Gilded Gray Vanity

Happy Thursday!  I am SOOOO excited today because Barb will be arriving later today!  I am headed out to downtown Frederick with Emmy and Barb's family.  After that I plan to force Barb and her family to watch the American Idol results with me. ;) And Friday we are all headed to the barn for Barb's book signing! YAY!  I am also excited today because our tile is going down on our kitchen floor.... SWEET!  Hopefully Monday I can share some pictures with you- I will not have a post tomorrow, just too much going on; I hope you understand!

Anyhow, before I sign off for the weekend I wanted to share one more makeover with you.  I recently purchased this vintage vanity from a local who contacted me because she heard what I did.  She was the same lady I bought the beachy milk paint dresser from, as well as 3 other dressers that will be coming soon!  Here is the sweet vanity I purchased in its before state...

I am always a fan of gray and gold and have used it on a couple of pieces before, and decided this was a perfect piece for that combo as well.  I painted it with Paris Gray chalk paint, lightly distressed it, waxed it, and then added French Gilding Wax in Empire Gold to make the details pop and add a little glam!  I gave it a buffing all over with a rag, and here is the result.

I love the subtle touch of gold!

Well, I am off to have a fun-filled busy weekend, hanging out with Barb, working at the barn, cooking out with friends, and then finally headed to Lucketts Sunday with Sarah!  Good times!  Hope you have an amazing weekend!

Barn Sale Preview

Happy Wednesday!  It's Wednesday and you know what that means.... flooring starts in our kitchen today!  Actually you couldn't have known that, but just play along with me.  Once the flooring is in I will share some progress pictures.  YAY!

Anyhow, Sarah and I finished setting up our space at the barn over the last two days, so I thought I would share some photos with you....

If this little clock gets left behind, it may end up in my kitchen!  it works, and it is minty!

Love this cabinet Sarah brought in.

That's all the shots from our space, but there are 7 other vendors there with awesome stuff as well!  We are fully stocked and ready for the weekend.  So if you are heading to Lucketts, look for the sign with balloons on Rte. 15.... We are just off Rte. 15, about 20 minutes north of Lucketts, and we will be there Friday- Sunday, 10-5.

Also, I wanted to remind you that today is May 15th, the day that Sophie Lillard should have been turning 7 and celebrating with her family.  Tragically, she and her little sister, Madigan, did not make it out of the fire in their house, just a few houses down the road from us.  Their mother has created an amazing event for today, "Seven Acts of Kindness for Sophie's Seventh Birthday."  I invite you to participate, even if you only have time or funds for one act of kindness today.  Do something to spread love and kindness in honor of Sophie Lillard.

Aqua and Zebra Cedar Chest/Bench; Alternatively Titled "Why Running Early in the Morning is Good"

In the last couple months I have gotten into a routine with my friends.... Tuesday and Thursday are running days.  We do the same 4.5 mile loop at 6:30 AM.  Some days I am tired and lacking motivation, but knowing that I am meeting my friends keeps me going!  One morning, we were on the second half of our run, and headed through a neighborhood, and what to my wandering I should appear, but a sweet little cedar chest with a sign on its rear: "FREE".  Well, clearly I couldn't haul it and run, so I made a mental note and headed back after the run to grab it!  Here it is in its before state....

Sorry for the cruddy iphone picture... it was hard to see what it took out in the sun!  Anyhow, it was in decent shape- just missing knobs and screws for the hinges and the cushion needed to be recovered.  It was also missing the lock, but frankly, who needs to lock up their blankets?  Maybe Linus, but other than that I am not too sure.  I replaced the screws for the hinges, and then got to work.  I removed the cushion, which screws on to the top.  I wanted to give it sort of a beachy look, and I also wanted to get rid of some paint cans that only had a little bit each left in them.  I mixed of Annie Sloan's Old White and Duck Egg with CeCe Caldwell's Alaska Tundra Green and came out with a pretty aqua.  I gave it two coats, distressed it and then waxed it with Annie Sloan clear wax.

The finishing steps were the knobs and the fabric.  I was going to use burlap, but I decided to let Emmy choose from a few I had.  She chose a chocolate zebra.

For the knobs, I needed some that did not have posts sticking out of the back, as I imagine someone will put blankets in this chest, and I don't want them to get snagged.  That eliminated a lot of the choices I would normally use for glass or crystal.  I decided to use D. Lawless hardware for the knobs, as they have lots of glass and acrylic options which have screws rather than posts and nuts.  They had lots of choices, but eventually I settled on the Diamond Cut Acrylic Small Knob.  Not only was the price right at just $1.10 each, but they were the perfect scale for the piece.  Here is the picture from their website.

And now here is the cedar chest, complete with its new paint, fabric, and hardware!

