Vanity Area-- finally!

I had this idea about 2 years ago and am finally watching it come into fruition. But then it sat for a while like this--- unused. Embarrassing, I know. And we were down a dining room chair......

I have always dreamed of having a vanity area where I can get ready in the mornings and do my make-up, etc. and used to live in an apartment with a large bathroom that had a vanity section.... but honestly, I separate from the sink area. IDK that just never seemed very.... sanitary to me.... So anyways, I have been on the lookout for a "desk" of sorts to use for a vanity section.

A while back, I found this desk at KOHL's clearance section for $25. Yes, the whole desk, retailed at $279, was on sale for TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS!!!!!!! Obviously, I was a little skeptical so I literally pulled every single piece and styrofoam and screws out in the middle of the floor. The manager came over (maybe there were complaints?!) to ask what I was doing but I was not going to pass up a deal of that caliber!!!! Every single screw and piece was in working order. Apparently, it was just their floor model that had been packaged back into the box to be sold. DEAL!!!!! I can't find it on their website so maybe they discontinued it. either way, it was a steal of a deal for me!

I then came across a pinterest post (there are many) about using a shower rod with hooks to hang necklaces. I LOVED this idea!!!!! But I didn't like the idea that the hooks could fall off if you were pulling jewelry off in a hurry. So I snagged THESE hooks for THIS set at IKEA to solve that problem. And I really like the look of it!

This last week, I found this stool, with storage under the seat, and the full-price was $30 so it came home with me :) and that is now my new favorite store in Plano. LOVE LOVE LOVE BT Furnishings (Corner of 15th/Custer). What would you store under the seat cushion if this was your stool?

Found the decoration for above the necklaces for half-price at Hobby Lobby this week.....

Added the finishing touches (items on desk and this drawer-pull that I puchased at Home Depot)

 

And here's what it looks like now.

All my make-up fits in the drawer and my make-up brushes go in the tin bucket next to my lighted mirror(thanks MamMa) so I don't have to worry about my bad habits leaving junk sitting out, since it all has a place. So excited for this whole project and I LOVE the way it turned out!!!!!!!!



Have a lovely day :)

Amanda--- from let's get handy

Life Gets Crazy

Life does get crazy sometimes and I'm usually pretty good about rolling with the punches- and actually even find joy and humor in them..... As I sit in my home, in July in TEXAS, with no AC, lemme tell you about how the last 2 weeks have been cray-cray.......

So after we got back from Padre, Hubs was planning on leaving again for another business trip-- to San Antonio-- and was planning on making a few stops along the way to see some old college buddies. My mom was coming in from Houston to visit and I had some house projects that I was excited to get done......... But you know how they say to make God laugh-- tell him your plans........

So I was  all ready to knock out a couple home projects when I woke up violently sick on June 20th. I have never ever ever been so sick in my entire life.... Hubs had to rush home from work to get me dressed and to the doctor since my vomit count was up to 7X since I had woken up 2 hours before. Couldn't even keep down pepto bismol. Ended up having bloodwork done and a shot of antibiotics in my hip :( The doctor said food poisoning but IDK.... I had cooked dinner the night before (for our anniversary) and Steve was feeling just fine. Something about my white blood cell count being high. It always makes me wonder how they count those things anyway.... But I did not recover for SIX days. And most of that time I was also viciously nauseous. Pretty much felt like I wasted an entire week of my life. And spent me most of the time hovering around a toilet. And I spent some of those days completely alone since Steve left for San Antone. So thankful for a mother-in-law who was close by, willing to have me "visit," bring me soup and jello, and is okay with me bringing the pup. I'm not sure what I would have done without her. Prob would have just cried and cried.

So my mom came to visit right as I was finally feeling alive again. We watched Breakfast at Tiffany's (for inspiration for a bridal shower I am planning for a friend), went shopping, bought some fabulous shoes from DSW and a gorgeous new top from the Limited, made Jello poke cake, ate strawberry ice cream, ate some delicious pasta salad--- my new FAVORITE recipe--- and volunteered at the church. Oh and did I mention that I tried to start my car one of those days and could only go in REVERSE?!?!?!? No matter what position (including park) i tried to put the gears in, I was only going in reverse. So AAA call later, 2 guys have shown up and diagnosed my car with two different problems..... and finally got it drive-able (by ZipTying the broken part back on---- oh. thanks. now I feel safe) I got it up to my favorite Goodyear, where our car guy, Greg, sees us regularly. Hubs still says no new car. I'm still working on him..... Then, on the same day as my car troubles, our home AC goes out. Landlord comes over and it miraculously starts working again. (of course, right?)

Well Steve comes home, my mom heads back to H-Town and life is good. And we even managed to score a King Size bed (w/frame) at an estate sale for a whopping-good-deal. We have slept together on a full-size for 2 years now so this has been heaven to us. Despite it being from an estate sale, the mattress looked brand new and had been in a mattress-cover since the day they brought it home. PERFECT! Got the old bed moved out and the new one in. Thankful for strong men who could lift that thing! One of Steve's buddies brought a truck over to help and we took him out to dinner (Mi Cocina) as a thank-you. Around 10pm, we returned home to a broken AC unit. So much for enjoying a wonderful first night on our new bed. The AC guy came out today and said the fan is broken. Still under warranty so they just have toget a new one-- he'll let us know when he gets it........... At least we have a portable AC unit in the bedroom and it's cool enough outside tonight to open the windows. Even the pup has been less than thrilled about the inside heat. Going anywhere away from the portable AC unit in the bedroom is miserable so projects and dishes and cooking and life are on hold.

