Enjoying the simple things

When life doesn't go according to plan

2017-06-06T14:58:00.000-04:00

We all may have a vision of how we want life to go. For the most part, days are happy and we move along just living life, knowing that we'll have an occasional sprinkle of disappointment or sad times along the way. But does anyone really envision what those sad times might be? I don't.

Even as I sat, listening to a few doctors tell me of their findings that cancer had invaded my body, my mind was not processing their words. It was so far off my radar that my mind had a hard time catching up to my ears. I didn't want to hear any more but sat, unmoved and pretended to be interested in what they were saying. What I really wanted to do was run out of the office, run, run run.

School pictures my way

2017-04-19T22:14:00.002-04:00

I love the school pictures that the kids bring home every year from school. Those backdrops and poses are kind of a right of passage, aren't they? I had some doozies - complete with the Dorothy Hamill hair cut and wide collared jacket! It was the 70's, that's my only defense.

What I don't love about school pics is the price however. It's a little high, especially when you have multiple kids' pictures to order. So I buy the bare minimum from school to save for posterity and take more myself.

These were for the fall. Spring portraits will be soon!

Chicks need a cute house

2017-04-02T10:08:00.000-04:00

I think it's time to bring back this craft I did 6 years ago!

These are egg dioramas that I made with a balloon and paper maché, kind of how you would make a pinata, only much smaller. After the balloon dried, I just cut a hole in the egg and outfitted their house with moss, and some little doll house items and embellished with crepe paper. The chandelier in the last picture is one of my earrings that I was keeping in hopes of finding the match but I never did, so it was re-purposed this way.

The kids loved them and they hung them off the light over the dining room table at Easter. While layering the paper strips, I added a wire so that they could easily be hung. I may even make some for the shop this time!

Linking to Nifty Thrifty Things
Chic on a Shoestring
The Dedicated House

Natural materials

2017-03-30T15:56:00.002-04:00

So my business partner and I are adding handmade and reworked jewelry to our shop. Here's a little snippet of what we're working on. Starr is modeling the wood burned discs and hemp bracelets. We're obsessed with them as we are Starr's lip color!

A couple of things I have vowed to do this year

2017-02-06T17:49:00.001-05:00

1. I need to blog more. Not that people are on pins and needles waiting. It's just for me. I like to write (type) out my thoughts and look back on what we were doing here.

2. Cook more. We both have work schedules outside of the home which really make it difficult to have a normal dinner hour so we tend to eat out more than we would like. The other night I made Sweet pork barbacoa, Cilantro lime rice, pinto beans and cherry pie. We had all the fixins for burritos or taco bowls too. Blair said it was nice to finally be eating at home. ?? I was happily surprised by that. Jon got me an Instant Pot for Christmas. I kept saying that I needed a new slow cooker and had never heard of these pots. I use the pressure cooker option all the time. It's so fast, I love it.

3. Train regularly for my 5 Ks. I tend to think about prepping for a race about a week before I need to run and that's not good. I always feel so heavy during the race when I do that and I never break my time from before. I also want to do it because I'm not getting any younger and it's getting harder to stay/get in shape. :) Thanks forties.

4. Take more pictures. I tend to leave my camera on my desk and opt for my cell phone. I miss setting up a shot and just having a better quality photo. As for the photography biz, that's getting overhauled. More on that later!

5. Read more. I say this every year but then I cue up Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Showtime, see the problem here?? and then I get hooked on a show, like I currently am with Man in the High Castle or A Series of Unfortunate Events. And I'm also waiting for some of my series to start again so the books are put down and are rarely picked up again. Must stop that. One book on my list is Fire Shut up in My Bones by Charles Blow. He is a very insightful journalist and I am really interested in reading his memoir.

I mentioned to a co-worker that I went to see The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and then yesterday she brought his book to work for me to read. Wasn't that so nice? So that's another must-read.

