Coffee Table Makeover

'Kay, so here we go again! I saw this coffee table at Goodwill last week and the potential screamed out to me! Even though I did not need a new coffee table and even though I could barely fit it into my car (I should just buy a moving truck - really. It would be a lot more practical).


Anyway, so I brought this smelly, scratched up, greasy table home and plopped it in the driveway. Hubs just shook his head when he saw it.


So yesterday I started on the over-haul.

**Ok, so now I know what you're thinking. "Why is this girl spending her time with junk like this? She hardly has enough time in her day to take care of the kids, keep up with her job, keep the house reasonably clean, and most of the time she feels like she's losing her mind!"

I know! But I'm telling you, stuff like this inspires me! If I don't take the time to create something or to make something beautiful, I just feel like a blob. A complete BLOB. Like I'm not doing what I'm meant to be doing. Does that make sense?

Anywaaay, moving right along. I took the legs off and sanded the table and legs, then put a coat of B-I-N primer on it. This is my all-time favorite primer (can't believe I just said that! I sound like a construction worker or something! What a dork!).

It covers anything and everything. And since it's so thin, a little bit of it goes a long way. And it dries super fast. It's not water-based, so I usually use an old brush and throw it away when I'm done with the project.


Here it is after I'm done priming...
After the primer dried, I painted the table with a couple coats of leftover semi-gloss paint that I had laying around.

To glaze the table, I mixed some paint conditioner that I had on hand called Floetrol with some dark brown acrylic craft paint. I used a foam brush to smear the brown paint into the cracks of the table, then used a rag to wipe the excess.


And here it is now! Not perfect, but certainly much better than it was when I first saw it!




It's amazing what a difference paint can make to just about anything! Although my mom has warned me that I am not allowed to paint my children! Oh, mom, I would never go that far! (ahem)

So, guess how much this entire project cost me. C'mon, you know you want to!

A grand total of $6.97.

Yes, that is it!! That's how much the table cost at Goodwill and I used leftover paint that I already had from past projects.

Just for kicks, I looked at this table from Pottery Barn, which is pretty similar...

PB's price is $399. I saved $392.03!!

I really must go shopping with all that extra cash I now have! HA!!

Summertime around our house: the good, the bad, the ugly

It's a gorgeous Saturday afternoon and I took some pictures around our house...

My yard sale patio set...


Front of our house...

Cloth diapers hanging in the sunshine...

Behind the house...


You may have been wondering about the title of my post. Well, here's the BAD! It's an empty, dirty part of our backyard that we have yet to do anything with. In the meantime, it serves as the dumping ground for weeds, parking lot for our old trailer, and is my fancy "outdoor art studio" (aka. where I spraypaint junky furniture).

The UGLY: speaking of junky furniture, I picked up this baby at Goodwill yesterday for a song. Can't wait to tackle it with my sander and a can of paint!

I'll be sure to update you when I'm done with it!

Enjoy your weekend!

My tiny little guy

I recently took Jack for his 6 month check up and we found out that he had lost weight since his 3 month check up. In fact, he's off the charts for what his weight should be.

So I've been trying to fatten him up with extra feedings and cereal. And Jack approves.


The doctor said he needs more calories. Man, I wish I got that diagnosis! How sweet would that be??

Old Magazine Inspiration

Do you guys re-read old magazines like I do? I have a stash saved up, and I've been going through them when I get a free minute, which isn't very often these days!

I saw this photo of a kitchen with shelves in a Country Living from August of '07 and loved the look! I remembered that I had some old shelves in the attic that my mom gave me a while back.

Country Living

I dug through the attic and found the shelves - here they are. Lovely, dontcha think?

I painted them the same color as my kitchen trim and hung them up today. Here's the finished product...

Total cost for the project: FREE (that's the best kind!) I used everything that I already had and gained some display space. Free and easy!

Just for kicks

This made me laugh hysterically tonight...



Don't be a Debbie Downer! :)

The way of the three year old

Ok, so here's what I'm thinking...

While we were gone on vacation, some kid pulled Avery aside and said, "Here's the deal. You are three years old now. It's time you start acting like it."


"It's time for you to say "Why?" to every single sentence that comes out of your mom's mouth. Even if it makes no sense. Even if she is so logical, it's scary. Just do it. Over and over and over. It's your duty as a three year old."

"Another thing, since your parents dumped you here while they went on vacation, try to drive your mom crazy when they get back."

"Smear yogurt all over your hair during lunch, poop and pee yourself as much as humanly possible, dump weeds into your kiddi pool after your mom's done cleaning it, and laugh at your mom as she tries to fasten your baby brother into your high chair. And he can't even sit up yet!"

"See? It works! She's lost her mind! Isn't it fun?"

Fun in the sun!

Last week hubs surprised me and took me for some fun in the sun in Florida for our 10th anniversary! And what a great time we had!


Little Jack came along and enjoyed the ride while his big sis stayed home and had way too much fun with her Grammys and cousins!

We bounced between the beach and the pool and did little else! Typically when we go on vacation, it's not really a "vacation" because we fly around from place to place, trying to see and do everything. We're just like that.

But not this time. No way! Relaxation was the goal and we totally achieved it!


We stayed at hub's sister & brother-in-law's beautiful vacation home in Sarasota. It was so lovely - we couldn't have asked for nicer accommodations!

And it was fun to spend some one-on-one time with our cute little guy...



I do believe it was one of the best vacations we've taken! And now I feel refreshed and ready to start a new week! Happy day!

Cousin Love

These girls are best buds and just love playing together! It's funny to think that less than a year ago they didn't even really know each other because they lived so far apart.

I'm so thankful for the relationship they now have! It's precious!

Happy July 4th!

Martha Stewart

Our weekend itinerary:

*Picking sea shells on the beach

*Laughing with family

*Burgers on the grill

*Riding in the boat

*Splashing in the pool

*Catching crabs

*Reading piles of magazines

*Watching the sunset on the deck

*Filthy, tired, happy kids...and adults

Enjoy your weekend!

Bathroom Chair Makeover

I had this old chair setting outside in my flower beds and, while I loved the chippy paint and leather seat, I was looking for a chair to put in my bathroom and this was perfect for the space.

It was a little too "rustic" (as in, falling apart and rotting in the outdoor elements), so hubs helped me make it a bit more sturdy with wood glue and screws.



And here's the finished product!


Here are the steps I used:

1. Spray painted the chair with white primer (a must-have - cheap and easy, no brushes to wash/throw away!)

2. Spray painted about 4 coats of an ivory colored paint.

3. To glaze: mixed a little bit of dark brown acrylic craft paint and some paint conditioner called Floetrol (you're supposed to use a glaze, but I had this conditioner on hand and it works basically the same)

4. Using a sponge brush, I applied the glaze in the cracks and corners of the chair, then wiped off the excess.

I had never used a glazing technique before, but it was fun and really quite easy! You need to try it!

5. Printed out the word "bath" onto regular paper, then used carbon paper to trace the lettering onto the chair (my handwriting is terrible, otherwise I would have free-handed it). Then I painted the word using dark brown craft paint.




I was in the process of making a cushion for it, but it made it look too much like a dining room chair - it just didn't work. So I just left the leather seat on it and called it a day!