tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57137175516386781802024-03-19T01:48:23.143-07:00me and jillymiahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.comBlogger232125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-73298929404706581312014-07-02T12:00:00.004-07:002014-07-02T13:19:29.600-07:00the bathroom.....is DONE.You guys. When I started this remodel <b>TWO YEARS AGO</b>, if you had told me how long it was going to take me, I would have <u><i><b>laughed hysterically</b></i></u> in your face. I thought I'd be finished by the end of Summer 2012.<br />
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!<br />
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Oh my.<br />
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I also never would have done it if I had known how long it would take me, so I'm glad I didn't know then what I know now. I've muttered "When this bathroom is finished, I can die a happy woman!" far too many times in the past two years, so now I'm kind of scared. I mean, I don't want to die NOW, I just want to be happy that I actually finished the bathroom when I die in my bed, after a good meal and a sound night sleep, when I'm 96. <br />
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So.... before another two years goes by, let's look at the after pictures of this basement bathroom. This is <i>by far </i>the hardest DIY project I have ever tackled, and also the most fulfilling.<br />
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Here's the great news: <i> Sometimes</i> I do a little photo shop work when there is a problem I don't feel like fixing before I take pictures. For example, when we took pictures of the toilet area a few months ago, there was a gaping hole to the left of the toilet that needed to be fixed. A little editing came in very handy!<br />
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However, I wanted to be completely DONE when we took the final pictures so I could check the entire project off of my ever-growing and very lengthy list. So, I patched that drywall behind the toilet, as well as another hole by the sink, where the outlet had to be moved (again). For the record, patching drywall is not my favorite. In fact, it might be my least favorite.<br />
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When I started coming up with a plan for the lighting in this space, I was really drawn to fixtures like this from both Pottery Barn and Restoration Hardware.<br />
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They had that kind of coastal, industrial look I was going for, but at a price of between $300-$500 per fixture, I knew it would never happen. And I was sad. For about a minute. Until I <i>realized</i> that I had a few that looked almost identical in my garage from my hoarding days when I bought about 40 of them when a restaurant was going out of business! I ended up selling all but a few of them and I absolutely love them. They provide a little "wow" factor, as well as plenty of light for a basement bathroom.<br />
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On to the mirrors, which proved to be a big project. After sketching a hundred different ideas, I finally came up with what I wanted, and Melanie knew exactly how to execute it. She made precise measurements of everything I needed and I went and bought and cut all the boards. I showed up at her house one evening, and we routered out a groove on the backside of all the boards so that the mirrors could just sit inside without having to be glued or fastened to the wall in any way. This is such a brilliant and custom way to hang mirrors. She is so smart. The mirror was the original one that was in bathroom, I just had it cut into three smaller pieces. I recruited my dad for a day, and he was able to install the mirrors and surrounding woodwork. The mirrors were SO heavy, it took me, my dad AND my mom to get them in. Then came the time consuming and very messy task of filling, sanding, caulking, taping and painting.<br />
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Also, I haven't ever addressed the door situation. The original door opened up into the bathroom and if anyone happened to be sitting on the toilet, they would have lost their legs from the knees down when the door flung open. It was just dumb design and I had to find a way around it. I had always wanted a barn door somewhere in the house, and this was the <i>perfect</i> place to use one. I found an antique door from my girls at The Old Brick House, which is a monthly vintage market here in the Phoenix area that is amazing. (@oldbrickhouse) If you live here, you should go. If you don't live here, come visit!<br />
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I painted it a soft gray, distressed it a little, and sweetly talked my father-in-law into installing it when he was here over Christmas. He was able to use the original hardware as the outside handle, and he spent <b>a lot </b>of time filling in odd holes and straightening things up. He did a beautiful job with the installation. I bought the track and all the barn door hardware at Tractor Supply Company for around $100. It was galvanized metal, but I spray painted it a matte black. After scratching our heads and scouring the hardware section at Lowes for a solution on how to have the door lock from the inside, we finally settled on this simple design that works amazingly well. I couldn't be happier with it!<br />
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I painted the two little signs on the outside of the door using matching frames I found at Goodwill for a dollar apiece. I had the idea two years ago when I started this whole mess, and the completion of them makes me so happy.<br />
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While my electrician was here working on the bathroom, (eons ago) I already knew I wanted to use a barn door in this hallway, so I had him remove the sconce just outside the bathroom door and install a can light in the ceiling. (The bathroom door had already been removed, but I propped it back up for the picture, just so you could feel my pain.)<br />
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I was left with yet <i>another</i> drywall repair, and so I decided to cover the small hallway with paneling. I headed right over to my neighborhood Lowes in my work costume (they probably think I'm a legitimate hobo) and got all my paneling cut.<br />
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I primed it, then painted it the same
color as the adjoining walls, and I really love the added texture and
interest it gives this small hallway. Plus, I didn't have to patch the drywall. Win, win.<br />
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My view from the couch is about a million times better now.<br />
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Another small but needed detail was the added leg supports on the vanity. Technically, the vanity was made to float, and although it was secure, that long butcherblock top and the two sinks are super heavy. That alone was making me nervous, but the vision I had of teenage girls hopping up onto the counter to do their makeup was causing me anxiety. So, with the leftover butcherblock material, we wedged some legs under the vanity for added support. They look modern and sleek and now I can sleep at night. <br />
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I shake my head, even as I'm constructing this post, about all that has transpired in this tiny space. Bathrooms are a big deal. So. Much. Work. <br />
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Two beautiful pictures inspired all the change.<br />
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I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. It is <u><b>SO FAR</b></u> from perfect it's almost comical. I could point out 100 things that are wrong with it, but ever since I read <a href="http://www.thenester.com/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{The Nester's}</span></a> book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nesting-Place-Doesnt-Perfect-Beautiful/dp/0310337909/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404019343&sr=1-1&keywords=it+doesn%27t+have+to+be+perfect+to+be+beautiful"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #45818e;">{It Doesn't have to be Perfect to be Beautiful}</span></span></a>, I have fully embraced all its flaws. I highly recommend her book. It's SO good!<br />
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I <b>MUST</b> thank my dear friend and neighbor, Melanie, for helping me
finish this bathroom. She is the most helpful and construction savvy
girl I know, and she is the <i>only </i>reason this bathroom is done. I
can't even begin to list the things she helped me with or the number of
hours she has spent in this bathroom, but I'm so thankful that she was
willing to guide me along and be my tiny cheerleader <b>every</b> step of the way. She's an incredible friend.<br />
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This bathroom is the most perfectly imperfect space ever, and I'm happy to claim it. This project made me stretch and do things I didn't really want to do, things I didn't know how to do, and things I wasn't good at doing. But the "befores" and "afters" speak for themselves. Although imperfect, it is definitely a big improvement.<br />
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IT'S DONE!!! <br />
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Oh, what a feeling!<br />
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your girl,</div>
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jilly<br />
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com186tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-29496987815988167952014-06-01T00:32:00.000-07:002014-06-01T09:46:03.517-07:00better late than neverWell, here I am. Almost 2 months later. And I am alive.<br />
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And so is Mia. Maybe we will have a guest post from her before we turn 80. Although she has been M.I.A (how appropriate is her name?) from the blog for the past year, my love for that girl hasn't waned even one tiny bit! We don't get to spend nearly as much time together as we'd like, but we touch base often and never have quite enough time to talk. I'm here to tell you she is doing great, looks the same, (fab) and has been really busy with projects around her home. She's done some amazing things lately, and if she doesn't blog about them, I will! Here's a peek at a super cool wall treatment we did in her dining room recently.<br />
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So much has happened since my last post.......SO MUCH!<br />
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First of all, you may be shocked to learn that I decided to stay in the position I was in at work instead of moving up to be a Gate Agent. The main reason was because I was eligible to start dropping and trading shifts on May 18th. If I had started the training to be a Gate Agent, I would have been in training full time for five weeks and then on probation (again) for another three months. Which would have resulted in NO travel with my family this whole summer and I just couldn't comprehend all that work with no play. At the end of three months, I have to have worked 60% of my total scheduled hours. I can work really hard for a week or two (picking up extra shifts) and then take a month off at a time. I've been working a lot the past month, so this summer is going to be full of lots of time off and abundant traveling. We are all super excited about it!<br />
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Just in case you were wondering, I have worked the last eight holidays. (Valentine's Day, Presidents Day, St. Patrick's Day, Good Friday, Easter, Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day and Memorial Day) I send pictures like this to my friends and family on Easter Sunday while I'm sitting in the break room eating my dinner and feeling sorry for myself.<br />
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I have tried to make each holiday up to my family if I have a day off before or after. We had a lovely Easter dinner out back on the patio this year on Saturday night. The weather was perfect and we had such a nice evening together. <br />
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Andrew took this picture of the kids after church on Easter Sunday and I really love it. So much.<br />
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We moved Jaci to Utah because she had some friends that needed another roommate for a few months. She decided that since she had flight benefits and could come back and forth to Arizona, she would love to have the fun experience of living away from home for a short spell. Me and the little boys flew to Utah to see her this past week and help her organize her<i> tiny</i> space. It's tricky getting everything a girl needs into such a small space, but we did it and had some fun cheering up her miniscule bedroom.<br />
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We walked around the Provo Temple while we were there, and I've never seen such beautiful pink roses in my life! It seems like they went on for miles! This picture doesn't do them justice, and I loved being there with my kids. <br />
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Jaci won a contest on Instagram for two free tickets to the Karmin concert in Salt Lake City. Andrew loves Karmin, so Jaci called and told him she wanted him to be her guest to the concert, but he would have to catch the next flight out of Phoenix to make it on time. (the flight was leaving in an hour) Fortunately, he works about 10 minutes from the airport. He hopped in his car, got through security, ran through the terminal, and got to the gate just as they were giving the final boarding call. (just like in the movies....) A quick trip to H&M in Salt Lake where Jaci helped transform him from businessman to a hip concert goer, and they were off!. They had an absolute blast and I'm so happy that through my job I am able to provide fun experiences that my family wouldn't be able to have otherwise.<br />
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Jaci flew in on Mother's Day and the boys and Andrew came to the airport to pick her up and got to see me in action at work. It was so much fun to see them for a few minutes on the very day I was feeling very thankful to be their mom!<br />
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Are you already trying to think of some easy summer meals to make while your kids are home? I kid you NOT, I am Mother of the Year when I make this very simple dish. The kids love it so much. Make (or buy) some basic pizza dough. I love The Pioneer Woman's <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/02/my-favorite-pizza/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{recipe}</span></a> for pizza dough. I actually love every single thing she makes and I wish she was my twin. Trader Joes has some good, pre-made dough if you aren't in the mood to make your own.<br />
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Get a little ball of dough, spread it into a circle the size of your palm, fold a pepperoni in half and then in half again, place it in the middle of the dough and add some mozzarella cheese, fold the edges in and seal it up really well into a circle. I just hold the dough in my palm the whole time and roll it back into a ball shape. Then I submerge that whole ball into some melted butter seasoned with a little bit of garlic powder and place it in a bundt pan. I just keep rolling and filling until it's a little more than halfway full. If there is any extra seasoned butter, I drizzle it over the top. (I'm confident the Pioneer Woman would be proud)<br />
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I throw a towel over it and let it sit for about 30 minutes, then bake it at 350 for around 25-30 minutes or until the top layer is lightly browned. Let it cool for about 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate and serve with your favorite pizza sauce. They pull apart into the perfect kid-sized food. I'd be lying if I said I didn't love them, too. <br />
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So, what are you doing for fun this summer? Since we are already well into the triple digits, we are going to escape this furnace as often as possible. I'd love to hear some of your favorite summer destinations that are low key and family friendly! Maybe we will meet you there.....<br />
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your girl,</div>
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jilly </div>
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-5229795027342512872014-04-04T22:55:00.000-07:002014-04-04T22:59:14.397-07:00recipes you wantHello friends! Seems like blogging takes the furthest backseat in my life these days, and I'm sad about it, because I miss all of you! <br />
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I'm a working girl now, remember? I work at Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, loading and unloading bags on planes. But I only have 10 more shifts and then I'm going to start the training classes to be a Gate Agent. Although I can honestly say that I enjoy the hard work, I will be super happy to get out of the sun, the fumes, the dangerous equipment and the inappropriate language. :) Did you know that they recently gave me a headset? I was so pleased about it that I sent this picture to Andrew right away!<br />
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Copy That.<br />
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For Spring Break, we took the boys to Newport Beach for a few days and stayed at our darling friend Jennie's beach house. She lives 50 steps off the sand in this quaint little home built in the 50's by her grandparents. We had the most relaxing and restful time while we there. We even got to witness some dolphins playing one morning.<br />
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Jennie is a foodie (a true kindred spirit) and she made us the most delicious salad the night we got there. It is a MUST for the spring season and will carry right on into summer beautifully. It's a simple salad, bursting with flavor and texture. I just know you'll enjoy it as much as I do!<br />
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<u><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Jennie's Salad</span></span></u><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">baby spinach</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">crisp pear, cut in bite-sized pieces and sliced very thin</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">crumbled goat cheese (I get mine from Trader Joe's) or gorgonzola</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">sugared pecans (or toasted pine nuts)</span></span><br />
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Jennie told me about a delicious new pizza she'd recently tried called the "fig and pig". I was intrigued to say the least. I made it for my family a few days later, along with a delicious margherita pizza, (<span style="color: #45818e;"><span style="color: black;">this</span> <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/tomato-basil-pizza-two-ways-an-experiment/">{recipe}</a></span> from from The Pioneer Woman) and documented it with this picture on Instagram. (@jillmariemckee)</div>
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Mia and her man stopped by the next day and finished it off and loved it! So with their seal of approval, here is the recipe!</div>
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<u><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Fig and Pig pizza</span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">pizza crust of your choice (make your own or use the whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joes) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">roll (or stretch) (or throw it in the air!) your dough out and place it on a greased pan. Spread Trader Joe's Fig Butter over it, shredded mozzarella cheese, and bite sized pieces of prosciutto. Put it in a very hot preheated oven (450-500 degrees) and bake until cheese starts to bubble and brown. (10-12 minutes) Take out of the oven and top with arugula and fresh grated parmesan cheese. I also sprinkled some toasted pine nuts on top.</span></div>
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It's fancy. And<i> real</i> good. </div>
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I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful Spring! I can't ever decide if I like Spring or Fall better because I really love them both so much. I have some honeysuckle vines on my back porch that are blooming and it smells like heaven out there. Jaci's very talented friend, Tyson French, was in town last weekend to shoot a wedding with her. <a href="http://www.jacimarie.com/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{Jaci}</span></a> did the videography and <a href="http://tysonfrench.com/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{Tyson}</span></a> did the photography. They are quite the young, talented duo. On a whim, he snapped some quick pictures of her in our backyard. I absolutely adore this one. It might be my favorite picture of her. Ever.</div>
