New Projects!!!!!

Sooooooooo...

I'm taking this whole refinishing furniture thingy by the horns.  LOL!  I'm enjoying it so much!  Taking something well made but in need of modernization feels really good.  

Today I went out to my now new FAVORITE place in the world and returned with two really nice wood twin beds.  Headboard, footboard, rails, et al.  The price was ridiculously awesome and what made it even more awesome is that a family member decided to gift them to me for Christmas and called ahead to pay for them for me.  When I texted the family member to threaten to fight them they were all like...BRING IT!  And...SAY IT WITCHA CHEST!

I decided family shouldn't fight for Christmas and well...they'd prolly win anyway soooooo...

MERRY CHRISTMAS ME!!!!!!  GO ME!  IT'S MY CHRISTMAS!  GO ME!  IT'S MY CHRISTMAS!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!  I FEEL SO BLESSED THAT YOU LOVE ME SO!

So...I'm, of course, chomping at the bit to get them started.  I bought the paint I want to use on them and will probably do them tomorrow.  I'm putting them in a room that is navy blue and I want to make it super relaxing and still fun for guests who are kids.

Now...the thing I'm SUPER DOOPER excited about starting?  THIS!

Maaaaaaaaaan look!  I couldn't fit it in Deuce, of course so I couldn't bring it home.  The Robinator is in deadline mode so he might not be able to help me go get it until Saturday.

WILL I SURVIVE?????????????????????????

This will certainly be a test of patience as I have none when it comes to doing what I want to do when I want to do it.  So now...we wait.  And while we wait...we do the most searching out stuff online to help make it look like I want it to look.  I just ordered this:  AMACO Rub 'n Buff Wax Metallic Finish, Antique Gold, so I could get the brass handles to have a really awesome bright color.  The pull on the top drawer is missing so I need to either find a replace for that one or three to replace them all.  I hope to identify that before I go to bed.  LOL!

I have my Annie Sloan chalk paints already.  I know exactly how I want it to look.  Just gotta get it here and get started.

PATIENCE MONNIE!  PATIENCE!

So...yeah...

I can't do nuttin tonight though.  *sigh*

Easy and Cheap Bath Product Storage!

Yall know I love an organized house!  Seriously...

Sometimes though?  Organizing can be a challenge.  Take this challenge I had.  The tub is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY over there and there is nothing convenient to store your bath products in that you'd use while taking a bubble bath.  So I had them under the sink first and then on a corner shelf rack but it wasn't really easily accessible for when I needed something while already IN the tub.

I had these two stackable baskets that I was going to use under a sink in the guest bathroom.  And I always have wall hooks.  I put two wall hooks per basket on the wall and hung them baskets from them right at the foot of the tub.  PERFECT!

GO ME!

How easy and awesome is that?????????

Easy and Cheap Scarf Storage

I have some of those scarf hangers but they only have 5 holes.  You could put more than one scarf in each hole but you were back to searching through scarves again.

And apparently...I have a lot of scarves but only wear a select few.  You know...the ones on top.  LOL!

So...I went to the dollar store and got a few packs of those cheap plastic shower curtain rings.  You know...the ones that snap from back in the day?  Yeah...those.

Then...I snapped some on a hanger and hung my scarves.

Me likey.  Big time.  :)

Cane Back Chairs Painted with Annie Sloan Paint!

I bought these chairs for $25 each.  Real wood.  GO ME!  

Since I was painting them with Annie Sloan chalk paint, I didn't need to sand or prime them.  Just two coats of paint.

Next, I'm going to add clear wax to them and recover the cushions with that fabric.

I think they look pretty good with the table.

So...this project is almost complete.

The table and chairs cost me $150.  I had to buy the paint, dark wax, clear wax and stain.  A brush to put the wax on with and two yards of fabric to cover the chairs.

Yeah...I feel REALLY good about what I did here.  Imma mess around and pop a hip doing the electric slide 'cross these floors in joy!  LOL!  

