Designed To Dwell

Transforming Tab Curtains

The dining room has needed window treatments since we moved in. A few weeks ago, I picked up some Lenda curtains from Ikea for $19.99 per pair. The curtains were the right color & size, but I wasn’t exactly loving the tabbed top. Originally, I purchased some curtain hanging clips with the intention of cutting off the tabs & using the clips, but I decided to ditch that idea when I realized I didn’t buy enough clips. Instead, I decided to transform my tab curtains into rod pocket type curtains & today I’m going to show you how I did it!

Here is what the curtains looked like before the transformation:

First, I pinned each tab to the back of the curtains.

Next, I simply sewed a few stitches in each tab to hold it in place. Make sure to use a strong thread & knot it a few times to ensure a good hold.

Finally, hang your curtains by sliding the rod into your newly created pocket & admire the transformation!

Here’s the finished product (sans steaming)!

Although this project was pretty simple, hand sewing all those individual stitches was time consuming! Using a machine would have been much quicker, but I was afraid the stitching would show through the front. What would you have done?

Linking here:

Working With What You Have link up at emilyaclark.com

Working With What You Have link up at emilyaclark.com

Out & About

A couple of weeks ago I did some shopping & thought I would share a few brief pictures of my adventures.

The first stop was to Ikea. We went to purchase some curtains & curtain rods, but you can never go to Ikea without looking at all the great room displays. Unfortunately, the childcare was full, so the kids were actually shopping with us this time. It was hard to take pictures while they were singing, screaming, & running from room to room!

I really liked the Byholma/Marieberg chair. A pair of these would be great at each end of a dining room table.

I also liked this dining room set up. I'll call it industrial elegance!

Yep, sadly, those are the only two little pictures I got from Ikea!

I have never bought any furniture from Ikea, but I really do like their textiles & accessories. It is a fun place to window shop too. Here are a few more reasons I like to shop at Ikea...

FREE Childcare while you shop!
Complimentary Diapers (size 4)
Great family bathrooms, with a comfortable chair for nursing
Activity centers throughout the store to entertain children while you shop
Ikea Family Cards

To get an Ikea Family Card, you fill out a form at the kiosk (located between the childcare & bathrooms at our local store) & your card slides out. Once mine printed I had a coupon for a free frozen yogurt! (We used it right away, since our kiddos were sad the childcare was full!) The card also entitles you to free coffee & tea from the restaurant & each time you swipe your card in store you are entered into a $100 gift card sweepstakes! The card also gives you special discounts on certain items. (Nope, I am not being paid to say any of this, I just like how pleasurable Ikea makes their shopping experience!)

My next stop was to Pier One. I have thirty dollars in rewards after purchasing our sofa & I was hoping to use them on this trip, but time & luck were not on my side! Here are some things that grabbed my attention...

I thought this basket would be great for storing small toys or bathroom accessories.

I loved the blue glass in this floor lamp, but it was slightly above my $30ish budget!

I really like this woven footstool. Wonder if I could DIY one out of old t-shirts?

See anything you like? Do you have any ideas on what I should use my rewards on?

Framing a Window

In our attempts to make our home a little more custom, we have slowly begun the process of framing our windows. (So far we have four done! Wahoo!) Today, I’m going to walk you through the process of adding trim to create a window frame.
The builders added a window sill and a small piece of trim below the window. In our situation, the window sill juts out about an inch into the dry wall.

First, my husband used a crow bar to remove the trim below the window sill.

Next, Mark measured the small piece of window sill that juts into the dry wall & drew the measurements on the back of a piece of trim. He used a jig saw to cut the horizontal lines & a utility knife to cut the vertical line.

This is what the piece looked like after knocking out the small rectangle.

Next, Mark checked to make sure the molding fit over the window sill & then marked & cut where the 45 degree angle would go, using a miter saw. For the mitered angles, measure the inside of the window & that is where you begin your cut. He then marked the top 45 degree angle on this piece & cut it & then slid it into place.

After several finishing nails, he was ready to move on to the next piece. After measuring twice & cutting once, he cut the 45 degree angles for the bottom, top, & side pieces & nailed them into place.

Finally, Mark caulked the mitered angles & nail holes. When using caulk, make sure to have a wet cloth handy to immediately wipe off the excess. You can also fill these gaps & holes with wood filler, but my husband prefers the clean, smooth look of caulk.

And here is the big picture:

You’ll probably notice that we chose not to add trim between the two windows. We did this because the space was too big for just one piece of trim & too small for two pieces.
So, are your windows trimmed out?

Preparing for a Power Outage

In the past few weeks, our house has been without power for 24 hours ~~two~~ three different times. (I kid you not, while writing this post our power went out for 22 hours!) About 2 1/2 years ago, we lost power for seven full days! I’m determined to be prepared the next time the lights go out, so I am posting some of my research & learning experiences & maybe you can benefit from this too!

