Memorial Day Weekend!

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! 


This may be the start of our summer vacation (whoop-whoop!) but it's also a weekend to honor and celebrate the service men and women of our country who sacrificed their lives to help secure the future of Americans.  


Please be proud of our country, of our military service members and as you celebrate this long weekend, say a word of thanks for those who gave their lives fighting for our country in  any capacity.


As stated by Adali Stevenson, "I venture to suggest that patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime."  


Just a bit of history about Memorial Day.....

In 1915, Moina Michael replied with her own poem:

We cherish too, the Poppy red That grows on fields where valor led, It seems to signal to the skies That blood of heroes never dies.

She then conceived of an idea to wear red poppies on Memorial day in honor of those who died serving the nation during war. She was the first to wear one, and sold poppies to her friends and co-workers with the money going to benefit servicemen in need. 


Have a great weekend!
Lisa 


"America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." -- Abraham Lincoln

Mahogany Bench

This great mahogany bench is now available at Artichoke Alley.  It is very sturdy and went from being old and frumpy to classically clean and beautiful!  If you're interested, please e-mail at ArtichokeAlley@hotmail.com.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Sunshine yellow chairs now available!

These sunshine yellow cane seat chairs have founds new homes.

Only the chair on the left is now available.

 

For sale:  $22 

Empire Dresser: from pretty in pink to boyishly blue!~

This Empire style dresser was right up my alley but has now gone to live with Kristin and her family in her little boy's room!  


I loved the lines but the blue and yellow color combo had to go!  I couldn't decide exactly what I wanted to do until last week when green and white just seemed to be a perfect Spring combination.

Before:

After - for a girl~ bright white with girly accents:

After - and now for a son to be big brother~ slightly distressed, glazed and with some blue!:

Dimensions - 33"W x 46.5"T x 19.5"D

$195 

Farm fresh green desk

This little desk has now gone to live with Rebecca and Jack!  Thanks!


Sabrina purchased this little pine desk a while back with great plans for her nephew.  Unfortunately he decided it wasn't quite what he wanted but, his loss was my gain!!  It ended up in my garage and on my quest to clean things out this week, it was first on the project hit list!

As most of our regular followers know, I happily live in Alabama but LOVE when we spend time on our ranch in Texas!  I love the smell of the grass, the wide open spaces, and the freshness of country living.  The kids and I are planning our summer vacation and we are quickly moving towards loading up for the ranch.  With that in mind....Sabrina's little desk got a fresh country makeover!

 

 I started by priming it and then giving it three quick coats of this fresh green I found on the Ooops! cart at Lowe's not too  long ago.  When everything was dry, the green was a little brighter than I anticipated and the white wooden knobs were awfully stark too.  All was quickly remedied with a little distressing and a coat of dark wax.  When the wax started to dry I gave it a quick buff and then lined the drawers with some fancy fun wrapping paper.
 

Now it was time for a chair.  This little cane chair was in a group of chairs I purchased at my favorite auction several months back.  Remember, I am on the quest to clean out the garage and everything needs to GO!  I gave the chair two coats of bright white, slightly distressed it and then used the same dark wax to rub it all down.  Perfect!

Again, here in one last shot the before and after:

2 projects down, only 98 (or so) more to go before we head to the ranch!!  I'd better get back to work.....

Lisa

These treasures will now be available on the Pick Me page or our Facebook page (search Artichoke Alley).

Measurements:  42"L x 30"T x 16.5"W
Desk:  $115
Chair:  $30

Unique rounded dresser/vanity

This  unique little dresser/vanity with rounded sides and cute jewelry (treasure) drawers is being customized for Kamela and will soon go to live in her new house!

49"W x 21.5"D x 26.75"T

$165 (redone)

We're back in action!

After the storms last week, the kids are back in school now and people have begun returning to work.  Typical of the Southern spirit, one of our local merchants thought we might just need a "little" beverage (and some good humor) to get us through!

Sounds good to me!


Here are a few new items that will be worked on in the next few days.  This little vanity was a great find just before the storms.  I love the rounded sides, and the little jewelry drawers on top!  Can't decide what color we will be going with but, certainly something gorgeous and girly!

And for the mirrors.....I have something new I think I'll try on one of them so let's hope it turns out well and will be a success story very soon!

Have a great day!  
Lisa

Sunshine after the Storm!

Good Monday Morning...SO much to be thankful for this morning!  As most of you know, the storms that passed through last Wednesday brought major devastation to our area of Northern Alabama.  The families of the Artichoke Alley girls are all okay but unfortunately, many of our friends and extended family did not fare as well.  There are areas in our community that are absolutely devastated while others look relatively untouched.  The cleanup efforts have been great and power is being restored as we speak.  While my Handsome Hubby stayed behind to help friends in need, the kids and I drove South to take this unexpected opportunity to spend time with family we haven't seen in far too long.  We will be retunring home tomorrow morning and start pitching in to get things back to "normal" as much as we can.

And then to hear that Osama Bin Laden is no longer going to pose a threat to our great nation ....thankful for all the great opportunities we continue to have.

Please continue to pray for the families that suffered great loss and devastation in last weeks storms and take a moment today to be thankful for all you have that in one split second could be lost or changed forever...

Lisa