Nutmeg Place: May 2012

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Happy 1 year blogiversary to me and YOU! ~ WINNER!!!

And the winner is lucky #13:

heather @ new house, new home, new life!!!!!

Heather, email me so we can get you your goodies!!

meg(dot)card(at)gmail(dot)com

Congrats Heather!!!

XOXO

Holy crap balls Batman!

It's been 1 whole year of blogging up in heyah!

Hollah! Hollah!

My very first post was a house tour. All the pictures were taken with my cell phone camera. haha!! My decorating and photo skills have improved over the past year. Fo Sho.

SO much has happened over the past year! TONS of paint, new {to us} furniture, new power tools, finally landscaping the backyard, LOADS of cooking and baking, losing a best friend and her 2 baby sons, losing our fur kid Nikita, connecting with so many amazingly awesome, supportive, funny, brilliant women... I feel SO blessed!!

But, this party is really for YOU!!

I've got loads of awesome schwag to give away courtesy of some of the sweetest women in the blogisphere! I LOVE THESE LADIES!!

Take a gander at all this fabulousness:

Angela - The Not So Functional Housewife made this DARLING birdhouse for you! You can check out all the other amazing hand painted items in her Etsy shop. Her birdhouses are ADORABLE!!

Heather at Setting For Four is giving you these Vintage Flour Sack French Advertisement Tea Towels!! Aren't they to die for?? You guys are SO lucky!!!

Jess at Mom 4 Real is giving you this SWEET chalkboard! YES!! Chalkboard! How cute is this?!?! I'm SO jealous of you guys!!

Jenn at Four Marrs and One Venus is giving you this darling "Sea" plaque. Do you all "sea" a theme here?? Oh man, I kill me!! I so love the colors on this. I want this for myself!

Janel at Hating Martha is giving you this cage basket filled with buoy's! Definitely a theme going on here! And I LOVE IT!! Reminds me of living in New England and visiting Cape Cod. *sigh*

Liz at Center Of Attention Deficit Disorder made these FREAKIN adorable cards for you!! People, how cute are these?!?! Oh my word!!

And last, but not least, I'm throwing in a $25 gift certificate to the merchant of your choice! That's right! YOU PICK!

Could you die?!?! SO much awesomeness!!

Alright, I usually don't have rules, I don't like rules. But, I think to be fair there needs to be a few rules to keep you all under control. :-P

Please follow this little blog of mine via GFC, Linky, or Bloglovin. Leave me a comment and let me know that you are a current follower or a new follower.

For extra credit, follow me on Facebook and leave me a comment to that effect.

The winner will be drawn in one week! All this goodness will be going to one of you! LUCKY!!! {in my best Napoleon Dynamite voice}

Thanks for putting up with my craziness, for always coming back and making me feel like one of the cool kids. I <3 you all SO much!!

Special thanks to all these inspiring and beautiful ladies for making this so special and fun by contributing these amazing giveaways. My cup runneth over!!

Good luck everyone and here's to the next crazy year!!

XOXO

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Just a quickie ~

Hah, the title got your attention, didn't it?!?!

I'm bad, I know.

Hope you all enjoyed your long holiday weekend. I actually accomplished every project I had planned. I think that is a first! I'm still working on turning the board & batten wall into a picture wall. It's going to take some time collecting the frames I would like to use. My awesome neighbors have been coming to my aid! I will show you as soon as I'm finished.

Here is a quick one I did this afternoon. I had 2 of these:

Your basic, run of the mill, pleather storage ottomans.

They had seen better days. The legs had been chewed up by my overly ambitious vacuuming and the kids had torn up the lovely pleather with super sharp claws. I didn't want to get rid of them. They are great storage and are really very sturdy. They double as seating for my computer desk and when we have visitors they are easily brought into other rooms for guests.

But, they were looking pretty ratty! I had purchased an entire bolt of inexpensive muslin to use on another project that never panned out {no big surprise there}. I threw the whole bolt of fabric in the wash. I love how it came out so soft and wrinkled.

I just grabbed my electric nail gun and VERY rustically stapled the fabric around the inside making full ruffles all around. Then wrapped the top in it as well. And, wa-lah!! I think they turned out pretty adorable!!

Drew thinks they look very girlie. Yeah, I'd say they do... and I love them. Actually, Max is curled up sleeping on this one as I type. Such a manly cat, that boy. Just look for him on the softest spot in the house! What a tough guy. Hardly. He's a 16 lb purring teddy bear.

