Remodeling This Life

I wrote last week about Small Things and how they can make a big difference in the world. Since writing that post, I have been more aware of so many other small things that make their way into my life daily. Perhaps it is the slowing down of my pace in life, looking at more of what’s around me and concentrating on making room in this little life for experiences and emotions rather than stuff stuff and more stuff that has helped me begin to see these things more.

I’ve experienced a knowing smile from another mom struggling out of the grocery store with food and kids and keys and bags. I’ve had friends reach out in their own small ways to help through my health chaos of the past few weeks. And on Monday, a day late, but here nonetheless, arrived a card from my father. Hand picked by him at the store, handwritten note to me about how proud of me he is and how great my kids and I are. Maybe not monumental - other than the fact that he bought the card himself, wrote it himself, stamped it himself, addressed it himself and mailed it himself. Not really like my dad at all . I was surprised - happily - at how something so little could mean so much and I called him to tell him so.

Maybe it’s my old age, my new perspective on what I find important in life, something…but these small things have really started to show me that it doesn’t take moving mountains to make a difference in mine or someone else’s life.

I am challenging myself to keep on top of these things. To speak up when I think something about someone that will make them feel good. I am going to keep trying to do my own little things to make others smile and try to bring a little more happy and positive and a lot less negative to the people around me. It’s starting right here at home and I am making hubby join in. Mr. Doomsday himself has even started to say a lot more little nice and appreciative things instead of grumbling most of the time. See! I’m changing the world! Wanna join me?

I got a little crazy with the upholstery tacks and hammer yesterday. I was at Goodwill over the weekend and hit the jackpot. I walked out with a huge piece of beautiful fabric, a Seven for all Mankind Jeans skirt, a pair of Diesel Jeans shorts, new Stride Rite shoes for Monkey and a couple dresses (for me and her). Spent $29 and was so excited. I loved the fabric but wasn’t sure how far it would go and what I would do with it. I had in mind doing all the windows with mistreated valances in the dining room. Well, there wasn’t enough for all 3 windows for the standard length of a valance, but you know what? I am an unconventional girl and I don’t care if my valances aren’t the “proper” length. I dare anyone that comes visit me to take out a measuring tape and call me on it. Other than any of you. Please don’t. I might cry.

If I hadn’t been totally lazy and actually decided to *gasp* sew the valances, they would’ve been proper. But I am lazy and I am not at all a perfectionist so I grabbed my scissors, my hammer, my upholstery tacks and I got to mistreating. There was no tape, thread, hot glue involved. Just some folding, some tacks and a hammer.

Here is the fabric

And here is my hammer wielding helper

I paid $3 for the fabric and 97 cents for the tacks. And here is the end result

Then I decided while I was going crazy with the hammer and the kids were occupied smearing peanut butter all over the table, I would do something with my windows over my sink. I remembered that The Nester posted recently an idea to use napkins folded as triangles. So I tried that. I didn’t even iron them. I don’t iron. I don’t sew if I can help it. Can you believe I am a housewife?!

So I tacked those napkins up there and voila! 50 cent window treatments. I got the napkins at a yardsale and have an apron to match. Actually, I only used 4 napkins and I bought 6 of them plus the apron for 50 cents so if you carry the 2 and do a little long division you can figure out just how little these cost me. They’re not perfect, but oh, neither am I. We’ll get along quite fabulously, my window mistreatments and I.

I shared our $3000 Kitchen Remodel and now want to share part 2 of my breakdown of our home remodel costs. I am presenting today our living room. Oh, the living room. Once a room of drab faux (actually, so bad I should just say fake) dark wood paneling, 2 tiny windows, and oh the shag carpet - orange and lime green! I wish those photos hadn’t died with my old laptop, but they did. Under the shag carpet was a lovely avocado green linoleum tile. There was very little redeeming about that room.