Annie Sloan MIRACLE Chalk Painted Kitchen Table!!!!!!!

I fell down a rabbit hole recently on Pinterest regarding Annie Sloan chalk paint.  I got really excited and then Angela shared with me the china cabinet she did and that pretty much sealed the deal for me.  I wanted to do something with the paint.

Our dining table is in the dining room so we needed a kitchen table.  Of course I'd identified one.  For whatever reason, I didn't pull the plug on it immediately and The Robinator kept asking me when we were going to get a table.  I'd decided I wanted to use a bench against the bay windows so the view wasn't obstructed and well...I just kept dragging my feet because I couldn't find exactly what I wanted.  I wanted it to be fun but still neutral.  Crazy I know.

This is what I liked:

Basset Round Dining Table

But I wasn't crazy about the white.  The walls on the main level are taupe with white trim.  Too much white will make it BLAH...in my opinion.

The Annie Sloan pics on Pinterest made me feel like...YAAAAAAASSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!  I WANT THAT!!!!!!!!!  Pinterest Annie Sloan Table

Okay...so I needed a table.  

The Robinator was a good sport and went with me to a place that sold old furniture.  We were walking around when I found a table with crap stacked on top of it.  It looked horrid but it was REAL wood.  I asked the owner how much and when she said $50 I agreed INSTANTLY.

We brought it home but my shoulder was hurting so badly...he wouldn't let me start.  But I went to the place where they sold Annie Sloan chalk paint and picked out the color, Provence. I figured it would give me the pop of color I was looking for while still remaining relatively neutral.  

I decided I wanted to stain the top so I chose Minwax Dark Walnut as the stain for the tabletop.

I woke up this morning chomping at the bit to get it done but my shoulder was still messed up.  Because he's kinda awesomely fantastic...The Robinator sanded it for me and then I got to work.

These are the steps:

1.  Clean with Clorox cleaner and damp towel.

2.  Let dry.

3.  Sand top only (going to stain the top) with coarse sand paper.

4.  Wipe off dust.

5.  Sand again if needed.

6.  Wipe off dust.

7.  Sand with fine sand paper.

8.  Wipe off dust.

9.  Wipe down with damp towel.

10.  Let dry.

11. Stain.

12.  Let sit for 15 minutes.

13.  Wipe dry with old, soft t-shirt.

14.  Stain again if you'd like it darker.  (I didn't.)

15.  Paint rest of table with chalk paint.

16.  Let dry for an hour.

17.  Paint again.

18.  After 5 hours, add Annie Sloan dark wax to top.

19.  Wipe off excess wax.

I didn't buy the clear wax for the painted part because I didn't think I'd like it but I think I now want it so I'll go get it tomorrow and add it.

The table looks awesome.sauce.

In my opinion.

Would you try something like this?  I now want to paint and stain whatever I can find.  LOL!  I have identified the next piece I'm going to do and I am super-dooper excited about it!  I've found the chairs I want to use but not the bench so I might have to get it made. 

I want to use coordinating seat cushions and Sheffield valances in the space so that will be cool!  Buying new furniture made out of real wood can set you back a grip since the days of MDF being easy and much cheaper options.  I don't like MDF.  I'm a grownup.  I want my furniture to be made out of real wood.  So...either I'm going to have to upcycle old pieces or  spend ridiculous (to me) amounts of money to get good quality products.  With a little elbow grease and some vision...I'm pretty excited about the prospects ahead of me now that I know I can do this.  I know what my next two projects are going to be and Shelly has me penciled in to do something for her, but my project after that is a guest bedroom where I want to do two twin beds with an American flag motif.  

I'm all excited and whatnot and so is The Robinator.  Dude keeps passing by the table marveling that we only paid $50 for it.  LOL!  I love that.  

GOBBLE.GOBBLE!!!!!!!!

Painted Bathroom Cabinet

I am in mad get-house-ready for holiday mode.  We have a full bath on the main level that will be used as a powder room because the bedroom it "goes" with is now my office.  So...no showers or baths will be going on in that bathroom.

