Book Room, Part II

Project Time! 
... AND PROJECT UPDATE!

So a couple weekends ago, we got the first part of the mini library completed: the large bookshelf. It wasn't necessarily a complicated process; I'd call it more time consuming that "difficult." Not a bad problem for a DIY project. 

Yesterday afternoon, between the morning & afternoon visits with my cousin, Rob and I made a trip to pick up the lumber needed for the reading bench. The original plan was to go ahead and get the second bookshelf materials as well, but well.. things happen and you decide that you don't really wanna do it just then and so you don't. And so we didn't. Meh. Another day. 

So today, we did church and then a much-needed and much-loved lunch outing with the Ricks and Costanzas, before coming back home to tackle the bench. Rob assisted me with some of the sawing [I could use that thing every day and still manage to cut off something that isn't lumber...], and then I hauled the cuts upstairs to build the bench.

First things first: baseboard removal. Somuchfun.

It's a box. I built a box. Not super complicated, but again - time consuming. Especially when you decide you're going to make pocket screws, sans kreg jig or any other foreseeable solution outside of winging it. I'm good at that, so it worked out :). 

Here's the before: 

freshly vacuumed :) 

a box & some suuuper pretty "pocket screws" [haha]

Rob has relentlessly teased me about my plans to make this thing sturdy enough to support half the house, and well, he's not wrong, and in the event that it does need to support half the house, well, WE'RE GOOD HERE. :D 

Anyway, fast forward a couple hours, a couple drill batteries and several stripped-out screws later... 

final touches: hinges and hatch opening!

And thennnnn: 

ta-da! 

because i'm not about wasting space... 

She's done! 

phase 2!
... of... 4, i think. 

So if you can picture a smaller white bookshelf (to match the existing one) situated in front of and of the same height as the bench, then you've seen the next step. I'll add a bunch of memory foam and cool pillows+blankets+comfy shtuff on top of that & it'll probably be my new favorite place in the entire house. 

Also, YAY for not having to paint ANY of this so far. While I don't like cutting corners, I also don't like creating unnecessary work for myself. Everybody wins. 

Oh, and if you had no reason to turn your clocks forward today - or if you're among the rare who don't have a cell phone that automatically updates, well.. make sure you do that before tomorrow morning :). 

Here's to another solid week! 

Cheers,

xo | cms

Mangos, Maricor & Macarons

My wonderful cousin was in town today for work. She made it a point to see me before and after, and I feel so loved for that.

We started the day with brunch at First Watch, complete with morning tonics [and no, not alcoholic].

good morning tonics! 

We went our separate was after that; I had the day at my disposal; fortunately I have a husband who obliges my unplanned requests to go lumber shopping in the middle of the day. I've had my written plans in place for a couple weeks now and continuing the mini library upstairs, and am so thankful that he goes along with these things. I don't know how I got so lucky... even if we both decided halfway through circling laps through Lowe's that we didn't feel like getting the entire sum of material we'd originally planned. This would do for now.

gosh. i love him.

Our DIY plans fizzled as soon as we got home from Lowe's, when we both looked at each other and admitted neither felt like starting on that specific project. Rob's been working on a motor rebuild, and I owed it to him to have time for that, instead of hoarding him to help me build a bench. I took the opportunity to run a couple errands.. and some other unplanned stops:

i will pencil this place into any agenda... and on any day. 

Macarons are kinda sorta YES and ABSOLUTELY YES in my book. I was craving some blackcurrant today, and of course one thing led to another and well..

blackcurrant

*Sigh.

i'll just take 1.
..... pair of boxes.... please. 

I circled back home, relaxed for a couple hours while I waited for Maricor to wrap up at work. She eventually finished, and Rob and I met her at Chuy's for dinner. If there's anything I'd ever wish in an imperfect world, it would be that all my favorite people lived closer. 

♥

Our first HOUR was spent waiting past other parties who'd arrived long after us, and we were a little skeptical on how the rest of the evening would fare in terms of service. We were proven so wrong, so quickly, by the awesome server named Bobby, who not only made us smile every time he came by, but gifted us a free sopapilla at the conclusion of dinner.

