Blog Lover

I have been really slacking on my blogging as of late. Toss it off to a heavy workload at work, exhaustion from potty training and stubborn 2 year old, exhaustion from my pregnancy, and desperately trying to get ready for baby no. 2 (which I'm failing at miserably and may have a baby in a drawer in ten weeks- exaggeration but you get my point.)

Nonetheless, while I am currently living in a state of rearrangement chaos at home (due to changing the office/overflow clothes storage and whatever else I throw in there to a nursery) I still love home and design blogs. 

I do find it hard to balance a styled home with a cluttered home. Its a balance: decorated but not cluttered or overwhelming.  I think a lot of people like me who love a beautiful home but aren't natural, or professional, interior designers and cant afford to hire one, struggle with.

So here's a list of some blogs I like for inspiration:

https://www.kellyelko.com/
- This blog used to be called eclectically vintage. And that's what I like about it. Eclectic and vintage are two things that work in my transitional, comfortable, farmhouse touches, natural element personal style.

http://www.thewoodgraincottage.com/
- Great if your are into natural elements and or farmhouse style. The only issue is that she seems to have taken a bit into that cluttered overwhelming stage. Its seems like there is now a lot going on. So I honestly don't check this as regularly. That said she has some great ideas and i love a good DIY project inspiration. She also uses texture like no other!

http://thenester.com/
This is one of the first Home interior blogs that I got into. She was a renter that had done a fantastic job making rentals look like home on a budget. a few years ago they bought and remodeled an old mill house. I don't know if her style has changed or mine but im not as in love with the styling as of late but her motto is "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful" and that's a motto I want to live by.

http://houseofturquoise.com/
This is a color design blog. And to know me is to know my obsession with all things turquoise or any tealish/minty shade. She posts some of her own home but mostly swoons at design posts from other blogs or magazines. If you love the upbeat color like I do, this is a must.

http://cococozy.com/
This one i follow more on instagram and twitter than anything. Its not totally my taste but sometimes i need a change and something chic. This is my go to for that.

http://dearlillieblog.blogspot.com/
This one, can this woman please come decorate my house. She just gets me. Sophisticated, rustic, great wall color usage (I'm just not a white wall girl) but not colored.  I mean clearly she has good taste we even named our daughters the same name! I love this one. Alot.

*I have no relationship with these bloggers other than I am a reader.

Little Wicker Chair

     

So my mom saw this as she drove past a garage sale in a small town in the Catskills and screamed for my dad to stop the car. For ten dollars she picked up this little chair for my toddler. It is in great shape but just needed a fresh coat of paint.

Eleanor decided to help me of course, as always.

 

Here's picture of the back, you can see that the paint has chipped pretty badly off the bottoms and that it just looks worn.

This is the paint I used. I love rust oleum products. I bought two cans and used one and some of two. It maybe could have been done with one can but intend to go heavy on the first coat.

 I save old boxed from toys to paint on so I don't get the grass all different colors. Lets be honest it ends up getting painted, but at least the bulk of it is on the box and there's no grass stuck to my project when its done.

 

After one heavy coat. It looks really nice. I like the antique white. It makes it more modern feeling but stays true to the style.

 

I gave it one more light coat and just went over the spots where it seemed like it needed it. I think it looks pretty good, though the sun may not do it justice.

Lillian seems to be enjoying her freshly painted chair! She loves being outside and we sit on the screen room every day. I think she will get some years of enjoyment out of this yard sale find!

Added Saftey of a Gate

When we put our flagstone patio we took a railing of a lower useless deck (it was too narrow to sit on and snakes just denned underneath it because it was right on the ground). So we saved some and my husband made a gate to keep our toddler from going down 14 stairs. He wasn't that handy when we married but three years in and he's made some progress! He made it all from recycled wood from the old deck. I'm still painting it but here are some pictures:

He had just finished building it with leftover wood from the old railing.

 

I still need to give it a second coat and go around the hinges but it looks pretty good!

The Railing is Done

This is a follow up post to my previous one regarding our screen room.

Securing Our Screen Room

 (This picture reminds me how badly we need to have the house painted. maybe next years budget.)

While we are still in the process of rescreening some of our more tattered screens thanks to our dogs, and the ones the squirrels literally ate through, I thought I would show our railing.

No more worrying about my toddler falling! YAY! coffee on the screen room can resume!

