Master Bedroom {Settled In September}

I love our Master bedroom. We've gone from small, to tiny, to a little less tiny, to HUGE, and now to "just right". It's right off the living room on the same side of the house as the kids rooms but not connected to the same hall. A lot of people may not like that but for us, it gives enough distance but not too much ground to cover in the middle of the night when someone needs something.
The MASTER Bedroom

It also has a "hall bath" like feel to the bathroom BUT I like it because it keeps my clutter to a minimum and guest feel comfortable using either our bathroom or the "kids" bathroom which are both easily accessible. I don't like having rooms that are useless space, and for me that means not used daily. I felt wasteful in our last house with certain rooms because even if they were used daily, it was only for either for guest occasionally, a nap or bedtime baths.before pics of dressersThere are still some things I'd like to finish in this room but for now, we're settled. We sold our comforter set I bought just a couple of years ago when we moved into big blue. I loved the idea of a nice-looking bed spread but after we got it I realized the fabric was NOT comfortable, it was too hot and crunchy to sleep under, and a major hassle to make the bed with the bedding we slept with and then add on top the cutesiness. It rarely got used. Again with the wastefulness.

When we moved here, I decided since we had nothing really to have to match, I would start all over with something simple. Matt has a "no flower" policy in our room as well as nothing else too girly. I chose not to buy and new bedding and stick with the solid white down comforter we already have. I'd been wanting to paint our dark wooden dresser set {from Matt's childhood} for a while now but couldn't commit.

I took the plung after a date night with my hubby where we walked around target talking. I'd fallen in love with what I started calling the "target green color". I'd seen it on a cute picture frame there as well as a couple other random items. When we were parusing I also noticed I was drawn to dark navys. There we have it. I'm going crazy and painted the dressers GREEN!

Master Bedroom Makeover{furniture & lamp TUTORIALS to come}

I think this is a good compromise: fun but not necessarily masculine or feminine.

Then I took all of our black frames {sets & otherwise} we've collected over years and painted them navy blue along with an old green lamp that was in the girls room. In our last house(s) we decided to only put pictures of Matt & I in our master bedroom. Since our kids, friends and family are plastered everywhere else, we thought it might be sweet to have just us in our room. This also encourages us to take pictures together more often as well. Don't pay attention too close...some of these are OLD. 🙂 We also chose to make all the pictures black and white to make them feel more uniform. I love it.

I like the idea of having something red in every room and also think red goes well with the navy and green, just not too much of it. I was going to paint a could of the frames red just for fun but after starting...I realized I didn't have enough paint left in the can to finish the 2 I chose... oops. I decided to do the same technician on these as I did the table in Jamin's room. It didn't work as well but its okay for now.
spray painted picture framesThe big mirror on my dresser is one we've had floating around for a long time in different areas of the house. I think I may end up painting it red or navy as well.
decor on dresser after

Here's our closet organization:
Master Bedroom Closet Panoramic LABELED

Thanks for taking a tour around our master bedroom! 😀

Here's a side-by-side just for a better idea of the dresser transformationBefore and After pics of Master Bedroom furniture makeover

 

Share Button

Post to Twitter

Laundry: Hanging Laundry Basket Shelf {Settled In September}

Yesterday, I told you about the madness that was the moving of the shelves in the laundry room. Today, I wanna show you the awesome hanging laundry basket shelf my hubs made me.

Hanging Laundry Baskets tutorialThe Laundry Basket Shelf: THIS was inspired by an image I saw on Pinterest but my amazing hubs just worked with what we had and created a perfect, unique shelving unit for my laundry room. I’ll explain the details of that more tomorrow.

