Rustic Raspberry

Birdcage Inspiration

2011-09-01T14:35:00.000-07:00

Today, I was reading "Saving CeeCee Honeycutt" by Beth Hoffman -- a must read by the way, although I'm only half way through the book right now -- and I was inspired to find a birdcage to incorporate into my home. I will "wire the door open to remind myself how delicious freedom is." So, without further ado, my inspiration:

via The Decorologist

via Digs Digs

via Bee's Knees Studio

via batixa

via etsy (little blue bird studios)

via etsy (sadie olive)

Have you been inspired by a book recently? I'd love to hear about some of your favorite books and how they've inspired your home! :)

Jacobean Grey Side Tables

2011-08-31T10:26:00.000-07:00

So, I found this side table at a garage sale for $1!

It was in pretty bad shape before I got ahold of it:

Nothing a little tlc couldn't fix though.

So I sanded the top and stained it in Jacobean Minwax stain. I painted the bottom in an "oops paint" called grey basalm. Then, I lightly sanded the edges with 220 grit sand paper and wiped with the cloth that had jacobean stain on it. I sealed it with a wax, and here it is.

I loved it! In fact, I love the color so much, I'm thinking of repainting my entry (again) in this Grey Basalm color. What do you think?

Painting with Fabric

2011-08-16T12:35:00.000-07:00

I have some of the best friends in the entire world! So, when one of my dearest emailled me this from the sundance catalog and asked me if I could paint something similar for her, I couldn't decline.

"Earth Ground Sheep Who Stares at Leaf"

Now, I'm not an artist. That being said, I do get inspired by other people's work, but put my own twist on it. So, I asked my friend if it was ok if I used a medium that I was more comfortable with. I had seen this technique several years ago on a quilting show that used to air, and I had been dying to put it to use. This was the perfect subject. So I got to work ... after all her birthday was the very next week, and how perfect ...

I title her "Earthen Sheep Staring at Leaves".

So here is how i made this. First, I took a bunch of solid colored fabric and cut it to pieces. Literally:

Then, using the original image and a muslin canvas, I mixed and matched the fabric colors to arrange them on the canvas for the background. I step back and blur my eyes a lot for this step, looking for good color and flow. This really looks like a mess, but we are about to reign it in ...

Then, I take black tulle and cover the whole canvas. The tulle is going to keep all those tiny pieces in. It also helps to "blur" the colors without taking away from their impact.

Next, you put in as many safety pins as you possibly can without disrupting the fabric. This step is important! Also, because there are so many, I don't like to close my safety pins so that they are easier to take out while I'm quilting, but every now and again one falls out and then the little fabric pieces get jumbled.

Once you have it all pinned up, carefully take the whole thing to your sewing machine. With your stippling foot on, go to town. I use a clear thread on top and a neutral medium grey or brown thread for the bottom. Test your tension first though. With most quilts you start quilting in the middle and work your way out, but for this one I like to baste around the edges first, then I go in and do my quilting. I use patterns that match my medium. Usually I just go with what inspires me at the moment.

The next piece of the puzzle was the sheep and the leaves. I decided burlap was what I wanted to use. So I googled "how to draw a sheep", and found this:

I used it as my guide to draw my sheep. Then, I traced it on a piece of freezer paper for my template. I ironed the freezer paper to my burlap and cut the sheep out. I then chose a matching thread and embroidered around the sheep to affix her to the background. I then cut two leaves. I didn't use a template for the leaves, just my eye balls. I also added some detail to the sheep and leaves with some embroidery thread.

I then took an antique frame and painted it black. And I trimmed the edges and stapled the canvas inside the frame:

It was a blast to make, and my friend LOVED it so I'm very happy with it.

In coming weeks, I'll show you the two others that I did using the same technique.

Happy Tuesday!

Trial and Error: Pink Dresser

2011-08-11T07:24:00.000-07:00

For me, painting furniture for a friend is more nerve wracking than painting furniture for a stranger. I want my friends to love it, but also not feel obligated to love it just because I painted it. I also want it to be perfect. Oh dilemmas, ya know? Well, this dresser was a great find and a project I learned a lot on - hence the long post! First, here is the final product:

I don't have a really good before picture, so here she is in the background ...

