Happy Memorial Day!

A friend and I were talking the other day and discussing the craziness of the month of May. She made an excellent comment that May is just as crazy as the month of December.

With all the Mother’s Day Tea’s, End of Year programs, dance recitals, and ballgames…our schedule is just simply jammed packed.

This past week was was such a whirl-wind. With Hunter’s preschool graduation, Dallas catching a stomach bug {yuck}, her dance recital and dress rehearsal, and school stuff, and purchasing a new car, we were running from here to yonder every day non stop, and this mama was t.i.r.e.d.!

The end of and era hit our house this week. Hunter, our “baby”, graduated preschool. He will start kindergarten in July and I cannot wrap my mind around this. But none-the-less, preschool payments and short mornings away have ended, and his preschool did such a great job with their graduation.

Here’s Hunter with his big sister the morning of his graduation. How in the world are they getting so big???

I’m one proud mama of my “little man”.

After graduation, it was time to switch gears from Hunter to Dallas. She had her dress rehearsal for her dance recital and then recital on Saturday. She is such a great dancer. We laugh all the time because she is the child who absolutely hates attention on her. She does not like to bring any attention her way…except when it comes to dancing. That girl loves a stage! She turns into a different person when she’s up there. She’s all smiles and loves every minute of it!

I couldn’t be more proud of this girl!!!

What a great way to start Memorial Day weekend. Having family in town to help us celebrate two great accomplishments of our children.

I hope y’all have had a great Memorial Day weekend as well. But, let us not forget why we celebrate this weekend. Yes, dance recitals, graduations, and ball games are all exciting and fun, but we have this extra day off work to enjoy with our families for a reason….today we celebrate our veterans. He honor them and remember them, for it is they who keep this country safe and free so that we may enjoy fun times with our families.

So, as you head out to the lake, pool, or cook-outs with friends, take a moment and teach your children why we get to celebrate this day.

Let us NEVER forget those who fight for our freedom…our VETERANS.

The Tale of a Martini Bar… {that almost wasn’t}

There once was a martini bar that was sad. It needed a new home. Someone to take care of it, love it, and give it a fresh coat of paint.

This is the tale of a martini bar…{that almost wasn’t}.

Last fall sometime I bought a martini bar basically sight unseen. One Friday afternoon I was on Facebook and came across a consignment store in my hometown. They had posted a martini bar. It caught my eye immediately. I looked at the two pictures they had and knew I had to have that thing.

I’ve been looking for a piece to go in my dining room since I finished it a year and a half ago. When I saw the martini bar I knew it was it.

Being from a small town where everyone knows everyone, I called my mama and daddy and asked if they could go up and take a look at it. Seeing this store is their favorite in town, it didn’t take much begging on my part.

They went up the next day and purchased it for me.

I loved the retro-ness of it. But bless it’s heart, it needed A.L.O.T. of lovin’.

The gold strip on the bottom was peeling off, the sides were a bit beaten up, and there was some water damage on top.

But, you have to take a look at the inside of this baby.

How cool is this?? It’s very Mad Men. I just loved it.

When I picked it up from my parent’s in December, got it home, and put it in my dining room, I knew that this is where this baby belongs. And, with some TLC and some paint it would be perfect.

Once the weather warmed up, it was time to start this fun project.

After much debate I decided to paint the bar a dark blue. I thought it would match with a dark blue that was in the material on the chair covers.

Off to Lowe’s I went. I talked to my favorite paint guy there and decided to try a new paint.

My guy said this paint is made for painting furniture although he’s never known anyone to use it. Well, you would think that would be clue number 1 to run far away from this paint, but no not me. I found it a challenge. Let’s try this new paint and see what she has to offer.

I sanded and primed the martini bar once I got it outside and cleaned.

I then started painting. I wish I could say that I fell in love with this paint and would use it again…b.u.t. unfortunately I cannot say that.

The paint is very thick. It goes on well, but it’s quite thick. It reminds me of tempra paint teachers used to mix up and use when I was in elementary school.

There is really no odor which is good, but it still is very thick. Also, I had to use lots of coats {I believe 5} to get a consistent coverage. I’m not sure if that ‘s from the wood or from the paint being such a dark color.

