the Decorating Chica

All over blogland, during the month of January, we've been reading about the "Imagine the Impossibilities" challenge. After reading about this challenge on blogs every where I turned,  I decided to take the plunge and jump in! My impossibility? Half "pony" walls that separate my entry way and living room. They are the bain of my existence. The walls, like every other wall in my house, are textured and are featureless and blah. Even the flooring is at different heights and does not transition well. To top it off, the right side is plopped in the middle of a short wall that has a doorway on each side of it, both leading into the same room. Who designed this anyway? I would love to know what they were thinking. Talk about a waste of space. (seriously don't look at the mess in the kitchen, this is the 'normal' for our house of 3 boys). So, I took the plunge and decided to buck up and challenge myself to do something about these walls that...

A brand new year. A fresh start. New Year's Resolutions. All an opportunity for new beginnings. Sometimes our homes need a fresh facelift too! You've heard of staging? Well, it's time to stage your home. Not to sell, silly, but to give it that fresh start that is long overdue. Plates that were once hung over a picture in our dining area have found a new home over the kitchen sink on the inside of the cupboards.  These plates hung in this spot for a couple of years before they were rearranged.   Bakers rack was given to somebody else and all chachkeys were moved to new locations and given new life.   Bakers Rack (above) found a whole new home at somebody elses place and was replaced with this buffet. Take a look at your house and start imagining the possibilities. You can give your house a whole new look by switching things up and moving things around. Tired of those pictures that have hung on your living room wall for the past few ...

Pin It Well, is the Cabin Fever hitting anyone yet? We are in the heart of winter in Michigan and that brings a lot of dull, dreary weather and traps us indoors. Two days ago it was 5 degrees (se-rious-ly!) with a bunch of snow. Last night, it rained like a fool along with a bunch of thunder and lightening. Only to wake up today to 49 degree temperature (at 8am). But wait, don't blink your eye because it's supposed to get colder this afternoon and the rain turn to snow. Did I say FUN? Sometimes it gets hard to find things to keep those little guys occupied during this season of snow, and rain, and cold. I found a great playdough project at a kindergarten event that I went to and I use it in my job all the time. Now, I bet you are curious where I work, huh? This project is not only bright and cheerful but cheap? In fact, you probably already have the ingredients in your home! It's Kool-Aid Playdough. You won't believe how it's made! It is soo...

I have been reading about this challenge all over and, honestly...I've been avoiding it. Oh, I have a lot that I could list under this title believe me. But, the p ressure thought of pushing myself to overcome said challenge by the end of the month?

Pin It This is the weekend to honor junk over at  Funky Junk Interiors  and I am a well-known junker in my part of the world. In fact, one of my best friends confessed to grabbing a table out of her neighbors garbage and said it was my fault! Yikes, what an influence I have on my peeps! All in all, this project only cost  me $10 f or the chalkboard paint. This project started with the frame you see below. When we were clearing out my hubby's grandmas house, I quickly grabbed up this find. It was not much to speak of (wish I had pictures) but once I pulled out the print and gave it a paint treatment it was great in my dining room. Originally there were 2 similar types of frames/print although not a match. I gave them the same paint treatment (the dining room wall color as a base coat with a white crackle finish over the top) and hung both together as empty frames. G R E A T conversation piece. Nobody could understand why I woul...

There once were two night-stands who stood strong and tall And served a big purpose to one and to all Over the years they grew tired and drab But now have been under a major rehab. Enjoy! Night stand sans drawers being prepped for sanding. Close up of the drawers after sanding. The old forest green stain on the drawers. After paint and new hardware. The Power of Paint! Linking up today with: http://www.domestically-speaking.com/ http://wearethatfamily.com/ \Show and Tell at BLUE CRICKET DESIGN Transformation Thursday at http://www.theshabbycreekcottage.com/ Strut Your Stuff at http://www.somewhatsimple.com/ Treasure Hunt Thursday at http://frommyfrontporchtoyours.blogspot.com/

This past summer we F I NA L LY got our porch pillars replaced. I wish I would have thought to take pictures of what they looked like.  Suffice it to say that one of the pillars was not even mounted into the porch floor due to a certain yellow lab  and a few chipmunks. She may look pretty and sweet but boy, when she is chasing chipmunks, she is a  wildabeast  umm, I mean  a hunter first and foremost!  Myndi the wildabeast! So, that and the fact they were just plain ugly my hubby finally replaced them with some beeeeautiful new ones. This left us with a pile of 1x6 boards that both me and my hubby looked at for several days laying out in the yard. Of course, my mind was churning the whole time thinking about what I could do with those boards. Boy was I surprised when my hubby said to me "you should reuse those boards somehow." Wow, guess we've been married a little too long...he's even starting to think like me! Boards laid out for sizing and cutti...