If it's possible to have a spirit animal for a night, well.. Bobby... ya nailed it.

sopapillas = divertidas ;) 

I couldn't have asked for a better self-paced Saturday, except for maybe one including Sydni. Next weekend, though. Next weekend. 

For now, we're fed, happy and calling it a night. 

Happy Saturday! 

xo | cms

Songs & Shelves!

Happy Sunday! 

Today really was a beautiful day, both inside and outside. Nobody's really sure what the midwest wants to do when it comes to weather, but today provided some much needed sunshine and chirpy birds to make up for the mini blizzard that rolled through yesterday.  

Our day began with worship, which, if I'm being honest, I could use every day. I took some time specifically today to give thanks for the praise and worship team that "adopted" me with open arms and has welcomed me as now a core member in our growth as a team. As with any ministry that truly speaks to the individual, I am so overwhelmed by just how at home I feel with them, each week as we support each other and lead our growing church plant in worship. 

And it's fun, too ;) 

silly rehearsal times

( But serious, when we need to be....)

lost in worship with this incredible, incredible team
photo cred: my awesome husband ♥

 And after church, I was feeling happy, and sunshiney, and flowy [the latter based on the hair I so. desperately. need. to cut...]. Either way, today really was a day of mental and bodily rejuvenation, and I was happy to soak it in.

happy :)

"SUNDAY IS A DAY OF REST!" is what I swear I heard in my ear every hour as Rob and I dove into a project we've [I've] been talking about for weeks. I've been chronicling in recent posts the growing collection of pretty spines [aka books] and wimsy little Funkos that have begun piling atop the mantle in our living. For fear that I'd come home one day to find the shelf broken off the wall - which Rob has assured me is quite unlikely to happen, I decided that in addition to the book nook I've been scheming for the upstairs room, there would be a bookshelf to accompany it.

And that birthed today's project: #StokesShelfie.
I gave it a hashtag because I'm that person, who will forever reference this and all book-related projects in my home with hashtag vernacular. Or maybe worse. #WHOKNOWS.
Rest in peace, pound sign. 

ANYWAY:

before [& yes, those are 2 separate shots, 2 separate angles]

I'll skip the boring part where Rob and I marched back and forth across Home Depot for 45 minutes debating on the best and most cost-efficient material for this. We eventually settled on primered boards, which meant no pre-painting on our end. WOO!

frame!

From there, it was Rob and his table saw, and me with a drill and chair because I'm too short for just about everything.

sectioned :)

 And then the fun part:

....aaaaand ONE. 

 And two, and three, and four......

And then FINALLY:  

done! done done done. 

Rob went back to the garage to continue hounding away at the motor he's been working on, and I took to re-homing a portion of my new shelf's inhabitants. It's late and I'm tired, so the rest will have to wait for another day.

It's still pretty awesome - I couldn't have done this without my super awesome husband's help; I am in LOVE with this [and him, duh].

#shelfie!

Phewww.
Gooood night, blogbots!

xo | cms

Dogs & Paint

Youuuuuu guyyyyysss.

I walked into church today, and aside from the greeter outside on the sidewalk, the very first welcome we received was from this girl: 

[this picture was after the service, though ;)]

Ya'll. My church has a DOG now, who attends regularly. I would've known this three weeks ago probably, but our annual stint of weekend travel for the holidays has kept us out of our home church for far too long. Somewhere in the middle of our absence, this sweet girl starting attending with her human, and I hear she's going to be a regular. Her name is Sadie, and she is a therapy dog [not to be confused with service dog], and she will sit with you until you are smiling, because that is her day job. And I need a dog like this to sit at my desk and stare at me all day long Monday through Friday until I am doing nothing but smiling, petting said dog and avoiding real life responsibilities.

Is that too much to ask?! ;) 

Seriously. The sun has been MIA pretty much this entire year so far, with the exception maybe of like one or two days, and we've been feeling the effects of this no-sun spell. Everything outside feels like it's the same color, and finding motivation to be productive doesn't come as easily as it usually does when there's nice vitamin D streaming through the house. 

So sunny little Sadie was my much-needed pick-me-up today, and gave me a little extra boost on top of Pastor Chad's message, to go home and do the painting we didn't do yesterday. 

