Most Expensive Deck Ever

In the Spring I posted about Jason's freak accident with the deck. If you missed it, you can read about it here.

Believe it or not, his tooth could not be saved. That's right, the dentist had to extract Jason's front tooth because the nail shattered the tooth all the way up under Jason's gum line. Since the accident, J has had to wear what is called a 'flipper.' It's a temporary front tooth that pops in and out (kind of like dentures but with just one tooth on it.)

He is in the process of getting a dental implant, but it takes a long time because you have to wait for the bone to heal before the oral surgeon can drill into the gum line. It will be almost a year before the implant is complete.

Yup, it sucks but what can we do? I have a beautiful deck and a beautiful husband minus one front tooth.

For those of you who have ever had a dental implant, you know how costly they can be. . . So our DIY deck ended up costing us the same as it would have if we hired out for labor. . . And Jason would still have his front tooth!

Anyway, the old deck was small and we didn't like that the railing ran horizontally and wasn't very child-proof.  In an attempt to make the deck safer in case Noah ever got out of the house into the pool area, we wanted to install vertical rails. We also wanted more space on the deck since we like to entertain.

 

Here is the deck just before Jason was about to start working on it.
 

 

 

 

 

Here it is from another angle . . . equally ugly and unimpressive.

 

 

 

 

 

Jason never built a deck before and everyone told us it was really easy. Jason says it was as easy as everyone reports, but the freak accident(s) made it one of his least favorite projects. Not only did he lose his tooth to the deck, but he also had a drill bit break and he drilled through his finger.

 

I was starting to think the deck was cursed. 

Yeah, I'm glad the deck project is over. To be honest, it was over at the beginning of the summer but my home computer is ancient and is running extremely slowly. Now that I figured out some iPad and iPhone apps, blogging just got easier!

Anyway, our go-to guy Kelby explained everything to Jason to get the deck built.

 

To make life easier, Jason used the existing framework of our old deck for what would become half of the new deck.  First, he removed all of the old deck boards, which were in pretty rough shape.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After J removed all the old deck boards, he dug post holes 42 inches deep for the new deck addition. The town building inspector had to come out to check every step before Jason could go on to the next step. After approval from the building inspector, the post holes were filled with concrete.

 

 

 

 

Kelby and Jason framed up the new 12x12 section and the new deck boards were run over the entire 24x24 frame.

 

Once the deck boards were on, Jason installed the vinyl railing.   

 

 

 

 

And here is the final deck (you can see our building permit still hanging on our sliding glass door because we have yet to have the building inspector come out and give us the final approval).

 

 

 

We still have to stain it, but you're supposed to wait a year before applying the stain to the deck boards.  I'm already stressed about the color! 

 

 

And we need to buy a larger table so that we can enjoy having meals on the deck.  Currently, we only have a small bistro table.  I enjoy having my breakfast out there each morning but if we want to entertain or have dinner out there as a family, we will need a bigger table.

 

If you can suggest where we might be able to find a nice table online at a reasonable price, do share!

Saving Your Old Crib

Occasionally I get requests from friends to blog about certain home-related topics.  Usually I don't follow through and blog about them - not because I don't think they are good ideas, but because I am not a very consistent blogger.  When I am blogging regularly, it's usually because we have lots of home projects going on and I want to share Jason's ability to make my crazy ideas come true.  (Remember hacking up a dresser?!)

Anyway, my friend Brittney emailed me a while back . . . okay MONTHS AGO . . . suggesting I blog about how to upcycle an old crib.

It may take me months, but when Brittney asks me to do something, I usually try my hardest to make it happen.

Brittney and I have been friends since the seventh grade.  She is one of the kindest human beings I know.  She's always been there for me . . . even though I managed to get her into trouble a few times when we were younger.  Brittney was always the innocent one.

Me?

Not

so

much.

I remember one time Brittney's parents were going out for the night and my friend Eileen and I decided we would have some boys meet us at Brittney's house.  We ran the plan by Brittney, who was skeptical.

We convinced her anyway . . . there was NO WAY her parents would catch us having boys over - and besides . . . what was the big deal? We were just going to watch movies.

Did I mention Brittney's dad is a big, traditional Italian man?

