The Return of Matt

After going dark for about a month during finals, I have resurfaced with some new projects and I am here to update them on the blog. Finals were fine and as a reward I got 2 weeks off. The first week I was occupied with Grandpa and Grandma Serafine visiting from California. They stayed with us a few nights and ended up in a time share resort for a few more nights. We had a good time and enjoyed their company. I also have had a chance to start and finish a few different projects. One major one was the backyard. Those that have visited saw the unfinished and unkept backyard. So, I fixed all of the sprinkler heads, cut down the old summer grass, planted new winter grass, cleaned the planters, built a firepit, planted some plants/trees, and finished a back porch overhang. I also golfed in 75 degree weather last Thursday. All in all it has been a successful break.




It was good to get the sprinklers working.

Stacy admiring her new garden plots

Dont mind the dirt yard, it hopefully will be green soon enough

Craigslist Upgrade

When we moved into our house, the only thing I didn't clean was the range hood. It was gross, and wasn't worth cleaning. We have been searching for a microwave to replace it with, but didn't want to spend a lot of money. Craigslist delivered for us, and we now are the owners and installers of a new shiny microwave.

DIY: Paint

Like many people nowadays, we purchased a home that was a foreclosure. Ours was in pretty good shape, but needed a lot of cosmetic work. Let's just say that as far as cosmetics go, our house was wearing blue eye shadow and hot pink lipstick. Anyway, one of the things in our house that needed a face lift was our cabinets. They are those really great ones that are part laminate and part wood, because they were too cheap to go all wood in the first place. The cabinets themselves were in decent shape, but the laminate was coming off in some places because when we pulled up the vinyl floor, the floor was glued to the cabinets.

Before I show you the actual cabinets, I'd like to introduce you to the Serafine featured product: Glidden's Gripper.

When I painted my laminate bookshelf a while back, I had to sand the whole thing down. Although it wasn't a big bookshelf, it took forever to sand and paint. I didn't really feel sanding an entire kitchen full of cabinets, and lo and behold, Gripper. Gripper allows you to paint anything. Even plastic. My only warning: it's super sticky and doesn't wash off your skin very well. I accidentally stuck my foot in some of it, and I had primer on me for a few days.

Cabinets before: (this is before we moved in)

During:


After:



Coming soon: stainless steel microwave. We're picking it up on Saturday. Our microwave just wasn't something I could paint and cover with contact paper. : )

the Arizona heat'll kill ya

You all knew it was hot here, but did you know it was this hot? Not too long ago, these poor melted pumpkins looked like this:

Matt meets Bill Simmons