A few small projects and it's the little things that matter

I've been working on a few small projects over the last couple of weeks.   Some say my projects never end.   I'd say they're pretty much right.

 

* The hall bathroom is painted.  {Thanks to help from the little sister.  And a cute little person.}   I am not completely finished, but the bathroom budget is gone, and I've moved on to another project.  Which is usually what happens with me.  I have tons of ideas spinning around in my head, and  before I can finish one, I've moved on to 10 others!  It's completely out of character for me.  Which makes no sense.  Anyway, we painted the walls Antique White by Sherwin Williams.  I love the new color.  I've also used this color in the hallway and the living room.  I've looked and looked at paint colors.   I knew I wanted to brighten things up and I was sick to death of khaki.  For some reason I was 'scared' of white.  I guess mostly because of obvious reasons.  Little people and white usually don't mix well, but I will say since I finally gave into my urge I have no regrets.  I love the bright and airy look of the white.  And for people like me that need change inside the four walls of this home more often than most, white walls gives the opportunity for change in the little things.  Such as accessories and furniture.   I got a new shower curtain from Target.   A few new hand towels and painted a lamp that I already had, and a really soft bath rug from Wal-Mart.  Then I swapped the mirror from John Luke's room with a mirror I had found from the Junk store for $20.  I had originally bought the $20 mirror to go in the bathroom but when we got home with it, my brilliant husband came up with the idea to actually use the larger mirror in John Luke's room and take the smaller one that went with his bedroom furniture and use it in the bathroom.  It worked out really well.  Thank you dear husband:)  I still have to replace the light fixture above the mirror, get a new toilet,  and a new vanity and faucet.  I'm liking the progres so far.

I am so bad at remembering to take before shots so I have none to show of these projects.  I hate that because I think they make the 'after' so much more real.  Anyway....

*My next really quick project was painting a bookshelf I've had from as far back as college years.  It was a really ugly orangey red finish and I've been wanting to paint it for a long time.  Just no time and energy.  But the sunshine gave me the inspiration I needed.  So I drug it out of our closet on a sunny day and while the kids played outside I put a coat of you guessed it---white paint on it.  Dover White by Sherwin Williams.  It's just a little whiter than the Antique White and I like to use it on furniture and trim work in the house.

I added an old shoe shine box that I got from an antique store here in town, a wedding picture, a fresh new fern {I love the fresh greenery in a house}, and a new lamp that my husband purchased at 10:30 p.m. one night from Wal-Mart because he was playing ball in the living room with the children and broke the one I had there.  Yes, sometimes I really do feel like I have 3 children;)



* I have gotten the itch for Spring and all things bright and airy.  So the next warm sunny day I spray painted a quick coat of black on the wrought iron table that my precious friend Treva had given me last year and then painted the top a creamy white to match the outdoor adirondack chairs and the trim on the house.  Now we have three sitting areas on our patio and plenty of room to hang out in the awesome weather! So come on over and sit with us:-)

*And finally....the master bedroom.  It is time.  I have put this room off since we moved in this house almost 3 years ago, and I'm ready to make a change.  {Imagine that!}  So, after looking and looking at approx. 769 photos of master bedrooms, and contemplating how I could do it all within a very tight budget {you know one that would make Dave happy}, I have finally decided on a direction.  I am keeping the wall color the same. {Can't believe it myself}.  But it's fairly light and it's easy to work with.  {And it saves $$$, time, and my marriage}.  So wall color stays the same.  I bought new drapes from good ole' Wal-Mart for $18 a set!  Like two for $18!  I don't know if you have shopped for drapes or even fabric to make drapes but I'll tell you that is dirt cheap!  They are simple white cotton and my future plan is to paint stripes on them.  Yep!  Paint the stripes!  I have researched it and found some awesome painted curtain projects such as this one and I think it will be just right.  The windows in our bedroom are single windows and I didn't want to completely cover each one with drapes because I l-o-v-e natural light in the house, so I only used one on each window.  I really thought I would never like it, but it is growing on me.  And in my 'picture looking' I saw a master bedroom that Sarah from Sarah's House had decorated and she had done the same thing.  Since I love her style, I decided that was my confirmation.  If Sarah can do it, so can I!  I then took the red euro shams off the bed and put them in John Luke's bed because they go really well with his decor and I'm just tired of them.  Don't get me wrong, I love to decorate with red and green, but I'm just ready for something different.  I left the creamy shams and I'm leaving my chocolate quilt.  I will eventually add some color with throw pillows and such.  I loved the bedside tableclothes my mother-in-law made for us before we got married, but I'm looking to brighten the room.  I had been racking my brain about how I could do something cheap for tableclothes but not have the cheap look.  So one night around midnight I'm still laying in bed wide awake because my mind will not turn off and I remember I had some tableclothes from a birthday party that were hanging in the playroom closet.  I jumped up and ran in there to see what color they were and sure enough they were a creamy white!  Just what I had in mind!  I threw them over the the ones I had on the tables and they worked out wonderfully.  They are not exactly what I would have picked out if I had my perfect choice, but for now they work and they were FREE!  I added a few fresh ferns in some white pots and everything is coming together.  I've still got LOTS to do, but I'm getting there.  Slowly and as the budget allows.  It's a huge room, so it's going to be a big project.  I think that's the main reason I've put it off for so long.  

*And now for the little things that matter most:::

I think that in this season of my life my primary love language is acts of service.  Definitely my secondary is still quality time.  Hence the need for lots of dates:-)  But the little things that help me out on a daily basis are huge to me right now.  Not only the actual doing, but also the little gestures such as love notes and text messages.  They carry so much weight.  They make me feel loved and cared for.  Special.  They make me know that he is thinking about me.  

{"I love you.  Hope you have a good day."}

I woke up one day this week to a folded load of laundry, one that had been put in the dryer, and one that had been put in the wash.  And this sweet little note taped to my bathroom mirror.  That's just nice y'all! 

And not only did I have one, but two little sleepy-heads did too.  



That's the kind of stuff that makes him so hunky.  Besides the fact that he just is :-)

What kinds of projects are you working on?   And what 'little things' make you feel loved?