{Do You Want To Own A Meth Lab?}

How could you NOT read with a title like that?

Please head over to Holly's blog, Roller Coaster Life, to read Jenn and Rob's heartbreaking story.  I encourage each of you who read this to please post this story on your own blog or link back to Holly's post. 

Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

{Image courtesy of Craftily Ever After}

{What To Do?}

I bought this piece last year at my favorite second hand furniture store.  It was a great deal at only $60.  It's solid wood and super heavy.  I love the drop leaf on either side.  I am not a fan of the color though.  I've had a million different ideas in my head as to what I should do but can't seem to settle on just one. 

I originally wanted to paint the bottom black and use a white wash pickling stain.  And then I thought what about keeping with the black bottom and using a dark walnut stain on top?  And then I thought about doing black on bottom and leaving the top the original color.  I don't know what to do so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  It's a beautiful piece of furniture and it looks great in our living room.  Once the hustle and bustle of this week is over I'm going to tackle it so it'll be ready before Ashley's 30th birthday party! 

Hoping everyone has a great Tuesday!

{Painting Doors is For the Birds}

I haven't been around lately because I've been trying to get stuff done around the house before the holidays.  Our to do list is a long one and as much as I love blogging, whether writing or reading, I needed to take some time away. 

I started painting the doors in our house last week.  Not a fun job.  I love painting but I hate painting doors.  It's such a tedious job and with 11 doors to paint it's become even more miserable than I had imagined it would be.

Along with the doors I'm having to paint the trim.  It was painted when we first bought the house but our painter decided to only paint it with Kilz and not the high gloss we had purchased.  He was an older gentleman and I didn't see the need in fussing him about because he painted our entire house for $500!  So little by little we are getting the trim painted.  I've debated on many occasions on hiring a painter and just getting it all done but it seems like such a waste of money to me when I'm capable of doing it myself.   It might take a little longer but it will sure be cheaper!  And I'm all about saving a penny!

We've got tons of projects going on right now and I'm excited about them all.  Two weeks ago we started on prepping the yard so we can start building the fence, deck and fire pit.  It's a huge project and with it being picking season my husband does what he can when he can.  The finished project will be amazing and totally worth the wait!

We had 3 large azalea bushes that I wanted gone. Being married to a farmer has many advantages.  One of those being they have all kind of equipment which makes the job so much easier!  My husband was able to get rid of the azaleas in about 15 minutes.  We are now in the process of digging up the million massive stumps that were left behind.  And when I say we I really mean him.  I have no idea how to operate the equipment so I just supervise. 

So while my husband does this

I'll be back to painting doors!

I've been extremely busy lately trying to get some projects done around the house.  I am throwing my husband a 30th birthday party on December 18th and since it's right around the corner I'm freaking out.  I love to entertain but can bet quite obsessive about it.  There are tons of projects still left to get done and so I've been taking a break from blogging.  I have been up to some creative stuff lately and can't wait to share with all of you.  While doing my daily blog walk I found this quote over at Room to Inspire.  It seemed to fit me perfectly..... 



{Dining Table, Birthday Party & Halloween}

So I finally finished the dining table.  It looks amazing!  It took 4 coats of Minwax Dark Walnut stain and 8 coats of Varathane.  It was worth all the time it took me and all the dust that I'm still finding in what seems like every inch of our house! 

This picture doesn't do the table justice.  It looks amazing y'all and I'm so happy I did it.  I can now mark it off our project list!  Yippee!

On Sunday we attended the birthday party of a very special little boy, Carter.  His family was the second family to live in Parker's House.  He was in the NICU for 115 days before finally going home!  He is a miracle.  And his family is now our family.  We love this little boy more than words could ever explain.   He has healed our broken hearts in so many ways.  Thank you to Brad and Kellie for letting us be a part of his life. 

