* "It's Close Enough"

It began with a simple statement, "I think I'd make more at the Flea Market if my presentation was nicer." One thing lead to another and yep, you guessed it...he came home with lumber, an 8 ft. sheet of plywood and a box of screws.

Now, if you read this blog regularly, then you will know that YKW (you know who) does NOT like to "fix things" or "build things"...it's just not his thing. But let me give credit where credit is due...he tries...WITH my assistance. So on the hottest day on the record books since civilization began...we got started building an 8 ft shelf for my FM booth.

Let the good times roll....gentlemen, start your engines...we are properly laid out and ready to rumble...HOWEVER...

Is it just me? Or do you, too, spot a potential problem? It's obvious that our sawhorses don't get too much use...but I don't know...wouldn't it help if they were at least sort of level? Especially if you are trying to build an 8 ft. shelving unit? So, it begins...

The electric drill I so lovingly and thoughtfully gave as a Christmas gift years ago... should have been charged..."Oh, it will be ready to go in about 15 minutes." Do you remember that song, "Help Me, Rhonda...Help, Help Me, Rhonda"? It began going through my head...

And I know the budget is tight, but can it be a good sign that the legs that will hold up an 8 ft. shelf which will be loaded to the gills with glassware has a number of knotholes? "Oh, it will be fine," reassured YKW.

Here we go...lovely molded sawhorses...steady hand, good intentions....wrong saw. Let's try another one...we have several that are still in their original boxes in the garage. While we are at it, maybe we should bring out another drill...the cordless ran out "of gas" after a few minutes...at this point, the backyard was looking a little like a war zone...Bun T. Wabbit was hovering under the birdbath...fearing for his life...I was hovering in the shade...fearing for mine, too. Sawdust was a'flyin...


But, "Houston, we have a leg!" One end of the leg isn't exactly level, but no matter, we'll just use the end that came from Home Depot cut correctly as the bottom..."it will be just fine".... hmmmm. I dared question.."What about where the unlevel end has to join the top?" There it goes again...that phrase..."It will be just fine." OkyDoky. (sp?)

Then a new phrase began, "It's close enough." Really?
It began to get a little warm...my polyester capris were not exactly what I needed for this ordeal...I sat down in a lawn chair until I was summoned to come hold the leg taunt...my leg was beginning to feel a bit taunt,too ..as well as my head. But I held the leg AND my tongue.

A mere hour and a half had passed...oh, it just seemed to fly by...then we decided to live dangerously and add two more legs in the middle...why not? Surely 6 legs and three braces were enough for 1,000 lbs of glassware. "What about the fact that some of the lumber we were using for braces is a little, well, warped?" I pondered. "Oh, it'll be fine."

We ran out of purchased lumber and rather than drive to HD, we just used some we had "stored for a rainy day" in the garage..."Yes, Virginia, that IS an giant upward swoop on the left." But "it will be fine."

Oops. Maybe not. (That's my Princess Reebok you see at the bottom of the pic...I am in the lawn chair almost passed out.) I am watching this circus in the shade.

Until my foot was needed...yes, in our family two feet are better than none...

Six legs, three braces down and one long back one to go...I see a light at the end of the tunnel. (Hope it's not an oncoming train.) We are now into the third hour of this saga.

After a few more hiccups...another size screw was needed for the back brace...a few flares of wood (and tempers) here and there...I heard him exclaim as he drove out of sight...."It's close enough and to all a good night!" Oh, that's another story...anyhoo... we loaded her up, covered her with a cute table cloth and stacked her high with glassware ...AND GUESS WHAT?

"It WAS just fine!" I have a GREAT husband!

I am attending Boost My Blog Friday at Design It Chic and Frugal Friday at Shabby Nest...come on by!

Hope all your building projects go this well,

"Twittering and Fluttering"

I found two new blogs today and they both use lots of birds' nests! Well, that attracted me right off...they had the cutest ideas...who are they? Well, one is Liberty Biberty and the other is Treasures From the Heart Gifts. I liked their "stuff" so much that I pinned several things on my Pinterest boards! I've really had a great time on Pinterest...I hope you are using it. It's just the greatest virtual bulletin board I've ever seen.

With all the "twitter" about birds' nests, I decided to "tweak my leaf pictures from yesterday...see below AND photo some of my bird nest collection. Some nests are purchased, some are my own creation...if I were a bird, I'd use mine because they are crocheted from the softest prettiest yarns. They even have built in feathers and moss! (You do know that if you have a nest in your Christmas tree, that good fortune follows you all year, don't you?) Wonder what happened to my good fortune? We had two flat tires on the same day, my brakes went out and my dishwasher said Adios, and the knee catastophe... all in the space of a month.

Some of my bird related items....old bird pencil box. Wonder who the sweet little chickadee was who used this box to hold all her pencils and treasures?

Nest watercolor I picked up at the Flea Market, Peter's bluebird and straw and pine cone nest.

Living room arrangement of dried florals and a small feather nest in right bottom corner.

Small signed, handcarved and painted Chickadee that I also got at the FM. (I am like a bird detective.) The next three pics are my crocheted nests. I sell these at Christmas. Each has added feathers, moss and a small egg.




I love the look of the golden eggs in the nest in the compote...some people may be getting the idea that I have bird fever...or are some kind of loon...that's bird humor.



Entertainment center nests...hummm, this is sort of boring. I promise, just a few more...

White porcelain birdie I picked up at an Estate sale...ok, I'm stopping. This has made me question my sanity...no wonder people think I'm always "fluttering" as the hubster calls it...I need to re-evaluate. But before I do...I changed out the pictures in the guest bath...remember this mini makeover? Well, those leaf pictures looked sort of out of place and since I had two from the previous "red" bohemian look...I began to "think"...uh, oh.

