tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182739785592438972024-03-29T01:44:58.658-04:00The Cow SpotCourtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.comBlogger315125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-7212794013739120172019-12-08T18:27:00.000-05:002019-12-08T18:27:02.246-05:00The Designery - LAUNCHED<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have a big life update for you all today – After 11 years
working in the Kitchen & Bath Industry, I am starting my own company! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Wow – it’s a "pinch me" moment in and of itself that I just
wrote those words and posted the logo. My logo! This whole thing has been
in the works for a while and like all good things, it was definitely a labor of love, but today it becomes real and I'm so excited to jump in! OK, so let's get into the details... The company is called The
Designery and is a Kitchen & Bath Design House. I will continue to
specialize in all things Kitchen & Bath and will be offering full design
services to my clients. For most, the Kitchen & Bath are at the top of the remodeling
list and I’ve always believed it was possible to conquer these spaces that can
be technical and expensive in a fun and collaborative way. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For years I have been cabinetry focused, and I still will be
designing cabinetry, but with this new endeavor I will have the opportunity to go
beyond cabinets and bring whole projects together for my clients by leading
them with the other selections that finish off a space – lighting, countertops,
flooring, paint colors, appliances, hardware, etc. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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As for <a href="http://www.bellcabinetry.com/">Bell</a>, words can’t begin to do justice for how thankful I am
for that company and all of the technical knowledge and experience I have
gained over the past 8 years. I was always given the opportunity to be creative
and I got to see so many of my dreams, visions and designs come to life before
my eyes. I was lucky enough to work alongside so many great designers, CAD
techs, engineers and craftsman that have truly shaped the designer I am today. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I poured so much of myself into Bell over the
years and plan to continue to work alongside them going forward. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m very excited for this new endeavor and I hope you will
follow along with me! I have a new website that you can check out:<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="http://www.the-designery.com/">www.the-designery.com</a></span></b></div>
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along with a
new Instagram handle: </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><a href="https://www.instagram.com/_thedesignery/">@_thedesignery</a></b></span></div>
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And you can also follow me on Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/The-Designery-102250021244293/">here</a>. I’m excited for what lies ahead and thankful
for all of you that have been along for the ride over the years. So much more to come!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><i> Photo by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thedesignery_photolab/">The Designery Photo Lab</a> & Logo by <a href="http://www.treebirdbranding.com/">Treebird</a>. </i></o:p></div>
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Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-77966001015597791902019-11-26T20:05:00.000-05:002019-11-26T20:05:42.215-05:00Gift Wrap Closet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I feel like this next sentence is the most grown up thing I've written in awhile....</div>
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I, Courtney Shearer have a gift wrap closet. I mean, how luxurious does that sound? HA! I really do have a closet that is now dedicated to all things gifts - cards, paper, boxes, bags etc....and it was fairly easy to get. I simply cleaned out a closet in our guest bedroom and utilized the space for something specific instead of another place to just shove all the things. Earth shattering I know, but I'm pretty excited about the end results monetarily and organizationally speaking!<br />
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So, the closet is in the Guest Bedroom we have been <a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/11/guest-room-progress-light-paint-matched.html">making over</a>. It was actually one of the first things we did in this space before we started selling furniture and trimming out walls. Here is a shot of the before:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7e4RYQ0Zi62rdiZ40Mj9mmFu_JHuS5g47YalcvGyZVzsKL3BYFlYgqvtW-JpMLzCTsOjKBJl1IX21H58Iv04OBD-BjfsZy5jrzko9BfPctUyDJkuUPL0bx8uFLOul-zDXlzJmLKAtlwhD/s1600/Closet+Before.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7e4RYQ0Zi62rdiZ40Mj9mmFu_JHuS5g47YalcvGyZVzsKL3BYFlYgqvtW-JpMLzCTsOjKBJl1IX21H58Iv04OBD-BjfsZy5jrzko9BfPctUyDJkuUPL0bx8uFLOul-zDXlzJmLKAtlwhD/s640/Closet+Before.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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As we have slowly fixed up various rooms in the house I feel like our junk piles just get moved from room to room and closet to closet. This particular closet was out of control. You see I had to pull out junk just to get one of the doors to completely open! From clothes to sell, to Lot's jump-a-roo and everything in between this closet was FULL and I prayed for any guest who needed to actually hang something in the closet. Good luck to them.<br />
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With the closet cleared out you can see what we were working with. A single wire shelf. </div>
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The space is not deep front to back, but does have some length to it, so we wanted to add more function and actually utilize the space we did have. Now, we could of gone all out here, I mean I do work around some amazing <a href="http://www.bellcabinetry.com/">closet designers</a> and we all know Brent can hold his own when it comes to <a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/03/laundry-room-remodel-diy-shelving-tile.html">building out some cabinets</a>, but for this space we decided to go the fast, in-expensive route and just stay with the wire shelving. The game plan was to keep the one shelf we had and add 3 more shelves underneath. To maintain some long hang we got the 3 additional shelves in a shorter length to leave 32" open for guests to use.<br />
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Brent spaced the shelves 12" apart and he got to work setting the new shelves in place.</div>
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It was a relatively quick process and that was with two little people "helping".</div>
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Next, I went to work selectively loading the shelves. One of the great things about a project like this is the opportunity to purge. When you have a new cabinet, a new shelf or a new room you don't want to fill it with junk, you find yourself more inclined to thoughtfully go through items and either donate, relocate or throw out. I knew I wanted this closet to house guest room essentials like extra pillows and blankets and beyond that it would house seasonal throw pillows, my giant dressing-making bowl that won't fit anywhere else, and our gift wrapping supplies. </div>
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I have two large containers full of wrapping paper which I pushed all the way in the corner. I also stacked an assortment of boxes back there too.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpaPdFaGBJjnioX8XkawFtsG2Vj4RDLSk2FyCKFHNC8y9q1XYx8UI6FdIR18LgAsVKsKceJXQq0UlgamYEWHTfGiEios1P9popUJNTZDzHZOAEapJBsYKCcfkhd8aU4oIkJNDCPmokNt9/s1600/View+to+the+Back.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDpaPdFaGBJjnioX8XkawFtsG2Vj4RDLSk2FyCKFHNC8y9q1XYx8UI6FdIR18LgAsVKsKceJXQq0UlgamYEWHTfGiEios1P9popUJNTZDzHZOAEapJBsYKCcfkhd8aU4oIkJNDCPmokNt9/s640/View+to+the+Back.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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For the front section I got little baskets to house ribbon, tags, tissue paper, etc...I even found a box to store all of our cards. I labeled each section per card type - birthday, get well, congrats and thank you.<br />
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And finally I used 3 hangers to hold all of our gift bags!! It's like organizational heaven. Extreme I know, but it feels so good and fresh and organized and honestly it couldn't come at a better time because with the holidays upon us and gift wrapping about to ensue, knowing where all of my supplies are is going to save me time and money! Hallelujah for that!<br />
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<i>All photo are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-9008966933935659912019-11-20T20:28:00.000-05:002019-11-20T20:28:57.715-05:00Guest Room Progress + A Light Paint Matched to a Skirt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We are rolling right along over in our <a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/11/guest-room-makeover-before.html">Guest Bedroom Makeover</a>. This past weekend we finished up the trim + paint, installed the bed AND switched out the ceiling fan for a chandelier. </div>
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I found the chandelier on Facebook Market Place for $40. I drove to get it last week and was excited about the elegant factor it was sure to add to the space. We got it hung Saturday morning and the room instantly felt elevated.<br />
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Next, Brent put together the bed we purchased from Wayfair and guys - <a href="https://www.wayfair.com/furniture/pdx/andover-mills-matheney-platform-bed-andv2256.html?piid=24102552%2C30610156">this bed</a> was $146.75. Such a good price for a king bed and we were really pleased with the look and quality once it was set up. The only negative....the bronze color of the bed was fighting with the brassy/bronze color of the light. While we liked the color of the light we knew from the beginning we may end of painting it so we started tossing around paint color options - white, gray....plum? HA - one of these is not like the other but believe it or not Brent and I almost instantly agreed that a dramatic deep purple/plum color in a semi-gloss sheen could look really great in the space. The inspiration - a faux leather skirt of mine. Brent took the skirt to Home Depot and color matched it. Pretty spot on, right?<br />
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Next, Brent set up a make-shift paint booth out by the shed so he could spray the light. </div>
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I have to admit it was a little scary watching the light turn from a pretty brassy color to plum, but we kept reminding ourselves it was just paint and if it was hideous we would just re-paint it. </div>
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It took a few coats and we let it dry for several hours before bringing her back inside to install. </div>
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Photographing this light was a beast. Daylight savings has not been my friend when it comes to capturing the true colors of the space, but the shot above is the best I got to really show off the color. Overall, we <i>think</i> we like it. I especially love how the glossy deep purple hue accentuates the details of the chandelier. We purchased these candelabra sleeves also from Amazon for each light so the electrical wires would be concealed. The color definitely feels good in the space, but I knew I needed to see the whole space come together with bedding, etc...to know for sure. I found <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mellanni-Bed-Sheet-Set-Hypoallergenic/dp/B00NQDGAP2/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=king+size+sheets+mellani&qid=1574264772&sr=8-1">these sheets</a> on Amazon, another great deal - $29.70 for a King Sheet Set. There are 62 THOUSAND reviews raving about these sheets so I gave them a whirl. I got the white, and so far, they are super soft and nice. We got the bed all made up last night and things are feeling really good. Next up - nightstands, lamps, art....you know, more pretty. Excited to get this space wrapped up soon, just in time for the holidays! </div>
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Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-72228770560139045142019-11-15T20:54:00.000-05:002019-11-15T21:09:51.337-05:00Guest Room Makeover - The Before<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Wanna hear an embarrassing story about our guest bedroom? Shortly after we moved into this house (4 years ago - crazy!!) we had a house guest. In my mind it was a last minute thing, but honestly, it may of been a planned thing, I can't remember. Regardless he ended up having to go to the store to buy his own soap!! T H E H O R R OR! I mean honestly, could I be a worst hostess? After that I made an oath to be better. The first step was obviously to stock up on the essentials and the second step was to make a cautious effort to make our guest room has comfortable as possible. Since then we have done our best with what we had to work with, but anyone at the beginning, middle or end of making your house a home knows it is a process and certain rooms/projects just tend to take priority over others for one reason or another, but it is finally time for our Guest Bedroom to get some attention.<br />
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The first step in making over this space was to remove some of the furniture. Like a lot of guest rooms this space was outfitted in furniture from times past. From my past specifically, it was from my childhood bedroom. I loved it, but the truth is guest rooms just don't need SO much furniture. We had a dresser, a chest and a nightstand in addition to the obvious bed. Guests just don't need all of that stuff. Regardless of how long a guest stays they never move stuff into the drawers, so most were completely empty or worse stuffed full of stuff we didn't even know we had. Anyone else? What is it with our human need to fill any and all spaces we have!? So, I sold most of the items in a weekend and suddenly the room was feeling a lot more open and inviting.<br />
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In a perfect world we really wanted to incorporate a king bed into this space. I know this statement is full on diva, but once you sleep in a king bed, it's so hard to go back to a queen, but sadly a king just wouldn't fit on the wall. Then, last Friday something amazing happened - Brent said what if we moved the bed to the window wall, so we flipped it around and....BOOM:<br />
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Not only does this orientation just feel better, but now there is plenty of room for a king bed! So I listed the bed on Facebook Marketplace it was gone by the afternoon. Now, with an empty room we were ready to add some details and get the space prepped for new finishes.<br />
