Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Where did the week go?  Have you ever noticed that the older you get, the more time seems to fly!  Can you believe that 2011 is almost gone?   As a kid, time seems to stand still....like waiting on your birthday or Christmas.  Well, none of that for me!  I have been looking for pieces, buying pieces, delivering pieces, sanding pieces and painting pieces.  But I am not complaining, I love being busy.
 So Daisy left today. (half smile, half frown)

To refresh your memory, here she is before her makeover....

She was in terrible shape when I got her.  I saw her in the corner at a Garage Sale and I was smitten!  She required a good bit of work but the great thing about using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint is what little prep work is required to produce an awesome finished product.  I painted Daisy with ASCP Graphite & Old Ochre, finished her with both clear and dark wax.  She was also lightly distressed.  So here is the finished product.......

I am so excited at the pieces I got this week.  They are going to be beautiful or as my 4 year old Granddaughter Sophie says "bootiful" !  I also found a couple of pieces in Nashville that a friend is picking up for me this weekend.

So if you have read my profile, you will know that I have 4 grand kiddos and I love love love these kiddos.  Sam, the youngest turns 1 on Saturday and he is having a Dr. Suess Party!  Dr. Suess is a such a timeless series.  And some of the lines in his books are very profound. My favorite book is Oh, the Places You'll Go.




Except From  Oh, the Places You'll
Go by Dr, Suess:

But on you will go though the weather be foul. On you will go though your enemies prowl. On you will go though the Hakken-Kraks howl. Onward up many a frightening creek, though your arms may get sore and your sneakers may leak. On and on you will hike. And I know you’ll hike far and face up to your problems whatever they are. You’ll get mixed up, of course, as you already know. You’ll get mixed up with many strange birds as you go. So be sure when you step. Step with care and great tact and remember that Life’s a Great Balancing Act. Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left. And will you succeed? Yes! You will, indeed! (98 and ¾ percent guaranteed.) Kid, you’ll move mountains! So…be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So…get on your way!

Oh The Places You'll Go applies to all of us ( and looking for furniture, we go lots of places), we all go through "stuff" in life and that leads up to where we are today at this moment.
So be happy or if you aren't, change it!  Remember "Today is your day"!


~Tina

Next time ask questions

So, I am sure everyone has been in a situation where they have heard "you should have asked". Well that was what I heard this afternoon....and again....and again. Ok, so here's the scoop. I found a dresser on Craigslist that I wanted to buy to paint for a customer. Sounds good, huh, well here's where it went south (and I don't mean in a good way). The hubs and I set out to go pick it up, let me say I would rather drive than try to tell him how to get somewhere! So that was the first thing, fast forward to arriving at our destination. Hubs says "is it a townhouse" Girl "yes", ok stay with me because here is where "next time ask" comes in! Well, she didn't say the dresser was upstairs( girl mumbles). So as we go in, the Owner of the dresser, heads upstairs. I felt a sudden splash of egg on my face, and hubs there had chunked the proverbial egg. Well, as glass half full as I am realized immediately that it was a negatory! So hubs shows his he-man strength and lifts it to see how heavy it was, not gonna happen. So as you can imagine, I heard "next time ask questions" about a gazilion times. So we exchanged goodbyes in hopes of finding another strong male body to help him tomorrow!

On another note, "Daisy" sold today and so tomorrow I will post her final photo as she heads off to her new home! I found several new pieces today and so tomorrow is a "paint day" AKA no makeup, grubby clothes day. I love painting, it is therapeutic and rewarding (furniture doesn't care that I don't ask the questions, nah) we all need something that makes us feel good about ourselves.

I want to....help others more....think less about myself.....be more thankful.....always give thanks to God for the good, the bad and the times I ask "why" when I know he has all the a answers to my questions and even those I never ask.....till tomorrow......

Monday Monday....

Today was a whirlwind of a day....but I like those kind of days.  The kind of day when you get to ride around with your hubs in his truck looking at antiques, junk and getting him involved in Just a Girl and a Brush!  We live in Memphis, so lots of men drive trucks and it sure comes in handy hauling our treasures back to the room where the "magic makeovers" happen.  I seem to spend lots of time looking at Craigslist, so we took off on our journey to town about 80 miles from here.  I had high hopes for the trip but we only brought home a dining room table and a beautiful gold framed picture.

I will be sharing pics of both in the next few weeks.  I wanted to share a couple of pics today.  The first is a piece that I just sold and that will be picked up tomorrow.  So I bid ado to "indigo", she was indigo blue when she came home with me.

I have read many blogs that talk about how attached you get to a piece, well it is true.  But I think my hubs is worse about it than me!  Posting this pic would not be complete without me professing my undying love for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!  I tried it several months ago after reading about it on Miss Mustard Seed.   I had to travel to purchase some from Southern Institute of Faux Finishing.  I think it is pretty much the best thing since sliced bread (with the exception of Diet Coke, Peanut Butter and Chocolate) and I love working with it. It has made working on some pieces that scream "a step away from the dump" salvageable.
  Like "daisy"

Wait till you see her transformation! Ok, you talked me into a peek...

 Seeing the undesirable and realizing it is just like all the other chests, just needs attention.  In closing, I want to share a heartwarming link to a story that ran in the  Commercial Appeal on Saturday. It is the story of a homeless man who had been disformed by an accident.  I have seen him at many intersections around the area, and many times gave him money.  I noticed some people tried to avoid him so not to have to look at him and make eye contact.  Aren't we all God's creations and though all different and each a treasure......

Tina~ Just a Girl

The girl behind the brush.....

Like a little kid that has just come home from their first trip to the fair.....they are wide eyed, excited, so much to say and not sure where to begin- well that's this girl! I have been working towards this new chapter in my life for quite some time. It's taking that first step and putting yourself out there for all the world to see that's the scary part, but hopefully this journey will be one full of growth. I am looking forward to sharing my projects with the blog world. I love creating, whether it be a piece of furniture or a fabulous meal or even a pink princess party for my four year granddaughter! See for me, that is what drives me. I spend my Saturday mornings going to garage sales and my weekdays scouring Craigslist and thrift stores to find new treasures. I have so many projects that I want to do and a room full of furniture crying out for their turn at a makeover. I will be sharing lots of projects, ideas, a recipe every now and then, thoughts and some of my favorite quotes. So join me as I throw myself into blogland!

"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great."
 Joe Sabah  

Tina