Makin' a place for my shoes....

Much to the Bearded Wonder's (BW) dismay, I have a lot of shoes. I don't have a lot of shoes when compared to most women, but I do have a lot of shoes when compared to him. Mainly, I harbor an extensive collection of flip flops.... It's the California girl in me. Here is a preview of the finished product.

Here is how I made it.....

I purchased a 12 foot length of wire shelving at Lowes (Home of the JJ #48 race team) and had them cut it down into 45" sections. This left me with a little shelving blip that I threw away. I also purchased the shoe rack brackets. For this project I used 2 brackets per shelf for a total of 6 brackets.

I used a laser level to ensure that the racks were level across the small space on the left hand side of the closet.

I placed the first shelf and then I did something completely strange for me, but it worked out....  I eyeballed the height of the next shelf. Nailed it! First time for everything.

Then, after I had the spacing I wanted, I measured it and installed the top shelf at the same height differential.

The picture above is the final product. It fits perfectly.... As the BW would say, Like a Glove.

Next, I had to load up my shoes..... and ran into a problem... wop wop.

My stiletto heels were falling through the mesh. Crap on toast.

I know they make some good products to cover the mesh to prevent this type of occurrence, but I really did not want to journey back to Lowes at 8:30 pm.... I just wanted to make this project my beyotch and move on.

Necessity is the mother of invention. Here is my invention. TP Roll Heel Guards (patent pending).

Here is how I made them:

Step 1: Gather your quality parts... scissors and a TP roll....

Step 2: Cut the TP roll in half

Step 3: Cut a cross into the TP roll half

Step 4: Place stilleto into TP Heel Guard

Step 5: Place heel on shelf and bask in your own prowess and glory...

Step 6: About halfway through the project realize that you do not possess enough TP rolls to cover all of your shoes, then come up with another brand-able idea.... Stiletto "Box Top Pads"....

Step 7:  Cut a small square out of the lid to the shoe box you are trying to downsize.

Step 8: Place "Box Top Pad" on the shelf

Step 9: Place shoes on the "Box Top Pad"

Now is the time to tackle my endless supply of the evil flip flop....

Notice how in the picture above, there is not a lot of space left for 10 pairs of flops and 2 pairs of boots....

Example:

A lot of space is taken up by placing them side by side.

This is where my big hair comes in.  I have a surplus of hairbands that need to be thrown away. I decided to "upcycle" them into a useful tool of flip flop containment.

Then I placed them all on the shelves.

This is the final product. 

Nice project that took about 3 hours to complete from Lowes to final product.

Cost Break down:

12' wire shelf               $ 16.95
Shoe Brackets              $ 2.64 for 2 brackets, $ 7.92
TP Heel Guard             Free
Box Top Pad                Free
Rubber Band                Free

Total Cost:                   $ 24.87

Time: 3 hrs

Skill Level: Beginner

Tools Used:  Hammer, Laser Level, Pencil, Cordless Drill with 3/8 drill bit

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Weekend Chili and Wreath Making

This weekend kicked off with a chili competition with some friends followed closely by some wreath making, house cleaning, and uber organization (more on that in the next post).

As for the chili, I will tell you all that I did not win, sadly.

I worked an awesome recipe that used beer, chocolate, and bacon. Who doesn't love bacon?

Sadly I lost to someone who used beer, chocolate, bacon, and deer meat. Dang it! I need to use buffalo next time. I will not be outdone by lousy deer meat!

After licking my wounds, I decided to distract myself with a little wreath making.

I went to Joann's and purchased the supplies to make 2 very different wreaths.

Wreath #1: The Nursery / Hospital / Delivery Room Wreath

I had an awesome baby shower. I was lucky enough to receive a lot of gift bags stuffed full of a wide variety of tissue paper. One of the ladies at the shower clued me in to a wreath that can be made with all the tissue paper.... I decided to keep it and see what I could cook up.

The final result:

As I said, a lot of tissue paper in some amazing colors! 

The only part of this wreath that was not given to me at the baby shower, is the green foam form wreath that I bought at Joanns for $3.00.

This is what it looks like from the back....

I started with a huge bag of tissue paper collected from the shower. 

Then, I sorted and smoothed it down in a few different piles. I cut the paper along the middle seam, long ways. Then I cut the tissue paper into 5 x 7 squares, approximately.

I then twisted the papers in the middle of the sheet making little tissue flowers.

