LETS MAKE A KITCHEN CHALKBOARD ON A SNOWY DAY!

I love chalkboards! I have one on my pantry door I made quite some time ago, or should I say had one. Until today. But it was made on thin wood and was starting to warp. So I decided to take it down and make another. Only this time on the wall in the kitchen instead of the pantry door.

STILL NEEDS A BORDER OF SOME KIND

It's so easy to do them so I just decided on a whim to start it last night. That's me again. Poor planning. I ran out of painters tape and didn't have spackling to take care of previous nail holes. (Something I would have done if I planned this!) And I still need to do a border around it but its up for now. I can't figure out if I want to do a wood type frame -I was thinking a yardstick look- how cool is that thought?...

WAY OFF COURSE WITH THIS PAINT JOB

VERY subtle colors on it...maybe too subtle for my tastes.

So the painting of the coffee table went a little off course. I planned this and then planned that and then back again...I ended up painting the bottom white and the top grey and went for a checkerboard on the top of that. I failed. Major fail. But...

WHITE ON WHITE??? THE COFFEE TABLE BEGINS...

So the first coat is on the coffee table...and I'm kinda diggin the white. But I'm not sure if I want to keep it white? Or maybe, two tone it with possibly a dark top? Or do the whole thing colored....

MY JUTE RUG, GOD AND THE HOMELESS....WHAT'S GOING ON?

Let me start by apologizing to y'all. I know, you certainly don't come to this blog to be depressed. And that's not my intention. But this blog is about my life. The good, the bad and the ugly. And sometimes I gotta vent because I am more than someone who likes to decorate. So I will be back tomorrow with a little decor thing I am doing. But...

This evening I am overwhelmed. Not because of DIY or decorating issues. But with life's injustice. Here I am lamenting about my rug falling apart and money down the drain and well, God gave me a little nudge tonight. Somewhere, someone is wondering where he's gonna lay his head on this freezing cold night...

MY GORGEOUS JUTE RUG IS GOING BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, in a matter of just 3 days I've gone from over the top madly in love with my new 100% Jute rug to so very disappointed and sad in the fact that I have to return it. :( 
I mean, I truly can't tell you how much I love this rug! LOVE!!!

Waaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

But 3 days in and this is what it looks like... It is coming apart in about 4 different spots. The weave is actually coming apart and big, and I mean huge loops are sticking up! And they are not end pieces they are actual loops so you can not cut them. I could pull them back through the underneath but at this rate I'd be doing it constantly. I am just really sad about this. It IS a beautiful rug. 
I have dogs, kids, grandkids, and a hubby. So what to blame it on? The dogs nails? Grandkids playing? Shoes? Who knows? I haven't seen anyone "catch" on it so I really can't say. And since I saw the first one I have been on a vigilant "eyes wide open" rampage trying to figure out how it's happening. But not luck. 
Fortunately, thanks to the wonderful return policy of where I bought it online... I can return it. Sadly. Did I mention how sad I am????? And now I have to start all over and search for another rug to fall in love with....

Bloglovin’

So.... I started using BLOGLOVIN'  which I recently discovered and just love! So just to let you know, you can now go online and download the new App for Iphone. Yay!! It’s a really easy and practical App that will help you follow all you favorite blogs including me at Building Sand Castles in the Wind!! :)

IT'S HERE! MY NEW JUTE RUG HAS ARRIVED!!!

