grey and white dresser

I used the beautiful weather to catch up on some furniture (as well as work on parent/teacher conferences...bleck!)

I found this dresser on craigslist. I may be behind the times (as usual) but I'm loving grey right now.

I've been working on this grey dresser for a while now, but the weather hasn't cooperated.

 So after a beautiful Sunday, I was finally able to finish.    This dresser started off with a very ugly laminate top and some outdated handles.  

 A little Kilz, grey paint, and a fresh coat of white on the handles has made this so fresh!  Again, not for sale in the store It's being saved for something special :( You'll hear why soon...Promise!!!  Here's the Before Meets After!

Cherished Bliss
Chatty Chics

11-11

One of my dear bloggy friends Ange (who I'm staying with at Haven!!!) tagged me in this post. She invited us to answer 11 questions about ourselves, and then pass it on to 11 more bloggers.

I thought it might be fun because I'm not always the best about sharing personal info because I'm afraid the blog world will think I'm a weird or something!

So here goes!

1. What are your favorite pizza toppings?

Pepperoni all the way baby! Boring I know :)

2.   If you could swap lives with someone for a day, who would you choose and why?

I would have to say anyone famous! I would love to know what it's like to spend all the money in the world and have an entourage follow you around everywhere. Oh, and having someone to do my hair and make up and pick out my clothes everyday wouldn't hurt either! But then I'd probably get annoyed with the lack of privacy and want my old life back!

3.   Do you drink coffee?

Yes. This is a newly aquired habit from my friend Jill. Of course I like the $5 a cup that's awful for you kind!

4.   If you could vacation anywhere, where would you go?
Tahiti. I keep seeing these amazing photos of it on pinterest and it makes me want to go. I have to get over the airplane ride to get there though!

5.  What was your favorite book as a child?

I can't even remember! This makes me so sad because I'm a teacher too!

6.   If you were a color crayon, what color would you be?

Red-because people always go for the bright ones first!

 

7.   Best thing of 2011?
Remodeling our kitchen

8.   Are you an early bird or night owl?

Early Bird. Being a teach means being out of the house early, so I naturally wake up early. Not like the 5am early I have to get up during the week for, but I'm usually up by 7:30 on the weekends. Now hubbs....that's a different story!

9.   Do you prefer a bath or a shower?

Definitely shower. It's faster and standing water kinda weirds me out!

10. What is your favorite childhood memory?

Playing school in our front room with a desk on wheels and papers that i used to beg my teachers for.

11. What do you want to be when you grow up?  
Blogger, thrifter, furniture redo-er, store owner  ;)

I hope you enjoyed a little insight into my life.

Here's the 11 bloggers I've tagged....now go!
Honey at 2805
Kathleeen at Between Blue and Yellow
Ashley at Cherished Bliss
Wendy at Designed to Dwell
Rachelle at Fingerprints on the Fridge
Stephanie at Stephanie at Home
Michelle at Ten June
Christina At The Frugal Homemaker
Susan at Homeroad
Jamie at DIY Home Sweet Home
Crissy at Crissy's Crafts

 

Updates and Thank You!

I can't think you enough for reaching out and taking the time to share your furry friend stories. I laughed and cried as I read your comments. The blog world is really an amazing community and I I am speechless at all the advice, prayers, and kind words. I'm just glad you don't think I'm crazy for loving a four legged fur ball that much!

I have a few updates....

After all your advice, I did some more research. We went back to the vet and after talking with our doctor, we decided to put Sadie on a very low dose of phenobarbital. So far so good! The piece of mind of diminishing the risk of another seizure is enough for me to outweigh the side effects.

On the other had, you can tell our dogs are attached. Sperry is so protective of his "sister" and I think this situation upset him a bunch as well. After being up for 2 nights in a row with Sadie, I guess it was now Sperry's turn to be sick :(

So another sleepless night and a trip to the vet, and NOW I think all is well. Yesterday the vet jokingly said she thinks she's had enough of me. I have too....and so has my wallet!

But thank you again for all your thoughts, advice, and stories. I truly appreciate each and every one of you for taking the time to email and comment!

 

Being a "Mommy"

For those of you who are moms, I commend you for what you do. It's a thankless job that requires lots of hard work!

Although I'm not a mom to a real baby, I am a doggie mommy. We don't have kids, but to us, our dogs are our kids.

For those of you who don't have pets, I don't expect you to understand. You might even think I'm crazy. But I love my dogs, and I would do anything for them. If you don't, you may want to stop reading now, because you might think my level of craziness has gone off the deep end!

On Thanksgiving of last year we were at my parents house. My sweet Sadie Lady was outside playing and suddenly dropped down and started seizing. We rushed her to the emergency vet with a lot more questions than answers. It was the most terrifying day of my life so far. Holding my dog in my hands, racing to the vet, not knowing if she was going to die right there or not.

In December, she had another one, but on a much smaller scale.

She's generally a very happy and healthy dog, so this has caught us completely off guard.

Saturdat night at 3 am Sadie woke me up by pawing at my face. She's never done anything like that before. She started vomiting and it went downhill from there. as I was cleaning it up, she started having a massive seizure on our bathroom floor.

Once again, that completely helpless feeling came over me. The vet said there was nothing we could do. Nothing. We laid on the floor with her and stroked her and just loved on her.

