Craft Room Update!!

Hello my Lovelies!

Life has been more than crazy! More on that in a later post...

But for now...

Remember this "unique" find from a few months ago?

I actually finished it a few months ago with DIY white chalk paint and a few coats of matte polycrylic. I finally found time to put finishing touches on the craft room so that it is now presentable as an extra guest room!

Yes, she is indeed a lovely little lady now! 

Take note that the ugly green sofa parts are gone, gone, GONE!!!

In its place, the futon that has gone through college with both sons, once black, now sprayed white. Now, with a sturdy new mattress, so hopefully guests will sleep comfortably and hubby can sit comfortably to watch tv when I am working in here. 

I made curtains to cover up my messes in the closets :)  

The one on the left was a unique challenge...

The one the right was a bit more inspired...

Are you ready for Thanksgiving???

Blessings, 

Ronda

Refrigerator Box

You may be wondering, "why on earth have we not heard from Ronda in ages?" Seems to be becoming the norm for me to go a long time between blog posts.

Ah, well, this time I have a really great reason!

VOILA!!

I wouldn't go so far as to say that this is the big kitchen reveal. Quite obviously not done...I won't draw your attention to those things that have yet to be changed.

But do let me draw your attention to the lovely braided rug that my hubby bought me for my birthday!

I spent the last week and a half working on the upper cabinets.

I designed, and my DH built the box above the fridge.  It wasn't there before.
Just a reminder...

Yeah, I know!!!! It's now so light and bright now!!  Love. IT. :)

Trying to decide what I want to put in the open box.  Decor?  ie...

Or some storage options?

These are just baskets I had in other places.  In fact, the burlap lined one has stuff in it, you just can't see it! Bonus! But I'm a big fan of the one on the left.  And I am actually leaning more towards this direction.  Just not sure what I would store up here because I wouldn't want just anything to show up there.

Thoughts?

Blessings, 

Ronda

Console Table

So, my sweet husband is something of a pack rat :)

He comes by it naturally, both his parents are too.  

But, I must confess, there are times when those pack rat tendencies come in quite handy.  

Like when I decided I wanted a console table behind my love seat so that I would have somewhere to set drinks, magazines, glasses, etc.  And since it is technically in my "office" area, I could throw a few office things on there, too!

So, I come up with a picture in my head of what I want, explain it to my hubby, via pics on the web, and voila! I have my console table! 

The wood we used had a couple of different looks to it, so we took advantage of that.  The wood on the top and on the shelf came from an old bunk bed that we took apart.  It had a dark finish already.  The rest of it was pine from inside the wall we removed.  

I wanted to try the recipe that I have seen with steel wool and vinegar to age the wood.  Didn't work quite like I had envisioned, or I did something wrong.  Because it turned the wood quite orangey. And there was a dusty orange film on it.  

So I rubbed it all down and started over.  This time I used a water down version of black milk  paint to just give it a wash of color.  Liking this much better!  I only painted the pine boards, not the ones that were already dark.  Then I gave it a coat of antiquing wax and it was done!

Well, maybe not quite that simple since I ran out of the wax I was using and was too impatient to wait until I could get some more, so created my own using clear wax and a bit of dark stain.  

I like the way it turned out!

Blessings, 

Ronda

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Why Blog?

Wow, I just saw the date of my last post!

I am really bad at this regular blogging stuff! 

2 weeks! 

Does this imply that I am not cut out for the blogging world? 

I'm not sure...maybe...maybe not. 

A blog in its simplest form is just an online diary.  Simple enough. 

And yet, I have not kept a diary since I was a tween, so why do I suddenly think that I can keep up with one now? 

Maybe because on a computer, it is so much quicker and easier? I mean, who hand writes anything anymore? I seem to have a hard time even signing my name! So what would take me an hour to hand write, I can type out in 15 min or less. And I can add pictures to it, too!

But what kind of content would I be putting in a diary? When I was a tween it was about friends and crushes.  How on earth can I come up with daily, or even weekly, content that anyone is interested in reading?  Especially when it is just about me? 

I hear talk of being "transparent."  What on earth does that mean? Who wants to show their innards to the world? Certainly not me, because then they would see that who I am is only skin deep. Yep, that's right people, this pastor's wife is as shallow as they come! I have nothing of any depth to share with the world! 

That's ok, you say. Not every blog has to be deep and meaningful. Some blogs are just about pretty pictures. 

Oops, so I kind of miss the mark there, too.  I am working on pretty-ing up my pics. Something I am enjoying immensely.  I am finding it takes a lot of work however.  Is that something I am willing and able into which to invest my time? 

I have long thought of myself as a writer, envisioning what it would be like to write a great piece of chick lit (my favorite style of read, btw).  Could my blog reflect that and just be pieces of one big story?

Right now, there is nothing special about my blog.  It is just a poor reflection of other blogs that I follow and enjoy.  Nothing to make it stand out or draw people. 

