Get dirrty.

Sorry, I couldn't resist channeling Christina for a second. I have so many little projects I have wanted to share with you, but when I asked on Twitter -- the vote was for the outdoor project, so here. we. go.

This one isn't nearly isn't as fabulous as the deck, and again, I feel like I'm probably preachin' to the choir. I'm sure most of you already know these tricks, but I like to share with the group. I'm nice like that.

When you buy your hanging baskets or plants, you can make them look like a million bucks by just replanting them out of the cheap plastic containers and into your own.

OK, they won't like a million bucks, but maybe $20.

I showed you these planters for the deck from Goodwill last week -- a steal at $2.99 each:

I had a vision for them, so I spray painted them and then wasn't sure if I was going to plant anything for the rest of the summer/fall. Who was I kidding. Unfinished projects make me twitch. Shake. Shudder. Itch.

I found some beautiful plants for cheap and got moving. Most of the time, your decorative pots will have holes on the bottom, but if they don't, or if you'd like to put more in them, all you need is a drill and a large drill bit:

Just put a few holes in the bottom -- for plastic containers, any drill bit should work. These planters are a weird fiberglass kind of material, so I used one made for cement. I put five holes in the bottom of each. As is mentioned, even if your planters have holes, you'll probably want to put a few more in. It never hurts to have a little more drainage. (I feel like I just said "holes" 15 times.)

Anyhoo, after that, instead of buying a ton of of expensive potting soil -- try this little trick. Keep the plastic planters from the plants you plant, (wait, huh?), and before you put the soil in, put the old plastic planters in first:

This is great for two reasons -- you'll use half the soil, at least. And they are soooo much lighter to work with when you're done. My grandma used to use charcoal on the bottom of her planters. I've also heard of using the foam packing peanuts. Those peanuts are expensive though -- so just use what you have!

AND, please don't buy the expensive potting soil they put out right up front at the nursery -- go to the back and use the cheaper bags -- they are harder to find but are about two bucks and change for a bag. You can sprinkle some Miracle Grow on the plants after if you want that in the soil. I've even used the cheaper top soil and mixed that in as well, and those are only a little more than a dollar a bag.

If your plant is a hanging basket, take the little clips off the planter first:
Then, to loosen the plant up to get it out, roll it around on it's side a few times, then shake it a bit and it should come out easily:

The great thing about this time of year is finding plants for el cheapo -- they are clearancing them out for the fall plants and you can find major deals. I found some Coleus plants at Menard's last for only $3.99 each -- SCORE!!

I have never planted Coleus before -- I wasn't sure about them at first. I walked right by and left them there, but they were are oddly beautiful to me. Kind of wild looking but I was a bit mesmerized -- I had to go back for them:

Gorg!! Hopefully they'll hang in there for a few more months!

Remember, fall is a great time to plant bushes and trees! I have no idea why it's a great time to plant bushes and trees! But it is!! Really, I think it's something about roots, before the cold hits, yadda yadda yadda. So keep in mind even as fall nears (YAY!!!!!!!), you can still work on the landscaping for a couple more months!

So glad you all loved my hole patchin' post. Please check out the comments for some really great tips -- you are all so brilliant! Sorry I have no clue what to do with plaster though -- anyone know how to patch that up?

My consult rates will be $20 starting Monday, so if you are interested, let me know before then! I'm thrilled to be working with so many of you -- thanks for your patience. Any new consults may be about two weeks out before I can get to you, but I will as soon as possible!

Update on the little guy & FOOOOOOOOD

I wanted to thank everyone so much from the bottom of my heart for all the kind comments, well-wishes & encouraging stories. Christian is doing really well & really doesn't even seem to mind his "big owie nose." He still seems to love dogs and has seen a few since the accident and he smiles & waves, so I guess he's not scarred emotionally, haha. (I think he'd have to get unscarred pretty quickly once we got home anyway... we have a dog, Ashby. He seems to miss her and has asked about "Happy" (how he says 'ashby") the "nice doggy." hahaha)

We takes walks by the lake everyday and he wears this adorable visor to shield his nose from the sun. (As soon as I can fix my computer I'll upload some pics) He hasn't gone in any water yet but is having fun playing in the sand.