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G came over and gave my chalkboard a happy facelift and I made the circle garland to finish it off. </div>
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I just punched a ton of paper circles and sewed them together. It was a fast, easy, and basically free project. Even though it's a simple thing, it makes me so happy every time I see it. I hope every one of you has something simple in your home that makes you happy, too!</div>
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your girl,</div>
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jilly</div>
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<br />miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-6737341809761794402014-03-14T05:48:00.001-07:002014-03-14T05:48:32.787-07:00quick check-inHello friends.<br />
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I just thought I'd give you a quick update on a major change in my life.<br />
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Yep. That's me (giving the peace sign, although it's a little hard to tell) sitting right in the belly of the plane where all the luggage goes. And I've been putting luggage there for 2 weeks now, full time! So I hope you'll understand my absence.<br />
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Why am I doing this? Well, after my training is over today, I'm just
going to be working part-time. And the reason I'm working is for the
benefits. My whole family can fly anywhere in the United
States for free and internationally for a <i>very</i> low price. Like
it's $120 round-trip to Italy, just to give you an example. And....if
we really want to do it up right, it's $20 to upgrade to first-class
within the states (including Canada and Mexico) and $100
internationally. But wait, there's more.....My parents get to fly on my
benefits for approximately 10% of the ticketed price. It's just a tiny
way I can reward them for being the best parents in the whole wide WORLD. <br />
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Let me tell you..... I will never get onto another plane again in my life without being so thankful for the people who are making it all happen! You have NO idea what goes on in order to get a plane off the ground, on time. (or the pressure to make it happen!) It has truly been an eye opening experience and I'm actually really grateful for the opportunity it has given me to learn some new skills and meet some amazing people.<br />
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Meet "New Crew" Unless you can say it with some hip-hop flair, don't even try.<br />
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This is me and my team. Of course I'm the only girl. That's because the work I'm doing is meant to be done by a man. I'm sure for equal rights purposes they have to hire a female every once in awhile.....but it is really hard! The guys in this picture have seriously become such good friends of mine. They always have my back. I'm actually terrified to go work a plane without one (or all) of them by my side! We have worked really hard in training but we have had a lot of fun and done so much laughing together. Our trainer Alan (in the blue vest) is a serious professional at what he does. He has been amazing and patient with <strike>me</strike> us. I never even saw him come close to losing his cool, even when I almost jackknifed a machine right under the nose of the plane. Oops. And he loves to laugh with (at?) us. <br />
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I'm only working down on "the ramp" through April, and then I will be
starting a five week training course to become a Gate Agent, which is where I really want to be. I will get to be inside, wearing a cute dress and talking into the microphone when it's time to have the passengers board the aircraft. Trust me when I tell you it's better than roasting on the tar-mac and trying to stack 50+ pound bags inside a bin that you have to crouch inside of as they are speeding towards you on a conveyer belt at the speed of light. Oh, and while you stack them (neatly, tags out) you must also count them (keeping the "heavy" bags separate) and write an accurate number with your accompanying signature to give to the pilot so he knows how much the baggage on his plane weighs. It's just slightly stressful. And when I say slightly, I mean I almost have a heart attack every time I have to do it. <br />
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And don't even get me started on "pushing the plane out". Did you know that planes don't have reverse? So you have to hook these machines up to the plane and push them back from the gate onto the runway. <br />
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Do you KNOW how big a plane is? Well.... when Alan (gently) forced me to pushback, I put the headset on and told the pilot (in my sweetest, most girliest voice) that I was brand new and to please be patient. All the pilots were super cool and told me I did a great job. Obviously, pilots are excellent liars, but I'm pretty sure they enjoyed the fishtailing I subjected them to. Who doesn't like to have a little fun on the job?<br />
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And so, here's to <i>another</i> adventure in my life. Pray for me! I <b>seriously</b> need all the help I can get!<br />
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your girl,</div>
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jilly</div>
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-15691762507770006672014-02-28T08:10:00.000-08:002014-02-28T08:12:41.245-08:00bathroom update, vanity installed!I know. Can this be over ALREADY?<br />
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Hey, no one is more excited than I AM when something happens in that bathroom, but I like to take two months off at a time. Or a year. Don't judge.<br />
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Once upon a time (2 years ago) I decided that this gross, outdated bathroom HAD to go.<br />
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Fast forward a year and a half and I had finished the shower, flooring and toilet area.<br />
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However, I still had the vanity area staring me down. The orange-y oak just wasn't working for me anymore and let me show you why. This monstrous cabinet almost attacked you the second you walked into the bathroom. The pictures make it look a lot less terrible than it actually was.<br />
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All the shiny, protective finish had worn away inside the sinks, so approximately 3.2 seconds after scrubbing them down, mold would appear. Not a fan.<br />
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Also, I would like to start my own caulking school. You don't cut the tip off so your hole is an inch in diameter. If you do that, you end up with something like this.<br />
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Really? Who did that and thought it was good? Baffling. And very unacceptable. Not to mention, impossible to keep clean. A tiny bit cut off the tip of the caulking tube at an angle, then smoothing out the caulking with a wet fingertip is all it takes to create a beautiful seal. Who wants to come to my School of Caulk? I'm about ready to qualify myself as a professional in that area. <br />
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Anyhow, I got super excited one afternoon to get this thing out of my face.<br />
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And this is what I was left with.</div>
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After I finished the flooring, we cut into the wall to see what mystery awaited us in the plumbing department. The new design called for the sinks to be in different spots than the originals. <br />
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Even though pipes were exposed, it looked better than the old vanity, so I took a couple months off. It's a good thing I'm my own boss. I'm pretty sure anyone else would have to <i>let me go....</i><br />
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BUT...... I had a made a plan a year earlier for a new vanity when I walked into IKEA and saw these beauties clearance priced at $49 each, down from $300 apiece. I purchased two of them for a crisp $100 bill. A $500 savings is exciting.<br />
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I talked my family into assembling them the second I got home! Everyone was thrilled, trust me. Jaci was serenading us on her guitar to calm our nerves, just like they did on the Titanic.<br />
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The vanities sat, completely assembled for a very long time in the basement storeroom because I was on my year hiatus at this point. Melanie did some<i> very</i> fancy plumbing maneuvers to get the pipes where they needed to be for the new sinks. I watched in absolute amazement as she measured, cut pipes and glued them together with precision. She is <i>seriously</i> a plumbing ninja. I can't even imagine what a plumber would have charged to do it. Basically, I'm willing the bathroom to Melanie, even though she probably hates it. And I can't believe I didn't get a picture of her doing her thing!<br />
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Fast forward to a few months later when I must have sobbed uncontrollably to poor Melanie about my plight, and so she showed up at 9:30 one night ready to help. We got the vanities installed and the oak butcher block from IKEA cut to size and secured to the top. We also set the sinks on top just to see how the whole thing was going to look. I think we did a little jig but since it was well after midnight at that point, we didn't have the energy to make up an entire routine. Darn it.<br />
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The vanities provide so much storage. They have 8 big drawers that all have the soft close feature. Since the toilet has a soft close feature as well, I never hear any banging coming from the kids' bathroom, and that is music to my ears.<br />
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The sinks are from IKEA as well, but they don't carry them anymore. They were called the ANA sink and faucet and I have no idea why they discontinued them. I think they are so cool. When I bought the vanities, I could only justify buying one sink and faucet. The sink was $160 and the faucet was $79 and I was just going to make do with one. BUT, a visit to the "AS-IS" section (my fave) produced a floor model ANA sink and faucet combo for $79! Sold. I had dreamed of two sinks all along so it was meant to be.<br />
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Despite my demands for all drops of water to be kept INSIDE the sinks, this is a bathroom after all and I really wanted the butcher block top to be well protected. I did a lot of research and finally came up with this sealer at a local woodworking shop.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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I didn't want the finish to be shiny and I loved the natural look of the wood, so I got a flat finish and applied about 6 coats with ample drying time and a light sanding in between each coat. I love the way it turned out, and so far it has been super effective in repelling the stray drops of water. The wood still looks natural and unfinished but it's well protected.<br />
<br />
And so, there is another day in the life (I mean 3 months into eternity) of this bathroom story. The only big things left are the mirrors and light fixtures. The lights have actually been installed and the mirrors.....getting close. I also have about 10 small things on my punch list, including a couple of drywall repairs, (goody) but I am honestly seeing the finish line.<br />
<br />
I totally think it's going to be done before Christmas.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
your girl,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
jilly </div>
<br />
miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com119tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-62337840829192732662014-02-21T16:55:00.000-08:002014-02-21T17:10:35.434-08:00bedroom details, part two<br />
The saga continues...... <br />
<br />
The window in Jaci's bedroom used to be an eyesore, but now it's a
focal point. I tackled all the window trim by myself (!) and finished
it in a night.<br />
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After it was filled, caulked, sanded and painted, it
looked so much better. But as I stood back and surveyed it, I concluded that the window was never going to look good with that old and tired scratched up black metal around it. I taped off all the
wood and the walls around the window to prep it for a clean and crisp coat of kelly
green semi gloss paint.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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It took an hour and a half to tape off and 30
seconds to spray it. It's one of my favorite things in the room.<br />
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<br />
Mia
came over one night and we made the window treatment: a workable roman
shade with blackout lining. Teenagers need their beauty sleep. I loved
the fabric I chose, but after it was done and installed, it was looking
a little bit plain.<br />
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I had some navy trim in my stash which ended up
looking great in two rows glued (with fabric glue) down each side. Adding that little detail made all the difference.<br />
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The frames are all <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60078034/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{ribba}</span></a>
frames from IKEA. Jaci is a photographer (her instagram name is @jacimariesmith) and I wanted to showcase what she is passionate about,
so I ordered 8 of her favorite pictures in a 12 x 12 size from <span style="color: #45818e;"><a href="http://www.mpix.com/">{mpix</a>}</span>.
It will be fun to switch them out for new favorites, as the mood strikes, for a
whole new look.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
The coolest console table in America
(and maybe the whole world?) is from a thrift store, picked up for
$12!!! It's really narrow (12 inches) and over 8 ft. long, and it's one of my most favorite finds EVER! You can see in the
"before" picture of this space that it has an odd drawer.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
That's
because it was missing a drawer when I found it. My sweet dad made me a
new drawer and by the time I sanded, prepped, and painted it, you would
never know it's any different from the others! I got the hardware from
Lowes.</div>
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The chair was found looking very forlorn at
Goodwill for $4.99.</div>
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The metal parts received a coat of gold spray paint, and the wood parts were painted white. I reupholstered the seat cushion in really soft, white
leather(ish) fabric and added the fun green and white striped welt to
make it pop! I also added a touch of green paint on the front and back of the chair
just for fun.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
The big, brown closet doors have been
transformed into nice, bright doors that don't dominate the room anymore. I sketched out a little design and
Andrew did a perfect job cutting and installing the moulding exactly how I wanted it. We
just used wood glue and painters tape to hold it overnight, then took
the doors outside to spray them.</div>
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For the handles, I followed <a href="http://www.blogher.com/ikea-hack-malm-upgrade">{this}</a> tutorial, using some handles from IKEA and a strip of wood. Such
a great way to get a nice big handle for large closet doors.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Well, that's it for this room! The only other thing I have planned is new flooring and baseboards. I found some great tongue and groove laminate in a light pine on Craigslist a few weeks ago and bought enough to cover Jaci's room and the boys room which is right across the hall. We ripped the boys tile out two summers ago and painted the cement floor to hold us over, but it will be so nice to have some real flooring!</div>
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I'm always working on our home and have lots of things started.....always waiting for inspiration, motivation, or cash to complete most things. Thanks for joining me on my journeys and for your sweet comments. That's where lots of my motivation comes from!</div>
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Still working on tying up the small, unfinished details of that pesky bathroom. It will be revealed before next year, I can totally promise that! </div>
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your girl,</div>
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jilly</div>
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-77372333672487886402014-02-13T22:31:00.000-08:002014-02-13T22:37:49.028-08:00bedroom details, part oneI'm going to have to split this post into two separate entries. Because when you go from this:<br />
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To this:<br />
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There are lots of details to discuss!<br />
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The inspiration of this bedroom was born around this headboard I got at a second-hand furniture store for $35.<br />
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With
the help of my dear friends, Cara and G <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2011/01/have-you-ever-fantasized-about-group-of.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{the dreamy girls of Club Project}</span></a>, the headboard was transformed into a masterpiece that is definitely the focal point of the
bedroom. I went to my local upholstery shop where my friend let me use his button making machine to cover dozens of heavy
duty brad buttons. That step saved us hours of time. If you are upholstering something with lots of tufting, I would highly suggest you find an upholstery shop and do the same. These button type brads are so much more heavy duty than anything you can buy at a regular store.<br />
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After
it was upholstered, it ended up being too thick to go back in the frame
comfortably, so (naturally) Melanie had a solution that worked
perfectly! She used her hand-held router and created a little ledge along the backside of the frame for the upholstered piece to nestle into. We also cut the legs off so I could hang it with a french cleat at whatever height I wanted.<br />
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Meanwhile, Jaci and I had painted stripes (a year previous) and I had found a remnant piece of navy carpet at my local carpet store, Mesa Sales. Often, they have large remnants and their prices are really good. This piece is 12' x 12' and cost $125. Since this carpet had a relatively high pile, I didn't even have to have the edges bound because the sides of the carpet hang over the raw edge and you can't tell it's an unfinished edge. </div>
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Mia
showed up on Thanksgiving morning with the custom navy and white pillow
shams that she sewed right up for me. We had gone shopping a few days before and found the fabric at one of our favorite ghetto stores, SAS, for $3.99 a yard. The shams are backed with a solid aqua blue, and Mia did a beautiful job on them. Try not to be jealous that she's my best friend and we started sewing our own clothes in 7th grade. The gray pillowcases have a tiny white dot on the them and they are made out of a dreamy material that makes it hard for Jaci to get up every morning! I bought them at Tuesday Mornings. The white with green polka dot pillows were on clearance at Home Goods for $11 each.<br />
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I scored the ruched duvet cover at
one of my favorite stores here in Phoenix called Last Chance. It
retails for over $200 and I picked it up for a cool $19.97. It adds
some femininity and softness to the room.<br />
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I found the
DKNY bedskirt at Goodwill for a few bucks and used some fabric glue to
attach the fun blue and white striped trim. It's a great way to add
something extra for very little money.<br />
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The
nightstands were both battered little pieces that were the same scale.