You know where this story is headed. 

Brittney's parents decided to return home early that night so Eileen and I did what any teenage girls would do - we sent the boys out the back door. 

 Problem solved.

Except. . .

Brittney's dad decided to go around to the back of the house and check on the pool before coming inside   He met our three little friends face to face on their way out. 

Needless to say, Brittney endured a lecture from her parents while Eileen and I sat upstairs figuring out what we would tell our parents if Brittney's parents decided to fill them in on our antics (surprisingly, they didn't!)

Eventually, we did go downstairs and face Vinnie and Sue.  It wasn't pretty.

So anyway  . . . Brittney is amazing . . . and her ideas are too :-)

So she was faced with a dilemma.     Apparently, since older cribs (the ones with drop down sides) no longer meet safety regulations, you cannot donate them to the Salvation Army or sell them. 

There is something a little disheartening about throwing a crib away.  First off, it has sentimental value.  Second, that's a lot of waste in landfills!

So rather than toss an old crib with drop down sides, check out some of the cool ways people have upcycled their cribs.


Make a seating area for your porch:

                         

Source: pinterest.net-pin.info via Stephenie on Pinterest

Make a bench for your house:

Source: consignmentmommies.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

                                                                                              Source: regives.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

Create a play table for your baby turned pre-schooler.

                                                                                 Source: dailydoityourself.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

Use the pieces to make a twin bed (or two)

Source: blogs.babble.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

Use the side rail as a magazine rack

             Source: tocrave.blogspot.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

Or a craft station:

Source: theartofthers.blogspot.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

 

Even the springs can be used in creative ways.  One of my favorites? 

A shoe rack.

Source: curbly.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

Or you can use the springs for a memo/memento board

Source: apartmenttherapy.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

You can turn the crib pieces into a cool chalkboard message board

Source: consignmentmommies.com via Stephenie on Pinterest

Or a jewelry organizer

Source: infarrantlycreative.net via Stephenie on Pinterest

So there you have the coolest ideas I could find on how to save your old crib.


Be inspired.

Save your crib

Save the Earth


Any other good ideas? Please share!


And thank you to Brittney, who inspired this post!

Shopper's Club Chaos Solved!

In case you're wondering, Jason, aka "The Coupon Cowboy" is still in full swing. We get free stuff from Rite Aid weekly. 

And the Coupon Cowboy was finally successful in lassoing another couponer - his brother Joe.  That's right, my brother-in-law has become equally obsessed with Rite Aid deals.

How lucky am I?

And how lucky is my sister-in-law Shannon too?

It guess that depends on if you think having an abundance of shampoo and toothpaste is lucky.

I never have to think twice about donating to personal hygiene charity drives. 

I actually seek them out now!

Seriously though, I have to admit that I love a good deal just as much as Jason.

In fact, I'm a sucker for store savings cards.  Every time I'm at the register and the cashier asks if I want to join some shopper's club, if it's free, I ALWAYS sign up.   I like a good deal and most of the stores require you to have their shopper's card to get their in-store deals.

Some have special perks and will send you coupons in the mail depending on how much you shop there, like Best Buy and Dick's Sporting Goods. Even food chains like Panera and Subway now have cards.

The problem with having all of these Shopper's Club cards is that they take up so much room in my wallet. The truth is, I can't even button my wallet closed.

What's worse is that when the cashier asks me if I have a customer loyalty card, I fumble around looking for it. A couple of times, I've actually signed up a second time because I thought I wasn't a member, only to find two cards in my wallet later!

I know that some stores have key tags but I've found that not all stores do and I hate having a million little tags mixed in with my keys.

I once had a million dollar idea to invent a card that would electronically house all other store cards, but I guess I wasn't smart enough to see it to fruition so now it's out there for someone else to invent and make millions.

Instead, I got out my hole puncher and set to work so that my wallet would button closed once again.

Problem solved! Now I have a nice little stack of store loyalty cards conveniently on a key chain in my purse. 

And my wallet is happy because it's no longer exposed for the world to see.

  

I'll let you know how the new system works out. In the meantime, I'd love to hear how you're organizing your store cards -- or if you refuse to sign up all together.

Also - if you have an organizing dilemma - email me or comment below.

