crowning touch {kitchen and master bed/bath}

LOCATION.LOCATION.LOCATION.  isn't that what you always hear when you purchase a house?  i totally agree with that statement.  

but immediately following that, i would say DETAILS.DETAILS.DETAILS.

details make a beautiful home.   well-selected finishes, beautiful light fixtures and faucets, amazing moldings.  

and i love moldings.  it just says 'i have thought of everything.'  the crowning touch.  after all, it isn't called crown molding for nothin'.

these spaces are perfect examples.

                                                                               Source: elementsofstyleblog.com

                                                     

                                                                           Source: houzz.com via Julie on Pinterest

 

                                                                         Source: bhg.com via Susanne on Pinterest

in our own home, the dining room came with some beautiful details. crown molding and wainscoting, to be exact.

and a bit of crown molding in our master bedroom.

but then.... it just stopped.

all of our common space is open to one another  - foyer, family room, kitchen and formal dining.  but our crown molding stopped as the dining room transitioned to the kitchen.

our master bathroom also had crown molding, but not in the tray ceiling.  what the heck?  it looks like the builder just got tired and quit.

this crown molding project has been on our list for a while now.  finish the crown molding from the dining room into the kitchen, finish out the tray in the master bedroom and crown the master bath.  {we can't crown our family room because of the vaulted ceilings}.

after three years, the downstairs crown molding is complete.  i wish this is a project that i can say we did ourselves but it's just not the truth.  i don't think david & i could have done this - nailguns, air compressors, mitre saws.  no thank you.

we hired a carpenter by recommendation of a friend.  it was worth every penny.  he came in on a thursday and was finished by friday at 2 pm.  he moved our furniture, hung the crown, painted the crown molding and touch up the wall paint as needed.  he even cleaned up his mess {cue the angels singing!}

i love the results!

it is truly the crowning touch!

tray redo

i found this tray at kirkland's and i love the size.

 the distressing and handles are awesome.

but the color - not so much.  it is a great color but doesn't work with the scheme i've got going on.

remember nifty turquoise?  i had some extra paint so i decided to use in on the tray.

i simply removed the handles with a phillips head screwdriver.

to preserve the distressing, i rubbed wax over the areas.  i just used a small tea light candle.

the wax doesn't allow the paint to adhere to the area it has been applied.  cool trick, huh?

i painted two coats of nifty turquoise onto the tray.  i didn't even prime it - 'cause i'm a rebel like that!

once the paint is dry, gently rub fine grit sand paper over the edges where the wax was applied.  the paint will slub right off.

 i love seeing the green peeking through.

i reattached the handles and parked this tray in the corner of our kitchen countertop.

 it's the perfect place to corral phones, our owl cookie jar, art jar and coupons.

sidewalk chalk paint

do you pinterest?  sometimes i wonder how i crafted, shopped and cooked pre-pinterest {if that's even a word}.

i pinned an idea for sidewalk chalk paint a while back.  i couldn't wait for the weather to get warm enough to try it.  

ToDaY was THE day.

 

                                                                    Source: laraandgillian.blogspot.com via courtney on Pinterest

this project couldn't get any easier.  really.


mix equal parts water and cornstarch. stir.

i divided it up into multiple jars. drop in a few drops of food coloring.  relid and shake, shake, shake.  
don't overdo it on the food coloring - it can stain your sidewalk/pavement.

 that's it.

the liquid will separate but just shake again.  

you have to make these right before you use them.  the cornstarch will start to harden if you wait.  this is a one time use, so don't over do it.  this batch was 3 cups of water + 3 cups of cornstarch.

and this little munchkin loved this project! i scored some 'cool mommy' points with this one.

 can you tell that she was enjoying herself?

and mama had a good time painting, too!

thanks, pinterest, for a fun saturday craft.


if you pinterest, you can follow me HeRe.

new jewelry {kitchen hardware}

but not the kind you are thinking of.
not a new necklace or diamond stud earrings.  no new rings or bracelets. not jewels for me.

for our kitchen & bath cabinets.

from the day we moved into this house, our kitchen has been our least favorite room in our house.  sounds crazy right?  usually a kitchen can make or break the purchase of a home.  it did in our last house.

but you see, we really liked the rest of the house.  and i have some vision of what could be for our kitchen.  i have the vision just not the C.A.S.H.  isn't that always the problem?

we've made a few strides in terms of our kitchen upgrades:

we got a new dishwasher

and although i never blogged it, we changed out our light fixtures from these flying saucers

to these new beauties

but something has bothered me from day 1 in this house.

the cabinet hardware.

something about it says 'southwest' to me.

but what makes me even crazier is how they get turned and don't line up.  UGH.

it's silly.  i know.  but i.just.can't.take.it!

i've been searching in stores and online for hardware but DANG that stuff can get pricey.  i should know this since i designed kitchens and baths in my former job.

i finally found some at a reasonable price on knob depot.

for under $150, we changed out all of the hardware in our house.

 i've always loved cup pulls!

 and these babies will always be lined up.  my OCD heart rejoices!

isn't it funny sometimes how little things make all of the difference?

i hope to continue to move this kitchen to a "look" that fits our style a little more but right now, i am happy with the small strides we are making!

disney live!

disney live came to town on sunday.  a friend heard the advertisement on the radio and told me about the show.  i was so thankful that she thought of camryn.  i just knew she would love it.  she is totally into the princess dress up right now.

the show is disney live! three classic fairy tales.  it is a 1 1/2 hour show and tells abbreviated versions of snow white, cinderella and beauty & the beast.

i bought the tickets a couple of weeks ago but didn't tell camryn about it until an hour before we left.  i can't believe i kept the secret!

mommy & camryn getting ready for girl's night out.

 camryn finally got to wear her new sparkle tom's.

 we had a quick snack before the show.  i could barely get her to sit still long enough to eat.

of course, i am a total pushover and had to buy her a piece of plastic garbage souvenir.  she opted for the magic wand that lights up.

 she keeps saying 'bibbity bobbity boo' with her wand.  i love it!

her face was priceless when the show started.  sheer amazement. it's that sparkle in our kid's eyes that make us do these silly things!

let me interject:
{i must confess that i have a hard time spending money on experiences.  memories are not tangible goods and i like to spend money on things.  it sounds superficial but not intended that ways- things like food, things/projects that add value to our home, even saving for the future and retirement.  things.
but with a young child now, i've had to let that go.  i have resolved this year, 2012, to be better at this.  hence, the circus, the disney show and a few other things in the works.  get over it, mommy!  it's memories that make life worth living!}

now, back to  our regularly scheduled program....

mickey, minnie, donald and goofy came out to introduce the show.  i think she may have peed her pants a little!

we were not allowed to take photos during the show.  it was OH.SO.HARD. not to snap*snap*snap away.  i wanted to capture every moment.

i did snap a few photos during the finale.  at that point, i figured they wouldn't kick me out.  along with the hundreds of other parents that were taking photos.

the show was amazing and i really enjoyed spending time with camryn.  she snuggled in my lap and would tell me all about the story as it was happening.  i love this little girl and making memories with her!

here's to more experiences in 2012!