Preparation
Here are some supplies you should have handy if the power goes out.

Utility Company Phone Number- It is always a good idea to call the utility company when the power goes out. This helps them keep track of the number of outages. They can also usually tell you the cause of the outage & give an estimated time of when it will be back on. The number we call is completely automated & they even call you back to let you know when the power is restored.

Landline Telephone with Cord- Cordless phones won’t work during power outages & cell towers could be down.

Cell Phone Car Chargers- If the power goes out for an extended period, it’s a good idea to have a car charger so you can charge your cell phone.

Battery Operated Radio- A radio can help keep you informed of bad weather or important news you may need during a power outage. When we were without electricity for a week, my husband & I would put the kids to bed & listen to old radio programs on NPR. It definitely kept us entertained until bedtime!

Flashlights, flashlights, flashlights- We have flashlights in each bedroom. We also keep one hung on the inside doorknob to the basement. This is also helpful when we blow a fuse & have to go down in the dark basement to switch it back on. It is also a good idea to keep a flashlight near the door you would use if you come home to a power outage. (Remember, if the power is out, your garage door opener won’t work, so have another way to enter, such as a key!) It is also good to have a crank or rechargeable flashlight in case you run out of batteries.

Extra Batteries

Candles & a lighter or matches (If you use these, make sure not to place them anything flammable, & don’t forget to blow them all out before leaving or going to bed! I personally prefer to use flashlights, but these are always good to have on hand for emergencies.)

House Key- Remember, if you come home to a power outage, your garage door opener & electric key codes won’t work.

Cold Freezer Packs- Keep some cold packs in the freezer. You can move them to the refrigerator or use them in a cooler to help preserve food.

Cooler

Ready to Eat Food such as canned tuna or chicken, beef jerkey, nuts, granola bars, peanut butter (for sandwiches), etc.

Grill or Camp Stove for cooking outdoors

Manual Can Opener

Thermometer to check the temperature inside your freezer or refrigerator

First Aid Kit

When the Lights Go Out…
1. When your power goes out, first check your circuit breaker to make sure you didn’t just blow a fuse.

2. Call your local utility company to report the outage. As I mentioned above, they can usually tell you what caused the outage & when the electricity is estimated to be fixed.

3. Stick some ice packs in the refrigerator or move items to a smaller cooler to keep foods that HAVE to be cold, cool. Remember, not everything in your refrigerator needs to be kept cold (processed cheeses, whole fresh fruits, butter, jelly, ketchup, mustard, etc.). Moving the items that have to be kept cold to a smaller cooler with several ice packs or ice can prevent them from spoiling.

Try not to open the refrigerator or freezer doors unless absolutely necessary. You may want to tie the doors together or put some tape on them to remind yourself & your children not to open them. Keeping them closed will prevent the cold air from escaping & will help keep your food safe.

4. If the power is expected to be out for a long period of time, I suggest getting out of the house! When our power was out for a week, I decided to use that time to focus on potty training our daughter. That was NOT a good idea! I was beyond stressed. The laundry was piled up, all of our food was ruined, & my daughter was not cooperating! Do what you can to save your food & then get out of the house! You can kill time at the mall, library, or a bookstore. Try to get home before the sun goes down, so you don’t have to fumble around in the dark!

5. If you find your car locked inside the garage, you can manually open an electric garage door by pulling down on the red cord to disengage the automatic function. You can watch a short video here to see how this is done.

6. If your power is out for an extended time, such as a week, I recommend doing what you can to keep your home running normally (clean dishes by hand, wash clothes at the laundry mat, throw out spoiled food, etc.). This will prevent a big work load once the power returns.

When Power Returns…
When the power comes back on, you will want to make sure the foods left in your refrigerator or freezer are safe to eat. According to the Food Safety website, refrigerated foods should be safe as long as the power is not out for more than four hours. You should throw out any foods that have been held at 40 degrees for over two hours. To check when to keep & discard refrigerated foods, refer to this list. A freezer full of food should keep temperature for about 48 hours (24 hours for a half-full freezer). This list is a great reference on what frozen foods are acceptable to keep & which need to be tossed.

A Few Words About Safety
Always be cautious when using candles. Never light them near fabrics, such as curtains, or anything that could potentially catch fire. Make sure they are out of reach for children & pets & that they are not in a spot where they could get easily knocked over. Store lighters & matches out of reach of children. Also, make sure you have working battery operated smoke detectors.

Never use a camping stove or grill indoors.

If you usually keep the door that leads from your garage, into your home unlocked, make sure to lock it while your automatic garage door is disengaged. Otherwise, you could come home to more than just your power missing!