My daughter still will say things like “remember when my house was old and the walls were brown and my bed was over there?” That’s right. The living room used to be one big bedroom. Sooo fab. I know you are jealous

Since I don’t have the before the shag carpet was ripped out and we moved in photos, I have to share this one

I have NO CLUE who that crazy lady in the photo is that snuck into my house and let her photo be taken by my then 2 year old daughter. The least she could’ve done was smile instead of making a stupid face and showing off her 6 months pregnant belly. Sheesh.

Here is hubby working on the room that we thought could not be redeemed. Look at that fabulous avocado flooring!!!

A peek at it during the during phase.

And here are the after photos then I will breakdown the costs

This is not how it looks today, decor and furniture-wise, but it gives you an idea of the french door across the one wall to outside and the shelf above it.

Okay, so that is pretty much the room as it is now. We made some changes like making the front door come in the living room as opposed to where it used to be in an awkward useless entry space that we now have as our dining area.

We replaced all the walls, windows, framing, electrical, doors, added a 4 panel french door, put down tile on the floors, painted and decorated, adding new fixtures and window treatments. It’s 100% DIY, so no labor costs.

Flooring - retail tile at Home Depot - $200

French Door - $250 on ebay, bought locally and picked up by us - $275 including gas to pick up

Walls & Ceiling - drywall and insulation retail at Home Depot - $175

Paint - retail at Sherwin-Williams - $30

Electrical - $100

Windows - 2 windows on clearance at Home Depot with the rest of the ones we bought for the house - $75

Trim and Baseboards and shelf above french door - retail at Home Depot - $200

Entry door and door to master bedroom - retail for entry door - $150, $10 on ebay for other white door to master - $160

Fixtures - retail at Home Depot - $100

Furnishings - don’t necessarily count as remodel costs but they were almost all either free, thrifted or hand-me-downs so we paid a total of about $100 for all of it, couch, chairs, wall unit, entryway and tables, rug, etc…

Total Cost - I’ll round to $1500 for extras that I am forgetting.

Not too shabby. And awfully cozy and totally OURS.

What do you think?

Okay, he didn’t really. But right before I woke up this morning, I had a dream that he did. In the dream, we were out shopping. I was looking at jammies for our kids and trying to find them for, you know, like 4 cents a piece so I could be thrifty. I ended up spending about $10 on jammies and worrying about the money I’d spent. We stopped for lunch with my mom (who appeared out of nowhere. Love that about dreams) and during lunch, hubby sneaked away and bought himself $875 worth of new golf clubs.

I actually kinda had a panic attack in the dream and I woke up a little stressed and even checked our bank balance to make sure it wasn’t true.

Hubby likes to golf, I don’t mind that he golfs, I enjoy that he has a hobby and all that good stuff. But he does NOT need new golf clubs. I bought him a brand new set of Nike clubs a year and a half ago for his birthday. I think he’ll be just fine for a while.

I know why I had the dream though. Hubby came home a few days ago saying he’d played that afternoon with a set of irons from a friend. Callaways. And he loved them. Decided his game has been off because of his current set. Yes, really *eyeroll*. He doesn’t really want new clubs and he played with the coveted set of Callaways another day and stunk up the course, so it’s not the clubs, it’s just him

Sorry honey, the only way you’re getting new clubs is in my dreams.

The 125th Festival of Frugality is up at Quest for Four Pillars! My post Why I Like Being Frugal was included as an Editor’s Pick! Thanks, Mike! I enjoyed reading over the festival and want to share Frugal Dad’s 5 Craziest Things I’ve Done To Save Money and Frugal or Cheap Test from Moolanomy.

I also keep forgetting to post that I received an award last week! It’s the Arte Y Pico award

I went googling to find out what it means other than how amazing I am and I found this “The ‘Arte y Pico Award’ is awarded to those who you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.”

Thank you so much to Jill at Forever and Ever House for passing this award on to me!

I am going to pass it off to 4 other amazing bloggers who make my blog reading special and informative and interesting.

Beauty Inside and Out
qualcosa di bello
Her-Home-Blog
Hug Twice