First up was this cool white organizer, I’ve had it for ages and it keeps moving around. I filled the drawers with scarves, bathing suits, belts, gloves and wraps. Lots of little things that are easy to get lost in the corners of the closet.

Hanging next to it is my awesome hanging organizer, which spins and is so useful! It was a gift so I have no idea where you’d find it or how much you’d pay. I filled a few of the spots with flip flops (which I only really wear in the garden or in hotel showers, I promise Georgia!) and the cubbies are holding my pants. Jeans on top, khakis and black, gray and blue pants on the bottom. Boom.

In the middle of the closet are the dog’s crates. It’s summer so I took off their cute crate covers (to encourage the air to circulate so they don’t overheat).

On the right side of the closet I have my new suitcase (the old one was filled with clothes to donate) as well as long hanging clothes like dresses:

Now for the top… I used the gray paint on the shelves to help them stand out a little. After putting in all the white boxes it didn’t stand out too much. I filled 6 organizers from Ikea before picking up 3 more. From left to right I filled the organizers with painting clothes, (3) sweaters, shirts, jeans, pants, shorts & capris & skirts.

On the shelf below I’ve got all my shoes on a few ClosetMaid shelves:

I like having the shoes off the floor because Nixon is a little thief who steals my shoes all the time and even sleeps with them:

I filled up 2 large suitcases with clothes and shoes to donate and while I still have to bring in my hooded sweatshirts and sweaters that zip or button, it’s looking much better:

The final element I added was a new, bright rug from (where else?) Ikea which was being discontinued and on sale for $20!

Which means my total costs were:

• lighting: $30
• second shoe rack: $15
• curtain wire & clips: $16
• 3 additional clothes boxes: $15
• paint, accent paint, organizers: free, already owned
• rug: $20

Total: $96

So there you go – a completely new master closet which I love, for under $100 and a week of work!

It got a little better when I replaced the doors with curtains, put the dresser in the room and the dog crates in the closet, but I still wasn’t in love:

Recently though it felt like the only thing left “undone” in the master bedroom, especially since it had those old, ugly baseboards. So I got to work last week and now I’m ready to unveil the big after!

First I pulled out everything including hanging clothes, the dog crates, luggage, boxes on the top and a bunch of stuff I’d forgotten about. This is what my guest room looked like for the week:

Removed the old baseboards with a wonderbar and little bit of muscle. They came out rather easily and went right into the trash can so I wouldn’t injure myself with the splinters or nails.

With the whole closet empty I wiped the walls and shelves down for painting including the ceiling. Then I pulled out the clothes bar which would not get paint. Can you imagine paint flakes falling down on my clothes every time I moved a hanger?

Before painting I filled in the gaps (as best I could) with caulk and let it dry for several hours. It’s important to use paintable caulk since it would otherwise show up obviously against the fresh paint.

With the step stool and drop cloths in place, I started painting. Friday night I got the bottom half done, including the door frame which used to be off white with some gray:

and now is a bright white (see the contrast from top to bottom half):

Of course the lighter paint color is nice but it’s still a pretty dark space. So I bought some lighting! See the top of this picture, how bright it is?

This is the light I was looking for! So I picked out 2 sets of Ledberg track lights at Ikea for $15 each. I started by plugging in my extension cord behind the bookshelf and securing it to the wall just inside the closet with a small holder thingy.

Each set came with 3 tracks but you could also put All 6 track lights together and control them on one switch. Which is what I did. Now, Ikea is funny sometimes. They include these little tiny screws that won’t get past the drywall to make any difference. So I used 3M command strips cut down to size and adhered to the plastic.

From there all I had to do was link them together and stick the command strip to the header of the closet.

Here’s how it looked when it was all done:

After the paint dried, I steam cleaned the carpet. The next time Dad is up we’ll be installing the new baseboards!

The curtains went right back up but the tension rod I was using had begun to sag. So I picked up this wire set from Ikea and screwed it in 8″ beyond the opening of the closet for a few reasons 1) I had plenty of wire and 2) because screwing into the opening is tough because of the studs.

Here’s the curtains all strung up again:

But I’m not willing to get dressed out of the guest room until that happens so I began restocking. Post #2 coming soon with the inside (final peek) at the organization!

Last time I shared about the backyard it was in a sad state. The boards that were holding back the dirt in the rose beds was falling apart.

I lamented the fact that I didn’t have a big car to haul in these new stones I wanted to rebuilt the retaining wall:

Plus there was the little problem of my wrist which has been in near constant pain for the past 2 weeks. Not really up to hauling stones, digging out bricks and pulling up boards.