Yes, painting. Our living room. We thought we'd wait at least a year to paint the thing [ok, so it wasn't planned, but we were a little busy last year...]. 

before 

Literally, white walls everywhere in this house. We've determined some of the previous colors, usually by accident; the last paint jobs are still hanging out in patches underneath the outlet and lightswitch covers, and in the tippy toppy corners of the room where the Kilz didn't reach. 

and paiiiinting... and paaaainting.. 

I'll get the finished pictures up once this room is said and done, but hey, progress is progress, right? :D

It's enough for tonight though; tomorrow starts the work day and the work week, and back to it we'll go. G'Nite! 

xo | cms 

Hide & Seek: The Silver Lining on a Monday

I was not overly impressed by how the work day ended. It's an ongoing plight, really; I struggle more than I'd like to admit on days like this, to convince myself that I'm not operating like someone who hasn't resigned herself to the path of someone who's blinding circling around in Einstein's definition of insanity. It just.. today was not the best day I've had recently. 

But it's okay, because ya know what? It wasn't the worst, either.

There's a silver lining in everything, I'm certain of it. Plus, I'm a firm believer that where there are valleys and unfruitful seasons, that they only exist because there are mountain tops and bountiful spans to contrast [and vice versa, obviously]. But seriously. Today was a wash; I'm letting it go.

my friends.... 

Tonight was different. I'm among the lucky to have my best friend by my side through thick, thin and days like this that otherwise make me question myself. As we continued on with the project in Sydni's room, we talked. We talked, and talked, and talked. We didn't have phones out. We just... worked and talked. It was relaxing, but above that, made me realize that I owe so much more for the gift of him and the rest of my mini clan of friends & family than I could give.

amazed by this guy!

Speaking of our quality time, this guy impresses me every day with his ability to do something he's never done before - in this case, building a loft bed fit for an almost-7-year-old and an adult or two if needed. He is patient, understanding and confident that if he doesn't know something, he will figure it out and make it work. #bragmoments♥

Tomorrow, we paint! Sydni's room is nearing completion, and I can't wait. In time.. in time. We're on a roll though and I see no signs of stopping, until it's done.

See ya next time, blogbots - it's gonna be a long day tomorrow, I'm sure.

xo | cmd

Change of Address: Home Lowkea's

Of the list of 74983269382156932 things that aren't in the You Just Bought This House Now Guess WHAT manual:

Your new secondary address will be Home Depot.
(Or Lowe's. Or Ikea)((Yes, to all the above.))

No? Am I the only one?

We moved into this place at the end of February/early March and up until a few weeks back, all things house-ish have been sidled away to the back burner, as we worked our way through family gatherings, out of town weddings & birthdays and Sydni's school/extracurricular activities. 

But NOW... after my experience yesterday painting the office, and how I felt when it was all said and done, I'm hooked. Poor Rob, if by nothing other than proxy, is too. Though really, for him I'm sure it started back when he backed the new mower off the trailer in our driveway and took Sydni on a joy ride around the yard to create crop circles. 

Today, it was church first, then a beeline to Ikea. Yes, on purpose. 

rollup mattress? yes, i'll take one thanks. 

^^ Syd's bedroom is going to come together this week if it kills me. I've committed to it, and there's no turning back now. 

As if Ikea wasn't enough for 2 hours, Home Depot came in at a close second just under another 2 hours: 

.... and other things paint, home, DIY [keyword,keyword,keyword...]

After a fruitless search for curtain tie backs at Home Depot, I finally hunted some down at Lowe's that would suffice for the master bedroom, and then it was back to the mothership to install, apply and otherwise use everything that came home in bags with us. 

Home Lowkea's is the only accurate way I can describe the secondary address that should go on all my formal documents until this house is complete - so like, at least the next 2 years. Can I do that, just temporarily? 

It's work it, though - check out the progress on mini-me's hideaway! 

loft bed, comin' up! 

Anyway, it's not a lot of excitement for a Sunday, I know, and I'm laughing that wry, sad laugh inwardly a little at the fact that my Sunday diatribes in my adult life reflect a day hunting down paint and curtain rods, instead of nursing random and mysterious after-effects of a Saturday night gone rogue. It's whatev', though. I'm pretty happy with the course I've found.