6. Take the business to a new level. My business partner are re-tooling our shop and want to expand a bit. We're taking to the road to hunt for more interesting pieces and decor in the Spring. We're also looking to do affordable interior decorating consultations.

And that's about all the changes I can handle at the moment. We'll see how I do in the next few months.

Have a great day!

L

In the blink of an eye they grow

2017-01-18T12:11:00.000-05:00

When Charley was born the nurse said, "Look at all that dark hair" but after she cleaned her up and brought her to me, the nurse said, "She's not dark haired, she's a blonde!" and handed her to me.

I cradled her in my arms, thinking about how good it felt to be resting with her and reviewing the past few hours of our journey together and how quickly she came into the world. I studied her face, taking note of the little bruise on her nose, and how she had the same stork bite I did. Her big eyes were dark and alert and then I noticed the coloring of her face. I thought that it looked more like my skin tone and then thought, "Wait a minute" and pulled back her cap. I knew it. Smiling, I whispered to her, "You're a red head."

Happy 20th!

A New Year

2017-01-08T19:05:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year!

It was a whirlwind of a year and ended up being a short, jam packed holiday season. I wish it would've been for more fun things but really it's because our outside jobs were keeping us a little busier than usual.

I was able to squeeze in making the famous Hernandez family tamales though. It just wouldn't be Christmas without them in this casa.

I hope the season was good to you and the New Year brings much happiness! I've got some fun things lined up for the shop this year, including a buying trip with my business partner. We're looking forward to that. We'll sniff out flea markets and thrift shops from here to Memphis!

Be back soon!

Laura

Friday Finds - What I just can't pass up

2016-07-14T22:16:00.001-04:00

What's new in the world of thrift shopping?
Well here are just a few finds from last week.

This ceramic faux bois platter, I looove. It's originally from Crate & Barrel

but I found it at the Goodwill for less than 3 bucks. A Faux bois design that's ON a platter? It's pretty much my dream find. Of course I'll say that about the next thing but for today it is.

Again with the candlesticks.
I can't help it. Aged brass is my favorite

and they come in so handy for all kinds of tablescapes and decorating.
Primarily they just sit in a smaller group
on the credenza though. (They number around 20 I think overall?)
I should pare them down but in due time. I can't be rushed into that process.
The large one on the left, I bought in Hot Springs, Ark last year for about $5.00.
But the other two are the most recent at $2.47 and $1.00


I like it when the candle melts and drips all over. It can always clean up. Nothing is that precious around here.

I don't really need another vintage blue jar but the color is so great and I can't pass them up when I find them so inexpensively. If for nothing else I can use them as vases. A keystone jar has eluded me but I found one and since I live in the Keystone state...well it's kind of a keeper. The other one I found is an Atlas jar with a presto lid (on the far right) I love it when they keep their lids on ;)

I always wonder about their ages. If you do too, here's a handy tool found I on Minnestrista
that gives the date and distinguishing features of the jars.

A handy guide, isn't it?

We'll see what I stumble upon this weekend. Happy hunting!

Linking to:
Chic on A Shoestring | I heart Naptime |
Flourishing at Home | The Dedicated House

Intelligent Domestications

A few life lessons learned in Softball

2016-07-01T12:44:00.000-04:00

We're finally done with baseball and softball. I loved the season but I'm ready for a little time away from having to get kids to practice, often at the same time and across town from each other. Blair really did a great job in softball. Her coach took me aside and told me how much they appreciated her being so teachable. I really appreciated hearing that and it got me thinking about the season and what our take-away was from it.

3 Things:

The first thing is what the coach said, being teachable. It's a valuable life lesson. Being able to take direction and learning how to work with others will translate in any setting whether it's in school, sports, careers or just being a decent human being.

