Before and After

I got this sweet cupboard from Craigslist for free.

It was a mess!!

The veneer was peeling off and it was missing the back.

 But it was just so quaint and cute.

 I knew it would be perfect for a makeover.

I scraped of the peeling veneer, sanded the holy junk out of it, added a back piece

 and painted it a lovely purple.

I sanded the edges and wiped stain over it. Then, finally added some glass knobs.

Done.

She's a little beauty.

She lives in Ragan's room.

Amongst the rubble.

And, yes, I shoved clothes and other paraphernalia out of the way to snap this picture.

(smiley face)

Seriously?

Ragan and I had a nice discussion while driving the other day....

(R) "Mom?"

(me) "Uh huh?"

(R) "Danielle's mom asked me if you like to party."

(me) [chuckle] "Oh ya? What did you tell her?"

(R) [eye roll] "I told her you didn't. Duh."

(me) "That's good."

(R) [overly concerned] "Mom...you'd like her. Miss Debra is really fun."

(me) "I'm sure she is.....apparently she likes to party." [laughing]

(R) "SERIOUSLY......Mom. I think you need to find some friends."

(me) [confused] "I have plenty of friends. Why do you think  need more?"

(R) "You never do anything! What are you going to do when I move out in a few months???"

(me) "Well......anything I want. I don't know yet. I'm certainly not going to start partying. Unless it's a party at the Goodwill store!" [laughing]

(R) "I'm just worried that you're going to be  [pause]  all.alone."

(me) [sigh]"I don't mind being alone. Really. I have a lot of things that I enjoy doing. Maybe I can go on some track trips with Daddy. Or....something."

(R) "Mom.  I'm serious. You need to do something with yourself. You just can't spend all your extra time at the Goodwill store. 'Cuz seriously, I don't want to see you on an episode of Hoarders."


Busted.

Apparently, Ragan feels I am one Goodwill trip from going bat.crap.crazy.

 Especially without the positive influence of her company and loving attention.

For all I know, she is planning an intervention as I type.



I suppose I better start thinking of some things I can do with myself once she's flown the coop.

Just in case she ever brings it up again.

But I'll start by jumping back on the crazy train.
Evidently, Ragan thinks I never jumped off.

Seriously.

So much to be thankful for.

It really has been a month since my last post.

I didn't think it was that long,

but hopefully these next photos will help everyone forget all about my generally incompetent blogging.

I am pleased to announce the arrival of our sweet grandson,

Cooper Matthew Carter.

 

He graced the world with his presence in the early morning of September 22nd.

He was (and still is) the epitome of perfection. 

He is such a good baby.

He hardly cries and sleeps very well. 

Here he is today.

2 months have flown by. 

Love isn't a big enough word to describe what we feel for him.

:)

With this being the month of Thanksgiving celebrations around the country, I have been pondering the many things that I am thankful for. I have made an extra effort lately to thank my Heavenly Father for all of my blessings.....those that I recognize and also those I  miss.

I am blessed with.....

 a wonderful family that just increased by one-

and that it is eternal.

a husband that loves and supports his family.

wonderful, smart, kind and  healthy children.

a job that lets me love other peoples children.

friends that give way more than they receive.

extended family that care for and love my children.

the knowledge I have of my Heavenly Father and my Savior.

our comfortable home.

my life.

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

I

Halloween fun.

I love Halloween, but since moving to Arizona, I have a hard time dragging out all of my things.

It's because the temperature is still pushing 100* and it feels like summer, not fall.

But, they're finally out and I got a little excited. ;)

I remembered that I sold a lot of my decorations at a yard sale this past spring so a bit of crafting was in order to fill in some empty spaces.

This is a little thrifted frame that I covered in wiggly eyes. So cute and FAST to make!

 And, yes.....I saw a version of this on Pinterest.

Don't judge me.

 The picture of the owls is from some scrapbook paper that my precious son, Mark gave me.

He works in a plant that manufactures scrapbook paper.....

he gets $50 worth of free stuff a year! Hello freebies!

.

 This is another quick decoration idea.

