Book Rails from Old Weathered Wood

I should start by telling y'all that Ana White has the most amazing plans and tutorials for the home. These book rails were inspired by the book rails that she has in her daughter's room:

Aren't they adorable?! Ana has great plans!

We had this weird thing by our front door when we moved in, it was wooden and had ivy all over it. I don't think that I have a photo of that crazy weird thing. Really, it scared me since I always imagined someone hiding behind it when I get home... so we tore it down, took it apart, and had the wood sitting on the side of our house for over a year. Weathering to perfection. Last week we turned them into these book rails, and I'm in love!

It makes our tiny hallway look way larger and it is so functional. Finally we have space to put all of our books in one family library!

Do you have books all over your house or a family library?

Tough night as a step mom...

I'm not too emotional on the internet. Really, I allow many things to roll off of my back. But tonight is a tough night and I need to vent. I chose to do it on my blog for two reasons, first off, I don't even know if anyone even reads what I post or even cares about what I post and second if anyone is reading, I'd like to know that there is someone out there who can either relate or mutter some words (that I'll later repeat to myself) that could guide me through future tough nights like this. The truth is, they happen about once a month.

You see, my bonus daughters come stay with us every third weekend, then we have them for 9 consecutive weeks during the summer. They live in Bend, Oregon. It's 3.5 hours to drive there and 3.5 hours to drive back from there; over the big mountain (Hood) and through the snow Dec-March/April. My amazing husband makes this drive on every third Friday after working a full day at work; he drives all the way down and brings them all the way back. They usually get home around 9:30 pm, which is pretty late for a 4 and 6 year old. We feel it is important to be a family and for them to know that we are family. So we do it. I spend most of my day on the friday that he leaves cleaning the house and preparing meals for the weekend so that we can spend most of our time together having fun. I also spend a lot of time worrying about David being in the car in those weather conditions.

Every time he picks them up the little one always throws a total fit. And his heartbreak starts all over again. They both break their daddy's heart. I hate standing by to see that. It's the same things every time that we talk to the little one about what's wrong and why she doesn't want to come to her Portland home. "You never buy us anything." And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen! All of the things that I have come to despise about our modern American culture is being instilled in these two little girls who happen to (also) call me mom. They get every little thing that they ask for.

What ever happened:
To discipline?
To working for what you have?
To taking care of the things that you own?
To using your imagination to entertain yourself?

I could seriously cry. And maybe I have. a little. or maybe a lot.

We have rules in our house and we will stick to them. No matter what.

Although they are not here all the time during the year, they are here for the majority of the summer. They have a little brother who adores them. I don't want them to infuse him with the ideals that have been set by the woman they spend most of their time with. Period.

Don't get me wrong, I love them. It is very hard sometimes, and I struggle with the guilt of "do I love them enough?" But honestly, during the summer when they are at their Portland home, they have manners, they use their muscles, they do chores, dress in modest clothing, listen to actual kids' music and turn into absolutely delightful little girls.

Now, please, if you have read this rant of mine, say something. Anything that I can repeat as a mantra to get me through the next tough Friday night. It'll be here in about 3 weeks.

And if you have stuck around to read all of this, thank you. It is raw and real.

xo
Lauren

Ikea Storage Box Facelift!!

I have the Expedit room divider from Ikea, and I am in total revamp mode this new year. It needs some updating along with everything else in this house. I want to freshen it up, add some pops of color and spend very little money doing it. When I say very little money, I mean that I want to only drop a couple bucks on this redo. 

We have a ton of red in our home, which we both love, but we are trying to incorporate a bit more turquoise as well. We are inspired by our Chirp china by Lenox that also adorns our room divider.

Here's a photo of it:

I decided that I would just update the Ikea Expedit storage boxes that I have by painting them turquoise. This was one project that I started off holding my breath and dropping all attachment to what it *should* look like. I even decided that I'd start with the bottom of the box just in case I messed it up! It turned out waaaaaay better than I would have ever thought.

Seriously, isn't this adorable?! 

This technique actually made the box, which is really made out of cardboard look like wood!! It looks way more quality and shabby chic!

You want to know how I did it?

Grab your supplies:

1. Ikea Box old or new

2. Paint: I used Craft Smart Turquoise

3. DuraClear Varnish

4. Paintbrush

5. Fine 220 or higher grit sandpaper 

Step 1.

