Pledge Complete

Done! A mere four months ago, I took my own oath to whip my house into shape. The goal was to have it ready for show and tell on Easter. While I didn't complete every single task on my to do list, I completed a lot of the really important ones. So, last Sunday, I was able to confidently open my doors to the extended family for a tour. I felt like such a proud mama of my little home. Huzzah! (See what's done - wins and fails)

Here's the to do list that's been hanging on the fridge and helping me whip my house into shape since December.

Kitchen Ceiling Fail

Upon closer inspection, my kitchen ceiling is kind of a fail. The paint looks good, it's just that I did not do as a good a job at sanding the patch as I initially thought I did. And by the time I realized it, it was too late.

So, I'm not going to post any pictures until I take a power sander to it and do kitchen patch 2.0. Here's a puppy instead.

Another painting weekend

Kitchen ceiling is getting a fresh paint job this weekend. I've assembled all the necessary tools. Ready to rock and roll.

One of these things is not like the others.

Dusty do

Nothing says hard work like a little dirt on your hands. Or in my case, a little dust in my hair. After patching the kitchen ceiling a couple weeks ago, I finally got around to sanding it tonight. I was very careful to lay down a drop cloth, but it didn't matter. Dust went everywhere(!) including in my eyes and in my hair and probably in my lungs, too.

Afterward, I took quite the liking to my dusty hairdo. It was like my own little badge of honor - proof, that I'm actually doing stuff around here.

Carefully-placed drop cloth.

[Insert psoriasis/dandruff jokes here]

Hallway is fresh and clean, too

OK, back to some normalcy. At the same time that my brother and I painted the bathroom, we also painted the hallway. I somehow failed to post pictures. Never fear, here is the transformation in all its glory.

Before. The picture on the left is just the hallway. The picture on the right shows the color juxtaposition between the bathroom and hallway. Happy Easter, y'all.

After. Neutral never looked so good.

Ceiling stain

Something is seriously up with my kitchen ceiling. One spot on the ceiling (kinda above the stove) has needed a patch job since I moved in. Some of the skim coating had fallen away - most likely caused by moisture from cooking. To be sure the culprit wasn't a leaky roof, I sent Brian up into the attic to play around in the insulation and double check.

We finally got around to patching the ceiling on Saturday, using mesh tape and drywall compound. Now, not even 24 hours later, there's a funky stain seeping through the fresh patch job. Why?! It's like a seedy motel room, but on my ceiling.

In mid-patch. I'd forgotten to take before photos. So, you're looking at some wet drywall compound smeared all over the place and a portion of the original stain.

Close-up. Dried drywall compound and crazy stain seepage. WHY?! What happens when I paint over it? grr.

Bedroom curtains

My bedroom hasn't received its turquoise paint treatment yet, but it has received some new window treatments. Just like in my living room, it was out with blinds and in with the linen (the curtains I had bought so triumphantly from Overstock).

The right adjective to describe just how the room feels now with the new curtains is escaping me at the moment, so I offer these: restful, soft, pretty.

Before.

After. Restful, soft, pretty. There has to be one adjective that sums up all those things. What is it?

So fresh and so clean

So fresh and so clean! That's exactly what I think about my bathroom now that its paint colors have been updated. Previously, it was outfitted with Pepto pink walls and a purple gray ceiling.

Some of the bathroom's floor tiles are pink which partially explains why the previous owners thought that that particular shade of pink was good for the walls. But, there's no good reason for that purple gray ceiling. No good reason whatsoever.

The walls are now a nice neutral stone color (Behr's Chocolate Froth) and the ceiling is white, white like a ceiling should be.

Before. Pepto pink + purple gray = umm, no.

After. Neutral walls + white ceiling = yes, please!

I've got my shoes in a row

A lot of my things ended up temporarily displaced this weekend as my brother and I painted the entryway, hallway and bathroom (more to come on those later). Among the displaced items were several pairs of shoes from my entryway.

I thought they looked pretty sweet all lined up on a rug in my living room! They are completely in the way, but a part of me really wants to leave them there for awhile. Perhaps I could turn this into some kind of rotating art installation to give all my shoes the love and attention they deserve. Or perhaps, I could just be a bit neater about things when I take off my shoes, setting them neatly in the entryway instead of quickly tossing them into a pile.

I've got all my shoes in a row. Brian's too.

