Goodbye country red

  I LOVE Red! Absolutely LOVE it! But Im over it... Well in my kitchen & dining room anyway. Maybe I couldve lived with it if my walls werent green in the kitchen, but with my red stuff & the green walls- it didnt mix so well. And I really didnt want to repaint the kitchen! So, I found this great pattern I loved at World Market & based everything around it.

    I love how its a little more modern but yet still has an "Old World" feel to it. So I bought 2 placemats & 1 napkin (for the table). 

    Then my canisters... I love my canisters... And I didnt get them all that long ago so I really wanted to keep them. So, I spray painted the lids... I apologize I do not have a before pic, I was too caught up in the moment & forgot! (Ya know when the little ones napping its GO time!) So heres the after...

 They're the same canisters... Just different color lids. The color I used was Castle Rock... No primer- just unscrewed them & painted.

  Then my salt & pepper shakers... I was just going to buy new ones... Well forget that- I couldnt find anything that I was in love with & what I did find I liked was $20& up... Sorry not spending that on s&p shakers! So once again... Break out the spray paint...the color I used for these is called GLS Fern. 

  Heres the before...

  And the after...

These I did prime... There was a spray paint can of primer in the garage I found & since I figured these were going to get used more I decided to primer them first. After they were dry I did take my sanding block & scuff up a few of the edges... To add some character ;)
 Thats all for now...I have many more projects to post & work on! Thanks for looking :)

Photo Shoot!!

  Now that I stay home with Reese I love to have fun little photo shoot days! Right before we had her we bought this fancy Nikon dslr camera & I was going to be the best photographer! I was going to take all her pictures & we'd never have to spend a dime on pictures! Well let me tell ya that hasnt happened... I RARELY use my camera... Its just not convenient & honestly I think its just intimidating! So Im ashamed to say probably 90% of the pics I take are on my phone... Sad, I know. But I always have my phone & Its alot handier! Anyway, so heres her 21 month old photo shoot... They didnt turn out exactly what I had in mind but...

 "I look ridiculous mom" ... Haha! She cant say that yet but Im sure thats what she was thinking!! Time to break out the fruit snacks!!

Then we had a little fun! 

She is such a stinker! Look at those little teeth :)

And ya gotta love the black & white!! :) 

White Distressed to Dark & Rich

  Hi there!! Today I'm going to talk about my table. Not just my table. My whole dining room- how about my love/hate relationship with this dining room. I havent got around to posting about my house yet. So 1st things 1st.. Ill start with the dining room.

    I love our new house- its very tastefully remodeled. The people we bought the house from had great taste & did many wonderful things as far as design goes. Heres my kitchen...

Pretty modern huh!?! Thats the problem... This house is a little more modern than my "country cottage" last house. Here is the dining view from the kitchen...

Ok so on with the table! So the first table we had in here was a espresso colored pub table. I liked the table... Just not in this room- having the height of the pub table took away from the bar area. So I sold the pub table & was on a mission for a basic rectangle table. Well the problem is (always the problem) is I have Pottery Barn taste on a no job budget! And Im kinda too cheap to spend too much money on something because I get in a mood & change my mind all the time!! I seriously drive myself crazy sometimes!   So Ive always wanted a pedestal table, and I found this one, wasnt exactly what I had in mind (the price was great though) & as I was loading it in the car I thought "I dont know, I dont know" but too late it was paid for... No going back now. So I got it home set it up, wasnt in love with it. So I tried to sell it. Advertised- nope- stuck with it... So I lived with it for awhile, then I thought "ok, Ive got 2 options" paint it black or strip it...but I really didnt want to paint or strip those chairs- ugh! Too much work! I kept going back & forth in my head... Black or stained, black or stained. 

     So, a few days later my husband & I are cleaning up the garage shelves. The people that we bought the house from had left a bunch of paint cans, boards, etc. Well guess what "happened" to be in with the mix of paint cans... You guessed it! So here goes... Without taking a second thought I poured that stripper on that table & held my breath... Ive never stripped anything before! Hope this works! 

