E.A.T.

A plan, according to Merriam-Webster is "a set of actions that have been thought of as a way to do or achieve something" - for example a kitchen remodel.  I have been planning this set of actions for three years.  I have drawn it, clipped, posted it, and pinned it.  We have plans A, B, C, and D, which I will not bore you with.

Then we realized that the television crews from HGTV, DIY, or Kitchen Crashers were "no-shows".....and we rolled up our sleeves and did our own DIY on a Dime, except it was more like a penny - a shiny new copper penny!

When we moved into this old house, the kitchen had well built white cabinets, copper hardware, a dishwasher that was older than me, milk chocolate walls and ceiling, and acrylic craft painted countertops.  The countertops looked pretty good three years ago, but lately Mrs. Prather's pink has been peeking through. Early on, we repainted the walls and replaced the dishwasher.  Then we just decided to just live with it for a while.

After months of researching Pinterest, I ditched all those ideas of painting the cabinets in a weekend, and went with simple. Keep it simple. Keep the cabinets. Keep the hardware. Keep the countertops.  Keep the floor.  Keep the appliances (except for the dishwasher). The cabinets and hardware got a good scrubbing and touch-up paint on the cabinet's chips and scratches.  

I painted the countertops black with a Rust-Oleum product (according to directions) especially made for that project.  The faux tin paintable wallpaper on the backsplash looked worse than faux, so it came down almost as soon as it went up.  I think it was the installer, not the product.

By now, the man of the house decides he had better get involved and we moved on to the next plan . All we needed were 9 sheets of faux tin ceiling tiles, a man who understands a tape measure, and the right tool for the job..  

The instructions said it could be accomplished in a few hours.  It was more like all day, because there were four light and switch plates to cut around.  I'm so glad he helped. He's so smart. 

Keeping the copper hardware gave us a new purpose for thrift shopping. $15 for the whole box of copper stuff.   A bargain here, a find there, and we had every decoration we needed, and then some. 

I would have never chosen all that copper if it hadn't been for keeping the handles and hinges, but it's beginning to grow on me.  

Then I got the brilliant idea to glue pennies on cardboard letters from a craft store.  Brilliant.  Except that all the weight is on the front and it took some creative engineering (mostly E6000) to get them to stand up!  So as a word of warning - buy wood letters if you are glueing pennies.

The reminder to E.A.T. and the copper boiler rummage sale find, work perfectly on the garage sale oak hutch with it's fresh coat of black.  The brass handles turned copper with a little help from Rust-Oleum hammered copper spray paint. 

AND the second hand on the second hand bargain box clock is hopelessly broken.  It just hangs there at a the six.  I like it.  We E.A.T. breakfast at six.  We E.A.T. supper at six. 

 Other than that, I figure it's six o'clock somewhere and someone is E.A.T.ing!

And now (drum roll...) the moment you have been waiting for....you are waiting for this moment, aren't you?

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

Here is proof that you don't have to spend a fortune updating your old kitchen to make it look like a newer one.  And just maybe it will inspire someone to tackle their tacky kitchen with a little facelift.

You'll never see this kitchen remodel on the cheap in a magazine or on a how to site.  But if you'll come over for supper (at six) you can see it in person and we'll bore you with all our stories.  

Y'all Come!

(We'll E.A.T.)

Bring Back the Front Porch

After MUCH reflection,

I have figured out the problem with America.

It's not the right or the left or the center.

It's not the Baptists or the Methodists or the Lutherans.

It's not the Cold War, the Civil War, or Star Wars.

Nope.

It's the 

front porch.

Or, more specifically, 

it's the demise of the front porch.

With urban sprawl (whatever that is...),

we built modern houses and neighborhoods

without front porches or sidewalks,

because we need our privacy.

So we have built behind every house, a secluded outdoor living space.

 Away from prying eyes and the sounds of the street.

We love it - no matter how low budget, thrift store, redneck.

But we have forfeited knowing our neighbors.

We don't know when the Olson's are on vacation

 because someone else picks up their papers.

We don't know that the new neighbors next door

have three little boys and one on the way.

We wouldn't know that the Daddy 

let those same little boys 

ride on the leather couch on the trailer on moving day.

We don't know about the guy sitting on the tailgate 

holding a barbecue pit with one hand and waving with the other

or the man standing in the back of his truck 

balancing a floor lamp while his wife drives.