Linking up to:

 

Organzing Drawers

I'm still trying to figure out how to blog more frequently while holding down a full time job and having  a one year old and an eleven year old.  If anyone out there has any tips, please let me know.  I always think about tons of ideas to share with you all but can't manage to find the time to take pictures, upload them, edit them and write the post.

For those of you who know me, you know I have a lot of hobbies too. Jason and I both love to work out and I enjoy all kinds of crafts -- so balancing everything is a bit overwhelming at times.

But I truly enjoy this blog and all that goes along with it - the creative process, the friendships I've created all over the world, the sharing of ideas so I truly would like to make it a more regular part of my life; I just haven't figured out how.

I admire those who have.

Anyway - I've been trying to get organized around here.  I've gotten a lot of questions from people on how to stay organized with kids -- especially with all of the toys and "stuff" they accumulate.  I'll try to share some of what's worked for us in the coming weeks. 

For those of  you who have kids who are a bit older  - this post is for you.

Imani is constantly getting her nice clothes dirty by playing outside in them. Don't get me wrong, I want her to have fun and get dirty -- I just don't want her outside in a brand new pair of pants that we bought less than an hour ago sliding in mud (yes, this really happens).

Imani is the kind of girl who defies all gender stereotypes. From the time she was a toddler, I had buckets of Oxyclean  around my house with her clothes soaking in them because she found sticks and mud much more interesting than barbies and doll houses. I can't say that I blame her.

My nickname as a child was "Grubby."

Thankfully, I outgrew that.

What makes this more frustrating is that Imani chooses to grub up her clothes and then chooses those exact same ripped jeans and stained shirts to put on before we're about to go to dinner at a friend's house.  She has a little bit of trouble determining when it's appropriate to wear stained versus not stained clothes.

So I decided to try to help her with a bit of organization.

I busted out the good ole' label maker.

And labeled her dresser drawers accordingly:

We also labeled the inside of all the play clothes with by writing "PC" on the tags so there wouldn't be any question about what clothes belong where.

Imani usually puts her own laundry away so this makes it much easier for her to know where everything goes - and she knows what clothes to wear depending on what she's going to be doing.

After I finished with Imani's drawers, I realized I wasn't exactly setting a good example with my own disorganized drawers.  While I didn't need to use the label maker, I did need a new system. I have a lot of clothes and I tend to just cram them in my drawers.

I've confessed several times that I am not the organized one in the house -- Jason is. 

He's the Type- "A" - the one who cleans constantly and makes sure everything is in its place -- the one who neatly puts his clothes away and makes sure every dresser drawer is closed - the one whose hangers and shirt collars are all facing the same direction in the closet.

I'm the free spirit - the one who carelessly crams all of my clothes in my dresser and attempt to shut it with clothes hanging out -- the one who lets my closet become a disaster and then,  after about a month of living like a slob - decides its time to get organized.

This was one of those months for me.

I had seen an image on Pinterest that showed clothes stacked or "rolled" rather than folded and stacked.  Clearly the traditionally way wasn't working for me.

So I rolled all of my sweaters:

And stacked my t-shirt drawer too:

And after about three weeks, I'm happy to say that my drawers are still (fairly) organized.  It makes so much more sense this way because I can see all of my shirts.

What's worked for you to keep your drawers organized? Got any tips? I'd love to hear 'em!

Dresser Gets a Face Lift

After spending my entire birthday on airplanes and in airports, I arrived home a week and a half ago with only ten minutes left before the clock would strike midnight and my special day would be over.

Needless to say, I was exhausted and a bit depressed.

However, walking in to see my dining room not only decorated with streamers, presents, flowers and a cake . . . but also completely transformed was a total surprise.  Imani and Jason made the last ten minutes of my day so special and I realized that the best gift was returning home to my family. 

I was completely overwhelmed  when Jason handed me eleven hand-written pages that would become his first blog post (He didn't know the ins and outs of how to actually go on and post it himself . . . but I will teach him so that he can post again).

And he got my birthday wish, so all of you Giants fans can thank me.

His post was an inspiration for me to set aside time this weekend to blog about a project we finished a while ago, but I just hadn't had the time to write about.