The cabinet was this dark brown stained blah of a thing and well...I wasn't happy with it.  

Because of this, the bathroom has straight up been in a disarray since we moved in.

Today was d-day for that bathroom now powder room and I did a few things that make me very, very happy!  GO ME!

The first thing was to try and decorate the tub/shower combo as well as possible.  It will probably never be used since there are other bathrooms for that purpose upstairs  so I was debating what kind of shower curtain I should use.  While debating with myself, I was about to put away some curtains I don't have any use for.  Because they had grommets like a shower curtain I thought...HMMMMMMMMM...

And I put them on the shower curtain rod.

Me likey.

Since there won't be any showering in this bathroom, I elected to not put a rug in there.  This might change.  I put a rug in there and stepped away.  When I returned I didn't like it but maybe it just wasn't the right rug.

The cabinet?  UGH.  That thing was horrid.  The medicine cabinet too.  Just regular wood stained medium darkish brown.

So I lightly sanded it, wiped it down, primed it and then painted it with Benjamin Moore Chelsea Gray

I REALLY like it!

I did the medicine cabinet too and changed out the knobs with some knobs I found at TJ Maxx 4 or $6.99.  GO.ME.AGAIN!

I really, really, really like the color and I deliberately didn't do more than one coat on the medicine cabinet so it could have that distressed/shabby look to the real wood.

I put up some other stuff and I'm looking for something to put on the wall above the shower so I'm really excited about how I was able to change the look of it for little or nothing.  

Have you ever painted cabinets before?  Do you still like them?  What color did you paint them?

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE DIY HOME IMPROVEMENT THINGYS!!!!!!!!!!!

Personal Dining Room Decorating Challenge!

My challenge this week is to make this dining room look finished for Thanksgiving.  That big empty wall is screaming for something and I haven't decided what yet.  I'm about to go out into the world and see if I can find something today before I follow through with an online order with hopes it will arrive before Thanksgiving.  

I don't know if I want to put another piece of furniture in the room even though that might make sense for storage use.  I'm considering shelves but only if I find the right size.  I could also do a huge mirror I guess (saw one recently) or an art grouping.  I was going to change the color in the room but the color is on the ceiling too and I just don't have the energy for all that right now.  

Oh...and window treatments.  There are two windows so I can't use what I already have.  

I'm looking for a larger rug too.

(Starting to think this all might not happen before Thanksgiving with my limited shopping locations for immediate gratification.  *sigh*)

Update Old Wood Furniture!

I have been wanting to do one of those Pinterest wood furniture makeovers for a while now.  I mean...every single time I see one I think to myself...I COULD DO THAT!  Then I go looking for something and I can't find anything because there is just so much stuff in the places which sell old furniture.

I was shopping for upholstery fabric the other day and passed several old furniture stores.  I stopped in and found this little table.  It's real wood and kinda cute.  I like it.  The top is all messed up from being used without a coaster and it looks like someone stained it once already.

I only paid $25 for it so, as The Robinator so eloquently put it, "Won't be too bad if you mess it up then."  LOL!  Dude has faith in me clearly.  LOL!

I'm on the fence as to if I should stain it or if I should paint it.  Pinterest people are really raving over this paint:  Annie Sloan Chalk Paint 

It's cool looking...but the paint costs more than the table.  LOL!  GO ME!  It's going to end up living in a room which I'm pulling inspiration from this picture to plan out:

I'm loving the natural elements of the color scheme here.  Amber, off-white, muted greens, wheat, and dark browns.

Whatcha thinking?  Should I paint it or stain it?  Have you updated any old pieces of furniture?  Any tips?  Where do you find your pieces?  

Simple Storage Solutions

I don't have an area for a full entertainment pantry so I'm being as creative as possible.  I was at the hair salon and looked up at the television and saw a commercial for an unfinished wood furniture store.  The pieces are solid wood and really well made (that sucker is HEA-VY!).  I walked through and picked up a few things.  This is the first piece I did.  It's one of those ladder shelves:

I painted it with a white semi-gloss and bolted it to the wall.  Then...I used the pieces I use more often which coordinate with each other and set it up.