Because it was her first try at softball, she was a little hesitant and a bit nervous. She felt that everyone was ahead of her in skills. While that may have been true, I encouraged her to get out there with a positive attitude and reminded her that practice was the only real difference. If she was consistent in her practice, she would improve quickly and her determination would catch the coaches' eye. I think we can all be like that. We're looking at the person next to us, thinking that their skills might be stronger than ours. Sometimes they are and that's ok but we all have areas of strength. The only difference is in the area but we're equal in strength.

And the most important thing gained on the field this year was her confidence. I liked seeing her get ready for her game with determination and making sure all of her equipment was in check. She hustled out to the field in such a way that we told her brother his team could learn a thing or two from watching the girls. She quickly became picked for an in-field position on 2nd base due to quick feet and quick thinking. Did she make some errors? Absolutely. But she started out afraid of the ball and in the end, ran up on it, trying to control the play rather than letting it control her. I love seeing that drive in girls! Those goals being accomplished over a short amount of time really boosts their confidence and they take what they learn and apply it to the next thing. And so it just continues and becomes stronger.

We love #42 around here - paying homage to the great Jackie Robinson.

Blair (right) running up on the ball to throw to 1st

Adjusting the visor

The last huddle

And they say redheads can't wear pink

2016-06-26T22:52:00.000-04:00

Charley

Spring 2016

A walk through the forest trail

Dress: Marshall's

Blue beads, gold leaf necklace, arm cuff: thrifted

Friday Finds: Goodwill Outlet, the Hunger Games of thrift shopping

2016-06-17T11:48:00.002-04:00

Do you have a Goodwill Outlet near you? It's the craziest thing I've seen and I am absolutely hooked.

It's a semi-large building with big blue containers of stuff that you just have to dig your way through. All of the bins are separated in basically two departments: one side for clothes and the other for everything else. You pay by the pound which is usually really low. Mine is .59 cents a pound for clothes and glass but I don't bother with clothes. I head straight for the other side, digging into the dishes and household bins. (Update* I went there today and the price is going up to $1.19 lb)

Let me just tell you that people are not careful about tossing dishes when they dig. I've had to duck a few times when people get a little feisty. Not kidding. When a new bin is brought out people run to it and the workers have to tell everyone to move out of the way. Some days it's hit or miss on the finds but this day was definitely a hit and not as busy as usual.

Now for the finds:

I had this Robinson Ransbottom canister in my cart and a woman came up to me and said she had the lid to it so she brought it to me. I found two pitchers at a yard sale once and put them in the shop so when I saw the canister I knew it was from the same collection. The company began in 1856 and merged to become Robinson Ransbottom in 1920. They closed in 2005 so it's a good time to hunt down the older pottery pieces. Interest in it is gaining. It's well made and the farmhouse utilitarian look is certainly in demand. Be on the lookout for it!

Another favorite was the vintage glass candlestick. I have a collection of candlesticks which I tend to pare down every now and then. I also got the silver one there as well.

I loved finding this vintage paperweight. Any type of ephemera is right up my alley.

Another silver pitcher? Why not? I put this one in the shop.

How about a vintage ironstone platter? I tend to collect those as well, along with cutting boards. The one I found (top) has more crazing and discoloration than the others but I never mind that. It's a heavy 16" platter in the Loop and Line pattern, with no chips or cracks.

J.F. stands for Jacob Furnival and Co. and he produced Earthenware and Ironstone from 1845-1870 in Cobridge, Staffordshire, England. I always love to see markings.

I also found a bunch of mismatched china, some old goblets and a small silver trophy cup. Another person handed me an item, a glass heart candy dish (not pictured) with a large hobnail rim. For the life of me I can't remember the pattern name. She told me that she was married in 1953 and got a 16 piece set (that the candy dish was a part of) as a wedding gift. Regrettably she got rid of it. I told her she should keep the dish but she insisted I have it. Nice, right?

And in all my total was $12.61.

A quick snap of the outlet

Have a good day!

