Inspired by. . . getting' it done

It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I've missed having time to blog.

And I've missed YOU!

So what have I been up to. . . moving! Two moves in two weeks.

Crazy.

First a little background.

Last August we purchased a mobile home for my parents. It is structurally sound, but the interior is completely trashed. We knew we would have to gut it and start from scratch.

It was a challenge just getting it on the property.

 

 

The home has a split floor plan. So our plan is to renovate the two bedrooms and bath on one end into an apartment for my dad [phase I], then complete the renovation on the rest of the home for my mother [phase II] by the end of this year 2013.

We were hoping to have dad moved in before Christmas 2012, but phase I took a little longer than we anticipated. We moved him in last weekend. We were not planning on having to move mom at the same time, but that's how it turned out.

Earlier this year, a situation arose werein my mom had to move out of her current residence by the end of February. Since her portion of the mobile home isn't scheduled to be ready until later this year we had to move her into a {semi} temporary location while we finish the renovations. Not ideal. The cabin we moved her into is a two-room cabin vs. a three bedroom home. So we've been scrambling to find storage for most of her furniture, etc.

Needless to say, moving her was a bit more involved than moving my dad! In fact, moving my dad wasn't a big deal at all. The hard work was getting his portion of the mobile home ready!

One of the reasons that this took longer than we anticipated was the bathroom.

 

 

My dad uses a walker most of the time and we had to make sure that the bathroom was accessible and safe for him. Building his shower has been the biggest part of the renovation, to date.

 

 

The home's floor-plan is designed with a large room on one end. Perfect for dad's living area, and temporary kitchen set-up until we can complete the remodel of his second {bed} room. So there has been a lot of moving and organizing going on around here!

I've been hoping things will return to normal soon. But then, what is normal anyway?

Daylight savings time begins on March 10th, so Spring is on the way. I've seen subtle signs around the Hill Country. Lot's of little baby lambs and goats stumbling around, learning how to walk. They are beyond adorable! I'm dying to snap some pictures of them for my Easter cards! {Easter is early this year – March 31st!!}

 

What signs of Spring have you seen this week?

Have a wonder-filled day!

 

Sharing inspiration here:

Inspired by. . . before and after

I have a fun before and after project to share with you today. But before we get started, a bit of housekeeping.

For those of you who have purchased a "custom" domain [blog] address through blogger (without the blogspot in it) be warned!

My blog address expired two days ago. I never received an "expiring soon" notice, or any other kind of notice from Blogger that my domain was about to expire, and would I like to renew. By the time I realized what was happening, a day later, someone had already snatched up my domain!

I quickly purchased a new [better] domain from godaddy and re set my publishing info in blogger. It should be noted, unless you're comfortable messing with DNS settings, this process might be a bit intimidating. Also, as many of you know, changing your blog address messes with your RSS feeds, email subscriptions, etc.

I [think] I have everything fixed, set up correctly, etc. Time will tell.

A favor?

If you subscribe by email or RSS feed, would you leave a comment or shoot me a quick email so I know it's working? or not? I'd be very grateful. Thank you.

We now resume your regularly scheduled....

 

It's my dad's 83rd birthday today!

He's been buggin' asking me to print him some pictures of his adorable new grand-baby, who just turned 3 months old. Yes, I've been procrastinating on the pictures for three months! It takes time to download, format and print pictures, and I just haven't had the extra time. I knew the pictures would still be there when I got around to it!

Well, being his birthday was coming up, I figured I should make it up to him.

I found this old frame at a yard sale . . .

 

 

. . . and turned it into this:

 

 

Our little Sophia Lillian, is named after my dad's mom, Lillian, who just happened to love owls. When I saw these scrapbooking elements I knew they'd be the perfect addition.

 

Happy birthday, Dad!

 

What have you done with your photos lately?

Have a wonder-filled day!

 

 

 

 

Sharing inspiration here:

Inspired by... YOU

 

Have you been enjoying the "best of" posts popping up all over blogland this last week? I've enjoyed the opportunity to catch some posts I previously missed.

After reviewing the top ten blog posts (based on your page views) on Inspired by... I noticed that many of the post dates were early on and since so many of you are new followers I thought you might enjoy a recap in case you missed some of the favorites!