I used white, crystal, wicker, silver, green and gold in all different shapes, heights and sizes.  I like the way it looks.  I'm probably going to add something to the bottom of that utensil thingy so the utensils have more height now that I look at this picture.  I think I'm going to add a plant as soon as I find the right container to put the one in that I like.  It's a maidenhair fern and it makes me smile.  So yeah...totally using it.  I love things that make me smile.  I like it so much that I might do a few more.  GO ME!  Whatcha think?  Cute even though I started with a basic ladder shelf?

Me Make $25 Accent Table from Ross Purdy!

I was in Ross and ran across this table:

It was blah.

Then I stopped at Lowe's and bought some paint:  Rust-Oleum Bright Coat Metallic Finish, Gold  

Then I took the top off the base and spray painted it.

And then I put the top back on it.

And then I like it.  :)  

GO ME!

I seriously miss having projects and home improvement stuff going on.  

Thanks from Camellia Beans!!!!!

So...this happened!  Camellia Beans loved my recipe and shared it on Facebook!

Camellia Beans 

SUPER.DOOPER.COOL!  For someone who grew up eating Camellia beans...it was truly an honor.  Well...yesterday they made the experience even cooler by sending me a box of goodies!  GO ME!!!!!

I can't even tell yall how awesome sauce that is to me!!!!!!!!!  I'm still all grin-t up!

How to Freeze Green Onions!

I love getting fresh produce from Robby's parents so when he walked in here recently with a lot of kale and a lot of green onions I was happy and then...um...erra...wait...what am I going to do with that much green onion?????  SHEESH!

Well...I hate wasting anything so I rinsed the dirt off them and then soaked them in water and vinegar for about 15 minutes, rinsing again.

Next?  I removed all the ends and dead bits.

Now?  Chop 'em up.

Next?  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, add the green onions and put in the freezer for a few hours. (Same as you do for individual meatballs.)

Then...remove from freezer grabbing bottle of Russian Standard vodka while you're in there and make a 3 olive dirty martini as reward for all that chopping.

Add onions to Ziploc bag and return to freezer!  Now when I need green onions to toss in a pot, I have some already frozen and they're not all clumpy so I can get a good measure of what I need when I need it.

GO ME!

Do you freeze excess veggies and herbs?  Don't you HATE when they go bad and you can't use them?  UGH!  Do you throw out a lot of veggies and fruit?

What's Your Cleaning Style?

I didn't know it but I guess I do have a cleaning style.  I tend to straighten and declutter first and THEN clean.  And I clean from top to bottom.  Dusting, fluffing, windexing, scrubbing, wiping, sweeping, mopping and vacuuming.  If I'm dusting...I do all the dusting in the whole house instead of per room, etc.  When I've finished mopping..the house is clean.  I put the Mr. Clean up, toss the towels I used to mop with in the washer and look around.  VOILA!  CLEAN HOUSE! 

My sister cleans as she straightens and declutters.  She cleans from top to bottom and then vacuums or mops just that room moving on to the next room.  So she's a room to room cleaner.

A framily member straightens and only really cleans if it "looks" dirty in all rooms but the bathroom and kitchen which she keeps clean always.  

What's YOUR cleaning style?  What's your cleaning day?  Do you do one room at a time or one task at a time?  Do you deep clean weekly or just keep the kitchen and bathroom deep cleaned weekly? Do you only dust when you notice dust or regularly?

What is the most unorganized space in your home right now?  Me?  Garage.  UGH!

How to Organize a Tiny Pantry

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I currently have to use the world's most inefficient pantry.  I don't like clutter and the older I get...the worse this gets for me.  I know it doesn't bode well for my future peace of mind but oh well.  What can I do?  *sigh*

The door is 18 inches wide.  

