10 Things You Should Never Ask Your Spouse

Doing another one of Mama Kat's workshop.

I chose number 1: A list of ten things you should never ask your spouse

1. If you were stranded on an island with 5 beautiful women, would you behave?

2. You're mother, do you actually like her? And most importantly, do I need to like her?

3. When you have guys night, may I hang out too? Or if not, can it be limited down to every two weeks rather than every week?

4. You're best friend, how long has he been single? Is he a good guy? I should, I mean, WE should have him over more often.

5. I want at least 5 kids in 5 years. You down with that?

6. Michelle Duggar is my idol! I know that's not a question, But I think it would set off a few red flags to most males.

7. Wanna go shopping!?

8. I don't understand football. Or sports in general. Is that a problem?

9. My younger sister just called me. She's engaged. MY YOUNGER SISTER IS ENGAGED. What do you think about that?

10. Will you tattoo my name on your body? Perhaps your arm?

11. Do I need to know how to cook? I tend burn popcorn.....

12. I had to grunt my way into these jeans. Do they look too tight? Or rather does my butt look big?

13. Do you have any pepto bismol?

14. Your brother, has he always been so ripped?

15. Your dad, has he always been so ripped?

16. Has anyone ever told you that you look like Rosie O' Donnell?

17. You want me to watch what with you? Star Wars? What's Star Wars?

I couldn't quite stop at 10....ooops

There are 1000's of other items that I am sure would make your spouse uncomfortable and even confused about how you got him down the alter.

Adding Corbels to Cabinets

When we did our kitchen remodel, I was so pleased with the white on white. I opted for white shaker doors, a white back splash, even the light above the sink has a white glass shade. The white really opened up the kitchen. However, one thing I felt that the white did was also make it a but sterile. So after a lot of brainstorming I decided to add corbels to the bottoms of two sets of cabinetry to give it a bit of charm and character. Hands down one of my favorite kitchen updates.

First I tried to screw in the corbel from the underside up into the cabinets base. I even pre-drilled everywhere to ensure smooth installation. Some corbels come with holes already in that for easy install, the ones I like did not. Our cabinets framework is a hard maple, very very hardwood. Even pre drilling into it was difficult (for me anyways) so that make me nervous. After a lot of research and even calling a local home improvement store for some input, I learned that wood glue was actually the best solution. Elmer's wood glue is harder than the wood itself and creates an extremely tight bond. If you absolutely wanted to, a nail gun could be used after glue is dry (recommended 12 hours) to put in a few nails. I did not feel the need for that. Those corbels are on there and wont go anywhere.

After the corbels were on there nice and secure, I broke out the wood filler. I wanted to make sure there was no line where the corbels were added. So I simply filled it in and then sanded. You can also use a damp cloth to smooth it out, I even recommend that. It make the wood filler go on more smooth.

Last it was time to paint. I painted the whole side of the cabinet to ensure their was no difference in white color. After painting was done, that was it. And I love them.

Photo Dump

Every once in a while it's fun to just share photos of the random goings on in our life. These are in no particular order, just a little of what we did over the summer.

Peonies in my kitchen. I snagged a small bouquet for 5.00 at a local food store. I love the addition of pink in my kitchen.

This was Claire's Birthday. In the weeks approaching, Isabelle had told me she wanted to buy Claire a Sleeping Beauty doll. One trip to the store and it was the first thing we found. When Claire opened it, she leaned down and kissed the doll.

Late night giggles on Vacation.

We celebrated The 4th of July at the Outer Banks this year. And what better way to enjoy the fireworks than to sit and eat a patriotic doughnut?

Jack and Claire, wind in the their hair. This was the 3rd story balcony we were on while watching the fireworks.

The girls and I. I can never get a good pic of all 3 of us. This time is was Claire who would not sit still.

And our family picture from that night. Yes, I matched us.

Claire had a favorite spot while at the OBX, it wasn't the beach, it was the hammock on the back balcony.

I want one of these swings for my house.

We also went to several carnivals. This is Isabelle and I getting ready to ride.

And many many many adventures to the park. See the tire swing in the background? It and I have a history.

Claire has developed an interest to the people in the pictures around the house. She points at them and waits for me to tell her their name.

Isabelle and Claire went cruising in Isabelle's mustang. I want a mustang....

I made Tie dye cupcakes!

Claire turned the big numero uno.

I made a cupcake tower for her birthday.

Our Churches carnival. We look forward to it every year.

Isabelle got me to go through a fun house. This was us walking through the moving cylinder. Not so easy.

That was some of our summer!

New Front Door Interior side.

