MiaBella's Room

Well I finally finished Mia's Room..... It is fit for a Princess!!!

Here is her room before. Not bad but I didn't really like the wall color and it was dirty and some holes that needed to be fixed.

Here is the light fixture that was actually the only one left in the house and I liked it. I didn't like the color and I thought it needed a little bling....

So I painted it white and added crystals to it and I think it's now fit for a Princess.

I painted the room a light grey because I wanted to do her room in grey and pink. Plus I am painted the whole house in different shades of grey.

I bought this bed last year from a friend that was moving. I didn't know what I was going to do with it but I loved it.  I washed it up and repainted it white so it looks new and clean. It gives her more room to play than her double bed.

I repainted her dress-up dresser because I didn't like the stripes. Of course I used chalk paint which is the best for furniture. Stenciled on the drawers and added a M. I picked up this piece a couple of years ago on trash day.  YES trash day for free. I know don't be jealous, you too can drive your 12 passenger van around and collect as much furniture as you can squeeze into it... It's best to bring your big strong husband to load it all.... Here is the before picture.

I made a cute little reading nook for her.  I used a curved shower rod I got on sale at Home Goods and I ordered the curtains from Ikea because we have 10 foot ceilings. She loves it and reads and plays in it all the time.

I painted the grey shelve that has been passed around from all my kids that I got from target years ago and it looks new again....

Her little chalk board was a mirror that I think I got from trash day also. I just took it out and had my husband cut a board to fit and I painted it with chalkboard paint.

I love this dresser. I painted it a couple of years ago but it is still one of my favorites.  I always get dressers from second hand stores, garage sales, or trash day.  I only get the real wood ones.  I have gotten some really nice Ethan Allen, Basset and more.  The older ones are made so much better.

Her Barbie house was Tera's when she was little.  So it's about 20-22 years old. It's made at a wood and every time I pass it down I just clean it up and put a fresh coat of paint on it. It's still as cute as can be and Mia loves playing with it.

One more room finished so on to the next.  I am starting on the kitchen next...It's going to take me awhile so maybe I will do a small project also...Until next time

Working on the House

Well I still need to catch up from October until February but I thought I would start with what I have been working on.  This house is huge and every inch of the inside needs to be painted and updated. From the ceilings, to the trim and of course the walls means a lot of work for me. 

I finished the dining room and here are a couple of pictures of the before.

This is what it looked like when it was for sale.

Here it is before we moved in.  The yellow doesn't look as bad here but I really hated it.

I used a light gray on top and a darker on the bottom and I love it.

I love this hutch that I picked up several years ago from the second hand store and refinished it.

I love decorating with shutters.

There was no light fixture when we moved in and I found this one at Home Depot for 45.00.  What a find!!!!  It looks so great in this room.

Next is the kids bathroom.  I hated going in it....It was really beat up. Here are some before pictures.

The color was a ugly green.

I started to paint the cabinets with black chalk paint I made.

All the hardware was a silver.

The door was really beat up.  They must of locked a dog in here or something....Poor thing!

The cabinet is finished and I think it turned out great.  We also framed around the mirror I like the look of a finished mirror.

I changed all the hardware to oil rubbed bronze. It looks so much better and the kids keep it clean which is a plus.....

On to the Living Room..

Here is the before pictures.

The color was a dark green and it wasn't bad but it was flat paint and I couldn't match it and I only paint with satin paint. It cleans up so much better.

Here is the before picture of the fireplace. It had a gold screen on it. Yuck!! That had to go...

Much Better. I always spray paint the inside of the fireplace with heat paint to give it a clean new look. I white washed the brick and it looks so much better. I still wanted the brick to show through but not so bright. 

I love hanging weird things on the wall like the green door from a old barn. 

I love the wood box next to the fireplace.  It keeps all the wood stored away nice and neat.

I love to do picture walls.  Having pictures of my family all over my house makes me happy!! And I am obsessed with finding letter S in different styles and sizes...

The black chair in the corner is one I got at a garage sale for 25.00 and painted it. YES painted it with chalk paint.  It is one of my favorite chairs....

Here is our little mud room.  I don't know why they don't build bigger ones in cold places. We have lived in Iowa, New York and now we live in Connecticut and all our homes haven't had a mud room.

I am tired!!! but I am off to my next project, MiaBella's room and then the Kitchen.....

Wish me luck!!

September and October has been busy!!!

The last two month have been so busy but so much fun.  I have LOVED the weather and it's been beautiful here.  We have done so much I can't believe it's only been two months. School started and I can't believe Mia and Remi are in Kindergarten. Cooper started Pre-School and loves it. Jordan is a Senior (what) seems like yesterday he was in kindergarten, and Coltin is a Freshmen,

 

They were so excited to ride the bus!!!

Their ride to the bus stop. 

A few of my favorite photos I took of Jordan.

Another great thing about the fall is FOOTBALL. I love to go watch Coltin play....We are also big Seahawks fans.

Number 41

We took the kids to a few fairs and it has been so much fun. Just the right size to spend a few hours on a Saturday.......

We loved going to the Corn Maze and the Apple Farm. We have been going to apple farms since we lived in Iowa and went to Wisconsin in the fall. We fell in love with the apple farms there and would stop and get fresh cheese also.  Such fun memories for our family.

Camping!!! Oh how I love camping.... We have been camping with our kids since they were babies. Of course it's a lot nicer having a trailer but I still love every minute of it. Board games, songs by the camp fire, hikes, swimming, relaxing what more can you want.......

We didn't get to go as much this year as we usually do because of the move but I am so glad we got to end the season camping with friends.  What a great time we had.

I signed Cooper and Remi up for a soccer camp in Sept and them on a team.  They love playing and are really good. Remi is great at every sport he plays....and Cooper is right behind him. It's going to be so fun watching these boys as they get older.

Mia is taking Dance class, hip hop and tapp, the little boys in soccer, Coltin in Football and the older two are working. With Jeff out of town all the time, it makes a crazy busy life here.  Sometimes they forget to leave me a vehicle...

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