Love,

Linking to

French Country Cottage | Clairejustine

What about Co. | Chic on a Shoestring

Tidy Mom | Shabby Art Boutique

The Girl Creative | My Sweet Things

Weathered beauty before and after

2016-06-14T09:30:00.001-04:00

It's a quick one!

I picked up this little demilune table for a few dollars. It's nice as is but I wanted to give it a paint wash, similar to the Restoration Hardware dresser pictured below.

The quick rundown:

It took about 15 minutes, tops.

After sanding the top with my orbital sander, I stained it with Minwax Classic Gray stain and sealed it with a wipe-on poly. I love using a wipe-on because I never have streaks that an aerosol or a brush-on can give. While that was drying, I dipped a brush in some diluted Dixie Belle Paint in the color 'Burlap' and just painted it on the legs.

Since it was watered down, I easily rubbed it off and reapplied until I had the look I wanted.

Rather than using a gray paint I thought the linen color would blend better with the mahogany stain of the table. I sell this paint line in my shop.

And now it's perfectly weathered.

Have a great day everyone.

Love,
L

Linking to

The Dedicated House/Before and After Wednesday

Rustic & Refined

Between naps on the porch

DIY Dreamer

Cozy Little House

Ginger Snap Crafts

The Happy Housie

Posed Perfection

Average but Inspired

Craft Dictator

My Sweet Things

Mom, tell me a story

2016-05-29T22:14:00.000-04:00

At bedtime my two youngest always ask for a story about when I was little. It seems I struggle a bit more these days than I used to in recalling stories from my past. They try to jog my memory by saying, "Remember the story when you hit that girl?" I tell them adamantly that I did not hit a girl. "I have never hit another human being, ever. I chucked a snowball at her face, yes, and I was mad at her, but I didn't hit her hit her. And she would've killed me had she gotten a hold of me. Luckily we became friends and laughed about it years later."

Then they go on, "Remember when you fell off your horse and landed on your back on a cow pie?"
"Yep, I remember that clearly. There was a big splat." I say as I bring the covers up and tuck them around their shoulders.
"Or how about the time you were in a greased pig contest?"
"I told you that one? Yeah, I almost had him. I doubt if we'd do that today. Probably not nice for the pigs."
"Or when you use to go haying with your dad and get a milkshake and sit on the hay bales on the truck?"
"I like the one about the goat trying to eat your name tag on your first grade field trip, when the name tag was still around your neck and your mom got into a tug of war with him."

That memory made me laugh out loud. I could still see my mom's face as she wrestled with the goat to get the name tag out of his mouth. She said to me, "Goats like to chew on anything!" as I was becoming nose-to-nose with him.

And that's where they got me to tell another story, drudged up from the vault of memories.

Moments like this remind me that putting down the fairy tale book in favor of a story about when you were young can make for some great storytelling. And I like to think that my kids can more easily envision me when I was like them.

All five of my lovelies with me and Jon in the background talking with Belén's grandpa-in-law

Wedding bouquet surprise and budget-friendly blooms; a DIY

2016-05-23T21:01:00.004-04:00

For my daughter's wedding, I handled all of the flowers. While I would've loved to have gone through a floral designer, it just wasn't in the budget. So, I found a site called Afloral that was awesome and they really make it easy to be your own designer. They have many silk flowers and pre-made bouquets to choose from that were quite budget-friendly. They also have a host of ideas to help you make some decisions on what type of flower goes with what. I had a million things in my cart but had to narrow it down of course.

We ordered two rose bouquets in pink cream (which is now unavailable) each were 12.99 before the 10% discount and the others were a mix of pink, white and cream bouquets. with touches of Silver Brunia. Each ran 5.99 - 9.99. Blair's, the youngest bridesmaid, was all fresh. They were all pretty but even when ordering I knew I was going to add in real flowers for fragrance as well as helping to fill them out if needed, especially for the Bride and also because they were going to do double-duty as centerpieces. They really were nice enough to stand on their own, though. The flowers looked very real and were of great quality. And because this was the bride and groom's day, her bouquet needed to be set apart from the rest so she was the only one who had live hydrangeas; the bridesmaids had roses, carnations and baby's breath.

I bought all of the fresh flowers at our local grocery store. I knew they always have a great selection and scoped them out about a week before to see how fresh they were looking. They just so happened to have a sale the day before the reception where it was a BOGO free so I came away with 6 bundles of flowers for 18.00 and added in another 3 at full-price which were bouquets of roses and hydrangeas. All total it was less than 40.00 for two buckets of flowers!

The bouquets from Afloral were tied with raffia but I substituted with gray, blush pink and gold ribbon and let it drape from the bouquets. With floral tape I secured the fresh flowers to the silk ones after I had disassembled the bouquets. I wanted to insert the fresh blooms in-between the silk rather than attaching them to the outer part of the pre-made bouquet.

As a surprise for my daughter, I attached two picture charms that I bought at Hobby Lobby and inserted photos of her late grandmothers. Honestly, that may have been the thing I was most excited about doing. I was so happy when Belén looked to see what was underneath the leaves. We all got misty eyed at that moment.

More wedding ideas to come!<3 p="">

Looking from Heaven, Grandmother charms.

New Sisters-in-law

All the bridesmaids

Thanks for reading.
Have a great day,

~L
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<3 p="">
<3 p="">
<3 p="">Linking to
<3 p="">Tauni Everett
Handy man, Crafty woman
Rooted in Thyme
Nifty Thrifty Things

Idaho, The District and a Pennsylvania wedding all in one - Belén and Jordan

2016-05-20T18:53:00.003-04:00

We were in wedding mode for about 4 months which is one of the reasons I have been super lame in my blogging. But I thought I'd show a few wedding pictures. Eventually I will get into detail about the bouquets, the decorations and budget. (I was on a serious budget.) But for now please enjoy a few pictures from the National Mall in Washington DC. More to come!

An underlying fear in the creative process; who do you think you are?

2016-02-29T16:43:00.001-05:00

As I listened to a webinar about how to write a book proposal, something was said that struck a chord with me. Although this was geared towards the proposal, I feel we can apply it to our lives in anything we do.

The admin asked, "Does the world really need another book?"
The answer was no, not really. We have a tons of them.

Think about that for a moment. Do we really need more of anything that we do? Books? crafts? Pinterest pages? IG pictures? Blogs? tchotchkes? No, no, no and a couple more no's. (Or is it nos?) Anyway, there are a million, right?

She said something after that which I didn't catch but then I heard this,
"The world needs you to come alive."

I have felt inundated with all of the informational how-to's out there and also felt that what I've been reading or seeing was just recycled content, my blog included. We could make a list of it all but that's not the point.

The point is that we come alive during our creative process! And the world needs you to do that
because somewhere along the line, someone may be waiting for the right piece of inspiration and yours might just be it, whatever that may be. It doesn't always mean that you're making something either. Creativity is broad and encompasses all sorts of things and moments.

So don't worry that something you want to do may have been done before. Don't let the question of 'who do you think you are' creep into your mind. You're making yourself the subject matter expert!

Don't worry that your idea might be jumping off from another person's idea. Just run with your creative process and see how happy and satisfied it makes you.

Current state of affairs

2016-01-23T12:03:00.001-05:00

This is the scene on the East coast right now. I just opened the door really quickly and took a picture with my computer. We have over 2 feet and 24 hours more of snow to go. The weather had been so mild I never brought in the patio furniture. Oops.

We're in our pajamas, snacks spread out on the table, napping in-between games. I loooovvee being snowed in. Everything is shut down, except Turkey Hill. This is the first time in 16 years that Jon does not have to put the car in 4 wheel drive and head in to a hotel to make sure all the guests are taken care of and that the power has not gone off.

