Month: January 2021

A Simple DIY Shelf for the Playroom Kitchen

Today I’m sharing a quick, easy, and cute DIY project Justin and I completed over the weekend: a little shelf for our kids’ play kitchen!

Way back at the start of this pandemic, Justin and I had a DIY Date Night where we spent an evening creating simple book ledges for the little play space under our stairs. We had a lot of fun working together and the shelves turned out great! I’ve been wanting to find another quick and simple project for another date night and after finishing up the play kitchen project, I realized a little kitchen shelf to complete the space would be the perfect idea. Justin and I work together on lots of larger DIY projects, but sometimes it’s nice to just have a small project we can do in a day. This project was just right for a DIY date!

Materials

-two boards approximately 2-3 inches in width; cut to desired length (+ save approximately 4 inches of excess)

-1/2 inch dowel rod

-S hooks

-wood glue

-DryDex nail hole filler

-drill or drill press with 1/2 inch drill bit

-nail gun

-clamps

-paint or stain if desired (I used Sherwin Williams Dot to Dot) and paint brush

-spray paint or Rub n Buff if desired

-we used a miter saw for our cuts, but there are other saws that would work too

Process

I was hoping to find a couple 1x3s but a quick search in Justin’s scrap wood collection led us to find these pieces. I have no idea what they were originally from, but the rounded side on each of them made them the perfect choice for shelves! One is approximately 2 3/4″ wide and one is approximately 2 1/4″ wide. We used the wider one for the top shelf and the narrower one for the back.

I had decided on a length of 22″ so we measured and marked each one and I cut them to length with a miter saw.

Next, we used some of the excess wood that was just cut off the ends to cut down two small squares to fit in the 90 degree corner the shelves made.

I used a straight edge to draw a line from corner to corner and Justin used that guideline to carefully cut each block into a triangle.

We decided to use a 1/2″ dowel rod to run between the two triangles. Justin marked the center of each triangle (making sure they were symmetrical) and set up his drill press with a 1/2″ bit.

This is a picture of him setting up the drill press – to actually create the holes we had to tag team because the triangles were so small. He held the triangle in place while I actually operated the drill press. We worked very slowly and carefully to make sure his fingers were all out of the way of the drill bit. Teamwork!

Now that everything was cut to size, it was time to paint! I chose to use the same paint we used for the play kitchen (Sherwin Williams Dot to Dot) because we already had it and it would match well. Before that, everything got a layer of primer since the wood had a shiny finish and the paint needed something to stick to.

I wanted to use gold S hooks but couldn’t find any in the store so we bought these silver ones to start. I first tried to change the finish to gold using Rub n Buff in antique gold. This product is described as a wax metallic paste and it changes the finish of an object when you rub it on. It worked like a charm on the dowel rod! Unfortunately, even after allowing dry time, it rubbed right off these metal hooks.

I did a little googling and found that other DIYers had success with first spray painting and then rubbing it on, so I tried that next. I spray painted the hooks gold (using my favorite Rustoleum spray paint in Satin Bronze) and let them dry.

Then I tried the Rub n Buff again and this time, it worked! I rubbed it on with my fingers and used a paper towel to very lightly buff it until smooth. The one on the top right was just Rub n Buff, the other three were spray paint then Rub n Buff. Can you see the difference?

Once everything dried, it was time to assemble. Justin used a nail gun to attach the two shelf boards together at a 90 degree angle.

We eyeballed about how long we wanted the dowel rod to be – since the triangles weren’t going to sit flush with the end, we had some flexibility with length. Then we used a bit of wood glue to secure one end of the dowel rod into the hole we drilled in the triangle.

The S hooks had the right size curve to slide onto the dowel rod, but did not have a wide enough gap to “hook” on and off. In other words, once they slid on, there was no coming off! This is actually a bonus for us because it means our kids can’t unhook them when playing. We slid three hooks on first and then used wood glue to secure the other end of the dowel rod into the second triangle.