Hope you're summer is off to a fun start! I'm gearing up for some pretty big projects this summer. Well, big for me anyway. :-)

There are a few more hours left to sign up for my blogiversary giveaway!!

Can't wait to see who is the lucky one to win all the schwag!

XOXO

Monday, May 28, 2012

Remembering Nikita ~

Happy Memorial Day friends!

I hope you are enjoying this long weekend and spending it with friends & family.

Please, take time out to remember our service men, women, animals and their families. They are true super heroes.

For awhile I've wanted to share Kita's story with you. I haven't been able to, until now.

Halloween, 1999 started out like any other normal work day. I worked at Waxie (a janitorial supply company) doing customer service. First thing when I sat down at my desk to start my day, I was asked if I saw the new warehouse cat. Drew and I had recently moved into a small 2 bedroom apartment with my 14 year old dog, Ginger. I've always had a soft spot for animals and the warehouse they spoke of was full of chemicals and such. No safe place for any animal. I hurried back there to help locate the poor thing. They told me it was under a pallet. I leaned down and peeked under. I saw the tiniest, scaredest, hungriest, beat up little kitten I had ever seen. We lured it out with some food, I scooped it up and put it in a large box with plans of taking it home. But, how do I break the news to Drew? And how would Ginger handle a cat?!?! I dunno, we'll work it out.

When I got home, Drew was pretty adamant that we couldn't keep the little thing. He was also worried about Ginger and our apartment was pretty small. I promised that we would find her a good home.

Tiny little kitten Nikita

At this point in our lives, I worked days and Drew worked nights. Within days, Kita and Drew had bonded, big time. She had wrapped him around her little marshmallow paw and the deed was done. We were in love. Our dog, Ginger, was curious and sweet with Nikita. Nikita wasn't so sure. But, they quickly became BFF's.

Nikita & Ginger 2000

Drew and I were married on April 1st, 2000. Life was beautiful. She grew into a gorgeous, sweet and funny girl.

In late 2001 we were told that Drew's company was moving his department to Massachusetts. We either moved, or Drew lost his job. We decided to pack it all up and move to New England. With a Uhaul trailer attached to our car, Ginger and Kita in the back seat, we left on our long journey on Dec 26th headed to Boston. Well, what a trip. Kita actually had her sweet little paws on the ground in KY and scared the crap out of us.

We made it safely into Boston on New Years day 2002. Life went like that. Ginger passed away at the age of 17 of congestive heart failure in Sept 2002. Kita became pretty depressed. We decided she needed a friend. We figured a kitten would be less intimidating for her and they would get along better. Drew and I went looking to adopt another kitty. We met so many, but didn't make any connections. We stopped into the Quincy Animal Shelter. They said they kept the kittens in foster homes and brought them in on weekends for adoptions. But, they had someone bring one in that day. She was in quarantine until she could be checked out. We could see her, but not touch her. We went back and in a small kennel was this darling little grey monster swinging from the top bars. They said her name was Trinity. We melted. We filled out the paperwork and adopted Trinity as soon as we were cleared. From day 1, Trinity was crazy and Mommy's girl. Nikita finally caved and accepted Trinity as her new BFF.

Kita meeting Trinity

Nikita & Trinity 2003

While we lived in Boston, we trapped several ferals that were living in the woods behind our apartment complex. Most of them were adopted, 2 of them stayed with us. Brandy & Nala were challenging but all girls got along well. During our time in Boston, I was laid off 3 times. We were ready to go back home, to Utah. things worked out in our favor and we packed up all 4 kids and made the trek back to the West.

Things were good and cozy in our little townhouse. Until one night in September when Trinity woke me up vomiting and dragging herself across the floor. We rushed her to the ER. She was diagnosed with Non-regenerative anemia brought on by Hemobartonella. She was gone within 10 days. She was 4 years old. We were all devastated.

As Kita got older, she was what people would consider a 'puker'. She would frequently vomit. At that point we didn't worry because... well, that's what cats do. And at this point, Kita was a chubby and healthy (we thought) girl. We weren't worried.

On June 1st, 2008 we moved into our new house. Maxwell moved in and things were stressful. Her puking became more and more frequent. We took her to the vet and it was thought that maybe she had IBD and was put on a strict hypoallergenic diet. She got better, for awhile. She wouldn't eat what she was supposed to. Things started to get very stressful. A cat cannot go more than 36 hours without eating. They start to get what is called feline hepatic lipidosis. It's very bad, indeed. Kita cruised along for awhile, doing ok. The puking continued and became very frequent. Then, one hot July day in 2009 I came home from work to find her hiding in one of the upstairs closets. She wouldn't budge. She was weak. We rushed her to the ER. Her WBC was very high, they suggested she had some kind of infection and sent us home with antibiotics and to check in with our vet the next day. After a week on the meds, she wasn't any better. I called her vet and told her flat out, something else was wrong with her.

