The Grey Buffet

I am kinda ashamed to show you these pictures. (Hence the reason the project has been done for several weeks and you have yet to see it). The only spot for the buffet (or dresser- its a versatile little piece) in my house currently is the foyer. Which is great, I love it there! However, there are no windows. And its a long way from the windows in the rest of the house. So, basically, there some really crappy lighting that my camera hated, and I had to do some major color correction on them, so I apologize. In advance.

Heres the before, just as a reminder:

I do absolutely love the way it turned out, and I hope you do too! My mother-in-law was actually the one to suggest the grey, and I thought it was perfect.

I have been in the midst of repairing/ repainting the puke green headboard/ footboard... They are both completely painted, but now I have to start on the rails, then I think Im going to apply a glaze.... :) Ill keep ya posted.

On another note, we are looking forward to our Florida trip this weekend, where much junking will ensure...! Hopefully Ill have plenty of new projects!

Junking Journal & link party

 Today I have dropped Copper off at the vet to get her teeth shiney (and a itty bitty mass removed), and then junked the rest of the morning! Now, Im back home and about to start on that hideous head/foot board I purchased on Monday from Goodwill. Blake is really hoping this project will be a quick one day-er. ha. We shall see. :)

Heres a couple of things I spotted today that were neat. I didnt really buy any of it though.

 Recently, my mom redecorated her living room, painted the walls a pretty charcoaly-blue and hung an eclectic mix of stuff on the wall (like she had seen in Pottery Barn).... I thought these horns would be perfect! They are so cool!

This masculine chair is similar to the one I "junked" from my mom; only, mine is cooler. :)

This is the one item I did purchase; sort of a trade to my mom for the desk chair! Its Ironstone and I know nothing about it except for the fact that my mom has started obsessing over it.

I love this old white church pew! Ive seen several in the junk store recently..... Wish I had a spot for it!

 So, I have this pitiful story to share. When we first moved here to NC we had recently gotten married and wanted to show off the china & crystal we received as gifts. I wanted my little apartment to be all set up, nice and pretty. My wonderful Mother-in-law had flown all the way from Texas to help us move, and she wanted to help us find a small china cabinet before she left. Blake had lived here for 8 months, so, silly us, we trusted him to show us to some second hand furniture stores.... Only, he didnt really take us to any.

We had a budget of $150 for the piece, and found very little (re: one piece.) that fit that criteria. It was in the back of some store and in its previous life had been a side cabinet to an entertainment center. It really is cute, but, the sad part is now that I am an officially junker, Im so upset to know I spent that much money when I could have had something like these... for way less... Check them out!

Dark brown is definitely not our style, but imagine...painted white... updated pulls and handles... roughed up on the edges a little.....gorgeous!!! Its easily 3 times the small cabinet Im currently using, and it was only $95. I absolutely loved the glass panes, but it made it impossible to see through.

I love this piece. Love. Love. Love. I have been eye balling it for about 6 months. Its also $95, and not nearly as overwhelming in size as the other. I just love the retro feel..... love.love.love. It needs a little TLC, but nothing I couldnt provide. I didn't buy this one because I knew how long it had been sitting (begging for me to take her and make her whole again). When I asked the clerk if they were willing to do ANY less she said they worked on consignment, and had no control over the price and to just check back. I even told her I knew how long it had been there!! Oh well, it wasnt meant to be. Not today anyway. (I also knew my husband would have had a fit... hehe, oh well.)


Check out some of these awesome blogs I have linked up to!

Primitve & Propper (she doesnt have a button yet, but she has some neat stuff !!)

Todays Treasures

Well. we have had a very eventful weekend! Eventually, we will relocate to Raleigh, NC, so we thought we would go check it out this weekend! We met up with some new found friends who gave us the grand  tour. Among our stops was the NC Farmers Market (which was down right amazing) and the NCSU Flea Market (which was also pretty awesome). Imagine your local farm stand (or at least any local one I have ever been to) and multiply it by 150, and that is the NC Farmers Market. It was almost overwhelming. And, do the same for the flea market. It just went on and on and on. As soon as I thought we had seen it all, we would turn a corner and there be another 50 booths!! My one token was this sweet little pitcher.

Now, I know you think its ugly, its ok, you dont have to pretend to like it for me. But, my great grandmother, who we all loved very dearly, had a set of mugs made by this same potter. Every time I am home at my Moms I drink my morning coffee from these mugs, and its simply a small nod in remembrance to our Memaw. Anytime Im out and about, Im always checking the bottoms of similar items to see if they are the same, or impostures.  If they are the same maker, they usually are a short squaty mug (unlike ours), or a bowl, but never a mug like this one!

I found this puke green headboard/ footboard at the Goodwill for a reasonable price. Its in pretty good shape too, it will just need a good painting, for sure! They also had the vanity that went with it, and I hated not buying that too, but they wanted way more than it was worth, considering it is puke green. Ill stop back by on Wednesday, just in case they marked it down. :)

Check this out!!! I was so stoked to find it!! I have been wanting a sewing machine for some time, but just couldnt stand their $150 price tag for a basic one, new! I found this little guy at Salvation  Army for $6! I just couldnt turn it down! I knew Singer was a good name, but this line is the "genie" and with the psychedelic flowers, I wasnt sure. I called my lifeline (aka Mom) who did a quick google search and found someone else who had previously purchased one for $20 really enjoyed it. My concern was, the clerk didnt know whether it worked or not.. (which is why I got it so cheap). I took the gamble anyway, and won! Now I just have to figure out how to make some adjustments to the tension of the foot, and Im golden!