And we don't know about the man on the Harley,

trying to convince his very disgruntled rider 

to get back on.

We would miss waving at

 all the couples, families and friends

 that walk or bicycle by on warm still evenings.

 Let's bring back front porches.

It's a place for a cool drink after a hard days work.

 Problems get smaller as the front porch

breeze blows them away.

Nothing is more relaxing or inviting 

than fern baskets and rocking chairs.

And besides all that,

How in the world would we know when our yards

have gone to 

POT

Courtesy of the Church Youth Group Fund

Raiser.

Come on over and still a spell..... 

ummm.... on the porch.

Designing on a Dime

It's true - 

If I worked every day like I do when I am getting ready for a trip

or for company coming

I could get a ton of stuff done.

So getting ready for both of those events 

really got me in gear on a project.

There was a room upstairs that was full of building supplies

so I moved them out, patched the cracked plaster,

painted the walls, oiled the wood floors,

and wished for those DIY folks to show up and help me.

Then I rounded up some old furniture and worked it over.

Old Gert's iron bed

(as in "did old Gert leave any of her homemade chokecherry wine

 in the rhut cellar?")

got a new coat of metallic gold spray paint.

The dresser I bought for $15 was too low to use as a dresser,

so I re-purposed it into night tables.

The art deco brass drawer pulls were the best thing about the dresser.

Off-white spray paint covered a lot of ugly on this chest of drawers.

After about 2 weeks, 

 it all came together 

with the help of a few rummage sale and thrift store finds

 I'd been collecting for this project.

It was truly  

a Design on a Dime room

 fit for a Princess!

Rescued - Renewed - Restored - Repurposed

It all started with a pile of keys in a basket.  We were always hunting the right key, which was, of course, on the bottom of the pile.  Having too much time on my hands, a need to be creative, and a stack of old windows - I came up with a solution to our key problems.  After all, it is by God's Amazing Grace that I ever find my keys!

At some time and to some degree, most of us have felt somewhat like the discarded, cracked, chipped windows left in a dark corner of my basement.  We have felt useless, used up, and

  there's definitely no light shining through us.

 

But God reaches down in His love and rescues us. 

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness

and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves  (Colossians 1:13)

 

 I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (Isaiah 46:4)

He rescues and he saves  (Daniel 6:17)

 

He sands the rough edges and polishes and even gives us a new purpose.

 

...those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

 

He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. (Ruth 4:15)

 

Restore us to yourself, LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old(Lamentations 5:21

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.   (Romans 12:2)

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.(1 Peter 5:10)

Before I knew it, I had a halfway house full of rescued, renewed, restored, repurposed windows.  They will be hunting a new home and up for adoption (for a small fee) at the Farm Festival September 7th and 8th. 

 See you there!

“May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” (Daniel 6:16)

DIY Divas

The other day I needed some essential ingredient for the delicious healthy supper I was making for my hardworking man.  I dusted off my work clothes and walked 2 blocks to our little grocery store.  It was after 5 and full of working men in their grungy FR's (fire retardant clothing) picking up pizzas and ice cream for their suppers.

I had to stand in line! The locals say they never had to stand in line before we (the oil field) came.

A magazine caught my eye.  Actually, the featured article caught my eye - DIY Diva.  DIY Diva? There she stood in all her glory - young, tan, fit, wearing layered contrast color tank tops and holding the latest greatest meanest cleanest power tool. (I know - bad sentence)

And there I stood looking back at her - wearing my dusty gimme cap, Salvation Army man's shirt and elastic waist pants with decorator specks, swipes, and finger prints in bar harbor beige, brandy cream and smouldering red - in all my glory.

I asked myself -

What is wrong with this picture? 

My Herb Garden

Today was as perfect a day in North Dakota that a Texas country gal could ever wish for.  The temperature was 75, the breeze was only as occasional puff, and the blue clear sky (as Forrest Gump would say) couldn't have been better.

For all the trucks with bad exhausts, the hundreds of gas flares at the oil wells, and the influx of people, the sky is still cleaner than Texas.  By the way - North Dakota's population is 642,200.  Texas has six cities that exceed that number and yellow and gray skies over even much smaller bergs.

We've had almost daily rain for three weeks, so weed pulling and hoeing was easy today.