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The goal was to try to elevate this space to match the adjacent <a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/01/guest-bath-remodel-before.html">guest bath</a> that we did last year, remember that space? While I know I haven't shared the full reveal of that space yet (coming soon - promise!) it's on the fancy-ish side and I wanted the room to have the same vibe. The game plan was to add trim to each wall. We tossed around adding a chair-rail and wainscoting but ultimately decided to do a fairly simple series of rectangles on each wall using a dainty trim piece.<br />
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Like all DIY projects these days it's a family affair, so Brent and Croix got to measuring :)</div>
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All of the trim cost a little over $100 and Brent got the pieces cut and installed in a matter of hours. </div>
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We are painting the walls white - <a href="https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/oc-17/white-dove?color=OC-17">White Dove OC-17</a> (same color as most walls in our house) because A. it's a good color and B. I have a ton of the paint on hand so it just made sense. I got started on painting all of the trim on Sunday but Brent ran out of trim for the last little sliver of wall and of course every Home Depot in the area was out as well, so we are hoping to get our hands on another stick or two today and finish up the painting tonight, but look how pretty it's looking so far....<br />
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If you <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_courtneyshearer/?hl=en">follow me on Instagram</a> stay tuned this weekend because we ordered a bed and I found a light on FB Marketplace all ready to be installed as soon as we can finish up this paint + trim I will be taking you through the whole process on stories!<br />
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-92218296523755901982019-11-03T20:31:00.000-05:002019-11-03T20:31:53.095-05:00A Birthday + 2 Goals<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Yesterday was my birthday! </div>
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I don't care how old I get a birthday never ceases to thrill. I've always had a false sense of reality and or confidence in regards to my birthday. For years I honestly thought people were so jealous of my birthday because it was only 2 days after Halloween and in the same month as Thanksgiving. I mean, what a gift right? Haha.....I was a weird kid and I have to say some things never change.<br />
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We kicked off my 34th with a fun weekend in Highlands with family. We had a fire, we saw beautiful fall colors and we got to watch the Georgia Bulldogs WIN! A Great day!<br />
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Anyways, I thought my birthday week was a good time to let you all in on a few goals Brent and I set for ourselves this summer... Goal #1 - 40 Countries by 40. We both love to travel and we're always up for a good adventure. I went on my first, big across the ocean trip in 2010 and have been hooked ever since. So far, I have been to 16 countries and Brent has been to 24. We definitely have a lot of work to do, but we are excited for the challenge. Brent turns 34 in January so we both have about 6 years to reach our goal.<br />
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We have a few trips on the docket for 2020, one of which is Tanzania where we are going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, otherwise known as goal #2! Well, that's the plan anyways. We are currently in training mode for that big adventure, but we're not getting any younger over here so we felt like 34 was as good a year as any to try our hands at conquering that 19,341 ft beast.<br />
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Have any of you been to 40 countries? Climbed Kilimanjaro? Would love any advice or country suggestions you have!<br />
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-18890222818143302922019-10-23T19:26:00.001-04:002019-10-23T19:26:18.854-04:00Boo <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I don't know about you guys but our front porch has been decked out for Halloween since late September. I think our over eagerness was equal parts an uber excited 3 year old and a mom so desperate for the temperatures to get out of the 90's I thought a pumpkin or 10 could give me good ju ju.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">The strategy this year....take every spooky decoration I typically set out around my house and put it all, every last bat, rat and bone on the front porch together.</span></div>
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It's a lot, but it makes me smile every time I see it. And see it I do, just about every night as Croix and I go outside to "look at the stars" with the skeleton. He has been excited about Halloween for months. Literally watching Halloween cartoons on YouTube since Easter. Every other day a new super hero costume arrives at our house. Brent + Croix = T R O U B L E, So at this point I'm honestly not sure if we will see Spider Man, Black Panther, Captain America or Hulk Round 2 this year.<br />
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One thing we know for sure.....</div>
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The skeleton on the front porch is definitely going as BATMAN!</div>
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Over the weekend I added the purple mum and Brent and Croix carved our Jack-O-lantern, so I would say we are all ready for the big night next week. Stay tuned to see which super hero graces us with his presence.<br />
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-81241211606355522692019-10-15T20:40:00.000-04:002019-10-15T20:40:54.076-04:00Chair Sale<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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You guys...I'm a chair-aholic. <span style="text-align: left;">Wait, maybe I should say....I like chairs with good bones and potential that are relatively in expensive so I can customize them to make them awesome. Yeah, that sounds better. </span><br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">Regardless, I have a making-chairs-cool obsession. It all started a few years ago with these chairs - my twin girls, adopted in 2015....</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: red; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfbPXPIiVeNRhmJ8fhvFMvBF20L0Hy0ueS9eMxF8l0F-3oJLgu80g1uKCoYWsiTPTU6CCxB35MyC5FEUHk9vXpD-30KqBiAVP3XFhCRHdECI2f7AuGiKn3Ji6nP0FXGWPHhAc6Dp28uxnB/s1600/Desk+Chairs+FINISHED.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1141" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfbPXPIiVeNRhmJ8fhvFMvBF20L0Hy0ueS9eMxF8l0F-3oJLgu80g1uKCoYWsiTPTU6CCxB35MyC5FEUHk9vXpD-30KqBiAVP3XFhCRHdECI2f7AuGiKn3Ji6nP0FXGWPHhAc6Dp28uxnB/s640/Desk+Chairs+FINISHED.jpg" width="456" /></a></span></span></div>
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They underwent a BIG makeover (read all about it in <a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2015/04/office-chair-makeover.html">this blog post</a>), ahem...check out their BEFORE</div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPc7PfZOdqMXQXuIm6AbPoJ7nmOgPxMZTI-ALcTsbsM2dw04JJ8Ij23zI7CEFbYtPfLCrNmqCkcb3-nlHsQd1FDe0SV3il-xcuMZHNV3bhR3iYYaKG7RxzDRKvUc4m2vgZIvzWJy6nHQCK/s1600/Chair+BEFORE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1559" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPc7PfZOdqMXQXuIm6AbPoJ7nmOgPxMZTI-ALcTsbsM2dw04JJ8Ij23zI7CEFbYtPfLCrNmqCkcb3-nlHsQd1FDe0SV3il-xcuMZHNV3bhR3iYYaKG7RxzDRKvUc4m2vgZIvzWJy6nHQCK/s640/Chair+BEFORE.jpg" width="622" /></a></span></div>
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Yikes, right? But the bones were good and with a little love they quickly became the pride and joy of our office in our first home.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyUl8QF5LiupIuq7-eLahi8zZk9gIc2LZt-Z5OwN2eiFEPs_QDFvjsr1GiwGyHjj8zGDZtReAi1j-Zskct8trlAJXtekDdOSwgpKa336mDRmgnZrwxNEbXPsiyQfEtIa4VEGZX_E_0PXOz/s1600/Front+and+Back+-+Office+Chairs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1041" data-original-width="1600" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyUl8QF5LiupIuq7-eLahi8zZk9gIc2LZt-Z5OwN2eiFEPs_QDFvjsr1GiwGyHjj8zGDZtReAi1j-Zskct8trlAJXtekDdOSwgpKa336mDRmgnZrwxNEbXPsiyQfEtIa4VEGZX_E_0PXOz/s640/Front+and+Back+-+Office+Chairs.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">These chairs were perfect for this space and I wasn't about to leave them behind when we moved, so I took them to my office over at <a href="http://www.bellcabinetry.com/">Bell Cabinetry & Design</a> where they have hung out with me day in and day out for over 2 years. Honestly, I would sleep in them each night if it meant I could keep them forever, but they deserve better, they deserve to shine. So I have decided to sell them. Over the years these chairs have gotten a lot of love on social media and I've received numerous inquiries about purchasing, so now is the time. I wanted to write about them here to give you guys first dibs, but they will be going live on Facebook Marketplace & Craigslist later this week.</span><br />
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In a world full of ho hum options in the category of office chairs, this is my gift to the world. Too dramatic....oh well, sorry not sorry! :)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUMxqALng9JqZ_Lr8WTOv1C3iS_GIMK6SDMcitRO74T1F_U-6IG4dHFPen0nxRpojDrPkNUB61ofMrVb2p4EYJslMUg3c8HQmu_gRwjldNk268FDFpGP0sL3O0hfjg2vfT06w3qoHZ_VGe/s1600/IMG_6175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUMxqALng9JqZ_Lr8WTOv1C3iS_GIMK6SDMcitRO74T1F_U-6IG4dHFPen0nxRpojDrPkNUB61ofMrVb2p4EYJslMUg3c8HQmu_gRwjldNk268FDFpGP0sL3O0hfjg2vfT06w3qoHZ_VGe/s640/IMG_6175.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Here are the details:</div>
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Office Chairs on casters. </div>
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26 1/2 " high x 25" wide x 24 1/2" deep<br />
Seat height off the floor is 17 3/4" and seat depth of 17"</div>
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Floral Fabric + White Vinyl for easy clean-up </div>
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Qty: 2 </div>
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Email me @ hicourtneyshearer@gmail.com with serious inquiries about purchasing. </div>
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-53294721778853719632019-10-09T20:43:00.000-04:002019-10-15T10:44:10.333-04:00Chicken Drama <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I have to tell ya, I never thought I would have a blog post titled - "Chicken Drama" but here we are....no really, here I am holding a chicken and a baby. Ha - what a sight :)<br />
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OK, on to the drama....</div>
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In mid July around 6:40am each morning we started hearing a loud crow coming from our backyard. Not an ideal sound to hear when you live in a neighborhood in the city, not a farm and you are under the impression that you had 3 female chickens.<br />
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Now let me tell you, figuring out whether you have a male or female chick is kind of a crap shoot to begin with. There are no obvious, um... "parts"... if you will, to confirm the sex of the baby chicken. What there is, is a lot of voo-doo-like tricks that are done to guess. In our case the guy held each chick in his hand and dangled a piece of copper wire on a string over the chick to determine the sex. Umm...yeah....maybe we should be thankful we don't have a backyard full of roosters.<br />
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The crowing culprit - Lou our Barred Rock chicken. In <a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/06/meet-our-chickens.html">this post </a>I described Lou as the undeniable leader of the group. When the crowing first started we dug deep into Google to find out if it was possible to have a crowing hen. Turns out, it is. From what we read, in small back yard flocks with only hens, it is not uncommon for one of the hens to take on the role of alpha and crow. We hoped this was the case, but even if it was we couldn't have a crowing hen, alpha or not. So, we decided to do what any sane-minded person with 3 chickens, one of which crowed and two children would do - we got another chicken. Actually we got 2 more.<br />
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Meet Dolly</div>
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& Pearl<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3a9eOv1zKOvdIMjk2P_F5q3UeWvjFOy_GrtgxrqksFL3ThUhuF4UlMD2c931kV6F4BZPcjMcWmhJhy2od1wdBgOVb-aJV4ZCzwYGIvXVw-U035qTwAsJkBXCsZPwTF-hViqzABI2hJH2X/s1600/Pearl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1201" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3a9eOv1zKOvdIMjk2P_F5q3UeWvjFOy_GrtgxrqksFL3ThUhuF4UlMD2c931kV6F4BZPcjMcWmhJhy2od1wdBgOVb-aJV4ZCzwYGIvXVw-U035qTwAsJkBXCsZPwTF-hViqzABI2hJH2X/s640/Pearl.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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Our thought - if we brought in a new chicken that was a bit older then it would be the alpha and Lou would stop crowing. So, we got Dolly - a Lavender Americana. Dolly is a year old and was already producing eggs when we got her. Because Lou, Dot and Pip had been together since day one we didn't want to introduce Dolly to the group alone so we got Pearl at the same time. She is a Silkie and a few weeks younger than the original 3. </div>
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We quickly learned that a pecking order is real. The new chickens did not receive a warm welcome from the group. Maybe I'm naive, but in my mind, the girls would invite them in, show them the nesting boxes, Lou would stop crowing and the 5 of them would live happily ever after, producing an array of colored eggs for us. WRONG. The OG chickens were not happy to meet the new chickens and were down right mean to them. Especially Lou. Dolly, our hopeful alpha was clearly intimidated by Lou and quickly owned her lowly position on the pecking order. So now we had chicken fights AND a crowing chicken. Sadly, we were forced to make the hard decision to send Lou to live on a farm in Tifton, GA. It was a bummer to lose her, but the flock as a whole as been better since. Now, a few months later all 4 chickens are friends, no one crows AND Dolly started laying eggs!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOjWkDaW1F4ABR9-x4fRlnXmeGEcmPchZt6vbs84yR4ZNz9HOf0Ic01PhIKlJ4iWmfopQvsbi9G4IbAARdblrvud41bVfeciM4j-K_gE_fPMp7GdQRyxHRK-MO1rdVcEU96ILCM3zeG6g/s1600/Blue+Dolly+Egg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyOjWkDaW1F4ABR9-x4fRlnXmeGEcmPchZt6vbs84yR4ZNz9HOf0Ic01PhIKlJ4iWmfopQvsbi9G4IbAARdblrvud41bVfeciM4j-K_gE_fPMp7GdQRyxHRK-MO1rdVcEU96ILCM3zeG6g/s640/Blue+Dolly+Egg.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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It took her some time to get acclimated, but once she did we started getting these pretty blue eggs just about every other day.<br />