OK, down to the nitty gritty! I started out wanting to make the top a dark wood stain, just so I knew I could. SO, I began to remove the veneer on top. Bad decision, oh well! After removing about a tenth of the veneer, I googled "how to remove veneer" and read a couple of articles. I needed to add steam, heat, and a bit more force to the mix. So, I got out the hammer, a painter's tool, an iron, a big cup of water, and a towel (to protect my iron from the wood glue holding the veneer down). I went to work.

I think I spent 6 hours removing veneer. And through the process, I managed to gouge the wood in a few places. I was determined to stain this top though. So I filled the gouges in with wood putty, and I filled in a few of the wormholes (I should have left those). I sanded, and applied Minwax pre-stain conditioner.

I stained in Minwax Jacobean, and of course, the stainable putty did not take the stain. I tried to color it with a black marker, but the gouges were too big and it just didn't look right. You can see the picture on the right is what it WOULD have looked like, and the one on the left is what it DID look like. (Sorry for the glares.)

Unacceptable. So, I had to paint the top. Not a total loss though, cause I learned A LOT, and my friend really wanted the whole thing painted anyhow.

The next fiasco was the texture of the flat sides and drawer fronts. Because there had been MANY coats of paint and other such ilk on this baby, she had a terrible "I've been painted too many times" look to her. I tried applying a heavy glaze and distressing the terrible texture out of her, but the color just wasn't right and she really just needed to be pink. This was going in a little girls room, and I felt the overly distressed look just looked dirty.

Unacceptable. I had to fix the texture to actually be flat. Sanding wasn't going so swell, it was just making the texture worse. So I set out to apply paint stripper. (I hate paint stripper.) I think I spent 6 hours stripping the paint off of this one ... (are you adding up my time? don't forget I'm new at this *wink*). Since the CitraStrip I was using (because I'm a mess and everything ALWAYS gets on my skin), wasn't strong enough to take off all of the layers, I moved up to Klean Strip. And yes I wore gloves and kept the hose nearby because it got on my skin many, many, many, many times. BUT, in the end she was stripped, and sanded smooth ...

Oh my ... dearie, please cover up!

Then, I painted the hardware with Rustoleum's 2X Kona Brown. Originally I was going to do clay knobs with farm animal impressions, but after consulting the client, she picked out some hardware I had picked up at the Habitat store. They looked like tulips, perfectly symbolizing their Dutch Heritage.

So after two coats of paint (Glidden eggshell in Ballet Slipper Pink) and a coat of wax, here she is again:

I also painted a shelf to match. Here are the two pieces in their final place.

Her daughter loved it so much, that she slept next to it during her nap the first day! :) YAY!

Here are some more of the dresser:

Patty couldn't resist a photo shoot. Silly pup!

I'm linking up to these parties:

Primitive and Proper

Miss Mustard Seed

This post was featured here:

Berries and Brown Sugar Gratin

2011-08-08T07:32:00.000-07:00

First, I need to apologize for neglecting my blog for (eek) 2 months now. I won't go into the gory details of why I haven't been blogging, because really there isn't a good excuse. So, I am back trying to make it up to you with my favorite summer time dessert! :)

I'm a huge proponent of fresh berries. I am also a huge proponent of brown sugar. So this is the perfect recipe for me.

Before we get started, I must give credit to Deb over at Smitten Kitchen for the inspiration for this recipe! This is the fastest, easiest, freshest dessert I've ever made. It is perfect for summer time whenever you don't really want to heat up the whole house! It also doesn't dirty too many dishes! Win win!

So, now for the long list of ingredients *wink*:

Your Favorite Medley of Berries, Peaches, or Nectarines
Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt
Brown Sugar

What no measurements?!? That's right, you don't even have to dirty any measuring cups! If you really want measurements, visit Smitten Kitchen's recipe for Raspberry Brown Sugar Gratin.

Now for the directions. First, I start with my favorite Fire King soup bowls.

Next, put in your favorite fruit to fill it about two inches. You can go with one kind of fruit, or mix and match your favorites. I like them all, so I go with a medley.