Once both triangles were on, we applied wood glue to the two sides that would sit against the shelf.

We measured placement to make sure everything was centered, then clamped the triangles down and allowed it to dry like that overnight. The next morning, Justin added a small nail from the top of the shelf into the back of each triangle for an extra secure hold.

The next morning I used a small amount of DryDex to fill all the nail holes. This product is super easy to use – I squeeze a bit onto my finger, smooth it over the nail hole, and once it dries a bit (it starts to turn white as it dries!) I gently sand off the excess with my finger. So simple! Once the patched areas were dry I touched up everything with paint.

We located a stud in the wall and Justin used his nail gun to nail the shelf directly into the stud. He also added extra nails on either end so the shelf is secure. I used a bit more Drydex to patch these nail holes, painted over then, and the shelf was done!

I’m really pleased with how the shelf turned out! The top shelf holds a few play food items, some artwork made by my sister (check our her studio here!) and an old baking powder can with the label removed as a utensil crock.

I hung a couple items from this pot and pan set as well as a little fruit and veggie drawstring bag (PlanToys has theeee cutest play food sets!)

This was such a fun little date for Justin and I and our kids already love the addition to their kitchen area. I’m thankful for the memories made while creating this shelf and I forsee more DIY date nights in our future!

Sources

DIY Play Kitchen

Plan Toys Food and Beverage Set

Plan Toys Veggie Set

Pots and Pans Set

Artwork: JBeck Studio

Wall Color: Benjamin Moore Greyhound

Shelf Color: Sherwin Williams Dot to Dot

Plans for a Long-Overdue Dining Room Update!

One of my goals for 2021 was to paint the main areas of our house (kitchen, dining room, entryway/foyer, hallway, and living room) and if you follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve already started tackling this project! I decided to start with our dining room, which has remained virtually untouched renovation-wise since the day we moved in. As soon as paint started to transform the look of the room, my wheels started turning for a phase one renovation of the space! I thought it would be fun to take some time today and share what I’m thinking and some of the plans for the space.

Here’s what the dining room looked like to begin with:

HouseTour2020-28

Pretty uninspiring, huh? The first step was patching over the many holes, dings, nicks, and scuffs along the walls, then covering them with a coat of my favorite primer and two coats of Sherwin Williams Alabaster in an eggshell finish. Here’s what it looks like now:

The soft, slightly creamy white feels like a breath of fresh air after almost two years of dingy brown walls and already the room feels so different. I’m excited to give this neglected room some additional, and much needed, TLC!

I love the the idea of mood boards and I think they can be so helpful in visualizing a space, but this busy mama just never has the time to sit down and create one! For me, Pinterest boards quickly and easily give me direction and corral all my ideas and vision into one space. Here’s what my dining room “mood board” currently looks like:

While Justin and I both agree that we would LOVE to update the flooring, we’re holding off for now. The kitchen, pantry, dining room, entryway, powder room, and laundry room all have the same flooring, and they’re connected in a way that isn’t conducive to changing the flooring unless you are going to do it for everything. We know that in a few years we’re planning to change the layout of our kitchen, so it makes sense to hold off on flooring until then. That means the baseboards also stay for now (I’m slowly swapping out the narrow baseboards in our house for a chunky 5 inch version) so I’m just going to paint them in a contrast color. I’m leaning towards using a soft greige like Sherwin Williams Agreeable Gray. I am going to also update the window trim, probably giving it the same look as our home office windows, and paint it the same contrast color as the baseboards.

Once all that is completed, the fun will really start! The star of the room is actually not in the room at all: it’s the outdoors! The windows are the biggest statement in the room and they draw your eye outside to all the woods surrounding our house. It’s a fabulous view no matter the season and I’m going to add some window treatments to complement and highlight it.

Just look at the beautiful snow-covered trees that were outside in December!

