The Best Top Desktop HD Wallpapers: June 2010

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Summer Changes - Part 3: The Reason

Summer Changes

and finally,

Part 3: The Reason

(All 3 Parts of Summer Changes are HERE)

Renovations are expensive! Having renovated for the past year and a half, even with all the generous help I received from the reno team, I tapped out all my own resources in an attempt to get things done.

So after the renos on my home were complete, there were no funds left to decorate my home. Top that off with a weird illness, and add in having to stay home with no place to go for a long time to come, I had to get creative if I wanted my newly beautiful home to show and function well.

I started up my curb side and thrift store hunts again which had laid dormant for many years. (Raising a baby, then living through a failed marriage, then finally learning how to start over does that to you.) I've always had a thing for decorating with ready made antiques as I wasn't a builder, so finding nice yet rustic things was a long lost love of mine.

BUT... I wasn't in a position to buy 'nice' things this round. So I started to venture into thrifts with other ideas in mind. I had started to read decorating blogs, which awakened my senses to seeing things differently than how most saw them.

I quickly discovered that I was capable of visualizing all kinds of cool things for any given item I brought home. It was right then that I knew, I had to start a blog about decorating a little differently. I named it Funky Junk Interiors with the premise being, Creative Decorating with Unique Elements. It felt right and it fit for what I had in mind.

At this point, staying home all summer had finally settled in. Taking my swimming head condition with me, I wandered outside into the bright sunshine. It was a beautiful day but I couldn't help feeling gloomy. My son was at his Dad's and I had nothing to do except look at an ugly yard, empty-ish house and the weirdo firewood stuffed greenhouse that wasn't 'me.'

Yearning for the beach in the worst way, I wandered the neglected yard in search of... something.

And then I happened by a pile of wood I had captured from someone's burnpile plans.

A flick of interest kicked in. I picked up a board, glanced at the greenhouse, made an effort to find my cordless drill and one screw, and proceeded to mount the board on the framework of the greenhouse. Would this work?

All it took was one board. Something clicked. I tore off all the greenhouse plastic, giddy with my new plan. All the boards were pulled out onto the lawn and scrubbed down.

A neighbor showed me how to use my circular miter saw and I got to work.

Common sense just kicked in. A window was first mounted to the greenhouse structure as is,

... then the rest of the boards on the existing framework followed. I wasn't building a house to LIVE in after all. :)

My creative fire was officially lit. The next day I couldn't WAIT to continue. I ended up creating this cool door. Me. Building a door?!? Unheard of!

Well, let me tell you, my view of the world as I knew it started to change. Yes, I was still in mourning of where I couldn't be, feeling like crap, however I was lit with passion on the creative process of outputting something that had lived in my head for far too long.

And while creating, I forgot about my wonky head condition.

You see, for years I imagined all these things on what I'd like built, but didn't have the know how to even turn on a tool, let alone use it. In my past, I left myself in a place of complete and utter NEED never having learned how to use tools. So when I pushed away the fear factor and just got on with it with a few skills behind me, the sun literally shone down.

Imagine... if we make the effort, we get rewarded. Who knew.

2009, my first building project

In no time, I was proudly displaying my first ever building project I had done myself from start to finish. And all it cost me was a little creativity and enjoyable time. And less camping. :)

All the things I built the character building with were free. Lovingly collecting over time, I had all I needed on hand to create, in my eyes, something wonderful. All that was left to do was to get busy and just do it.

I was forever hooked from that day on.

After that project was over, I couldn't WAIT to get back out in the backyard and tinker around some more. The place was starting to feel like I lived there for the first time. The transformation process outdoors was also taken indoors. And the more I did, the more I loved it, and the more I blogged about it.

Blogging about my stuff was scary! My projects and style were indeed 'different', so how would it be received? I held my breath with each PUBLISH click and watched your reactions unfold. To my amazement, you grasped what I was doing. You validated me.

Still on a mission for the yard enhancement program, when my son's pool sprouted a leak, knowing we'd be home for the summer, I allowed an upgrade. I scoured the newspapers in search of a good deal. I found this one in a store that had them on for 50% off with just this one left. SOLD!

summer 2009

The new bigger pool sealed the deal. Our yard was officially being enjoyed and appreciated. But not just by us. We ended up with a summer heat wave. My son's backyard pool was always filled to the brim with happy friends and neighbors. And we went for many hot summer night midnight swims under the yard light during the intense heat.

Honestly? It was one of the greatest summers I've personally ever had. We had our privacy (mingling in crowds wasn't something I was well enough for), all the comforts of home, I could create upon will, and if we were hot, we could go for a swim in our own private quarters. With a pretty cool view of a funky building to boot. :)

But the summer didn't come without bumps. My health took some weird turns. I had the symptoms for a good half a year straight, got some specialized neck treatments and gradually, things started to improve. I worked, played, built and carried on with life despite of my new limitations.

