We are in the process of getting quotes for replacing our really really antiquated HVAC system. When the sight of your unit inspires a "Whoa" from everyone giving you a quote, that must indicate a level of age. The way we figure it, the system is 22 years old. When we bought the house 3 years ago, during the home inspection we were told it was old. We did get the 1-year home warranty with the home sale and we were hoping the HVAC would up a die within a year and then be replaced for free. It is so old that repairs to major components would not be possible. That would have been great, but alas, that did not happen.
So fast forward to the future with two kids and many other home improvements under our belt, we have called four people to get quotes. We decided on 3 big companies and 1 smaller independent contractor. All of them have been to the house and have provided their quotes and first impressions. This isn't so much about what their prices came back at, but more about the perception and sales pitch each of them provided. It's really astounding how different their approaches were.
Contractor 1 - I got a call to confirm the appointment the day before. The guy called about 30 minutes prior to arrival. Once here, he put on boot covers and introduced himself in a professional manner. He was dressed in business casual with a button down monogrammed shirt. Question from him was, "Is your unit broken now?" since all of our windows and doors were open. "Nope, just nice out." Inspected the unit with the appropriate "whoa" reaction. Took measurements and pictures. Pulled out his phone for a nifty app to calculate what we needed for a HVAC size. Comes to the conclusion that we have the wrong size and need to get a bigger unit. Interesting. Talks about his company and keeps saying, "What else can I tell you?" As if to go through a memorized fact list in his head. Provides some quotes, but nothing in writing on what we are getting, just a bottom line price. I got a follow up call and emails from him.
Contractor 2 (Independent) - I received a call the day he was going to come by. I was on another call, so I didn't catch the first call. The second call came through and he wanted to come by during the only 30 minutes I was going to be out of the house. He said he would call when he was going to pop over. About 15 minutes after I got back from my appointment, I heard my doorbell go off, but no call. Ok.... He is dressed pretty casually, t-shirt, kahki shorts, and work shoes. Comes in and introduces himself, goes to look at the unit. "Whoa" Then realizes he doesn't have a measuring tape, asks to borrow one that's in sight. Takes some measurements, sketches some things and is kind of all over the place with what kind of unit they have, what they would recommend, etc. Takes a look at some electrical issue we would also like quoted. Says, I'll get back to you with a quote by the weekend. Ok thanks! I got an email with the quote which asked me to respond that I got it. I did and received, "Thank u for replying" as a response.
Contractor 3 - Calls the night before to confirm appointment. Calls about 30 minutes out to confirm arrival. I was a bit skeptical of this one because they wanted 2 hours of my time. From what I had seen with the first two contractors, neither spent more than 40 minutes in my house. Couldn't imagine what 2 hours was going to get this guy. He showed up in business casual with a briefcase and boot covers. Went downstairs, "whoa", took pictures and measurements. He starts to explain all the things his company will do and what's important about the systems and why you don't see units that sit on the floor anymore. He takes pictures of the outside unit and then we go upstairs. He asks a lot of questions and what's important to me and what I want in my HVAC system. I told him I basically wanted something new and anything would be an improvement over my existing system in all ways. He explained how the two parts of the system work, what variable speed air handlers do, differences in SEER, EER, and HSPF, and did all of this with a genuine desire to make sure I was comfortable with what I being told. He also explained which units would be eligible for rebates with the power company and which wouldn't and why. I now understand why this should take two hours. Comes up with quotes, and prints a contract from his car. Very impressive. I also got 2 follow up phone calls from the salesman and who I would presume is his boss.
Contract 4 - To be fair, this one came hot on the heals to Contractor 3 so I had a bit more in mind for my expectations than what I got. He called 20 minutes prior to coming. Upon arrival I notice this is the first person not traveling in a company vehicle. He is wearing jeans and a polo. Introduces himself and then says, "Well, let's take a look at the unit and I can give you some quotes and get out of your hair." Ok... Takes some measurements, pictures, and looks at the electrical box twice. Comes upstairs, sits down with me, plops open a book and says we should replace what I have with the same stuff and *flips pages*, "I can do that for you for x dollars." I ask about a wi-fi programmable thermostat which all the other contractors had no issue with. "Ummm, yeah, I think we could do that. The guys are used to installing X brand, but we could probably do that for you." I asked about air filters, he kind of ruffled through his book and handed me a one page brochure from his stack of stuff and says, "You can have that" which really told me nothing. He quoted a few more options from his book and then said, "Not sure what else I can tell you..." Really? Nothing to sell yourself or your company? Your warranty, how long you have been in business, what makes you special and worthy of my business for a major home improvement purchase? And you have nothing? Ok, see ya later! I think he had a happy hour to get to as it was Friday afternoon. Follow up email, nothing else.
Needless to say, Contractor 2 and 4 were immediately crossed off the list. Contractor 2 aside from being a bit all over the place also had the highest price. I am not fond of statements such as "Will do what is required to install the system." written in a contract. It's totally ambiguous and can be interpreted too many ways. These guys also were not able to offer duct cleanings, so that would have been another contractor to hunt down and then pay more $$ on top of their already high prices. They also skirted from warranty questions and didn't really want to push that. Glad you want to stand behind your work.
