Fun Finds

We are thankful to God that Irene passed through New Jersey with minimal damage and our thoughts and prayers go out to those who are dealing with the aftermath today.

There was no yardsaling for me this weekend, but I'll share what I picked up last week.
Most of this stuff was picked up at a community-wide yardsale in a nearby town.

 The nightstand is solid wood and we picked it up for $5.  It's going to be painted and sold at our show next month.  The vintage fabric was just $2 and I'm sure we'll find something fun to do with it.  The two large prints were just $1 a piece.  I almost left with just one, but then went back for the other.

A set of vintage tins that will be for sale on our Etsy store soon.

The floral print was $1 and the wire basket was just fifty cents! I love this, but may have to sell it at the show.  I really don't have a use for it.

An enamel crock for $1, a vintage ice cream scoop for a quarter and a sweet Regal USA container for $1 are all good scores.  But my favorite find has to be the fan.  It's been on my wishlist for quite a while and this one was a good deal for $12.  I'll share with you what I did with her in a later post.

That's it for now.   I'm busy cleaning the house, getting ready to send the kiddos back to school next week.

Thanks for stopping by and have a fabulicious week!
xoxo,
Kim

Playful Dresser Redo

Earlier this Summer I came across this sweet dresser on Craig's List and knew right away that Denise and I could do something special with it.

It has dovetail drawers and is in otherwise mint condition.  The only flaw was some etching on the surface of the top, perhaps done by a precocious budding artist.

We got a little creative this time and here is the result.

After several failed attempts to sand down the etching, we got creative and added some funky fabric to cover it up.  For this we followed Uniquely Chic's step by step tutorial , which you can find here.

Cute huh?

We used A.S.C.P. in Provence, followed by some distressing and two coats of clear wax.  I usually use a stain before waxing to age a piece, but this time I decided to go with a brown wax for that step, which I did last.

At the suggestion of Miss Mustard Seed, I used Fiddes & Sons wax in Rugger Brown, applied with a stencil brush.  MMS has a wonderful video tutorial for applying wax, which you can view here.  Let me just say that I HIGHLY recommend this product!  I purchased it Ebay for the best price I could find and I can't wait to order another can.  After using the Rugger Brown on several pieces, I still have quite a bit left.  This time I will be ordering clear wax.  I normally use Johnson's Paste Wax but after using the brown by F&S I'm convinced this stuff is the only way to go.  Having said that, I've never tried Annie Sloan's wax, but what I love so much about F&S is the absolute gorgeous finish you get after buffing.  It shines to sheer perfection.  A truly professional look.

Here she is again in all her colorful splendor.

The crystal knobs are turquoise and I found them for a steal at Ross!

This beautiful piece will be available for purchase at our show in Clover Market next month.  If you are interested, just let me know.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are having a fabulicious week!
xoxo,
Kim

Birthday Bliss!

Yesterday was my 42nd Birthday.  I celebrated the best way I know how - shopping.  Even better, I spent the afternoon shopping with the sweetest mother in the world.  My mom has the most amazing taste and often shops at Country Curtains - a nearby store that sells not just curtains, but gorgeous accessories as well.  I regret not taking my camera with me to share the endless supply of eye candy, but a return trip is almost a certainty.

My goal was to bring home some needlepoint pillows for my Living Room.  I've given up trying to "fit in" here in blogland and am instead returning to my traditional roots, aka, my happy place.  I love traditional and this store screams traditional at every turn.

You've probably seen their catalog over the years, or visited their website, but they don't even begin to scratch the surface of all the beauty that lurks behind the walls of this blissful place.
Tons of floral arrangements.

Loads of wall decor.

Rugs galore!

Beautiful accent furniture, like these nesting tables that made this Jersey girl drool all over myself.

And an endless supply of lamps.

I wasted no time putting aside my pillows (so glad they had them in stock!) and then found a throw and added it to my pile.  I hardly had time to add it all up in my head, knowing I would have to put something back :( when all of a sudden my mom swooped in and paid for everything!  It was the best Birthday ever!!!  Thanks Mom - I love you so much!!

Here's a look at my Living Room before going back to my roots:

Pretty exciting huh?

NOT!

And the after:

New mirror over the sofa, brought in from the Family Room.

Coffee table, also brought in from the Family Room.

 Needlepoint pillows and throw from Country Curtains.
Grainsack and bird pillows from Tuesday Morning.

Lamp and ottoman from Ross.  All other accessories from my stash.  Secretary from Craig's List.

Another needlepoint pillow from CC.  Throw from my stash.  Thrift store chair - $38!

Stems from Michaels.

Now the only thing left to do is re-paint this! (Insert Denise laughing here)...

