one fab rehab!

I think i've committed a blogger's sin - I am a straight-up COPYCAT on this project and I can't for the life of me find the talented girl's blog that I "borrowed" (ok, stole) this idea from for this FAB makeover. She had a beautiful blog, and a step by step tutorial for a table that she stained and painted. I copied the steps down on a piece of paper knowing that "someday" (wow do I love that word) I wanted to put this to use. She was only 26 years old and had an incredible eye for decorating and I commented that I think at 26 I was still concerned as to what rock poster to hang up in my Chicago apartment and had no clue what rehabbing furniture was, let alone, HOW to do it! So I admire you mystery blogger, enough to copy your work -- so with admiration and apology both, here is my fab rehab....

Some are addicted to Nordstrom's Rack, and some are addicted to Goodwill. I fall in the 2nd category. If I am in that area of the GW, my car just somehow turns into the parking lot, just "to look" "just in case..." So on my last "just in case there might be a trash to treasure jewel" in there, I found this table for $30. SCORE! I've always loved the rustic look of this type of furniture.

Following the mystery blogger's method, I sanded, then stained the top of the of the table with espresso colored dark stain -- and with this being my first staining project, it took me quite some time to get it as dark as I wanted. I then spray painted the legs with a creamy white paint, sanded them a bit, and then added black glaze to age them a tad more. it turned out just as i had hoped! i replaced our kitchen table with this "new" table and love the look. and it all happened so quick which is a shocker for me - i tend to store my projects for awhile until i actually get a free moment or a free hand or kid-free moment to get to work on it -- but this was purchased on Thursday, redone on Friday evening, and ready to eat on in the kitchen on Saturday morning. Record timing for me!

(well aware of two seat covers and two missing seat covers -- quickly learned that cloth seat covers and small children do not match well together)

WAIT a minute - i forgot to mention the best step of the whole process. Distressing the table with a chain - again, an idea I borrowed from mystery blogger. It made such a neat rippled effect of dents on the top of the table - and had it not been the loudest noise I've ever heard and if the neighbors wouldn't have come out to see what all the racket was, I would have continued the distressing step way beyond what was needed because it was effective cheap therapy!

 

the endless smiles...

it's another RAINY day here in California but the GREEN that has been created from all this rain is really beautiful!we took advantage of some overcast moments this past week to capture Iz before she turns the big 

O N E

next week

...and m & m jumped right in on the fun. they are next in line for photos as they will be FIVE

in March as well.

haven't i begged the clock to slooooooooooooooow down in umpteen number of blog posts now? please listen to me mr. time!

blog sugar ....

here is the hostess with the mostess -

RACHEL from  No. 17 cherry tree lane...

she did the networking. she did the emailing. and she did the planning.

and we all did the gabbing...

 rachel graciously hosted a get-together at her house and invited all of the blogging women that she and others had come across in the orange county area.

she opened up her home to all of us, some complete strangers to one another, others friends from high school or neighborhood friends.

i was a stranger to everyone and admittedly felt a bit nervous before arriving,

but once there -- with all those great women, and LOTS of de-lish sugary treats, i soon felt right at home!

when i awoke the next morning and read this little book that i read each day that has inspiring quotes and what not, this is what the day said...

Strangers are just friends waiting to happen. 

so so true in the case of Blog Sugar! 

so yes, i came in as a stranger, but left knowing i had just created new friendships. 

if you've come across some bloggers that you realize are "neighbors," follow rachel's lead and reach out to these gals and get together. it was so inspiring to share stories and reasons for blogging, the names behind the titles of our blogs, and especially to put REAL faces with these blogs that we've become such fans of.

how can you not smile...

It's my year to pay attention to the happiness already existing in my life...

So I am wondering, how long have the eggs been telling me to "enjoy" them rather than to just "use" them?

I think I enjoyed my eggs more than I ever have just knowing that i was complying with their request.

...and a favorite of mine for a few holiday seasons now...

the flavor "peppermint mocha" is enough to make me smile, but this...

makes me ecstatic!

No need to wait until next Christmas now.

lovin' these simple "happies" that are surrounding me each day!

A Great Day...

I spent some time on Facebook yesterday, ok too much time, trying to catch up with old friends. Living long distance from my hometown and therefore childhood and school friends, Facebook has been like one big pen pal to me. I will also be planning our 20th high school reunion (gulp! ...or "let me faint" rather) in 2 years so this will be a Godsend when it comes time to locating everyone.

I am in touch with an old boyfriend's sister on Facebook and as close as I grew to their family as a teenager, I am happy that I am able to get updates from her on how everyone is doing. Yesterday she posted a status that really brightened my day - and I can only imagine how bright the sun was shining in all of their homes back in Illinois...
Her brother's daughter was diagnosed with cancer 5 years ago and went through an extremely tough battle to survive. Her sister was able to donate bone marrow to help her with her survival. So yesterday she posted

Giving thanks to God today as my niece marks 5 years since her bone marrow transplant!

Her day was full of celebration as they had special presentation at the school for the sisters, declared the day as her day, had a spotlight on the evening news, and is in today's paper in her hometown. I can't imagine the joy of each day that passes of knowing their little girl is healthy and has survived this battle.

I have bone marrow donor on my "to do" list and I admit it will take some courage to get it accomplished, but seeing pictures of this little girl from yesterday really gives me the push to follow through with my intentions.

Give your little ones an extra hug today and thank God for their good health.

it's all about the outfit...

let me first explain why izzy is wearing a santa hat at the end of February. answer - daddy dressed her. no more explanation needed right? actually that just gave me an idea to do a full post/fashion show on some of the unique daddy dressed me days. gotta love the combos he comes up with.

so here is another WHAT NOT TO WEAR...

mmmmmm...not so much right?

but for a dollar, she, and the bad outfit that she is wearing, came home with me from a garage sale on saturday.

with the help of my February santa elf, we stripped her down and started over.

with inspiration from this gorgeous necklace created by this fun gal, Julie from Joy's Hope, who i had the pleasure of meeting this past Friday night at Blog Sugar, an OC gathering of bloggin' women (will definitely post about that later in the week - such a neat night!) - and who writes the most inspiring and beautiful blog in memory of her daughter Joy - a "must check out" for your blog searches today, trust me!

i turned my little "What Not to Wear" into

"OOOH, CAN I BORROW THAT?"

-well at least in the eyes of my girls who will wear anything frilly and fancy.

i used an assortment of old buttons, a necklace and a few rhinestone pins and clip-on earrings that belonged to my grandmother, and a few yo-yo flowers that i had made.

linking up to:

Happy Week Everyone!