Then, slather about 2 heaping spoons sour cream (or plain yogurt) over the fruit, so that the fruit is just barely peaking out in some areas.

Now for the brown sugar. Use about 2+ heaping spoons of brown sugar. You want good coverage with the brown sugar. Can there really be too much brown sugar?! I used to eat this stuff by the spoonful as a kid ... I'm more sensible now ... I think ...

Then, turn your oven to broil, and set your fruit under the broiler. Watch carefully, this step goes much faster than you'd think. You want the brown sugar to get just crispy. If you start to see bubbling, then take it out!

It isn't the prettiest, but it sure is delightful! Enjoy!!

Don't forget to turn off the oven ... I made a deal with the hubs. If I forget to turn off the oven, he gets to eat my dessert ... I don't forget anymore! :)

I'm a Junky Junkerson

2011-06-09T15:10:00.000-07:00

So. I. Am. Addicted. To. Junk.

Yesterday, I left work early just to check out a moving sale with Gigi from Capricious Craze. We met the nicest lady. She brought us water so we could dig more comfortably in the 104 degree weather. She told us some great stories of some great finds she'd had with her friends. She even told us about an up and coming Vintage Market show in Ira, Texas (but moving to Colorado City, Texas) called Petticoats on the Prairie. Check out their blog! Our new friend is a professional organizer and a hoot! I won't post any pics of the vintage ~~nudey~~ adult magazines we found, but we were glad for some comic relief from the heat! :) (No worries, we didn't purchase the magazines.)

Then, this morning, after some living room Yoga by Tara Stiles, we hit up a yard sale out in the country. The man who owned the property was a collector and is trying to get organized so he can manage his estate. He was a nice man with a good eye! We had to do a lot of digging! He had 3 buildings full, plus some items in his home. At one point, I was inspecting a dresser for Gigi, who was instructing from afar because of the scurrying noises. As I turned the dresser the top fell off, and we'll just say it became evident that we weren't alone in that shed. No thanks, dresser! We did find a lot of stuff though, and I even think we'll go back on Saturday to see what else was uncovered by the more adventurous.

Here are some pics of my my junky finds!

Isn't that chair sweet! I already recovered the seat and painted it!

The hutch in the middle was a great find! When Gigi and I first arrived at the yard sale, we were picking alone! Then, a nice young man came about 20 minutes later. The competition began. Well, the friendly competition began. I laughed out loud at one point when he said, "I got dibs on this wooden chest. It's mine. I'm just going to go ask how much it is." I love a good spirited competition!

I got three of these chairs, and I just had to have this tool box. It was the man's mother-in-law's from when she was a child! A woman after my own heart, that Liz Berry!

I'm a sucker for thread, especially on wooden spools! Also, I am a sucker for these Fire King bowls with small handles. (I bought 10!) They are the perfect size for a small bowl of cereal. Am I the only one who hates eating a small proportion on a huge dish?

Love these molds! :)

I'm also a sucker for anything that is white and has a spout!

A mini dressform, some lace, a skirt marker, and a tailor's stool!

And, last but not least, another lovely chair!

I'm linking this up to Junker Newbie's "Would You Buy It Wednesday?" party. Over here:

Aubusson Table Makeover: My First Distressing

2011-06-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

This little table was a tough one for me. She started out pretty shabby, but I do love the country shape. Poor gal is still missing a piece, but that'll get fixed tomorrow! Of course, I nearly forgot the before picture, so you can see here I had already taken the hardware off and started painting. You get the gist

I decided to use aubusson Chalk Paint. I loved the color, but she needed more. After 2 coats of aubusson, I applied a clear wax, and then accented with dark wax. I'm not a big fan of the dark wax I have, so in the future I will use the a glaze or stain to get the desired affect. It was too late for this one because I already waxed her, and I wasn't in the mood for putting 2 more coats on her. So, my dear friend Gigi from Capricious Craze stopped by and suggested that I just distress her a bit. I must admit ... I have been afraid of distressing. I am a little type A, and distressing one of those tasks that is meant for people who are a bit more easy going. So, I squinted my eyes so I couldn't see the imperfections, I took a deep breath, and I got to sanding ... lightly. I got quite nervous because the areas where I was sanding looked scratchy. The color was looking different. It just looked like a mess. I just kept blurring my eyes and sanding. Then, I put on another coat of clear wax, and all those nerves settled, because the color was uniform again. She was looking good. I added just a bit more dark wax, and staged her:

For the hardware, I spray painted it with Krylon satin black. Then, I used some fine grain sand paper to distress the edges to match the rest of the piece.