I actually painted the one on the right about a year ago and detailed the process<a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2012/02/color-me-coral.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{here}</span></a>. It was a fun find a good friend brought back from Scotland for me.<br />
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The other one was a $10 thrift store treasure that was close to the same scale as the one I had. Painting them the same color created unification but keeps the look
interesting because they are different.<br />
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For her 16th birthday, Andrew gave Jaci the
guitar that took him through college. (oh if that guitar could talk!) We hung it
on the wall using <a href="http://www.myhousemycanvas.com/2012/09/diy-wall-mount-guitar-holder.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{this}</span></a> tutorial I found via Pinterest. It's really nice to have it off the floor and safely hung. <br />
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The wall art?
That was a little brainchild of mine, but when I finally got around to
actually doing it (a year later), I saw that it had already been done on Pinterest! (and done WELL, I might add!) I'm still claiming I made it up. (although clearly I didn't?) Maybe the part I DID make up was the use of paint sticks. The girl on Pinterest used balsa wood, which would have cost me around $40 for my project. Balsa wood would have been great to work with because it is super light and you can cut it with a pair of scissors, no saws needed. But I have a saw and didn't want to spend the extra money, so I rounded up around 100
paint sticks and started cutting. <br />
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I cut the curved handle end off of each one, and cut the other end at a 45 degree angle. I cut half of the angles one way, then changed my saw to cut the angle 45 degrees the other way. Since two pieces are coming together in the middle, they have to be cut opposite so they form a V. You want to make sure that they are all the exact same finished size, too. <br />
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My sweet sister came over one night and we painted all of them in bright, fun colors. We left a few of them raw, just to break up all the color. Don't forget to paint all the sides, too! <br />
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After they were painted, I invited Mia and G to come over for a stick assembly party. It took all
three of us an entire evening to decide what colors should go together
to get a fun look, but one that didn't look like a haphazard, hot mess.<br />
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Once they were all laid out to our liking, we used a hot glue gun and
some plain paint sticks to attach them together along the backside. I
also got some wood scraps in different depths to make some of them pop
off the wall just a bit to give more of a 3-D look. It looks much more
interesting than if they were all laying flat against the wall. I
twisted some wire to make little hangers and used a glue gun to secure
them to the tops of each piece. </div>
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If you're interested in recreating this, you'd better work on becoming besties with the folks behind the paint counters at Lowes and Home Depot so you can snag yourselves a load of paint sticks. This is a great, big impact art piece for little to no money that anyone can do! <br />
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The quote on the wall was thought up by none other than Mia. She designed it and traced it onto the wall for me. G showed up ready to help and we hand painted it for<i> hours..</i>...and <i>hours</i>. It was SO hard to paint on that textured wall and get straight, crisp lines.<br />
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After it was all done and we stepped back, we were pleasantly surprised at how good it looked! Another big, graphic impact for free......HOORAY!<br />
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Stay tuned for part two of the bedroom details........ coming to you soon!<br />
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your girl,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
jilly </div>
<br />miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-7474124885022256612014-02-07T07:13:00.000-08:002014-02-07T07:13:43.813-08:00room revealNope, not the bathroom. My computer will probably blow up when that happens. Yours might too.<br />
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BUT....it is the room <i>next</i> to the bathroom! <br />
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I finally finished my daughter's bedroom and I'm SO happy it's done. I started working on it over a year ago when I posted this "before" picture.<br />
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You'd think that picture alone would have been enough to motivate me until it was done! Wow....<br />
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Here's another picture of the wall opposite the bed, taken the same day as the photo above.<br />
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And, if you can handle it, one more picture. Here are the closet doors.<br />
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Somehow I didn't get a picture of the closet doors in Jaci's room, but here are their twins in the boys room. Too bad I had already taken the dark wood casing off. It would have made the picture a little better. And by better, I mean worse.<br />
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bad. Bad. BAD! Sadly, I got sidetracked and started about 62 other projects and Jaci's room got put on the back burner. When she decided to spend a long weekend in Mexico a few months ago, I promised myself I'd finish it before she got home. With lots of help and a few sleepless nights, I was able to wrap it up.<br />
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This bedroom is light and bright, free spirited and colorful, just like my girl. This is the first room I've ever done in my own home with so much color, but I really love it and it suits Jaci perfectly. <br />
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So, please enjoy about 100 hours of work that are going to appear before your eyes instantaneously, as if this room came together in the blink of an eye..... Lucky, lucky you.<br />
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I hope you'll agree it's <i agree="" hope="" i="" it="" ll="" s="" you="">much</i> improved.<br />
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I'll be back next week to fill you in on all the details. This room was so much fun to design and work on. Since it's in the basement, keeping it bright and happy was a definite goal. It all came together just as I had hoped!<br />
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On a side note, my family enjoyed a snowboarding getaway last weekend in Big Bear, California.<br />
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We had SO much fun! I couldn't move my upper body for a full two days (the sorest arms and neck!) but it was worth it. We had a great time singing, talking, eating, sipping hot chocolate, playing games, watching movies and of course snowboarding. It was pure bliss for me. The cozy cabin we stayed in was perfect and the snow was magical.<br />
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Spending time with my family while creating memories is something I absolutely treasure. It takes a lot of planning and coordinating, but I never regret all the effort that goes into time away with my loves.<br />
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Check back next week for the good, bad, and the ugly details of how this room came together!<br />
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your girl,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
jilly</div>
miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-57640451077528604102014-01-23T10:34:00.003-08:002014-01-23T10:34:50.749-08:00homeI grew up in the same house my whole life. I was not quite a year old when my parents built their home and moved in. It was half finished, but liveable, and for the past 40 years my mom and dad have worked hard to make it a HOME. It's a lovely ranch style brick home that has enjoyed many additions and upgrades in it's lifetime. It's always been home to me and when I walk through the front door, I am<i><b> home</b></i> and it doesn't matter what's going on in my life, I know everything will be ok. There will be a warm fire, homemade cookies, and mom and dad. I guess I'm still a little girl at heart. <br />
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I haven't been home for 18 months because my parents have been out of the country. But the wait has come to an end. <br />
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My parents are HOME.<br />
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(Me, Ryan, Matt, Dad, Mom, Jeff, Nate, Erica)</div>
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This is my family. I feel incredibly blessed to have them in my life and am so grateful for the support system they are to me. And it was wonderful to have all of us together on January 15th.<br />
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Mia and I are home as well after an amazing trip to Salt Lake City this week. We were invited by Cricut to come to an event where they were unveiling their brand new machine, the Cricut Explore, and it far surpassed our hopes and dreams!<br />
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This machine can do anything and everything at the touch of a button. It is so user friendly and will cut through about 50 different types of material. From thick leather to fabric to corkboard, this little beauty just keeps on cutting.<br />
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We will receive our own machine in a week or so, and can't wait to start creating and inventing! We can't thank the team at Cricut enough for the fabulous two day event they hosted. Cara and Mallie <i>completely </i>outdid themselves and the president and CEO of the company, Ashish Arora is so passionate and driven about his product that it's contagious. Our accommodations were extremely generous and it was fun to be treated like queens for two days.<br />
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Although the new machine was the highlight of the party, coming in at a very close second would be all the fantastic girls we were able to meet! There were 110 bloggers there and we made some great friends. This is only about half the crew that flew out of Arizona.<br />
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Got to see our girl, Mandi with <a href="http://www.vintagerevivals.com/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{Vintage Revivals}</span></a> and she joined us in our room for the after party where we made ourselves sick on pie. Worth it.<br />
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We also got to meet stationery designer Anna Griffin who we have admired since the 90's. She was fantastic. Mia is praying in the background? Actually, she's probably sleeping.<br />
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The displays and project rooms were out of this world, bursting with creativity and ingenious ideas and applications. All done with the new Cricut Explore. I'm telling you, the sky is the limit. I'm really sad now that I didn't get more pictures of every single thing there, but taking pictures was a nuisance because there was so much to do and see!<br />
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Mia also celebrated a birthday recently! She is trailing <i>dangerously </i>close behind me.....Her husband hosted a fabulous dessert bar for her girlfriends. I'm bummed I didn't get any pictures. It was dessert so naturally my hands were full. But it was fun and so, so good!<br />
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The sinks in the basement bathroom are in, and we even have running water! I'm on the cusp of calling that massive project D.O.N.E. <br />
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I made an Anthropologie inspired wreath for my front door, and even though it's in the mid 70's here everyday, I'd like to think that it's winter somewhere.</div>
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I thought that things were supposed to slow down after the holidays? I think I'm going to take a nap for the rest of January and hit the ground running in February!<br />
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your girl,</div>
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jilly</div>
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-63956379479278501722014-01-06T10:42:00.001-08:002014-01-06T13:33:39.654-08:00oh man....happy new year!Has it honestly been over 2 months since there has been a post on the blog? I know my mom has missed me.......<br />
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And speaking of that cutie, she and my dad will be home in a little over a week now from the Philippines! To say I'm excited to see them after a long 18 months is an understatement! They have been serving a mission for our church and have helped so many people in the area they have lived. One of the experiences they have enjoyed the most has been to work with the deaf and mute members of our church there. I know these people have grown to love my parents so much.<br />
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They survived the typhoon, and my mom was hospitalized for 5 days with pneumonia over Christmas, but that was the worst of it, and we feel so lucky to be getting them back. My family has been blessed beyond measure by their examples of faith and selfless service. I know, more than anything, my parents will be forever changed because of the opportunities they had to give of their hearts all day, every day. I just can't wait to wrap my arms around them!<br />
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Lots has gone on in the past two months. We celebrated so many holidays!<br />
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Included in all the celebrating was another anniversary with my Lover. We spent a few days at a cozy cabin in the woods. We had a super relaxing time, loving some lazy time before the busy holiday season. We made meals together, sang, danced, napped, stayed up too late, slept in too long, watched a few movies, and went on a great hike. It was so, so much fun!<br />
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I hosted Thanksgiving at my house again this year, and it was wonderful. My dear friend, Jennie, came to spend the holiday with us, and we<b> LOVED</b> having her. She helped me so, so much. We prepped for two days solid and that girl (thankfully) knows her way around a kitchen. She made all the pies (including the amazing <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2011/04/apple-pie.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{apple pie in a bag}</span></a>), peeled 25 pounds of potatoes, washed dishes, set the table, and<i> at least </i>a million other things.<br />
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I invited her to come back every single year and <strike>help</strike> celebrate with us. Even though I've only known her for a couple of years, I absolutely love her! She's just like family to us.<br />
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Thankfully, Mia and her family were here with us, and dear G and her family joined us, too! Most of my family was able to make it, minus my parents, two of my brothers and their families, and Jaci, who was in North Carolina this year. But everyone here had a great time, enjoyed awesome weather, and the food was flat out amazing.<br />
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And then it was December 1st.<br />
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And I had a birthday.<br />
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I didn't turn 30, and I didn't turn 50 either. <i> Somewhere</i> in between......<br />
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Needless to say, it was cause for a big distraction, and let me tell you, my girls didn't disappoint! Mia organized a trip to the<span style="color: #45818e;"> <a href="http://www.miravalresorts.com/">{Miraval Spa}</a></span> (voted number one spa in the WORLD!) for me and 6 of my closest friends.<br />
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It was two of the most glorious days I have ever had, and it made the birthday a lot less painful. We went to meditation classes, yoga, had an amazing equine experience, got facials, ate the best food on the planet, slept in the dreamiest beds with luxurious linens, soaked in hot tubs, and lived in fluffy white robes the whole time there. I can't even tell you what it meant to me. It was an experience I will never, ever forget and these girls mean the world to me.<br />
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They are my closest confidants, my cheerleaders, and my best friends. Some of them have been with me for almost 20 years, and some are relatively new friends, but I love each of them for who they are and how they bless my life so richly. As we sat at dinner one night, one by one they each told me something they admired about me. It was so touching and heartfelt, and even though I don't feel adequate in so many ways, they made me feel so special, appreciated and loved. That experience will keep my cup full for a long, long time. Thanks girls, I LOVE YOU!<br />
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And then...... what a busy Christmas season! We went to so many fun parties and celebrations. But the highlight for me, was that my very talented and capable husband was asked to be the vocalist at the Mesa LDS Temple on Christmas Eve.<br />
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He was given 30 minutes and put an outstanding program together. So many of our friends, family and church members came in support. There were around 1500 people there and Andrew did an amazing job. My favorite number was "What Child Is This" that Jaci sang with him while he played the guitar. While I listened to them sing together, I couldn't help acknowledging and feeling so grateful for how truly blessed I am.<br />
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Andrew's parents came from Canada to hear him sing, and were able to stay with us for a few weeks and miss some of Ontario's ice storms. They were <i>so </i>happy to bask in the 70+ degree weather and we had a great time with them. They went on walks every day and enjoyed picking and eating the pink grapefruit off our tree. We ate (lots), played games, sang songs, had long talks and really enjoyed having them here. Canada is a long way from us, so we try to make the most of our time together when we get it! This is the only picture of us all together, taken after the little boys school Christmas concert.<br />
