My french provincial dresser found its soul mate!!

Yes that's right...I happened to find the exact matching night stand for my French Provincial Dresser . 
I am beyond pumped!! I scored it on craigslist for 10.00!! I considered doing the two toned look on it so it would perfectly match the dresser but matchy matchy is SO tacky tacky and I wanted something a little fun and sassy! I recently refinished a nightstand for my hubby's side of the bed...check it out here and this loverly lady will be on MY side of the bed. I very stupidly didn't take a before picture but it was the style that you all have cemented into your worst nightmares...beige with gold trim! GAH! Anyways here she is all gussied up and I think MUCH better!

That last photo is of my adorable baby girl who is almost 9 months! Wow how time flies. Anyways back to the nightand...
I sanded lightly all over with my trusty palm sander, then I painted two coats of a creamy white oops paint, distressed her, and then glazed over the distressing. I then painted the inside and outside of the drawer in a bright peacock blue color, and spray painted the hardwear charcoal gray. I J'adore her!! She will make my new bright yellow lamp look even more amazing! Oh I didn't show you guys my yellow lamps yet? Next post!

I'm partying at....

Amazing children's bookshelf idea

I had to share this idea with you guys! Its SO easy and SO cute! I picture these spray painted in all different colors and hanging side by side. Or you could put one of these guys above the toilet in the bathroom for magazines. The possibilities are endless!! Check out Ikea Hacker for this super simple and upscale idea!

I can't just leave well enough alone!

I'm sure you all can relate to that statement! I had a dresser in my dining room that I have been using as a hutch and I was DYING to redo it. It wasn't bad...I just wasn't IN LOVE with it and it occupied a very prominent spot in my kitchen/dining room. No bueno! So I decided to paint it a fun color and chose an oops paint that I had in a super cool mustard yellow. Sounds simple right? Um WRONG! I painted the whole sucker in the mustard yellow and as it dried it started taking on a more orange hue...cut to me FREAKING out and having visions of new born baby poop! Yup that's what the color turned out like! Check out the mess...

 So now ya'll can see why I freaked! Its UGLY! It wouldn't have been so bad if this was a more leggy and decorative dresser but its not. Its a beast and doesn't have a single curve on the whole thing! I honestly don't LOVE the dresser but it was free on CL and it fits that small space right there perfectly so unfortunately it stays. Well I just couldn't live with that horrid baby poop color so I immediately re-painted it the next day. I chose another oops paint that I had in a light bluish gray...very beachy and soft. PERFECT! Well I noticed that as I brushed on the new color I was actually REALLY digging the orangey yellow showing through. It looks amazing actually! So I dry brushed the color on specifically letting the underneath color show through. Here's what it looks like now!

 Loving her new look! I still need to put a coat of poly on her to protect that rustic two toned finish from my toddler's hot wheels! Hope y'all like it!


Linking up with:
Piece of work wednesday @ Primitive and Proper
Tuesdays Treasures @ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
Power of Paint Party @ Domestically Speaking
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
Frugal Friday @ The Shabby Nest
Furniture Feature Friday @ Miss Mustard Seeds
Catch as Catch can @ My Repurposed Life
 

Free is a very good price!

Hey there! Don't you all love getting amazing, wonderful, slightly beaten up furniture for free? Ya me too!!! I recently did an estate liquidation job and scored some really amazing free furniture! It was all in need of some serious TLC but that's right up my alley...actually I PREFER it like that! Its no fun when the furniture is perfect! ;) Well I almost passed on this little nightstand. It was missing a drawer and although it was sturdy I just couldn't see myself being able to do much with it minus the drawer. But when it was still around on the last day of the liquidation and it was about to be hauled to the dump I thought HEY NOW...its definitely worth a shot! Well I am SO glad I took her home because she's super purty now and I don't even mind that she's missing a drawer! She started out looking like this....