Showing a little leg ...

Well, what do you think?

Next time I think I'll do the second coat of paint in Old White, and sand so that you can see the aubusson through a distressed white. I'll keep you posted on that one.

I'm linking this up to Debbie-Debbie Doo's Newbie Party and these parties:

Juicy Lucy

2011-06-03T18:49:00.000-07:00

I am really picky about my hamburgers. I have rarely had a homemade hamburger that I liked, and had NEVER made one that I liked until I discovered Juicy Lucys! This recipe is my own, but it is based on things I've heard from friends or TV personalities. I remember the tips, but not who told them to me, otherwise I'd be giving credit where credit was due. Drat! Anyhow, sorry for the lengthy and specific post, but I have found that each step is important when making a good hamburger!

Now, the best hamburger I've ever had is from Chris Madrid's in San Antonio. My Juicy Lucy burger does not compare to Chris Madrid's burgers because my technique and bun and cheddar are no where near the quality, but if I might say so, I make a damn fine burger! ;)

To start, here are the ingredients for three third pound burgers:

1 lb 80-20 ground chuck beef
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
3 oz cheddar cheese, sliced (or more)
1 small can roasted and chopped green chiles *
chopped chives
sliced tomato
mayo
mustard
sliced pickles
3 eggs
6 slices of your favorite bacon
3 hamburger buns

*If you like a spicy burger you could use jalapenos. If you want to use fresh green chiles, see below for the instructions for roasting.

Now, I need to talk about the beef.

First, please, for your burger's sake DO NOT get lean ground beef. Your burger will be too dry and lack the necessary flavor. I like to convince myself that much of the fat ends up on the grill anyhow. This makes me feel better. Really though, this burger is not meant to be a healthy meal. It is meant to be fattening and juicy and delicious. Sorry! If you need to keep from feeling guilty, only eat half of one ... and then go for a jog! :)

Second, handle the beef with extreme care!! No harsh mushing or squeezing. Gentle. You do not want to bruise the meat because then it will end up being really spongy.

Third, if at all possible, try not to freeze your ground beef before use. It will not ruin the burger, but the beef will be better if it is not frozen too many times.

Now that we have the ground rules set, we can start making our burgers!

1. In a medium bowl, lightly toss the ground beef with the Worcestershire and salt with your hands. (No worries, the eggs will come into play later.) Your beef should have this texture:

2. Form 6 patties. I use a rounded 1/4 cup for each patty, but if you like to use a scale each patty should be 2.6 ounces. You want these patties to be THIN, but not falling apart. Remember to handle the beef gently, but some firmness will be needed to get the patties to stick together.

3. Place two 1" square slices of cheese on the center of the three of the patties.

4. Spoon about 1-2 teaspoons of green chiles on top of each of the three cheesed patties.

4. Next, pair the patties so as to place the cheese in the middle of two patties. Then use your hands and thumb to seal the edges of the patty. Be sure that no cracks form in the top or sides of the patty.

And now your patties are Juicy Lucys!!

4. Time for the grill, and preparing the condiments. (The hubs does the grilling for me, so if you do your own grilling, then you'll want to prep the condiments first.) At the end of grilling you can add more cheese to the top of the juicy lucys. Don't forget to grill the bun if you'd like. (Want more fat? Butter the bun! sorry again!)

If there were cracks in the patties, then you might spring a leak ... it happens.

5. Now for the rest. You'll want to fry the bacon and eggs. I like my eggs cooked over-medium so as to not have runny yolk making a mess. Fry your eggs however you like! I like to slightly salt my eggs before I flip them. I also like to wait until the whites around the edges of the yolk are whitening up before the flip. This helps me to not break the egg on the flip.