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I hope that each of you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season with the people you love most. Here's to a spectacular 2014 and my wish that this new year brings to you all the success, happiness and joy you deserve!<br />
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<i>Maybe</i> I'll finish the basement bathroom this year? (It's soooo close!)<br />
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your girl,</div>
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jilly</div>
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<br />miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-26624636902701831872013-10-30T23:12:00.001-07:002013-10-30T23:28:07.844-07:00jilly's breakfast nook, part twoLast week I introduced you to my breakfast nook, a place where we all spend a lot of time. I've had some fun on the adjacent wall, gathering, creating, and incorporating things that are special and make me happy!<br />
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First up is our shoe bench. There are lots of positive things about this house, but something it is lacking is a mud room on the main floor. There is a lovely laundry room downstairs, but we use our back door 95% and it opens directly into the kitchen. It became apparent 10 minutes after moving in that something would need to be done about the piles of shoes left just inside the door. I had a basket that we used to corral the ever-increasing number of shoes in for awhile, but I hated the cluttered look of a million pairs piled in it. While perusing my local Savers one day, I spotted this treasure.<br />
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I knew it would fit perfectly and hide all the shoes that accumulate on a daily basis. It got a fresh coat of creamy colored paint by none other than one of the best helpers in the <i>world</i>, my girl G, but I asked her to leave a little bit of the red just to add a bit of interest in the otherwise neutral space. I'm not a red person at all, but surprisingly, just a touch tickles me. It's absolutely perfect and a bit beat up, but I love it. A $9.99 solution to a <b>big</b> problem is what I call <i>closure.</i><br />
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Moving to the wall area, I chose to only use things that were meaningful or necessary because it's a small space and I wanted the look to be simple. I picked <a href="http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60098975/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{this clock}</span></a> from IKEA for it's graphic aesthetic and nice, big size.<br />
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My brothers are all hunters, so I asked them if they had any antlers that needed a happy home. Ryan called and said he had a couple sets hanging in his garage that I could choose from. Every time I look at the antlers, I think about him. (and the $50 he saved me!) <br />
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I did a <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2013/05/exciting-changes.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{tutorial}</span></a> a few months ago on making plaster monograms. The word "US" represents my little family, but stretches to include anyone who is spending time in our home at any given moment. The kitchen is definitely the gathering spot, and I love sharing food and laughter with anyone who happens to be here!<br />
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The picture. Oh, the picture that I love! I found it at Goodwill for $5.99 and it was in a hideous frame. As soon as I got it home and out of the frame, I decided that I loved the tattered look of the frayed, worn canvas edges and irregular staples. I know it's not a valuable piece of art, but something about it speaks to me.<br />
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The little twig heart was inspired by this image I saw on Pinterest. <br />
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There were no directions, but after gathering some twigs from my backyard and looking at the picture, I figured it out. I hung it with some dainty lace. It's so simple but means so much. I think that's why I love it.<br />
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Surprisingly enough, the clipboard calendar has caught the attention of several people. The fabulous girls of <span style="color: #45818e;">{lollyjane}</span> (who are my friends in real life), created one inspired by mine, complete with a <a href="http://lollyjane.com/chalkboard-calendar/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{tutorial}</span></a>. My project was done on a whim as a temporary fix for the kids asking what the date was 20 times a day. Go figure that I <i>really</i> love it now and it's temporary status has definitely graduated to permanent. I found the flip chart numbers at an obscure consignment shop in Phoenix and have been unable to locate any more. If anyone knows where to find them, PLEASE let me know! I just painted a tall clipboard with chalkboard paint and clamped the number charts to the top. Every morning, I walk into the kitchen, flip the light on, and change the numbers. To say it makes me happy is an understatement. Again, so simple.<br />
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The (real) butterfly was a garage sale find. There were a pair of them in small square frames with glass fronts, but the glass on this one had a crack in it. I bought the pair for $1. While removing the glass from this one, some of the linen backing tore away as well, but since I welcome imperfection, I deemed it perfect!<br />
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And saving the best for last is a picture of my sister's baby, Bentley. Isn't she the sweetest? Jaci and I decided to make her a tiny flower crown and do a little photo shoot for Mother's Day. Jaci captured her look perfectly in this picture, and we framed it and gave it to Erica, along with the flower crown for her first Mother's Day as a Mom. Bentley is 10 months old now and I usually watch her one day a week. Not much gets done around the house on Mondays, but that's perfectly fine with me. She is positively precious and me and my family savor and enjoy every minute with her.<br />
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The back door was a big eyesore when we moved in. The paint was dingy, the weather stripping was shredded by what I can only imagine to be rabid dogs and the wood casing around the door was intolerable. It was installed poorly, caulked even worse, and painted by someone who had clearly never held a paintbrush before. Even though it was a relatively easy fix, can you believe it took me over three years to tackle it?<br />
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I painted the door the same color as my <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2011/05/front-door-miracle.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{front door}</span></a>, Iron Mountain by Benjamin Moore. I have been really happy with that color for a dark, moody and muddy gray. After the door got a fresh coat, it was imperative to install new casing. After I took the original casing off, I discovered the original paint color of the kitchen. OH MY!<br />
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I chose 3.5" wide primed pine boards and added a little something extra with some ranch stop that I found at Lowes for $3.50 per 8 foot board. We installed it along the outside edge and it makes it a little more special for under $10. Like I said earlier, we use this door most of the time, so I am really enjoying the simple change. Andrew actually put all the moulding up and did an excellent job. Not only does the casing look great, look at those calf muscles, would ya? I'm pretty sure I have a few more doors that need to be done.....<br />
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So there you have it. Here is the space (almost) all done! I have a<i> grand plan</i> for a textured wall treatment that I hope to accomplish before I die!<br />
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And here is a little sneak peek at what is right outside my back door. 25 hours of labor later, I can still say it was worth it! I will tell you all about it in an upcoming post.<br />
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-43818396574345918992013-10-16T12:59:00.001-07:002013-10-16T13:13:32.321-07:00jilly's breakfast nook and a mini-tutorialEven though I don't feel like this space is quite ready to show the world, it's as done as it's going to be for awhile, and the white tile floor (aka: the bane of my existence) unfortunately isn't going anywhere anytime soon.... <br />
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This is the breakfast nook in our home and this picture was taken a week or so before we moved in while I was cleaning out all the stuff the previous occupant had left behind. <br />
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You've got to love the vertical blinds, cultured marble windowsills and a ceiling fan that unfortunately wasn't captured in this photo.<br />
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Here it is today:<br />
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This space was largely "completed" (will it ever really be done?) just a couple weeks ago when this piano bench, previously adorned in this hot pink Asian silk was given new life.<br />
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It was reupholstered in a sturdy, wool, herringbone curtain panel I found at a garage sale for $1. One of my best friends and fellow members of <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2011/01/have-you-ever-fantasized-about-group-of.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{Club Project}</span></a> who is often referred to as "G" here on the blog, upholstered this at the last project day at <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2013/09/potty-break.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{MY house}</span></a>. I finished it off with a contrasting welt cord, and thought I would give a mini-tutorial on how I did it. <br />
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Have you ever wondered how the pros make the welting look like there is no starting or stopping point? Well, YOU are going to be a pro after a quick how-to!<br />
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First off, make (or buy) enough welt cord for your project. Pull the fabric back a bit to expose about an inch of the cord on one end.<br />
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Snip off an inch of the cord and smooth your fabric back out. There will be about an inch with no cording inside. Don't panic.<br />
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Pick the stitching out until you reach the cut end of your cording. <br />
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Start stapling a good two inches from the start of your welt cord.<br />
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Continue on around until you get close to where you started. Leave plenty to play with. Now is not the time to have cut it too short! I always make my cording at least a few inches longer than I think I need.<br />
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Now find the end of your cut cording inside the little sleeve, and cut the other end dead even with where the the other one starts.<br />
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Fold back the fabric where you picked the seam out and make sure your cording edges butt up to each other. You don't want to leave a gap at all.<br />
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Fold your cut and raw edge under a 1/4" and tuck the side you just cut right inside. Staple it in place really well where it joins.<br />
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Look, now YOU can be a PRO! The joined edge is hardly noticeable at all.<br />
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I've seen one too many bad upholstery pieces where they cross the welt cords over each other and it looks so bulky and unprofessional, not to mention clearly obvious as to where it starts and stops. I hope this little tutorial helps you!<br />
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The windows of the nook were a little bit involved.... I can't lie. Back in the early 80's when this house was built, they must have sought out the squattiest windows available. They never made sense to me, and since ripping them out and replacing them with taller ones wasn't a viable option (trust me, I checked!) I had to come up with another plan. I decided to run some moulding all the way up the sides of the windows to the ceiling and make some custom roman shades to hang over the dead wall space above the window to make the window appear much taller.<br />
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Melanie helped me work on adding trim to this bay window area for an entire day of a Club Project session about a year ago, and then me and my man finished it off. We used MDF for the whole thing, except for the piece of pine trim we attached to the front of the sill to dress it up a bit. There were some sizable gaps due to my lack of knowledge in trigonometry about how angles and corners come together. Thank the heavens for wood filler and caulk. You'd never guess there was a problem.<br />
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Mia is such a sport, although that's no surprise. These are the SECOND set of window treatments she helped me make for this space. (We aren't going to talk about the first set, they were my bad idea) I LOVE the current roman shades though! We made them out of fabric I got for $1 a yard at Wal Mart, and the gray trim was found at SAS for $2 a yard. They are casual and comfortable looking and add some much needed softness to a space with so many hard finishes. Mia posted a <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2013/02/no-sew-roman-shades.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{great tutorial}</span></a> so you can make your own shades, too. It has great pictures and instructions. You know you don't need a sewing machine, right? These are no-sew shades! Be sure to use black-out lining if you plan on hanging your window treatments above your window to help them appear taller. The top of the window is about 3 inches above the bottom of the new shades. By mounting my shades to the ceiling, I added 2 feet to my window height! I have some cheap roller blinds mounted at the top of the window that we use in the summer afternoons when the 672 degree sun comes blaring in. They are completely hidden by my new roman shades. <br />
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The table was a $30 Craigslist find and I'm obsessed with it! The marble is so pretty and the rest is shabby and worn. This is the bench on the opposite side. Thrift store piano benches were the perfect size! I painted the base and stripped the top, then sealed it with wax. It gets used and abused every single day and still looks great. <br />
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I gave the chairs a makeover a year ago and I detailed the process <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2012/05/twin-sisters.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{here}</span></a>. Remember when they looked like this?<br />
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They have held up <i>amazingly well</i>. I scrub the painted upholstery seats about once a week, and they still look just about as good as the day I finished them. If you find a well-upholstered chair that you want to use at your kitchen table, I highly recommend painting the upholstery. It becomes almost like a really soft vinyl and is a breeze to keep clean.<br />
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The light fixture is just a very temporary $5 fix found at Habitat Restore. The stuff on the table is all thrift store finds, and I always have a fresh plant or flowers in a small pot. Right now it's rosemary and everything I cook gets a few fresh sprigs!<br />
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The wall adjacent to the table is another area I've had a lot of fun with recently. I have no mud room per se, so it's the main drop spot upon entering the back door. (which is more like the front door for our family and friends) I'm going to blog about it next week.<br />
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Thanks for checking in and spending some of your time here. It's fun to hear from you, and we just got our first male follower. Thank you, Sebastiono P. We really hope you're a legitimate human, because this is BIG!<br />
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-87516002031912833072013-10-01T21:41:00.000-07:002013-10-01T21:41:04.027-07:00hungry?I had a happy accident in the kitchen on Sunday.<br />
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Mia and her family were coming over to enjoy some Peach Pasta with us when I decided to whip up some kind of pumpkin cookies. You know, because it's less than 100 degrees at midnight here now. And when the back door is wide open in the morning and the boys complain about being freezing while eating breakfast, it's officially Fall in my book. So something with pumpkin was in order.<br />
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But first, a word about the pasta I was making......If you don't know what Peach Pasta is, well you better get yourself educated because it's literally one of the best meals on this planet. I make it a little bit different every time depending on what I have on hand. I omitted the asparagus and alfredo sauce, but added grilled and sliced gourmet chicken sausage this time. Find the recipe <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2010/10/jilly-told-me-all-about-peach-pasta.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{here}</span></a>.<br />
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Back to the pumpkin craving.....I had been drooling over all sorts of pumpkin recipes on Pinterest, but one had really piqued my interest. It was a recipe for Pumpkin Sugar Cookies and one of the ingredients was powdered sugar. My very favorite sugar cookie recipe of all time includes powdered sugar in the dough, and I believe that it's inclusion is what makes the best texture in a sugar cookie. Find the recipe <span style="color: #45818e;">{here}</span>.<br />
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So, I started mixing the wet ingredients and had the dry stuff already measured out and in a separate bowl when I realized I didn't have any pumpkin! GASP!! Running out of pumpkin as a baker is like running out of toilet paper at home and feeling like a failure as a mother. As I was wildly fumbling through my canned goods, I found this little treasure from Trader Joes.<br />
