2020 Holidays, 2020 Home Series, Home

Giani DIY Cabinet Paint to Easily Transform Your Small Spaces

Giani DIY Cabinet Paint to Easily Transform Your Small Spaces

What a year it has been. I can tell you that quarantine brought big changes to our home. It all started in April with a flood we had upstairs that ruined the downstairs dining room floors. Because we have continuous flooring we had to replace all of our floors. I wasn’t terribly upset by that to be honest.

The thing is when we started one project it spiraled into more. The contractor left us an entire weekend with old floors pulled up and the flooring guy coming a few days later. We decided what a better time to repaint the downstairs walls while furniture was moved out and the floors were pulled! Then that meant I needed a new tablecloth and rugs because my color scheme is changing. The paint sale we found was great so on a whim got some paint for my master bathroom (why not)?!

I gave my bathroom a Sky Blue color and repainted the white trim to look fresh. What a difference paint can make to a space. I had a grand idea to repaint all of my cabinets, however we have different plans down the road but I did have older small cabinets and decor that would transform the space if I could change its color.

I got my hands on the Giani Nuvo Cabinet Paint in the color, Titanium Infusion. Taking older wood cabinets and adding color seems small but drastically changes the look when you want to transform your small spaces. It is such an easy weekend project – resurface cabinets, desks, tables, kitchen islands and more in the great colors of Giani Nuvo Cabinet Paint.

I love the color pallet of Giani Granite’s paints for cabinets – see them here. The kits come with all you need to paint including online video tutorials with more tips. I just grabbed some sandpaper I had to prep the surface and Giani Granite provided me the paint, instructions, paint brushes and paint rollers.

In the empty space inside my bathroom I keep a stool. It comes in handy to grab as I have longer hair styling days to sit in front of my mirror. I had some dark pieces, some light pieces, the stool was black and my goal was to brighten all I could up in that space. So, I will be using the Nuvo Cabinet Paint on my stool as well to match.

I have used Giani Granite brand kits before as last year I made myself some tables I pull out when I have guests for added space for desserts or drinks. For these I took some old TV trays that fold and store well and instead of dumping at Goodwill I repurposed with the Giani Butcher Block Paint kit and they came out great! See how those turned out HERE!

Giani also has Granite and Marble Countertops kits and soon will launch these gorgeous Pour and cure-in-place quartz countertops! These will transform countertops beautifully. All of their countertop paints are non porous – mold and bacterial resistant. They have great step-by-step videos so you can’t mess them up. Here is a sneak peek at the new quartz coming soon.

Visit Giani Granite and shop all of their DIY paint kits to transform your space. Makes a great gift idea for new home owners or those who love to keep busy with DIY projects around the home. Also available on Amazon.

2020 Holidays, Home

Clean Means Care as we Get our Homes Ready for the Holidays

Clean Means Care as we Get our Homes Ready for the Holidays

I was not always a clean nut. Today my husband and I are both clean people. We both like modern touches and hate clutter. I will apologize for ‘the mess’ if you drop by and I did not have notice to prefect my home. My mess may consist of today’s mail on the counter and the dog’s toys. I am proud of my home and proud of how we keep it. I can’t sit down and work in clutter or dust and my weekend does not start until I do my Friday deep clean. Fridays is when I bring out the rags and Scott’s Liquid Gold!

We have been raising 3 boys who are ages 12, 23 and 28. Funny story, as clean as we are it does not mean our boys are naturally neat but perhaps a bit of organization and feeling content in cleanliness does rub off as we found in our oldest recently. As he ended a relationship recently we were talking and he realizes that he wants someone with goals and wants someone who takes care of themselves and their space. He said I found myself becoming lazier and someone I’m not. It’s more motivating to be around “someone who is tidy, takes care of their things like I do and as that’s a sign that they will also put that care into a marriage and house and life problems. I just now know who my person is.”

This is exactly why I put care into all things and I see that we have a 20-something young man who see that cleanliness and care, before starting the family and life really starts, says a lot about character and realizes that’s his ‘person’. That is why cleaning is more than picking up toys but it is love for all that share this space in our home or walk into it. I keep my home clean for my own sanity but also for my family and because I just love to put care into all things.