Waiting for my can of A.S.C.P. in Chateau Gray to arrive any day!

Oh yes, I can't wait!!!

Thanks for visiting and have a Fabulicious Day!
xoxo,
Kim

Paris Grey Desk

Thank so much for all of your kind and encouraging words after my last post.  I certainly appreciate the love.  You guys are the BEST!!!

Now on to the business at hand.  This desk was finished about 2 months ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting it.  Denise found it at a yardsale where it looked like this:

Not great, but it had a lot of potential.  Dovetail drawers, nice hardware, pretty feet and loads of detail.

We painted the entire piece with A.S. Paris Grey.

We are very messy painters!

Then went over the drawer fronts and moulding details with A.S. Old White, followed by some light sanding and Minwax Dark Walnut stain over the entire piece, which I wiped off with a clean, soft cloth.  Finally, a coat of clear wax was applied.

We also added crystal knobs to the middle drawer.  Very happy with the results.

This desk is available for sale if anyone is interested.  It will be coming with us to Clover Market in the Fall.

And here's a peak at our latest project.

Thanks for visiting and have a fabulicious weekend!!!
xoxo,
Kim

Finding the Silver Lining

I don't usually open up about personal stuff on my blog.  It's a home decor blog after all.  But I've gotten to know and love so many of you on a personal level that it would be silly for me not to open up and share.

This is Little Miss Bliss, AKA Amy, my middle child.

I was a middle child and I've shared with you before how my Dad, also a middle child, used to call me his turtle, because "the turtle always wins the race" he would say.  And it's true.  I may have taken longer than most, but in the end, I always came out on top, a winner.

Back in January, right after we came home from the hospital with Baby Bliss and my hormones were raging, Amy looked me straight in the eyes and asked me, "Mommy, is something wrong with me?  I'm different."

I answered her, and then sobbed for about a week.  You see, Amy is different.  She's different from other kids her age who are going into Middle School.  She's still innocent.  And that makes her different.  Sad, isn't it?

She still has a blankie, she still sucks her middle fingers, she still plays with her dolls, she still "believes" in Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny.  We even sat her down and tried telling her the truth, but she refused to believe us.  She still wants to be Mommy's baby, even though there's another baby in the house.  She still has a child's body with no signs of puberty.   She sees only the good in everybody, and evil doesn't exist in her world.

She still takes her cow backpack with her wherever she goes and sleeps with her little cow every night.

She loves nature and animals, birdwatching and hiking.  And she has the biggest heart of anybody I know.

She's a turtle too.

For the past two years Amy has been suffering.  Diagnosed with ADHD in Kindergarten, we took her to several doctors and specialists and by second grade had her on medication.  That's when the pain started.  At first it was just stomach aches.  After a while it turned into cramps, followed by constipation, diarrhea,  and nausea.  Constantly.  Unrelenting.

Our pediatrician thought it might be lactose intolerance or poor diet.  We thought it was side affects from her medication.  The school nurse just thought she was being a hypochondriac and sent her back to class, day after day after day.

Before long her joints hurt, her muscles ached and the other symptoms got worse.  We had long since taken her off all medication and a couple visits to the ER only perplexed us even more.  They told us to give her Pepcid.

Rich and I knew there was something more serious wrong with her and finally insisted that her doctor send us to a specialist.  Blood tests and a GI scope confirmed that Amy has been suffering with Celiac Disease.  Is it life threatening? No.  Is it the end of the world? No.  Is it life changing? Yes.  Because of this disease, Amy's small intestines are so damaged that her tiny body has been malnourished and not getting the proper nutrients.  It's why she has no signs of puberty and why she is so underweight.

While we are happy to finally have a diagnosis for Amy, we are learning just how difficult it is going to be to find things that Amy likes to eat.  Of course nothing with gluten (wheat, barley and rye), but because of the severity of the damage to this point, she has to be off of lactose and some of her other favorite foods until her intestines heal.  Fortunately, God has provided us with a wonderful neighbor who is also a nurse practitioner and whose own son has Celiac's.  She has been a wealth of information and a great source of comfort.

As with all diseases, knowledge is key.  We've been all over the internet, educating ourselves and finding recipes.  There's a support group nearby that I plan to join too - just to meet other Moms going through this.  Wegmans supermarket is a wonderful source of gluten free food and there are many restaurants that offer gluten free on their menu.  Eventually this will all become second nature and life will go on as usual.  But for now, I'm comforting my sick child and treating her like my "baby".  I'll beat myself up about that later.

As for the silver lining, while at Wegmans I treated myself to this.

A wire cloche with a sweet little birdie on top.

After all, this IS a home decor blog ;)

Thanks for stopping by, and thanks for listening.
xoxo,
Kim