Contractor 1 had a good priced system, but Contractor 3 really won out. They were including a free humidifier in the system and their install process seemed more thorough and "proper" if you will. Also, they had a cooler wi-fi thermostat and offered to clean the dryer vent as well as the ducts. It's small perks, but I really feel like we are getting a good system with them and a good install process. They also recycle our old unit in its entirety. They have two guys they pay minimum wage to disassemble units for recycling and resale (copper components). The warranties with each company is a bit weird. Both of these want a kind of service contract agreement renewable by year. The first year with both are free, but the routine maintenance/warranty beyond that time is a bit different. Hard to say which will be a better value over time.
Ultimately, the lesson learned is you really really REALLY need to get multiple quotes from people. I was initially not too thrilled with Contractor 3 when they told me they wanted two hours of my time when I set up the appointment. I was tempted to cancel, but I am glad I didn't. You just never know what is going to make the deal. And if you are in sales, take notes. First impressions matter and being respectful of peoples homes is a selling point and one I think more contractors could benefit from. Know your business and how to sell yourself/your company. Price is only one factor of the deal. I am willing to pay another $100-300 to have someone who wore boot covers and who has background checked their employees.
Now to see those electric bills go down!!
Showing posts with label Projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Projects. Show all posts
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Sunday, March 24, 2013
Spring Wreath
I am beginning to wonder if Pinterest isn't funded through places like Michael's, AC Moore, Hobby Lobby and Jo-Ann Fabrics. I feel like anytime I see something cool on there, I am usually ending up at one of these place to do said cool project. Today was no exception. Granted, I did want to go to Michael's to get Colin a decent Easter basket, but I didn't NEED to buy the other items until I saw a pin on Spring Wreaths.
We have a fall wreath, a seashell wreath, and then usually something Christmas-y for the door during December. I lack other wreaths to fill the front door during the spring and late winter. I was inspired by this pin (website) for my design. I still think that one looks a little nicer, but hey, this is wreath number two I have ever made, so I think it came out ok.
Inspired and ready to go, I headed off to Michael's to buy supplies. My sad hot glue gun, wires, and pliers were in stock in my closet, but I needed a new wreath ($4), flowers ($5), and some bling ($6). If I had held out (read - had the patience), this project would have been a bit cheaper, but for a $15 investment, I thought it was worth getting everything at once. I did save 20% on everything at least (hooray coupon!).
I basically just watched TV and puttered until I got a look I thought was decent. Then I got the hot glue gun going and starting making it permanent. After the flowers were in, I placed the butterflies where I thought they would look the best and then added the beads in various spots for sparkle.
Overall I thought it turned out pretty cute. If I had wanted to spend more on the flowers I am sure it would have changed the nature of the wreath, but not too shabby for $15 and an hour of my time for the end of the weekend. And now we have something for our door for the spring. I am sure the neighbors will appreciate a bit of brightness in this dreary wannabe spring weather (currently wintery mix falling from the sky - hooray).
We have a fall wreath, a seashell wreath, and then usually something Christmas-y for the door during December. I lack other wreaths to fill the front door during the spring and late winter. I was inspired by this pin (website) for my design. I still think that one looks a little nicer, but hey, this is wreath number two I have ever made, so I think it came out ok.
Inspired and ready to go, I headed off to Michael's to buy supplies. My sad hot glue gun, wires, and pliers were in stock in my closet, but I needed a new wreath ($4), flowers ($5), and some bling ($6). If I had held out (read - had the patience), this project would have been a bit cheaper, but for a $15 investment, I thought it was worth getting everything at once. I did save 20% on everything at least (hooray coupon!).
I basically just watched TV and puttered until I got a look I thought was decent. Then I got the hot glue gun going and starting making it permanent. After the flowers were in, I placed the butterflies where I thought they would look the best and then added the beads in various spots for sparkle.
Overall I thought it turned out pretty cute. If I had wanted to spend more on the flowers I am sure it would have changed the nature of the wreath, but not too shabby for $15 and an hour of my time for the end of the weekend. And now we have something for our door for the spring. I am sure the neighbors will appreciate a bit of brightness in this dreary wannabe spring weather (currently wintery mix falling from the sky - hooray).
Sunday, February 10, 2013
DIY Coasters
I decided to take a stab at making some kind of fun coasters last weekend. I have had the scrapbook paper on hand for a few months (6 sheets for $1 sale - wohoo!). I finally picked up some 4x4 tiles at Home Depot after a long hiatus from that store. Do you ever notice how you can just drop $100 in there without much trouble? Of course, buying random things you have put off for months probably doesn't help.
ANYWHO! Here we go. Materials needed are as follows:
4 - 4x4 tiles
1 - piece of scrapbook paper
Mod Podge
Tools:
Pencil
Scissors
Foam brush for Mod Podge
Trace out your 4x4 tiles onto your paper.
Cut out the paper.
I recommend doing a dry run fit test before applying the Mod Podge. I had to trim down my pieces to get them to fit. Once you have the size you want, apply a thin layer of Mod Podge with your sponge brush.
Apply your paper and smooth out all the bubbles.
Once the paper has had a chance to set, apply another thin coat over the top.
And there you have it, one of a kind coasters.
Total investment for this project $1.68 ($0.16/tile, $0.17 paper, $0.87 for foam brush). You could go a step further and put felt circles on the bottom to protect you surfaces, but if you don't care then you are done. I honestly don't think there's a cheaper DIY project that doesn't look like a 4 year old colored on construction paper. :) Enjoy!
ANYWHO! Here we go. Materials needed are as follows:4 - 4x4 tiles
1 - piece of scrapbook paper
Mod Podge
Tools:
Pencil
Scissors
Foam brush for Mod Podge
Trace out your 4x4 tiles onto your paper.
