Giving Old Furniture... a New Life.

I have had this armoire since high school... and I love it. It was my favorite thing in my bedroom. But it couldn't go with me to school.
I left for college and it got borrowed to my niece Alyssa... she started sharing a room with her younger sister and it was taking up too much room so it got given back.
My step dad spray painted it white... and I used it in Maddux's nursery.
But now that my lil man is no longer a baby and his room is filling with boyish things... I decided to take out the armoire and give it a little face lift.
I forgot to take a "before" photo. But it was just spray painted white..
However he is a in the middle of sanding outside photo.... which is lovely

So That was the middle of this project. Have you ever sanded off spray paint on furniture? This was my first time... and it hurt.

But anyways.

This is the first step in our bedroom redo. I have always wanted a vintage inspired bedroom. So I thought this curvy armoire would be a good start. I decided to paint her a light grayish blue... and its really hard to see in these photos. But if you put it up against anything white the grey really pops.

I added some pink knobs ... and thankfully my husband didn't seem to mind too much. He shrugged and said... "whatever you want" so we will see where this goes. Depending on what we end up with for the final bedroom redo... they might change. But right now I am currently loving them.

So now to bombard my blog with a ridiculous amount of armoire photos...

So there she is. I love how up close you can see the knicks and scratches in her.... I don't know why but I always love a piece of imperfect piece of furniture...

What do you think?

Corny staging my dresser outside.... I know. But I feel like it helps :)

I am excited to be finally taking the time to put some effort into our bedroom... anyone else have the problem on that's the room that seems to get ignored the most.... ?

255. Currently obsessed with the color grey on anything

256. small girlish accents that my husband doesn't fight

257. Coloring at the table with Maddux

258. Nala curled up at my feet.

259. Giving old furniture new life

260. Maddux's obsession with Toy Story.... absolutely adorable.



Toy Story Birthday Party.... a glimpse at a few more details

So it shouldn't come to any surprise to anyone that I have been working on Maddux's 2nd birthday party this summer. Last year for his first my concentration was on all the other kids at the party... because my family has A LOT of kids! But this year with him being 2! I am excited to actually plan a party around him. I have decided this year I will do a kid table.... with all the extras I can think of. And the part I will show you that I have been working on recently are the place mats for all the kids.
Now ... these aren't completely finished... 1. because these things are insanely hard to make 2. I am personalizing them so I have to wait til it gets closer to the date so I know who is coming.

I have a few names on these because I know those kids will be there... so its easy for me to plan around them. Now you will notice that none of them have black eyeballs... because the white out is drying in these photos. and you might notice that only one of the Rex's have arms... and that's because... I hate making those arms so I am now saving those for last....

But anyways. I plan on doing a kid table so when they get to the party they have a place to sit. I am going to laminate these so the kids can take them home....

251. DIY Network

252. Lemon Blueberry Cupcakes

253. Rainy summer days

254. Coffee Table books of family photos and favorite memories

Gallery Wall Shelves Completed

I originally showed you these shelves we built here.

I realized I never actually shared a finished project... so here it is almost 6 months later... our finished gallery wall shelves... which hold soooo many photos of that adorable face!

I love these shelves! I have seen these shelves used to hold plates in the dining room, photos, cook books, spices... but if you are photo obsessed like me... These are perfect to show off so many of your favorites.

I love these shelves!

244. Garage Sales

245. Finishing a project

246. Summer movies

247. 5pm on Fridays :)

248. Maddux learning to say "Love You" when being put to bed at night

249. Watching Maddux play with his cousins

250. Family picnics

And more inspiration...

So we are currently making some pretty big decisions... so while balancing pro/con lists and planning our future.... taking all the evening time we have to concentrate on spending it with Maddux.... and painting the never ending armoire redo... I figured I would throw up some more inspiration....

Hopefully I will have my armoire finished product up here in a day or two....

Until then... Enjoy the eye candy and ideas :)

I have this obsession with concrete lately... first concrete countertops... and now... concrete tables!

Source: google.com via Heather on Pinterest

More concrete tables...

Source: homebysunset.com via heseon on Pinterest

A pop of color in the kitchen.... with the breakfast bar... amazing

Source: 1.bp.blogspot.com via Karissa on Pinterest

Source: traditionalhome.com via Jenn on Pinterest

Wood wall.... wonderful

Source: theletteredcottage.net via Patricia on Pinterest

Cute!

Source: bhg.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

Mirror L.O.V.E.

Source: splendidwillow.com via Michelle on Pinterest

Source: decorate.tipjunkie.com via Melissa on Pinterest

 And there you go. Obsessed with Pinterest!

Embrace The Camera - Happy 4th of July

We had a really rough storm Monday morning and were without power for a few days... we are really appreciating our electricity right now... going without for two whole days during a hot summer is horrible.
We have been trying to get things back to normal...
So I decided this week I would share a few of my favorite photos from 4th of July.

4th of July this year was so much fun. Maddux was so into everything going on around us. He LOVED the parade and oohed and Ahhed at everything... having a blast. At the beginning of the fireworks he was holding on to me for dear life... once he figured out they were ok. he was too much of a big boy to sit with Mama and decided he would sit in his own chair... and enjoy them from there. (Maybe next year I'll get a cuddly boy during the fireworks...)