The windows are large so I need pretty substantial, long curtain rods. I like the simplicity of these matte black ones! The walls come together at unusual angles so I’m also ordering two of these hinged curtain rod connectors to create one continuous curtain rod. As for curtains, I want to use them as a way to create a little drama and add some much needed color to the room – I’ve been debating between this soft rose color and this deep merlot color. I ordered a panel of each so I can see them in person before making my final decision but either way I’m excited for the texture that the velvet will bring to the space!

Since the windows are going to be the focal point, I’m keeping the rest of the room fairly simple. We’ll update the light fixture – I’m currently debating the simple elegance of this brass chandelier vs. the casual vibe of this modern bamboo pendant. I also want to add some artwork and center a large credenza along the window-less wall.

I’m loving the look of credenzas with reeded details but they are $$$$$ so I’m kicking around a few ideas for a possible DIY version…stay tuned for that!

The table and chairs are a big TBD. They are hand-me-downs and while they’ve served us well for the past 7.5 years of marriage, we’re not crazy about the look of them and we’re definitely ready for a change. That being said, this table extends to fit 14 people (!!) which is amazing for our large dining room, and as you can imagine, finding a replacement that is equally as expansive is incredibly expensive. I’m so afraid of dropping a ton of money on a new dining table only to find it clashes with our flooring when we finally update that. Yikes! So, we might keep what we’ve got for now, or we might find an inexpensive secondhand option that is more our style. We’ll see!

All in all, I think this will be a fairly budget-friendly makeover and will definitely tide us over until we’re able to do bigger changes like the flooring and table. Now that I’ve got a pretty clear vision moving forward, I’m excited to start ordering things and pulling this room together. I’ll definitely be sharing more of the day-by-day progress on my Instagram account (@simplifythechaos) so be sure to follow along there if you want more frequent updates!

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December 2020 Book Reviews

Happy New Year!

I’m starting off 2021 with one of my favorite things: book reviews! I read seven books in December and I regret to say, several of them were lackluster. This time of year, I want to cozy up by my Christmas tree and read something that gives me all the holiday feels, but unfortunately some books were just duds. Luckily, I ended the month with some really great reads that redeemed my reading stack and gave me the holiday spirit I craved just in time for Christmas.

And just in case you missed it, earlier this week I rounded up my TOP TEN books of the entire year. My favorite reads of 2020 plus a few honorable mentions – you can find them all in this blog post.

Jingle All the Way by Debbie Macomber

Jingle All the Way: A Novel by [Debbie Macomber]

Listen. I’ve read this author before and knew what I was getting into. I knew to expect it to be cheesy, squeaky clean, and predictable but I just wanted a quick and easy read full of Christmas spirit. The cover has a snowy farm scene with presents and a sleigh so I assumed this would put me in a festive mood. Unfortunately, this didn’t do it at all. The first half of the plot takes place in Brazil, which doesn’t exactly give me the holiday vibes, and then the Christmas-y second half wasn’t enough to redeem the story. Without the benefit of warm fuzzy holiday feels, the story just felt overly simplified, cheesy and honestly a little silly. I found myself skimming and rolling my eyes in many places. I don’t really even want to keep talking about it. If you’re a Debbie Macomber fan, I’m sure it’s fine, but I just didn’t get the holiday coziness from reading it like I had hoped and can’t recommend it.

25 Days ‘Til Christmas by Poppy Alexander

25 Days 'Til Christmas: A Novel by [Poppy Alexander]

It’s been four years since her husband died, and single mom Kate is ready to bring some of the magic back into Christmas for her son Jack. Coming up with new activities for each day leading up until Christmas, one thing she doesn’t plan on is connecting with a handsome stranger who is also struggling to feel joy this holiday. Can Kate and Daniel find their own holiday magic with each other?