Total investment for this project $1.68 ($0.16/tile, $0.17 paper, $0.87 for foam brush). You could go a step further and put felt circles on the bottom to protect you surfaces, but if you don't care then you are done. I honestly don't think there's a cheaper DIY project that doesn't look like a 4 year old colored on construction paper. :) Enjoy!
Sunday, February 3, 2013
My New Project... 1.5 years later
You may or may not remember these beautiful Craigslist finds I purchased back in July of 2011.
As hideous as they are, you would have thought that might have motivated me a bit to get them covered or reupholstered or SOMETHING. And yet, here we are cruising towards two years of ownership in their glorious pink state.
I finally found some inspiration to make these something I am proud to have in my home. Pinterest (what did we do before Pinterest I wonder?) had shown me this person who took the time to link their chair re-upholstery project to their blog. Someone probably pinned that, which someone else pinned and so on until I pinned it. I couldn't believe it. It was like my chairs long lost triplet! Here's the blog link for those who are interested.
I saw that and I knew, that was THE project for 2013. It has to get done. I went to my favorite place for all things crafty - Jo-Ann Fabrics. What do you know? They were having a 50% foam sale. Don't mind if I do! I bought enough to cover the two chairs for the 1 inch stuff and enough for 1 seat cushion (got towards the end of the sale, pickings were slim). I had purchased enough to qualify me for an additional 30% off my purchase of sale or clearance items the following week. Awesome! I spent so much time picking out the foam and looking at fabric that I didn't have time to look at the batting. So I went back and bought the already 50% off batting for an additional 30% off. SWEET! The only thing we have left to settle on is the fabric. Right now that is 60% off. IF I had my act together I would have been able to use that additional 30% off of the fabric too, but you can't have it all right? The fabric my husband and I both liked is no longer available (what I get for waiting on making a purchase). So now we are back to the drawing board.
So far total investments:
$10 for the chairs
$94.93 for the foam so far and tack remover
$38.07 for the batting and two 16x16 pillows
-$50 in gift cards (hooray Christmas!)
Left to buy:
Fabric
Foam for 1 seat ($22)
Staples
Cardboard Tack Strips
Metal Tack Strips
Curve Ease
Cording
My goal is to do both chairs for under $250, but it will probably be closer to $300 when I am done. That leaves $157 left in my budget. I am trying to keep my fabric pricing down, but we will see how I do. That's going to be the part that may break me. *fingers crossed*
As hideous as they are, you would have thought that might have motivated me a bit to get them covered or reupholstered or SOMETHING. And yet, here we are cruising towards two years of ownership in their glorious pink state.
I finally found some inspiration to make these something I am proud to have in my home. Pinterest (what did we do before Pinterest I wonder?) had shown me this person who took the time to link their chair re-upholstery project to their blog. Someone probably pinned that, which someone else pinned and so on until I pinned it. I couldn't believe it. It was like my chairs long lost triplet! Here's the blog link for those who are interested.
I saw that and I knew, that was THE project for 2013. It has to get done. I went to my favorite place for all things crafty - Jo-Ann Fabrics. What do you know? They were having a 50% foam sale. Don't mind if I do! I bought enough to cover the two chairs for the 1 inch stuff and enough for 1 seat cushion (got towards the end of the sale, pickings were slim). I had purchased enough to qualify me for an additional 30% off my purchase of sale or clearance items the following week. Awesome! I spent so much time picking out the foam and looking at fabric that I didn't have time to look at the batting. So I went back and bought the already 50% off batting for an additional 30% off. SWEET! The only thing we have left to settle on is the fabric. Right now that is 60% off. IF I had my act together I would have been able to use that additional 30% off of the fabric too, but you can't have it all right? The fabric my husband and I both liked is no longer available (what I get for waiting on making a purchase). So now we are back to the drawing board.
So far total investments:
$10 for the chairs
$94.93 for the foam so far and tack remover
$38.07 for the batting and two 16x16 pillows
-$50 in gift cards (hooray Christmas!)
Left to buy:
Fabric
Foam for 1 seat ($22)
Staples
Cardboard Tack Strips
Metal Tack Strips
Curve Ease
Cording
My goal is to do both chairs for under $250, but it will probably be closer to $300 when I am done. That leaves $157 left in my budget. I am trying to keep my fabric pricing down, but we will see how I do. That's going to be the part that may break me. *fingers crossed*
Monday, September 24, 2012
Colin's Quilt
I finally made the time to finish my son's first quilt not all that long
ago. It took a while with everything else I was doing, but he now has a
place to play and drool on. :)
I was having a hard time picking THE quilt pattern for him. I really wanted a sailboat pattern, but the ones I found I wasn't happy with and so I ultimately settled on a pattern I had used for my friend's little girl. I opted for frogs instead of butterflies this time, but it was still fun trying to pick out all of the fabric I was going to need. You really need to have a clear vision of what you want your finished product to look like to pick good fabrics. So far I'd like to think I have had pretty good luck. :)
Over a couple of weeks I did all of the cutting and initial block making. This quilt takes a few steps just to get to the image show below. For each of those green-blue-white blocks, I had to sew two larger blocks into two smaller squares for each color combination (green-blue and blue-white) and divide them each time. Then for the final assembly, sew the two different combinations together and split them once more to get the final block. It's a lot of small steps, but if you find your groove it doesn't take too long.
The easier pieces of the block are just the straight white blocks and even the motif centered blocks. The motif centered (frogs) are a little tricky just to make sure you have enough fabric and can get the character centered how you want them. This one was slightly easier than the butterflies, but still a bit tricky.
