A baby! A baby! We're having another baby!

Due March 10th 2013. 

We couldn't be a more thrilled momma, poppa and soon to be big brother. :)

Staring our house hunt!

Yes, yes, yes we FINALLY are ready to buy a house!

No more renting, no more apartments on the second floor, no more having my garage on the other side of the complex, no more nondescript decortaing, we willl be able to be in our OWN space.

As first time home buyers we're trying to determine exactly what we want and need.

So we've made 2 separate lists, our must-haves list and our wishes list.

Here's our Must-Haves List:

3 (preferably 4) bedrooms

2 bathrooms

A backyard with grass (in AZ that's not a given)

Newer (Not much more than 10 years old.)

No major renovations needed right away.


And our Wish List:

Hardwood (or similar) floors

3 car garage

Fenced in Pool

Nice finishes (ie counter tops, cabinets etc)

No popcorn ceilings

Smooth walls (AZ homes have a lot of textured walls and I'm not a fan.)


What advice do you have as we start our search?

Anything we should add to either list?

Fresh and Sweet Arm Chair Redo

After reupholstering 4 chairs in 5 weeks, you'd think I'd swear off them for awhile. 

But I had this chair for awhile and while it wasn't bad in it's original state, it was a little grandma-ish and needed an update.

So I refinished the frame, picked out the fabric and here's the fresh, new version.

I toyed with going really bold with the fabric choice because neutrals can tend to look flat on fabric, but I love the warmth with the pattern and the clean lines. 

This piece is available in the SHOP. 

Click HERE for more info.

What I would have said in that moment

The other day I was having a conversation with a parent at a local play area and I told her what I did.

(Refinishing and restoring furniture as a little side business)

Her response was, "People like you drive me crazy. You charge ridiculous money for slapping paint on a dresser."

I just stared at her and honestly tried not to cry. 

I mumbled something about the work that goes into a piece and then thankfully Rhett was ready to go so we left. 

I've thought a lot about what I would have liked to say to her if I could live that moment over again, so this is what I'd say.

Via

Isn't this amazing?

And so true. 

What we do is not some dumb housewife activity because we have nothing better to do. 

We do it because it allows us to fill real needs, for real people. 

Our "artisitc" hobbies are in numerous ways like a job.

We make things.

We sell them.

We put energy, love, and skill into what we produce.

We promote our product and ourselves.

We meet deadlines.

We put hours of labor and worry and our very best into our creations.

And even though for most of us, our hobby/job isn't the main source of income in our home, it does contribute to our family's income.

I am proud of myself for what I do, what I've learned, what I continue to learn and what I create.

It's not always 1000% perfect and I work on achieving that with each new piece.

So please don't tell me that my time, energy and sweat is worthless.

And if you think it is then I truly feel sorry for you; that you can't find the joy in creating something from nothing. 

Gilt

Snow white milk paint, light gray glaze and a some gold leafing.

On this piece.

Love it.

And the same treatment on a night stand.

Sadly I have no before pictures. 

Let's just leave it that the previous owner had painted it with Krylon Make It Stone spray paint.

???

It was not fun to sand that stuff off. 

And when I picked it up from the previous owner this happened 

Blown out tire. 

Yeah.

It was one of those before pieces. 

This piece is available in The SHOP.

Click HERE for more info.

Captured

Rhett somehow managed to take these pictures on a recent trip to Joann's.

I love little moment he captured.

Me.

Happy.

With by little guy.

Buying fabric.

Simple, but good. :)

Ultra distressed high boy

Oh boy...this high boy.

I snagged it from an auction MONTHS ago and stuck it in my booth in almost as is condition.

I loved the lines but didn't know what to do with it.

I was thinking something like this, a really bold, sleek look. 

But the piece had so many natural worm holes and divits and I was honestly to lazy to try and fill all of them. 

And one day I was a little emotional and a little frustrated, so I took all that and used it on the distressing. 

Here's how it turned out.  

I'm really happy with out it turned out.

So much distressing isn't my normal style but I love how the piece has kind of a romantic industrial look.

And the sweet little hanging rack above the dresser was made from a leftover detail piece from a large mirror. 

Like the dresser, I painted it also in Old Ochre, lightly distressed it and added knobs to the existing screw holes where it would have attached to the mirrors.

I used my Dremel to cut the screws on the hardware down to size. 

It took like 5 minutes, just make sure you wear protective eye wear. :) 

The dresser is available in The SHOP at the top of the page. 

Click HERE for more info.