Girl with the Pink Toolbelt

Last we left off, the closet looked like this: You can read all about those details here Still left on the list was- Drawer front for laundry Add additional shelf between cardigans and clutches Finish shelf above clutches Trim pieces for all exterior areas of plywood Baseboards added back in.   Shelf above top bar on right side Shelf above top bar on left Transition piece between rug from bedroom and floors of the closet.  Well I can finally say that I finished the shelf above the clutches, trim pieces for MOST of the exterior area of plywood, baseboards were added back in and both shelves above the top bars on the left and right side are DONEZO!  Booyah!   So aside from the drawer front for the laundry area, an additional shelf above the cardigans and transition piece between the rug and floor of the closet, I just have some minimal touch up and caulking to do.   First lets look at the trim I put onto the exposed p...

I really feel like this has been the project that never ends.  It doesn't help that I keep changing my mind on what needs to go where.  It'll definitely be interesting once it is finally finished to go back to the original drawings and see what it was going to be compared to how it actually turned out.  So let's talk progress. Last time I updated the back portion was finished and there was a little progress on the right side.   Let's talk about the top photo.  As you can see the bottom of the tall shelf area wasn't painted- that is where the pull out laundry will be.   I haven't finished the front of it yet- it'll be a sort of cabinet door thing that when you pull it out, the drawer with the basket will slide out.  Kind of like some kitchens how the trash is inside a cabinet and the drawer pulls it out.   Today I finally was able to work a little more on this side and got this far.   As you ca...

Well for the time being, nothing.  But..... and this is a HUGE BUT- almost like a Kardashian sized one..... I fell in love with a new project.  I haven't fully committed yet.  BUT (there it is again).... odds are I'm starting on it in the fall or when I finally finish my master closet in 2063. Speaking of the closet- I do have some teaser photos.  It's by no means even close to being done.  This is just the semi-finished right side.  Here we stand now. I ran out of wood and haven't been back to get some more.  Don't you hate when that happens?  ;) But 2 of the 3 shelves are in and 1 of the 2 hanging bars is in.  Actually I already have my clothes hanging on it but that photo will have to wait. So back to the new favorite project that I haven't started yet.  Let's talk kitchen cabinets.  When I bought the house, they were fugly orangey oak.  I apologize- I'm totally exposing my boob light to you.  NSFW photo her...

So I've been seeing a ton of DIY coasters on Pinterest lately.  Well while my family was here, we decided to get our craft on and make some of our own.  Well, I kind of forced it on them but they had fun. It started when we went to a local winery here in Bloomington called Oliver Winery.  I've been a couple of times with friends and last year I brought my aunt along when she and my dad were here working on the paver patio.  She liked it so much that when she came out last week, she wanted to go again.  And you know me, I am all about tasting wine. So my uncle, two aunts and I headed over there last Monday and brought along a picnic lunch to have after the tasting.  The grounds of the winery are gorgeous and there is a huge grass area with tables overlooking a large pond with koi fish.  It's very serene and if I lived closer, I'd probably spend most of my weekends with a good book, a bottle glass of wine and a blanket out there. After sampling ou...

I won't discuss the lack of progress on the closet for too long.  But I'm hoping to get the right side done this weekend.  Hoping being the key word here.  I'm about half way there now, so it's not that there is lack of progress.  It's that there is lack of initiative to get it done. See my problem is that if it doesn't annoy the shit out of me, I tend to overlook it.  What I should have done is start with the two sides before doing the back portion where the shoe shelves are.  The clothes are hanging in the other closets- so they aren't annoying me.  The shoes, however, were all over my bedroom floor.  Had I left them there while working on the sides, I would have tripped over them repeatedly, therefore annoying the shit out of me, forcing me to get it done faster.  I have a weird thought process.  Only I can justify it.  So since my clothes are out of sight and not lying all over the floor, I don't feel the urgency to get 'er do...

So apparently getting this closet done isn't all that big of a priority.  You know, since I keep taking trips and all and ignoring the mess all over my usually immaculate bedroom.  DISASTER AREA.  Well after I was done going to all those wineries and staring at hot air balloons, I decided it was time to finish tackling the first part of the closet- the back part. Last we left off I had ripped out all of the shelves, removed the baseboards and spackled the holes. And then it dawned on me.....   let's make this even MORE of a project than it should be and rip out the carpet.  So..... this happened.

