Considering Granite, Quartz or Marble?

Do you want GRANITE countertops? It's a popular home upgrade that really impacts a home's style and value. Granite and other natural countertops can be easy to maintain as they are resistant to scratching, heat and other damage.

The first thing I wanted to know about my new granite was how to keep it clean! 

Another benefit of granite is how easy it is to clean! A soft cloth and warm, soapy water is all it takes to clean. Avoid harsh chemical it's unnecessary! Dry wipe your counters after wiping away any wet suds left from your wash rag. 

Holiday Blog 2016

 Holiday To-Do List

Do you want to feel like you've got a handle on this whole Holiday thing? I put together a list to make sure you get the most joy out of the season while managing some essentials.
We're busy and I get it! This list is easy and you'll be thanking me when its all over! 

1.Go to a Christmas Party! (and do something charitable too!)

 May I suggest Mama G's Ugly Sweater Party December 10th?

We are raising money and collecting food for the local Cross foodshelf with an ugly sweater party. The holidays are meant to be spent celebrating and giving, so why not combine the two? Frost Fine Finishing is sponsoring a prize for the sweater contest!

Here are some other opportunities to celebrate and serve this Holiday Season. Why not volunteer at the Holliazzle or find a phlanthrophy event to take in some hoiday cheers? Check out the event links below- 

Minneapolis Hollidazzle Volunteer HERE!

Pick a Twin Cities Holiday Fundraiser HERE!

2. Enjoy some Holiday Music

I have a new love for Christmas music now that I'm in choir. I planned a piano recital Christmas Eve with my niece's. We are each playing 2 songs for our family. Think of some way to incorporate music into your routine for the season. Maybe write a funny song together and perform it for your family, or play christmas music while you bake your annual treats (you can create a christmas playlist on Spotify for free). It will create an appreciation, which is actually the point of the season instead of cringing everytime you hear a christmas tune you'll find yourself enjoying! 

3. Clean your office!- tech purge

You're probably going to be getting some upgrades, so don't let all that data set in storage. Cloud your pics, contacts and can't go without info from tablets and phones. Update passwords and run updates. Trust me in a year when you can't find something because it's sitting on an old device somewhere you'll be glad you took the time to do this. A new tradition!

You'll also be really glad if you use some time in the "office" to get finacial records ready for tax season. After the tree goes down you'll be thinking about all that green or atleast Uncle Sam will be!

Like Kate Northrups moneylove philosphy I also think the more time and attention you spend on your finaces the more finacially fit your money relationship will be...and we tend to have a bad money relationship around the holidays (think spending too much!). Dust off that money binder and make sure you have your money on your mind in a good way! 

4. Make your present list. So obvious, but some people don't do this. Obviously I like lists (hint: your reading one) but here's HOW to make your list that I've found works really well. Group your list by events. If you are going to see certain people at a certain celebration make sure you know you need 5 gifts for that get together. It will make getting out the door easier the day of. Also I prep my bags and label with names so I know I have a gift for everyone on my list if each bag gets filled! 

5. Cold storage clean up

We wouldn't be a good home improvement blog if we didn't tell you to go outside right now and grab any liquids in your garage you dont want to freeze. Batteries (including those tool batteries) are a good thing to store inside too! You can always recycle the stuff you don't want, but bring what you do inside now. 

Don't let the Holiday pass you by without equal amounts of prep and pleasure! Any holiday tips that are must do's for you every year? Leave a comment and share! 

What goes with gray?

"We are going to be painting" is something I hear a lot when I'm doing an in home flooring consultation. It makes so much sense to update walls then floors. There's no doubt these two changes together can make the biggest impact when homeowners want a fresh look. Doing them all at once saves you money and headache. Here's why: your painter won't have to worry about your floors (less prep) and when the installers will be able to come and finish the space with flooring you will save on installation if the room is emptied of furniture (which would be done to prep for painting also)! Easy!