*BLINK*

There are only three shelves and the shelves aren't very deep.  

This is my problem.

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12' wide and one piece.  The one I saw at Home Depot was two pieces attached with a c-hook so they've forever sway when you opened the door.

I just ordered this to hang on the door:  ClosetMaid Adjustable 8-Tier Wall and Door Rack, 12-Inch

And I ordered some more canisters and whatnot so I could stack stuff neatly.  I like these because they come with their own measuring cups and they are BPA free:  Sistema Klip It Bakery Container 

I love the canisters that clip.  The solid clunk makes me know it's airtight!

I'm kicking myself because I just ordered some stuff from The Container Store and had I thought about this before then I could have added to that order since the Elfa sale is going on currently and, as always during the sale, all Elfa components are 30% off.  I could have added some things ya know?  Oh well.  I hate shipping fees more than anything and I haven't the slightest reason why.  Crazy huh?

Do you have a pantry this size?  Any tips on how to utilize it properly?  What do you do so it doesn't drive you insane being a cluttered disorganized mess?  

DUECES BIOTCH!

This damn plant has been placed in every window in this house.  It has been fertilized, allowed to dry until the dirt pulls in, wet throughout, dribbled on, soaked sitting just the bottom of it in water for 30 minutes, etc.  and it STILL keeps dropping healthy leaves like it's so damn miserable and has lost it's will to live.  The last thing I read was that the poor dear might need a specialized grow lamp like this one:  Hydrofarm JSV2 2-Foot Jump Start T5 Grow Light System

$60 light for a plant I paid $8 for two years ago.  

I'm two seconds away from snatching this little shit up out that damn filigree planter and chunking it in the outside garbage can.  I'd walk away from that shit like this yelling "DUECES BIOTCH!"

Yeah...it's like that and that's the way it is.

HOOOAH!

Wall Mount Mail and Key Organizer

Wall Mount Mail and Key Rack

Straight up GENIUS!  Why didn't I ever think of this????????

Where do you  keep YOUR keys and mail at home?

Are You TRYING to Kill Me?

I have many, many, many issues regarding household cleaning that I just have to deal with.  I need cleanliness and order.  Like...NEED.  I can't help it.  I don't like messy.  I don't like things not being where they need to be.  I normally only have one unorganized space in my home at any given time and it's usually where I sit and do my reading.  I've attempted to coral it with reading baskets, trunks, etc.  but yeah...no dice.  I generally have newspapers, magazines, books, back of packages I've saved, some random pamphlet, cards, letters, etc. sitting right by me and well...there is no rhyme or reason how I read them or put them back.

Cuz my brain is always on fire.

That said...there are things about the household that drives me insane when other people do it.  Some things I can control...some things I can't.  The two things that can tip me over the edge at any given time however?

1.  Not rinsing dishes and/or loading the dishwasher properly.

2.  Not pushing in your chair or stool when you get up off the chair or stool.

The dishwasher thing just makes me stop talking.  I will pull each dish out and rinse the food off the dish and then arrange it properly.  Dishes shouldn't touch.  Nothing should be on top of stuff.  That's how you get chipped dishes and yall...I HATE chipped dishes!  If food is on a dish on the bottom rack then it's going to be shot up into the dishes on the top rack which are usually glasses.  Who wants dried minced garlic stuck to their glass?  NOBODY!

Okay...okay...lemme calm the heck down cuz um...yeah.  I'm twitching just writing about it.

Not pushing in your chair is just lazy as shit.  That is the simplest thing you can do to recreate dress right dress order around the table or counter.  Do you think a waiter is going to come behind you and push it in for you?  Why in the hell aren't you pushing the chair back under the table?  Do you know how long it takes to do this?  Like...two seconds.  I know because I just did it and counted off the seconds  while doing it.  TWO SECONDS!  

Me no likey lazy.

I tend to break all the way down when there is chaos outside of my control.  I like order.  I like things organized.  I can deal with it being unorganized for a bit but then...that tiny thin string keeping me together snaps and I become a whirl of activity.