I think Emmy did a stellar job choosing the fabric, don't you?  The zebra adds a nice punch!  She said my burlap choice was "ugly". :)

And how perfect are these knobs from D.Lawless?

So pretty!  I don't think I will ever stop loving glass or acrylic knobs.... kind of like I will never stop loving glitter.  Or tin foil Or anything shiny.

I can't wait to take this piece over to the barn for the June sale, although I am so tempted to put it at the foot of Emmy's bed.... But I won't.  But I might.

A special thank you goes out to D. Lawless Hardware for providing me with the knobs to complete this project!


Sharing here:
JENNIFER RIZZO

Guess Who's Coming to the Barn!!!!! (And Weekend Mis-Happenings)

Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a fabulous weekend and a wonderful Mother's Day!  My weekend did not quite go as planned....

Thursday afternoon I came down with a migraine that came and went for 3 days and finally went Sunday morning.  It put a damper on much of my plans.  I would think it was on its way out, and then boom, it would hit me again.  I missed Family Fun night as well as a pizza night with friends because of it, but THANK GOODNESS it did not bother me for the Color Run!

Saturday morning, my friend Kerry's husband, Brian, drove me, our friend Deirdre, and Kerry's whole family to Baltimore so the women could participate in the Color Run, aka The Happiest 5k on Earth!  We were all pretty excited about it and had signed up as soon as we could since it fills up so fast, and they even fill it to the max!  The announcer said we were "25,000" strong!"  I was thrilled because I was also meeting up with my good friend, Andi, who I had not seen in a while, and also Sarah (my business partner and friend) and her husband and Brooke (who I know through Sarah) and her husband!  Unfortunately it was SO chaotic that I didn't get to meet up with Sarah, but I was able to find Andi!  Here we are before the run (pardon the squinty faces, but the sun was in our eyes for the short time it was out!)

Andi, Kerry, Deirdre, Me

 And here we are after the run!  Let me tell you how awesome these neon sweatbands were.... We were the only group I saw with them and it made finding one another a cinch!

On our way back to the car it was raining... We wanted to get a picture of Kerry's boys and Deirdre noticed the reflection in the building so we snapped this fun picture...

And now for a bit of honesty about the color run.... Was it the happiest 5k on earth?  Well, I suppose if you enjoy waiting 30 minutes for a porta potty because there are 12 per 25,000 people, and then follow that by standing in a huge group waiting to run and running 45 minutes after the actual race start time, and then having to dodge and weave because there are so many "roadblocks" as my friend termed them.... aka, people walking in groups and not paying attention to people running trying to get by!  On the plus side, the color was fun, and dressing silly was fun, and spending time with friends the BEST.  And I know that this race benefited an awesome charity which helped Cora, so I am glad they made lots of money for it!  BUT, I wish it had been better organized and that you ran according to your pace so you didn't have to weave and dodge people and cut people off!  I probably covered 4 miles if you consider all the weaving!
Oh, and let me tell you that the blue stains pretty good.... I had to scrub scrub scrub in the shower... all the dust had fallen and settled and I had a very berry blue derriere! ;)  I don't know if I will do it again.  But I am signed up for a winery run in August followed by a tasting.... now that sounds like it was made for me!

Sunday of course was Mother's Day and we had plans to hit the stores for refrigerator, hood, sink, faucet, and shelving shopping as well as grocery shopping.  We were looking forward to doing all of this as a family, and then coming home to work in the yard together.  BUT, this guy woke up with a nasty stomach bug....

He threw up all day, but by the evening was seeming like he was on the mend.  He is taking the day off school to refuel and recharge.  So instead of going on with our plans we divided and conquered.  Chris ran all the errands while I stayed at home and weeded and planted and painted and chatted with Emmy and periodically checked on Sawyer.  Chris also had to finish mowing our lawn which had been rained out the other day.  Emmy took the opportunity to hitch a ride...

And I admired my peonies, which will soon bloom!

So enough about my weekend, I have some BIG NEWS for you!  This coming weekend is our monthly barn sale at the Stylish Patina Barn, and we have an amazing, talented, sweet, beautiful, creative like no other guest for you!  She has just written a book, Furniture Makeovers...

... and will be at the barn signing Friday from 10-12!!!!!!  It's Barb Blair from Knack Studios!

If you are in town for the Lucketts Spring Market, stop by the barn Friday morning! We will have copies available for purchase if you don't already have one.  If you have not yet met or heard of Barb (remove the rock from which you are living under!) you must check her out!  She is the furniture guru who I have followed for the longest time and I am always amazed by her creativity and style.  She is also one of the most genuine people I have met-  a kindred spirit and a beautiful soul.  I am so excited to have her at the barn!  She will be arriving Thursday, and I get to take her and her family to downtown Frederick and hang out for an evening before the barn sale.  I can't wait!!!!!!  I hope if you are in town, you will come by and see her!

