From blah to ooh la la!

After completing our entryway makeover, I was determined to lighten other areas of our home as well.  I was loving the lighter, brighter colors and the crispness they added to our home.  So, I decided to move into the living room (just off the entryway).

We have a small dresser that once belonged to my Granny and Pop that sits between our two front windows.  It is nothing special, just a small pine dresser, but I love it because it belonged to them.  It houses our smaller board games, decks of cards and such.  So, it is a great storage piece!  I wasn't however loving the dark color I'd painted it years ago (it didn't turn out the color I had anticipated, but I was willing to live with it). 

Here's a couple not so great pics of the before.  (couldn't find a full length shot)



a really bad side view!

So, with the sunny weather we've been experiencing I decided to take it outdoors and give it the paint job it deserved.  I ended up spraying the drawers with Rustoleum's white Laquer spray paint, but rolled the cabinet with our trim paint as the wind was giving me fits when I got to the cabinet part.  I lucked out because the two colors are identical and you can't tell the difference.  I then distressed the edges of the cabinet and the drawers with fine sandpaper to reveal a bit of the old paint.

Here's a shot of the drawers up close...

And, the dresser finished and with its' new accessories (white porcelain lamp with burlap shade-Target, iron tray-Southern Living at Home, framed picture-Brighton, candle, vase and reed diffuser-all Pottery Barn).

I love how it turned out!!  I will be making some other changes to the room, and hope to reveal those soon.  The sea shell mirror is something I made a few years ago.  It is a store bought mirror that I hot glued shells that we have collected on our many vacations over the years.  It was a great way to display them!  However, I'd recommend wearing gloves...I had many a burnt fingers during that project!!!

Mirror, Mirror...Oh how I love you!

I finally managed to complete our front entryway makeover.  If you recall, this is what our entryway used to look like.

The mirror and chair belonged to my Granny.  It has been passed down several generations.  While I love both, I was craving something lighter and brighter.  Don't worry, both will find a new home in another room in our house.

I saw this table (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/00105064) on an episode of Nate and knew I had to have it!   I loved the glass top!  I knew I wanted to add light to this area as well, and found a great lamp while shopping for the table.  I love that it has a dimmer switch, so I can control the amount of light depending on time of day and my mood.  I picked up a couple accessories, and created some Word Art using Wordle (thanks Cassie).   The only thing missing was a new mirror.  One that would suit the space.  I found this one at Lowes...

But, I wasn't loving the color...not light, bright and airy!  So, what is the Queen of Spray Paint to do?  Why make a trip to Home Depot to purchase Rustoleum's Plastic Primer and White Laquer spray paint.  A couple coats of each later and ...this is how the entryway turned out~

I am loving the new look!  Light, bright, cheerful, and airy.  And, less fussy!  I am so thrilled with how this turned out that I am looking for ways to lighten other areas of our home as well.

I hope to have a couple of projects complete this week, and can't wait to share them with you!

Still here...

I am still  alive.  And, still have many unfinished projects!  However, I believe one will be finished by tomorrow and I will be able  to reveal our new entry way.  Let's just say it involves this in a "transformed" state...

Love this mirror, just not the color!  Hope you all have a wonderful weekened.  We are expecting temps in the 70s!  On a side note, little bit picked out her prom dress in under an hour tonight...record time!  It is a beauty...leopard print at its' finest!!!  Pics to come!!!

Circle, Circle, Dot, Dot...

Boy, this one brings back memories of the childhood playground on Valentine's Day!  Have a good one my SWEET friends!!

My Third Baby Girl~

Ha! Ummmm...NO, not that kinda baby girl!!!  I am way too old for that.  This baby girl is my joy at the moment.  Always happy, never needs a diaper change, and is content to play with a rubber ball.  She got a haircut today, so I couldn't resist sharing a couple of pictures of her in all her cuteness!!