Securing Our Screen Room

When we bought our house it was winter. The inside of the home had been renovated but the outside was in direr need of some TLC. Nonetheless the weathered two story screen rooms were instantly my favorite rooms in the house. I love drinking coffee and looking out over the yard, my gardens and watching the dogs sunbath while thumbing through a magazine or a book. Since I had a baby these moments are limited but, very much valued.

However, when I had my daughter it became apparent to me that there was a problem. The elderly woman that owned the home before us, the original owner, never had children. She never worried about them falling two stories. It hadn't occurred to me that the screens went to the floor until I was on maternity leave and was sitting out there. Call it maternal instinct but, it suddenly hit me that something would need to change.

So after over a year of debating the best way to secure the second story screen room without it looking out of place or ruining my view I decided to go with preform rails from HOME DEPOT. these are very similar to the railings on the rest of the deck and I don't think take away from the aesthetic. I showed these pictures to my co-worker and he thought they added to the look, which made me very proud of my choice.

 

This project is taking us sometime because we have to stop and start with the baby and we had another hiccup when we discovered there was a large yellow jacket nest in our drainpipe. My poor husband was stung. (I think its safe to say this was a good inclination that we are overdue to clean the gutters). But I wanted to post some of our progress.

This is where I am going to give some credit to my husband. He was not very handy going into the marriage but he has really proved himself on this project. A man who never used a power tool until we were in our house, now had all the bolts and brackets and thought through almost all the issues. I was pretty proud.

 

 

We still have to do the other side and attach the rail behind the drainpipe. OH and put the screens back in, which I'm thinking I will replace because they are old and kind of dry rotted with some holes. But its coming along.

 

I'm also repainting all the existing white on the deck. it was definitely due, it hadn't been done since the year we moved in, three years ago.  I have to say projects that I would have done in a day now take 3-5 because I stop to play or feed or clean or just calm my little one. Kids really do make things go slower ! But they are only little once, so I try to embrace the 'breaks'.

 

 

Apparently our Cocker Spaniel rubbed against the rails because when we finally sat down at night we saw that Bon Bon looked like this. We should have named her Shadow because she always has to be with you even in the close to 100 degree heat and her new white markings prove that to be true.

 

I will  post once its complete but, I thought I would share our progress.

 

PaInT paint PAINT

The week before Easter my sister agreed, as she is always my partner in crime, to come and help me do some painting in my house. We moved in three years ago but the color of the main area I really liked, Agreeable Grey by Sherwin Williams and rest of the house was plain 'contractor cream'. We had painted the nursery a minty aqua (Valspar I can't remember the exact color) before our little one was born but other than that, I had just been doing touch up with the paint the contractors left. (Our house was a flip.)

All the walls were done with flat paint. I hated it from the moment we moved in. The creator of flat paint should be brought on trial. It shows every bump, mark, scrape. Not so friendly with a husband that's less than careful, dogs and a toddler. I had literally scrubbed down to the sheetrock in some places.) So I decided it was time to paint the guest room, which had seen better days after a friend had stayed with us for a period of time, the bathrooms and the hall. And this time use a washable, wipe-able paint, in a satin sheen.

I always use VALSPAR paint. I've tries Behr, Benjamin Moore, Glidden, Olympic, American Tradition (by Valspar), Dutch Boy, and that's just for wall paint. I could do a whole other post on spray-paint, furniture paint and polyurethane.

So this time I made the mistake of asking the sales person's opinion. I had picked all Sherwin Williams colors, because I just love their color wheel but, I had planned to buy Valspar. He told me he had been a rep for both and that he thought Sherwin Williams was more durable and that it was the only way to get a color guarantee.  Against my better judgment I made a rash decision, and went with Sherwin Williams.

I WONT MAKE THAT MISTAKE AGAIN.

Valspar is superior in my opinion and here's why. Sherwin Williams showed every roll, edge mark, change in pressure. It didn't cover as well as Valspar and therefore didn't go as far either. I mean don't get me wrong, if I couldn't get Valspar I would choose Sherwin Williams over Behr, Olympic and Dutch Boy (I can't remember what I didn't like about Benjamin Moore but I just remember not liking it as well).

