Where Have I Been?

This week has passed before my very eyes! The weekend will soon be upon us, and I will be busy with some new projects! Wednesday I headed to the auction, on the lookout for smaller items for the upcoming Luckett's Spring Antique Market. Check out some of my loot here...



I came home with frames, mirrors, a couple tables, a metal industrial cart and step ladder, an old croquet set that reads "Tally Ho", and my favorite, a fantastic metal cabinet!
Today I ventured to Tyson's Corner to hit the West Elm there so that I could finally use the $175 credit I had from purchasing my couch. I hadn't been sure what to get as I had previously blogged about, so sat down earlier this week and perused the website again. I found a gorgeous organic cotton duvet cover in white! I had been thinking of changing my bedroom (seen below)

to all white palette with some hints of blue, and this is giving me that chance! I purchased the duvet cover and 2 shams, and then hit Target for the Simply Shabby Chic white bedskirt, and also found a set of white organic cotton sheets ON SALE! So of course I got those to make the ensemble complete! Here is my bedroom as of now, but I do plan to paint the walls and redo some other things this summer, but I am in LOVE with the bedding! So fresh and comfy and light!

Oh, and I had enough left to get another little item with my credit, so I also took home this awesome bird Patch bag!

Gone Graphic

While I was in Mississippi last weekend, I mentioned I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased some stencils- a 5" block letter, as well as a harlequin stencil. I've always love the Harlequin design but am not so handy at taping it all off and doing it that way. Last week I put those two stencils to some use!
First up is this little coffee table I purchased from the local Goodwill for a whopping $8.

It had a sweet and simple shape, and I planned on painting it white and distressing it, keeping with its simplicity. But after the white was on and the distressing done, I was not in love. If I had seen it in a store, I would not have ooh-ed and ah-ed over it, so I pondered.... mirror? done that. another color in the inset? too blah. and then I remembered my new harlequin stencil, found my favorite oops paint blue, and painted on the design. And halfway through realized I should have started in the center and worked my way out, rather than starting on one side and working my way over. Oops. So then I thought about redoing it all, but the thought of that was tiring in itself! I let it sit for a day, and asked 2 trustworthy friends their opinions, and they both said it was good as is, and the off center design even added to the charm. What do you think?


Next up was this adorable drop leaf antique table.

This piece was donated to me a long long time ago, and I just hadn't been inspired yet. Also, it is missing the actual pieces to support the drop leaves and I couldn't find inexpensive replacements. So unfortunately these leaves will always be dropped! But honestly, I don't know many people who use drop-leaf accent tables with the leaves up, so does it really matter? Again, I started with white, and this time planned to do the harlequin stencil again. Once it was painted white, I thought again about the harlequin stencil and decided a word along the side would be cool, but it had to be a long word since the table is quite large for a side table. I chose "happiness" and decided my oops spring green would be perfect and a happy color to suit the word itself. I didn't plan it out very well though, so had to add the exclamation point, so instead of "happiness" it reads "happiness!". oh well! I still love it as is! The lady who donated it to me only asked that I keep the original hardwate, so I did. And I love the dark contrast it gives to the rest of the piece.


I am not usually a stencil person, but I love how these turned out. Thank you Hobby Lobby!
And just for fun.... I have so many pictures of my kids standing next to various tables and dressers because they just want to be in the picture so badly! so naturally, they posed with these tables tonight!


Linking to.....
Between Naps on The Porch's Met Monday






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Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Friday
The Shabby Nest's Frugal Friday

Little Mustard Cabinet

I bought this little sideboard cabinet off craigslist a few weeks ago for a whopping 35 buckaroos. I loved its petite stature and linear shape.

It was in great shape structurally, but really needed a cosmetic overhaul. The finish on the top was worn pretty badly. I thought about refinishing it, but it was such a cute little piece, that I decided paint would make it a real charmer. I was thinking turquoise or blue (as I usually do) but decided to look through all my paints and came across a mustard yellow "oops" paint I bought a while back- perfect!
So I went to work, sanding, priming, and painting. I decided minimal distressing to show off its legs and details, and then antiqued it with a stain just to warm it up a bit. Once that was complete, I went through my knobs and found these adorable green knobs I had ordered from Anthropologie. They were exactly what it needed!




linking up to....
Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party
The Thrifty Home's Penny Pinching Party
It's so Very Cheri's Spotlight Yourself

6th Published Photo Game

Rory at The Greentiques Solution tagged me in a photo game where I have to republish my 6th ever photo and explain what I might to differently. Then it's my turn to tag 10 people! So here is my picture...

