Happy Thanksgiving!

Well.... I am ashamed to admit that, even though I had a house full of family on Thanksgiving Day, I only got two pictures!
Here's Ramsey, early that morning, being my little Sous Chef in the kitchen, though not doing much chef'ing, just gaming!

And, I created this post for the future... for when I say to myself "What happened on Thanksgiving that year?  What did we do?!?!"  Oh ya, it was at our house... but, like a bonehead, I didn't get pictures of everyone.  *groan*  Sorry family.

The house was indeed full (in such a good way!) and we had a wonderful time visiting, stuffing our tummies, playing outside in the new snow (great for snowballs!), and enjoying the afternoon.  Attendees: Eric, Kara, Ramsey, Riggs; Vicki & Bernie; Uncle Cory; Uncle Lance; Momma/Nana Karen.

At the end of the day, after everyone had left, it was purely a "vegetation night", merely lounging around, watching TV.... and Ramsey and me taking a few weird selfies.

The next day and over the weekend, we put up the Christmas Tree and decorations.  Fun!!   Another thing we missed on Thanksgiving was finding "A Christmas Story" to watch!  What the heck!?!

Project 2: Chalk-Painted High-Boy Dresser

I'm now obsessed with chalk paint!   I want to paint nearly every piece of furniture in the house!  

I also have some remorse about spending DAYS sanding, priming, and painting Ramsey's two bedroom dressers with gloss paint.  It took one coat of primer and FOUR COATS of red!   I was hugely pregnant at the time and it was COLD out in the garage when I was painting (with no-VOC paint of course to be safe for baby-in-the-oven).   One coat, perhaps a sand to distress, and one coat of wax would have been all I needed if I had known about chalk paint.  It would have saved me a boatload of hours too.  *Sigh*  Well, better late than never, right?!

So, back on topic....  Vicki and Bernie had given us an old high-boy dresser a few years ago.  I'd often thought of painting it black to coordinate with the furniture in our bedroom, but, remembering the story above, I decided it was just fine the way it was and I had better things to do with my days.  :-)   After I finished the bench project for the entry way, I decided it was "time".

Last night at 5:00, I removed the drawer handles from the high boy, removed the drawers (leaving the clothes intact), and started throwing on the chalk paint (literally throwing it on... you don't have to be pristine with chalk paint!).  I let that dry for a few minutes and made supper for everyone.  I then took the handles and rubbed on some antique gold tube paint with a rag and then went back to sand/distress the dresser.  Note: This dresser didn't even need a touch-up coat since none of the wood was unfinished!  I wiped on a coat of wax and put the handles back on.  VOILA!  Before it was even Ramsey's bed time, I had that whole darn thing DONE!

Here are the before and afters (the pics aren't great... the lighting in that room isn't super bright):

For an $8.99 eight ounce jar of chalk paint (that I actually only used half of), plus the soft wax and gold rub that I already had, and a total of maybe 2 hours of actual work time, this is the outcome:

I am all about quick results and immediate satisfaction, so this project exceeded my expectations.

I have two side tables in the living room that I am dying to paint now.  But first, the fainting bench that we had in the entry way originally is going to get a makeover.  I had moved it into our bedroom, at the foot of our bed.  Its red velvet fabric is going to be chalk-painted with a light blue-gray and the wood will be black (and a wee bit distressed.... maybe) to coordinate.

Thereafter... well, my Mom has a TON of stuff that I would love to get my hands on!!!   I'm dying to paint something of hers with Peacock Blue, French Blue, or Lemon Yellow.  This obsession may become a serious illness!  ha

Golly Gee, Look Who Turned THREE!

Our "sweet little puppy" just had a birthday!   As of November 8th, Riggs is three years old.

Some people are nuts about photographing their pets.  I'm just nuts about photographing the family in general.   Our dog is no exception.  I'm posting pics as a walk down memory lane, from the adorable playful puppy months, to the rambunctious times of older puppydom (yup, just made that word up - no judging!) and early adolescence, to his maturation of the family's protector (or, at least 'barker-when-so-much-as-a-mouse-toots').

Before we met him:

The day we met him and brought him home (December 27th, 2013):

And the days since....

Right before Ramsey was born:

Kisses from Ramsey:

Halloween lion:

The day of his 1st Birthday:

More days in the life....

We had a fun little party for him (just before our "election party", with pizza and goodies) and gave him his presents (a big ol' bag of pigs' ears and a new frog squeaky/tug toy).

We gave him a pig's ear right away (gross, yes, but he loves them).  He inhaled it; it was gone in less than five minutes!

Happy Birthday, Riggsy... You're a faithful and loving companion... and just a darn good doggie! WUF YOU!

Project: Bench Recycle

I always seem to need some sort of a "project" to fulfill my creative side.   One day, I was tooling around on Pinterest.  Oh yes... Pinterest... my dear friend and giver of fabulous recipes and project ideas!

I started clicking links for chalk-painting projects, scanning through unbelievable before and after pictures of mediocre (or, in some instances, heinous) old furniture pieces that were "magically" transformed into beautiful new enchanting potential heirlooms.  Perhaps that is a bit dramatic, but really... there were some astounding makeovers!  I found something that caught my eye, as well as solving a fundamental need in our house.   It was an old quasi-dilapidated chest of drawers that was turned into a bench with storage.  Yes, this was definitely something I must have!

My inspiration pieces:

I didn't have any existing pieces of my own to use, so I found this jewel on Craig's List.  Isn't she a looker?  Ew.  Well, more blah than "ew".   But, she had good bones; real wood, dove-tailed drawers, and sturdy [brass] handles.  I hated the brass handles.

My Mom, Ramsey, and I took a road trip to pick it up.  I dropped it off at Mom's neighbor's wood-working shop; he's a fantastic carpenter and craftsman.  I showed him what I wanted and he revamped the chest of drawers for me, lickety-split!  

He dropped it off yesterday afternoon.  I was so excited that, last night, I got out the ol' chalk paint, put on a coat (plus touch-ups) then sanded it to distress it slightly.  Over my lunch break today, I waxed it and hauled it into our entry way (thank you, forearm forklifts and nasty old towel for your assistance).  

I filled it up with all of our gloves, scarves, hats, Riggs' toys and leashes, etc, then added some candles and a throw pillow.

Fashion and function! 

Might I add... I now love the ugly tarnished brass handles!

 

I do plan to make a seat cushion for this, but since I am not a seamstress (darn it!), I will ask this duty of one of mother's friends.  

Ok... now... what will the next project be?!?  Mua-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaaa!

A Little Piece of Heaven

Too often we take for granted the true beauty of nature!   Yes, every day, I look across the lake and smile at the scenic view.   It's been such a hectic few months that we hadn't ventured too far on foot to check out the gorgeous environment in its autumn glory.

It's been so nice out lately that we've been itching to venture away.   Since Riggsy needs some much overdue extended exercise, I took him for a hike on the trail next to the lake, just to the South of us.

I started off with Riggs on a long leash.  His actions were precisely this: stop, sniff, pee, run, stop, look around, pee, sniff, poop, run, repeat.  My arm was getting exhausted, as was my patience.   So, off the chain he went, released from its confinement.  He was happier than ever, passing back and forth through the tall brush, scoping out scents that he'd tracked, and stopping every now and again to see where I was and to "doggie smile" at me.

He managed to scare up a few pheasant hens (that scared the dickens out of me; was NOT expecting that).

 Yup, it was a good day!   We'll be continuing this daily... as long as the weather stays friendly.