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Once we started getting eggs we took right to Amazon/<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/SubstationPaperie?ref=simple-shop-header-name&listing_id=691624633">Etsy</a> and got ourselves all set up with half dozen boxes. Once the other girls start laying too, we may go with the full dozen size containers, but for now, how legit do we look?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1bfgL9oNlixXEkOQsQ3ZNJo23F9jTfarFpywMsq8bmmTsww76S7L-Z4QyrACBwnlZS0M1sv0rpTVefZB9JHq9zP_qbhgxk6V8rou5PF-a_NWQxkKU2ntc-9m0LOzlYOJWKZFMnPNmHs3/s1600/Egg+Packaging.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1bfgL9oNlixXEkOQsQ3ZNJo23F9jTfarFpywMsq8bmmTsww76S7L-Z4QyrACBwnlZS0M1sv0rpTVefZB9JHq9zP_qbhgxk6V8rou5PF-a_NWQxkKU2ntc-9m0LOzlYOJWKZFMnPNmHs3/s640/Egg+Packaging.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
Life with our backyard flock is pretty sweet right now. It's fun to check the nesting boxes each day for an egg and the excitement in finding one never gets old! We look forward to the multi-colored eggs in our future, but for now, we are just happy everyone is getting along and no one is crowing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYtKvwUeQwq1PVWB-JinObShYjhSrHNyXjYwfvLjgeJ34Vj4adyHrDhTyi6cS2mZRVIOrPYkiQel4NcJm6qMfnaniuF5IkkwwvY_N_FxFkoxJ_asRHPr-pOuMBhqYC_PwVpXQ9zaZeKmD/s1600/The+new+Pack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1204" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsYtKvwUeQwq1PVWB-JinObShYjhSrHNyXjYwfvLjgeJ34Vj4adyHrDhTyi6cS2mZRVIOrPYkiQel4NcJm6qMfnaniuF5IkkwwvY_N_FxFkoxJ_asRHPr-pOuMBhqYC_PwVpXQ9zaZeKmD/s640/The+new+Pack.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-5592743900224137282019-10-04T20:22:00.001-04:002019-10-04T20:22:57.360-04:00Console Table Makeover<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Well, I'd say the first week of October is a good time to come back from summer vacation :) We had a great summer and really did try to lay off home projects and enjoy all the work we had done, namely <a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/11/pool-update-living-learning-confession.html">our pool</a> + backyard (hello...<a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/06/meet-our-chickens.html">chickens</a>!!). It was nice to relax, well as much as one can relax with a 3 year old and a now crawling baby roaming around. But now that it is officially fall we are ready to dip our toes back into some home improvements.<br />
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The first project kind of fell into my lap by way of my friend - Facebook Marketplace. Every time I'm in a new town I like to peruse the site to see if there are any treasures waiting to be snatched up. Last Saturday I found this gem in Tifton, GA for $65.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1LFqinmTwIAzW9rdBtYYzRRdn1r-mUl53QWCG7xOZM0_FPmCsxInrZb2RGhMNBG8-5apAQYap-y8peaQRBD8RLyCA3fBEYMYrNcXZeKg_etCawPJXq22gQsi1AffT3RGeOsCvxhYAYSJ/s1600/IMG_5807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1LFqinmTwIAzW9rdBtYYzRRdn1r-mUl53QWCG7xOZM0_FPmCsxInrZb2RGhMNBG8-5apAQYap-y8peaQRBD8RLyCA3fBEYMYrNcXZeKg_etCawPJXq22gQsi1AffT3RGeOsCvxhYAYSJ/s640/IMG_5807.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Yes, her coloring is, well hideous, but look at the bones. I love the fluted details, the curves of the top, the leg positioning, etc. Plus, I've been in the market for a console table for awhile now for the stair wall off the mudroom.<br />
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We've had this hutch that belonged to Brent's Great-Grandmother on this wall since we moved in and while I like the piece it just wasn't working for two reasons. Number one, several rooms in our home open to one another in the center of the house. An open floor plan is great, but the issue I was having was too many wood furniture pieces with different tones in one line of sight. We have our breakfast room table, a china cabinet, the antique laundry room door AND this hutch, all wood and all in different tones. It was just too much and this hutch sat in the center of it all, so it only made sense for this to be the piece to go. And number two, I don't have very many surfaces to house picture frames and I felt like this hutch was taking up prime real estate for a nice family photo right when you walk in from the garage.<br />
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As soon as we got the table home I started testing out possible paint color contenders.</div>
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We settled on <a href="https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW9168-elephant-ear#/9168/?s=coordinatingColors&p=PS0">Elephant Ear</a> a pretty, true gray by Sherwin Williams. The next step was to sand the beast down and get the shine off.<br />
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Next up we got to painting. We bought the <a href="https://www.behr.com/consumer/colors/paint/explore?gclid=CjwKCAjwldHsBRAoEiwAd0JybW11bpt94pWUXWgWOUgzT8xq8GxUeUlQRI89NWYGJ_iBLMhrLURGXBoCMo4QAvD_BwE">Behr Ultra paint</a> + primer in one from <a href="https://www.homedepot.com/">Home Depot</a> (did a color match for the Sherwin William's hue) which worked out really well, because it only took one coat. There were a few areas we touched up after it was all dry but the paint went on nice and smooth and the piece became prettier with each stroke of the brush.<br />
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Things got fun when Croix decided he wanted to help, so I talked him in to letting me paint the body of the piece and he could finish it up by painting the top. He was SO excited and only asked me 100 times if I was done yet and ready for him. Finally, it was his turn, and while wet paint (inside) + his 3 year old bouncy self could of been a disaster he did a pretty good job.<br />
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As soon as the paint was dry I was maneuvering this piece into it's new home and wow - love, love, love the way it turned out.<br />
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I had plans to replace the hardware but the distressed, brass knobs that came with the piece looked great with the new color. This side of the house feels so much more airy now and I love having a place to check my teeth before I walk out the door :)<br />
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For now I put a family photo from a few year's ago on the shelf, but I'm excited to get an updated version with Lot in there soon!<br />
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-41685885126243777262019-06-30T21:17:00.000-04:002019-06-30T21:17:35.804-04:00Meet Our Chickens <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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OK, OK for anyone tired of chicken talk, today will be my last blog on all things chicken, but now that you've seen their <a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/06/we-have-chickens-diy-chicken-coop.html">house (coop)</a> we figured you'd like to get to know the girls a little better, specifically what breed of chicken they each are and what color eggs they will produce. When we started researching chickens we had no idea there were so many different kinds. Their look, temperament, egg production and egg color were some of the main characteristics we honed in on.<br />
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Obviously a pretty chicken with pretty eggs was high up on the wish list, but the highest priority to us was the chicken's temperament. Because these animals would be in our back-yard and around us all the time as we grilled, played in the pool, worked on projects outside <a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/06/shed-update.html">the shed</a> and just hung out, it was important that our chickens be nice and friendly. There were some that had really pretty hair/fur (ha) but were known to be skittish and broody, so we marked those off the list quickly. Each of our chickens are a different breed and each will produce a different color egg, but the one thing they have in common is their easy going personalities. Oh, and they are all female....we think/pray ;). With that being said, let's get to the introductions...<br />
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Up first, meet Lou, she is our Easter Egger. </div>
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Lou has always been the biggest of the 3, as she is older than the others by about 10 days. She is also undoubtedly the leader. We aren't sure if that's because she has always been bigger or if it's just her natural personality, but the other 2 follow her around wherever she goes. We figured out quickly, the fastest way to get the chickens to like us was to suck up to Lou, because if the other girls saw Lou sitting in our lap, then they would follow suit. </div>
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Lou is prettier than most Easter Egger Chickens because she was crossed with a Barred Rock, so her coloring is striking - black with white stripes. </div>
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Easter Egger chickens typically produce about 200 eggs a year and the eggs can range in color from light blue to green to brown. Though the eggs can be a lot of different colors, whatever color she lays first will be the color we always get. </div>
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Next, meet Dot, she is our Light Brahma. </div>
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Dot was a tiny little yellow chick with fuzzy feet when we got her, but those yellow chick feathers have now been replaced by white feathers with black specs. Her fuzzy feet have remained though. This is a signature characteristic of a Light Brahma and gives them a fancy-schmancy look. She is already really pretty and regal looking. </div>
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Her eggs will be light brown and she should lay 3-4 eggs a week, even in the winter when a lot of chickens don't lay as many. </div>
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And finally, little Pip - Our Olive Egger.</div>
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Pip has always been the smallest of the 3. As a tiny chick she had dark black feathers and still has the same look today. She will likely be the most boring to look at of the 3 (sorry Pip) but her eggs should be really pretty. Olive Eggers lay olive green eggs. Pip should lay 150 - 160 eggs a year. </div>
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We got the chicks from the same farm so they have been together (at least with us) from the beginning. They are very close and travel in a little pack around the yard. They have eaten all of my mint and marigolds and like to peck around at the grass. We try to hold them a good amount to keep them used to human interaction which is working pretty well so far. Of course we have to remind Croix, pretty much every 2 minutes, NOT to chase the chickens and NOT to shoot the chickens with water guns, but all in all, they have adjusted really well.<br />
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Most chickens don't start laying eggs until they are 5-6 months old so we probably have a good while before we get our first bounty, but in the meantime we really enjoy just hanging out in our backyard, swimming, grilling and chicken watching. </div>
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-63818401582965537412019-06-26T20:06:00.001-04:002019-06-26T20:06:25.833-04:006 Months of Lot<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Today my Lot Thomas is 6 months old. </div>
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This kid, ya'll....he's just so good. Like honest to God the best baby. He is so laid back and go with the flow. Wakes up happy, only really fusses if he's hungry or gets overtired (he likes a schedule!) and is so patient with the sometimes overwhelming "love" from his big brother. Speaking of big bro Croix....<br />
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He has loved Lot every minute since he met him and can make him laugh like no one else.</div>
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People warned us that going from 1 to 2 kids would be such an adjustment and a lot more work, but honestly life as a family of 4 has been awesome. Lot fit right into our life and now at only 6 months in we can't imagine life without him. <span style="text-align: center;">He's the kind of baby that could make you want 10 more. Just saying.....:)</span><br />
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All photos are my own. </div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-49595304753534912352019-06-17T20:32:00.001-04:002019-06-17T20:32:31.841-04:00We Have Chickens + DIY Chicken Coop<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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As we approached the finish line for <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/06/shed-update.html">the shed</a> we took a little detour down the road of, "hey, lets get chickens!" It's really all my sister's fault. We were at a family reunion back in April and she showed us this instagram account of this girl who lives in Greenville, SC that had the prettiest chickens. Who even knew chickens could be pretty?! Honestly, not me, but even better - these pretty chickens produced pretty eggs and lived in the most charming coop. She could tell we were intrigued so she pushed further and said, "y'all should build a coop and get chickens too!" We laughed it off, but the seed was planted and the next thing I knew we were laying in bed perusing chicken breeds and fantasizing about our kids growing up in the middle of Atlanta with a piece of the farm life right in the backyard.<br />
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Lucky us, there was enough space on the right side of the shed to add a little coop, plenty big enough for 3 chickens.</div>
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Just like the shed, we started with 4 posts in the ground to set the perimeter of the structure.</div>
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The plan was to create a chicken run, 5 feet x 5 feet. The run would have 4 walls covered in chicken wire with a door on the front that locks to let the chickens out or keep them safe inside.<br />
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Once the chicken run was complete Brent built the coop. The coop sits on top of the run and this is where the chickens sleep at night and lay their eggs.<br />
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In the photo above, do you see the 3 little compartments on the front of the coop? Those are the nesting boxes where the chickens will leave the eggs. Brent put a flip down door to cover this portion for easy access to the eggs.<br />
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Both the coop and the nesting boxes got the same roof detail as the shed and as you can see from the photo above the roof line of the coop matches that of the shed as well. The chicken wire was installed next. The specific chicken wire was a point of discussion because I thought it might be cool to do something different here. Maybe a black chicken wire in an unusual shape? I was initially opposed to the"standard silver chicken wire" because I didn't think it would go with the vibe of the space aesthetically, but upon more research Brent found that the standard silver chicken wire was really the best because the weave was tighter which kept varmints out. According to a lot of research and feedback from fellow chicken owners, weasels, rats and snakes were the main cause of death for chickens. So, we went with the standard stuff and I'm so happy we did. Not only does it give us peace of mind that the chickens are safer this way, but aesthetically it just blends in, and I realized after the fact, the lack of statement it offers was exactly what was needed.</div>