Once she stopped, we again put her in the car and raced to the emergency vet. Tears streaming down my face, covered in vomit, and pee, I didn't care. I would have literally paid any amount of money to make this stop.

They checked her out and sent us home a few hours later. They gave us a few options for treatment, but after doing some extensive research after the last round, I elected just to take her home.

I have no idea if we made the right decision. How do you decide what's best? I can't imagine parents who sit in hospital rooms with their children and have to make treatment decisions for their children.

I know mommies of real babies have felt this way too.

For now, she's ok. We still have lots of questions and no answers. The unknown is what upsets me. We work full time and have no idea if she's been through this experience while we were gone.

 

One day, when I have real kids, I know my fur babies will take a back seat.

But for now, they are my real babies, and I would do anythig for them, just like real moms.

 

Bright Blue Beauty

So this piece is bright.

Really bright. But I love it!

It started off as a dingy craigslist find.

I primed it and gave it a coat of this blue from a gallon of oops paint. Yes. a gallon. Not sure what I'm going to do with the leftovers....

I sprayed the handles with Krylon's white spraypaint and then gave them a coat of the spray poly.

I used some sandpaper to rough up the edges of the drawers.

Then I wiped on some tobacco glaze.

I finished it all off with a coat of polycrylic.

Is it too bright?

It's not for sale in the store....I'm saving this for something special. You'll just have to wait and see!

I'll leave you with the Before Meets After

Miss Mustard Seed
At The Picket Fence
Fingerprints on the Fridge
POWW

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope your day is filled with love and blessings.

Here's a peek at what I gave my kiddos at school for Valentine's Day.

I swear that to a 7 year old, Valentine's Day and Halloween are on the same level! I hope I survive :)

I was such a REBEL this weekend

Noooo....I didn't do anything bad.

I got a new Canon Rebel T3. I am in love. I played with it all day Saturday and Sunday instead of doing work. Hey, let's face it. It was 20 degrees in GA and it was way to cold to work on furniture and I had no motivation to do school work!

Within an hour I had already made a polka dotted camera strap for it and taken about 300 pictures. I think the hubbs was annoyed.

So while my family relaxed, I played!

I read about 8000 pages of instructions and finally decided the only way I was going to learn how to use it was practice, and maybe sign up for a class.

*Hubbs if you're reading this that's a HUGE birthday hint*

I started by taking some pictures outside, but I got too cold!

So I moved back inside until my 4 legged babies couldn't handle any more pictures.

I feel like I have so much to learn! Anyone have any good websites or links on where to start?

dresser for a baby

I was so excited with Alyssa contacted me about doing a dresser/changing table for her new baby. Alyssa's sister-in-law was a college friend of mine, so I was happy to help!

Originally she asked me to find a piece for her, but then she stumbled upon this piece!

How could I say no to that?

 I sanded it down, painted it Behr's Premium paint and primer in white.

I then distressed it just a little bit so you could see the beautiful carved details in the wood.

I just LOVE the way it turned out!

Here's another Before Meets After!

House of Hepworths
Miss Mustard Seed

gallery wall in the dining room

So I mentioned in my house goals post that I wanted to change up my dining room. Well, I felt the need to hit the ground running I guess! 

I wanted a personalized gallery wall that told a story about our family. I wanted it to tell stories of trips and life changing moments, important places and people.

A few months ago I started pinning ideas and my head was spinning.

I gathered random frames from Goodwill and sprayed them white.

Then I used the best trick EVER to hang pictures. I traced the pictures on newspaper and hung then with painters tape until I came up with an arrangement I liked.

Yes those are Christmas ads, don't judge!

I simply just put the nail through the paper and then ripped off the paper. I did the entire wall in about 5 minutes!

Like I said, I wanted everything to be meaningful.

The GA picture is for hubby, he is from GA. The NY picture is for me, because I was born there and my family is still all there.

The DIY eye chart was so easy to make. Go to this website and you can make your own combination of names, words, or phrases. Of course, I couldn't have a gallery wall without my precious babies too!

Peeking around that corner is one of our favorite pictures from our honeymoon.

This is actually where we ate breakfast every morning! It's such a sweet reminder of an amazing trip! The photo looks like a canvas, but it's actually one of the faux canvases from wal-mart. They're normally $20, but there was a $10 off coupon and I had a $5 gift card. So for 5 bucks I'm totally in love with it!

I'm sure you've seen this ALL over pinterest, but I just had to make these. This is the key from our first house. Don't worry, that's not my address now in case you were trying to stalk me or sumthin' :) The other is a map or where we met, married, and live.  

The other stuff includes quotes and some of my favorite prints. I also put up some of my favorite plates I found at a thrift store that are from Pottery Barn. I used those amazing plate discs and they were so easy to hang!

The white star wasn't always white.

I a little spray paint and it fits the room perfectly!

I still have a few last minute things to put up. I ended up getting rid of the buffet and I've been searching for the perfect side table. But still no luck :(

Are you wondering where all the stuff went that was in the buffet?

Ummmmm yeah. About that....I need to find something asap!

I'm loving my personal gallery wall!

Here's the Before Meets After!

House of Hepworths

At The picket Fence