DIY Closet Shelving

Since our house was built in '69 it has had some pretty outdated parts to it:

Poop green bathroom- again, with towel bars inside the shower??

A kitchen where you can watch yourself do dishes (please notice the mirror above the sink)

Wood. Paneling.  I don't think I need to elaborate on this...

Well, people, the ugliness didn't stop at the obvious things, it also included our closets, ALL of them.  The bedroom closets were easy fixes with Rubbermaid closet systems purchased from Lowe's, and even the bathroom and coat closets were able to be remedied with these pieces.  However, we have this little powder room that has a closet built in over our basement stairs and it is 43 inches wide.  This was a problem because that meant it was too wide for one set of Rubbermaid shelves, but too thin for the 4 foot shelving without having to hack it down with a Dremel saw.  So, I based my shelving on the same concept of another blog that I follow, Sawdust and Embryos, in their Closet Shelving Tutorial.  It was a GENIOUS idea and so simple to do that even being preggers, I got 'er done!

I forgot to take a picture of the closet before I removed the old shelves- but picture this: slabs of wood that went from the very back to the very front of the cabinet.  There were 3 of them and I couldn't see to the back of the shelves because they came so far forward.  Plus, they had some nasty stains and stuff (shudder)- yuck!

I'm so thankful my Dad decided I needed a miter saw- it was my best friend on this project!  Here's all my 1x4's cut to size to fit the melamine shelving that we purchased- on sale, booyah!

After finding the studs and marking them all the way up the back wall of the closet I began installing the wood pieces that will act as my shelf brackets.  I just used drywall screws we already had on hand from our basement reno.  They worked like a charm.  P.S. Please notice the dark papery stuff on the bottom of the closet.  This closet doesn't go all the way to the floor since it's over the stairs, and the previous owners just put this ugly stone and glitter linoleum up the side and on the bottom of the closet.  Despite all my valiant efforts, I couldn't get it off- so instead I decided I would just cover it up with something else that you'll see later.

I made sure to drill the screws into the wood slightly so that I would be able to fill in over them with putty.

All the pieces in and puttied, waiting to be sanded the next day.

In the S&E Tutorial they also used melamine shelving and then glued and heat-adhered on pieces over the raw edges of the melamine.  I decided to just skip a step and get melamine that had a finished front edge- I didn't care about the other edges since they would be facing the walls. 

I marked the length of my shelves and then covered the marks with painter's tape and remarked- I was worried the table saw would chip the shelving.  I don't know if it actually made a difference, but it sure didn't chip! 

 

Remember I said I was covering up that paper crap on the bottom?  I did it with 1/4 inch birch plywood, brad-nailed it down and filled in all the brad nail holes- I kind of nailed the bajeebers out of it!  Wood putty was my next best friend on this DIY.

Finally I added a piece of corner trim over the seam and installed white baseboards on the inside.  The closet walls and wood brackets received a coat of a light gray paint and the baseboards and new "floor" of the closet got a shiny coat of white with a few coats of water-base polyurethane to help keep the surface durable since I'm storing occasional use cooking items on it: roaster, bread maker, etc. 

I can see everything on my new shelves!

And everything looks organized and fabuloso!

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A New Blessing

Jerod and I have been very fortunate in our life together to have family and friends available to support us, jobs to help us provide for our beautiful little girl, Cailyn, and another opportunity to expand our little family! 

That's about what life looks like from my eyes these days, and I couldn't be happier.  But, I also can't lie- this pregnancy hasn't been carefree and giddy like when I was pregnant with Cailyn.  I suppose having a miscarriage just does that to a woman.  I pray about it every night, for God to watch over our both of our growing children.  I'm doing the best I can to trust in His will and believe that no matter what happens we'll be okay, but I honestly- I just really hope that we don't have to go through a loss like that again.  So, I guess for now we'll just keep on praying for a healthy pregnancy.

We hit week 15 this past Saturday, and this munchkin is due on October 5th- a week before my brother Tom's wedding to his gal Michelle.  It should make things very interesting that's for sure!  Not to mention having an actual maternity leave with this one, instead of just having a baby over summer vacation.  When I went in for my last appointment baby had a heartbeat in the 150's, just like Cailyn did at that same time.  Jerod's pretty sure he's always going to have girls, he thinks he's cursed! 