Another thrifted frame, spray painted and distressed, with a jack 'o lantern sticker on the glass. I put a piece of scrapbook paper behind it.  

This is not a decoration but a new addition to our family.....

 Meet Cody.

(Named by Ragan)

He is a tarantula that lives outside our front door.

He's a big'un.

We were wondering what kind of a critter was making holes and burrowing in the dirt.

Now we know.

He can stay as long as he takes care of all the other bugs that lurk around the front door. 

But he can't come inside.

Ever.

cake plate love....

Lately, I have been loitering on the Pinterest sight far longer than necessary.

I'm sure some might say it's unnatural and unhealthy for someone to sit and covet  admire all the pretty things on there, but I think I will take my chances with it all!

Well.......on Pinterest, I learned a valuable skill. And that skill is.....cake plate making! Yay me! :)

All you need to make your own cake plate is;

1. some sort of pedestal.

2. a plate

3. Spray paint, if desired.

4. some special glue

So, off to the thrift store I went, in search of a plate and a pedestal.

I found this candle holder for the pedestal......

And this plate........

I loved the green and black so I knew I wasn't going to paint the plate, but the candle holder definitely needed paint. Flat black to be exact.......

With a pencil, I traced around the candle holder on the bottom of the plate.

 I eyeballed the center, but a more perfectionist type might want to measure.

I  put a thin bead of silicone adhesive around my pencil mark.

Less is more when it comes to this kind of glue.....learn from my error here, folks. :)

I let it dry for a few hours and then flipped it right side up.

Easy, Peasy.

For now, this cake plate will hold Mr. Jack.

On account of I won't be baking any cakes in the near future.....on account of my unattractive mid-section girth.......on account of my emotional eating.

But a girl never knows when a cake may be needed....like for a decoration or something.

(or an emotional break down! haha!)

With the silicone adhesive, it is safe to hand wash these babies.

If you opt to spray paint the plate, put a paper doilie or other barrier between the cake and plate.

Have fun!

I've been junking again!

I am not a Craigslist fanatic, but I do get on to check things out from time to time. I always check the free stuff first and then I go to the furniture section, and then finally to the antique section. I have rarely called on or purchased anything because it has to be something specific that I am looking for, and priced within a limit that I've set for myself. With those parameters, the pickin's are slim.

I happened upon a free listing one morning that I just had to be the first to get!

One of the items up for grabs was this cute little deacons bench.

Truth be told, I didn't even notice the bench in the picture on the add. It was all the other stuff that I was interested in. (I will show that later!) It wasn't until we got to the house to pick it all up that I spotted it!

Although it appeared to have been sitting outside for the last several years, it was solid.

It was also super dirty.

 So I cleaned it up and went to work.

I sanded it lightly and spray painted it a lovely buttery yellow.

Then I sanded it again to distress it, and wiped Old English scratch cover all over it. (I opted for the Old English because it doesn't have an offensive smell like stain does and I didn't want to wait to bring it in the house.)

 I put it in the hallway that leads to the preschool room, next to the guest bathroom.

(Picture taken from laundry room doorway)

Then I made this little pinwheel wall quilt to hang over it.  

Oh. I love things like this. Especially with the very affordable and agreeable price of free. ;)

A night of fun!!

I was recently invited to attend a bloggers night at our local DownEast store.

It is located in the Tucson Mall.

The store is trying to drum up some business and since I have been a long time customer of DownEast clothing, I was more than happy to attend.

DownEast offers many selections of modest clothing for not only women but teenagers as well.

If you like to layer like I do, then this is the place for you!

The clothes are relatively inexpensive and, in my experience, last a good long time. :)

DownEast also carries a big variety of accessories and jewelery....

OOOoooo! I love the lacey T! I have it in pink! :):):)

This is my friend, Rainey, (L) and the "big boss" (R) who came from Phoenix to attend this fun night.

They gave us a $25 gift card to spend too!

Here's Ragan finding things for me to buy for her with it! haha!

If you ever get a chance to shop at DownEast, you will not be disappointed!