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The open counter space you see in the photo above is my planting bench! We just used 2 x 8 boards and sat them atop the chicken run to create the table. This is definitely one of my favorite details of this addition and one that I have already utilized many times! Brent added 3 holes to the back side of the coop for breathe-ability and I love the charm the little holes with chicken wire bring to this side of the coop. </div>
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Back inside the coop Brent cut a hole in the floor for the trap door. We purchased this door that you can set on a timer to open and close at certain times of the day. The door closes at 9:30pm when it gets dark and opens again at 7:00am. </div>
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Brent built a ladder that connects the chicken run to the chicken coop so the chickens can easily scurry up or down. </div>
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Brent also built a series of perches inside the coop for the chickens to sit on. They like to be up high, so he gave the several options to choose from. </div>
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While Brent constructed the coop, I worked on painting both the coop and the shed. We painted everything the color Kendall Charcoal by Benjamin Moore. I love the color. I'm not sure if it's appropriate to say a shed is chic, but........</div>
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She is pretty sharp, eh?</div>
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We got the majority of the coop built before we brought the chickens home, but it was a few weeks before we could let them live outside full time. A few weeks ago we showed the girls their new home and we feel like they were pretty impressed with their digs. More on the chickens soon, but for now, here's a shot of the girls headed home. </div>
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-9148747012293102952019-06-09T20:18:00.001-04:002019-06-10T09:34:59.462-04:00Shed Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Graciouuuuusss! I am SO behind on blogging. Life has been crazy and we have been chugging along on projects so it has been hard to find free time, but I have a lot to share, so let's jump right into it.<br />
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The Shed. </div>
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You know you are getting old when having a whole day or weekend (gasp!) to dedicate to shed building gets you excited, BUT, alas here we are. Between the weather and family activities, the shed kind of got put on the back-burner for a few weeks. Luckily we found ourselves with some good dedicated time to dig in so we did just that. Last we <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/03/the-shed.html">talked</a> the posts had been set in concrete and the floor joists had been installed. Next up, Brent laid a piece of plywood over the floor joists and ran his electrical up through the floor in two spots. We had coordinated to have power pulled to this location of the yard when we were <a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/11/pool-update-living-learning-confession.html">doing the pool</a>, so Brent pulled the electrical first at the back of the shed for outlets that would be installed on the back wall and then again at the front of the shed so a switch could be run to operate the lights on the front wall. Speaking of walls....those were next!<br />
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The first wall the guys tackled was the back wall. The plan was to build it, install the siding and get it painted before it was installed.<br />
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The shed is only about a foot from the fence, which is why this sequence of events was our best bet; if we had waited until it was installed it would have been really hard to paint as the ladder wouldn't fit behind the fence...<br />
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Once that wall was up, the side walls followed. The front wall was the trickiest because it had the door. Brent ended up constructing it in the garage and then some of our neighbors were super gracious and helped him carry it over to the shed. It was HEAVY and not something Croix and I felt we could be super helpful with :)<br />
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Once all the walls were up, it was time to install the siding on the rest of the shed.</div>
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Next, Brent trimmed everything out with 1x4's which really started to give it a more finished look.</div>
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For the roof we originally planned on installing shingles similar to those on our house, but somewhere a long the way I started thinking it would be cool if the roof was metal. Just something different for this structure since it wasn't actually attached to the house. On one of Brent's many trips to Home Depot he came across this corrugated plastic roofing material and brought home a piece for us to consider. It has the look of metal, but will hold up a lot better and won't be too loud when it rains (even though I think that's about the best sound in the world).<br />
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The cute factor went up about a million points with the addition of the roof. The scalloped edge detail hanging off the front is just so good looking and we were and are super happy with our choice here.<br />
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Last, we worked on the doors. Once the doors were cut, we played around with specifics on the ground before Brent got everything nailed into place.<br />
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The cross pieces had to be really considered here because those pieces would be what the hinges mounted on. After a lot of playing around with spacing, we got it all figured out and set the doors in place.<br />
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Now.....this would seem like the appropriate time to start painting, but it was about now that we decided to get chickens and add a coop to the side of the shed. Yep, you read that right, but you will have to wait until next week to see how that unfolded. For now, I will leave you with this shot of the finished shed, painted and all.<br />
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Paint color: <a href="https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/hc-166/kendall-charcoal?color=HC-166">Kendall Charcoal</a> by Benjamin Moore.<br />
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-53619260866841680902019-04-02T20:24:00.002-04:002019-04-02T21:40:14.154-04:00Laundry Room - DIY Countertops + Vintage Sink<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I'm back with more updates over on the laundry room front! Today is all about our vintage sink and DIY countertops.</div>
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<a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/03/laundry-room-remodel-diy-shelving-tile.html">Last we talked</a> I explained that Brent made a wood top and back splash/ledge to cover the dryer outlet + the access hole on the side of the washer/dryer cabinet. Well, we got the wood top secured into place and then set out to DIY ourselves some concrete countertops.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9Zxz91t2XjF73uGo25rVoQEIWJc20_bqY32nnUdRwTVhckA5VU2gyCYX8hF31g_qrxgrTK9f-pGv79ivjX1eGTLAOOSEIep-PCOfMQDpOA160bdwpZJPbJfHXbYZXj-tY20yCGPhbTpq/s1600/IMG_0680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN9Zxz91t2XjF73uGo25rVoQEIWJc20_bqY32nnUdRwTVhckA5VU2gyCYX8hF31g_qrxgrTK9f-pGv79ivjX1eGTLAOOSEIep-PCOfMQDpOA160bdwpZJPbJfHXbYZXj-tY20yCGPhbTpq/s640/IMG_0680.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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The plan was to use the Ardex Feather Finish to achieve the look. It's a pretty simple process, mix the powder with water, stir and then apply over top the wood tops. </div>
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The entire wood top + the back splash/ledge (separate piece) was covered with the Feather Finish and then left to dry.</div>
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As you can see the texture is kind of bumpy and rough, but once it was all dry the next step was to sand everything smooth.</div>
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With this product you can apply, sand and then apply again and sand to get your desired finish. Lucky for us, we were happy with the end results after only one coat and one sanding spree.<br />
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<span style="text-align: left;">We have DIY'ed ourselves some real concrete countertops with our outdoor kitchen (read all about that </span><a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2016/06/patio-project-part-3.html" style="text-align: left;">here</a><span style="text-align: left;">...Croix ate concrete at 6 months old... GASP!) and it was BRUTAL. This was way easier, cheaper and honestly, gives a much more finished look. </span></div>
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Let's bounce to the other side of the room. </div>
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The room originally came with a plastic utility sink. It was a good sink and we used the heck out of it, especially when washing out paint brushes. When we got the room cleared out for the tile demo we decided to remove the sink and start the process of looking for a replacement. We talked about several options, the two primary ideas being - making or having a cabinet made to hold an apron sink or purchasing a wall hung sink. We liked the idea of the added storage with the apron sink idea, but the all in cost once you purchase the sink and then either the materials to make the cabinet and or the cabinet itself just started feeling expensive. And the wall hung option was no different. Some of the wall hung sinks we looked at were over $1k which was NOT in the budget for a laundry sink. We kind of put the sink on the back-burner with bigger fish to fry when I remembered Scott's Antique had sinks. Old, dust/rust covered vintage sinks. Lucky for us Scott's was in town a few weekends ago so we loaded up our crew and headed down to see what we could find.<br />
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We found two whole rows of options in various sizes and condition and plumbing orientation.</div>
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While several of the options would of worked we really liked the 51" cast iron sink with side washboard. A classic. It was listed as $425 but Brent was able to get the guy down to $300. Way, way less than a brand new sink and this one was a true vintage piece with history and grit. It was perfect and we were so excited to get it!</div>
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Once home we started working on getting it all cleaned up. We started by simply wiping it down with soap and water. Then, we used CLR to remove all the rust. Once this step was done the plan was to get the sink mounted and then paint it with porcelain paint in place. </div>
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This sink is HEAVY so we really had to think through the best approach to secure it to the wall. Obviously attaching to the studs was the name of the game, but we didn't want the stud locations to dictate our placement, so Brent made a brace, spanning the entire length of the sink. It attached to 3 studs and the sink itself is able to lip right on to it for ease of moving. Well, I say ease. The sink is probably 100lb so it's not easy per-say, but you get what I'm saying...</div>
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In the photo below you can see the brace I'm referring to. The piece of wood underneath that was another issue we had to over come...</div>
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When a sink is planned to be wall mounted from the beginning all plumbing lines are installed in the wall. Because this sink was originally a standard sink, the plumbing lines came from underneath which didn't work with our faucet holes coming from the back of the sink. So, Brent had to create another wood piece to mount the plumbing supplies to. The sink was off and on the wall a few times during this whole thing. In order to get the exact location of the holes Brent laid underneath the sink and held up a piece of wood behind so I could mark the center of each hole. Then, he used that mark to mount the plumbing parts. After that, the sink had to come down so the new board could be mounted. Once the new board was in place we had to mount the sink again to make sure all was lining up...</div>
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... and thankfully it was! With all the rough-in plumbing in place it was time get the faucet hooked up. We found the perfect vintage-esque polished wall mount faucet <a href="https://www.wayfair.com/home-improvement/pdp/kingston-brass-adjustable-center-wall-mount-bridge-faucet-kbbb4778.html?refid=TEM_WF178328&mmid=2340438959&csnid=9E36F8AC-E044-42AF-B099-9F995AA42C4E&libra_c=&libra_d=&libra_g=&cltr=&experiencetype=2&selectedvertical=5">here</a>. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"> Not only does the sink give off a really cool retro vibe but it provides another counter space for me to stack folded clothes on AND it's the perfect location to sit my plants that need to drain when I water them once a week. </span></div>
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I mean gosh, does it get more charming? </div>
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-13763396786783055832019-03-24T21:10:00.000-04:002019-03-24T21:10:13.054-04:00The Shed<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The weather was great in Atlanta this weekend so we decided to get started on a project we have had planned for a long time - a shed! Brent has a lot of tools and we have long needed a solution for storing them. Since moving in 3 years ago the tools have been spread around - some in our crawl space, some in the laundry room and others in the hall closet. As we continue to conquer rooms inside the house, we find ourselves moving the tools from location to location to just get them out of the way. BUT we use them a lot so carting them all the way to the crawl space every time is just not realistic. When we began the process of planning our back-yard project last year we knew we wanted to find a way to incorporate a shed in the side yard to organize and store all of this equipment. Close enough to the house for easy access, and big enough to really organize everything so we aren't constantly re-buying things we already have, but can't find (plumbers tape, caulk, paint brushes, nails and these are just a few examples of things we have double purchased as of late - so annoying!)<br />