Once we had the the new front door in, we had pretty much wrecked the old 80's linoleum that was at our front entrance. We had always planned on updating it to a tile floor so nothing like ruining the existing linoleum to kick start our tiling.

When we remodeled the Kitchen it was me who did the tile backslash. Jack did all the tile cutting while I hung, then grouted and sealed the tiles over the course of four days. It really is not difficult. So I was pretty confident when we tackled the floor. I should also note that this is a very modest entryway, roughly 20 sq ft.

It was shocking to see that the hardwoods that were intact under the linoleum were in better shape than the ones that had ran throughout the house. Perhaps since they were not exposed to the ware and tare of us running around on them is what kept them nice? That is with the exception of some of the stuck on glue that held down the linoleum. But that could have easily been sanded off. For a second, I was left thinking it could be fun to refinish the hardwoods in that section, but then reality set in and I vetoed that idea once I fast forwarded to the winter and the thought of the snow we would track in. Tile I think, is a much better fit for the area.

Wasn't kidding when I said small entryway. This is it.

The wood floor that was under the linoleum still had a fair amount of the original finish on it. It looked like a matte polyurethane finish. The dark streaks are the glue that held down the linoleum.

The foam insulation that went all around the front door was a bright yellow. You can see it peeking out in some areas.

Before we put up the interior frame work.

And now for the afters:

Here is the tile we selected. This is after all the grouting and sealing were completed.

The base trim work. I had originally wanted to salvage all of the existing trim. But since it was such a small area that we were trimming out, new trim was only a few dollars. And it also looks so much better than what was original to the house.

I went with painting the door the same color on the inside as I did for the exterior. I LOVE the pale blue in the house! It gives off just enough color without being too bold for the itty bitty space.

All in all, it was a very easy update. Lots of fun and lots of eye candy.

Front Door Installation

Last winter when I noticed ice inside of my house along the front door and on my windowsills I pretty much felt a melt down coming. While I like some of the charm of our older home, I hate that it lacks a lot of the amenities that the newer homes have, example, newer insulated windows, insulated exterior walls and energy efficient exterior doors. This basically meant that soon as Jack came home, we got right to work on some much needed home repairs and updates. We did new windows, new exterior doors and various other projects to get our home ready for this years winter.

I was excited to do a new front door because anything that lends to updating our curb appeal makes me happy. And I knew exactly the door I wanted, this one just below.

ENDLESS CHARM

My husband was pretty confidence that putting in a new door was going to be super easy, I had my doubts and was pretty sure professional installation would be the best solution. But what kind of DIYers would that make us? So on we went full steam ahead.

I know that renovations big or small are almost always messy, but sometimes in the middle of the tare out, I can become a little uneasy. As Jack was ripping off all the interior and exterior door casing, I was trying not to hyperventilate. I kept asking him things like, "Are you absolutely sure that should come down? Why are you pulling that up? You need a saw!? WHY!?" It can be overwhelming to say the least.

Notice instead of the common aluminum siding a lot of the older houses have under their vinyl siding, our house has wood siding. It was painted a soft grey/green tone that I actually love.

Once everything was down it was time to shim in the new door. We purchased one that was pre-hung which was recommended by every professional we had spoke to when deciding what to purchase. This part was less than easy. The frame built around the door was too wide for the existing hole we had for it. I say hole because that is pretty much all it was, I big hole into my house. At this point I could see even my husband was a little anxious at how we solve this issue. One panicked phone call to a cousin of mine, and help was on the way.

There was actually a really easy solution to make the new door fit. Since it was the interior drywall that was making it too small, we just had to cut it off around the door. 1o minutes of cutting and we were back in the game.

The boys shimmed in the door, leveled everything, and once they triple checked to make sure all was perfect, in went the screws. Once it was secure, it was time for the spray foam to insulate all around the door.

This project from start to finish took about 12 hours. The first 5 were literally spent on tare out. My husband was sure to tare out everything piece by piece to make sure he did not damage anything around the structure. The rest of the time went to hanging and securing and then re- framing the interior and exterior.

We went with a basic Craftsman style door. But I think what really updates the look is the new framework. Before we had simple aluminum framing with no detail whatsoever. Jack and I played around with different ideas before agreeing that this look was our favorite.

And once I painted it that really made it look more inviting, not to mention our house really stands out on our street. Another perk that I am pleasantly surprised with is the light that the 6 small windows provide. Our previous door had no window and therefor let in no light. Now, this light travels all the way down the hallway of our house, which I absolutely love.