My main job is Mon-Fri and from home for the most part so I have no where to be and we closed the shoppe today so I really have no reason to go out. For those that have to make it in to work, bless you and stay safe!

Non-resolution new year goals

2016-01-10T00:24:00.000-05:00

While I'm not a big resolution-making type at the new year, I do like to have some simple goals in mind that I'd like to accomplish. I tend to look back and see what I have done in the past year and build upon those things and stretch myself in other ways. Nothing I write down is too big of a challenge. I'm pretty simple.

Last year Jon was gone the whole year to Arkansas. I actually

really liked living there over the summer on Lake Hamilton. It grew on me quickly but for various reasons we couldn't make it our new home. I enjoyed lake living sooo much. I've always been a water person and wish that I could continue to live near it. We took full advantage of having the beach be our back yard when we lived in Hilton Head, SC. I had forgotten how much I loved the water so one of my goals for this year is to get out a little more. Whether that is finding a lake to do a little fishing or heading out early on a weekend to get to Cape Henlopen, I want to be at the water's edge somewhere. We sold our kayaks when we moved back to PA but there's always Craigslist.

(sooc) In our backyard in Arkansas

Another focus is to do more photos that I want to do. If I see another train track photo I may just die. (No offense to anyone doing those. It is illegal, btw!) I just want to go back to what I was doing 20+ years ago; more natural lifestyle, street photography with the occasional portrait.

One of my favorite sessions. I had to get her to stick out her stomach so you could actually tell she was 9 months :0

Gorgeous HS senior

@Home Again, my little shop within a shop, is going well but I want to stretch myself there. It's easy to make/redo or bring in items that you automatically know your demographic will like but honestly, that can get boring. I want to bring in items that I think people might not have thought about yet. I found a 1960's bar cart in Arkansas that we lugged home. The handles were inset brass and were a regency style. The top folded out to create extra prep room. I stripped the top to its natural finish which was a great contrast to the black base. I immediately loved it but knew it could be a hard sell for this area. So I took the chance and was happy today when I went in to the shoppe and saw that it had sold. I just have to go with what I like and take more chances. It will pay off eventually.

I want to create a haven for my family within our home. This has been on my mind a lot. Since Jon's career change, which has been anything but smooth, I have felt the need to really make our home a place where we can close off the world and enjoy our time together. Time goes by so quickly and soon my two oldest will be gone and I wonder where the time has gone. Life is busy and in an unforgiving economy, it takes two salaries to raise a family of 7. There's just no getting around it for us and we live well within our means, opting for used cars and vintage furniture rather than new and top of the line anything (unless we win the lottery, then I may have something new ;)) I'll be focusing on this aspect more than anything I think.

Reading. Jon always reminds me that I used to be a voracious reader. I'm not sure what happened but I know I just need to schedule time to read. I have a stack of books whose dust jackets are literally collecting dust.

Service. I HAVE to make time for this. Not just to be an example to my kids but because I genuinely like people. I like to know their stories, what makes them tick so to speak and whatever way I can help, I want to. I signed up with an organization who makes scarves and places them in public locations (aka scarf-bombing) in the inner-city for the homeless to take to keep warm. I think it is such a sweet service.

Friends. I must do better at keeping in touch. I have been so lucky to have lived in different places and made friends with some of the best of the best. I have to let them know that. Being home in Washington state over the summer really reminded me that those ties are important to ones well-being.

The other, smaller goals will come over time. I'll be bringing updates periodically on those as well as what I've mentioned. Good luck on yours!

~Laura

Happy New Year!

2016-01-01T20:58:00.002-05:00

I'm recommitting myself to a few things in this New Year - one being this blog.

The rest will reveal themselves.

Until then, Happy New Year from me to you!

A gift, service and a run in Philly

2015-11-10T10:18:00.000-05:00

A year ago I was at my Uncle's funeral where my cousin Wendi and I were talking. Unfortunately over the years of living here ( I grew up on the West coast) the only time I tend to see some of my PA cousins are at funerals.