Sometime shortly after New Year's, Jason and I finally got around to giving our bedroom furniture a little face lift.

You might remember we've altered one piece before.  Remember last year when Jason cut up a dresser (literally) to make room for a bassinet in our bedroom?!  It's definitely one of the crazier projects we've attempted so if you haven't read it, be sure to check it out here.

I've been wanting to get rid of the dark brown furniture for a long time, but we've been on a mission to save money and attempt to be debt-free (remember last year's resolution?)  We've done an AMAZING job so far, especially given that Jason is now a stay-at-home dad.

I haven't been happy with the color of the dressers and I hate that it all looks so manufactured.  I wanted something that was lighter in color and  looked more antique, more worn . . . but purchasing new (or antique) dressers was out of the question.   By the way, if you like the look of dark furniture that looks new, you should stop reading NOW because I'm about to share how to make this baby look older and worn.

I've already had some people come over to our house and see our finished product and think we've lost our minds.

So

stop

reading

if

you

like

 the

new

"matchy, matchy"

 look.

Here is the original dresser, complete with antiqued brass handles.

Many of my followers of this blog suggested Annie Sloan Chalk paint to me and to be honest, I'd never heard of it before. 

Image: www.theshabbycreekcottage.com

After a little research, I discovered that Annie Sloan chalk paint is NOT chalkboard paint -- it's TOTALLY different.

Annie Sloan Chalk paint is like magic.

It requires NO primer.

And it can be used on just about any surface.

It's really magical.

So I found a dealer in Upstate New York -- the Purple Painted Lady, located in Palmyra, NY.  Tricia was super helpful in teaching me how to apply the paint and how to distress the furniture if that was the look we wanted.  If you need to get some Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, check out the Purple Painted Lady online or if you live in Upstate New York, make the drive to the store - it's totally worth it!

I walked out spending roughly $62 with one jar of Paris Grey and one jar of wax.

At first, Jason was skeptical about using a can of paint on manufactured furniture without stripping it, priming it or prepping it in any other way.  He also didn't think the small can that Tricia sold to me would be enough to cover a large dresser and nightstand.

But he'd heard me talk about all I'd read about Annie Sloan Chalk paint online and he decided it was worth a try.

So Jason set off to work on the bedroom furniture (sorry for using the flash -- we were working at night and had a very hard time getting the photos right without the flash . . . a year later and I'm still figuring out my DSL camera)

He applied one coat directly to the nightstand.

It looked almost white when it was first applied, but it darkened up after it dried.  He didn't even need to add a second coat. 

We were amazed that this paint had virtually no smell either (and no, I'm not getting paid for this and I did not receive free paint.  We were just amazed by this paint).  Jason was painting it in our house at night and I was about to open every window in the house for fear of killing my kids from paint fumes, when I realized it didn't really smell (don't worry, Mom; I did open a window for ventilation so your grand kids were fine).

The Annie Sloan website says this paint gives off extremely low VOC's so it's good for the environment too. 

In fact, here are the reason's the paint is so special, according to the Annie Sloan website:

"1. It's the BEST paint for painting furniture by a long way

2. No need to prime or prepare

3.Extremely low VOCs so it is good for the environment

4. You can use it on any surface, indoors and out ( the outside of our shop was painted in it- perfect!)

5. You can use the paint by diluting it with water to make a wash to show the wood grain

6. The colours are mixed intelligently and the web site shows how you can adapt your colours for your use

7. It's a girls' paint, but boys can use it too.

8. It's flexible so you can be creative and change your mind

9. It allows your walls to breathe so it is perfect for cottage walls

10. You can use it as an impasto ( thickly) - leave the lid off to thicken

11. We've been making it since 1990 so it's tried and tested"

After waiting for 24 hours, Jason distressed the dresser using 100 grit sandpaper and then applied a coat of Annie Sloan wax.

After applying the wax, he let it dry for 48 hours and buffed it using an old white t-shirt.

Then, he applied the new hardware I'd purchased at Hobby Lobby (on sale for 50% off).

I'm totally in love with the new look.  

And Jason is now obsessed with Annie Sloan Chalk paint.   He'll never use primer for furniture again.

Maybe I'll buy him a can for Valentine's Day.