This had all the makings of a PG-rated, Hallmark-y, perfectly fun holiday read to kick off December but unfortunately, it was a big miss for me. First of all, the pace moved super slow (fine for some books but didn’t work for this one). Also, there were SO many plotlines, some of which felt completely unnecessary to the story. I think the point of many of them was to demonstrate the intense financial pressure that Kate was under, but it was overkill. We get it, Kate is struggling to provide for herself and her son. No need to pile on more and more side stories that reiterate it. To top it all off, the romance part of this completely flopped for me. So much time was spent on the smaller plotlines and the same issue of Kate’s struggles that we didn’t get to actually see much of her and Daniel’s developing dynamic, resulting in their whole relationship feeling disconnected and overreaching. Had the plot been streamlined to 3-4 storylines and more time been spent on their budding romance, I think it could have worked. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and this was a big fat “meh” for me.

The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler

The Tourist Attraction (Moose Springs, Alaska Book 1) by [Sarah Morgenthaler]

Graham begrudgingly runs a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that has become a runaway success in his hometown of Moose Springs, Alaska. The only problem is, most of his clientele are tourists staying at the town’s upscale resort and he hates tourists. Or at least, he hates them until Zoey appears in his restaurant on the first day of her long-awaited dream vacation. Ready for adventure and enthusiastic about experiencing as much as possible, Zoey makes Graham realize that maybe not all tourists are awful.

Honestly, as my follow-up to 25 Days ‘Til Christmas, this book started out feeling refreshing and fun. It’s not Christmas-y but the Alaskan small-town setting is adorable, the characters are likeable, the plot was interesting. Unfortunately, I can pinpoint the exact moment things changed for me 1/3 of the way through the book. A particular line stood out and I realized that the writing was starting to feel juvenile. The feelings, thoughts, and motivations of characters were getting overexplained and the conflicts got sillier and over the top. And this was page 130 – the point in a rom-com where things should be picking up and getting better. Which brings me to another point: rom-coms should be 200 pages, 250 at max. This book was four hundred pages! That is just too long for a rom com, and this book would’ve definitely benefitted from a pare down. All that being said, there were enjoyable parts of this book and since it’s part of a series (I have a soft spot for rom com series featuring overlapping characters in charming small towns!) I decided to give the next book a shot. It falls mid-range for me – not the best, not the worst, a decent C+. Which brings me to the sequel . . .

Mistletoe and Mr. Right by Sarah Morgenthaler

Zoey’s best friend, the rich socialite Lana Montgomery, has risked a lot to get her company to invest in building luxury condos in Moose Springs. Even though she grew up vacationing there, loves Moose Springs, and thinks this plan will ultimately benefit them, the locals are not at all happy with the project. In fact, the attractive pool hall owner Rick seems to be the only local on her side. With Rick by her side, maybe Lana can get everything her heart desires – for the town and herself.

I actually enjoyed this book a lot more than the first. I thought the writing was better, the characters were more developed, the romance was more convincing and it certainly didn’t hurt that this book took place at Christmas so I was all about the festive vibe. It helped that this book was the second one in the series so the author could just expound on what she had started in book one and not explain so much. I also just liked Lana and Rick’s dynamic a lot more and found this book to be a more entertaining read than the first. Again, this book clocks in just shy of 400 pages which is way too long, and it did have one semi-absurd plotline but luckily it didn’t dominate the book like I feared it would. Overall, this series isn’t going to be a top recommendation for me, but it’s a decent choice. I believe there’s a third book coming and while I’m not dying to read it, I’ll likely give it a chance if I come across it when it’s published. I think it’s also worth noting that these book fall in the leaning PG-13 area (pretty tame romantic moments; things are implied but there’s nothing descriptive or graphic at all). That can be hard to find in a rom com these days so if that’s a preference of yours, these might be good ones to check out.

Match Making for Beginners by Maddie Dawson

Matchmaking for Beginners: A Novel by [Maddie Dawson]

Blix is old and misunderstood by her high class Southern family, but with her great-nephew’s fiancé Marnie, there is an instant connection and understanding. Blix is a matchmaker and she sees herself and her skills reflected in Marnie – so much so that when Blix dies she leaves her beloved Brownstone, complete with her unfinished tenant “projects” to Marnie. Marnie decides to comply with the unusual stipulations of the inheritance, soon finding herself using her own matchmaking skills to pick up where Blix left off.

