The After

Hi again! Two posts in one day, that might be a record for me.

I wanted to show you all my finished projects that I shared with you here on this Before post.

The plan was to show you last week but yikes, things just got so busy. My son was sick for a few days and the whirlwind of summer began. Swimming, camping, fighting siblings....yup, we have it all over here.

So onto The Afters!

First I painted the table base to see how I liked that. I thought maybe I could leave the top alone. Here's a pic which you can see was taken after I started sanding it. I needed it all to be white so the top was painted as well......

Here is the table now, what do you think? Better?

Oh and did I mention that my hubby totally threw me under the bus with this one?

It went something like this:

Ron: "I just want you to know I had nothing to do with this...at all. I didn't know she was painting it....I came home from work and she was under the table with a PAINTBRUSH. I had NO idea, I swear!!!!!!"

Me: "Umm, thanks."

Dad: *grimace*

Ron: "I TOLD her not to paint it. I TOLD her you would be upset. It wasn't my idea."

Dad: *grimace*

Me: "Seriously guys. It's a TABLE for crying out loud."



Ten years of marriage and my hubby is still scared of my dad. Go figure!

Hmmmm....do I paint the chairs too or leave them alone??

Then we have the dresser which had been painted in a deep red. I love how the details come out with it being all white now.




I brought out all my shells to make it feel a bit beachy in here....

And of course, the mantel. I'm still trying to figure out if I like it plain white or if I'd like to antique it a bit. Planning on leaving it alone for a while and see how it goes....

I realize it's June but seriously, I can't wait to decorate this for the Fall. I'm already dreaming of pumpkins.

I also wanted to update you on my sons room. The star quilt was added, as well as a shelf above his bed and the maps I was waiting on. He loves his room but still asks to sleep with us every.single.night. Oh well, I'm just glad he's a cuddly kid. Before you know it, he'll be trying to wriggle away from me as I'm hugging him.

You can see the original post on his room Here .

And with that, I'm leaving you for the weekend. My mom and I are off for our 2nd annual girls weekend in Lancaster, Pa for shopping, shopping and shopping. I can't wait to see what treasures are waiting for us.

My hubby will be here with the 3 kids and 2 dogs to care for while I'm gone. I just hope the kids are all behaved while I'm gone or our "annual" girls weekend will turn into "Hey, remember those two times we went away and then we were banned from leaving the county ever again?"

I hope you are having a beautiful summer so far! I'll catch up with you all when I return next week.

P.S. ~ Say a little prayer that my hubby remembers to water my flowers (fingers crossed).




I'm linking this up to Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage. Lots of great fun over there!!

http://www.theshabbychiccottage.net/

A Very Fine House

Have you been over to A Very Fine House yet? It's a great blog filled with decoration inspirations. My Powder Room has been featured on there today which has me grinning from ear to ear.

Lavender

Sprigs of lavender that I cut to bring inside....





Lavender is one of my favorite scents and it's worth fighting the bees for. Be careful with those bees, they don't play well with others. I tend to cut these later in the evening, after they have settled into their little bee beds.






I put some by my computer too....that way I can chat with you and enjoy the fragrance all at once.


Just perfect.....

Fork Hanger

I saw this idea in a magazine a long time ago and decided to try it out. It was super easy, just drill a hole through a fork of your choice. Then put a nail through it and voila...a fun way to hang something in your kitchen.

P.S. ~ Thank you for all the amazing advice on my lights. I am going with the majority and switching them out. Luckily hubby is totally on board with this because he thinks the schoolhouse light would look best in the kitchen too. I love it when he gets involved with decor decisions. I'll take new pics when they are moved. Thanks for the help, what would I do without my talented bloggy friends?!

Some advice..

Good morning! The sun is shining here today, such a beautiful day.


I've asked you for advice before and I'm going to do it again! We recently bought a schoolhouse light for the Everything Room and I love the light but I'm not sure if it should stay. After it was installed, I got to thinking maybe it would look better in the kitchen. It's not an easy light to install so before I ask hubby to move it, I want to get your opinions! Pretty please?!