6. Chop your chives. Slice your tomatoes, and slice (if necessary) your pickles.

7. And now for the burger building:

Mayo & Mustard

Tomato, Pickle, and Chives (and more green chiles if you want)

Jucy Lucy, then Fried Egg

Bacon and Bun

And wahlah!

I love to eat this with salt and vinegar kettle chips and a lemonade! Yummy! I hope you enjoy! :)

As mentioned above, here are the instructions for roasting chiles. All you need are 2 anaheim green chiles, a broiler and a plastic ziplock bag. Preheat the broiler on 500 degree for about 5 minutes. Then place the green chiles on a pan in the oven. Watch the chiles closely, and broil until the tops are black and blistery. Then, flip the chiles and blacken the other side. Remove them from the oven and immediately place the chiles in a plastic bag until they are cool. The skin of the chile should peel right off. Be sure to seed the chiles too. At this point they should be ready to chop and use! (They're great in scrambled eggs and on top of quesadillas too!!! yum!!!

I'm linking my Juicy Lucys up to these link parties:

8 Years!

2011-06-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

Today's post is dedicated to the hubs! Happy 8th Anniversary Hubs! Thanks for the flowers!!! He arranged and staged the flowers!! (He also bought me 2 quarts of chalk paint, 2 cans of clear wax, 2 wax brushes, and a few other small items!!!) However, I'm not going to get all mushy gushy, because I'm just not a mushy gushy kind of gal. I do have to brag about my husband though, and all that he has put up with through the years. So, here I will take you through all my hobbies that he's endured! Well, the ones I have pics of... :)

First, we have sewing. A few months after we first got married, the hubs worked a day job, but at night he was a part of a start up company. We had to schedule our date nights so he could make sure to take a break from working. He also strongly encouraged me to get a hobby where I could be in the office with him while he worked. So, we set up two desks facing each other. He programmed, and I sewed:

Then, when things settled down a bit and the weather got warm, I decided to be a gardener. So he built me a small greenhouse which I stained blue:

He made my breakfast in the mornings! I had to get to work EARLY! Instead of throwing the eggs away, he would crack them very carefully and save them for me so I could use them as small seedling starters in my greenhouse:

Here are the fruits of some of that labor:

Some of our next hobbies included exercising, rock climbing, hiking, canoeing, and other outdoor activities together. We lived life and forgot to take a lot of pictures. Then, we drove 7 hours to a farm in Kansas to get Lucy:

We love Lucy SO much that he let me get a second puppy, Peppermint Patty (we got her at Christmas time!):

Yes, she fit zipped up in my vest. She was actually quite cold, and she still loves to snuggle even though she's 45 pounds.

Then, my dear hubs built me my dream house! He did all the contracting and was on site every single day making sure everything was perfect for me! Everyone says that if you can build a house together, then you can survive anything. This was one of the most fun things we did. We drew our own plans, and had an architect put the final touches on:

He added in my dream kitchen. (We drew the plans for this too!)

Look at the legs on that beauty! I also have cooking as a hobby. Look out for my next post about Juicy Lucys (not the dog). :)

Then, he built me a fence to keep the puppies out of my garden area:

He scavenged concrete from broken up curbs in nearby neighborhoods so I could designate a walkway in my garden. He also built those slightly raised beds so I could keep weeds out of the beds.

This wasn't all he did. I didn't even mention the projects in the works, but I didn't want to bore you too much! :)

The most important thing is he loved me through it all! He is the hardest working, smartest, coolest person I know! Thanks hubs!

I hope y'all found this post helpful too and not just braggy! If you have an interest in any particular project, please just let me know, and I'll write up a full post about it!

Thanks!!

Lovely Desk with some Fun Hardware

2011-05-29T16:45:00.000-07:00

This sweet gal was part of the stripping fiasco, but she wasn't nearly as tedious as the end tables. Of course, I forgot to take a true before pic of this gal, so here she is stripping. (I would have foregone this step, but the paint was really chippy and I didn't know if it was lead based or not.)

