Touching Up

I think I may have seen this idea on pinterest only they used baby food jars to store the paint. Since I couldn't find my stash of baby food jars I used some mason jars that I scored for only $2.95 for 12. I actually like the mason jars better because they are cuter and hold a bit more paint.

I filled each jar with the paints that we have used in the house so when I need a quick touch up I can just grab the needed color from the cabinet and get to touching up. I then made little labels for the top to identify which room the paint goes with. So easy and now I don't have to trek out to the garage the next time I need a dab of paint.

If The Drums Weren't Bad Enough

now we have a microphone and amplifier for Finley to serenade the neighbors with her three favorite songs.

She's Here

and she's beautiful. Not doubting my color choice at all.




















We've already made cookies and Finley loves it too. She even told a couple strangers at Target that we "got a new cookie maker."

Do You See Them?

One of the great things about this house is the giant avocado tree in the backyard. When we moved in it was covered in blossoms. Now it is covered in various sized little avocados.

Look!

You can't tell by the picture but that big one is about 4 inches long. Mmmm.

The Long and Short of It

One thing that I really hate doing is going to get my haircut. I don't know if it's that I have never found a stylist that I really love or I just get uncomfortable in situations with strangers. It actually may be a little of both. I don't know I guess I'm weird.

If I remember correctly the last time I got my haircut was last summer sometime in July. If I kept my hair long that usually wouldn't be a problem. The thing is is that I usually get my hair cut pretty short so by the 4th month after a haircut it starts to look a little shabby. This time I went a little longer than usual and it was super long by the time I decided to suck it up and go get a haircut.

I got a groupon to one of the salons near me that I was actually thinking about trying so not only did I solve my haircut problem the cheapskate in me was satisfied too.

Here are the before and after. It's actually a little shorter than I wanted but I guess it will just last me a little longer.

Give Me Some Medicine

Cabinet that is.

When we moved in there was this huge black framed mirror hanging above the sink in the bathroom. Obviously not the original fixture to the house.

See. Ugly.




















Who seriously thought that mirror was a good idea?

I peeked behind the mirror and saw this.





























A hole for a medicine cabinet and some electrical for bathroom sconces. This is where I nearly started to cry (not really). I know there were some fantastic vintage sconces once installed there that probably got thrown away because they were too "old" looking.

I checked Home Depot, Lowes, and various online stores looking for a suitable cabinet replacement only to find them really expensive or made of plastic.

So I wrote the hole measurements down on a piece of paper and put it in my purse thinking that if I ran across a cabinet at a garage sale or something I would at least know if it would fit the hole or not.

As luck would have it on one of my trips to my nearby Habitat for Humanity Restore
I found a likely contender. It was vintage, metal, and when I measured it it was the exact size I needed. Plus, it was only $13. A heck of a lot cheaper than a new plastic one. Even after I had new glass shelves made and bought a can of white paint I was still under $20.

The brand stamped inside is Dura-Steel L.A. Calif. The exact brand as our super cool mail slot (more on that later). So chances are this is the exact type of cabinet that was originally in the house. At least I'd like to think so.

So I repainted it and installed it in the hole and here is what we have now.





















































































I now have to look at those empty electrical boxes but to me it is a lot less worse than that ugly black framed mirror. I'm hoping to someday find something like these to fill in the spots on either side of the mirror. For a lot less money of course.

I Hope I Wish

One of my favorites blogs (making it lovely) and places for great home and personal style inspiration is holding a contest to win a space makeover. Now you all know we just moved into our first house a little over 2 months ago and could probably use a makeover in every room. With summer coming up though, I would love to be able to complete a fun and comfortable space in our backyard. With finances being a bit tight now and probably for a while I know this is not going to happen on our own.

Here is the present state of our yard. I will say it is a huge improvement from when we first moved in. The house was vacant for over a year and the yard really showed it.



















































































































Also, here's a little short little video tour of the space.

Hair Styler

Finley has been into getting and giving new "hair stylers" lately. I was a bit surprised though the other day when I came home from running errands to see this.
















































While I was gone Finley asked Matt to give her a styler and this is what he came up with. Talk about melt my heart. I had no idea he had it in him. I'd say Finley is pretty darn lucky to have such a great Dad. He even used matching rubber bands!