   Heres a closer up of the table before...

Heres after I put the stripper on & scraped...

It was actually alot easier than I expected! I did sand around the ridge of the table (in between the grooves) but the stripper did the work on top. Then I wiped it all down real good with just some disinfecting wipes...I know you can use mineral spirits as well but since this was just done on a whim there was no mineral spirits around. Then I used a gel stain (java was the color) I had leftover from one of my old vanities at my old house.

    Heres the 1st coat...

I let that dry overnight... Then 2nd coat..

Then added my polycrylic top coat... Perfect! Its exactly what I wanted!! And the best part, I didnt have to strip the base! So Im loving my "new" table for now... Until I get another whim!! 

   And heres the end result... 

I still need to get something in that wall over there! Just haven't found the perfect match! Im thinking of painting a wooden sign... maybe with a big "G" on it... Any suggestions would be great :)

Here's a more updated picture of the kitchen too... 

And a view of the dining room from the kitchen...

Im still trying to figure out the little decor...This room has been so hard for me for some reason... But it's getting there little by little & then it'll be time to change it all over again ;) Thanks for stopping by!! 

I'm linking up with:

http://savvysouthernstyle.net/

http://confessionsofaplateaddict.blogspot.com/

http://www.greenwillowpond.com/

Palo Duro Canyon

Reese all decked out ready for the 4th!!

   Our first 4th of July in Texas... We decide to skip the traditional parade, fireworks,etc...(partially because we dont know anyone yet!!) and head to Palo Duro Canyon... Its hard to believe such an amazing place is only 30 min from our house! 

Truly Beautiful!! 

Our cool piece of artwork we bought as a souvenir that day... Handpainted rock from the canyon... Very cool & amazing talent!

    Then we ate at a great restaurant called Thundering Buffalos...

    She wasnt too sure about this guy...

What a great day! And we did end up getting to see some fireworks later then :)

    It hasnt really sank in yet that we've moved away... Its just now been a month... It almost feels to me like we're on vacation :) 

When God Winks At You...

I just started reading this book...I got it at a rummage sale & so far I like it... I Love books that have true stories in them :) It talks about the coincidences in our lives called "Godwinks" Ive always truely believed that everything happens for a reason & God has a plan for all of us... Even though at the time it may not seem fair or seem right, it always makes sense later on! 

Burlap wreath project

So Im posting twice in 1 day because I was so busy yesterday so Im playing catch up today... I dont know how well Ill be keeping up- its 1 more thing to put on the list everyday, ya know!?! So my main mission for going to Hobby Lobby was to make this wreath- which I found on Pinterest (of course, right!) and Im very pleased with the way it turned out- some of the things Ive tried havent turned out so well, but this was easy peasy! Heres the tutorial...http://downtoearthstyle.blogspot.com/2011/11/cute-burlap-wreaths.html?m=1

Successful Saturday!

I didnt get around to posting last night because I was too busy making a wonderful new wreath! And it was such a crazy day there was just no time! First Reese woke up earlier than usual so that was good because we got a head start... Sometimes my little sleepy head doesn't wake up til 8:30 or 9 but this morning she woke up at 7:30. We headed to Canyon (the next town "up" from us is what I call it) it's before you get to Amarillo so It's actually north & east- anyway... We had to hit a few rummage sales first... Our mission was Hobby Lobby but I got a little side tracked...imagine that!! I found lots of goodies though & spent $9.50 on some rummage goodies...not the table in the back... Im working on stripping that- it was just in my garage so I propped my stuff up on it. Anyway, had to share my goods :) I worked on another chair for a little bit this afternoon while Reese napped, then had to hurry & get ready for Bunco... I was invited to play with some girls from church so Im pretty excited to get out & meet some new people!