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As<a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/08/our-pool.html"> the pool </a>finished up late last year we really started talking about the exact location and specifics of the shed. We have a second driveway because our house currently sits on what used to be 2 lots. At the top of the second driveway we had a fence put in for safety reasons as it relates to the pool, but in doing so the perfect section of land was created behind the fence for the shed.<br />
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At first we had plans to purchase a shed, but in talking to neighbors and looking at the options, we realized building our own was going to be our best bet. Not only could we customize the specifics like size, layout and finishes but we could add special extras like a little greenhouse on the side for me (eek!) The initial plan was to build an 8 x 12 shed, but after we got a few of the holes dug we realized 8 feet deep was encroaching on the stone path a little too much so we shrunk it back to a 7 x 12 shed. With the exact dimensions of the shed determined we dug 4 holes...<br />
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... and put posts in each one. We filled the holes with concrete around the posts and then covered that with dirt. </div>
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We let the posts dry over night and the next day we got the frame around the posts put in. I made marks on the frame every 16" and then Brent and Croix cut the floor joists on the saw.<br />
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and then carried them over...</div>
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Once they were lined up on the marks I made we nailed them into place. </div>
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<i>(Please note Croix entertaining Lot over on the right side of this picture - haha)</i></div>
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We cut smaller pieces to install horizontal for added rigidity. </div>
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That's as far as we made it today, but not too bad for 1.5 days work with a "helpful" 3 year old and a baby brother who likes to eat every 3 hours or so :) In all seriousness this project is really going to be great from an organization standpoint and I think it might be kind of cute too - bonus! </div>
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-70193931282146727982019-03-11T20:29:00.000-04:002019-03-11T20:29:12.532-04:00Laundry Room Remodel - DIY Shelving + Tile<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We are rolling right along on our <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/02/laundry-room-remodel-intro.html">laundry room remodel</a>! Things started getting pretty a few weeks ago when the floor tile got installed!<br />
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Black and White Checked Flooring!!! I have long dreamed of a black and white checked floor. I just love the classic vibe. The tile came from <a href="https://www.tileshop.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiAwojkBRBbEiwAeRcJZINXuksqOPWovY4Z-t1dj3_Ynh_IP14FRsfhJLWAePCNKfUnX4jJWhoC704QAvD_BwE">The Tile Shop</a> and was $3.50 a piece (each tile is 12"x12"). I went back and forth on the grout color, but decided on black and I'm so glad I did. Not only does it just "go away" which is what I had hoped for, but the black grout will be SO much more forgiving as this room gets used.<br />
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Like the <a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/01/guest-bath-remodel-before.html">Guest Bath Remodel</a>, we decided to hire out the tile work for this space. This room will be a combination of hired out + DIY, but we have learned, for us hiring out the tile work is well worth the money. The guys got to our house around 10:00 a.m. and by 4:30 the existing tile was removed and the new tile was down AND grouted. The tile installer had to come back the next day to clean things up and re-install the shoe moulding, but 90% of the work was done in 6 1/2 hours. You just can't beat it!<br />
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Now, let's talk storage. A few weekends ago we DIY'ed ourselves some laundry room cabinets!</div>
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And by we, I of course mean, Croix and I helped, Lot supervised, but Brent was the man with the plan and all the skills (per usual ;)). I showed you all this sketch a few weeks ago....<br />
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And this is where we we ended up at the end of the first weekend!</div>
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We had a few issues to overcome to achieve our desired layout. First was the location of the dryer vent to the outside. We knew the base cabinet would need to be pulled forward to leave a void for the vent to run from the dryer to the outside of the house, but the location of the duct was an additional 6" off the back wall which caused depth issues for the base cabinet. You see, if we brought the base cabinets out to cover the vent, the base cabinets would be deeper than the washer and dryer cabinet surround. This wouldn't have been the end of the world, but it is always ideal for any cabinetry that will receive countertops to run into a cabinet or wall deeper than the countertop for a clean intersect. Luckily Brent was able to cut into the sheetrock and move the duct pipe back towards the wall a few inches allowing the base cabinet to be 24", pulled off the wall 7" to sit a few inches behind the washer and dryer surround. Brent also angled the corner of the base cabinet so as to allow the duct to connect easily. Brent cut a hole in the side of the tall cabinet to pull the duct through.<br />
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The other issue was the plug for the dryer. The outlet was located above the base cabinets, but we knew we could use the hole cut in the side of the washer and dryer surround to pull the cord through. We even found an extra long cord on-line to ensure it would reach. The problem was that the outlet was falling above the height of the countertop. At first we thought about just boxing in around the outlet and creating a shelf, but then we realized we needed to be able to access the outlet so if we ever need to unplug the dryer or if we ever decided to replace it, we could get to it easily. We pondered on a solution for awhile, when Brent came up with the idea to box around the outlet with a shelf/ledge, but a shelf/ledge on a hinge that could flip down for access. It's genius! He got it all constructed, but I don't have a picture yet. We are working on the countertop material for the counter + this shelf/ledge area now, so I will show you more soon!<br />
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As for the color, Brent and I both liked the idea of green cabinetry against the black and white flooring. To figure out the exact shade of green we bought 3 different options - <a href="https://www.behr.com/consumer/ColorDetailView/N420-5">Boreal</a>, <a href="https://www.behr.com/consumer/ColorDetailView/N420-7">Alpine Trail</a> and <a href="https://www.behr.com/consumer/ColorDetailView/N420-6">Pine Mountain</a> all by Behr and then tested them out on this new-to-me product - <a href="https://www.homedepot.com/p/SureSwatch-9-in-x-12-in-Paintable-Clear-Film-3-Pack-10002/204957579">SureSwatch</a>. Each packet comes with 3 sheets and you paint your color right on the film. Once dry you peel it off and stick it right on the wall.<br />
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This was super helpful in narrowing down the right choice. Right off the bat Alpine Trail was too dark. We went back and forth between the other 2 for a few days, watching how the colors looked at different times of day as the natural light changed. We really wanted the color to read as green, not a gray that had green undertones or a green that was so dark it could be black, and Boreal seemed to fit the bill best. So, we got the cabinets all primed and painted, working on the painting off and on all week after work last week.<br />
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We are VERY happy with the color. It's the perfect shade of green, happy and bright whilst still adding some drama against the black and white floor. We love it!<br />
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Once all the paint was dry it was time to get the washer and dryer all hooked up and in place. In order to stack the appliances we purchased a "stacking kit" on-line. It was really easy to install and we had the washer and dryer stacked, hooked up and slid into their new home in less than 20 minutes.<br />
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This new set up makes the room feel SO much bigger! We still have a ways to go but I'm so happy to have the washer and dryer up and running. I never thought I would be so thankful to be able to do laundry - ha!<br />
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-50608737881456747322019-02-26T20:41:00.000-05:002019-02-26T21:00:34.500-05:00Laundry Room Remodel - Intro<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I'm here today to introduce you to our first project of 2019 - THE LAUNDRY ROOM!!!</div>
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This is the first of two projects we have in the works over here on the home front and I'm SO EXCITED!!! If you remember, this laundry room was one of the rooms I was the most jazzed about when <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2015/11/meet-our-new-house.html">we moved in to this house</a>. Our <a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2012/12/we-got-house-we-got-house.html">last house </a>didn't have a real laundry room. Just a little pad in the basement for the washer and dryer. It was dark, damp, scary - not a happy place to spend a lot of time. But the laundry room in this house is conveniently located on the first floor, HAS A WINDOW, a laundry shoot and is a decent size, so I have been thankful for it everyday, despite it's blah appearance.<br />
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This room had a lot of potential but it also had some flaws from a layout perspective. There were 4 doors in this laundry room, 3 of which swung in at each other when opened. </div>
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We removed the entry door and replaced it with an <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2017/10/new-laundry-door.html">antique barn door we refurbished</a> last year during our <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2017/11/our-mudroom-reveal.html">mudroom project</a>. This definitely helped the situation, but the two doors covering the linen closet still made the space awkward. On top of the doors, this room (like the future home office space) had become a catchall.<br />
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In addition to the obvious, washer, dryer, hampers and sink this room housed a freezer a table saw, table saw stand, two vacuums, boxes of office supplies/documents that were never unpacked from our move (3 years ago...gasp!), cleaning supplies, beer making jars and buckets and other random odds and ends that I would just shove in there to get them out of my way in our main living area. It was a hot mess. Earlier this year we started talking through how and where to organize all of this stuff and decided everything currently in the laundry room would either be going to the linen towers in the <a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/01/guest-bath-remodel-before.html">guest bath</a> (towels and sheets) a shed that we plan to build in the backyard (table saw, misc. tools, paint gun, etc.), the home office (giant box of files, paper and office supplies) or would be staying in the laundry room. Even with a lot of the items getting moved out of this space we still had a good deal we needed to store, so we decided the best plan of attack was to remove the french doors covering the linen closet and then build out the shelving inside. The closet came with two wire shelves, leaving a ton of wasted space.<br />
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Up until this point I had always housed my rolling laundry hamper in this closet, but in order to really optimize the storage this thing needed to go. That's when we decided we would stack our washer and dryer and then build out some shelving to the right of that to house laundry baskets. There will be a countertop on top of the shelving for me to use as a folding area and a hanging rod overhead attaching from the side of the washer and dryer surround and the wall.<br />
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The linen closet will get built-out with nothing but shelves all the way up. SO MUCH STORAGE!!! </div>
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A few weeks ago the freezer died (with stuff inside - UGH!!) so he is gone now too. This side of the room is still somewhat of a question mark as we decide what type of sink to get and if we will go back in with another freezer, a second refrigerator or maybe nothing? Still some details to figure out, but TILE STARTED TODAY so we are rolling full steam ahead! Don't forget to follow along on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_courtneyshearer/?hl=en">instagram</a> for all of the behind the scenes happenings between now and the next post!</div>
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<i>All photos are my own.</i> </div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-54456706418134628252019-02-18T20:09:00.001-05:002019-02-18T20:09:16.062-05:00Croix's Room - Curtains & Light Fixture<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Jumping upstairs to <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/11/slide-final-selections-croixs-big-boy.html">Croix's room</a> to show off his new curtains and light fixture!!</div>
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Let's start with the curtains...I swear curtains make a room come to life. This space has been getting happier with every added element, but the curtains really made it start to feel cozy and inviting. As for the selection of said curtains, I'm happy to report they were super inexpensive! Of course, I can't help but dig deep into the options, so I visited several fabric stores and got a ton of samples to consider.</div>
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As nice as a lot of them were none of these options felt right. I loved the bright colors and happy prints of some of them, but I didn't want to make the room too baby-ish or even kid-ish. Obviously it is a kids room and I want it to be happy but I don't 'want the boys to come to me when their 8 asking for something more mature. On the other hand some of the dark grays or even the plaids just felt a little too formal. That's when I decided a solid curtain in a fun color was a better direction. Of course this took me down another rabbit hole of options, so I was very excited when we happened upon <a href="https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70418900/#/70418900">yellow, velvet curtains</a> at Ikea for a steal. We picked up a metal rod on the same day and by the end of the weekend the curtains were up. </div>
