Bag Count 2010

Each year, without fail, Brent and I have one disagreement – how many bags of leaves we rake up throughout the fall. I feel Brent's numbers are too high; he thinks my estimate is too low. So this year, why not count it out and make it official?

We did our first raking this weekend, and we definitely have many more raking dates in our future.

2010 bag count: 10

One thing that has sped up our raking immensely is the Gardex Leaf Scoop. My in-laws got us 2 sets of these several years ago and they are incredible! I can pick up 4 times the amount of leaves with it. The best part – it's only $5.99.

A fur-free product rave

I'll be honest, when I was looking for a fur-removal product, I picked the Scotch Fur Fighter, because they have a Westie on all their packaging. Yep, it was a simple as that.

With 2 very furry Westies and a love for black – things don't always look so great in my house. And while the Furminator is awesome, Brent and I don't use it as much as we should – so well, fur happens. Fur especially seems to happen all over my black-and-white zebra rug, which wasn't looking very black at all.

And did it ever win, check out the after from just my zebra rug:


Yeah, it amazed me and grossed me out all at the same time. It also made me realize how terrible my vacuum cleaner is. That will definitely be on the holiday wish list.

Houndstooth – Check!

The houndstooth wall is done! Thank god.



Was it the most tedious process ever? Yes. Do I love it and find it totally worth it? Definitely.

When I won a stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils thanks to DIY Showoff’s giveaway, I knew right away houndstooth was the only way for me to go. I was nervous that the stencil would be a single houndstooth, so I was thrilled to discover how large the stencil was when I got it in the mail.


My biggest issue with the stencil was there was no way to keep the middle part flat against the wall. The instructions said to paint with a sponge roller –but not only would that get messy but I would not get the crisp lines I was wanting.

So I decided to use the stencil to trace the pattern onto the wall and then tape everything off. Yep, the project I envisioned to take me a day took me 4 weeks.


Some readers wanted to know how I fly through so many audio books last month – paint a houndstooth wall and you’ll figure it out too. ☺

Honestly though, it wasn’t as bad as it sounds, once I figured out a system. I got the majority of the project done over 3 Sundays, so I don’t feel as though I was slaving away or anything.

Considering the stencil was free, I only spent $18 and that was on painter’s tape. I used leftover paint from my office stripes.

Two things you may be wondering…
1. Yes, I still plan on doing an argyle wall.
2. I went through 2 ¼ things of Frog painter’s tape. (I’m a tape saver, and once each side once).

My painter tape props…
When I saw all the bleed-throughs that were happening with the Scotch painter’s tape, I made a trip to Lowes to try Frog. (Don’t waste your time going to Home Depot or True Value – they do not carry it…at least not in Kansas City). This was my first time using Frog painter’s tape, and I am a huge fan. While I still had to do a couple of touch ups where I used Frog, it was nothing compared to the area I used Scotch. Frog just earned themselves a new customer.

Spray paint update to the madness

Last summer, while Brent and I were living with my parent's for the month of August, I did several spray-paint projects.

This was my first and only project using a spray paint on plastic (as spray paint and I are not friends). But I am excited to report that all my chairs are still holding up beautifully and the paint is still going strong.


So Rust-Oleum spray paint for plastic turned me from a skeptic to a believer. This spray paint has definitely earned its place in my small "product rave" group.
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The chairs I used this product on are just the cheap, plastic ones from Lowes. I made sure to do a thorough sanding and cleaning, before using the spray paint.

It's a Beautiful Morning!

It's a beautiful morning when you wake up and your cell phone has 5 bars. That's right, 5 bars! After last month's issues, we finally received our Airave in the mail yesterday.

This sucker has been on backorder for awhile. Sprint put us on a waiting list, and told us they had no idea when we'd receive one. I was okay with this, until my dad called Sprint, complained about their lack of signal (they are in the same area), and because they were in a "qualifying area" were shipped an Airave for no charge.

Brent called Sprint the following day (just a tiny bit frustrated), and imagine that, we are in the same qualifying area because of the same signal. So after some "words of love," Brent and I also received the Airave free of charge.

My Favorite Painting Supply

While I somewhat enjoy painting, I hate cleaning up. I have mad skill when it comes to letting paint brushes dry up to the point where I have to throw them out.

That's why this SHUR-LINE Teflon tray is my paint-supply soulmate. You're supposed to just leave the paint on it. Then, once it's dry the next day, the paint peels right off. This thing is a miracle.

A Day of Organization

One thing I can't stand are messy drawers, closets or cabinets. I have spent many Sundays in my childhood organizing my closet or desk. I find the concept of organizing to be very calming.

So it's only natural that I started my organization process (even though I'm no where close to unpacked).

For the Socks
I have too many socks to keep track of, so I love these sock organizers from The Container Store. This things take up little room, yet each divider holds about 10 dress socks. And yes, I do realize that I have a lot of argyle socks.




Jewelry Organizer on the Cheap
I just can't do jewel boxes. There are not enough little compartments for me, and all my necklaces get tangled – it's just no good. My favorite thing very jewelry organization is ice cube trays. These things are amazing and cheap. I have one drawer for all my bracelets and necklaces, and another drawers with my earrings. It is my favorite thing ever and it basically costs nothing.

Photos galore

What Brent and I have been up to, photo-style.

The Mess of Boxes
While there is still a lot of box madness, it's nowhere to where it was.


Contact Paper is Evil
It's official – I hate contact paper. I just lack the coordination to not have the contact paper end up all stuck together. Thankfully, my mom did the majority of it.

While I never want to see contact paper again, I am so happy I did it. The paper in there was hunter green (shocker), and it was just way too dark.


Towel Happiness
I still don't understand how the previous owners survived without towel rods in their bathroom, but this honey-do was on the top of the list.


I bought another hand towel holder to replace the nasty plastic one in the hall bath, but that bathroom is a whole other story (hopefully that bathroom will be finished tomorrow).

Goodbye Cookie Monster
I love that I have 2 hall closets in my entryway, but I hated the "cookie monster" carpet they were sporting. Fortunately, there was hardwood underneath. While the hardwood isn't in the best condition, it's still a wonderful improvement. My battle wounds from tearing out the carpet were totally worth it.



Kitchen Organization
While I'm thrilled to have a pantry, my issue is that it's long and narrow. I had a similar issue in the Fairway house, and I would end up buying food I already had because it would get lost in the back on the cabinet and I'd never see it again.

My solution to this are these cool cabinet drawers. And I thought for $20 each, it was totally worth it. I'm so excited to be able to find my food easily. :)

Possession: Day 1

Yesterday, my mom and I started our painting battle with the kitchen. We primed with entire kitchen (walls and ceiling) with Valspar's High-Hiding Primer. I have used with primer before, and I cannot say enough good things about it. The hunter green was gone after just one coat, and the room brightened up instantly.

After one coat of ceiling paint, the ceiling started looking like a normal ceiling. Unfortunately, ceiling paint is so thick, you can through it in about 2 seconds, so naturally, we ran out. So I'm getting more ceiling paint today (along with wall paint), and the kitchen should be done tonight.

Check out how much better it already looks though: