A No Good Very Bad Monday Tubby

Well, things in the Hammers and High Heels house are pretty crap-tacular today for two reasons. 

1- My poor hubby is sick (and slightly crabby)

and

2- An unsightly water damage spot in our Dining Room was caused by a water leak

 Now for the funny part-  reason #1 listed above actually caused reason #2.  Yep, the poor sick hubby caused the water leak... which may have lead to additional crabbiness :)

I guess I will back up and tell you the whole story now. 

I got home from a pretty standard day at work knowing Alex was home and not feeling well.  I shouted "hello" to which Alex replied "hi, I'm upstairs".  I put a few things away and then walked up to our bedroom expecting to see Alex laying in bed.  Surprisingly, no Alex and, each door upstairs was open.

For reference: our bedroom is not in the picture but it's to the far left, then our upstairs bath, built-in cabinets, and our Guest Room on the right.  The bath tub hides behind the built-in cabinets



 I called his name again and realized he was in the bathroom taking a bath in our tub- weird!  Why?  Neither one of us has ever taken a bath in our tub because it's pretty little... okay like SUPER little (and not very fancy).  Alex simply said, "I needed to soak in the hot water, I don't feel good".  I felt bad for my poor hubby and went to go make him some soup. However, I couldn't help but giggle a little bit at my hubby crammed in the little tub, ha I giggle again as I type this :)

Anyway, Alex's tubby took a sour turn when I discovered that water was leaking into our Dining Room below.  I felt like a real biatch screaming at him to get out of the tub :( Nothing like water damage to make you freak the heck out right?!?  Anyway, after Alex jumped out of the tub to investigate, he determined that he must have let the water level reach past the overflow drain and the coupler holding that pipe together wasn't tightly sealed.

 So the excess water didn't go down the drain, it soaked into our dining room ceiling and quickly onto the table, chairs, and floor.  Thankfully, the amount of water was pretty minimal.

The worst part is this gross spot on the ceiling of our...

...normally very sweet looking Dining Room.  Waaaaaa!  Why!?!?

We're kind of dumbfounded for how to even fix this.  The original texture of the ceiling makes it quite complicated. Grrrr.

For now it is box fan city around here. 

The most important thing is to do what we can to dry out the floor and ceiling. Ugh, the fine glorious moments of home ownership.

So, there you have it- a no good very bad Monday caused by Alex's tubby.

  I guess the nice thing I can report is that Alex went off to bed about an hour ago.  I'm hoping lots of sleep will get him back in DIY-ing shape! 

Before he started feeling crummy he finally got a start on our salvaged door headboard project! I can't wait to share it with you soon!

I hope your Monday was better than ours ended up :) Here's to a fresh start tomorrow!

Head Over Heels Friday: Hot Heels from Rachel Roy

Hope you are ready to take a break from the Hammers world for some High Heel time today because I am Head Over Heels for these hot, hot Rachel Roy pumps!!!  In fact, I love them soooo much I brought both of them home this week!  They're so fun, colorful, and full of unique details.  I couldn't resist!

Rachel Roy Lacina Wedge via Macys.com  & Rachel Roy Kamaria Platform Pump via Macys.com

I'd say it isn't a normal thing for me to splurge on two pairs of shoes, but I had a good excuse when my hubby asked about them...

On Monday I will be starting a new role at work, so I told Alex "in order to step into my new role, I needed some new heels, right?"  After rolling his eyes he agreed, ha!

Totally Head Over Heels :)

So now I want to know...

What is the last thing YOU splurged on for YOU?!?!

A Vestibule Huh?

One of the recent Houzz Ideabooks that I received was about "Vestibules from times past transitioning into entryways of the present".  The article grabbed my attention right away because I love anything that covers a bit of house history, but I started to realize that the vestibules featured looked very similar to the little space at the entryway of our house. 

Lightbulb moment... "so it's a 'Vestibule' huh?"  The space is strange unique to our home, complete with original 1924 tiling...

Now I'm not a total idiot (insert joke from Alex), I know what the word vestibule means but I guess I didn't know that it was the technical term for this little entryway space in our house.  I had always just called it "the little entryway room/ space"... case in point the old "Sadie Urkle" post from last year- funny to read now since Urkle is on Dancing With the Stars- right?!?!

Yes, I am a TV dork :)

  Anyway, we haven't shown this little space on our blog yet but we have taken a few pictures from it's vantage point - like this one of our staircase....

 Now you know whats been hiding behind that glass pane door!

My question now is...

 What would you do with this space? 

The Houzz article mentioned that some vestibules had a spot to collect mail, place umbrellas, or even a whole coat closet.  Our space only measures  4' x 4', so we have left it empty aside from a decorative doormat.

 Would you add anything to it? Maybe coat hooks, or a small shelf? Would that make it too cluttered?


I'd love to hear what you think, my mind has been buzzing since I read the article :)

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Sorry we haven't had any update on our Master Bedroom Project, hoping for some progress over the weekend.  See you tomorrow for Head Over Heels Friday!

(Corny) Easter Family Photo Fun

Much like last year, our Easter wouldn't be complete without some fun "family" photos.

I know, it's corny but I just can't resist the opportunity to add something goofy to our photos.  A holiday theme is the perfect excuse!  That way when Alex asks...

"why do I have to wear this stupid      (fill in the blank- hat/ headband/ pair of glasses)     ?" 

I can then reply with an obvious response...

"Because it is      (fill in the blank with appropriate holiday)    , DUH!" 

Alex then usually replies with a "(heavy sigh)" but complies with my request, hehe!  He is a good sport... even though I totally know he is sporting a fake forced smile.

