quote of the week.

--Mary O'Connor

25 things, 4 years later.

Recently I read on Momastery's blog where she took the little 25 random things that was making it's way across the interwebs several years ago, and she updated hers and remarked on what had changed and what had stayed the same. I thought, "Hey, I did one of those, I wonder how different my answers would be today?"

So, here it is:

My 25: 

First answers, in black: 2009
Second answers, in blue: 2013

1. I don't eat breakfast. And on the rare occasions I do, it's always eggs benedict. 
       Not so much anymore. I eat breakfast every day, part of my being healthier and losing 70 pounds so far. However--I still adore Eggs Benedict.

2. I read over 60 books a year. This is not a brag...it's a compulsion, and I probably need help. 
     After a 3 year job with the youth in my church, and then beginning to work outside of the home, I am nowhere near that total these days.

3. My mom has been dead for over 20 years, and still sometimes on her birthday I have to remind myself that I don't need to get her a card. 
      I think I have finally gotten to the point that I don't think of her on her birthday anymore. That thought sure makes me sad.

4. I despise the term "hot" when it refers to a person's attractiveness. I still find myself saying it. 
      Yep. 

5. When I am shopping for groceries, I hyper focus. People I know have had to come up to me and grab my arm to get my attention, because I didn't hear them calling my name. 
      Still so absolutely true.

6. I miss my inlaws. I wish they lived here. 
     Also still true. 

7. Nearly every morning, I wake up at 3 am. About half the time, I don't fall back asleep. 
     Thank goodness, not so much these days. I still get the insomnia from time to time, but not as regularly.

8. I would rather have a cook than a maid. 
     Amen, 2009 self, A-to-the-men.

9. I never feel like part of the group. 
     Still kind of there. 

10. I don't understand women that insult and criticize their husbands to their friends. It's like a sport with nothing but losers. Yuck. 
     This will always be true. Even after I am dead, this will still be true.

11. I have been known to cry when I clean. My best guess is that it's cathartic. 
      Well, I don't clean much anymore, so I don't cry much anymore while doing it. Win/win, am I right??

12. During my formative years, I lived across the street from a cemetary. 
      That has clearly changed. I now lived across the street from an ice cream factory. Bu dum bump.

13. I could eat pasta every single day. 
       I still COULD eat pasta every day...the difference now is that I CHOOSE NOT TO.

14. I love that when I randomly quote something from a movie or TV, my husband totally gets it. 
       A fantastic quality in a man, indeed.

15. I like suburban life. It may be a bit trite and expected and boring, but I still like it. 
       Strike that. Love it. Love.

16. I am not a hugger. 
        Shockingly (NOT) still true.

17. For most of my life, I talked incessantly. Now I really only do that with a few people. 
        This remains a side of me that I have learned to live with. As have those few people, apparently.

18. My garage is currently so full of stuff that needs to be taken somewhere else, only one car can park in there. It drives. me. INSANE. 
        We can park in there! And it didn't take 4 years! Well, not the whole 4 years. I kill myself!

19. I romanticize the WWII era, and always think I would have fit in there. 
        Still so very much true.

20. If I can possibly avoid it, I don't drive in the snow. 
        It still bothers me, but apart from moving, what's a woman to do?

21. I am doing a project right now where I take a photo a day for a year. I am putting them in a photo album with journaling and other things. I am loving the results. 
       Yeah. I think that made it for about half of the year and then I gave up. I am grateful for the ones I did take.

22. My husband has to mop the floors, because I won't do it. 
        Um. I have a man that does floors. Duh. Like I am ever going to do them with that kind of awesome walking around.

23. There are some books that I read over and over again. It's like visiting an old friend. 
        Forever this. I just read Tuck Everlasting and I was 12 all over again.

24. I haven't shopped for clothes for myself in over a year. 
       Not true anymore. After losing so much weight, I had to pretty much get rid of everything and then slowly replenish.

25. Cruises scare me, and I don't think I will ever go on one. 
       Will. Not. Ever. People just "disappear" off of those...I will not be one of them. Take that, Cruises!

quote of the week...

--Emma Thompson

dresser re-do...

This is one of my most favorite projects ever. Mostly because it went a bit differently than other projects I usually do, and I am spectacularly thrilled with the results. 

