A Bathroom Redecorated...

I'd gotten tired of my first floor bathroom.  You know, the one that does double duty as a pretty guest bath as well as a convenient place to rinse off sandy children.  It was too dark (red, tan and brown) and just worn out.  After painting the kitchen (post soon to come!) I had a new fresh color to work with.  So with only the cost of a new shower curtain I pulled together a new look.

the new shower curtain

After raiding a friends dilapidated barn with only a single glove and a wonder bar (awesome), I scored this crate.  In its not so distant past it was a nest box in a chicken coop.  Needless to say I scrubbed this thing until my arms almost fell off.  Then after some sanding and a coat of stain, I had a nice clean box.  At first I was going to throw it in the corner and pile it with clean towels but I had been looking for a cabinet to hang on the wall.  Could I mount the crate to the wall?

Definitely.  It's rustic and old fashioned.  And no matter how hard I try or how much I want to avoid it, that is the direction this house will always take.  Use what you have...

The next project was something to fill the opposite wall.  I love browsing prints and frames at stores but can never convince myself to buy any.  I'm addicted to originals.  I built this frame using old fencing and staples.   (My first solo radial arm saw project.  I was scared to death!)

Some paint and some stain to distress it and I was happy.  I had seen bloggers framing sticks and thought I would give it a try with some of my grape vine trimmings.

Another hit.  Wow, could this room be coming together so fast with really nothing but time invested?

The soap dish?  The the base of a planter.  Painted and stained.

The curtain?  Ruffles?  Me?  Hmm... not so sure if I'll keep this one but I'm trying it.  Just muslin and literally scraps I ripped off an old table cloth in the basement.  The only thing I do like is the unfinished look.

Keeping with the "bird" theme (nest box, shower curtain, twigs... see it now?) two brass birds with a coat of white spray paint.  So pretty perched on my mirror ledge.  

Homemade milk glass with upcycled food jars... think vanilla extract, grinder spices and artichoke hearts.

I'm pretty sure that I took about one hundred photos of this tiny room. That's about 95 too many even by my standards.  But in my defense I have been suffering with this room for years. So just a few more if you please...

(Ok, a remodel  for the price of a shower curtain AND a stack of fluffy new hand towels...)

Overall, I like it.  So much brighter and clean.  For a couple days every time I walked past the room I had to stop, turn on the lights and sigh.

A finished project.

One room down...

Good Food Friday: Chocolate Apricot Bars

I love the idea of unprocessed food.  Real food.  Whole food.  Foods that heal.  That benefit my body.  I would say I eat this way about 80% of the time. The 20% of the time that I don't is normally for dessert.  But why?  Because healthy desserts have a nasty reputation for being boring, tasteless or just plain weird. As I have been reading more and more, learning about how individual ingredients function in a recipe it is getting so much easier to discover satisfying sweets that fit in the whole unprocessed category.  

Like this.  

Almost completely nuts and fruit this is just about the healthiest treat I can imagine.  And with the addition of dark chocolate chips, it tastes indulgent.  Almost like a granola bar I'm betting this will be great in the morning with a piece of fruit and mug of hot tea for breakfast!

Chocolate Apricot Bars (Gluten Free)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ground almonds (I did mine in a coffee grinder, but a food processor would work too)
• 3/4 cup rice flour
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots 
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2 eggs, beaten
• a few tablespoons water
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 dark chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350*.  Lightly grease an 8X8 baking dish.  
• Combine dry ingredients besides chocolate.  
• Add beaten eggs and mix with a fork until ingredients are no longer dry.  If the dough is not sticking together, add water a tablespoon at a time. 
• Add chocolate chips.  
• Lightly press dough into the pan.  Bake for 25 minute.  Allow to cool or if you can't wait, go ahead and sneak a square.  They hold up well (if you eat gluten free and avoid synthetic binders you know what I mean) and are quite filling.

Inspired by Elana's Pantry


P.S. I was right... they do make an excellent breakfast!

Baseball begins...

His first year of baseball.  His first scrimmage.   His first home run.   

Well. that last one isn't quite entirely true.  He had a decent hit and ran towards first... but never tagged the base.  Continued to second.  Missed that one too.  By now the other team was in shock and frozen.  He rounded third again without making contact.  With a huge smile on his face he came home and finally tagged the plate.  Home run?  Sure why not.  

I wish I could say he learned something important after that play but he did it again... and again.  

And I'm pretty sure while he was in the outfield I saw him pick clover and eat it.  What?

Baseball may not be his thing.  

With five kids it is not unusual for us to spend a couple nights a week at sports, year round.  It starts in the fall with soccer followed by basketball.  Basketball overlaps with indoor soccer  and then indoor soccer overlaps  with baseball.  From baseball a two week break before soccer again.  Not all the kids play each sport, but someone is always going somewhere.   

I have learned that going to practice and games is as much for the kids playing as the siblings being dragged along.  All my kids have basically grown up on the sidelines watching their brothers and sisters play.    I have so many sweet memories of cuddling babies on chilly nights.  

We cheer from the grass or shout from the stands.  We spread out blankets and pack supper.  Iced tea for hot weather and hot chocolate for the cold nights.  Sometimes there are playgrounds for climbing or benches for reading, wooded paths for exploring or grassy fields for playing.  

I have watched the babies cheer for their older brothers as well as seen the older brothers gently coach the younger ones.  Nothing could please a mother more.

I am thankful for these evenings.  These  nights when supper is eaten a bit faster and empty dishes cover the table as we head out the door.  Getting there doesn't go as smoothly as I would like it, but as soon the van unloads at the field everything slows down.  And it is always worth it.  

Goodwill Desk - Polka Dot

On a donation trip to Goodwill a couple summers ago, this ugly little desk caught my eye...

A small investment later it was in the back of my van and settled into a dark corner of my crowded garage.

Fast forward to this spring...

Supplies for summer projects have come earlier than expected and every inch of space possible is needed.  So let's get this desk out of the garage and into the driveway for another refinishing job.

I find lots of inspiration for paint color and design pieces on this site.  While I love the paint color for the body of the desk, a great mix of blue/grey/black, (the same color from the first piece I did) the desk felt way too serious for me.  I wanted something a bit more playful.  Then I found this piece and felt it fit.

I traced a plastic cup for the circles and then free hand painted.  Distressed sanding and a coat of stain... (I really want to start using paste wax, just need to research more about it!)

It's perfect.  I know I say this every time I finish a piece, but I think this might be my favorite.  I originally had pictured this for my son,  Then I recanted and gave it to myself to replace the decopage bookshelf I've been blogging out of.  Brought it in, transferred stacks of paper, pens, cords, magazines, clipboards, electronics and such.  Took a bunch of pictures.  Tried to admire it...

Hmmm... looks weird.  Still love it, just not here.  And a quick tour around my place tells me I need to stop holding onto pieces I fall in love with after refinishing.  Yes.  This will be my first heart break.  My first loss.  He must go...

Any takers?

Sisterly Love

My first daughter will be joining her brothers in the fall on that long daily trek to and from the bus stop.  Could it be that teeniest tiniest of my babies will be in school come this fall?  Just four short months left with my baby girl.  This fact hit hardest last Friday when she got dressed early and went in for her kindergarten assessment.

And I was left with just one bird in the nest.

Boy, her little sister is sure going to miss her. And I will miss capturing sweet little sister moments like these.

Big sister helping little sister.  Makes me want to cuddle a little longer in the morning, make French toast more often (Eden's favorite!), spend more afternoons reading books on the trampoline and in general make this time go by so slow.  What am I going to do without this pair this fall?