Once you get all 9 blocks together you get the one bigger block which becomes the true block you work into your pattern. I alternated the pieced blocks with what are referred to as "snowball" blocks. I guess someone thought that's what they looked like at one point. In any case, once you get the lined up and sewn together, you start to see a fun larger pattern emerge.
The final top layer step is to add borders. They really make the quilt come together and give it definition. Once you get that part together, you can start to assemble the quilt with your top layer (quilted), the filling (typically cotton batting), and then your backing (typically a solid fabric). This was the first quilt I decided to machine together, so it was a bit intense putting it through my machine. But the good news is, I now know I can do it, and it gives it a somewhat professional look to it.
Quilting truly is a labor of love. I am sure my little man is going to make all kinds of messes on this quilt, but I also know that it will be a keepsake no matter what shape it gets to be. :)
Friday, August 17, 2012
Used Pins
No, not that kind of pin, a pinterest kind of pin! I know, it wasn't too long ago when I posted my rant about peoples ridiculous tag lines when they pins things, but what can I say? It's a current topic. Since I mentioned my rant, I would like to make two additions to the over used tag line list:
"I NEED TO REMEMBER TO DO THIS!!" Yes, this is why we pin things you idgit.
"Pin(ning) now, read(ing) later" Umm no you won't. If you can't possibly take 1-2 minutes to validate the pin is worth re-pinning, you are NOT going to give it any thought later.
Anywho, I thought it might be a neat idea to share what I have actually used in the world of Pinterest. I try to pin things I find cool, inspiring, or something I really want to try. And ok, so I have a board full of things I find hilarious as well that only serve the purpose of making me laugh, but it does the job!
So here's what I have really used:
Pacifier clips: http://craftycupboard.blogspot.com/2011/10/pacifier-clip-tutorial.html Very simple and straight forward pattern that has already been used for me and as a gift.
Yardage Chart: Incredibly handy because sometimes I don't want to do math. Maybe you don't either so here it is:
New way to print photo books: www.blurp.com It's better than snapfish and VERY customizable. You can do a real book if you wanted to on this site. I like that it allows for flexibility to do more than one line descriptions of a series of photos. I have two projects in work using their software, which is another bonus. I don't have to upload every single photo and be online to use their tool. I can do it all on my desktop and then upload the finished product.
Photo Canvas Project: http://www.literallyinspired.com/2012/02/picture-perfect.html I haven't done this one completely, but I have the canvas, black paint, and Mod Podge ready to go. I am waiting for a sale on poster prints before I pull the trigger. So far I have spent $2.50 for the canvas and $4 for Mod Podge (thank you craft coupon) and I would love it if I could do it all for less than $15. :) I will post results.
Pork Tenderloin with Pan Sauce: http://chefmommy-brandao.blogspot.ca/2012/03/pork-tenderloin-with-pan-sauce.html Definitely worth doing again! Delicious and pretty simple!
Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Crushed Red Pepper: http://www.yumsugar.com/Spaghetti-Garlic-Olive-Oil-Chili-Flakes-21398824 Tasty enough, but the recipe would need to be tweaked for me to do it again.
Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/side-dish-recipes/Janet-s-Chocolate-Chip-Coffee-Cake Hands down fabulous coffee cake!
I have a few others in work, specifically for the fall and Christmas. We will see if they get used this year or will be lying in wait for future years. And let us not forget the 30+ pins I have for kid projects for when Colin is older. :) If you want to see the full collection, you'll have to follow me.
"I NEED TO REMEMBER TO DO THIS!!" Yes, this is why we pin things you idgit.
"Pin(ning) now, read(ing) later" Umm no you won't. If you can't possibly take 1-2 minutes to validate the pin is worth re-pinning, you are NOT going to give it any thought later.
Anywho, I thought it might be a neat idea to share what I have actually used in the world of Pinterest. I try to pin things I find cool, inspiring, or something I really want to try. And ok, so I have a board full of things I find hilarious as well that only serve the purpose of making me laugh, but it does the job!
Pacifier clips: http://craftycupboard.blogspot.com/2011/10/pacifier-clip-tutorial.html Very simple and straight forward pattern that has already been used for me and as a gift.
Yardage Chart: Incredibly handy because sometimes I don't want to do math. Maybe you don't either so here it is:
New way to print photo books: www.blurp.com It's better than snapfish and VERY customizable. You can do a real book if you wanted to on this site. I like that it allows for flexibility to do more than one line descriptions of a series of photos. I have two projects in work using their software, which is another bonus. I don't have to upload every single photo and be online to use their tool. I can do it all on my desktop and then upload the finished product.
Photo Canvas Project: http://www.literallyinspired.com/2012/02/picture-perfect.html I haven't done this one completely, but I have the canvas, black paint, and Mod Podge ready to go. I am waiting for a sale on poster prints before I pull the trigger. So far I have spent $2.50 for the canvas and $4 for Mod Podge (thank you craft coupon) and I would love it if I could do it all for less than $15. :) I will post results.
Pork Tenderloin with Pan Sauce: http://chefmommy-brandao.blogspot.ca/2012/03/pork-tenderloin-with-pan-sauce.html Definitely worth doing again! Delicious and pretty simple!
Spaghetti with Garlic, Olive Oil, and Crushed Red Pepper: http://www.yumsugar.com/Spaghetti-Garlic-Olive-Oil-Chili-Flakes-21398824 Tasty enough, but the recipe would need to be tweaked for me to do it again.
Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake: http://www.rachaelraymag.com/recipes/rachael-ray-magazine-recipe-search/side-dish-recipes/Janet-s-Chocolate-Chip-Coffee-Cake Hands down fabulous coffee cake!
I have a few others in work, specifically for the fall and Christmas. We will see if they get used this year or will be lying in wait for future years. And let us not forget the 30+ pins I have for kid projects for when Colin is older. :) If you want to see the full collection, you'll have to follow me.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Baby Quilts
Where on earth do I find the time to do these things? When I figure it out, I will let you know. But mostly I suspect it's my lack of ability to sit still and do nothing. Most of the time it seems like such a waste. I have a lot of things I want to do in my free time, but I just prioritize the hell out of it. It helps to have a loving husband who is supportive of my insane need to do some of these things. :)
Anywho, it's been a while since I made a quilt, but all these people are having babies and so my baby quilt book is starting to see some exercise! The first batter up is Sarah who is having a shower this weekend. I asked her a while ago what, if any, kind of theme she was going with. Jungle prints, courtesy of inherited baby stuff from family members. Awesome, I can work with that. I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics and let my mind wander as I picked out a pattern and fabric to go with it. The patterns in the book always explain how to re-create the exact quilt shown, so I have to think outside the mold a little if I like the basic pattern, but not their prints (pretty much how all of them are).
I pieced it together Friday during the day while everyone was out of the house. After Colin went to sleep, I stayed up hand tying it together. My husband thought it would be a good idea to record this process.
Looks just like I know what I am doing! :) This morning I finished making the binding and attached it to the quilt. I find myself always going to look for the YouTube Video I found a few years ago to help me figure out how to get it to meet up and lay flat. It never makes sense when I watch it, but it works every time! Finished product:
And while I was at it, I decided to make some pacifier clips in case they need them. I found them to be a life saver from having to play, "pick the pacifier up off the floor and rinse" every 5 minutes. I found the pattern on Pinterest and it worked out pretty well.
I am sure there will be a few more posted here before the year is out. It seems people have really caught onto the baby fever!
Anywho, it's been a while since I made a quilt, but all these people are having babies and so my baby quilt book is starting to see some exercise! The first batter up is Sarah who is having a shower this weekend. I asked her a while ago what, if any, kind of theme she was going with. Jungle prints, courtesy of inherited baby stuff from family members. Awesome, I can work with that. I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics and let my mind wander as I picked out a pattern and fabric to go with it. The patterns in the book always explain how to re-create the exact quilt shown, so I have to think outside the mold a little if I like the basic pattern, but not their prints (pretty much how all of them are).
I pieced it together Friday during the day while everyone was out of the house. After Colin went to sleep, I stayed up hand tying it together. My husband thought it would be a good idea to record this process.
Looks just like I know what I am doing! :) This morning I finished making the binding and attached it to the quilt. I find myself always going to look for the YouTube Video I found a few years ago to help me figure out how to get it to meet up and lay flat. It never makes sense when I watch it, but it works every time! Finished product:
And while I was at it, I decided to make some pacifier clips in case they need them. I found them to be a life saver from having to play, "pick the pacifier up off the floor and rinse" every 5 minutes. I found the pattern on Pinterest and it worked out pretty well.
I am sure there will be a few more posted here before the year is out. It seems people have really caught onto the baby fever!
Friday, July 6, 2012
Pinterest, the latest and greatest web phenomenon that's sweeping the nation. Ok, it may not be that popular, but it's definitely main stream and sucking up hours and hours of peoples lives as they skim the website for the coolest ideas and funny photos of cats or the latest eCards.
I posted to Facebook the other day that I had learned the following things from Pinterest:
People are blindly re-pinning things that have websites that go to no where (not a big deal when it's a funny picture, more so when it's 'follow these instructions to happy organized home")
Nutella is the new ingredient for any dessert recipe
Mason jars are the new "it" containers for everything from summer fun drinks to baking cake in to using as a vase.
I love pinterest, I really do, but I also recognize that there is no way I am ever going to make half of the things I have pinned. As my husband has told me, it's like the new magazine for people to oohh and aaahh over. I don't disagree, but it sparks some little bit of self doubt when you see what people are pinning. "Am I doing cool enough things around my house?" "Should I be craftier?" "What if I don't know how to make 50 random meals from what I have on hand?" "Do people really have time to do all of this and how the hell do I make time for just one of these ideas?"
A perfect category in which the above worries come into play is the "Brilliant ideas and tips for around the house". Nothing like making you slap your head and say, "Why didn't I think of some of these?" Of course, two minutes after you pin it, you can't remember one simple idea that seemed so second nature when you were reading and so the cycle continues.
A lot of what I a pin are ideas that I hope to reference when Colin is older. Ideas for keeping kids entertained that involve simple household items or cool craft projects they can make and occupy themselves for an hour or so. I also like to pin gift ideas and crafty things around the house in the event I find time and want to make something homemade (which I love to do). But I try to at least skim the articles/blogs/sites and see if it is anything I would honestly every try to attempt on my own. Some of the pins involve some really whacked out steps or materials and all I can think is, "Really? You think people are honestly going to be able to do that on their own?" But that is what Pinterest is for after all, imagining the possibilities even if they aren't possible for you.
Food recipes I have gotten a bit more discriminating of because there are SO many food pins. I am trying to get on board with using the crock pot more, but some sites use some really terrible ingredients. The fact that something has 5 ingredients or less is not always a plus in the dishes favor no matter how quick it is. I like to enjoy my food. I have made a couple of things from my pins and had varying degrees of success. I am happy to try new things, but just not every day.
