DIY envy!

Happy Monday! It's sunny and warm and beginning to look and feel like spring has officially sprung!

I am making frequent stops to my booth at Not So Shabby and it seems like every time I fill it, I need to make another restocking trip. It's a great problem to have and it makes me look forward to garage/estate sale season!

We didn't hit many sales last year, but this year I am anxious to see what I can find!

Ken and I elected not to participate in Zeeland's annual amazing upcoming Peddler's Market. We've participated since the beginning but will sit this one out in order to make sure our focus is on Kennedy and her graduation. We hope to be back at it for the fall market. 

Check out the new library table I just brought in. It actually extends for more seating and is painted a soft white. $225 I'm slowly getting rid of my door, shutter and window collection. So look for more of those architectural salvage items in the weeks to come.

 Last week, I had a crazy sign making week. It felt good to get last week's orders finished after putting in almost two solid days of cutting, painting and stenciling. Here are a couple I can show you. The others are gifts and I have to let some time pass before I post, so I don't ruin the surprise. 

 Last Friday, my Mom and I made a road trip to the east side of the state where she was raised. We spent some time sorting through and cleaning the house where she used to live. My Grandma no longer lives there, but as you can see, had some pretty bold taste in the 1970's when this wallpaper was hung. I told Mom to leave it as when they list it as someone might appreciate the mid-century modern vibe of the cabinets and furniture in adjacent rooms. Go Grandma! 

And last but certainly not least, I got a text update from a wonderful couple that has hired me for some direction a few times when looking to update some interior spaces. When I first met them, we worked on a sunroom/dining area and new paint colors for some rooms. This last time, was a kid's bath remodel now that the kids are no longer living at home. 

I love these people!! Lou and Lisa...you are so fun to work with and have incredible taste and DIY skills!! 

 I take very little credit for this project. We met on site several months ago, they asked a few questions, we met again for tile selections and confirmation on vanity and wall treatments and away they went. 
Fast forward to yesterday when I received these pics texted to me. I asked for permission to blog about them because they did ALL the demo work, tile installation, flooring, painting and accessorizing. I told them to look out, because after seeing these pics, people will inquire if they're available for hire!


They wanted to incorporate subway tile somehow, and I suggested doing an entire wall of it to really offset the beautiful texture and rustic nature of the vanity. The flooring is actually tile, not wood and we used 12x24 rectangular tiles from Duca for the tub surround. 
The vanity and matching mirror were ordered from Williams Kitchen and Bath.

Hoping to have some graduation party ideas up next as this is where my head is at these days. I think I made it through last week only having cried twice about her leaving. Maybe I'll be all cried out come August. :) See you back here soon. 

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SB-2K16!

Happy Monday! I just returned to chilly Michigan from a week in sunny Florida and I must say my mind and my body is having a hard time adjusting today.  I am trying to be super productive, but according to my last week's beach schedule, it's 5:00 somewhere and I'm supposed to be at happy hour with friends in the sand! :)

In spite of spring's late arrival to the cold windy mitten, I am happy to be home and have lined up all kinds of projects and new clients which is always rejuvenating for me. 

Here are a few snapshots of the last spring break our family will have together as this Senior trip marked Kennedy's last spring vacation with us before she starts college out in Azusa California in the fall. 

(Don't get me going...I already cried twice today about it). 

We strongly sense this is God's will for her but that doesn't make good-bye any easier....it does in the sense that we feel at peace about it, but it doesn't, in the sense, we are grieving the end of a precious season we had together in life.

Many of you have done this before, and I know I will survive it!

Brecken, her best friend, Emerson and Kennedy

 Here they are again, somewhere near Tennessee where I made them take cover in a rest area after our phones alerted us to a tornado warning. Can you tell, they are NOT too happy with me. 

We finally made it after driving through the night in some torrential rainstorms and lots of weather alerts to danger. 

 It was well worth it to find our rental cottage just as charming as it was presented in pics.
We rented through "Home Away" and I highly recommend "The Blue Water Cottage" in Madeira Beach. The owner didn't miss a trick. It was fully stocked and furnished with everything you could need for a week on the beach. I couldn't resist showing you the small, but quaint, darling rooms and decor.

 This table was a brilliant idea. It was the perfect scale for this side of the kitchen and made of a resin type of material that held up under lots of use!

 Decent sized living area with flat screen and lots of natural light which I loved!