Sorry it's taken so long for me to post some progress shots of the closet.  But in reality, up until last Saturday, there was no progress.  I wanted to put thoughts to paper and really figure out what I wanted in the space.  Plus a side trip to Florida took me out of commission for a little bit. Damn you sun and pool. I still don't have a final drawing for the entire closet, but 2 of the 3 nooks are finalized so that's what I'll show you today.  One of my major delays aside from vacation was not wanting to have my clothes lying all over my floor for months while I figured out what the heck I was going to do.  Then it dawned on me one night that I own a house with 3 bedrooms that all have empty closets.  Ummm duh.  I could just hang my clothes in THOSE closets rather than put them on the floor.  Sometimes my blondeness amazes me. So back to what it looked like before- not paying attention to my color coordination obsession.  Or the mess. ...

Now that I have no events until July, it's time to really start thinking about my master closet reno.  Not that I haven't been silently obsessing over it every day when I get dressed.  Ugh I hate it.  It's going to be beautiful though.  Soon.  Hopefully. I keep bouncing ideas around and putting them to paper only to scratch them out and start all over again.  I've pulled a few pics from late night Pinterest searches that have caught my eye for one reason or another. I've compiled a list of "must haves" that I would like included in my new closet:

What I thought was going to be a quick update ended up with me swearing in the dark in my closet. This update took so long, the sun had actually gone down before I was done.  There's nothing like playing with electrical wires in the dark. So this all started when one of the ladies I work with brought me over a flyer for a flash 3 day sale at Menards, asking me if I'd seen it yet.  I hadn't so she pointed out a gorgeous chandelier that was on-sale from $79 to $29.  And the sale started that day. I almost asked my boss if I could leave right then because I knew that I had to go buy this chandelier.  I mean, I had no idea where the hell I was going to put it.  But for $29 I didn't really care.  When the clock finally struck 5pm I got the hell outta there and headed to the store. I walked up and down the aisles of light fixtures and couldn't find it so I asked the worker if she knew if they had it anywhere in stock.  She told me that unfortunately sh...

My goal on finishing the pantry was this upcoming weekend.  So it looks like I beat my goal.  YAY!  Plus it didn't hurt that my friends have invited themselves over for dinner on Sunday to give me a swift kick in the ass to get it done.  And while it's not technically finished per se, the build part of it is.  Now it's just time to find some pretty organizational bins and stock it back up.  My dining room table will thank me. So when we last chatted about the pantry we were here   I finally was able to get to Menard's the other day to get the last board since one of them had a big crack in it that I didn't catch when I purchased it.  Once I had the new board painted I was able to continue.  Also while I was there, I picked up different wood decorative brackets.  These ones worked so much better than the flimsy, cheap ones I purchased first.  Although I liked their simple shape a lot better as they were less chunky than ...

Last time I posted, I said I was going to start on the pantry.  After showing some photos of my ideal space and coming up with a rough sketch, I headed to Menards to pick up the wood.  There was an "11% rebate on your total purchase" sale going on.  So not only did get to use up my last rebate and a Christmas gift card, I will get another $20ish in rebates from this purchase too. This very nice boy asked me if I needed help as I wandered around the wood aisles.  I took him up on it seeing as though half of the wood I needed was upstairs and I'm not too big on heights or walking up high on a metal grate floor.  Woosie, party of one.  So I read off to him what I needed and he gathered up the supplies like the good little boy he was.  He even politely asked if I drew the sketch myself.  He was impressed by my straight lines apparently.  Too bad he was 16.  Too bad I'm not. Anyway.  Back to my pantry.  This is where we started....

So I've determined that I am all over the place with what I plan on tackling next in The Palace.  I was hoping for my master bedroom closet but I'm thinking it's going to more than likely be the pantry.  Whomp whomp.  Recently, I've been searching Pinterest from some ideas on what kind of changes I'd like to make.  Honestly, just ripping out those ugly wire shelves would be improvement enough. Obviously I needed some sort of shelving in there.  Cuz I'm not about to be leaving my food on the floor.  I mean, this is America.  Not happening.  I just needed to decide whether it's only going to be shelving or if I should add in some sort of cabinetry on the bottom with shelves on the top.  I also want to throw in a few extras- like a built in wine rack and a slide out basket for my potatoes so that they are no longer on the floor.   Wait, what?  I thought this was America?  Busted. So anyway- a girl can dream right?  I mean...