Thankful for Nothing

The last couple weeks have been a bit of a doozy.

Between Chris leaving town, me finishing up the kitchen, Lorelai...being 2, and Adalaide crying for what it felt like days; I am kind of spent.

This rain came on a good day. I feel lazy. I feel lazy after I cleaned out and reorganized the laundry room, but still. I am sitting here in the familyroom watching HGTV by myself. Quietly. No one in my arms, no one in my lap. No one crying, no one shouting. Nothing is pilled up on my kitchen table, no toys blanketing the floor. The plants don't need watering (yay, rain), there is no mail to pick up. Dinner is figured out, grocery shopping is done. I have no more chores and no more errands.

It. Feels. Awesome.
Nothing is going on, nothing is wrong. Nothing.

It's been quite some time that I have experienced this. I'm sure it will fade faster than I could imagine, but for today, I am loving it. I am happily sinking into my chair, sipping my tea (that I don't have share with my 2 year old), and not watching Nick Jr.

Not every day I am so thankful for nothing. Keep snoozing my babes, it's been a long couple of weeks, indeed.


M.LEWIS

Just a Little Stripe

My latest home project was a minor one; which is good because my kitchen satisfied that "project urge" for a while.

I wanted to spruce up my laundry room; if you recall, but I didn't want it to be a big deal...at this point.

I like the striped look, but I didn't want it to over-power the room (it's a pretty small room) and I wasn't crazy about moving around the washer and dryer.
I had left over paint from my family/livingroom and kitchen, and I figured that would work nicely; tie the room to the rest of the house a bit.

I ordered, assembled, and placed a new shelf unit but I haven't purchased any baskets/bins/etc for my wall shelves. I also want to get a nicer rug for the door, but for now the single stripe is sitting pretty well with me. :)

P.S.-scrubbing the floor and door molding along with touching up the caulk make a huge difference in appearance.

UPDATE: I got some boxes for storage and finally hung up my drying rod to finish off the room.

M.LEWIS

The Kitchen Remodel Pt 3: The FINAL Reveal

If you have been following me, you know I have made it my goal to remodel my kitchen this summer. I have been busting my butt trying to get it all done, super fast. Why? Well, 1) I have a hard time leaving things "undone"; 2) I wanted to get it done before my almost-4-month-old is mobile and in my way; and 3) I just want a pretty kitchen. We moved in June 2011, so it's been 2 years with my "nothing-special" kitchen. It was just dying to be modern and clean. Once again, I have done all the projects myself (no hired help) and I have found the least expensive way of doing so...without skimping on style.

The first part was the countertops, the second was the backsplash, and the final part of the remodel was the cabinets.

Instead of ripping out the old cabinets and spending $$$ on new cabinets, I knew from day 1 I was going to paint them...otherwise, redoing the countertops first would have been pretty stupid.

After 2 weeks of sanding, priming, painting, and sealing, I am soooo done with this project.  Aside from the usual sandpaper, paint brushes/rollers, these are my tools:

Primer used:

Paint used: 

Sealant used: 

Also, my hardware choices:

Knobs for the doors:

Pulls for the drawers: 

(All items found (at the best price) at Lowe's.

I could go into detail of all the annoyances and frustrations with each step, but why be negative? I AM DONE! I installed the hardware today, and I am ready to share the final result. So here is the real reason you are reading; the before/after pictures:

BEFORE STOVE AREA

AFTER STOVE AREA

REFRIGERATOR CORNER BEFORE

REFRIGERATOR CORNER AFTER

SINK AREA BEFORE

SINK AREA AFTER

 (I know it looks like I forgot two drawers, but they are faux, and don't open...therefore adding pulls would be tricky and ultimately pointless.) I still am debating (with Chris) about changing the blue to a more neutral shade; either way I need to touch up the spots on the walls from the cabinet paint.

So there you have it, my last BIG project done. Queue the hallelujah chorus and stare in awe. Just one more time:

M.LEWIS

Holding Down the Fort

I feel crummy. I was hoping it was allergies, and maybe it still is...but I feel sick either way. It just sucks because I am holding down the fort over here by myself for a few days while Chris is in Denver.
I miss him, and miss all the fun times they seem to be having; though I would not be partaking in any of it due to a fussy toddler, small baby, and now, my sore throat and stuffy nose. I do wish they would schedule every other get together more "in the area" but I suppose that is neither here, nor there at this point.

Though I have been feeling yucky, I have been able to keep the girls happy about 70% of the time. We have achieved a bath (yes, singular, Addy fell asleep by the time it was her turn and there was no way I was waking her), 2 healthy dinners of LEL-approved food, and most importantly: 90% done in kitchen priming. Of course, I still have the actually painting to do, and the finishing coat...but I am looking on the bright side.

