Ethan is 6!

Ethan turned 6 yesterday. He chose tacos for his birthday dinner and pancakes and strawberries for his breakfast in bed. He chose to invite Terri's family over for dinner. Michelle ate with us too since she is living here for the summer! 

It is so fun to celebrate this cuddly, lovable little guy. I can't believe how fast he's growing up! He is so calm, happy, loving, and generous. If every kid were like him we could have 10 kids! I sure love our amazing Ethan boy!

Ethan also lost his first tooth the day before his birthday! It was his bottom right tooth. He got $3.00 from the tooth fairy. 

This Saturday we are having his friend birthday at GTC.

4.00 Nightstand Makeover

I scored this darling nightstand at Savers for $4.00 the other day! We needed one for Lou's bedroom and this was perfect in every way!

Here it is before the makeover:

And here it is after! What a transformation! I'll post pics of it in her room once we move into the new house.

True to form for my painting techniques, I didn't sand or prime it first. We did give it a good cleaning however.

I painted it Narcissus by Sherwin Williams using a Glidden color match sample jar from. Home Depot. The sample was $2.50 I believe. I purchased the crystal knob at Silver Star Hardware, a local, independently owned shop by our house. The knob was $4.50.

So the total cost was $11.00 for this cute little nightstand! I could've saved a couple bucks by buying the knob at Hobby Lobby but it's a drive out there and I like to support local businesses when I can.

Pancakes and Pajamas Party

This was such a fun, easy party to put together. It was probably the least expensive party I've ever done. Although I'm posting today, this happened on September 16th.

I set a table for 18 girls.

The tablecloth was simply a roll of purple wrapping paper from the Dollar Store. Quick, cheap, and easy clean up!

The yellowates and striped flower plates were also from the Dollar Store. 

The cups, blue plates and striped round plates were from Zurchers.

Savanna and Brooklyn had fun making the cupcake liner table runner. We flattened the 

liners and I taped them together on the back with scotch tape. This project took us about 10 minutes and cost no more than $2.00. I bought the cupcake liners on clearance at Michaels for 50 cents and also bought a pack at Zurchers for $1.00.

For the party favors we put gum balls into these long, skinny cellophane bags that I ordered on etsy several years ago. We bought 3 bags of gum balls of Zurchers for about $1.50. Then we topped them with stickers Savanna had in her room.

Girly's New Bed

I was so excited to finally get this bed done! I bought it at Savers for $15.00 in November. Since yesterday, it sat in my sister's garage, just waiting for some tender loving care. I loved the lines on this bed and my daughter was thrilled with my vision for her new room. She chose Sherwin Williams "waterfall" for her paint color. I used that color in a Glidden eggshell sample jar that I had made up at Home Depot. The little sample paint jar was only $2.50 and I only needed one for the whole bed.

Since I am not an expert or a professional painter, I did this my way! My daughter and I cleaned the bed well but we didn't sand it at all. I also didn't use any primer first.

Next we started painting! It was a beautiful, warm summer day so luckily the paint dried fast and made for easy work!

We finished painting in about two hours, maybe less. We let it dry overnight, then took it inside to await our move to our new house!

I just love how it turned out! I'll post pictures of her entire room, bedding, furniture, and all, after we move in.

Baptism Day for Number 2!

Our oldest son was baptized on May 3, 2014. He turned 8 on May 2nd! We sure love this boy!

I set up our back porch with photos of him on this picture frame,

and on this dresser in the corner. I also put a sign in sheet of paper here so he could remember everyone who came to celebrate his special day.

Here is the luncheon buffet table after his baptism. We had chicken salad sandwiches, doughnut holes and brownie bites, assorted fruits on a tray, a vertical veggie side, and shrimp pasta salad (brought by my sil Tara).

I ordered the banner from our home teacher's sign company. I printed 2 Nephi 31:12 on vinyl canvas so I can roll it up and store it for later use. The sign was $20.00.

I made the ceiling garlands for a baby shower in Washington. Luckily I was able to find them in the unorganized stash of moving boxes downstairs! They were perfect for this outdoor baptism lunch celebration.

First Bench

I needed a bench for our entry and didn't have a lot of money to spend. The ones I found on etsy, craigslist, or antique shops were $80-100.00. So one day I decided I'd just make my own bench. I went to Home Depot, bought the supplies, and had this primitive, but functional bench a couple days later, for a fraction of the price. Not bad!

I purchased a 2x4 and had HD cut 5 boards at 16 1/2" a piece for the legs. Then I had them cut the 2x12 down to 5 ft. for the bench. I paid $10 (and some cents) for the wood.


When I got home I sanded all the wood with fine-grade sandpaper (220) then applied pre-stain wood conditioner to the bench. (Wood conditioner was about $3.00 and I didn't even use enough to make the level go down). After it dried I lightly applied one coat of Minwax stain in English Chestnut to the bench top. (Stain was $7.00 and I still have a full can left for more projects!) I only applied one coat because I didn't want it to be too dark. Also, I found that using a paper towel, instead of a brush, helped the stain go on smoother.


The bench top was obviously the natural wood color (like the legs here) but I forgot to take a pic before I stained it.


Bench legs before the paint. I painted them Muslin by Behr using our leftover exterior paint from our house.


Bench top stained.


Bench mostly finished. (I'm going to put a 1x4 across the back three legs for extra support). Chris drilled the holes for me. Love him!!

Custom Home

Kitchen before we moved in. I LOVE my brick backsplash! Other favs are the antique pendants, the large island, and dark/light contrasts.