Shut the Front Door…

…and let’s focus on the entry way, shall we?  After I finished the gallery walls in our hallway a few weeks ago and then gave the light in there a little pick-me-up with some paint, I felt so great to gaze down it and see the cohesiveness that “completing” the space gave (even though no space is ever really “complete”, right?)  To a visitor, it looks finished and put together.  None of the rooms in our house feel/look like that except the hallway now.  Why?  It’s because I jump around from project to project, room to room, never staying in one space long enough to complete the 48 projects I have in store for it. 

Well, it’s 2014 and while I’m not one for New Years’ resolutions, I am making a resolution to work on one room at a time.  You see, what happens when you’re like me and you’re constantly jumping from one room to the next is that you have supplies for a few projects for this room squirreled away while you work on the project in this other room over here.  Eventually there are supplies stored everywhere.  You check one project off your list and keep moving to the next.  Meanwhile, you’ve found an amazing deal on something for another project and have had some awesome luck thrifting so you get all excited and work on something new and things get back-burnered and then clutter arrives at your house and settles in.  You get the gist, right? 

So, no more scattered projects.  One space at a time for me.  After the hallway, the next space I’m putting my energy into is the entry way.  I’ve had plans and materials for projects in here for a long time.  Here’s what it looked like shortly after we moved in:

This is after I replaced the mini-blinds that were there when we purchased with a rattan roman shade I found on clearance at Target that I later deemed too narrow (not to mention too long at almost six feet).  It’s also after we painted all the off-white trim and the door a crisp white and the walls with Valspar’s Hopsack.

Last January we installed a hook system by the door and since then, nada.  It’s not been touched.  Until now.  I just finished making a roman shade (tutorial tomorrow!) to replace the boring brown shade and have plans for a new rug, a new light fixture (a chandelier!!), a mirror, and some other things.  Stay tuned. 

While I’m (slowly) plugging away at the entry way, I’ll still be doing some little projects here and there – alterations and such – so those will be sprinkled in the mix of posts along with a few love stories.  I’m not a fool to think I can pound out one space/project every week like I once could (read ‘like before I had kids’), so I have to keep you entertained and coming back somehow, right?  ;)

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So, tell me.  Am I the only one that creates to the tune of House of Pain’s “Jump Around” or is there a support group to be had?  Maybe you’re a Mission {insert a room} person and you have some words of wisdom to give?  I’ll take any and all!

Sebastian: Two Months

The kid has gained two pounds and one ounce since month one and is a half inch longer…growing, growing, gone to college.  That’s how quick it’s going.  When I think over the last two months everything’s a blur but mostly because of my constant movement (thank you climbing twins) and not because of the fast pace of time.

Other than his physique, not much else has changed.  My hands are still full, my heart even more so, and I’m continuing to take it crazyday by crazyday.  We did get out of the house once (and in “we”, I mean me + three kids – daddy) to run an errand/brave the public and I swore up and down I’d never do it again.  And I haven’t because I’d like to think I learned my lesson.  (Friends houses and the doctor don’t count because at those places there are extra arms so less chaos.)

Anthony took a bunch of seniors (as in the high school variety) to Nashville last weekend for a three day excursion, leaving me and our tots/baby to fend for ourselves and it went surprisingly well.  Yes there were a few meltdowns and times when I contemplated learning to use my feet for everyday tasks, but we’re alive and everybody’s still sane…I think.

Anyway, I digress.  I have a two month old whose cooing and smiles are making every struggle so very worth it…or that’s what I hear.  ;)  

Made by Heather

Stripes.  I love them.  That’s why when Heather emailed me and told me she’d painted stripes in her little girl’s room I was ecstatic and with enthusiastic fingers, emailed her back asking for pictures.  Check out her toddler’s sweet little (big!) room:

The room was already tan so all she did was put up the white stripes.  She said taping and painting the stripes was tough because of the odd shape of her little girl’s room, which I can imagine, but after a little trial and error, she had a friend help her and all was well.  Doesn’t it look awesome?

And speaking of awesome, the curtains!  They were Heather’s first sewing project (umm, can we say natural talent?) and they turned out great (I’m pretty sure my first sewing project went straight to the garbage)!  The chevron pattern and the bold pink add so much to the room!  She also painted most of the canvases and artwork on the walls and she painted the corner shelf.  There’s so much she did in here for her sweet baby girl and that kind of love can’t be bought.  Ya know? :) 

Thank you for sharing Heather!

