Happy Habits

Tutorial: Adding Molding to a Builder Grade Mirror

2012-01-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

This isn't my bathroom but is exactly how my master bathroom used to look ... only instead of vinyl we still have lovely carpet.

When we bought our townhome, there were lots of features we really loved: open floorplan, large bedrooms, upper-floor laundry, good-sized closets and such. But we didn't love all of the brass fixtures and seen-better-days oak cabinets. I swore that as soon as I moved in, I would banish the brass. Four years later, there is still some brass kicking around. But this year is the year.

For a while now, I've wanted to hide the brass trim on our bathroom mirrors by adding molding around the frame. During the holidays, I finally convinced my husband that it would look good — thanks to lots of pictures on Pinterest. He is a hard sell on most home improvement projects but always helps out and always ends up loving it in the end.

Kids bathroom mirror before.

With his help, this project came together really quickly.

Step 1: Measure your mirror. Of course.

Step 2: Purchase molding. We bought ours at our local ReStore. It cost $8 for enough molding to cover the mirror in the master bathroom and in the kids bathroom. We lucked out in finding thicker molding, which I really wanted because the mirrors are big and I wanted the frame to seem intentional and substantial. I would recommend preprimed molding for this project.

Step 3: Set up a paintworkstation. We did this in our unfinished basement, where food storage buckets served as a makeshift sawhorse.

Step 4: Using the measurements from your mirror, cut 45 degree angles at the end of the molding. We planned on using a mitre box cutter, but the molding we bought ended up being too big for the box. However, it was easy enough to get the angle from the box and use that as a template to cut the molding. Tip: Cut from the front of the molding. That way, if your saw doesn't cut clean or causes chips, they won't be visible on the front.

Step 5: Paint. We used a sample pot I had in my paint stash (what, doesn't everyone have one?) to paint the master bedroom moldings a deep brown. For the kids bathroom, we went with same white as the cabinets.

Waiting for the paint to dry. I use semi-gloss in bathrooms for better durability.

Step 6: Paint the back of the molding. You'll be able to see a reflection of at least the top third of the molding.

Step 7: Use Liquid Nails for mirrors to adhere to mirror. Notice that I forgot to paint the back of this one ... oops! I had to quickly slap on some paint before the adhesive cured. Align the molding in the corners as best as you can, but don't stress if it doesn't look perfectly perfect. Liquid Nails isn't an instant-cure so you can play around with it a bit to make sure it looks nice.

Tip: Don't put adhesive all the way to the top of the molding. Unless you want to see a reflection of that, too. About two-thirds of the way up was enough to hold it in place without it being visible.

Step 8: Use painters tape to hold the frame in place until your adhesive is cured. (For Liquid Nails, the instructions said 72-hours. However, it seemed pretty secure after only a few hours).

The best part of this picture is that you can see my ghetto point-and-shoot ... currently held together by duct tape!

Step 9: Use paintable caulk to fill in corners.

Step 10: Touch-up caulk with paint. I used a Q-tip but you could use a paintbrush. I just didn't want to walk downstairs to get one.

After: Master Bathroom mirror in progress

After: Kids bathroom mirror. Still a lot of work in here: new shower curtain, add beadboard below towel hooks, paint walls.

Step 11: Enjoy your beautiful new mirror.

This was a super inexpensive and easy upgrade. Let me know if you have any questions!

Inspiration

2012-01-23T20:23:00.000-07:00

On days (and, let's face it, weeks) when I don't have any time to conquer projects, I love finding inspiration for things I'll be able to do "some day"...

I absolutely love the color of this console table. I took this photo at Alice Lane Home last spring. My sister Melody gave me a cute cabinet that I would love to paint this color. Right now it's a brighter shade of turquoise.

Love this ottoman. The rug underneath it was actually a really pretty textural leather but it has a linoleum look to it in this photo.

We have an ottoman that we got about seven years ago that has seen better days. I bought it for $20 when a large department store was going out of business. It's functional but has never been pretty. We got a new ottoman that I like much better, but I can't part with the oldie because it is really well made. I'm thinking a slipcover of this type could be just the thing to put it back into my good books.

From the 2011 Utah Valley Parade of Homes

I think this mirror is an interesting shape and just right for this size of wall. This inspires me to find interesting objects to put on previously unadorned walls.


From the 2011 Utah Valley Parade of Homes

Someday, I would love to have a kitchen with a big window that looks outside. You can't quite see it in the photo, but this window has a beautiful view of Mt. Timpanogos. I also heart the farmhouse sink.