Ying & Yang here [aka S&S Pibble] are pretty pleased too, especially since their Big Barker has been upgraded from the living room to the bedroom. Spoiled.. 

Happy Sunday! 

xo | cmd 

4% Complete!

I'm not sure if saying 4% is conservative or generous in this case, but let's go with it.

Here's a dark picture of the office as the first finished coat lay to dry. This gets credit for Saturday, because it was about 1am today when I finished...

1am.

pre-sleep, 1am... *yawn

And then I went to bed to let the moon do its thing and wait for the sun to rise.

When I finally did roll back out of bed, it was to the tune of brunch with Becky & Will at a place none of us had previously been: Plain Folk Cafe!

plain folk cafe! 

why have i never been here before!?

i mean..... ♥

The fact that Becky and I arrived at not only a decision, but the destination, within a humanly-reasonable space of time from the birth of the idea to go eat, is a marvel in itself. The fact that we only had to go to one place, and not a venue-hopping endeavor to get it right, is another. That the food, vibe & venue itself was awesome?! That's deserves a gold sticker, plastic trophy, honorable mention in the school newspaper... ya know, whatever's available. This is a rare one, folks.

After brunch, I parted ways with B&W, took a deep breath and steered off in the direction of West Chester - Ikea, specifically.

On purpose.

I know. Nobody needs anything from Ikea, but I've come to the juncture of home-remodeling that I've now convinced myself that I do in fact, need some select things. I'm still not sure if I'm validated or if I've just brainwashed myself as a distraction from the inevitable swarms of other Ikea-goers on a Saturday, but it makes the trip easier. On top of that, I've now memorized some of the shortcuts through the place: you know, the ones that sometimes look at first glance like they're just, I dunno.. a wall, but it's actually an Ikea door [that they sell, somewhere 2 miles away in the store] disguised as a wall, that saves you 25 minutes of meandering through the dining room section and spits you out instead right in the middle of the customizable shelving options? All.. 479392874932809 of those options? Yeah, those shortcuts. I know 'em. muahaha.

So yeah, in less than an hour inside the store, I'd retrieved everything I needed from the Marketplace section, navigated to the each of the aisle/bin locations to lumber the bigger items onto one of those wheely cart things [I'm not a slight frame by any means, but let's face it, I know I looked like a seal wrangling an oak tree on a couple of those instances; it was neither graceful, nor did I care], and had processed through the check out line. Another thumbs up sticker on my chart for the day, hey hey!

Rob arrived home late in the evening, after the outing to Detroit with Kenny & Chad to retrieve Kennys' new[ish] boat, and congratulated me on the completion of our office space. Specific congrats were welcomed for now putting the dogs on Craigslist for walking through the paint trays on more than one occasion, and for my not falling off any ladders or painting the ceiling. #FORTHEWIN!

Rob says he needs to go out of town more often, and see what else gets done while he's gone.
Well....... haha.
Jk.

xo | cmd

Gray. And Dante Basco.

I'd thought about asking Rob if we could take a walk, or hike or something otherwise outdoor and adventurous after work today, but I realized somewhere around the mid afternoon that the day had changed its mind somewhere in the midst of me burying myself brain deep in the task at hand. 

So, instead of the brisk yet sunny day we had yesterday, this was the tone for the afternoon and evening:

I mean... it could've absolutely been worse, so I'll take it for what it's worth and be thankful we weren't wading around in snow this evening. :)

Instead of an urban outdoor outing, we settled for a night in, complete with a tinkering session that resulted in my broken hairdryer being reincarnated into a parts mashup to fix a heat gun. Soundtrack? Well, that one was an obvious: 

guess the movie? 

[P.S. - If you don't know that immediately, well, you're missing out!]

Time to call it a night for now.. this girl's a tired ol' thing tonight.. :) 

xo | cmd

Quick Visits with Nana & Pappy!

It was a muggy morning as we headed off to church, but the blessings for the effort came tenfold as we sat and let Pastor Chad feed us the message of the day. We continued through the life stories laid out in the book of Genesis, this time focusing on Jacob and his brother Esau. As I sat in the sanctuary with Rob, I let the moments of humility take over me, through the life lessons absorbed by Jacob.