So I hired some help in the form of a guy named Ryan who. is. awesome! Seriously, amazing help on this project, fast and nice to work with.

We started on day 1 at Home Depot before it got too warm and picked up 140 stones and piled them in the back of my Yaris and Ryan’s station wagon. We also got 3 tubes of outdoor adhesive to bond the first row of stones to the second. Since I was using my caulking gun for other projects we picked up a second caulking gun for outdoor projects.

Finally, a 60 pound bag of polymer sand which we will soon use to fill in the gaps between pathway stones to block out weeds.

The first day we just got the supplies to the backyard and made plans to start another day when it was cooler.

Second day started with tearing out the old crap and building the new retaining wall. I have no pictures of it in progress because Ryan was so damn fast! 3 hours in and he had the bricks out, the boards out, the dirt pushed back and the first layer of stones in place!

The 3 tubes of caulk just barely covered what we needed so we had to grab another tube for the last bit.

If you see above,  we couldn’t finish the middle section on the first day without taking out the final board and bricks. We’ll also work on taking out the tree!

I love how it curves in to the fence!

On day 3 we took out the final section and board and finished the second section of stones:

Going back to this list here’s what’s left to be done

• Trim back the roses
• Dig up 2 dead rose bushes
• Begin replacing the wood retaining wall with new bricks
• Complete the new retaining wall in 1 spot
• Fill in the flower beds with new dirt
• Seed the lawn in multiple bald spots
• Plant more flowers under the guest room window
• Cut down the tree in the corner

Of course the backyard is in progress but the side yard looks terrible still:

I’ve been trying to get the stones out a few handfuls at a time but there will probably come a point where we toss everything in the green waste trash can.

(no, it is physically impossible to take a picture outside without the dogs photobombing)

So we still need to:

• Dig out the small stones and hard dirt – halfway done
• Recycle the wood that we pulled out of the backyard
• Use stones to fill in the gaps
• Measure for 2 raised flower/vegetable beds each will be 9′ x 3′
• Buy wood and install flower/vegetable beds (newspaper to line the bottom)
• Fill in the beds with fresh dirt
• Dig out the scalloped edging – halfway done
• Create another brick patio like the one below – halfway done

Day 3 we also took out the walkway from the back patio to the side yard and replaced it with bricks:

Close up:

In the corner we’ll add more bricks to form a patio for my new rain barrel!

The side yard project got started, but we’re in that phase where it looks worse than we began:

But I think we’re making good progress!

*use of “we” should not be taken literally. I make suggestions and buy stuff. Ryan does all the heavy lifting, digging and hard work.

I started with the built in cabinet which started out like this:

The previous owner tried to paint it before and got about halfway done. So I began by adding a bead of caulk around the seam.

Then, while that was drying I pulled out a can of oops paint from Home Depot ($2 paint is my favorite) and started painting. Here’s the drying cubby after one coat:

When the caulk dried I finished the paint, making sure it covered well.

It usually takes about a coat and a half to get really good coverage. The bottom of the shelf isn’t getting paint (but will get tiles or vinyl).

I moved up, painting the top shelf and rearranging the contents. It’s amazing to me how much brighter it looks with this new color! It’s definitely not perfect but now looks uniform and with those cracks filled it’s easier to keep clean and free of pests.

The next step is to sand the outside of the shelving unit and then paint it white to match with the rest of the room. But that’s going to be messy. And I want an electric sander. And I’m sick of painting so it might be awhile.

It’s all about replacing my current window blinds with new, pretty, faux shades in the kitchen, living room and office. Of course I want to do 5 of these at once but I might need to do them slowly.

I’ll post my own tutorial here because as I did this project there was a whole lot of guess work and I wish the blogs I’d read this on had been more clear. First up, measure the space you need the fabric.

1. Grab your measuring tape and measure from the top of the window (where the existing blind rests near the top) to the bottom sill. This is the height of the fabric you’ll need plus 4 inches. This will give you a bit of wiggle room if you cut it wonky and to tuck in at the top and bottom.

The second measurement you’ll need is the width of the window plus 2 inches. I found it was pretty easy to hem in 1″ on either side of the fabric so the shade fills the window without gaps or looking too big. You may want to give yourself 4″ if you’re nervous about the cutting.

2. Buy your fabric. Keep in mind that if you’re using a patterned fabric to orient the design the way you want it to show up in the window. i.e. don’t let it get cut so you can only install the shade sideways.

