We got a NEW bed!

Thank god for Overstock.com! I am ashamed to say it, but Jeff and I bought a new mattress last year, and have been using the same exact bed frame that I have slept on since 1992- and it is supposed to be a water bed frame! 17 years later, we decided it was time to splurge. Here is our crazy old bed frame with plywood somewhat exposed (and some really cute models!)....Aren't those Little babies ADORABLE! Okay sorry, I digress.....once I started to clean out the drawers underneath the bed, I realized we should go ahead and clean out the whole room, and give it a little makeover too! I moved the huge pic above the couch, and then slid the bed onto that wall. the whole room looks so big now!What do you think? I really like an inexpensive makeover, and the room feels so fresh and open now! Here is the bed close up (ignore the bedding, it's too hot for our down comforter yet)

My New Workstation

Our office serves 4 purposes. It is Jeff's official office where he works and uses the desktop computer. It is our library and hold tons and tons of books and magazines, it is my workstation for crafts and sewing, and lastly, it is where we run on the treadmill.

I know, that's a lot of purposes for one room to serve. Too much. So, I wanted to make the room a little less cluttered and move my workstation (which is pretty much an eye sore with my plastic shelves that hold my crafts). The closet in this room is ENORMOUS. It is about 10 ft long by 3 ft wide- and it has a light in it...so I thought, why not move my workstation into the closet?

I've been inspired from a few designing shows and photos like this one:But I really didn't need anything that elaborate. After all, it still has to store our luggage and a few of my sisters things. I just needed a place to hem, work on holiday crafts, curtains, and store all my junk. I wish I had taken a before pic, but here is what I am working with now:Not bad for a free makeover huh? I have plenty of room and actually better light than I had when it was next to the treadmill! Here is a closer look....Now, In the future I hope to update my "desk" but for now, this table does fine. I think this makes the office seem so much bigger too. Here is how it looks after my stuff was moved.

Congrats Dinner for Jeff

I cook every night, but Jeff just got a new job a little over a month ago, so it was time for a celebratory dinner! A couple Fridays ago, I made Jeff a very special one. Filet topped with crab meat and mushroom gravy, green beans with bacon, and king crab mac n' cheese. YUM! Just had to share the king crab mac n' cheese photos.....it's BY FAR the most expensive side dish I've ever made! Jeff ate leftovers for 3 days....

First I bought a pound and a half of Alaskan King Crab Legs. I separated these into the meat in the body part (to top the Filets) and then the leg and claw meat with the reddish outer layer to use for the macaroni. Next I grated my cheeses. I used half Gruyere (my absolute favorite!) and half extra sharp white cheddar- there are the same cheeses that are used in Auntie's famous mac- which is the best I've ever had!Next I made the cheese sauce while the pasta cooked. Just made a simple rue with butter and flour, and then I added milk until it thickened up- then added the cheese. Pretty typical from every other cheese sauce! After that, I just mixed the sauce, noodles, and crab meat and put them in a casserole dish and sprinkled buttery breadcrumbs on top and baked it all together. DELISH!Doesn't that look yummy? Here is a pic of the beautiful Filets with crab meat and mushroom gravy.... MMMM....That is just a perfect steak isn't it? Can't get much better than that meal!

HELLLO FALL!

I am so thrilled that it is finally FALL. Summer decor comes down, and warm colors and Fall stuff goes up. I love the smell of pumpkin spice, so that candle is a staple during this time of year. I also bought some cinnamon brooms this year at local Publix which add so much to the scent of the house. Our two little shelves in the great room looked like this all summer...And now after packing these away, the shelves are quickly transformed to this....Here's a little closer look :)

The dining room table that was very springy and bright before.....

Is now so very festive with all white tableware a homemade table runner that I sewed last year, and some fall inspired silk hydrangeas that I had in a closet collecting dust. I also put some real white and orange pumpkins on the runner, and dolled it up with shimmery, thick orange ribbon.

I try to take on a craft project or two each holiday, so this year I wanted to make a cornucopia. I bought a basket, some silk flowers, gords, pumpkins, leaves and berries at the craft store and made my own for almost $40 cheaper than the ones at Michael's. Not bad!
Happy Fall to everyone! Enjoy it :)

Before and After - Guest Bath

Just HAD to post this. I came across the oldest pic of our bathroom from a couple yrs ago, and the newest. Can you believe it? I know I need a new countertop- but for now, I think it's a huge improvement :)

Looking GOOD!

SO....after a few days of hard work, I finishing the tiling and the Grout! It wasn't easy though....the toilet actually had to be removed so that I could tile underneath it. It's not a pretty sight, but I have to share....

How about that flooring under the toilet- YES! And the pastel wallpaper? This bathroom was a gem! Honestly, this is the first toilet I've ever removed and Jeff had to help me out with this part- it's tough. I wanted to do this bathroom all by myself- but I just couldn't pick up a whole toilet alone. It wasn't fun cleaning around it, preparing for tile.....yuck.
I highly recommend strong rubber gloves at this part....and a bowl to catch the extra water when you unhook it. Even thought the water was off, it ran all night. BUT, after the tile was down, and I spread the grout (and sponged it off right away- unlike my shower a few yrs ago) it looked like this!

YAY! Next, I needed to replace the ancient light fixture. It was pretty bad.
I removed it (turning off the power first of course) and there were 3 layers of wallpaper under it! I had to remove them, then sand, and then Spackle and sand again- much better now. And with a new flat tan color on the walls to give it some warmth...
Lastly- all I needed was some accessories and the room was looking like a real bathroom finally! I wanted to keep this room neutral, since we have a lot of colors that are NOT neutral in our house.

All I need to do now is to fix the separation in the middle and put the quarter-molding on the bottom. TA DA! My first floor tiling project :)