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What Happens When You Don’t Respect Your Power Tools?
‘Twas a beautiful spring day in 2023. Having just adopted a dog (!), we were upgrading my crappy house to accommodate her. To spare our little Mona Lisa Vito (Yes, that’s her name. I know. Adorable.) from leaping out the back door house hole (as I, myself, had done for the previous twelve years), I finally built some crappy steps. And to keep her from running into traffic (as I, myself, had done… well, just that one time), I built her a fence.
Ah, wouldn’t that be something to brag about? Building a six foot perimeter fence by myself? As if. No, we hired a fence company for this job. Some tasks are just not worth dying for, you know?
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I Built Crappy Steps for the Love of Dog
A few months ago, a thing happened. Well, several things happened, but one thing was a catalyst for the rest of the things. This post is about two of the things. The first one, the catalyst, is a human interest sort of thing (That’s assuming I am interesting (this paragraph not withstanding) and you are interested…) and the second thing is an actual DIY, which may or may not satisfy the seven or so people who still read my blog for that purpose. Anyway, the first thing was this:
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Before and After | My Crappy Driveway
Let Someone Else DIY for a Change
This is my favorite kind of post. The kind where I get to tell you about a major improvement to My Crappy House that I didn’t have to do myself. Because who even DIYs a freaking driveway anyway? The answer is crazy people and pretentious show-offs. Admittedly, I do usually fall into the latter category (yeah, OK, the former too), and, you’re right, this is a DIY blog, but even I have my limits.
Besides, my steamroller was in the shop…
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How to Paint a Panel Door with a Brush
Do You Want to Know What a Panel Door Is?
All I’m offering is the truth. Nothing more. This post turned out to be much longer than I’d anticipated. Yes, it’s about how to paint a panel door with a brush, but it’s become so much more than that. More than I could have ever imagined. Maybe it’s more than you want. This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You click the BLUE LINK – you skip right to the information you came here for, and believe… whatever you want to believe. You click the RED LINK – you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes…
Welcome to My Rabbit Hole
Yeah. I heard it.
After painting it a lovely shade of gray, and updating the trim, My Crappy House is more attractive than it has ever been! Which… is really not saying very much at all. The landscaping and driveway still look like hell, but those are big ticket items and I just paid for a big ticket wedding. Who has any big ticket money left? Not me!
Painting a crappy front door is one way to gain a little bit of curb appeal without spending big ticket money. If the eyes in your face are the windows to your soul, then the front door to your home is the portal to… your living room, probably. Maybe a foyer, if you’re fancy. (No, not Narnia. That’s a different door.)
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The Case of the Smelly Dishwasher
My Dishwasher Stinks
In the five years I’ve had my dishwasher, I’ve never cleaned the inside. I mean, it’s self cleaning, right? It gets washed with, like, every single use. So, I never really gave it much thought until it started to smell. Apparently, you’re supposed to clean the inside of your dishwasher once in a while. (I should’ve known. Self cleaning ovens are a big fat lie too.)
So, wtf was causing my dishwasher to smell? To the naked eye, it looked squeaky clean, but something must be causing that odor… It was a mystery, I tell you. (One that could have easily been solved by consulting the user manual, but what fun would that be?) Keep reading to follow my investigation: The Case of the Smelly Dishwasher. (Spoiler alert: I cracked this case wide open and my dishwasher now smells like a freaking meadow.)
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Shop Your Own House
There’s No Place Like Home
I dreamed of an end table that was smart and courageous with a lot of heart. (Which is a weird list of requirements for an end table, but just go with it.) I searched high and low. Near and far. Had there been a Wizard, I… well, I probably wouldn’t have wasted my one ‘Wizard ask’ on a silly end table, but in the end, it didn’t matter. It was right there with me all along! If I ever go looking for my heart’s desire again, I won’t look any further than my own crappy house. What do you have in your inventory? Shop your own house and see…
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My Blanket Hog Solution Works!
A Thief in the Night
Raise your hand if this has happened to you: You’re peacefully sleeping, dreaming of sheep, and maybe Ryan Gosling, when you are startled awake by a rush of wind on your body and sudden drop in temperature. WTF just happened?! No, that wasn’t a ghost, it was just your partner twirling away from you, like a freaking Tasmanian devil, thoughtlessly yanking your (shared!) blanket off of your (formerly!) peacefully sleeping body. Like a jerk in the night. A stupid jerk face blanket hog in the night.
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Choosing Pendant Lights for My Kitchen
Because The World Needs More Pendant Posts
‘Twas a year ago (almost to the day) that I asked you if the world needed another post about choosing pendant lights. Not surprisingly at all, you told me that, Yes! It absolutely does!, so I’m finally getting around to it. My goal with this post is to let you know that’s it’s perfectly OK to have your heart set on a certain pendant light, but then to choose a different one. And then another different one. And then, another different one, after that other one.
In other words, it’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind— as many times as she freaking wants to. (Sorry, men. You have to stick with your first choice. Changing your mind shows weakness. You also have to throw away the installation instructions. Hey, I don’t make the fake rules. You’ll have to take it up with corporate…)
Anyway… Behold! My Kitchen.
So, obviously, you know how the kitchen pendant light story ends, but it was a long road getting here. Let’s go back to the beginning, shall we?
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Where to Hang a Ceiling Light Fixture
A Flower in the Attic
What’s this? Is it… Could it be? Is this an actual DIY post on my DIY blog? You better believe it, baby! I did some legit DIY this week in my master bedroom. (Really, my only bedroom…) So, this post will have a bunch of goodies for you, starting with deciding where to hang a ceiling light fixture, then I’m gonna crawl around my attic for a bit, then wire up some stuff.
Yes, I look like a dork wearing my headlamp, but these things are super useful on attic DIY missions… (Plus, I’m adorkable, so I can pull it off.)
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My Saybridge Sofa Review | Six Years Later
Sofa, Still So Good
Once upon a time, there lived a handsome sofa named Saybridge. I wasn’t looking for love, but, as the proverbial saying goes, that’s when love found me… My relationship with Saybridge began six years ago in a romantic Macy’s showroom. We’re still together, but… are we still happy? Wouldn’t you like to know…
(Yes, I get that’s why you’re here. Keep reading.)
