Loulou

God makes beautiful things….even through scammers.

2012-01-08T11:41:00.001-08:00

When I look back today at that devastating moment just a couple of short months ago it seems like yesterday and 10 years ago at the same time. That day became a defining moment in my life and more importantly my relationship with Jesus. I'm actually sitting in the same spot on my sofa (not intentionally) where I was when the realization that we had been attacked by evil hit me. I can't really explain that moment...The moment when I KNEW that it was a lie. I do need to make something clear here. At this point WE STILL THOUGHT SHE HAD A BABY. That we weren't getting the baby was devastating enough, but more than anything else we were frantic for the safety of that baby... In my mind there was an innocent little angel being sold to the highest bidder. I didn't know that she had gotten that picture of "Jeremiah" from the Internet or a picture frame at the dollar store. I was operating on the assumption that the baby was in danger. In this short period of just a few minutes I experienced every human emotion possible....well, except for happy and all words that mean the same. There was no happiness here at that point. Just try to picture a dark hole of devastation sucking every thing out of me. When she texted me (the coward refused to talk) that she wasn't giving us the baby my first emotion was devastation.... I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach. Literally. I was sobbing and gagging...I kept thinking I would throw up. I remember the exact look in Andrew's eyes. I saw pain...His pain wasn't about the baby. I could see how hurt he was seeing ME hurt. What do you say in a moment like that? There are no natural words... there is nothing HUMAN that can be done for a broken heart. My heart was broken...not just for the baby.. mostly for humanity or the loss of it. HOW in the world could someone be SO evil? How could a mother use a child for financial gain? How could someone be so flippant about the hurt she caused others? I can tell you how, and his name is Satan. I would experience extreme grief then anger. Serious anger. Anger like DeAmberdevilgirlyoubetterbegladIcan'tgetmyhandsonyoubecauseIdon'tknowwhatIwoulddotoyou anger. I remember holding my cell phone contemplating all the ways I was going to let this evil girl have it...Oh, trust me. I had some fine things planned for her......

Then everything changed, and his name is Jesus.

I love Jesus. Every day when I wake up He is my first coherant thought. I try my best every second of every day to do what He would have me to do. At least that's what I say. I've had the opportunity many times in my life to do what He wanted me to do in that moment, but this was the first time I obeyed.

As I was about to type my very human selfish message to DeAmber (as she called herself) I was filled with the MOST AMAZING LOVE I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED IN MY LIFE. Love. For DeAmber. For the girl who had just devastated my entire family and broken my heart. Love. Pure love. Instead of being the angry person I wanted to be, I let Jesus make me who HE wanted me to be. I got to feel a TINY fraction of the love he feels for us....the love he has for us NO matter what we do...kill, lie, cheat, steal...selfishness, vanity, anger, entitlement. It grieves him to no end, but He loves us anyway. So... instead of lashing out at her in anger I let Him give me the words for her...the words that told of the love He had for her, which was evident in the fact that He was having me reach out to her instead of hating her. I told her that I couldn't imagine what had happened in her life that made it seem like what she did was ok or made her capable of doing it. I told her that Jesus loved her and was reaching out to her at that moment. She didn't care. I think that's what hit me the hardest. She didn't care what He was offering her after she did what she did. In her mind she had done nothing wrong. It didn't matter how she had hurt not only Andrew and me but also our children...She didn't care..... or she did care but was so full of evil she didn't want to try to fight for herself. I don't know...

When her attitude of indifference was apparent things changed. The Holy Spirit was giving me things to say to her that would NEVER come out of MY mouth. I would NEVER be bold enough to say the truths he had me say to her. I'd try to walk away, and He'd bring me back to tell her something else. When she wasn't responsive Jesus told me it was ok "to dust off my shoes and walk away". (Matthew 10:6). So I did.

Wow. I didn't know how else to explain what had just happened. Wow. How do you explain what had just happened to me?? With words??? I didn't really know how. As amazing as this sounds the MOST amazing part of this story hasn't happened yet. I started explaining to my dear spirit twin Andrea what had happened with words... Not texts. Words. Words that enter the atmosphere...words that are HEARD by all. Something happened in that moment when I spoke the words of God...the words He gave me to speak. WHEN THE WORDS CAME OUT THE WALL CAME DOWN, and OH How the wall came down.

The power of the words of the Lord. Amazing power people. That part of the story comes next, and I promise. It's GOOOOOOD. This is where the happy comes back.

Dear God, thank you for this part of my life, and thank you for allowing me to share it with these people. Most of these people I've never met or will never know. I know there is a purpose in all you do, and I pray that this story you've given me will give someone somewhere what they need. It's not about me. It's all about you, and your honor, and your amazing glory. Please use what you've done in me to touch the person or people out there that you've had me share this story for. Please lead all those who need it to this place to read it. My biggest prayer is that through this you would lead someone to you in a way they've never experienced before. It's all for you. I love you with my everything. Amen.

I am usually hesitant about sharing this entire story with "strangers", but I've come to realize that it's not MY story. It belongs to Jesus, and the whole purpose is to glorify him and bring more people to his Kingdom. I'm asking that you share this story. Share it on your blogs, on your Facebook, through your email. Send to who God leads you to.....

Part one of the story can be found here, and the story of how we were led to adopt again can be found here.

At least she was a professional scammer….

2012-01-05T12:30:00.001-08:00

I want to share this story, although it was one of the most painful experiences of my life.

It all started with this woman:

And this baby:

The story of what happened to us is here. I’ve copied a part of it for you to have here. If you go to the page and the video I’m the woman in the shadow. I didn’t want my face broadcast all over the place, but I thought it was important to tell our story.

A Fairhope woman who wanted to remain anonymous believes evil exists and it's found in Oklahoma. "Disbelief that someone could be so evil, and what amounted to $600 and something dollars," said a Fairhope woman who did not want to be identified.Oklahoma police say 20-year-old DaVanna Dotson faces eight felony charges for fraud. Her alleged crimes spans several states including Texas, Kansas, Alabama and Utah.Dotson was arrested in Oklahoma, where she lived on September 23 of this year. Police there said she preyed on people desperate for a child of their own."She says she has a baby born August 30, three weeks old. And she needed money to get to Mobile, and needed a home for the baby," said the Fairhope woman.Through a series of texts and phone calls, police say Dotson makes hopeful adoptive parents believe their dreams of having a family are coming true. Dreams pinned on a picture of a newborn baby boy she calls Jeremiah.

Text, after text, after text, police say Dotson assured potential adoptive parents like one Fairhope woman that she wants them to adopt her son. But first, she needs gas money to bring them the baby. A baby they've been dreaming of. The twisted tale of text messages describes a mother desperate to get back to Mobile and give baby Jeremiah a home. The Fairhope woman said Dotson asked her for $400 to pay for her trip from Oklahoma to Mobile and then asked for even more money. See for yourself in this excerpt from the text messages exchanged after Dotson describes trouble heading south. The Fairhope woman questions Dotson, who claims to be on the road driving to Alabama with the baby. Potential adoptive parent: Do you know where y'all are? How much further do you have?Dotson replies: Nine hours, I'm going to need more gas.

The Fairhope woman questions her further.

Potential adoptive parent: You don't have enough to make it here? I thought you said $400 was plenty for gas? I need to hear back from you. The worry intensifies. The potential adoptive mother: We sent you $575. We want to help you get here, we just need more information. Where are you now? Dotson: I can't stop, I rather drive. If you send me another $500, we can just do everything closed and I'll bring him straight to you then we can go from there.

The Fairhope woman explains she can't send anymore money, and ask a question she fears she knows the answer to.

Potential adoptive parent: Did you ever intend to place this baby?Dotson responds: Yes, but I am not placing him with you."It is hard to describe at first when the moment sank in it was all a lie that there was just no baby, just devastation," said the Fairhope woman."My husband was sitting there, and I was sobbing because we've already gone through failed attempts at adoption and this was hard on us."

The Fairhope woman is just one of the people Oklahoma police said Dotson scammed. Lynn Hamlin, an investigator with the Muskogee Police Department said she has never seen anything so sinister. She said Dotson's deviant detailed deception took place in eleven states, and possibly more. "It is so widespread. A lot of the victims were from Alabama," said Investigator Hamlin. “It was one of states; so to speak, she was working on at the time she was apprehended." Hamlin said recently an alleged victim has stepped forward who is from Perdido, Alabama. The alleged victim was given the same story as the Fairhope woman, and many others across the country. Hamlin said the Federal Bureau of Investigations could get involved in the case since it crossed state lines. "Hopefully, we can get the FBI involved also and that gives us more resources that our State's District Attorney's Office," said Hamlin.

This story was well written except for one part:

Police there said she preyed on people desperate for a child of their own.

I’m not “desperate” for a baby. I wasn’t clinging to some hope that they was “the answer to our dreams”. In all reality I thought that we were helping a girl get home. I had actually told Andrew the night before that if we didn’t end up with her baby that at least we had helped someone get home. There was never a baby though.

I’m not telling this story so anyone will feel sorry for me…That’s not it at all. Something amazing happened to me at this time, and it has ended up being one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I know this post has a lot of information, so I’m going to tell the other part of the story in another post coming soon.

Love you guys.

Dear God, Are you there? It's me. Loulou.

2011-12-31T09:32:00.000-08:00

I've been thinking about this blog lately.... How I miss it. How I miss writing down all my feelings and experiences. In the past whenever I've had hard times or troubles I've written about them, but this time in my life has been different. I really don't know why. I have had more hardships, trials, and just plain old bad stuff happen to me over the last 5 months. I've also had the most amazing experiences with God that I've ever had in my life. Why haven't I written about them? I've always gotten so much love and support from the blogging community and other adoptive parents. All I can figure out this time is that I needed to learn to rely on God alone. I needed to learn that instead of writing everything down and calling my best friends that I needed to go straight to Him....Straight to the source of all strength and comfort. God has taught me so much about myself in these last few months and has given me a glimpse of who He intended me to be. I still have A LONG way to go, but I'm on my journey. I'm on my path. At times I've stumbled over fear and doubt, but He keeps pulling me back up. I'm going to try to tell you all some of what's happened to me over the next few posts. I don't know if anybody will read this, but I know that I'll be happy to have it one day.

I shared a while back that God had let me know that there was another baby for us. I fought against it harder than I've ever fought God, but He showed me through much prayer and time with him that he was trying to give us the biggest blessing in the world. Once I accepted it I had such peace. I felt such urgency at the beginning...like I had to get stuff done NOW....it couldn't wait. I had to do all I could in my power to get things ready. So. I did. He led me directly to our attorney that we had gone to church with a few years before, and we knew we were where we were supposed to be. At that time I honestly felt that God would seriously be dropping a baby on my doorstep at any moment.(I still don't doubt that could happen, but my feelings about it have changed tremendously).

Since August we have had 2 failed adoptions, 1 match fall through, and we've been scammed by an adoption scammer. We have totally drained our adoption account through these situations. Nice huh? I had never been so sure about God speaking to me in my life. I KNEW what he had told me, but I was so utterly confused and disillusioned by all the things that were happening around me. With each of these experiences I went through times of serious doubt and confusion that I KNEW weren't from God. I couldn't understand WHY all these things were happening to us, and I know that I will never understand. I don't need to. I never doubted His unending love for me or the promises he made. I think as Christians we all go through the times of, "WHY GOD? WHY is this happening to us?"...especially when we are doing His will. It's taken me time to digest a lot of what happened, but I learned that the devil comes after us the most when we are truly living for God and desiring to do his will. The closer we get to God the more threatened the bad one gets, and he unleashes all he has against us. Of course he does. Does Satan want families living godly lives? No. He'd rather see them torn apart by sins of the world. Does Satan want orphans to find families. No. Of course he doesn't. Everytime one of the fatherless comes to a Christian family Satan knows he's lost another one. He doesn't like losing. I've actually told him several times out loud that he may has well scamper away. He's not getting me or my family, and he's certainly not keeping me from the plans God has for me.

With each of the losses so many people remarked that if it was God's will then it would have happened. I trust God and know that he didn't want to see us hurt over and over, but I disagree with that viewpoint. As I questioned God about these things He gave me answers. The thing is, God DOES have a perfect plan for all of us. Does God's will always happen? No. It doesn't. We live in a world of free choice. If God's will always happened there would be no pain. No sadness. No orphans. No hurt. No sin. Every one of us has choices to make each and every day.... to do his will or our own. We are all given the opportunity to choose. Those of us who love him strive to make the right choices, but ALL are given the chance to do the right thing. It's up to us to have God's will done on this earth. We are the vessels. All of us...believers and unbelievers have to COOPERATE with God in order for his will to be fulfillied. Regardless of belief EVERYONE has the knowledge of good and bad inside them. They KNOW that they are or aren't doing the right thing. People KNOW when they are being selfish. They just don't care that they're selfish. They let their selfish desires rise above what is best of anyone else including their children. I have seen SO much ugly on this journey.... ugly I didn't even know existed. I have also seen beauty from the ashes. I have seen God take all that ugliness and use it to bring me closer to him. As I've experienced pain over and over I've also felt more love than I knew was possible. God's sweet perfect love has picked me up over and over. I know that some people close to me have questioned why we keep going forward. Can't we see that God really doesn't want us to adopt again? Haven't we learned anything from these things that have happened? Can't we see what God's really trying to tell us? I wish I could make them understand that although I know they love me those words mean nothing to me. I choose to trust man or God. I choose God. I choose God. I choose God today, and I will choose God tomorrow. I'm learning to trust and grow in the times of quiet. I'm learning that he is the lamp unto my feet. If I follow that light I can't get lost. That doesn't mean that I won't experience hard times and pain. Quite the contrary. When we follow that light we are subjected to ridicule and suffering. Darkness doesn't like the light, but darkness doesn't understand that it's impossible to put that light out. That light will never go out.... That light will shine for eternity, and I am so thankful that beautiful light is here to direct me where to go. I'm going to share over time where the light is leading me. I'm going to share all of it. The good. The bad. The beautiful. The ugly. The joy. The despair. All of it. I know that at the end of this journey there is ultimately a brighter light and SO MUCH JOY. I know that God is blessing our family and will continue to do so. I know God has a plan for us. A plan for us to prosper and not be harmed...a plan that has a hope and a future. I honestly am looking forward to EVERY step along the way and am joyfully expectant of all the good he will continue to bring. I don't worry about the bad and the ugly. He can handle that all by himself.... I choose not to be burdened by the bad and the ugly. I choose joy. JOY. Joy is goooooood. Don't you agree?

I have done A LOT of sewing for the girls… These are just a few things I’ve made.

The girls in this year’s Christmas outfits:

Essie with her DS purse I made for her:

Anne Pearce with her fabric dollhouse purse I made:

Inside of dollhouses:

with my girlies

Fun peasant top out of some saved Heather Ross fabric. I love this picture of my Essie

and this one of Anne Pearce:

Lou Lynn- the world's most persistant control freak

2011-09-11T13:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, that would be me. I haven't been writing during this adoption process, and I see now that I should. It's not about who (or if anyone) reads this. It's about me being honest and accountable to God and myself. The truth isn't always easy to face. In fact, most of the time it's our instinct to run away from it. It's hardest to admit that there's something wrong with us... not other people, US. These past few weeks have been some of the most difficult times I've had with my faith. I've been questioning God instead of questioning my own motives and my own selfish desires. See? We didn't want another baby. We were content and as happy as could be. Then BAM! The world as we knew it came tumbling down. We grudgingly accepted God's will and decided to move forward on this journey to another child, our son. I was SO SURE at the beginning of this journey.. so sure of MYSELF. Not of God. That's where I always screw things up. He tells me things to do, and I submit (or so I think I do). I've realized that agreeing to do His will isn't submitting. We may be submitting to the actual task, but we have to submit totally, and give it all to Him. As Christians, haven't we heard this a million times? Let go, and let God. I tell myself rather indignantly that "Of COURSE I'm letting God! He's the one who told me to do this in the first place. Would I be doing this if I wasn't submitting?" That's how I've been justifying the fact that I've really been looking out for myself instead of letting Him lead the way.

There are some truths in this situation:

In my mind my age is one of the biggest factors I have against me. Let's face it. I'm 41. I may not feel (or look as most say) 41, but the number doesn't lie. I see myself raising a teenager in my 50's, and it scares the crap outta me. Most people will be have grandchildren (and it's likely that I will too) at this age, not raising teenagers. Everyday that creeps by without a baby means that I'm one day closer to oldness! :)

There's also this undeniable fact: When you adopt, your entire life is put on hold. I've never been good at putting this to the side and just living my life. Who can? It's a baby for Pete's sake. I HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M DOING EVERYTHING I CAN TO FIND HIM AND BRING HIM TO US. Tag. You're it. There it is as plain as day. I think I have to do things, when I don't. I don't have to go looking for a baby. He will send him. Now, that doesn't mean that I didn't have to find my fabulous attorney or get things together for our home study. All those things have to be done by me. God isn't going to come down here and get our last 2 years of tax records together...some of this IS our responsibility. It means that I don't have to be in charge of this. I don't have to spend every waking moment wondering if I'm supposed to call someone, or do something else to make this happen. I don't have to control this.

Yesterday an expectant mom had an appointment to view our profile. From the outside looking in it was THE PERFECT situation. No one could argue, so I decided that this was meant to be. God had lined this up Himself, and THIS was our baby. Big surprise, it wasn't. I had my heartbroken and was screaming out to Him asking WHY HE had let me be broken again. AGAIN! Every time this happens (it's been twice so far) I feel like I've had a miscarriage. WHY in the world would he put me through that pain again? The thing is that HE didn't. I did this all to myself. I convinced myself that what I wanted was God's will. How could it not be?? It was PERFECT! Didn't God himself make all things perfect happen?? Of course He does. When it's His will, not mine. I had let the desires of my soul override what His Spirit was telling me and doing in me. I let that voice of selfishness speak over His Holy Voice. Yesterday morning as I was SO sure that this was it I heard this tiny whisper inside myself saying, "This isn't it". I heard it a few times and hushed it. THAT wasn't God! That must be the devil trying to weaken me. It WAS God. He was trying in His loving way to let me know that this wasn't going to happen, but I chose to shut that sound out and hear what I wanted to hear. I wanted this to be our baby in every way. I had orchestrated this most amazing plan in my head and boldly told everyone that THIS was God's will. I KNEW it, because He told me. It was a beautiful plan, but it wasn't His.

After that happened yesterday I had myself a big ol' fit. I screamed at Andrew and had a marvelous pity party. I declared how we should just return every single baby item we had bought in preparation. WHY keep all these things when it may not even happen? What was the use? It took me a while to get this together in my meager mind: All this preparation is FAITH. FAITH AND COMPLETE TRUST IN GOD. Faith that He is going to follow through with what He first told me in my bathtub not even 2 months ago. He is going to send our son. Oprah would be proud, as I've finally had my aha moment.... Lou Lynn is not in charge of this adoption. Or this day. Or this life. It's not in my hands. It's all about grace. The grace and love that only comes from the Creator. THE Alpha and Omega. The It and All.. Our Father in Heaven. He lets me wake up every morning and be a wife and mother. He gives me the love to pour out on my family and those around me. He does it all. Why in the world would I ever think that a plan I created could be better than the plan God has for my family? It's not. In fact, I suck at trying to be in charge of my world and circumstances. Everything God does is perfection, and I know that the plan He has is more amazing than anything I could ever dream up myself.