As I worked on the herb garden (parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme - actually it's parsley, mint, cilantro, and dill) their combined essence sent a wonderful happy smell to my nose.  Then I smelled them every time I walked by.  The herb garden is just outside the kitchen door as it should be - so it's just a step and a snip away.  I'm absolutely positive that all Mexican food must have cilantro and lots of it.  But chives are my new love and work in lots of dishes.

It all smells soooo good.

My herbs remind me of you.

"In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life. But those on the way to destruction treat us more like the stench from a rotting corpse."

The Message (emphasis mine)

(2 Corinthians 2:15-16)

My herb garden is like so many of you who are the fragrance of Christ. We smell you when we pass by, when we get close to you, and when we get involved in the garden of your life.

Thank you for being such an exquisite fragrance, a sweet scent,

 an aroma redolent with life!

Prather House Tour

This old house here in North Dakota, is respectfully referred to (by the locals) as "The Prather House".  When I am introduced to someone new, they say, "This is Renee from Texas.  She bought the Prather house".  My new last name is "from Texas" and my identity is owner of the Prather House.  The other day we were at the clinic listening intently while a sweet nurse named Suzy read and explained some blood tests.  She interrupted herself to look up and say, "You bought the Prather House." Then she continued with her explanation.

The Prather House, was once owned by the wealthiest family in town, but when we bought it, it was in need of some serious love.  It was built in the early 1900's by a family who owned the lumber yard . 

We've cleaned, polished, painted and gathered up enough furniture to do a photo shoot and show you a few before and after pictures.

Sooooo....... Hang on for your virtual tour of the Prather House!

The entry had a beautiful never painted staircase, red carpet and pea green paint from another decade.

Entry BEFORE

Entry AFTER

Here's the room painted Benjamin Moore brandy cream, carpet removed and decorated with a little furniture and some prints from Goodwill and a few other places!

The sign says,

IF YOU STUMBLE, MAKE IT PART OF THE DANCE.

This living room scared me the most, because it's where the smoker hung out.

Living Room BEFORE

We washed it with vinegar, scrubbed with Scrubbing Bubbles, primed and painted with Benjamin Moore hillsborough beige. The wall colors probably aren't totally accurate.

Living Room AFTER

We found the couch and chairs at a great closeout price, the lamps were cheap cheap (like me) with rebates, and the tables came from Salvation Army.

You can't tell from the picture, but it has a cove ceiling

The guest bedroom was dark blue with a lovely floral border. 

Guest Bedroom BEFORE

Guest Bedroom AFTER

The walls are - guess what - Benjamin Moore bar harbor beige.  Mr. Moore was our paint of choice because that's what is sold here at Hegstad Furniture.  It worked great!  The bed was given to us by a fellow Texas who flew south for the winter.  We've actually had a few guests stay in the room!

This vintage print, is of a howling coyote sitting at the edge of the North Dakota Badlands. 

The candle sticks came from the Wise Penny.

The other bedroom was brown - top to bottom - ugly, UGLY.

Master Bedroom BEFORE

And the closet was the same lively green as the stairwell.

We again chose Mr. Moore's bar harbor beige for the walls, and WHITE for the ceiling.

Master Bedroom AFTER

The headboard was given to us.  I painted it to match the previously pink, now painted black rummage sale table and chests.  Did that make any sense?

The steeple picture is a blow-up of a photo I made last fall.  I found the abandoned church in a ghost town.  Poster Brain enlarged it and mailed it to me.  The lovely turquoise lamp came from a church thrift store that's open one afternoon a week - only in the summer.

The dining room was dark with wallpaper above the plate rail. 

Dining Room BEFORE

I saved the wallpaper and lightened it up with Benny Mo hillsborough beige!

Here's the antique table, odds and ends of chairs,  vintage table cloth,

and crafty little candelabra I made from old punch bowl cups and candle holder.

The other end of the dining room is my secret place

(as in she who dwells in the secret place of the Most High,

shall abide in the shadow of the ALMIGHTY

Psalm 91:1)

This is my favorite spot,

just beneath my vintage commemorative church plate collection.

So....

Since Blogger thinks I've used too many pictures,

AND the other rooms are not quite ready to show,

I'll save the rest of the tour until later.

Thanks for joining me!