Things are better between my dad & Dave... It's been rough for everyone but I'm hoping it's settling down... So, anyway, I wanted to tell you about one of my FAVORITE restaurants ever because we're going soon!!! It's Port Edward Restuarant in Algonquin, IL.

It's super-themey and even has a boat and a pond inside & I absolutely love it. It was opened in 1952. They have an amazing wine lounge and I can't even begin to talk about how awesome the food is. There are cool little secret rooms & lofts & as a kid I used to love walking around with my stepbrother & stepsister exploring. Christian is going to love it!!

Anyway, they have the best Sunday champagne brunch and every year we come we take the boat out in the morning and take the 3 hour boat ride to Port Edward and FEAST!!! You have to stay for hours and just take your time... So yummy!!! I love it because the long boatride in the morning feels like such an adventure... and I love the ANTICIPATION of all the great food!!! When we finally get there we're so hungry and it just hits the spot perfectly.

We're headed there soon & as soon as I can upload pics I'll show you what we've been up to.

xoxo,

lauren

Got Holes?

I almost titled this post, "The most boring post ever in the history of mankind," or, "Read this to your kids to help them fall asleep tonight." Or, "Warning: Drowsiness may occur as a result of reading this post."

But instead, I came up with "Got Holes?" Works, eh?

So if the builder in your house was towel rod happy like ours was, you've probably got lots of these:

I mean, they were giddy with these things. We had a loooong one in our powder room -- for bath towels. And there's no bath in there. Or shower. Giddy.

First off, if there are anchors in the wall (and builders are anchor-happy too), it's pretty easy to get them out. Take a pair of needle-nosed pliers and get in there and grab the anchor:

Pull it and it should come out fairly easily. If it won't, try pounding it back into the wall and through. Either way you'll be left with a massive hole. It will be way bigger than the anchor seemed to be, but just relax peeps! I got your back!

Next is my little trick I learned awhile back. If you go to fill the hole as is, it will take a ton of spackle to fill it in. Instead, before you fill, take some thick paper -- I've used grocery bags and lately these little annoying-as-crap mailers that come out of the magazines:

Tear off little pieces and stuff them into the holes:
This gives the spackle something to lay on and grab ahold of. (By the way, the fun little ring around the holes happens when you have zero patience after painting a wall and are dying to get the rods back up. Yeah. Don't do that.)

Then take your loverly spackle that you mostly use for these (textured stencils) and not what it's intended for:

And frost the holes with it. It's fun. Try it.

Keep frosting till you've covered the holes, using the scraper to take off the excess and then reapplying a few times. I like to leave a little smudge of extra on top so the holes are covered really well:

After it's dry sand it down a bit and reapply if needed. Wipe down after sanding well, wiping off all excess spackle you can. Then find your paint, freak out when all you have is the eggshell finish and not the semi gloss finish you need, say what the heck, no one will ever notice, and use a small foam brush to paint over the spots.

I have to tell you -- be very selective where you put anchors in your walls. Generally you will ALWAYS see where they were, no matter how well you patch them up. Anchors tend to pull the drywall up around them a bit, so the drywall is never quite flat. But I promise unless you are really looking, you will never notice them again:

See?? Told ya! If you are patching small nail holes, just use your finger and put a little smudge in the hole. Just a little dab. Just a smooch. Like you're kissin' your sister. (Name that movie!!)

It may just be because I'm the freak I am, but even the smallest changes make a huge difference to me. Before, the towel rod was the first thing you saw in our bathroom:

Now, it's my pretty little bench and my enormous shower curtain:

And the iron scrolly jobby isn't hanging at giant eye level anymore, it's at human eye level. All is right with the world. I filled about 14 holes yesterday, and it only took an hour, total, to do it all.

Easy peasy Squeezy! You go by Squeezy now. Just so you know.

Any other good patchin' tips? Share them in the comments!

Really Tough Day

Well, we made it to the lakehouse safe & sound - After driving all day Sunday- 13 hours later. Early yesterday morning around 6:00 (mon) my dad's dog bit Christian in the face. Christian was about a foot away from her and stuck his tongue out and she just launched at him from on the couch. Thank God Dave was right there and pulled her off. (I had noticed the dog acting a bit skittish around him the night before & we'd decided we would keep them separate but in the AM, so early, it didn't really register that she was on the couch & we should put her in another room... we were there for 2 seconds before it happened.)

