' I need to hit the bathroom next.

And that doesn't sound nice at all. I'm totally hoping y'all get what I mean. I really have no idea how to recover from that one so I'll bid you a happy Sunday night!

p.s. Post soon to follow with beautiful pictures of my son's baptism today. I'm still overwhelmed by our service this morning. I'll tell you all about it and the mad skillz of the girl who took the pics when I get them up. :))

So, yeah. If you've been around much this week you've noticed a lack of depth in the posting department. That sentence makes me chuckle because it suggests there is some inherent weightiness on a normal basis.

I suppose that depends upon what type of load we have placed upon the scales.

Sorry. I'm being gross. Consider that a prelude to the baby poop I'll be telling you about in a sec. {Wait! Come Back! It's not what you think!}

Don't you wonder what in the world that has to do with my current kitchen-freshening project?

Yes, I am terming it a 'freshening' because technically we aren't remodeling anything. I'm changing paint and curtains and even though that sounds somewhat simple, please keep in mind I removed wallpaper border that came off in pieces that ranged in size from a dime to a quarter. This is the part where you will want to give me awesome tips on stubborn wallpaper removal that will make me wonder why oh why did I not ask you for your brilliance last week? {p.s. I used DIF and a Paper Tiger. However, the problem came from the walls not being primed all the way to the ceiling since border would cover the top portion of the wall. SO, the part that was so awful to remove was the part that was on straight sheet rock. Yay me, I didn't tear anything up! I was gentle, gentle church building committee! }

I think we've pretty well established I make Luke nervous when I start tearing the house apart. In order to keep things relatively calm, I finished the dining half of the kitchen first and have yet to complete the other. It may or may not get completed in the next few days. I'm praying my impulsive, ADHD, OCD'ness will kick in soon but as of right now, I'm pretty much gellin' even though there are two separate worlds going on in the heart of my home. There may be some spiritual implication in that. I'll think about it tomorrow.

In the meantime, let me show you before:

These are the purple walls from before along with the border. I have nothing against purple if it's on a great handbag - but as for the walls? It was lovely in its day but it's time for a change. So, it is with great joy I present...olive green.

According to Luke, olive green would be the subjective name of the color I chose. He prefers 'baby poop'. I'm not terribly troubled considering I have to match his greens and grays since he's totally unable to register those colors. Now if you tell me my walls look like baby poop, I will officially curl into a fetal position for a few days before I drag myself to Lowe's to choose a nice, safe shade of beige.

Here's the new stuff. Ignore the hideous vinyl table cloth. Just trying to protect a wood table from sloppy children and their drink rings. Also know that my curiosity cabinet is looking for a new home somewhere in my house. It will probably end up living in the family room but I don't want to make that move until after Christmas so we'll have room for the tree. We also intend on changing out the light fixture to something not so gold and putting in a fresh plantation blind. Instead of aaallllll that, please turn your attention to my yummy curtains. This lighting is destroying the fact they have the same shade of green as the walls. If you don't believe me, just ask the poor paint guy who happened to be on duty the day I went to color match. It's perfection - trust us. It only took 2 short hours and 4 gallons of failure to guarantee it.

If y'all want a deal on kinda sorta olive green paint, I can totally hook you up.

Also, these are also the chairs I'm considering painting black. What do y'all think? Would you do it? I really don't want the kitchen to look too dark but it really is a large room and has lots of great light so I think it can handle richer colors without looking too dungeon-y.

I'm liking the changes so far but I'm still not totally in love. I need something to hang in one spot that will pull the cinnamons/golds from the curtains. I also can't decide whether I want to hang a large clock or a mirror over a side table. So, obviously, this is still very much a work in progress. Or as it is currently, a work in pause.

So now you know what I've been up to. Anybody else ripping their house apart in prep for the holidays? I'd love to hear about your projects! And please, if you have ideas for my kitchen, feel free to weigh in.

UPDATE: For those of you who are asking, I got my curtains at Lowe's. BUT, I've just discovered the identical ones at my favorite Green Walmart packaged as Better Homes and Gardens. (Online they are packaged as Springmaid.) There are also a couple different color schemes if you aren't crazy about mine. Also look at Target. They have some that are almost identical but the colors aren't quite as deep and there is a little more sheen to the fabric. Here is a neutral color scheme that is pretty.

Thanks to a much-too-generous Lowe's gift card from some church members for Pastor Appreciation, I am going to attempt to get the kitchen painted and snazzed up a bit for the holidays. {Don't tell Luke. He'll croak.} I don't know why I choose this time of year to get into major remodel projects. I guess it's the pressure of , "I want my house to look pretty for the company I may or may not get around to inviting over." Don't get me wrong. I love the idea of holiday parties with lots of family and friends and freshly baked candies stacked on tiered servers. It's the follow through I have problems with.

Anyway, I bought some darling curtains I wanted to show you but can't find them online for a picture. And, as always, my camera battery is dead. Even though you can't see them, visualize big-block plaid with chocolate, rust, olive, and gold. Just beautiful! I'm so excited!

One of the other projects I want to undertake is painting our kitchen chairs. {I'm thinking black or deep chocolate} They are in need of some refurbishing and re-upholstering. So here is my question to you crafty girls out there: What is the best way to paint wood so that it won't chip and end up looking funky? They are good chairs and I don't want to mess them up. For obvious reasons, I'm really hope stripping is not in my future. {lol..that sounds funny} So if any of you trash-to-treasure miracle workers know of wonder products or techniques that will help, please, please help a sister out!

By the way, I'll totally be doing a before and after - as soon as I get some batteries.

That is if Luke doesn't read this post and ban me from Lowe's.

For those of you who have been following the drama that is the Play Room, the reveal is finally here.

This is the Before shot, when the room was still a junk-filled garage:




And TaDa!!! Here's the After:

My camera is having lighting issues so this picture in no way does justice to the adorable curtains I found at JC Penneys:


I wanted something that would work with our beloved Georgia Bulldogs without going all out and painting the parsonage walls Sic Em Dawg Red. We don't have any art yet but you'll be glad to know Ebay and I kissed and made up. We found a sports photographer who is selling disks of excellent action photos of the Bulldogs - particularly our favorites Knowshon Moreno and Matthew Stafford. We are having some of the coolest ones blown into posters to hang in black frames which will coordinate with the black entertainment center. How'd you like that whole coordinate thang? HGTV's got nothing on mine and Luke's mad decorating skillz. I promise you he's the only manly man you'll ever meet who doesn't think a focal point is what he sees through his rifle scope.

• 
  Paint the 13th coat of white paint on the door. (I painted over red..eek)
• 
  Clean the construction junk out.
• 
  Install curtain rods/blinds.
• 
  Cut off curtains, sew hems, and hang.
• 
  Move in furniture...
• 
  *sigh*

More soon!