I placed the "flowers" into holes that filled I poked into the foam wreath with a screw driver and filled with hot glue.

After the tissue was placed all around the wreath, I used a pretty piece of ribbon that was wrapped around a box from my shower to make the loop to hang the wreath from. I made one tail quite a bit longer so I could use it to secure the glitter letter from a different box in the center.

I am quite happy with the final result!

Wreath #2:

I purchased the following:

I was inspired by a wreath made in West Virginia blue and yellow. However, as I have no affinity for any one particular sports team, I decided on teal and white.

Here is the final product....

I made the wreath by making loops with the burlap and securing it to the wreath form with pipe cleaners.

There are 3 loops of burlap.

The inner loop is the smallest, the middle loop is double that size, and the outer loop is 1.5 of the middle loop.

I then made the chevron striped bow and secured it to the wreath with pipe cleaners and added the blue flowers.

Bam! Two wreaths.

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Everythin' and the Kitchen Sink

Matt and I have been kicking around a plan to rid ourselves of our horrible kitchen sink. We disliked the Corian sink for several reasons.....

1. It was stained, very stained.

2. It is a 2 basin sink, and while this is not a deal breaker to most, it is for me.

3. We have a large granite composite sink sitting in the storage room taking up valuable real estate

4. Delta touch faucet, enough said.

So, after work we stopped at Lowes and picked up the needed supplies.

This is the end result. Not the plan, but it works just the same.

Here is what happened. Matt and I have been deep in discussion about under mounting this sink we purchased a while ago and used in our Hendersonville rental. After extensive internet research, consulting three professionals (who all turned the job down), and speaking to 2 different specialists at Lowes, we decided to go ahead and get this project knocked out.

We headed to Lowes after work to pick up the necessary supplies:

1x2 furring strip

Plunge router cutting bit

Edge finishing bit for the plunge router

We headed home and busted out the template that I saved for just this occasion. I used an old wardrobe box to trace the template onto and then cut it out.

After placing the template over the existing sink, we discovered that we had a problem. My sexy granite sink was oddly shaped and not larger than the existing hole in one place. This would result in an oddly shaped and not as attractive undercount sink. 

Back to the drawing board we went.

After 5 minutes of discussion, Matt and I decided that dropping in the pretty sink is still better than this monstrosity.

I headed under the sink to disconnect the plumbing and the garbage disposal. Little did i know that Matt had already turned the water off. Needless to say, when he went under there to remove the faucet, he may have had water shoot out at him.... twice. Oops.

So we cut out the template for the drop in, taped it to the Corian, and then marked the opening with a Sharpie. With that complete, we jumped right in to the routing out of the old sink.... then it snowed Corian... wop wop. 

We quickly turned off the router and took the necessary precautions; we put on safety glasses and headed back into the kitchen shop vac in hand. Safety First! 

We quickly commenced Corian snow, round 2. This time, we limited the floating majestically by sucking as much of it as possible into the shop vac.

Matt made quick work of the Corian, as it cuts like butter when using a new plunge router bit.

What came next would last for 3 days: clean up.

After clean up, I installed the Delta Touch 2O faucet and soap pump. Then we dropped that awesomeness into the sink hole. Then we ran into a problem. the top mount clips did not reach the corona underside. Thankfully, I married an engineer. He cut 4 small blocks from the furring strip and we used this to clamp the sink to the underside of the Corian. Not elegant, but successful. 

I worked some magic with the plumbing, taking it from 2 sink basins to 1 with the PVC parts I had on hand.... and wham, we were done.

Total cost for project:

1x2 furring strip: $3.00

Router bit: $12.00

Edging bit: $40.00 (returned)

Sink: Already owned

Faucet: Already Owned

Total Cost: $15.00

Final assessment: Worth it!

But, you go ahead and judge for yourself. Keep in mind, the large granite sink can soak a frying pan as well as double as a baby bath tub.

From the day we purchased the house

The new sink, faucet, and soap dispenser.

This is a good interim solution. One day we will have light grey/white granite countertops with this sink under mounted. Until then, I am happy to soak the turkey pan while it sits flat in my jumbo sink.

The list for the kitchen is now as follows:

New Dishwasher

New Sink, install faucet

New Microwave Hood

Paint the walls

Bead board the eat in kitchen nook

Upgrade the pendants over the breakfast bar

New lighting fixture

Paint Cabinets

Glass front in 4 cabinets

New Countertops

New hardware on cabinets

Glass tile backplash

New tile floor

Recover the kitchen chairs and bar stools

Under cabinet lighting

Light in the Pantry

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Feelin' postal

I am deep into nesting mode. This has been one very busy weekend for the Burke household.

