Using What You Got- In the Basement

As you may already know, last year our basement flooded and we had to rip everything out down to the studs.  We are waiting until we can save up enough to fix it, so for now we are just living with it as is.  We use it mainly for storage since we don't have a garage.  Our house is a split level house, so as soon as you walk in the front door you can go up or down.  Until now we didn't have a door to separate the downstairs, so as soon as you walked in you could smell the basement-y smell.  It didn't smell horrible but it did smell basement-y.  And when you looked down the steps you could see the hot mess we call our basement.  I had contacted a couple contractors to see if they could put up a new door, but bids were crazy high.  We had saved the doors from the bedrooms (which we had replaced with french doors) and I was hopeful they would work.  They ended up being too small and I was resigning myself to just live with the basement no-door situation.  Until I remembered we had an antique door as a decor item in the spare bedroom. Guess what?  It just happened to be the perfect size.  The. Perfect. Size!  Hubby installed it and I just need to add a doorknob.  For now we can pull it open without a knob.  So we solved our door problem without spending a dime.  Its amazing what you find when you actually take the time to look!  We still have to pull up the vinyl flooring directly at the bottom of the stairs, but as of right now its looking a world better. 

Repurposing and Decorating

We got rid of our king size bed (the frame was cracked and kept falling and the mattress was old and bumpy) but I couldnt bear to throw away the perfectly good wood slats from the frame.  For a while they sat in the closet until an idea popped into my head.

  Our hallway has been pretty non-exciting as many hallways are.  The light fixture was loose and didnt work.  Sometimes you could slam your fist on the wall and the light would come on for a few seconds.  haha.  I thought I could use the bed slats nailed to the wall as a board and batten style hallway.  One day while hubby was at work I measured and nailed the slats to the wall.  We bought a couple pieces of trim from Home Depot for a railing and Hubby cut them to the correct lengths.  I painted from the railing down a fresh coat of white, and grey above.  One sunny day Hubby fixed the light (we had to wait for sun so he could see what he was doing after we turned off the breaker).  I still have to repaint the french doors white but the hallway is looking soo much better!  We had some old window panes in the basement so I added hooks and hung them.
 

For the entire project we only had to buy the couple pieces of trim for the railing.  We already had the paint, and the slats were free obviously!  I still have another set of the slats which I need to find something to turn them into.  What do you think about our hallway mini makeover?

A Green, clean kitchen, Pink Hydrangeas and Blue Eggs

We continue noticing colors around Victory Garden Farm. This week I have vowed to keep the kitchen clean, and the counters as clear as possible. The mixer stays on the counter, covered by an antique needlepoint from Pella, Iowa. The coffee corner stays and the rest of the counters are just that. It is so refreshing to have a clean kitchen!

Hubby surprised me tonight by bringing home flowers...of the potted variety. He knows I love hydrangeas and he brought home four new plants! Two of them are blue and are already planted in the ground. The remaining two are pink, and I think they will be exchanged tomorrow for blue plants. The pink is a bit much.

We have been getting 1 blue egg a day. Today we had a total of 13 chicken eggs! The blue is really obvious when you see the eggs in person. The pictures dont show the true color difference.

We were hit with a big storm this weekend, and although muddy, we cant complain too much. There was a tornado semi-nearby so things could have been a lot worse. The radio was telling our area to take cover until the danger was passed. So I baked a cake instead...while the mixer had power.

Today was gorgeous and we got to work outside. I had a new friend over to the house along with her two girls. Watching the girls amazement at all the animals made me smile. We are expecting more thunderstorms tonight and tomorrow. I will enjoy the time to hunker down and knit or spin.

new old treasures

Today was an inside day. One of the coldest weekends on record. When I left for work the truck's temperature gauge measured 11. I thought it would adjust as the truck warmed up. It adjusted down. To 10 degrees. Yikes! After work, hubby and I worked lots on the kitchen! Hubby cut brick down to the random sizes we needed. I glued them in place and he started morter-ing the inbetweens. We took a break to watch a few episodes of The Office, our current netflix phase. Back to the kitchen, to install lighting in the cabinets, just waiting on the glass shelves now. All thats left in the kitchen is to finish morter-ing (which will take a while) and put everything back. The end is in sight.

Today was also a great day for antiques. One of the antique stores I love in Frederick, had a gorgeous lime green quilt for sale. It is super old, good condition, but out of our price range. Every time I think of quilts, I now picture this one. I was sad that we couldnt afford it, when I remembered that I had Christmas money put away in the safe. Out came the money (thanks Tom and Joyce) and home came the quilt. Hooray! It is now draped across the chair in my knitting room until it finds a permanent home. Speaking of antiques, I inherited a few pieces of transferware. Love! Some of the plates date back to 1848. I love anything old with a story. As I sit under my lime green quilt, I like to picture the people who have shared the quilt before me. As I look at my new blue plates, I like to think of who has enjoyed them. 1848 is a long time ago. More than a few generations. Both the china and the quilt must have been loved or they would not be here today. I too will continue in the tradition of loving and caring for them. Its not just "stuff", this is history! Now I have to figure out how to display the china on the wall (higher than little hands can reach). What do you think about my "mock display"?

Welcome Christmas