But only if I'm alone.

Crazy huh?

What about you?  What drives you CRAZY household related in YOUR home?  

Decorating Your Mantle for Christmas!

I've started doing a bit of Christmas decorating.  Since this is my first time doing Christmas someplace other than 13700, it took me a while to figure out how to do what to where.  I still haven't figured out where I'll put a tree yet and, honestly, I'm considering doing a much smaller version of the tree we normally get so as to not overwhelm the living room.  I'll probably have that figured out come Sunday.

I started doing the mantle the other day and ran into a major snaffoo.  Once I'd removed everything that was on the mantle, I accidentally hit the mirror ripped out the hanger on one side.

JOY.

So I had to wait for Robby to help me redo that because I couldn't rehang the mirror solo.

Aiight.  Now, I didn't want to add too much because again, the room is kinda small.  I wanted to go simple and, I wanted to use stuff I already had.  Well, yall know me, I was in Michael's and found a gold 'M' for $3 and then I was over at TJMaxx and ran up on a yet another tree that I had to have.  Hey...I justified it by saying it matched the color scheme I wanted to go with this year.  And it was different.  

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Other than that...that's all I really needed to get.  Except for some ribbon.  And these three cheap ornaments that I hung UNDER the mantle.  

But I digress.

As always.

So...the first thing I had to do was hang the wreath on the mirror.  After several tries using different things, I finally got the look I wanted using two 12 pound Command velcro strips on either side.  I love Command strips because they can be removed easily and without damage.  I tried using 4 pound ones initially but that ended the way you're thinking it ended.  Yup...wreath all over the floor and glitter everywhere.

Prior to attaching the wreath to the mirror, I looped a piece of ribbon around the top and simply tucked it behind the mirror to make it seem like it was used to hang the mirror.  I thought that would give it a nice look.  I'm sitting here now looking at it and I think I'm going to flip the back ends of the ribbon over to the front and cut a 'V' in them to give it even more of a tailored look if that makes sense.

Once the wreath was hung, I placed two berry trees on opposite ends to balance it (and to hide that goodness awful antennae cord as much as possible).  Then I added a faux pine garland.  

Next, I wove a string of battery operated lights to the garland, our JOY stocking hangers, my 'M' and my new tree.  Then...it looked like I wanted it to look so I didn't add another nuttin' above the mantle.

Under the mantle I simply hung three cheapo ornaments using Command mini hooks.  They are so small that I might just leave them there.  All together, it looks really simple and nice if you ask me.  (TIP:  You can pretty much buy Command hooks and strips anywhere but keep in mind that Michael's sells them too and you can ALWAYS find a 40% off coupon for Michael's full priced items.  GO ME!)

Me likey.

What do you think?  Do I need to add anything?  Have you started decorating yet?  Do you have a mantle in the room you spend the most time in?  Do you decorate it for Christmas?  Have you ever hung a wreath on a mirror?  How'd you do it?

Team Martha or Team Gwyneth? Weekend Before THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!!!

Alright!  It's here!  The Super Bowl of FOOD prep time!

What are you doing this weekend to prep for Thanksgiving?  

Cleaning out the fridge?

Cleaning the oven?

Dicing your trinity?

Making pie crusts?

Grocery shopping?

Completing your tablescape?

Searching for recipes?

Whatcha doing to get ready?

Who are you?  Team Martha steeped in rich traditional ways of doing things or Team Gwyneth adding a new age whimsy to the holidays?  

(I love watching them beef.  LOL!  Thanksgiving Recipe: Gwyneth Paltrow Slapping Martha Stewart In the Face)

Sofa Question

We're using our pillow back sofa now and I don't like it.  The pillows take up too much seat cushion room.  The pillows are never straight enough after using.  Too many damn pillows to get comfy and half end up on the floor after only 10 minutes.  UGH!

What kind of sofa do you have as your MAIN use sofa?  

What do you like about it?

What do you dislike about it?