Recipe: Whole Wheat Bread

2012-01-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

Dough after kneading

This is my go-to whole wheat bread recipe. I learned to bake bread a few years back using the Pantry Secrets method. While I love their signature recipe when baking with bread flour or partial wheat only, I use this recipe most because it works well with 100 percent wheat flour.

I grind hard white or hard red wheat (or a combination of both) to use in the bread. Hard white wheat has a lighter taste, while hard red wheat is darker and has a nuttier taste. I have way more hard white than hard red wheat in my food storage, so white wheat is usually what I use.

Whole Wheat Bread
Makes 4 loaves

7 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cups vital wheat gluten
2 1/2 tablespoons instant yeast

5 cups steaming hot water (120-130 F)

2 tablespoons salt
2/3 cup oil (could sub applesauce)
2/3 cup honey or 1 c. sugar (I use honey)
2 1/2 tablespoon bottled lemon juice

5 cup whole wheat flour

Mix the first three ingredients in a stand mixer (Bosch or KitchenAid) with a dough hook. Add water all at once and mix for 1 minute. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes (this is called sponging). Add salt, oil, honey or sugar, and lemon juice and beat for 1 minute. Add remaining 5 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, beating between each cup. Beat for about 6-10 minutes until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. The dough will still be soft and sticky.

Preheat oven for 1 minute to lukewarm and turn off. Turn dough onto oiled counter top; divide, shape into loaves place in oiled bread pans. Let rise in warm oven for 10-15 minutes until dough reaches top of pan. Do not remove bread from oven; turn oven to 350 F and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on racks. This recipe can be halved to make 2 loaves.

Straight from the oven. I'm no food photographer but thought it might be helpful to get an idea of the size of the loaves

A few notes:
• I use PAM (not oil) in the countertop and my hands to make it easier to work with the dough. I also spray it into my nonstick pans.
• If you use freshly ground wheat, you may notice the dough rise quickly. When I grind the wheat and use it right away, I only let the bread rise in the oven for 10 minutes.
• I've swapped the oil for applesauce in this recipe and the texture comes out fine. It does change the taste, though, and I think it shortens the shelf life. I usually use extra virgin olive oil.
• I use a knife to cut the dough into four even portions, way easier than trying to rip it with your hands
• My kids LOVE carbs and usually eat half of a loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven. Few things are better than fresh bread! But I always freeze at least two loaves and they defrost just fine.
• You don't have to have fancy bread pans. These cheap-y ones work great (I think they were $3 or $4 each) as long as you don't wash them. Yep, you read that right. Don't wash your bread pans. Just wipe them out with a dish cloth or paper towel.

Recipe originally found on DealstoMeals.blogspot.com

Upholstered Chair: Before and After

2012-01-16T21:50:00.000-07:00

This extra grainy photo (circa 2009) was the only 'before' I could find of the chair. I took a bunch on my iphone as I was taking it apart and putting it back together .... but sadly the phone died and took the photos with it.

When my husband and I were first married we bought a red microsuede chair (above) at a local furniture outlet for $100. It was a rocking chair, which seemed useful enough ... but never really was. It sat in the living rooms at various apartments, then after we had our first baby, we tried to repurpose it in the nursery. But the arms weren't conducive to nursing a baby, and the rocking function was really more annoying than helpful. So we just sort of put up with the chair.

This summer, after the chair was kicked out of my son''s room to make way for toys, it landed in the living room, again. We took the rockers off and replaced them with feet that we got from a chair found in the dumpster at D.I. (Don't worry, we got the manager's permission and paid for $2 for the feet).

The fact that it didn't rock and scrape the wall behind it was a big improvement, but the chair's tomato red coloring didn't play well with the calm blues and greys in the room. Late one Saturday night, I got a wild hair to reupholster the chair myself. So I took it apart!

This was my first major foray into upholstery. I made a headboard for our bedroom and have replaced fabric on a kitchen chair but nothing major. I was ready to get rid of the chair, anyway, so I figured I didn't have much to lose by trying to reupholster it myself. I should have picked an easier first project — you know, one where I didn't have to make my own bias tape and piping — but now I've tackled it and lived to tell the tale.

I used this Serena & Lily fabric — retail price is $50 a yard! — found at Home Fabrics for $5.99 a yard. (I found the DwellStudio fabric I used on my master bedroom curtains the same day. Happy day!) It is a nice, heavy canvas and was perfect for this project.