~ I only photographed one bathroom. I painted both Sea Salt by SW. Its a chameleon color as its blue/gray/sage. it looks blue during the day in this bathroom and a slate grey at night but in the smaller downstairs bath, it looks more sage/grey. I really love it. If you don't want to commit, this is the color for you.~

Valspar pretty much covers in one coat, goes on even, you don't see streaks or marks from your edgework, assuming you don't drip or leave pressure lines, no paint can forgive that. It wipes down easily and wears well

I just like it better. Lesson learned. Going forward im going back to Valspar.  (Ohh but for trim work I like Glidden high gloss).

~The guest room we painted Anew Grey by SW. It was a last minute decision. My sister thought that my choice of Dorian Grey was too dark for this basement level one window room and she was right. As a note, we painted the hall Agreeable Grey again but in the satin sheen.~

If your thinking of painting I hope you will consider my review, because Valspar is superior. I know I know SW just bought Valspar- well all I can say is I pray they don't change the formula.

*this is not a sponsored post.

Christmas Decorating

This year when I went to take out my decorations, I noticed an additional bucket of decorations. What could be in there? well apparently when I was in a nesting phase of my pregnancy last year I bought/made more decorations. VERY unlike me. But, with a little one now, I guess she will enjoy all the extra sparkle...

I am hosting Christmas at my house this year and I am finding the thought of it stressful (especially since I am not a cook by any means. I mean, I like permanently damaged my finger from a hand blender on thanksgiving- guess I took the name too literally but I digress). I am trying to remind myself that it doesn't have to be a banquet... MOM and it doesn't have to be a formal dining experience with white gloves... MOTHER IN LAW. It just has to be good food and us all together to celebrate a holiday about family and of course my little girls first Christmas.

We will see how it goes.
Also note, that usually when I have a bunch of people coming I set to clean every corner and speck of dirt. That is not happening this holiday there is no time. The paint chips taped to the wall will not be replaced with new paint until after the holiday and my base boards may have some dog hair. It happens I guess that's motherhood talking....

Pumpkin spice and all things nice

It's a little early for me but the mood struck me. Orange has entered my house and we are looking ready for fall. My garden flag is changed, my scarcrow out and my pumpkins on display. 

Whenever I take it my seasonal decor, I thin out my stuff or at least consider whether I want to keep it. Holiday decor is still decor, a reflection of your home and your style. Some things have sentimental value and some things are just for looks. 

Regardless, you need to decide whenever you decorate your house whether the items make you happy and work in your home. I also always rearrange when I put things out. That makes old things feel new. Hope my  little tips help when decorating for the next changing season. 

An Office Update

Coming back to work after my materity leave was not easy. The first day was a lot of crying, on my part, only consoled by a warm welcome from my coworkers (they even cleaned the microwave for my arrival). I always keep my work space clean and I try to keep it decorated with being cluttered and over the top. I have brought in plants for my office and the common spaces. I bought some Ansel Adams prints on sale at art.com for our common space, the plain white walls made me crazy when I started two years ago.  I organized the library, supply closet, files and tables. It is so much better now.  I swear a lined up stapler and tape dispenser, a few prints, a few plants and a pretty tissue box does wonders. #beautify

I share my office and another attorney, who is the best and tolerates my putzing and decorating. He made sure people didn't dump on my desk so I didn't return to a mess but, my photos needed a refreshing and I need to make a few changes. While on my leave I kept seeing gold desk accents but I didn't want to spend my money when I have work issued items. So what did I do? I bought a 3 dollar can of Rustoleum metallic gold spray paint and took my items home. (Note: I have a job that doesn't care and I didn't interfere with the function of these items. They are theirs so if I leave the now gold items stay).  Here's some shots of my workspace now. Its a lot better for me, things that didn't match are now gold and shiny and feminine. Its a lot easier to leave my beautiful baby when I'm in a workspace that doesn't make miserable.

 

I was worried the gold would clash with my silver frames but I like it. Its bright and feminine. Everyone comments on how nice my office is :)

 

An old pier one pillow I had in my home office that I never use.

The flower pot was from an orchid that I killed (my green thumb does not work on orchids and violets, I over love them). The flowers are flower pens I made at home: thin duck tape, faux flowers from something and some purple pens.

These are much better than the standard black.

A painted letter I don't use in my home décor anymore. I hyphenated my name but go by my husbands in my private life and my maiden name at work.

These are dollar frames I bought at Michaels and just found some free vintage printables online. The hooks were all different colors but the gold makes it look more sophisticated and less like a dorm room.

So now my office is aqua (of course my signature color), pink, white and metallics.  And this little bit of effort really made coming back easier.