So what happens now? I'm going to be still and wait. Wait and listen. Wait until He unfolds His plan and brings me my son. I don't have any idea when this will be. At the beginning I felt that it would be soon, and that was why I felt such urgency to get things done fast. Now? I don't know. It may be months from now, or it may be tomorrow. Either way I know it's His timing and not mine. I'm finally going to do what I've claimed to have done in the past. I'm going to truly let go, and let God. Just typing that brought a smile to my face and tears in my eyes all at the same time. Jesus is going to do this and carry me along the way. He will order my steps and the way my baby comes to me. I don't know about the rest of you, but I can't wait to see how this turns out. Ain't God just something else? Yes peeps He is, and I for one am so incredibly thankful that He is.

Love to all,

Buckle up, and hold on tight.

2011-08-07T21:45:00.000-07:00

God has made some major changes in our lives last week. This time last week we were still fighting God's desire for our family. Today we're all on board. What's this new mission we're on? After 2 biological sons and 2 adopted girls we are officially adopting our 5th child. Two weeks ago if you would have asked me if we were adopting more I would've said, "NO. NO. We are DONE." I actually said that if God wanted me to adopt another child that He would have to deliver him to our doorstep. At this point I'm not putting it past Him.

In the last week God has changed my heart from a mother who thought her family was complete into a mother whose heart is filled with love and longing for a baby. It's truly amazing. I will admit that it wasn't easy getting to this point. I argued with God more about this than I ever have. The following is a conversation I had with Him last week while I was in the bathtub:

Me: God? Ummm. I need some clarification from you.... Is this screaming in my head about a new baby from you or some secret longing I didn't know I had?
God: All good things come from me.
Me: God. I'm 41 and have 4 children
God: So?
Me: I was just starting to get my life back. Andrew and I have been able to travel, and we won't be able to do ANYTHING again for years.
God: It isn't about YOU.
Me: I thought I was done.
God: Are you ever done serving me?
He then showed me all the times over the last 3-4 months when I've had a conversation with people considering adoption. Over and over I heard, "I've always wanted to adopt, BUT". I never let them past the but. Don't give me buts. I have a pacemaker and health issues. If I can do it anyone can. God only whispers to certain people about adoption. If you're getting that nudge what are you waiting for? "Well, we don't have the money, and I heard it was expensive." I hit right back with the fact that God sent over $64,000 over for both of the girl's adoptions. Don't give me excuses! If you're supposed to do it, then just do it for Pete's sake...

Yada
Yada
Yada

After that I actually laughed out loud in the tub. He gives it to me as good as I give it! :) After some intense conversations with Andrew (who hadn't given into the nudging) we finally agreed that "if God is going to make us do it we will. But we don't want to." What a crappy attitude I had. I was having these urgent feelings to get started...I couldn't sleep or eat...My stomach was upset constantly. I called several agencies. They were all great, but I didn't feel like my baby was there. I finally made some big decisions Thursday (I'll share later) and was at peace. I knew we were on the right track to our baby.

Friday I was cleaning my house with my headphones on listening to my Christian music. All of a sudden I heard some lyrics that completely got my attention. I started bawling and was just covered with His Spirit. I tear up now just thinking about it. I realized in that moment that while I was fighting God and demanding explanation He was trying to give me the biggest blessing He can give. While I was whining He was trying to make me mother to another child. Me. Lou. He trusted ME with another one of his beloved. I was overcome with humility and immense gratitude. I just stood there crying and thanking Him. Last night at church He confirmed so much to Andrew and me with music and the message. We went to the altar where we both cried like babies and prayed for our son. See. I know the baby's a boy. I just feel it in my heart, and Andrew does too. I have NO idea when he's coming, but I do feel it will be soon...The way God changed us so quickly and gave me all those urgent feelings are for a reason He will reveal in time...

You know what? If we wouldn't have listened and ignored Him we would've been abandoning our child and denying our family of the love and joy he will bring. Wouldn't have that been awful? More awful that words can say? Now I can't imagine not being on this path running towards my son.

I invite you all to share this journey with us. If you're not a long time reader let me fill you in on something: God LOVES to do some crazy amazing business with our adoptions. He LOVES to perform visible miracles, and they're a sight to behold. This journey isn't only about the baby...it's also about my continuing journey towards Jesus. Everyday He brings me closer, and I can't wait to see what He does for our son. I promise He will amaze you. He rocks like that. God loves to show out with adoptions. :)

So peeps, if you're going to hang around buckle up, and hold on tight. I don't know what God is going to do for all of us through this, but I know He's going to bring me my son in a HUGE way. I just feel it.

How amazing is our God? I mean seriously. How AMAZING IS OUR GOD? He amazes me more with each and every day.

I'm going to give more details over the next few days about all we're doing and how we're proceeding. It's such an exciting time. I am going to ask every single one of you to pray for our son and his birthmother. I am praying for her peace and to have His direction with her decision. I pray for the health of our birthmother and especially our baby. Do you want to know his name?

Oliver Andrew Lynn.
Ollie for short.

Come along with me on my journey to Ollie.
Edited... There has been a name change (or 10), but his name is OFFICIALLY
John Andrew Lynn... Our John Andrew

I love you guys.

A New Awakening

2011-08-03T15:14:00.001-07:00

There are many reasons for my long blogging absence. I took time to really look at myself and what I wanted for my life. I’ve always loved the Lord and felt His presence in my life. His presence was especially strong during the adoptions… Once Essie came home things changed..life stopped… All of a sudden we were basically trapped at home. Essie couldn’t bear for me to be out of her sight, so church was out of the question. I’ve noticed that when I’m not in fellowship that it’s so easy to slip out of “The Walk”. Life in the natural world takes over…we start worrying about the day to day things going on, and His presence fades away. Granted. He’s always there. It’s us who push Him away. This spring I experienced the biggest hunger for God. I knew that Jesus was calling me, and I wanted to listen. He started speaking to me through music and people around me… He started whispering in my ear and pulling me back to Him. Out of the blue one day I announced to Andrew that we were visiting a church close to Fairhope named Bay Community. As soon as we walked in that church we knew we were home. I couldn’t get enough of my Bible. I read and understood more than ever before. I’ve almost completed the entire Bible in a little over 3 months. God has put so many people in my life that have helped me on my walk back to Him. Our entire lives have changed! We have always been a happy family, but things are different. I’m closer to Jesus than I ever have been. My focus has changed.

I began to see that I was always looking for acceptance from you guys. I NEEDED for you to like the things that I did… I was too worried about it. I want to share my life but not for attention or adoration. I just want to be real. Some HUGE things have happened to me and my family, and I’m going to be sharing those things… I will tell you that we have something BIG happening in our lives right now. That’s a post or 10 in itself that I’ll tackle soon.

God has put so many GOOD CHRISTIAN friends in my path. Some are new friends…some are old… All are loved. He has blessed me so much, and I just want to share it with you guys. I’m sure there will be furniture and clothes posts, because those are things I love to do… There will be more about my family and our journey to the things God has in store for us. I hope you’ll tag along, but it may not interest you. That’s ok too. I’ve learned that those who need to read it will find it.

Love to all of you.

Needle and Thread Thursday. Damask bunny fabric oh my!

2011-03-31T13:47:00.001-07:00

I actually bought this yummy fabric last year but never did anything with it. Sometimes I do that. That MAY be the reason I have 3 huge storage containers full of fabric.. :) Anyway, when I started thinking about a style of outfit that I wanted to make my girls this fabric immediately came to mind. My girls are in love with bunnies, and I knew they’d love them.

These may just be my ALL TIME FAVORITE outfits I’ve made the girls. Is this outfit love or what?

The top was made using the Cathy pattern by Jennifer Paganelli. You can make either a top or dress with this pattern, and it’s SO EASY. I’m already thinking what I’m going to make next with this pattern. You can buy this and all Jennifer’s other patterns here.

Close up of the ruffle neck. I opted to make a rolled hem with my serger instead of the hemmed edges shown in the pattern. I shortened the width by an inch to accommodate this change. The hemmed edge also looks fabulous, but the rolled hem is so quick and easy.

I love the super long ruffle on the bottom of the top. It’s so girly and twirly! You can see some of the bunnies in this shot.

I used my favorite SewSensible Boutique bottoms pattern for the pants. I made them capri length, lengthened the ruffle, and used a rolled hem here as well instead of a hemmed one. These pants are so easy and always turn out so precious. You can get the paper version of this pattern here and the downloadable pattern (I use this one) here.

We had a little impromptu photo shoot after their bath last night. Here’s Essie. I know she’s mine, but how adorable is this kid?? Seriously.

My other little model. Anne Pearce wanted to sleep in hers. :)

Do ya think she’s a ham? Ya think?

Essie was trying to watch American Idol and model at the same time.

I can’t remember where I got the fabric last year, but I found mine on Etsy. I couldn’t find any when I googled, which makes me wonder if it’s been discontinued. I should’ve bought 10 yards! This collection is by Tula Pink and is named Hushabye, Let me know if you guys find any…

I’ve really been on a sewing spree lately. Sometimes I have no interest in it and at others I want to live at my sewing machine. I have fabric ironed and ready for these 2 patterns:

This is Sewsensible’s applique apron skirt. I haven’t made it in a LONG time and am excited to make it again.

I also can’t wait to try this new pattern. It’s the Boardwalk Ruffle Sleeve Dress by Monkeysbug.

Don’t hesitate to ask me any questions you have about sewing or these patterns. I would love to help anyone jump in and start sewing!

Love and hugs,

Linking to:

What the heck is wrong with you? Part 3

2011-03-29T07:44:00.001-07:00

Part 1

Part 2

This next part of my life is both wonderful and incredibly dark at the same time. Wonderful because I was blessed with my 2 boys, and the dark? It was just dark. I’m not trying to slander jackass exhubby (who will now be known as JEH IF I have to mention him). I honestly am going to mention him as few times as possible. I REFUSE to give him any more power or influence than he’s taken. He and his wife have also been known to stalk my blogs, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re sitting there reading this together plotting how to “get me back”. That used to bother me…. Now they have no power. I’m also not telling EVERYTHING. There are some things that are just private.

Long story short I got married, moved to Texas from Alabama, and started my first teaching job. I knew immediately that the marriage wasn’t what it needed to be. Why did I stay? You’ll see in a minute. As soon as we got to TX I made an appt with an ob/gyn. I had been having SO many problems with my “lady business”, and I needed my BC pills. During the exam I flinched with immediate pain. The doctor looked at me and asked if I’d ever been diagnosed with endometriosis… Huh? What the heck is that? I’d never even heard of it. You can read a wonderful explanation of endometriosis here. I had my first scope the next morning. Basically I was covered. The dr. came out and told JEX that if we wanted babies we needed to have them then, or I would probably never be able to. I was 23 years old, miles away from my family and friends, about to start my first teaching job, and scared to death. I will NEVER regret the decision I made that day, because this is the way God chose to send me my boys. Those boys are so precious to me, and I would go back and live through it all again to have them. They are worth it.

4 months later I was pregnant. Within 3 weeks I was the sickest pregnant lady you can imagine. Not only was I throwing up every single hour I was also dizzy all the time. I was stumbling everywhere. I was teaching my first class of third graders and was missing so much work. At my next appt the nurse looked at me in that funny “oh my goodness there’s something really wrong with you” look after she took my blood pressure. It was LOW. Low is not a low enough word. I had to wear some serious compression hoses just to make it through the day. I lost 12 lbs before I ever gained one. I weighed 114 lbs when I was 3 months pregnant. I was walking around (or trying to) in a constant state of dehydration. It was a difficult pregnancy from beginning to end. My uterus was shaped all wonky, and the placenta started growing across the bottom instead the side or top. All these are symptoms of DYS. Most women will have some really messed up lady business, and I certainly did. I had to have ultrasounds constantly…When I completed that school year I was about 5 months pregnant and was finally feeling better. I threw up for 5 months solid. Logan was a tough little baby in utero. He had to have been. That summer I laid around all the time. I would almost pass out every time I stood up and just felt crummy. There were lots of other complications…so many I can’t even remember them all.

The Friday that I was 37 weeks pregnant I felt worse than normal. I had a serious headache that wouldn’t go away. I just didn’t feel right. I had an appt. that afternoon, and my BP was sky high. Don’t you think that should’ve been a HUGE RED WAVING FLAG for someone who barely had a BP to start with? I didn’t know enough about that kind of stuff (23 years old :), but I KNEW something wasn’t right. When we got home from that appt I passed out in our yard on the way to the door. Passed out. 37 weeks pregnant. I will say that at this point it was the happiest part of this marriage. I really believe that EH loved me at this point as much as he knew how. If he would’ve been horrible I probably would’ve just lost it. He took me right back to the drs office where they took my BP AGAIN. It was a Friday afternoon, and I was one day shy of being 38 weeks. They should have taken me directly to the hospital and induced labor. Wanna know why they didn’t? My dr had a little vacay planned for the weekend. He actually said to me, “Come back Monday. If you’re still this bad we’ll induce.” Are you kidding me? The nurses even looked at him like he’d lost it. So home I went. I felt like I was gonna die, but didn’t the dr know what he was doing? He was a dr after all…. It was a scary few hours. My head hurt so stinkin’ bad I was crying. Somehow I fell asleep and slept until 2:00am. I woke up to go to the bathroom, and my water broke all over the place. I made all the necessary phone calls and headed to the hospital. When I got there they immediately took my BP and said it was dangerously high. If I didn’t respond immediately to the meds then I would have an emergency C section. The nurse came in to hook up the magnesium sulfate and did something to the IV that caused me to have an overdose. My eyes rolled back in my head, and I think I blacked out. She got it fixed (yeah thanks) and my BP did respond a little. It wasn’t enough to make the dr comfortable, so they gave me pitocin to speed the labor up. I got my epidural (during which they knicked my spinal column) and progressed quickly. I pushed for an hour and my little Logan was born. I’d like to say that was full of immediate love and was gushing, but all I was gushing was blood. When the nurses came in to check a few minutes after the birth they found the bed soaked with blood. It took them a while to get the bleeding to stop, and I was one point short of a blood transfusion. I know now that with my DYS I did need a transfusion, because I only have 80-85% of the blood volume of a normal person. To say I was sick doesn’t even cover it. My sisters arrived from Alabama about an hour after Logan was born. My BP was so out of control, but I can’t really tell you what happened. My sister was in nursing school at the time and knew enough to be furious at the lack of care I was receiving… I was released from the hospital less than 24 hours after that grueling delivery. SENT HOME. I wouldn’t have survived without Jenny and Lee. They took over, and I was glad to let them. I was trying to breastfeed and just wasn’t making any milk. Duh. I didn’t have any blood in my body. Logan was screaming with hunger by the next night. I was so sick and miserable, but EH wouldn’t hear of me not breastfeeding. I just had to “push through it”….didn’t I care about what was best for the baby? Honestly, I just wanted to be left alone. I had no interest in the baby and just wanted to sleep. I was having shooting pain all the way up my back to my neck (from the epidural) and couldn’t even look down when I was trying to nurse. That night when Logan was screaming Jenny and Lee got up, sterilized bottles, and fed that baby some formula. He guzzled 4 ounces without even taking a breath. At least with them bottle feeding him I could try to rest. Over the next 3 weeks I had my sisters, my ex inlaws, and FINALLY my mama. She knew I was sick and took over total care of me and let EH take care of Logan. I look back at pictures now and am astonished how I looked. I looked dead. I had NO color in my skin from losing all that blood, and my dark circles looked like black eyes. It’s a miracle I survived.

When my parents left and JEH went back to work I was scared to death. I was finally beginning to feel better but wasn’t normal yet. I remember rocking Logan after a bottle that week. I looked down at him and was amazed at the love I felt for him. It was like a light shone down from Heaven. This was MY baby. MY little man. MY Logan. I was so full of love for him and full of gratitude for God. That little man kept me sane and my life bearable. Thank God for Logan. What a miracle and blessing he is.

Over the next few months we moved home (hallelujah) and settled into life. Logan was a joy. My new dr. suggested that I not wait too long to try to get pregnant again. I got pregnant with Hayden the week Logan turned one. I just thought my first pregnancy was difficult! Hayden proved me wrong.

Part 4 coming soon

Springtime in the South

2011-03-27T08:04:00.001-07:00

Everything is gorgeous and blooming on the coast. All these beautiful azaleas have the SHORTEST bloom and are short lived, but we LOVE it. Everywhere you look in our town you see gorgeous azaleas, camellias, and wisteria. My sweet hubby worked in our yard all day Friday, and I thought I’d share some lovely with you.

Are azaleas across the front of the house aren’t blooming. Anyone know why they wouldn’t all of a sudden?

2 little girlies in pajamas stumbled in….

If you’re somewhere that’s cold and dreary maybe this will brighten your day. Not to rub it in, but this is where we were yesterday:

This is where you will find me every chance I get until fall. I’m going AT LEAST one day a week, sometimes ALL BY MYSELF. :)

Happy Sunday.

What the heck is wrong with you? Part 2 I need to backtrack some.

2011-03-26T14:37:00.000-07:00

As I was rereading Part 1 of my story I realized that I left out huge chunks of my life.

I was always a “sickly” child. I always came down with everything and got sicker than everyone else. The first organa that began showing problems were my kidneys. I had bladder infection after bladder infection when I was 12 or so. Ends up my urethra was bent and had to be repaired. I know you are probably wondering what the heck that has to do with dyautonomia, but here’s the thing: Dysautonomia is when your involuntary nervous system doesn’t work (I’m going to go into more detail about the actual condition later) nothing works. It affects every single part of your body. I can remember hitting puberty and having horrible periods from the beginning. Horrible cramps and bleeding would keep me in the bed for days and days. I was always anemic and needing supplements. I can remember not having regular stamina. I could never run as far and as hard as my friends… I WANTED to but just physically couldn’t. I don’t want you to think that I was bed bound for my childhood. I wasn’t. In fact, I had a fabulous childhood, but looking back it’s easy to see how the dysautonomia affected me even then.

