Mini Garden Bouquet

While we were out pulling weeds in the garden, the little one started picking one flower as we went.

Some were hard to get to or not very easy to pluck so I helped a bit. She had so much fun putting together her little bouquet and is so proud of it. I don't think I'll need to buy flowers at the farmers market this weekend, I can just send my little helper out to pick flowers for me. Speaking of the weekend, I hope to get some things accomplished.

This weekend I will be...
Playing imaginary games with our 4 year old.
Sending my sweet husband up to the 150 degree attic to hang the chandelier.
Cleaning and prepping some furniture to be painted.
Working on the dining room.
And walking up to the farmers market.

Have a wonderful weekend! I'm linking to Lauren's Pure project.

Dining Room Talk

This chandelier is on its way and I am so excited to see how it looks. Our dining room is small so it will either be fabulous or just too much.

Celeste chandelier Pottery Barn

There is not a lot going on in the room as far as fabric goes...no rug or fabric on the chairs. The drapes are a similar color to the oatmeal walls....for now. They still need to be hung.

Here is a peek at the newly painted chairs and walls. I'm working on a gallery wall of black and white photographs and this is where I'm having a hard time. All along I thought I would be doing black frames but after seeing the paper on the wall, now I'm thinking white. The other day I painted all the mix match frames black and then yesterday I started repainting them. I stopped when I realized I still don't know which way to go. I think I need to wait and see how the chandelier is going to look before I move forward on this. I really wish Pottery Barn sold the chandelier in the store, I can be so impatient.

After living with the gallery wall mock up for the last couple days, I see it needs to move down a bit. I guess that's the good part about moving at a snails pace.

I would love to hear your thoughts.

My Favorite Paint

While I was painting the dining room I knew I would do a post about my favorite paint. I had another amazing experience painting over dark walls so I had to share with you.

What I love about Aura paint from Benjamin Moore....

It has a built in primer. Yes, this paint is pricey but you are saving money by not buying a separate primer.

You are also saving time. This is what my wall looked like after one coat of paint. I knew going in two coats would be needed for the best coverage though.

I love that it's a low VOC paint and the odor is mild and dissipates quickly.

Using this paint is a little different to use. For best results, trim out along the ceiling and baseboards first. Then go back and roll it on. You can even come back and roll the next day and it will blend seamlessly.
It dries very quickly so you want to put it on the wall and leave it. Don't go back over it like you might with other paints.


Did you know you can wrap your paint brush and roller in plastic wrap and store in the fridge until the next day?

When I mentioned this to my friend who is no stranger to a paintbrush, I was shocked when she told me she didn't know about this tip.

While I'm talking about tips and tricks, here is one I had to use when I realized I didn't have another disposable tray liner. I lined my tray with a few layers of tinfoil; in a pinch it worked ok I just had to take my time. You could also use a plastic bag.

This time around I found out that Jimmy Buffet is great painting music.
Van Morrison will get you in a good even groove.
Bob Seger will have you daydreaming away.
Ray Lamontagne is always a good choice.
And I always listen to Crosby Stills Nash and Young.

How about you, do you have favorite painting music?

Estate Sale Finds

Wow, this has been such a busy week for me, and for some reason painting the dining room took forever to finish. Nothing on the walls yet but it's painted. I did make it to an estate sale yesterday and picked up a few things. I bought a kitchen table with really nice chunky legs, two chairs and a cute little bench with a cane top. I will share pictures with you once I give them a little makeover.

The sale was at a cool old house in the woods. I had to keep reminding myself to stop looking at the french doors with wavy glass and all the old details you don't see in houses anymore and hunt for treasures. Because of my sightseeing, I missed out on two chairs that closely matched my set of four reproduction chairs. Darn it!

Another find were these plates.

I only wanted a few but the women working the sale wouldn't break up the set until the next day, so I waited and hoped they would still be there today.

I got two dinner plates and four small plates for two dollars. They were designed by Raymond Loewy and the pattern is called Script, aren't they pretty?

I'm thinking of doing a plate wall in the dining room. I've seen so many inspiring pictures and the idea has really grown on me. What's your opinion?

The Practice Dresser

My sweet husband came home with this dresser that someone was throwing out and I was thrilled. Some of you might be wondering why a beat up old dresser with a missing drawer would make me so happy. Well, as some of you know I have been working on perfecting my paint spraying technique and I wanted to practice on something with drawers.

I removed a bunch of stickers that were stuck all over the top and sides and got it all cleaned up before I got to the fun part.

 My hardware cleaning station.

I was painting my dining room chairs white at the same time so white it was for the dresser. I distressed this piece quite a bit because it was already worn on the edges so I went with the shabby look.

All the original hardware was there.

The basket is from Ikea.

Now I feel ready to do some painting for a friend. I'm posting this on Craigslist to see if anyone is in need of a dresser with a basket for a drawer...you never know.

Linking to  Nifty-thrifty-tuesdays @ Coastal Charm  just-something-i-whipped up

                 frugal-friday

A Work In Progress

Hello everyone, happy Friday! Today is a painting day for me and its all for the dining room. I just finished two coats on the ceiling and I could not be happier that is done! Painting ceilings is not my idea of fun.

Painting chairs on the other hand is something I like to do. I have wanted to paint these for a while now. I'm going to do them up with my paint sprayer, kind of a bummer its ninety degrees out there! But like I said, today is my day....

Even the chalkboard paint came out today.

Goodbye green walls...I can't wait to share the room with you!

Have a fabulous weekend.

 

 

 

Our Weekend And The Winner

We got away this past weekend to my parents log home in Wisconsin. We always have a great time whenever we visit.

Their house is walking distance to Lauderdale Lake and about fifteen minutes from Lake Geneva. Would you like a little peek inside? I thought you might.

The living room is open to the dining room and kitchen. I bought the two cane back chairs next to the fireplace at an auction for five dollars. My mom had the cushions made to fit, she loves those chairs and you can't beat the price.

The downstairs bathroom has a flagstone floor and stone shower.

They did all the work themselves.

We spend a lot of time in the screen porch when the weather is nice. The curtains are drop cloths from Home Depot. I could go on and on and show you so many cool details but that would make this a very long post!

We never run out of things to do when we visit...

We get out on the boat and I look at all the beautiful houses.

This is one of my favorites on the lake.

We play at the little beach.

And try to catch butterflies.

We eat yummy food made by a serious Weber grill collector we call Grandpa.

And end the day reading a book with Grandma and announcing the winner of the giveaway.

Cassie from Primitive and Proper! You are the winner!

Congratulations Cassie