So as we were talking, Wendi asked if she could get Blair a birthday present and of course I said, "Sure!" so she asked Blair if she liked to read. Blair gave a resounding yes. Wendi said that her niece was editing a book which would soon be released and she could probably get her a signed copy. Blair was so excited about this. Wendi texted me a month later and said she hadn't forgotten about it but life came up and she would get on it. I told her not to worry. I had actually forgotten about it when Wendi messaged me again and said she had it and would mail it out.

It wasn't too long after that when I received word from my cousin, BethAnn, Wendi's sister, that Wendi had been diagnosed with a brain tumor during this time. I was shocked. I had just hammed it up with her in pictures a few months back. BethAnn said that Wendi kept telling her to get the book mailed for her. I responded by saying enough with the book, just get better. But there would be no getting better. The cancer took her quickly and mercilessly. Here she was, in the fight of her life, and she was trying to get Blair that book.

At her funeral, Blair received her gift from Wendi. It is now a prized possession. And it's a constant reminder that my worst of moments so far are not that tough and I can do a better job of making time for service.

So the least I could do was to join BethAnn's team in the Race for Hope in Philadelphia, through the National Brain Tumor society, to say thank you to Wendi and honor her memory.

Best seller

BethAnn and me

Me and my little cheering section. Love them.

A little thought

2015-10-20T16:01:00.000-04:00

It seems like someone always cuts in front of me in line. Today it was at a craft store, the other day it was at a convenience store and last week it was at a grocery store. And I'm always behind someone going 10 miles under the speed limit. My first thought to myself is usually sarcastic but then I quickly stop and think. There is no place so important for me to be that I can't wait an extra few minutes to get there. I also think that being held up 5 to 10 minutes may be keeping me from something dangerous or putting me in a perfect position for something good. Do you think this way too?

A little side table rehab

2015-10-07T13:38:00.001-04:00

I spotted this side table at a thrift shop in Arkansas and despite its flaws, I had to see what I could do with it. The details were just too good.

The top had a 3 sided rim but one side was gone. I knew that removing the other two would be easy and patching the divot it would leave with wood filler wouldn't be hard either. The top's veneer was bubbling and peeling so that had to come off. It's not an easy task to repair veneer so I didn't want to attempt that. I peeled off as much as I could and the rest got the orbital sander treatment, using 80 grit sand paper. Because of the vintage nature of the piece, I wasn't worried about scratches and dings on the rest of it. Paint would take care of that.

I made sure not to sand down too far by using 220 grit sandpaper on the

mouse sander this time and filled in where the rim had been.

I used Americana Decor chalk paint in Primitive and Grunge it! aging dust by Vintage Market & Design to bring out the details. After waxing, I used fine grit sandpaper to lightly distress the high points. I always wax furniture at the shop just in case something is scratched in transit, which happens more times than not.

I am tempted to keep this for myself. It's so adorable.

That's always the struggle.

Have a great day!

Linking to

Ducks 'n a Row | The Happy Housie | Elizabeth & Co | Home Stories A to Z | Natasha in Oz

The Dedicated House | Posed Perfection | Simply Sweet Home

The beginning of the season

2015-10-06T07:56:00.000-04:00

I love October.

That's when the leaves really change around here. One year it was so warm they didn't change until November. That wasn't a great year for foliage. But this year should be brilliant. For me, October is like my Spring, a renewal, where I spruce up the house, go through the kids' closets and try to get organized, I said try.

I think I've always looked at this month that way because my church's semi-annual world General Conference is held in October and listening to the talks tend to give me a push in a direction I need.

Another thing I love is that there are so many festivals! Over the weekend we went to our back to school festival at a ranch not far from my house. The kids and I enjoyed a s'mores fire pit, horseback riding and a hay ride. It was really simple, just the way I think kids' events should be. I realized I didn't take many photos until it was too late but you get the idea.