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When I read the ingredients, I realized it was simply pumpkin puree plus a lot of other good stuff! I had read some of the reviews for the original recipe and some girls had commented that it didn't have a lot of pumpkin flavor. I knew the pumpkin butter would definitely add some oomph to the flavor factor, so I substituted it for the pumpkin called for in the recipe and crossed my fingers. The only other change I made was substituting some cream for some of the water in the glaze. A touch of cream is always good. And I mean <i>always</i>. In anything and <b>everything. </b><br />
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They were a big hit! Mia had four, and she is not so much a dessert gal. So this means something.....<br />
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The original recipe can be found <a href="http://www.laurenslatest.com/soft-glazed-pumpkin-sugar-cookies/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{here}</span></a>, and the picture above is from Lauren, whose blog this recipe came from. Mine looked just like hers, except that they were inhaled before a beautiful picture could be taken.<br />
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Suffice it to say I will be stocking up on pumpkin butter before I hunker down for this 80 degree weather.<br />
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-26967744545743035362013-09-25T07:21:00.003-07:002013-09-25T07:22:01.732-07:00potty breakI'm tired of the bathroom. The kids can shower AND use the toilet in there now. They just have to walk about 15 steps to the laundry room to wash their hands and brush their teeth. Vanities are overrated. And I'm tired. I'm praying for another burst of energy next week.<br />
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And I'm praying hard.<br />
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I had the extraordinary privilege to host <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2011/01/have-you-ever-fantasized-about-group-of.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{Club Project}</span></a> at my house last week. Despite the prep that goes into getting ready for it, it's one of the best days of the whole year for me! I have at least a thousand things we could have worked on, but I narrowed it down to some upholstery pieces I've been wanting to transform.<br />
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A piano bench (bought at a thrift store for $10) that needed to have the hot pink Asian silk retired.<br />
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A neo-classical bench (bought on Craigslist for $25) that also needed some fresh upholstery.<br />
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A very puffy, upholstered queen headboard (Craigslist, $30) that had seen better days in the early 90's. We had already started tearing it apart..... <br />
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And six parsons chairs ($20 apiece on Craigslist) upholstered in a very neutral, but ugly southwest print. I love their boxy shape and non-rolled backs.<br />
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I'm putting the finishing touches on each piece, and I'll blog about the "afters" soon. They are all SO much better.<br />
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For lunch that day, I duplicated a delicious salad from one of my favorite places called Pita Jungle. It's a roasted vegetable salad with chicken, feta cheese and toasted pine nuts, tossed in a vinaigrette. I paired it with a garlic focaccia bread that I found in the refrigerated section at Costco. It was really good. <br />
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For the salad, you can use any vegetables you have on hand or that your family likes. I used fresh corn on the cob, french green beans, zucchini, red bell peppers, onions and carrots. I cut the corn off the cob, cut the green beans in half so they were shorter pieces, cut each zucchini in thirds, then in spears, sliced the onion and bell pepper in bite sized strips, and I left the baby carrots alone. I put all my veggies in a huge bowl and tossed them with olive oil, salt and pepper. I spread them out in a single layer on two jellyroll pans (because I had so many) and put them in the oven on 400 for about 35 minutes. When I'm using two trays, I just switch their positions halfway through the cooking time. I also broiled them each on the top rack for 5 minutes when they were done just to crisp them up a little. I did this in the morning so that they would be room temperature by lunchtime.<br />
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For the greens, I used a mix of baby spinach and romaine. I got a rotisserie chicken and took the meat off the bone. To toast the pine nuts, place them in a single layer in a dry skillet and cook them over medium-high heat, stirring them around frequently so they are evenly toasted. As SOON as they are brown, take them off the heat and OUT of the skillet. If you leave them in the pan, they will continue to cook and be black in no time. At $23.99 a pound, we are definitely into babying the tiny nuggets of gold.<br />
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Toss the greens, room temperature roasted vegetables, chicken, crumbled feta cheese, toasted pine nuts and your choice of vinaigrette together in a large bowl and serve immediately. Mia made the dressing because she is literally the dressing master and I'm terrified of making dressings. She just makes it up every time as she goes. It's never the same, but always delicious! This particular one was a creamy vinaigrette.<br />
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I'm sad I didn't take a picture of my salad all done, but here is a picture of a very similar one.<br />
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A day spent with my project girls is good for my soul. They are all like sisters to me and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have them as a part of my life. We treated ourselves with a trip to Southern California a couple of weeks ago and it was a ball. We laughed and cried so much that I never wanted the trip to end! We are good for each other. I love my dear friend <a href="http://thevintagemother.com/why-women-need-women/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{Katie's}</span></a> post on <u>Why Women Need Women</u>. It's <b>so</b>, <b>so</b> true. If you want to be a better wife, mother, daughter, friend, neighbor, grandma, aunt, cousin, or<i> anything</i> really, spend some time on Katie's blog, <a href="http://thevintagemother.com/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{The Vintage Mother}</span></a>. This girl has got it figured out.<br />
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Another highlight of last week was getting to tour my new friend <a href="http://tuesdayswithdorie.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{Dorie's}</span></a> home. It looks even better in real life than it does in the beautiful pictures she puts on her blog, if that's even possible! Dorie and her husband are so friendly and kind, and their work is impeccable. The white, six burner Viking stove stole my heart.<br />
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And her French Bulldog Wallace.....oh my, is he ever cute!<br />
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Thanks Dorie! It was <i>such</i> a treat for me!<br />
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Check back next week. <i> Hopefully</i> there will be some progress on <i>something </i>to share! <br />
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-52529551016463004202013-09-20T00:30:00.001-07:002013-09-20T00:30:50.228-07:00clean potty talkWhile working on my bathroom and changing everything out for bright, crisp white finishes, I couldn't help but notice this sad little bisque colored toilet tucked in the corner.<br />
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There was nothing wrong with the toilet, except for it's dingy color. Which in fact, made it all wrong. I was stewing about it because I really didn't want to replace it. But I really did. My poor brain. (and husband) <br />
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It just so happened that my friend Tom had rescued a boatload of toilets from a warehouse that had burned down. Nothing was wrong with their functionality or porcelain finishes, but they had some soot and grime on them. Pshhht. This girl is not afraid of a little bit of dirt. So, <a href="http://www.ranchhouse76.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{Melanie}</span></a> and I found our way over to the toilet hoard to see what we could hunt up.<br />
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I really wanted a one-piece toilet because of the ease of cleaning and the overall aesthetic. There was ONE toilet that fit the bill, and it was love at first sight. Sleek, one piece design, compact and stunning. <i></i> <br />
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It didn't have a seat with it, so I went and sat in my car (out of the 110 degree sun) and googled the toilet to see if I could order the seat. And look what my eyes beheld....<br />
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Do you SEE that price? $1,564.95. That's when I <i>nonchalantly</i> asked Tom how much he wanted for the (brand new) filthy orphan toilet with no seat.<br />
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$65.<br />
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You guys, I didn't even try to talk him down! And I sort of felt like a thief as we drove away with that beautiful mess.<br />
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Since Melanie is a legitimate contractor, she ordered a seat right up for me, paid for it, picked it up and delivered it, complete with a bow and thoughtful card as a gift to me and my family. She's so amazing and I feel like the luckiest girl in America to have her living three doors down.<br />
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After I got the toilet all cleaned up, Melanie came over for the big install. Of course we thought we would get-er-done in an hour's time......until we realized we were missing a $10 part. And it was a special order.<br />
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What a shocker.<br />
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It's fine. The kids haven't had a bathroom for over a year now, what was another week and a half?<br />
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Meanwhile, I went to Goodwill. A practice that always clears my head. I was looking for a canvas that I could paint something on to hang behind the toilet.<br />
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BAM!<br />
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The perfect size and shape, with no raised texture. Since it's basically the first thing my kids will see each and every morning, I really wanted it to be something that would stay with them all day.<br />
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I considered the same cross-stitch phrase that hung behind my Grandma's toilet:<br />
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"If you sprinkle when you tinkle, please be neat and wipe the seat." <br />
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But it was too long. :)<br />
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After really searching, I found the perfect quote and instantly knew it was the one.<br />
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I wanted it to look like subway art, so I taped off the frame of my newly acquired ($10) treasure, and painted the canvas with chalkboard paint. I suppose I could have used any black paint, but I had the chalkboard paint on hand, so that's what made sense.<br />
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After I spray painted the frame in a satin nickel and painted a 1/2" white border around the perimeter of the canvas, I decided how I wanted the quote to look. After printing it, I got busy tracing it onto the canvas with some white transfer paper.<br />
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Then came the fun part of painting it with a steady hand, small brush, and some white paint.<br />
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We (meaning Melanie) finally got the toilet in. I was an excellent assistant. I was in awe that she knew how to do every single part of it. When she started drilling through the tile and into the concrete foundation, that's when I knew plumbing might be out of my league.<br />
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I was excited to hang my subway art up over the most anticipated toilet of the year. NEVER has a potty been more appreciated!<br />
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One more time, just for fun.<br />
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I love it! I wish I could show it to you from several different angles, but it's a really tight space. The lid closes softly and you flush it by pushing a button on the top of the tank. It's probably the nicest thing in our house. <br />
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And now my friends, we've made it to the home stretch. A new vanity, mirror and lighting is all this bathroom is lacking! It should be done in another year. I kid. Hopefully.<br />
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Just wondering, does this look like fun to any of you? <br />
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-73827876685984573952013-09-03T23:15:00.000-07:002013-09-03T23:15:35.088-07:00flooredThe bathroom is coming right along! And today I'm going to share the finished floor with you. Be excited people! Fake it if you must.<br />
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For the longest time I couldn't decide what to do for the flooring. I was SO incredibly sick of tiling that I was just going to paint the concrete and call it done. But it turns out if you wait a few months (or a year), that feeling just might pass and tiling might be back in the running.<br />
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After<i> finally </i>deciding what color and size I wanted to use, I was on the hunt. This was seriously a job for Tom Cruise and his team from Mission Impossible. How hard is it to find a dark gray, 12" x 24" tile? I'll tell you. Freaking. Hard.<br />
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But after I saw this picture, there was no turning back for me. I actually hate when that happens, because I can turn into a crazy person on an undying quest. I blame my mother for this trait. That sweet woman turns into a chef's worst nightmare when she wants a recipe.<br />
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I finally tracked it down at Floor & Decor. But not at the store that is 20 minutes from my house. Oh no, that would have been much too simple. It was at their location an hour and 15 minutes away. Keep in mind, I had never even seen the actual tile in person. Just a thumbnail view of it online. Since my entire family was out of town and I was in the mood for my own mini road trip, I packed a snack and off I went. <br />
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As soon as I laid eyes on it, I knew we were a perfect match. And it was only $1.60 a square foot!<br />
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Fast forward A LOT of time and A LOT of effort. Here is the finished floor. Next time someone gives me a quote to tile a floor, I'm going to pay them double. Honest.<br />
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I decided to do the baseboard in the same tile, 3" tall. It just made the most sense for a bathroom where I don't want a lot of wood, especially near the floor. Here is where the toilet goes. You can see my very smooth textured walls!<br />
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And I can't believe this, but we haven't ever discussed the carrera pebble shower floor! It was a big splurge (for me) at $130 but I must say I'm in love with it and it was worth every penny. It came on 12" x 12" mesh sheets and was honestly the easiest part of the bathroom remodel so far. Here's to hoping that moving the plumbing for the sink 29" to the right will be easier. :)<br />
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Here it is mid installation.<br />
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It's a shame I don't have more pictures of me completely covered in thinset. A real shame. I did come across this gem, but it almost looks like a glamour shot! This is not indicative of what I have looked like 99.9% of the time. This was on Day 3 when I still had a little life left in me.<br />
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One of the days early on, my sister came and helped me for a few hours and wrote on the wall. I hated to clean it off, actually. She's hilarious.<br />
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And now..... would you like to share in some potty talk?<br />
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I FOUND THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY ON A TOILET!!!<br />
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Wait until I tell you all about this filthy beauty. <br />
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-86592024672763091422013-08-28T08:38:00.000-07:002013-08-28T08:38:25.031-07:00chapter 52 in the bathroom chronicles.....the ceilingI know that the ceiling of a space is not the most important, and probably shouldn't warrant an entire blog post, but since I spent 10 hours on it, you're going to hear about it!<br />
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So, clearly this bathroom has been a domino effect. This happens in design, even with legit designers. I loved <a href="http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2013/07/new-door-hardware-and-keepcom.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{Jenny's post}</span></a> (Little Green Notebook) on this very thing. It made me laugh out loud and of course I completely agreed with and totally followed her train of thought.<br />
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I probably would have tried to forget the ceiling even existed, but here's the thing..... The bathroom ceiling is dropped to 7 feet because it's in a basement and there is duct work above it. That makes is really close to your head when you walk in, so you can't help but notice it. When I decided what I wanted to do with the vanity lighting, my design called for flush mount fixtures. (more on those fabulous fixtures later!) The AC vent just happened to be right in the exact spot that the center light fixture needed to be. Of course. So I had to call Jim (my fabulous neighbor and AC professional) to move the vent.<br />