I can't help but feel slightly guilty- we were so lucky to have conceived again so quickly.  I know it doesn't happen so easily for other couples, and my thoughts are with anyone who has struggled with conception or miscarriage.  It is so heartbreaking and emotionally draining, we just had a small taste of what some people go through and I truly hope those people find the happiness they are looking for.  In the meantime, I'm going to pray for them and for us and try my best to take this pregnancy one day at a time and enjoy every minute I'm given with this baby, no matter how long or short that may be.

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Hi, we're the Browns!

Just in case you forgot who we were since it's been SO LONG since my last blog post.  I thought of a few of the usual excuses:

"We've been SO busy!"

"My mom's cousin's dad's brother's uncle's best friend's sister needed help with something obscure."

"My dog at my homework!" ......wait, that one might not fly....

Anyway, the truth is: I have been really lazy minus the one weekend I began working on our craft room/powder room closet project (which I'm so excited to post pictures on once at least one of the three projects to do in there is finally done- maybe over Spring Break).  So, since I don't really have one special thing to post about, I'll just dump a ton of photos from the last 6 weeks and catch you up on some of our happenin's.

A Very Evans Visit

Over Winter break (okay, so that's more than 6 weeks ago- sue me) some of our college friends came up to watch football and eat and drink way too much.  A couple of these friends are our pals Shane and Alison who are living out in Cali right now with their baby gal Kylie, awaiting the arrival of Baby Evans Numero Dos in the summer.  This was Kylie and Cailyn's first meet and greet with each other and it was an eye opening experience for our little miss.  

She was very interested in anything Alison had to do to care for Kylie

Cailyn is so used to having everything to herself- she was a little sad when Kylie was playing with Mommy's water bottle and she didn't get to take it away like she had planned

Kylie had a rough day playing with a big kid- what better way to calm the nerves than an ice cold Bud heavy

 The best part of making cookies is NOT the finished product- it is the raw cookie dough, period.

Nap time in her own room = playing with her toys until falling asleep in the rocking chair

 It's the face- it's priceless!

"Mwah-ha-ha-ha, Daddy looks like a gril!"

A new found interest in coloring- yup, that's be the window...

 In this house, our children are sweet enough to eat.

 She gets her cooking skills from her mother, and her dressing while cooking skills from her father- a T-shirt with sparkly boots is Jerod's go-to for a successful meal

 A Happy 50th to Debbie

My Aunt recently turned a fabulous 50 years old, and Cailyn had a blast!  The girl was a dancing fool, but who can blame her?  The dance floor was incredibly inviting to all kids with the lights on the floor- for a while she just chased them and smacked them on the floor.  When the big kids came out to dance though, or the "Babies!" as Cailyn calls them, she was more than ecstatic to join in.

 

Stylin' and profilin'- this was right before she was choked out, had her sunglasses stolen, and then got a hug hidden as a bite from another child, Cailyn took it in stride- I was more worked up about it than she was...

My aunt and cousin decorated themselves and I was so impressed- it was chic but fun, and they said they got most of it right after Halloween and saved some moo-la that way!
 

 

If you don't laugh out loud when seeing this picture then you are not human- she looks like she's dancing to Cotton Eyed Joe....it was actually Gangam Style I believe

 Mommy leaves the bathroom for 5 seconds with the Noxema jar open and this is what happens:

When Grandma comes to stay that means iPhones, pop tarts, and basically anything else Cailyn wants

 1-3 inches my foot!

So far we've gotten 12.5 inches so I'd say the weather people kinda misread this one, huh?  In any case, it meant an early dismissal, no school, and time to blog!  Jerod was a good Daddy and took Cailyn out for a tumble in the snow after nap.

 

Snow up the coat is just what every kid wants when they play in the snow!

She forgives him though :)

I promise it will not be 6 weeks before my next post...probably only 5...

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Fun in the Snow- when it was here that is!

Well, after the 14 inches of snow that came down just before Christmas we thought it was about time to take the little miss out for her first (technically second) tumble in the snow.  It was lots of fun despite it being probably a bit too cold for us to be out there for the long 15 minutes we were.  I loved that it was cloudy, the natural light was perfect for picture taking! 

So, anyway 2 pairs of socks, one pair of snow pants, one hooded sweatshirt, a pair of boots, one winter coat with a furry hood, one fleece stocking cap, a pink scarf and two pairs of mittens later we finally trooped out into the cold quiet outdoors.

Miss Independent wanted so badly to walk through the snow by herself, but as you can imagine it was a slightly daunting task for someone who's only a year and a half

When she inevitably took a tumble and couldn't get back up....

...I was happy to help her by holding her hand

She must have been thinking, "Look at all that SNOW on the patio set!"

