IKEA Hemnes Night Stand Makeover

I found this on Pinterest and freaked out a little. I liked it so much, I thought I could try my hand at updating my four year old Hemnes night stands from IKEA.

This was a $6 makeover. $5 for a tiny can of stain and $1 for the two foam brushes. I could have used stain and foam brushes that I already had, but I'm pretty sure the stain is in the garage is either a. frozen or b. dried out because I didn't put the lid back on it all the way. And the foam brushes? I know I have some, I just figured it was easier to buy them rather than rummaging through the house. The paint I had on hand.

Before:

After:

And now for staged photos with random props gathered from my house:

Bon Voyage Note Cards - Gift from Ashley

White Ceramic Owl - Gift from my mother

Gray & White Tray - Ikea circa 2010

And check me out. Pizazzing up the insides!

Wrapping Paper cut to size - IKEA circa 2010

You were pretty cute before little thing, but you're fitting the beach cottage chic of my bedroom even better now!

Stain: Minwax Red Oak

Paint: Martha Stewart Driftwood

Both available at Home Depot.

If you're thinking of tackling a small project like this, it's easy! You could get away with purchasing a tester bottle of the Martha Stewart paint for around $3, a small can of stain for $5 and a couple foam brushes (one for the paint, one for the stain). I applied two less than perfect coats of paint with a large foam brush and three coats of stain. I wanted a worn, shabby look, so in between coats I sanded a bit with an ultra fine sanding block I had on hand and rubbed a little stain along the edges of the drawer and door. 

And that's that! Hope you enjoyed!

diy: wine bottle lamp

I was never much of a wine drinker before. But now, quite often. Often enough to have a few empty bottles lying around. I've come across the idea on Pinterest in the past and thought it might be fun to try.

Yesterday I took down our Christmas tree. I packed up everything and had it all ready to be stored away when I realized I hadn't packed two strings of lights. Instead of opening the boxes back up and packing them away, I started furiously stripping labels from wine bottles.

I fed the lights through the top of the bottle and doctored up the back. There are other ways of doing it for a cleaner look. Battery powered lights in the bottles, drilling holes or cutting the bottoms out, etc. I took the lazy crafter's way, and I'm still happy with it.

If you're interested in more information about wine bottle lamps, here are a few links: one & two

dear ashley,

Here's a peek. Let me know when you get it.

- C

weekend mornings

It's my first day off after a full week back to work. We slept in until 8:00 & spent time lounging in bed. Now I sit here in the quiet on this blustery island morning, enjoying a hot cup of tea. Love lazy mornings.

good day sunshine

Today I woke up to this chubby face. I heard him wiggling around in his cradle before my alarm went off, but that's normal for him. As it sounded, he started to babble. I jumped right up. There he was, big smile on his face. He's never awake that early! I got in some good quality cuddle time before work. He really makes getting out of bed right when the alarm goes off, the easiest thing in the world.

You say goodbye, I say hello

2011 was a whirlwind. I've made pretty lofty goals for myself the last two years, none of which I've followed through. This year I have goals I'm hopeful to see through, but they're much more manageable.

1. Take care of yourself!
We all make health and fitness goals, and really, how often do we actually accomplish them? No goal this time. Just a promise to do things that make us healthier, happier people. Be more active. Eat more vegetables. Eat more meals at home.

2. Family is forever!
Now that I'm back to work, I miss Ryan like crazy and I sure see Jim less. With 12 hour shifts, I don't get a lot of you're with either of them. It's time to start making it count! Male the best out of the 30 minutes of family time we get on those days and continue to show Ryan how much we love him.

3. Money matters!
I sure love to shop, no secret there. But this year I want to be more mindful with our money. Less spending and more saving. Instead of buying lots of little things we might not need, save money for the big things we will use for a long time. Meal plan and grocery shop more wisely. Stop buying beauty products I won't use consistently.

4. Finish a half marathon!
This is the only "lofty" goal I have this year. I want to lose my baby weight so badly, I'd do just about anything to get it. I registered for a half marathon with a fellow mom of mine and I'm going to complete that thing even if she has to drag me across the finish line. I was training for one in 2010 and never showed up on race day. I'm not making a big training plan or a time to finish the race in, I just want to finish.

Those are my goals for the year! Hope you'll help keep me accountable and maybe even share your goals with me. Inspire me!

-C

Baby blues

There's not a lot, it seems, that Ryan takes from me. Besides the red hair, fair skin and chubby cheeks, I'm not sure you'd know he was mine. He came out looking identical to his daddy

While waiting for the ferry a few days ago, I noticed something spectacular! Ryan's eyes are changing color. They started out a pretty dark blue-gray, but now a beautiful golden brown spot has started to grow. Just like mommy! I have hazel eyes with lots of fun golden brown spots and speckles. Needless to say, I'm thrilled.

Thanks Ryan, for finding something to share with your mommy!