If you’re using a solid color like I did, remember to look for curtain liner quality. You can buy a basic muslin or cotton but it won’t hold the shape as well and will let in more light. I was pretty happy with the fabric I bought and it was on sale for $3.99/yd.

3. Carefully remove your blind from the window. You may want to extend the blinds first which makes it harder to move but easier once it’s out of the window.

For extra credit, clean the windows thoroughly, add a bead of caulk along any seams that need sealing and touch up the window sill paint.

Or just plop the blinds down on a large, flat surface.

4. Disassemble the blinds. This is where I was so lost so I’ll show you my step by step.

Flip over the bottom bar and you’ll find a few small plugs or holes. This is where the strings running down the blinds tuck in. Remove those plugs and use a small pair of tweezers to pull out the strings. Usually they’re tied in a knot so untie the knot or, if it’s really stuck, cut it off.

The long, more solid string that runs straight down the blinds is your pull cord, it raises and lowers the blinds. You’ll want to keep this for your shade.

The wimpier, criss-crossy cord that the slats of your blinds rests on is your ladder cord, it turns the blinds open and closed. You’ll want to remove this for your shade.

I found it easiest to snip off the ladder cord on the top and bottom and then carefully slide it off the blind slats. With my larger shade it was more difficult so first I pulled out the pull cord so it wouldn’t get in the way.

Now your blinds are disassembled and you’ll want to reserve 3-6 slats for the shade and move out the rest.

 5. Select the number of slats you want. If you’re like me at this point you’ll look at your blinds and think “holy crap these are filthy!” so take some time to clean them well, remember that once they’re stuck on the fabric it’ll be damn near impossible to wash the fabric or the slats.

Now, remember the measurement of your window height? Consider how tall your window is and how many bunches you want. You can do 3:

[source]

4:

[source]

or even 5:

[source]

Pick out the slats you want, remember that the top bar is technically 1 point and the bottom bar will be another. So if you want 6 total then you’ll need 4 slats. Go ahead and slide them back on the pull strings and add the bottom bar

Now that you have the slats back on you’ll want to place them in the right position, using your measuring tape space them out evenly.

In my kitchen I had 2 windows so I chose to match the spacing of the slats on the windows so they’d appear to be matching  shades.

6. Glue the fabric onto the mini-blind. It’s easiest to start at the top and wrap the fabric up and over the top bar. Then run a bead of fabric glue across the outside rounded edge of the slats and press it into place on the fabric. Make sure the edge lines up and if your shade is wide then you may need to measure the spacing at several places to make sure it’s even.

Be careful not to get glue on the pull string otherwise it won’t pull up. Also, if your fabric is light colored like mine the bead of glue may show up behind the fabric. So go for straight lines, not zig zags.

The bottom bar should be the last piece you glue, remember that your measurements will be from the top bar to the bottom bar. My window was 34″ tall so I made the shade 36″ so there was a little bit of a poof along the bottom.

7. Let the glue dry. This is the boring part. Have a coffee or clean the window that you’ll be covering. Remove any spider webs hiding in the window frame.

8. Re-hang the blinds. This part is tricky because if your brackets are like mine then the top bar will fit into a metal bracket and mess up your shade. So I pulled back the fabric on just the end, locked it in and then put a dab of fabric glue on the edge to hold it.

9. If your fabric is too short for the width, as mine was in a few spots, then you can simply clip the edges. They do sell special blind clippers but I don’t really care how they look behind the fabric. Just a quick snip with the scissors and they’re ready to hang!

Here they are all finished on and re-hung! See how the spacing has worked out to match?

I love how much light comes through and the votive candles on the window sill:

One last look at the coffee corner:

This whole project for 2 windows was under $50 – mostly because I over bought the fabric. Hoping I’ll have enough in the roll to do one more window in the office or living room!

It was April 19th. My brother’s 12th birthday. It was also the day of the Oklahoma City Bombing.

We were in our rental car early that morning, a Ford because Dad’s a Ford man, driving back to Kansas where we’d finish up our trip before going back to California. The day before we’d been to downtown OKC, visiting the hospital and adoption agency from my brother’s infancy. The drive was uneventful, we probably listened to music, talked, watched the flat countryside roll by.

Back in Wichita there was chaos, our family friends worried about our safety. It was only then we learned of the bombing and found that the first responders in our family (cousins who were nurses and firefighters) were on the scene.

These days kids in the backseat of a car would see the news immediately through their iPhones, get texts from friends immediately or follow streaming videos on YouTube and CNN Live.

Back in 1995 we didn’t have Timothy McVeigh’s face plastered on every screen, his history pulled from Facebook and shared with the masses, his family stalked, threatened and hunted down by the media.