Perfect size horse

This horse was big. I didn't ask but I'm guessing 17 hands?

I love Longhorns! I always enjoyed seeing them when we lived in The Texas Hill country
and now I can see them right here in PA.

A little bouquet

2015-09-28T12:17:00.000-04:00

My mind was filled with frustrations on Saturday and I knew I needed a good run to clear it. I'm not a fan of running. at all. But I push myself to do it anyway. If not for the obvious reasons of health and conditioning, I do it because of the effect the endorphins have on the brain, taking me out of my frustrated mental state. It's also a time where I usually have a good idea about work, which includes life at home.

I prefer the quiet country trail not far from my house where I can take in the beautiful scenery. In a few weeks the leaves, some that are as big as my face!, will turn color and put on a show that I look so forward to every year. I can't wait to hear the crunch under my feet as they carpet the trail. After my run, I circled back up a bit and picked wildflowers to make a little bouquet. They were just too good to pass up.

The best trail

Simple wildflowers in a blue vintage Ball jar

Hollywood regency inspiration

2015-09-25T13:35:00.001-04:00

At the end of a long day, sitting down to read a good book or when chatting with friends, a comfortable chair beckons you. When looking over the choices from Chairish, an on-line shoppe dedicated to bringing you great designer pieces of pre-owned furniture and decor at reasonable prices, I chose the Hollywood Regency swivel chair as my favorite to create a style board around. Not only is the shape and style a classic but the color is also one of my favorites.

I didn't have to look too far for color inspiration as some of the best color combinations are just right out our windows. Mother Nature makes this so easy on us. Even Vincent Van Gogh was inspired by her work.

image via

A simple breakdown:

While Hollywood Regency is associated with the glamorous era of the 1930s, I added a few pieces from other eras so the room wouldn't be so literal and I assumed that most of us aren't going to switch out a sofa very often so we have to work with what we have, which seems to be a sofa with clean, modern lines.

The particular style of floor lamp tends to be seen often. I have a similar one as well! You could even spray paint the underside of the shade gold and the outside black to bring it in to the style era. And while many rooms of this type have white walls or saturated grays, moody black or wallpaper, I took a cue from Van Gogh and went with blue, Van Deusen blue to be exact. I think even a deeper shade would be just as spectacular.

The absence of artwork - Artwork is so personal. I range from displaying my kids' drawings, old photographs enlarged and vintage or thrift store finds. It's a mash up of just what I like with no real semblance of order or that fits into a specific genre so I left it out of this style board. I think whatever one has will work. Ultimately you have to enjoy looking at it everyday so it must be something that speaks to you.

Some of these items are on the high end but can easily be duplicated to fit all budgets. I recently found a Hollywood Regency dresser at a thrift shop for mere dollars. But if you don't happen to find one from the era, painting an existing dresser black and switching out the hardware can give you what you may be looking for.

Draperies can be expensive so I like to stick with something basic. I think it's great when curtains run in the same color as the wall so there's no stopping point for the eyes but again for me it's usually what is affordable. White curtains in black trim would be great here even though the walls are blue. This era was all about luxe, think velvet and silk. Accents in gold, black and white lacquer will finish off the room.

Hollywood regency was all about entertaining, so any space which is made to be inviting, while focusing on friends and family will give you great moments. Enjoy!

Go here to find Chairish's vintage accent chair collection!

Polyvore

Glass chandelier
kathykuohome.com

Orb lighting
kathykuohome.com

Floor lamp
overstock.com

Modern rug
allmodern.com

Diane James artificial flower
gracioushome.com

Blue accent pillow
macys.com

Beaded accent pillow
chairish.com

Striped throw pillow
chairish.com

Black buffet
onekingslane.com

Round table
kathykuohome.com

Octagon table
mackenzie-childs.com

White side table
kathykuohome.com

**Not a sponsored post