Our new house has a powder room that was wallpapered within an inch of its life when we bought the house, so I decided it needed a makeover.   

The wallpaper was actually METALLIC and shined in the light. Which was cool, but the copper color wasn't really in my color scheme.

PLUS A SEASHELL SINK. OMG NO. Since my style isn't south Florida meets George Washington, it was on my list of crap to change as soon as we moved in.

Our new house has a color theme of navy, blue and turquoise with a touch of Hamptons/Nautical and a touch of Farmhouse.  Nothing too rustic and nothing to themey.. so this was my vision of the bathroom.

We toured a house when we were house hunting that had the most amazing bathroom with a single tiled 'accent' wall and I knew I wanted to do that behind the sink and toilet.

The walls got damaged pretty badly getting the wallpaper off, so I didn't want to paint.  I decided I would need to re-wallpaper. 

So here is the vision: 

Vanity: $447
Delta Faucet: $82 (I got a refurb on clearance)
Wallpaper: $324

Have you ever heard of the game ‘Cornhole’ (also sometimes referred to as Baggo)?  It is basically a bean bag toss game using a pair of angled boards with holes cut in them.   What started as a beer-drinking tailgate game, has become popular for all occasions.

In fact, a hot new activity to do during the break between weddings and receptions is allow guests to play cornhole.

Via CharlestonEvent

This year’s hot summer trend looks to be pineapples.  They are popping up everywhere, from Anthropologie and Nordstrom to Target and Pottery Barn.

Originally a Victorian symbol of hospitality, the pineapple has recently gotten a glamourous makeover.  No longer relegated to pool floats and luau decor, the pineapple is all grown up.

 I can’t wait to share 20 fabulous gold guided versions that you may want to welcome into your home!

For a relatively new woodworker, there aren’t many projects that come out better than you expect. You typically  have a vision, and your final project is close, but never perfect.  This is NOT one of those projects.  I am just so excited with how this set of cutting boards came out, I’m just pleased as punch with it!

It is a set of puzzle shaped mini-cutting boards (I used maple) that assemble together to form one large cutting board:
But the fun part is that any individual mini-cutting board can be used as a serving tray, and the notch in the puzzle piece shape can be used to hold a wine glass!  ISN’T THAT GENIUS!?

It is time for another Build It Challenge!  This month the theme was “Organizing” and I decided for my project, I would tackle the messiest space in the house: THE JUNK DRAWER!

There are 8 other bloggers who also came up with fantastic projects for this challenge, so don’t forget to visit them too!

Now back to MY DREADED JUNK DRAWER…

Admit it.. we all have one.  And getting control of it can be a huge headache, since it is the place you put stuff that has nowhere better to go.  For us it is things like rubber bands, match books, flash lights, take out menus, paper clips, safety pins and super glue.  And one of my most populous ‘homeless’ items has always been batteries.

After Christmas this year, our junk drawer was awash in close to 100 batteries (since you can never have too many on hand with all the hand held electronics and other gadgets that are floating around this house) and of course, they are all different types and brands.  It was a mess!  This was the pile of batteries I dug out of the junk drawer:
And now, inspired by this challenge.. Here was my solution:

Adding a porch or deck to your home can open up a world of possibilities for outdoor living. A 2018 study by the National Association of Realtors and National Association of Landscape Professionals ranks a new deck in the top 5 of outdoor projects that adds value to a home. 81% of homeowners who have installed a new deck, say it makes them want to stay home and enjoy their space more than before the deck was installed.

When making the investment in a deck or porch, you want to work with high quality materials that will stand up to the weather and that is where composite decking materials shine. Whether you are installing a deck as a DIY project or hiring an experienced contractor, using composite decking materials are head and shoulders about traditional wood decks.

Package theft from front porches has become an increasingly large problem in the U.S.  As many as 20% of people have reported a package lost or stolen from their front porch since 2017.  I live in California which ranks number 3 in the nation for porch piracy.

Law enforcement agencies are now encouraging homeowners to use package tracking and notifications, as well as tighten up surveillance of their front porches.  Just the presence of cameras can discourage package thieves from targeting your house vs. one which lacks security systems.

You may already know that my house has pretty much ZERO yard space.  I’ve written about the trials and tribulations of a small yard, combined with living through the California drought and so it may come as no surprise that when I wanted to plant a spring garden this year, i had to do a little bit of thinking outside the box.

I’m so excited it is finally Summer!  The kids are out of school and we’re able to slow down a little.  It also means that this month’s Power Tool Challenge, is all about SUMMER as well. 
This month I came up with an upcycle for the old side of the baby’s crib, which we are no longer using.  (He is using the rest of the crib!)

I’m pretty excited about today’s build because
1. It uses only scrap wood.
2. It went together super fast (like one afternoon.)
And 3. It involves holding my drink..  We can pretty much all agree the a cold beer or glass of wine close at hand is ESSENTIAL to summertime happiness.

I am SO EXCITED to share today’s project.

I actually finished it about two weeks ago, but never got around to taking photos and writing about it until now.  But I just LOVE IT!

I have been obsessing about all the great marquee lights I’ve been seeing all over the internet, but now they have gotten so affordable and accessible in stores that I never felt like it was worth my time to make one from scratch.

At least not in the traditional sense of making a marquee light.

But then inspiration struck when I was washing out a set of old K-cups (I always save them since they aren’t recyclable and I have had project ideas for them in the past). I was lining them up on the counter and I realized how cool they looked when I started creating shapes. 
Of course, with Valentine’s day around the corner, a heart shape was the first thing that came to mind.

I thought about gluing them down and spray painting the whole thing so it was one color but three dimensional, and then I thought, “WHY NOT LIGHT THEM UP AGAIN?!”

And that is exactly what I did.   This time with pink mini-lights
There aren’t many projects where with each step you finish, you get more and more excited about it.. but this project was one of them:
So how did it come together?

25 Unique Wood Slice Holiday Projects