Saturday dawned early and spurred me into motion at the ripe hour of 8:00 am.

On the list of places to go:

Sherwin Williams
Lowes
Williams Nursery
Bed Bath and Beyond
Marshalls/Ross

It was a successful day.

I started out at Sherwin Williams to purchase the supplies and to tint my previously purchased gallon of paint for Baby Burke's nursery makeover.

I finally decided upon the color I wanted. I chose "cement" for the walls and "silver linings" for the ceiling. I have to paint every ceiling in this house, as the previous owners decided that they would paint every available wall and ceiling the same color. Ugh.

After purchasing a 9 x 12 canvas sheet, 2 rollers, 2 plastic trays, ceiling paint, and painters tape (the wall paint was already purchased a year ago, but left untinted until I decided where to use it) the total came out to $57.32.... Thanks to some sweet coupons like the $10 off a purchase of $50 dollars and a 20% off coupon. I love coupon stacking.

I then headed to the nursery next door in search of some mum plants. Nothing says Halloween and Thanksgiving like mums.

I got some help from a nice salesgirl. She and I were able to find some of the only not open mums in the place. As a note, if the mum plant is already covered in flowers, you only have about 2 weeks to enjoy the blooms until it goes dormant. If there are not open buds on the plant, you extend your life to 6-8 weeks.

I then searched in vain for 120" blackout curtains to replace the hideous ones in my bedroom, to no avail.

Finally, I landed at Lowes, home of Jimmy Johnson and the #48 race team. I was in search of a post, some quickrete, and a finial or light for on top of a 4x4 post. After the nice gentlemen loaded up the Murano, I headed home to Mr. Burke so as to assist me in the mum download.

Mr. Burke was quite busy himself. While I was off galavanting, he removed 2 dead bushes (1 in preparation for the hose post) and 2 Crepe Myrtle skeletons.

The after pictures for the post are below:

I saw the idea on Katie's "bowerpowerblog.com" under the aptly named "Hosed."

Here are the steps to create your own:

Items to buy:

1. 4x4x8 treated lumber post ($7.88)
2. 50lb bag of quickrete ($3.99)
3. Hose hanger (already had)
4. Finial or in my case deck light ($13.36)
5. Oil Rubbed Bronze exterior paint for wooden surfaces (already had)

Total Cost: $25.23 (not too shabby)

Update: The post light at the top is completely functional, added light in our pitch black backyard is totally welcome at this moment

Steps:

1. Dig your hole approximately 1.5 feet deep.
2. Measure from the bottom of your hole to the desired height of the post using a tape measure
3. Transfer measurement to 4x4x8 post and cut to correct length
4. Attach hose hanger to post using screws (attach finial if using one)
5. Apply several coats of paint, waiting 30 minutes between coats to allow paint to dry
6. Place post in hole
7. Open quickrete and pour evenly around post
8. Following guidelines on the side of the bag, add water, mix concrete until correct consistency
9. Using level, ensure pole is level right to left and front to back
10. Allow concrete to dry
11. Cover concrete with dirt and mulch, add hose
12. Attach deck light to top of pole using construction adhesive
13. Stand back and soak in your accomplishment

You would think that I would be done at this point...... not even close bud.... (love John Bender)

In between paint coats, I transplanted my mums into hanging baskets and pretty planters.

Here is a few after shots, because I completely suck at the whole taking pictures of things....

In the last photo you can see my sweet kitty peeking out of the open window.

Cost breakdown:

Mums ($12.99 per plant x 4 plants)
Soil ($0 used the extra soil from the post project)
Pots ($0, already had)

Total cost: $51.96

Is that all? Nope.

I also decided that I was going to start to tackle the nursery painting...

It has gone from this ugly beige monster with builders grade flat paint and drywall pops.

To this. Remember the color is Silver Mist from Sherwin Williams. It makes a huge difference in the space as to the lighting. Whereas everything before looked blah and beige, now things are starting to look very crisp. The ceiling paint from SW is very good and provides even coverage in one coat. You really do get what you pay for in the paint department.

The board and batten will be covered in the next post, but at this time, just a sneak peek of the primed out stage.

I am waiting 24 hours to allow the ceiling to dry before I tape it off and paint the walls. Hopefully by this time tomorrow, all I will have left is painting the board and batten!

