Projects, Projects, Projects

Since I've had this past week off, I've been tackling some projects here at home that I otherwise have little time to do.

Project #1
Since before I started residency, Ryan and I have been working on refinishing a dresser and night stand. Well this turned out to be a bigger project than anticipated and then throw in the fact that I was hit with a huge dose of reality when residency started and so we are still working on getting these two pieces done. {Good thing we didn't start all four pieces of the bedroom set or they wouldn't be done until well after Christmas - ha!}. We stripped, sanded, sanded, sanded and sanded some more on these two pieces of furniture. A couple weeks ago, we bought the stain but it has been so stinking hot outside that it is unbearable to work in the garage in this heat. The heat seems to be somewhat subsiding so on Wednesday I got out in the garage and started staining away.

Things are looking better but we still have a little ways to go. Clear coat and hardware are up next!

Project #2
I quickly learned that when working the night shift, it is hard to come home and get a decent amount of sleep the next day. I'm usually pretty tired by the time I get home and normally don't have a problem getting to sleep, it is staying asleep that gets me. When I was working nights, I got around 5 hours a sleep which is a far cry from my normal 8-9! I think part of the reason is that I'm trying to sleep when the suns out. We have blinds on our windows but it still doesn't block out all the sunlight. Ryan and I have improvised...

...but lets face it - this isn't going to cut it long term. Two weekends ago, I set out to find curtains for the bedroom. I looked and looked, found a couple that would do, but wasn't finding anything that I thought were worth hanging in the bedroom. So this blanket has been covering our bedroom window since that time. My first shift back after this week of vacation is Friday night, which means I'm going to be trying to sleep Saturday during the day before heading back in for the Saturday night shift. So I figured I might as well solve this too-much-light-in-the-bedroom-during-the-day-while-I'm-trying-to-sleep problem. Off to the fabric store I went. After all, I have a sewing machine so what's stopping me from making my own curtains.I came back from the store with this...

Fabric and blackout liner!

I got to work but the first panel took me for...ev....er to finish. Mainly because I had to figure out how to get the liner on the back and then hem the fabric so that the back of the curtain {who really cares about the back of a curtain?!?} looks all nice and pretty. Anyways, I soon figured it out and made us some curtains that will keep the bedroom dark, just the way I need it!

Figuring out how to work with a large piece of fabric.

Getting the hem pinned into place.

This is the view from bed of the curtains - finally it will be nice and dark!

I probably could have made it a little shorter but meh, oh well. Not bad for my first curtains.

I was also talented enough to put those little rings in the fabric!

This morning when we woke up, it was just as expected, nice and dark in the bedroom. Woo hoo! Mission accomplished! Ryan and I are not the only ones that like a dark room. I walked into the bedroom, flipped on the light and saw this...

Mr. Cooper all tucked in and enjoying some Zzz's

~Ashley