168 people died that day. Years later when I was in college I visited the site with my Dad, walking amongst the reflecting pool and looking at the chairs, one for each life lost. 19 smaller ones for the children who died.

Those babies would be 18 this year, adults and off to college. And while their loss is horrific, the families who gather today in Oklahoma City remembering their lives, I can’t help but think of the loss of innocence. The freedom of not knowing every detail, every action taken by evil men and women.

It was the same but already so different in 1999, I was a high school freshman when two students killed 19 at Columbine. The 14th anniversary of that event is tomorrow.

In December, we were horrified and shocked when the children and teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary were killed. But I was also outraged when the media, when those with nothing more than a twitter account and basic use of the internet identified the wrong suspect, slaughtered his name publicly and then shrugged to say “oops wrong guy.”

I was stunned that they were sharing, on media news, every step of the killer, who he killed and where. Why anyone would want that in their head is beyond me. It’s not a video game, it’s not an episode of Criminal Minds. The first responders to those sites will live with the horror and memories for years to come. Why would you want that knowledge?

I get it, we like to be ‘in the know’

Everyone wants to be the one who knows shit. Before anyone else, preferably. But in our haste to get likes, retweets and internet karma we forget that it’s gossip.

And worse that “becky smells like a dog” gossip, it’s honest to god, life ruining, slander, “this person is a murdering bastard” gossip.

It’s easier to turn to hate, to fear, to lashing out in our grief. Whether or not you were in Boston this week or just feel the injustice of innocent lives lost and changed forever – do not reach for hate.

In closing, I’ll share what I added to Facebook this Monday, a reminder to myself and my own friends that when everything feels out of control we can always control our response:

Please keep in mind today that people often act out of fear and our knee jerk reactions are not always spoken out of love and clear thinking.

I can’t imagine the chaos and terror in Boston today but let’s please keep from making ugly comments, bad assumptions and attacking each other due to fear.

We don’t need laws, wars, badges, memes, or trials today. We need solidarity, love and abundant giving. So donate blood, call a friend, pray, light a candle or give before you condemn.

But the past few weekends I got out to the backyard to pull some weeds from the flower beds, pick up broken sticks from trees and the rose bushes, scoop dog poop and pick up trash. Nixon has a bad habit of stealing things and killing them in the backyard.

After spending the time outside it definitely looks better and feels good to get some sun!

I also need to:

• Trim back the roses
• Dig up 2 dead rose bushes
• Begin replacing the wood retaining wall with new bricks
• Seed the lawn in multiple bald spots
• Plant more flowers under the guest room window
• Cut down the tree in the corner

Looks like I have my work cut out for me this summer! Some of the roses are blooming beautifully!

Here’s the problem with the retaining wall:

See how the board is falling over? The brick border isn’t helping at all.

The retaining wall will probably be made with these rocks from Home Depot:

Of course I’ll need a few hundred of them, they’re heavy and expensive. So I’ll either need to replace them a dozen at a time or bring them home on a weekend when I can borrow Dad’s truck and wheelbarrow. This corner is going to be particularly fun to do:

The side yard is still looking crappy, mostly because I’m working on clearing out all the weeds, picking up the rocks and figuring out what I want on the side yard.

Thinking of making these raised beds that go along the fence:

Depending on the depth of the bed I might just do one layer and these little corner pieces:

I can’t build them too high or Nixon will use the layers as an assist to jump the fence! Still have a ton of work ahead of me this summer but I like how it’s going so far.

She was so important to me, a big part of my life. Over the years I’ve accepted that she’s gone. That, in many ways, her death was a blessing because she didn’t suffer for many more years with Alzheimer’s. But it took a long time to see that.

I still cry when I think about the last time she spoke to me just before hospice took over her care. Mom and I were lying with Grandma on her bed (the same one that’s now in my guest room), singing and talking. She looked at me and said, clear as day,

“I’m so proud of you.”

Later on she thought I had a daughter, so it was those little moments of clarity that we lived for. When her sweetness and caring spirit came through the disease that was taking her mind and memories one day at a time.

But then she was gone.

19 months later my Grandpa George was in the hospital with a bleeding ulcer. Something, intuition, told me to go. So I packed up at 10pm and drove until 1am to be at the hospital. Waiting. Shocked to see the blood bag wasn’t giving him fluids, it was collecting the blood pumping out of his frail body.

Terrified, when he started to die and my Mom left at 2am to get Grandma. Unable to say anything as the doctors worked, asking me if they should resuscitate him. If they could. Working frantically to stabilize his body.