Here's the inspired countdown...

 

#Ten

The Hoots!

#Nine

Inspired Noel #3

 

#Eight

Noel

 

#Seven

Before and After Projects

 

#Six

Inspired Noel #1

 

#Five

Tote Makeover

 

#Four

Free Printable

 

#Three

Fabric Pumpkins

 

#Two

Flaws Turned Fabulous

And the most viewed post

of 2011

Inspired Noel #4

I hope you saw something new and inspiring today!  Thank you all for following, commenting, pinning, Facebook-ing and just plain viewing Inspired by...

 

I hope to continue to inspire you in 1012!

 

Blessings on your New Year,

Inspired by... flaws

 

I'm really bad about checking merchandise for flaws, at the store, BEFORE I make a purchase. Doesn't it just tweak your tail to get home with something new and find that it's damaged in some way?

 

 

I know, just return it, right? Right.

Not.

I almost never find the time to return an item. So this frame has been sitting in my stash for... well, years actually. It's a nice, heavy wood frame, 8x10 and I hated to just throw it out, so I've been holding on to it, knowing someday I'd figure out a way to hide the big nick in the corner.

Well today is the day!

I wanted to incorporate some Subway Art into one of my fall displays and needed a frame that would work with this free printable from The House of Bledsoe. This was the only frame on had on hand, but I really didn't feel like going through all the trouble to sand and paint it, so I decided to cover it instead.

 

 

I really had no idea how this was going to turn out and originally planned to cover the red layer with some yellow tissue paper stamped with leaves (giving an orange effect), but I was so pleased with the way the black and red looked together that I stuck with one layer of red tissue paper.

 

 

And best of all, bye-bye flaw!

 

I just love the rich, lacquered look the frame has now!

 

Have you taken an item from flawed to fabulous?

I'd love to hear about it!

 

Blessings,

 

 

 

Sharing inspiration here:

Linking up with Kate at Centsationalgirl as part of the It's Fall Y'all Autumn Link Parties

Inspired by... before and after {3}

Hi everyone! Happy Friday!

Well, I survived the caverns and they were awe some!

I'll be sharing my pictures of that adventure with you soon!

But today, I'm really excited to be sharing with you my final before and after re do!

But first, a review.

Remember...

Simple.

Inexpensive.

Practical. 

Here was the first project:

 and the second:

and last but not least:

 It's hard to see from the photos what a difference painting these frames made in our bedroom.  There was just too much white going on!  And the sage green really compliments the greens in our bedding.

  I had to photograph them from an angle because they face several windows and the reflections were impossible!  Photographing them in a better location wasn't an option, because the whole point is for you to see the difference they make where they are!  

So please forgive the photos, I know they are not the best.

Here are a couple of detail shots:

We are thrilled with the results and have a few other picture frames we'll be painting as a result.  This project was a little more expensive, because the frames were not wood and had a high gloss, we had to purchase a primer and spray paint.  But it was still under $10!

I hope my three little projects have inspired you to look for "little" things (simple, inexpensive, practical) that you can do that will make a big impact.

And I'd love to hear how you've put this inspiration into practice!

Today, we're off to explore Austin via Lake Travis.  What are your plans?

Blessings,

Linking up here:

         
     

Inspired by... before and after {2}

Happy Saturday!

Sorry to be late posting this... Hubby and I spent the afternoon at the Riverwalk yesterday, celebrating our 15th anniversary.

  We never get tired of the Riverwalk!  If you're ever in San Antonio, it is a must see!  We recommend Casa Rio Mexican restaurant, great salsa, good food, every time!

Here's my 2nd before and after project.

Remember...

Simple.

Inexpensive.

Practical.

 I saw this idea on another blog, unfortunately, I can't remember where. If any of you know, please comment, so I can give proper credit.

The blonde wood on the original holder was really an eye-sore in my kitchen where all the accents are dark.  The "mocha" spray paint cost me less than $3 and I have almost a whole can left to use on other projects! 

I took these shots from a distance so you could see the overall affect that the color change had on the space.  

Such a minor, easy fix and it made a huge difference!

If you have an example of how a small, inexpensive change made a big impact in your home, I'd love to hear it! 

Blessings,