I decided to use a bit of nature and make an easter tree to hang little ornaments on.  The project was going really smoothly.  I picked up some dead branches from our backyard, sprayed them white,

But of course, nothing goes to plan.  After I poured the plaster of paris and it set, the terra cotta pot cracked.

 So I got a new pot, that was actually cuter (although not the same size) and planned on chiseling the pot off the paris mold, then placing the tree in the mold in the new pot.

 And it worked!  The pot just chipped apart in rather large pieces :)

 The first time I put the mold in the new pot, I realized I would have to eliminate the top edge of the plaster mold to let it set down in the blue pot.

 There, much better.

 And aren't the ornaments cute?

 I got them for $2.19 at Goodwill :)

We've lived here 9 months and this is the updated to do list from 2012:
Here is a basic to-do list of the house.  There is no priority, there is no distinction between tiny items or big items and it definitely isn't thorough.  (Crossed out means I've already done it.)

Craigslist:
Washer
Dryer
Scandinavian Hutch?
Pool Table 

Living Room:
Remove wallpaper
Paint walls
Do something with curtains (dye them?)
Add crown molding (probably more than a year away from this step)
Widen doorways (probably more than 2 years away)

Dining Room:
Paint walls
Paint trim
Move dining room to living room and make current dining room office/playroom

Family Room:
Sell pool table
Build toy chest/furniture (picked up Expedit at IKEA...not in love)

Add built in bookcases (probably more than 3 years away)
Paint paneling (could be my first job to tackle)
Add crown molding (more than a year away) (There already is crown molding in this room.)

Widen doorways (probably more than 3 years away)

Kitchen:
Paint cabinets (maybe?)
Replace hardware
Put in IKEA apron sink
Replace faucet
Paint floors (probably replace but it would be fun to try paint)
Remove desk and cabinets on short wall
Replace appliances (already replaced dishwasher)
Add garbage disposal
Take down wallpaper
Paint walls

Hallway:
Paint walls
Replace 2 ceiling light fixtures
Remove wallpaper
Change hanging light fixture

Master bedroom:
Replace vanity, sinks, shower stall, lighting
Remove wallpaper
Paint walls

Nursery:
Paint closet doors, back of door, and trim
Install pallet bookshelf that is already built
Replace lighting (remove ceiling fan)

Utility Room:
Install upper closet bar for drying clothes
Build laundry basket holders for 4 baskets (Ana White plans)
Install iron & ironing board holder (already bought, just have to install)

Garage:
Move garage door opener switch
Make mudroom racks out of existing storage shelves for removing shoes

Florida Room:
Buy patio furniture

If I try to make a list in priority order of what I think I'll tackle first...maybe I'll give myself deadlines??
DONE 1) Paint family room paneling - October 13th (we are having a party and I think I may try to get this done)
DONE 2) Replace family room light fixture (it is SO dark in there) - October 31st
HALFWAY DONE 3) Remove wallpaper in master bathroom and foyer, remove wallpaper in living room, kitchen, guest bath- November 30th
DONE 4) Install upper closet bar for drying clothes in utility room - November 30th (we have Thanksgiving break)
DONE 5) Install iron & ironing board holder - November 30th
XX - Changed my mind 6) Get cable hook up for family room - November 30th
DONE 7) Install pallette bookshelf in nursery - November 30th
DONE 8) Paint master bedroom - December 24th
DONE 9) Paint master bathroom - December 24th
10) Replace bath light fixtures - January 15th

Here is the priority list as it stands now -
1) Remove wall paper in living room
$ 2) Add crown molding in living room and master bedroom
$ 3) Paint hallway
$ 4) Change mirror in master bathroom
$ 5) Replace 2 hanging light fixtures in master bathroom
$ 6) Replace 2 hanging light fixtures in hallway
$ 7) Paint living room walls & trim
$ 8) Paint dining room walls & trim
9) Remove wallpaper in spare bathroom
10) Paint spare bathroom walls & trim
11) Paint trim in nursery including closet doors

Most don't require a lot of money, in fact I have the trim paint.  I put $ next to ones that we'll have to save for.  I haven't picked out paint colors for most of these rooms either, I need to figure out how to get the paint colors to flow throughout the house.  We have gray stripes in the foyer and a deep blue in the family room. 

On a whim, we decided to go to Disney World last Saturday.  I'll let the pictures explain:

The master bedroom should be a retreat.  And ours wasn't, at all. Here is what it looked like when we moved in.

 *The brown door above has already been painted white, when I painted the brown paneling.

The first step was to prime (again), and then to paint the wonderful color Martha Stewart's Tidewater matched in Behr paint & primer in one.  It was my first try with the paint/primer combo and I liked it, but I used a lot more paint than I normally do and was worried I would run out of the gallon I had purchased.  When did paint get so expensive?