*gets on soapbox*
One of my bigger pet peeves about Pinterest pins are the ones that use the tag line, "I'll be glad I pinned this one day". I can't stand it. That's the whole purpose of Pinterest!! You "pin it" so you can reference it at some point in the future. This pet peeve also includes things like, "Definitely making this one day" or any other statement which implies that you think you'll do something with the pin at a later date. I want to write NO DUH! in response to many of these, but as Pinterest doesn't really have a medium for that (and thank god they don't) I vent my annoyances here. Every time you re-pin something, you have the option to change the text that goes with it. Do us all a favor and remove those silly statements and just give a two sentence summary of what you pinned if appropriate. Comics don't need summaries, a simple Haha, LOL, Hysterical, Hilarious, or other such statement is perfect.
*gets off soapbox*
With that I say, if you haven't joined the Pinterest community and want to see some fun things, what are you waiting for? :) Happy Pinning!
I posted to Facebook the other day that I had learned the following things from Pinterest:
People appear to keep everything in cute labeled baskets and never seem to have anything out of place even if they are organizing a toddlers room!
People are blindly re-pinning things that have websites that go to no where (not a big deal when it's a funny picture, more so when it's 'follow these instructions to happy organized home")
Nutella is the new ingredient for any dessert recipe
Mason jars are the new "it" containers for everything from summer fun drinks to baking cake in to using as a vase.
I love pinterest, I really do, but I also recognize that there is no way I am ever going to make half of the things I have pinned. As my husband has told me, it's like the new magazine for people to oohh and aaahh over. I don't disagree, but it sparks some little bit of self doubt when you see what people are pinning. "Am I doing cool enough things around my house?" "Should I be craftier?" "What if I don't know how to make 50 random meals from what I have on hand?" "Do people really have time to do all of this and how the hell do I make time for just one of these ideas?"
A perfect category in which the above worries come into play is the "Brilliant ideas and tips for around the house". Nothing like making you slap your head and say, "Why didn't I think of some of these?" Of course, two minutes after you pin it, you can't remember one simple idea that seemed so second nature when you were reading and so the cycle continues.
A lot of what I a pin are ideas that I hope to reference when Colin is older. Ideas for keeping kids entertained that involve simple household items or cool craft projects they can make and occupy themselves for an hour or so. I also like to pin gift ideas and crafty things around the house in the event I find time and want to make something homemade (which I love to do). But I try to at least skim the articles/blogs/sites and see if it is anything I would honestly every try to attempt on my own. Some of the pins involve some really whacked out steps or materials and all I can think is, "Really? You think people are honestly going to be able to do that on their own?" But that is what Pinterest is for after all, imagining the possibilities even if they aren't possible for you.
Food recipes I have gotten a bit more discriminating of because there are SO many food pins. I am trying to get on board with using the crock pot more, but some sites use some really terrible ingredients. The fact that something has 5 ingredients or less is not always a plus in the dishes favor no matter how quick it is. I like to enjoy my food. I have made a couple of things from my pins and had varying degrees of success. I am happy to try new things, but just not every day.
*gets on soapbox*
One of my bigger pet peeves about Pinterest pins are the ones that use the tag line, "I'll be glad I pinned this one day". I can't stand it. That's the whole purpose of Pinterest!! You "pin it" so you can reference it at some point in the future. This pet peeve also includes things like, "Definitely making this one day" or any other statement which implies that you think you'll do something with the pin at a later date. I want to write NO DUH! in response to many of these, but as Pinterest doesn't really have a medium for that (and thank god they don't) I vent my annoyances here. Every time you re-pin something, you have the option to change the text that goes with it. Do us all a favor and remove those silly statements and just give a two sentence summary of what you pinned if appropriate. Comics don't need summaries, a simple Haha, LOL, Hysterical, Hilarious, or other such statement is perfect.
*gets off soapbox*
With that I say, if you haven't joined the Pinterest community and want to see some fun things, what are you waiting for? :) Happy Pinning!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Twiglet's Nursery
The making of Twiglet's nursery has been a bit of a journey. We already had the room picked that we would convert when the time came, so that part was already determined. The hard part was waiting until we found out what we were having and THEN getting together a game plan. I think it's very easy to just do what everyone else is doing, order a room in a bag, and call it a day. Unfortunately this is not how I work. For one, it costs too much to do it that way and for another, it lacks personality and creativity (for me).
In keeping with the "theme" of the rest of our house, we decided to kind of do a coastal/sea theme. I didn't want 100% under the sea because I didn't like that, but I did want sea turtles and whales to be a part of the room. We settled on painting the room a shade of blue that's in a lot of the rest of the house and adding some stripes. That was the starting point I had and then things kind of came together one piece at a time. We knew what we were going to use for the dresser (my old craft dresser which was a kids dresser that was being put to the dumpster by a stupid rich lady years ago, so I stole it and have been using it ever since). We just needed to repaint it and find some knobs for it. I had never bothered putting knobs on the entire time I was using it, but I thought it might be nice to get some now. :) Etsy turned out to be extremely useful for that project. There was also a kitchen cart I had from IKEA that it nice and open and would be perfect for a changing station, so that was also taken care of. My parents had decided they want to buy the crib, so that was a huge purchase off our minds. Rob's parents purchased the glider and so all the major pieces of furniture were covered. My sister surprised me with hand drawn pictures of sea creatures to hang on the walls. Absolutely love them! The letters were paper mache` ones from the craft store we painted to match the room. The starfish idea came later in the process. And all of the fabric was purchased from fabric.com (using coupon codes of course). For roughly $250 we trans formed the room into a cute baby boy's nursery.