I needed a bit of a Christmas break mid-month so I picked this one that has been on my TBR list for a long time. It was really interesting because you kind of know from pretty early on who the main character is supposed to be with, so it becomes less of a story of her love life and more a story of everyone else’s. There are plenty of loveable, eccentric characters and a very unique plot line. I loved the setting in Brooklyn and the family vibe of Blix’s community (it made me want to move in to the brownstone!), and I loved the ways that Marnie used her matchmaking gifts. It’s kind of predictable in that you know what Blix’s matchmaking plans were, but also not predictable because the way that things unfold is unexpected. I liked the pace of writing and the fact that there were multiple storylines but it never felt like too many. I didn’t enjoy the path that Marnie’s own plot line took a few times, but it wasn’t enough to turn me off to her character altogether. I found myself rooting for all the tenants and their happiness and thought this was a charming, quirky, and enjoyable read.

One More for Christmas by Sarah Morgan

One More for Christmas: A Novel by [Sarah Morgan]

Gayle has a successful career and is an inspiration to countless women, but her relationship with the two women who matter the most – her daughters – has been estranged for years. After an injury leads her to question the decisions she’s made in the past, she reaches out to her daughters to try to mend the relationship. Samantha and Ella are skeptical but agree to spend a destination Christmas together to see if they can reconcile with one another.

Now THIS one was a winner for me. First of all, the setting was just awesome – a snowy Christmas at a lodge in Scotland!? Yes please! I’ll be on the next plane. I also loved the amount of characters: enough for a good variety but not too many that it felt overdone. Then the characters themselves had great depth – they were flawed, yet likeable. I also loved that the plot’s solid foundation was about Gayle, Ella, and Samantha’s relationship with one another but other side stories were mixed in to help you understand each one a little better and give a fuller picture. I loved the exploration of how our past experiences shape our actions, for better or for worse. I loved watching the relationship between the three women; it felt authentic – not too fluffy or sappy, but real emotions, struggles, hopes, and strides toward reconciliation. I adored the supporting characters and felt like they had just enough time – not too much to distract, but woven in well to create a nice rounded narrative. It also does a really great job of striking the right chord with including romance without that being too much of the focus or too little of a side story. It was just a really enjoyable and festive read that is a perfect choice for reading by a roaring fire or the twinkling lights of a Christmas tree! Highly recommend!

A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan

Rosie calls her family in England one evening to tell them her great news: her boyfriend of three months has proposed and they are getting married in Colorado at Christmas, only four weeks away! She urges her parents and sister to come join her but doesn’t bargain for what she’s getting when they arrive: parents trying to hide the news of their impending divorce and a sister bent on stopping this wedding from happening.

Thanks to loving One More for Christmas after so many festive duds, I quickly checked out another Sarah Morgan book to squeeze it in before Christmas. I’m so glad I did because this was another winner! The basic formula for this book was the same as before – alternating point of view chapters with each of the three women. I enjoy this kind of storytelling and liked all of the characters. Once again, I loved the setting and found myself wanting to visit this picturesque ski lodge in Colorado at Christmas. I liked the characters and their relationships and I liked the fact that romance was included but the main focus was on family dynamics. I found myself rooting for each character and kept wanting to read more about each one. It’s a good pace of writing and a good length of novel. I kind of wish that I hadn’t read these so close together because they do feel a little similar, even though the plot lines were different, and I think I would have enjoyed more space in between the two reads. I also think if I had to choose between the two, I’d give One More for Christmas the edge as my top pick this month. Even so, this is another book I’d highly recommend as an excellent choice paired with a cozy blanket, a cup of hot chocolate, and a twinkly Christmas tree.

I had a few more festive reads on my list, but I got a little burnt out by Christmas and I’m ready for a change of pace, so I’ll save those for next year. Here’s to another great year full of great books!