but first, let me paint a table

For my first project back in this game the plan was to do something easy, something attainable, something quick. So for my first order of business I settled on spray painting a bistro table for our backyard. It seemed like the logical first step in a yard that desperately needs mowing, massive weeding, garden beds, a new fence, a deck, a walkway that isn't broken or overgrown with grass. Because who would notice all those minor details when they have a bitchin' cute table to look at?

But here's the thing, you can't spray paint around a baby. And as my days lately consist of time spent almost exclusively with a near one year old, the process wasn't as easy or quick as I had hoped. In fact, what I intended as a two day project (with most of that time spent allowing paint to dry) became a week long venture done in many, short increments. Live and learn.

Here's the table in its uninspiring before state. Dingy and dirty but not entirely terrible, just blah. After a quick wipe down it was ready for paint (and new seat covers, but that will have to be a project for another day).

And here it is after. Just a few coats of blue Lagoon spray paint, pieced together during baby nap times throughout the week, and the table was lookin' pretty good. But, I was a little bored. I mean, spray paint a table, biiiiig deal. The table's purpose needed an upgrade too. And then as I was falling asleep one night, I realized: it could be a game table. It has to be a game table. Because someday, when my backyard resembles more of a livable space (for humans, as opposed to the forest creatures who currently enjoy its unkempt state) I am probably, hopefully, going to want to spend time out there.

As it turns out, purchasing chalkboard spray paint gave me a chance to practice another goal I have for all my future craft endeavors: follow the instructions. I am not very good at doing this. Because I like results. Fast. And in the past have regularly cut corners to just get a project done. So this time I read the instructions. And followed them. Almost. I applied the first coat. And waited the required time to do the second. And then I waited a bit more. It said to wait 48 hours to coat the area in chalk to ready it for future use. But. 48 hours is a lot of hours. So I compromised. And assured myself it was warm enough out, so surely it would dry faster. Maybe 48 hours turned into 4. Whatever man. At least I followed the instructions to chalk the whole area, which is a step that I would have skipped when I was young(er) and foolish(er). And now it's done. And I love it. And I get to share it with you.

I can just imagine sitting outside on a cool summer evening playing tic-tac-toe, hangman, or my own personal favorite...

So, please, feel free to come over and hang out in my backyard with me. Ignore the to do list yet to be started and we'll debate important life issues over lemonade. Like if you're meant to marry Bieber and have 143 kids while living in shack on Jupiter.

mischief of one kind or another

About three years ago I started this blog. And almost exactly three years ago, I stopped this blog.

I had plans to revamp the garage in our rental house, clear out all the junk and turn it into a usable rumpus room (all the while chronicling it for your viewing pleasure). The garage needed some serious attention in the form of cleaning, organizing, painting and furnishing. I liked the prospects of the space and was enjoying the beginning stages of the process when I hit a pretty awesome snag in the plan.

I got knocked up.

And suddenly the lifting of boxes, deep cleaning of the concrete floor and painting of the walls seemed a little less desirable in my condition. So I opted for lounging around watching Oprah's final season (crying) while eating Hawaiian pizza instead of manual labor. I assumed (wrongly) that I would get back to the project in due time. But our baby Oliver died. The garage became the place where his toys were bagged up, his cosleeper boxed and stored in the rafters. And though it was cleaned within an inch of its life and organized by family who desperately needed an activity in the grief stricken aftermath, it was definitely not a room I wanted to be doing any rumpus-ing in. So I forgot about it. And this blog too.

Life kept going on, of course, as it tends to do. We got pregnant again. We bought a new house and moved. We gutted the floral and glittered walls down to the studs and spent four months renovating it back to livable conditions. And I was so busy choosing bathroom fixtures and paint colors and ceiling fans that I never even thought to write about it.

But here's the thing about renovating 1652 square feet in four months: you miss a few things. Or leave a few things unfinished. Or rush into making choices because your contractor tells you he needs your final decision by 5pm...and it's currently 3pm. It turns out that even when you are "done," there are still a lot of things to fix, and finish, and change.

So I'm back here, three years and a couple of lifetimes later, ready for a project. And though there's no wild rumpus room here, there's definitely mischief of one kind or another. There's a jungle of a backyard to tend to, crown molding to install, backsplash to tile, rooms that need the final decorative touch. (And lots, lots more. Trust me. I made a list.)

And I will be documenting each project for you, one wild thing at time.

slowly slowly slowly said the sloth

After taking a long break from blogging, and well, the entire garage project itself, I'm back. I fell deep in the pits of unemployed bliss (mostly succumbing to hours, hours, hours of abc family programming and daily grace video blogs). Though entirely necessary, it has put me behind schedule. But with the help of some serious intervention from a wise seven year old I know, I'm back on the cleaning wagon. I'm two days strong and can only hope I continue in time to be able to accomplish all the fun crafting that will be made available to me by having a nice, clean, organized garage.