Once the teen years really got going my symptoms got worse. My fatigue was unending and crippling. Every Saturday I would sleep until 1 or 2 in the afternoon. I was always tired. My daddy used to get so mad at me, because I would go out all weekend and then not be able to go to school on Monday mornings. I wasn’t playing hooky. I seriously could NOT get out of the bed. Nobody understood why, and they all thought I was making it up to an extent. It was the beginning of my senior year when things really began going downhill. I caught mono from kissing my stupid boyfriend at the time. Mono. Regular old mono that most people get at sometime in their lifetime. Most people get over it. I didn’t. It went on and on and on and on. At this time my sister Lee was working for a new doctor in Jackson. Dr. Thomas Kessler. My hero. He was the first one who got me…REALLY got me. He knew I wasn’t making it up. He spent the next month running every test known to mankind. That man is so smart and was so far ahead of his time. He wouldn’t rest until he knew why my symptoms refused to go away. I still remember the day he called us to come into his office for the results. He sat across that desk from me, and said you’re not crazy. You are a very sick young lady. You have a heart malfunction called Mitral Valve Prolapse and Epstein Barr Viral Disease. Huh? What the heck is that??? My immune system has always failed miserably. My body couldn’t fight off the mono and it turned into a long, lingering, life crushing version. My fatigue was horrible, and I couldn’t function. The faulty valve made it all worse….. I couldn’t get over it. It was so bad he almost didn’t let me go back to school to complete my senior year. It was October, and I was devastated. He finally agreed that I could go to school daily until 1:00, but then I was to go home and go to bed. I remember coming back to school after missing over a month… It was always so awkward to come back after a long absence. I would get so stressed and anxious that I would physically get sick. The day I returned I walked into my honors English class. I will NEVER FORGET what my teacher Danny Chancey said to me: “You may fool other people, but I’m not falling for it. You can’t pull anything over me. I will fail you.” Can you imagine?? I felt like throwing up in my desk. When I got home that day I was devastated and told my mama that I just wasn’t going back. She finally got what happened out of me. That 5 foot tall 98 pound woman was on fire. The next morning she marched up to that school with me and demanded to see Mr. Chancey. She showed him all my medical reports and told him that we wouldn’t be needing his help. She made the counselor (sweet Mr. Beverly) totally rearrange my schedule. He was so helpful, and I actually credit him with my completing high school at all. Somehow I managed. I remember at the end of my senior year being hit with horrible pain in my side. I thought that I was dying. Mama was out of town, so Jenny rushed me to the hospital. Both my ovaries were covered with cysts (this is also an effect of the dreaded d word). A doctor told me during that visit that I may never be able to have children. I was 17.

That Epstein Barr Viral disease hung around all during college. College was easier, because I could take late morning and afternoon classes. I didn’t overwhelm myself with too many classes. I kinda felt normal. :) Every now and then the D word would come raging it’s ugly head, and I’d have a horrible spell….At this time we thought it was just the EBV and my heart defect. I was still having horrible periods, and I was overcome by horrible migraines. I was always tired. Always. Feeling bad had just become my normal, and I learned to work around it. I was always a wild one in my teen years. I would drink and get into all kinds of trouble. Looking back I think it was me unconsciously fighting this condition. Maybe I was numbing myself… I don’t know. I can remember being drunk and my friends making me take my “heart pills”. Sometimes I wonder how I survived, but I did. I made it though college…. This is when the total jackass husband comes into play. You think it couldn’t get any worse?? Just wait.

What the heck is the matter with you? Why are you always so sick? Why can’t you just get up and get over it? This is the story of me and my Dysautonomia.

2011-03-25T12:51:00.001-07:00

I know that I have mentioned my condition here and there on my blog, but I felt that it was time to really tell my story and explain this condition. It’s too much to read in one sitting, so I’m going to break it up into parts.

Here’s part 1:

When I was diagnosed with dysautonomia in 2007 I didn’t even know what it was. Until a few months prior to diagnosis I’d never even heard of it. All I knew is that I was passing out all over the place almost everyday. I ached all over, had no energy, was so fatigued that words can’t even describe it, and had totally lost my quality of life. I was miserable….

I had gone through having a “mystery” illness all my life. I’ve been in and out of doctors offices and emergency rooms. I’ve had tests done on every part of my body. I’ve been told that I just need to exercise, that it was all in my head, and that it was just because I was hormonal and needed to learn to get a grip. That was very disheartening and humiliating. I was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse when I was 16 years old (Most people with dysautonomia have it). I went through some horrible times but was able to live life. Everybody just thought I was “sickly” and a hypochondriac. While I was in college I passed out several times and had to be taken to the ER by ambulance. By the time I got there my heart was fine again. I’d go through these cycles but always rebounded after a lot of rest.

When I was 27 years old my heart started going crazy. It was beating so fast I couldn’t even count the beats. I could stand up and have a pulse in the 200’s. Again I was in and out of different doctors just trying to find out what was wrong with me. I was so dizzy that I was blacking out (Remember this was 1997) and no one knew what was wrong with me. One night a good friend of mine was discussing my declining health with a nurse who mentioned the name of a fabulous cardiologist in Tuscaloosa, Alabama… I made an appointment and got worked in the next week. I was on the treadmill for a stress test less than 5 minutes when she said, “I know what’s wrong with you. You have inappropriate sinus tachycardia”. Huh? What the hell is that?? “It means that you have a deformed sinus node that makes your heart beat way faster than it needs to. You need a heart procedure done ASAP”. Wow. I went from not knowing what was wrong with me to being faced with a heart procedure. I was 27, had 2 young boys, was married to a complete jerk and jackass, and was scared to death. That test was on a Thursday. By Tuesday morning I was in Birmingham with the man who pioneered this procedure called ablation. He examined my records and began explaining why I needed this procedure and needed it fast. He decided to do it THAT day…..Wow.

To be continued.

Needle and Thread Thursday: How I made some fun placemats.

2011-03-24T07:04:00.001-07:00

I have ADHD. Really. I do. Not kidding. I know this week I was supposed to do the baby sling tutorial. That’s why I told you about the ADHD. That’s the way my mind works. It likes to dance around all the time, and I change my mind quite often. Once I had the thought to make these placemats I couldn’t help myself! I had to get to my sewing machine.

I was browsing through Home Goods FOR THE FIRST TIME ever last Friday. The closest one to me is in Pensacola, FL, which is an hour away from me. I had to take my great niece Little Lulu and her mommy and daddy to the airport over there, so I went for a walkthrough. LOVE LOVE LOVE. I was overwhelmed with LOVE for the store. Anyway, while I was there I was looking for placemats. With all 6 of us eating at the table every night I always need more placemats. While I was looking a little voice popped inside my head saying, “Loulou. Really? You’re going to buy placemats??Seriously? Can’t you sew? Don’t you have piles of fabric?” That voice was right. Why spend $30 and up on placemats when I could make them myself? This is what I came up with:

Aren’t they cute?

To make my placemats I cut 2 rectangles 20” X14” for each placemat, so I cut 12 rectangles all together. I used my rotary cutter for this project, but I also love to use a good old pair of scissors too.

I chose to make numbered placemats, so I monogrammed mine before I put them together. I used left over drop cloth for the monogrammed side.

This is seriously EASY. Take your 2 pieces, and place them right sides together and pin pin pin and pin some more. Sew all the way around leaving about a 4 inch gap one one of the short sides for turning. I used a 3/8 seam allowance.

Turn your placemat right side out and iron iron iron iron. I have a wooden turning tool to smooth out all the seams and poke those corners out. You can use the eraser end of a pencil too. Topstitch all the way around the placemat. Be careful at the place you left unstitched. I like to really iron that seam down and smooth with my fingers, because sometimes those places like to bunch. I used a 1/8’ seam allowance here to make sure I caught that opening. I then sewed another seam with a 1/2” seam allowance to give it a sort of banded look on the edges. It’s hard to see, because my thread is light, but here are some close ups of that part.

Give those babies another good ironing, and they’re good to go!

You wanna see what I used for the OTHER side of the placemat? I’ve been saving that part for last, because I LOVE IT.

I used this amazing French Document fabric. I know that most upholstery fabrics say to dry clean only, but I do wash some of them. I’ve always had good luck with more canvasy fabrics like this and my toile. I just cut a small piece and wash and dry to see how it does. This did fine. I have to be able to wash placemats for Pete’s sake. :)

Here’s a close up of the banded edge on this side. I think it gives them a professional look.

I really wish my dining table was clean enough to lay these all out for you to see, but that’ll have to be another day. I’ve been too busy sewing to clean. :)

I use this little table at the end of my living room for the girls all the time. It’s a perfect spot to have a bite or to color a picture. They love the numbers on the placemats.

I think it’ll be fun to use some with the numbers up and some with the print! I have some solid red napkins that will go perfectly with these!

Easy peasy. I had everything I needed for these already, so I didn’t spend a dime. I think they look better than the ones I saw at Home Goods. They’re definitely more ME. I guess if you had to figure out the exact price for the fabric it would come to about $2.50 each. I’m not counting the drop cloth, because I just used scraps… I probably used $.50 worth of drop cloth per placemat…Maybe $1 worth of embroidery thread?? So, that comes to $4 or so for placemats that look way more expensive. See what you can get when you make them yourself?

This is such an easy project and perfect for a beginner. If you don’t have an embroidery machine you could always paint your numbers on or applique them.

If you have any questions about these please just leave me a comment, and I’ll be more than happy to help you! I love talking fabric and sewing! It’s my language.

I know this post is already super long, but I do want to share a couple of pictures. I made these princess outfits for the girls a couple of weeks ago. I loved that the princess fabric has princesses of all colors. I always try to find things that look like my girls. I want them to know that all princesses aren’t blond haired and blue eyed. Some of them are little black haired beauties from Guatemala!

I appliqued the different princesses on their shirts. Does anyone need a tutorial on appliqueing? I would be happy to show you how easy it is.

This is a closer view of Anne Pearce’s. See the butterfly on her shoulder? :) I like to throw in little fun touches like that.

And here’s Miss Essie Kate’s. I did their shirts similarly but not exactly alike.

I’m going to take a better picture of the skirt fabric and show you later. It really is precious. The skirt pattern is my favorite girly skirt by Ping Fig Patterns.

Now just for fun a couple of shots of sweet hubby and me on our date for his birthday Tuesday night… I want you to see all the flowers blooming in Alabama!

You wanna know why the picture looks blurry? It’s the HUMIDITY fogging the camera. :) In March.

I’m sharing this one just because I spotted the paint tray liner in the background and thought it was hilarious.

Happy Thursday! Feel free to contact me if you have any sewing questions. I’m really happy to help.

Linking to:

Show & Tell Wednesday, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Project Diaries, Transformation Thursday, Wow us Wednesday, Hooking Up with House of Hepworths, Catch as Catch Can, Metamorphosis Monday

And the winners are:

2011-03-23T16:26:00.001-07:00

The winner of the house number sign is:

#10

The Frosted Gardner said...

I am a follower and would love love love to win this!!!! Thanks for the opportunity!

March 23, 2011 8:13 AM

The winner of the pattern is:

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

That skirt is just precious!! I'd love to beef my sewing skills up enough to give it a try. :) The framed house numbers are awesome! What a neat idea. :)

You gals email me at lou0728@yahoo.com for the details. I’ll be back later for Needle and Thread Thursday. I have something really fun to share!

Sweet little hutch redo and a giveaway reminder

2011-03-20T07:55:00.001-07:00

Happy Sunday all! I just wanted to give you guys a quick reminder about the giveaway I’m having. This Wednesday night I will be randomly choosing a winner for a Pink Fig pattern courtesy of my friend Terri at Fairytale Frocks and Lollipops. I’m also giving away a monogrammed house sign number like the one shown below. If you don’t want the house number I can put your last name or help you come up with some thing else. This can be done in the color of your choice. Help me spread the word. Come on! Help a sista out! You can enter the giveaway here.

Now for the redo! This ~~horribly tacky ugly~~ hutch that needed some attention whispered to me in the thrift store. She was so shiny with hard varnish that she couldn’t breathe. She wanted to be light and airy and comfy. I wish I had a picture before Andrew did any sanding. She was SO SHINY!

She was missing a glass pane in one door.

This is a petite place but has great storage. I knew it would be perfect for a smaller kitchen or bathroom. Of course I considered keeping it for myself, as I have been wanting something for my bathroom (you know I want to keep everything we do). I decided not to be selfish and share her.

The sweet stepmom of one of my best friends from high school called as soon as she saw the picture on FB. After some measuring she decided it was perfect for her bathroom. We discussed color, and we got busy.

Here she is the morning she left to go to her new home. Isn’t she precious???

We decided to take the other pane of glass out and replace them both with chicken wire. She sent me a pic of the piece, and she has pictures clipped to the wire. It looks adorable.

Close up of the wire. I think Andrew always does a great job with it.

She has plate grooves on both interior shelves as well as the top of the base.

Bebe (the stepmom who is married to Bully. Isn’t that adorable) wanted a little contrast like in some of my other pieces, so I painted the inside panels a soft blue.

We painted the entire piece in creamy by SW. I distressed and glazed very lightly. This piece just didn’t need a lot. All her details are so precious, and the glaze brought them out just a little bit more. I wanted to keep the true white of the piece.

I’m so happy this piece is at home with Bebe and Bully. I know she will be loved for years.

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up with these fabulous ladies:

Show & Tell Wednesday, Power of Paint Party, My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Project Diaries, Transformation Thursday, Wow us Wednesday, Hooking Up with House of Hepworths, Catch as Catch Can, Furniture Feature Friday,Metamorphosis Monday, Restore It Wednesday

Needle and thread Thursday, a giveaway, and a fabulous house number sign

2011-03-17T07:39:00.001-07:00

Hi gals! I KNOW I promised the baby sling tutorial today, but my great niece (little Lulu) is here this week. This is what I’ve been doing in all my free time:

Sorry for the cruddy pic… I had 2 toddlers and baby! Whew! I have finished a couple of projects lately and have one that I want to share. Introducing my new house number sign:

LOVE!

I had been thinking about painting a cool sign until one night THIS idea hit me. I had painted this frame to use for my front door, but all of a sudden I saw it with this monogrammed house number in it! My monogramming machine was in the sewing machine hospital last week (that dropcloth slipcover pushed it over the edge), so I was beside myself until it came home Monday afternoon. I didn’t get around to it until Tuesday, but it was so worth the wait!

I just wrapped the monogrammed drop cloth around a piece of cardboard I cut to fit the frame. I cut some upholstery webbing in half , stapled it to the back , and hung it from a screw. I LOVE how different and “springy” it is. I am in LOVE with the turquoise and red on this porch. How many times have I used LOVE in this post? LOL

I think this design would also make a great pillow. I have some fun “porch pillow” ideas to come.

Here’s a view by my door:

Next week I WILL be posting the tutorial for the baby sling. I PROMISE. I will also be featuring a fun skirt set I just made for the girls. This is my favorite go to skirt pattern, and the girls love it. Wait until you see the fabric! I’m going to show you how I embellished the top too! FUN FUN FUN! Beginning sewers DO NOT be afraid of this pattern. It’s really simple to make, and I’ll give you all my tips. Trust me. EASY!

Now for the giveaways! (These can be mailed anywhere in the USA)

To get everyone ready for next week my friend Terri from Fairytale Frocks and Lollipops is giving this Sew Sensible pattern to one of my readers. It’s a twirl skort and perfect for little girls who like to run, jump, hang upside down, AND twirl. :)

I’m also going to monogram a house number for one reader as well. I’ll let you choose your color and will send it ready for you to frame!

For a chance to win just:

I am apparently a “Junkologist”.

2011-03-15T08:19:00.001-07:00

One of my dear friends gave me the title of “junkologist”, and I think I like it! It totally describes me to a t! I love to find me some junk and Loulou it up. Case in point. Take this hideously tacky old office double seat:

I mean, could you find anything UGLIER if you tried?? I don’t think so. I gave this old baby a new coat of aqua spray paint, recovered the cushions, and made new pillows. I covered the seats with drop cloth and made them envelope style, so I can take them off and wash them as they need it. I used some Jennifer Paganelli fabric to make new covers for some old pillows. I love the end result!

Who woulda thunk it? It’s now a precious place to sit….

This project was a total FREEBIE! The bench was given to me, and I had everything else needed to redo it. This piece would’ve ended up in the dumpster, but now she’s a perfect cutie for my porch.

SO, I guess I am a junkologist. Should I trademark that? :)

Come sit for a spell. Spring Cleaning on the porch!

2011-03-13T20:53:00.000-07:00

Hello all. This is a makeover I’m so happy to share. Lately our furniture refinishing and Andrew replacing an engine in our 16 year old’s car have taken over every spare second and every square inch of our carport. I was beginning to feel that I lived on Sanford and Son! In other words, my house looked like a junk yard. Last Sunday I had finally had enough. I told Andrew that we were cleaning that mess off and that I was “refinishing” our carport. Spring has sprung in southern Alabama, and this porch needed to reflect that. THIS is what finally pushed me over the edge:

Nice huh? And this is AFTER Andrew had starting moving some stuff. Sad huh? I was embarrassed every time someone came to my house!

I decided that I wanted our carport to be more like a porch. I never pull in anyway. It just feels too close for me. I didn’t have ~~any~~ a lot of money to spend on this, so I just got creative and used what I had. The only things I bought were 3 cans of spray paint and some flowers. I already had everything else. This is what my new porch looked like this morning. :)

A much more inviting entry wouldn’t you say? I’ll share some individual projects from this redo later, because almost every item you see has been painted or SOMETHING. :) I repainted the red table and added that little aqua knob. The planter was painted aqua as was the umbrella holder by the door. That old wooden carrier was actually a magazine holder, until we took the divider out.

I love the green fern against the aqua planter.

Another view. Those double windows are on the far end of my living room. That birdcage on the red table has a little fern in it, and that cute sign is something I’ve had for a while.

This porch makes me wanna drink something frozen and YUMMY!

The magazine holder was painted, distressed, and lined with plastic. It now holds these polka dot plants.

My umbrella holder also houses a little plant and has hooks for anything else that needs to be left close by.

This is BY FAR my favorite area on the porch. The bench was a freebie and was actually an old piece of office furniture. I made new covers for the cushions and pillows. Now it’s the perfect place to sit and read a book.

Another old planter got a fresh coat of red spray paint. I love the red and aqua together!

More plants and flowers….

Another view of the door. I also added the piece of metal above the door.

Another sitting area:

The view from my kitchen door: Much better than the one from last Sunday!

I’m in serious love with my bench.

This is the front view of our cottage. :) It’s a REAL cottage (with a huge modern addition), and I love it.

I’m not embarrassed when people come to my door anymore. :)

I want to hang something on the porch windows but can never decide what. Any suggestions?

So let’s recap.

This:

To this:

I’m happy. :)

Since I finished the porch last week I added some new plants. I found those planters at THE DOLLAR TREE! $1 for the wire hanger and $1 for the coconut liner!!! RUN to your Dollar Tree!

love and hugs…

Linking to:

Metamorphosis Monday

A little birdie told me… a fun spring wreath and a springy mantle

2011-03-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

That sweet birdie told me that spring is here in the deep south. That was a message I was happy to hear. February and March have been an amazing time in Fairhope. Except for a handful of chilly days and nights winter escaped early and left us with 70’s for highs during the day. It’s been HEAVEN. As the bushes started blooming and everything was turning GREEN I realized how the outside of our home needed some fluffing…. Monday I’m going to share my new “entry way” makeover. You’re gonna have a fit… I’m so happy I’m giddy! Today I’m going to share the fun spring time wreath I made earlier this week.

I started thinking about doing something different for my wreath. I started looking through my craft stash and ran across all these Christmas ornaments that I didn’t have time to do anything with this past Christmas. They were those cheap wooden ornaments that you can get for $.15 each at Hobby Lobby when they’re on sale. I had bells, round shapes, and BIRDS! I knew right away what I would do.