But let’s move on…After days and days of painting and one coat of polyurithane, my martini bar was finished.

When I started painting, I knew I wanted to keep the “coolness” and retro feeling, so I decided to paint the inside a lighter blue to match the colors of the walls.

After a week of painting and drying the bar was finished and back in the dining room.

I loved it!

I got all the drawers back in and closed the doors, stepped back and smiled.

I went to go open the doors to put things in…and they wouldn’t budge. I tried the drawers. Not budging.

Somehow, the paint even though it was very dry had the drawers and doors stuck closed.

NOOOOOOO!!!!

I tried everything that I could think of. I pulled, and pushed, and screamed, and fussed. Yes, I even cried. I got so angry at my pretty little martini bar I was about ready to throw it out the window. I was hot!

A friend of mine gave me the idea to use cooking spray like Pam. Never thought of that one. But it worked like a charm. I still check them every now and then. They don’t open and close smoothly but they’re not stuck anymore, so I’ll take it.

And, that’s the story of my martini bar…{that almost wasn’t}.

I have to say that even though this thing made me so mad I could’ve spit, I absolutely love it. It is now perfect in my dining room.

Anyone up for a drink?

Thanks for stopping by. I hope this gives you a little incentive to find an old piece of furniture, and give it some love with a fresh coat of paint. You won’t be sorry!

S~

Catching up

Well, hello there. I seriously cannot believe it’s been a month since I’ve last posted. What on earth???

Well, my daughter had her last track out so for the last 4 weeks we’ve been spending some quality mommy/daughter time together. This was the last track out with just her. Next time, Hunter will be in kindergarten (sigh*) and they’ll be out together. So, I was enjoying some time with just my little girl…if only for 4 hours a day.

We had a blast. We painted nails, went shopping, had lunch dates, crafted, and spent all kinds of money. Ha! It’s crazy, but it’s expensive. I guess because our breaks are broken throughout the year instead of all summer we’re cramming things in in a few weeks and trying to keep them busy and happy. My good friend calls herself the “Happy Birthday Clown” which cracks me up to no end because I feel that way too sometimes… “look at me kids. Let me keep you busy…heaven forbid you get bored.” Haha! Just a running joke with all of us year-round parents. I do love the year round schedule though. Having family all over, it’s nice to break our trips up throughout the year instead of traveling all summer.

The last couple of weeks we spent traveling and seeing friends. We went to Delaware for a few days to see Eric’s family and our nephews. I have to say, I’m one blessed girl to have in-laws who will take me and my kids in for days while my husband is traveling. We had a ball. The weather was beautiful {unlike here at home}, so we took the kids to the Philadelphia zoo one day and played outside as much as possible. The kids get along so well. It’s always so much fun to see them play and grow together…just wish we lived a little closer.

Here’s a few pics from our trip.

Dallas has a little obsession with turtles these days {hence the shirt}, so she L.O.V.E.D. the huge tortoises.

Hunter loved the tigers. He did not want to leave.

Personally, I loved the giraffes. They are so graceful and exquisite looking.

For once, I got out from behind the camera. Thanks, Leigh for taking a picture.

And Noah, just had to be with the big kids…super cute little guy.

We had lots of outside time because of the beautiful weather.

After returning home from Delaware, the kids and I had enough time to do laundry, repack, and get 2 good nights of sleep before we gallivanted off again.

Next stop, Kentucky!

It’s been since September {entirely too long} since I’ve seen my best friend and her family. It stinks we live so far away from each other. The kids and I made the 8 hour trek in not very nice conditions to Lexington to spend a few days with the Trimble’s.

Not many pictures were taken because we were SO busy. But we went to dinner one night and while everyone was sitting in one spot together, at the same time, I took a couple of pics there.

These two were first friends. We always get a picture of them together to see how much they’ve changed over the years.

My they are growing much too fast!

The trips were both great. It was so nice to get away and have some fun with friends and family.

We are now back in the groove as they say. Dallas is back in school, and I’m trying to catch up on all things mommy. I hope to get some fun projects I’ve been working on up soon.

For now, I’m off to dance. Y’all take care!

Happy Thursday!

S~