Photo Shoot

I still dont have internet. Hmmph. Our new "HotSpot" (wireless internet through Sprint) was supposed to be delivered today, but I had to run errands and missed the UPS man by 15 minutes!!

Today was beautiful out. Absolutely gorgeous. And the girls thought so too. They have really been enjoying this warm, sunny weather. In honor of this, we had a photo shoot. Well, mainly just Copper, Sadie was enjoying the freshly watered dirt (aka mud). Actually, I was just outside watering, not photographing, but I looked over and saw Copper sitting so pretty, I just couldnt resist the urge. Heres how it turned out.



She's so beautiful!



Love this dog.



I did this one in color and black and white. I love how it changed the mood! Copper cracks me up. Shes so aloof to everything. You cant help but smile at her sweet face.

While I was out there, I snapped a few of my hydrangeas. I LOVE THEM. They're my favorite flower. Well, right up there with rinaculous, gerber daisies, and dahlias.

 
Aren't they lovely?!

Happy Summer!

I, Shelby, have a china cabinet! WOO!

It all started over a year ago when Blake and I got married. Our wonderful friends and families had given us such pretty things and we had no where to display them. When my Mother-in-law helped us relocate from Jacksonville, Florida to Jacksonville, North Carolina after the wedding, we set out to find one. We really wanted everything to be just right when she left, and we were determined to have a place to display all of our pretty China and crystal.

Blake had been living in NC for a few months, so he said he knew a few places to take us. We had envisioned purchasing something from a used furniture store, something I could repaint, or refinish. Granted, we were searching on a Sunday, we were coming up empty. Turns out, Blake knew were lots of furniture stores were, but few used stores. Eventually, we came across a tall cabinet whose intended purpose was side cabinet to a larger entertainment center. It seemed like a good option; it was a good size for the apartment we were living in.......but, it was missing the glass, and because it was designed as part of a bigger set, it only had crown molding/ trim on 2 sides. We paid $150 for it.

Now, dont get me wrong. It served a great purpose, and we really didnt know any better. We know now. (Soooo I tried attaching a photo of it, to show you, but, I JUST - like 2 weeks ago- erased a bunch of photos off my phone, and its not on this computer, its on my iMac, which is at home. Im at Panera bec we have been too lazy to turn on internet... ) :)

ANYWAY. Here is the one I found maybe 2 months after living in Jax NC for $100, and I absolutely loved everything about it. But, we had just purchased the other, and I couldnt justify buying another.......

If you cant tell, I love the whole mid-century/ Danish modern... lovelovelove. Its wonderful. Heres a look at some more I have come across.

I almost bought this one TWO DAYS before I found the one we purchased. I liked it for obvious reasons, it was $75, which was good, buy there was a nice gouge above the right drawer handle (look closely), there was a foot long scratch in the glass, and the veneer was starting to peel apart from the bottom of the top piece. But, I really loved the style...!!

CONFESSION. This one wasnt for sale. :) It belongs to a wonderful lady who is a friend of my Mother-in-law, and I just love its character... and all of the white Ironstone inside! So pretty!!

This one I saw in a store at the Canton Flea Market in Texas.

Ok... DRUM ROLL.....!!!!!!

So, not quite the Danish Modern, but close. I know you cant tell from these images, but it overall has the very clean lines that I like, but I think the arched doors are good. It makes it a little softer/ more feminine than some of the others.  And I LOVE the hardware. Ill try to upload a close up, because they are COOL. (Remember, Im at Panera's.. not home. We are working on fixing the whole internet thing..)

Since Im not home, I better get outta here......... Blake will be home from work soon, and he will be expecting dinner. Im making, for the first time, French Onion Soup, the real way. Im following Ina Garten's recipe.. .yummm! Wish me luck.

Junking Journal

This was my fortune at lunch today, and I have a job interview on Monday :)

 

Today started out as a bummer. I had planned for Blake and I to go garage selling, but he had to go to work this morning. :(  While he was gone, I started searching for estate sales online, and I found probably 100. (Well, maybe not 100, but at least 10!) Well, one in particular caught my eye, they had tons of pictures online and it seemed like it would have a wide range of things to browse through, and best of all, everything would be 50% off after 12:00, which was more likely when we would be out adventuring.


When we arrived, we had to wait in a LINE for 10 MINUTES before we even could go in! I had never been to an estate sale like that, obviously my intuition was correct, these people must have felt the same. This was actually the last day of the sale, and the amount of things was absolutely unbelievable. One of the operators said it had been this crazy busy the whole time. Blake and I have been in the market for a china cabinet. Ive wanted one since we got married over a  year ago. Finally, I had ear marked some money for one, and decided this weekend would be the time. Check it out!

We also found this LANE Cedar Chest, obviously in very rough shape on the exterior, but inside is virtually untouched. Blake (with the help of fellow shoppers) convinced me to let him buy a gun cabinet too (But it didnt photograph well, sorry!). He has been wanting one for as long as I have known him. It doesnt have a lock, but that shouldnt be an issue for a few more years :)

I found a silver pitcher, a neat sailboat painting, and some really cool rustic teal utensils too. We got such a steal! Our project for tomorrow will be attempting to take off the veneer on the cedar chest... Wish us luck!

PS sorry if the photos/ format/ me is all wonky.... Im using Blake's work laptop, and its a PC. yuck.

I wont leave you like that again. I promise.

This is seriously, no lie, what my view is from the dining room table where Im sitting.

At least, Ill try not to leave..... We have had a whirlwind of the past few months. Lets see, Florida for Thanksgiving for a week, moved to Raleigh, Texas for Christmas for two weeks [where I went to Canton--the coolest place ever], a few random weeks we were [thankfully] too lazy to turn the internet on, and then we found out we were moving back to Florida. [YIPPEEE!!!] So, we moved down here, had some down time til we found a place, and now, finally, we are all moved in. Hope you could follow all that.

Basically, what Im trying to say is Im baaaack! And I have LOTS of awesome projects to work on and Ive learned lots of new, yummy, recipes. I have been very productive today... Ive worked on a freelance identity project that Im very excited about, organized my closets, baked a pound cake, and now Im roasting a chicken [which Im a little nervous about, not gonna lie. Its a recipe Ive mastered, so thats not the case, but, its a new oven (new, as in to me, but its actually kinda old, and some weird off brand--which is the part Im nervous about).] My cake seemed to take a little longer than normal, but its too hot to taste to see how it came out. ;)

 Ive gotta go check on the chicken now, hopefully that oven wont catch on fire........ We dont plan on painting the walls in this place because we hope to be moving out in six-ish months into our VERY OWN place. But, who knows. Anyway, once I get all these boxes cleared out, Ill snap a few pics so you can see what we're dealing with over here..............