DIY Board and Batten Fireplace treatment…

I had been mulling several ideas around in my head about what to do with this wall in our new house(the Christmas picture from last year is the ONLY picture I could find—I have NOT put up Christmas yet…I am not THAT bad!)…

The huge plus is that the rock fireplace is awesome, and the white mantel is beautiful!!  But the big downside is it just didn’t have enough of focal point for me on the wall when you walk in the room.  It’s a super long room with great recessed lights and two windows on either side, but it was BORING!  And the applesauce wall color??  Don’t get me started….that is not my idea of a good neutral color.

So I finally found a great paint color from Benjamin Moore called Ashley Gray—it was perfect.  I wanted to do some kind of treatment to the wall that would extend to the ceiling to make the room feel taller.  I finally settled on a board and batten type look and it turned out just like I wanted it too!!  We painted the wall white first, and then added the boards and battens afterwards—filled the nail holes with putty, caulked the seams, and painted it white and VOILA….

So fun, and adds so much drama to the room for under $65 including the can of paint!!  Here’s another view of the room…

The ceiling fan is next to go….but until then, I am just happy with the before and after transformation!!

 

Paris, Belgium, and Netherlands…

We had so much fun on our trip, and relaxed!!  It was heavenly.  It reminded me how much I love my husband—and I love our crazy life together!!  I was also reminded of how amazing my parents are…..they took all my kids, ALL of them to build-a-bear.  TO THE MALL—that is just asking for trouble, I warned them!!  And they ignored me and did it anyway, and it turned out great!!  Their crazy courage and their attitude of never backing down from a challenge or hard work is why I love and admire them so much.  And it spoke volumes how much they love us to sacrifice their time for us—I know it wasn’t a vacation for them!!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Taking some R & R….

My husband and I rarely get to spend time alone with each other—we’re so busy finding babysitters, or not wanting to pay babysitters, making sure Justin and our kids are okay….we don’t go out on dates very often—let alone get-a-ways!

But after my husband accrued so many miles travelling last year, we are finally cashing them in and headed off for a vacation!!!  And I am so excited…Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the kids!!!