So here's what we started with:
And this was the progress that was made along the way:
And here is the finished product:
Now all we have left to do is add Twiglet and we will be complete!
In keeping with the "theme" of the rest of our house, we decided to kind of do a coastal/sea theme. I didn't want 100% under the sea because I didn't like that, but I did want sea turtles and whales to be a part of the room. We settled on painting the room a shade of blue that's in a lot of the rest of the house and adding some stripes. That was the starting point I had and then things kind of came together one piece at a time. We knew what we were going to use for the dresser (my old craft dresser which was a kids dresser that was being put to the dumpster by a stupid rich lady years ago, so I stole it and have been using it ever since). We just needed to repaint it and find some knobs for it. I had never bothered putting knobs on the entire time I was using it, but I thought it might be nice to get some now. :) Etsy turned out to be extremely useful for that project. There was also a kitchen cart I had from IKEA that it nice and open and would be perfect for a changing station, so that was also taken care of. My parents had decided they want to buy the crib, so that was a huge purchase off our minds. Rob's parents purchased the glider and so all the major pieces of furniture were covered. My sister surprised me with hand drawn pictures of sea creatures to hang on the walls. Absolutely love them! The letters were paper mache` ones from the craft store we painted to match the room. The starfish idea came later in the process. And all of the fabric was purchased from fabric.com (using coupon codes of course). For roughly $250 we trans formed the room into a cute baby boy's nursery.
So here's what we started with:
And this was the progress that was made along the way:
 |
| Gallon of Behr paint - $34 |
 |
| Accent paint - Had dark blue, $17 for quart of the green (Behr) |
 |
| Re-purposed dresser getting a new coat of paint |
 |
| Art work from my sister - free, Frames - $8 each with coupons from Michaels |
 | ||
Bed skirt fabric -
|
 |
| Curtain Lining and fabric - Premier Prints Coral White/Chartreuse $57 with enough left over for an accent pillow case (yet to be made) |
And here is the finished product:
 |
| Starfish - $3 each with coupons from Michaels, picture hanger backs were hot glued onto the back to hang them in the wall. |
 |
| Book Sling fabric - Turtles Green/Blue ($12 for 1.5 yards, way more than was needed, saving extra for quilting project), Curtain hardware - $4.50 (used coupon), dowel rods - $3 |
 |
| Paper Mache` letters - $2 each |
 |
| Knobs from Etsy $22 |
 |
| Lamps - free from Rob's parents, new lamp shade ($10) and socket ($4) |
 |
| Mortimer!! |
Now all we have left to do is add Twiglet and we will be complete!
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Project Wrap-up
We have been working on a number of projects around the house that are finally getting wrapped up. Some are those annoying pesky projects that aren't glamorous but need to get done and others are completing projects that have been more or less hanging open for that one last step to be finalized. Either way, the thing they all share in common is that they are DONE! Here's the project wrap up!
The Master Bath
Before:
We started this overhaul the day after we got the keys to the house because I think wooden toilet seats are just the most disgusting thing on the planet. So that was immediate and the paint job and new hardware were within the past month. We put in a new towel bar to accommodate two towels instead of one and upgraded the toilet paper holder to match. Some day we might tackle the tile, but not anytime soon.
After:
Kitchen:
Before:
This was one of those pesky projects that just required moving the stove and applying a coat of paint to make the wall look more continuous instead of like it had a huge void (by something like say a huge ugly double oven circa 1970s).
After:
Basement:
This is a two part project update/completion.
Before Part 1:
Apparently this is as close as I can get to a before photo for this part of the basement. We did have our chairlifts in here against the far way (with the peg board) since we moved in, but they were largely in the way. We moved them against the other wall, sorted through all the old paint the prior owners left behind, hung our bikes, and re-arranged the peg board.
After Part 1:
By placing all this stuff in this "cubby" in the basement, we were able to open up the floor space a lot more to allow for the next phases of the basement overhaul. Which is essentially trying to make the most out of our storage space.
Before Part 2:
Our silly washer/dryer/deep sink configuration. We knew we were going to need to fix this when we bought the house. It was functional, but not very efficient for a few reasons. One, the dryer piping (which you can't see) makes roughly 4 right turns just to get a good run along the ceiling. For every right angle in the pipe, that's like adding another 5 feet of pipe to get to the outside. Not to mention a choke point for dust and clogging. Rob and my father-in-law were able to move the deep sink over to swap the configuration of the washer and dryer, cutting down the amount of pipe needed and eliminating all those right turns. The other perk is that our washer (not shown) being a front loading machine has a door that opens to the right. Now I won't have to toss clothes over the door into the dryer. WOHOO!
After:
I am currently running a load of laundry now just to see what the improved efficiency of our dryer is. When they took the piping off it was very heavily coated with dust and junk. Now with clean flexible piping, we should be getting better air flow! This is when you know you have reached adulthood folks, when new piping on a dryer causes you to do laundry just to see how much better your dryer runs.
So those were a number of projects just hanging open that are now officially closed. Of course, let's celebrate but remember, there's a much longer list of "haven't even started" projects just waiting. Ahhh, home ownership!
