Itchy...But Worth It

Our last home had heated underground parking (le sigh) which I miss terribly. In the new house we are not so fortunate. However, the builders were forgetful kind enough to leave behind nearly enough fibreglass batt insulation to completely insulate the garage. You may not think so, but three packs of R40 insulation take up a tremendous amount of space in one's garage...ha ha. For over a year this rather overwhelming project had been on my massive "To Do' list, but I kept putting it off. Last November, though, Mr. Mel and I finally installed insulation in the garage!

 

 

 

I've gotta say that, considering I am terrified of heights, the 14' high walls didn't pose a huge challenge. We did end up having to pick up a little extra insulation to finish the walls but, even with the poly and acoustical sealant, this entire project cost less than $150!

We were so lucky to have November weather nice enough to complete it to this stage but, before we knew it...BAM...winter hit and I didn't have warm enough temps to do the poly. Now that the warm weather has returned, it's definitely on my radar to finish this up!

I still plan to insulate the ceiling, but it'll have to wait until my dad can bring over scaffolding and lend me a hand. Hip hip hooray for a toasty warm garage!

Please indulge me while I toot my own horn for a minute: I did 90% of this project BY MYSELF! Ladies, don't be afraid to tackle these kinds of projects! Do your research, plan your project, and ask ask ask if you wanna know how to do something. I can't tell you how satisfying it was to see what I was able to accomplish! Yay me!

Spring Cleaning: Coin Clutter

If you are like me, you have various collections of random clutter. Over time, I forget all about it, and it kinda becomes part of the household landscape.

One of the things that piles up in our house is loose change. We put it any spare container we can find; old margerine containers, mason jars, decorative boxes. Once one container is full, we move onto the next. When we moved into the new house I packed the containers filled with change in a box and there they stayed, for a year and half!

Time to get rid of this unecessary clutter!

I hit up a local office supply store and bought an automatic coin sorter for $40, and some bags of paper coin rolls.

It look about an hour and I turned this...

Into this:

And wowie, wow...it's over $180!

Stretchy Bracelets

Stretchy bracelets seem to be popping up everywhere these days. I find myself drawn to the ones that are all one type of bead, with one standout bead or clasp.

While perusing one of my favourite jewelry websites, Stella & Dot, recently, I found these adorable Mini Soiree stretchy bracelets ($12-$18 each). I wanted them, immediately. Problem? They are for kids, and are insanely a tad too small for my wrist. Seriously, can these get any cuter?

They have a grown up version, but they don't come in the fun colours that the kidlet ones do. Bummer. Major bummer. Not to mention that these will cost you $36 each!

I hit up a local craft shop and found some glass beads on clearance that I love the colour of. I couldn't find any crystal beads so I picked up some cute twisted wire beads instead...they were sparkly enough for me. After a trip to grab some stretchy string and crimp beads from the Dollarama (hello!) and I was set. After 20 minutes of work I ended up with three super cute bracelets for less than $18...TOTAL!

I am so excited to wear them, they are perfect for summer! C'mon summer!

And here is my little Butter, totally wiped after a long evening of catching up on her favourite blogs!



Out of My Comfort Zone

Ok, so I am known to be a bit stingy. I am not ashamed to admit that I like to save a buck...or ten.That's why I am always game to try and recreate something I've seen online or in a catalogue. And I don't limit myself to furniture, I have an affinity for jewelry, too! Problem is, I don't really now the first thing about making jewelry....so it's really a trial and error kind of process. Mostly error.

My first foray into creating jewelry was when I saw this ring on Etsy. I loved that it was quirky and unique, but I wasn't about to pay $89.00 for it.

Unfortunately, THIS was the result of my attempted recreation. We didn't do an officially weigh in but the 'guesstimate' was 2 lbs. Yikes! Failure!

Kristel G

Even though my first go didn't work out as I'd hoped, when I saw this necklace from Grace Jewelry, I thought I had to try to redeem myself and avoid paying the $45 they were asking for it by making my own.

I found some beads and chain online at Artbeads.com and ordered what I'd need. I eagerly waited for the postman and, two weeks later, my package arrived. Right away, I knew I had made a massive miscalculation. The beads I ordered were only about half the size I thought they'd be, and one of the chains was also much more dainty than I figured it would be. Anyhowdydoody, I was determined to make it work!

Here's my version of the necklace...and it only cost me $23!

I like it. It's not as chunky as my inspiration, but that's okay. For half the price of the original, I can totally live with it!

Bath and Laundry Floors

I am starting to think that this flooring saga will never be done. Ever. Ever. Good news, though, is that the laundry room and all the bathrooms now have shiny new DuraCeramic laid!

Gone is the pesky Artica that failed to live up to it's high price tag! I am really loving the change of flooring (I wasn't sure that I'd like it at all). It's a big change since, in the upstairs baths, it replaced WHITE flooring. And I have a major case of the saddies that my sparkly flooring is no more - it was so much fun to look at! I think it's a good choice for resale, though. Appealing to the masses, yeh, that's the stuff!

Due to the pesky liability rules of the flooring company, I was responsible for replacing the toilets. No biggie, it only takes a few minutes. Buuuuut, dude put the downstairs toilet (which *still* had water in it) in the garage while he worked. So, yeh, the water froze, the toilet cracked, and now I need to go shop for a replacement. Geez, duh! Who does something that dumb?! Man alive...

Here are some before and afters of the rooms:

Now that I have the opportunity to pick a new toilet, I am looking for suggestions. Right now we have the Gerber Viper (is that not a hilarious name for a toilet?!) in all of the bathrooms because the contractor gave me a great price on them, but we don't love them. Any suggestions for a must-have toilet? 

Moving my Washer

The floors are done (post and pics coming soon, I promise), toilets are installed, time to put back the washer and dryer.

Mr. Mel and I planned to move them back into the laundry room this morning, but Mr. Mel ended up having to work (when the clients call, he jumps). Undaunted, I decided to move them back...myself!

It went a little something like this...

"Grunt, grunt, grunt, sigh, ugh, grunt grunt, whew, ugh, wait, why is their blood all over the side of the washer? Huh, must be from the delivery guys. Grunt, grunt, whew, grunt, OWWWWCH! Wait, that's *MY* blood running down the side of the washer! *@$#!!! Owie, owie, owie, eeeesh, owwwwwwwie".

Somehow, I managed a 2" gash in my finger and some smaller cuts on the palm of my hand.

Man, I think I need to seek some help for this insatiable need for immediate gratification! Ha ha. Off to the medi clinic for a few stitches...later gators!

Some Fun on a Wednesday Night

Okily dokily, so this post is just for a giggle. I thought it was so cute (and potentially revealing) that I thought I'd do it.

I found this at Rogue Poags via Mandee at the Bear Naked Truth.

Grab a pen and paper and write the following:

1. What is your name/your Blogger name?
2. What is your blog name/URL?
3. Write "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog"
4. Favorite quote
5. Your favorite song
6. Your favorite bands/singers.
7. Anything else you want to say?
8. Tag 3-5 other people
 
Here's mine...