 This was the front porch that we transitioned into Brecken and Emmy's bedroom for the week. Pull out sofa bed and lots of space for them to spread out their junk! I didn't capture a pic of it, but the opposite wall had a console with another flat screen tv!

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The artwork was so beachy, but not in a cheesy Florida condo kind of way! (you know what I mean):)

This storage ottoman seemed risky for a rental (made of a linen fabric with lots of tufting for sand and dirt to sit) but we took good care of it and it stored lots of extra blankets and sheets. You could tell the built in's were original. The owner said this place was nearly a tear down but they rescued it last year and gutted most of it to begin again.

 Our bedroom with king sized bed, which was so comfortable that coming home to my own was nearly torture! I will be going out to Target this week to buy a new pillow topper for my own king. 

 This was the one draw back-a tiny bath for four girls and one dad to share. :) Marble topped counter wasn't the smartest choice in my book either-up close you could see water rings from where former renters left drinking cups and toothpaste marks. 

 The galley kitchen was super spacious and even came equipped with a washer and dryer!

When we weren't spending time in the beach house, 

 We did lots of this:

 and this:

And this: (yes, that's a virgin Pina Colada)! 

And this: Eating seafood and enjoying lots of water views:

 and this: 
(lots of bonding time in the silver mini-van!)

 All in all, it was a great way to celebrate the beginning of the end of the 'family years' for us. Next up, trying to plan Kennedy's open house for the end of May without Ken and I killing each other over home improvement projects that need to be addressed before then. 
Stay tuned. :)

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When Life gives you Lemmen's, you're blessed.

Hope you had an amazing resurrection weekend!! We got to spend some brief time with my parents, sisters and their kids (minus Holly who wasn't feeling well and Alex who was in Cleveland with his girlfriend-turned fiance's family!

We were so excited and surprised while facetime-ing he and Carolyn (who I absolutely adore, btw) when they randomly showed us this:

Praise for a God who could create two amazingly similar souls and bring them together in this great big world. I'm still blown away. I've always claimed Alex as my first born son and now I'm claiming her as my daughter-n-law! ( My sister's Lo and Cherie have always been so gracious to share their children with me). :)

Here's the motley crew after a whirlwind of an egg hunt. 

We also got to spend time this past weekend with our former neighbors Doug and Jackie Lemmen who lived next door to us when we built our first house in Greystone. 

We love those two and felt like such kindred spirits when we moved there. Doug and Ken loved to talk sports and wood-working (still do) and Jackie and I just love to talk about our families. Even though it's been over 10 years already since we've lived there, we can pick up right where we left off every time we see them.

I spent most of the night snapping pics on my phone of all of Dougie's creations over the last recent years. 

He spotted me doing that and asked "Boev, what's with all the pics"? I told him there were some blog readers who absolutely HAD to see his work. Some day when he retires from his successful career with Pepsi, he will become a part time artisan doing what he loves which is this:

 He planed and cut different species of wood, and had DeLeuw Lumber cut the MI outline. Beautiful!
Below, wood salvage that used to hold keys at their cottage that now holds his medals from running road races. Which i would've thought of this idea before I threw away all my medals a few weeks ago. "Yeep!" as my girls would say, which in teen speak, I think means "yikes"!

 Pallet wood wall with wood bar collaged with collectibles and meaningful memorabilia.

 Handcrafted table against vertical pallet wood which he had planed down to be all the same depth.

 Hand made pine island top stained dark ebony:

 Pallet coffee table urethaned for protection:
I thought this was soooo cool! Using left over and newly cut wood chunks to frame them as artwork!
 Ken has so many scrap pieces-I want to experiment with this! 

 Pallet wood backdrop to a sleek metal clock. Love it!

This is the show piece of their whole main floor. This hand--scraped matte wood floor. It is so raw, rich and beautiful!

 Sunroom/dining addition they put on a few years ago housing all hand crafted furniture by Doug of course.

 End tables, dressers, armoires, night stands, tables, bar stools....there is NOTHING this man can not do with wood.

 Custom headboard and nightstands. He's got quite the talent for layering paint and staining as well. 

 Yes, he made these too! Inset drawers-do you know how hard that is? Well, I don't either, but it sure looks hard to do!

 Armoire to house their flat screen tv and Jackie's shoe collection:

 Beautiful nightstands. I loved the finish on this:

 D and J don't kill me for posting-someone's gotta brag you two up! Love you both and can't wait to see you again soon. 
Champs...happy spring. We're heading south soon for Kennedy's last spring break with us! Boo Hoo!
See you back here soon!

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