This is what it looks like in the room.....do you see Spidey hanging out?




Yeah, this is what I saw when I woke up this morning and came downstairs. If that's not a scary way to start the day, I don't know what is.....

And this is the light in the kitchen (which used to be in the everything room).....

From the other direction.....okay that thing has to go, he's freaking me out.

Ahhh, much better.

So what do you think? The blue on the schoolhouse light would match the kitchen ceiling, which could be a good or a bad thing. It might look nice...or blend too much. I'm not into matchy matchy but the light blue on the light in front of the aqua door is throwing me off a bit.

Ack! Help me!

Hydrangea...

I get so excited about the first blooms that I just can't wait to run outside and snip some for the house......

Fresh flowers bring something extra special to a home, don't you think?

Happy Monday!

My girls are almost out of school for the summer. So the big question becomes.....what to do with them all summer so they are entertained and so Mama doesn't lose her mind?

I'm thinking I can get them to help me plant some more Hydrangea outside. And then we can clip and arrange them together. Sounds like a perfect summer to me.....

And the lucky gal is...

Picture: Country Living

Thank you for the birthday wishes yesterday. I had a fun and food filled day and it was wonderful. My hubby took me junking for treasures, we relaxed with the kids and my parents made me a heart stopping meal of steak with sauteed mushrooms and onions, a side of linguine with alfredo sauce and sourdough bread. I'm not sure it gets much better than enjoying a meal like that with my family.

We topped all that off with ice cream cake. Have I mentioned we love to eat over here?

The winner of my surprise gift is Laura of White Spray Paint .

I'll be contacting you for your mailing address so I can send a package your way. :-)

There was no fooling you smart ladies, I was born in 1978, the same year Grease came out and all those great songs were on the radio. And now I'm off to change the playlist back. It was fun for a day but....back to normal.

A Birthday

Today is my birthday....

Photo: Country Living



Sometimes I think I'd like to stop counting them but instead I'll consider each one like another patch on the uniform of my life. I've earned each year. During each one I've laughed, I've cried, I've loved and been challenged. It's the challenges that make us strong and the laughter that keeps us anxious for the next chapter.




Photo: Country Living





And besides, how upset can I be about my age? Like I tell my husband....no matter how old I get, he'll always be older. I'm an awesome wife for reminding him of that, what can I say.








I also need to give a shoutout to my mom for bringing me into this world. It wasn't an easy pregnancy for her, not that she would ever complain about it. She is a special lady and my birthday is her day too. I'm so blessed to have her as my mom.



Totally random pic I love that has nothing to do with this post: Country Living
(Hey, it's my birthday...I can do whatever I want)





So how about that music, did you think you were in the wrong place? I promise it's just for the day! When I decided to do a birthday post, I looked up music from my birth year. Turns out, the music was great! I had so much fun looking up the songs and making a birthday playlist.










Can you guess what year I was born? And no cheating with Google! A certain movie came out the year I was born that should give it away easily!








Anyone who guesses will be entered to win a surprise gift from me. Make sure you leave your email address or are linked to a blog so I can contact you if you win. I'll be drawing a name tomorrow, June 4th at Noon, eastern time.










Thank you for coming by and sharing my day with me! Have a happy Thursday!




P.S. ~ Mom...if you're reading this, no guessing. That would be really unfair.

Wednesday

Good morning everyone! I hope your long weekend was relaxing and fun. We went camping and had some very nice weather. The kids swam, we sat in the sun, had campfires....our idea of a perfect weekend.

A while back I did a giveaway from CSN stores. They've asked me to review a product this time and to direct your attention to their bathroom vanities .

I took a peek around and they have beautiful bathroom vanities like these:

I really like this too.....

Check out their site and be inspired. I've been dreaming about redoing our upstairs bathroom and this has me wishing we could start now!

Have a wonderful day and I'll be back tomorrow. :-)