remember this??

Yea major FAIL.  And what’s worse?? I lived with them looking like that for almost a year…. blue tape and all! Have I no shame?? (apparently not)

Well, this summer I finally got some motivation, and after tons of Googling… and blog stalking, I decided that I was going to forget about re-staining the steps, and just paint the suckers black.

Sure its taken me forever to show you all….. but you know.. that’s kinda how I roll!

So without any further delay check out my favorite DIY project to date!!

Even though I still haven’t finished painting the spindles (fml that is going to take forever), I am loving how it looks.  And I was of course extra excited to hang the Christmas garland and stockings down the newly painted railing this year!!!

Now for some Important Info:

• What kind of paint did you use?  I ended up using Behr’s floor and porch paint in a low luster finish.  Followed up by a Minwax satin poly on the steps, and gloss poly on the handrail.

• How are the steps holdings up?  This project was completed around September, and so far the paint job is holding up really really well. The vacuum even had a tumbe down a few steps, and no chipping

• Socks or no socks?  Generally speaking, I am not a sock wearing gal in the house. But now thats its cold outside I have them or slippers on all the time.  Even with socks I feel pretty secure going up and down the steps….. I wish the same was true for the pups (they are having a bit of trouble adjusting to the whole no carpet/less traction deal).

• Any plans for a runner?  Not in the foreseeable future! Despite the protesting of the dogs for something to grip their paws onto, I really dig the look of the bare steps for now.

• So what’s the next project?  Shut up. At least I finally posted something lol

*****

Feeling nostalgic?? Then take a peek at the below posts showing how the stairs slowly transformed over the past loooong year!

• Removing the old molding

• Adding new trim & some primer

• Adios to the carpet

• Picking a stain color

• Stain Fail!

In true adult fashion, I now get super excited about gifts involving my home (cough-loser-cough)! And thanks to Santa (and a pre Black Friday sale @ Home Depot) I am the new owner of a pretty LG steam washer & dryer.

And although I was not in the market for a new set, I just couldnt resist the sales sign I saw when I went into Home Depot looking for some table legs….. when something says $1,000 off and you pretty much are getting a washer AND dryer for the price of just one…. you shouldn’t walk away! (Suze Orman may not agree with that sentiment, but she will have to yell at me some other day!)

So if you have anything in need of a wash, ship them on over to me! For the time being, I can’t get enough of my new toy!

……Oh and what happened to the perfectly good (but small) washer & dryer that I already owned??? Sold in less than 12 hours on craiglist Talk about fate!!!

Doh!

Not to mention that it is now Christmas decorating time, and I am just getting around to posting about what I made for the Fall….

Double Doh!

Anyhoo- luckily for my 3 awesome blog readers out there (2 if I don’t count myself), I decided that I should share my shit anyways! Except its not shit… its monkey balls.

… or Sweet Gums if you want to be proper like Martha (which by the way, I never knew what they were really called until now).  Needless to say- my homegirl inspired this project when I saw the below image on her site:

{source}

Perfect for Fall no?? I loved the colors, and I knew I needed one in my life as well!

Only problem? Monkey balls in these parts don’t normally start dropping from trees until the Winter months.  I needed the wreath for Fall damnit! So waiting for the free balls to fall was not in my timeline (hehe).

Would you be surprised if I told you that people sell these prickly jokers on Etsy?? Of course you wouldn’t… Etsy has EVERYTHING Thankfully, I got lucky and found a seller who was more than accomodating in getting me all the monkey balls I needed (about 300 balls).

… and now for the obligatory photo play by play:

1.  hot glue floral wire into monkey ball (be sure to remove the “tails” prior to this step)

2.  spray paint the balls (I used floral spray paint in Antique Gold,Brilliant Gold, and Orange)…

*To ensure full coverage, I ended up holding each monkey ball up by the floral wire and spraying around it.  Yes my hand had lots of paint on it when I was through….. and yes I regret not taking a photo of that!!

3.  insert the painted monkey balls into the straw wreath form (note this was difficult, so I used a screw to pre-poke the wreath before inserting each wire)

4.  keep going…..

5.  smile and spray with some glitter… don’t forget to add a pretty ribbon for good measure! 

Doesn’t she look like she was made for our door???

…Now to just find a good wreath case so that she’ll still look just as pretty next fall

I have obviously been neglecting the blog, and in the grand scheme of things….. I didn’t care!

There was too much sun & sand & cute little baby toes to be enjoyed!!….. Yes I said baby toes… but more on that in a later post….