And here is the after:

A detail shot of the arm. It isn't perfect, but I am pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

Not too shabby for about $50 in fabric and supplies

This corner still needs some help. I'd love to find a perfect lumbar pillow for this chair. I will likely move the pictures above the chair when I tackle the TV wall. Oh, and I'd love to get a pharmacy-style floor lamp to get behind the chair and add some depth to the corner. Maybe this one?

For now, I'm super pleased with result and glad that I tried to revive the chair rather than tossing it in a landfill. I definitely see more projects like this in my future. What do you think? Have you ever tried to reupholster a piece of furniture? I can post some resources and tips if anyone is interested.

Kitchen Plate Wall

2012-01-11T06:30:00.000-07:00

Looking from the entrance to the kitchen. Don't mind the light fixture that will someday be switched for a pendant light.

We've lived in this house for four years, and I've always been a bit stumped with the main wall in my kitchen. See, my kitchen is fairly compact and there is really only one big wall. Everything I tried was too small.

A year or so ago, I made a DIY Chalkboard from a cheap-o picture (from D.I.) I hung that up. I have really enjoyed using the chalkboard for my weekly menu, birthday announcements and favorite quotes. But it didn't seem quite finished.

I got it in my head that I wanted to do a plate wall around the chalkboard. Despite my husband's utter confusion as to why I would hang plates on the wall — 'cause don't you want plates on the table so you can use them? — I went for it. I love the result and the fact that the whole thing was done for less than $20 makes it even better.


This was seriously a 2-minute project.

I bought all of the plates for the wall at Savers (local thrift store) for $1 each. Funny story: My good friend Shannon came over one day and asked where I got the plates. When I told her I found them at Savers, she recognized a few of the plates as ones she had recently donated. So funny, thanks Shannon!

For a more "collected" look, I didn't choose a matching set of plates. I think I have two pairs that match and the others are just random. There were actually a ton of plates to choose from, and I tried to stick to ones with interesting details. Love the little scalloped plate at the top.

And here is the wall that faces the plate wall, just for kicks. It's pretty much all business.

If you need something to perk up a dining/eating space, might I suggest a plate wall? Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks for reading!

Things I Only Buy at D.I.

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-07:00

All of these books were purchased from D.I. for $1 or $1.50

Most people have go-to stores for certain items. For instance, you may only shop for jeans at Gap, gas up exclusively at Costco or maybe you always buy craft supplies at the Dollar Store. Me? I only buy books at the thrift store. Seriously.

I love to read and try to utilize my local library as often as possible. But I also love to own books. There is something about a bookcase full of books that just makes me happy. Nerdy, yes, but true. I especially like to buy books I've already read so that I can lend them to friends or re-read them on vacation.

Purchasing books full-price can be expensive, especially when you speed-read through them like I do. (I can't help it, it's genetic). My sister (and crazy-bookworm) Melody clued me to shopping for books at D.I. The first time I went to look for books with her at the Mesa Deseret Industries, I was completely blown away. The place was stocked with tons of brand-new or like-new bestsellers, many with the Costco price stickers still on them. There were multiple copies of especially popular titles, and most of the books were $1.

Now, I check the bookshelf every.single.time I go to the thrift store. If I can't find a book at D.I. or Savers, I put in a request with Mel and she can usually it for me.

Other things I always buy at thrift stores:

• corkboards (there are seriously a plethora at thrift stores and I usually cover them with fabric or paint the trim, so why buy new?)

• plates for my plate wall (I'll be posting a picture this week)

• picture frames for projects — I've never have much luck finding really nice frames but I have found ones that are decent enough to spiff up with paint

• backpacks and bags for 72-hour kits (and clothes for kits, for that matter)

Am I the only person that has go-to thrift store items? Tell me I'm not alone ...

Thrifting Season

2012-01-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

Did you know that now is the best time of year to hit the jackpot at the thrift store? And by hit the jackpot I meant find really cool stuff in great shape.

Why now? Because people are clearing out the old to make way for new Christmas presents and trying to minimize clutter at the start of the year. One person's New Year's Resolution to get organized could equal awesome treasures for you.

(Of course, if you made a resolution to get organized, it may not be a wise time for you to stock up.)

Usually I don't find much at the thrift store — aside from a few no-fail items that I will blog about soon. But on a recent trip I had some awesome finds:

These cute black Madden Girl pumps ... $5 in like-new condition

Sofft brand black pumps ... $5 and also like new. These are even cuter on than they are in the picture.