 This is the color with a horrible flash.  It is much deeper than this.  I'll try to take a daytime picture to give a more accurate representation.

I love the dark wood with the sea green color.  We don't make our bed, by the way.  Ever. But I did for this picture.

The curtains are homemade and were in our last house's dining room.  I like them a lot and the rod, I had as well.  Again it was from out last house.  I hung up the art that we have.  The walls are pretty bare.  I don't mind sparse decor, but I think we need a little bit more.

The bookcase looks good for now, and gives me a lot more storage for albums and my books.  I read about 5 to 6 books at a time and need a place to stack them.  Here it is being painted:

I love the sea foam green!  We are getting rid of the floor lamp, and the lamp on top of the shelf needs to find a home.

I also tried to follow Young House Love's idea to buff scratches out, but it didn't work for my dresser.  For now, it is how it is.

Finally: the to-do list:

• Paint bedroom walls
• Install floating shelves and put up decorative items on them
• Get bench or seating for room
• Remove wallpaper in bathroom sink area
• Paint bathroom sink area and bathroom
• Install curtains and new curtain rod
• Change ceiling fan or get new light fixture
• Get new nightstands to match the height of our actual bed
• Sand and paint bookcase
• Move in bookcase to hold books and personal items
• Hang art, some pictures, and other stuff for accessories
• Clean old dresser and buff out scratches, perhaps get new pulls

Here is my post that explains my inspiration for the room (part 1).

Whew!  It takes a lot of work to consign at the JBF sale.  I mainly consign outfits that I got at the last sale and are either looking a little worn (but not so worn the sale won't accept them) or seasonal outfits that won't fit my best friend's daughter (we trade clothes) when she will need them.  I also have a lot of leftover clothes that didn't sell from the last sale, already tagged and ready to go.  All you need is a bit of organization, and some space to spread out!

 You have to tag each item in your online account, assign a category, size, and price.  Then you have to affix the labels to each item, and organize the clothes by size.  When you get to the sale, JBF volunteers WILL check all your items and some checkers are pickier than others.  No stains (however light), no rips, no unwashed clothes, etc.  I put shoes in ziplock bags if they fit to be sure the sale doesn't lose a shoe!  You print out all the tags, then cut & pin or tape the tags to your items.  Clothes take a while because of all the safety pins it takes (see below)!

And then, after the checkers approve your clothes, YOU have to put them on the racks in the appropriate size categories (which is why sorting by size is good!).  It saves a ton of time if you have all the 0-3 months together and can put them all in the same spot.  I use cheap ribbon to bow tie the like sized clothes together by the hanger in order to make this painless.  It worked so well!

Happy JBFing!  And if you're in Tampa, go to the one this weekend!  The sale is free on Saturday at the Florida State Fairgrounds or $2 admission Friday.  And the 50% off sale is on Sunday for all tags without a star.

Plant City, Florida
March 7, 2013

Source: instagram.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Source: instagram.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Source: instagram.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Source: instagram.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Source: instagram.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

The curtains in the living room aren't the greatest by any stretch.

Before:

So I started with 8 panels of some curtains that I loved online, but are a little bit too shiny.  Anyone know of a way to reduce shine???

 Here they are all sewn together, it is one gigantic panel.  Then I sewed onto the very top of the curtain something called pleaters tape.  Mine is 3 7/8" wide, unfortunately for me, the pleater pins I bought at 3 7/8" went out of stock and I couldn't get them anywhere.  So I had to make do with 3" pins and 3 7/8" tape.

 It has pockets spaced evenly on the tape to insert the pins, which will gather the curtain panel evenly to make a pleat.

 You just slide one prong in at a time (there are four prongs on each pin).

 Two...

 Three:

 Four!

 I skip one pocket in between each pleat pin.  Now, I sewed on the pleat tape, and left about 7/8" hanging off the top, to cut off, so that the tape is approximately 3" wide.  This is how I got around not having the right size pins.

 Snip off the excess tape:

 Here are some pins on the back, with one pocket space between them.

 After:

As you can see, they are so long because it covers up a large sliding glass door.  A feature is that they can slide all the way clear of the door, which is a pocket glass door, and when it is open the curtains don't block the doorway at all.  I just wish they weren't as shiny.  My husband wishes it didn't look like a theater curtain.

What do you think?  Can I keep them?  They don't match the style?  Hate them?  I am not in love with them.  But of course now I've modified 8 panels of curtains from overstock.com and cannot mail them back.  We will keep them for a while.  But then I'll definitely have to switch them out.  Baby steps.  They are still new, clean, and a step up from the original.