Honey We're Home Top 9 Posts (August)

While drafting this post, I realized how many things have gotten accomplished around the house lately:) Lest you get the misconception that I'm "doing it all", I wanted to let you know that I've had extra time on my hands this month because I'm between jobs.   People sometimes ask how I work full time, keep up with my blog and home projects, manage to workout, and have a family.  I know I ask that same question to women too.

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But, the answer is always the same, life is sometimes a juggling act, and no one does it all, all the time, very well or without being very, very tired!



The time off this month has been nice/weird, but I'm actually itching to find a new job that suits me better (in my same profession).  In the meantime, my house is getting lots of attention and I've gotten into a good routine with blogging (thank you for reading!) and exercising (speaking of, are you interested in more fitness posts??).  We'll see what the future has in store . . .



Click the picture to read the full post about each project.

I hope you get to enjoy a long weekend!  See you in September!

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DIY (Kitchen Chalkboard Wall)

I've been on a roll with the paint lately, this time my attention was focused on a long blank wall in our kitchen.  I'd been toying with the idea of turning this mostly-hidden wall into a chalkboard wall for awhile, and when I saw the gorgeous array of Benjamin Moore chalkboard paint colors, I decided to take the plunge.  I thought it would be really fun for James (my 2 1/2 year old son) and a great place to put fun messages, menu items, or little reminders.

I chose Benjamin Moore Chalkboard Paint in Summer Nights (777).  I wanted something blue, but with some aqua in it.  They have every color in the rainbow, so it's hard to chose just one!  

I applied three coats, waiting at least 4 hours between coats per the instructions.  (yes, there is a plant in the sink- I was watering:)  Then, you have to wait 3 days for the paint to cure before you add chalk to it. 

And then the fun part . . . 

James loved drawing on it! 

And Mama did too!  

I love our white kitchen, but this wall is hidden except when you're looking at it from the mudroom, so it still looks like a white kitchen from most every other view in the house. I like that it's kinda a secret, unexpected fun wall in our home. 

I'm planning to add a trim border to the chalk wall over the weekend, so I'll show you next week!

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Barroso To Unveil European Banking Union

The European Commission President, Jose Barroso, has said that the EU will unveil its proposals for banking union on September 12.

$75 GIVEAWAY (Quality Bath)

Quality Bath is an online retailer that sells everything you need for your kitchen and bathroom.  They have sinks, vanities, tubs, showers, range hoods, medicine cabinets, mirrors, faucets, soap dispensers, cabinet and door hardware, interior and exterior lighting and more.



Today, Quality Bath is GIVING AWAY $75 toward the purchase of anything in their store. 



I browsed the Quality Bath website and found many items that are comparable to what we have in our house.  Click the link below to see the item on Quality Bath's website.

Quality Bath Barclay Single Bowl Farmer Sink

Quality Bath Barclay Cast Iron Double Roll Top Tub with Base

Quality Bath Rohl Perrin 3 Hold Country Spout Faucet

I'm pretty crazy for these indoor sconces.

And these mirrors. 

*Visit Quality Bath WEBSITE

*Follow Honey We're Home BLOG or PINTEREST

*Tweet, Facebook, Pinterest, or Post about this Giveaway

WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED NEXT WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2012.

*Be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if you win!

Draghi Digs Himself Out of a Hole

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi will not attend the annual Jackson Hole meeting of central bankers at the end of this week the ECB said, citing a heavy workload.

I Heart Galveston

Say what you will about dirty water and not-so-nice beaches, but Galveston island is only an hour drive from my house, is a great little getaway, and holds some very cherished memories. I made new memories recently too, since I got to spend some time in Galveston when James and I crashed Cassie's (Hi Sugarplum) family vacation:)

Can you believe these bloggers only got ONE picture of themselves together that day?!  I'm on the left, she's on the right, sisters anyone??

After hanging with Cassie and her kids, on the way home, I was left with the incredible feeling that I REALLY like them.  Her son chatted easily with us and her daughter played with James and "mommyed" him in such a sweet way.  I wish we lived closer so we could get together more. 

