There's nothing a lil' can of spray paint can't fix

This is going to be a quick post.  I think you can all do the math!

One bottle of spray paint

+

One shiny, ugly, brass light fixture

=

One beautiful, oil rubbed bronze light fixture

Tada!  Not much to explain in this update.  Sanded the fixture a bit and then hit it with a coat of spray paint.  The paint covered great!  It has a great finish and sparkle.  It's beautiful.

Stay tuned for what else lay victim to my spray paint can.

Here's a hint....

Cheap and Easy Kitchen Update... (I mean... FUN!!)

Ethan and I woke up at 8:30am today.  The usual Thursday routine.  With the holiday's over we could breathe a little easier knowing there were no presents to shop for, wrap, or decorate.  Instead, my plan today was stay at home and complete our 2011 budget.  I'm famous for getting distracted.  It's an unfortunate personality trait. 

Anyhow, while sitting at the kitchen table I decided I needed to do something to spruce up the kitchen.  We are constantly battling our decisions in the kitchen.  Should we splurge and upgrade to all new counters and cabinets, just get everything refaced, paint the cabinets ourselves??? UGH!  Decisions, decisions, decisions!  If only we were made of money.  Lol! So I decided to do something.  I recently read a blog about a woman who took the cabinet doors off her kitchen cabinets.  Granted, her cabinets were a little nicer then mine, but I thought it was worth a shot.  Painting the inside of the cabinet would make it much cuter but I didn't want to spend the time or money today.  I wanted a change... NOW! 

So here it is.....

Here is a shot of the kitchen before. (Yes.. there are dirty dishes in the sink.)

 The victim cabinet is the single one in the left of this photo.

After rummaging through my house and stealing stuff from every room.  It's complete.  I'm not 100% satisfied but it will do for now.  The hubby even gave his compliments after his initial shock. 

Again. 

Here's the overall look. 

And what was Ethan doing while mommy was working and rummaging?  Playing in his tunnel, of course.  Thank goodness we don't get all the xmas toys out at once.  Days like this I need a new distraction!!



Mission Organization - Basement segment - COMPLETE!

Hi, my name is Abi and I admit that I have organizational anxiety.  I love to organize!  Now, my house is not perfect by ANY means.  But I love to buy things to organize.  It inspires me!  I have ignored 1/4 of my basement for about 3 months just because I know the evil messy creature that is lurking in that dark corner.  I do ALL the organizing in our house and the basement is a very big place, so it's taken a lot of motivation to get this ball rolling.  Our basement is the 'catch all' for everything I don't want to see upstairs.  We used to be 'semi-sane' before Ethan.  But kids have a way of collecting a lot of junk.  Toys, baby clothes, baby gear, blah blah blah.

So as much as I am humiliated to show this, I must do it for the integrity of this project.  Here is a before photo of our 'evil messy creature' lurking in our basement.  (Please do not judge us based on this photograph.)

So, for Christmas I asked for storage shelves large enough to hold tote bins.  I'm so envious of people that have their basements/garages lined with organizational furniture.  That stuff is not cheap!  So, my parents granted my wishes and I got one large storage shelf.  The beginning of my motivation!



Meet my best friend for EVERY organizational project.  My Dymo Label Maker.  This is a must-have for all women.

So with my new shelf together, label maker in hand, and about 3 large trash bags later... Mission Organization - COMPLETE!

(Please ignore the hideous Bo flex that everything in the basement must "work around". It NEVER gets used. Oops!  Did I say that??)

I could probably use 2 or 3 more shelves.  I realized that half of all my junk is just baby stuff.  So someday, maybe I will have a completely organized basement. Wishful thinking!

Here is the shelf put together and loaded with totes.

This blog helps me stay motivated.  If I could just get my husband to organize his work bench, we'd be in tiptop shape.

Stay tuned for more House Mayhem!