Random Love

My loves...in no particular order, just because:


Hubs' blue eyes

Mushrooms

Summer skirts

Foot rubs

Kisses from Avery

Curvy mirrors

Chocolate cake

Thanksgiving

Sunday afternoons

The Office

Rain boots

Scarves

Thrift stores

Antique furniture

Fluffy white towels

Ruffles

Paris

Watching my kiddos play

Creative blogs

The smell of Downy

My Fair Lady

Platos Closet

Michael Buble

Comfy pajamas

Office supplies

Anthropologie

Gardening

House projects

Peonies

You've Got Mail

Cousin Miriam's house

New York City

HGTV

Country Living mag

Carmel, CA

Warm sunshine

New cotton socks

Ted Dekker books

Cute shoes

Red Robin

Textured tights

Throwing parties

Crusty bread & olive oil

Old barns

Corn on the cob

Lucille Ball

Food Network

Vintage aprons

Chalkboards

Sara's coffee shop

Flea markets

Seafood

Naptime

Coffee cake

My rose bushes

Cottages

My mom

Seinfeld humor

Farm tables

Cinque Terre, Italy

Glass canisters

Ikea

Front porches

Warm blankets

A clean house

The Sound of Music

Here She Is!

Hi all! I'd like you to meet Josephine. Josie for short.


She's tall, slender, has adorable legs, and speaks with an English accent. She is perfect!

I brought her home from the thrift store and brightened her up with a fresh coat of paint (the original paint was a yellowish-off-white), and I distressed her edges with my trusty sander and a razor blade.


After I distressed it, I rubbed the raw wood with a dark stain to make it show a little better.

Word to the wise: when working with stain, wear gloves or you will have the hands of an auto mechanic. I'm just sayin'.


I could just stare at her all day long! I think I'm in love!

Today

Wonder what I'm doing on this snowy morning?

Probably not.

But I tell you anyway.

Here's a hint...


Well, that was a pretty big hint, I guess, right?

I'm working on one of my favorite finds ever. Ever.

It is so stinking adorable. See the curved legs and all the detail on the drawer?

Eek! I can't wait to show you!

A Target Miracle

A miracle just occurred.

It was unexplainable, incredible, indescribable, phenomenal, supernatural.

I walked into Target and walked back out without buying a thing.

I know what you're thinking. How can this be? How is this possible?

I don't know.

Target is usually like an industrial-size vacuum cleaner to my wallet. I pick up cute stuff thinking "well, it's only just a couple of dollars" and I walk out of the store, looking at my receipt, saying "how did that happen?".

But today, I conquered the lure of the cute stuff.

Today, my wallet won.

RR Show Wrap-Up

So do you want all the nitty-gritty details or should I keep it short?

Hmmm, I think I will go for broke and tell you everything! By the way, if you aren't a fan of Rachael Ray or don't know who she is, you may as well skip this post because you will probably be bored to pieces!

We (my friends Jodi and Mary Beth and my sister Sara) drove up to NYC and waited in line outside the Rachael Ray show for about 2 1/2 hrs. It was COLD as you can tell!

My sister & I...



Together since 8th grade! My friends Jodi & Mary Beth...


We chatted with other ladies in line and drank our Starbucks drinks to pass the time.


After hours of waiting outside, we finally got our "official" tickets!



We were brought inside to a "holding room" where they gave us some packages snacks and coffee. It was PACKED full of people, and we thought we were going to suffocate! But at least we were out of the cold.


After about 1 1/2 hrs., we FINALLY got to see the set!


They wouldn't let us take any pictures inside the set, but it was incredible to see it in person!! So surreal! It looks a lot smaller in person, but it's very cool! And we got seated in the second row! SCORE!

There was a comedian/warm up guy who kept us entertained and then we finally got to see HER!! So fun! She is beautiful! She told us that she had some injuries from falling and she had a bad cold, so she wasn't feeling very well. She didn't seem like her normal bubbly self, but she was still really warm and was constantly cracking jokes.

I got to have a semi-conversation with her! I asked her what she was doing for the weekend, and she said she was going to write recipes for the August issue of her magazine, and was going to a farmers market, and was going to cook for her husband. She even described the meal in detail, but I totally don't remember what she said, because I was in total shock that I was actually talking to her!

The warm-up guy asked how I was going to spend the weekend, and I went completely blank.
Totally. I said, "Well, I have two kids..." Duuhhh.

I am such a dork.

Anyway, details, details...she interviewed Shenae Grimes from 90210. We were hoping to see a famous celebrity and we had no clue who she was.

All I can say is, skinny, skinny, skinny!! Mini shorts and black tights! Ouch.



Rachael also did a segment about choosing the right undergarments for plus-size women with Marie Claire columnist Ashley Falcon. Not terribly riveting, so say the least.



She also had organization expert Peter Walsh on (from TLC's Clean Sweep), and he helped a family organize their home. I'm a sucker for organization and I like Peter, so this was fun for me!


Then she did a cooking segment, but it was really hard to watch because the cameras were in front of us to get close-up shots. I must say, the cheering and applause is pretty canned and not very spontaneous. You're pretty much told when to cheer and when to clap.

Here is a picture that the crew took of the audience and Rachael. Can you find me??

I'm the little dorky head in the second row on the right with the purple scarf.

We were hoping for a great giveaway or some good food, but all we got is an issue of her magazine and some power bars that were the snack-of-the-day. Bummer.


