Sugar High

Clark's MLS listing is LIVE!!!  That means I have only a few days to scramble and finish everything on my To Do list before the open house Saturday!  Friday I'll be sharing the complete reveal- are you as excited as I am?  You should be! I'm definitely looking forward to a mini-'vacation' as we look for our next flip, though.  I gave myself this whole weekend off and I'm not sure my body knew what to do with itself.  Maybe after this week I'll finally get to my neglected projects around here (I'm talking to you sexy secretary desk).

I was originally planning to save this for my Pinterest Challenge post on Wednesday, but why wait?  I might even do a second project for the pinterest challenge then too.  We'll see.

Anyway...

Guess who turned ONE on Cinco de Mayo!

Yup, Cutest Nephew Ever, Eli, celebrated his first birthday this weekend.  And Auntie Karen was tasked with the cake(s).

I may not cook, but I do bake every blue moon.  The last fancy cake I made was for my friend's baby shower 2.5 year ago, so I guess it was about time.

The main cake was inspired by animal prints that I made for his nursery last year, modeled after ones I saw on Etsy.  (decorations are gumpaste and the frosting is this recipe.  There was also a penguin face on the other side that I didn't get a pic of)  I really like how this cake came out

but Eli's smash cake just makes me smile

Smartie pants figured out what to do with it pretty quickly and required a wardrobe change after the mess he made (the way it should be!)

Pinterest was a GREAT inspiration for these cakes because I was kind of figuring out the designs as I went along.  These pins were my top inspirations for his little cake:

I'm very pleased to say that all of the huge cake and Eli's cake were gone by the end of the party- I even saw people going back for seconds!

Oh, and if you need a great stress reliever, throwing handfuls of sprinkles at a mini cake is definitely a good time.  Just sayin...

Are you planning on participating in the Pinterest Challenge this season?  I'd love to see your projects! Link them up in the Comments section!

Clark: Week 11

If you’re new to my weekly progress posts, Clark is my first ever flip house (named for the street that he’s on). Check out my previous posts here. The end is near!!!  This is veryveryvery exciting!  Our realtor is coming over today to take pictures for the listing which will go live on MONDAY!!!  w00t!  Even with the listing live Monday, we won't be doing any showings until the open house the following Saturday (our agents strategy to drum up interest and build antici...wait for it....pation).  So that means that I have next week to do all my finishing touches- and there are a lot.

Since I'm not doing my big reveal here until I finish a few last things & don't want to post almost finished room pics, you just get teaser shots today.  So much finish work happened this week- this is the most exciting part for me!

With the amazing weather this week, I was more than happy to spend some time outside adding curb appeal.  The house painting is complete and I started adding a few accessories.  Yup, I went with a yellow door.  On a slate gray house it looks A.MAZ.ING. (in my humble opinion)

The previously untouched front garden:

got a bush-ectomy, weeding, and a bunch of mulch

and speaking of mulch, it now lines the 2 banks on either side of the driveway.  Lots and lots of mulch.  30 bags in the front yard!

The backyard just got a lot of cleanup and throwing away trash that was piled.  Not a huge transformation, so no pics, sorry.  I figured I'd spare you the "look, I raked and trimed weeds" pic.

Back inside, the hard wood floors are ALL DONE.  Phew.

The previously ignored bedrooms finally got attention.

This is all that's left of the blood-red bedroom.  so sad.

All three bedrooms got new light fixtures more appropriate for the size of the rooms (the old ones were severely undersized).  I actually reused the light that was originally in the kitchen (since it wasn't bad, just not right for the kitchen) and bought 2 others to match which worked perfectly!

The bedroom carpets also got shampooed.  We borrowed my parent's carpet cleaner, but it needed a new belt before it could be used.

Nothing really happened in the kitchen except cleaning, but I'll post a gratuitous kitchen shot just because it's a damn pretty kitchen.

Clark's ready for his photoshoot, just not his close-ups just yet.  To get him ready for the Open House and showings, I still have to:

• fill LOTS of nail holes in the floor and trim
• finish the hard wood transitions at the front and side doors
• get the kitchen sink and dishwasher hooked up (they look pretty, but don't work yet)
• have the electrician come look at a 3way switch that isn't working
• paint a few more closets and doors
• install the shower knobs
• clean up the basement and paint 1 last wall
• dispose of the remaining brush from the back yard
• clean
• clean
• clean

And since I never have enough on my plate, guess what time it is!

This season's challenge is hosted by these lovely ladies: Sherry @ Young House Love (who just bought a new house!!), Katie @ Bower Power Blog, Emily @ Sparkle Meets Pop, and Renee at RedBirdBlue.  (Check out my past season's challenge projects HERE.)

Since I'm already working on a little project for a very special little boy's first birthday this weekend, I totally have a plan to incorporate the challenge.

Ah, so many exciting things happening!

You Light up My Office

Happy Monday!  and for once I actually mean it!  I'm so happy that spring is finally making an appearance here in Mass!!!!  As I always say, I'm solar powered, so the long drawn-out winter just drains my energy, momentum, and motivation.  It felt so good to get outside yesterday and go for a run (and NOT freeze my patootie off).

I'm also excited about something I got done inside.  Slowly but surely, I've been replacing all the boring and/or hideous light fixtures in each room of my house.  I've previously replaced the lights in the living room, dining room, entry way, front porch, and Hubby's office.  The bedroom light is a bit of a larger project since that room still has a plaster ceiling and cast iron electrical box (!).  I'll tackle that sometime with Handy Dad's help, so I focused on my office instead.

The old light was just a snooze.  literally (just ask Charlie)

The only think I had done to this light before was switch around the shade with one I had removed from Hubby's office.

There used to be flowers on the one in here... not really my cup o tea.  Beyond the shade, the fixture itself is old, dingy, completely painted on, and doing nothing to hide the cracks right next to it.  The shade fix just made it bearable for a few months longer, but for the past six months I've been giving this IKEA light googly eyes.

At only $29.99 I'm not sure why I kept resisting the purchase, but at one of my recent IKEA trips for Clark the flip house, I finally broke down.

It fits perfectly in my office!  The light is less glaring because the shade really softens it, AND it hides all the ceiling blemishes.

I love the subtle texture of the shade too.  Even Hubby (who normally goes along with my changes just to make me happy) was impressed with the low-cost upgrade.

That's one more thing checked off my office to-do list, but there's still more.  I'd say this room is 75% complete.  The most obvious, of course is that my desk is missing.  My beautiful secretary desk that I'm refinishing got put on hold with the flip.  I'll finish you soon, I promise!

I hope you're enjoying the advent of spring weather as much as I am!  Happy April 1st!