We rushed to the emergency room in our pjs (and we're out in the country so it was like 45 mins away in Wisconsin) and his nose just looked like raw hamburger meat. He handled it so well. He stopped crying within a couple of minutes and just kept saying "doggie owie." It was the worst feeling trying to get there because we were following the GPS and roads were closed off and my little baby's nose was just covered in blood. We prayed & realized how much worse it really could have been- eye, throat, etc.

When we got to the hospital, they had to strap him down in one of those papoose things and he was amazing. "I'm tough" he said, haha. He had 4-5 bites and the one that worried me the most was this huge flap of skin on the top. It was so rough watching them stick the anisthetic needle in all of his wounds because he definitely screamed when they kept poking it in. Then they stitched him up for about 15 minutes and he kept saying "all done." I had to help hold him down on his tummy and it was just so hard to look into his little eyes and see how scared/ hurt he was. Just before the end of the stitches I got really dizzy & almost passed out so I had to sit down. It was almost like this weird relief that he was going to be okay and then just I couldn't stand anymore... or like all the adrenaline left and there was no more juice. They finished up and he played with some toys while they briefed us on the situation.

From there we got him some "eggs" (his big request) and went to a reconstructive surgeon who had helped my dad and she took a look at his "owie." She said it wasn't pulled as closely together as it should have been but the only other option was to put him under and have her redo the stictches. Not worth it. We're going back to see her in a week to check on everything.

Once it was all over and Christian was asleep in the car, the crying started. (haha from me) All we could do was thank God that he was okay. At the restaurant we stopped at when he woke up, everyone stared. It's kind of funny to watch the people who pretend they're looking somewhere past you as they slowly swing their heads around & take a good look and then another good look at nothing to your left. haha I really don't blame them-- it's not pretty and was seriously bloody. We have to keep the wounds uncovered but he can't go in the sun so he has a little visor to wear. No lake for a while so we're hoping it heals quickly so we can get this little guy some fun. He's doing great & is loving his new indoor basketball hoop Dave picked up at the drugstore.

Anyway, we're all in a strange spot right now--- insane relief tinged with some serious regret/ guilt/ anger/ sadness. My dad feels horrible--- both of his dogs are at a kennel right now and Quais (the one who bit Christian) is in quarantine. From now on whenever we come here, they'll be kenneled. I know Dave is upset that my dad's not going to put Quais down... I know it's just not in my dad to do it... So there's just a lot of tension right now. (pic below before)

Anyway, I usually only write posts when I have a strong feeling about something- be it happy or excited or something like this that I feel I need to get off my chest... So I'm not sure how much I'll be on for a bit... sometimes it's therapeutic so we'll see. Just check back & hopefully we get to some of the wonderful places I can't wait to show you. Oh, and also, my dad keeps doing stuff to his house. (haha I know, the audacity- HIS HOUSE! haha) But, really bad design choices and it's driving me crazy. It's a simple (beautiful) farmhouse frame with a wraparound porch and he's covering the outside of it in Victorian details- wagon wheels in the corners, ornate spindles with 2 paint colors, an Italiante fountain in the front yard... And I can't even get into the issues on the inside... So not sure if I'll have anything to show you in here. hahaha

ok, talk soon.

xoxo,

lauren

Making your plain books pretty.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!! I have gotten a ton done, and hope to still get more done this evening. I've done about ten loads of laundry. TEN people. Hate it with a burning, searing passion.

So for a little creative break, I worked on a quick project I've been wanting to do for a long time. Back when I showed you how to do my wallpaper art, many of you commented that you use wallpaper for many other projects too, including covering books. LOVED that idea!

On my Goodwill coffee table in our living room, I have a simple stack of books:

I always recommend taking the cover off your hardback books. It transforms them and makes them so much prettier. I've been pulling books from all over and from Goodwill, trying to make the sizes work just right. I'm a little DOCD (Decorating Obsessive Compulsive) about little things like that. I found plenty that work, but the problem was, I didn't like the color of the book, or the titles. I've told you before I have many, many issues.