After church, Rob and I headed home, where we did what Sundays declare: Relax. It wasn't much, but at the same time it was everything. We curled up together in the corner of the couch like we usually do, and just sat.. together. I said a prayer of unfiltered gratitude for the 'here and now' that was a stark  contrast to the 'then and there' this same time last week. My best friend should be in much rougher condition right now, but he isn't and there's no one to thank for that other than the one who made us all in the first place.

In a couple hours, my parents and Sydni pulled up to the house; Sydni came bursting in with a tupperware container filled with two rocks: one big and one small. The big one was painted with a flower, which was for Rob and me, and other, with a red and yellow "rainbow," for her. We said our formalities and visited for a few brief moments before we were out the door lunch at Fire House.

My family cracks me up. First, my dad and Sydni, dueling it out over lunch with their thumb wars. Sydni's starting to learn and apply new strategies to try and beat everyone; she's a crafty little thing!!

it's all out war! 

Hahaha. THEN, there's my mom, who brought along pictures from their mini getaway, but for some reason also brought with her some gems she resurrected from the archives of her in her 30's. I hate to say it, but blonde just wasn't your color, Mama. She agrees with me, but regardless, my mama was a babe! Haha..

then & now! :) 

As encouragement for her to get back in and stay in the water, Nana & Pappy got Sydni some new eyewear:

this chick... hahaha

It's been storming on and off all day, and although it was a downpour when we got to the restaurant, it stopped by the time we were finished. Mom and Dad headed their separate way, and we journied on home for an evening of catch up after Syd's vacation up in the Vern.

I spent a small part of the evening doing some meal prep for the week, which relaxes my mind in the present and gives me the assurance that we're both eating well throughout the week, too.

nommmssss

all packed up & ready to go! 

It wasn't long until the boxes from the smoker turned themselves into a "house," and then that house somehow merged with another box and became a bigger house, complete with curtains and a window.

These are the things I miss when she's not here, and these are the things that that I needed more than I realized, especially after the events of last week and the recovery from them throughout this week.

We're home :)

xo | cmd

The Busiest Non-Busy Saturday...

Well, I'd say that over 75% of the day today was spent at the house, but looking back at the past 12 hours, it was anything but lame.

First things first, breakfast - the timeless classic that  my mom made for us growing up: Cream of Buckwheat. Sounds weird, but don't knock it til you try it. :) 

nommmmmm.... :) 

Once breakfast was off the list, we made an attempt to gather our thoughts for how we'd take advantage of the day [which was beautiful, btw]. We settled on some necessity things, which turned out to be a perfect way to spend it.

Sydni was ready to go: 

i just... i can't. i love this so much. 

Item 1: Poor Subie. She's been singing the infirmary song of her people for a couple weeks now: her rear brakes are going bad and a couple weeks back, we drilled a pothole in the never-ending field of them en route to Milford. My fiance, being the stand up guy that he is, ushered in the assistance of his contacts at the tire repair shop, where we left Subie for the better half of the morning.

In the interim, we made our way to Oakley: Michael's and lunch. I can't spill all the beans now [since I know this page is frequented by a certain someone whose birthday may or may not, but in this case may be approaching in like... 4 days or so], but the Michael's mission was a success!

Lunch at Which Wich afterwards wasn't a shabby experience, either: I always enjoy showing new dives to Rob & Syd. 

love at which wich!

Back at home, Rob set out on the second half of his quest to fix my car, while I set to work on my.... "project(s)." I suppose I'll leave you with one small spoiler for now, but that's it!

that's all you get [for now!]

The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out together as a family, doing our own separate tasks, but there together. Sydni made a little flower garden and some mud pies, Rob changed my brakes and fixed Subie's squeaky hubcap, and I was able to finish the craft tasks on my list. We all had our hands busy, but were all within earshot of each other and free from the distractions of technology for the afternoon. It was beautiful! 

Evening eventually found us, which meant dinner... which I was bound and determined to make healthy for us: 

salad salad salaaaaad

And yes, I count it as a monumental life victory that my kid will eat salad without protest. I don't have this whole parenting thing down to a science yet, but it's small things like this that remind me we're doing something right :) 

Goodnight, blogbots! 

xo | cmd