Look at that beauty above. Yeah, my plumber hubby built that! From scratch! He's talented and I'm really proud of him for actually finishing a project. (It's taken about three weeks, but perfection cannot be rushed... heck, three weeks is pretty darn good!)

I know a new project shouldn't have been started, because after all, Bo's bathroom still isn't completely painted. Blah. But we needed these shelves for all of Bo's crap.

I think maybe he finished this project because he was excited about it, unlike painting a wall. I don't blame him.

My living room was starting to look like a daycare. It was getting embarrassing when company came over. I couldn't walk in there without stepping on a sharp plastic toy. We don't have any other space for a playroom and Bo's bedroom is already packed. (The basement is not completely done and will not be until we get some moolah.)

Plus, I don't like when Bo goes upstairs to his bedroom to play... I feel like he's all alone up there and I want him downstairs where all the action is, where I can keep an eye on him while I do laundry and stuff.

So my dad got us a Lowe's gift card for Christmas, and we thought the best way to spend it would be to build these shelves we've been talking about for about two years now.

It was built by Luke's hands out of the following:
--one sheet of sanded 3/4 inch plywood
--deck stain
--veneer
--2-inch nails
--wood glue
--putty
--elbow grease
--Eight clearance baskets from World Market

You might also see to the right of the big eight-pocket shelf that he built Bo a night stand out of the leftover material.

Let me remind you again that he's a plumber. He has no experience building things. He's a really creative, imaginative, positive go-getter. If he has it in his mind that he wants to build or fix something, he gets it done. (although he doesn't eff with electricity... he says he's more scared of that than the power of water...)

I'm glad he did this, because right now we can't afford to buy one of these from the store. The cost for the two shelves was around $150. The baskets were around $100 dollars for all eight.

I think it's classier than one of those plastic primary colored things that usually store toys. Plus, this is going in our living room... so I wanted it to somehow look fancy and match the decor.

Most of the furniture in my house is from two of my favorite stores: Pier 1 Imports and World Market. We weren't always this "fancy" though ... when we bought our first house most of the stuff was from Wal-mart or Target and wasn't the real stuff either. (Target does have some cool stuff though...and I still have some of their pieces...like my bamboo panty drawer...)

But we've moved up a little and it's nice to have something that will last.

Heck, I think what Luke built could be sold in the store! (PM me and I will fill orders :))

So there's my little bragging blog once again about my super husband. I wanted him in the photo too, but he wouldn't comply. :)

Do any of you have a handyman hubby? I'd still love him if he weren't, but this just puts the cherry on top.