Please forgive the grainy cell phone picture. My camera was missing and I was desperate to get a "before" pic quickly so I could get started on it. This pic was taken after I removed the hardwear and lightly sanded it all over. You can see that the corners are super beat up, veneer was peeling, etc. She needed a major over haul! Luckly some primer and several light coats of Rustoleum's semi gloss white later and she was looking MUCH better...

Better huh? I plan to either sell her or get a basket that better fills that space...but that'll wait until later.
Linking to Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest  
Linking to Catch as Catch Can at My Repurposed Life
Linking to Power of Paint party at Domestically Speaking
Linking to Flaunt it Friday at Chic on a Shoestring
Linking to Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed
Linking to Twice Owned Tuesday at House of Grace

Do you fear the zipper??

Hey ladies! There might be some expert seamstresses out there that are laughing at my blog post and that's totally fine...I can take it....but I have majorly feared any sewing project involving a zipper. Lots of pillows are made...and there covers DO NOT COME OFF! And thinking back on that, all I can say is, What was I thinking?? I have a toddler! A toddler that is potty training and peeing on  my couch!! (Ok that might have been too much info...but oh well) Those precious pillows are getting trashed and QUICK! In comes the most genius tutorial EVER on sewing pillows with zippers! Have you all heard of Prudent Baby??? It is only the most AMAZING sewing blog EVER. They don't just do sewing projects though...they do crafts, recipes, garden tips, etc. They are 2 amazing women and they just happen to majorly rock at all things fabric! I have much to learn from them (insert Star Wars music here). If any of you are like me and fear the zipper then you need to head over there and read this post. I also have a ton of projects that I've been working on lately and I haven't had time to post about them yet. Those will be coming soon along with my completed pillows WITH zippers!!! Oh and is anyone else out there like me and has mounted their ginormous TV above their fireplace?? And you now have the extremely unsightly cords to try and hide?? Well I have a solution for that....next post!!

Let yourself off the hook!

Hey Everyone! I was reading a blog post this morning and it really made me think. I wanted to share it with you all and add to it some thoughts of my own. Here it is....take a quick look Here.....
Ok...see what I mean? Great huh?
I have been realizing that us Mama's have a TON of guilt! Especially when it comes to all the "extra" things in our lives BESIDES taking care of our kids and hubby. These extras are all the cooking, deep cleaning, volunteering at church, helping friends move, throwing play dates, making food for preggo or sick friends, etc. Those little things that we take on that seem like a good idea at the time (and they TOTALLY are) but...depending on how busy we ALREADY are...really throw a monkey wrench in the works! If we take on all of those things they could creep in and get in the way of our basic duties and that adds even more guilt then just saying, "sorry but I can't fit that into my schedule right now". Guilt is in a mother's DNA. All the well meaning people that ask about our babies lack of teeth or hair, lack of crawling or walking, lack of sleeping through the night, lack of reading skills...the list goes on. All those people...and all their well meaning advice....really only serve to make us feel bad about ourselves. I know that not ALL people who give advice make us feel that way. Some are gentle and useful in their advice and we truly appreciate it...but then there are A LOT of others that aren't.
Well I'm here to tell all you Mama's out there (including myself) that we are doing a GREAT JOB! We have healthy kids that are getting love and affection from us daily (breaks my heart to think about all the kids out there that aren't!)...do you think our kids truly care if our house is perfectly clean or if the meal that they are eating took 5 mins to prepare? They don't! They need a Mama that's not a stress case and can read books with them. They need a Mama that makes decisive decisions about their welfare and does it with love and compassion. They need a Mama that knows what's best for them (even if they don't like it) and sticks to it. Parenting isn't always easy...actually I should say its hardly EVER easy...but its SO worth it! Chaos becomes our norm....and dark circles under our eyes becomes our new look but that's ok. Its only for a season and when our kids are packing their bags to head off to college we will be longing for these days again. I hope you all can see what a treasure we are to our kids and how our consistency in their lives is ALL that matters!
I hope all you Mama's know how much I love and appreciate your comments on my blog. They TRULY make my day and make me smile. Just wanted to say thanks to all my followers. You guys totally ROCK!