Almost!

The staircase is completely done!

I was going to show you it tonight, but I'm pooped.

Plus I have a crazy hard exam tomorrow morning that I need to study for.

And I need to make supper soon.

So.....yeah, you're waiting one more day.

But I'll give you a little peek:

And here's a little quirk of mine:
I like to work out in the workshop in my husband's shoes.
I don't like dragging sawdust all over my house, and his shoes are easier to quick slip on since I make 1,000 trips from the house to the workshop every day.
He thinks I'm weird ;)

31 Days to a Better Dressed Nest Chronicles

I was recently participating in Nesting Place's "31 Days to a Better Dressed Nest"

Click on the button above to check it out.

Anyways, here are my chronicles:

Day 1: Give something away

I had originally put this coffee table on Craigslist, but it wasn't selling, so my husband brought it to school for the Student Union.

Day 2: Move Something

I rearranged tons of plants around. I don't know if I'm sold, but it's okay for right now.

Day 3: Using Plants

Again, I have tons of plants. 28 to be exact. I love the feeling of fresh air inside my home. The only problem is, I only have 1 of those plants upstairs. I think it would just be a pain in the ass to have to haul a watering can up there. Maybe someday. Day 4: Surprise

There's lots of fun little things going on in my house. I numbered my stairs (yes, unlucky 13), I have Figment the Disney dragon hanging out on my plant stand, an old car bank hanging out by another plant....etc.

Day 5: Paint Something

I've been painting tons of things lately, but I can't actually tell you what they are right now. I haven't revealed the staircase or the other BIG REVEAL, so you'll have to wait. Just trust me that I did it.

Day 6: Decorate Bookshelves

I was happy to do this one. My bookshelves are always utilitarian. It's nice to dress them up.

Day 7: Get Advice

I asked for advice on my dining room archways. Still waiting for any ideas!

Day 8: Define the Space

This one is fun. She asked everyone to list the words that they want their house to be defined as.

Welcoming

Cozy
Warm
Fun
Bright
Surprising

Inspirational
Personal

I'm working on getting my kitchen brighter.

Day 9: List Something On Craigslist

What haven't I listed? I got rid of a highchair, swing, filtration system, mop, etc.

Day 10: Focus on the Focal Point

I don't know if the focal point is the big window, or the big frames above it. Maybe I should get rid of the big frames. I don't know, everyone seems to like it. But my "focal point" still needs work.

Day 11: Incorporate architecture

I have faux wainscoting in both my bathrooms to give a little visual interest. I'm also planning on adding some fun architecture to a part of my kitchen cabinets and to the crown moulding in my dining room. Stick around for that!

Day 12:Gender Balancing

My husband shouldn't be forced to sleep in a girly room. It's blue with some chocolate stripes. The bed is chocolate. All manly colors. It's very contemporary. But there are some feminine touches, like the lace around my kids' baby pictures, the sheer scarf window treatment...

Day 13: Tablescape

Make your tables look pretty. Well, if it's practical. My dining room table is always dressed with linens. I'm a freak, I know. But this day's work was concentrating on the console table. Do you like?

Day 14: Maximise seating

I'm not going to show you every seat in my house, but I'll list them.

Living room-9

Kitchen-1

Dining room-6

Basement- 6

Upstairs total- 4

Mudroom-1

outside total-35 (yeah, I like to entertain)

Day 15: Light it Up

I can't tell you about this one. Only that it's part of the BIG REVEAL, and that this is my favorite part of it.

Day 16: Introduce your favorite color

Okay, I don't know if this is a fair one.My favorite color is red, but I would hate it in my house. Too contemporary. I like in in clothes, cars, sheds,y you name it. But not in my house. I cringe at the thought of red on the walls (excepts in kids' rooms!) or, could you imagine, furniture. Bleck!

I like blues, browns, creams, greens, natural colors in the home. Okay, my kitchen may be orange, but not "in your face" orange.

Day 17: Shop the House

My favorite hobby! Let's see...I found a cool dish in a box in the basement that was my husband's grandmother's. I have linens around the house that were also in that box. And some decorative plates...

Day 18: Don't Be Hatin'
I got these awesome canisters from my mother-in-law (that she made!) for my kitchen. I love them! But then I also received the matching casserole dish. I know it would never be used, I have my favorite casserole dishes already.

It was donated.

Day 19: Freshen up a Forgotten Space

Oooo....another one I can't show you. It's the BIG REVEAL. A lonely, forgotten space that I should have done something with a long time ago. I can't wait to show you!

Day 20: Fill in the Blanks

I love little blank spaces. Like the one above my patio door that I filled with frames, or a cute little nook above my daughter's chair rail that I felt a cute little black bird should go.

Day 21: Layer It
I love layering things. Like my shelf in my mudroom.

Day 22: Fix Something Broken

I already fixed the knobs on my entertainment center and installed a new lock on my kitchen door, but here's the list of things that still need to be done:

New door handle for the patio door. It's barely working.

The selves that are missing the support rods on the entertainment center and my microwave stand.

