Year End Push on Projects

November 8, 2016November 16, 2016 / Winnie / 3 Comments

It’s the beginning of November and I am getting ready to plan for 2017! Can you believe it? 2016 can pretty much suck it. I mean that in the nicest way possible, but 2016? You really got to me. It’s not you, it’s me. I love you but I am not IN love with you. I really just need to work on myself. You deserve better. Can we be just friends?

Enough cliches!!! I am tired of this BS and I want out.

Dave and I are in the home stretch on our 2016 projects.

~~Front Walk Way~~ Still need a roof

~~Back fence~~

Back Gate

~~Master Bathroom~~

Basement – Bathroom and Family Room

A few things that we will be working on between now and the end of the year:

1. I need to finalize the furniture placement in the basement. When it is cold out, we use this room way more. Winter is Skyrim and Assassins Creed time. This is what it looked like after the new paint job.

the happy crazy house basement

This is what I changed it to……just to see.

the happy crazy house basement

I am not sure…..

The couch visually encroaches on the door to Jules’ room. Besides that, the placement works with where the TV’s are. I am not ready to purchase another couch for the basement. Say What? I know!! I am a couch hoarder, but this couch works for the kids. It folds out and is the perfect place for massive kid sleepovers. Maybe if I moved the guitars?

What do you think? Should we take a vote?

I should also let you know that THIS wall is destined for a fireplace insert. Centered under the window.

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2. Putting an awning/roof over the front door.

the happy crazy house front walkway

Our front walkway is looking amazing, but I am looking forward to getting a roof over the front door. Not just to protect us and those that use this door, but also to give us one more layer between inside and the elements. It gets cold and snowy here, peeps.

3. Completing the basement bathroom. The bathroom has been fully functioning since we put in the pricey upflow toilet. What we need to do is finish the sheet-rock and the tile work. We demoed the tile at the bottom of the stairs in the basement, so that we could have one type of tile downstairs.

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So close, yet so far.

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That sliver of tile at the top of the stairs is what was at the bottom as well. they will all match by the end of this!

With Dave’s travel schedule this will be a challenge, but one I think we can conquer. Wish us luck! Anything we do not finish in 2016, I will quietly slide over to the 2017 list 😉 you know, cause 2016 has been a b*&#@.

1:09 Oh Danny McBride, you sure know how to make a girl laugh.

Friday Wrap Up 9

October 14, 2016 / Winnie / 4 Comments

Movement happening on some of our home projects. Yeah! I will be updating the House Tour tab with the pictures below.

Jules asked to make some changes in her room. When Jules and Jane split rooms, this is what it looked like:

Jules picked out the bedding and pillows herself, but a few years down the line, she was not happy spending time in her room.

Here is where we are right now. Still a work in progress, but Jules is much happier.

Toy chest went from a bright red to a denim blue.
Bedding changed from the red and white polka dot to a shabby chic floral.
Art changed to reflect the new colors.

The one thing we are not sure about is her Art Cart. All of her art supplies are housed here – but it is very awkward. It does not really fit anywhere in the room. This will probably change in the future. hahahaha – silly me. everything changes in this house.

New Artwork:

Both prints were instant downloads from Etsy

Our walkway from the driveway to the house has also been improved. Here is the before:

Winter is coming. hehe I did not want to have another winter where I needed to pick my way through the rocks to my front door, so Dave made it a priority. Goal – get it done before the first snow flies. We loaded up and headed to Home Depot to get our supplies.

End result:

Archer photobomb

We are still working on the finishing touches. If you look in the above photo the first stair needs to be completed and trimmed out. Outside of those small details – the Goal was met. Snow came this week:

the happy crazy house

Have a great weekend Peeps!

Green Tomato Salsa – Canning

September 22, 2014 / Winnie / 2 Comments

Our area had an early frost – and no amount of covering was saving my tomato plants …sad face….. In an attempt to save my tomato crop – I pulled all of them and made green tomato salsa. I had ALOT of tomatoes so this canning recipe is for a large batch.

42 cups of chopped or pureed green tomatoes (I used our food processor as I like a less chunky kind of salsa)
5 tablespoons of minced garlic
6 chopped onions
6 chopped jalapenos – adjust this based on your heat tolerance
2 1/2 cups lemon or lime juice
2 cups chopped cilantro (this is a very polarizing ingredient – do not feel like you need to put it in)
2 tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoons pepper
2 tablespoons oregano
2 tablespoons salt
19 quart jars

Here I am getting started on my food processor (I did add in some tomatoes that were slightly ripe)

–

To give you some perspective on how much this is.

and pull it back……

Prep your water bath, jars and lids. Simmer and don’t boil.

Combine and boil the tomatoes, onions, peppers, and garlic….once the mixture is boiling add in the lemon/lime juice and spices.

Reduce heat and simmer from 5 to 20 minutes.

Carefully ladle the salsa into the hot, prepped jars – add the lid and the screw on lid/band….don’t over tighten.

Place filled jars in the water bath and let boil for 20 minutes – depending on location.

Remove and allow to cool. Check the lids before labeling and storing. All lids should be down.

Yum!

Decluttering OR Living with Less – The Plan

September 9, 2014 / Winnie / 1 Comment

Depending on who you follow on Pinterest…this could be a topic you have seen so many times you could puke. Well…me too. Until I came across this site and this article.

http://www.lifeedited.com/residential-behavioral-architecture-101/

Now, over the past couple of years I have heard the terms downsizing, decluttering, small living, etc. It sounds so freeing….for other people. I never thought I would drink the Kool Aid. A few articles that I was drawn into later and I realized that there are things in my house that I haven’t touched for months. I decided to take a step and worked on my closet.

https://thehappycrazyhouse.com/2014/06/12/organization-shoot-me-now/

Here is my ‘After’:

Not gunna lie…..I let it get super messy again. BUT I have not added to it, which is good. I was able to get it cleaned up in 10 minutes which is a miracle and a testament to keeping only the things you wear.

So – I have decided to start working on each room in the house. I hope to get through the whole house by mid October. My plan is to do an initial run through that mimics this……http://redefinedmom.com/how-to-declutter-your-house-in-five-minutes/ and then do a second round that is a more cut throat.