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Oh, it's nothin'.... Just buyin' a new house!

Call it nesting, call it growing up, or even call it plain crazy; Matt and I bought a new house in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

We purchased this house at quite a discount, for a few very good reasons..... 

1. The carpet is destroyed, as in; we can clean it for now, but it needs to come up, and soon!

2. Every wall requires paint. Every. Wall. 

3. Can you say vinyl words and lettering galore? Don't believe me, there are no less than 40 different fatheads, works, sayings, prayers stuck to every available wall.

None of this is a deal breaker to us because of the following:

1. I hate carpet and would want to eliminate it anyway. Now I don't have to feel guilty for pulling up perfectly good carpet.... I am pulling up busted carpet.

2. I hate the color brown on my walls. This house has 5 variations on the color brown, to include Burnt Sienna in the dining room. The plan was to paint, now I have a good reason, mainly that I want it to be much lighter, and brown sucks up light.

3. Fatheads and vinyl lettering are easy to remove.

Just like every new homeowner, we have a list of things that need to get done to make this house our own. 

A preview of what I am talking about.....

The Dining room:

1. Paint walls "Smoky Blue" (Sherwin Williams)

2. Paint ceiling and tray "March Wind" (Sherwin Williams)

3. Get a rug in blue and yellow or blue and lime

4. Build apothecary table banquette from plans found on Ana White's website

5. Find a funky mirror for one wall

6. Artwork for adjacent wall, maybe a framed photo of a cow or the beach..... pooh, the Pismo dunes!

7. Strip, and re-wax my dining room table (there are scratches and dings galore.... 7 moves, ouch!)

8. Re-upholster my dining room chairs. Maybe in a fun funky fabric that matches the art and rug, ties them together....

Y'all, that is just one room.... And it is an easy room. 

Poor Matt has things like wainscoting, hardwood flooring, and cabinet installation on his list; not to mention the built-ins in the living room to house the TV, which I am reluctant to put above the mantel at this house.  This house is going to be a long labor of love, tackled room-by-room over many years. 

However, my priorities are:

1. Stain and seal the garage floor (because it is easier to do when it is empty)

Matt has chosen a Valspar semi-transparent stain in "onyx" from Lowes (boom, confetti) for the floor. I will be prepping this for stain today, in hopes that the weather holds out for us to stain this bad boy tomorrow!

2. Completing the nursery walls..... 

The room needs wainscoting and crown molding added and painted. I will most likely paint this room "March Wind" (Sherwin Williams) in preparation for baby-girl Burke's arrival. This room also needs a ceiling fan, because I am not trying to have a SIDS incident.

3.  The Master Bedroom overhaul.....

This room... oh this room..... 

Where to begin:

1. Rip-out carpet, replace with hardwood to match the rest of the main floor (including the master closet)

2. Remove horrible curtains because that window moulding is beautiful and hidden under layers of icky brown

3. Install floating crown to break up the wall and add interest....

4. Paint the walls "March Wind" (Sherwin Williams) and maybe a nice bluey-teal above the crown for definition

5. Art for the walls, maybe a few of my California beach pics framed

6. Purchase a chaise or a chair and footstool, as this room is HUGE and will have a ton of negative space, even with our king-size bed, dresser, and armoire.

7. Pipe dream: recessed lighting (the center light is not ideal)

Those are the priorities. After that, we will address the burnt sienna dining room, the brown (almost black) superman toilet, quasi-functioning (as in lost space due to an unnecessary door and hidden gem of a back wall) laundry room,  and desperately in need of love living room....

I promise you I will get a list together of all the things that I would like to do soon.

Until then, just imagine me hunched over the scrub brush prepping concrete for stain in the 90 degree central Tennessee summer heat.

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Sewin' and Plannin'

I have spent the last few weeks planning a few projects to undertake:

Here is the list:

1. Sew Fleece Vest similar to that of North Face vest
2. Sew Dress
3. Build Craft Table seen here
4. Build Coffe Table seen here
5. Refinish my cedar chest family heirloom
6. Matt's running t-shirt quilt

I am addicted to the idea of building my own furniture and making it look exactly how I want it to look, out of actual wood, at non-ridiculous prices.

I am going to start on the craft table. I think that it is a great place to begin. When I get my craft table complete, I can begin sewing projects.

I am hoping that I can get this project completed in a timely manner and for a reasonable amount of money. I just need to scale my crazy ideas back.... Granite and Butcher Block tops are not necessary ( I will repeat this until I believe it).