Paint Suggestions: popular gray and monorail silver by Sherwin Williams
Do's: Do paint a sample swatch and check out the color during different times of day...lighting changes everything!
Don't: Try to match everything. Washing out is easy to do try mixing shades (lighter and darker) and adding accents (blues, greens, reds and yellows all look great)

Carpet: Unless you are wanting it to be center of attention a nice texture or twist (frieze) works well. Patterns are nice if you are planning on your room being very neutral. Adding a patterned carpet can increase design in a neutral room by adding style and texture. Patterns can enlarge as space by helping guide your eyes around the room. This effects has made these styles very popular.


Here are some gray pallets I like in both a solid and a multi tone:

Thumbs up by Shaw and St. Jude's pastoral dreams pictures here:

Spring Clean Out!

 I have been cleaning my garage for Spring Projects! So I have lots of boxes of samples and left overs from jobs of hard wood and laminate wood flooring! If you want to finish a small space this may be a good deal for you! Please call me, I'll hook you up!

We also have to ability to do some junk removal for you! If you need an old couch moved or a load brought to the dump I can help arrange for my guys to come pick up your junk. The rates vary based on what you need, so set up a project consultation for free with me today!

Seriously just hire someone to get rid of it for you! It's what we do and clearly if that old stuff has been sitting around you need to call now! (763) 227-3843

Works great for the Spring Cleaners, people moving or helping get Grandma's house cleared out! We have worked with several clients to help lighten the load- call today!

What's your focus?

What we pay attention to matters. I wrote a post earlier this year about the Money Love Challenge by Kate Northrup

the challenge is closed for now but you can sign up for the next time around here: http://moneylovechallenge.com 

Kate also offers other great online workshops and news for growing your abundance, so if you want to know more check out her website or the money love challenge link!

We tend to spend a lot of time worrying about money, but not talking about it. Our focus is usually about getting by, but not on growing our abundance. To do this requires focus, so the challenge was to spend 21 days focusing on different aspects of our finances. I had even offered up little bonus prizes for the first few that followed along with me!

My friend Ashley was one of those who dived into the challenge with me. We were able to connect and share the experience through a few of the challenges. A big motivation for her was to tackle some of her student loan debt and look for a new career that would support her new financial plan. 

Well, I am very happy to share with you that Ashley was offered a new, higher paying position! More importantly it was in her licensed field of teaching and something she felt passionate about. The time, energy and focus that is takes to make a positive change is a lot of work, and being purposeful about making it a focus and goal DOES MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE between getting it done and just a dream...

Ashley and her Fur Baby Hemingway

Martin, her oldest of the two cat children, was there to celebrate too! 

                 

Thanks for your support in joining me for the money love challenge. It helps to do things together for accountability but also to learn more from our experience through sharing! Enjoy your treat Ashley! Cheers to abundance!

Challenge: Start your focus on finances by creating a MONEY LOVE VISION BOARD $$$

Organizing for Abundance! My #moneylovechallenge !

Happy Valentine's to all my readers and friends! Since I love you all so much I wanted to share something fun you can do! Once you follow along contact me on Facebook and I have a gift for you! The first 5 readers to complete the money love challenge and send me a message telling me their results will get a valentine from me! Message me on Facebook or email me through my blog, and make sure you add "money love challenge" to the subject line! The actual challenge has taken place, but I posted a link to day one below. You can follow along and go through each of the 21 days. It's a great journal activity if you like to write (like me), or you can use it to start a vision board, or just as a way to make your finances a priority this year! It's still early enough to follow through on your New Years goals, and who doesn't want more money? 

Have you heard of the money love challenge? It's a fun 21 day challenge to focus on your finances. I took into consideration that many of the challenges had me taking inventory of what I do have, so I worry less about all the "wants". I love to organize, and so going through all my extra stuff was my next step. I challenged myself to turn some of that extra stuff into cash. There are so many places to turn your trash in treasure, and I wanted to use the money love challenge as a way to clear out my mental and physical space so that I can have more in 2015. 

Check out the challenge here:

http://moneylovechallenge.com/day-1/

I promise you people want your stuff! New Uses will take your household goods, or you can use craiglist and local garage sale pages on Facebook. Go a head and sell that extra blender you have sitting around. Or those boots you never wear. Live with less and have more! Clear out some space and treat yourself! 