Rock Out with Your Caulk Out

There seems to be a lot of caulking that goes on around my house. By my count, last Saturday I took on caulk project #5: Re-caulking the outside of my tub. It went something like this in case you are inclined to follow suit:

1. Use box cutter and flat-head screwdriver to pry up and scrape off all of the old caulk.
2. Wipe down the surface with rubbing alcohol. Allow surface to dry.
3. Put painters tape on either side of the seam to create a straight line for the caulk.
4. Apply the bead of caulk.
5. Use wet finger to smooth the surface of the caulk. Have a bunch of paper towels or rags available to wipe off excess caulk.
6. Peel off tape while caulk is still wet.

Before. Don't look too close; it's gross.

After. Still don't look too close. It's better than the before, but bathroom floors are gross by nature.

Curtain call

One more project done (almost)! My large living room window is now sporting new drapes. Out with the mini-blinds and in with the linen! My vision in this room is to have a neutral base (furniture, walls, curtains) with lively accessories.

Since I've decided to live with my living room color for awhile, I've been moving forward with my other projects. New window treatments topped that list. I found some tall linen panels from Overstock for a pleasing price of $24.99 for two. I also ordered some white sheers from JcPenney to go with the curtains, but I don't think I'm going to hang them anymore. I might do Roman shades instead, or I might change my mind.

I love IKEA's wooden curtain rod (both the price and the look), but since I'm not going to IKEA anytime soon, I settled for an inexpensive set from Wal-Mart - actually two sets combined together to make one extra long rod.

So, voila, new window dressing.

Before.

After. Four panels staggered.

After. Four panels wide open to seize the day!

Counting down the days

I took the bait from How about Orange? and downloaded Mibo's birdie calendar for 2009. Then, I printed it, clipped it to a clipboard and tacked it to my kitchen wall. A cheap and cheerful way to count down to 2010.

2009. woot!

How's it hanging, taskmaster?

My taskmaster brother should be resting easy tonight. As part of Operation-Whip-My-House-Into-Shape, I created a to do list of all the projects I want to complete before Easter. Brian had taken special, almost unnatural, interest in one of the tasks - getting the pictures behind my couch hung.

He wanted to hang them before the living room was painted and before I even knew what additional prints I wanted to purchase (still haven't made that purchase, but I know what I want). Then, he set a deadline of this Friday to have the pictures hung...or else!

This evening, his dreams came true. We hung the pictures.

Brian - so joyous. I'll post pictures of the completed wall once I order and receive the actual prints. The one in the frame right now is just a test run.

Lukewarm Living

Welp. My living room is painted. I wanted a soothing gray and I got it (Behr's Manhattan Mist). But I have my moments of doubt whether I picked the right color. Oh, the agony!

I love the cool hue, but at times it seems a little too cool and a little too blue for my space. I want my house to feel warm and cozy (hello, orange kitchen!). Now I'm worried my living room is going to end up feeling lukewarm.

I do like the color better than the dirty yellow it was rocking, so that's one small victory. I also feel I'm warming up to it a bit as I get my art and curtains hung.

Before.

After - one side of the room. I should take photos during the daylight for more accurate colors.

After - another side of the room

This sucks

I got my vacuum! It was waiting on my doorstep when I came home from work Thursday. I'm pleased to report that it works like a charm just as Consumer Reports and the Amazon reviews promised it would. Best of all, it only cost $60. And the price just dropped another $2. What a steal.

I should have made this purchase a year ago. I haven't owned a vacuum since I've moved into my house which means my area rugs haven't been cleaned. Ever. Sometimes I would take a lint roller to the one in my bedroom, but something tells me that doesn't really count.

Power. Buy yours on Amazon.

First items of business

Now that Operation Whip-My-House-Into-Shape is in full swing, it's time to make some strategic purchases that I have been putting off for no good reason at all:

• This magnetic paper towel holder to free up a smidgen of counter space
• This vacuum to clean my area rugs (Or lull babies into complacency. I've seen this work!)

Curious what sold me on this paper towel holder? That little cartoon horseshoe magnet, that's what.

I pledge...

On Thanksgiving day, two of my cousins and my sister hosted a little tour of their new homes. All of their houses were so put-together and organized that I couldn’t help but feel a little sheepish about my own, especially considering that my cousins have only been in their respective houses for two or three months! I, on the other hand, have been in mine for a year and a half and it’s still got that just-moved-in quality to it (a certain je-ne-sais-quoi, if we want to put a positive spin on it).

So, I pledge, in the next six months, to really take action with my home. That way, when the extended family treks to town for Easter, I can offer a tour of my home without a litany of excuses for why things look the way they do. Wish me luck.

Bring it. I pledge to whip my house into shape. (Image source)