She is just a year and a half old and came by way of our oldest daughter (boyfriend gave her as a gift, then broke up with her, and SHE got stuck with the dog, a dog that SHE could not have in her apartment at the time).  Hubby and I decided to take her temporarily permanently, and are so glad we did.  She is actually our 1st grandchild. LOL  Not to confuse her in the beginning (because we thought we were only keeping her temporarily til said daughter moved into her other apartment), we were (meaning hubby and I) called GG and Grandpa!  Well, we still are GG and Grandpa a year and a half later!!!  Hubby even bought me a pillow at Orvis the 1st Christmas we had her that says "Let me get this straight, my grandchild is a dog?"

Meet Kylee, our Cairn terrier puppy~



Looking good in my V-Day bandana!



Gnawing on my favorite red ball.



Valentine Day treats for ME???



Coming Up for Air~

I am finally coming up for air.  Between the holidays, then uniforms (still not completely finished, but hope to be this week), sick kiddos, snow/ice, and endless half-finished projects, I thought I'd have to be commited!! The work with the  uniforms (as I mentioned) is almost done, the kids are feeling much better (thank you!), the snow and ice have melted (but are forecasted for tonight), and well...I still have a million half-finished projects on my plate.  Okay...I may be exaggerating a wee bit.

We've spent a lot of time over the past few weeks  just weeding out and paring down.  My motto for this year was "SIMPLIFY"...everything!!  We've thrown out, donated,  and consigned a ton!!!  And, it feels good.  Really good.

I rearranged my kitchen a bit in the process to make it work better for us.  My favorite is our new "Coffee Bar".  We had additional cabinets added to a wall that originally only had a buffet/hutch on it.  Now it houses our extra dishes, glassware, entertainment items and our snack pantry.  We weren't really utilizing the counter in that space since it is on the wall opposite the sink, dishwasher, and microwave/oven.  So, I decided to move our new coffee maker over there along with the things we use daily for our cup of coffee/tea.  Oh, and I am loving our new Breville K-Cup machine (had an older Keurig, but it was so loud...this baby is super quiet).  Now we are utilizing this counter top space, and it freed up space on the other side where I prepare our meals and pack lunches daily.

Coffee Central

K-Cup Heaven!!

Cream, Sugar, Honey or Nutmeg Sprinkles???

I am also giving our downstairs bath a mini-makeover. I was getting bored with the Toile fabric and craving a bit more pattern and color.

Here's the before...

And a sneak peek of the after...







Today was spent at IKEA with my oldest daughter.  I found a new table and lamp for our entry way there.  Yup, another project!  I will hopefully be able to share that one soon.

Thanks for hanging in there with me!!



What's a girl to do?

Okay, so two + E.R. visits later and lots of meds, both girls are FINALLY on the mend.  Okay, so what's a mom to do with extra time at home?  Why, paint a few walls!!!  Hope to reveal what we've been up to soon.  Just a hint...one involves our downstairs bathroom, the other our front entry.  Oh, and the girls have daddy wrapped around their fingers...he's out for a Mickey D's run for the youngest!!! LOL  Migraines call for MAJOR french fries!!!  Thanks for all the well wishes.

Best of Intentions~

While hubby and I planned to work on clearing out the clutter in the basement this past weekend, the beautiful weather on Saturday (75 degrees and pure sunshine) derailed that game plan!  We spent the day downtown shopping.  Let's just say we paid IKEA and West Elm a little visit.

Sunday found us a church with plans to work on the basement after lunch.  That didn't happen either.  Enter a frantic phone call from our oldest child, barely recognizable for the sobs.  She was suffering an asthma/panic attack/migraine due to sinus congestion and a friend was taking her to the ER. So, we spent the day with her there.  She is doing much better. 

Fast forward a day...little sister is still trying to shake off another migraine.  Guess where we were today...yup, yet another ER!!  She is doing much better thanks to the IV med protocal.  Hopefully she will be back to school tomorrow. 

I  am hoping to get back to several projects I had to put on hold.  One involves a mini-makeover using this...

Here's hoping we are all back to our "normal" routine tomorrow!