Bedroom Paint Makeover - Our First Time Painting a Room!

The first project for our new rental home was to paint the upstairs bedroom.  The previous tenants had painted it a deep, dark red and the owner of our home had painted the trim a cream color, which the tenants kept.  

I'm not a big fan of red, especially in a bedroom, so I knew that the red paint would be the first thing to go.  Thankfully our landlord was kind enough to let us paint the house any color we wanted and provided us with a ton of painting supplies.

Kevin and I had never painted a room before, so we got some great advice from the ladies at Home Depot.  They suggested a grey primer to cover the red before we painted the room with the color we had chosen.  We went with a fun blue color to match our new yellow and tan bedding.  We also bought white paint that we were going to use to paint the window trim and baseboards.

 This is what the bedroom looked like before, with the previous tenant's paint color and furniture.

The back wall is wallpaper, which is crazy hard to take off so we decided to leave it on as well.  Here is how the closet doors looked before.

Step one was to apply the painter's tape to every wall and door frame, then apply the primer on the red part of the door and on the walls.

Here's Kevin painting the grey primer.  He did a great job for never having painted before!

Grey primer on the walls- finished!

Here are the doors with primer over the red trim.

After letting the grey paint dry overnight, I started to paint the walls blue.  I did one coat with the paint roller and then went back over any spots I missed with a smaller roller and a brush.  Next, I used an angled paint brush to paint the edges of the wall up to the blue painter's tape.

This photo shows the grey paint around the edges.

This photo shows where I went back and filled in the edges with the angled brush.

After letting the blue paint dry overnight, I came back the next day and took off all of the painter's tape.  I was going to start painting the cream trim white, until I realized how big of a job it was going to be!  Not only would I need to paint the baseboards, closet and windows, but I'd also have to paint the railing around the stairs, the trim where the wallpaper is, the stairs' hand railing and the sides of the stairs.  It turned out to be too huge of an undertaking, so Kevin found a can of the cream paint in the basement (thankfully) and I just used it to touch up the existing cream paint.

Here's the finished product!

Be on the lookout for pictures of all of the decorated rooms in our new home in an upcoming blog post!

Our Journey to Find the Perfect Pooch - Meet Rick the Samoyed!

Our first photo of Rick

Kevin and I have wanted a dog for as long as we can remember.  We knew we always wanted a large-breed dog, and thought it wouldn't be fair to have such a big dog cooped up in a tiny one-bedroom apartment in DC, so the first thing on our list after finding a house in Michigan was to start our dog/puppy search.

We have been researching dog breeds for over a year.  We knew we wanted a large dog who was great with children and other dogs, who was friendly and outgoing and who was also "less allergenic."  Yes, we know there is no such thing as a "hypoallergenic" dog, but due to Kevin's allergies we needed to find a breed that would be less allergenic for him to be around.

While researching breeds one day we came across the Samoyed.  We were in love with them from day one!  Their puppies look like tiny polar bears and the full-sized dogs look like white, fluffy wolves.  (Click here for some photos!) .  We spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos of these adorable guys and learning all about their behavior and other traits.

The big test would be to meet a Samoyed in person so that we could see if Kevin would be allergic to their dander and/or saliva.  So, after a little research I found out that there was a Potomac Valley Samoyed Club in the greater Washington, D.C. area.  I contacted the president to see if we'd be able to attend an event and meet some of the dogs.  Kevin seemed to be totally fine around them, so we really started to feel that a Samoyed could be the breed for us!

As soon as we got to Michigan I looked into clubs around here, and found the Samoyed Association of Metro Detroit.  I contacted the president for some more information about possible breeders in the area and she sent me about five breeder's contact information in Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan and Canada.  We contacted everyone and found out that there were no available puppies anywhere.  Either they were spoken for, or already had been placed in new homes.  The breeder in Canada said that she had already found homes for her recent litter, but that she had a 16 month old "teenager" named Rick that they'd be willing to place in a new home.

At first we were a little bummed out that there were no available pups, but when we started to think about it we thought that Rick would be the perfect dog-- he's already house trained, kennel trained, and is a retired show dog.  We asked the breeder for some more information about him, and through our phone calls and emails, we began to fall in love with Rick.  We were ready to take the next step and bring him home!