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When Jim finished his work, this is what I was left with.<br />
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So much fun.<br />
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Melanie came over and told me what I needed to do. That girl knows everything! So I did as she instructed. I cut the opening into a rectangle with straight edges and then cut 2 x 3's into pieces that fit in between the supports that were already. Using drywall screws, I attached the new wood pieces to the existing drywall so I had something to attach the new drywall to.<br />
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I then cut the new pieces of drywall to fit, and screwed them into the supports all the along the outside. I even cut a perfect little hole for the light fixture. You don't want to know how bad I was sweating when I finished.<br />
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After that was done, I patched it with some joint compound and drywall tape. Who knows why I didn't get a picture of that masterpiece. It was probably 3 a.m. and I was delirious.<br />
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Ok, do you know what orange peel texture looks like? Let me give you a beautiful close up. Every wall and ceiling in my entire house is covered in this stuff. And I hate it.<br />
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Since I didn't know how (or want) to duplicate that texture to match the rest of the ceiling, I got the bright idea to do a smooth texture on the whole thing so it looked seamless, crisp and modern. Melanie told me it would be no problem........<br />
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It was SO hard and SO much work. But I did it. I DID IT!!!<br />
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It is a very messy job and I had to wear a mask and goggles AND turn the air off while I worked on it. I was drenched in sweat from head to toe. I have NO idea how I haven't lost 20 pounds while working on this bathroom. It's so annoying.<br />
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I also did a smooth texture on the wall behind the toilet and the wall with the door. It's much, much easier to do walls than ceilings. The wall behind the vanity will be covered in mirrors and woodwork, and all the other walls are clad in subway tile.<br />
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Here is the same camera shot where the gaping hole was. It's not perfect, and I can (barely) tell where I taped the seam, but I'm not a professional, so I'm pretty dang proud of my first attempt!<br />
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After a coat of white, semigloss paint, this is what the bathroom is looking like now. I chose to use semigloss because this is a bathroom that sees a lot of action with three kids and countless visitors and it needs to be very easy on the cleanup side.<br />
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I'd say it's a vast improvement, wouldn't you?<br />
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So here's the deal....I bought a box of premixed joint compound at Lowes for $7.50, a 12" trowel and a drywall tray. Altogether is was under $15. The materials were cheap, but the labor was intense and the time it took was extensive since I had to apply two coats and sand it two times to get it perfect. There are lots of You-Tube videos to show you how to apply the joint compound and smooth it out. <br />
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I'm happy to say that I absolutely love the finished result of the smooth ceiling and walls. Would I do it again? Not the ceiling. I'll pay someone next time! However, I would do the walls again myself. They were actually kind of fun and therapeutic.<br />
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Next week? I'll show you the finished floors. I really, REALLY love them!<br />
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-13073675751962378412013-08-22T02:02:00.000-07:002013-08-22T02:02:22.760-07:00well....this is awkwardYes, we are still alive.<br />
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Yes, we bite at blogging.<br />
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Yes, we really enjoyed our summer off.<br />
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Yes, we love you. Are you still here? Anyone?<br />
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We can't believe it's been over TWO months since we've shared our lives with you! <br />
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I'm going to give you a snippet of what I've been up to the past couple months. You might have to LEAVE A COMMENT and tell Mia how desperate you are to hear from her! She has a bad case of the blogging blahs.....but aren't you all just dying to connect with her again? Show our girl some love. We all want her back!<br />
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What have I been doing the past 2 months?<br />
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THE BATHROOM REMODEL.<br />
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And nothing else.<br />
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Oh. My. Gosh. This is the beastliest project I've ever taken on, and mark my word, it's NEVER going to happen again. I don't care if I can't afford shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toilet paper, razors or lotion for three solid years in order to save up for the professionals to take care of it for me, I'm not ever doing this again. <br />
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With that being said, I am trudging along, accomplishing about a million things I never imagined I'd ever do. Every time I finish something, I just shake my head and say to myself, "Jilly, I can't believe you just did that!"<br />
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So remember where we were? I had just finished setting the last tile, and I was confident I was never going to lay another tile as long as I lived.<br />
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I put up the first piece of paneling, and was well on my way to paneling the rest of the walls when my right-hand working girl and <span style="color: #45818e;"><a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2013/06/new-kids-on-block.html">{new neighbor}</a></span> Melanie burst my bubble. Her adorable family moved in with us for the first week of the summer so they could finish a few things on their new home. Every time she showered downstairs, she noticed that no matter how careful she was, water was always splashing out onto the paneling. She <i>gently</i> explained to me that I was going to have a serious mold problem in no time flat.<br />
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I say<i> gently </i>because she knew I was really close to being in the fetal position in a corner of my closet regarding any negative news about the shower. And she is very kind.<br />
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I took a few days to let the news settle, then I ripped the paneling off at midnight (no small task) and chipped away the finished tiled edge so that I could continue the subway tile along the entire wall to ensure it was waterproof.<br />
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It was then that I realized the old drywall was 1/2" thick, and the new cement board I installed to put the tile on was only 1/4" thick. After a day of trying to seamlessly join the two edges together, I realized it was never going to happen and tore off all the drywall. (in a mildly manic state, I might add.)<br />
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Of course with the drywall down, I could inspect the insulation, and I didn't like what I saw. So, I put some brand new stuff in. But first I had Amadeo, my electrician, come over and move that outlet to another wall.(if you live in the Phoenix area and want his info, let me know)<br />
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Then, I went right ahead and put some new sheet rock up. All by myself. Can you even believe it? I really can't either. Please don't show this picture to your husband. I'm sure it's not done correctly.<br />
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I could spend a whole day telling you the time it took to trim out the window, but ain't nobody got time for that. After the trim was installed, caulked, and painted, I put up the rest of the tile.<br />
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And then I grouted it.<br />
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I might add that sweet Melanie has been here for me, every step of the way. She would come over and give me a little lesson and sound advice for every mess I found myself in. I really have her to thank for all that I've been able to do. She has given me major doses of encouragement when I have been ready to give up. (more times than I care to admit)<br />
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Oh, I forgot to tell you the amazing deal I got on all the subway tile. I found it at a ReStore for $8 a box instead of the $22 a box from Home Depot. Same exact tile, brand new and boxed up. I bought 20 boxes and almost broke the axle on my van. My bad.<br />
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I'm excited to tell you that I have completed several more things in the bathroom, but I've got to save the details for another post so that you'll come back. I know my riveting bathroom tale is keeping you up at night (that makes two of us) so check back next week for more progress. I think you'll like it!<br />
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And this is for you local girls. (Phoenix area) I have a friend named Kalli, better known on Instagram as @decordeals, who is having an absolutely amazing vintage sale this weekend in downtown Mesa. She was nice enough to let me bring some of my <strike>hoard </strike>treasures to sell. You are going to DIE. It's really so, so incredible. The prices are great, it's free to get in, the building is air conditioned.....what's not to love? I will be there the better part of both days, so if you come in, please say hi!<br />
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Just a sampling of some of the stuff that has been set up. You really don't want to miss this! All unique, one of a kind finds. This is the best selection I've<i> ever</i> seen in the east valley.<br />
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I'm happy to be back. Now let's work on getting my better half and BFF back here, too! It's just not the same without her.....and I'm counting on YOU!<br />
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-41056047257423233552013-06-12T22:52:00.000-07:002013-06-12T23:01:16.890-07:00new kids on the blockNot the boy band.....BETTER! If you can imagine that.<br />
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One fateful afternoon about six months ago, I was talking to my friend Melanie after <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2011/01/have-you-ever-fantasized-about-group-of.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{Club Project}</span></a>. <br />
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I met Melanie six years ago when our boys were in the same preschool class. She joined our Club Project group about a year ago and she has been a very welcome addition. She has helped me with so many things in my house they can't all be named, but two of the biggest are:<br />
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<a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2012/03/year-in-making.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{The Stair Project}</span></a><br />
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<a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2012/02/winner-and-door-reveal.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{The Front Door Reveal}</span></a><br />
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There is nothing this girl can't do with a power tool. She's used them all and must have the math mind of Albert Einstein. She can figure out measurements and angles quicker than I can eat a cookie. She can set a toilet, plumb the kitchen sink and build a custom cabinet before most of us wake up in the morning. I'm sure you think I'm being dramatic. I'm not.<br />
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She is also a Pilates instructor.<br />
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And an accomplished seamstress. <br />
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I KNOW! <br />
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Back to our conversation...... We had just spent our Club Project day helping her, and everyone in the gang had left but me. As the two of us were cleaning up, she casually mentioned that they were looking for a new home. We talked about how much fun it would be for her to start new projects and gain a little more living space. As I drove home and into my neighborhood that evening, I noticed that the home three doors down from me was looking a bit neglected. I immediately called my neighbor who is surprisingly in-the-know about our whole street, and inquired as to the status of the home. She told me that the family had moved out a few weeks before and the house was vacant.<br />
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Oh, the wheels started turning.....<br />
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I live in an old neighborhood (for Arizona) where all the homes are 30+ years, and it's a very rare day when someone decides to leave. Our homes are all on acre lots and filled with mature trees, animals, and no Home Owners Association. (also rare for Arizona) I put my honey on the task of finding out what was going on with the vacant home, and by the next morning we had a key! I called Melanie and she agreed to come look at it, but really wasn't overly enthusiastic. I think she was trying to be a good friend to me.<br />
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She came the next morning and we all went to see it together.<br />
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The house? Struggling.<br />
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The yard? Fantastic.<br />
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Melanie is a country girl that grew up on 200 acres in Washington state. Her parents are dairy farmers and also had a 50 acre apple orchard while she lived at home. She is a gal who can appreciate some wide open space and a little privacy. She walked out the back door, took a look at the yard and said, "I have to have this house." <br />
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Sounds easy enough.<br />
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It wasn't.<br />
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There isn't enough time in the day or energy in my fingers to type all that has transpired since then, but suffice it to say, WE ARE NEIGHBORS NOW!<br />
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This is how the modest ranch house started out.<br />
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This is how it is looking right now.<br />
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And here is the inspiration picture of what they ultimately dream it will become.<br />
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Melanie and her husband, Ben, contracted it out themselves, and there hasn't been a day go by in the last six months where at least one of them hasn't been there all day.<br />
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The ups and downs have been like a roller coaster. Like the time Andrew had to meet Ben over at the house at 11 pm during a torrential downpour to put plastic over all the windows so the new drywall wouldn't be destroyed. Or the time they found an in-ground swimming pool buried in the back yard as they were excavating for the new addition.<br />
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But hold up. I haven't even mentioned the most wonderful thing until now...... Melanie delivered a beautiful baby girl last month, which makes 4 children under the age of 10 for them. <br />
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I could probably write a book about the renovating of the ranch house, and Ben and Melanie could certainly write a whole series. The condensed version is that they gutted the 2200 square foot original structure, built a 1300 square foot addition and will <i>certainly</i> live happily ever after.<br />
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They deserve it.<br />
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You can visit the <a href="http://www.ranchhouse76.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{blog}</span></a> she started to keep their out of state family members up to date on all the progress. You literally won't believe the transformation that has already taken place, and they are really just getting started.<br />
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Here is a picture of the cutest work crew around. My kids and hers. <br />
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Kitchen before:<br />
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Kitchen progress:<br />
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Master bathroom before: (not much bigger than a closet)</div>
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Master bathroom in progress: (marble herringbone....I love!)</div>
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Ecstatic doesn't begin to express how I feel about having their sweet family on our street now. Life will certainly be different and better for us, and we hope their family loves it here as much as we do. The other neighbors might not be so fond of us running saws and air compressors at midnight.<br />
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We'll keep you posted.....<br />
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-63324841580234728262013-05-29T06:20:00.000-07:002013-08-28T08:39:21.960-07:00exciting changesLots going on around here! I'm imagining there's lots going on around wherever you are, too. This is just a busy time as the school year comes to a close and long-awaited summer plans begin.<br />
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One of the most exciting events of the year took place last week when our oldest graduated from High School. To say it was bittersweet would be an understatement. If you follow me on Instagram, (jillegal) you might have seen a couple of the pictures I posted. I used this one on her last day of school, along with my wish to turn back the hands of time.<br />