One of my favorite exercises was day 7 where we studied a bit of feng shui and prepared our prosperity corner. http://moneylovechallenge.com/day-7/

I know this isn't for everyone, but it's fun to think about what we have in our homes and how it affects the energy in our lives. Also it just pretty and nice, and organized! And organization has been shown to have impact on happiness and well being for some people. Take a look at the chart above. Orientate your house so that your front door is in one the lower three quadrants. What is in the back left corner? Is it a space that bring prosperity or is it an energy clogger? 

Do you need help organizing? My professional organization services are for hire! Please contact me for a free consultation! Frost Fine Finishing can also help with moving items and junk removal. We can help do anything! Call (763) 227-3843 for any questions or to schedule an appointment 

New Year, New Floors!

Hello, are you in the swing of 2015 yet? We jumped right into a few projects to kick off the year. If you are still wondering what it is we do here is a list of services Frost Fine Finishing can offer:

Painting

Floor installation

Wood work

Design consultation

Choosing Materials and Care Instructions

Junk Removal

Professional Organizing

Rental Turn-Overs

Real Estate Listing Prep

and more that I probably can't think of right now. If we don't do it we know someone that does! Give me a call today! (763) 227-3843

First Floor Finished in 2015 Vinyl Installation. Vinyl is a low maintence choice for high traffic areas, and is perfect for kitchens because it's so easy to clean! It stays warmer than tile and is available in many updated styles. I have samples on Pintrest if you'd like me to send you a board please email jacjfrost@gmail.com

Before and After: wrapping up our build

What an amazing year! I couldn't believe how quickly it all went. I'm enjoying taking the time to reflect and share my experience of building our first home! 

September 2013 we started with this:

December 2013 demolition: Happy New Year (House)!!!

Building began in January. Here are just a few fun snapshots of the progress! (For more on the design and building process read my previous posts!) 

Okay, ready for some "afters"?!?!?

Summer 2014 move in! We moved in June, so a 6 month process. We still had to finish the yard, which we were running out of time to do. Oh yeah, did I mention our neighbors were hosting their wedding in their backyard? We had a lot of work to get done as we had ran a bobcat through part of their yard all winter!

We got the yard done...how does the saying go? With a little help from my friends? Our Neighbors held a beautiful wedding. Here are some of our other neighbors all at the wedding. It was nice to relax and get to know everyone.

We hosted 4th of July on the lake, and I celebrated my birthday. It was a nice way to have friends over for a housewarming. We also went to another wedding up in Nisswa, and so the rest of the summer was spent with lots of friends and family! 

Having a few friends over, sharing our neighbors yard! Next summer we are building a deck. 

Taking a weekend off from the house. Grand View Lodge Summer 2014 for the Houser Wedding

Happy Birthday to me! Never too old for a mermaid birthday cake...

Here's just one picture of a Spa Day we had with my nieces! I spend a lot of time with the kids when they have summer vacation! They love Auntie's new house too. 

Another one of my Summer Projects! I spend a good portion of the summer planning a fundraiser for cancer research and patient support: Kel's Krew Annual Leukemia Society Benefit, in honor of one of my dearest friends. She lost her battle to cancer 3 years ago. Together with friends and family we host a party to raise money. We donate the money as a team at the Light the Night Walk held at Target Field. This year we donated over $5,000. Our team (and team Captian Angie) was also one of 3 finalist for the Life Blood Awards this year for our continued efforts to support the LLS mission. 

We end the summer by lighting the night at Target Field to support LLS (Leukemia Lymphoma Society)

You can HELP SUPPORT THE LLS MISSION:

I have the opportunity to network and work with many realtors being in the home industry. It is always inspiring to me when I meet people with the passion to start a business and who really take pride in building their own brand. The McPherson Sister's Real Estate Team has the unique mission to donate a portion of their commision to the Leukemia Society in honor of their sister. I want to share this mission that is also near and dear to my heart. If you'd like to meet regarding buying or selling a home contact:

Jen 763-202-6420 jmcpherson@exploretwincities.com

Meg 763-221-2221 mmcpherson@exploretwincities.com

Better Homes and Gardern Real Estate Area Leaders

If you have a real estate to do list for getting into our out of your home, please contact me for a free consultation on what services Frost Fine Finishing can offer. I can work directly with the McPherson sisters or any other realtor to get your home ready! 