So, why did I start a blog, you may ask? 

Initially it was to share pics of my current projects with my family and friends who only darken my door a few times a year at most.  And maybe most of them don't even care about what I am doing in my spare time, but I know there are a few who do.  

I know some of you are anxiously awaiting the revelation of what my new mission in life will be. And here you thought that with all this build-up, that I was going to tell you what it was.

NOPE! 

Just some of those random thoughts mentioned in my title! Ha! 

But I will grace you with this teaser of what my cabinets are becoming!

LOVING IT!!!!

Blessings, 

Ronda

Lessons From Gideon

Some recent goings-on (and some not so recent) have prompted me to once again start evaluating where I stand in my life. 

With my lovely daughter being a senior this year, I am quickly closing in on the empty-nest syndrome. 

And with the advent of the empty-nest syndrome comes the inevitable question: "So what are you going to do now?"

GRRRRR!!!

Yes, all these people are very well-meaning, they are only curious about this because they know that I have devoted the last 16 years to be being a full-time home-schooling mom.  

And I know that I do get annoyed far too easily.  My knee-jerk reaction is "What's wrong with what I'm doing now? Why do I have to do something else?" After all, I do have a part-time job as a piano teacher extraordinaire ;)

And the rest of my time is spent, as those of you who read my blog know, working on my home.  

So this has been on my mind for a while, but then a few weeks ago I started a Bible study on Gideon.  Those of you who know the story of Gideon know that he was challenged by God to step way outside of his comfort zone and become the leader (judge) God intended for him to be.  Gideon seemed to be a guy with a major self-esteem issue. He didn't seem to think very highly of himself, so he couldn't really see why God would think that people would actually follow his lead in any daily activity, let alone in going to battle against their enemies, the Midianites. In this, I seem to have a lot in common with Gideon, for you see, this has always been my fear. My excuse if you will, for not stepping out and leading.  That fear is grounded in reality, for I have had bad experiences with stepping out and leading where I thought that God wanted me to go.  And not waiting for God to tell me where He wanted me to lead resulted in... well, poor results.  

And now I feel God tugging at my heart to do...something.  No, I'm not sure what.  Does it involve furniture?  I don't know.  I think maybe in a perfect world it does. :)

I'm sure it involves stepping out of my comfort zone.  Going to battle with my poor self-esteem. Loving people like Jesus did.  

I am trying to quietly and patiently wait for God to whisper my mission in my ear. 

So tough, when I seem to be so good at making up my own missions!

I thought I would add a few of my artsy-fartsy pics for your entertainment pleasure! :)

Oh, and by the way, I believe I have it set up so that if you feel so moved, you can subscribe to my posts to get them by email.  Look for the subscribe button on the right. 

Blessings,

Ronda

4 Hours!!

This morning/afternoon I spent 4 hours sanding a cabinet door!  

It was certainly not how I would have chosen to spend this day.  But since starting this kitchen renovation, I have been trying very hard to make sure that everything that I do will be something that I can be happy with for a very long time.  

So after finishing my pantry (alright, not truly finished as we still don't have the crown molding on it), I realized that I much preferred the finish that I ended up with on that piece to the first cabinet that I had painted black. 

No pic of the other cabinet, but it was just too shiny and the distressing didn't show as much as I would like.  

Here's where my inexperience shows, since I thought that I would just lightly sand to take the shine off, then be able to put another coat of paint, distress again, and top coat like I did the pantry.  

BUT NO!!

I started sanding and the poly coating started to roll and ball up. GRRRR!

So, using a sanding block, I tediously sanded the poly coating off of a cabinet door.  I did it very cautiously to try to avoid over-distressing. I used tweezers to peel it out of the corners!!!  

And the whole 4 hours I was sitting outside in the blazing heat!

Actually it wasn't terrible in the shade. 

And when I was finished I was covered in black dust!

I don't have a pic of the finished product, but honestly, I am still trying to decide whether it is too distressed for my taste. 

In the mean time, note my new clock!

And me trying to be artistic...

Blessings,

Ronda

Fruit Flies and Moles and Hills, Oh My!

I am SOOOOO tired of having fruit flies in my house!

And I am SOOOOOO tired of having moles in my yard!

Little pests!

But I am progressively working on getting rid of the fruit flies using the funnel-in-a-jar-of-fruit method.  

The moles on the other hand have me stymied.  I have read of various methods, but outside of standing in the yard with a shovel, silently waiting for movement, I've not had much luck.  Even my cat, who patiently sits and stares at the ground for hours on end, seems to have had no luck with moles this summer.  

Although I live in the country and "country folk" are not supposed to care about their yards, I still have a desire for my yard to look like this:

When the reality of it is this:

Ok, so maybe that is a slight exaggeration.  Maybe a little more like this:

And this:

Ok, just kidding, but the shot of the mole hills really is what it looks like.  

Enough whining.  Maybe someday I will be rich and will be able to pay a gardener to make sure I have a beautiful yard. :)  

Maybe...