This was taken when I was giving a little tour of my own home. Since then, my then 2 yr old daughter turned 3 and has grown up so much in the last year! I haven't changed much in her room- I did get her a new solid pink quilt which we both love! As far as the actual picture goes, I would have opened the shade to let in more light. I also would not have let her actual light fixture show as it is hideous! Other than that this picture just makes me smile since my little Emmy looks so proud of her room! Love her!
Ok, and now I am tagging....
The Painted Hive
Sweet Something Design (my newest follower and whom I am going to go follow as soon as I finish this post! :) )
The Thriftress
Where the Grass is Greener
Homegrown Country Girl
My Repurposed Life
The Magic Brush
I Dream of Decor
Itsy Bits And Pieces
My House of Giggles

Trashy Beach Sign

Oh I love a good project that uses items I have found on the ground or on the curb! I was at the auction 2 years ago when I found this bad boy laying abandoned on the ground.....

I don't know exactly what it was.... some sort of dolly perhaps as it has 3 of its original 4 casters on the back. I loved its planked and beaten look, so I took it home with me. Sadly it has been sitting in my storage space waiting and waiting for me to show it some love. Well, its moment finally came! I decided to paint it and make it into a beachy sign. I love it so much I will be keeping it, just not sure where it will go in my house yet, so for now I have it resting on my kids table for a picture. I primed the entire thing, then put just one coat of white paint on it as I wanted it to me more weathered. I then used a 5" letter stencil I purchased at Hobby Lobby while I was in Mississippi this past weekend (we need Hobbby Lobby up here!). To make the arrow, I used one part of the letter "V" and then flipped it and used that same part to make the bottom side of the arrow. I used the letter "I" in twice its length to make the stem of the arrow. Then I took the sander to it, and gave it a weathered look. And here it is now, just waiting for me to find the right place.... which hopefully won't take another 2 years!





Linking up to....
Reinvented's Trash to Treasure
My House of Giggles Talent Show Tuesday
Coastal Charm Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
A Soft Place to Land's DIY Day
Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party

Wooden Filing Cabinets to Little Girls' Toy Boxes

A client recently asked me to transform her wooden basic filing cabinets to fun storage for her girls' toys.

She knew she wanted a bright pink or purple, but beyond that she wasn't sure. I suggested we paint them hot pink, add a white stripe to define where the inset drawer pulls were located, and do some sort of whimsical stencil or white silhouette painting on the drawer front. Her girls are named Lila and Georgia (gorgeous names, huh?), so I suggested since there were 2 girls we monogram each filing cabinet. My client was happy with that suggestion, so we moved forward. I sanded the cabinets outside, brought them in (with my husband's help of course!), and primed them. They each took 2 coats of hot pink paint (an oops paint, naturally). After the paint was dry I taped where I wanted the stripe off and painted 2 coats of white. I also added the letter to each top drawer. With just the letter, it was simply too plain, not fancy enough at all for a little princess! So I dug through my stencils, and found a damask stencil and used sections of it to frame out the letters. I don't have the best pictures as they were quite heavy and I couldn't lift them myself to move them, but hopefully you get the idea!



I am linking up to....
Metamorphosis Monday

Drooling in Mississippi

Emmy and I have been in Jackson, MS spending time with people we love....

That's Emmy in the wagon with her cousin Bernie (18 months), and my beautiful sister-in-law, Alyson pulling them. Emmy and I have been getting to know Bernie. It's taken Emmy a bit of time, but she has finally warmed up to her chubby little adorable cousin! Alyson and her husband, B, are doing a fabulous job raising him- he's such a happy baby, and he will literally eat anything, which is more than I can say for my two! How can you not love this face?

And just because I love this picture, here's a shot of Emmy on Bernie's swing.

Today I took a detour down to Hattiesburg, MS, to visit my friend Jenni, who is expecting her first baby (a girl!) in September. I took Rte. 49 south from Jackson, and let me tell you I was dying on the inside! There were so many dive antique shops and flea markets, with names like "Trash & Treasure", and "Unclaimed Furniture". My husband would mistake these places for the town dump, or a potential bonfire, but to me, it was heaven! It took all my will power not to stop, but alas, I was only driving a rental Toyota Corolla. Sigh. I am definitely planning a junking trip this way in the not so distant future. I'll just have to rent a big ol' truck and drive home! Who's game?