Oh, Baby! [Boy Baby Shower]

Last weekend we finally had some days where the weather cooperated and we didn’t have a million activities for the girls.

So, I got together with a friend from work and we threw a baby shower for one of our colleagues.

What, that’s not what you do when you have a free Saturday?

Weird.  ;)

 Our pal is having a sweet little boy in the fall, so, as moms of girls, we jumped on the chance to do a cool 'dude' color palette of navy, orange and lime green.

Our whole theme for this shower was just to relax and enjoy all the baby goodness going on.  Nothing fussy or overdone, just cute and simple.  I think we accomplished that.

Isn’t this little onesie adorable?

You know, for days when baby is a little “crabby?” 

HA! Anyone? No?

Okay, it’s just me.  But it’s still cute. : )

 

My co-hort Jill had a great idea to use a children’s book as a guest book for the shower. (we used the Dr. Seuss book on the left)

That Jill, she’s crafty.

Adorable mom-to-be has the SWEETEST little baby bump that you can’t see here, but trust me.  Super Cute.

And leave it to Jill to find yummy treats to send home with guests that matched the décor.  Gotta love that!

We just whipped up a label for the bags, she added cute ribbon, and we sent ‘em on their way.

Cheers!

Outdoor Trim Touchup [Exterior Painting}

A while back we got a bit of a respite from the rain that has moved in lately, and with hosting an upcoming baby shower for a co-worker, I took advantage of the sunshine to make a quick update to our front door.

We have vinyl siding on the house, but as is typical, the trim around the side window and door + transom is wood.  And, after 6 years without being touched, you can see the paint needed a little TLC. 

 The key to freshening up outdoor trim is being committed to surface prep.  When you’re painting indoor trim, you can get away with not sanding all the way down to bare wood as long as you use a good stain-blocking primer.  When you’re working with outdoor trim, that won’t do if you want a smooth, tough surface.  Here’s why:  outdoor paint is (obviously) exposed to more elements [i.e. extremes], you know, since it’s outdoors and all.  The arctic cold of winter and the blazing heat of summer can be tough on paint, and if your surface doesn’t give the paint a strong foundation to grab onto, you’re going to see a LOT of cracking, flaking, and peeling.  And more often, too, so unless this is an absolute hobby of yours that you LOVE to do, ;) it’s worth it to put in the time the first time around.   

Secondly, exterior paint is typically a bit thicker than indoor paint, and for good reason [see the stuff I just outlined].  And that means it’s going to show/highlight any differences – however subtle they may be – in elevation.  So just painting over the chipped or peeling stuff isn’t going to give you a smooth top coat – it’s going to point a big neon arrow saying “LOOK!  THERE ARE CRACKS UNDER HERE!  AND THIS IS JUST PAINTED OVER PEELING PAINT!” on your trim.  Not exactly the look you’re going for, I’m guessing.

So the real key to surface prep here, when you’re dealing with flaking or peeling paint, is one of these guys:

 The putty knife.

Use the putty knife to scrape away the flakes – you’ll find that generally, these come off really easily.  You’ll have a glorious mess at your feet (that I’m kind of glad I didn’t take a picture of – it was ridiculous), but at least it’s not backbreaking work. 

Once you have a smooth finish – see the comparison here? – you’re all set for primer and paint.  I figure you don’t need a tutorial for that, right? ;)

Aaaah, much better!

 Cheers,

Lily Love

This post brought to you by iBulb. All opinions are 100% mine.

The Redhead and I have been loving watching our flowers bloom this spring!

She loves playing Assistant Gardner. :)

We're still waiting on her favorites, the Stella d'oro lilies.  The pretty yellow flowers are such a welcome burst of color in front of the house.

We have lilies a lot of places, actually, mainly because they're pretty, but also because they're easy to keep alive (which is pretty much an essential in my grey-thumb world! ;) )

I love potting bulbs because they come back year after year, and they can survive just about any kind of weather (remember, people, I live in IOWA, where we're kind of known for "what the heck...?" weather.) 

