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Homework Station Design in Process

Last week it dawned on me that we are nearly half way through Summer Vacation and before I know it the school bell will be ringing again. We’re headed to see the “Mouse” in a few weeks and when we return there will only be 3 weeks left to get school shopping and all of those things done.

I won’t say anxiety set in but let’s just say I’m tired of the clutter that comes with school and I need a solution to keep their artwork, school work, permission slips, book bags, markers, pencils, pens, flashcards, paint brushes, paint and folders off my kitchen table. After being in the house nearly a year we I’ve concluded that the workout room will be turned into a homework station /craft space for the children.

This wasn’t an easy decision to make. There is equipment in there that the previous owners left and while I’m not saying we don’t need a space to workout, I’m thinking the wine room will get refitted with less bulky equipment. My husband recently went and got a gym membership, I took that to mean he was throwing in the towel. It’s now time we I make the space useful….cause there are cobwebs forming in there. Wasteful.

Looking from left to right in the room this is what is currently there

Homework Station

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 Homework Station

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I’m not saying it will be completely done before school starts but by the first day I hope to at least have desks, chairs and lamps in there for them. Funds will be low. I did say we are going to see the “Mouse” so there will be some Craigslist’ing, Ikea’ing, Goodwill’ing and DIY’ing going on. I do like the paint color and may leave it just making that entire back wall chalkboard…or maybe everything above the beadboard will get chalkboarded out. We’ll see.

Here are a few inspiration photos:

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Source

 organization

Source

Homework station 1
Do you have a designated space for your children to do their homework? Should I leave the wall green?
Aladdin-Mason-Entertaining-Collection
Décor DIY

Aladdin Southern Luncheon

Earlier in the week in my Weekend in Review post I mentioned that  last Thursday I attended  a luncheon hosted by Momtrends, Aladdin and Party BluPrints.

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The event was held at the beautiful Piedmont Estate. The location was absolutely beautiful, it was like an oasis tucked in the hustle and bustle of Buckhead.

Piedmont Estate Buckhead

The food was excellent. From the salad to our build your own dessert, the fare was fabulous and mixed in well with the decor that was curated by Party BluPrints using the Aladdin Mason Entertaining Collection.

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The-Piedmont-Estate

Prior to making our way upstairs to be seated for lunch, we had a ball downstairs chatting and having  sips on a plethora of drink options to include lemonade and some “mommy juice” as I like to call it. You can call it “sprinkling” your drink with a little vodka.

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It got a little tricky at times trying to maneuver my “mommy juice” and business cards and purse and camera but I found a way to get a couple of “Mug Shots” in

Aladdin-Southern-Luncheon

Aladdin-Southern-Luncheon

While my guests were delighted to receive some products from the Aladdin Mason Entertaining Collection at the party I hosted a few weeks ago, I now know that I could’ve upped the décor ante by utilizing these jars in a different capacity from holding flowers, to storing take away gifts, to holding a dessert base where guests can add on different toppings at a dessert bar.

We were able to take away some seasoning rub as well as build a delicious dessert with the mason jars. How clever of Party BluPrints. For more decorating ideas be sure to check out their blog. With products at this price point and accessibility there is no reason your backyard BBQs should be less than stellar this season.

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After I ate until I couldn’t eat anymore, and then still snuck in a little more I headed back home. What a delightful Spring luncheon with some fabulous ladies. Thank you Momtrends, Aladdin and Party BluPrints for a great afternoon!

Aladdin-Mason-Entertaining-Collection

All images courtesy of Bellamy Blue Photography

I was provided compensation to facilitate this post. All opinions are mine….you already know!

Grout Renew
DIY

Bye Dirty Grout + My Lofty DIY Laundry Room To Do List

For someone who loves a good Rehab Addict marathon, and gets anxious about trying DIY projects I have had a hard time seeing past that nasty grout in the laundry room. DIS.GUSTING.

I’m thinking did the people who lived here previously ever mop the floor. I’ve scrubbed, I’ve probably tried every clean grout solution I could find on Pinterest to later come to the conclusion that  below the filth  the actual grout color was dark to begin with.

Ugh.

Laundry Room Makeover

In an identical wrath of fury, as demonstrated previously regarding the burgundy wall in the kitchen.  Friday evening I set about getting this grout together.  On one of the many posts I have written complaining about the grout a few folks reached out to me and suggested I try something called Grout Renew that I had also seen on Young House Love. $11? Sign me up.

It worked. IT WORKED!!!!!

However, let me not let my overwhelming joy leave you in the dark. The process is long and tedious. See that toothbrush peeking out at the bottom. Yep, that is how you have to apply it to the grout and then meticulously follow behind with a wet cloth to remove the excess from the tile. It’ll be a minute before I finish but my goal is a few squares a day.

Per the bottle I was supposed to scrub the floor really good with some special cleaner that I purchased. After reading other reviews I decided the $12 I spent on that would be better placed somewhere else so I just swept and mopped the floor really good before starting.

Grout Renew

 

Grout Renew

So now that I am back on the ball of getting these little projects done around here, I thought I would do a little list like others I’ve seen around the blogosphere. Every time I COMPLETE a task I’ll cross it off. Somebody keep me motivated.

Finish renewing the grout

Hang art and drying rack on the wall

Clean out and paint both closets

Organize cleaned and painted closets

Clean out and organize cabinet under the sink

Deep clean and dust the baseboards

Touch up wall color and trim paint

Paint over Addison’s artwork on my cabinet drawer

Put drawer pulls on

Put flowers on sink

DIY or purchase a blind for the window

Attach wallpaper to open shelving

I just released the longest sigh ever but the journey of a thousand steps started with just one………..is that how it goes?

I’ll update you on each item on this list once it is complete with a little sneak peek and hopefully before Christmas I’ll do a full reveal.

Has anyone seen that new show on HGTV called Fixer Upper? Loooooove that show. Maybe if I was doing less watching and more doing….nevermind.

What home improvement projects are you working on? Please feel free to send your well wishes in the comment section, I need them.

Don’t forget to enter the HTC One Max Smartphone giveaway if you haven’t already

DIY Gardening

Container Gardening Plans

Peeks of Spring have been playing mind tricks on us here in the Atlanta area. Days warming into the near 70s followed by dreadful 40s the next. While Mother Nature is being a little schizo, the truth of the matter is Spring will eventually come and it has me thinking about the plans for my very first garden.

I truly don’t know where to start, but reinventing the wheel is never a good thing so I have decided to use the planters that are already attached to the deck as the home for my herbs.

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There are five of these planters in total attached to various sides of the deck. Not sure right now if they will all have herbs or if I will try to plant strawberries in some like the photo below.

hanging strawberries

Here’s another inspiration photo of  what I see for the space. I want to have a chair and table and wind chimes out there. Can you tell I’m nearing 40!!

container garden

While I’m still uncertain about some of the logistics, I do know that I will forgo digging actual beds in exchange for container and box planting, at least for this season. This is the space where they will go.

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The bare tree is a Crepe Myrtle and is so pretty bloomed. I hope it doesn’t provide too much shade. We shall see. As you can tell no grass grows there so I think the boxes, planters and containers will be perfect for prettying up the space.

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Somebody…read not me, with extra thick gloves and good intentions will need to go in and clear out those rose bushes. They bloomed last year and were so pretty but they are too far gone and I have no idea how to keep them so they must go. Besides they are thorny and hurt and I don’t like the kids getting too close.

…and while whomever is out there digging up those rose bushes, I’m thinking they will need to repair the deck as well *adds to honey do list* I’m bossy!

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Have you ever planted a garden? Do you have any tips for me?