So…when we originally bought this house, I felt somehow required to decorate “Victorian” since that’s the era and style of the home. Over the years, I’ve grown increasingly weary of the green, burgundy and excess of florals. I’ve slowly been deleting those elements from my rooms, though I’ll leave the formal dining room in it’s Victorian dress. I’ve left the kitchen to last since it seemed, for some reason, especially overwhelming. However, Grandma took the kids for a week this month and I saw it as my chance to get started. If you’re going to totally trash your house it’s best to do so when it’s occupied by the least number of inhabitants.

Note: This is a BUDGET re-do.

Here is the before photo. The window above the sink is a nasty trailer house window with discoloration between the panes. Very ugly. It was a challenge to figure out how to camouflage it since I still wanted to let light in. Previously, I’d used a valance with a lace panel to cover the window.

And now or the “in process” pics. I was able to hide the window by using two temporary paper shades to cover the inside. It does a great job of hiding the window while letting in light. Total cost $10 ($5 each) I hung a bamboo ($30) shade high above the window to help even out the space.

This was my first attempt at tiling and it went pretty well, though it wasn’t as enjoyable as I’d hoped. These glass tiles were on sale for $5/sq. ft. I really like them and am looking forward to see what they’ll look like once they’re grouted. I still need to paint all the bottom cabinets. They will be a dark brown. I’m not totally sure what I’ll be doing with the island top yet.

I recently opened an ING Savings account and am loving it. It’s easy to use, no fees and the rate is triple my bank savings rate. And, yes, it’s FDIC insured. They’ve been around for years and I’ve heard nothing but glowing reports.

One thing I really like about the ING account is that it lets you set up sub-accounts. So while I actually have only one savings account, I can set it up so that I can view Vacation, Car, Taxes, etc., all as different sub-accounts. HERE is an excellent tutorial on how to set up the sub accounts.

Another neat thing is that ING is allowing me to send referral  links that will allow anyone setting up a new ING Savings account, with a minimum of $250 to receive $25! I looked all over for a referral before I set up my account and couldn’t find one, so I’m letting folks know that I have some available if anyone is interested. Email me at wood7 at charter dot net for a referral.   Enjoy!

Several years ago we enclosed our back porch and turned it into a mudroom/bathroom/pantry. The bathroom (the priority) and pantry were quickly finished up, but the mudroom remained unfinished all this time. I knew how I wanted it, but it never seemed to be a priority. Plus I detest mudding and sanding drywall and that’s where the project left off. My mother-in-law took the kids last month so I could work on a project. Dang! That meant I had to actually work on a project! lol I decided to tackle the mudroom once and for all. I did manage to get the room mudded, sanded and primed that weekend. I then had to wait for hubby to put the flooring down.

This weekend we made another Home Depot trip to pick up cabinets. I painted the room at 8pm last night so that we could get the cabinets up today. Sadly, I’m only manager to average about one day a week to work on the project. Still, we’re finally at a point where I can see the end in site. Here’s the very attractive "before" pictures. It’s kind of funny, because directly to the right of the first view, is a totally adorable bathroom. You just had to walk through this mess to get to it!

And the "during" shot. (A view of the same area in the picture directly above) Not close to being done, but at least you can get a feel for the desired outcome. I can’t wait!

Do you have a project in progress? I’d love to see pics! 

Just a reminder to do some checking around before you order online. Just today, I managed to save $230 by spending a few extra minutes doing a bit of searching.

 First I needed new Quickbooks business checks and envelopes. After placing the items in my cart I did some Google searches for "intuit coupon code" and "quickbooks checks code". The first couple of sites I went to had nothing current. I nearly gave up. Thankfully, I clicked on www.retailmenot.com where there were several active codes. Most were 10% off or free shipping but one was for 50% off and it worked! Saved me over $100!

Then, my daughter needed new piano books. I first checked the site recommended by her piano teacher and found they would be right at $30 after shipping. I then checked Amazon.com and CBD. No bargains. Finally, I decided to check ebay. Wouldn’t you know, someone was selling all four books, in excellent condition, for $13.97 with free shipping! Again, less than half what I would have paid before.

 So, less than 30 minutes of searching (for both purchases combined) saved me well over $100.