Back 2 School: Rags & Riches

A Tale of Two Shelves

Once upon a time (yesterday), on a very rainy day...

I pulled a book out of of my library (okay, our IKEA bookshelf), and flipped through the pages.

I bought this book several months ago at a store filled with timeless treasures (Goodwill). I bought it, not to read - but to tear it apart and use the pictures for my own guilty pleasures.

Those up there? Two plain wooden shelves from IKEA. With a little stain on one side, the underside, I decided to use the maps in the book to decorate the top of the shelves.

Out came the fairest of them all - the Modge Podge.

I slathered it on thickly. Eh, the bumps are no big deal.  Gives it a bit of dimension, right? [don't worry, got most of those bumps out on the second round]

Look - there's Queen Creek... That was a surprise! I was grabbing random pages and cutting, cutting, cutting.

Here's a view of the top and bottom of Nic's new shelves. The brackets are also from IKEA. I will get a picture of the new shelves up on the wall when I am ready to shoot Nic's new room! Which needs to be done SUPER soon as school starts NEXT week.

The end.

Back 2 School: School Supplies

My eyes light up. I am giddy. I have an intense love for school supply shopping; I am not ashamed to admit it.

No matter what, I must resist. Going hog-wild, buying every school supply out there for a high-schooler BEFORE schedules, teachers and lists are confirmed is a huge waste! I've learned that the hard way. Each of Alex's teachers is going to want different things; a spiral notebook instead of a binder, for example. So - for the most part, I hold off until the first week of school is over. I do stock up on things like pencils, composition notebooks (more on that in a few days!) and loose leaf paper. Those things are always in demand.

Isabel... my sweet baby girl... takes after me. She is a supply snob! =) Thankfully, I can reel her in, most of the time. Her school provided us with a suggested back-to-school shopping list.

24 #2 Pencils

12 Blue or Black Pens

6 Red Pens

2 Pack Erasers

1 Dry Erase Marker

1 Whiteboard Eraser

7 Two-Pocket Folders (Various Colors)

2 Packs College Ruled Loose Leaf Paper

1 Box Colored Pencils

1 Set of Divider Tabs

1 Pencil Case

2 Composition Notebooks

We have purchased everything on Isabel's list. However, my list (and requirements) trump the schools. I am requiring Isabel to have a Composition Notebook for EACH class. If that means she needs to copy notes twice or photo-copy then tape notes into a second notebook, then that's what she will do.  I found this FANTASTIC plan - from a Math Teacher - that I will be incorporating into our school year, this year. More on that later this week!!

I want to add that, instead of ME running around the store, competing with other crazy moms, I decided to let Isabel pick out her supplies this year. Bottom line, she needed to pick out the cheapest item (as long as the value was good), she needed to focus on the sale items, and she needed to stick with a basic theme (we can pretty stuff up later; no need for expensive Hello Kitty folders). Here is the check list I made for her to take along to Target:

 I think this is my LEAST favorite grade to shop for - at least when it comes to school supplies. It's all so...VAGUE. Everyone shares. I know, I know... there's a reason for that. I'm just saying that it's not as fun. :)

Nic's school provided us with a school supply list early last month.

3 x 5 index cards

Anti-bacterial hand sanitizer

Clorox wipes

Colored pencils

Crayons (24 count)

Dry erase markers

Elmer's white glue

Erasers (pink rectangular)

Glue sticks

Kleenex
Pencils

Pencil pouch

Pencil top erasers

Pocket folder (with Brads) - 1

Copy paper

Student scissors

Watercolor paints

Ziplock bags (snack size)

Ziplock bags (sandwich size)

Ziplock bags (quart size)

Ziplock bags (gallon size)

Nic and I worked together to ensure we got everything on his list. This was a bit time consuming, but I know he enjoyed being part of the process. Plus, this was a great way to introduce him each of his supplies. We had great discussions about what each item might be used for. 

For all age groups, my biggest tip would be to check out the SALES! If you go too early or too late, you might miss the best prices. Timing is everything, so keep an eye out each week! It's okay to make several trips - especially if you have more than one kid! Use coupons!! Especially for things like sandwich bags and Kleenex!

If you've missed any of the other posts in the Back 2 School series, click here!

A Concrete Jungle

No, this post is not in reference to New York nor Alicia Keys. Instead, it's about Olive.

Remember when she was cute?! And piddling on the floor was clean-able? Yes, well, she's still cute, mostly. However, I am so over her using my expensive carpet as a pee pad. Okay, to be honest... it's been a while since she's been a bad doggie. She's trained now. But my carpet... has to go!

We were definitely planning on changing it out sooner or later, but spending some time in that room recently, painting, made us make-up our minds on SOONER rather than later.

The husband decided to pull all of the carpet yesterday evening while I was off getting my hairs cut.

Wait. This post is about the formals.

Here are some pics of that space now.

 

Yes... all those white spots on the walls were from my love of hanging any and everything several times. :) We are going to get the paint out and move right along.

We've figured our formals are about 350 square feet all together. Those two pieces of wood flooring might not be enough, now that I see the pictures.

I kid, I kid. We have to buy lots of flooring. Those are just my sample pieces. We are looking into Lumber Liquidators - with Marcos installing the floors himself. We had a third sample we wanted to look at; however, it's being mailed to us.

I am really leaning towards the one on the left. It's lighter than our table, but has very similar tones. It also goes well with our tile (a huge must!).

So, the husband got the ball rolling and we are going to have to move fast. I am not a fan of concrete floors, my formal's furniture in the hallway or the loud echo I get when I scream.

Anyone want to come help Marcos float these babies?!
Anyone?