We set a date to meet in London, Ontario to pick up Rick.  Here's some photos from our trip! 

Dog tag, collar and leash.. check!

Passports.. check!

Almost to Canada!

Rick on the car ride to his new home

Rick walking in his grandparent's yard for the first time

Checking out the backyard

Taking a water break

Cuddling with his Dad!

Welcome home Rick!

How to Stain and Strip a Table

A few weeks ago, Kevin's parents were kind enough to give us their old kitchen table for our new place.  I started brainstorming some ideas of what we can do with the table and finally settled on staining it a dark color and pairing it with white, fabric or leather chairs.  Here's what it looked like before-  a light color wood with great metal detailing on the feet. 

After some research, a Martha Stewart tutorial, and a chat with some nice Home Depot employees, I was ready to start my new project.  Since the table is solid wood on the bottom and vinyl on the table top (so they could set hot items on the table), I needed to purchase stripper for the table top.  You can use a can of stripper for larger projects, or spray stripper for smaller projects. 

Stripper is really intense, so make sure to wear gloves, goggles (in my case, sunglasses), and to use it in a well ventilated area.  Also be sure to use special plastic stripping tools and a metal container to dispose of the stripped material.  Whatever you do, don't let it touch your skin!  I got a tiny bit on my arm and had to scrub my arm with soap under cold water to stop the burning.  Very. Intense.

Stripping supplies, minus the scraper tools and wire brush tool

Step one is to spray on by hand, or paint on the stripper with a paint brush. You only have to let it set for 10-15 minutes before it starts to work.  Then, scrape off the stripper using the plastic scraper tools.  Next, wipe off the surface with a towel and let dry.  Then use a wire brush to scrape off the remaining reside.  Step five is to sand the area, then wipe with a wet towel and let dry. 

Spray on, or paint on the stripper

After you complete the stripping process, you are ready to start applying the stain.  With the help of the awesome ladies at Home Depot, I chose a stain that also contained polyurethane.  This ended up saving me a step!  I used "MINWAX PolyShade" in the "Honey Gloss" color.

Apply your first coat and let it set at least eight hours.  Since I was working on this project after work, I just let it set overnight.  On day two, apply your second coat and let it set another night.

Ta Da!!

Step two was to paint the side of the table top.  Since it was solid wood, I didn't have to strip it.  Instead, I just sanded it and then painted two coats.  I also let it dry a night in between each coat.  Next, it was time to stain the bottom of the table.  To gain easier access to the bottom of the table, we unscrewed the top and set it aside.  Then I sanded the table bottom.  

Next, I followed the same steps I did for the top of the table and painted two coats on the bottom of the table, while letting it dry overnight between each coat.

After painting two coats, I used a toothbrush to apply stripper to the metal parts of the table bottom.  Then, I scrubbed all of the edges of the metal with the toothbrush to remove the remaining residue.  Here's the finished table bottom:

Then I screwed the top of the table back onto the bottom of the table, and here's the finished product!

A Day in Ann Arbor - Sawyer & the Nichols Arboretum

This Sunday Kevin thought it would be a great idea to spend the day in Ann Arbor at the arboretum and to go downtown for lunch.  I had great memories of spending time with the pups at the arboretum in Tuscaloosa while I was in college, so I thought it would be a great idea to borrow Katie's dog Sawyer for the day. (We would have brought Callie too, but she is currently recovering from leg surgery.  Sorry Callie!)

Kevin made sure to double check the Nichols Arboretum website to confirm they allow dogs, and I got the OK from Katie to pick up Sawyer, so we were ready for a day of fun in Ann Arbor! 

Let's go, I call shotgun!

The arboretum is located in the middle of a neighborhood very close to campus, so we found a parking spot in the neighborhood and walked into the Geddes entrance to the arboretum.  First, of course, we had to stop and take some pictures with Sawyer.

Parking Map

 

Once inside the gate, there is a map at the entrance that shows you the different paths you can take.  This Web page explains the three entrances and what to do if you get lost:  Nichols Arboretum.