This is my loving hubs hooking the dryer back up after building my cool shelves. He Loves Me! 😉

Built-In Hanging Laundry Basket ShelvesHere are the basic steps he took to make our specific shelves in which I wanted 4 baskets in a box from the floor all the way up to the bottom of the cabinets:

  1. measure the space you have available to determine how many baskets can fit {height & depth}
  2. measure the baskets using {length, width, height} Dimentions of our large baskets
    • our largest basket is 18" wide
    • 26" long
    • 12" deep
    • Our largest basket is an 18x18 square and same depth
  3. determine how much wood is needed
    • 1 sheet of plywood for the side, floor bottom, front, & top
    • 1x2s for the basket rails {horizontal to sides}
    • 1x2s for the braces for the rails {parallel to side}
    • 1x2 scraps for the extra space to make the shelves a bit deeper
  4. cut boards
    • we did 2 71.5" sides
    • 25.5" deep
    • top shelf 5.5" down from the top
    • each is 14.72" apart giving us 16" between each basket
    • 19.5" wide
  5. using a nail gun and nailed the first side to the bottom of the shelf as a support {since the bottom of the cabinet would be part of the top of the shelf}
  6. nailed the braces {parallel} and the rails {horizontal} to the first side braces and rails brace & rail that holds the hanging laundry baskets
  7. nailed the other 1/2 of the top to that side
  8. build the box bottom and nailed to the side Base to the hanging laundry baskets
  9. nailed on the braces and rails to the 2nd side
  10. attached the 2nd side to the existing "box"

Love this shelving!!! It makes sorting laundry so quick so I spend less time with laundry piled all over the house while trying to sort & fold. Here, I can just open the drier door, fold something quickly on the top of the drier, and then stick it in the appropriate basket.

easy sorting with hanging laundry basketsWe have labels on each basket to help with sorting and that basket returns to that spot after its emptied. {I plan to add these labels to the "Printables" post at the end of the month.

Laundry Basket LabelsI do at least 1 load a night and the kids are able to do their "laundry chore" daily but often wait until the basket is about to overflow at the end of the week before putting it away. Our rule is, "If it's not hanging in your closet or in your dresser, its not an option to wear". This helps get stuff put away more regularly...or at least, if there's something they want to wear, they have to put Everything away before they can wear that item {after its put away}. lol

The other item I requested was a “Mud Room”. LOL This being the evil room my family enters through daily {or at least after I completely clean up the garage after all these projects} and guest enter occasionally, I need it to function as more than a laundry. I plan to share more about this aspect of the room later this week as well...and maybe we'll finish the bench before then. hehe

Now for the details of this shelf moving business. I decided to leave off the big heavy doors and go for open shelving. For me, open shelves MAKES me at least try to keep things organized and neat since everyone can see...everything. I also thought those hefty pieces of wood could better be used as shelving in the garage in the long run.

Share Button

Post to Twitter

Happy BUMP Day

I have lots of bloggy friends who do What I Wore Wednesday & other Facebook friends posting hilarious pics of camels for Hump Day as well as update pics of their baby bumps. I decided to combine all those here for Happy BUMP Day!

I will try to update pictures of our sweet, fast-growing, Elisabeth Rae here. I am just now starting to take pictures of the baby bump...slacker! I haven't felt up to pics for the first trimester & 1/2 BUT I want pictures of her progress like I have for all my other little blessings so....
here's my sad version of what a real mamma wears on Hump Day with a baby bump 😉

Ellie: 20 weeks and 3 days

20

T-shirt: camp shirt from Super Summer AR "Bling Bling Friday"- the day all the staffers dress up

Shorts: Old Navy stretchy waistband athletic shorts

Flip Flops: Target on Sale 6+ years ago when we were in FL
{sorry, not pictured...took them off to climb on the cube in my bathroom I use to sit on to dry my hair & do my make-up so I don't pass out}

Share Button

Post to Twitter

5 Simple Missional Living Ideas

I can't believe I forgot to tell you all that I had my monthly post go up on Friday. Ugg So behind. Any how...

We have literally just moved into the town we have planted a church. After over a year of planning, meetings, launches, commuting, selling a house, and finally buying a new home, we are “in the field”!

To hear my 5 Simple Missional Living Ideas that any Christian can do, head over to A Common Bond!

Click for the exact The Missional Times edition.

Share Button

Post to Twitter

Where DO You Live?

I just wanted to give a lil update on where we are. Literally.

Where do you live

There is a wide group of people who stop by this blog occasionally. Some are friends and family I grew up with from birth until graduating Fayetteville High. Some are friends I matured with at Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge. Then there are the ministry friends and family I have met along with way over the past 9 years of marriage; anywhere from Walnut Ridge FBC, Parkers Chapel FBC, Central BC, The Valley, and all those we've collided with in between.