Paint your box

Step 2.

Sand your box all over making sure to get the edges and select areas that you want the under lying color to show through.

Step 3.

Wipe the paint dust off.

Step 4.

Paint Clear varnish on the box, be aware of the brush strokes, they will show up unless you use a roller. I like the brush strokes on this particular project. It gives the illusion of wood grain. 

Step 5.

Let it dry and smile from ear to ear because you are finished and your box looks amazing!

I have more painting to do. I might paint a couple boxes white and let the red show through... options, options!

I love it!!

What project have you worked on that turned out better than you thought it's be?

xo, 

Lauren

*I linked up to Faith, Trust, and a little Pixie Dust! 

Some DIY Inspiration

So Preston and I went to Homegoods and Marshalls with the intention of inspiration. While he chomped on his banana flavored mum-mums I snapped some photos of things I'd like to DIY. These three things really spoke to me!

I love this night stand/end table with little lockers- swoon!

(Homegoods)

I'm digging the stripes and the curves of this piece of furniture. But not the yellow.

(Homegoods)

In this photo, it's kind of hard to tell what this is, but I'll tell you...it's a basket made out of chicken wire.

 so. freakin'. cute.

(Marshalls)

Yes, these photos were snapped with my iPhone, so not the best shots ever. But this is better than reality tv, y'all! ;)

What's at the top of your DIY list?

Utilizing space under the couch!

I have mentioned that I have been going nuts on this house organizing. 

While this is not the fanciest thing that I have ever come up with, it is functional and clean. I went a little crazy at Target buying containers during their home storage sale last week. Ok, I went a lot crazy. I totally fell in love with these containers that are similar to the under the bed storage containers by Sterilite only they are half the length and way easier to maneuver. I am tired of having things out all over the place, so much of our storage is out in the open which is cute, but seriously y'all, enough is enough! 

So... here it is: 

Very unassuming, right?! Just Preston's little pal Scout chillin' on the couch. 

(With a little blur in the photo, I just could not get any great shots today!)

But look what is under that wrinkled little couch skirt!

There's our storage! Right underneath the couch, isn't that refreshing?!

I even made these awesome little labels!

I had David laminate them at work then we sealed them on to the containers with packing tape. Since one of our little girls loves to destroy things we wanted to make sure they were super secure.

A place for everything and everything in its place!!

Have you jumped on the organizing band wagon this year?

Thrifty Organization Solution for the small stuff...

Now, I need to let you know that I might be a little too excited about this storage solution!!

I have some make up that I use every day and then some for back up and some for special occasions, you know, different eye shadow colors and different kinds of eyeliners. The makeup that I use daily lives in the top drawer of the master bathroom, right next to my tooth brush... All of the other makeup was in a really cool roll up bag (from Mary Kay), but was adding to the clutter feeling in our space. I have been overhauling this house this past week and although Target has had an incredible sale on storage solutions, I keep finding little things that I want to change spur the moment. I have got to put a limit on spending somewhere! Today, I came up with a very simple and thrifty storage solution for all of this extra makeup from things that I already had! Love it when that happens!!

I had these blue paper cups left over from Preston's first birthday party, and empty plastic shoe box and an empty tea box from some raspberry tea we just finished drinking. Look how nicely it all fits! Everything has its own place in a little cubby :)

The lid snaps on just right with those eyeliner pencils laying down in the tea box. I don't have it pictured here, but I also have two bottles of perfume that I put in the middle of the box, this keeps my cups from sliding around. You could use tape on the bottom of the cups if you wanted.

Now this spare/excess/special occasion makeup has its own space and lives snuggly in the cabinet of the master bathroom, and I didn't spend a dime!

What is a clutter creator in your bathroom?

I linked up to A Bowl Full of Lemons!

Washcloth Cupcakes- a baby shower gift

My sweet friend is going to a baby shower this evening and needed a gift, so I whipped up a batch of washcloth cupcakes. Don't they look delightful?! Two washcloths per cupcake, the mommy-to-be digs primary colors! As a momma, I know you can never have too many washcloths with a little one. There's always something to wipe up!

So I have been away from my computer for a couple of days working on some major house overhaul and some incredible storage solutions as well as some diy projects. Stay tuned for some tutorials and shots of what has been going on around the Dannerville Manor!

What is your favorite baby shower gift idea?

*I linked up to Faith, Trust, and a little Pixie Dust!