If you haven’t already, you’ll want to read Part One and Part Two of the Decor Makeover.  I started with a refrigerator top that was a hot mess and really annoyed me.  I ended up with a beautifully decorated space that I love.
After looking over the two options Ashley came up with, I loved pieces from each.
From Option One, I loved the crate (especially with the chicken stencil), the idea of a cute basket for the batteries, and the clock.  From Option Two, I loved the aloe plant in the chicken, the tall pitcher for the flashlight, and the apothecary jar with lemons.  So, I decided to mix and match the two options!
To simplify things, I wanted to make one trip to Target and try to get everything.  For items that were from another retailer, I planned to find something similar at Target.  That way, I could see everything together as I was buying it, wasn’t ordering from several different places and didn’t have to pay any shipping costs.
Lesson one: Don’t try to buy new home décor at Target in November.  Lesson Two: Don’t try to buy home décor with a one year old in tow.  Lesson three:  If it is pouring rain, just stay home altogether.
Besides two Christmases ago when our debit card was in the big Target scam, this was the first time I had ever been really mad at the store.  At first, the frustration was my own–trying to take on this task with a toddler boy in the cart.  I was just mad at myself for attempting that.  But, as we circled and circled and circled the store, continuously coming up empty-handed, I became mad at Target.
The only item I ended up finding was the tall white pitcher, but when I measured it, it wasn’t tall enough to cover the flashlight, so I nixed it from my list.  I found some clocks, but none that were freestanding.  They didn’t even have the wooden crate!  Basically, I thought I was going to end up with a fridge top covered in Christmas trees, red bows, and jingle bells.  Target had cleared out all of its home section for holiday decorations.  By some god of home decorating miracle, the babe finally fell asleep.  I circled and circled and circled the store again, and ended up finding a few things to take home and try out.
Finding storage that was big enough for all of my serving trays was tough.  I ended up with this large white woven basket by Room Essentials for $16.99: 
I still like the wooden crate with the chicken stencil better, so I may change that up eventually.  I thought about stenciling on this basket, but wasn’t sure how it would turn out on the weave.
For the batteries, I found this gray CD/DVD basket (the inside of mine isn’t ombre) by Room Essentials for $5.99:

Remember my horrifying pictures of the top of our fridge in Part One of this installment?  If not, check it out and get caught up.
My sister responded to what I sent her with a real quickness.  I told you she was good at decorating, so I knew she would have awesome ideas.  I had NO idea it would all come packaged in this beautiful little layout.  I feel like I should be paying her to do this now.
Part Two of this series includes two options for redecorating and reorganizing the space:


So, what are your favorites?
Dont forget to follow Ashley on Instagram for other diy decorating ideas: @ashvclark