I finally got the courage to crack open the chalk paint. I was nervous about opening it. Everyone raves so much about it so I was treating it like gold. I kept telling myself "you control the paint, don't let it control you." I pried open the can of Louis Blue and got to work. Then ... I learned a few things:

When it is 109 degrees outside, chalk paint sets up fast! It dries fast anyway, but I'm talking 2-3 minutes. After the wrestling with first coat, I gave up. It was too hot after all. Today I set up shop inside, much better!
When I opened the can of paint it seemed pretty thick, but I was too afraid to water it down. I should have added water. Especially since it was that hot outside. When I opened it for the second coat, I added about 2 oz of water to the rest of the quart. It took quite a bit of stirring. I ultimately worked in the water folding it in with a spoon. I should have just put the lid back on and shook it up.
Chalk paint sands wonderfully. I was able to sand away my mistakes fabulously, and it cleans up nice. This desk has a laminate top, and i really wanted to leave it because it was white and in good condition (perfect for a desktop).

After the second coat of Louis Blue, I made a white wash with the Old White (won from My Dwelling Place). I tried to take pictures to show you how I did the wash, but the paint dries too fast. Next time I'll ask the hubs to help take pics.

I finished up by brushing on some clear wax (also from My Dwelling Place), and also some Bruce Dark 'n' Rick Liquid Paste Wax. The Bruce wax was really almost black, and at first I thought to myself, "what have you done!?!" Then, after some working, I grew to like it and learned to use it a bit better. I actually used an old t-shirt to rub in the dark wax.

So here she is, what do you think?

I love this desk so much. It'll be hard for me to sell! I already tried to put my computer on it...

Isn't the hardware fun!

I enjoyed painting this lovely gal. It is going to be really hard for me to sell it, but off to craigslist she goes... I'm linking this to Debbie-Debbie Doo's newbie party and also to Miss Mustard Seeds Furniture Feature Friday:

On another note, here is my garden before the addition of the shed the hubs is building. The shed will be behind the purple salvia. I told you Lucy loved to be in the spotlight. Can you see Patty on the right trying to edge her way in? Silly pups!

Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Lesson Learned & A Blast from the Past

2011-05-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

So, while I've had many different crafty hobbies over the years, I just recently decided to dive into painting furniture, and today was supposed to be the first day of really getting into several pieces. I had four end tables and a desk. I may have set my ambitions too high though. I planned on stripping and priming all the pieces today. Then, working in the garden to get it ready for the shed the hubs is building for me. Then, tomorrow I planned on staining and painting the first coat. Well, I certainly didn't get that much done. Really, I just got discouraged. I decided that these two end tables are going in the trash.

I know, I know you can't believe it, but they were really too intricate, too many spindles and they were $2.50 each. So, I figured it was a $5 lesson. (Trying to find the positives.) However, here is what I learned today:

Paint Stripper is best use on large, flat surfaces. Personally, I'd rather sand, even though it may take some time ... we'll see, maybe I'll get better.
Paint Stripper is best when it is liberally applied to the extreme. Meaning, make the layer as thick as you possible can.
Be prepared to get yourself and the floor dirty. Very dirty. I should have lined the floor with newspaper. Instead I used a drop cloth. The drop cloth is ruined.
Be patient. Paint stripping is a very tedious, messy task, so just be prepared to be patient.

I hope this helps some of you. Now for some positives.

First, I promised Mama Sarah that I'd share my recipe for ...
Vanilla Honey Butter

1 stick of butter, softened
2 tsp pure vanilla bean paste
2 tbsp local honey
1 tbsp powdered sugar

Place all of the ingredients in bowl and use a hand beater to beat until fluffy. Alternatively, place all ingredients in a food processor, and process until fluffy. Vanilla extract may be substituted for the vanilla bean paste.

I love to serve this on banana nut bread, muffins, pound cake, or even just toast. Feel free to comment if you try the Vanilla Honey Butter and what you served it on!

Next, I am sharing a pic of my favorite junk from the past. The door came as is for $10. My dear friend Gigi at Capricious Craze and her sister Aunt Sugar enabled my neurosis by encouraging the purchase. LURVES the door! Also, the table was $10, and was purchased at my first auction, accompanied by none other than Gigi and Aunt Sugar! (The hubs was there too! :)

I just love the scallops on the table and the "beat to hell" look of the door and the table. Such fun junk!
OK, so the puppies aren't junk, but every time I get out the camera they always want in on the action!