I lived in 2 houses as a child; one of those was for 16 of 18 years. Since moving out to attend college I've lived in 1 dorm room, 1 apartment in town, and 1 apartment on campus, as a single adult. Now I'm about to move to my 6th houses in my 9 years of marriage. That's 11 homes in my life time of 29 years {this August}. Since this has all been in Arkansas, I'm not sure if I can wear the same badge but I can definitely relate to "The Humbling of a Nomad".

I've had tons of friends from different corners of the state as well as the town we are currently "living in" have been asking similar questions, all just in the past couple days. I thought I'd take a minutes and let ya know the answers to these FAQ::

Have you closed on your house?

Yes. Depending on which house you're asking about.

We "closed" on our "big blue" house in White Hall and sold it for good! After a year of it being on the market {6 months with an agent & 6 FSBO}, we finally sold it to a perfect family who will be so blessed by the space. God really did turn a hard year of waiting into a situation in which He could be glorified.

No we haven't "closed" on the home we're buying in Vilonia. A week after selling our house in White Hall, we made an offer on a house in Vilonia. To most this sounds like a hasty decision, but if you know us {and the details of this life in limbo then you know we've been searching for a home "in the field" and this is the exact layout I fell in love with when we first began our journey of house hunting that has included hours of online searching, an awesome realtor and over 2 DOZEN houses. This will be the "nicest" home either of us have ever lived in. Don't get me wrong, we haven't lived in crappers but this is the newest and fancier than I ever saw us being able to buy. Just goes to show, God blesses us beyond what we deserve.

We are supposed to "close" any time between now and July 10th!!!

Have you finished moving?

Again, Yes. Depending on which "move" you're asking about.

We moved essentials into our "borrowed" home and then the rest of our belongings after the sale of "big blue".

We have not moved to our new home we are in the process of buying. We are giving the seller a week after closing to move her furniture out as well as to stretch and clean carpets {the only thing not perfectly maintained about the home}. Keep ya posted 😉

Are you excited about your new town?

I bet you can guess this one...Yes. Depending on which "new town" you're asking about.

Conway, the town we are currently living in our "borrowed" house is great. The town feels cleaner and while having all the amenities of "bigger town" without the 1-2 hour commute like ALL the past places we lived, yet still feels small enough to not be overwhelmed.

Vilonia, the town in which we are buying our new home, is only a 15 minute drive to Conway. Although it is a rural community, it still has several gas stations, restaurants, and a grocery store. Plus, our church family is all out there.

When beginning this church planting trek, the first thing they tell all church planters is to "move to the field", meaning live in the community in which you plan to minister, serves, and be a part of that community. Guess God chose to use us a lil differently. Which I love. I think this has let us see, this isn't about us. Often in youth ministry, groups grow based on the popularity and personality of the pastor. Here, He is keeping the truth at the front of everything we do: this plant is about the people God so dearly loves already planted in Vilonia and how He wants to empower them to reach the masses for His name.

Where do you live???

We live in a "borrowed" house that has become home. It really is true, home is where your heart & family is.

Back in March, 1 weeks before our preview services and 5 weeks before our launch date, we were blessed beyond comprehension by a couple who can only be described as "used by God". Through the church that partnered with us for the plant as well as mutual friends, God connected us with a family who heard about our 1 hour commute multiple times a week for services and meetings because our house {WH} still hadn't sold. They allowed us to stay in their home that hadn't sold yet & the former renters had just moved out of...for FREE. Talk about birds of the air.

This transition home has allowed us to be used by God at the valley, wait to sell our home to the perfect family, find the perfect new home for our family, all while being taken care of by God via this amazing family.

This entire God situation deserves a post all its own; I'm just having trouble putting it all into words.

We live on the side of a gorgeous mountain, in a log cabin, with a beautiful view, a huge shop/storage building, 30 minutes from the valley, in a home that was made for just a time as this and our family. God is good.

If I didn't answer your questions about our whereabouts, just ask! I'll keep ya posted on the "final move" and "new home"!

Share Button
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

Post to Twitter