And now for something more beautiful...

I can't leave you with the disgusting last image of my trash can mess any longer. I need to share something beautiful. So, I give you my current projects...aka the reason I haven't posted sooner.

 First, the wood project. These are actually for two projects. The longer boards are to replace the seating around our fire pit in the back yard. The original boards were so old and weathered that they splintered and my son finished off the job with a small sledgehammer, as seen below.

The plan was to simply stain and polyurethane some new boards and screw them into the previously utilized stumps. However, if I do this, it will be temporary because I have convinced myself to go ahead and find plans to build a prettier base/legs for the benches. Just need to find the time, plans, and patience to do more staining and poly on the legs.

The second half of this project is the shorter boards. They are the backing for the new coat hooks I'm putting up in our mudroom. And it's about time...the mudroom was redone months ago. So, with the winter months coming up, we will have an organized dumping ground space for our coats and bags.

Next, is painting my living room. I have been putting this off for two years a while because of the area you can see in the back of the pic. That area above the stairs. Yeah, I will need to use a ladder on the stairs to reach the high areas and detailing. And I have a thing with heights. A fear thing. I know I probably won't fall, but whenever I have to use the ladder to get high, especially on these stairs, I break out in a cold sweat and get really shaky. Even the thought of it is a bit much.

So, I have decided to break this project into sections. I am doing one half of the room, then the other half, THEN the stairs section absolutely last. This is also to help my husband not be too overwhelmed with the chaos that all of this brings.

I will post final pics of both these projects when completed for a final reveal. Until then, be glad you don't have to stare at my trash anymore. I know I am.