Projects to come:

• Ditching the home-office idea and converting it to a guest bedroom----huuuuge project
• Kitchen pantry organization
• Bedroom Vanity area (almost done)
• Hosting a Bridal Shower/Brunch (Breakfast at Tiffany's Theme)
• posting pics of the gift I gave my sister for Sister's Day

So we might not have AC at home, but I did make some delightful Dr. Pepper Ice Cream tonight. Life is good :)

Amanda

Vacay- SPI

Sorry for neglecting the blog for a week-- spent a week in South Padre with my husband. He was there on business but we still managed to have a lovely time! Spent 4 nights and 5 entire days at the Isla Grand-- right on the BEACH! Our cabana room overlooked the tennis courts and beach. Can you say PERFECT! I took my kindle and read a couple books while on the beach, chillin under the umbrella. Our hotel also had a fabulous pool so we spent a lot of time there, too!

Highlights of our trip:

 

Going up to the top of a light house

Watching a professional sand castle builder

Out to dinner

Chillin on the beach

Details, Small Stuff and Scenery

US shots

All in all, it was fabulous vacation!!!! Got home late last night and  picked up the pup this morning. She had a GREAT report card and is currently snoring... musta had a blast!

And all those storms and rain in Dallas last week helped our crape myrtle bloom--- woke up to THIS this morning!

Already got another project in the works-- operation clean up/organize the bedroom and create an organized area area for a vanity.... pics to come soon :)

Adios,

Amanda from Let'sGetHandy

Hey there! This is my very first blog post EVER! I am way excited about this because this will be a place for me to show off all my projects I do around the house and since we live in a rental house that's constantly getting updated (which some people hate but we happen to love!), you're in for a real treat!

So you know I'm credible, I'm going to share the types of proejcts I have previously completed:

• I have redone furniture (an antique dresser, complete with paint thinner, laquer, sanding, more sanding, more laquer, and new knobs) It is now used as an end table in our living room- pics to come)
• Have another dresser waiting for a makeover-- that I pulled out of the dumpster about a year ago-- hubs was THRILLED to carry that sucker up the stairs to our apartment. I tend to like pieces in my home that have a story....
• Last Spring Break I got bored one day so I built a desk in a nook of our kitchen... without the landlords permission... but they said they liked it. MENTAL NOTE-ask next time...
• Painted walls. this might sound  lame but I'm really really talented at it (the trick is to tape it off first)
• And I like giving homemade gifts. Just recently gave a fabulous bulletin board to a fellow teacher I work with.... shoulda made one for my classrooms for next year....

And in the last year alone, our home has gone through:

• the laying of wood floors in living and dining area
• full replacement of all the siding with the concrete good stuff
• new fence posts in back
• brand new bathroom (see blog below)
• a new oven and garbage disposal
• the laying of sod in the front yard
• lots and lots of ivey removal. that stuff is a beast!
• the list goes on and on.

SO..... This will be fun! (And brace yourself since there will be many this summer since I'm off of work-- teacher perk--- and hubs is at the office everyday).

We're in the process of transitioning back into our master bedroom/bathroom because of a major water leak and 2 months of fixing, demolding (eww) and new tile and paint... The Landlord (abbreviated LL from here on out because that's how you sign it in ASL and already tend to be wordy... every bit helps...) and contractor did everything but I'll claim the painting. :)

Story Time.........
It all started when I came home one day and stepped on wet carpet (yuck) and heard water leaking in the wall in the bathroom, behind the shower tile. Plumber came out, found the hot water leak, and left us with this disaster:

Those shower faucets needed to be replaced anyway and LL is paying for it all.... So demolition begins.....

The LL picked these fabulous 6'X6' white tiles-- which I LOVE!!!

After it was grouted and faucets replaced, they were going to paint the wall cream-- which I hated. So I volunteered to paint it and pay for the new color. So after a few trips to my Mecca (Home Depot) for paint samples and then, eventually a gallon of paint.

Let's admire that shot. my photography is getting so good, thanks to Instagram, for allowing me a creative outlet to show off my skills! (@schmandie) So i brought home paint samples. My friend, Magan, suggested Idon't go too dark (especially since it's a small room)...

My cousin, Sabrina, works at the HD and recommended that I get the paint in a Satin Sheen. I didn't know what that was but the paint guy did. So I brought home the paint, taped everything up (that's the most important part),

And voila! new shower! We put up a waffle weave white shower curtain, that Santa brought us for Christmas last year (when did we get so old that having a new shower curtain was an exciting thing?!?!)

So now we are back into using this bathroom again and couldn't be more happy at the results.

Have a lovely Friday :)

----Amanda from Let's Get Handy