side tracked....

It all started with a little Spring cleaning.....  I had really good intentions of making my way through the whole house, collecting mounds of things to donate, leaving me with a sparkling home, full of things that I either 'know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.'  That way when I pack up in June (dah! next month! where are we going?!) it'll be easier, right? 

But when I got to K and A's room, this bookshelf was buggin' me.  This is the pretty picture of the bookshelf - but we were well beyond pretty.  It was just a clutter collection spot - K-lady had a make-shift desk coming off the second shelf, and it was stashed FULL of half-colored pages, partially finished projects, art supplies, tea sets, CD's and junk.  We keep 'cleaning' it out, but it just doesn't stay clean - it was driving me nuts.  

So I listed it on Craigslist and told K-lady we'd get her a desk to replace it (hopefully one w/ less storage space for stuff we don't need!). 

I looked around half-heartedly for a used desk, but finally decided I'd just make my own.  I've been eyeing this blog for months now, and could no longer resist it's siren call.....

a quick trip to Home Depot while J-boy and K-lady were in school - just me and Baby A and Chip at the saw, cutting all my pieces to size for me right then and there.  This is how to fit a whole sheet of plywood in a mini van. :)

 

My back patio was transformed into a shop!  I found that this is a great way to get to know your neighbors. :)

 

Here she is at the end of day one - rough around the edges, but that's what power sanders are for!!! 

and at the end of day three...

And finally finished, covered in the clutter that moved here from the shelf.  K-lady has also requested a hutch!  More shelves??!!!  I guess I can't win 'em all.  :) 

But I do love this desk!  And it feels GREAT!  I told my wonderful neighbor, Matt, (who let's me borrow his tools and use his garage - SO NICE!), "I feel so powerful!"  and he said, "Why do you think us guys' do it?"  It took about $90 and 1 week of working on it here and there, during naps, after bedtime.  I could have just gone to Pottery Barn and bought it here, but where's the fun in that??  :)

Now back to that spring cleaning (as soon as I'm done with the bookshelf waiting for stain in the basement, an ottoman for K's desk, and a hutch....)

I ♥ power tools. And Knock-Off Wood blog!

One woman's trash...

The day after K's preschool program we moved to a different apartment in the same complex (3 bedrooms feels SO much bigger than 2!!). Everything is the same for our address, but add 32 to the house number. :) Joseph was in the midst of pre- and early finals, so the timing wasn't great, but it all worked out. I have WONDERFUL and AMAZING neighbors and friends and family who helped so much - we moved all the kitchen/shelving/closets on Friday, then all the big stuff the next day. It was our 8th move in the almost 7 years of our marriage. Ugh! :)

A few weeks before the move, the city in which we live had their big Spring-cleaning-large-item-pick-up day -- my friend Heidi and I lovingly refer to this event as 'Bulky Trash.' The garbage company goes through half of the city, alternating every other year, and you can dump whatever you want on the curb, and they pick it up early Saturday morning. So Friday night, the race is on to find the best trash. :) We find all kinds of stuff -- tables, chairs, dressers, baby gear (plenty of strollers!), bikes, etc.

This year we found an enormous frame, about 7 feet long, still in it's packaging. No back or glass or anything, just the frame itself. Heidi kept it in her garage for me till after we moved, and then it was time to figure out what to do with it! So I skimmed through all my pictures (the family shot is from Jared and Deb's camera, and the temple picture came from Mindy -- thanks!!!), took the kids out for a mini-photo shoot ("Hey, kids, get some clothes on, I need a picture of the two of you where you're clean and don't have a bucket on your heads"), and did a little photoshop editing. I bought hardboard at Home Depot to mount the pictures on, got a little creative with hanging hardware, and one woman's trash became another woman's treasure. :)

I think my kids are cute. And I like my trashy decor. :)