The cycle

Sometimes I start on a project on a whim. For example, we venture to Lowes for this or that and we wonder with both our minds thinking, let's convince ourselves into something on our wish list that isn't "that" much. Sometimes reality and responsibility kick in and we both leave, heavy hearted hoping the other would have been the irrational money spender. 

Other times.. well, one of us breaks. My husband, when he breaks he becomes focused. Luckily for us both he usually takes on things that require a fixed amount of time and man power. So it gets done, in a nutshell. 

When it's me, it's usually something cheap that I'm going to do just "to make something better" but not permanent. Then I enter the cycle.

This is how it goes. I'm just getting this gallon of concrete paint for the basement to "test it out". Turns into "let's try it, it can't get worse." Enter me on a kid free hour testing it out, then testing a bigger place as I start to love it. I realize it's great, but maybe the color is off. So I buy more, and retint the original. Now I'm 2 gallons in. I venture to paint even more- thus creating a complete disaster of my basement. I love it do much I think, why temporary, this is awesome! 

This is the turning point. You know, where the temporary place holder becomes my DIY dream. Then I sink in. I google, I dream, I envision how this will all play out. 

Then reality hits. The kids spill water before the floor "cures" and I see how my family has a different version of "tough" on a surface. This is when I start to crumble. This is impossible, this will look awful, I didn't follow the directions on the can. Usually, this is when the kids are home and obviously not privy to my genius of home renovation glory. Then I lose my mind and want to throw in the towel.

I'll save the description of temper tantrum like texts my husband receives and my udder disappointment. Luckily, this means the 360 degree turn is on the way. I finally realize the disarray must go. I need my house back. My propane is mixing with fumes from the cement paint prompting a $85 call to the propane company to see if there's something wrong.

------side note: when vapors mix with your propane they cause a terrible smell but clean your copper while cooking, a happy side to the fear of our house exploding------

It's then I realize, WTF let's just go with it, it will be better then it was. Enter 360.

Trusting your house.. and being frustrated in the meantime

One of the frustrating aspects of buying an older house is finding that sense of trust. Trusting that its secure, trusting there is no hidden mold, or hidden defects just waiting to pop up. Along with that comes the fact that most, if not everything needs to be replaced. Old water filter, old water heater, thermostat, windows, etc etc etc.

As we continue to tackle renovating our house, I find myself optimistic, excited, but in all honesty - most of the time frustrated and hopeless. It feels too large of a task, especially while running a household of 3 kids, two pets, and 2 parents. Throw in winter, financial woes, and just everyday life and it can be totally overwhelming. Many of my friends in similar situations as us have quit, they just don't get around to the renovation. I have so many people tell me they can't fix one thing in their house, let alone all the changes we have made. They can't understand how we get all that we do done. But, it comes at a price - a stressed out price. Just hoping and hoping that in the end (which will hopefully be sooner than later) it'll be all we wanted.

Since we have moved in, we have replaced the water system. That was a year ago, today they are coming out because since the new, amazing water system our water smells like sewage. Seriously. We had a bit of an odor before and now, especially the master bath, it is gag worthy to brush your teeth in there.

The mold in our windows. We have single paned 1987 Anderson Windows. Any poly on the wood has since worn off and the condensation that drips has created a warped mess of mold and soggy wood. Sadly, we didn't really notice this when we moved in since the previous owners didn't live here in the winter and so the windows were blessed the massive heat discrepancy of outside and in during cold winter months.

Old thermostats. We don't have the luxury of our thermostats telling us the temperature of a room. So we think we are placing the room at 65, but honestly have no idea. What has mostly made me not trust the thermostats is the new thermostat in the kitchen. It works amazing. You put the temp on 60 and the kitchen is there. You can tell. The boys room, you turn it on 70 and its freezing most of the time. Not too bad a fix at $21 a pop, but as the owner of an electric heated house, that is 11 x $21.

Here's the nasty windows in the master. I hadn't gotten around to finishing the trim in here. But even those windows I did look like this.

It's entirely frustrating and gross.

It's in the details

Our house is from the '80's - throughout this renovation we have discovered things that we don't really want, things that I would have never thought about. These little details are definitely one of the perks of building brand new, everything is new. One such thing we have run into is the outlets/covers. We have the lovely off white/almond/looks dirty outlets and covers. Some of the rooms hide it well, since there is an off white motif any way. But, other rooms, these ugly almond covers stick out and just look drab.

Here's a picture of my daughters room with the regular outlet.

The white trim added such a clean look and the outlet just looks off, it looks dirty and outdated. My solution, via pinterest:

It adds so much to the room. Instead of your eye catching on what you think is dirty and old, you look at a cute little detail of the room. The best part - its so easy. A little modge podge, an exacto knife, and drying time. I did the two light switches in my daughter's room with some left over craft paper I used on a friends wedding invitations. The light pink has sparkle white dots. Unfortunately, in doing these outlets I realized the other outlets stood out more. I didn't really want to do them all in this contrasting pink polka dots. So for the other outlets, I used left over fabric from her curtains.

Here is the final coat with modge podge.

This is the end product. It's so adorable and subtle! I sort of wish I just did the whole room in the paisley, but the polka dot is adorable too. I will say, I prefer using fabric vs. scrap booking paper. The edges glue down easier, it lays flatter and just looks more professional. About 5 minutes of prep, a couple hours of drying and here you have it!

I don't know that I want every outlet cover in the house to be fancy, but since the cost of replacing all the outlets and covers is staggering, its a great way to add some beauty in the rooms that really could use an extra little touch.