Carter's CDH Journey

I've never been into Halloween.  Ever.  I don't decorate for Halloween or fall.  Christmas is another story.   Well I've been reading Chelsea's blog, Room to Inspire, for a long time now and she started putting her Halloween decorations out and I was totally inspired.  I headed off to the Dollar Tree and Wal-Mart to see what I could find to create my own tasteful Halloween decorations.  I did duplicate most of the items Chelsea bought because 1) they are so cute and 2) they were $1.   I added my own touch too and I'm loving how it's turning out.  I'll leave y'all with a sneak peak.  I hope to be done by the end of the weekend!

And this table is what I'm working on now.  It's driving me crazy so I'm taking a break for tonight. 

{Dining Table Revamp}

We've had our dining table for almost five years now.  It was an impulse buy because the orginial table we had ordered kept getting backordered and  I was so frustrated with the company that I cancelled the order.  We went to a local furniture store and ordered something and had it within a week.  I love the table.  I'm not crazy in love with the chairs though.  I recently replaced two of them and have an old pew that I'm going to paint to replace two of the other chairs. 

When you've had a table for 5 years you are bound to have some dings and scratches and our's definitely does.  My grandfather always said it gives the table character and it tells a story.  The main reason for the revamping of the table is because someone left a wallflower on the table and the oil destroyed a part of it.  We love to entertain during the holidays and so it was on the top of our my project list. 

I started sanding the table today inside because I was too lazy to take it outside.  It took me almost 3 hours to sand and probably another 2 hours to clean up all the dust in our house.  It was super dusty in here folks!

This is just a preview of what our living room and kitchen looked like!  We own like 10 drop cloths and why I didn't think to use them is beyond me.  It's all cleaned up now and dust free. 

Once the table was sanded it was so pretty!  I don't know what I ever saw in the blonde wood before.  As I was sanding and exposing the natural wood color I was getting more excited about how it would turn out once the dark walnut stain is on it. 

So I have one coat of stain on and I'm totally in love with it.  The hubby just walked in and actually gave me a high five so I'm guessing he likes it too.  I am thinking it'll take 3-4 coats of stain and then 5-6 coats of Varathane.  We normally don't eat at our table if it's just the two of us but I'd like to change that and maybe the new look will help to do that. 

I'll leave you with a sneak peak for the weekend! 



{A New Direction}

I know in a previous post I said I had a vision for our laundry room but now I'm second guessing that vision because while I was flipping through my Martha Stewart paint fan deck I was inspired by two totally random colors.  The MS fan deck is one of my favorite accessories!  I carry this with me everywhere!  My purse weighs a ton!  Just ask my husband.

I found two colors that I am normally not attracted too that I immediately loved.  I stay with my safe colors.  Blues, creams, whites, greens and grays.  I never venture out because I'm a color coward.  I don't know why because I'm not that way with anything else in my life.  And color is an easy thing to fix.  So I came across the pinks and purples.  Yes, I said pinks and purples.  Two colors I never in a million years would think I would paint in our house.  Not even in a girl's nursery/room.  I have always been opposed to really girly colors.  I don't know why except for the fact that I was always a tomboy growing up.  I feel like I'm growing up and maybe I need a girly color in my life.  A room that is bright and feels fun.  A room that isn't safe. 

I found some fabrics at LS Fabrics that I loved and I ordered samples.  I love them all and I can see endlessly possibilities ahead of me. 

{Obviously all the ones above are the pinks and below the purples.}



I still can't believe I'm considering these two colors.  When I asked my husband the simple question of "Pink or Purple?" without telling him why he said PURPLE.  I am sure I'll change my mind a million times but I think I actually have a real vision now. 

What do y'all think?

{Project List}

So I finally drafted our project list.  It's quite a bit longer than I thought it would be.  I guess you never realize just how many projects you have to do until you write them down.  I'm a bit intimidated by it but we'll get it done now that we have a direction to go in.  I'm excited about getting stuff done around here but can't say the same for the hubby! 