At least we got in and, yes, the wait was definitely worth it!! It was an amazing experience. If you get the chance, you should definitely go!

By the way, the show we were on airs next Thursday, the 25th, in case you want to see if you can find us!

**Edited: The show will actually air on Wed., the 24th.

Less than 24 hrs!

Till we hit the streets of NYC and visit the Rachael Ray Show!!

Can you tell I'm excited?!!

I signed up for audience tickets about 2 freaking years ago, so it's about time! I'm taking two of my high school homies (YES - I have homies!) and my little sis.

The FIRST thing I thought of when I got the tickets? WHAT DO I WEAR??

Wouldn't that be your first thought? I mean, the pressure is just ridiculous. (Ha!) The show says we can't wear sequins, velour track suits, sneakers, or hats. There goes most of my wardrobe! Hello!! What's a girl to do?

I guess they would probably frown on this:



Or this:

I was thinking of wearing a hat, but since they will arrest me if I do, I guess I can't wear this:



Or this: (SJP - I love ya girl, but what were you thinking??)



Or how about this understated little number:



They say to wear bright colors, so I'm going with a canary-yellow cardi and a purple scarf. Bright enough for ya?? I'm not kidding - that's really what I'm wearing. But don't worry, it's all in good taste.

Even though we have tickets, we aren't guaranteed to get in, and we still need to wait in line for at least two hours. Outside. In February.

Will it be worth the wait? Stay tuned to find out.....

Another Side Table

So I promised you pictures of the other side table that I was working on and here you go!

Before: (bruised and tired - it had a rough life I think!)


And here's what it looks like after I revived it with some paint and a new drawer pull:



I sanded the edges a bit with my electric sander that I got for Christmas. LOVE that sucker!

~ ~ ~

And just for kicks, this gave me a chuckle! I found this in the fridge a couple mornings ago.

It's my Olive Garden leftovers that hubs accidentally dropped on the floor. For some inexplicable reason he felt the need to scrape the noodles off the floor, put them back in the container, and mark it as dumped.

Huh?

Why did he not just put it in the trash, you ask? I have no idea.

No.
Idea.

Did he think I would actually eat it?

When I asked him about it, he said it was early in the morning and he wasn't thinking straight. I'm usually the blond one in our relationship, so it made me laugh!

A Conversation With Rachael

Hello Weaver residence.

This is Rachael?

Rachael who?

Oh, Rachael RAY!

Wow, I can't believe I'm actually talking to you!

You want me to come to your show?!! Of course I'll come!


Do you want me to demonstrate how to paint junky stuff?

Or tell people about my Amish childhood?

Or teach people how to change a baby's diaper while cooking dinner, and talking on the phone, and painting junky stuff all at the same time?

Oh...you don't want me to actually be on the show. Bummer.

Well, it'll be fun to be in the audience anyway.

But I'll have to wait in line for hours? Outside? On the streets of New York? In the dead of winter?

All right, I suppose I'm game.

See you on Thursday Rachael!

Side Table

When I heard there was snow coming our way last week, I made a quick trip to Goodwill to see if there were anything pieces of junk, err, I mean furniture, there that I could work on.

As if I need more stuff to do, right?

Well, this kind of stuff makes me happy and puts a smile on my face. Makes me downright giddy to see the transformations that a can of paint can make! So even though it makes me busy, I just love to create and fiddle with things.

I found two side tables and here is the before shot of one of them:


Can't get much more ugly than that, right? Some furniture is too ugly even for me to get (think 80's), but I saw potential in this piece.


And here it is after a good scrub and some paint!



Adorable, right? I used white paint, then glazed it with black paint mixed with water. Can't get much more simple than that.


Oh, and I also painted the hardware black.


I'm also done painting the other side table that I got, but I need to find the right hardware to replace the one it came with. Sometimes hardware is fine with a coat of paint and sometimes it just IS NOT and needs to be replaced!

A post on that one coming soon!

'Ol Blue Eyes

I took some pictures of my little Jack to remember him at one year old.


ONE.

Almost taking steps.

Climbing up the stairs like it's nobody's business when mama isn't looking.


Loves to watch his big sister play.

And loves to play with the play kitchen. Or rather, just loves to throw all the kitchen stuff on the floor for his mama to pick up.


Yes, he does like to make a mess.

But really, who cares?

I think I could spend all day squeezing him and kissing his cheeks. And you know what? He wouldn't mind a bit.


From what I've heard, he looks exactly like his daddy. I have a hard time seeing it. But I think his daddy is quite handsome, so I'm happy!


His sister just had to get in on the action. She was my little helper - getting Jack to laugh by making faces and giving tickles.


I am so incredibly thankful for my little family. What more can I say?

Silhouette Pillow

Last week I made this fun little pillow for Avery's room. I've seen these silhouette pillows floating around blogland and decided to try to make one for my own.


I made a really basic pillow cover (I'm a newbie to this sewing thing, so it is really basic!).

To make the silhouette, I took a picture of Avery's profile, loaded it up to my photo program, and blackened her face.


I printed out a copy of her profile, then traced it onto the pillow cover with carbon paper and used fabric paint to fill it in.

If I did it again, I probably wouldn't use fabric paint, because it didn't get very even. I might try using an iron-on transfer instead.


Anyway, it was a fun little project!