And I was ecstatic that Cassie snapped some pictures of me and James since I don't think I have any of us at the beach.  The water was perfect and he had so much fun splashing and jumping in the waves.   

Please tell me summer isn't ending!!

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Painted Kitchen Cabinets

As soon as I saw the gorgeousness of Emily A. Clark's painted kitchen cabinets, I knew I had to do the same thing to ours.  She took off her cabinet doors and painted the back wall Urbane Bronze by Sherwin Williams.  You can read her full post here.

Doesn't that look great?!  I chose to paint the cabinets in our kitchen that already have glass doors.  I'm not sure what you've got going on at your house on Friday nights, but two Fridays ago, after James went to sleep, this was what I was doing . . .

I taped the sides, applied two coats that night and a third coat in the morning.  I used the same paint color as Emily- Urbane Bronze by Sherwin Williams.  I used flat paint (because our cabinets are flat) and she used satin (that's what she had on hand). The picture below was taken just after the third coat was painted, while it was still wet, and it dried darker than that photo depicts. The photos with the dishes in the cabinet show a truer representation of how the color looks dry. 

After putting everything back in, I realized I needed all white dishes and pottery, because the cream and olive green dishes I previously had in there didn't look too good with the dark grey background.  So, I ended up relocating those dishes to another cabinet and added in more white.  You can read more about the "before" HERE.

I love how the white pops against the dark background.  Too keep it from being too stark, and to add a touch of fun, I brought in a couple mini potted boxwoods. (I also cleared off the area underneath to keep the focus on the pretty cabinets). 

I bought the tall pitcher at Target and the two smaller pitchers at Homegoods.  You can also get them really cheap here.

I'm terrible at eyeballing how things will look, so I am one of those who purchases, tries it out at home, then returns.  (I originally had three tall pictures, but liked the balance of one large and two smaller, so the two large ones went back to Target). 

The two large bows were also from Homegoods and the coffee cups are from Target- nice and tall so you can see them with the doors shut.  We already had white plates, small bowls, and the cake stand.  I could have just spray painted some off-colored objects, but I didn't have the size and shape I wanted. 

Because we have doors on our cabinets, I had to keep the items inside centered so they looked nice when the doors are closed.  

I love how the cabinets turned out and only wish I had painted them sooner!  Thank you Emily for the inspiration.  

I know it's back to school for many of your households- hope you and your kiddos have a great week!

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Faith

psalm 118:24

Organized Paint Supplies & Organized Home Link Party

Welcome to my Organized Home link party!  Y'all know how much I like to keep things organized and pretty at my house, but behind the scenes sometimes looks different.  There are many areas of our home that could use some help in the organization department.



I've been spending more time on home projects lately, but have been so annoyed when I'm looking for certain supplies and I can't find them in the chaos of an unorganized garage.

I knew I needed to take control of my supplies and relocate them to my garage (our house has two separate garages) where I can organize them how I like and also keep them at my eye level.  It's hard to tell, but in the picture above, I had to stand on my tip-toes to even see what was on the top shelf.



But my garage wasn't much better. . .

It took less than an hour to pull everything out, vacuum the floor, toss the trash, dust off the spiderwebs-eww!, and take what belonged inside to the house. 

I purchased a 5-tier shelving unit from Lowe's to hold all my paint and supplies.  I was surprised to see how much spray paint I've amassed over the years.

This is so much better!  I love that glorious "after" feeling!  Now I can see the rainbow of colors I have and stop buying more white because I think I'm out- I discovered that  I have about 10 cans of white spray paint!

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Link up any space in your home that you have organized!  It can be a whole room, or just a shelf or drawer- anything well-organized goes, maybe it's even a system you've developed to help your household run more efficiently.  Be proud of what you've accomplished in your home.  Let's be honest, it's not easy!



Feel free to grab my button too.  I'll keep the party open for a week and then feature some of your posts the beginning of September.  Thanks for linking up with me!

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Also, thank you to everyone who entered the Stella & Dot giveaway!  The winner is:

Please email me at: honeywerehomeblog@gmail.com to claim your prize!