Tuesday

Poker Run Hot Dog Bar

I hosted a site for the poker run at the campground this past weekend.  There was a total of 71 people.  I decided to do a hot dog bar.  For the 4th of July I had a hot dog bar so I was able to reuse some of the stuff I bought for that.  You can check out the 4th of July hot dog bar here.

 
I love the diamond, spade, heart, and club bowls I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby for 80% of, so $2.40 each!

 
All the topping were labeled




 
I had 4 hot dog topping suggestions.  I framed them and put an example in front of it.


 
 



 
And as always, the jello shots were the main attraction.  They were gone within 20 minutes!


Friday

Dressing Room

I decided to turn my spare bedroom into a large walk-in closet.  I like to call the room my "dressing room".  I am the primary user of the room however my daughter keeps some of her shoes in there.  Everything else in there is mine.

 
My dressing room consists of two free standing closet organizers on either side of the walls, a vanity, a chair, an ottoman, a large jewelry box, and two lights

 
The vanity is actually a glass desk I bought at Walmart for $10 on clearance.  I also bought the zebra printed chair from Walmart.

 
The picture above is one of the free standing closet organizers.  I bought it at Menard's.  You can buy it in pieces to customize the size and pieces you want.  The top rack is for short sleeve shirts and the bottom rack is for tank tops and skirts.


 
I loved this part of the closet organizer because I knew it would be a great place to put my high heel shoes that were a bit more expensive than my other high heels.  I put glitter pink wallpaper border on the edge of each little box to add some color and bling.

 
This is the inside of the closet in the dressing room.  As you can see in the picture below there are curtains that close to hide my messy closet.  I hang a few of my not so fancy dresses and bags in the closet as well as put boots and flip flops on the shoe holders on the ground.  Above the bar that holds the hangers are several rows of high heels.  I hang my regular inexpensive high heels up there.

 
 


Obviously I have a ton of jewelry, clothes, and shoes.  I cannot help myself.  This jewelry box is just one of many that I have.  It is completely full of rings, bracelets, and anklets.  I hang my necklaces on 3M hooks on the wall, as you can see in the picture below.
 
 



 
The top rack on this closet organizer is for long sleeve shirts and the bottom rack is for spaghetti strap shirts, which I organize my color.  I also have a small 19 inch flat screen TV in my dressing room so I can watch the news in the morning or watch TV whenevr I am in there.


More of my high heels on display.  These are my favorite because I love bold bright colors!


Pardon the outlet cords everywhere.  I still haven't found a solution for those yet.  I do like that I put a 3M hook on the vanity and hang my blow dryer from it.  Keeps it off the vanity top but within reach.
 
I used the pink glitter wallpaper border everywhere in my dressing room.  Even around my mirror and on the drawers on the closet organizer.



 
Above is a cute little chandelier from Hobby Lobby on clearance for $4.  I just put an battery tea candle in it and hung it from the vent.
 
 
 
I love my dressing room and am in there everyday!


Thursday

Kitchen Remodeling Project


Last year I had to go buy a new refridgerator.  When it got delieverd I realized very quickly it was too big to fit into my small kitchen.  It was that moment that I decided to remodel my kitchen.  When I bought the house I knew some day I would knock down the wall in between the kitchen and dining room and create an eat-in kitchen.  The new refridgerator is what started the kitchen remodeling process.  The whole remodeling process took 7 months from beginning to end. 

I designed the entire kitchen all by myself.  From the size of the cabinets to the colors to the positioning of the appliances.  I am very proud of myself for doing that!


My color choices and design where very simple.  I wanted a black, white and grey kitchen with everything having straight lines.  As you can see below the previous kitchen had red cabinets and apples EVERYWHERE...what was I thinking?


BEFORE
 
 
This is what the kitchen/dining room looked like the day after the refridgerator arrived and I realized it would not fit in the kitchen.  I knocked down a small part of the wall to fit it in the kitchen for the time being.  The picture above was taken from inside the kitchen and the picture below was taken from inside the dining room.

 
 
This is when the whole wall between the rooms was taken down.  It was a load bearing wall so support beams had to be installed in the attic which is why the drywall on the ceiling was taken down.



 
 
AFTER
 
 
It was my dream to have a very large island in the kitchen.  I decided to make it 8 feet long!!  Pardon the one stool being different than the others.  I have a child and I had to have a back on at least one stool.

 
I prefer to have nothing on the counters...no toaster...no coffee maker...I just hate clutter.  All that is kept in the cabinet until it is used and after I use it I put it away. 


 
I have a ton of counter space and cabinet space now.  I love it!

 
The coolers pictured above and below where a spontaneous buy.  I was out shopping on Black Friday and they were such a bargain that I knew I had to add them to the kitchen.  The left one is a beverage cooler for soda and juice boxes and the right one is a wine cooler.


Decided on hardwood flooring instead of tile.  It was definitely the right choice!  It is so beautiful.
 

 
I love my oversized island.  Some people put sinks in their island or do other fancy things.  I thought about it but decided to keep it plain so that it could be the gathereing place of the kitchen without seeming cluttered.

 
I bought the microwave and stove at Best Buy on Black Friday and they were very cheap.  I did not want a gas stove like I previously had so I decided on electric.
 
 
Overall, the kitchen remodel was great.  I saved a ton of money by not rushing the project, buying laminate countertops, buying preassembled out-of-the-box cabinets, buying everything when it was on sale and making sure to get the best deals on things during Black Friday.  I also saved money by having a friend help with the project and hiring his dad to do most of the hard work.  Although I will not say exactly what I spent on it, I know it was a good investment.  It added at least $35,000 to my homes value and I did not spend even close to that amount on it. 
 
 
I LOVE MY NEW KITCHEN!!!
 


Half Bathroom Remodel for Under $1000

My half bathroom at my house was in desperate need of being remodeled but I did not want to spend a lot on it.  I set the budget at $1000.  I saved a ton of money by doing a lot of things myself.  I ripped out the wooden paneling and tiled floors myself.  I installed the new tile floors myself as well as did the painting and decorating.  I painted the frame around the mirror that had been in there for years.  And when I say I did those things myself I actually mean I did them, not a relative or friend.  Ladies can be handy too.

BEFORE
 
Ugly wood paneling

 
Plumbing for sink was not covered

 
The toilet was so low to the ground that when a man stood over the toilet to do his business the water splashed out of the toilet and stained the wall.  Super GROSS

 
Water stains around the sink


 
Baseboard was dirty and stained and the toilet paper holder was under sink near the plumbing
 
 
DURING
 
 
I did all this myself
 
 
 
AFTER

 
Beadboard wall, taller elongated toilet, new sink and pedastal

 
Wallpaper border above beadboard

 
 
New light fixture with shelf and accessories

 
I decided to keep the built in Kleenex holder.  It is convenient and looks good with the new decor.  You don't see those very often either.