It's amazing to me how in the past few months he has become so much more aware of his surroundings... He is so much more involved... and makes holiday and events so amazing... even just sitting there watching him enjoy himself. Pure happiness....

and side note... Super Grover is amazing :)

 

230. How kids make the simple moments.... into such BIG moments

240. Super Grover

241. Parades

242. Friends visiting... and them bringing you ice cream!

243. So You Think You Can Dance... obsessed.

Pinterest Inspiration

I have developed a huge obsession with Pinterest... Huge!!!

Here are a few projects that are completely inspiring me right now.

French Grey Dressers - Color I need in my bedroom.

Source: citified.blogspot.com via Alona on Pinterest

Concrete Countertops - Must DIY whenever we buy our home

Source: kellymoorephotography.com via Taryn on Pinterest

Hidden Tv - Yes please! Must DIY TV Cabinet

Source: horchow.com via Sans on Pinterest

Patio Scrabble - Uh-Mazing!

Source: forwaylater.blogspot.com via Fawn on Pinterest

Love Everything About this Sign!

Source: etsy.com via Fawn on Pinterest

L.O.V.E

Source: bhg.com via Lauren on Pinterest

Pretty Patio Decor

Source: ruffledblog.com via Erica on Pinterest

Movies Outside In the Summer... Absolutely

Source: miss-design.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

Currently working on redoing some dressers this weekend for the bedroom..... French Grey... I believe so... Home Depot in the AM :)

Embrace The Camera

This past week we went on our first family vacation. We decided to road trip it to Cincinnati Ohio. Random... I know but if you are curious why we chose that go here
In Cincinnati we went to the Newport Aquarium... which was amazing. I have never seen so many sharks! And the penguins were very interactive... Maddux adored the penguins. He clapped and giggled... and shouted "Nala!!!!!" (our dogs name... which has now became his name for any animal... ANY animal!)
Maddux will most likely not remember this vacation... but this vacation was so special to me. I got to spend an entire week with my family... no work... no distractions... it was absolutely perfect in every single way.
Here are a few of my favorite moments from the Aquarium!

We looked at sharks

pet sharks

played with penguins

talked to jelly fish

had lunch on the levee

went back in to repeat all the above

passed out from exhaustion....

We had a great day at the aquarium!

225. Playful Penguins

226. Backpack Child Carriers

227. Experiencing new things as a family

228. The excitement of a new city

229. Cracker Barrel - anywhere we go (maddux's favorite)

Vacation Jar

I love Martha Stewart. I really love browsing her website for fun party ideas and what not... then I came across her vacation jars seen here.
This past week we went to Ohio for our first little family vacation.
Now you are probably thinking... Ohio? Really? What is in Ohio?

So here's the quick story why we chose Ohio.
We live in Illinois and wanted our first vacation to be somewhere we could drive to... Since Maddux is only 18 months... we wanted something close... and somewhere we could just spend a few days at... doing things that would interest him.
So I googled... and came down to a few choices... St. Louis, Indianapolis, or Cincinnati.

Now all of these spots had high rated zoos and children's museums. Indianapolis... I believe has one of the best Children's Museums in the country. But their museum is more centered around older kids... and so is St Louis.
Cincinnati had a museum that was said AMAZING for toddlers.... they had a zoo... and an aquarium. So with that... we thought this would work best for us... plus we had never been to Cincinnati... so it was exciting to go somewhere we have never been.

Well the reviews were right. The museum was AWESOME. And to be honest... he was still a little too small for probably half the stuff they had to offer... but there was so much stuff he could do... He LOVED it.
The zoo was awesome... They have someone at almost every animal station there to teach the kids about the animal... How much kids can learn there was unreal. My husband kept getting sucked into the animal lessons being put on... he was probably more amazed than some of the kids. And the aquarium was Amazing for all of us. They had so many sharks... and tunnels to go through.. and the animals came right up to the window. Especially the penguins.....

We also went to the ballpark to watch a Reds game. Seeing a game at every ballpark is on our bucket list... so we decided to check off Cincinnati :)

But back to the jar.

I also love this idea because kids... all kids are obsessed with souvenirs... and I am well aware that my kid is still going to want the ridiculous dinosaur head that costs 20 bucks... that I will know is a waste of money because he wont ever play with it. (but we will deal with that as it comes) but I thought this will also be a great little game for us.... to find something in the gift shops to add to our family vacation jars... in a few years he will be old enough to help look... and I think this little tradition will be fun for all of us.

I am hoping to always do jars... in different sizes on every trip we take.... no matter how big or small... and maybe in our office... have a book shelf filled with jars of memories...

Now what we put in our jar this time.
ticket stubs from all four places: zoo, aquarium, museum, game
small souvenirs: tiny animal figurines from the zoo, arrowhead & patch & mineral rock & souvenir penny from the museum, shark teeth from the aquarium.



So we took these... placed them in the jar...
added the Cincinnati Skyline thanks to Silhouette...
I still want to add a tag with the dates of our vacation to hang off the ribbon. But I don't have any around at the moment... so use your imagination what it will look like once I do it ;)

And here is our Cincinnati Vacation jar.
I'm still playing around with the fabric on the top. I think I am going to get a map of Cincinnati... then cut it out and modge podge it to the top instead... and add my tag... hmmm that would probably be better.

But I just love imagining shelves filled with bottled up memories.... of all different shapes and sizes :)

219. Summer Vacations no matter how big or how small

220. Natural highlights from the sun

221. Garage Sales

222. Fresh fruit at summer picnics

223. Maddux dancing to the radio in the car

224. Decorating with memories