We took a stroll up the path and made our way to the river.  It was the weekend of graduation and all of the students were moving out for the summer, so there were lots of families taking strolls through the gardens and taking pictures in front of the river.  Needless to say, Sawyer received lots of attention.  He did very well with all of the other dogs and groups of people, we were very proud of him!  A few times throughout our walk Sawyer looked pretty tuckered out, so we made sure to give him plenty of water out of our camelback.  Wish I would have gotten that on video, it was pretty funny. Then, back at the car, he drank two bottles of water.  Poor pup, he's more of a "city" dog and enjoys his light strolls through Royal Oak. 

Making our way around the river

Sawyer, Sit

Sawyer, Lay Down

Great view of the river

Sunday Funday

Sawyer loves the camera

Pretty flowers!

After spending a while at the arboretum we were ready for lunch.  We had the bright idea of taking Sawyer for a walk downtown and grabbing some lunch at one of the tables on the sidewalk at one of the many restaurants, but soon realized that that was not going to happen.  Sawyer was just too friendly and wanted to "say hello" to everyone eating at tables along the sidewalk, no matter if they wanted to "say hello" back.  So, instead we rode over to Blimpy Burger and ate our to-go burgers on the sidewalk while Sawyer enjoyed a nice stick. 

After that we headed back home while Sawyer had a nice, long nap in the backseat.  Once back at the house, Kevin and I enjoyed a nice, long nap in the hammock.  It was a pretty great Sunday Funday!

Pinterest Recipe Weekend

This weekend I decided to try a few different recipes that I found on Pinterest.  The first was for Cheesy Baked Quinoa as a side for Kevin's famous chicken thighs and crunchy green beans.  We had Michael and Jessica over for dinner on Friday, so I wanted to try something fun as a side.  Below is the recipe that I found on Pinterest, along with a few changes that I made to it to try to make it a little bit healthier.  

Cheesy Baked Quinoa

1 c. quinoa
2 c. chicken broth ( I used low sodium)
4 oz. (1/2 block) cream cheese (I used fat free cream cheese)
1 & 1/2 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese (I only used 1 c. of 2% sharp cheddar)
1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese
1-2 t. onion powder (I used 1 tsp.)
salt & pepper to taste
any seasonings (i.e. italian seasoning, garlic, herbs, etc.), optional (I used a dash of rosemary, oregano and thyme)

• In a saucepan, combine quinoa and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
•  Stir in the rest of the ingredients, reserving 1 c. of the sharp cheddar. Spread into a baking dish (or 4 individual sized baking dishes).
•  Sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese.  Bake at 350 F for about 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Make sure to follow the directions on the package for cooking quinoa.  If you use too much water or broth, the quinoa will not absorb all of the liquid.

Mix the ingredients together (reserving some of the cheese) then press into a larger dish or four individual serving size dishes.

Ingredients are pressed into the pan

Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.  I only used one cup of cheese instead of 1 1/2.

Bake for about 15 minutes and viola!

A perfect replacement for macaroni and cheese!

On Saturday we went over to Nick and Bre's for a Mexican Fiesta night and bonfire.  The girls wanted to have a healthier take on Mexican night, so Bre made veggies with homemade guacamole and taco salads with turkey meat instead of beef tacos or similar.  Her friend brought over four layer bean dip with vegan sour cream.  I decided to make some homemade tortilla chips, that I've made before, and a Pinterest taco dip made with Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.

The link to the actual recipe was broken, but here's the gist of the dip recipe:

Greek Yogurt Taco Dip

1 medium sized tub of Greek Yogurt
1/2 cup of your favorite salsa
Ranch seasoning packet
Taco seasoning packet

• Combine all ingredients into a bowl, stir
• Chill to let set
• Serve 

Since the link was broken on the recipe, I just sort of winged it.  I didn't use the entire ranch or taco seasoning packets, just about half.  I also added a lot of cayenne pepper for a little extra kick.  Next time I'd also use hot salsa instead of medium.  For the tortilla chips, I cut whole wheat tortillas into triangles and then brushed them with olive oil.  Then, I sprinkled some sea salt on them and baked them for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Brush on olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and bake chips

The ingredients

Toss together the ingredients

Mix together in a bowl, then chill for 10 minutes to set

The finished product!