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Next up was a new light fixture. Like every bedroom in our house this one had a ceiling fan. Functional, yes - pretty, not so much. </div>
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The room needed to be anchored by something more fun, but it took me awhile to find the right thing. I wanted something oversized and cool but at a price point that wouldn't break the bank. I found the <a href="https://www.wayfair.com/lighting/pdp/wrought-studio-ceballos-droplet-3-light-sputnik-chandelier-hcdu1408.html?&experiencetype=2&selectedvertical=5">perfect light</a> but the lead time was 8-12 weeks, ugh. So I continued the search to no avail. We finally decided to just pull the trigger and guess what...the light came in way earlier than expected. I slapped the ceiling fan on Craigslist and Brent went to work installing the new light.</div>
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Once up we were in love. </div>
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It's the perfect scale, color and vibe and adds a splash of modern flair to the room. With these additions the whole space really feels equal parts cool and kid and I'm so excited with the way the whole thing is coming together. </div>
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
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Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-14746438016985199302019-02-07T07:01:00.000-05:002019-02-07T07:01:24.051-05:005 Tips for Growing Your Fiddle Leaf Fig + a GIVEAWAY!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Back in January I posted a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BsbV7L8lv8R/">photo</a> of my living room over on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_courtneyshearer/?hl=en">Instagram </a>and got a lot of questions about my fiddle leaf fig tree, so I did a few Instastories talking about the steps I take for caring for and growing my trees.<br />
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I thought I'd list them on here too for anyone who missed the instastories and is interested. Now, let me give a little disclaimer here. My thumb has definitely gotten greener over the years but I blame that on dumb luck, some good advice and a house with really good natural light. I'm no expert, this is just what has worked for me!<br />
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<b>1. Place your fiddle leaf fig near a window that gets good sun.</b></div>
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This is #1 for a reason because your little tree won't live to appreciate the rest of these tips if you don't find the perfect sunny spot for them to sit. If I ever see a green fiddle feaf sitting in a corner, I know it's fake because these plants will quickly start to die if they don't feel the sun on their leaves.<br />
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<b>2. Water the plant once a week on the same day.</b></div>
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I really believe plants are like people in that they like routine and consistency. Overwatering a fiddle leaf fig can be as devastating, if not more so than under watering. A few years ago I picked Sunday as my watering day and try to water all of my plants on this day. This keeps me from second guessing and keeps the plants fed, but not drowned. </div>
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<b>3. Don't move the plant.</b></div>
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These plants are true divas and do not like to be moved. Once you find a spot for yours to sit where it thrives and seems happy, don't move it. </div>
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<b>4. But do Twirl the plant.</b></div>
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Like all plants the fiddle leaf fig tends to lean towards the sun, so every few months I twirl my tree so each side gets an equal amount of exposure. This keeps the tree from getting misshapen or leaning too far to one side. </div>
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<b>5. If your plant does get a brown spot or you inherit one that already has brown spots, cut them off. </b></div>
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I adopted three fiddle leaf figs last year. One sits at my house and two sit at the Bell Cabinetry & Design Showroom. When I got them, they were in bad shape and their leaves were riddled with brown spots. I ended up cutting off the brown areas, not the whole leaves, just the brown spots and while the leaves did look a little weird, the trees started getting healthier!<br />
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Now for the fun part - I want to give one of YOU a fiddle leaf fig tree for your house! That's right...I'm giving away a baby....</div>
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A baby fiddle leaf fig tree that is! Plants make me so happy and I love having them scattered around my house, so whether you have a home filled with plants or this would be your first, I'm excited to be giving away one of these green pretties today!<br />
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To enter to win follow these steps:</div>
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<li style="text-align: left;">Follow me on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_courtneyshearer/">Instagram</a>: _courtneyshearer</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">Leave me a comment letting me know where you would put a fiddle leaf fig tree in your house.</li>
<li style="text-align: left;">If you tag a friend it's a bonus entry. </li>
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I will pick a winner Sunday night!<br />
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I plan to purchase the tree online <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Costa-Farms-Lyrata-Fiddle-Leaf-Excellent/dp/B00NYNTRPO/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1549510007&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=costa+farms+fiddle+leaf+fig&psc=1">here</a>, so if you don't win - just know these trees don't have to be super expensive. You can Amazon Prime one to your doorstep or pick up one of the small ones from Home Depot (I got all of mine from there!), I saw them the other day for $19.99. Next, use the tips above to grow your little fig into a tree taller than you! Good Luck!</div>
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-63326398347821996812019-01-28T20:07:00.001-05:002019-01-28T20:07:55.457-05:00The Story of Lot - Intro<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Well, we have some big news to share over here on the homefront, in the blink of an eye, 13 days early our January Baby decided to make HIS grand entrance on December 26th at 5:01 PM.<br />
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Meet Lot Thomas Shearer</div>
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For the second time I had a due date that was uncomfortably close to Christmas. If you know me, you know I'm kind of a date freak. Like, I have absolute feelings about certain numbers and birthdays and always swore my kids would have pretty dates. With my first pregnancy I was due on December 22nd and Croix arrived 5 days late on December 27th. This time, my due date was January 7th, a full 2 weeks after Christmas so all I wanted was #1 for the baby not to be born on Christmas, #2 for the baby not to be born on Croix's Birthday and #3 for the baby to be born in January so he/she could have their own birthday month. Well, 2 out of 3 wishes isn't bad, right? I swear, I plan and God laughs.<br />
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Just like I did with <a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-story-of-croix-intro.html">Croix's birth</a> I want to recount the day, because I love reading other peoples birth stories and I like the idea of documenting all the details while they are fresh in my mind so I can look back on them one day. No blood and guts, promise, just big picture details..<br />
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This pregnancy was very much like my first, I was nauseous (when I didn't eat) for the first 12 weeks and then felt it was pretty easy, and other than getting bigger and bigger I chugged along like normal. I will say I was more sore this time around. Like my body actually ached, my hips, my feet, I basically felt like a 100 year old at the end. One stroll around Target would have me dead on my feet for the rest of the day. My doctor said it was typical to feel more aches and pains with the second baby but that the labor/delivery would be faster and easier so I held on to that little fun fact.<br />
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Fast forward to the last month of pregnancy. I was busy. We had several projects going on at home (<a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/11/pool-update-living-learning-confession.html">Pool</a>...<a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/11/slide-final-selections-croixs-big-boy.html">Croix's Big Boy Room</a>/<a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/11/croixs-custom-closet.html">Closet</a>...<a href="http://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2019/01/guest-bath-remodel-before.html">Guest Bath Remodel</a>) + work was crazy busy with tons of projects to button up and a photo shoot to knock out before the baby came. All of that on top of an always busy December with tons of gatherings, Christmas decorating, gift buying, etc. At the end of every day I was beat and I had this weird feeling early on in the month that if I didn't start trying to slow down the baby would come early. But then I was like, nah - I (like baby Courtney) + my sister was 2 weeks late and Croix was 5 days late, so fear not, I would not be early, nay it would likely be in the double digits of January before he/she graced us with their presence. I worked all the way up to December 21st, the Friday before Christmas. It was a slow day at the office as a lot of people had already taken off and my CAD Designer - Wanda and I worked ALL DAY. We sent out so many drawings and quotes, we didn't even eat lunch, we just powered through and I'm so glad we did because this would be my last day of work....until late February.<br />
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The days leading up to Christmas were busy, but fun. My parents came into town on December 22nd and we did some shopping, some food prep, went to church, watched Christmas movies and just got all ready for the big day. For the third year in a row we hosted Christmas dinner at our house. We extended our dining room table to hold 21 of us and it was so fun.<br />
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We ate tons of food, played a game, opened presents...it was a great day, but an exhausting one. By 9 o'clock Brent and I were both beat. We actually excused ourselves, leaving guests in the den and food still out on the counters/tables to go to bed. I put Croix to bed and when I got back to our master bedroom, Brent's only comment to me was "you better not go into labor tonight or I will be of no use to you."Ha! Well, my body listened because I did not go into labor that night. Nope, I waited until the next morning...<br />
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I woke up feeling somewhat rested but a little off. Brent was having issues with his sinuses so I decided to head out to Publix to grab some medicine and a coffee for me and my Mom. When I got to the Publix parking lot I felt kind of crampy and actually waited in the car for a few minutes, hoping for it to go away. Well, it did and that's when it occurred to me... wait a minute...was that a contraction?! NO! It couldn't be....I got the medicine and the coffee and the cramps/contractions continued, but I was NOT HAVING IT. No this was not happening. I got home and realized it was garbage pick up day so I rolled the cans to the street, pausing to let another contraction pass and then headed inside. I think I honestly felt like if I just pretended like it wasn't happening, my body would get it's life together and stop this craziness. Nope....as soon as I filled Brent in on what was going on, he lept into action mode. Go take a shower, let's pack a bag, I'm going to go tell your parents. WHOA WHOA WHOA, what part of this isn't happening today was he not getting? Ha - I feel like I was the same kind of obstinate last time around. But it grew increasingly obvious that it was in fact happening so I slowly started getting my stuff together.<br />
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We left for the hospital around 9:30am and by 10:52 am I was in a room and the nurse confirmed I was in labor and already 4cm. Around noon I got my epidural (hallelujah), around 2pm I was 7cm so the doctor broke my water and at 5:01 Lot was born.<br />
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He weighed 8lb 0oz and was 20" long. </div>
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Labor and delivery is no joyride but I felt a lot calmer this time around and the whole thing seemed to go faster and more seamlessly. For the first hour it was just me, Brent and Lot in what they call the Golden Hour. After that family was able to come in and meet our newest addition and while everyone was happy to meet Lot, Croix's reaction and genuine excitement took the cake.<br />
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He was and still is SO excited to have a baby brother. </div>
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Croix turned 3 the day after Lot was born and could not of been more excited to come to the hospital and just hang out. We are pretty sure he thinks the baby is his ultimate birthday present :)<br />
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Thanks to a pretty straightforward delivery my physical recovery has been a lot easier this time. My mental state has also been a lot better. I had struggled with some postpartum depression after Croix, but luckily there has been none of that this time around. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I had done this whole thing before and knew what to expect. I knew/know that while there may be moments of frustration, discomfort, exhaustion, etc...it's all very short-lived and will be over in the blink of an eye. It's probably my personality, but the knowing has made such a big difference and I'm so thankful for that.<br />
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We spent two nights in the hospital and then got to go home where we have been settling into our "new normal." The good news is we are now 1 month in and Croix is still just as excited to see Lot as he was the day he met him. Like open mouth kisses excited. We have to watch him like a hawk so he doesn't love on baby Lot too hard, but it really is so sweet to see. Life is good and once Lot decides to start sleeping through the night all will be right in the world again. :)<br />