 I found this dresser at Goodwill, and paid more than has ever been paid for any item that has ever been at any Goodwill in the Entire Universe since the Dawn Of Time or Maybe Even Longer. Ahem. It felt that way. With our military discount (yes, Goodwill has a military discount!) it was $64.00. Again, for a cheapo like me, pretty extravagant for a "thrift store" piece. but it was in terrific shape and all of the drawers and hardware were there and functioning. I wanted a re-do, not a re-build, so this was pretty close to perfect.

 I pulled all of the drawers out to begin sanding and painting, and realized as I did that the fronts were in SUCH good shape it would be a pity to paint them. I had admired two-toned pieces for a while on Pinterest, and I have done two-toned on the tables in our office, and as soon as I thought about it, I realized that was how she should be finished. So all I did for those was take off the handles and waxed the wood really well. I sanded and painted the body of the dresser, with a leftover semi-gloss paint that was used in the office. Then I decided to do something that is completely and totally out of character for me...I decided to be patient. I actually let this sit for several days and thought about it. 
Awkward. 

Not my normal "Igotthisandnowitmustbedoneandinmyhousebeforethestrokeofmidnight" 
way of being. Then after waiting a day or so, I remembered the wonderful wrapping papers I had (both from Home Goods) and decided to Mod Podge them into the drawers. Love. And yes, Judgey McCriticals, I used 2 different kinds of paper for the same piece, because I couldn't make up my mind and they were both lovely. 

Then, in the waiting process, I started thinking about how the handles really didn't "do" anything for the dresser. In fact, you barely even notice them in the above picture. They certainly didn't stand out. That is when I found The Reposture Blog ofAwesomeness, where she has posted a terrific re-do of a piece that was so much like what I wanted, and she had used Rub 'n Buff on her handles. And I saw that they were A Thing Of Beauty, and I wept. And ran to Hobby Lobby for some of that stuff and a brush. She gives a great tutorial on her post, so I won't go into detail, but I can tell you it was super SUPER easy, and you really only need the teeny, tiniest bit of the stuff...I think I used a pea sized amount for all 13 handles. What I love the most is that it is a natural, already worn type of finish (although you could certainly add more and have it be not-so-worn) rather than what I would have gotten with a spray paint or any other medium I could think of. 

Now the handles look like pretty jewelry, and who doesn't like jewelry?

Here she is all dressed up, filled up, and in her new home. I still have to decide if I want to put in more by way of decoration, and I have to make a cord cover sleeve, because if I don't, the sight of those cords will eventually drive me stark, raving mad. 

But, I am so pleased with the way she turned out.

Dresser: $64.00

Paint: free

Sand paper and caulk: free

Rub 'n Buff: $4.99

Brush: $2

Furniture wax: free

total for project:  $70.99

Every girl needs to spend some time with a horse...

...or at least every girl I have ever known.
Here are some of my favorites from a riding lesson I got to watch today.
It was delightful!

because even on a farm, it's all about the fashion, am I right?

spunk. the word you are thinking of is spunk. she's got it.

oh. the. cuteness.

these girls...and the best part is, their outer beauty isn't even the best part about them.

thrifting finds..

Thrifting was good to me the past few weekends. I found these really amazing canvas-like paintings, above. They were in pretty much perfect condition with the exception of some slight flaws at the top of one of the frames. When I saw these, I thought, "Man! These are way nice for a garage sale." Then, of course, because I am a sucker for things to hang on walls AND The Hubby and I's room has sort of taken on a castle theme (completely unintentional, but there it is), I asked the gal how much. 

She said, "Oh, gosh...I don't know? Like, a dollar each?" 

To which I replied, "ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME???" in my head, and "Oh, well...I can handle that, I guess..." out loud. Ahem. I then proceeded to pay her the $2 and then run like the wind in case she changed her mind.

I also got a gorgeous old black typewriter for $15 that will find it's place on top of this pretty little girl....

I. KNOW.

This one wasn't a huge "find" as far as price, but she is in terrific shape and is exactly what I have been looking for to put in our family room. I have been slaving over her this weekend, and now she is just hanging out in the garage until her paint job cures and I can bring her in and dress her up. I lined her drawers, here is a sneak peek of her awesomeness:

I will post more pictures of her when she finally takes her place in our home, and looks all settled in and lovely. 

Quote of the week...

"So much has been given to me, I have no time to ponder over that which has been denied."

--Helen Keller



How completely stunning is that quote, honestly.