As for the rest of the summer, we bonded with our newly renovated home and starting-to-get-nice yard. I continued on with other flowerbeds but not having a dime for new plants, kept them pretty empty. But empty was better than weeds! The plants could come next year.

And that is why you're seeing so many recent garden posts on my blog lately. Next year is here. :) I'm in the midst of completing another mission in reclaiming a beautiful yard, one plant at a time.

And, it looks as if we're home to stay for another summer. My health is not 100%. I have nagging symptoms that flare up and am yet again seeking some new treatment. But there IS improvement from last year. The debt I was dealing with is being delt with slowly. It's simply not time to spend wads of money on playtime.

And I also know, the reasoning is right to stay put again. I accept it, will make the best of it and while still mourn what was, I look forward to seeing what's in store.

For it feels like it's time to build towards other more important things while still capturing a lazy summer with my son. And so that is exactly what we are doing...

... in the comforts of our getting there beautiful home...

... and our nearly there awesome garden. :)

We will be ok. Because we'll make it so. With His help.

~ ~ ~ ~

Why share this story?

One can question why something happens to them. And be angry and upset and mourn. But at the end of the day, do you ever stop and really think about why? And I don't mean in the sense of, why me. But more, in search of the bigger picture?

If you've ever had a life changing experience, try asking yourself...

Why did this happen?

For me, I think it had something to do with needing to change direction as I wouldn't have had the willpower to do it on my own. Poor health stopped me dead in my current tracks and brought me elsewhere.

For you see, I resented this house and all the reasons I landed here. Running away out of habit was just easier. I wanted to run.

It was simply time to break old habits, and venture somewhere new in order to grow.

Was I condemned or was Someone looking out for me?

What you choose to believe will indeed determine how you continue on. Stay positive, and positive will come to you. I'm choosing to believe the latter.

Embrace the reason and make the best of it.

Only when I stopped fighting the changes, but rather embraced them, did I see progress in myself. Resigning to the fact that this was most indeed planned, I started to invent and create and try new things. And with practice, I am now capable of implementing many ideas I use to only be able to visualize a short year ago. I admit I have a long way to go building wise, but idea wise? There's simply no shortage any time soon. I will figure out how to build what's inside my head yet! Watch me. :)

Part 4?

Do you also have a Part 4? I'm living mine. I'm inventing, creating, building, sharing, learning and writing about it. What happens next is your guess as well as mine. And I have a feeling you'll be right in the thick of it alongside me. :)

All I know is, this feels right. 1 hour feels like 1 minute. That speaks volumes.

Still need help?

I've had alot of help from others getting where I am today and continue to get it. I often reflect all the good that came upon me, and how can I give back. That is why I give what I can here, by way of my experiences, in an effort to help others going through similar trials.

Can't build?

Learn along with me. Watch, then try. You CAN do it if I can!

Got some bumpy life situations that are hard to live through?

It isn't easy sharing the unglossy areas of my life. But I'm sharing mine in order to give you hope for your own life's quirks.

Have no funds to do things with?

Watch how I decorate my home with no funds and give it a whirl yourself.

Can't see a junk object as anything beautiful?

I'll keep showing you what I do with normal schnormal, turning them into must haves. All on a dime.

This blog isn't about popularity or fame. I don't feel a need to compete with anyone. I don't even copy anyone. This blog is about sharing new creativity and soul searching posts, that will help inspire your own home situation, whether it be personal or DIY related. I just love doing it. :)

Other plans

I'm working on bringing some income from all this along the way. Because I simply believe we ought to be doing what we LOVE to do for a living. I hope you are striving for the same no matter what you choose to do! Thanks for your patience as I experiment along. Watch for some new exciting things to come, in real life and online!

Thank-you!

Thanks for your interest in this story and what I do here on FJI. It's my sincerest hope that by sharing what I love to do and what transpires in my life, you can attribute it to yours in some small way.

And know, without a shadow of a doubt, by putting your faith where it belongs, you too shall receive. In His time.

~ This 3 part story was featured by Melissa on ~

~ and Bonita on ~

Month in review!

Well hello! You are all SWEETAYS for your sweet comments on my aqua and pink flag cake. I cut a piece off tonight for hubby and I must say, it’s pretty cute. Not Fourth of July cute, but CUTE. :)

And as many of you mentioned, I’m just on the cutting edge with the hot colors of aqua and coral. I totally did it on purpose. NOT.

I have decided to start doing a review of posts at the end of each month – just in case you’re new around these parts. :) Also, there’s usually a few things I forget to mention or that you lovelies share that I think will be helpful to others.

The beginning of the month was FUN because I took my first two trips to IKEA – both within a week! Whoohoo!!

My plan for a sofa table in our great room had fallen through and all of the sudden I had to have the Hemnes coffee table instead:

Isn’t it loverly? I LOVE YOU IKEA!! Kisses!