Simply Vera by Vera Wang purse, immaculate condition, $2

Brown Madden Girl kitten heel shoes, $5. I wonder if all of these shoes are from the same woman's closet?

I have wanted a purse this color for ages, and I was so stoked when I found this for $2

See, look, it's even cute inside!

I also got two skinny belts (one in a cognac brown, the other black) and three shirts.

Have you found any treasures at the thrift store lately? I'd love to hear about them.

Jones Design Company

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

Her fabulous office

Do you read Jones Design Company?

If not, it's time to add a subscription to your Google Reader.

Jones Design Company is one of my favorite blogs ever. Emily, the creative mastermind behind JDC, has fabulous design sensibilities and, as a result, a beautiful home. And she is always changing things, too. That's my kind of girl. The lattice wall that I did in my house — I'll be showing it off in a future post, cause it was a ton of work! — was inspired by the one she did in her home office.

Although she isn't of my faith, some of my favorite posts on the JDC blog are those where she shares her faith in God.

But I digress. The reason I wanted to post about JDC was because Emily offers this awesome service called JDC Monthly. It's a cheap (less than $10) subscription service that gives you access to printable to-do lists, grocery lists, meal planners, chore charts, thank you cards and an art print of the month. In December, she had the cutest Christmas cards and this month, the main project is a line-day-journal. So fun.

Anyway, if you can't tell, I totally love JDC Monthly. Just thought I'd pass it along in case

House Resolutions

2012-01-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

I've already confessed to be a lover of lists and resolutions. No surprise that I've got a list of New Year's Resolutions for my house.
I did this last year and found it quite helpful — not just as motivation for me to get things done, but it also helped with budgeting for projects.
This year's list isn't very fancy. Because we want to save money to possibly finish our basement, I am focusing on projects that use items I already have or come with a minimal price tag. I'll do more detailed posts on each project so you can see the before and afters. And I may also be soliciting advice on what to do ...

This bathroom was in the Utah Valley Parade of Homes last spring .. so fresh and fun

1. Makeover the kids' bathroom. Unlike other rooms in my house that I've rearranged and redecorated several times, this upstairs bathroom has received no love. It's not very big and there isn't a lot of wall space due to door placement/gigantic mirror. I'd like to give it some attention this year and spruce it up on a budget. Challenge: Keeping all of the same fixtures but making it look different.

via pinterest via house and home

2. Finish my laundry room makeover. I recently painted stripes in my laundry closet (calling it a room is definitely a misnomer) and LOVE it! It was such a depressing little space before and now it's got some life. But it still needs a little finessing before I can call it good. Challenge: Pack a small space with lots of functional style on a shoestring.

dreamy bedroom by Belmont Design Group

3. Finish decorating the master bedroom. This is one of the aforementioned rooms that I've never quite finished but changed plenty of times. The DIY headboard I made is on its third upholstery job! Don't worry, I've done it all on the cheap. Challenge: Come up with inexpensive accessories, pillows and artwork to tie together the basics I already have.

Gallery wall from Emily A. Clark

4. Figure out the TV wall. This one has me stumped. We have a wall-mounted TV and I want to think of a way to decorate around it. I've got a gallery wall on the stairs near to the TV, so that option is probably out. Challenge: Decorating around our TV.

If you have any ideas or inspiration images to share, send them my way!

2012 Resolutions

2012-01-04T08:00:00.000-07:00

As I wrote yesterday, I am a big fan of goals. I like to make lots of goals, some big, some small. I also write things down on paper after I've done them just so I can cross them out. Tell me I'm not alone. (And, do you cross things out or check them off? I've found people are firmly in one camp or the other).

In the spirit of tip No. 4, a.k.a. accountability, here are three of my goals for the year:

1. Go to bed earlier! Wake up earlier! Exclamation marks because this will be a big deal if I can make the switch. I am a night owl at heart, and it is much easier for me to stay up than to wake up. However, I've discovered that I can wake up early if needs be — like if I am subbing a 5:30 a.m. Spinning class at the gym. And there have been a few times in my life when I consistently woke up early and it was really great. The main reason I want to go to bed earlier is so that I exercise and get in some work before the kids get up. I am going to go to bed no later than 10:30 p.m. and wake up at 6:30 a.m. Monday to Friday. (p.s. The seed for this goal was planted when I read The Happiness Project, an excellent book if you haven't already read it.)