Believe it or not, I junked all the way to Florida today! My mom had picked up this cutie at an estate sale, and just about sold it on craigslist today, but then decided I may like it. And oh boy I do! I cant wait to go visit so I can pick it up.

 

The bottom is my fave... what color should I paint it? Teal, probably. :)

Wilmington, NC

This cute little town is about an hour from us and it has wonderful places like Mellow Mushroom, so we like to visit often. Here's a few photos from the downtown/ waterfront area.

Happy Friday!

The Little White Dresser

I have a confession. I have been neglecting this little blog. And this little dresser. I finished it about a week ago, but have dreading photographing it due to its surroundings. My office / guest room / storage room has been slightly overwhelmed lately, with stuff everywhere. Since we live in an apartment, its hard to find somewhere to store all my furniture that's waiting for some love, so it ends up here. Today, I finally went in and got it organized (only because my husband gave me an ultimatum... get it cleaned, or he was going hunting on the first weekend I havent had to work in 6 weeks!!... silly him, he didnt think I would get it done!)

Anyway, the point is, I was finally brave enough to snap a few photos of the lovely little white dresser. Shes so cute and feminine. I just love her.

Maybe when I move I will actually photograph her in her entirety... ;)

The Great Link up

Ive been linking up to some great sites! Heres the one I got on today; Ill post a few more this afternoon!

Quick Fixes

Heres a few examples of some quick projects I completed recently.

I picked this up last week when Kelly and I went impulse junking after work one afternoon. I know its hard to see the fabric, but its a dingy tan and the pattern is circa 1980. When I flipped the chair over, it had some school markings, and the fabric is definitely reminiscent of a school waiting area (20 years ago).

I simply recovered the existing pieces (I didnt even remove the old fabric) with canvas drop cloths from Lowe's that I had bleached. I loved the worn stain on the arms, and really didnt want to tackle stripping that off of all those rounds surfaces, so I had to choose a fabric that would coordinate. It doesnt show in the photo, but the stain is actually pretty red.

No sewing necessary here. All I did was staple the bottom seat, and hot glued the back of the top!

Mom and I found this a few months ago when she was up for my birthday. I loved the screen printed quality, and of course, the subject matter, we just couldnt resist it! The only problem was the blaring red sun that just wasnt going with the other colors.

Look how much better it looks!! Its amazing how that simply fix switched the focus to the appropriate subject (sailboats) rather than the giant sun. And, you can actually notice the bird now! This is hanging on the entry wall, currently. Its patiently waiting its new buffet whose paint is drying as we speak!

Sneak Peak... :)

Remember this....?

Ive had this for quite some time now, and immediately after purchasing it, I painted it white. Well, my motivation stopped there. I just couldnt figure out what to do with it. Last week, I found some awesome heavy weight knobs at Target (10 for $20!!). I thought these dressed it up some. Then, yesterday, I got a crazy streak in me and decided to go to town and start distressing it. The image above doesnt show any of the changes yet-- Im still working on it. But, now I am [finally] very excited about it, and back to working on it! As soon as I finish, Ill post some new pics!

End of Summer and beginning of Hurricane Season

 Here are a few pictures I had taken last summer. Unfortunately, this summer was spent mainly working, so therefore, there was little time for picture taking excursions. As Hurricane Earl blows past us, hopefully these shores will remain intact. :) 

Surf City, NC

Surf City, NC

Surf City, NC

Surf City, NC

Under the Emerald Isle Pier

Under the Surf City Pier

This is where it all started...

This is where it all started. My beloved desk. I found her at the local Goodwill a few months back for $13. I just couldn't turn it down, it was love at first sight! My husband, Blake, was shocked and amazed when I called to tell him he would have to make a pit stop after work to pick it up for me. She was in pretty rough shape, cosmetically speaking. You can see the two- toned paint job, the hardware had tarnished and turned yellow, and sticky labels appeared to have been there for years. Based on her remaining contents, I think her former life was as a school teachers.




I knew immediately what color I wanted to paint her. After purchasing a color that was just too neon, I swapped it out for this perfect shade of teal. Some light sanding, 2 coats of primer, 2 coats of paint, and some finishing wax was all it took for her to shine.



This is the perfect spot for blogging and reading other blogs.. Im in love. xoxo

Nanner Puddin'

There is not much better than some yummy Banana Pudding. Blake is always asking me whats for dessert, and I usually respond with, "nothing". For some reason, I have to be in the mood for something sweet. Well, lucky for him, today I was.

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup sugar, divided
1/3 cup flourpinch of salt
3 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
1 tsp whiskey ( I used spiced rum, it was all I had) :)
vanilla wafers
4-5 bananas

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix 1/2 cup of the sugar, flour, and salt in the top of a double broiler. Blend in 3 egg yolks and milk. Cook, uncovered, stirring constantly, over boiling water for 10-11 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in liquor.
Spread small amount of custard on the bottom of 2 quart baking dish. Cover with layers of vanilla wafers, then bananas, and then repeat until you have used all your ingredients. (Save some wafers for the top to garnish with! And, the top layer should be custard--before the garnish).

Beat egg whites on high with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Add the remaining sugar, and beat until stiff peaks form. Spoon onto top of pudding, and bake for roughly 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool slightly, then add your wafers to the top for garnish. ENJOY.