Eight days. A hail mary pass. Dad flying home suddenly. Working from the hospital. Waiting to hear. Getting the call that he was gone. The day after my birthday.

Then a whole year waiting, holding my breath, relieved when no one died. Wondering if it was normal and still knowing it’s not.

Then, September. JT. The phone call we never expected to get and crying in my kitchen and wondering why? Why? 26 years old. A little girl who points to the stars and says with childlike innocence “Daddy’s in heaven!”

Regrets. Fear. Pain. Watching people I love break down completely.

I live in a small town. And have lived within 5 miles of my Grandparents and their care homes for 7 years. Every time I didn’t stop in to visit. Every time I let life get busy, that nagging voice would say “don’t.”

So I didn’t stay away often. I didn’t let months pass without seeing him. Even short visits were special. I know it’s what I would have wanted. Still, I told myself that whether or not I make it, there’s a chance that Grandpa could die after I didn’t visit.

Which is exactly what happened.

I wanted to see him on Valentine’s Day. I bought a brownie for him. But he was sick, an infection. Sleeping a lot. Wary of sharing germs and making him sicker, I stayed away. 7 days later he was gone.

There’s a song on the radio I heard after Grandpa died. And it hits me, right in the feels.

“Here I am waiting,

I’ll have to leave soon,

Why am I, holding on?

We knew this day would come

We knew it all along

How did it come so fast?”

After Grandma died some people said Grandpa would “fade in 6 months, or a year tops.” But he didn’t give up, he kept on living and loving the time with his friends.

Tomorrow we say good-bye. Tonight was the last time to see Grandpa. Once again the lyrics from this song were ringing in my ears:

“The sky is getting light,

the stars are burning out,

somebody slow it down,

This is way too hard,

Cause I know,

When the sun comes up,

I will leave,

This is my last glance,

That will soon be memory.”

Throughout it all, the heartache, the pain. The countless hours helping with details and doing whatever I could (often filling in a void when other family were unable or unwilling to step in).

Four funerals.

Four videos.

Four people I love put into the ground.

In four years.

Everyone has their limits and I think I’ve reached mine.

*Song lyrics “Daylight” by Maroon 5

These type set organizers are so great – we had one growing up that held all of our Sesame Street figurines and in early 2012 Mom gave it to me to use. It sat in the garage for almost a year until I could figure out how to use it. Here was my inspiration:

Source

The problem with this is, of course, that I have maybe 5 spools of thread… I’ve also seen it done with stamps but I have fewer stamps.

Source

While I do like this organizer I’ve already got my earrings and necklaces in DIY solutions but I do like how this one is hung on its side.  Here’s another one made for jewelry:

Source

It’s… okay. The color is less than my favorite though and removing a section for hooks seems odd to me. But still, I love the idea of organizing lots of little things with one.

Finally, I decided where to use mine:

Here it is in my master bath, I tested it out with a bunch of little stuff (here it’s sitting upside down) and decided that I really liked it. So everything came out and I dusted it well, then turned it around and screwed in three drywall screws to secure it to the wall:

I made sure that the cabinet door doesn’t hit it but it’s also really accessible – I thought hanging it on the wall behind the toilet would be awkward. Then I got to fill it up with stuff:

I have a ton of perfume samples, and small sized lip gloss and such. Most of it fit in here and I’m looking at ways to use the top row which are much smaller, I’ve tried dental floss and hand sanitizer but nothing fits here yet.

But I love it!

Check out my Made These Things board for finished projects (and their inspiration pins) and upcoming projects on Make These Things.

I think this is one of my few projects that pre-dates Pinterest! But it’s very Pinterest like with modge podge, book pages and jewelry storage all rolled up in one.

In November 2011 I made a purse out of a Nancy Drew hardcover book with my friend Melissa and took home the pages for projects. You already saw them here as ornaments for Christmas.

About the same time I picked up two black necklace holders from Michael’s. I can’t remember exactly but they were about $7 and $11 for the pair. The texture was black velvet which may be nice for exhibiting jewelry but is a bitch for modge podge because it just soaks in.

So I poured it on, layered the book pages and it took days to get it right. Instead of trying to fold the paper around the back I just trimmed it.

Here’s the larger version:

and the smaller one:

Aren’t they great? I was going to send them as gifts but after a year of planning and waiting to get this one done I’m holding these close and shouting mine! Because I love them!

They’re now sitting on my master bedroom bookshelf:

It’s one of those projects that sat unfinished for far too long and I’m so glad to have done!