2. Start a blog. Tah-dah! Now I have to keep it up. That's where the measurable tip comes in handy. I am going to post at least three times a week for the first six months and then assess. To help myself out, I made a huge list of things I want to post about that should get me through until then.

3. Save money to finish our basement. My husband and I have gone back and forth on this topic for the entire time (five years) we've lived in our townhouse. Because this isn't our forever house, and because we bought when the real estate market was high, we always go back and forth on whether or not we want to pay the money to finish the basement. This year we are going to save as much as we can for the project and once we have it in cash we will decide if we are really going to do it or use the money to pay down our mortgage. For this goal, we have an overall amount we want to save and have broken in down in to a projected monthly figure.

So, there is a look at a few of my goals for the year. Anyone have any similar goals? Or similar list-crossing-off tendancies?

How to Set Resolutions

2012-01-03T08:00:00.001-07:00

Resolutions — you either love them or you hate them. I fall firmly into the 'love' camp. One reason may be that I love any excuse to make a list! But, on a deeper level, I really love the act of determining priorities and assigning goals to those priorities. And I enjoy being able to measure progress, something that seems nearly impossible to do in other areas of my life, such as parenting.

A few years ago, I wrote a story for the local paper about setting New Year's Resolutions and interviewed goal-setting expert Steven R. Covey. Here are his tips and my interpretation. (See the full article here.)

via

1. Start by determining larger priorities. Covey advises people to craft a mission statement. I don't have the time or mind to take that on right now, so instead I wrote a short list of my top priorities. Try to keep this to less than 10 items. My list: relationship with God, relationship with my husband, teaching/loving/playing with my kids, taking care of my body, my work, being creative and being a wise steward of my resources.

2. Set goals that flow from your mission statement. Lacking a mission statement, I picked goals that flowed from my priorities. But first, I wrote down daily activities and how they might connect to my priorities. For instance, under taking care of my body, I wrote: exercising, eating healthy foods, cooking from scratch/using unprocessed foods, getting dressed every day (some days with kids that is an accomplishment!), etc. After looking at the list, I tried to assess the balance in each of the areas and what I could improve on. Then I came up with a list of goals.

3. Break goals into small pieces. If your resolution is to lose weight — the no.1 goal in America — don't just throw that out there and hope the universe grants it to you. Outline how you intend to achieve that goal and try to include daily actions that will move you toward it. For instance, I would like to work on strength training this year. I am going to attend a minimum of two strength classes a week and start using the 10 pound weights during circuit training instead of the wimpy five-pound ones I've currently been using.

4. Develop a system of accountability. Share you goals with a spouse, family member, good friend, join a group, post about it on your blog — whatever it takes for you to feel like you "need" to accomplish your goal.

5. Learn to say no. I cannot do it all. That is a phrase I am trying to teach myself. I recently read a really helpful series on Time Management over at MoneySavingMom and was so glad she posted a list of things she doesn't do. I am all for lists, but my usually include to-dos, not not to-dos! On her list: ironing, decorating, sewing, etc. Now these are all things I love to do (minus ironing, ugh!), but that's OK. We all have different priorities, and as we recognize that we are freed from the expectation that we can and should do it all.

6. Expect setbacks. No goal is without its challenges. Plan for a few bumps in the road and then you won't be thrown off track when they happen.

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop. Most beef is tough. Most children grow up to be just ordinary people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration. Most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. . . .

Life is like an old-time rail journey--delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride." (source)

Are you for or against New Year's Resolutions? If you do make resolutions, is there a method to your resolution madness or do you shoot from the hip?

Welcome!

2012-01-01T22:23:00.001-07:00

Via

Hello friends and welcome to my (sort of) new blog!A few years ago, I started Happy Habits as a way to keep track of all of the home and DIY projects I wanted to do. But I didn't have a clear idea of what I wanted it to be, and I was undecided about what I thought about this whole blogging thing, anyway.

After all, as a freelance writer I get paid to write for a living. I love to write, but I didn't see much point in devoting my limited work hours to unpaid projects. I quickly forgot about Happy Habits, but not about blogs. I have grown to love blogs and the diverse perspectives and ideas they offer.

One of my goals for 2012 is to be better at journaling and documenting our family life. This blog is an effort to record the things that make me happy. I am a huge believer in positive thinking and in the power of daily actions in transforming our lives. I hope to share projects, recipes, resources and other "habits" that make me a happier woman, mother and wife. Thanks for reading!