Weekend Update!

Life has been flying past the last few weeks without giving me a chance to breathe, much less enjoy my new home. This weekend, I decided to start tackling a few little projects. I will post pics and explain that later. First, I'll start by recapping last weekend!

My brother is getting married in a few weeks. The bridal shower for my new sister-in-law was today but I put together her gift last weekend. I had originally wanted to make a towel cake. I saw some really cute plans online. But my budget and my creativity weren't quite seeing eye to eye on that. So plan b- a cute arrangement of the towels and a few kitchen items. Here's how:

First, I gathered all the presents I wanted to include. Everything was from Target. I had planned on using a basket originally but found this great bowl to put it all in!


I didn't want those ugly tags in the way so I carefully removed them and tied them with the ribbon that was around the rags, just in case she needed to return.


Then I layered a little tissue paper to make an even surface to build on.


Then I rolled the towels (set of 5) and placed them vertically. I folded four of the rags into fans and placed them around the perimeter. I tied some ribbon around the base of the fans to keep them tight. I used the extra rags under the back towels to create some height. Into these cloths I put the kitchen items: a set of four black spatulas and spoons, red measuring cups and matching spoons in that pretty Kitchenaid red. I arranged and rearranged until I was ok with the look:




I wanted to use a shrink wrap on the bowl but it didn't work like it usually does. It turned out more like regular cellophane but that's ok. I tied several pieces of wired red ribbon around the top and added that sweet heart I found at Michaels (btw they have some very cute Valentine's stuff this year!) ta da! Perfect gift for my new sister! I hope she and my brother have many happy years together!

The First before and after!

So I'm really supposed to be preparing for tomorrow (major evaluation day at work!) but after cleaning the bathroom I couldn't help but install the new window film in our master bathroom. The previous owners installed cafe curtains (as evidenced by the large holes they left behind) but I wanted to let more of the natural light in. Unfortunately the positioning of these windows would also mean my neighbors get a peep show every time we step out of the tub. I am trying to avoid vinyl or aluminum blinds at all costs in this house. But since we still have almost a month until payday we had to get a little creative. So I am installing window film in our bathroom windows until I can decide what else I want to do in there.

Here is the "before" shot from the window in front of the toilet and shower:


We went to Lowe's and purchased the Gila Decorative window film in the "crackled glass" finish. I figured this would go with any color scheme I end up with and (most importantly) give us the privacy from our neighbors. The directions recommend that it's a two-person job, but for a little window like this we would have been in each other's way. I also did not purchase the installation kit as recommended. A credit card and a solution of 1 cup water to 1 teaspoon shampoo does the trick as well. I also left less than 1 inch clearance for shrinkage after the first window because I found that the more film I left the more it wanted to pull away. It was a pretty simple installation; one window gave me a little more trouble and I may end up redoing it with the leftover film. But it's pretty much spray, lay down the film, and use the card to smooth it out.

Here's the comparison to the crackle glass and the plain window view:


All in all, it took me about 30 minutes to do the four sections of window. It took nearly as long to locate the tools in the garage since it is currently holding everything we haven't unpacked yet. I still need to go back and trim excess film after it dries, but you get the idea. I'm quite proud of my little endeavor, and I got it done just as Dave was waking up so he was surprised too!

The nearly-finished results:


A close up view of the crackle glass effect:



I hope you enjoyed this first "before and after", even though it was pretty simple. I have so much more planned. I'm going to repaint every room in this house in the upcoming weeks ( wait till you see some of these rooms! The previous owners went a little crazy!) and I look forward to your suggestions and comments.

Welcome to my Blog!

It's hard to believe it's 2012. A whole new year, full of promise and adventure. This year is surely going to be a landmark year for my family- and hence the reason I'm starting this blog. On New Year's Eve my fiancé and I were given the keys to our new home. The idea that this is truly our house hasn't fully sunken in yet. But it's true- this beautiful, four bedroom home is ours. No more moving overnight, landlords foreclosing on you, or apartments that had more cats living there than tenants. It's a bit overwhelming now- all of these choices and decisions to make. While we purchased a newer home it has a few flaws that need to be addressed. In upcoming blogs I hope to show you my home and our plans for it, as well as shopping finds and ideas. There's going to be a mix of decorating, antiques, family life, and (hopefully soon!) wedding plans. Basically, I am going to make this a place to share a little bit of everything I love!