I took a couple of weeks off from the blog over the holidays.  We closed down the office from December 23 through January 3, so we pretty much let anything resembling a regular routine go out the window when we walked out of the office on the 22nd.  We had twelve full days off together, with no real plans, and it was wonderful.  Although I admit we all three did feel the slightest bit of relief when we stepped back into our predictable routine this morning.
Here are the highlights of our days off:
December 23: After binge watching Making a Murderer on Netflix, my mom, dad, brother, and the three of us loaded up in a handicap accessible van with nine feet of clearance from floor to ceiling (my parents bought it to transport my grandpa in his wheelchair after his stroke) and took a tour of tacky Christmas lights and then went out for pizza.  This is a tradition for us, but we doubled up this year as we had already done one tour with a stop for pizza the previous weekend.
December 24: Our second Christmas celebration.  We had my husband’s dad’s Christmas the weekend before, which ended with my husband and I being crowned champions of the Minute to Win It competitions.  (He can move cotton balls using only Vaseline and his nose like it’s nobody’s business!)  On the 24th we went over to my parents’ house in the afternoon and turned what could be done in about two hours into an eleven hour event.  We opened gifts, ate a delicious dinner, Facetimed my sister, and in true Christmas spirit we analyzed Making a Murderer and watched a couple episodes of Breaking Bad.  Then I almost forgot to put the gifts under the tree when we got home.
December 25: When the munchkin woke up, we put him in bed with us for a little bit, which was my absolute favorite part of Christmas morning.  When we finally got up and went into the living room together, he oohed and aahed at the gifts under the tree and then just sat down right in front of them.  He didn’t touch anything for the longest time; just stared in awe.  We checked off celebration numbers three and four at my husband’s paternal grandparents and my mom’s side of the family.  We lost both board games we played with my family, but had a blast deciding we should write Milton Bradley because the answers to his game were obviously incorrect. We also tried to talk everyone into watching Making a Murderer.
December 26: We celebrated Boxing Day (sounds more fun than the day after Christmas) and Christmas number five with my husband’s mom and her side of the family.  We had a delicious breakfast together and then visited while opening gifts.  The little babe got a flashlight from his great-grandparents, which was a huge hit until he opened a pacifier that Cliff’s mom had wrapped (and we had left at her house on a previous visit.)  My favorite gift was the box of neon Band-Aids that the peanut also got from his great-grandparents.  Every time he would walk by, they would pretend he had bumped a body part and they opened and applied a Band-Aid.  By the time we left, he was covered in neon stripes.  He loved it!  We spent a quarter of our time telling everyone about Making a Murderer.
December 27: My husband and brother went to KC for the Chiefs game and couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to go sit in the cold and rain.  My mom and I went to see Sisters at the theatre. It was really funny and finally gave us something to talk about for awhile besides Making a Murderer.
December 28: I wanted to do a quick team cleaning when I woke up.  Four hours later, my husband had scrubbed every inch of the stainless steel appliances and vacuumed behind and under every piece of furniture.  I really think he should be in charge of cleaning from now on.
December 29: My mom, the kiddo, and I went out for a little bit of after-Christmas shopping (against the baby’s wishes.)  It turned into an all day event with very few bargain wins, but we had fun regardless.  Even better, when I got home my brother and some friends came over and we played Cards Against Humanity.
December 30: We got lots of projects done around the house.  My brother was around all day so we got back to analyzing Making a Murderer.  I got my Etsy shop set up, which felt like I accomplished a huge feat.  Check it out: Night Owl (https://www.etsy.com/shop/nightowlthings)
December 31:  Our sixteen month old spent the night with my parents for the first time ever.  So, we celebrated NYE like we were in our 20s again.  It was fun.  I was looking forward to a solid night of sleep, but apparently having your child away from home for the first time in their life can really disrupt your Zzzzs.
January 1:  Pure laziness.  We. Did. Nothing. Except watch tv, eat, play, and read.  It was awesome.   We considered re-binging Making a Murderer, but my brain couldn’t handle it.
January 2:  We celebrated our sixth and final Christmas with my Dad’s side of the family.  Played the traditional white elephant bingo and then spent the rest of the night talking about Making a Murderer with my cousin.
January 3:  Ugh.  Sunday night blues times one hundred.  My brother came over for the Chiefs game and we were all a little depressed about going back to work, but agreed getting back to our routines would be nice.  During our “what was your favorite part of vacation” poll, my brother answered…yep…Making a Murderer.
I have not been paid by Netflix or any filmmakers, but you really should watch the Making a Murderer docuseries.  And if you do, I’m available to analyze at any time of the day or night.
We hope you have a great holiday season also and your 2016 is off to a good start. Next week we’ll get back to our decor makeover.

Part One of our first Decor Makeover installment will include information and pictures about the area I’ve selected for improvement.  Since we are working together with 1,000 miles between us, these are the exact same pictures and information I emailed to my sister.
Space: Top of the refrigerator
Reason: It drives me crazy!  We actually use the space for storage, but it looks cluttered and ugly and everyone that visits sees it because the kitchen is always a gathering place and because the fridge is in the direct line of site when entering the house through our mudroom/laundry room.
Likes: I like my serving trays and want to keep storing them up there, if possible.  I also want to keep storing our change, batteries, and flashlight there, if possible.  (How do kids and men need SO MANY batteries??) The porcelain chicken planter is a MUST KEEP because it belonged to my great-grandmother and I just recently bought the antique cake/pie carrier on a antique-ing trip with my mom and sister while sis was in town in August, and would like to keep it.
Dislikes:  The clutter.  One flashlight doesn’t even work–it can go.  I hate the basket the batteries are in.  We can purge down the change so there isn’t so much.
Colors:  Kitchen walls were recently changed from burnt orange to pale yellow.  Trim is white.  Cabinets are white.  Appliances are stainless.  Other kitchen decor still contains burnt orange.  I’m not opposed to yellow, navy, dark red…
BEFORE pictures:  (Have some mercy–I am truly bearing all here–I didn’t change a thing before I snapped these pictures–didn’t clean–didn’t de-clutter–this is full disclosure.)