I just love the hardware that came with the door:

I'm linking this post up to the Throwback Thursday party at Sugar & Spice in the Land of Balls and Sticks. (What a hilarious blog name!)

Last, I hope someone benefits from my lesson learned and I hope that you enjoy the recipe and my junk!

Tea Party

2011-05-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

I spent all day yesterday and part of today helping a dear friend prepare a surprise tea party for her mother's 80th birthday. It was a huge success, and I was only a small part of it. I just love when friends all come together to create something so fun and so beautiful for such a beautiful, elegant woman. Most of the time I was frantically trying to get everything done, so I didn't have much time to take pictures. However, there was one small thing I wanted to share.

We had a lot of food! A LOT! There was a lot of variety, so at the last minute, I decided we needed some labels for all the food. I scrounged my husbands desk for some address labels. Success! I found some Avery 8160 labels. I grabbed some toothpicks from the pantry and a fine point sharpie from the junk drawer. (Yes, I have a junk drawer!) And here is what I came up with ...

All I did was fold the labels in half over a toothpick and stuck it into the various dishes. Here I show garlic butter, but we had much more than that. I'm sure if you had more time you could really embellish the labels, but time was not a resource I had at my disposal.

Anyhow, here how's I made the Garlic Herb Butter:

1 stick of butter, softened
2 cloves of garlic
1 tablespoon dried parsley (or fresh)
4 fresh lemon basil leaves minced

I put everything in the food processor and let it run until the butter looked nice and creamy. We served it on some focaccia bread. However, one of my favorite ways to use this butter, is to melt a slab of it over a steak right when it comes off of the grill. Yummy! :)

For the tea party, I spooned the butter into miniature teacups which I bought from the children's department at IKEA.

I hope you enjoy!

Queen Anne Legs

2011-05-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

I get all giddy when I see some sexy Queen Anne legs! So, even though the drawers aren't real, I just had to have this sofa table:

Pretty sad isn't she, but her legs have good shape so they looked promising. I had to clean her up and tighten everything a bit. Then, I removed the hardware and primed it. I had two cans of oops paint: chartruse and a light country blue. I slathered them on the piece together because I wanted to have highlights of the chartuse and the blue. The final color was a greyish green, which was very neutral and calming. Then, I applied a mocha glaze, dry brushed some country white, dry brushed a tiny bit of the chartuse and blue, and a bit more glaze in the cracks and on the corners. Applied my wax and whalah:

I decided to use the same hardware, but I spray painted them with Rustoleum pewter metallic spray paint. I had a bit of a tricky time getting the handles to stay up while spray painting, but we worked it out.

I learned a few lessons on this piece. First, this is latex paint, so when I was slathering on the glaze and rubbing it in, a few places pilled up even though I primed. So in the future, I will be much more stingy with the glaze, work a little faster, and probably not rub so hard.

~~And this lovely lady is making her way to craigslist!~~ SOLD within 3 hours of posting to Craigslist. Wahoo!

Let me know what you think. Also, I'm linking this to:

Fresh Spearmint Blowing in the Wind

2011-05-19T16:23:00.000-07:00

Today, my favorite experience was the fresh scent of spearmint every time the wind blew! I disregarded the fact that the wind was making the photo shoot an absolute fiasco, and instead I embraced the calming aroma. *sigh of bliss* :) Too bad I can't post a scent for you all. I recommend planting spearmint in your garden if possible. Beware though, it'll take over, so if you have a sunny place that needs something easy to grow, go for the spearmint! So, since I cannot share the scent with you, here are some pics to enjoy instead.

First, we have self seeded sunflowers! They sprang up early this year! I'm keeping my eye out for the budworms this year. Last year they devoured my sunflowers. I found one bud this year that was plagued with a budworm. I promptly plucked and discarded the bud (as difficult as it was). I haven't seen another one yet.