Because she immediately trudged over to it and began smacking snow off of the bench in delight and giggles.  She started off hitting it slowly and then pushed the snow off faster and faster until-

"Mom, help me out here, it's right on my eyes!"

All better!

This time she didn't fall down, she pulled away from me and went down on purpose, and then tried to crawl through the snow but the snow wasn't having it

By the end she was covered in snow with rosy cheeks and a leaky nose, it was time to call it quits

Believe me, we tried to get the snow pants off of her, but she really didn't want to take them off

I figured she must still be cold so we made the traditional after-snow-play treat of hot cocoa with plenty of marshmallows, mmmm...

Now that the snow has melted considerably we don't get to go out in it, so I'm ecstatic that we made the trek out there over break and Cailyn could experience the joys of a big snow.  I have a feeling this little girl is going to love it as much as I did when I was a kid, we can't wait to share more of these experiences with her!

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A Brown Christmas

Ha!  Anyone who lives in Iowa knows it was definitely NOT a brown Christmas.  In fact, it was an incredibly white Christmas due to the around 13 inches of snow that fell here 5 days before the holiday.  My first snow day with Marshalltown Community Schools is in the books! (And being made up on January 21st- yuck.)


Anywho- we celebrated three Christmases this year, the first was just Jerod, Cailyn, and Me chillaxin' the Saturday morning before we began our travels the next day.  It was nice and extra fun since our stinker is very good at unwrapping gifts and loves to do so. 

Christmas in State Center

Our daughter is the only kid I know who would get this excited about new socks!  After unwrapping them, she immediately took off her pajamas so that she could put them on all by herself, ha :)

She also received a new book, play dough, and a vacuum from us.  She knew just what to do with the vacuum and the book...we're still working on the play dough thing.

As an experienced gift opener, Cailyn showed Daddy just how it's done.

In a world full of amazing technology and high-definition, my husband dropped hints for months about wanting to own an original Nintendo system.  I found it for him, complete with Super Mario Brothers 3 and Tecmo Super Bowl.  Now that I think about it, I may have played it more than he has since he opened it...

Christmas in Anita

Sunday we traveled down to Jerod's parents' place in southwest Iowa (of course, stopping at Jordan Creek on the way!).  It's always great to see them and Cailyn loves that she runs the roost when we're there since there are no other kids.  Sunday evening we just hung out at the house and Monday morning and afternoon Jerod's brothers (minus Heath since he's out in WV) came over and we had a delicious soup and sandwiches lunch and opened gifts.  Later that afternoon we all went to Christmas Eve mass together before heading on our way.

Monday morning Jerod and I realized we would need to make a trip to Walmart- all the way in Atlantic, and Deb came home just in time to watch Cailyn for us.  They had so much fun with Cailyn's new play dough stuff.

This was Sunday night and they were playing with the ceramic Santa on the table, it's funny how kids love the most miniscule little things.

Jerod's great grandpa Max built this way back when Jerod and his siblings were little and it's still in great repair minus a few cosmetic issues.

Usually they look out the windows at the cows together, but I think this time Bodie the dog was running around out there.

Cailyn received a cute pink jogging suit and a new stroller for her baby dolls from Grandma Deb & Papa Brown.

Christmas in Sioux City

After stopping for some Mickey D's in Atlantic we began our drive to Sioux City.  I realized, yet again, what a small world it is when we stopped in Missouri Valley to switch seats and I ran in to Josh Fuxa, an old high school friend who I haven't seen in 10 years.  Josh- if you're reading this, it was so good to see you, you look great! 

We got in at a decent hour and the next morning had a nice breakfast before opening gifts.  I'm not sure if I remember the last time we at before opening gifts- I guess that's when you can tell you and your siblings are getting older, huh? 

Gift opening was an amazing mess of tissue paper, bows, and wrappings- Cailyn LOVED it!

My sisters Amanda and Kristen goofin' around while Cailyn holds on for dear life

Every single thing he's wearing was a Christmas gift- I am amazed that society let this combination of neon colors escape the 80's!  It's the fad these days I guess...I don't understand it, I suppose this is just the beginning for me.

A quick photo with Grandpa Mark and Grandma Jacque before we headed back to State Center that night.

Family Christmas picture 2012- we tried about seven times and this was the least crappy of them, Cailyn would not hold still for anything!

 

 

From the sounds of it, everyone we know had a pretty fantastic Christmas.  We are so blessed to be the parents of such a beautiful little girl, one who is forming her own little personality, and let me tell you- if the present is any indication of her future self we are in for it!  Happy New Year to everyone!

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