Before I started I gave the ornaments a quick dose of Heirloom white spray paint. I wanted to use primer but didn’t have any. Next time I will make sure to spray them with primer to totally cover the black lines on the ornaments. I gathered these supplies: an old hymnal I bought for a $1, some of my favorite springy fabric scraps, modge podge, a pencil, scissors, and some upholstery thread.

This is a simple project, but if anyone wants a tutorial I will be happy to write one. I traced my shapes on some music and fabric. I cut them out and modge podged them onto the front and back of the ornaments. These ornaments have small holes at the top, so I punched them out and strung some upholstery thread through them. For the round shapes that I covered in music I also cut out some of the flowers from my fabric and modge podged them to the centers.

I let them dry overnight and embellished them the next day. I pulled out all my fun trims and just went to work. This part was so much fun!

I used rick rack, sequins, beads, buttons, and lace to embellish my shapes. When they were dry I just tied them onto the wreath.

For the little guy below I gathered a little scrap of lace to make his wing and glued a little pearl on for his eye. He may be my favorite. It’s a tight race between him and the one directly above with the sequins.

It was really difficult to get a full shot of my door. My photography skills leave A LOT to be desired! I am so happy with my wreath. It just screams SPRING to me! It makes me smile every time I walk through my front door.

I bought some egg shapes to work on this weekend. I thought they would make a precious garland for my mantle.

I think they will add a fun touch to the mantle. See my cutie bunnies from TJ Maxx? I love them! They remind me of a real chocolate Easter bunny.

Yeah. This little stand was COVERED in Easter chocolates that matched everything perfectly. This is what I found this morning. Life with teenagers…. I had threatened their lives if they ate my chocolate, and you can see how seriously they take me. :)

AND here are a few sneak peeks of my makeover I’m sharing Monday. Maybe they’ll get you in a springy mood too. :)

Happy Weekend Peeps!

http://thelifeofloulou.blogspot.com/2011/03/little-birdie-told-me-fun-spring-wreath.html

Needle and Thread Thursday, Tutorial next week, and vintage pattern yumminess

2011-03-10T14:13:00.001-08:00

I’m so excited! Next Thursday I will be posting my first sewing tutorial for Needle and Thread Thursday. :)

My girls love to carry their babies with them everywhere they go. Often times I’m the one who ends up carrying them. :( They get tired of holding them, and the poor babies end up on the floor, in the buggy (that’s a shopping cart in Alabama), or stuffed under my arm or in my purse. The new American Girl catalog came in the mail this week. Essie was so excited when she saw this:

It’s a carrier for Bitty Baby and costs $24. I decided to do my own twist on the baby carriers we saw all over Guatemala and make a baby doll sling. This was the finished product:

Two happy girls with 2 baby carriers.

The girls grabbed them as soon as they opened their eyes this morning. They couldn’t wait to put them on. :)

This is a very easy project! If you wanna make one with me just have about a yard of fabric ready to go. In less than an hour you’ll have a sling and a happy kid!

Also, you’ll NEVER guess what is in THIS bag.

It is FILLED with this sewing fabulousness… TONS AND TONS OF VINTAGE patterns… Swoon.

One of my neighbors was going to get rid of these in a yard sale… I was thrilled when she brought me an entire bag filled with these.

Aprons! Look at the one on the bottom…the blue and white gingham! OHMAHGOODNESS.

To die for dresses:

Fun vintage dresses and outfits…

Sorry this picture is so blurry……I LOVE these pantsuits and short sets….

I’m going to start with these… not sure which one, BUT one of these babies will be my Easter dress. My mama is going to come help me fit and alter the patterns for size. It’s so hard to go by size on these old patterns. If you look closely the one on the right says size 14 with a 34 inch bust… hmmmmm. I wear a 2 or 4, so I’m thinking this will work.

I can’t wait to get started! I only have about 27 projects ahead of this, but I am going to get to it soon!!

What do you guys think? Which pattern is your favorite?

love and hugs.

Well, you need a place to sit your drink.

2011-03-09T19:24:00.000-08:00

I do have more chairs to post. Seriously. You’d think the chair parade would be coming to a close, but there are still a few more that want their 15 minutes of fame. While we wait on the next chair I thought I’d show you another of the little redos I’ve done for this room.

Remember this?

Well, now it looks like this:

Is that an improvement or what?

This was a quick and easy makeover…one of those that makes you say, “Why in the heck have I waited this long to tackle this table?”kinda project. I sanded it down with a sanding sponge and had Sweet Andrew give it a spray with SW Creamy.

I gave it a good distressing and a light glazing with Valspar’s Antiquing Glaze… I just just a twit. BTW. In southern Alabama “just a twit” means “just a little”. :) I sprayed the old hardware with some kinda bronze that wasn’t ORB, since I can’t find it anywhere anymore. I finished it with that fabulous waxy stuff by Minwax.

SO, now Miss Circa 1968 is now rocking in 2011. You’ve come a long way, baby. Just sayin’.

MUCH BETTA!

Thanks for coming by my little ol’ cottage.

Love and hugs peeps,

Chair times deux

2011-03-08T18:08:00.000-08:00

Here is the second installment in a series I like to call: CHAIRS. Yup. Get used to them. I’ve still got a few to come! :)

This story began when I spotted this beauty in my local Goodwill:

Yeah. She wasn’t quite a beauty at this point, but I knew she could be. Oh, I almost forgot. She was $5.99. I love it when people look at me like I’m nuts when they see me with something like this grinning like a fool. I wish they could see her now…. They’d croak.

Case in point:

WHOOOOOOO HOOOOOO. Cover your ears while I scream. This chair just THRILLS me.

I started off by priming the chair in white to cover up the horrible paint job. Then I painted the chair body in Halycon Green by SW and the the cane sides in SW’s light French gray. I decided to highlight some of the chair’s features in the gray as well. When it was all dry I distressed it and glazed it with RL’s tobacco glaze.

I love the way you can see all 3 colors and the wood tone. It really looks authentically old. :)

Those of you who know me know that I have a fabric stash that could clothe the entire world. I picked this gorgeous piece that had been waiting the right piece for almost a year. Don’t they look like they were made to go with each other?

I love finishing my pieces with double welting. It makes it look so much more professional to me… I’m not a fan of the other trims available in stores…. just my preference.

Rear view: I tried to use the pattern in different ways on each piece of the chair. I LOVE the back and how it shows this scene.

This chair wasn’t even intended to go in the living room. I wanted it for my mommy den. It may still move around, but for now I’m loving it where it is. That’s the great thing about chairs. They don’t take a lot of work and aren’t a big expense at all when you thrift them. I spent under $40 for the chair AND the fabric. $40 for a chair that looks like a million bucks! That makes me so happy I may just scream again. Cover your ears just in case. :)

One last shot for the road. If you want to, just head on over. You can sit in this chair and have a cup of coffee, and I’ll sit in the slipcovered club. or vice versa… :) Either way you can sit in one of my “new” chairs.

Believe it or not there are more chairs to come. Be looking later this week.

love and hugs peeps. love and hugs.

Linking to:

Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monda y

Restore Interiors Restore It Wednesday
Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

My repurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can

Hooking Up with House of Hepworths

Blue Cricket Design's Show & Tell Wednesday

Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party

Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday

Sassy Sites Trash to Treasure Tuesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Stories of a House Project Diaries

The Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday

Savvy Southern Style's Wow us Wednesday

How 'bout some toile, y'all? Chair redo parade part 1, first go at slipcovering

2011-03-07T05:54:00.000-08:00

I told you guys last week that I had several projects to share. I haven’t blogged them, but I have COMPLETED projects in this house! LOL. I’ve been working on my living room for the last few weeks. I had several chairs and tables that needed to be redone. I’m ALMOST there…. I only have a few accessories and pillows to change up, and I’ll be done. I’m loving the new feeling…. I was looking around the living room last night, and every single piece (except for my splurge sofa and antique library table) is something I’ve redone in some way. It makes me feel so proud to look around my home and see ME…. Not some magazine or catalog. Not someone else’s blog or ideas… I SEE ME.

Do you remember this picture:

Since I took this I’ve recovered one of these ugly brown chairs, slipcovered an old club, and reupholstered a Goodwill find. I’ve also changed up the table and lamp placement by the sofa, but all that’s coming later.

When I was reworking this space I remembered an old club chair I had in storage. It was a good piece of furniture 11 years ago when I bought it. It had good bones. :) The upholstery had seen better days though. It was a dirty ripped plaid. Nice. I don’t have a total before shot. I’ve just been doing projects as I feel like it and haven’t been taking tons of pics. Anyway. It was ugly. I decided to slipcover it. I told myself that if I could sew everything my girls wear I could surely sew a slipcover. Makes sense huh? Yeah. Easier said than done. I have a way of making brain surgery out of removing a splinter. In other words, I make things WAY harder than they have to be, so I knew that I would find SOME way to make it even more difficult than it is. Once I made up my mind I started looking for help. I’ve read my pal Kelly’s blog forever. She started me off here with this tutorial. Kelly has told me FOREVER that I could do it… That I should just take the slipcovering plunge… I finally decided it was time! I have Pink and Polka Dot’s ebook. I read it 200 times and also camped out over on Design Intervention. She has SO many great projects including this one. I searched all over and found pieces I liked. I ended up taking a bit from several places and making it my own way. It really wasn’t THAT bad after I got the hang of it…. It just took a lot more time than I thought, and it also produced quite a few cuss words. :) In the end I had a piece that I was thrilled with. It was exactly what I had envisioned and is SO ME.

Here she is. Isn’t she a doll?!?! I used drop cloths (what else?) for the body and added the red toile ruffle and piping.

The back cushion was originally attached to the back of the chair. I cut it apart and like it so much better this way.

The ruffly toile skirt is my absolute favorite part of this chair.

I love the slouchy comfy fit. Andrew said it looks like such a comfy place to sit, and it is. We all fight over it. :) I had this Pottery Barn vintage floral pillow, and they work great together.

This chair is perfect for this room. I love the way it goes with all my other pieces. Do you see that table sitting beside it in this picture? If you look at the room’s before shot you will be able to see that it’s had a makeover too. That’s coming later on.

I learned a lot from this chair, and I know my next piece won’t be nearly as hard or time consuming. It really wasn’t a bad process at all. It just took time and patience. I am the queenofwantingitdonerightthissecondjusthowiwantitdone, and it taught me that sometimes patience is a GOOOOD thing. This is something I KNEW I could do, but it intimidated me for a LONG time. I wish I would’ve listened to Kelly and just done it! It’s opened up so many doors…. Now every piece of furniture in my home can look the way I want it to. That’s an amazing feeling. :)

Over the next week or so I will be sharing several other projects. I’ve had a great time redoing my living room, and I can’t wait to share it with YOU.

Thanks for stopping by my little cottage. Love and hugs,

Linking to:

Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monda y

Restore Interiors Restore It Wednesday Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

My repurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can

Hooking Up with House of Hepworths

Blue Cricket Design's Show & Tell Wednesday

Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party

Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday

Sassy Sites Trash to Treasure Tuesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Stories of a House Project Diaries

The Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday

To blog or not to blog? THAT is the question.

2011-03-05T08:31:00.001-08:00

Morning all…. I’m sitting here in my living room looking out at the dreary gray of the day. I can’t even begin to complain about the weather. We have been BLESSED in Fairhope, AL. It seems that spring decided to move in last month, and it’s been fabulous.

I’ve been thinking about blogging lately. I even had a long email convo with my buddy Donna from Funky Junk about it. It’s always a struggle for me. Sometimes I get TOO into it and other times I totally back away and go MIA for months. I’m not very consistent to say the least. :) Part of it is my health….This nasty dysautonomia that is always clinging to my tailcoat. It never ever never goes away, and it limits my life in SO many ways. I had a very bad episode from mid January when we got back from NYC until just a couple of weeks ago. That episode FLOORED me. I have changed some meds up, and so far that seems to be helping a lot. It’s amazing. As SOON as I’m well projects start calling my name. I have had the opportunity to work on several things over the past couple of months. When I have a good day I usually will sew or paint SOMETHING… and plan…. I love to plan plan plan plan plan all my upcoming projects.

SO. Today I am committing to myself that I will share my projects starting Monday. I want to share the things I’ve done and my feelings about them. I want to share the things I want to do and WHY I want to do them. I want to share me. This blog will be evolving again. I want to show all sides of Loulou….the woman who loves to paint a piece of furniture, the one who loves to sew for girls, the one who loves to create, AND the one who is sometimes trapped in the bed just WANTING to do all these things. This blog is NOT going to become a diary of the whining woman. I do want to share some about my condition. Many people don’t even know what dysautonomia is, and I want to educate those who want to know. You probably have someone in your family who has it and doesn’t know it, or you have. Your great Aunt Alice who always sat around and had a “weak constitution” probably had it too. :)

I have so many fun things to share! I’ve reupholstered and slipcovered chairs. I’ve redone 2 tables and completed several projects. I’ve had such fun getting this house the way I envision it. Of course that vision changes constantly. Case in point: the mommy den I JUST completed. I hate it. Yep. I do. The color doesn’t make me happy, and I don’t like the way it’s accessorized. I’ve already bought the paint and supplies for a surprise element…. All this will be coming soon. I can’t promise that I’ll be here all the time. I just can’t. I am shooting for 3 posts a week. Blogging is good for me. It gives me a place to “get it all out”. I really appreciate those of you who have stuck with me through all these ups and downs. It means the world. Thanks for all the love, patience, and inspiration you guys constantly give.

love and hugs.

How do I fix this?

2011-01-31T11:51:00.001-08:00

We’ve been redoing this room for a while. The paint color changed from a deep gold to cool rainwashed blue. My big leather couch was replaced my my smooshy lovey from Ballard’s. I took the big leather chair out as well and replaced it with the 2 small vintage chairs you’ll see below. I’m going to show you some pictures of my space from several angles, so you guys can help me get off the fence and get to redoing the pieces that need it.

Entering the living room from the kitchen. I realize that plant is disgusting, and I have a friend with a huge green thumb coming Wednesday to help me add some live plants. There are going to be 4 ladderbacks around this table as soon as I find the energy to move them to this room. :) It’s great for snacks, coloring, and games. I LOVE it in this spot.

Looking down towards the other end. I know that the door is right against that side table. I live in a cottage, and there is a sunporch that runs the entire length of the house. We don’t use that door.

Another view… I’m happy with the furniture placement, although I am going to be adding one more chair back when I’m finished reupholstering it. (antique white finish/red toile fabric)

This is the other wall with the fake fireplace Andrew built for me and an entertainment console we finished right before Thanksgiving. The top row of drawers is going to be removed for the cable box and DVD player.

Pay attention to the arm chairs and the side tables. This is where the questions will come in. I lived with these chairs and tables for 2 months, and I know for sure that I want to use them permanently in this room. Take the chairs: I love the shape. The wood stain? Not so much. Those arm pads were not original to the chair and were added by the previous owner and will be removed exposing the entire arm. The back cushion is attached (and I will be taking it off for a separate cushion. This chair is probably going to be slip covered in drop cloths. My kids are all over these chairs all the time, and I need ease. I would love for the wood to be stained dark like the other pieces you see in the room. This color is so 1950 and blends right in with the honey floors. HOW CAN I CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE STAIN WITHOUT TOTALLY STRIPPING AND RESTAINING? Is there anyway I can darken them to dark walnut without stripping? Is there a technique I can use that doesn’t involve stripping? HELP please.

I love this vintage side table. The bottom drawer holds my laptop, camera, and all my cords. The top has such cute detailing. I am planning on staining the top dark walnut and painting, distressing, and glazing the body in antique white.

So that leaves this lost little man. I love this vintage table. LOVE IT. Just don’t love the finish. I know that it may look strange to you in this location, and it may end up on the other end of the couch. Regardless, it will be by this sofa. Is it saying anything to you?? Do you think the top should be stained? Should it be done in antique white and glazed? OR should I paint it in the red of the entertainment console? I know I don’t want it solid antique white… I need a punch over here.

So wise ones:

How do I change the wood color on the chair without totally stripping them, which would be a TOTAL pain?

What does that little table need? What would YOU do with it?

HELP your sista out.

Thanks :)

Chairs, chairs, and more chairs

2011-01-26T09:37:00.001-08:00

When I started getting the pictures together for this post I realized that I never shared my dining room table makeover. I’m gonna do it sometime this week, because it was a doozie. Pretend you’ve seen the table makeover, then read the rest of the post :)

When I got the table I knew that eventually I would want different chairs. I love my ladder backs, but they’re not really what I want for this table. I have my old round table that is now in the living room that I’ll use these with…. I felt that there was TOO much gray for me and decided to do the table in antique white… I have a 5 gallon oops bucket of CREAMY by SW (the paint fairy was shining down on me that day, as I got it for $25) that I’ve been using for a while. The table is glazed but not distressed….. Andrew also built that bench (that I also will share…can’t believe I haven’t) for extra seating. This table is MUCH bigger than our previous one and accomodates SO many more people, and I love the touches of red.

This is how the dining area looks today:

This is this table at Thanksgiving filled with all the adults of the family. It was a first for us to not have two tables, and it was wonderful!

Monday I was in my favorite thrift store when I spotted these gorgeous harp backed chairs. Be still my heart. There were 5 of these with one arm chair!

Is this not divine??

So, the guy has these chairs around a Duncan Phyffe table EXACTLY like the one I just redid… He had $250 for all of it. I told him in my sweetest voice that I didn’t really need the table, but I would love those chairs… Mr. Nice Thrift Store Man, how much for just the chairs?”. He says, “hmmmmmm, how about $75 for all of them?” SOLD! I almost felt guilty as they loaded them up and I hauled butt home! So! Now I have 6 new chairs to go around the table. They’re smaller, so I’m thinking I can fit 4 down the side that now has 3. We have a HUGE family that comes here for all holidays and occasions, so this is great for us. They do have some chipped veneers in places, so I’m going to have Andrew spray them in the same creamy paint color, and then I’ll glaze them. I’m going to recover the seats in either drop cloths or some red and white toile… I haven’t decided which for sure. Excited is an understatement… How fun!

I also want to share this Goodwill find from before Christmas. I’ve always wanted a rolling library chair, but they’re so expensive around here. The last one I saw at a thrift store was $100! At a THRIFT store!! So you can imagine my excitement when I rounded the corner at my Goodwill and spotted this chair for $9.99.

It had a couple of places that needed to be repaired and tightened, but Andrew fixed all that.

You can see here how the original casters had been replaced with these cheap plastic ones. I found some replacement vintage casters on Ebay that will be perfect. You can also see how cracked and gross the “faux leather” seat cover is.

I had Andrew take the covers off hoping that I would find original wood. This is what we found instead. A nasty green towel! Gross. The original wood seat is broken, but Andrew is going to repair it, because it does have contours and curves.

I wanted to refinish the chair until I thought about all the repair work and what a pain it would be. I decided that painting it and recovering the seat would be the best option. This baby is going to be my new sewing chair. The mechanisms all work perfectly, so it’s the perfect height and OH SO COMFY. I can’t wait to see how this one turns out. I’m thinking it’s going to be fabulous!