I thought about using my wallpaper, but wanted something with a design. So I went to Hob Lob yesterday, coupon in hand, to find adorable wrapping paper, and wouldn't you know, they had nothin'. I mean, you've got to be kidding me nothin'. Because I was determined to find something, I checked out the fabric and found these:

Adorable. With just scissors and double sided tape in hand, I covered each book in the fabric. I just cut the fabric to size:

And then used the double sided tape to secure the fabric:

This does not hold extremely well, so if you want to be able to use the books, I'd recommend something like hot glue instead. Because we don't use these often, the tape works fine. Just keep in mind hot glue will ruin your Love to Last a Lifetime book from Goodwill though. Just so you know.

The result:

Oh how I love you, you purdy little books!! Soooo elegant!

Love them!!

Obviously, you could use just about anything to cover books. How cute would this be in a kitchen with cookbooks? Although I use mine all the time, so that may not work for me.

Snort.

**Just a little side note -- this is just a fun way to add some pop to a room. I love my uncovered books as much as anybody -- have them all over my house. This is a cheap and easy way to add some texture or color to a room if wanted. It's just for fun!

P.S. You may have noticed lately my little "blogicon" that shows up with my blog title in your browsing tabs, or in your bookmarks. Cara from RockSTARRMom.com was sooooo incredibly sweet to make one for me. I love it! Thank you Cara!!

P.P.S. If you have purchased a consult, I will get back to all of you this week!! Just a quick note to tell you all I'll be raising my consult rate just slightly -- probably next week. If you are interested in the consult for the $10 rate, get it to me this week! I'll give you warning before I raise the rates though.

Our Living Room: Going Green!!!

Well, I took the plunge. We decided on a bright mossy velvet for our sofa reupholstery. I can't find an image that looks like it exactly... It's a bit less limey/ more green than the pic above (house beauitful) and the cotton velvet is super-rich with lots of tonal variation.

We're doing a pair of these tight-back arm chairs from Martha Stewart in the ferny fabric (above) on the reverse (again, color is off):

Here's the exact shape of the sofa (Atlanta Bartlett)... and you must've known I'd have to have a back-up plan... We're also getting a white washable slipcover made for the sofa (exactly like the one below) for warmer months, kids, and so we can bring in any color scheme we want. (Ok, so I can bring in any color scheme.. hhahaha a like my husband really gets to the urge to reaccessorieze! ;) --- We're waiting on having the slipcover made until I feel the urge.. because I'm definitely really exited about the green right now. And... just so you don't think I'm really crazy with money/ flippant I should explain: We got the sofa off of craiglist for really cheap & the current fabric is really dirty. I really wanted to do white slipcovers, but we would have had to reupholster the fabric anyway because it was dirty/ old/ and striped, showing through the slipcover... SO I decided to reupholster it in a fun color so I could have the option to take off the slipcover. Now we'll just wait a few months for the slipcover.



We went with green because we really feel that it's true to the house and its connection with the outdoors. Green greets us from every view and I really want the interiors to be all about the views. (It's also both my & my husband's favorite color ;)



There will still be tons of white because you know I need that:



We bought these glass lamps from Arteriors Home for next to the sofa:







The plan is to tear out the carpet & do hardwood floors. We'll probably start out with seagrass rugs and eventually I'd love to find the perfect worn, antique (or antique-looking, I'm really not picky) patterned rug to layer over the seagrass in the living room. I also want to layer my favorite green fabrics and/ or use them as a skirted table in the open dining room. I want to bring on some old-fashioned florals:



Below is a room with a green sofa from the Martha Stewart furniture line:




Our Living room will be a bit softer, more blended but just to give you an idea.. I love how you can mix virtually any color with green- blues, aquas, pinks, browns, etc... getting pumped!! Since I'm crazy about green rightnow I figured it was time to join the Hooked On Houses blog party. Check it out!! Anyway, we're off to visit my dad at his lakehouse for some (finally!!!) rest & relaxation!!!!

I cannot wait to sit on the dock and swim & go boating & tubing!!! (notice how i'm screaming in the pic below and my husband is just relaxing .. hahahah)

Will be posting from there & hope to get lots done at the lakehouse to show you!!!

xoxo,

lauren

Clearing out the clutter.

Every time I've ever started a new job, I've always asked for a week off between the end of the old one and the start of the new one -- does anyone else do this?

I always felt like I needed a week to get my life completely in order before starting a new endeavor. It's like cleaning the house before you go on vacation -- I need my mind to be free of the stuff like laundry, crap, clutter, dishes, crap and more crap.

