Thursday, January 24, 2013

Upgrades To Your Abode?

Upgrades To Your Abode? 

If you had plenty of disposable income, what ONE change would you LOVE to make to your home? I know what mine would be! Mine would be to rip up this carpet on our staircase and install wood stairs. Then I'd like to change up the railing so the wood matches the hardwood flooring. 


 
We had pine flooring when we moved in and upgraded to a dark wood floor and the difference between the staircase railing  and the floor drives me bonkers. It's one of those things you notice, or I should say I notice every time i go up or down the stairs. Funny thing is - over the weekend I was trying to count the number of times I use the stairs and I lost count. So this is one of those things we will definitely change one day. For now, it's good to have carpet b/c we have a fairly new walker in the house and he's learning just how to use the stairs. So until the kiddos get a little better, we'll have a mismatched foyer. I really can't complain though because our house has come a looooong way in just the last 5 years. 


I'll eventually take on this challenge and try to come up with a reasonable way to update the stairs without spending a fortune! I would LOVE to do wood stairs with some sort of awesome,fresh runner up and down the middle of the stairs! Can't wait until the day I can share this project but I think it will be a big undertaking. For now my excuse not to attempt it is the kids! 

One of these days though, one of these days!  I would love to hear what you would change about YOUR house! 


For fun, simple reasonable DIY home decor ideas come visit www.keepitsimpleyay.blogspot.com











Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Covering A Pocket Calendar For Fun!

What is up? How are you in this new year? I sure hope good! Things are good on this end. This year I'm trying to keep up a lot of good habits I have started and so far it's going really well!

Do you use calendars? What kind do you use? I used to use a Franklin Covey Day Planner and swore by it. I still love those but now I have a big desk calendar at work that has slots for each family member and I use a little pocket calendar that I carry in my hands free crossbody purse in case anything comes up. No, we still do not own smart phones so I do use a pocket calendar. DORKY but it works for me.

As far as pocket calendars, I love the blocked off monthly format where you can see everything laid out for each day. I personally think the stores had slim pickings for the design of the calendars. I'm not a fan for cutesy,  scenery, or themed pictures but I wound up buying one and covering it so it was more sleek. Sleek. That is funny. Being a mom of two, nothing I own is sleek but hey, it's fun to imagine!

The BEFORE - not so bad but just not quite what I wanted.







I used this roll of zebra print contact shelf lining paper I picked up at Wal-Mart a few months back...







I think it turned out nicely. This pattern is a fun one! What an easy way to change something to put a smile on your face!