I’m sure I’ll share this post at some bloggy parties eventually! I’ll edit this post when I do. :)

Restore Interiors Restore It Wednesday

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday

My repurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can

Hooking Up with House of Hepworths

Blue Cricket Design's Show & Tell Wednesday

Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party

Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday

Sassy Sites Trash to Treasure Tuesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Stories of a House Project Diaries

The Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday

Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monda y

God lives in NYC.

2011-01-20T07:59:00.001-08:00

We’re home again, home again, jiggety jig! It was a fantastic trip…. I had 4 full days of my hubby all.to.myself. Peeps, that = Heaven for me. I have tons and tons of pictures to share, but this is the story I’ve been dying to tell:

This was Andrew’s first trip to NYC, so we were hitting all the spots that everyone has to see. I had been to Ground Zero this summer, but I headed back down there again to go with Andrew. It was so difficult to be there the first time…. I was with my bff, and we were both very emotional after our visit… This time was a very different experience. As Andrew and I neared the site I was completely overwhelmed with emotions. I stood there with MY rock. MY love. MY life on earth. I began thinking of all those daddies and husbands who were running those streets that morning trying to get away from the collapsing buildings, and I couldn’t IMAGINE how they felt….how their wives felt not KNOWING the fate of their spouses, and they were the lucky ones…whose husbands came home.

Andrew went in St. Paul’s Chapel to spend some quiet moments. I didn’t go in last time and wasn’t aware of all the things inside. We walked around and read about how much this Chapel meant to everyone who came through it’s doors…the tired. the weak. the hungry. the spiritually exhausted and how they were renewed in THIS place. In God’s house. It didn’t matter their religion or beliefs. They all walked into HIS house and found peace. I was just overwhelmed with emotion and had to sit down and pray immediately. I can’t even tell you what I prayed in that place. It was the most jumbled rambling prayer I’ve ever said, but I knew God understood what I was saying. I was just so thankful. So thankful. In all that evil and madness….destroyed buildings for blocks… carnage everywhere… And here right across from those towers this St. Paul’s Chapel stood strong and brave. God knew the minute this Chapel was built the role it would play hundreds of years later. He KNEW that His House was needed here more than anyone could imagine. He knew the need we would all have to find His presence in the middle of Hell, even those who didn’t know what they were looking for.

God lives in NYC. Even though this world is filled with hate, madness, and evil HIS presence CAN not be banished. HE is always here…. Even when we wander off to go our own ways He is always here waiting for us to come back. There is no bigger comfort in the world to me than this fact. I felt God the minute I walked through those chapel doors and felt closer to Him than I had in a long time. He gave me Peace. The peace only He can give, and it changed me…. It changed the way I felt about a lot of things and reminded me of ALL the people and things in my life I have to be thankful for. He used that chapel to bring me back closer to Him….. It’s funny. Right before we left for NYC I told Andrew that “I miss Jesus”. That may sound like a funny statement…. I KNOW Jesus is always here… He wasn’t the one who had wandered. It was me, and I experienced such a longing for my Savior… the NEED for Him to be the center of my universe….the driving force behind every decision and move I make. It’s time to rededicate my life. We are going to start visiting other churches and find the one that’s HOME for us… I haven’t had that since we moved almost 2 years ago…. it’s a LONG story, but the girls’ adoptions changed our lives in SO many ways…. I’m just now feeling more normal and able to handle the things I want and need to…. It’s all a God thing….. He shows us the way when we need it, and He found me again in NYC. God is awesome like that. God lives everywhere.

Love you peeps,

I am a traveling fool. A fool I say!

2011-01-12T08:27:00.001-08:00

Yep. I am ON THE GO. It’s been crazy here since before Thanksgiving, and it hasn’t slowed down yet. We went to the Capital One Bowl in Orlando New Year’s Day. ROLL TIDE ROLL. Friday we take off for NYC for the weekend, and we can’t wait!! I KNOW it’ll be cold, but this southern girl looks forward to some snow and scenery. We’re seeing Wicked and La Cage with Kelsey Grammer. I was hoping I could take Andrew to see Promises Promises again, but it stopped running Jan. 3 :( After this trip I have a couple of weeks at home before I head to Utah to see my bff Natalie’s new baby boy, Coban. I have SO much to look forward to…. We’re taking the girls to Disney for the weekend in Feb. or March… Our Mardi Gras is the end of Feb/early March, and we LOVE that! A couple of friends are coming for Mardi Gras, so our house will be hopping! Things are gonna be really boring around here after the first of March, which means I may ACTUALLY get to paint a piece of furniture or two….. I know I have TONS of catching up to do, and I will as soon as I get a second. or 2.

Here are some pictures from our Bowl game. Andrew is an Auburn fan, so him wearing this shirt for me is true love, baby. True love! I’ll be back with pictures and stories when we get back from NYC.

This is what I call true unconditional best hubby in the world kinda love… I’m afraid his chest broke out in blisters after he wore it! LOL

This is Julio Jones who just so happens to me my favorite Alabama football player of ALL time… He took Mike Shula’s spot! He’s from our area, and I love him to pieces. I didn’t know at the time, but I saw him play in HIS LAST ALABAMA COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAME. He announced shortly after that he’s going pro. I love him and am proud of him but am still having a little sniff. sniff.

Love me some Big Al.

Roll Tide baby! Did we have great seats or WHAT??

This is the 2010 Heisman award winner Mark Ingram who then led us to our National Championship victory last year. He prayed on this field for at least one full minute before the game. This is my favorite pic from the game… It was also Mark’s last game! Another sniff sniff.

Ok. I know you guys are tired of hearing about football, but this was one of the BEST days of my life… I loved it and loved my hubby for going with me!

This is what happy looks like:

Also got to go see my sweet great niece, who just so happens to be our little Lulu… Get it? Big Loulou and little Lulu?

This kid has good taste already… See that houndstooth bracelet she’s rocking?? Yep. Start ‘em young…

Hope you guys are all well.. Love you and will be back soon.

Made some laundry decisions. I know. Life changing stuff huh?

2011-01-05T12:22:00.001-08:00

Thanks for the suggestions gals. I had to get the go ahead to remove a bunch of those shelves before I could decide for sure what I’m going to do. I was afraid hubby would think it’s too much work, but he’s all for it. We’re thinking about taking ALL that shelving down and getting some cabinets from Restore or somewhere to hang above the washer and dryer. I think I’m going to paint them a color and glaze them. We are going to install a closet rod system where that small cabinet is (Thanks Suesan!) I don’t want TOO much space to store clothes, or my kids will never take stuff to their rooms! Lol. I’m also thinking about a nice shelving unit to fill with baskets for dirty laundry. Andrew is going to build a small cabinet to go in between the washer and dryer with a counter top that will go all the way to the wall for folding. We’re going to install an ironing board that folds down from the wall behind the door. I also want to put something over on that wall to hold all the extra paper towels and toilet paper we have…. Ohhhhh, I’m getting excited!

What do I do with this room? A cry for help!

2011-01-04T12:01:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I decided it was time to tackle the dreaded laundry room. It was the one space in my home that was a total embarrassment. The room was a wreck and wasn’t functional at all. Having a hubby and four kiddos you know that I spend A LOT of time in this room. I want it to be a space that FEELS comfortable and functional while also being pleasing to look at. I’m tired of it being a space I dread going in, and I’m serious about changing it.

I started with taking out all the crap and junk that was filling the room…. all kinds of “no man’s” laundry…random fabric and sewing things…decorative items that I wasn’t using anywhere in the house. When I was done this is what the hallway looked like:

This horrible photo was taken with my iPhone… sorry for the quality (or lack thereof)…

Here is is this morning after clearing SOME of it out:

This is the hallway that leads to the back deck and the laundry room. You can see the door on the right. My hanging rack gets taken over by every random thing that passes this way. I know this isn’t the laundry room, but I want and need this space to flow well together. I just noticed after I took these pictures that I still had that Christmas plaque up… It’s down now :) How in the world would I notice that in the midst of all this mess??

Once everything was out of the room I spent hours giving the room a total cleaning. It was a mess…. I pulled out the machines and cleaned the floors. My vacuum sucked up so much lint and yuckiness it’s a wonder that anything EVER got clean from this space. It was BAD. Now it’s all clean, and this is where the questions come in.

This is the view from the door. This laundry room is really large and has lots of potential. One area that HAS to change is this mini clothes rod that hangs to the left of the dryer. The height is horrible, and it’s not large enough to really hang laundry for 6 people. It’s a bad place to store hangers. They’re always getting knocked of as clothes are taken out of the dryer. I need another option for this.

These shelves are nice, but it’s hard to know WHAT to put on them. I want this room to be cleaning central and really don’t want other things stored in here. There’s NO way I’m putting ANYTHING in here to clutter these shelves back up after I spent all that time taking it all down. I want simple and functional. WHAT should be on all these shelves?

Here’s another view of the shelves on this wall and that tiny rod. What do I do with that rod? BTW, the shelves coming down is NOT an option.

Then we have this little pain in the butt cabinet. It takes up this entire wall, but the shelves aren’t deep enough to store anything. WHAT could I do with this thing? There’s no way an ironing board could hang here, because of the never ending shelves….

See?? Little short narrow shelves still filled with crap. I really need suggestions for this space.

The hot water heater is concealed behind these shutter doors to the right of the washer.

There is a large space to the right when you come in the room. Some of the space is behind the door but is still usable.

Close ups of the shelves…

I use all liquid detergents and fabric softeners, so these items will all need to be out. I’m thinking some kind of baskets, although those plastic caddies would be easier to use.

The shelves run all the way to the corners. I would like to store all my accessories for both my sharks on the shelves as well as the other household cleaners. Besides those things I don’t know what else to store up here….

I’m choosing a new paint color and am going to add some new accessories like an indoor outdoor rug, a new ironing board cover, as well as all the storage containers after I choose them.

Andrew is going to build some type of shelving to go in between the washer and dryer in this space. I would like to have a couple of laundry baskets for lights and darks…. I am also having him make a “counter” that will go across the new piece and the dryer all the way to the wall for folding and such.

Help me peeps!

What do I do with that tiny clothes rod? I NEED more space to hang clothes as they come out of the dryer and a better place to store hangers. What do I do about that?

What should I do with that teeny tiny hold nothing cabinet?? Any ideas of a way to use it?

What about that wall where the ironing board is now? I’d like to be able to keep the ironing board set up, because we use it a lot. Should I add a pull down ironing board? How could I use this space to hang clothing??

What do I do with all that space on the shelves?? I don’t want to junk it up in ANY way, but I don’t want them empty either… I’m in a laundry room crisis and am looking forward to any suggestions you girls may have. I’m at a stand still now and need major help. I know you peeps will come through for me…

Love and hugs,

We’re alive!

2010-12-31T07:21:00.001-08:00

Hey guys! I AM alive. I promise. Here’s the evidence:

More proof of existence: Man my camera sucks….We did notice after these pictures that one of the girls had evidently rubbed sour cream over the lens. :)

All 6 of us were sick or felt crummy at SOME point during the holidays. The week before Christmas the girls were horribly sick (and Hayden). It wore me down, and I’m just now snapping back to whatever my normal is. Sweet hubby is taking me to Orlando to see my Bama boys play in the Capital One Bowl tomorrow… When I get back I’ll catch up… We’re ready to roll up our sleeves and get busy rehabbing some furniture! The rest has done us good.

Happy New Year, and I’ll see you guys next week.

Love and hugs.

SICK SICK SICK

2010-12-18T08:12:00.001-08:00

Hey guys. Sorry for the disappearing act.... Every member of my family has been sick over the last week and a half. I had a sinus infection followed by a bad episode... The boys had a mini stomach bug at different times. One baby girl had and ear infection and the other had the worse bladder infection you can imagine. It didn't respond to antibiotics for FIVE days. It was a nightmare. I will do the drawing for the giveaway sometime tomorrow. I'll even throw in another free skirt pattern.... Sometimes blogging has to take a backseat, and this is one of those times. I do hope all of you are well and having a FABULOUS HOLIDAY SEASON. I hope to be back before Christmas...
Love you all....

The village comes to life and my favorite new decoration

2010-12-13T07:31:00.001-08:00

I knew as soon as I finished my china cabinet that it would house my Christmas village this year. I couldn’t wait to load it up with all my favorite little buildings, snow, and tiny people. I mixed in some of my Santa plates, old ironstone, and even some red Fiesta dishes. I love the look of it all mixed together.

I love the church and the gazebo with Santa inside.

Christmas villages are SO much fun! I told my girls that the people were magic like our elf and how they come to life when we’re asleep. They love peeking in.

Here is a close up of my Santa plates mixed in with an old ironstone platter and a fun Santa plate.

I decided to leave the doors open, so it’s easier to see all the pieces. It also makes the village feel open and real.

I added this lime green reindeer planter this year, and we LOVE him. He’s filled with traditional greenery. I thought about using whimsical things, but he looks so much better filled with traditional greenery.

He really adds a pop to the center of my table. Everything was perfect until yesterday when my girls knocked over and broke on of those gorgeous hurricanes. ARGHHHH! Now poor green Rudolph only has one hurricane, and it looks terrible…. Ahhh what to do? I’m going to look for something else today while I’m out at TJ Maxx.

Here’s a view of the greenery from the top. I mixed in some extra greenery to give it more fullness.

I’ve been loving visiting all your homes and looking at all your beautiful decorations. As soon as I get this house all spotless again I’m going to make a home tour for you guys.

Don’t forget about the giveaway! There are still 2 days left to enter! Scroll down to read how to enter. Please tell all your friends about it. I really want to get a mommy sewing circle going.

We’re having a great time this CHRISTmas season. I’m hosting a Christmas party this weekend for my entire family. We’re gonna eat yummy food and play some fun games. Celebrating the birth of Jesus while spending time with family and friends is what Christmas is all about. I can’t wait to be surrounded by all my family (minus my sister and her daughter’s family sniff sniff) all celebrating His birth! What a great night it will be……

Merry Christmas to some of the best presents I’ve EVER received: YOU GUYS!

Love and hugs,

My little family

2010-12-10T08:06:00.001-08:00

I told my boys that ALL I wanted for Christmas was a family picture. With them cooperating. And not fussing or pouting or refusing to smile… You know. Stuff like that. I had scheduled a session before the big bad health episode last week, but I was determined to go…. I put on an entire tube of concealer and totally faked feeling good. I got real dizzy a few times, but the photographer was so sweet and understanding. I haven’t seen the entire disk yet, but these are some of the ones she sent me…

Ok. This = MIRACLE. All 6 of us. Smiling. AND kinda looking in the same direction.

How cool is this? It’s a wall in downtown Fairhope that the photographer had been dying to shoot… Look at Anne Pearce copying the way her daddy had his foot propped on the wall. :)

My men. They mean the world to me. The entire world.

The brothers and the sisters

The boys DID get to go home earlier while we finished up… This is a REAL happy picture…

These boys are amazing young men. I’m so proud of them. There are no words…. Have I mentioned they are my heart?

Would you ever believe this precious angel face is a total bad ass? Yes, I cussed on my blog, but she IS…. Bad and perfect. :)

My sweet little Essie Kate Babycakes…. She is definitely the sweetest of all my kids… and tiny. This thing is 3 and a half and still weighs 27 lbs.

Sometimes I stop and remind myself what a miracle moments like these are…. These girls could have been in an orphanage or worse but for the GRACE of God Himself. They are so special to us and everyone who knows them. I can’t tell you what a blessing they are to me. God used them to save ME.

Serious happiness

All 4 of my darlins

This little woman is so gorgeous she takes my breath away…. Isn’t she amazing?

And this one?? Ahhhhh. I could live in those dimples.

My man. My love. My rock.

Thanks for humoring me and my mommy pride. I am just so filled with love and gratitude for the honor of being wife to Andrew and Mama to my kids… God couldn’t have given me a better life. We all have rough patches in our lives like I did last week. The key is praising Him through every storm. Every fainting spell. Every time your kids drive you nuts. Every time we’re overwhelmed. We are blessed beyond measure. This Christmas is SO special to me…. My girls are GETTING it… They are old enough to really feel the love of Jesus and to start realizing that when God gave us His Son, He saved us all. What could be a better present than that?

Merry Christmas.

Don’t forget about this week’s giveaway… Scroll down and enter away!

Needle and Thread Thursday Featuring a super twirly girly skirt, amazing bows, and embroidery! A giveaway is included of course!

2010-12-09T18:30:00.000-08:00

I like using unexpected fabric combinations and unusual fabrics. I also love classics, but I love the fun and funky. I’ve made several Christmas sets for my girls this season, but I think this one is my favorite:

I used Pink Fig’s Girly Skirt pattern. It’s my favorite go to skirt pattern. I’ve made it TONS of times for my girls, and it never disappoints. Don’t be scared of the gathering. It’s really simple and gives this skirt some serious TWIRL!

When I saw this fabric by Riley Blake back in August it was fabric love at first sight! I love that it’s not so traditional and that it’s very retro looking. I love the blue, orange, red, and green funky trees. I can’t really tell you where to get this fabric, as most Christmas fabrics are hard to find. I’m sure you could find some on Etsy if you really wanted it.

I originally thought I would use this print from the same line for the drop waist AND the hem.

When I was getting all my fabrics ready for cutting I spied this tangerine ta dot by Michael Miller in my stash, and I KNEW I had to add some of it.

Now I know orange isn’t a TYPICAL Christmas color, but that’s what makes it so fun! Isn’t it all precious together?

Since the fabric was retro and funky I wanted a fun shirt as well. I’m always looking for solid tees during the year to embellish and monogram. I had these blue ones from The Children’s Place in my shirt stash, and they worked perfectly. I used the Peace Love Christmas applique from Embroidery Boutique. I have a monogramming machine that I use often, but it’s not difficult to do something like this without one….I’m going to feature a tutorial on embellishing soon. It’s so easy and adds so much!

I put little leggings on under the skirt, and the girls are ready to roll! I paired this outfit with our orange polka dot shoes from my buddy Melissa over at Bella Nova Squeaky Shoes. I’m embarrassed to tell you how many pairs we have. I will say that for the cost of 2 pairs of Puddle Jumper shoes each I got my girls TONS! We wear them every single day, and they hold up wonderfully. Melissa didn’t ask me to go on and on about her shoes. I just love them that much!

I love this little smirk…..and the smirker :)

Please pardon Essie’s “I’m too busy watching Dora’s Christmas special to pose for you look”. I always get matching bows for my outfits. I have used my buddy Stacy at Little Clippies ever since I was waiting for Anne Pearce to come home. I can’t even begin to estimate how many we have…. Do you see this double layer 3 color bow?? UNDER $4! Stacy makes the best quality bows with the most amazing colors and styles for CHEAP! I don’t know how she does it. I only buy my bows from her…. I get so much more for my money….

I made both these outfits in an afternoon…. I sewed here and there while I did other things with the girls…

I hope that all this is starting to motivate some of you to get sewing. If you can read the manual for your sewing machine you can make these patterns. I’ve started you with EASY patterns that don’t require fancy sewing skills… This skirt is straight stitching ONLY. Easy Peasy I promise….