100% JUTE RUG

So my new rug has arrived. I bought it online and received it in just 3 days! I love the site and order almost everything from this store. As I mentioned in a previous post I am doing a very small budget friendly "redo" of my living room. I am still working on my family room so I don't want to spend a lot of time or money in this room right now but it definitely needed a minor face lift. I called it a "re set" in my previous post, but I guess that's wrong. In a 'reset' you would normally empty out your room and get a clearer picture of what you have. Take an entirely new look at your space. And then mostly using things you already have in the room or from other rooms, change it up. Mix it up. Rearrange and move things in and out of the room for a new fresh look. 
While I am indeed doing that, I am also buying a few new items and I am going to add an old fireplace I have sitting in the garage collecting dust. And possibly a faux surround for it. So I am doing a bit more than just looking at it differently and moving things around. 
I bought this new rug and a new love seat. As I said the rug was from (?)(edit:I have decided to remove the name of the company so as not to give them a bad rap. They are a wonderful online company and have a great return policy so I want to honor them) and I got a great price on it with a coupon code and shipping was only $2.95! The love seat was also very inexpensive ...(cheap). The room needed it badly. At this point the room, which used to be my favorite spot, has become a room filled with mismatched items, (thrown in until I find a place for them or get rid of them) and an over sized couch. And it needed some love because it has become a "walk though" room. You don't sit and stay, it doesn't draw you in or feel welcoming. So....
I am still waiting on the love seat to be delivered. From a different seller. I wish it had been from the same one because I have had nothing but problems with the delivery from this other dealer. We shall see.
But the rug is here!! It is 100% Jute. And it is extremely thick and comfy under your feet and yet very pliable to bend and pick it up to vacuum under. I just LOVE it and now I am getting very excited to get moving on the rest of the room. 
Don't mind the junk in the room that's all being painted or moved about. The coffee table is my next project. The way this picture is taken the rug looks much smaller than it is. It's really quite large. And its beautiful! I'll keep ya updated!!!!!!!!!!   (See the sad update here)!

The rug is very thick and is light tan, brown and flecked with grey. :)

MAMA'S LAMP

Just a little update. My mom gave me this lamp long ago. She had two of them and they were in our home while growing up for as long as I can remember. Although they looked much different. You read about my re-purposing household items here. 
But it has finally found its resting spot after years upon years in my garage. It seems like nothing to all of you I suppose but to me it's a lot. It says hello at my entrance and its says "mom" to me every time I walk in my door. :)

A little Cottage with a little Vintage

GOODBYE 2013.... HELLO 2014!!!!!!

Well, 2013 has come and gone. I started with so many ideas and good intentions for the year and fell flat on so many! I did get a lot accomplished though. The family room re-do and kitchen update were pretty great. But...oh well, here's to 2014! And a fresh start.

Here is a list of some of the things I hope to accomplish in the coming year.

The floors look great from a distance but up close...not so much.

1.) THE ENTRANCE. Refinish the hardwood floors.
Wainscoting on the stairway wall you see there.

Do you see these ugly stairs???????

Yes, we have a dog. 3 in fact. She was a puppy though, so she is forgiven. 

2.) THE UGLY STAIRS!!!! - YUCK!! I am so dreading this job! I know it's gonna be nasty and dirty. I hate even showing pictures of them! I need to rip up all the old carpeting. Sand, paint and finish off the stairs. I think it's simply beat up plywood under them so I may try staining them in a striped fashion to mimic hardwood. Or do the traditional black treads with white risers. I haven't decided yet. But anything would be better than the ugly carpeting on there now.

3.) THE LIVING ROOM. Short term - This room is just so boring and unfinished. I have been working on the other side of the house for so long that this room just got overlooked. I don't want to do a full remodel of anything -just a reset. I need to empty it out and take a new look. A couch or loveseat, companion chair and rug. Paint that coffee table!!!! Rearrange the entire layout of the room. But not a major redo...just tweaking....

Can't wait to paint the coffee table and get a new love seat and rug!! And then do a whole re-set here.

Although, I think I want to do a chair rail in this room? And maybe wainscoting that matches with the dining room that it opens to. You will notice that I would like to do a common theme of wainscoting throughout the downstairs. I think it adds such a gracious charm to homes. And a 2 story in the south begs for it!
4.) Dining room - Wainscoting. I had thought of doing the textured wallpaper that gives the illusion of wainscoting but I think I may save that for another project upstairs and just do the real thing here.
5.) Kitchen - New counter tops! Maybe a white solid stone???? A new backsplash? The kitchen was recently redone (new appliances, and an overhaul on the cabinetry). I would also like to add a wine cooler to the kitchen. Possibly under the counter. And maybe paint the one wall with a chalkboard paint.
6) Downstairs powder room. Paint, beadboard,shelving, and new vanity and sink.
7.) I would like to checkerboard paint my back deck. I saw it on Pinterest and fell in love!!! Check it out.....

8.) Finish my bedroom and master bath. I've painted both already. I want to paint the vanity and figure out some kind of window covering for the large bathroom windows. Finally get new bedding and new drapes are in order too.

9.) Family room, I may continue the wainscoting from the entrance into this room.  

And we won't even start on the front porch, painting the shutters and garage door, the flower beds, stamp the concrete around the pool, landscaping, etc etc etc.... First I must win the lottery and then...Oh well, then I can hire people!!! ugh....