I rarely, if ever, have to do anything for my lilies other than water them, and even when I forget that (you guys know me! :) ) they still seem to thrive. 

And who doesn't love having fresh flowers in the house?

I just blogged about how much I love heading out to the garden to clip fresh flowers to brighten up our home, rather than having to schlep to the store and spend money for them.

The lilies just keep coming up all summer long, and I'm never wanting for [FREE] pops of color!

There are so many types of lilies out there, the possibilities really are endless. 

I remember my mom always had tiger lilies planted at our house when I was a kid, and I loved watching them grow so tall (and then of course walking through them, even though I wasn't supposed to ;) )

There are so many different varieties, all easy to care for, all beautiful, and some even have the added bonus of being incredibly fragrant! 

Lilies are also super affordable, and available just about anywhere - grocery stories, garden centers, flower shops - pretty much any place that sells flowers.  You're golden.

My point is, right now is the time we're all thinking about sprucing up our gardens and our homes, and here is an inexpensive, easy to care for, BEAUTIFUL way to do it!

Need some more inspiration?

Click HERE

So what are you waiting for? :)

 

 

Freshening Up with Flowers

Well, hello summer!

 

Thanks to a full-on SNOWSTORM in early May, these guys are a couple weeks later than usual… but they’re HERE!

I love love love when the peonies start to open up… I snip off every bloom possible and the house is just littered with sweet-smelling pretties.

 

This year, the knockout rose bush we planted when Miss CB was born is also going bananas. 

 If you have a flower like a rose that has a light scent, snip a few buds and put them in your powder room – the color will perk up the room instantly (and kind of feels like a swank hotel), and in the smaller space, the aroma will fill the room quickly and you’ll actually be able to enjoy the pretty scent (versus in a large open room where the scent will dissipate pretty quickly.)

I love the fresh flowers that bloom this time of year… aren’t they purty?  :)

Cheers,

Painting Kitchen Cabinets [Tutorial]

So it feels like I haven't posted in FOREVER!
Oh, wait, that's because I HAVEN'T. ;)

Warning:  this post is LONG.  Like, “Lord of the Rings”-long.

Apparently, I’m a wordy gal with a lot to say.  You’ve been warned.

So just before Christmas I finished up painting my kitchen cabinets.

You may have heard me shouting about it from the rooftops (sorry for the racket ;) ).

OK, I have read some tutorials from people who painted their entire kitchen in like 7 days.  This is NOT one of those posts.  My kitchen looked like this for a long time:


Awesome, right? ;)

Mine took forever, for a couple reasons.

#1 I am a mom of two, working full-time outside the home.  Do I need to explain that? ;)  This project was done in the evenings after the girls had gone to bed, and during naptime on the weekends.  I didn’t want to sacrifice time with them during their waking hours to paint, so that was a choice I made.  
 Obviously, it’s possible for this project to take less time.

Another reason it took so long was that I let each coat dry overnight before adding the next. 
  Waiting for things to fully dry and start to cure only makes the finish more durable.  It’s hard to be patient and wait, but in the end I need the finish to withstand a lot in this hardworking room.  So, it was tough but worth it.

The designated "drying" area.  Baby bottles or kitchen cabinets, takes all kinds. :)
 
The first step is to remove the hardware and take off your doors and drawer fronts. 

I did my cabinets in sections (see earlier photo), so I didn’t need to label anything because I could keep track of the one or two doors/drawers that I was doing at a time.  If you’re doing everything in one fell swoop, MAKE SURE you label your doors so you can match up with the correct hardware when you’re done.

I suggest a numbered system: for the doors, write the number in the hole left by your hinge hardware.  It will get covered up when you put the hardware back on, so you won’t be painting over that space.  Put all the hardware for that door into a baggie and label the baggie with the corresponding number.