All of this will hopefully culminate in an awesome new coffee table, a funtional craft room, and a beautiful t-shirt quilt for Matt.

Check out the links to the furniture projects. Ana White has a lot of projects that you can do at any skill level.

I mean, who doesn't love this????

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Raisin' Funds

I received my information to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. I am committed to running 13.1 miles for the best cause I can think of..... kids.

I will be out there, bright and early on April 26, 2014.

Fundraising Goal: $500

Run Goal: Sub 2:00 hour half marathon

I hope that you all are interested in donating to a great cause.

How to donate: Visit my St. Jude's profile page and click on the donate now button

I am excited to see how this goes. I am hoping that I have some supportive friends and co-workers.

If you are interested in running with me, just hit me up!

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Pimpin' Joy

Bobby Bones and Amy of the "Bobby Bones Show" are encouraging us to start Pimpin' Joy, however we can. I have decided that my method of pimpin' joy is to raise money doing something that I love for a cause I believe in. This race season, I will be raising money for St. Judes Children's Research Hospital by running several races and asking for my family, friends, acquaintances, and frenemies to donate money to St Judes for the races that I run. I will be starting here at home with the Country Music Half.

I registered for the 2014 County Music Half Marathon, the race that is closest to my heart, as it is the race that started me on this crazy weight loss/running journey. In years past, I have run this race with the sole intention (pun intended) of completion. This year, I am running it with a few different goals in mind:

1. Finish with a sub 2:00 time
2. Finish with no injuries
3. Raise at least $500 for St Judes Childrens Research Hospital

I registered to be a St. Jude's Hero. I have seen the jerseys at all the races, and I have always wanted to get involved, but have never been able to have advance planning time to get sponsors and donors. This year, I am getting it done.

The information on the race:

When: 26 April 2014
Time: 7:00 am
Location: In front of the Ryman Auditorium
Website: http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/nashville/register

Course map: http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/nashville/course

Donate to St. Judes Today!

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Lookin' for a Venue

Matt and I are in the unenviable position of locating a place and setting a date for the wedding. I am leaning toward 4 July 2015 at the Middle Tennessee Iris Society Garden. According to Ms. Cheap, this is an ideal location. 

Check out her blog: http://blogs.tennessean.com/cheap/faqs/

More to follow. I'm off to read some Kim Harrison and get my run on!

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Fixin' to get Hitched

Matt and I lined up to run the hot chocolate 15k at 7:45 am on Saturday, the 15th of February. It was a blustery 18 degrees with slush and rain pellets smacking us in the face. Matt and I met up with our friend Robin and tried our best not to completely freeze while waiting for 7:55, the official start time. 

Matt and I, pre-race, most definitely freezing.

Robin and I freezing our butts off waiting for the race to start was the low point of the morning. 

Note, the prolific use of hats, gloves, and multiple layers. These were not shed as the race continued, as impossible as it seems, it only got colder as the morning progressed.

The race was challenging, because, hey, this is Nashville and that is how we race. We like to find every hill between downtown and Vanderbilt and run up it during the course of the race, sometimes twice.

Around mile 6, the wheels started to fall off. It was a mix of walk/run and cursing my stupid ambition for signing us up for a 9 mile run in the dead of winter. Needless to say, my legs were tight, my lungs were burning from the cold, and my right knee was on fire....

Blissfully we closed in on the finish line. Not a moment too soon, as I wanted this travesty to be complete. My all time worst time was just put up. I consider it a feat of hard headedness that I even finished this race.

Note that abysmal time above my head!

After that finish, I needed to get my stretch on. I parked it by a tree while Matt headed to the finish tent to collect up our collectors mugs of hot chocolate and fondue, really the only saving grace of this run.

He headed back over to me and handed me a mug with a warning. Matt says, " the race ladies were putting prizes and trinkets in the mugs, I think I saw them slip something in yours near the bottom." As I love surprises and annoying trinkets like you get out of a Cracker Jack box, I started digging.

What I found looked like a lego boulder, in fact it was a lego boulder. 

  

A lego boulder with a sweet rock inside.

Matt set his stuff down and said, "you gonna marry me or what"?

He nailed it. He included what we love....

Running: check

Legos: check

Country song: check

The answer was of course yes.

We got a little sloppy and had some quasi-inappropriate PDA. 

So there you have it. Now I'm fixin' to get hitched.

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