A wreath made with love!

Last fall my uncle presented me with a wreath made from grape vines from my grandfather's (Pop-pop) vines. My uncle now lives in my grandparents house which I love because everytime I step in the yard I remember my childhood. I loved the wreath but hadn't decided what to do with it. A little Pinterest later and a long trip to Michael's (my favorite craft store) and I had a vision. 

Luckily, I had some shows I wanted to watch on my DVR and Netflix and with no end in winter in sight I made a Saturday afternoon out of my project. I will say that I burned my hand a few times because the hot glue goes right through the burlap but I was determined to get the look I wanted.

 I put a wooden letter on the wreath for my married name (side note I'm hyphenated legally but use my maiden name more because I was already an established attorney) but changed the color three times. I started with a light blue but worried it would clash with my aqua flower pots and that I wasn't being true to my signature color so I changed to to a turquoise and that clashed with my flowers.

I ended up painting it a natural nude color and I have to say I am very happy with it! 

As you can see I had to shake the table cloth off outside after. I can't wait to hang this on our front door (which I've decided to paint watch for a post)!

Weight and See...

I am an active person. I am constantly cleaning my house, reorganizing, working, researching, DIYing, gardening, landscaping, playing with my dogs... you get the picture. But weight has always been a struggle. Yesterday a co-worker made a comment about my weight. Now, he prefaced it with you seem like someone who isn't sensative about it, and in that aspect I take that to be a compliment becuase he thinks I'm stronger than to be sensitive. But in reality I am sensative. Weight has always been an issue for me. I have been yo-yo dieting since the 5th grade and have lost 30, 75, and 90 lbs, of course gaining it back inbetween. Always to the same weight. Its very frustrating.

Reality is having been though this, I know how different people treat you when you are thin versus when you are heavy. Noone sees blonde hair, blue eyes, white straight teeth, or four degrees earned all before 28. They see weight. Its sad but true. Well I felt bad about it for about 12 hours and then I realized that this was the wake up call I needed. I cannot accept this any longer. Its time to start to fight again. This will be my lifelong battle but I refuse to go through life hating myself and resenting myself and food. Yes, I am a naturally bigger perrson. I gain weight easier than other people and I have some bad eating habits (I eat all my feelings from happy to sad) but thats no excuse.

I must fight! For myself, for my pride, for my family.  So I know I will have to work hard and it will take time but just you "weight and see!"

Refinished china cabinet

So last summer I had borrowed my parents old mini van and I had to take advantage of this vehicle. With a new china set on the way as a wedding gift I knew I needed a china cabinet but didn't want to spend a lot. I found this cabinet on craigslist for $100 but we had to move it out ourselves (and it doesn't come apart) which was rough but, my husband and I got it in the van and back to our garage where it sat for about three months until our wedding and honeymoon dust had settled. Then I went to work. I decided I wasn't up for a total stripping and refinishing project so I decided to try the rustoleum furniture refinish kit ( I'd been dying to try it). We agreed on the expresso finish. Overall I'm very happy with it! I didn't really want to invest in new hardware in case I ended up hating it so I just painted the existing hardware with the rustoleum brushed nickel (TIP: if you are using this on something and notice that the metallic in the paint starts to pool on the item then spray the paint onto a plate ( or fast food lid like I did lol) use a cotton ball for application- that evens it out and prevent excess paint which I found to cause the pooling and sliding. The process did take three weekends and some sanding during the week but, I like to do it right. Below are my before during and after photos. I get tons of compliments and my friends can't believe I did it all on my own!

The hand me down table and chairs, which you can see in the last picture, are on my list for this spring. I'm thinking white chairs and table bottom with a matching expresso table top but we'll see.

Third times the charm!

So first I called it 'Aim to Organize', but i found the name too limiting and felt like I could only write about house stuff. Then after some major changes in my life I tried "Mrs-Esq" which is who I am a new Mrs. (who would have thought) and an attorney, but somehow it just wasn't inspiring me. Then this morning, while I was putting on my makeup in my bathroom decorated with botanical prints (which I found here: http://www.adailysomething.com/2013/03/free-printable-botanical-prints-01.html for free and I love them),  it hits me, a new name, that accurately reflects me and my passions "A Gardener's Granddaughter". A perfect opportunity to open the window and talk about my passions: my family, gardening and my home. General enough to still leave it open to talk about DYI and home improvement and life in general. Lets hope this name sticks, I'm over changing it but I want to feel inspired!