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<i>All photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-80931213872553125022019-01-16T20:02:00.001-05:002019-01-16T20:02:29.337-05:00Guest Bath Remodel - THE BEFORE<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Late last year, amidst being 100 months <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/07/and-then-there-were-four.html">pregnant</a>, the holidays, Croix's Birthday, wrapping up projects before maternity leave, our <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/11/pool-update-living-learning-confession.html">Patio Project</a> and <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/11/slide-final-selections-croixs-big-boy.html">Croix's big boy room</a> + <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/11/croixs-custom-closet.html">Custom Closet</a> projects we decided it would be a good idea to add one more tiny little thing to our plate - the remodel of our downstairs guest bath.<br />
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Just writing that I realize how insane that makes us sound, and to be honest I think we did stretch ourselves a bit too far, I mean we literally set our Christmas Dinner table (for 20+ plus guests) on CHRISTMAS DAY! Nothing like the last minute...OY! But there was a method to the madness, so let me explain...In 2017 I designed the <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2017/05/luxury-living-show-2017.html">bath display</a> for the Luxury Living Show at Phipps Plaza. You all may remember me mentioning it...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_OjfnG-hsfEuOcpR9h0a2a1nKI3v2rm19o3QStoUWy6F-2E2S2ppYIb6SFxj8y6I-bqAnbrjjqKV_VFLGia-z3Qo0o9KY0ZzY6dG2luOLWHQ63FLYDOoTUljgCeImyB-r8T5DKyGNdA8F/s1600/AHL_Phipps39270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="537" data-original-width="947" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_OjfnG-hsfEuOcpR9h0a2a1nKI3v2rm19o3QStoUWy6F-2E2S2ppYIb6SFxj8y6I-bqAnbrjjqKV_VFLGia-z3Qo0o9KY0ZzY6dG2luOLWHQ63FLYDOoTUljgCeImyB-r8T5DKyGNdA8F/s640/AHL_Phipps39270.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo via <a href="https://atlantahomesmag.com/">AH&L Magazine</a>.</td></tr>
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After the show the displays were disassembled and all cabinets came back to <a href="http://www.bellcabinetry.com/">Bell Cabinetry & Design</a> (company I work for). For months the cabinets sat in the warehouse until it occurred to me that I could use them. We have 4.5 bathrooms in our house and I knew <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/07/cabinetry-trim-croixs-bath-part-4.html">Croix's Bath Remodel</a> was on the horizon and who couldn't use another vanity + giant pink towers? So, Brent and I went and picked them up. Once we got them home we stored them in the space between our kitchen and dining room - the space we had dubbed our future home office. As we have worked to re-do and organize various spaces in our house, this area, the "future home office" area, has become the dumping ground for all the things. Every home has a space like this, problem was, this space is wide open to the rest of the house. There are no doors to block or hide what we have going on in here and worst of all, if you should come visit and enter through the front door, you have to walk past this monstrosity to get to the other areas of our home. <br />
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Exhibit A:</div>
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If you've been following along you know we re-did <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/03/croixs-new-bathroom-part-1.html">Croix's Bath </a>earlier in the year so that got one of the 61" vanities out of the space, but we still had a lot of other items in here including another vanity + giant pink doors and shelves (the actual towers were still back at Bell). It was driving me nuts and knowing that we would have people around for the holidays + the fact that I would be at home for maternity leave first of the year I really wanted to get this space cleaned up and cleaned out which meant re-doing Guest Bath. Let me introduce you to this space...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0vcWlY-HCcPMUCg3H1JyE-YIrpWBfMM-ixyXFI6ptJMq86a-96Un-MdY2Jgm7mNw813M5wYKPA1PmUldmAS6qagI-L2pGLSAwaHjKLLk1EluPXhlSD5cRQboyFl4CF6dAweHqxvnmY3x/s1600/Guest+Bath+Before+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1171" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN0vcWlY-HCcPMUCg3H1JyE-YIrpWBfMM-ixyXFI6ptJMq86a-96Un-MdY2Jgm7mNw813M5wYKPA1PmUldmAS6qagI-L2pGLSAwaHjKLLk1EluPXhlSD5cRQboyFl4CF6dAweHqxvnmY3x/s640/Guest+Bath+Before+1.jpg" width="468" /></a></div>
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Much like Croix's bath upstairs, there was nothing wrong with this bathroom. Everything worked properly, but there were two points I hoped to correct by re-doing the space. 1. I wanted to make the bathroom more efficient. Our home was built in the 1920's and before the big addition that was done in 2007 (before we owned the house) this bathroom was the master. So, it came with two vanities.<br />
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Two vanities is a plus in a master or a shared bath, but for a Guest Bath it was unnecessary and when you have two 8 foot towers that could take up that space and provide a TON of storage it just made sense to shake things up. And 2....I just wanted to make the space more "us"...you know, freshen it up a bit visually. There was way too much brown going on in here...</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">So, the plan was to remove both vanity cabinets/countertops/fixtures, the floor tile and the shower tile. A vanity would go back in front of the tub/shower but the vanity beside the toilet would go away forever. The plumbing would be capped and this would be the future location of the linen towers. The tub and toilet would stay, but all other elements would be removed.</span></div>
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The only way we could swing this was to hire out the labor this time around. At this point in my pregnancy and in our lives we couldn't tackle this DIY style. A project that would take us months to finish up could be completed by a professional in a weeks time, so we decided to give the whole hire a professional thing a whirl for this project. Obviously this is a more expensive route than DIY'ing the project so the name of the game was to keep costs to a minimum with the material selections to balance things out. I also had to make decisions quickly which doesn't come naturally for me in my own home for some annoying reason, but I did it and we are very happy with the end results both visually and monetarily. Here is a shot of our living mood board for the space:<br />
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The project wrapped in about a weeks time and while I'm currently nailing down some final details with art, etc...the bathroom is totally usable (already been used by several guests!) and the linen towers are full stocked and organized. It's a happy space and I'm excited to show you the AFTER soon.<br />
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<b>PS - If you follow me on Instagram you've seen some of the after shots of this space in my stories and on my feed, follow along for the inside scoop on some of these projects before they hit the blog... <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_courtneyshearer/">_CourtneyShearer</a></b><br />
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<i>Unless otherwise noted, all photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-91180163744073667002018-12-28T19:41:00.000-05:002018-12-28T20:01:53.417-05:00How Paperless Post & I Became Fast Friends This Holiday Season<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This time of year I lick more envelopes and address more cards than any other time of year. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0d8TQ4Meyu7RL7Fcqjh3W29akRECVVYVm0XpeBIzS-u78Ed1c2b91f3-_Mwm-HR42CE_cmYSpOaZKqc9A-CPXodGBWksRPgem7AhZ8VUwEWN_RMs5HF9npbKZhUepvW73Q6rjO7Wg-5j/s1600/IMG_8849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW0d8TQ4Meyu7RL7Fcqjh3W29akRECVVYVm0XpeBIzS-u78Ed1c2b91f3-_Mwm-HR42CE_cmYSpOaZKqc9A-CPXodGBWksRPgem7AhZ8VUwEWN_RMs5HF9npbKZhUepvW73Q6rjO7Wg-5j/s640/IMG_8849.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
For the last 3 years, Christmas + Croix's Birthday (December 27th) has given me a workout all on it's own, but this year the correspondence game was inflated even more because we hosted a Christmas Dinner. As much as I love good ol' fashion snail mail I just didn't have it in me to order, address and send out one more clump of invites so I was THRILLED when <a href="https://www.paperlesspost.com/">Paperless Post</a> approached me about trying out their site.<br />
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For those of you unfamiliar <a href="https://www.paperlesspost.com/">Paperless Post </a>is an online card company where every invitation, greeting card, holiday card, etc. is sent online via email. I'm sure most of us have received an "evite" of some kind before but <a href="https://www.paperlesspost.com/">Paperless Post</a> definitely takes it up a notch. There are several things I really liked about my experience...<br />
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Let's start with the pretty factor, which was a really big factor for me. Again, I really like cards and correspondence so I was NOT all about some corny email invitation, I wanted something pretty and elegant that I would choose if I was ordering, stuffing and hand addressing. Luckily the selection of cards is great - so many options, most of which can be customized with fonts, colors, etc. I had fun not only picking out the card but playing around with the wording to make it exactly what I had in mind. </div>
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<span style="color: red; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8abim1jEnZc_Yrr5dqG1bP8MoS7BzLBorPNznWYxODkKAHko1q5TwMAawG7XhHA39ZYA0uUyJHHVu7hB-GSUCc-qHNuV_btD5FZ9LE0TpZl_USxbzlwCsuCXbDVoPtjWtEGN9dFoCp-in/s1600/My+Drawing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8abim1jEnZc_Yrr5dqG1bP8MoS7BzLBorPNznWYxODkKAHko1q5TwMAawG7XhHA39ZYA0uUyJHHVu7hB-GSUCc-qHNuV_btD5FZ9LE0TpZl_USxbzlwCsuCXbDVoPtjWtEGN9dFoCp-in/s640/My+Drawing.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Another feature I really liked was the tracking feature. Once you have selected and customized your card you enter the individual email addresses for each person or family and the number of individuals invited. Once the cards are sent out you can see not only who has RSVP'ed yes or no, but you can see who has opened the invite. It tracks total numbers in this area as well so you can keep a running tab of your head count as your event nears. </span></span></div>
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I'm so glad I had such a good first experience with Paperless Post because I ended up needing a quick invite. I had originally had these adorable 3rd birthday invitations made on <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/jjelliot">Etsy</a>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv_Akknt_6YT9BW0m0OcPtg0I7ehSnIdpD6yjtzhOhQTxYX-07nalf3Ov0KZXE28cfP3-hEUum_qNhzWn2IZyokdA4NjocWtQ3XcIWJCcRQ8KeG2BLq2hLFlU5HjNDVZulseG3LENCju4S/s1600/My+Drawing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv_Akknt_6YT9BW0m0OcPtg0I7ehSnIdpD6yjtzhOhQTxYX-07nalf3Ov0KZXE28cfP3-hEUum_qNhzWn2IZyokdA4NjocWtQ3XcIWJCcRQ8KeG2BLq2hLFlU5HjNDVZulseG3LENCju4S/s640/My+Drawing.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We mailed them out and all was set for a big jump jump party on the 29th until.......<a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/07/and-then-there-were-four.html">baby BROTHER </a>decided to join the world a week and a half early. I'll have more on that soon - but needless to say Croix's birthday party needed to be postponed so I quickly created a new invite using Paperless Post, letting everyone know the party would be rescheduled for January 5th. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSbjJTfMJwgufu-3sOSRjbs8HaUJa-0vPeweOWjcM184iBrONxsAsfciMjYJJRUtHA2UTotvK8-wqsiD9akf3UcWcvVD2CiKTXJTJasQCVj-kMg-Sl_qnzXK0ucc1sVDFJxgzu7VFg4Vy/s1600/Blurred+Out+Croix+Reschedule.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwSbjJTfMJwgufu-3sOSRjbs8HaUJa-0vPeweOWjcM184iBrONxsAsfciMjYJJRUtHA2UTotvK8-wqsiD9akf3UcWcvVD2CiKTXJTJasQCVj-kMg-Sl_qnzXK0ucc1sVDFJxgzu7VFg4Vy/s640/Blurred+Out+Croix+Reschedule.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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All of my email addresses were already saved and now, 24 hours after sending I have a good idea of the final headcount because most of us are more likely to RSVP with the click of a button vs. emailing or texting the host to let them know. I mean...am I right or am I right? </div>
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Needless to say I've given Paperless Post a good workout over the last few weeks and I'm happy to say it's a site I plan to use again and again. If you have any events or notes to send out in the new year you should definitely give them a try - highly recommend!</div>
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Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-84595068549841267222018-12-23T20:01:00.000-05:002018-12-23T20:01:32.630-05:00Merry Christmas, xoxo - The Shearers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Happy Christmas Eve's Eve's Eve! This has truly been one of the most magical Christmas seasons I can remember and it all got kicked off in mid-November with a visit to Santa. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIOUu94MO9FraHiAyzFnwWbdSOZh4wjUEuw_eAQM3Y4-B0jROCPrV_7Oke2TLRShFyjYSwL5VcMF2rOHeSynylfP-fZdMkKMW1cOZOTdd4BV6jWQ6nOL2kNQCCBfyzs1CAV33SsxBRXuAH/s1600/Shearer-Santa2018-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIOUu94MO9FraHiAyzFnwWbdSOZh4wjUEuw_eAQM3Y4-B0jROCPrV_7Oke2TLRShFyjYSwL5VcMF2rOHeSynylfP-fZdMkKMW1cOZOTdd4BV6jWQ6nOL2kNQCCBfyzs1CAV33SsxBRXuAH/s640/Shearer-Santa2018-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Croix was not a fan of Santa last year, but this year, he was all about it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-sAczJh81vHgTu6wxjB-fzfen1hxcBqjWSIrpZKp0ZjJqXj27cY7_wZh2pT0E8P7FIAGgTmQ-rOAnj_1LginIaihlyZUW8M50z6BYeQof8DulSIyiiiW7VDbf3ao6B-jBPZv1f6YI8p4/s1600/Shearer-Santa2018-9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip-sAczJh81vHgTu6wxjB-fzfen1hxcBqjWSIrpZKp0ZjJqXj27cY7_wZh2pT0E8P7FIAGgTmQ-rOAnj_1LginIaihlyZUW8M50z6BYeQof8DulSIyiiiW7VDbf3ao6B-jBPZv1f6YI8p4/s640/Shearer-Santa2018-9.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">We booked our session with <a href="https://www.saradharper.com/">Sara D. Harper Photography</a> and could not be happier with the photos. A festive atmosphere while we waited (hot cocoa, treats, holiday music), a pretty backdrop, a beautiful/authentic Santa and the best part.....natural light. Haha - just kidding, the best part was of course the happiest, most curious and slightly timid Croix Boy, who as you can see really hammed it up with good ol' Saint Nick. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFL-5yzW5sz1zqd-xokppAuVXZDq_RWgar8i9X1Hm0FT2CUTOlBnr7W9DizHX0Zb4jGHx6MZ3Y-t8USfHbDBp521zdWRik8Qz9xNrreoRtoUYLuQDjBl_Z2JmileDpy2WyTUjvjbpFTkgR/s1600/Shearer-Santa2018-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFL-5yzW5sz1zqd-xokppAuVXZDq_RWgar8i9X1Hm0FT2CUTOlBnr7W9DizHX0Zb4jGHx6MZ3Y-t8USfHbDBp521zdWRik8Qz9xNrreoRtoUYLuQDjBl_Z2JmileDpy2WyTUjvjbpFTkgR/s640/Shearer-Santa2018-10.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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It was hard to narrow down just one photo for our Christmas card, </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn76uUuX4ln-QjutYqcZmdEcN7DYbLlnjU-Xy6YqsDRL1hEPbmdFu889YV-wEx_rkMi_fYwvJ3g2Yel1e4C-XIMiJMTNh4PyUiomS46ZLQ7TFk6WnRFUbfpLfiSjMpkgmyYdYHo9T3zer4/s1600/Shearer-Santa2018-19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn76uUuX4ln-QjutYqcZmdEcN7DYbLlnjU-Xy6YqsDRL1hEPbmdFu889YV-wEx_rkMi_fYwvJ3g2Yel1e4C-XIMiJMTNh4PyUiomS46ZLQ7TFk6WnRFUbfpLfiSjMpkgmyYdYHo9T3zer4/s640/Shearer-Santa2018-19.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Family has already started to trickle into town, the house is all decorated, cooking has started and our shopping/wrapping are all done. Can't wait to take the next few days to soak it all in and remember the reason for the season with so many of the people we love. </div>
