My Revamped Dresser.

In the midst of all the Holiday goodness, I decided it was finally time to paint my dresser.

We have had this dresser for about 7 years, we have a matching high boy too. I really love how much space it has, but I wasn't crazy about the wood anymore. It has a mirror that attaches, but I removed it to add something softer. Although I love mission style furniture, it isn't representative of my style....blah, blah, blah....that means nothing really. I was looking for something different without having to spend money. Duh.

I grabbed my little brush and my oops gray/white and went to work. The paint stuck great. And slid on easily. I didn't sand it, I barely wiped it off. I was lazy.

It looks fantastic. I am bummed that I waited so long to paint it, but excited that I finally did it. Does that even make sense?

Honestly, It just makes the entire room feel softer.

Just a little bit of distressing. Not too much.

The mirror used to be on our mantel. Taking it down from there for some reason made the room feel better and now, in this room it makes the room feel bigger and better. Good move, I would say.

Double puffy paint heart love.

I have no idea if I will have time to post the next few days. But check back in. We'll be in The Frozen Tundra of North Dakota and the chilly Northwoods of Wisco. The boys couldn't be more excited.

xoxo

Ornament Wreath

Okay. I finally finished this stinkin' thing.

I started three weeks ago when we got all our Christmas stuff out.

It's not the wreath on the hanger that was all the craze last year....this is different. New. Better. (If I do say so myself!)

I haven't done many crafts this season, I've been trying to just "BE" instead. Are you buying that? I just couldn't find anything that I was dying to do....Well, there is one thing that I'd like to do, but it involves finding a very large ladder and some birch branches, and attaching lights to those branches, so it's on hold for the moment.....

Here's one that I did, and if I hadn't been putting it off, it would have been finished in one evening of sitting in front of the boob tube.

I took a dollar store wreath form, that I bought for, well, a dollar. And a four packages of mini ornaments from Target. They were 5 bucks a container. I used three and a half containers.

So, this wreath cost about 20 dollars. If I'm being technical. A little pricey, but totally worth it, again, if I do say so myself...


My glue gun and I were friends through this. No burns. I just started putting them on and went all around filling in where needed.

When I was ready to put the ribbon on I took two push pins and attached it to the wreath. I also glued the ribbon to the wreath, just to be sure it would hold.

 I love it. Ignore the half painted window, divert your eyes. Just stare at the wreath, and those absolutely beautiful and ingenious mason jar lights.

I love it. I may leave it up. All year. Just like the moss one from last year, that stayed up until, June, or yesterday, whatever.

So fun. So festive. Just perfect to "BE".

Santa 2010.

The boys were ecstatic. We went all the way to the big mall. The one that takes 45 minutes to get to. We did a little shopping, we ate greasy food. We stood in line for 35 minutes.

The older boys climbed up on his lap, told Santa what they wanted, and thanked him kindly. Then they got a little stuffed animal that they haven't put down since.

It was so great to see how excited they got when they were talking to him. He asked them what they wanted (Pillow Pet and Legos for Porter, Pillow Pet and Remote Control Spider for Jack...conveniently the Pillow Pet kiosk was positioned right next to Santa.....hmmmm.)

Gus stared at Santa and pulled at his beard. That was it.

Santa 2010. Done and done.

I hope their belief lasts forever. In all honesty, part of why I didn't want Porter to ride the bus to school was because of all the older kids talking....no Santa, no Easter Bunny, no Tooth Fairy....ugh. I wish I could ride with him. Or whisper in his ear to ignore them....I think I'll just put them in a bubble and not let them go.

Anyone with me?

Jack.

This kid. Wowzer.

We had the following conversation the other day.

Jack: How come we can't hear God?
Me: You have to listen very carefully....(Silence).
Jack: I heard him! He said I didn't have to eat my lunch.

Love him.

Holiday Goodness.

Here's our tree and our mantel (I like to spell it that way, not the other way, mantle. I feel more sophisticated when I spell it mantel. Like I'm royalty.)

I didn't clean, or organize or beautify. Our tree is full of a million ornaments that we've gathered over time. They are all special. Each one. The stockings, however, nothing special. I made the white one last year for Gus. I probably should have taken some of our regular stuff down, but I didn't. Things change a lot around here. For example, we have no where to put anything. Stuff keeps selling and I haven't replaced it, which is a good thing, I suppose....

You would be shocked to see the difference from last year to this year in this room. Or the rest of the house...

This was the mantel last year:

And this year:

The stairs, last year:

And this year:

We've done our traditional cookie baking....no tears this year!

I made my first ever whoppie pies. I didn't use the traditional middle. Instead I used a cream cheese frosting concoction that is divine. I think they were a hit.  We also did some sugar cookies. And, my brand new hand mixer started burning and smelling and couldn't get through the sugar cookie dough. Boo-hoo.

Instead of watching over the boys this year and helping them out, I threw caution to the wind, let go of my controlling ways and let Tom oversee the cookie decorating. I took Gus to bed and read several books while they finished up. Things seem to have turned out quite well!
 

Ummm....very well, in Jack's case.

Now THAT is a cookie.

This week we're laying low, bundling up and getting ready to travel soon.

Dad visit.

My Dad came to visit for Thanksgiving and he stayed. For a whole week!

We had a great time and we were all spoiled rotten. Treats. Treasures. Time. It was fantastic.

For some reason I didn't get many pictures, but this one stands out the most. One of my Dad's dogs.

