Why wouldn't you buy a new kitchen and build a deck at the same time? Whatever anyone's advice would be against that, we've definitely ignored it. Because that's just how we roll. Since the deck is basically going to be an extension of our kitchen, why not? We might as well go hard, and get it all done, while we're at it, and while the tools are all out. The footings have been poured, and the wood is ready to go.
Picking the stain was actually tricky for me. Paint is one thing, but stain is definitely another. First of all, the stain swatches are nothing like the actual stain colour. Second of all, depending on the species of wood, the colours on the wood can be very different. To help narrow it down, the Benjamin Moore colour collection for decks and siding comes with the solid base colours for the stain. I picked out a few colours that would go with our exterior paint on the house. Then I really narrowed it down to one colour and bought a test can. As soon as I saw it on the wooden stir stick, I was pretty convinced that was the one. Even though I was pretty convinced I loved the stain colour that I picked (Benjamin Moore Arborcoat in Spanish Moss with a semi-transparent finish), I still wanted to see what it looked like on a piece of wood against our house. That, and I had to okay it with my other half before I really committed. I took a few pictures of the stain because Google seemed to lack images of "Benjamin Moore Spanish Moss exterior stain in sun and in shade". You're welcome. Finally, I held the stained wood up against our siding and trim colours: Benjamin Moore in Iron Mountain (trim) and Wall Street(siding). My vote? YUP!
Happy Staining! xo Jena
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My heart may have skipped a beat when I got the e-mail. The IKEA kitchen event was on again! Who wouldn't want IKEA gift cards back for purchasing a kitchen?? I love IKEA. Always have, always will. After months of debating on how we'd like to do our kitchen, a few kitchen events had come and gone, and we just weren't ready to commit. Until this time. We had perfected our plan, and saved our nickles and dimes, and waited... Just to give you a recap of our kitchen's journey this far: our before picture. No appliances, leaky taps, dingy (but solid wood) cabinets, odd layout, and a door separating the kitchen from the rest of the house. For someone who loves open concept, it was rough. There were still a few things that bothered me, though. Like these crazy lazy susan's that threatened to chop my fingers off if I got a little carried away. Don't ask... That, and the missing countertop over the dishwasher and the side panel beside the dishwasher that may have fell on our son once or five times. All in all, it was a good kitchen, and I do have hopes of salvaging the cabinets to use in my laundry room, but I am pretty excited for the new open concept design. Walls are gonna be knocked down, doors moved, and it's just going to be awesome. I know it.
Lately, I know I haven't been writing as often because I've just been enjoying my time with my crazy and fun family. And that's not to say we haven't been doing projects, because we have! From gardening to pouring footings, our yard has gone from clean to messy to clean, and now we are back to messy again! But the things we all do to our houses are to make our homes happier, healthier and more "user friendly". Sometimes it's overwhelming, but I look forward to sharing some more of some ongoing projects. It may take a while, but at least it's progress into how we want our homes to be. I won't show you my blistered hands, but I will give you a sneak peak into some of the projects we've been working on. Any guesses on what we are up to??
Now that it's officially summer, what are some projects you are about to dive into? Happy Summer Days! xo Jena I've got the perennials blooming, and the annuals planted; the lawn got aerated and spring has officially been kicked off by the first camping trip of May long. Along with the sun comes all the projects that didn't get finished last summer. Like after our door got installed, we had a black void beside the door where a sidelite had been. That black void had to go. Today.
The angled cut was tricky, and I had saved the really nice piece of wood for that one, so I held my breath when I let Adam chop that one. Turned out pretty good!
All in all, it was a simple project that just needed to get done. We had talked about putting rock around the entrance, which would have looked beautiful, but that option would have had to wait. I needed a project today, and that was what got attacked. Sometimes, it's the little things that just finish it all off perfectly. Happy DIY-ing! Xo Jena My lovely cousin sent me a package the other day. Cleaning supplies. Just in time for some serious spring cleaning! I have to be honest and say, I am totally frustrated when I buy cleaning products, that claim to be Eco-friendly, non-toxic and "green", and then I am told that, "If ingested, contact poison control." Wait. What? How is that non-toxic? How is this safe for the environment? I guess it's back to the basics of cleaning with vinegar, lemons, baking soda and water for me. And mainly water, now that I've been introduced to Norwex. These cleaning supplies are a little different than most. All you do is add water! "All of these microfiber products have micro-silver embedded in them which is a natural antibacterial agent. When the cloth removes bacteria, it comes in contact with the silver and cannot multiply, thereby keeping your cloths cleaner for longer and avoiding that musty "kitchen cloth smell" which is caused by germs multiplying uninhibited. Yucko." -Lindsay, Norwex Rep
"Body Pack (3 cloths) is used to cleanse, exfoliate and remove makeup with only water. Can also be used on other areas of the body where they might be problematic areas or breakouts such as the back of the arms or upper back. No cleansers, soaps, toners, etc. Rinse, wring and hang to dry. If you have any skin issues, I always recommend committing to the cloths only for 2 weeks. No other cleansers or products. Just the cloth and moisturizer. Give your skin 2 weeks to adjust before determining if you will keep using them." -Lindsay, Norwex Rep Well, after my first time using the body cloths, I determined I would keep using them. No two week trial period for me! First off, these cloths are so soft! They just feel great. Second off, they hold just the right amount of water. Let me explain this: I have a phobia of getting water in my eyes. I'd wear goggles in the shower if that didn't make me a complete weirdo. So the fact that I can wash my face and eyes with just the right amount of water (as in, not so much water in the cloth that I get water in my eyes) is exactly what I needed! Truly, I can say, I am loving Norwex. I don't even have to question the fact if it's "eco-friendly". I'm only using water!
