Peek-a-boo!

I busted through that "roadblock" on my BIG REVEAL!

So now I'm just doing a few minor touch-ups, and it will be done!

Unfortunately, I don't have much time to do it today.

I'm going to try REALLY hard to get this posted by the weekend. But don't hate me if it's later!

I'm not even going to explain how busy this coming week is. It's brutal.

BUT I will give you a peek!

Mountains? I don't know....

Awesome Auction Find!

It's no secret that auctions are my weak spot.

Garage sales are okay, but I LOVE the rush, the competition, the racing of your heart as the bidding starts on the object you MUST have, when you go to an auction.

Back story? You betcha!

My parent's dragged me to tons of auctions when I was a kid. I never understood the point of them. Why not just put a price on it and sell it at a garage sale?

I'll tell you why: NO ONE would have put a $5 price tag on a boudoir bench:

Sure, it's pink. But with a little reupholstering, I'm going to have the classiest bedroom around, lol. I fell in love, what can I say?

It's the end of the auction season around here, so this auction, everything was going incredibly cheap. I also picked up an electric hedge trimmer for $2. It's one of the nice ones with the guard and everything.

If you're not in the auction circle, you need to be.

I also got this little bird cage at a thrift store for 79 cents:

With some white paint and a cute decorative stone bird in there, it'll be perfect for my daugher's room. She's spoiled =D



And of course, I'm not forgetting your sneak peek for today:

I hit a road block on the BIG REVEAL. I can't figure out how I'm going to do this awesome project that I have in mind. I'll do a bit of research, and hopefully I'll be able to show you this soon!

Oh, and did I tell you that I already have the next BIG REVEAL planned? I've never been so excited to start something, stick around for that one!

Etiquette For Gift Giving

With hectic Black Friday (the biggest shopping day of the year) coming up, I see it fitting to give a little etiquette lesson to anyone buying gifts for people, especially on that day. I've acquired little bits of information from my job, mistakes as a gift giver, and from receiving gifts. This is what I know:

1. Always give a gift receipt. Always!
Even if the person specifically asked for the item you are purchasing, so you know they want it, get a gift receipt. They may have already purchased it for themselves, or someone else may have. No one wants duplicates.

2. If they made a registry, use it!
Nothing is more frustrating than knowing that all the time you've spent making a registry was useless. The recipient will get double of things they didn't want in the first place. I've seen many an angry bride from this one! I registered for some power tools for my wedding. Yep! A lot of people were critical of me for it, but I HAD most of the servingware I needed! Thank you to my two cousins for sticking to my registry! You guys are awesome!

3. Just because you like something, doesn't mean someone else will!
Though it's cute, I hate watching elderly ladies bring up ugly Christmas sweaters for their teenage daughters. Yes, it would look cute on you, but your granddaughter's friends will make fun of her for wearing it. Don't embarrass her!

4. If you re-gift, make sure the original gift giver doesn't find out!
Re-gift in a different friend or family circle. Of course, if you have the original gift receipt, all the better!

5. If someone gives you specific details for a gift list, don't take artistic freedom with it.
Oh man, I've got tons of funny stories on this one, but I won't go into details. Basically, listen for brands, models, colors, etc. If someone takes the time to list specifics, then it must be important. Pay attention to them!

6. Don't make fun of what someone wants for a gift (or call it stupid).
Not only is it rude and tacky, but there's a decent chance that the person wanting the gift will find out and broadcast your tackiness all over the internet. Haha, this one's for me =)

7. Always get a card.
We all know that kids don't really care about the cards, but some parents keep them. I've kept all my kids cards from their 1st birthdays, baptisms, baby showers, etc. It may help them remember loved ones that have passed.

8. Try, try, try to be punctual!
Nothing says "I don't care" more than a late gift. Did you forget?

9. Gift cards are ONLY for extended family or distant friends.
My uncle gave me a gift card for Menards once. Can you imagine how giddy I was? It was like letting a kid loose in a candy store. I loved it!
Now if my mom would have done the same....not so much.
Your mom doesn't want a gift card to Younkers on her birthday, she wants you to have a mother/daughter or mother/son shopping day at Younkers. Be classy, people!

10. And lastly, if someone returns a gift, don't get upset.
Maybe you didn't follow these rules, maybe they just didn't need it. Yes, there could be a chance that the outfit you picked out is hideous to them. So what? Get over it, because it's the thought and love that count, right?


I hope this aids everyone with such a wonderful holiday (and shopping event!) coming up. And remember: Be kind to the store associates!!

Staircase Reveal

Better late than never, they say, right? Well, I know that I'm a day late on this one, but at least you'll have a great read for a lazy Sunday afternoon, right?

Anyways, as promised, you get to see my staircase walls redone.

Here's a picture of the stairs before the project began:

Here's my sad, blank wall (note the awesome drywall seam the previous owners left me):
I decided that I wanted two black floating shelves on this wall to give it a contemporary feel. Most hardware stores carry them, but I didn't feel like paying $50.
So I put on my workshop (i.e. husband's) shoes and started sifting through my scrap lumber:

I made a tool for my table saw so that I could get a uniform cut through my lumber. I took a strip of 1/2x3/4 trim and nailed a block to it the distance from the blade that I was going for:
I sent the 2x4s through the blade, and this is what it should look like afterwards:

To attach these to your walls, screw some L-brackets into the studs of your wall. MAKE SURE IT'S LEVEL! Then press your the mounted L-brackets through the slits of the shelves. Screw in place.
Now, of course the ends will still have that slit showing, so just close it up with some wood putty. Let dry and sand

Now comes the fun part!

The shelves were painted black in a high gloss.

The stairs were my favorite part to do. The faces were painted white, then I nailed black house numbers to the front of each step:

I hung up the wreath that I made:

I bought some wooden letters and painted those black:
My favorite accessory: a chess/checkers set that I got at Younkers for only $15. It was on sale for $30, but I used a $10 off coupon, plus my discount. Nice, right? The best part: it's squares are made to put little pictures in! I love it!
The kids aren't allowed to play with this one unless their dad or myself is present to supervise.

Anyways, what do you do with all those checkers/chess pieces? Put them in jars!

The bow was added to the jar to give a little punch. The sister to that bow is hiding in my BIG REVEAL =)

The rest of the pieces that wouldn't fit in the jars were scattered around the self to give an eclectic feel.

Then I found this awesome big wooden star at Goodwill. I didn't want to change a thing on that. It has a big whole in the center. It reminded me of this 4th of July napkin ring that we had on Yellow Dot at Younkers. I bought it for only 75 cents (hate me, haha) and painted it black. I stuck the little one in the big one:

I found some accessories at Goodwill that I really liked:
Then I hung some photos up:
And then I was done!

Here are a few shots of the overall look:


From the top:

From the bottom:

I stuck pretty close to my plans.

So do you like it?

Anyways, the big reveal is coming up. I'll let you in on a little secret: the big reveal is the landing at the top of these stairs. A little forgotten nook. Remodeling that space has made such a huge difference. I can't wait to show you!

Coming up: My Heart Attack Find at an Auction, Etiquette for Gift Giving, and more sneak peeks!

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 ;)