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And this one the day after graduation with the caption, "High School is history! Watch out world...my girl is going to do something BIG!"<br />
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It's true and I've always known it. I can't wait to see what she does with her future. I love her with all of my heart, and I am incredibly proud of her. <br />
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When deciding what to do for the special graduates in our lives, we decided cash was the best option. I made some envelopes <a href="http://www.minieco.co.uk/diy-string-tie-envelopes/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{template found here}</span></a> and embellished them with an accordion paper wheel and custom tag.<br />
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I sealed them up with a sweet little heart sticker. They are perfect for tucking a little note and some cash inside. </div>
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After seeing a plaster monogram on Pinterest (that I can't find again and didn't pin!), I decided I had to make the graduates one to pair with the envelope.<br />
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I combined two different tutorials and came up with my own version. I bought the small, paper mache letters from Hobby Lobby when they were 30% off, making them just $2 each! I bought a 25 pound bag of plaster of paris from Lowes (I had lots of them to make) and found that 2 cups of it, mixed with 1 generous cup of water made the perfect amount to fill each letter. I used a steak knife to cut the top of the cardboard off and pulled the filler out, leaving me with an empty form.<br />
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Before mixing and pouring the plaster, I lined all the edges with clear packing tape so the cardboard wouldn't stick to the plaster.<br />
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Don't skip the tape. It's an important step, trust me. My biggest hint is to work with the tape in long sections. Because it's so sticky, it's hard to piece little sections in, so just cut off a long length and have some patience. Pour the plaster into the mold and then shimmy it a little to make it smooth and get all the bubbles out. You want to fill it full. It should be dry in about 4-6 hours. You can make a starting cut with some scissors on an outside edge and then you should be able to peel off the cardboard and tape in one strip. The cardboard on the back will come off by rubbing it with your fingers. I got a wet cloth and worked the rigid edges on the front side to smooth it all out. They won't look perfect, but that's the point. <br />
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I think that coupled together they make a thoughtful gift. Surprisingly, the monograms look a little like marble. Sorry I wasn't on the ball enough to tell you about this before graduation, but this gift can be for anyone, anytime! Baby shower, wedding, birthday, hostess gift?<br />
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Want to hear about something else that is SO exciting I can hardly sleep? It started with this thing showing up a week ago.<br />
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It was here to do some leveling because we are getting 80 yards of concrete poured at our house!<br />
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A cement driveway might not sound like a luxury to most, but we have had dirt for the past 5 years, so this is BIG news! You can't imagine how dirty our cars, patios and home is constantly because of the dust. It was a dream come true when I heard the men outside this morning around 4:30 a.m. They will be pouring around 5 a.m. every day for the rest of this week. Suddenly, I'm a morning person!<br />
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And, maybe you will remember a little project I started exactly a year ago. It's called The Bathroom Renovation.<br />
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Oh. My. Gosh.<br />
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The shower began a little something like this.<br />
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And my dreams were to turn it into something more like this:<br />
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Well friends, the shower is D.O.N.E! And it even WORKS!!! Yes, I am proud. No, I will never, EVER do it again. It was the hardest job I've ever tackled, it took me far too long to finish and my poor kids had to shower upstairs for an entire year. I can only share snippets of it because the rest of the bathroom is still in shambles. No, I will not be posting a tutorial on anything because I didn't know what the heck I was doing 99% of the time. But, I'm going to finish the entire bathroom this summer, and the reveal is going to be lots of fun. So stay with me just a little bit longer if your patience will hold out. <br />
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This picture was taken moments after setting the last tile. My hands will never be the same.<br />
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This is the pebble floor set, getting ready to be grouted. This was a big splurge for me, but I think it's going to completely make the whole bathroom!</div>
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Actually, there are lots more exciting things in the works around here. I'm antsy to show you what I gave myself for Mother's Day this year. It's nearing completion, and it's one of the best gifts I've ever given myself. I love it every single day. I think you'll love it, too. The only one who doesn't love it is my husband.<br />
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Oops.<br />
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That's why I had to give it to myself. <br />
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So, here's to a fabulous summer! Hope you have lots of fun activities planned, projects to work on, family to make memories with, and an abundance of <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2011/07/progress.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{creamed lemonade}</span></a>. Isn't that what summer is all about? <br />
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-57912576184788442002013-05-22T11:04:00.000-07:002013-05-22T14:19:12.983-07:00thank you teachers!My boys have two days of school left until summer break! Yaaahhhhooooo! Although I've loved every minute of waking up at 5:45 to get #1 off to zero hour (stupid idea) and then waiting a full hour and forty minutes to send off #2, I'm OVER it. I'm over our 20 minute morning game of 'shoe-hide and-seek', finding day old spaghetti in the Nino's thermos, and I'm over giving pre-tests for words <i>I</i> don't even know how to spell. <br />
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Here's the reality. I wish I was organized enough and smart enough to teach my children everything they need to know. But I'm not. So I'll continue sending them into the wide world to learn from brave people who really know what they're talking about.<br />
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Luckily this year #2 had an amazing teacher. He had her for first grade too and I almost considered holding him back so he could have her again for 'third'. She's like a little piece of fairy Godmother heaven and the second graders think she's Santa's angel. I've been in her classroom almost every Wednesday for the past two years and not once have I seen her raise her voice, get flustered, loose her cool, or her smile. She's amazing.<br />
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One thing I realize is that raising children takes a village. It's a partnership. Joint custody if you will. The nino has a special speech teacher and a special reading teacher too. I've come to realize that extraordinary teachers can move mountains. <br />
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It's for this reason I needed to make a few "thank-you's" for the people that made their mark this year. Something simple but something to let them know how much I appreciate them. <br />
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I was reading <span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://thevintagemother.com/start-of-summer-teacher-gift/">{The Vintage Mother }</a></span>
and found the cutest teacher appreciation idea. So I headed straight to
my local World Market, found these Italian Sodas, and paired them with
my favorite praline chocolate and a thank you note. <br />
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I made a quick tag with Photoshop. Click <span style="color: #999999;"><a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/142906355/Teacher-Sodas">{here}</a></span> to download.<br />
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I even made one for our Principal, and the three ladies that run the front office. They know everyone, their grandparents, and their dogs by name, and they run the school like a well primed paint sprayer.<br />
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I just got home from Nino's last 2nd grade assembly where he accepted the award for student of the month and sit and reach school champion! Who knew the kid was so stretchy? <br />
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It's not too late to send a quick thank you to the people who make your kids better.<br />
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Happy Summer from one mother to another! <br />
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-4202729908953827982013-05-11T22:40:00.000-07:002013-05-11T22:41:32.735-07:00mother's day winnersHopefully you are all just out of your bubble baths and tucked away in preparation for the big day tomorrow! But since we said we would pick the winners tonight, we thought we'd post the results as well.<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Lucky girl #1, taking home The Vintage Mother loot is:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">#26, <b>1littlemom</b>. Congratulations Steph!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Lucky girl #2, adding some new kitchen gear is:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">#15, <b>Penelope</b>. You're going to love it all!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Lucky girl #3, who will be enjoying a great new book is:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">#6, <b>Beth</b>, who happens to be one of our biggest fans! YAY BETH!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Lucky girl #4, winner of the tags and trimmings is:<br />#13, <b>Teri</b>. You will be blessing our names the next time you wrap a gift!</span></div>
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To claim your prizes, please email your addresses to us at meandjilly@gmail.com. </div>
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Hope you all have a blessed day tomorrow. Thanks for being so wonderful. It has certainly made our Mother's Day celebration a little sweeter to read through each and every comment. Virtual hugs from us!</div>
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xoxo,</div>
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Jilly + Mia </div>
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miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-75472347772816081642013-05-10T06:25:00.000-07:002013-05-10T06:25:09.201-07:00mother's day wrap up<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGkABKk9fKPjfwAu9qVTDfYZVfUYuISVGr0MAWpPKaKIpvWk8My40qsjrI4aNN-nMelXBFqRMV6QckU9M93CzrUmvKOV6nHlZurcGyBTBtIQzLw2FGz53SWunvGSPpk6K3dZPVCH6wJMwg/s1600/day+four.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGkABKk9fKPjfwAu9qVTDfYZVfUYuISVGr0MAWpPKaKIpvWk8My40qsjrI4aNN-nMelXBFqRMV6QckU9M93CzrUmvKOV6nHlZurcGyBTBtIQzLw2FGz53SWunvGSPpk6K3dZPVCH6wJMwg/s1600/day+four.jpg" /></a></div>
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Well, it's been such a fun week! Thanks for being here with us. We have thoroughly enjoyed putting these giveaways together for you in celebration of Mother's Day. We have one last offering that we are bringing back from our 2nd Blogging Anniversary.<br />
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Isn't it disheartening when you get a gift packaged up all cute, and then realize you have no tag? And no time?<br />
Jilly and Mia to the rescue.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOXeQxGXXtW9bnIjD3AHTqyo4QXz4tb_6SDdrhvpoQ3Ra6M8bOBRZ10RXClcNwPcqbsmvEalq2DRFnsjqc-Ztdjy17efl0WIOKfatj_TeMCpfws886HWtxOuodFqCmemHjS4-8ZSLP1FQ/s1600/tags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOXeQxGXXtW9bnIjD3AHTqyo4QXz4tb_6SDdrhvpoQ3Ra6M8bOBRZ10RXClcNwPcqbsmvEalq2DRFnsjqc-Ztdjy17efl0WIOKfatj_TeMCpfws886HWtxOuodFqCmemHjS4-8ZSLP1FQ/s1600/tags.jpg" /></a></div>
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We are giving this collection of our own designs, packaged up and sent
to one of you. This gift includes four of each tag (24 total), as
well as ribbon, lace and bakers twine to seal the deal. <br />
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As far as wrapping gifts goes, we have certain things on hand at all times. We like to keep our gear basic because it's so versatile. If you have nothing else in your arsenal but the following, you're well on your way to a successful package.<br />
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-Brown Kraft paper<br />
-White Kraft paper<br />
-Black ribbon, satin and grosgrain in varying widths<br />
-Bakers twine in neutral colors<br />
-Off-white lace in varying widths<br />
-Assorted colors, patterns and textures of cardstock<br />
-Take out boxes {restaurant supply}<br />
-Misc sized white boxes<br />
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Here are some examples of gifts we wrapped with our basic supplies and tags to give you an idea of some different combinations.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1fkfImL21tWso2roELIpUSNoTgPuD0bBXZNFtj9NzrU-Ih6llVEzWyRv_JRxDJDCVdHPMXHNAd-pJrOttf4cN-AAdU0RdB3Ikw5QhiyTGZKC_XFsfL8tZy0Nf6AD_qwhOAc7G6E9BzWH/s1600/wedding+gift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV1fkfImL21tWso2roELIpUSNoTgPuD0bBXZNFtj9NzrU-Ih6llVEzWyRv_JRxDJDCVdHPMXHNAd-pJrOttf4cN-AAdU0RdB3Ikw5QhiyTGZKC_XFsfL8tZy0Nf6AD_qwhOAc7G6E9BzWH/s1600/wedding+gift.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2OFcB7GGno54p9C1wmHMPzixNeiM8hWcPvvT7KAqfdQYDFmMHLTWO2Gvq51JltRiug1lgGvjd6kk3963WguoXjBpGldR3NrD94T-Tdkf10DM6Sq3gnOZGd3j8dMdcCc4XfvHwaDu6ZSMs/s1600/cupcake+gift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2OFcB7GGno54p9C1wmHMPzixNeiM8hWcPvvT7KAqfdQYDFmMHLTWO2Gvq51JltRiug1lgGvjd6kk3963WguoXjBpGldR3NrD94T-Tdkf10DM6Sq3gnOZGd3j8dMdcCc4XfvHwaDu6ZSMs/s1600/cupcake+gift.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMvv62qXMPt4gqxRERRl2W30nC7v5Xpu-mjLuFl37MVdNPt22F-1snOoNkbDNye4a0N7QeTDTCVn4-nENGbyD3_cn9EEVV-6HWpbgVTcTsUqiI5Dz16jK9JQcvlFlf3xg_geOZK2lnInr/s1600/mustache+gift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSMvv62qXMPt4gqxRERRl2W30nC7v5Xpu-mjLuFl37MVdNPt22F-1snOoNkbDNye4a0N7QeTDTCVn4-nENGbyD3_cn9EEVV-6HWpbgVTcTsUqiI5Dz16jK9JQcvlFlf3xg_geOZK2lnInr/s1600/mustache+gift.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedB2Hg2IFWFqZ1qLyX3k9l9x3SpSk3O9zDBU37nQIvcexvjQVZTkZMCsk4IeweKtIPS-Ds9H03ra-8W3jgLNCTNDL5t-_DbBwD4vM1mvoC4QvNvShJcpNG0dT_RihiLUAi_48FrlBpWwJ/s1600/baby+gift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedB2Hg2IFWFqZ1qLyX3k9l9x3SpSk3O9zDBU37nQIvcexvjQVZTkZMCsk4IeweKtIPS-Ds9H03ra-8W3jgLNCTNDL5t-_DbBwD4vM1mvoC4QvNvShJcpNG0dT_RihiLUAi_48FrlBpWwJ/s1600/baby+gift.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNQ49Uy6C-50BLK8OQGy-wFDGJ3HBX9dH8-hWkRs0JwXi5-47NGlGYu4CHlJIFc_3te0VA3a72WGSYNmrJsUack4o18kj2cC9ocY5vh_TWXCCGL_MWHIiVPEqLflcSoPqXcAPQJlJcojq/s1600/thank+you+gift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUNQ49Uy6C-50BLK8OQGy-wFDGJ3HBX9dH8-hWkRs0JwXi5-47NGlGYu4CHlJIFc_3te0VA3a72WGSYNmrJsUack4o18kj2cC9ocY5vh_TWXCCGL_MWHIiVPEqLflcSoPqXcAPQJlJcojq/s1600/thank+you+gift.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28KpqZBWVmiujrTVvM5Gf8-xbNlbg0bvvHF9smFb3JSdBytgHXy0zrDfp3dPHHlEA1BanEh73ZotVFskX7CzSBCjQoQN3IhVk0Ocfpna7KGvSXB9OQMtecei5282ve4u7NQ6MUIK2VbB3/s1600/birthday+gift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh28KpqZBWVmiujrTVvM5Gf8-xbNlbg0bvvHF9smFb3JSdBytgHXy0zrDfp3dPHHlEA1BanEh73ZotVFskX7CzSBCjQoQN3IhVk0Ocfpna7KGvSXB9OQMtecei5282ve4u7NQ6MUIK2VbB3/s1600/birthday+gift.jpg" /></a></div>
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{paper bow tutorial <a href="http://www.elli.com/blog/freebie-friday-how-to-make-a-paper-bow/"><span style="color: #45818e;">HERE</span></a>}</div>
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And just because we want all of you to feel like winners, (because you definitely are!) we found this super cute printable by the very talented Hillary Henslee who lives right here in our own town. She blogs at <a href="http://thepaintedarrow.com/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{the painted arrow}</span></a> and is <i>obviously</i> crazy creative and talented. She painted this (!) and turned it into a downloadable image. Pay a visit to <a href="http://thepaintedarrow.com/blog/2013/5/9/happy-mothers-day"><span style="color: #45818e;">{this blog post}</span></a> to print yours. But grab a snack, you'll be there for awhile. Thanks Hillary, this is simply beautiful.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zlXaRqcITSuZ9WTy3oWEmaEPhonpCDe1MMXT1jDKm7hP4lUgkgn-efxPV33gry9-J-ZEk07x2F0Mr48VpEUo_jeBhT-yJw5Kt2QY5POiR3mGMnRMnuFIkF1X579hwGrEzFMiN-WjQhYe/s1600/mothersday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zlXaRqcITSuZ9WTy3oWEmaEPhonpCDe1MMXT1jDKm7hP4lUgkgn-efxPV33gry9-J-ZEk07x2F0Mr48VpEUo_jeBhT-yJw5Kt2QY5POiR3mGMnRMnuFIkF1X579hwGrEzFMiN-WjQhYe/s640/mothersday.jpg" width="544" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><b>How to win the tags: </b></span><br />
<br />
Please
become a follower of our blog, and leave us a comment letting us know
you did it so you can be entered in the drawing. It takes about 20
seconds, and we would appreciate it oh so much! <br />
<br />
Are
you already a follower of Me and Jilly? We LOVE you. Leave a comment that conveys your undying devotion to us! That will count as your entry.<br />
<br />
You can still enter our <span style="color: #45818e;"><a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-vintage-mother.html">{giveaway}</a></span> from Tuesday, our <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-vintage-mother.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{giveaway} </span></a>from Wednesday, and our <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2013/05/mothers-love-to-read.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{giveaway}</span></a> from Thursday. You can leave a comment on each separate post to increase your chances of winning one of the four gifts. We will be picking winners via random.org on
Saturday evening, May 11th at 10:00 p.m.