Once before the boho look, they were oriental prints from Kirkland's. I took out the pics and cut up a beautiful placemat and framed the pieces for the red guest bath. Now, what could I do with them? Tear them apart again..cover the mats with tissue, Mod Podge, paint on white swirls, spray paint the frames Hammered Brown, copy some free bird related (yikes!) prints from The Graphics Fairy and whala...

Now, I'm not bragging, but I think they are just plain pretty.

They look much better than those leaf prints...so if anyone thinks I'm a little over the top with my collection of birds...then the look below is what you will get from yours truly...that's one mad chick!!

Come by and party with us At The Picket Fence

and The Shabby Chic Cottage

and at I Believe In Love click here

and Frugal Friday at Shabby Nest.

and Funky Junk Interiors.

Hope all your collections get you all in a flutter,

Here We Go Again...Bathroom Makeover

Because I am facing possible knee surgery in two weeks...I am on a "cleaning up" mini-makeover frenzy. I know that for the few weeks after the big "S", I will be unable to climb ladders (which I am not doing so well now anyway) or do any major change ups, so it's now or never!

Today, I took this guest bathroom apart....(this always happens on a day off...)

And changed her dark heavy Bohemian look to this...

From this... (small dressing vanity opposite the vanity with sinks)

To this....

I am finding that as I age...so do my eyes. Strong vibrant colors are harder on me for some reason...softer, less taxing colors are more soothing. The little dressing bench was recovered (for $4) with the prettiest fabric from Hancock's 4th of July sale.

This shower curtain fabric is so soft. It has blue, cream, and green with a touch of grey-brown. My walls are August Dried Grass (Wal Mart) and the woodwork is Champagne Bubble (Sherwin Williams).
The only things I purchased for this makeover were the bench fabric, two towels and two washcloths from JC Penney's 50% off sale and a 40% off shower curtain (Cindy Crawford "Seascape") also from JCP.

Have you noticed orchids? They were huge a couple of seasons ago, then waned and whammo...they're back! I noticed a beautiful little white orchid surrounded by moss and placed in a lidded apothecary jar in Pottery Barn last week. Orchids were everywhere! So I pulled down some that I had "put up" and re-purposed them in the cut glass pitcher. Try to store "out of date" accessories (or open a Flea Market booth or become a seller on Ebay) ... that way you can sell what you are tired of and have the moola to purchase new things!

Cut glass is also making a comeback...I have tons of it...so out it came for a soap holder.
In 2007, Pottery Barn had mercury glass candleholders very similar to these. Their prices: $29, 34, and 39. I found these at Old Time Pottery for $6.99 and $8.99...it pays to shop around.
I have had these candles for years. I won't burn them because they are so pretty. I paid little to nothing for them after Christmas and have used them in more ways than I can count.

There is a small bench under the towel rack that I've had for over 15 years. It was painted mustard with a brown wash. I thought she needed a little facelift, so I painted her white. I LOVE IT!! I know some of you ladies will be very put out with me for saying this...I am not a lover of all things "white"... but the older I become, the more I like it...I'm a slow learner.
This was a very inexpensive, satisfying makeover. Doesn't it make you feel good to have a project come together quickly... and then be satisfied with it?
I am joining Metamorphosis Monday, Savvy Southern Style and Boogieboard Cottage party today. Come visit and see what everyone's doing. Buttons are on the right.

Also wanted you to check out my next post...I tweaked those leaf pics on the right! See it here.

Happy 4th Ya'll,

Vacation, Pottery Barn & a Bum Knee

We just arrived home from vacation...all went very well with the two grandchildren...(The last 50 miles were extremely quiet...they were both asleep.) We traveled to the Foley/Gulf Shores, Ala area for a few days...traffic today was bumper to bumper from the Mobile Causeway to the Mississippi State line...glad we were leaving and not "going"!

I "zoomed" (haha...see below) into Pottery Barn and picked up a few new ideas...and some catalogs. On one coffee table they arranged two large glass jars...one was filled with Scrabble pieces and one with black dominoes. I had seen this earlier and have driven everyone crazy looking for the old timey dominoes...I found some very old cream colored ones and a set of black.

Don't have enough to fill an appropriate jar, but I poured them into an old hurricane and will keep them there until I can unearth some more...

#1 Grandson and I sneaked away for some Thrift Store shopping one morning and found quite a few treasures...but I must confess, the Thrifts we found were quite a bit pricier than the MS stores....I loved this old bottle and couldn't wait to get home to see if the Scrabble pieces would fit through the mouth...and they did! Yay!

Next, I scored this "designer" fabric at Old Time Pottery...I think it's very Sarah Richardson-ish. $5 yards for less than $20! I'm mulling over the possibility of reworking my guest bath and using this as the shower curtain. It IS sort of "out there" but so am I. Besides... what am I waiting for? I'm not getting any younger!!

Which means a possible paint change...so back to Pottery Barn...the hubster dashed in as we were on our way home to get the fan deck of PB's Benjamin Moore colors...I love them all but especially the fifth from the bottom on the right..."You Are My Sunshine". I've decided that Pottery Barn, more than any other store, defines my tastes best. There are very few items they have that don't just make me drool...however, their prices make me weep.

I am sorry to say that my "knee problems" have escalated to the point that it looks like surgery on the 18th is now a very real possibility. Living with pain isn't my "thing"...I've lots to do and I kept hoping against hope that the pain would just go away...however, it hasn't. So it looks like I'm facing a "not so much fun" end of my summer vacation. I'll still hobble in and blog though! That's a must for me!

Wonder if I could get that bathroom painted with a very long handled roller and some Advil before the 18th?

Hope you have a super Sunday,