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Need more stripes?  Check out our twins nursery (& the how-to), this painted rug, these pillow covers and their matching faux roman shade, this sweater-to-cardigan refashion, these DIY baby legwarmers, and this Instapic.  Do I have a stripe addiction?  #yes

In Other News…

The blog here is going through a serious case of neglect.  I blame it on the three piglets in the house, fat with my attention.  I do have some projects and a few stories on the assembly line though stamped with a big “TBD”.  I’ll probably be posting some sneak peeks on Instagram and Facebook though, so you can start heading down those routes if you want to stay in the loop.  :)

Until I get all my ducks in a row and napping in sync, check these out:

I’ve been eyeing this swimsuit since last summer and I just can’t shake it out of my mind.  It’s a little on the expensive side for me but I wear swimsuits for at least three years so I’m thinking maybe it’ll be worth it (and I have birthday money burning a hole in my sweatpants pocket).   

For those of you on the ‘gram, you should chase after Shalice’s Instagram feed.  I recently stumbled upon her and her incredible sense of style.  I rarely have closet envy but she’s colored me green with it.  The fact that a ton (and I mean a ton) of the stuff she wears/styles is thrifted makes me heart her and her closet that much more.  And I thought I had closet full of thrift scores… 

Let’s talk eyebrows.  Do you fill yours in?  I don’t and never have but Maskcara’s tutorial makes me want to try.  I mean, look at the difference between her filled and unfilled brows!  Amazing!

Easy recipes are my favorite since I don’t exactly enjoy cooking (but baking?  That’s another story).  So, this brown sugar and garlic baked chicken caught my scrolling finger on Pinterest and we’ve made it twice in two weeks because it’s easy AND good.  I usually don’t like chicken recipes that don’t involve marinade because I’m not a fan of that pure chicken taste but this one is a thaw-the-chicken-and-throw-it-in-the-oven recipe and it tastes mighty good.  A few alterations I made:  I baked it at 400 degrees for 30 minutes and sprinkled white cheddar cheese (Cabot sharp cheddar) over the top when there was 10 minutes left on the clock.  Scrumptious.

And bonus, I set Sebastian on Seraphia (I can’t really say I let her “hold” him because he’s literally almost the size of her) and she loved it.  Aside from being binki-stuffed, I’d say he liked it to…maybe.  Watch:

S and S from Sheena Tobin on Vimeo.

Blue Light

I’m notorious for jumping around rooms, doing projects as I go but something’s gotten into me and after the new gallery wall in the hallway was finished, I moved to the boring light fixture.  I’m sure it’s been here since the house was built (1980’s) and it’s not in the budget to completely scrap it for a brand new one.  So, I painted it (and forgot to take a ‘before’ picture before I did…oops).  It’s a simple little light – just a brushed silver base with a globe underneath.  After scheming, I came up with lots of ideas on ways to rework it by replacing the globe with a homemade capiz chandelier or a small lamp shade…but, eventually I settled on just painting the base.  I’ll be on the hunt the next time I’m thrifting (Lord knows when that’ll be but I’ve put in a request with Anthony to have a thrifting day for my birthday next week) for an old brassy I can jazz up to replace it with but until then, at least it’s lookin’ a little better.

All I did was take off the glass globe and then used a foam brush to prime the metal base (Zinnisser water-based primer in white).  I also made sure to prime the screws that hold in the globe since they’re visible.

Then I grabbed the leftover test pot of paint (Valspar’s Secluded Garden) I used to stamp our kitchen rug and painted the base with the same (cleaned and dried) foam brush, using a small paintbrush around where the base meets the ceiling.

I won’t be devastated if the paint doesn’t hold up but I don’t foresee too many problems since the light isn’t touched minus swapping out bulbs.

It’s a little more fun, no?

Either way, our hallway has traveled a small journey since we first moved in.

Next up is painting the cream colored door bell on the left wall.  I’d also love to add a fun geometric runner to cover up the ugly carpet but that’s number 430 on the priority list…however, I’m not sure how that would handle the girls wheeling their toys down the hall.  Anyone have a rug over carpet plus kids that stays put?  Fill me in.

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If you have a moment, please, please, please say a prayer or two for the two year-old daughter of our friends.  In the past month they’ve discovered a very large, cancerous tumor in her brain and she’s undergone multiple surgeries with more to come.  Her name is Madison and she’s so beautiful and so sweet.  I can’t imagine the difficulty it is to see your baby suffer at such a young age and my heart is broken for them.  But, they are very faithful and strong and know that God has a plan and it is always the best plan.

Blessed Francis Seelos, pray for us.