A huge thank you to my cuz, Lindsay, for introducing me to this. For more information and for other products, feel free to contact her! Lindsay Mercer Executive Sales Leader & Consultant Trainer (780) 667-2202 Lindsay.Mercer2@gmail.com www.LindsayMercer.Norwex.biz Happy Spring Cleaning! Xo Jena For those of you who were expecting pictures of our installed fireplace, I instead present to you WHY we are getting a fireplace installed. While I have to laugh at American news grabbing breaking footage of someone snowblowing a 1/2" of snow, I am becoming more convinced that there is such thing as a polar vortex (as compared to just another winter), here are some photos to convince you too.
If that doesn't want to make you curl up in front of a fireplace, I don't know if your head is on straight. I have chicken skin (aka goose bumps) just looking at these pictures. I haven't even gone outside yet! Don't get me wrong, I do love the snow. That is why I moved to this town. But with a new kid who isn't quite ready to hit the ski hill with his parents, we haven't been able to enjoy the snow as much the past two winters. So this year, when we have a foot of snow overnight... and then another foot of snow over night again, I can honestly say that I'm ready for summer. I really am. And this commercial? Ya, I can relate.
Happy Winter Living, my friends! xo Jena I inherited this coffee table from my Oma and Opa, and while it was in rough shape, I couldn't handle see it going to the dump. I decided to give it new life and new purpose. It would become a bench seat.
I missed a couple photos of the next step so bare with me. I then took a twin fitted sheet and stapled the crap out of it to the underside of the table, covering the mattress pad and underlay. If I were to do this over again, I would use a much thicker fabric. But that would mean I will have to un-staple the crap out of this. So for now, it'll do. My boy loves standing on it when we play fussball. So if he loves it, so do I. Happy Trial and Error!
xo Jena It felt like we had a long streak only to be broken by some more renovations. It started out as finishing the basement bathroom and then it turned into replacing the fireplace our living room and everything around it. Apparently, we are back at it, in full swing! We had picked out a fireplace a while ago, but we weren't sure if we would go with the black surround or the stainless. I thought the black surround would be a little too much black, and was cheering for the stainless surround, while Adam was all for the black surround.
Instead of the stainless surround, I could deal with the fireplace accessories being stainless. Much more lickable.
So with that decided and ordered, we had to replace the sexy black tile that wasn't great but wasn't bad enough to piss me off every time I looked at it. Too bad we had to extend our hearth to comply with current building standards, and were forced to delete the black tiles. So this is what we had, and what it will become. Here are the guys, hard at work building out the hearth and getting ready to tile it. They added two- 2x4s on the front to get to the proper size hearth, and one- 2x4 on the side so the rock we will be putting on won't protrude over the hearth, That would just look odd. Since it was a concrete floating hearth, it was pretty simple- just drill into the concrete and screw on the 2x4s and concrete board. Then again, I didn't do it, so there was probably a lot more that went into that. I'll just leave all that up to the professionals. I know there were issues cutting the concrete board, as it heated up the saw so much, and cutting tiles just seems like something to leave to someone who knows what they are doing. Maybe one day I will attempt a tile DIY project. But it will be on something that can be easily redone if it needs it!
In addition to my joy that it is finally coming together, I just can't wait to curl up in front of a blazing fire with my lovely family and be warm and cozy. Thursday can't come soon enough! Stay Warm! xo Jena No matter what you do, or how much time you give yourself in a day, it always seems to rush by. I needed something quick to eat, on the go. I basically just took everything in my cupboards that seemed like they would go good in a granola bar. Mix it up to desired taste and consistency. I put it in a dish and threw it in the fridge, so it could firm up. I left out the exact amounts because, well, I pretty much don't measure out amounts. A handful of this, a scoop of that... You might know how that goes. And there we have it! A granola bar fresh out of the dish.
With stuff in it that you can pronounce. I like that. Anything else you would put in a granola bar? Happy Eating on the Run! xo Jena I think a huge part of why TOMS has been so successful is that people really do want to give back. Ten million shoes sold, and ten million shoes given away. They are cute, and they make you feel good about your purchase. It's karma, if nothing else. Good work, With its Giving Partners and customers like you, TOMS has transformed everyday purchases into a force for good. Every time you purchase eyewear, TOMS helps give sight to someone who needs prescription glasses or medical treatment. And with every pair of shoes you buy, TOMS gives a new pair to a child in need. To date, that's over 10 million pairs!
Feel good about what you buy, because we all know that money can't buy you happiness. At least you can feel good about where your money goes. And if you aren't in the mood for shopping, check out out a worthy cause to spend some money on. My suggestion? Kendra Wiberg could use some help. Love and prayers to her and her family. We never know when our days can end. Make the most of it, and maybe we can learn something from living like it could be our last day.
Happy Living and Giving! xo Jena |
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