If you chose to have electricity by using a generator, make sure to leave it outside. Running a generator indoors or even in a closed garage can cause carbon monoxide poisoning & could be lethal! Read & follow all the safety precautions for the unit. During one of our recent power outages, a couple had to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning caused by improperly using a generator. Use a battery operated carbon monoxide detector to ensure safety.

Well, hopefully I’ve covered the basics of surviving a power outage! Did I forget something? Do you have any tips? Please share them in the comments below…I may need them, the way this summer is going!

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A Few Features…

Within the past month, my blog has been featured a few places that I thought I should share with you...

First, I was contacted by Houselogic about featuring our garage in a post they were doing on garage storage. I was pretty excited for my blog to be mentioned by the National Association of Realtors! You can see the story here.

Soon after that, Beth from Home Stories A to Z featured my half bathroom, which you can see here. When you stop by her blog, be sure to check out the Inspiration Files if you have ~~a few hours~~ some time!

Next up, Hometalk featured the creek stone patio & fire pit my husband built on their facebook page. Hometalk is a great resource, where homeowners can share pictures of their inspiring projects & even ask DIY questions & get answers from professionals! I encourage you to check it out if you haven’t already done so! You can see my Hometalk posts here.

Then, just a few days ago, Lindsey from Better After featured our half bathroom! Her site features tons of before & after pictures that are sure to inspire you & even make you question, “Why didn’t I think of that?”. Here is the bathroom feature.

Thanks for the features everyone! I am truly ecstatic about them all!

A Week & Six Years Ago...

Six years & a week ago, I woke up before the sun & headed to the hospital for an induction to meet my first born daughter. Amazingly, I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. After registration & a quick wardrobe change, I started the IV of Pitocin around 6:20 in the morning. The nurse kept telling me I might have a baby by dinner time. I kept telling the nurse that I have quick labors & didn't want to wait that long to meet my daughter.

A short while later, the resident doctor came in to break my water. Soon, the contractions started coming quicker & harder & I didn't know if I could take the pain until dinnertime, like my nurse kept mentioning. At that point, I asked for the epidural. (If you read this post, you know I never had any pain with my son...I didn't even know I was in labor with him!) As I was getting the epidural (around 8:20 AM), I asked the nurse if I was supposed to feel like I needed to push. She told me she would check me as soon as the anesthesiologist finished up. As soon as he walked away, the nurse checked me, & sure enough, I was already fully dilated!

The nurse made a call to the doctor & came back to let me know he had just left the hospital. Say what? He didn't even come check on me before he left?? She told me to try to hold it in! Once the doctor returned to the hospital, I gave four good pushes & Eliana Denae was born at 8:59 AM. I knew I had quick labors, but I didn't realize it would be that quick!

The time has really flown by. Elie has brought us so much enjoyment. She is super silly & great at entertaining herself...which usually leads to huge messes & fits over cleaning up! Last year, at her preschool graduation, her answer to the question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" was, "A princess, even though I already am one!" This year, on her last day of Pre-Kindergarten, the teacher thanked each kid for their contribution to the class. For Elie, she said, "Elie, thank you for always entertaining us & making us smile! Elie was always singing & dancing...Look for her on Broadway!" She is definitely a character & I can easily see her dramatics played out on Broadway someday!

I love you so much Elie Nae! I can't imagine my life without you in it!

Creating an Outdoor Fire Pit

When building our house, we chose our lot based on the beautiful wooded view. Unfortunately, that view came with a steeply sloped back yard. We knew that with a little creativity, we could figure out a way to make our sloped yard functional. Last summer, while watching the kids play in the woods, I noticed this:

a small amount of flat space at the bottom of the hill. I mentioned to my husband that it would make a great place for a fire pit. We added the project to the summer list & Mark got started right away! In the picture above, he has already begun finding creek stone from the creek bed & started getting the ground level.

The first official project was to build a small retaining wall. We decided to give this wall two functions. First, it would prevent erosion & secondly, it would act as a bench for seating. We ended up using landscaping timbers to do this pretty inexpensively. (During Memorial Day, Home Depot had them on sale for $1 each!)

The next step was to build a French drain, since this area sits at the bottom of a hill & needed to have drainage. A French drain is a pipe with holes in the top of it, which allows water to seep into it & then channels the water to where you want it to drain. To do this, Mark dug a trench & added the drain. Then, he added a layer of gravel above it to further help with drainage.

We Mark then covered the area with crushed limestone. Then, he traced out the area where the fire pit would be & added the creek stone, which would become the patio. After purchasing the pavers, Mark built the fire pit by stacking stones in a circular shape. (He grabbed a free brochure next to the pavers, which gave directions, dimensions, & the amount of pavers needed.)