Glamma table

I was recently given some end tables. They were a little too busy to go with our living room so I put one in Violet and Lucy's room until I could figure out what to do with them. I started painting one of them what I thought was a coral color. WRONG! Dude was PINK!

That's all it took for Violet to fall in love with it. Violet wants everything in her world to be pink but I'm planning on painting their walls pink so I decided to chrome. I love the look of mirrored end tables but figured the girls would break it on the first day so this is the next best thing!

I love to spray paint and this was so quick and easy!

Violet was a little disgruntled about the pink color being gone but I think she'll love the room when it all comes together!

 

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Death of a washing machine

My poor, poor, washing machine. At 10 years old, she's bound to have aches and pains. However, it's still a huge inconvenience when problems arise. Seriously, do you know how many outfits my girls go through in just one day?!

Kenmore Elite HE 3T. Many people are in love with the look of these machines but they have taken on lots of criticism over the years due to lots of break downs and odor issues. I repaired a part up top two years ago and it has been unusable this time for 4 days now. I have also had the odor issue but have fixed it by leaving the door open when not in use, never leaving clothing in it overnight and checking behind the rubber door piece for socks and lint after every wash.

On to the problem at hand. Initially I was getting a SUD error which indicates too many suds in the drum. Then I moved on to an F2 error which is a failure to drain properly. After about two weeks of stopping and restarting the washer during these errors, it stopped draining water at all. Barf. I knew this was going to be a mess.

First I unplugged the machine and got Lucy and Violet armed with towels to catch water.

Just above the bottom drawer there are some screws, one on each side, that hold the front panel on the washer. I removed those and took the panel off.

I knew the issue was down here because the machine wasn't draining. The electrical workings and water intake are on top, drainage on bottom. I felt that it could be one of two issues. Plugged drain filter or bad drain pump motor. I put my bets on the motor because it had been awfully loud when draining for the last two weeks. Experience told me the bearings were out in the motor. You can see the drain filter right in the middle in my picture. Just unscrew the cap and prepare for a flood if your washer is full of water! Mine was. The pump is connected to the filter on the right side. My filter was clean so I removed three screws and took the pump out.

There it is. The accused. The part number is always somewhere on the part. I looked it up on amazon for an online price, checked around our area for a cheaper part and then ordered it online. Now I wait. Washerless. With heaps of dirty laundry lying around. Crabby kids because, WERE OUT OF SKIRTS, MOM! This is day four. I should be back in business within three more days. But hey! We already know that I survived the 7 DAY PRIMER DRY TIME!! I can handle this. Until I'm out of underwear.....................

 

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My own private island

That's right! I've got my very own island........................ In the kitchen. I have been back and forth on what kind of an island to have in the kitchen. I knew it needed something but the space wasn't really big enough for an island with seating so I had to get creative.

I bought this little chest of drawers from my neighbor several months ago. It has functioned as good storage in the kitchen and it has been on every wall in hopes of finding its forever home. I finally concluded that it was my new, old island.

You can see that the back had several holes in it and some critters had loved on the legs.

I put a new back on it and reinforced the legs with 2x4s and put castors on them. Voila!

A little Old English furniture oil and it's shiny and new- ish. Really, this is a very old piece of furniture. It's made with square nails!

Lets talk about why I like this piece of furniture in the kitchen. I have a very cold, white space with concrete countertops. I think I have finally chosen a color scheme too ( it's still a secret) and I'll be using cool colors. A natural wood piece brings warmth and a down home, casual feeling. I'm not into fussiness, just comfort. This dresser also reminds me of my Grandma Vermeys too so it makes me happy. My kitchen is starting to feel like a room I could hang out in, a lot! Maybe it needs a comfy chair too!

 

 

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I will paint no more forever

Ok. The title is a lie! I will probably be the old lady in the nursing home remodeling her room. I will paint until painting is not cool and then I will be the only painter in town! Enough drama. All of this hullabaloo equals one thing, I'M DONE PAINTING CUPBOARDS!!

I could seriously cry! I do have some touch up to do in some places but hey, the big job is done! I'm starting to feel this project slip away from me and its kind of sad. It's over half done!

I still have a lot of house, and kitchen, left to do but I'm getting the itch to crash other people's houses and do some work. Yes, I'm talking to you. Lock. Your. Doors.