I Gotz Me the Willies

This was yesterday morning, just before 11am. Marcos and I were sitting on the couch, chatting. And in walks this THING. And it's not just the get-up; it's his WHOLE demeanor. He's silent, slow, and purposeful.

We are no strangers to Nic's love of dressing up (here is an example!), but this just freaks me out!

Roll, Roll, Roll your Dough...

Or not.
Especially considering that my rolling pins now have several layers of stain on them!  If you are a Facebook fan, you may remember this picture I had posted to my wall:

If you are NOT a Facebook fan, why the heck not?!  :)

The rolling pins (top left) were scored during a visit to Goodwill, months and months ago. They were $1.99 a piece and at the looks of them, one or two were quite old. Oh, to be a slab of dough all those years ago. Imagine the pies those things helped create! Thankfully, I have a wonderful rolling pin myself (thanks, mom!) so I didn't need the extra pins to use. Rather, I thought they would look lovely above my cabinets. After the recent changes I made, I had one spot left to fill.

I took each of the rolling pins and sanded them down a little. You know, to remove the GRIME and a bit of the varnish/lacquer stuff.   Once sanded, I used two types of stain - Red Mahogany and Early American; I wanted there to be a little variance from the cabinets. After a few coats and playing with the colors, I let the rolling pins dry for a few days.

Then I got out my Handy Dandy helper, Alex, and he helped measure and hammer in REALLY long nails. The pins are currently resting on the nails. I may consider a more permanent way to hang them, but since we still need to paint the kitchen in the near future, I think they are holding up fine for now.

It's off center, you say? Well, that is a large space to fill and the rolling pins aren't very long. But that's okay - I have another brilliant idea.  I plan on adding a BREAD BOARD to the left of the pins.

One of my new favorite blogs, Our Vintage Home Love, sells bread boards of all shapes and sizes. She kinda got me hooked. So I am currently in the market for a new (or used) bread board that I can customize and hang up above my cabinets.

I think once I have the bread board up - I am done with accessorizing the kitchen. I want to keep it traditional and clean.

Mission accomplished, me thinks!

The Great Outdoors

I love taking pictures outside. For one, my camera does MUCH better out there. And there is nothing more beautiful than a stormy sky.  This post is so random, but I wanted to take a moment to capture the beauty I witnessed this week:

See? Beautiful!

Back 2 School: Let the Craziness Begin

Over the next few weeks or so, I will start talking about our back to school routines. I know that some of you will think I am off my rocker... but the truth is, school starts August 6 (for two of my kids, August 8 for Isabel). We are in the home stretch here. And you know what?! This is a first for me, folks. I have a Junior in High School, an 8th grader in Junior High, and a Kindergartner in Elementary. That's THREE different schools and three VERY different needs, schedules and experiences.

I am sad/excited that I have a kid almost through high school, and sad/excited about the fact that my BABY is starting Kindergarten. It's been 9 years since I've had a kid in Kindergarten... and I missed so many things with the first two because of crazy work schedules; I am anxious about Nic and the new things we get to experience together when he goes to school. It's like I am starting over. Except for the fact that I have my hands full with the other two, as well.

During this series, I am going to share with you how we got each kid ready, based on their grade level and needs. There will be some tricks and tips and some cool ideas from other moms [and teachers] via Pinterest.

To almost get us started (this series gets ways more serious at the end of the month) - let's talk about what's going on RIGHT now.

We cheated and went online to see if we could see Alex's schedule. We could.

Of course, this may not be the end all schedule, but it's what we will base his course fees on, his books on, etc. We went to book pick-up (and money give-away) day this morning. $161 dollars later, we are home and he has a stack of books, a few decals, and a pre-paid Yearbook!

We tried to grab Isa's schedule on Monday, but it appears it's not quite ready yet. The office is hoping they will have them by Friday. The school is under new leadership, so I am sure we are in for some bumps and bruises.

I dropped off Nico's registration fee last week. He's in AM Kindergarten; however, we signed him up for Kinder Express. That means, he will be at the school all day; the first 3.5 hours in Kindy and the last 3 hours for educational play with paraprofessionals. We were excited to learn that we had this option. There are proven results that show kiddos in Kinder Express have better test scores than kiddos who are in 1/2 day or full day Kindergarten. That's because the kids get to reuse what they learned that day, in a different, more playful way. Love it! So, $65 reg fee and $125 a month... totally worth it!

Check back on Sunday, July 29 for the first official post in our Back 2 School series: School Supplies.

Martha's Vintage [Chalk Board]

I like quick and easy.
Who doesn't like quick and easy?
No one... ever.

I have wanted a chalkboard in my kitchen for a while. Something where I can jot down notes or perhaps, menu items for a dinner party?


When I finally found the perfect frame at Ross last week, I knew I was one step closer to my dreamy chalkboard. I actually picked up the chalk paint at Michael's several months ago, when they had them on clearance (I think they were resetting the store). I grabbed three. That means MORE chalkboards are in my future, right?!

This project was super easy. I didn't even bother taking the picture out of the frame. I just taped it off and got to work. I love re-purposing Ross' artwork; they have some pretty cool frames.

Sorry... I didn't know what else to christen my chalkboard with... except for "Look at me, look at me..." [name that movie?!]

I think it turned out super cute... and all for UNDER $20. I guarantee you that if I tried to buy it at a store as is, it would cost more. The frame is 16x20!

I think what I love most about this piece is the color of the frame... it goes NICELY with my stainless steal appliances, but still works with the oil rubbed bronze fixtures in my kitchen (house, really).

The kitchen is looking mighty fine, people! Mighty fine.