Onion and Parsley Blossoms. I couldn't believe how huge my parsley crop was this year! Parsley is definitely a biennial that I will plant again. The seedlings are already growing! I love to add fresh chopped parsley to my egg salad. A warning though, homegrown parsley is MUCH tastier than store bought parsley. In fact, it is so potent that I often use 1/2 the amount of parsley if I am using home grown parsley.

Some swiss chard. I didn't start these early enough this year. They can handle a chill here and there, so next year I will start the seeds in February or early March. (Zone 7)

Tomatoes! From a volunteer! I tell you what, last year in the fall I got so busy with work that I just let my garden go. These little guys are volunteers from that laziness, but they are already producing tomatoes and tons of flowers whereas my purchased tomato plants are struggling in the drought. Amazing really! I do go around several times per week and shake the little tomato buds so as to promote pollination. Although, this year we have tons of bees. Hooray!

This Red Yucca was strategically placed so as to keep the pups from digging a hole under the fence. She had a humming bird visit yesterday! Sweet! This gal is a beauty. Drought tolerant, disease resistant, does well in clay soil, and still attracts humming birds. What a delight!

Leeks! These crazy guys look like they belong in a scene of a Tim Burton film! This is one of the most interesting plants to me. You can harvest leeks at any time of year. We don't get much of a winter, but this year we had some pretty cold days. These fellas were green as could be in my garden. This winter I will pluck some of these to add to a potato leek soup! Yummy!

And there you have the highlights from my garden. I transplanted several plants earlier this season, but because of the drought many of them are struggling to stay alive. I'm hoping for rain tonight, we desperately need it! I nearly lost my cucumbers. Translation, I nearly lost my pickle supply! *gasp*

I'd love to hear about your gardens! Post a link in the comments so I can visit your blog! :)

Can't Sleep

2011-05-15T00:15:00.000-07:00

This not sleeping thing is becoming a theme. So, this time I decided to get up and make the most of it. So here I post to you.

We set out early this morning to hit up a nearby city-wide garage sale!! I was ready and determined to follow my new rule of "no items above $20 until you earn some buying power." (Advice taken from Miss Mustard Seed.) Our first stop was a junky place (my favorite kind) just outside of town. As I began to dig I noticed that some of the items looked charred. I asked, and in fact the man's land and buildings had been devastated by a fire just a few weeks ago. :( I felt too bad about bargaining with the man, and I left empty handed. I will go back though once I have more buying power! He said he plans on being out there every Saturday. Next time I'll arrive more prepared. He was very nice and had nice furniture! I was sad to think of how much had been burned though. Thankfully, much of the "good stuff" was located off site.

Next stop was the city-wide garage sale. This was my first time for one of these. They had golf carts and 4 wheelers to drive people around! We opted to stay in my car. We filled up fast and soon had to run home, drop off a load, and head back out with the hubby's truck. It was a great day, and in days to come I will hopefully have time to post pictures of my finds and flips. In case you were wondering, I stuck to my rule! But then, I needed a nap. Which is what I blame for tonight's insomnia.

After awaking from my nap, I went outside to the most beautiful day. So, the garden got some tending. My hubby helped me pull a bunch of weeds, and he also built 2 arbors out of machine wire for my cucumbers. (I can't wait to share my pickle recipe with you!) Then, I planted my green bean seedlings and some petunias. I thinned some cantaloupe seedlings and watered the rose bushes I ordered from Roses by Ping. If you are interested in some easy care roses, I highly recommend ordering some roses from Ping. He is the nicest man, and his roses are already performing wonderfully for me.

Finally, I have to share in the excitement. In my insomniatic state, my first stop was to check My Dwelling Place. There I found that I am the winner of her Chalk Paint giveaway!! I am so excited to get to try this paint! I've read so much about it, and I am so grateful to Rebeckah Dweller for having this giveaway! If you haven't read her blog, you should. She is a woman of many talents! :)

Two Great Giveaways!

2011-05-11T14:52:00.000-07:00

<-- Click on Karla at Home for details! This give away includes Annie Sloan's wax! :) She has a beautiful blog too!

<-- Also visit My Dwelling Place for another giveaway! This one include's Annie Sloans book on paint transformations and a can of Old White paint!

Act Fast! Both of these giveaways expire on Friday the 13th!