Christmas Break To-Do List

One of the best things about my job is that we get a paid Christmas/Winter Break…and it’s much needed. I had a crappy week at work last week, including an almost mental breakdown on Wednesday. Thankfully everything is better now, but I’m still beyond excited that our site is officially closed down from December 22^nd – January 1^st. I’m going to spend a couple days with my parents, a couple days in Las Vegas with my boyfriend, and then the rest of the time I’ll be working around the house.

Just like last year, I’m putting together a Christmas Break to-do list. I’ve come up with 6 projects (large and small) that I really want to finish during my time off. Of course we all know I’m not that productive, so let’s plan for 3 out of 6. Oh, and sorry for the crappy pictures...I didn't feel like taking new ones, so I just used what I could find.

Paint the China Hutch

Install Living Room and Master Bathroom Baseboards

Finish the Craft Room

Upholster Chairs

No picture =(

Raise the Guest Bathroom Mirror (it’s hung too low for my tall boyfriend)

Artwork for Above the Console Table

Wish me luck…

Christmas Mantel

My Christmas decorations are out and the entire house is bursting with holiday cheer (I even got my boyfriend to hang lights outside).Today I’m sharing my mantel, which turned out to be my favorite decorated area. It’s simple, somewhat traditional, but still fun (glitter and white spray paint).

I love having a mantel to hang our stockings on. Last year I just used the cheap 98 cent stockings from Wal-Mart, but this year I upgraded…to the $1.99 ones…big spender! I also needed to buy an A for Abby to match the JSR glitter letters that I had from last Christmas. I lucked out and Wal-Mart had the same glitter letters as last year (less than $1 each). Yes, Ringo and Abby have their own stockings…and Ringo has already pulled his down once. 

The garland is from Hobby Lobby (50% off, so around $20) and it's absolutely gorgeous - it looks real. The poinsettia/berry/pine swag hanging on the mirror was on clearance at Michael's (around $5). The angel candleholders are from my Christmas décor stash (and were on my mantel last Christmas), but this year I spray painted them white. I think they look so much better in white than the cranberry/gold they used to be.

I love how it turned out! Honestly, the mantel looks a lot better than it usually does, so I might just keep these decorations up the whole year…just kidding!

 

Red Front Door

As you can tell from the post title, I picked red. Actually, my boyfriend picked red. I went to Home Depot after work on Friday and grabbed paint cards in all the colors I was considering. I narrowed down all of the choices to one paint card per color. Then I couldn’t decide because I liked them all, so I let my boyfriend pick. The poor guy gets very little say in how the house is decorated, so I figured it was his turn…especially since he uses the front door more than I do (I park in the garage, so I come in through the laundry room).

Here’s what we started with – straight from the factory white:

As always, prep work is key. I taped off the window (which took for-ev-er) and removed the deadbolt and door knob. Yes, my drop cloth is an old bed sheet…

I’m not going to lie…I was freaking out a little bit after the first coat. I was super bright and almost hot pink-ish. But I just kept telling myself it would dry darker and look better after a couple more coats. Oh, and I should note that the paint is Geranium by Behr.

Three coats later, the door was bright red perfection (although, this picture looks almost exactly the same as the first picture)!

But you can’t paint your door all spiffy and then put your nasty old brass knobs back on, so I went out and bought all new deadbolts/door knobs. If you’re wondering why I didn’t just spray paint them, it’s because they weren’t worth saving. The deadbolt on the security door was one of those double key ones and we thought it was a pain (although I’m sure some people like them) and the door knob was finicky. Sometimes you could turn the lock just fine and then sometimes it would stick and you’d have to wiggle it a few times to get it to turn. The door knob on the front door was missing the lock piece, so it was pretty much just there for show. Sketchy…I know! (Don’t worry - we still had plenty of working locks and were safe…they were just inconvenient.)

Anyway, here’s the big finale – red paint and new deadbolt/door knob:

And just for fun, a before and after comparison:

The security door definitely helps tone down the color and hides the change from the HOA. From the street you can see the red, but it doesn’t stand out so I’m thinking I’m good. We’ll find out!

Oh, and not counting the new locks, this project was less than $20. So, if you’re thinking about painting your door, DO IT! It’s cheap and easy. You just have to start in the morning and plan on being home all day (since your door will be wide open for the paint to dry).