I got to have even more corny fun this Easter since my parents came to visit!!!  I think they even asked the same question above that Alex asked and I got to use my same response :)  Totally worked for them (and their pup Priscilla too)!

They look PUMPED for these photos, am I right?!?!



Aside from the goofy photos, we had a wonderful weekend and I loved having my parents here for a visit.   It isn't very often Alex and I get to play host & hostess for family, but each time we do I really enjoy it.  Feels so good to share our home, cook meals, and (in a small way) take care of people I love.  Makes me proud of the life we created here in Minnesota since leaving Michigan.

We hope everyone else had a wonderful Easter (complete with goofy photos) as well!

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program... aka home projects!

Head Over Heels Friday: Our Cheerful Spring Styled Dining Room

Happy Friday! 

This week I'm Head Over Heels for the spring styled decor I added into our Dining Room just in time for Easter weekend! 

 The room feels totally refreshed along with the new wainscoting, it really makes the decor pop!  Now let's get into the little touches of spring I added in, shall we?

The first thing I added in was this patterned table cloth from Target.  It was on sale this week for only $13.99!  The pattern had flowers and birds throughout, which made it feel spring-y without an overkill of pastel colors (I fear pastels).

 The little red flowers were a perfect accent to our dining room paint color, right?!? Ugh, love it!!!

Here's a closer look at the sideboard decor.  I picked up two bouquets of simple early spring flowers at Trader Joe's for $3.99 each and split them up throughout the sideboard and dining room table.

 I just love the little mix color the flowers add and the fresh floral smell too! 

Here I used a salvaged metal vent cover as a decorative base for a metal watering can filled with flowers and my mini DIY chalkboard with "Fresh Flowers" message.

 Over on the right I used our wine tasting station to hold three flower vases.  Behind the tasting station you can see one of the small decorative black metal fence sections I got at Target for $1 each.  There are three of them along the back of the sideboard.

 On the small wine tasting station chalkboards I drew little Easter eggs.  In the metal pot I added in some faux speckled eggs.

 In the center of the sideboard I placed this canvas painting I made myself.  I thought the birds theme was very fitting with the table cloth.

Each little piece springs together a lovely new look for our Dining Room.

 Before you go, here's a stop to smell the roses :)

Thank you for stopping by!

Have a Hippity-Hoppity Happy Easter everybody!



Master Bedroom Update: Headboard & Layout Changes

Our Master Bedroom redo has been on hold since I left for my overseas trip, so it has been more than a month since we have done anything with the space... sad.  Alex and I really need a kick in the a$# to get this whole sha-bang done. But we're working on it!

The next thing to tackle was turning that salvaged door into a headboard for our bed.  Thankfully the door was in pretty good shape...

But of course it still required a little bit of sanding to smooth out the surface...

... and a nice fresh coat of paint!

After the paint dried, Alex and I wanted to get an idea of how the door would look once added in as a headboard.  Not too bad right?  Really looks like it is just a headboard for the most part.  Alex also wanted to determine how high it should sit behind our mattress before he started to build the actual frame for it.

The other big change in the room is how the furniture is going to be set up. 

Our bed has always been where it sits in this "before" picture.  Even the previous home owner had their bed there, so we thought it wouldn't fit anywhere else in the room since the space is so long and narrow.  But...

Turns out that it fits just fine elsewhere in the room, and that little change make the whole room look and feel different!!!  Here is a little sneak peek :) 

I am still figuring out the little pieces of decor for the room so I can't give away the final look yet!
Plus Mr. Hammers and High Heels still needs to make that headboard frame for me us. 
 
For now I can't lie to you, my parents are coming to Minnesota for an Easter weekend visit with us so we won't be tackling anything with our bedroom.  So, we'll be dragging this project out a little longer.... Boo-hoo, I know, but we're excited to have family here for a visit!  Shout out to my stepdad John- this will be his second visit in the 5 years I lived in Minnesota, haha!  Maybe that will make him visit more now?!?!
 
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I am sure we will have some fun Easter weekend stories to share- we're supposed to go to the gun range on Saturday.  Yep, the gun range.  Not sure if I'm excited about that, but I am trying to tap into my inner Angel- which means a cute outfit and feathered hair for the occasion :)  Hmmm, anyway it should be a real hoot!

Image via Charlie's Angels IMDB page
 
See ya tomorrow for Head Over Heels time!

Dried Wedding Bouquet Project

What did you do with your wedding bouquet after the big day was over?

Did you throw it out?
Did you keep it?
If you did, is it shrivelled up and crusting away in a closet?
Mine was :) and it was icky and making me sad!

I have mentioned a few times before that I am a SUPER sentimental person and I have a hard time letting go of things that carry memories along with them. So you bet-cher buns I didn't get rid of my wedding day bouquet!  I did a simple little project with it that I have been meaning to share for a while.  

After our wedding day...

I brought my bouquet home and hung it upside down to dry it out. Then from their I stuck it on the top shelf of a closet where it sat for two and a half years. A few weeks ago when I was doing some spring cleaning, I pulled it down from that shelf and debated throwing it out. 

I just figured it was going to continue to fall apart and unless it had something covering the flowers to hold it together... like a net.... DING!  I grabbed some tulle fabric I had laying in my sewing room then just cut out a piece large enough to cover the bouquet.  I gently placed it over top of the flowers and used small sewing pins to pin the tulle to the base of the bouquet near the ribbon.  Super easy!  Now, at least I can enjoy seeing it every now and then without worrying it will crumble all over the floor.

Who knows if I will indeed need to toss it out someday, but for now I am very glad that I kept it!

What do you think?
What else do gals do with their bouquets?

Master Bedroom update is up next!  Yep, FINALLY!  See you soon!