Getting the house dressed for spring!

So last night was one of my insomnia nights..I couldn't even get sleepy, let alone actually fall asleep. So I did a a couple of quiet chores and then got some more work done on some projects, and started and finished a couple of others.

One of the started and finished projects was this Rabbit. I knew I wanted a Rabbit to center my easter/spring display on my kitchen buffet around and I had an picture in my mind of what I wanted. I didn't have a lot of luck until I walked into Walmart last week to grab some masking tape.

There he was, the bunny I had been looking for! The only drawback was that he was grey, and I wanted white. I bought him anyway and with a little help from my Favorite shade of Americana paint (bleached sand) I have a white rabbit for my kitchen!

Now, my kitchen buffet has been taking a beating here lately, Have you ever noticed how whenever you are working on a major project or if you are feeling down that the hot spots in your home go completely crazy and out of control?
Exhibit A.

Really?

I wish I could blame it all on the guys..but I'm just as bad about it, especially when I am in one of those funks. This is just an example of pure laziness on all of our parts, it took me all of 10 minutes to gather everything up and..GASP...Put it away!!!

Ahh..Now isn't that better? Clean and tidy with a new White Rabbit center stage!

All that is missing are my stuffed eggs that I haven't made yet...and I think the rabbit needs some glaze.. I will have to think on that one!

hehe the little chick was a dollar store buy for the fun of it, Nefferkitty isn't real sure of it when it is hopping around, but CleoKatra doesn't even spare it a glance. She's such a Diva.

The little blue birds are actually salt and pepper shakers that I scored at Loot last week, and the plate they are sitting on was the goodwill buy I posted about last post.

And don't the vintage Milk bottles look great with the fresh daisy stems?!

Once I am able to uncover more flat surfaces in the house (it's been a several week funk..At least I was awake and fairly even tempered!), I'll probably do some shifting around, try to get away from the symetrical feel it's got going on, but this works for now ;)

What about you? Are you ready for spring yet?

Antiquing with Hubby, Craigslits buys and Goodwill Scores!

Ok, I can hear what you're thinking..How on earth is going shopping going to help decrapify our home?

Well, in an odd way, it does.

See, as we find new accessories and furniture we are able to get rid of the rattier, crapified stuff, which makes the place look nicer, which in turn means that we are better about not letting crap build up.

The rules of acquisition are thus:
Does it have a use?
Will it have a "home"?
Do you love it?
Does it fit the budget?
Will you discard something else in order to bring it home?

If the answers are yes, then it's all good, if I answer no, it needs a bit more thought.

Since I did a major decluttering when we painted the loft, we were able to get a couple of accessories to replace those that were no longer...Us.

 Bill got this really cute masculine candle lantern that he plans to use in his office, and I got the Owl candle holder and the 2 milk bottles.

The milk bottles are going to be so sweet on my kitchen table as vases with single stem flowers in them.  

The owl? Well, it's just the perfect touch of whimsy and will eventually live in our bedroom.

We have also picked up a couple pieces of furniture, all of which are project pieces, but now that spring is almost upons us I will be able to get to them!

First up is this Chair, It was a $10 Craiglsit buy and really, if the fabric weren't so dated and ugly, it wouldn't need any work!

I also got an antique vanity ($35!! A major steal!), but I don't have pictures yet, and it DOES need work! And for the kitchen, this Stand was a great bargain and allows me to store my glassware out where I can see how pretty they all are when they aren't in use!

And yes, I do use the vintage glasswares, even the Pyrex mixing bowls That were a new in the box gift from my SIL a few years ago(thank you again Lisa!!!). What's the sense in having them if you aren't going to use them, Right? .

And finally, last week I started scouring used furniture stores and thrift shops looking for a tv stand for the new tv. I knew what I wanted, but I was having NO luck!

Finally, on my way home from what I thought was my last attempt I spotted a goodwill..How I'd missed it on my way (I was enroute to a rummage sale) I have no idea..I guess I was paying too much attention the the GPS LOL!

Anyhow, I zipped into the parking lot and popped inside. I looked around at a few things, and found a cute vintage plate to add to my dining room wall, a very small chicken wire egg basket for my easter display and was on my way to check out when out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of This:

Is it perfect? No, It's scratched..fairly deeply on the front there, and the chrome knobs will be going sooner than later. But other than that it is *almost* what I was looking for in a tv stand. BUT it was $20! SO when it warms up it will go out to the garage for a makeover, and I will not bemoan the lack of shelves or drawers between the glass doors, nor will I cringe over the modern lines of the legs, because really? once it's painted and distressed with some awesome new knobs, I am going to LOVE it!

I will be back later this week with the rest of my latest finds, and hopefully a craft or 3!

Later!

M

Library walls are painted! and other things

wow...this should have been posted over a week ago, but I didn't get the chance to get the pictures edited. Oh wel, here it is now :)


I finally finished painting the library walls!!
 Now I just need to go over the baseboards and trim, put up the crown molding, make the curtains and the rug and finish the footstool and it will be done until it's time to make the built-ins.

There's not a lot to report on from here, I went antiquing with my best friend and her daughter (Hey Sarissa and Bethany!) last friday We had a ball, there were no large purchases, but a lot of oohing and ahhing and dreaming, and we spent over 3 hours walking the mall, but we covered every inch! (The olde Shoe Factory Antique Mall in Lancaster Ohio for those who may wonder)

I did get a couple of things, This owl pitcher was just too adorable to pass up, And is my favorite buy of the day!

a bit of feedsack and a cool hankie,

and this fabulous Atlas Mason Jar with a zinc lid was filled with these old clothespins!

Hubby and I went antiquing as well, a week after this post, but that is for another post :O)

Library mini Update

Well, As usual, I gave myself an unatainable goal with the Library. That's something I need to work on. I'm only 1 person and there was really no way I could have gotten the entire thing done in 1 day. Of course after the first day I got very busy and haven't had the chance to work on it since :/

Here's an update of some of what I did get accomplished on it the other day.

This corner is completely done for now. After all of the painting (whole house) is done I will hopefully start working on crown moulding, But that is later..Maybe by the end of summer. The book shelf has been loaded with some of the classics made simpler for the younger set, and a few favorite series (unfornate events, Twilight etc) As well as all of my crafting books and binders. These will eventually need to be gone through as well, but for right now at least they have a home.

I do really love the color, It still feels light and airy, but with some warmth. I will be making my own window treatments for the space in the next month or 2, and I'm hoping to purchase some White Bamboo blinds as well. This afternoon I'm off to pick up a teacart that will serve as a table, and then I will back to painting!

Later!

M