Day 23: Group It
My favorite grouping: our Japanese teacups given to my husband by his grandpa from the war. Okay, the top shelf I actually got at an auction, but everything below is from the war.

Day 24: Incorporate Fabric

I have fabric everywhere: blanket baskets, throw pillows, 1,000 kitchen towels, linens ALWAYS on my table (a table always looks better dressed!), area rugs, etc.

Day 25: Set Goals

I always have a daily to-do list made. It's one of my favorite things to do in the morning. It helps to keep me on track. But here's my secret weapon: my big black book! It's a drawing that I use to glue pictures of things that I want to do in my house. It's one of my favorite hobbies.

Day 26: Put a Frame On It

Where aren't there frames in my house? Really? Every room has at least one frame, including the bathrooms.

Day 27: Drapery Check

Okay, my scarves aren't touching the floor. If they are scarves, the should touch. Valances are okay in the kitchen. But look at these curtains in my living room! They are left over from the old owners. I haven't gotten around to replacing these hideous monstrosities. I've been going between scarves in a heavy fabric (like 2-3 per window so that they touch the floor) or do formal drapes. Any suggestions?

Day 28: Up & Out

Oh my gosh! I didn't even know I was committing crimes when I read this one! Your drapes should be up and out far enough so that it barely covers the actual window. Look at the before and after of this hallway curtain. Much better, right?

Day 29: Proportion and Relation

I used to have a huge old window above this small console table. I replaced it with this gorgeous mirror about a year ago. Other than that, I don't have portion control problems in my house. I've learned my lesson!

Day 30: Rescue Something

I rescue tons on things from my parents as well as my husband's. Here are some rescued objects.

Day 31: Incorporate the Season

I'm not much for decorating for the seasons. I'm too lazy to keep taking things out of boxes and boxing up others. Too much work. But I do have pumpkins from the kids, and I love having pine cones in this dish.

Wow, that's a lot! It was a fun, productive month for me! Thank you The Nester for having such fun ideas! And thanks for forcing me to make my house a "better dressed nest."

Crock Pot Sloppy Joes

Crock Pot Sloppy Joes

----------------------

-2lbs. ground beef
-1 large onion
-1green pepper
-a bit of Worcestershire sauce
-about a cup (less for chunkier, more for soupier) ketchup
-1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
-1/3 cup brown sugar, packed tightly
-a little bit of garlic powder
-salt and pepper to taste



Directions
------------
1. Cook the ground beef in a pot until browned and crumbled.
2. Stick your onion and pepper into a food processor (cut it into large chunks first) until it's finely chopped.
3. Stick the ground beef, onion and pepper mixture, as well as the remaining ingredients into the crock pot and stir well.
4. Cover with a lid and cook on LOW for 4-6 hours. (If you decide to do this on high, cook for 2-3 hours)


I love sloppy joes, but unfortunately, my husband doesn't. That doesn't matter tonight! He won't be home for supper, so I'm going to indulge!



And of course, here's your sneak peek for today!
What a lovely bow!

Anyways, I need about 2 more days until I can show you the staircase. My mom's snaking out my drain tonight, and then I'm knocking out all of my laundry. But I promise I won't make you wait much longer.

And it will be about 1 more week before I do the BIG REVEAL!

Stick around!

Fridges, washers, and headaches

I told you that I was getting two major purchases soon. Well, it's a new fridge and washer.

Here's my new fridge:

Yes, there's already all of my junk all over it.

Two problems: 1. I didn't have a water hook-up for the water and ice dispensers , but I installed the plumbing ALL BY MYSELF!!! 2. The outlet is on the side of this "fridge cubby" in my walls. The cords get in the way of moving this all the way back, so now it's sticking halfway out into my kitchen. My step dad is re-wiring that this Sunday, THANK GOODNESS!

But it wasn't easy going to get this fridge. I had to learn a very useful Craigslist lesson. Don't buy anything electrical if it's far away! I asked this guy 5,000 times if the fridge I was purchasing worked well. He assured me that it did. I get there, it doesn't work. I'm so pissed that he says he'll give it to me for free. My brain fogged over with the word free.

Did anyone else know that it costs money to drain the freon in order for a fridge to go to the dump? I forgot =P So now I'm paying $30 for a fridge that I got swindled into taking:

There it is hanging out in my driveway waiting to be taken away.


And you all saw my Yooper fridge. It's still hanging out on my back deck waiting to be delivered to my in-laws' house. Their garage fridge tanked on them.

So with the two fridges that I'm getting rid of, my new fridge, plus my garage (beer) fridge, there are FOUR fridges here! It's looking pretty white trash around here.....lol.

Anyways, so with that headache done, I finally got my new washer. I'm so excited because my laundry is piled to the rafters.

We run the first load......and OF COURSE my pipes are clogged. Luckily, my mom has a crazy heavy duty snake, so she's coming to snake out my drains tonight.

Do you ever have one of those days (or 2 weeks....) where it seems nothing can come easily? Or go right?

Stick around for some awesome things I have brewing.