We brought her back to the vet and had an abdominal ultrasound, which showed her intestines were thickened and her liver was enlarged. She suggested we do a biopsy to be certain. There are 2 different types of biopsies. They could open her up and take samples from all over or do a needle biopsy. The needle biopsy isn't always conclusive. We decided to do the needle biopsy and go from there.

On July 21st, 2009 we got the call we had been dreading. It was confirmed that Kita had Small Cell Intestinal Lymphoma. We started chemo the very next day. We were told that with chemo we could have her with us for at least another year.

I could go into a long post {Isn't this already long?? :-P} about feline lymphoma, but not today. Her chances for remission were very good. She didn't get better, even on chemo. We knew that starting the chemo could make her worse, but then as the cancer cells were killed she would get better. She didn't get better. She stopped eating and we started syringe feeding her. We did this for 3 months. 3 months of hell for everyone. We decided that for her to have a fighting chance, we need to insert a feeding tube. It was terrifying. I think Kita holds the world record for length of time needing a feeding tube. She had it for 1 1/2 years while we struggled with different chemo protocols.

Kita wearing her special collar that held her feeding tube

Near the end of 2010, things got very, very bad. She was dropping weight quickly, vomiting constantly and generally miserable. We 'had the talk' several times about her quality of life. We spoke with her vet once more, desperate for help in saving Kita. She suggested we try one more chemo drug, and if that didn't help we should think about letting her go. We decided we had to try. She started the meds and by that weekend I thought we had killed her. She laid upstairs in bed and didn't move. We couldn't bring ourselves to fuss with her. We were really struggling.

Very slowly, she gained strength, started eating a little bit. We were relieved. No, that's an understatement. Over the next weeks & months, she started cleaning out bowls of food and gaining weight. She was happy and playful again! Our prayers had been answered! On Feb 28th, 2011 her feeding tube was removed and we partied!!!

We were all so happy and grateful. Kita was in remission finally! We started to forget that she was sick. And your wouldn't know it to see her. She was happy, healthy and playful.

Mid April of this year, I noticed her not eating well and even started spoon feeding her like a toddler. Then, one night I checked her weight and she had gained 7oz. I KNEW that couldn't be right. She wasn't eating enough to gain that much weight. We took her to see her vet, she had a fever, was dehydrated and her abdomen felt 'squishy'. I. Lost. It.

Her vet suggested she stay so that they could do another ultrasound the next day. I was a basketcase.

When our vet called the next day and told me it was looking like FIP, my heart stopped and the tears and sobs began. After everything Kita had been through... there is NOTHING that can be done for FIP and it's deadly. We did a few other tests to rule out anything else. Kita stayed in hospital for 4 days. They drained the fluid from her abdomen and we brought her home. She still wouldn't eat. I spoon fed her, we gave her fluids, pain meds and let her rest. We brought her home on a Thursday and by the next Monday night, her abdomen was full of fluid again. We drained it again and brought her home. She got worse and worse during that night.

The next morning, May 2nd, was a beautiful spring day. That beautiful day we helped our sweet girl cross over the rainbow bridge. She was almost 13. She lived with cancer for almost 3 years, was in complete remission and was taken away by FIP.

I cannot even tell you how much we miss our miracle girl. She taught us SO much. She taught us what bravery and patience is. Love, she taught us how to love. Our lives will never, ever be the same.

"What?!?! Is there something on my face?!?!"

One of the last pictures taken of Kita

This gorgeous tribute hangs over our mantle.

We love and miss you baby bug.

XOXO

P.S. - Small Cell Intestinal Lymphoma is not a death sentence. It can be controlled with chemo and steroids. In Kita's particular case, we think she had such a hard time reaching remission due to the FIP.

P.S.S. - I'm a huge advocate of feeding tubes, if needed. It was terrifying, but no doubt saved her life. It kept her nourished, stress free while we worked on getting her well. I would do it again, in a heartbeat.

P.S.S.S. - FIP {feline infectious peritonitis} is something that most cats are exposed to {Corona virus}. Most kitties immune systems wipe it out pretty quickly. But, those that have weak immune systems allow the virus to mutate into FIP. It's nasty, and Kita didn't stand a chance.

