Outdoor fireplace!

Hi everyone! I know it has been a very looooong time since I have blogged. I have really missed it! I've had several messages asking for details on our outdoor fireplace we had installed two years ago. When we bought the house 4 years ago, it was a brand new home that was just built. We loved everything about the house except the back yard! It was nothing but a big hill!

We had originally planned on putting a pool in. We had a couple of pool companies come out and draw up some plans, but found out we had a big easement on the back of the property. We also found out that the pool has to be several feet away from the back of the house... Our pool was going to be really long and skinny. Not what we were wanting. We went back to the drawing boards and decided that an outdoor fireplace would be perfect! We absolutely love it!

Here are a few pictures of the "backyard hill" we had to work with. Yikes! As much as my husband and I love to do DIY projects, we quickly decided this one one we needed to leave to the professionals! We hired a great company to do all the work from start to finish.

Our covered back porch was great, but we wanted to extend it by adding stone all the between the fireplace and the patio. My husband & I brainstormed our ideas for the space, put a few things on paper & met with the company. They loved the ideas we had and followed them exactly!

I thought I had some pics of the first days of work, but couldn't find them. They basically dug out of the hill, laid a concrete pad with giant rebars to support the weight of the fireplace, laid the stone pavers, and created a drainage system behind the fireplace & rock seating area.

The fireplace was brought in three pieces. I was jumping for joy the day it arrived! It was exactly how I wanted it to look like.

Once it was set in place, they began building the wood storage boxes. We had tossed around the idea of having a waterfall on each side, but decided on the wood storage boxes in the end. Glad we made that choice. Love how it looks when it is full of wood!

Next came the sod, adding the outdoor furniture we picked out and decorating! They were still cleaning up their messes and washing down the patio when I was decorating for Fall! I couldn't wait! 

One of my favorite times to enjoy the patio is at night, fire going, happy lights on, music playing... Ahh... So relaxing.

Now, we need to start thinking about phase 2 of the project. We would love to add landscaping all across the back fence. Thanks for stopping by! Maybe it won't be as long between posts next time!

Guest room is finished!

I am so excited to finally say that our guest room is finished!  We have lived in our house for two years now and this has been on my to do list since we moved in.  I absolutely love how it turned out.  I now look forward to having friends & family come and stay with us.  The room was quite boring and ugly before.  Hope you enjoy the tour!

This is an old mirror that I found at a garage sale a few years back.  It was originally dark brown and was part of a beat up dresser.  Amazing what a coat of paint can do.

A relaxing, comfy place for our guests to stay.

I got the word art sign at a little store in the town I live in.  Love it!

This picture shows the gray wall color.  So relaxing.

I got this cute little side table at K-Mart of all places!  I added a little black paint to the top to add some whimsy to it.

I used Annie Sloan chalk paint to transform this dresser.  It was my dresser that was in my bedroom when I was a little girl!  It was originally dark brown wood.  LOVE that I was able to use in this room!

I decided to distress it a little and add some dark wax to it.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at our guest room!  I am thrilled that it is finished and that I was able to use a lot of items that I already had to decorate the room.  Paint on the walls & furniture made a huge impact!

I will be adding more rooms in our house to the house tour soon!

Craft room tables got a makeover!

Hi Everyone!  I have been in my new house for a year now and have slowly been working on my dream craft room.  I LOVE not having to craft at the kitchen table anymore!  


I have three brown 5 foot folding tables in my craft room that I have been wanting to pretty up.  I had several ideas floating around in my head and decided to go with the least expensive choice.  I'm kind of cheap like that! Ha!

 I started my table makeover by covering the the tables with wrapping paper, yes.... WRAPPING PAPER!  I already had this on hand.  Woo Hoo!!!  I just trimmed around the edges to match the rounded corners of the table.

 I purchased enough clear vinyl at Hobby Lobby to cover all three tables.  I got a little extra to staple the edges under the table.  I had a 40% off coupon, so I got all the vinyl for around $13.  Sweet!

 My cat, Max enjoyed taking a nap on the vinyl backing paper.  He's such a helper!  He's ALWAYS with me when I'm working in my craft room!  I just cut each piece of vinyl to fit the tables and stapled around the bottom with a staple gun.  Easy Peasy!

 Here's a picture of the finished product!  I love how it turned out!  It adds so much fun and whimsy to my craft room!  It was soooooo worth the out of pocket expense of $13 and about 1 hour of my time!

 Here's a picture of two of the tables pushed together to make a large work area.  The other table is against a wall & is my sewing table.  

Thank you so much for stopping by!


linking to:  www.skiptomylou.org
www.thirtyhandmadedays.com
http://designdazzle.blogspot.com
http://www.creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com/
www.diyshowoff.com
www.pollywantacrafter.com
http://www.marvelouslymessy.com/
www.tipjunkie.com
http://atozebracelebrations.blogspot.com/
http://amy-newnostalgia.blogspot.com/
http://micheleravendesigns.blogspot.com
http://lilluna.com/
www.somedaycrafts.blogspot.com
http://alliemakes.blogspot.com/
http://whipperberry.com/
Also linking to these parties!

"Tween"ager Bedroom!

Hello Everyone!

We have been in our new home for two months now and have been very busy making it our own.  Our oldest daughter wanted a pink and black funky room, so that's what we have been creating for her!

Here is a before picture of her room before we moved in.  The builder had it staged as an upstairs living/game room, but we wanted to turn it into a "tween"ager suite for her.  We had the builder add a wall, door, closet and a desk to the room.

My hubby did all the painting... He is an AWESOME man!!!

Here are some more after shots!

The picture above is her living area.  The futon came from Wal-Mart, the lamps & memo boards from Hobby Lobby, and the pillows and throw from JC Penny.  The coffee table and end tables were a yard sale find that I "Jillified"!  They were a light brown wood.  I sanded them down and gave them a couple of coats of black spray paint and they look perfect!

This is a picture of her sleeping area.  The bedding came from JC Penny.  I still have to hang her valance and black curtains, and my hubby has to finish the pink paint trim, but it's getting there!

She is absolutely LOVING her chalkboard walls on each side of her bed!  She and her friends have sooooo much fun writing on them!

And that's it!  Hope you all enjoyed the tour of her funky room!

Thanks for stopping by!