Thanks again for taking the time to see my before and afters. It took a while to take you all through this journey with me, but my goal was to show you a time line of what I've been up to. This was the last of 3 'year in review" posts. I have a few other things I want to write about before the end of the year...if you follow me on Pintrest you've seen my sneak peek...

Hey! Look what I can do...

Hey look what I can do! Here's some stuff I've done. That's basically what this all is. Pics and posts about projects I do. In the last two years I've started a small business that does finishing and home design work, and I've been blessed with the opportunity to design and build our own home. A lot of you who follow me on Instagram (2_and_fro  #frostfinefinishing) and Facebook tell me all the time, "I love seeing pictures of your new home please post more!" I am so proud of all the beautiful work the talented people who have helped make our home happen have accomplished, so I love to share! I am also so humbled each time someone takes the time to let me know that they enjoy seeing my dreams, goals and progress. I have been working on this and now it's ready to share with all of you! 

Here it is! Look what I can do (a timeline of the past two years-part one):

My friend, a recent graduate of the Art Institute of Minnesota, helped me create my Frost Fine Finishing logo. Frost Fine Finishing 2013

I was working for a flooring sales and installation team when I was given the opportunity to start my own business. A major distributor offered me my own account. He knew that I was a hard worker looking for a way to increase my sales and customer satisfaction. I wanted to run my own jobs and I was ready! With many friends and family working in various trades I got the idea to start working on referrals for home owners. I hear, "You guys know someone who does everything!" You're right, we do!

This made looking for a home a different experience for us. Going into a property we had no concerns for flooring, painting, woodwork...we had the intention of replacing most of the finishings, so for us a small affordable home in a nice location was what we wanted. 

It took years of looking, but after looking and loving the Twin Lake area outside Minneapolis we found what we thought was what we were looking for. Our Realtor Margaret Swanson was able to help us through the HomePath process to purchase a foreclosed property right on the lake. We were looking forward to doing many renovations:

Margaret is a real estate agent in the area and specializes in helping sellers get their homes fixed up for sale. An expert at staging and preparing properties, she and her team are able to transform homes and get them ready for sale! I have had the chance to work with her team on other homes and am amazed at the beautiful furnishings they can bring in to transform a home into a showroom. No doubt the upscale attention to detail helps sellers get top dollar for their property. To contact Margaret email: margie.swanson@rmxhomemasters.com (let her know you were referred by Frost Fine Finishing)

Not many people have seen the original home. It's easy to see why we liked it. There was a lot of potential. Looking back I kind of miss it!

And then the plot thickens as they say...

During our renovation we found some structural damage that was hidden behind drywall. The home was close to 100 years old, and previously had work done that cut through the main support beam. Not to mention many things that popped up. There's a reason all those TV remodel shows always have a big plot twist when a problem is uncovered, because it really happens! Always prepare for something to not go according to plan is now my #1 rule for home projects. The house needed major repair to be structurally sound, and we had a big decision to make. Was it worth an investment into the property? We looked at the numbers, and it made sense to rebuild. In the end we would have a house that was new and that would hold the value of what we put into it. We still find ourselves calling this a miracle...we are not sure how or why this happened, but it did! I prayed a lot for God to bring us to the home he had intended. I saw this new opportunity as a sign that we were being brought to that place. 

To be continued...

Thanks for reading my first blog post! I have so much more I want to include, but perhaps I was a bit ambitious to think I could summarize an entire two years into one post. I am hoping to continue to share with you more about me and the journey I've been on that has brought me to this place of sharing my experience with you. I'll pick up where I left off, and my next post I will have a ton of our building photos so you can see the whole process. 

Thanks again for reading and for your support, 

Jaclyn