When the Holidays arrive I do my deep clean a bit more often and always add some smelly candles for that ambiance. Fun scents really help my feel like my space is clean and finished. For the deep clean it is easy with Scott’s Liquid Gold One Clean Home. I can use 1 cleaner on multiple surfaces.

This One Clean Home foams in place which I love so there are no streaks no matter what I am wiping down. It has that clean scent I love also. I can start in one room (even my kitchen) and catch dirt spots on walls, doors, tables and counters, appliances, wood cabinets or furniture, glass and more. With 2 stories I keep a bin of cleaners on each level and not having multiple cleaners for each task gives me more room and makes wiping my surfaces quicker.

I still own Scott’s Liquid Gold Wood Care because sometimes my wood gets thirsty rather than just dirty. The original can is great to use about once each month or so for wood care. I have several wood pieces of furniture I love and understanding that cleaning wood and caring for wood are 2 different things will keep your pieces looking great for a long time.

It’s been a rough year, so let’s tackle the inside messes and show our family that care we have by helping everyone feel organized and clean again. A good deep clean that is ready for the Holidays even if we can’t fill our home with guests will help us end the year feeling better and organized as we get rid of 2020! Visit Scott’s Liquid Gold to see what’s new and happy cleaning!

2020 Holidays, Children's Books, Parenting

ABOVE THE CLOUDS – What Really Happens in Heaven During a Thunderstorm Book

ABOVE THE CLOUDS – What Really Happens in Heaven During a Thunderstorm Book

ABOVE THE CLOUDS – What Really Happens in Heaven During a Thunderstorm book by Stephanie Barton, Carley Barton and Sue Milon

Grace is afraid of thunderstorms. Her mother comforts her by telling her what’s REALLY responsible for the thunder, lightning, wind, and rain – namely heavenly parties complete with jammin’ tunes, selfie stations, paparazzi, and dancing angels. 

This story is written by a 14 year old Carley Barton based off of her Grandmother’s explanation to her as a child about the thunder and storms when she was afraid. How fun that this teen Author took her Grandmother’s story and published it so you can also ease your own children’s anxieties during storms.

Buy this book on Amazon today and be prepared for the next ‘scary’ storm!

2020 Holidays, Home

Preserve your petals with David Tutera-endorsed The Floral Preservation Co.

I was sent product for this feature. I am happy to partner with this brand. There may be affiliate links contained within the article. Thank you for visiting

David Tutera-endorsed The Floral Preservation Co.

When I found out about The Floral Preservation Co. I was so excited to feel like I could do something with my wedding bouquet I have kept hung and is slowly falling apart. I knew it would eventually self-destruct into nothing and then I’d have nothing left but the fabric and stems.

This is what a 14 year old (15 years in January) looks like. It is as dried out as can be. I am not handy with flowers or gardening so I did not know what options I had to save my bouquet. I even saw video on The Floral Preservation Co that said I can revive flowers as old as 10 years! Mine are half a decade older than that! I gave it a try anyway and I am so happy I did.

I followed their suggestion on fully submerging them for several hours to rehydrate. Once rehydrated I was able to use the included tweezers to manipulate them a bit to fan out for pressing.

I used the Floral Preservation Kit – DIY Flower Preserving Kit and it came with all I needed to press and re-dehydrate my wedding bouquet. It even comes with a pretty smelling finishing spray. I just needed my microwave and a pressing frame I ordered for the final results.

I love how they turned out. This is after drying them back out, pressing and spraying with the finishing spray. I was one day away form my frame arriving that I ordered so after spraying I just left them out overnight on this included drying towel and they were perfect.

The Floral Preservation Kit is perfect for saving everlasting memories. As opposed to discarding beautiful flowers for milestones like Proms, Weddings, Funerals etc. Save them in a state that can be passed down from generation to generation. This makes a great gift for newlyweds or those engaged! Also great to save for other milestones making it a great unique Holiday gift for just about anyone.

You can buy these kits from The Floral Preservation Co. on Etsy and on Amazon.