In this basket. Next to the fire. Odd dog.

Thanks for the wonderful week Dad. We love you!

The little blue bookshelf

This little gal was a sad sorry sight. She had blue contact paper all over her, and just didn't look quite right.

My helpers pulled the paper off and with it came some paint. Oh well. We love that.

Interestingly, and of course, I failed to take a picture....on each side of the bookshelf was a transfer of a civil war hero.

Sadly I couldn't find a picture that was similar on-line. But, you know the one. Red, white and blue soldier, with his fancy outfit and a gun.

I am loving the way this turned out. I sanded it down a ton, and it added just the right amount of old that it needed.

Love.

Mom Ramblings #21

1. Sometimes I've got nothin'. Then I feel badly and write one of these random mom thoughts and I end up with a whole lotta somethin'.

2. Tom and I took a mini-vaca to Chicago and used some points to stay downtown and do some shopping and eating and hanging out without a care in the world. It was wonderful. I missed the kiddos terribly, but I have to say it was peaceful not to have to worry about anyone else but ourselves. We ate late, we lounged, we walked. It was delicious.

3. I didn't take my camera with us. I'm an idiot.

4. We went to two great restaurants. XOCO. Mexican. Delicious. And HEAVEN ON SEVEN. Louisiana. Just as delicious.

5. I love the holidays. LOVE. Our tree is up. The lights are always on. Tucker the Elf has only forgotten to move twice...I'll share pics soon!

6. I found this little bookshelf for 5 bucks. I'll share on Monday. That's contact paper. All. Over.

Unless your a FB fan or you visit the White Butterfly website, then you already know what it looks like!

7. I made Fantasy Fudge today that my Mom would be proud of. She used to eat fudge and popcorn as a snack during the season. With a Sprite. Oh, how I miss that.

8. I went to Target today for the sole purpose of purchasing a Kitchenaid Mixer that I saved up for....I left because in my head was Dave Ramsey (the financial guru) in the voice of Michael from the tv show Burn Notice (on USA network)...."If you ever get the chance to buy a stand mixer...don't. You don't NEED it." Damn. I left with a twenty dollar hand mixer. And cash in my pocket.

9. Pretty soon is tax return time. Have I told you how much I love doing our taxes? LOVE. I know. Crazy.

10. The boys have been sharing a room since we moved here two years ago, and they don't want to share anymore. It makes me very sad. I don't know why.  Porter is sleeping in the guest room tonight and we're going to see how it goes for a little while. Why does it make me so sad?

11. I just ran out of storage space for photos on the blog this second. That stinks.

12. I can't even upload a photo to a new post without logging out first and then logging back in. Now they want me to buy more. Stinks. This is so frustrating.

13. I'm complaining. And so, I'm thinking of switching to Word Press...

14. I'm not going to end on a cranky note.

15. It's snowing. The boys and I are going to play in the snow....

All I want for Christmas.

This is a totally selfish post. I don't actually NEED any of these. Well, not all of them. I just really WANT them. A Lot. I love them all.

Dave Ramsey would have a fit.

Dear Santa,

Here are a few things that I dream of...

Canon EF 35mm f/2 Wide Angle Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

 

This was on my dream list last year. That's right, it's still there. I still love it.

Remember, I don't have a mixer, so I NEED this one:

Kitchenaid Artisan 5 qt Stand Mixer

It's for all that baking I do. The only problem would be deciding which color to get.

Because I just have to have a new tool and I don't have a drill all to myself:

 Makita Lithium Ion 18v Cordless Compact Drill

Of course I need new jeans to wear while baking and working in the garage. And I'm pretty sure if I had these jeans, my rear would have to look like this. This is my dream, so it totally would:

7 for All Mankind Gwenevere

And because I just can't stop dreaming and need to do it while on the go at all times:

32 GB iPad with Wi-Fi.

Might as well not quit there. My contract is up with my current phone. Rumor has it the iPhone will be at Verizon at the beginning of the year:

4G 32 GB iPhone.

And finally, because we don't have enough gadgets on the list, or in our house:

UltraHD 8GB | 2 hr

I added links, just in case you want to go out and buy each item for someone special, ehem....er, yourself, er, me......

Are you dreaming of anything fun (I mean besides the obvious-world peace, end to starving children, AIDS, The big C, frigid temps, flooding, children that let you pee on your own, financial freedom...you know...that sort of stuff)? Do you have fun just day dreaming about all the selfish things you'd like?

Repainting the master bath cabinets

I got a wild hair last Thursday afternoon to just quick repaint the master bath cabinets. As I lighten up my house I feel like every single room is too dark. This bathroom included. So, it took a couple of hours...quick paint, let dry, keep the kids out of everything, paint, dry, don't let Gus touch the cabinets, and final coat of paint.

Fortunately the oops paint I picked up was a quick dry paint! And when you do several very thin layers, it dries quickly.

These are the cabinets before any paint, last year about this time. I added the beadboard wallpaper to the fronts of the doors.

Here are the classy black cabinets after:

They look nice, but just really dark...Especially with dark blue/gray walls.

Here they are this morning. I grabbed a bunch of new pulls from my stash in the garage.

Much brighter and happier. Please ignore my shaky hands and non-image stabilizer lens.

So, for zero dollars, I updated my bathroom to bright and cheery!

Gotta love a quick change!

Date Weekend

This guy and I are off on a weekend getaway. Two nights, by ourselves. What ever will we do?