:-)

Dining Room Remodel, aka Jason's First Blog

I have had a hard time falling asleep the last few months.  What has been keeping me awake, you ask?  Trying to come up with something really special for Stephenie's birthday -- that and Mayan doomsday prophecies (sometimes I wish the calendar had never been invented) -- Oh and the mysterious powers of the Magic Eraser.

An idea for this year's birthday gift has proven to be so difficult ironically because of my own birthday.  Back in September, Stephenie caught me completely off guard with a huge surprise party.  Fifty of my closest friends and family members packed my house to help me celebrate #34.  I was about three weeks out from the start of my new career as a stay-at-home dad of two (which, by the way, is the best job ever!).

 

Stephenie planned the whole thing as a way for me to re-connect with all of my friends I might not see on a regular basis given my new path in life.  It was amazing and incredibly thoughtful.  How do you top that?

I thought about throwing Steph her own surprise party but that seemed like the easy way out and totally unoriginal, and store-bought gifts pale in comparison to the gift of the people you treasure most in life filling up your house.  There was only one avenue that I could think of that would come close - I must create something for her.

I thought about all the things she loves.  

Our kids.  I could put my college education  to good use and paint her a portrait of our children.  Not a bad idea and a definite possibility.

Shoes.  I could get advice from a local cobbler and hand craft a pair of size 7 1/2 stilettos.

Not gonna happen.

Then it hit me . . . I could do a blog post for her. 

Stephenie loves to blog and recently hasn't had the time to post all that often.  She constantly asks me to write a post -- pretty much weekly for the last two years.  I usually come up with a lame excuse or tell her I will one day, but never do.

I do help a lot with the projects you see on this blog, but honestly, I guess I see  myself as the man behind the scenes hammering nails and cutting things up with saws.  Stephenie is the creative genius and the brains behind this operation we call home improvement.  I am content with bringing her vision to life but I guess she thinks I have something to say as well.  She won't leave me alone about it, so here goes . . . Happy Birthday Honey.

So I need a project to blog about and the first thing I think of is our dining room.  Recently, we sold all of our dining room furniture and purchased an old farm table and chairs from antique shops.  Our Raymour and Flabby dining set was the first big purchase we made as a couple. 

We were super excited at the time as we jammed it into our small two bedroom apartment.  Then we bought a house and started to fix it up and really started to get a sense about what we like and appreciate and the kinds of things we feel good about filling up our house with.  The more we worked on our home, the more we grew to dislike our dining set with its factory finish and mass-produced construction. 


I love everything about our new table -- its weight, its age -- everything. 

Let's celebrate with a dining room makeover!


As you can see, our dining room has a piece of chair rail dividing two different colors.

Steph left last Monday for a business trip to Las Vegas.  She comes home on her birthday, Friday, February 3.  I am a little nervous about having enough time to finish the project before she returns.  It's hard to say how much time I will really have when you factor in the needs of a 10 month old and an 11 year old.  Hopefully, Noah will take two good naps during the day and I will be able to get Imani in bed by nine.  What I plan to do is install a board and batten trim on the walls of our dining room and hit it up with a fresh coat of paint.  I love trim work.  LOVE IT.  Steph has had to stop me in the past as OCD got its hands on me.

 

She was finally able to stop me as I finished up the bedroom above.  I think what I love the most about trimwork is how it can transform the look of a room for such a small amount of money.  The project I am about to embark upon costs less than 200 bucks including paint and a few tools.  The two big tools for this job are a mitre saw and a nail gun or a hammer and nail punch.  I will need to pick up a new coping saw and a file as well.  Those two things combined are like 10 bucks. 

I did a little research on board and batten online and found a few photos for inspiration:

 Decor Chick

This Old House

 

The first thing I determined was how high I would like the trim and thought 2/3 of the wall would look nice in a dining room. I also decided on a shelf to cap off the trim.  From the photos I looked at online, the shelf provided a nice area for decorating and just gave the trimwork that little something extra. 