(Remember, my hubby is a pastor...)

Blessings,

Ronda

The Red Door

Happy Saturday to you all!

This was a rather unusual Saturday for me.  

I usually spend at least part of my day cleaning the house.  But today, I had projects that were calling to me...

Every time I walked by the front door...

Going THIS way...

...and THAT way...

I thought, "how terribly brown this area is!" 

(Please ignore the mess in the above pic.  That is, of course, my second project of the day.)

Anyone that had been to my house in the last few days had seen my little paint chips taped to the front door as I tried to decide on the perfect color.  This area was just BEGGING for a POP of RED!

Decision-making in general is not one of my strong suites, but when it comes to choosing the perfect shade of red...that was AGONIZING!!

Time will tell.  It changes throughout the day.  If I don't like it, it will only take another coat or 2 of paint.  

It's growing on me :)

The front entryway still needs something...

Definitely need to rid the area of the last vestiges of the orangey pine trim seen in the pic.  

Next up...

A Day of Rest :)

Have a blessed Sabbath!

Blessings, 

Ronda

Back Hallway and Hoosier Cabinet

I really thought that I might wow you all and put up two posts in as many days, but it just wasn't meant to be!

I did have a very enjoyable evening out last night with a bunch of other homeschool moms. Yes, we are still technically homeschoolers, even though Cammi is taking 2 classes at the high school this year.  

So one of the things that I have done along with the overall painting downstairs was paint a chalk board strip on my back hallway. 

This is what greets most people when they enter the house, since most use the back door. You can see, it is also where all of our "stuff" gets dropped when we come home.  I actually cleaned it up some for this shot! 

I knew that we had to have places to hang coats and such here, so when I started talking about what to use, DH remembered the coatracks that were in the old church.  So we contacted the new owners and sure enough there was still one there.  There were originally at least 4, but no idea what happened to the rest of them.  

I'm not great at fancy handwriting, but it's fun coming up with things to write on the chalkboard.

Part of the reason that we wanted to make the kitchen larger was to be able to move my Hoosier cabinet in there.  This originally belonged to my great-grandma.  

Since this is meant to be a kitchen piece, I thought that I would fill it with kitchen items.

The red recipe box was my grandma's and has her recipes still in it. 

Yes, the chocolate chips are a temptation. ;)

Love cookbooks!!

Blessings,

Ronda

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Hey-O!!

I know, Belle Sutton, it has been a long time since I blogged!  Thanks for the reminder!

Our family just got back from a wonderful vacation with my extended family in Gatlinburg, TN.

We stayed in a 7 bedroom cabin high up in the Smokies.  

It actually rained every day...

But in between storms we played some games, took some hikes, ate good food, went ziplining and white water rafting.

Me, the hubs, the kids and spouses. 

Blessings, 

Ronda

Another Step in the Right Direction!

AHHHHH!!  I am so excited!

No, it's not completely done, but...things are moved back and I am unpacking boxes. 

Here is the view at this point from the front door...

And the view from the back door...

Obviously, there are still many things to finish.  Most notably, the base cabinet with now countertop on the left.  And yes, I have removed the doors from the pantry on the right in preparation for painting it.  

And yes, that is hubby's air compressor sitting in the kitchen! He decided it wasn't worth taking back out to the garage since he hasn't quite finished putting on baseboards.  

Exciting times!! We are just a handfull of boards away from having the floor complete!  

Blessings, 

Ronda

A Good Way To Spend A Rainy Day...

Wondering what I have been up to lately?

Maybe a more appropriate question would be "what haven't I been up to?"

Things have really been hopping since the first of the month.  In fact, I can hardly believe this is the last day of July!  AAAAHHHH! Can summer almost be over?  I had so many projects lined up in my head that I KNEW that I would accomplish over the summer!

I know...unrealistic.  When will I ever learn?

But the good news is that the BIG ONE is nearing completion. 

This was my kitchen at the end of last week when my husband rigged up plastic booths to sand. He is so thoughtful!  This way I didn't have nearly the dusty mess!

Ah, this last pic tells me it was Saturday.  Note the bowl of pizza dough sitting on the stove!  Yes, I cooked through the mess! 

And my before pics of right before we started painting to show all the lovely red paint.  I liked it, but am SO over it!

 You can also see the blue that was in the original dining room.  

And of course my not-so-lovely blue countertops which I am over, but am helpless to do anything about right now since they are not at the top of the priority list. 

My beautiful daughter helped me with the painting to work off her trip to Holiday World.  Actually she says she was going to help anyway.  Either way, I was very grateful for her help as it was a very large job.  1 coat of primer and 2 of topcoat, all those cabinets, and lots of wall space!

So, that's what I have been up to!

I will get some more pics up once we have the base boards back down and stuff pushed back to the walls.  

Also, after 7+ months DH is about ready to put down the final boards on the floor!  YIPPEEEEE!!!

Blessings,

Ronda