So, stay tuned to see what Ashley suggests for the space.  Don’t forget to follow her on Instagram: @ashvclark.  She’s always posting super cute diy projects for the home.

Decor Makeover: Introduction

My husband has an outlandish fascination with trying to sit at the opposite end of the “I am an attorney” spectrum.  For example, at the office and in court, I always think he is the best dressed, most professional and absolute smartest; but the second we are off the clock, he is wearing hickory stripe bib overalls and proudly driving around a 1986 poop brown Nissan truck.  Along those lines, the 1986 poop brown Nissan truck, which I’ve deemed the “trophy truck” and “show truck” is not the only auto beauty we have sitting around.  Until recently, we also had a 1988 red Ford truck gracing our property.  Of course, neither of these vehicles made the cut to be inside the garage, so they sat out for all passer-bys to see.
We finally found a used Chevy Silverado for sale and upgraded.  (I used to be all about brand new cars, and although I do love being the only owner of my Jeep, these used cars that are purchased in one transaction with no monthly car payment are my new best friend.)  Part of our agreement in buying the Silverado was that the Ford truck had to go.
We thought we’d throw it on Craigslist and try to get a few hundred dollars out of it.  After all, it did run and drive well and if nothing else, someone might want it for parts.  Everyone we talked to thought we could get at least one thousand dollars out of it just because it started and ran.  We decided to list it for only $600 though, hopefully giving the right person a bargain.
I don’t know if you’ve ever listed a junky truck for sale online.  If not, DON’T do it.  Oh.  My.  Gosh.  You would not believe the calls you get.  We used my cell phone number so I was fielding all of the contacts.  After six different people no-showed, being asked to deliver the truck to a buyer two hours away, and getting lowballed by every single person interested, I was ready to give up.
Just then, a text came through.  ”Would you be interested in trading your truck for a boat?”
My gut told me no, but my sun, sand, and water-loving brain told me YES.  So I asked the guy what kind of boat he had.
“A 1954 Bayliner with an inboard motor.”
WHAT?!?  Um, yes, please.  This is what I imagined in my head.

Then, he sent another text.  ”The motor is locked up and it needs a little work.”
My husband brought me down to earth and explained that what I was really trading for was this:

So, I’m out of the buy, sell, trade market for good.

This post is inspired by something that came across my facebook feed the other day.  An app called “How Have You Changed Over The Last Years?”
When I saw it, my mind went to work thinking about the last few years.  How have I changed?  Well, I’ve moved from a few blocks south of downtown Kansas City to a gravel road that doesn’t even register on some GPS devices.  I’ve gotten married.  Had a baby.  Completely remodeled our house starting from the studs.  Built a three car shop/garage.  Added cows, calves, chickens, hunting dogs, and pigeons to our farm.  Gone from counseling in a high school of 1500 students to teaching in a Kansas City alternative school to subbing in an elementary school of less than 300 to managing our own law firm, to staying at home with our babe.  I’ve become more political.  More grateful.  More appreciative.  Happier.
It seems like a lot has changed for me over the last five years.  But the app gave me these results:
2011:       (leaving the KC downtown airport in a helicopter with my mom and sister)
2012: (a road trip to Indiana for a law school friend’s wedding)
2013: (with a TERRIBLE migraine at Elvis’s birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi on the way to Gulf Shores)
2014: (three months pregnant and celebrating birthdays at my parents’ house)
2015: (at the Dallas, TX arboretum with the fam)

Pretty much the same weight, hair length, hair color…solid color shirts–I’m even wearing a black shirt in three out of the five pictures–hair parted in exactly the same spot…not much has changed in my appearance.
I haven’t yet decided if I’m mad at the app for making me seem so incredibly boring, or if I am going to take a cue from the app and make a change.  We went on a date a few weeks ago and saw Burnt and I was totally digging Sienna Miller’s half-buzzed ‘do…
Then again, in five more years, I’ll likely look exactly the same.