Just know that lately I have felt so unmotivated to post- even though so much has happened! I mean… the nursery is finished (its pretty darn cute if I say so myself), and my niece loves it as well!  BUT I am slowly getting back into the swing of things, and starting to become motivated to start new projects.  So bear with me, and thanks to those of you still tuning in!…. I hope to be posting again soon……

A few weeks ago, our kitchen became the new home to a tiny little mouse.  The sucker caught me off guard late one night, by scuttling past the sink and heading towards the back of the stove. Lets just say that I am sure I woke the neighbors with my screams….. sorry.

First I freaked, because I started thinking about all the places it might have already been, and how I needed to throw all my food out, because what if it had sniffed it and left a tiny mouse hair, or even worse pooed….. eww!.  And then I became angry with Charlie, b/c aren’t cats supposed to deter this sorta thing.  She should have had that mouse as soon as it set up shop…. then I remembered that Charlie has finally learned that we freak out if she even attempts to jump on the counters in the kitchen, so therefore she normally situates herself away from that temptation…. damn the smart kitty!

Oh and dare I even mention that my supposed partner in life- Mr. Joey-NOT-my-bag-of-donuts anymore, didn’t even believe me that there was a mouse! Seriously??? I scream like that b/c I saw my own shadow????!!! Yea I was a bit miffed at him that he wouldn’t believe me- but I’m pretty sure he found it hilarious by how freaked out I was.

So it was up to me, myself, & I to catch the mouse….. on the cheap….. without killing it (no I am not above killing a rodent… I would simply be more eeked out by seeing a dead one).  In short: God bless Youtube, and it’s many zany videos on how to make a homemade trap for F-R-E-E !

All I needed was a Paper towel center roll, a bit of peanut butter, and a tall trash can. By balancing the roll on the edge of the counter  (PB end hanging off), little mousey-poo would walk into the roll to get a snack, and then all would tumble into the trash can, where he could not escape.  It sounded easy enough- so I gave it a go!!!

and OH EM GEE it actually worked!!!! When I woke up early the next morning (because who can sleep knowing there’s a mouse running rampid in your eating space) to find the roll in the trash can, I flipped my lid and did the “told-you-so” dance in Joe’s face. Pretty sure that was not what he was expecting to wake up to at 7AM on a Saturday morning (ha ha).

oh- here’s a gratuitous shot of said mouse in the can:

awwww how cute- NOT

Since Joe didn’t believe me about the mouse, and since he doubted that my home-made trap would even work, he was left with the task of trapping the mouse in a travel container, so that we could release him in a nearby park.

Hopefully Mr. Mousey-poo is living the high life on his new turf. Or hopefully a stray cat has become his new BFF….. either way- I am just glad that my house is no longer his home!!

PS- yea I’m still alive…… and boy do we have lots to catch up on!!!!

If his name is Joe… and he’s recently discovered his G.I. Joe action figures from his childhood closet…. then he might be doing this:

… I am not sure if I should be worried…

… and Yes- that Storm Trooper looking guy is still hanging from the fan …..

And in case you were wondering the weather outlook for the rest of the week is pretty awesome too:

Cold weather can seriously kiss my ass…
I don’t even mind the rain, b/c that just means that my pretty flowers
I planted last year will be shooting through soon (fingers crossed)……

For two- I got to spend some really nice QT with my Beau. It started with an early-for-us Saturday morning. We headed over to the annual Flower Market in Rockwood Park.  Held every year on Mother’s Day weekend, this festival has rides for the kiddies, tons of vendors,  yummy food for the fatties like me, and entertainment on the stage for everyone! Oh yea- and there are flowers galore!!! Not to mention all proceeds from the festival go to a slew of charities that benefit children.

We actually made it to the festival before 10am so that we could catch the performance of the Wilmington School of Rock.  I may not want any children of my own, but I am a huge advocate when it comes to supporting kids, and activities that impact them positively! I thoroughly enjoyed watching these kids jam out, and Joe enjoyed snapping shots of their performance….

After the performance, it was off to gorging myself with fattening food, and visiting all the vendors…. oh and walking the 132 steps up Rockwood Tower (to combat those extra calories I had enhaled)!

After spending a few hours at the festival, we came home to work in our yard, and my Sunday was filled with some more yard work.  Hey- I don’t mind yard work when it means I can spend time outside in the sun! I also spent some time staring aimlessly at my yard and envisioning my dream privacy fence, patio, and deck…. now to only win the lottery so that I can afford it all (sigh)!  But I am not discouraged… look what my fortune cookie said this afternoon:

(seriously how could my weekend have gotten any better?)

*****

I don’t know how I survived the winter, but the warm weather seems to finally be consistent! This means our nightly evening walks with the dogs around the neighborhood are back in order, along with date nights to Phil’s games, dinner off the grill, and fun nights in DC with my friends…. I love you summer…. you’re finally within reach!