Friday Randomness and Creating a Meaningful Home

Happy Friday!  I am so glad the weekend is here and that I survived yesterday....

I am going to give you a chronological run down with some pictures thrown in for good measure.

6:00 AM- Wake up, get dressed, brush teeth.
6:35 AM- run 4.5 miles with 2 of my best friends.
7:20 AM- come home to Chris angry and bathing one of our dogs and telling me the other is still outside and muddy and needs a shower, too, and I must now get the kids ready, lunches made, get the beds made, and get myself a shower and still be ready to leave by 8 AM to get to moms and muffins.
7:20-7:50 AM- get kids dressed, beg them to attempt making their own beds, make their lunches
7:50 AM- hop in the shower for a quick one, only to find out the dogs had the luxury of all the hot water; took a cold shower.
8:10 AM- Arrive at moms and muffins and enjoy some coffee and half a cinnamon muffins with friends and their children.

Sawyer had ditched us for his friends at this point, but here are Emmy and I at moms and muffins:

8:30 AM- Elected PTA secretary at moms and muffins.  No one ran against me, so not like I was stressing. ;)
9:00 AM- Arrive home to work being started on the kitchen.
9:00-9:30- AM Read blogs and emails.
9:30-11:30- Head to barn to work on setting up for next weekend's sale (with a SPECIAL GUEST FRIDAY MORNING!)
12:00 PM- Pick up a chicken bowl from Chipotle for lunch.... YUMMY!
12:30-1:30- Catch up on blogs and emails again.
1:35 PM- take the dogs out for a quick walk before I have to get to the school for Sawyer's 2 pm program.
1:40 PM- Way back from the quick potty walk, Charlie ducks out of his collar and takes off.... I am left with the leash and his collar attached.  Take Jake inside and make sure he is safe, grab my car and run out for Charlie.  Thank God he is old and can't get too far so I was able to find him.... I was freaking out since he had slipped out of his collar and had no tags.  Get Charlie home.
1:50 PM- Leave for Sawyer's program, only 10 minutes delayed.
2:00 PM- Program begins and I realized in the commotion of the moment I forgot he was supposed to wear a dark shirt.  He was wearing a white shirt.... I prayed that another child would walk out in a white shirt, but to no avail.  I was the only failure mom in the audience.  :(  Try to make eye contact with Sawyer so I can see if he is mad that I forgot.  Make eye contact and can't tell.  Panic the entire duration of the program.

Hard to see what's going on in this picture, but easy to see Sawyer, the only child in a white shirt:

3:00 PM- Program ends and I decide to take Sawyer out of school early, and head over to the PA Dutch market in town and treat him to some candy to get over my guilt.

3:15 PM- arrive home, and Sawyer and I sit outside reading together, getting his homework done.
3:30 PM- the workers wrap up for the day and Sawyer and I head inside to explore the kitchen.

Here is Sawyer standing in the dining room, kitchen behind him.  He's standing where the wall used to be and the wood you see now is just the temporary wall for construction purposes and will be gone soon.

Standing in the kitchen, this will be the view into the dining room...

And when I sit with my computer having my coffee in the morning at the new island, this will be the view I enjoy...

Ok back to the timeline...

4:00 PM- take Jake for a short walk to pick Emmy up from the bus stop.  I allowed Sawyer to hold the leash, and he was pretty excited about it.
4:15-5:15 PM- Snack and playtime.
5:30 PM- take Sawyer to soccer and head over the the farmer's market with Emmy to buy some local organic vegetable plants and herbs, as well as radishes.  Yum.
6:30 PM- Emmy and I make a quick dinner and eat together on the porch.
7:00 PM- boys arrive home from soccer, and I make Sawyer dinner, pack lunches for tomorrow since workers will be here at 7 AM.
7:30 PM- sit down for the night.... Jeopardy, American Idol, and Glee.

AND I AM DONE.
It was such a crazy day, with the dogs causing us major setbacks twice.  It's a wonder we still love them, but we do.

TGIF People!  Any fun plans this weekend?  I am headed to Baltimore to participate in the Color Run, AKA The Happiest 5k on Earth!  I can't wait!!!  My business partner and friend, Sarah, is doing it with me as well as several of our other friends!  It might rain on our parade, but we are going to have fun anyways!  After that, I don't have too many plans.... Saturday evening I am looking forward to a night with my feet up and a glass of wine in hand.  Sunday of course is Mother's Day.  We don't have any plans other than working out in the yard as a family.   To all my readers out there who are mothers, Happy Mother's Day!

And FINALLY, I wanted to let you know that you can find me today over at SAS Interiors today, sharing how I have made my home meaningful.

Head on over to check it out!  Happy weekend, friends!