Tomorrow I will be back with the interior updates we have thanks to the new front door. New framework and tile flooring. :)

Breaking out the fall bedding

One of the things I love about living in Ohio is that we live in a state where it can get very warm in the summer and exceptionally cold in the winter. Because of this, I feel the need for summer bedding and a more heavier winter bedding. And I enjoy this because it feeds my desire for a change in a rooms look. Isabelle's room is exceptionally in need for seasonal changes. Her room is the warmest in the summer and the coolest in the winter. Now that fall has arrived, it was time for me to break out the heavier bedding. And I thought it was only fair to share the pictures because I think her bed looks so sweet with the addition of her heavier duvet.

I still leave on her light summer quilt for layering and added coziness on those really cool nights. And because her heavy blue duvet tends to look a bit bulky laid out on the bed, I simply keep it folded at the end. But I think the addition of the muted blue in her room makes for an elegant charm.

I'm Back + Flooring Update

It has been a long time since I sat down and wrote a post. I am not lacking in house updates, they are also what has been consuming me and my time, projects and chasing the girls (Claire walks now, well she runs too..) I have a thousand and one changes, updates, projects, everything that has happened over the passed year, all of which I hope to share as time allows.

I am hoping that now with Jack's return from his Air Force Training, this will allow me a little bit of free time to share our updates. He has been home for about a month now and has finally started to settle in. He has gone through some big changes since his return. Two of which is a career change along with enrolling as a full time student. He has wanted to go back to College for years and now that he is home from his Air Force training he has the opportunity to focus on his goal.

Project numero uno: Flooring.

This was actually done a few months prior to Jack's homecoming. After months, perhaps even a year of toying with the idea, we decided to cover up our wood floors with carpet. I know, crazy, unfathomable, insane, who does that? Well...I did. As much as I have told Jack and other friends and family that I detest carpet and will always only be a hardwood floor kind if gal, we thought it best to cover them for a few reasons. Random side note, when I was 4 and my parents were building their house, my mom asked me what color carpet I wanted for my room. I told her I wanted hardwood floors, not carpet. Even at the age of 4, I was partial to the look of a nice hardwood flooring. I should also add, that I did not get my way. :-(

Reasons For Covering Up our Hardwoods...

1. They needed work. Refinishing. The 50 year old original finish was almost completely worn off and therefor exposing bare wood. This is stressful for a number of reasons. Most people get nervous to have drinks on carpet, I was a wreck when people had drinks over the hardwoods. If any moister spilled or was left for even a short amount of time, it left drop marks and stains. In the last almost 4 years we have been here, even with me letting only adults have drinks in the living room, we have still managed to add a number of stains to the floor.

2. They needed patched. Because the finish was nearly gone, wood naturally expands and contracts with different seasons as the moisture levels change in the air. ---haha, I'm not a nerd, sometimes I just sound like one. But it is true. A good wood seal will actually help reduce that. Since ours was lacking that, the wood would swell every spring and summer, and then shrink down each winter. This would make for gaps in between the planks and also left some of them a bit lose. There were even some spots where if we stepped on it just so, a lose board would come together and pinch our foot. It would also make for awkward moments if we had guests over. We would randomly hear an "ouch!" and if they had just walked over a specific spot, we would then be like, "So sorry! Did our floor pinch you? I apologize!" Yes, this happened on a few occasions.

3. Claire. As she was learning to walk, the bare, pinching, semi slippery wood floors made for a nervous me.

4. As much as I would have much preferred to refinish them, the cost + labor in numerous aspects was too much for this solo mom. I would have had to completely gut the house while the refinishing was being done. For a least a week I would have had to crash at someone else's pad, and while I know the fumes are at their worst for the first week, they can linger for a month and sometimes even two which is not good for kiddos...or anybody. And did I mention the cost? Refinishing in our case was more then triple the cost of the carpet. Now I know that could vary depending on how expensive the carpet is that someone is going with, but in our case, huge price difference.

5. The wood floors are still in tack under the carpet. When we sell in the future (this is not a forever house) the carpets can be ripped up and the floors can be refinished if new owner so desires. Or if for some reason we choose too. The option is always under there.

Ready for the before and afters?

I am not going to lie, I miss the look of the hardwoods. To me, hardwoods always make a room look bigger, more grand and even homey. But for right now, the carpet is just a better solution to a number of problems. And I have to admit, the carpet is a lot easier to keep clean. I thought for sure that I would have a harder time with the upkeep of carpet, but it only needs to be vacuumed once a week or so (that is also all that is recommended) and it is oh-so-soft to just lay on and play on with our girls. All in all, I am happy with our choice. If anyone is interested, we went with Martha Stewart's carpet line, which we ordered through Home Depot. They were very easy to work with and the entire process went very smooth. And at a cost of 1.98 a square foot, my wallet is pretty pleased too!