I posted week three of the kitchen redo, where I shared some more of my IKEA goodies and an update on the progress of our kitchen:

I swear I’ll do another update again this week – I haven’t gotten as much done lately as I had hoped, but I do have a few more projects to share! (No, it’s nowhere close to done.) :)

The June Before and After linky party was kicked off with my first attempt at strawberry freezer jam:

And it was YUMMY!! Hmmm…now I’m hungry.

It only took three weeks, but I finished the beadboard backsplash in the kitchen:

And I LOVE it! It is by far the biggest transformation in the room, and the cost for the beadboard was less than $50. I used the eight foot panels of primed beadboard from Home Depot, and they run about $15 a package.

Many have asked how it’s held up near the sink, and it’s GREAT! I used semi gloss paint on beadboard, and it’s sealed really well. I can wipe water right off. I was a little concerned before I installed it, but now have no worries about having the beadboard near the sink.

I shared my hatred of evil laundry, and since our dryer is on the fritz, I drooled over one of these:

You all were SO helpful! The great majority of you love your front loaders, but those who don’t passed along some important info we’ll consider when buying a new washer and dryer set.

There were so many great suggestions on trying to get our current dryer to work – all we had tried, unfortunately. Bummer. One of those was to really clean out the lint trap, which is a good tip to pass along. It looks like it’s clean, but you need to use dish soap and a bristle brush to clean it out. You want water to run right through it.

Overall, nothing we tried worked, so the repair guy is coming tomorrow because the mounds of laundry are taking over!! Ahhhh!!

Every now and again I like to share what I’ve learned about blogging, and this month I talked about the importance of leaving comments:

blogger-comments-page

It really, really will bring more readers to your site! Try it out!

A couple of weekends ago, two girlfriends and I headed out to my favorite city in the world – the fabulous New York City!:

We went for the last of the NKOTB concerts (at least for a while?). I forgot to mention that the concert that weekend was the BEST one EVER. I’m not even kidding. Those Boston ~~boys~~ men know how to entertain!!

OH, and I forgot to tell you something wonderful!! I’ve mentioned before that there is a fabulous old Italian woman who used to sit outside our favorite restaurant in Little Italy:

Her name was Lucy, and for years, every time we’d go, she’d be there. Our last trip she was nowhere to be found and we had assumed her time had come (she’s got to be in her 90’s!). So when I was there, I just had to ask our waiter about her.

Well he looked at me weird when I mentioned her name, and I almost teared up, thinking the worst. But he was just surprised I knew who she was – and Lucy is alive and well! :) She had just walked out right before we came in that afternoon, and he was hoping she’d return in time so I could say hello, but I never got the chance.

I was SO happy to hear that the pasta and wine (Lucy swears that’s the key to a long, healthy life) are still working!! :)

The peeps at Silhouette sent me a craft cutter to try out, and one to give away to one of you Squeezies!! For my first project, I made a stinkin’ adorable herb crate out of a thrift store find:

And later that week I fed my labeling obsession:

And it felt gooooood. ;)

Last week I shared my cutie American flag door decor:

It was less $10 and took less than an hour to make, start to finish. I love seeing it as we drive up! :)

Many of you commented on my flower growing skills and I must say, I have little to do with the gorgeous petunias. :) I give props to Mother Nature for that one – the petunias just love the water!! (And it’s rained like the Pacific Northwest here lately!)

And finally…the beautiful pink/coral/aqua/turquoise cake, for your enjoyment:

It really is pretty darn good. :) If you want to try it out, check out the comments first. I used gel coloring, (not the icing stuff), but many of you bakers shared your favorites products that work much better – I’ll be sure to try them out next time!!

I had some fantastic giveaways this month from My Design Guide, The Pumpkin Patch, American Express and of course, Silhouette!

And I have to send out a big fat thank you to my advertisers for this month:

Bomobob’s beautiful photography:

Dimples and Dandelions boutique with adorable decor and clothing:

Photo Jewelry Making carries everything you could need:

My Design Guide can help you with design dilemmas big and small:

Well, that’s the month of June in review peeps! Thanks for coming along for the ride and welcome to the party if you’ve just joined us! ;)

I’ll be back with the update on the kitchen…stay tuned.

Great Day for a Giveaway~

To add a little zip to your Thursday, I have something fun for you all today! A giveaway from Burlap and Blue!! Not familiar with Burlap and Blue? Well, let me take a minute and introduce you...I just know you'll become fast friends.

Burlap and Blue is a fun little etsy store that features vintage-inspired goods for your home and family. (Linda, the creative force behind Burlap and Blue, also writes a darling blog by the same name.)

Linda creates darling cakestands, coasters, and tags...and sweet vintage-feel goodies for the little ones in your life like matching games and wooden blocks.

Linda has generously offered to give one reader of the Shabby Nest a $25 gift certificate to her shop! All you've got to do to enter is to leave a comment on this post. The drawing will be open until 11:59 EST on Friday, July 2nd.

And don't worry...if you don't win the drawing, you can still pick up some sweet swag from her shop at a discount! Simply use the code shabbynest15 to receive a 15% discount on your purchase - this code is good until next Thursday (July 8).

Good luck~