Next, I measured all of my walls to determine how many vertical boards I would need.  I really liked the images that had boards spaced around 12 inches apart.  To get the correct even spacing between boards you will need to take into account the width of the vertical boards you will use.  I will be using boards that are 2 1/2 inches wide.  As an example, the first wall I measured was 113 inches.  If I use seven vertical boards I will essentially create 8 uniform panels between the boards.  Seven 2 1/2 inch boards = 17.5.  If I subtract 17.5 from 113, I get 95.5 inches.  95.5 divided between 8 panels is 11.9375 per panel or 11 15/16.  Starting from the right, I mark the wall 11 15/16 from the door railing, then 2 1/2 inches for the width of my board, another 11 15/16 and so on until I reach the end of the wall.  Not super complicated and way better than "eyeing" it.

So I packed the kids in the car and headed to Home Depot.  I somehow managed to get everything I needed into a Jeep Liberty.  This was the first time I really missed my truck since selling it in August. 

When we got home, I made dinner, put Noah to sleep and watched a little DVRed American Idol with Imani before reading with her and getting her to bed.

Nine O-Clock and I am ready to roll! I began by removing the chair rail we installed a few years back.  I used liquid nails and finishing nails to install it an the liquid nails ripped part of the wall off.  Nothing a little spackle can't fix.  I still love you liquid nails!!

Liquid nails is one of the most useful products on the planet.  I have fixed high heels, created school projects, secured eight miles of trim and used it to stop an air leak once.  I firmly believe if the dinosaurs had liquid nails, they would have beaten extinction. 

Okay, back to the project.  After removing the old trim, I leveled and installed the plate rail and began installing the vertical boards with finishing nails and . . . you guessed it -- Liquid Nails!  The liquid nails will give the boards more sticking power as it is unlikely that your finishing nails will always hit a stud.

 

 

 

 

The first wall went up in about an hour.

 

 

My shelf was installed next and is the same 2 1/2 inch board I used for the vertical panels.

 

Crown molding was then installed under the shelf.

The mitered return is a relatively easy way to give the shelf a finished look.

 

The next day, I used wood filler on all of my nail holes and hit it up with 100 grit sandpaper as soon as it dried.

 

After that, I used paintable caulk to hide all cracks and give a seamless finish.

 

Finally, I used a little spackle to fix any blemishes.

 

 

The only tricky part of this entire installation will be the corners for the crown molding, but with the right tools it is not all that bad.  I had two inside corners to deal with during my installation.  One piece of molding is cut flush and runs directly into the corner. The other piece of molding is cut using the following steps.  Place the crown upside down and against the fence and set the angle to the correct 45 degree angle. 

Use a coping saw to cut along the profile of crown.

 

Use a small file to get as close as possible and to clean up your cut.

 

 

This piece will now fit over the installed piece to perfection.

 

 

So that is pretty much it for install.  I just repeated the same process on the other walls.

Time to paint! I love painting.  It is right up there with trim for me as an inexpensive way to renew a room.  I choose to return the primer you saw in one of the earlier photos and used one gallon of enamel semi-gloss paint/primer by Behr instead.  It was a good paint but I still needed three coats in some difficult areas.

The painting was the most time-consuming part of this project. I found my OCD rearing its ugly head as I began painting trim leading out of the room that looked grubby next to the brilliant new white. 

I highly recommend picking up some Magic Erasers when using this much white paint.  The equation for the number of boxes you will go through in a month goes something like this:

Gallons of white paint times number of infants to the tenth power times age of adolescent in the house divided by showers per week = total.

Using this formula I will be buying about 16 boxes of Magic Erasers in the near future.  For any of you that have never used a Magic Eraser, they are amazing and can take any mark off a wall with one swipe.  Where it goes, I have no idea.  Mr Clean claims it is magic but I think something else is going on here as well.  Everyone knows Unicorns are pure magic so in my opinion a sponge could only be like 75% magic, tops.  My theory is the other 25% is alien technology found in the Roswell crash.

The final touches for my project are 20 red tulips, Steph's favorite flower, a birthday cake that I did not make, a few antique dishes I picked up at a local store and birthday prizes!!!

 I can't wait to see Steph's face. My hope is that she is so overjoyed I will will be able to convince her to use her birthday wish to help my Giants win the Superbowl.

I truly hope you like this gift. I love you Steph.

Happy Birthday.

Always,