What's On My Nightstand

Since catching the home improvement bug, the books I read and the websites I frequent have drastically changed. What to Expect: The Toddler Years has been replaced by This Old House magazine. Evenings are no longer spent on parenting discussion boards, but on pages and pages of amazing DIY blogs.

I have to admit, when I become interested in something I tend to over-study. I'll gather every book, buy every magazine, scour the Internet and ask everyone I know about the subject. The problem is this: I wait for an unrealistic level of confidence to kick in because I want to feel perfectly ready to tackle a task.

It never happens.

Yes, it's great to do research and learn as much as possible before taking on something new. But then comes the time to just ROLL UP YOUR SLEEVES AND TRY IT! I'm happy to say that is what I have been doing, and I have several projects to share with you soon.

In the meantime, let me show you just a few sources of my current inspiration...

This Home Depot book is like the bible of home improvement - if you want to learn how to do something - anything - in your home, it's in there. I especially love the extensive use of pictures for every step.  

I had a difficult time finding Home Improvement 1-2-3 in three local Home Depot stores. It's quite popular and really caters to the layperson homeowner. 

When you think of This Old House, you may think of the old Bob Vila television shows. But the This Old House magazine has become more trendy and much more woman-friendly. There is a lot of focus on planning renovations and "Before and After" features. They have informative product selection guides and helpful Q&A's. This Old House online has everything you'll ever want to know about home projects, and their videos are the best I've seen (with less commercials than HGTV).

  

The Family Handyman magazine is a bit more tool-oriented and assumes that the reader has an extensive collection of equipment. The projects are more advanced, but it is still a great resource for beginners who can begin to envision the possibilities of where being handy can take them.

Their website is terrific and more mainstream - they have comprehensive tutorials on just about any project or task you may need help with. 

I am obsessed with trimwork and any type of molding. Whenever I walk into someone's home it is the first thing I notice. I think many people would be surprised at how simple the necessary skills are to create the most basic of molding. This guide (and many other Sunset series books) does a great job using detailed pictures and easy step-by-step instructions for almost any molding job you can imagine.

The Better Homes and Garden publication Do It Yourself is enjoyable to read, but focuses mostly on craft and decor projects. I still subscribe, but to me it doesn't really belong in the "Do It Yourself" realm. 

Last, but certainly not least is a book called The Digital Mom Handbook co-written by a close friend who has taken the blogging world by storm: Colleen Padilla (aka ClassyMommy). Our children go to the same preschool and she has given me so much encouragement about sharing my story and finding an online "voice". If you are a mom who feels caught in between the worlds of caring for your children yet wanting to stay connected to the working world by being online, this book is for you.

Now it's time to put down the books, turn off the computer and get moving on more projects!