Once you have your hardware off, you’ll need to sand. 

I’ve seen all the posts on Pinterest “How to Paint Without Ever Sanding Ever Ever” (or something like that).  Well, there’s no cosmic rule that says you’ll be struck by lightening if you don’t sand, or that your piece won’t look nice, but I can tell you the finish likely won’t look as even, you’ll probably end up doing more coats of paint, and it for sure won’t be as durable.  Those scenarios wouldn’t work for me, but do what fits your situation.

Next, clean the bejeezus out of those doors.

You will be *shocked* how much grime and grease and dust can accumulate on cabinet doors without you even knowing – especially on the tops of your doors.

I used TSP to ensure a fully, evenly deglossed surface.  When I paint trim, though, I just use a Clorox wipe.  It’s up to you.

After everything is clean and fully dry, it’s time to prime. (I love to rhyme ;) )

If you are working with a really grainy wood like oak (like I was), I’ll recommend a second coat of primer.  You’re going to really want to fill in as much of the grain as you can to give the overall finish a smooth look.

These little painter’s triangles are super, BTW. 

But when I had more doors than triangles, I just propped my stuff up on cans of food I swiped from the pantry and it was all good.  Now THAT is recycling! (pre-cycling?  Whatever.  It worked.;) )

I did a light sanding after priming, then cleaned again.

Then it’s time to paint.

I went into this project planning to roll the doors and just use a hand brush to get in the small spaces and fill in the details on the doors.

I actually ended up using the brush for literally 98% of this project.  This is where using good paint makes all the difference.  

I used my old standby, Sherwin Williams ProClassic in semi-gloss.

It goes on super-smooth, and because it is self-leveling, those brush strokes all but disappear.  I found I had much more concise control with the brush vs. the roller, so I just stuck with that.

I let my coats dry overnight to ensure a hardened finish.  It’s nearly painful to wait so long in between coats, especially when things are dry to the touch, my paint finger started to itch.  But I’m so glad I waited because we’ve been banging around this kitchen for a couple months now and even with a giant dog and an energetic preschooler running around, I still a haven’t had to touch up a thing.

Overall, I ended up with two coats of primer and three coats of paint on these bad boys (see why it took so long? Ha!)  But I LOVE how they turned out and I wouldn’t change anything.

Happy Painting!

 Cheers,

A #Splash of Color for Spring from Crocs

This post brought to you by Crocs. All opinions are 100% mine.

Soooo... up until literally a week ago, we've been covered in SNOW.  Yep, SNOW!  In May!

Gotta love the heartland. :)

Well all of a sudden this week... BOOM!  Summer!  90 degrees!  Just like that.

We're a little more settled into some nice weather right now, and I have been jonesing to infuse some color into my world after what feels like a lifetime of grey, blah winter. 

Apparently the folks at Crocs feel the same way, too! :)  They're encouraging us all to share a "splash of color" for spring to help shake off the winter blahs, AND they want to reward us for it!  Woot!

They're hosting the Crocs Instagram Sweepstakes where you have the chance to win a super cool prize package and a shopping spree from Crocs!  And, all you have to do is share some splashes of color that are popping up in your world.

If you follow me on Instagram, you probably noticed some pics over the past few days with the hashtag #splashofcolor - check 'em out:

 

 

Aw, there's my sunshine! :)

All you have to do is Instagram some colorful piccs via Instagram.... are your flowers blooming?  Did you get a bold new manicure?  Make the most massive and colorful birthday cake?  SHARE IT! 

Upload to Instagram using the hashtag #splashofcolor, then link up your Instagram to the Crocs Instagram Sweepstakes .

Done! :)  You can check out what others are uploading, too.

You can enter up to 3 photos a day - what will yours be?  Share in the comments if you're so inclined, what awesome colorful things you're peeping this spring.

You could win some sweet prizes, so get to snapping!