Knowing I was going to focus more on this blog, a couple weeks ago I started feeling like I needed to get the house under control. Yeah, the basement is organized (pretty much), my closets are beautiful and I know where to find things in my pantry...

BUT. Until last week, our garage looked like this:

Stop gagging, it's better now. I swear. Please don't enlarge the picture. Please. I couldn't take it anymore and during daycare and nap time a couple days that week, I hit it hard core. And it felt soooooo good people. It looks amazing now! I have one more project to finish in there and then I'll show you. I know you can barely stand it, you are so excited. I know.

My car has been my "office" for the past two years, and pair that with a two-year-old and let's just say I would never, ever, EVER subject you to the before pictures of that. It was reheheheeeeally bad. I spent one hour with trash bags -- one for trash, one for stuff to go back into the house. Now it smells yummy in there -- nice and clean. Not like before. Three little words -- "forgotten sippy cup."

I may know how to organize, but the paper clutter just sticks in my craw. (When's the last time you heard that phrase? Wordsmith, I am.) Seriously. I cannot handle it. I've tried just about everything, but the only thing that works is this big fat basket:

I just throw every random piece of paper I don't want to deal with into the basket. You'll notice the pile started on the side as well, and on top. Ummmm...it's not working so great. About every week, month, three months, I sit down and go through it. I finally did it last night and felt like a new woman.

Then I found this bag of crap from the car clean up:

Shakes fists in the air!!!! Curses!!

And now the garage is clean, the car is clean -- but this is the laundry room:

Have I mentioned how very, very much I hate laundry? Like, a lot. A lot a lot.

And in the middle of the paper and laundry and crap, I realize that buying four new pieces of drinkware has completely thrown my kitchen cabinets into a frenzy. I was trying to figure out how to fit all of these:
Into this:Ummmm yeah. Should I mention we only really use two wine glasses ever and for parties we use plastic cups? So why the need for fifty trillion glasses? I guess I keep having dreams of having a super posh party where everyone drinks out of real glasses and never breaks a single. one. Never gonna happen.

This weekend, I plan on getting rid of as much clutter as possible. It feels soooooo good folks! I challenge you to do the same -- even if it feels too big to tackle, you'll be surprised what just an hour can do. Try little bits at a time. Make room for large piles -- trash, put away and deal with later. You don't have to find a spot for every little thing right away.

You will feel like a new woman (and a couple men) afterwards, I promise.

I am so excited about your requests for consults and advertising!! I'm beyond thrilled and can't wait to get moving -- bare with me as I get through this weekend, and next week I'm all yours. ;)

P.S. I am so glad you loved the sewing table as much as I do!! Guess how old the Singer is? You'll never believe it -- 103 years old! Isn't that the coolest??

A Sweet Surprise: ( a casual) Tablescape Thursday

Saturday morning one of my best friends, Alissa, stopped over while we were gettting our lower level wall-to-wall seagreass carpet installed. I had to miss a little party some of our friends were having because I had to stay & supervise the install, so she brought over BREAKFAST!!! I've been meaning to do Tablesapes Thursday with Between Naps on the Porch for a while now & figured this was the perfect opportunity! (This one is definitely more food/ friend focused!)

Below is Alissa withher delicious goodies!!!

Now my husband's always said the way to my heart is through food. (He used to bring me beef jerky, not flowers, in college. hahaha) Anyway, the breakfast looked so pretty- being the blogger that I am- I had to make everyone wait to dig in so I could get a couple of pics. It was so simple but so perfect- fresh fruit, o.j., bagels, croissants and I toasted & loaded mine with hot ham & cheese mm mm. (I will now crave that sandwich all the time..)

The pink zinnias in the old jam jar (from my garden- yay the one thing I haven't killed!!) were already there & worked perfectly with all the bright colors in the fruit. I've been dying to use the pitcher that the o.j. is in: It's cut glass with palm trees on it that I found at a thrift shop for $4. The plates are Pottery Barn Classic white and the bowls are vintage soup bowls with a pretty green design on them from Lucketts for $4. So thanks so much to my Tikie Torch (just a nickname for Alissa)- we love you!!!

Hope you enjoyed!! There are so many beautiful tablescapes waiting at Between Naps on the Porch, so go check it out!!

xoxo,

lauren