I'd Like to Thank the Academy....

  

I got an award today! I am amazed I have readers. Suzanne over at Meridian Road sent it to me. She is so sweet and funny. She has a lot of great ideas and has created some great things. You should check out her fabulous laundry room redo and the shutters she made! We also like a lot of the same things. So her laundry basket might just suddenly disappear. I wonder how long of a drive it is from FL to Idaho?

So, here is how it works. I tell you 7 things about myself and then I pass it on to 15 other bloggers. Some that I would have chosen were already picked. So, my list might not be 15.

1. I learned to drive a stick shift on the autobahn in Germany. We lived there for 3 years and I passed the drivers test and hubby didn't. He rented the car and got a stick. I learned very quickly and sweated a lot.

2. I love throwing things away. Bags of trash makes me feel cleansed. But sometimes I get carried away. Like the time I threw out a letter to hubby thanking him for his service in the military and it was signed by Governor Clinton. Later to become President Clinton. 

3. I rarely make my bed. Ok all you ocd people, don't hate me.  Head between your knees and take a deep breath. It will be okay.

4. I haven't had my hair cut since November because I hate finding new hairdressers when I move. I tried one twice and I wasn't feeling the love. Now I need to find someone new because I'm starting to look like Cousin It. 

5. I went on a crazy fun trip to Italy 3 years ago with my family. I don't mean our family of 5, I mean our family of 21. Yup, all 21 of us went to Italy for a family reunion to meet my father's family. My sister and I planned all of our side trips and it was a wonder we all survived.

6. I have moved from Florida to Arkansas to Germany back to Arkansas to New Jersey to Mississippi to Georgia and now back to Florida. Back to where I was born in a zig zaggy kind of way.

7. I love a good laugh. Some people might not get my sense of humor. My favorite movie is probably A Princess Bride and favorite funny show would be Seinfeld. Does that helps define my humor? 

Bonus: I am a LOST fan. I have watched it from day one and my family knows not to bother me when it's on. I can't believe it's almost over. 
I will pass this on to these lovely ladies. Check out their blogs and see what they are up to.

Kirsty @ A Little Bit of Sanity and A Lot of Chaos I stalked this blog long before I blogged myself. Her furniture revamps are remarkable and her posts make me laugh.
Donna @ My Shabby Chateau A great thrifty shopper and repurposer. Love seeing what she has found.
Leslie @ Goodbye House! Hello Home! A fabulous inspirational writer with great humor and some great decorating style. She has a cafe in her basement!
Tracy @ Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures She has so many great garden inspired projects! She keeps my to do list long.
Melanie @ Southern Comfort in a Northern Life A southerner adjusting to living up north. Cooking her way through the Pioneer Woman's cookbook! 
Amy @ Design Intervention This is one talented lady with a sewing machine! She is keeping busy while her hubby is deployed.
Linda @ Coastal Charm She celebrates all things thrifty with her Nifty Thrifty Tuesday party and was so nice to ask me to join in.
Melinda @ One Life Many Journeys She's on a mission to redo ugly furniture. You should see her gun cabinet redo. Unrecognizable!
Ginger @ A Cottage on Rosewood I love her style. We both have a love of things old, vintage and chippy.
Sandra @ Sawdust and Paper Scraps One chick that is not afraid of power tools! She has done some terrific projects.
Kolein @ Kitchen Table Productions This girl can make me laugh. She is trying all sorts of new things and moving to a new house might be one of them.

My Icky Brown Stool

Scary isn't it? This is the icky brown stool #3 son dragged out of the trash for me. I had spied it, oh let's just say awhile ago, while driving to the store. I called #3 son lickety split and asked him to grab it and he so kindly did. Kids are handy sometimes.


Ok, so it  might have been sitting outside for some time. But still I thought I might be able to fix it.


 So I glued and I taped and I weighted the bottom down with cans.




Then....some time later.... I tackled the seat. It had layers of some pretty icky stuff so I tossed it all and started a new. Funny, I thought I had taken pictures of fresh foam and batting but nope, not in my camera. So, close your eyes and imagine.


Ok, you can open them now. This is the fabric I had wanted to use. I had found these fabric samples at Joann's and darn if they were not just a tad to small. I sat for awhile and tried to think of a way to combine some fabrics so I could use them. But my head was hurting and it wasn't worth it. I went into my fabric stash for a larger piece of something....



And this ladies, is what happens when one is fabric obsessed and not organized. I buy similar fabrics. I had just recently bought the fabric on the left to recover my wicker cushions. Yes, yes, I have not gotten to that yet. Now, the fabric on the right. Bought that a few years ago and completely forgot about it. I don't think it was outdoor fabric but at the time my wicker was under a screened in porch. I have plenty of that to use. It will have to do because my icky brown stool needs to be finished.


Here is how I did the corners. Sometime I do them a little different depending on the seat but this worked for this seat. I got the staples pretty close and then pulled the corner down nice and tight.


Like so. I just used a regular staple gun. A power one would be nice but I don't have one. I don't even have the ergonomic staple gun. I have the one that makes your hand cramp if you use it too long.


