Up the stairs and back down again

A while back, I had a wild hair to pull the carpeting off of my stairs, since I had discovered that there were nice hard woods underneath.  Brilliant idea! It wasn't until after taking off the carpet and ripping out about a million carpet tacks that I realized how hard a job it would be to actually stain them myself.  I know-whoa.  It would be quite an undertaking.  And I have three kids, two dogs, and two cats.  How in the name of all that is holy would I be able to keep them off of those steps for days on end?(Cue the nail biting.)

So, my clever idea was put on the back burner until one week I found my husband out-of-town and my children at their grandparent's for a week, along with the larger of my two dogs.  So, with just myself,my cats, and my 20-pound pooch here, I decided that enough was enough.  I was finishing those steps.  And voila-

The finished product!! Ain't it a thing of beauty?!  And the best part is, it only took me six hours!  Well, two years and six hours if you count the time in-between.  Even better, it was only $68!  That's right folks!  Just carpet off the bolt from Lowe's and all of the paint and primer I already had handy.  Oh, and some heavy-duty staples, so add another $2.50.  If I can do it, so can you kids!

But today is such a gloriously beautiful day, I will be spending it outside-and so should you.  Inhale that fresh air and warmer weather in early February.  It does the mind good!