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From our family to yours......Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Friends!!</div>
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Xoxo, The Shearers</div>
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All photos are<a href="https://www.saradharper.com/"> Sara D. Harper Photography.</a> </div>
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Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-19063850562827346262018-12-14T19:43:00.000-05:002018-12-14T19:43:41.323-05:00All I Want for Christmas is... a New Toothbrush<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
A few weeks ago <a href="https://www.smilebrilliant.com/">Smile Brilliant</a> sent me an electric toothbrush to try out and boy did it come at a good time. You see, I've used an electric toothbrush for awhile now, but about a year ago I left the stick at a hotel on one of my travels. I had big plans to purchase a new one, but those things are pricey, so much to Brent's dismay he and I shared a stick, not the toothbrush head, I'm not a total savage, but the stick. I was forever "in trouble" for not putting the stick back on Brent's side after using it, griping at him when he took the stick with him on his travels, leaving me to brush my teeth by holding the tiny head....it wasn't pretty. Sharing is caring, but apparently that does NOT apply to toothbrush sticks.<br />
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So, as you can imagine when Smile Brilliant reached out, both Brent and I were all about me trying out this electric toothbrush!</div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">The toothbrush is a the </span><a href="https://www.smilebrilliant.com/product/electric-toothbrush" style="text-align: left;">cariPRO Electric Toothbrush</a><span style="text-align: left;"> and the game plan was for me to try it out for 2 weeks and then report back on my thoughts. As soon as it came in the mail I got her all charged up and I've been using it twice a day, every day since.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from Smile Brilliant Website.</td></tr>
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As a person that has used an electric toothbrush before I was interested to see how this one could possibly be "special enough" to dedicate a whole blog post to; I mean how different can a toothbrush be? Well, I'm happy to report this one has quite a few praises I'm happy to sing.<br />
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First up....the <b style="text-decoration: underline;">brush modes</b>...<span style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;"> </span>all 5 of them! </div>
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Each and every time you brush your teeth you can choose between the following modes:<br />
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<li>Massage</li>
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It's cool because the modes are designed to function for 2 minutes around the 4 sections of your mouth (top left, top right, bottom, left and bottom right). After 30 seconds the brush vibrates letting you know to move it to a different section of the mouth. In general the main pro to using an electric toothbrush as opposed to a standard one is the fact that you are less likely to wear down your enamel by brushing too hard, but this tooth brush takes it to the next level by ensuring all of your teeth get equal attention. This is definitely not a feature any other electric toothbrush I've ever used has had and truly do find myself utilizing the various settings, especially the "Clean" and "Whiten".<br />
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The <b><u>Battery Life</u></b> is another feature I've been really impressed with. There is nothing I hate more than phone/computer updates, empty gas tanks or dead batteries, I mean who has time for any of that!? Well, this toothbrush is different, it's very low maintenance and holds it's charge for so long! According to the manual, once charged for a full 24 hours, the toothbrush stays charged for 30 pre-timed brush cycles!! Per the instructions I let my toothbrush live on it's stand when not in use, so I've never run into wanting to use it but not being able to because it's dead. For someone who craves efficiency, this is HUGE to me. </div>
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The <u><b>price</b></u> is another pro for this product. If you've ever shopped electric toothbrushes you know they can be quite the investment. Not only are the toothbrush systems themselves expensive but the <a href="https://www.smilebrilliant.com/product/toothbrush-heads">toothbrush heads</a> can be pricey as well. Well, this toothbrush is different, for all that it offers in terms of features it is extremely affordable as are the accessories that come with it. If you go to the site and shop the packages you will see that their prices are at least 50% less than other options on the market. Plus, they back up their product with a 60 day guarantee where they will do a complete refund if you are not 100% satisfied. All of that in addition to the fact that they offer free shipping make this about as close to a no-brainer as it gets if you re in the market for a new toothbrush. </div>
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After spending a few weeks with my cariPro, I'm overall a fan, but in the name of being truly transparent and real I do want to speak to the fact that If there had to be a con I would say it would be the look. Don't get me wrong, it's a good looking tooth brush, but there are prettier versions on the market - matte black, gold, etc. HOWEVER, for me personally, I care less about aesthetics and more about dental care, so this is not a deal breaker for me. I'm very thankful to have this toothbrush and would definitely recommend it!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINGlW7Qj09wNKBjsLZZLoTlbjbMxXskvInhnaNEV0XolN2aclhakp_XYS-vNfal6vp-KWN7fSAsFwcScJ3rDvOVjh8dVsSYhSH45P1gBpwUZiD_Jjzk55cQei8ob5JUrjmIFhAPJyEcY0/s1600/IMG_8870+copy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiINGlW7Qj09wNKBjsLZZLoTlbjbMxXskvInhnaNEV0XolN2aclhakp_XYS-vNfal6vp-KWN7fSAsFwcScJ3rDvOVjh8dVsSYhSH45P1gBpwUZiD_Jjzk55cQei8ob5JUrjmIFhAPJyEcY0/s640/IMG_8870+copy.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
Before any of you go and purchase your own I'm excited to say I get to give one away!! To enter the giveaway follow <a href="https://www.smilebrilliant.com/gb/thecowspot"><span style="font-size: large;">this link</span></a> and enter! And if you are not the lucky winner, fear not I have a 20% discount code for all of you!<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; white-space: pre-wrap;">t</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; white-space: pre-wrap;">hecowspot20</span></b></span><br />
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<i>Unless otherwise noted all photos are my own. </i></div>
Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-918273978559243897.post-70404656073616888052018-11-30T20:29:00.002-05:002018-11-30T20:29:21.983-05:00Croix's Custom Closet<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, it's official - our two year old is living a more luxurious life then us. <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/08/countertops-croixs-bath-part-5.html">His bathroom</a> has heated floors, <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/11/slide-final-selections-croixs-big-boy.html">there is a slide </a>to catapult him from his bed to the toilet and now....now he has a custom closet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvrHcf3fl9xhmYkBG7d6R_ZwD6UDt8zVzdQAxmodChXtkFZB7zVXEu4QdCVz238yrg8FCjAg5cnXpx60ggwg6BjMtZcfqQW35Q5VsSBIaCLncm3U2G4Y5lQe73vY88lLYlm14ba-saDN6_/s1600/IMG_8612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvrHcf3fl9xhmYkBG7d6R_ZwD6UDt8zVzdQAxmodChXtkFZB7zVXEu4QdCVz238yrg8FCjAg5cnXpx60ggwg6BjMtZcfqQW35Q5VsSBIaCLncm3U2G4Y5lQe73vY88lLYlm14ba-saDN6_/s640/IMG_8612.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Meanwhile I have to stand on my tub to get a full glimpse of my whole outfit in the mirror. A site for sure, at my now 8 month pregnant state. OY! In all seriousness, we are well aware of the lavishness of a custom closet for a kid, a toddler kid at that, but this room needed the functionality to serve us and our kid(S) for the long haul. For anyone just tuning in we are turning our upstairs guest bedroom into <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/08/bunk-room-intro.html">Croix's Big Boy Room</a>. In late summer we <a href="https://thecowspot.blogspot.com/2018/08/diy-bunk-beds.html">DIY'ed bunkbeds</a> that take up a large chunk of the space. We are super happy with how those turned out but the scale of the built-ins really don't leave us with much wall space for furniture. Luckily, this big room also came with a big closet. But big is only helpful, if there is organization around it. And with two wire shelves and a window in the middle, we needed some help.<br />
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The company I work for - <a href="http://www.bellcabinetry.com/">Bell Cabinetry & Design</a> has a closet division called <a href="https://www.inspiredclosets.com/locations/atlanta/">Inspired Closets Atlanta</a>, so I knew just who to contact for my closet needs. Interior design is such an interesting business...there are so many sectors you can specialize in and closets is definitely one of them. Interestingly, I know very little about closet design so I was VERY grateful when designer Ashley Fricton agreed to help me navigate the best solutions for this space. I took some dimensions and sent them her way and in a flash I had the first round of designs in my inbox!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdzKx_TuPYFLB1JX59D7q6zZxW75ZKO5QfUKuGDsUENmerCLCHtAmLEJI92LJ4cy_NMHhxmAAvDxBpbdwuKyd7VMfvMaWhxM4Aq2W5MBUv17q3Bt_BRnj0AXEO59KZRUzUjv7I0XE-X6_/s1600/Croix+Closet+Design.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdzKx_TuPYFLB1JX59D7q6zZxW75ZKO5QfUKuGDsUENmerCLCHtAmLEJI92LJ4cy_NMHhxmAAvDxBpbdwuKyd7VMfvMaWhxM4Aq2W5MBUv17q3Bt_BRnj0AXEO59KZRUzUjv7I0XE-X6_/s640/Croix+Closet+Design.jpg" width="590" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKVyS24283KDQ68WS3GbEvj2IhFK92z5ajXxqGfb-hlH7tcUN1uzYH3buZswJL0Drxx6vkbAVdAjOWVP9PJ48OXskLEaeJ4vPc82cs2WN1wIVbOmWbj4Pf7hG-BA28p7GyPDn2SMUHaOk/s1600/Croix+Closet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="782" height="558" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlKVyS24283KDQ68WS3GbEvj2IhFK92z5ajXxqGfb-hlH7tcUN1uzYH3buZswJL0Drxx6vkbAVdAjOWVP9PJ48OXskLEaeJ4vPc82cs2WN1wIVbOmWbj4Pf7hG-BA28p7GyPDn2SMUHaOk/s640/Croix+Closet.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMpdQCOhyphenhyphenp9LzoUweLNtqM0k5nFFmBy2XtOCP_QmdXcLcwCCIe1u0J8Hio78N3-Cs-tnaMsSVbvdHsX7jkKzHaY4npBX_mNsudFaOE_FbutOTjXKKT2x-u_7yNeeHpQ8AtrQZfE0JptjF/s1600/Closet+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="380" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMpdQCOhyphenhyphenp9LzoUweLNtqM0k5nFFmBy2XtOCP_QmdXcLcwCCIe1u0J8Hio78N3-Cs-tnaMsSVbvdHsX7jkKzHaY4npBX_mNsudFaOE_FbutOTjXKKT2x-u_7yNeeHpQ8AtrQZfE0JptjF/s640/Closet+3.jpg" width="356" /></a></div>
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We went through a few iterations where little things were tweaked, but the above designs were the final version that I signed off on. I knew early on we wanted to go with black for the material color. Not only is it a little different but I felt like it would be more forgiving as Croix + sibling use (and likely abuse) the space. We also made the decision to take the closet all the way to the ceiling. Because this is where most, if not all of the clothes storage will be we wanted to maximize every square inch. </div>
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We've had a lot of fun getting all of his clothes transferred upstairs and all organized. As you can see we still have so much space, but we love that we can use the tip top to store misc. items, toys and even clothes he outgrows but we want to save for siblings/cousins/friends. </div>
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Ashley was so helpful in giving advice about must-haves. I love how we have 3 levels of hanging + so many open shelves. Also, really love the drawers. The one thing I decided kind of last minute was to forgo the built-in hampers in favor of just purchasing something to fit into the space and I'm really glad that's the direction I went. I love the texture and interest these baskets bring to the space + these hampers can be moved down to the laundry room and back again when it's time to wash clothes. </div>
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Once all designs were approved the lead time was about 4-6 weeks. The whole process went so smoothly and I couldn't of asked for a better install experience. </div>
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At this point the only thing the space is lacking is a curtain, which my favorite curtain-making-machine has already said she would knock out for us; and maybe a rug and some baskets. All in all it was a great experience with an outcome that surprised my expectations. It's a shame really, because now I want to re-do every closet in my house. THANKS A LOT ASHLEY! :) Maybe one day but for now we are happy relishing in the fact that Croix is THIS close to move-in. In fact...it may actually happen this weekend. Stay tuned on that! </div>
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Sources:</div>
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<a href="https://www.cb2.com/amp-matte-black-knob/s419436">Hardware</a> | <a href="https://www2.hm.com/en_us/productpage.0602629003.html?utm_source=Rakuten&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=2575853_rewardStyle&utm_content=15&utm_term=US_Network&ranMID=43148&ranEAID=QFGLnEolOWg&ranSiteID=QFGLnEolOWg-XBMhuKnw2Pl4yo9fJsbicw">Hampers</a> | <a href="https://www.pbteen.com/products/glass-geo-flushmount/?pkey=e%7CGlass%2BGeo%2BFlushmountBlackGlass%252FMetal%7C83%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C1&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH">Light Fixture</a> | <a href="https://www.inspiredclosets.com/locations/atlanta/">Closet System</a></div>
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Courtney Foster Shearerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12015817666400897384noreply@blogger.com0