 

A history of my Gardeners Granddaughter meaning: "I grew up sitting under fruit trees, listening to my Grandfather's stories, helping him tinker with his latest project, garden and learning about the world around me. Now as an adult, I've brought the lessons I learned and the values I gained into my own home, garden and life.

Finding time to meet the demands of my career as an attorney, decorating our home, landscaping our property myself, taking care of our beloved dogs, a new baby on the way and spending time with family and friends can be challenging but, I'm up to it!"

NOTE:1-27/15 it still wasn't right, so again have changed it. One of these days I will figure out what I want to write about. But, I have decided to use old names to categorize entries. That way if anyone does read this blog, they will see where it all comes from!

House of Horrors

We bought our house last March and moved in the first weekend in April. It was completely redone and i love it. I cant wait to do the landscaping but inside.... its getting to me. We had some plumbing problems and had to rip out some sheetrock (frozen pipes that were properly insulated by a bathroom vent and a leaky tub drain). So sheetrocking had to be done in the laundry room ceiling and the downstairs bathroom ceiling. Luckily my brother and sister came up, with a truck, and helped me get the supplies to the house. So the bathroom looks great- amazing- like nothing ever happened. And it didnt hurt that the contractors left the paint so there was no issue matching colors.

BUT the laundry room repair got out of hand. what started as a 10x 10 inch hole turned into a 3x4 ft hole!. the patch doesnt match up and we tried taping and spackling and spackling and sanding and spackling and sanding on and on and on.....

so it looks terrible...

once we get a different vehicle im starting over!

ohh and during the cleanup i broke a beer bottle (we store our alcohol on a shelf in there) and cut my hand made a mess and got glass in my foot and and my dog tried to lick it up and then pooped on the floor,..... it was BAD

And to make things better my broken stair that just keeps braking (despite my tyraid of nails- 23 to be exact) is broken becuase the main frame of the stair is cracked.

Maybe i should just quite my job and be a contractor.....
Ugh

Perfection

"Have no fear of perfection you'll never reach it"- Salvador Dali

These are words for me to live by. I try so hard, so very very hard to reach perfection and I can't seem to get there. Just for one day I want my house to look like its out of a magazine. But alas, the dog throws up, the other dog shreds something, the pillows are on the floor the blankets are unfolded and the dishes always seem to be in the sink despite my constant running of the dishwasher. And, why when someone spits toothpaste, I'm not going to name names, do they do it all over the faucet and mirror and not in the sink where you can rinse it down? I would like one day where I look around and say yes, I've achieved this perfect home to match my perfect life. But lets not get started on my lack of perfect. Ohh well, a girl can dream, and then she needs to clean up after her puppy and husband....

Me and my Raised Ranch

                     (pic of the house before we bought it)

Now that the wedding has come and gone im focusing on our new house and my lack of landscape. Unfortunately, fall is not the best time. Yes i can put up corn stalks, get mums and pumpkins but outside I have to kind of live with until spring. *sigh*
So now I have to face inside. I love turqouise which may be driving my husband crazy and we have tried to meet his conteporary/ modern taste with my shabby chic, coastal taste (and our house is a bit transitional as it was remodeled before we bought it) so thats the direction we have taken. We have a dark couch, which helps with the dog, a open floorplan and dark granite counters which i love but now im feeling like i need to lighten up the house with winter approaching- so i dont feel closed in. I really like what i have in the common space but i need to arrange it right.
So cleaning organizing and redecorating here i come! Now only for some inspiration...Why cant I just make it look like the magazine!? Martha! Help!

NEW YEAR, NEW PROJECT

Now that the holidays are over its time to decide what my projects will be for this winter and the spring. Unfortunately the old oak tree in my backyard has to be taken town, ive cried over this several times, but since part of it already took out some of our house, the insurance says its necessary. So i will be doing some new landscaping in the spring.

But what to do for winter? its really too cold for spray paint (though that didnt stop me last year) and i could always be more organized but i did do alot of it before the holidays...its a tough one. I have taken an interest in terrariums as i cant garden outside so thats is a maybe for my list. we shall see.


 As always though, i am knee deep planning my one of my bestie's destination wedding and was recruited by another friend to help her as apparently my love and expertise in wedding planning has gotten around. So weddings are my plan?... i don't think my boyfriend will like that.