Now for the giveaway!

My Sweet Terri from Fairytale frocks and lollipops is giving one winner The Girly Skirt pattern by pink fig! Terri has the BEST pattern selection I have EVER seen. She has ALL the best patterns…. so many you won’t believe.

Stacy at Little Clippies is giving one winner a $20 gift certificate! You can go bow crazy! You won’t believe how far $20 goes at Little Clippies….

How do you win? It’s easy.

1. Leave a comment telling me anything you want about sewing, except don’t tell me you can’t do it. :) Yes, Kathy, I’m talking to you!

2. Go visit Terri at Fairytale frocks and Lollipops. Browse her patterns and choose one you would like me to review or do a sew along for.( I’m starting those after Christmas. We’ll take a pattern step by step together and sew something!) Hop back over here, and let me know which one or ones you’d like to see.

3. Go visit Stacy at Little Clippies and see which style of bow you like the best. My favorite is the double layer… LOVE LOVE LOVE it. Leave me another comment telling me your favorite.

4. Blog or facebook about the giveaway with a link back to the post. Leave me a comment telling me which you did… Do both for 2 more entries…

I’ll choose 2 winners next Wednesday night at 7 pm using a random generator.

Good luck, and Happy Sewing!

Love and hugs,

Linked to:

The fabulous Jane at Finding Fabulous

The lovin’

2010-12-08T18:18:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to thank you all for the sweet lovin’, thoughts, and prayers you sent my way this week. I’m slowly coming out of it and back to my normal…. I am having Needle and Thread Thursday tomorrow. I’m featuring a fabulous twirly skirt and bows…. I’m having a pattern and bow giveaway, so check back in the morning!

Love and hugs to the best virtual peeps a girl could ask for!

I like to pretend I’m normal. I like to pretend I’m Superwoman…..

2010-12-06T07:39:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I have really good stretches of time where I’m healthy. I’m actually functioning and living my life. Then it hits. My conditions. Last Thursday I started coughing and had the same crud most of you guys had or will have. The difference? By Friday morning I was passing out and throwing up on the floor. My hubby left me alone thinking I was asleep while he got the girlies ready for preschool. In that amount of time I ended up in a face plant. It wasn’t pretty. I was quickly reminded that I’m not anywhere close to normal. I may have little glimpses of health here and there, but they don’t last. It’s hard to admit to myself. I am disabled. Yep. I am. I have the blue placket that hangs from my rearview mirror and everything. Although I try to ignore it and be as normal as possible there are times that I can’t. I have learned to be SO GRATEFUL to God for these little windows of semi-normalcy. I really am. That doesn’t stop me from having pity parties here and there though. I am human, and I long for a healthy normal body. I hate missing things with my family. I hate that I’m in bed when they’re all doing something fantastic like going to the Christmas parade. I hate that there are so many things that I want to do but can’t. I know all you guys are thinking , “Hey, she does all that furniture and all those projects. SHE can’t be disabled”, and I don’t blame you for the thought. The truth is SHE has the vision, and her hubby does most of the grunt work. He does all the sanding and prepping…. the painting with the sprayer… He brings them to me to distress and glaze. He knows how much these things mean to me and keep me sane. HE is my angel. Andrew has always done everything he can to help me feel normal. There have been times when he’s done ALL the cooking and cleaning as well as the 100 loads of laundry per week (all the while he works a full time job). He’s taken the brunt of the parenting when I can’t handle the stress…. He does everything. That man meant it when he said, “In sickness and in health”. Andrew is a true example of what a hubby should be, and my life wouldn’t be anything close to normal without him. The best part? Yeah. He thinks he’s lucky to have ME?? Seriously? This falling apart 40 year old? Yup. He thinks I rock. It amazes me everyday.

I realize now (as I always do later) that all those projects before Thanksgiving pushed me right over the edge. I’m guilty of taking advantage of every bit of energy that I have instead of saving some up. Have I mentioned that I’m stubborn??

Please know that I’m really not sitting around feeling sorry for myself, although I do have brief moments. Today I am thankful that I was able to get out of bed today without passing out or being too dizzy to function. I am grateful that my heart seems to be beating with a normal rhythm….. I am thankful.

This blog is my outlet and always have been. I like trying to pretend that I’m superwoman and that I can do ALL these things ALL the time. I like to pretend, because it helps me cope. It’s important to me to tell the TRUTH. Don’t believe it all….. I’m not superwoman. I’m a mama just trying to do the best I can to make my house a home for my family….. Humor me sometimes when I’m going on and on about all the things I do or want to do…. then watch. I always crash. Now is the crash. It’ll take me a week at least to reach my semi-normal. There won’t be any big projects or decorating done. I’ll be lucky if I can keep the laundry going. If you’re healthy today say a prayer of thanks. I thank God everyday that I’m not any worse than I am. I COULD be a lot worse or have something even worse than what I have. I AM BLESSED. I would like to ask one favor. Today when you’re out doing something fabulous will you think of me?? Can we pretend like I’m doing it with you?? In my heart I will be.

Love and hugs.

Jesus, Simple, Traditional, Vintage and Needle and Thread Thursday

2010-12-02T05:44:00.001-08:00

Those 4 words are how I wanted my home to feel and what I wanted it to reflect this year during the Christmas season. Last year I had a lot of lime green, glittery stuff, and other colors. This year I wanted it to feel more authentic and real. I love Santa and other fun decorations, as you saw on my mantle here, but I wanted my manger scenes to be the focus of my decorations in my living room and den. I bought this manger set for $20 in 1993 when I was pregnant with Logan. I can remember exactly how much it cost, because I was 23 and broke! I had just started teaching and didn’t really have the money for a lot of decorations. I had to do the best I could with what I had, but I DID splurge on this Nativity scene and my first Santa. I didn’t have the manger then. That was a find at Wal-mart when Andrew and I first married. It’s my favorite Christmas decoration of all, and I had so much fun putting it out this year and explaining the meaning of each piece to my girls.

I decided to place it on my antique library table in my living room. It’s the first thing you see when you enter the living room from the kitchen/dining room.

This is what my family and guests are greeted with first. I put some pieces of burlap on the table to soften it up and give it a more rustic realistic feel.

Some close ups of the figurines:

I love the sweet Mary in this set.

I love the moss and all the other details on the manger.

The little logs and burlap bag…..

The cow, sheep, and piece of pottery all work together.

I wanted to use other rustic elements on the table like these moss balls wrapped in a cut piece of upholstery webbing and accented with greenery and red balls.

This sweet angel was a gift from my mother in law a few years ago.

More moss balls and “holly”….

Another view…

I also gave my lamp a Christmas update. You can see how I made the holly wrap here.

I love the way this tabletop turned out…. It feels so calm and is a favorite spot in my house. I love being greeted by this every time I enter the room.

I have more decorations to share over the next few weeks. This is such a HAPPY Christmas for our family. We are enjoying every minute and look forward to sharing more Christmas spirit with family and friends. Little children definitely bring out the Christmas joy!

I will post Needle and Thread Thursday tonight. I wanted to be able to share this vignette at Rhoda’s Christmas vignette party. Head over there to see more Christmas gorgeousness!

I have Christmas flannel ruffle pants to share today. They’re so warm, comfy, and CUTE. I also have 3 patterns to giveaway, so check back later tonight.

love and hugs,

A Santa Mantle

2010-11-30T06:56:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas! I love Christmas… Love love love. This year I wanted simple and traditional decorations… Lots of greenery with burlap and jute… I wanted it to feel comfortable and welcoming. This year is the first year that my girlies really “get” Christmas. They understand (as much as they can about Jesus) and love looking at the mangers… Anne Pearce came running in the living room after her bath the other night. She was totally naked except for a blanket wrapped all around her face. She looked at her daddy and said, “You Jesus. I da mama.” Priceless. They’re also understanding the whole “naughty vs. nice” deal and their friend Bobby, the elf on the shelf. They’re so excited, and I wanted to do the mantle for THEM. Now mind you, I love me some Santa… I have a thing for him. I’ve collected Santas for years and pick up at least one new one per season. Since we didn’t have a mantle at all last year (no fireplace) I was so excited to be able to decorate this precious one my hubby built. (You can read about that here.) Here’s my final result. The girls LOVE it, and I’m very happy with the way it turned out.

As you can see Santa reigns on this mantle.

Doesn’t matter that we lost the Iron Bowl. Santa still says, “ROLL TIDE”!

I made a garland out of a piece of Hobby Lobby greenery, upholstery webbing, and jute twine. I love the vintage rustic look it gives the mantle and the way it compliments the stained wood mantle.

This mantle is loaded down with our traditional needlepoint stockings. The girls love identifying whose is whose. It’s funny, because when they get to mine they say it’s Lou Lynn’s. Not mamas. I asked if the Santa was Andrew Lynn’s. Nope. It’s Daddy’s.

I layered mirrors with candles to give the fireplace a glow. We have some lights in the top, and they really look pretty together.

My mama got be this fabulous hurricane from the shop where she works. The candle holder comes out, so you can fill the bottom with seasonal items… No fear of anything catching on fire here.

I got the candy canes at the same shop. They have stakes on them, so they’re easy to stick anywhere.

I love that crazy looking short and fat Santa. He cracks me up.

I wanted some real firewood, so I loaded up my antique coal bucket. It makes it feel more authentic. I told Andrew that I wish we could light some up in the fireplace. :)

Another view of the coal bucket with the candles and mirrors.

Don’t those 2 tall skinny Santas look like they were made to stand there?

A side view. I really love the webbing tied on the garland.

One last view.

We love the warmth and dimension our fake fireplace has given our living room. It was so much fun to decorate for Christmas, and I really enjoy sitting with my girls and just enjoying the view.

love and hugs.

Linking to:

Easy Christmas Decoration: How to Make a Holly Wrap for Your Lampshades

2010-11-29T07:25:00.000-08:00

Hi all! I’ve had so much fun decorating my house for Christmas! My theme for this year is vintage traditional… I think I just made that up. I’m using lots of texture like burlap, jute, greenery, and some upholstery webbing thrown in. As I was working on my living room today I decided to “Christmas” my lamps up. I thought I’d share this easy project with you.

What you’ll need:

upholstery webbing (available at most fabric stores. Mine was $.29 per yard), greenery (fake or live), red Christmas balls, jute or twine, wire clippers, and upholstery tacks (or hot glue if you prefer).

Time to get busy.

First, cut a piece of greenery for the front of your lamp. Hold some up, and just see what size looks right. I did a small version and a larger one for 2 lamps in my living room. Fluff it out, and make a center space for the holly bunch.

I used some small red shatterproof balls I got at the Dollar Tree.

The holes were tiny at the top, so I separated my jute into 3 strands. It made it much easier to string the balls.

For the larger version I strung 3 balls together.

When you have them all strung on flip them over and secure with a double knot.

Then it looks like this:

Turn your greenery over, and tie the holly bunch to your greenery in the center.

Measure around your lamp shade, and cut a piece of webbing to size. Fold it in half, and really crease the center line.

I got a long piece of twine, wrapped it around and through the holly bunch, and tied it tightly in the back to attach the holly bunch to the webbing. I then brought the long lengths around and tied a bow in the front.

There’s the holly attached to the webbing.

Now wrap your webbing around to the back of your lampshade. I’m going to leave mine wrapped in webbing after Christmas, so I decided to secure the webbing with upholstery tacks. You could also hot glue it if you prefer.

I took my lamp shade off at this point to attach the holly wrap. It was too awkward to attach on my floor lamp. I didn’t have any problems with the smaller lamp though. Here’s mine attached with upholstery tacks.

This is what my lamp looked like before:

And here’s the finished product. My lamps are all wrapped up for Christmas. I love the texture and dimension they bring to my room.

This antique table lamp got a smaller version.

This was such an easy project and didn’t take much time or money at all. They were the first thing my mama noticed when she came in to look at all my decorations today, and they make me smile every time I look at them.

Now go make yourself some holly wraps for your lampshades, columns, or anything else you can think to attach them to. Please feel free to share this tutorial with anyone you want, but please link back to me.

I’ll be sharing more Christmas decorations and ideas over the next couple of weeks. Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

love and hugs,

linking up to:

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday
My repurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can

Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party

Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Stories of a House Project Diaries

The Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday

Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday

Savvy Southern Style

Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous

Style Feature Saturday at Perfectly Imperfect

Friday at Remodelaholic

http://dittledattle.blogspot.com/2010/11/first-ever-linky-party-amaze-me-monday.html

iron bowl decorating for $0

2010-11-28T06:38:00.001-08:00

Ok. So we lost. It was sad. I’m still not over it, BUT life goes on. :) If you don’t know it already I’m a HUGE Alabama football fan. This year we hosted a little Iron Bowl party with fans of both varieties. It was the day after Thanksgiving, so I was exhausted from all the festivities… I seriously decided at about 11:30 that morning that I would do a “little decorating” for the game. Mind you. At 11:30 I still had on my pj’s, still had to make a couple of hot dips, AND get my house back straightened up. I quickly noticed how red and gray show up all over my house…. I think it’s my subconscious Bama love speaking to me all the time. I grabbed some fabric from my stash and got busy.

I used some Bama fabric as a garland and wove it though my mantle.

I added some ribbon to use as napkin rings using the same placemats and napkins I used for Thanksgiving.

My scale also got some houndstooth loving and a touch of red.

Another quickly folded piece of fabric becomes a table runner… Red and white ribbon decked out the old pitcher.

More red and houndstooth. I can’t believe that I didn’t take ANY pictures of the food! It stretched from one end of my kitchen to the next. We ate GOOD peeps.

It COULD be that I forgot to take pictures of the food, because I had TOO many of these… Just sayin’…

This was the chalkboard BEFORE the party. Everyone put little messages… Let’s just say it wasn’t all blog appropriate. :)

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE my Judith March Alabama dress, although it’s so stinkin’ short that I wear it as a tunic. I try to ignore the fact that it makes me look like I’m expecting a baby, which I’M NOT! This cutie is one of my besties Beth. We’ve been great friends for over 10 years. Our love goes deeper than football.

I adore my hubby even though he goes for the WRONG team as evidenced by his choice of shirt.

Part of the crew during the game… I wasn’t in the mood to take any pictures after halftime. :( I MAY have almost thrown my camera across the room…

I had to share this, just because it’s hilarious. I told Andrew that the decorator loves Bama…. I didn’t happen to have anything Auburn colored laying around. Go figure. :) He found this Fanta can in orange and blue and wrote War Eagle at the top. This was the only AU decoration in the house.

Even though my team didn’t pull the win off we had a fantastic time with friends and family. Auburn has earned bragging rights for the rest of the year, but I only have one thing to say: JUST WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR!! Roll Tide Forever!

Don't have a mantle to decorate for Christmas? Build one.

2010-11-27T07:53:00.001-08:00

Edited to add: The mantle is now all decked out for Christmas. You can see that post here.

Peeps. Andrew rocks. Seriously. He really really rocks. We love our house. It’s perfect for our family. There’s only one little bitty thing that bothered me…. It has no fireplace. Thus, no mantle. Who doesn’t love decorating a mantle?? Last Christmas I missed a mantle so badly. It just wasn’t the same. Andrew told me that this year I would have mantle woes no more. We started thinking and planning. WHAT exactly did we want? Where would it go? What was the look we were going for?

Our first thought was to do something like this from PB:

I loved the chippiness…..the colors…I also LOVE the yummy stuff on top… We liked it but thought we wanted a more traditional looking mantle.

So, we started searching the Internet for inspiration. What would we build?? hmmmmm

Something like this? Simple and traditional?

this maybe? Another traditional… I LOVE that Magnolia wreath and those urns….

This really caught my eye…. The black distressed wood was gorgeous… I REALLY thought about this…

Should we do something like this beauty? We couldn’t replicate the marble or the gorgeous carving, but we COULD have that curved opening and add a lot of wooden embellishments.

As I was searching and looking nothing seemed PERFECT for this house. I wanted it to look like it was born in THIS house. Like it was meant to be here…. We thought we had a plan, and then I spotted this:

Mandi at Vintage Revivals won a huge contest with this fabulous “faux fireplace” she made out of cabinet doors. Genius I say! We wanted more of a fireplace instead of just a mantle… This piece was the ultimate inspiration. She has a wonderful tutorial on how she did it here if you want to build one like hers…. Andrew thought it was a fantastic idea to use cabinet doors. It took all the hard work of adding the details out of the mix…. No trimming out and adding all the panels…. Way to GO! We headed to our local Restore and climbed through ALL their panels. We had measured our wall where our fireplace was going and searched for panels with the look we wanted in the right dimensions. We came home with this:

We added some 1 x 6’s for the hearth and a 1 x 12 for the mantle itself.

My man went to building. Don’t ask me the specifics.. I don’t build :) We had that old piece of moulding left from one of our repaired pieces, and it was perfect for the mantle support….

I stained the hearth and mantle with dark walnut. We wanted a more traditional looking fireplace with a twist… Isn’t that hearth divine?? Can you believe it was made from regular cheapy 1 x 6’s?

All painted and ready to go!

And FINALLY! Here she is in our home! Our house is an original cottage of Fairhope, and the living room has a strange shape. This small bump out wall was the only place we really had, but it’s perfect here. Doesn’t it look like it was born here??

I glazed over the entire piece with RL Tobacco glaze. I love where the moulding meets the sides. He cut one double panel cabinet down the center to make the sides.

He really worked at keeping the scale in proportion with the wall.

He notched out the back to fit perfectly on the wall.

The electrical outlet kept us from leaving the back open. We thought about adding a piece of beadboard to the back, but I decided to just layer some mirrors instead.

I pulled things from around the house to put together a quick simple mantle for Thanksgiving with the family.

I am SO thrilled with the end product. It ended up being just what we wanted, and the cabinet doors made it a much easier process for Andrew. He completely built it in an afternoon. The next day it got painted and assembled. It added just the right touch for our living room. I can’t wait to decorate it for Christmas today or tomorrow!

Here’s our little family this Thanksgiving. There’s so many of us we kinda cover it up!

It’s a perfect space to sit with my girls….

or to put all the cousins for a picture. We all realized later that we all took turns looking like goober mommies in the mirror trying to get the kids to cooperate. See those little grubby handprints on the mirror?? That’s the story of my life….

I am so thankful that my sweet hubby indulges most of my “wants”. Even if we could just go buy things like this we wouldn’t. We love making our house our home with things WE redo and make. It makes things that much more special. Don’t you think so?

love and hugs.

Thanks for looking. I’m linking up to:

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday
My repurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can

Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party

Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Stories of a House Project Diaries

The Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday

Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday

Savvy Southern Style

Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous

Style Feature Saturday at Perfectly Imperfect

Friday at Remodelaholic

Restore it Wednesday at Restore Interiors

Piece of Work Wednesday at Primitive and Proper

And the winners are, next weeks needle and thread thursday, and happy football…. I love this!

2010-11-26T07:47:00.001-08:00

I let my hubby Andrew use the comment numbers to “scientifically generate” our winners…. :) He rocks like that….

Ok. We have two winners who each get to choose the Boutique Bottom sewing pattern or the Cuppy Cake dress sewing pattern. These lucky gals also get 20% off their fabric from Fairytale Frocks and Lollipops.