{Project List}

Kitchen/Dining

Install board & batten

Finish dining chairs

Paint old pew

Sand & stain dining table top

Install wide plank plywood floors

Master Bedroom

Paint walls & ceiling

Hang crown moulding

Guest Room

Recover chair

Make drapes for windows

Make headboard

Laundry Room

Hang beadboard

Make drapes for windows

Install wide plank plywood floors

Miscellaneous

Paint interior doors {6}

Paint exterior doors {3}

Hang new closet doors {4}

Install new hardware on all doors

So I think that's everything.  I'm sure I'll think of something to add sooner or later.  It's a little overwhelming but nothing we can't handle.   I'm going to be moving the table outside today to sand so I can stain and I'm super excited.  It's going to look amazing when I'm done!

Hope everyone has a great Tuesday!

{Football, Birthday and Milk Glass}

I've had a very busy weekend but with cool fall weather I didn't mind it one bit.  A dear friend of mine invited me to a NC State football game on Saturday.  It was my first time and I had a blast!  I'm a Longhorn fan {yes I know they suck right now} first but marrying a man who loves the Wolfpack means that I automatically became a State fan by default.  I cannot wait to go again and am going to look into getting us season tickets.  It was that amazing y'all.  I love sports.  Always have but college football is by far my absolute favorite.  I love the tailgating and rivalries.  And college football usually means colder weather.  With the summer we've had I was looking forward to that the most this year.   State ended up losing but I still had a blast! 

I had to show this because in the midst of 50,000 State fans there was a Longhorn fan!  We are true fans.  We love them whether they are winning or losing.  HOOK EM!

Sunday was spent celebrating our nephew's 7th birthday.  He's one amazing little boy.  He has saved our lives on so many occasions with his wit and smile.  We love him and are so blessed that God loaned him to our family.  We had a blast celebrating with him and the rest of the family! 

This post is totally random and somewhat all over the place but that's the story of our life.  I don't know why but I recently become obsessed with milk glass.  Growing up my great grandmother and grandmother had tons of pieces but I always thought they were ugly.  As I got older I realized how gorgeous milk glass really is.  I recently started purchasing pieces and although I don't have a real place to display them I am going to continue to purchase more in hopes that I'll find a place.  Here's what I have so far..... It's not much but I'll get there. 

This week I'm focusing on getting some projects marked off our "to do" list.  I am hoping to have a yard sale this weekend too.  We have so many unfinished projects and for some reason the cooler weather motivates to get them done.  I'm working on finishing a chair for our dining table and tomorrow I'm moving the dining table outside to sand the top so I can stain it dark walnut.  It's going to be a busy fall but if it continues to feel anything like it does today I'll gladly take on the challenges.

{Need Some Free Design Advice?}

Well the extraordinary Emily A. Clark is having a FREE live Q&A Session tonight at 9:00 p.m. EST on her blog.  She is an amazing interior designer in Charlotte, NC and is offering up some free advice tonight. 

{Pantry Reveal}

So it's done.  Finally. And I love it.  I'm going to point out two things that are obvious.  I didn't paint the very back wall that sits behind the water heater.  And the other is I didn't paint the quatrefoil stencil.   It was so overwhelming and I decided against it. 

I love how it turned out.  It looks so much brighter in there. 

I did paint the floor white.  There was some kind of stain on the floor that keep bleeding through and it was driving me crazy but I'm over it now.  We put several coats of white on and it just kept coming through.  

I've stored all the snacks in this old crate I purchased off of Etsy.  I put it low so our nieces and nephews wouldn't have a problem pulling it out.



I purchased all of these glass containers at Wal-Mart.  The brilliant labels are from Shelley at Wonderfully Wordy. 

I bought this beauty at TJ Maxx for $9.99.  I love that my apron from Funktion has a place to hang.

I'm going to purchase some labels for these two jars soon.  I really am proud of how organized our space is.  My husband has gone in there 3 times now without asking me where something was.  Mission accomplished!