Thursday, October 11, 2012

Jar of good things this year


Pinned it! Did it!

This is our jar for the year 2012.  I saw this over the summer, so we added all the things we did this summer and have kept it going.  We've included movie tickets or event tickets too.  Just used strips of paper to jot down key notes to remind us of what fun we've had this year.  We re-used a peanut butter jar :0)  I need to dress it up a little, for now an post-it is holding up!

source is not found anymore, but this is the pin:


RepinEdit
I like this idea. Start the year with an empty jar and fill it with notes about good things that happen. Then, on New Years Eve, empty it and see what awesome stuff happened that year. Good way to keep things in perspective.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Oh the places you will go.. childhood memory


Pinned it! Did it!
Using this book as a journal, have all the people that have made an impact in your childs life from pre-school to high school write in this book.   And then give it to them at HS graduation.  I marked a page with their birth information (that I pinned and did it in a prev post) by taping inside on a page and then used a post-it to say the page was saved for Mom and Dad.  I dont know what to write just yet, and I think I need to wait till they graduate anyway.  Teachers/Staff/Activities can write anywhere in the book they want.  I put a note inside explaining it all too just in case.  I also asked them to write their name, grade/age they had her/him and the year.

I'm so glad to have found this pin.  It's such a great idea for long lasting memories.  I'm lucky enough that Megan, my oldest in 5th grade, still has all her teachers in the district to be a part of this memory.  I'll have teachers, specials (art/gym/music), principals and any others that impact their life.
original pin

I dropped them off today.  One for each of my kids.  I put them in a packing envelope so I could right on the outside of it.  One side has my info phone and email, and the other has who's book it is and what staff/teachers to pass it too.  They can then cross themselves off the list and pass around the school.  Everyone I spoke to about it was so excited about the idea, and especially those that had Megan, because they realized it's never too late.  One teacher said she had a 10y old and thought it was too late after seeing on Pinterest herself.  Not so!  Think ahead everyone.  A memory that cannot be replaced!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Wild Kratt's have me busy, and crayons?

OK, real quick.  Have you noticed I haven't blogged in a few days?  Missed me?

I posted a few weeks ago about Timmy's party and doing a Wild Kratt theme (PBS show about animal adventures.)  Well, I put the suit on Ebay and holy moly it's selling!  I have been spending any free time on that.  So, if you know anyone.. feel free to send them my way.  Halloween is approaching!


I downloaded the eBay app on my phone and I keep hearing the "cha ching" noise.  
It's very exciting!

In addition, making recycled Halloween crayons.. but I have helpers for that.. slave labor ;0)
Is that cool or what!?  I put that on eBay too.. We'll see if that goes anywhere.


Monday, October 1, 2012

Master Shower love

Master Bath Love...
I love my shower!  This is all new for us.  It's been over a years worth of planning, saving and organizing friends to succeed.  We took some space from our closet to enlarge the shower space.  It doubled in size.  This is when you are grateful for handy friends to barter with!  I tiled this shower with a friend over a months time.  I did do the shower floor completely by myself though.  We used quartz for the bench, threshold and 2 corner shelves.  The fabricator is local, but I'll have to get out the receipt.  The glass door and surround is from Tim's Glass.  Very nice guy and great price.  I even took his bid to another location and they told me "I can't beat that price".  And it included installation.  Very good company.  Go local!

We looked for the right stone for the shower for such a long time and thank goodness for the internet!  We found a place that offered free shipping when you purchase 20 sheets of river rock.  They are heavy!  I added rock on the outside under the threshold for a little pop too.  We still have about 3 sheets left minus a few rocks, so I plan to make a waste pail from it.  It's another Pin I saw.  Excited to bring that to the room too.

This is sink and storage.  the toilet is behind this wall on the right.  Although not shown, the toilet is cool.  It's a Kohler dual flush, slim line something.  We love this and was worth the upgrade.  We didnt pay the price on the web ;)

We did a lot of research for the sink too.  We were looking for unique but not expensive.  We started with a concrete counter, and would you believe that the price tag is over 1k!  We ended up at CabinetsToGo (the creator of LumberLiquidators).  The cabinet to the  left is actually a kitchen cabinet pantry.  We had extra depth to the left of the sink, so this was a perfect fit!  And you wouldn't know the colors are not the same.  They look like a perfect match too.  Espresso (almost black).  The coolest part is the sink.  It's all glass.  One piece!  There is a separate frosted glass underneath too.  We normally have towel storage under that, but we are needing to do wash. I'm looking for baskets to put over the toilet and add towels there too.  So, I'll add a photo when that's complete.

This is inside the shower.  I didn't like the idea of having all this just sitting on the bench, so I found these stack-able locker racks at Staples and it's perfect.  Everything can still drip dry if necessary and not take up a lot of space.  It's all about the height right!

The tile was from Floor and Decor in Addison.  The wall tile is actually floor tile and we put it everywhere, including the shower ceiling.  The accent tile we made a border all the way around, and a mini one on the towel wall.  We also purchased the dark brown bull nose as a finishing touch we didn't realize we'd need and found at the last minute the store was closing as we were finishing the layout plan.  Timing, and it's perfect!  It's just the right brown and borders the shower entrance perfect.

A few other things I wanted to mention was when we did the demo for this project, I took the toilet and all doors we no longer needed to the Habitat for Humanity Restore.  They have one in Addison and Elgin, closest to us, but their website can help you with your nearby.  While I was there, I looked around at the restore and found towel hooks that were heavy duty.  I purchased 3 for $5.  They were like brand new.  In addition, the lights over sink are pendent lights that were brand new in the box they were selling for $1.  Yep, $1!  I bought 3 for the bathroom, and 3 for our someday kitchen.  We just had to get the track lighting bar for the ceiling that was $14 and done!

The mirror is a set with the shelf above it, that is to match the sink so it's from Cabinets to go too.  I put the shelf above the mirror because there wasn't enough space between where the shelf would go, and the facet.  The facet actually flows like a waterfall, it's very cool.  The vases are from a friends wedding several years back and they were the center piece.  I've held onto them in hopes of someday having the right place for them.  Initially I had them on the ledge outside the shower, but one fell and shattered, so I'm down to six.  I had seven for those of you who know me.. so I'm searching the house for a spare to get 7 back up there :)

And I managed to avoid most in the photos, but we still have the trim on the windows to do.  The baseboards and crown to install and some grout work to fix up.  And the shotty tape job has some fixing in the ceiling.  The projects just never end!  BUT I love it!