it's been a while...

apologies to my mom, who is the only one who reads this. A lot has happened since the last post.

The juicy story I was going to tell you? Oh a crazy lady down the street tried (quite sucessfully I might add) to dognap my little Cooper. We got him back but now the poor guy no longer has free reign of the neighborhood. Oh well. Her quote to me the other day when I saw her? "He knows where mama lives." You little.....

In other news I have got a lot done in the house. Where our living/dining room walls used to look like this:

It now looks like this:

The whole process took about 3 days-spraying, stripping, washing, rinsing, and painting. I am very happy with the outcome. I painted it with Desert Fortress from Valspar.

I have since moved onto the hallway which looked like this:

It is currently in a state of mostly stripped but not washed. I also recently did the stair treads dark brown, much better than the nasty white. Bert says it shows more dog hair, which it does, but looks 100 times better and classier.

We also recently picked out colors for the exterior of the house at Sherwin Williams. We happened to be showing up one of the 2 days they had 40% off all paint! So we ended up purchasing and saving about $150. Life around here is all about what we can do while saving money!

free paint!

So if anyone is reading, (hey mom!) you should head over to Valspar.com tomorrow at 10am Maine time. They are giving out 100,000 free testers (in 1,000 days i think) of paint along with a roller, tray and a $5 coupon next your next gallon of paint. I just received mine today in this cute little box and my only gripe is that the color I chose, Gossamer Sky does not look the same in the box as it did on my screen when picking it out.

If I had to do it again I would have maybe googled "best blue/grey valspar paint". I don't know what I will use my very bright green/blue on but it will be something fantastic and free! Oh and if anyone isnt going to use theirs I would appreciate trying "rising tide". This little giveaway just makes me love Lowes even more than I do.

Oh and I have a great story that must be written down because it was so crazy and no one would believe me otherwise. But that will probably be tomorrow when Bert is working overtime and I am all alone with my coffee-one of the best times ever.

coop had his first accident in the house since we got him in september. he was so embarassed he was stuck to me like glue all morning until i found the not one, not two, but three piles of poop in the living room. obviously someone wasn't feeling well this morning! and i surprised myself because my first instinct wasn't anger-in fact I am still not angry. my second instinct was to light my 2 yankee candles, smells like a christmas tree in here!

I was totally empathetic and felt so sorry for my pooch who is SO GOOD about bathrooming. does this mean I will make a good mom? haha. so for now sleeping dog at my feet, coffee in my hand and about 30 minutes to kill before work. oh, and i called a friend to come over and check on the patient and let him out at lunchtime :) this isnt a picture from today but this is a similar forlorn-poor me look i get occasionally.

snow days

This is what cooper and i do on snow days when all of our chores are done. haha.

BadBoy BadBoy what you gonna do..

I will readily admit I have the cutest dog in the universe. I will also admit sometimes I think he is the most annoying dog in the world. But today, on the first snow day of the winter, he is cute. Faced with the reality of mom at home and no kennel for the day, Cooper has been joyous and well behaved today (so far, so good).

Here is Coop the other day-out of his 3 beds, kennel, 4 couches, and numerous rugs this is where he chooses to lay. His face is wedged under the rung.

Todays plan: stay in sweatpants. hang up a bunch of newly painted frames. de-hair the 2 couches in the living room. put away laundry. probably some baking too. onward!

short and long term resolutions

I never make resolutions. The few times I made resolutions they were lost quickly. Working out, changing eating habits, things I don't really want to change never get changed in the long run. Sorry but I really enjoy eating the donuts on the first Thursday of every month at work. Like I try to be the first one at work so I can get the chocolate frosted. Maybe with sprinkles, maybe without. So here goes my totally doable "resolutions"

Short term:

1. Create MORE. paint more, sew more, do more.

2. Finally finish the quilt. Tie the quilt. Find the perfect Lifetime movie to watch while I do it.

3. Host a successful craft night for the CAB group (Crafty Ass Bitches).

Long term:

1. Wear more lipstick. I'm not much of a makeup girl but I found the best lipstick and I love it! (Maybeline, Totally Toffee fyi)

2. Be more adventurous in cooking. Actually open one of my many cook books and follow something. And make Bert eat it.

okay, lets not go crazy here. I think that's enough. Oh and before I forget, a second grader told me "Boys go fishing and girls go bitching". Think I might embroider it on a pillow!

House Adventure Flop

During vacation I have been watching a lot of home decor shows, decorating, american pickers, pawn stars, you know the type. I also have found a lot of new (and awesome!) blogs on reusing materials and decorating.

One of those shows is If These Walls Could Talk. Ya know, you live in an old house and there is a letter from Abe Lincoln in the floor boards. After watching a few episodes-I decided on today's plan. I was going to investigate the attic. I was sure it was filled with furniture, antiques, at the very least a great decorating peice! I brought the ladder up to the bathroom where our attic hole is, shimmied up (camera in hand, ready for treasures!) and found-pink insulation. There was no antiques, nothing. It was a huge let down. Should have just left it a mystery. At least if I need any dead ladybugs I'll know where to go!