<br />
We hope you enjoyed our week of posts as much as we did. Thanks for visiting our blog, and again, thank you <i>so</i> much for all the kind comments and encouragement. We hope each and every one of you has a meaningful Mother's Day, filled with the people you love and cherish.<br />
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xoxo,</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Jilly + Mia</div>
miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-9873655529838806652013-05-09T06:00:00.000-07:002013-05-09T06:31:09.314-07:00mothers love to read<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PdD-XjexUq_h0zHEbC6-Os1FOgXbSnbndSEtdru4GBPkkPVp1GrI2OXLXcTfyeVYFxgHOCAT1iQTyv-b6aURxtpVnhgU5ozg_5ftu2FKtAP8BlptCh3-022TzKcoUiItgDbdLHUn5joT/s1600/day+three.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PdD-XjexUq_h0zHEbC6-Os1FOgXbSnbndSEtdru4GBPkkPVp1GrI2OXLXcTfyeVYFxgHOCAT1iQTyv-b6aURxtpVnhgU5ozg_5ftu2FKtAP8BlptCh3-022TzKcoUiItgDbdLHUn5joT/s1600/day+three.jpg" /></a></div>
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Ya know, me and Jilly have quite a talented group of girlfriends. </div>
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Girls who share the same passion for motherhood and are amazing examples of it. <br />
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Meet Jennifer Nielson and her daughter Hadley. We call her J-lo. Not because her booty is insured for one million dollars, but because some day this friend will be famous.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTKyQ76SP8_42FeTxc77lYujApQcthmZBPL44Ojc39jc-sBTXHCGYZEengRriaPhlEzffDobV1J2THC3sNtuG18IAkDSB-KrFh1KSEkPNgXgRaWWAEwTClsi42j0d2facr2QMGECIpz0_/s1600/jen+and+hadley.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTKyQ76SP8_42FeTxc77lYujApQcthmZBPL44Ojc39jc-sBTXHCGYZEengRriaPhlEzffDobV1J2THC3sNtuG18IAkDSB-KrFh1KSEkPNgXgRaWWAEwTClsi42j0d2facr2QMGECIpz0_/s1600/jen+and+hadley.png" /></a> </div>
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J-lo and Hadley have been through some truly unbelievable experiences. Over the past 15 years they've faced lots of ups and downs with unexpected medical issues, uncanny accidents, and even the risk of losing each other. One day Jennifer's best friend asked her why she hadn't written a book and that's when the wheels started turning. <br />
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A few years, and many sleepless nights later, this baby was born. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JfSLGnRfLHuRmD-YhC-7j8lYivm78PF5oZA0EgMSYzr0eCCSv0GhwM5044jXbrQhLZ_fIu_6EIS0poJiTBrEnao8jxWuLYhIJ8LPaNKD_qsTTa-wG8x3Uohny6KjIiQA0zMyOasyK8Si/s1600/rubber+band+girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JfSLGnRfLHuRmD-YhC-7j8lYivm78PF5oZA0EgMSYzr0eCCSv0GhwM5044jXbrQhLZ_fIu_6EIS0poJiTBrEnao8jxWuLYhIJ8LPaNKD_qsTTa-wG8x3Uohny6KjIiQA0zMyOasyK8Si/s1600/rubber+band+girl.jpg" /></a></div>
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Jennifer's own words.... </div>
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"When Hadley, is diagnosed with Marfan’s syndrome, a
potentially fatal ligament disorder characterized by extreme height and
joint flexibility, Jennifer is heartbroken. But she soon discovers that
events from Hadley’s early years and her own past have prepared her to
face these obstacles head on. Through trials large and small, Jennifer
marvels at Hadley’s resiliency, consistent maturity, and sunny outlook
on life epitomized by Hadley’s mantra: "I’m not tall. Everyone else is
just short!"<br />
Anyone who has experienced life's unexpected twists and turns will
relate to this inspiring memoir, including parents with children
suffering with disabilities. Readers will root for young Hadley as she
navigates the uncertain path before her, challenging her physical
limitations with an unbreakable spirit and a belief that no dream is
beyond her reach."<br />
<br />
I was privileged to snatch up one of the first signed copies and I read it in one sitting. The real life issues, the funny stories, and the dramatic twists and turns of Hadley's illness were intriuging and inspiring. As I turned the last two pages, there I was on the treadmill in the middle of the gym, bawling like a newborn. And I didn't even care. <br />
<br />
Jilly and I want you to have your very own copy of this amazing book, and we're paring it with one of our favorite quotes by Mother Teresa. I printed a 5x 7 and framed it for your pleasure. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRHyXbwsz7vNUzIT3F0rBWAr7U2JIlJgAMxgeXocZygCLJLkOUTmvXU2KnD-3FRjWeNBFFSEZUnFJZmbDLmIe-yQyX9FgmMlvBwN_ALuP10U1v7W0D6tckTGkWJTGnukZZ1VZE-jKw4ljs/s1600/IMG_5971.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRHyXbwsz7vNUzIT3F0rBWAr7U2JIlJgAMxgeXocZygCLJLkOUTmvXU2KnD-3FRjWeNBFFSEZUnFJZmbDLmIe-yQyX9FgmMlvBwN_ALuP10U1v7W0D6tckTGkWJTGnukZZ1VZE-jKw4ljs/s1600/IMG_5971.jpg" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>How to win: </b></span><br />
<br />
Please
become a follower of our blog, and leave us a comment letting us know
you did it so you can be entered in the drawing. It takes about 20
seconds, and we would appreciate it more than you can imagine! <br />
<br />
Are
you already a follower of Me and Jilly? BLESS YOU! We heart you.
Maybe you can leave a comment convincing us that you love us more than
anyone else on the planet. That will count as your entry.<br />
<br />
You can still enter our <span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-vintage-mother.html">{giveaway}</a></span> from Tuesday and our <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-vintage-mother.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{giveaway} </span></a>from Wednesday. We will be picking winners via random.org on
Saturday evening, May 11th at 10:00 p.m. Check back Friday
for one more Mother's Day Giveaway!<br />
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xoxo,</div>
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j + m </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTKyQ76SP8_42FeTxc77lYujApQcthmZBPL44Ojc39jc-sBTXHCGYZEengRriaPhlEzffDobV1J2THC3sNtuG18IAkDSB-KrFh1KSEkPNgXgRaWWAEwTClsi42j0d2facr2QMGECIpz0_/s1600/jen+and+hadley.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
p s I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you win this book, but in the unfortunate event that you don't, you can purchase your own copy <span style="color: #a2c4c9;"><a href="http://rubberbandgirlbook.com/">{here}</a></span>.miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5713717551638678180.post-51224279195453741522013-05-08T00:11:00.002-07:002013-05-08T19:35:56.578-07:00mothers love food, right?<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZS-h2FRh9syX7MIRM3PrasnhltNOo78FbKX0611lwZ131QIihyyqg0LYf6AuVY21udzSliAiCD0MCDAITJAcLFC-DB0lI-cI-rmth9zyeUkTSt6dpgMw-g1kRUGsbOw3ZUJEFyl12OeB/s1600/day+two.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJZS-h2FRh9syX7MIRM3PrasnhltNOo78FbKX0611lwZ131QIihyyqg0LYf6AuVY21udzSliAiCD0MCDAITJAcLFC-DB0lI-cI-rmth9zyeUkTSt6dpgMw-g1kRUGsbOw3ZUJEFyl12OeB/s1600/day+two.jpg" /></a></div>
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It's certainly no secret that we love food. Pretty much all of it, all the time. So when one of our BFFs puts out a cookbook, you know we get really excited and want to share it with you! Allow us to introduce you to our friend Allison who also happens to be one of the cutest Grandmas in the history of the world.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA3WpW4wt52kJXODokXc9485c06_R354dEfSV1hv80yxWXgDwFK-ETFJoHNe78cLTn92YF8CXfrgXXrUuQg3xvQf6uKbDyPeBTpLcVNASmD04SNw7yNotIX1r-FD0Gfnat8hMnmFJhzQ98/s1600/allison.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA3WpW4wt52kJXODokXc9485c06_R354dEfSV1hv80yxWXgDwFK-ETFJoHNe78cLTn92YF8CXfrgXXrUuQg3xvQf6uKbDyPeBTpLcVNASmD04SNw7yNotIX1r-FD0Gfnat8hMnmFJhzQ98/s640/allison.PNG" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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Allison raised 7 kids and provided them with a hot and healthy breakfast every morning, which is something we are passionate about as well. Actually, our kids get cold cereal on Friday mornings and they think it's Christmas. We don't have the heart to tell them that someday they will miss sitting down to waffles with homemade syrup and fresh fruit smoothies before heading off to school. They will come to that cruel realization on their own when they have survived on Captain Crunch for an entire semester of college and decide they never want to see another box of it!<br />
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At any rate, Allison has put together an excellent collection of many different tried and true recipes. Her breakfast section will inspire you to get up 30 minutes earlier each morning to feed those hungry mouths that need a great start to their day. Lemon Poppyseed Pancakes maybe? Raspberry-Cinnamon French Toast, anyone? Jilly made Allison's notable Egg Pinwheels for her sister's <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2012/11/baby-love.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{baby shower}</span></a> a few months ago, and about a hundred people asked for the recipe.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPaJVFbIEUDEOu2tzd0sKoWeao5o83TwljffB18Fq2qUFmTJqFcRvn6sxWURexhai9UyzWSDVJOFbcm2OiPzhCGbq1Cvj3jjz4w5KYmjkQy4gtBAnnPT_MxhDe-Cx_SA9C8rd8EbEOY0p/s1600/egg+pinwheels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPaJVFbIEUDEOu2tzd0sKoWeao5o83TwljffB18Fq2qUFmTJqFcRvn6sxWURexhai9UyzWSDVJOFbcm2OiPzhCGbq1Cvj3jjz4w5KYmjkQy4gtBAnnPT_MxhDe-Cx_SA9C8rd8EbEOY0p/s640/egg+pinwheels.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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Her famous knot rolls will have your eyes rolling back into your head. Try making them into cinnamon rolls or orange rolls, but only if you need to gain five pounds in one day. Jilly's special Key Lime Cupcakes even made it into the book, along with hundreds of other recipes you'll wonder how you ever lived without. This cookbook is 272 pages that can be read like a steamy love novel but kept in plain view in the kitchen because you'll want to use it every day.<br />
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We are so grateful and lucky to call Allison our friend. She is nurturing, supportive, compassionate, genuine, beautiful, gracious and that girl can COOK! She just finished culinary school at Le Cordon Bleu here in Scottsdale and we are so proud of her! On the off-chance you aren't chosen as the winner, you can purchase a copy <a href="http://www.simply-delicious.co/"><span style="color: #45818e;">{here}</span></a> for yourself or buy one for someone you love a whole lot.<br />
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We are giving one lucky reader a cookbook and have paired it with a couple of our favorite kitchen things.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgJV1TNaYib3qwjPD2VzPGXuCzLo6QSpniEMdh1vyZSa9p9XLdLsavKC8oVcE6Y2FBz0HFWjiA1lhbq9VM3tGacTerAlh5887f_-NPgSmmxL8e6YvrGEQdruCYxKfAc2sMaTMt4Iog8Hi/s1600/cookbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGgJV1TNaYib3qwjPD2VzPGXuCzLo6QSpniEMdh1vyZSa9p9XLdLsavKC8oVcE6Y2FBz0HFWjiA1lhbq9VM3tGacTerAlh5887f_-NPgSmmxL8e6YvrGEQdruCYxKfAc2sMaTMt4Iog8Hi/s640/cookbook.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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That funny looking gadget you see is not a curry comb you use to brush your horse with, but it is something that we honestly never want to be without in our own kitchens. It's called a stir stick and it will change your cooking life! It is such a handy tool to use when preparing a dish that you don't want to smash. Think pastas, salads and vegetables. It might not look like much, but we would never lead you astray in the kitchen, and you NEED this! Also, we embellished an IKEA dish towel with a sheer little ruffle and put together a simple tutorial in case you'd like to make your own.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5y7SkxRgNcHB2vED_AKglo7vMPOWjSsJuVerOddaQil_fGfFyMJq2ROkda4dvDl8JpnEWxCPI1kUXUR0-iE2Fuvwod2WF6NVyhRolvzPzLd1RUnh45KJvowOr0A13g_RP7eabi3AA2ISb/s1600/outside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5y7SkxRgNcHB2vED_AKglo7vMPOWjSsJuVerOddaQil_fGfFyMJq2ROkda4dvDl8JpnEWxCPI1kUXUR0-iE2Fuvwod2WF6NVyhRolvzPzLd1RUnh45KJvowOr0A13g_RP7eabi3AA2ISb/s640/outside.jpg" height="640" width="426" /></a></div>
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The IRIS gray dishtowel comes in a two-pack for $3.49. It's nice and big and washes up beautifully. Jilly happened to have a sheer curtain panel with a ruffled edge in her <strike>hoard</strike> fabric stash.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_iHk_U-Ex8otH97K5r8KpoAxyGIjh7XsJycBVnpEyuUHfmbnTgvf76VwvoLayW7PZfk9QPnfnpKjOkR8RF2P48NhMWie40Fh82hOgKgeso3_vXlGliWeJJRZTL1NAMX01yIkmlLDDkFr/s1600/roses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_iHk_U-Ex8otH97K5r8KpoAxyGIjh7XsJycBVnpEyuUHfmbnTgvf76VwvoLayW7PZfk9QPnfnpKjOkR8RF2P48NhMWie40Fh82hOgKgeso3_vXlGliWeJJRZTL1NAMX01yIkmlLDDkFr/s640/roses.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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She simply cut the ruffle off of the panel, leaving the finished edge intact to minimize any extra work. She sewed in onto the right side of each edge of the dish towel then went the extra mile by sewing a strip of elastic right across the center crease to make it fun! Use a zig-zag stitch and make sure your needle is down, then stretch a small section of elastic and sew just that section. Repeat until you have gone all the way across the towel.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMnD3TbES203ELHn6OVyyYfjwhPPPKfdDwcneNGkXhKUcga1OetyYz59g03U89pE_LRU0gdZi5X97YnmfLa8CEEIn9Ut7-nP5bQbnkmXQGCgnL96zgT7BQ_BgwO53VfyVBzFQJykfrbcj/s1600/sewing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwMnD3TbES203ELHn6OVyyYfjwhPPPKfdDwcneNGkXhKUcga1OetyYz59g03U89pE_LRU0gdZi5X97YnmfLa8CEEIn9Ut7-nP5bQbnkmXQGCgnL96zgT7BQ_BgwO53VfyVBzFQJykfrbcj/s640/sewing.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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The gathered look is flirty and might encourage your man to want to dry the dishes. You might actually have to tie it on with a ribbon over your birthday suit as a flouncy little skirt.</div>
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It's definitely worth a try.</div>
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<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>How to win: </b></span><br />
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Please become a follower of our blog, and leave us a comment letting us know you did it so you can be entered in the drawing. It takes about 20
seconds, and we would appreciate it more than you can imagine! <br />
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Are you already a follower of Me and Jilly? BLESS YOU! We heart you. Maybe you can leave a comment convincing us that you love us more than anyone else on the planet. That will count as your entry.<br />
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You can still enter our <a href="http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-vintage-mother.html"><span style="color: #45818e;">{giveaway}</span></a> posted yesterday. We will be picking winners via random.org on Saturday evening, May 11th at 10:00 p.m. Check back Thursday and Friday for more Mother's Day Giveaways!<br />
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xoxo,</div>
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Jilly + Mia</div>
miahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12166831039011347753noreply@blogger.com34