Winner number one is Kathy at Creative Home Expressions who said:

Wow, this is like being in a candy store! What combination you could put together. I like the Lily & Will fabrics and the Fig Tree fabrics. I'd probably pick whatever pattern would work better for a first timer to use because I dont' want to have to deal with matching up or repeats, etc.

Winner number two is Denise who left this comment:

I've been eyeballing the Lily & Will collection from FF&L for a couple of days now. I am already pondering Easter dresses! :)

You girls can decide which pattern and fabric you want and can contact Terri at terri@fairytalefrocksandlollipops.com. I’ll be giving her your names and info. Congrats!

The winner of the shoes from Bella Nova Squeaky is Ashley who left this comment:

i would choose the red & white polka dot shoes. somehow we have most all pairs except them, and they are a MUST for Christmas :)

Ashley, contact Melissa, and just let her know you won… Congrats!

Next Thursday I’m going to be sharing Christmas outfits, and we’re having ANOTHER giveaway! Come back over for your chance to win free patterns. We’re also going to discuss having a sewalong for the Boutique Bottoms sewing pattern. We can all share pictures of our finished products. It’ll be SO much fun!

Just as the Red Sea parted, so does the state of Alabama on this one day a year…. It’s IRON BOWL day, and I will be glued to my TV watching my favorite two guys, Julio and Mark!

I hope to see my fella doing a lot of this:

and this:

Hopefully not too much of this:

Or this":

I love my Crimson Tide! ROLL TIDE ROLL!

Love and hugs….

happy thanksgiving, a peek, needle and thread Thursday, and giveaway

2010-11-25T06:34:00.001-08:00

Let me apologize right now for not drawing the winners last night. It has been SO crazy around here trying to get ready for my entire family arriving at my house. I PROMISE that I will do the drawing either tonight or in the morning.

It was also so crazy this week that I didn’t get to my Needle and Thread Thursday post. Next week I’ll be up and running with some Christmas outfits! This WILL be a weekly feature… Like I said it was just nuts around here!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my peeps…. Hope you have a blessed and wonderful day!

Here’s a sneak peek at what’s been keeping me so busy:

Finishing our fake fireplace…

Having new furniture delivered the day before Thanksgiving while madly cleaning house…. Not to mention that wild thing sitting on it!

Finishing bench….AND that dining table…

Wild thing #2

All the while trying to get everything set up for Thanksgiving!

We finished the console, but I’m saving that one for next week!

Have a great day….I’m going to eat until I can’t take another bite, and I’ll be taking a nap as soon as everybody leaves my house. I am EXHAUSTED from all these projects. Like I said in an earlier post: It’s how I roll!

Happy Turkey Day!

i have officially lost my flipping mind.

2010-11-23T05:42:00.001-08:00

Yep. Lost it… It’s a goner…. LONG GONE. I don’t know if this ever happens to anyone else, but when I have a million people coming to my house for any reason I decide it’s time to totally redo things. Like the time my bff was coming for a visit, and I decided that I needed to totally redo my son’s room she was staying in a few days before her arrival. OR the time one of my besties was coming, and I KNEW I just had to refinish my china cabinet, table, and chairs for her visit… not even a week before she arrived. I do this ALL the time, and I’m aware that I’m nuts like that…. It’s just how I roll. I can’t show you all the after shots yet, well…. because…. ummmm….. they’re not all finished. I know. Crazy. We work well under pressure! Here are a few of the projects I decided last week that we needed to get done BEFORE Thanksgiving.

Yeah… I thought it would be a great idea to strip this chair down to the bones, repaint, and recover it. THIS may be the ONE project that isn’t done by Thursday.

Wasn’t this weekend a perfect time to persuade Andrew that it was time to build our fake fireplace??

How about refinishing our new to us antique table?? After all it seats more people than our current table, and we COULD use all that extra seating for Thanksgiving… That makes sense huh?

You know…. Don’t worry that it took me ALL day long Wednesday just to strip the finish….

Why not just go ahead and redo this piece too?? I mean it’s no big deal… Just strip and refinish the top… Paint and glaze the bottom… No biggie. I can handle it….

And this?? Oh it’s just the seat to the bench Andrew also built for seating for that table I showed you….

Here’s the bench and chest as of this morning….

Don’t doubt me peeps. We WILL get this done by TONIGHT. Every single bit of it. Then tomorrow?? Can I rest?? Nope. It’s time to clean and get to cooking for Thursday. What can I say?? It’s just the way I roll. Are you tired just looking at this? I am.

Love and hugs.

Featured on Better After Today

2010-11-22T12:37:00.001-08:00

I just noticed that Better After is featuring my last 2 china cabinets today. Head on over here to check it out.... I'm thrilled and honored that Lindsey chose my 2 pieces to feature... It's always fun to get a shout out....

Thanks Lindsey!

What happened to loulou- a repost that gives a (long) short recap of WHO I am. I’ll warn you… It’s really long. :)

2010-11-21T08:19:00.001-08:00

I have so many new friends reading the blog now, and I know that many of you don’t really “know” me. I wrote this brief recap last year for the same reason and thought I’d share the story with those of you now who may be interested. THIS is the story of our adoptions and how they changed our lives (both good and bad) for over 2 years and how I reemerged into the “real” world. I have adoption blogs that chronicle the entire adoptions of both girls…the actual steps as well as how God truly changed ME through it all. If you want to read those blogs just leave me a comment WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS PLEASE, and I’ll send you an invitation. I’ll warn you, it’s A LOT of reading. :) Here’s the shortest recap ever of the story.

I’ve blogged for years…. I documented every step of our 2 Guatemalan adoptions and made some lifelong friends. We Guatemama’s are a loyal loving group. I’ve noticed as I’ve been documenting my attempts at craftiness that several have joined who know NOTHING about me… about what drives me….. about what makes me who I am. I decided I should start giving you a glimpse at who Loulou is….Who I AM.

For those of you who haven’t experienced an international adoption let me just tell you: they take over your lives…every second. every minute. every day. You don’t leave the house for a week in fear of missing an email about your baby.(the days before the iphone) You won’t be 2 inches away from a phone in case anyone calls….They never call and email as much as you would like. You cling to hope and hate the weekends…you never hear anything on a weekend. Your child is in a 3rd world country, and you have NO control. You eat too much chocolate and gain as much weight as you did in your pregnancies, and NO ONE gets you…. No one EXCEPT those precious souls who are going through the same thing. Your bloggers. Your friends. Your lifeline. Adoption becomes your identity. Finally, your children come home. You spend a year trying to find a new normal….. For the first time in years you wonder where YOU are. What happened to YOU? Where did YOU go as an individual?? Have you ever had a hobby? WHAT did you do before adoption rocked your world?

It took me a while to get myself back together. Sweet Essiecakes has been home 14 months, Anne Pearce for over 2 years, and I am slowly coming out of a fog…. a fog of having 2 babies 7 months apart who couldn’t stand each other most of the time and 2 teenagers with teenage issues. It was tough. Wonderful. Exhausting. Fulfilling. Horrible. The best things we could have ever done as a family. Now I’m having to recreate my life. Who am I? What do I want to accomplish? What do I want for our family? First and foremost I want to do what God wants me to do, and I feel that He wants me to return to the world. Get out of this house. Do SOMETHING….. I’ve had SO many houses in so many different places, and it occurred to me a while back that this didn’t feel like my HOME. I hadn’t done anything creative to change things up and make it feel like my place. My sanctuary. My house. My haven. All of a sudden I was filled with desire for SOMETHING…. I was ALIVE! I have a vision…. I know what I want our home to be!!! All the people who are supposed to be here are here, and it’s time to make our home. Not a home where some of us lived while we waited on the others to join us. A home for all 6 of us. Our place. OUR sanctuary. OUR HOME. I don’t have a fortune to work with or the time I would want to invest, but I am slowly but surely going to make this place be what I want it to be for US. What we need it to be for US. It’s time to live life again, and I am ready. I hope that you will tag along with me on this journey. I always need support, ideas, and I just plain love to blog. This is a different kind of blog than I used to have for a different kind of Loulou. I’m back, people, I’m back. For those of you just joining the story I thought I would help you fill in the blanks…..

The life of loulou:

Fly to Guatemala and fall hopelessly in love with a baby you CANNOT believe God chose YOU to call your daughter…

Get to know this baby girl and adore her more every minute…

Watch Andrew become a daddy to this girlie ….

fall even more in love with Andrew…..

Fly back home and wonder how you will ever make it another day without that face….Fly BACK to Guatemala to see this sweet angel:

Realize that you love her even more than you thought you did…..

Try to soak up every second until you have to leave her again….you don’t believe your heart will EVER heal….

Until you make that final trip and NEVER have to give that baby back again…. You pinch yourself over and over again to make sure this isn’t a dream….after all, this is the dream you’ve dreamed every second for as long as you can remember…

Just be a mama to your baby…

Marvel at every move she makes….

THEN I got to give her BACK to her daddy……after almost 4 months…

I got to introduce her to her brothers for the first time…

Then you bring her home to all the people who have loved and waited for her… Life begins YOU THINK….

You think your family is complete…. You think you are done, UNTIL you see this sweet face and KNOW she is your daughter…. PRAY AND PRAY AND PRAY AND BEG AND BEG AND BEG your hubby for months until he comes to the same conclusion: She’s ours too…..

You decide to adopt this baby TWO WEEKS before adoptions in Guatemala are closing….. no time for paperwork…

Fly to Guatemala less than 2 weeks later….the day after Christmas… Sign papers to register adoption….get registered Dec. 28….cutoff is the 30th…. Praise God that you made it in time….

Fall in love all over again with this TINY precious girlie…

Wonder how in the heck you’re ever gonna take care of TWO of these people!

Cherish every second only to leave.

Become her mama….

Only to have to leave again….fly home to complete paperwork for international adoption. from scratch. by myself. no agency this time. I did it all……Got everything finished in record time and headed back down to see my angel again in March…She had grown SO much.

Still so little and sweet…..loved every second with her.

Wondered what I had EVER done to deserve another one of God’s blessings….

Went home AGAIN.Went home AGAIN.Went home AGAIN.Went home AGAIN.Went home AGAIN.Went home AGAIN.Went home AGAIN.Went home AGAIN.Went home AGAIN.

Went BACK to Guatemala AGAIN…..came back to the same sweet girl….a little older….still my girlie

This picture is one of the worst memories of my life. Essie was so mad at me for leaving this time….She wouldn’t have anything to do with me when her foster mom came to get her….I was devastated…

Then the happy day came when we got to go bring her home…

Two sisters together

Got to share this with my best friend…

Our little family missing our boys….

Bring Essie home to meet her brothers…

and her grandparents….

Come home to try to find a new normal….

Coming out of the fog…..

Here I am now…..ready to reenter the world……craziness. fabulousness…and all.

Edited:

I gained a lot of weight during my adoptions and after I brought them home… I was seriously depressed and overwhelmed for a LONG time. Since then I have lost 28 lbs. I had let myself go in EVERY way possible…In the picture directly above I had lost about 10 lbs. In the picture below I was at my heaviest- 160 pounds. I have a very small frame, and that is A LOT for me.

After the first 10 lbs:

Here are some more accurate pics of me recently:

In September in Jamaica:

I’m no supermodel, but I’m comfortable in my own skin… and stretch marks :)

Me showing these bathing suit pics are huge for me. I had been so uncomfortable and hated ME for so long. I never thought I’d be able emotionally to share myself like this.

With my sister Leelee and my bestie Muriel.

With my super amazing best friend sister girl Natalie in NYC for my 40th birthday this summer.

This random guy in NYC walked up and asked if he could take a picture with me… It was hilarious.

A few weeks ago with one of my good friends from high school

Just so you know…. I don’t look like this everyday… Most days I look like this:

If you’re still here after all this God bless you! LOL! Have a great Sunday!

new finds, some projects in the works, and don’t tell me you can’t sew

2010-11-19T08:52:00.001-08:00

Last Saturday Andrew and I were out getting a few supplies. On the way home we spotted a yard sale sign… It was 2:00 mind you, and I didn’t think there would be anything left… What WAS left was a truck full of gorgeous antiques that were WAY over our price range…. Before we left I saw one lone pedestal sitting by the truck. I’ve been wanting a round pedestal to make a coffee table, so I asked if we could buy the pedestal… He said he had 2 that went to a table, but one had damage. He said we’d also have a table top to “play with”. We went to get some cash ($50) and headed back to their house. When we pulled up THIS is what he had sitting waiting for us. Can you believe this??? It’s an antique Duncan Phyfe table that seats 8. That damaged pedestal?? One of the supports had come unglued. That’s it. We got this AMAZING dining table for $50! SCORE! We knew as soon as we loaded this up that it was going in OUR dining room. We need a bigger table, and there was NO way we were cutting these pedestals down for a coffee table. I’ve stripped the top (which is a WHOLE other story coming next week), and we’re finishing it this weekend…. Whooo hooo.

Tuesday Andrew and I met at our Restore at lunch to look for some cabinets for a project. After we had all we needed I browsed through the furniture (of course). We had pretty much decided that we weren’t buying ANY new pieces until we cleared the inventory we have…. We had agreed on that until I spotted THIS piece. Peeps, she is GORGEOUS!!! I had intentions of selling her, until I looked at her all day long Wednesday while I stripped my table top. I concocted this entire evil plan… Take the old chest out of Hayden’s room, redo and sell IT, give him the antique chest that now acts as a console for our TV in the living room, and redo THIS piece for our console…. (insert evil scientist laugh here). As soon as Andrew got home I started sweet talking and explaining all my “plans”. He said he saw this one coming a mile away, and he knew from the time we bought it that we were keeping it. I love that man! The price? $55. It’s rare here to find those $30 pieces. You do run across them here and there, but it’s amazing to score a piece like this for that price. Another whoooo hooooo! Can’t you see her with a dark stained top and the bottom painted up all pretty?? That hardware is to.die.for.and just needs cleaning up. I haven’t decided what color yet. We’re doing a mini redo when our new couch gets here, and I need to pull in some more color. I will be asking my buddy Kathy for some assistance with this one. Be ready Kathy… I’ll teach you how to sew, and you can help me decide on some decorating decisions! :) I love Kathy, BTW.

Here are the cabinets we got for a TOP SECRET project…. Andrew is SO excited about this one, and he’s working on it this weekend… I can’t wait to share it with you guys next week sometime… Whooo hooo for the 3rd time!

We walked through Christmas decorations at Restore, and I picked up all these things for $1 apiece. The girls had a ball helping me look for things. I love that unfinished wooden tree. I think I’m going to modge podge some Christmas fabric and decorate it for their room or bathroom. Essie loves it and carries it around everywhere.

This little sleigh is my favorite find of the day. I haven’t decided what to fill it with. I’m thinking a bunch of present ornaments… What do you think?

Remember this chair? I can promise you that it looks nothing like this anymore. I didn’t do the best upholstery job, as it was my first attempt, and I just dove in…. It’s getting a new paint job and a new upholstery job… I’m in the process of finishing this now. I have to get it done ASAP. The boys and Andrew have been complaining about this one being outside. They fight over it, because it’s SO comfy. I bought high quality foam for the cushions this time hoping they’ll hold up better.

Finally, don’t tell me you can’t sew. You may not want to sew or may not like it, but you can do it. I seriously learned to sew using Aimee at Sewsensible’s patterns. She takes you step by step through each stitch. It’s remarkable how easy she makes sewing. You will be amazed how easy it is to make a pair of ruffled pants, AND you’ll be so proud of yourself for doing it… not to mention the money you save. I can create a boutique style outfit that normally retails for $70 and up for about $15. I’m picky about my fabric, but if you used stuff from Hobby Lobby you could make a pair of ruffle pants for about $5! $7 –8 if you use designer fabric. You can’t get a good pair of Target pants for that…. SO, if you WANT to do it you CAN. I promise. I also be here to help. Really. So get rid of your fear, and get ready to sew.

Don’t forget about the giveaway! It would be a GREAT way to start…Free patterns, discounted fabric, and FREE shoes to go with your pants… The details for the giveaway are below….

Terri at Fairytale Frocks and Lollipops and Melissa from Bella Nova Squeaky are BOTH offering giveaways! Terri is going to give 2 lucky winners their choice of the Boutique Ruffle Pant OR the Cuppy Cake dress pattern! How fabulous is that?? She’s ALSO offering 20% off fabric for the winners! This is an AMAZING offer! You could get started on your own outfit!!!

Melissa is giving away a pair of these fabulous shoes to one lucky winner! You will be amazed at all she has to offer….

How much fun is this???

How do you win? You have several ways to enter.

1. Follow this blog. Leave me a comment telling me if you’re already a follower or are a new one.

2. Link this post on your blog in a post or on your sidebar. Hop back over here, and leave another comment telling me you did.

3. Go visit Bella Nova Squeaky and let me know in a comment what shoes you would choose if you won.

4. Go visit Fairytale Frocks and Lollipops. Check out her fabric, and let me know what fabric you would choose if you won.

That’s 4 entries per person!! I will choose the winners next Wednesday at 7:00 pm using a random generator.

Needle and thread Thursday, my other obsession, and a huge giveaway

2010-11-18T17:02:00.000-08:00

The giveaway information is given at the bottom of this post.

I know that I have a lot of new friends reading that don’t know me as well as some of you….Although I love doing furniture it’s not my only hobby…. Let me tell you a little something about me: I AM A MANIAC SEWER. Seriously. I am obsessed with how I dress my girls….I love all things fabric, pattern, and notion related. I realized when Essie came home that there was NO way I could afford to dress the girls the way I want, so I taught myself to sew. I had a little sewing machine when I was a little girl, and I used to sew a lot of little things by hand and by machine…little rag dolls, little purses…pillows…I used to get SO MAD when my little machine wouldn’t cooperate with me and sew denim. I was obsessed with cutting up old blue jeans and making blue jean purses with the pockets on the front… Man, I wish I had one of those to show you! That’s the only sewing experience I EVER had. I taught myself to sew using some fabulous patterns that I’ll share. If I can do it YOU can do it!

These days I have a better machine that sews through anything! I have a Babylock Ellure that sews beautifully and also monograms. I’ll share more about my machines later.

My goal is to start sharing a sewing project every Thursday. It won’t always be the girls’ clothes. I’ll also share my slipcovering and other housey sewing projects. I’m hoping this will inspire me to do more of this hobby that I love that has been getting pushed to the side. If I’m accountable to you guys, then I’ll be more likely to get some projects done.

If there’s any interest we could start a Needle and Thread Thursday Party… Let me know if you want me to link up any of your sewing projects, and I’ll be happy to. Regardless of the party decision this is something that I WILL be doing every Thursday. I hope you’ll join me, as I share my projects.

When I show a project I am going to give you links to the fabric and patterns I used so can make something yourself. I will warn you that I don’t often use a pattern “as is”. I change up little things here and there to make it mine. Sometimes I DO stick to the pattern it just depends on the article of clothing I’m sewing. I’ll link you to the places where I find my fabrics, patterns, and notions. If there’s interest I’ll do a sew along and help you through some patterns. Doesn’t that sound fun?? I’m also going to have some fabulous giveaways starting today.