 

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Another wall bites the dust

Happy Monday! Hopefully everyone is settling back into "the grind" after the weekend. I shopped some city wide garage sales and cleaned house. It's been very challenging to keep up with the normal housework while working on the kitchen.

I'm sure you remember when I took the wall out between the kitchen and dining room.

 

I was in love with the open space and I left the cupboard to the right because it housed my trash can on one side and food on the other. Well, as the weeks passed and I continued my kitchen work, I realized that the cupboard needed to go. So it did.

It was obviously a very good decision. The space is huge now and I can put in an island to gain back the cupboard space that was lost. Win!

The strategically placed trash can prevented the girls from hanging on the electric wires until Jeremy moved them.

I toyed around with placing the cupboard by the desk and closing off one of the doorways but it blocked light from the music room so I just put it in the garage and it's a storage cupboard out there now. This post clearly shows that I don't have a cut and dried plan for this kitchen. As it evolves, I sometimes find that things I wanted in the space really won't work well. That's why I haven't chosen any paint colors or a main kitchen light yet. At heart I'm an artist and I design based on how each stage of the project looks when it's done. I don't make hasty decisions which usually keeps me from design fails.

Stay happy and healthy today and go make something pretty in your house!

 

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The cabinet door home stretch

I'm going to keep it short and sweet today. I'm in the final days of cabinet door and drawer painting. Woo Hoooo!

This has been the most challenging part of the redo so far. Well, that and picking a light. I don't want to wait for the paint to dry!! I just want to paint it once and then put the doors back on. Sigh. Another thing I can't control.

On another note, if you don't have carpet in your garage, DO IT!

See, short and sweet! Next week I'll reveal more wall demo! Yay!

 

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About Grout

Grout. The very sound of the word seems so crabby to me but in reality, grout is a lovely thing and can change the look of your space so drastically! Some things or people just seem crabby but really aren't, right Jeremy (hehe)?! Ok, I'll be nice now!

I was really torn on what color grout to do in the kitchen. Black could give it a more rustic or antique look and white would be more fresh and modern. In the end, I went with white. Here's where I left this project off in my last kitchen post.

The above pic is without grout so you could kind of get an idea of how it would look with black grout.

There are few changes from the previous pic to this one, but oh the difference! I have finished the grout on two walls and replaced all of the trim around the window.

I'm tiling the third wall! You can see above the desk that there is an outlet and a phone line. Our wireless router is under the desk so the phone line will move to the underneath side too. Then I just have to fill some holes and tile!!

I started to put some of my Fire King and Pyrex dishes out to start getting an idea of what colors I want in the space.

 

The more I get done, the more excited I get! I've even been daydreaming about the next room I'll work on! I still have lots to do here so don't expect the next room to start before fall.

Are you ready to tear your kitchen apart now?! Maybe I should come and help!

 

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I rest my hammer for a wonderful uncle, a wonderful family

In a sea of Aunts and Uncles, Uncle Al could have been a man that didn't stand out much in mind. I remember him being kind of quiet. As I listened to my large family reflect on him, I realized that he didn't need to be loud or obnoxious. He led by example and there are no words required for that. I knew my history with him but loved hearing the history that he had with the rest of my family. He clearly left a huge impact on the world around him. I admire that and want to also be like he was!

This was one of the hardest funerals that I've been to and one of the most eye opening weekends I've had with my family. You see, we are large in number. With 15 children born into my mother's family, the cousins are EVERYWHERE and we have so many different types of people in our family. We are, by far, imperfect. There may even be people who would turn up their noses to us. But let me tell you of our best quality! WE LOVE EACH OTHER UNCONDITIONALLY! I hadn't paid any attention to that until my Aunt Corlie pointed it out. I think some of them are wacko and they have probably felt the same of me at times, but I know that I can always turn to them. Unfailing love. I couldn't possibly post a picture of all of them but I'll show you a few.

Left to right. Mom, nephew Austin, Aunt Dee, brother Scott.

Me and cousin Alicia

brother Scott and cousin Darin

Me, sister Kim, Dad, Mom, brother Scott

Me, Uncle Lorny Toad ( no other name needed), and sister Kim

I have searched for answers to things and troubles that I've had for a long time and clarity on many of those issues came to me during this trip. The silent, unconditional love of Uncle Al and my family showed me the answers. If I can leave an impact on people in that same way, it's a life well lived!

 

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