Adorable Shabby Chic Side table

This adorable little shabby chic end/side table has found a new home with Kamela and her family.

It has been painted a beautiful clean white, slightly distressed and glazed with a very light tea-stain.

$55

24 more days!

It's coming.....
August 4-7, 2011

"I Drove, I Stopped, I Shopped till I Dropped!

Named by Alabama's Governor Bob Riley as a Top Ten Event in Alabama!

As Seen on HGTV, in Southern Living, Country Living, USA Today, Newsweek, The Tonight Show 

and more!

The kids and I are on the countdown for Summer vacation!  There are only 24 days left of school and we are starting to plan our activities.   Each of the kids has a long list of things they'd like to do so, I will be updating you as we narrow them all down BUT, the big one for me is......drum roll please......I will be turning 40 this year! 

In honor of the (there are so many words to describe this) occasion, some of my favorite girls and I will be taking four days to travel the roads, bunk together overnight, and participate in "The World's Longest Yardsale"!  

I can't wait!  I'm sure that's not everyones idea of a way to celebrate but, this is right up my alley! It just encompasses so many of my favorite things all in one....time with some of my favorite girls, road tripping travel, bargains, meeting new people, a long weekend, roadside finds, extra large Diet Cokes with ice.....and the list goes on and on!

http://www.discoverlookoutmountain.com/wlys.shtml
Now on the overnight part, one of the sites says the accommodations available include: bed & breakfasts, guest houses, camping, rustic lodging, general/historic motels!  Now, we are some adventurous girls (and I am turning 40!), I'm thinking that the camping and rustic lodging options are OUT!  I may not be a favorite girl after this trip if I book a tent or teepee for us to stay in!

http://www.bigsouthfork.org/Lodging.html
According to their site, the time we have left to plan and get there is:100 Days, 13 hours, 57 minutes, 11 seconds Apparently I'm not the only one excited!

If you've ever done this trip, I would LOVE any tips!  Otherwise, I will keep you posted on the planning and then how it all goes down!  

Have a great day! 
Lisa

Sweet Home Alabama!

Last week was Spring Break for us and now all I can think about is Summer vacation!  I love having my kids home and I LOVE travelling and I'm not really sure who's more excited for the next 5 weeks to fly by, me or the kids!  It's so fun to see different places, meet new people, and spend time together just hanging out.   A new environment always makes me look at things a little differently and I think it SO important for the kids to have new experiences in order to realize there is so much more in the world than just what they see in their own backyard!

 Over Spring Break we traveled to the great state of Colorado!  As some of you know, one of my sisters is an Apache pilot in the Army and is currently stationed in Colorado Springs.  Conveniently, my husband also has work he has to do in Colorado Springs from time to time and this year, it was over our Spring Break!  The kids and I flew out and joined him and got to spend time with our sweet Erin too - yee-haw!

We rode the cog wheel train to the top of Pike's Peak Mountain and saw some A-mazing sites!!  It was sunny at the bottom but snowing at the top!!

 Surely I'm not the only Mom in America that thinks it's fun to have these cheesy tourist shots in the family albums!!

It felt like we were truly on top of the world!

  
We visited The Garden of the God's and climbed on nearly every rock in the park!  GORGEOUS!!  This was the perfect place to see some absolutely breathtaking scenery AND let the kids run off a lot of extra energy!

 These two can climb mountains and upset the balance of things...all in one day!

Then my wonderful sister took me and the kids up into the mountains for a little of this.....

And then we visited one of the best zoos I've ever been to, The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs.  Fabulous!

  I just can't help myself when it comes to these cheesy shots!And some rock climbing!

 We finally finished the trip with a fun-filled evening at a Moroccan restaurant that I blogged about when I went out to house hunt with Erin  (HERE).  The experience was well worth it!  It was really fun watching the kids and Handsome Hubby digest the idea of sitting on the floor, in our stocking feet, with NO utensils, and all eating out of the same bowls and plates!  I am absolutely positive this was one of our stops that everyone will remember but am also a little glad that they were NOT permanently convinced to eat with their hands!!! 

It was a great vacation but, it sure is nice to be back in Sweet Home Alabama so we can plan for the next one.....YEAH SUMMER!!

The girls and I are going to hit a few hot spots today and see what treasures we might find.   After the Easter Break, I am looking forward to getting back to some painting and projecting!
Have a fantastic Thursday!  
Lisa

Plain Jane to Polka Fame!

This rocking chair had been weathered and was just...Plain Jane.  But one of our clients, 
Melissa, had another plan.

Every goos porch in the South needs a rocker...it's just a fact!  So, after a lot of sanding, I primed it, painted it, sanded again, painted again, sanded some more, painted some more, and then added on the yellow dots.  When it was all finished I clear coated the entire chair with a polycrylic for extra protection against the weather.  

I think Melissa now has a chair she will enjoy seeing on her porch, calling her to come have a sit and a cool drink after a long day at work!


Thanks again Melissa!
Lisa

Old to stylishly bold

Recently a client,  brought several pieces for makeovers.  The first piece was the zebra chair (HERE) I wrote about yesterday and the next on the list was this little dresser.   It was obvious the dresser had absolutely been used and loved over the years and Melissa wasn't really sure if it was worth any more than sentimental value to her because it had come from her grandmother.   I quickly assured her that a good old oak dresser always has value, especially when you add in the grandma factor!!

The oak was once beautiful but over the years it had become chipped, warped, and the drawers were just barely staying together.  A couple of the knobs were missing but Melissa, owner of Salon Papillon,  wanted it to sit next to the zebra chair and coordinate without being too matchy matchy.   


I started by gluing all the drawers back together, filling all the holes and scratches in and then sanding everything down.   I primed is with two good coats of Kilz sanding between each.  Then it was time for the paint.  I picked a cream color I thought looked great with the fabric but when I got the initial coat on, it looked a little too yellow so I mixed in another cream I had on hand that had a little more of a gray undertone and loved it!  I ended up giving it three good coats of paint with sanding in between each one just to get it as smooth and even as I like.


I trimmed the drawers in the French Roast of the chair and then lined them with the coordinating zebra fabric.  Finally, I went through my stash of knobs and found two more wooden knobs that were the perfect size.  I primed and painted them French Roast as well so that they would stand out from the dresser just little and then distressed and glazed her all over with a very light antique glaze.

Again, I forgot the pictures until everything was set up out in the driveway for Melissa to come pick up.  The sun was setting and it was not picture perfect lighting...this last one, I tried to take without the flash and thought it looked great until I downloaded!  Sorry but, I think you get the idea! 


This was a fun set to finish.  Thanks Melissa!
And one more set of before and afters....
 

 Lisa