Now that I’m done explaining I’ll get to today’s post. I’m going to give you all the details from these outfits I made recently. We’ve only worn it once, but we got TONS of compliments!

I fell in LURVE with this Pillow and Maxfield Pretty Bird by Michael Miller…

It’s on sale right now at Fabric.com for $7.18 a yard. Go get some quick! I paired it with this “Bloomies”from the same line which is also on sale for the same price. That’s a GREAT price for designer fabric like this. This line comes in several colorways that are gorgeous, but I loved the bright greens, blues, and pinks.

I went to my all time favorite ruffle pants pattern. You can get this pattern from MY FAVORITE ONLINE SEWING STORE EVER! Fairytale Frocks and Lollipops has the BEST selection of patterns I’ve ever found. Period. They also have a FANTASTIC fabric selection. I always try to look there first for what I need. The owner, Terri, is so helpful and gives fantastic customer service and shipping rates. I used the Boutique Bottoms by sew sensible. These patterns are great for beginners and experienced seamstresses. I’ve tried other patterns, but I always come back to this one. I did make my ruffles longer than the pattern states, and I make them I little differently, but they’re great the way the pattern explains too!

This is a downloadable pattern, which means that you use YOUR printer to make a copy. It’s super easy to do! I love this option, because there’s NO tracing of an actual pattern…. You just cut out the size you need. Here’s the link for this pattern. The pattern in the giveaway is a full paper pattern, not the downloadable one. The downloadable Sew Sensible line of patterns are available at http://www.sewsensible.net/.

I used the bodices and straps from Pink Fig’s cuppy cake dress. I did change the way I made the skirt on the dress. Do NOT skip the interfacing on the bodice if you try this pattern. It is very important for the weight of the bodice. I found this out the hard way. :) If you have questions about the changes I made I will be happy to help you! Just post them in the comment section if you do.

Here is the finished product:

The back has a shirred bodice that looks amazing but is SO easy to do… The pattern gives great instructions on shirring. I chose to place the buttons on the inside of the bodice instead of the outside like the pattern suggests.

The girls are wearing Bella Nova Squeaky shoes. They are SO affordable that we have them in TONS of colors. We wear them everyday, and they hold up very well. Melissa is a fabulous person to buy from and has the most amazing customer service ever. You can buy her shoes on her website or on her Facebook page that is listed in the link above.

For fall and winter I layered the top over a long sleeved tee. When spring and summer rolls around they can wear them alone. These pants look precious as they get shorter. These pants can’t be “too short”. They look just as adorable as ankle or capri pants.

Anne Pearce started singing “Shake your booty” while I was taking her pictures. She loves this outfit.

We’re getting ready to go to school!

It’s tough being this cute, but somebody’s gotta do it!

Now for the giveaway!!! I’m SO EXCITED!!!

Terri at Fairytale Frocks and Lollipops and Melissa from Bella Nova Squeaky are BOTH offering giveaways!

Terri is going to give 2 lucky winners their choice of the Boutique Ruffle Pant OR the Cuppy Cake dress pattern! How fabulous is that?? She’s ALSO offering 20% off fabric for the winners! This is an AMAZING offer! You could get started on your own outfit!!!

Melissa is giving away a pair of these fabulous shoes to one lucky winner! You will be amazed at all she has to offer….

How much fun is this???

How do you win? You have several ways to enter.

1. Follow this blog. Leave me a comment telling me if you’re already a follower or are a new one.

2. Link this post on your blog in a post or on your sidebar. Hop back over here, and leave another comment telling me you did.

3. Go visit Bella Nova Squeaky and let me know in a comment what shoes you would choose if you won.

4. Go visit Fairytale Frocks and Lollipops. Check out her fabric, and let me know what fabric you would choose if you won.

That’s 4 entries per person!! I will choose the winners next Wednesday at 7:00 pm using a random generator.

I am doing this to encourage you mamas, grandmamas, aunts, and friends to start sewing for your little ones… I LOVE it when my girls proudly tell people, “My mama made it” when they get compliments on their clothes. I love it that they look like a million bucks for a fraction of the price and that no one else looks just like them. I am bound and determined to get some of you sewing!! I’m here to help with whatever questions you may have…

Let’s get sewing!

Linking to:

The Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday

Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday

Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous

Style Feature Saturday at Perfectly Imperfect

the little table that started it all, and thank you Miss mustard seed

2010-11-17T08:03:00.001-08:00

As I was making my bed up this morning I realized that I’ve never shared this table with you guys… Let me tell you a short story. I am in LOVE with Marian at Miss Mustard Seed. I have been since she only had about 50 followers… We used to email back and forth about our blogs all the time. I don’t think anyone is more thrilled over her success than I am…. She is the sweetest thing ever….not to mention UBER talented. I started falling in love with all her stained and painted pieces like this one:

Her dining room made me swoon….

I loved her mix of dark woods and light fabrics (all slipcovered by her).

Painting furniture and redoing things for my home wasn’t new to me, but I had never tackled stripping and staining. I had watched my mama do it in our garage for the majority of my childhood and young life… I loved it but didn’t think that I could do it.

Enter Marian. She not only shows us divine items to drool over and inspire us, but she also shares her knowledge. FOR FREE. You don’t have to buy an ebook to see how she does things…. She willingly shares, so we can all have a chance to learn. Can you tell I love her?

After reading her tutorials I finally decided to take the stripping plunge. I had wanted to redo this table for YEARS. I loved it, but the finish on top was horrible, and the bottom was all scratched and dinged up. I knew I didn’t want to cover ALL this gorgeous table with paint… You can see where I started stripping here. This was back in the day before I was constantly doing furniture, and my carport was empty!

My first piece stripped and sanded! I was so full of myself!

Here she is in my bedroom today:

I painted her with some Behr paint in antique white, distressed her, and glazed her with Minwax dark walnut stain. The top was done in the same stain and sealed with wipe on poly. THIS is how I always KNEW she could look!

I know that I’m just a little old blogger out here in Blogging world, but I just wanted to tell Marian how much I appreciate her and all her bloggy love and inspiration. She led me to do something that I didn’t think I could do, and for that I will always be thankful. She showed me that I could do WHATEVER I wanted if I just put for the effort… She came to me during a part of my life where I was so depressed about my failing health and what all I COULDN’T do. She encouraged and supported me and helped me come out of that funk and be better than ever…. So thank you, Marian. You are such a great example to all of us, and I am proud to know you even in the small capacity that I do.

Much love to you,

big boy blue

2010-11-15T05:53:00.001-08:00

We had a ball doing this piece! Everything about it was fun.. the shape, the details, the COLOR, the funkiness…..

A few weeks ago I was contacted by a shop owner from my hometown. She originally wanted something to store a new line of candles in, and she asked me for suggestions for a piece to use. I asked her, “How about a big old funky china cabinet?”. I sent her this picture, and she loved it.

I talked to her to get a feel for the look she wanted. She told me she wanted fun and funky and that I could do ANYTHING I wanted. The owner had seen my china cabinet redo and requested wire in the doors like I had in mine.

I showed her a few pieces of furniture I had done in my home… She wanted a green color and loved the blue I used in this piece.

Since she loved this piece so much I painted the cabinet this exact color (halycon green by Sherwin Williams) but left the interior in the wood finish to have the contrast like the table above.

This is what she looks like today:

LOVE!

We used chicken wire sprayed with hammered bronze for the doors…. Doesn’t it looks so “old farmhouse Frenchy”?

I don’t know if you noticed the hardware in the “before” shot, but it was huge, clunky, outdated, and plain UGLY. These doors already have such amazing detail, and those pulls were overkill. We filled the original holes with wood filler, but since the doors aren’t regular wood (they’re this strange plasticy kinda wood?) the holes were still visible after sanding and painting. Since she had given me the go ahead to do do anything I wanted I decided to modge podge this texted scrapbook paper to cover the holes. The doors have magnetic closures and open easily with a touch. They really didn’t NEED pulls. After they were attached I glazed over the wood and sealed it with a protective spray.

Another shot of the doors with distressing and glazing. The bottom moulding was damaged, so we replaced all of it…

There is great storage in this piece including that pull out drawer on the right side…

Today the owner texted me that she can’t pick it up as planned this morning because of the rain. She also said that the shop may never see this piece, because she loves it so much she wants it in her house. I’m always thrilled when people are happy with what we’ve done for them.

Once more. Before and after:

Thanks for looking. I’m linking up to:

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday
My repurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can

Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party

Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Stories of a House Project Diaries

The Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday

Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday

Savvy Southern Style

Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous

Style Feature Saturday at Perfectly Imperfect

Friday at Remodelaholic

and the verdict is:

2010-11-14T08:36:00.001-08:00

THIS from Ballard Designs…

I didn’t even THINK about Ballard’s when I was sofa shopping… We looked at Pottery Barn yesterday, and it was going to be mid January before the sofa could be delivered. I also looked at replacement slipcovers… At over $700 each there’s no way I could get another… In comes Ballard’s. Their extra set of slipcovers are $230! They had me at hello. I also love the tailored look of this sofa… I love the way the cushions on the seat and back are fitted to the sofa. It’s classic and just the look I want! I signed up on Ballard’s email list to get a 10% off coupon. As soon as I get that code I will be ordering this baby. I got the slipcover in twill off white, and it can be washed in the machine….. It’s also going to be about $200 cheaper than PB after I get my coupon. I am SO excited!

Hubby reminded me that we have MONTHS to sell more furniture in order to go back to Jamaica this summer. We both decided that this couch is what we want NOW. I love my husband. And I love you guys. Thanks for the input…. You guys really rock.

Love and hugs,

so, I’ll tell you what I want what i really really want..

2010-11-13T07:14:00.001-08:00

It’s decision time at my house… BIG decision time. SOFA decision time. This is the sofa we have now:

We bought this HUGE leather couch and chair about 5 years ago. It’s brown with red undertones…. It’s a good couch….getting a little worn in places, but it’s still in good shape. It’s been fantastic while the girls were toddling around with sippy cups and bottles…wipe on wipe off. The only problem? It’s just really not my style anymore. We live in a real cottage in Fairhope, AL. You know what a real cottage means don’t you?? The living room isn’t huge… Cottage rooms aren’t huge. They’re small….This couch and the matching chair seem to take over the space…. I’m wanting to move towards a softer feel….. I’m recovering pieces in red toile and natural cotton duck…. I WANT a sofa to go along with my vision. Now. I KNOW you peeps know me as a ~~cheap~~ thrifty shopper. There are a few things I won’t go cheap on, and a sofa is one of them. I won’t be looking on Craigslist for one to recover. NOPE. I don’t want a used sofa… Just don’t. That’s just something I’m firm about. It’s the most used piece of furniture in my home with the exception of a bed…. Cause we do spend more hours sleeping in our bed than sitting on the sofa. :) I want a classic sofa with GOOD bones. I also want a slipcovered sofa…. It would be nice to be able to take it off and give it a good wash every now and then. The obvious choice is this from Pottery Barn:

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve sat on their couches in the store… They’re SO comfy, and I LOVE the look….. I can see this in my living room with my pretty pillows and the pieces I’m recovering….

When we started selling furniture we decided immediately this is our “Extra fun money”. This money is put aside for more trips to fantastical places like Jamaica and NYC, so hubby and I will have the luxury of getting away. I SAID that the first thing we were doing was planning a trip back to Jamaica for this summer. We had such an amazing time, and it totally reconnected us… (You can see the pics here). Now I’m totally waivering in my decision…. WHAT do we do?? I KNOW that we’ll make enough money to go back to Jamaica, and I REALLY REALLY REALLY want this couch…

I’m sure we could make a few hundred dollars selling our existing couch and chair on Craigslist…. I was thinking $400?? Does that sound about right?? I know we’ll make SOMETHING to put towards it….. It’s an expensive piece, and I’m trying not to be impulsive…

See? It’s decision time…

puhlease help this sista out!

2010-11-12T07:11:00.001-08:00

I have been getting SO many sweet comments lately. I read each and every one, and they make my day.. I LOVE to write you back and do every chance I get… I would write EVERYBODY back except for one little bitty problem.

It’s so frustrating when I go to reply to a sweet note and get THIS notification:

<noreply-comment@blogger.com

Will you PLEASE check your accounts and fix this little bitty issue? It will only take you a minute or two, and I’m sure you’ll be amazed at the amount of replies you start getting.

Donna at Funky Junk Interiors did this post earlier this week with some easy fixes to make your blog more user friendly. I encourage everyone to read it, as it’s filled with great advice.

Here’s Donna’s instructions for fixing that pesky <noreply-comment@blogger.com problem:

How to activate your profile
#1. CREATE a profile if you don't have one already. This is somewhere in your initial blog settings.
#2. Once created, you need to activate it.
dashboard
look to the upper left
select edit profile
under privacy -
select - show my profile
select - show my email address
under identity -
ADD - your desired online email address
click save profile

That’s ALL it takes peeps, and it makes life SO much easier for your fellow bloggers… Go fix it now, so I can start leaving you all some love notes….. :)

love and hugs,

it was meant to be mine.

2010-11-11T19:08:00.001-08:00

When I went to pick up this piece of furniture I found on Craigslist I REALLY intended to rehab and sell it…. Really. I promise.

The ad had this piece priced at $175, but I got them to come down to $125. The thing was they had to get it out of their space immediately. Right that minute. My sweet hubby is such a trooper. He borrowed our neighbor’s truck and went with me to get it right in the middle of his football game. His AUBURN football game. THAT is what I call true love…. Anyway, this piece had a rocky start that you can read about here.

After looking at her for a week or so I got that creeping feeling… You know. That feeling that says, “I’m gonna pretend like I’m gonna sell this, but I’m really doing it for me” kinda feeling. For some reason Andrew wasn’t surprised when I announced that this baby was staying with us. He knew she was SO ME. :)

I wanted this cabinet to look old French country… I wanted it to look like we plucked it out of an old French farmhouse (not that I’ve ever been in one… I just like to pretend like I know what they look like). I decided on using 2 shades of gray by Sherwin Williams: French gray and light French gray. Have I mentioned that I decided I wanted this done and finished in less than 2 days when my friend was visiting from Chicago? Yeah. That’s how I roll…. SO, after a day of prepping it and a day of painting it she was in her spot of glory in our dining area.

I didn’t get a chance to distress and glaze it until AFTER my friend left. It sat there looking all flat for about 5 days, and I was going CRAZY to get my hands on it…..

FINALLY I found the couple of hours I needed to finish her, and I was THRILLED with the end product… Peeps, here she is:

Squeal!! She’s just like I pictured she would be…. Now I’ll shut up and just have a picture parade!

The view from the side door where we enter the house:

A little distressing with some Valspar antiquing glaze….

We took the original wire out and painted it with some ORB to give it a new look. I love all my white ironstone up against that gray.

We painted the drawer fronts and back of the cabinet French gray. The rest of the piece is done in light French gray. We kept the original hardware and painted it with ORB.

LOVE the legs.

A peek inside :)

We painted the hinges and just roughed them up a bit with a sanding block. I JUST noticed the paint drip in this picture! ARGHHHH. Gotta go grab some fine grit sandpaper to fix that….

I have no “keepers regret” what so ever….This piece was meant to live in my house. I don’t see myself ever selling it…. For me it’s perfect… Remember when I told you that I wanted this done in 2 days?? What I failed to mention is that I also stripped, restained, and repainted my table and chairs at the same time! Talk about overdoing it… I was exhausted for a week!!! I still haven’t glazed the table, and I have to distress and glaze the chairs… Whew! One day I’m sure I’ll find the time to finish. Until then I’m just lovin’ it like it is….

Love and hugs,

Linked to:

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday
My repurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can

Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party

Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Stories of a House Project Diaries

The Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday

Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday

Savvy Southern Style

Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous

Style Feature Saturday at Perfectly Imperfect

Friday at Remodelaholic

this was the piece that would not end.

2010-11-09T07:01:00.001-08:00

It just went on and on my friends…. Whew! That’s all I can say. I can’t tell you how happy we are to be FINISHED with this old sideboard. It took longer to complete than we EVER imagined. It all started when I found this loverly sideboard at an antique/thrift/junk mart. Of course I wanted it…. The scroll work on the doors?? The moulding framing the drawers?? What could be better… I already saw it all painted, stained, lightly distressed, and glazed. I already knew it would have a DARK top and light French gray body…. I was on a little furniture happy high, and then reality set in.

This piece had TONS of damage…. It looked like cats had a little partay on all the moulding around the base.

Ummmmm, all that fantastic moulding framing the drawers? We couldn’t find any exactly like it, so Andrew had to replace it ALL.

All those scratches and damaged areas….

A finish on top that left ALOT to be desired and more damage than we thought….

A badly ~~smooshed~~ corner….

And last but not least: a hunk of missing veneer…. Somehow we missed a picture of the other side which also sported some veneer damage of it’s own.

All at once I realized that we had bitten off A LOT. A LOT of work that would take A LOT of time. We were committed though. A friend saw this piece on Facebook and had already sent a check. Note to Lou: For future pieces give an estimate of the price. I way UNDERcharged on this piece. So….. being the troopers we are we took it all apart and started putting it back together…. Andrew replaced ALL the moulding on this piece… Cut, glue, clamp, wait. Cut glue, clamp, wait. You get the picture.

After days and days and days and days we FINALLY got it stripped and painted. I will say that stripping it was the bright light in this project. The finish was so fried it came off like hot butter!

Here she is all repainted in Sherwin Williams Light French Gray (currently my favorite).

Here are the doors and newly fixed drawers with a new coat of paint….

This was not a piece of FINE antique furniture… The wood on top wasn’t the prettiest I’d ever seen, but it cleaned up nicer than I thought.

The top definitely needed a good dose of wood conditioner… I love this stuff.

Here she is soaking up all that conditioner love….

While that was drying I started glazing the one million nooks and crannies with Valspar’s antiquing glaze. I wanted the almost black glaze to contrast the gray. The door on the left is done. The one on the right was unglazed. See the difference, and how the details pop? THESE doors are the main reason I bought this piece.

Like my fancy footwear?? Yeah, it’s how I roll.

After hours and hours and hours and days and days and days (insert drum roll) here she is!

All that new moulding :)

I stained the top in Ebony by Minwax. I LOVE that stain.

The wood isn’t perfect, but I think it just adds to it’s charm.

I bring all my pieces inside to poly. There’s nothing worse than a tiny piece of lint falling onto your newly finished piece…Anne Pearce wanted in on the photo action… She always tells me, “Good job, Mommy. It’s brewtiful.”

One more time:

Before:

and after:

Now please excuse me while I go take a 12 hour nap!

Linking up to:

Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Feature Friday
My repurposed Life's Catch as Catch Can

Domestically Speaking's Power of Paint Party

Primitive & Proper's Piece of Work Wednesday

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Stories of a House Project Diaries

The Shabby Chic Cottage's Transformation Thursday

Between Naps on the Porch Metamorphosis Monday

Savvy Southern Style

Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous

Style Feature Saturday at Perfectly Imperfect

Friday at Remodelaholic