I know more about feline health issues then I ever cared to know. As in anything, knowledge is power. If anyone reading this has any questions... feel free to email me.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

More fun with molding {and power tools} ~

Hi guys!!

Enjoying the long weekend?? Hope so!

We've been working on fun molding projects to add some character to the house. This one I had pinned ages ago. When I was wishing and hoping for the skills and tools to do this myself. When I finally got the tools and nerve, this was one of the first I wanted to do. If you want detailed instructions, go here to see how Decor Chic did this.

I've decided that:

She makes this look REALLY easy.
We made it lots harder than it probably needed to be.
I really dislike working with crown molding.
If you can master crown molding, you are a genius.

This little detail was hard to do. Much harder than my whole board & batten dining room wall.
Thank heavens for paintable caulk! Still, I'm thrilled with how this turned out. I wasted a whole piece of crown getting this wrong. It's CONFUSING STUFF!!!

So, we added some MDF, crown and decorative molding to the tops of our downstairs main focal doorways. The kitchen before:

The kitchen after:

And the front door, before:

And, after:

Like I said, this sucked and was hard for our small brains... but love how it turned out.

I'm having SO much fun with my power tools! I keep looking around wondering what other trouble I can get into... and drag Drew into. :-) He's such a good sport and I love him to pieces. My partner in crime.

So, what do you think? Did we do ok with this?

XO

Friday, May 25, 2012

This is {not} a board & batten tutorial ~

Howdy nutty folk!!

Hope you are enjoying your holiday weekend!

We've been dealing with crown molding here. More like, wasting crown molding. Sheesh! That stuff messes up my brain BIG time!! But, we're working it out.

Did I mention that I got a new compressor and nail gun??? I'm never putting it away.

One of my goals for 2012 was to learn to do woodworking. First, I got the miter saw. Now, with the power of the nail gun I can finally learn projects I've seen all over blogland.

Now, I'm not going to give you a B&B tutorial. There are thousands out there. Believe me, I know. I've been studying them for the past couple weeks in preparation.

I started with this:

Our dining room.

I took the advice to start on a simple wall with no corners to start. I got very lucky. This wall is exactly 12 feet long. I had the guy at Home Depot cut the sheets of MDF in half (4 feet) and then in 4 inch strips. I did this to make it easier to transport. I got a little over excited and got 2 sheets of MDF cut. I have lots left over.

I like the chunkier B&B. Maybe it's actually considered paneling this way, I'm not sure. But, I prefer the boards & battens to all be the same width. Looks cleaner and symmetrical. I also added a 2 inch ledge to the top with a piece of quarter round molding underneath.

This was easy. Like, SO easy! I'm sure it was because the wall was such a good length. I added a 4 inch strip on top of the current baseboard, then a strip on the outside edge of each wall. I cut one of the extra pieces to 2 1/2 feet and used that as a spacer for my battens. Then, I capped the top and used the 2 1/2 foot pieces to add another strip 12 inches down from the top. Added the ledge and molding.

I caulked all the nail holes and seams:

Let this dry overnight and used my electric palm sander to sand it all nice and even. I don't know what the heck I was thinking... there was dust EVERYWHERE!! AHHH!! I have OCD and so after I finished sanding I had to go through and vacuum and dust everywhere before I could carry on. Weirdo.

I had originally painted this all plain old white straight off the shelf. Now, this may be the one time that you hear me say "It was TOO white!". Is that even possible?? Yes, in this case. Since everything was nice and primed and painted, I decided to use the same luscious paint that I used on my cabinets. And, since the B&B butts up to the cabinets, I don't know why it wasn't obvious that the paint needed to match. Quickly repainted it the off white/cream color... and this is how it turned out:

I'm beyond thrilled with this. I was pretty pleasantly surprised how easy this was. Now, I'm sure if the wall had been different measurements it might have been more difficult.

This makes me giddy with pride & joy!!

Now my dilemma is how to stage the top and ledge area. I may make a new chalkboard and head to Ikea for a bunch of frames... turn that area into a picture wall. Any suggestions??

I did this all. By. Myself. SO proud!!

*SQUEE*

What do ya think?? Like??

I have tons of MDF strips left. Look out, I'm nailing it everywhere...

XOXO

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Happy 1 year blogiversary to me and YOU! ~ WINNER!!!

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Just a quickie ~

Monday, May 28, 2012

Remembering Nikita ~

Saturday, May 26, 2012

More fun with molding {and power tools} ~

Friday, May 25, 2012

This is {not} a board & batten tutorial ~