 So after spraying several coats of paint and then some sanding in spots I rubbed a little wax on it to help with the aging. Not that it really needed help. I wanted to paint it and not distress it but there were too many battle wounds from years of abuse that yelled out to me to just go ahead and distress it a little more. So I did. I also lined the inside with some fabric since the lid is removable and I can put magazines inside. 

I'm linking up with... Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special 

                               Miss Mustard Seeds Furniture Feature Friday 
                               Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up Party 
                               Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday 

Wabi Sabi....no, not the spicy stuff in Japanese foods

While sitting in a waiting room the other day I was reading a Woman's Day magaizne and came across an article titled Wabi Sabi: Making Peace With Imperfection. Right up my alley I thought. I'm so good at imperfection. I wish I had snatched the magazine but I'm a good girl and don't steal from the doctor's office. But now that I think about it, they do get a lot of our money. Oh well, I found a shorter version of it online here if you want to read it. It's pretty funny too.

Wabi Sabi is a concept that originated in Japan with their tea ceremonies. It is simply, learning to accept and find beauty in the imperfections of people and things.

Here is a quote from the book Wabi Sabi: The Art of Everyday Life. “Through the centuries, wabi sabi came to mean an approach to life and art that is in harmony with nature, one that values the handmade and rustic, and recognizes the impermanence of life. It encourages us to be respectful of age, both in things and in ourselves, and it counsels us to be content with what we have rather than always striving for more. Wabi sabi has a hint of wistfulness about it.”

There is also a book called The Wabi-Sabi House. It offers tips for decorating with salvaged materials and vintage furnishings, advice on how to rediscover the joy of crafting and simple solutions for clearing clutter and blocking noise.

I have been practicing Wabi Sabi and I didn't even know it! Or at least I've been trying to. There is so much beauty in the old, worn and imperfect. It is not to be discarded. It is meant to be displayed and admired.

The article in the magazine listed 8 things we can do to incorporate Wabi Sabi into our lives. 1) Use what you have, 2) Make wabi-sabi friends, 3) Do your best at work--within reason, 4) Cook recipes from your childhood, 5) Relax your housekeeping standards, 6) Practice the art of hanging out, 7) When you drink tea, drink tea, and 8) Remember that life doesn't go on forever.

Some of these things I have down pat. Number 5 might be one of them. But number 7 is something I need work with as I'm sure many of you out there try to multi task. But try to slow down and concentrate on the one things you are trying to accomplish. Even if it's as simple as drinking a cup of tea. Harder to do when you have little ones at home I know. Number 8 is something we are so abruptly reminded of when we lose someone we love but I try to always remember it and then life becomes that much sweeter.

So go forth my thrifty shoppers. Find something old, cracked and full of patina. Bring it home and show it a little love. Or dig something you already have out of the back of the closet. Look in the mirror and smile when you see a wrinkle. Or laugh if your arm waves back when you wave at someone. Dishes in the sink? That's okay. Pour yourself a cup of tea or open a Corona and breathe. It's all good. It's Wabi Sabi.

Pots, Paint and Posies

I wanted to be ready for Funky Junk's pot party. I, of course, procrastinated. I had a stacked pot planter at my old house but thought I'd change it up a bit this time. The big pot is clay and very heavy. The smaller one is plastic. Both similar shapes. I gathered some plants and soil. I highly recommend getting the potting soil with fertilizer in it. But you can also add a fertilizer like osmocote. It lasts for months. I was not a good gardener and I didn't clean the pots first. I did take a stiff brush and scrubbed off the surface dirt. See the green stuff on the inside rim? Painted right over it! Yep, I kind of like that green stuff and thought it would just spread it around and grow more. You know, age it a bit more.


I tried just doing one coat of paint so it would have a washed kind of look. I was not digging it.
Here they are after two coats. I'm liking it better. I just used some white paint samples I had on hand since I'm trying to find a white for my kitchen cabinets. I have paint chips all over my cabinets. Maybe if I get enough I can just cover them all and not have to paint them. I printed out our house numbers on the computer and taped the paper to my cutting board. I used an exacto knife to cut them out. I didn't want to use it as a stencil since I wouldn't get a clean line. I just used the cut outs and a pencil and traced them on to give me an idea of size and then I painted them in with a small brush. It's not perfect. I did it at night on the garage floor and even with my glasses my eye sight is not great. Just wait until you young chickadees get older. Key word is older not OLD.

I then gave it a quick coat of some clear spray on sealer. I wasn't too worried about it but thought it would last a little longer.
note to self: make sure nozzle is pointed out toward what you trying to spray and preferably when the garage door is open and the sun is up.


Ok, so I waited until the next day to take these photos. It's handy to put them on one of these wheely things so you can move it around. It will be heavy. I put some empty plastic pots inside to take up some of the space. One, to make it lighter and two so I don't use so much of that nice soil. Now you just fill with whatever you like. Make sure you loosen the roots and squeeze them some to get them to fit. They won't mind. I dug some lirope out of my garden to give it some height. The flowers were in full bloom when I bought them but because I procrastinated (really hate that word) they were a little faded in the bloom department. See first photo. They will come back, just use your imagination will ya?

So, I'm linking up with Donna @ Funky Junk. She's have a pot party you know. Wonder if she'll be making brownies?

Also linking up with The DIY Show Off Project Parade