Now I have 2 nights and 1 full day to soldier through until Chris returns; I know Lorelai (and Phoebe) miss him terribly. Ok, ok, I do too, but it kind of breaks my heart a bit when Lorelai asks "Where dad?" several times a day. I know she looks forward to playing with him in the evenings, and she is confused why he doesn't come home for dinner. Every noise outside around 5-6pm she shoots up all excited "Dad home!", and I then have to explain again why he isn't coming home for awhile. Her smile fades and she goes back to what she was doing...still confused. God forbid she will never have to experience this for more than just a weekend or so. At least Chris knows he is loved. ;)

Let's just hope these kiddos don't start feeling under the weather as well.


M.LEWIS

Dirty Laundry...Room.

While I still have to finish my kitchen makeover before I start another project, I have already been planning and researching online what I want to do with...the laundry room! And you thought I ran out of things to do, didn't you?

Our laundry room is the first place you enter when coming through the garage, and since we come and go through the garage 99.9% of the time, it is essentially, our foyer...so to speak.

Right now it is a dingy white with "touch up" spots from the previous owners who couldn't match the existing color of their lives depended on it. The floor is decent, but the shelving is not pretty. There is wasted space around the washer and dryer, and above the 2 current shelves.  The room becomes a collecting ground for leaves and dirt from the garage, Phoebe's useless dog items, and things I don't know what to do with.
I would love to turn the room into something more versatile, clean, pretty, and organized. The room is small, so I can't do anything drastic, but it is the perfect opportunity to try something a bit more bold in the paint department...not in color, but in pattern.

Here is a few pictures that get me excited:

I am really loving the idea of gray stripes, but I have a feeling that is going to be an interesting application. I figure, even if things go terribly wrong, I can just paint the whole room instead. I am not sure what my options are on wall shelving, but getting a unit to sit between my washer and dryer sounds good and useful. I'll have to wait and see once I am ready to mess with it...Fall maybe? My goal is to finish my kitchen by the end of summer, so when ever I am done with that.

Meanwhile, my updates around the house have consisted of adding hardware to my bathroom cabinets. I also need to order a over-the-toilet shelf for the master and now a new laundry bin for our closet. Darn thing has broken on me for the last time! :P Anyone have a pretty laundry room? Or maybe a good thing to incorporate into the room?

M.LEWIS 

Silence is Golden- and Rare.

This week has been...well, long.

Cranky kids, napless days, crying/screaming- things that should be simple and quick, end up taking three times as long as they should and usually take place while someone is crying in the background.
Not that I am ignoring my kids, they have just had those days where nothing makes them happy- mainly Lorelai.

I decided to go to the grocery store today and not wait for the weekend with Chris' help. It is Father's Day weekend, and wanted to eliminate some chores.
I did accept my mom's offer to shop with us though. It went well until departure. Refusal to hold hands, losing shoes, carrying LEL to the car like a sack of potatoes, crying the whole way home, Addy joining in...can you tell we were hitting nap time? This carried on through putting away the food, getting Lorelai to bed, and attempting to feed Addy.
A hour or so later, I finally get to sit and regain my composure. Just another day with the little Lewis girls.

People have been asking me if I will be traveling to a family event in a couple weeks...this is why my answer is "no." Could it be done? Yes. Would anyone be having fun? No. At this point with my kids, schedules and being close to home are essential. Car rides past 5mins usually end up with Addy screaming, Lorelai only eats half of 3 items (never consistently), both kids have to nap/sleep in certain rooms at certain times, Addy is slowly starting to eat closer to 3 hours as apposed to 2, and there is still Phoebe's eyes to watch. So, sorry guys who want me to travel/visit them; unless you live close by or are willing to come to us, seeing you all will have to wait. Hopefully by the end of summer they will be a bit more flexible. Forcing them to be so now, is not worth it. As it is, every time Lorelai leaves the house she whines and cries "Hot. Hot. Hhhhhhooooottttt." I feel her there.

At least both kids are napping right now, and hopefully for the next half an hour. Ahhh, silence. An encouraging note though: All this craziness is making me lose baby weight at a decent clip. Already in pre-Adalaide shorts...and they are a bit loose. Now for pre-Lorelai. Ha. ;)

Love.

M.LEWIS

The Kitchen Remodel Pt. 2: The Backsplash

Ok, my latest improvement! A tile backsplash for my kitchen. One area behind my stove, the other behind the sink.

I am not a fan of tile...the process of applying it, that is, but I do like the finished look. I combined elements that both I and Christopher liked to get our final design.

I still need to grout the tile behind the sink, but I have enough done I feel good sharing my project progress. All together the project only cost me about $115. All purchased at Lowe's.  I wanted subway tiles, but I didn't want to spend $$$ on ceramic tile. I looked for vinyl subway styles, but found out quickly they don't make them. So, I decided to make my own. I found a nice "luxury tile" in the vinyl area ($2.16 for a 12x24 tile) and cut it up into 6x3 tiles, making 16 tiles out of one large tile. I needed about 6 large tiles. The steel tiles were self-adhesive in a 12x12 sheet. I needed 2 sheets. The glass/stone mosaic tiles came in a mesh square, I had to cut them up into strips, again, I needed 2. Both were $10.00 for a 12x12 square. Then there is the adhesive for the tiles, the grout, and the tools involved.

I loved I could achieve this look for around $100 and needed no power tools! :)

M.LEWIS