For your benefit I will provide you with a snazzy before and after to show you (and me) that I have in fact accomplished something (however small) since the start of all these shenanigans.

Hey, there, messy garage. Show me what you're working with.

Mhm. That's nice. But look at 'er now!

And here it is, well on its way to being one cozy and welcoming rumpus room I'll say. Next up, gettin' a ladder and hoisting all those boxes up where they belong. Once that's all squared away, the real party will start: painting the walls. But for now, my assistant is demanding an otter pop, must go.

pretty in paint

Yesterday I completed my first assignment. I cleaned, painted, and organized a shelf. A small step in the grand scheme of garage overhaul 2011, but a step nonetheless.

The shelf was dirty, dingy and in dire need of a spruce. Seeing as it was only serving as a place to hold our ziplocks and other such kitchen overflow I wasn't too concerned with a high standard of painting. I wiped the shelf down and then threw a coat of white paint on top. I may or may not have pretended to be Tom Sawyer with a bucket of whitewash by my side and the sun beating down on me through the open garage door. But I digress...

The shelf went from this:

 

To this:

 

Better, huh? Okay, it's not rocket science that a shelf looks better with a fresh coat of paint, but still. It feels pretty good. 

So to put it all in perspective, here's what the shelf looks like two days ago, overflowing with kitchen appliances, science projects, and other unidentifiable objects:

 

And here she is, all shiny and new, outfitted with some cute new baskets (a Ross steal at 15 bucks for the pair) to hide the clutter: 

Not a total Betty, but a vast improvement.

And tomorrow I will get back to the cleaning, cleaning, cleaning of the rest of the garage. Which I have started, but nothing in the way of a glamorous before and after shot, yet. The current picture is more like a moved boxes from here to there and starting piling things according to junk vs. donate-able. A little less glamor and a lot more action.

one small step

Step one of this project will require an intensive cleaning of previously stated overrun-with-junk-garage. Thanks a lot, universe.

If I had realized how lengthy the first step of this process would be, I'm not certain this project would have gotten any farther than, "Oh hey, that sounds like fun." You know, a fleeting thought easily erased by flipping the television on and trying to keep up with those Kardashians.

Unfortunately it's too late now, because here I am, diving head first into the project. Heck, I created a blog for this nonsense, I must forge on. Reality tv distractions can't even stand in my way.

So here for your viewing pleasure, and (I'm certain) much to my mother's dismay, I must share with you the before photos of my dear, sweet garage. 

So much potential, eh?

(It hurts a little to look at, to be quite honest, but that just means the after shot is gonna feel so good, right?)

My first assignment will be the cleaning, painting and organizing of the shelf unit next to the door, in hopes that it will create space to hold some of our many newly acquired kitchen appliances.

Wish me luck. At least I have my handsome, mountain climber of a cat to keep me company.

limbo crisis averted

I find myself hovering in limbo. With my next teaching gig not starting for over a month and the wedding extravaganza done, what ever was this girl gonna do with herself until August? Sit still? Never.

A friend of mine and her husband are moving to Amsterdam (leaving most of their worldly possessions behind) and as I walked into their going away party her husband joked, "If you see anything you like, name your price." The joke was lost on me and by the time I was leaving the party, I had a lengthy list of furniture and knick knacks I would be happy to take off these world traveler's hands. I emailed my friend, who was so happy to be emptying her house and putting a couple bucks in her pocket before the big move, and soon I will be the proud owner of assorted furniture and more.

I'm in love with all my new acquisitions, but of course, didn't quite take the time entirely to think prior to purchasing: where is all of this stuff (a couch, a globe, and more, oh my) going to go? A minor detail. Though, could it be that when I so desperately needed a new project the universe, ever so subtly and kindly, dropped one in my lap?

The project began to formulate quickly when I joked to a friend that I would use all these newfound treasures by turning my garage into a usable hangout space, far from the storage unit that it has become overrun with kitchen wares, dirty laundry and more empty crate and barrel boxes than humanly imaginable.

"Yeah," my friend said. "A rumpus room."

Exactly.

Because, besides being totally fun to say, creating a rumpus room would answer several of my limbo created concerns. Something to do? Check! Productive? Absolutely. Cheap but challenging? I certainly hope so.  A satisfying and usable result? Fingers crossed.

So here we go. This blog will chronicle the month long (and more, I imagine) journey as I clean, create and craft my garage into something highly purposeful.

"And now," cried Max, "let the wild rumpus start."