The Master Bath
Before:
We started this overhaul the day after we got the keys to the house because I think wooden toilet seats are just the most disgusting thing on the planet. So that was immediate and the paint job and new hardware were within the past month. We put in a new towel bar to accommodate two towels instead of one and upgraded the toilet paper holder to match. Some day we might tackle the tile, but not anytime soon.
After:
Kitchen:
Before:
This was one of those pesky projects that just required moving the stove and applying a coat of paint to make the wall look more continuous instead of like it had a huge void (by something like say a huge ugly double oven circa 1970s).
After:
Basement:
This is a two part project update/completion.
Before Part 1:
Apparently this is as close as I can get to a before photo for this part of the basement. We did have our chairlifts in here against the far way (with the peg board) since we moved in, but they were largely in the way. We moved them against the other wall, sorted through all the old paint the prior owners left behind, hung our bikes, and re-arranged the peg board.
After Part 1:
By placing all this stuff in this "cubby" in the basement, we were able to open up the floor space a lot more to allow for the next phases of the basement overhaul. Which is essentially trying to make the most out of our storage space.
Before Part 2:
Our silly washer/dryer/deep sink configuration. We knew we were going to need to fix this when we bought the house. It was functional, but not very efficient for a few reasons. One, the dryer piping (which you can't see) makes roughly 4 right turns just to get a good run along the ceiling. For every right angle in the pipe, that's like adding another 5 feet of pipe to get to the outside. Not to mention a choke point for dust and clogging. Rob and my father-in-law were able to move the deep sink over to swap the configuration of the washer and dryer, cutting down the amount of pipe needed and eliminating all those right turns. The other perk is that our washer (not shown) being a front loading machine has a door that opens to the right. Now I won't have to toss clothes over the door into the dryer. WOHOO!
After:
I am currently running a load of laundry now just to see what the improved efficiency of our dryer is. When they took the piping off it was very heavily coated with dust and junk. Now with clean flexible piping, we should be getting better air flow! This is when you know you have reached adulthood folks, when new piping on a dryer causes you to do laundry just to see how much better your dryer runs.
So those were a number of projects just hanging open that are now officially closed. Of course, let's celebrate but remember, there's a much longer list of "haven't even started" projects just waiting. Ahhh, home ownership!
Friday, January 13, 2012
Half Bath Facelift
We know that our free time is about to get a whole lot more precious in terms of what we can and cannot do or have the ability to do come April, so we are trying to check things off our list as best we can now. One of these things was adding a fresh coat of paint to the main level half bathroom. It's probably one of the most used bathrooms in the house and we just hadn't done anything with it.
For the most part it was ok, but the flat beige paint was really starting to wear on us. That and the brushed brass fixtures, crappy light switches and plugs. We also figured since it was one of the smallest rooms in the house we would paint, it's the perfect size job for a weekend project.
After about 3-4 coats of this yellow paint (same as the color in our bedroom), we were looking good! I have to say, painting in a small space while pregnant can be challenging. Don't worry, I had the fan on and the door open, but maneuvering around the back side of the toilet was pretty tricky.
Please enjoy the still frame, 360 tour. :)
In addition to the paint, we swapped out the vent cover, light switches, towel bar, toilet paper holder, and installed a towel ring and a GFCI plug. The plug is probably what I am most proud of. We read the instructions, figured out which were the load wires and which were the line wires and installed correctly on the first try! As Rob said, "Now our house is slightly less dangerous!" We didn't have any GFCI plugs anywhere in our house. It was noted in our home inspection that we should do something about that. One done, probably 3-4more to go!
The only things we have left to do are the change the sink faucet (had to locate the basin wrench we borrowed and thought we gave back, but found we still had it) and add a couple of pieces of art. We will eventually replace the lights with brushed nickel to complete the look, but we can't find ones we like that don't cost $60 a piece which I think it too much for lights right now. These are still functional, although they are dated looking.
For those keeping track at home, there are now only 5 rooms (3 of which are bathrooms) and our upstairs stairwell and hallway that remain unpainted from when we moved in. With any luck, 2 of those bathrooms and one of those rooms will be painted very soon!
For the most part it was ok, but the flat beige paint was really starting to wear on us. That and the brushed brass fixtures, crappy light switches and plugs. We also figured since it was one of the smallest rooms in the house we would paint, it's the perfect size job for a weekend project.
After about 3-4 coats of this yellow paint (same as the color in our bedroom), we were looking good! I have to say, painting in a small space while pregnant can be challenging. Don't worry, I had the fan on and the door open, but maneuvering around the back side of the toilet was pretty tricky.
Please enjoy the still frame, 360 tour. :)
In addition to the paint, we swapped out the vent cover, light switches, towel bar, toilet paper holder, and installed a towel ring and a GFCI plug. The plug is probably what I am most proud of. We read the instructions, figured out which were the load wires and which were the line wires and installed correctly on the first try! As Rob said, "Now our house is slightly less dangerous!" We didn't have any GFCI plugs anywhere in our house. It was noted in our home inspection that we should do something about that. One done, probably 3-4more to go!
The only things we have left to do are the change the sink faucet (had to locate the basin wrench we borrowed and thought we gave back, but found we still had it) and add a couple of pieces of art. We will eventually replace the lights with brushed nickel to complete the look, but we can't find ones we like that don't cost $60 a piece which I think it too much for lights right now. These are still functional, although they are dated looking.
For those keeping track at home, there are now only 5 rooms (3 of which are bathrooms) and our upstairs stairwell and hallway that remain unpainted from when we moved in. With any luck, 2 of those bathrooms and one of those rooms will be painted very soon!
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