Skirting the Issue...

Ok. I'll admit it. I have major iss-shoooz.

With this.

It's ugly. Like makes-me-wanna-bang-my-head-against-the-wall ugly.

Can't exactly throw out the printer. Gotta have a file cabinet, too. Bummer.

Oh, wait. I've GOT it!

(lightbulb appears over head...)

A bedskirt!

Before you write me off as a total nut, let me explain. I'm not real great at sewing, so I'm all about projects with the least sewing possible. When I found a bedskirt at the Thrift store for 2.49, it hit me. The answer to my problem.

(insert clouds parting and angels singing...)

The ruffle was already there, the hem was already in, all I would have to do is cut a square for the top, cut off the length of ruffles needed, and simply stitch the ruffled sides to the square! Voila - instant (well, almost...) slipcover for my prehistoric file cabinet.

It took all of 10 minutes, start to finish. Most of which was spent on the corners. (Grrr. ) I DID think about ironing it first...then I decided I liked it all wrinkly. (My Mother's probably hanging her head in shame.)

Another one of those birds. They're just so stinkin versatile! And cute.

I had a living room table that was bugging me, too. And I plum forgot to take a before photo. It worked with my old sofa pretty well, but it looked a little too "mod" for my new one. Hey, I just found an old photo of it...

The top lifts off to make a tray, pretty cool. So (another lightbulb moment...) I got an ordinary round tablecloth from Wal-Mart, and put it under the tray.

And I can't believe how much it dressed up that whole corner of the living room. And now I have some hidden storage, too. Big Smile. So, my tip for the day - if it bugs you, make it go undercover! Use bedskirts if needed.

THIS is wicked.

Cooking isn't really my favorite pastime, BUT when my eyes fell on these beauties from Tidy Mom, I could not rest until I had baked a big ole batch. These were so good there aught to be a law against it.

You've got to bake some. All you need is a brownie mix and a cookie mix and you're well on your way. Click HERE for the recipe. She's got the recipe all printable and everything. Oh, and MAKE the ganache. You'll thank me. Your thighs won't, but that's ok. Now I've got to go spend a few hours on the wii to work off some guilt...

But, boy oh boy, was it worth it.

Bathroom Before and Afters

Yay for one more COMPLETED room!! WooHoo!

It would only be fair to warn you about the ridiculous amount of photos you're about to see...

Here, we see the before photo. Not bad, just not me.

And then here's the after...

(only it's not actually so dark looking - I hate camera flash. But I was forced to use it.)

I think I've told you before that oak is just not my thing. So the first thing I did was darken up the wood cabinet, and then we added some trim to the plain mirror, and replaced the vanity bar lights with a more traditional fixture. Those few little changes made a HUGE difference!

This photo shows the real color...

Did you know that you could brush stain right on top of an oak cabinet? Me neither. But it worked! I just buffed it a bit, put a few coats of cherry colored stain right onto the oak color. It took a while to dry (a while meaning several DAYS...) but it turned out beautiful!

Here's the before shot of the other side of the room...

Be a sweetie and pretend I moved the plunger before taking the photo. Thanks.

And after a few minor changes.

I'm loving the shabby chic ruffles, especially paired with old chippy pieces :)

A few close ups...

Does anybody else love Isabel Bloom? I only have these 3 pieces, but I love them! They were each gifts from special people, and they each have special meaning.

And how could I leave out the most valuable part of a bathroom...

the T.P. (this was often referred to as "white gold" back in the college days...)

Actually, I just thought the vintage wire basket was too cute.

There was a weird little niche just to the right of the door, that was a huge waste of space. This bathroom has precious little storage, so...

The hubs built me some awesome shelves, and then I painted them all to match the mirror trim. We're making every precious inch count!

I can't even begin to tell what an improvement that was.

Here's a close up of the shelves. Don't they look all fancy like? Just one more spray paint success story :)

Great place to store towels...

and pretties.

The pitcher is actually ceramic and was a strange mauve color, until I painted with my favorite oil rubbed bronze spray paint. I think it's funny how it looks like a metal can now. I'm convinced you can paint ANYTHING.

That concludes our little tour, thanks for joining me!

(And do excuse the poor photo quality, that is one small bathroom, and there's ZERO natural light, which all makes for a very frustrating photo session on my part.)

Some Pretties and a Roadkill Rescue Dresser

I'm so proud of my hubs. He actually spotted this chest of drawers on the curb all by himself. *Sniff* Makes a thrifty wife proud. I just wish I'd been there to see him load it into his little Honda Accord... Hehe. Um, I mean to HELP him load it...

I can't decide if he's turning into a junking freak like me, or if he was just tired of digging around in the bottom of his closet for socks and unders...

It was in PERFECT condition! Just needed a touch of updating.

And it was the perfect pair for my Thrifted picture...

Ok, so I'm joking. A little. I did use both pieces, though!

Here's how it all came together...

I took the ugly picture out of the frame, painted two frames and the dresser, and then as always, I couldn't stop without distressing them to add some needed character.

I love how it turned out!

I picked up this vintagey looking wire basket at a Thrift store for 15 cents! Makes a great home for his keys and watches.

So here's the bigger picture, if you were wondering where we put it...

I really liked the symmetry of the 2 matching nightstands flanking the bed, and quite honestly, I miss it. But we needed drawer space way more than we needed symmetry and a perfectly balanced room. I spect I'll get use to it by 'n by.

The coolest thing about finding this chest of drawers is how CLOSELY it matches my dresser!

If you stand back and squint, you'd swear they came as a set.

And since we're talking about my dresser, I want to show you this vintage nighty set I found at the same Thrift store...

I've been looking for some kind of an old lacey garment to hang on my mirror, and this one is so pretty. It has some lovely feminine details...

Poor hubs. He thought I'd bought something to WEAR.

Silly man.

I love how it softens the dresser area. Makes it look all romantic-like!

I'm on a roll now. I've ALMOST finished a few other projects, that I'll be sharing real soon. I think the lovely spring weather is helping me get my mojo back. We've got daffodils and robins!!! HaPpY hApPy JoY jOy!!

I'm linking up with Chari's Finished Object Friday.

Have a super duper weekend!

Spring Fever.

I sure hope it's...

right around the corner.

Happy Friday!

A SA-WEET Day!

Didja have a happy Valentine's Day?

I think I'm starting a tradition of baking Valentine's cookies to hand out after church on Valentine's Sunday. But, I enjoy making them....and the folks sure seem to enjoy taking them!

I cheated and used refrigerated sugar cookie dough, and store bought frosting. Shhh....don't tell.

I made a special Valentine's dinner for my sweetie...

I got a picture of the sweetie, but I forgot to get a picture of the dinner... so, I'll have to leave that one up to your imagination :)

It was all well and good.

BUT...

My most awesome Valentine's gift was a complete accident.

We went over to my Mom's for refreshments Sunday evening, and I got to rummaging around in her apron drawer. And I found it. One of my Granny's hand made aprons.

I pretty much flipped for it, and begged Mom to sell it to me on the spot. But she had mercy on me and just let me have it. Granny was short. Like me. So her apron fit me to a T. (Aprons are usually way too long waisted on me.) But I just LOVE the ric-rac trim and especially the rose fabric - spots,holes, and all! I'll never get rid of this one. I won't even spray paint it.

Mom had several others, too. We got cracked up when we found an old kleenex in the pocket of one of them - it had probably been there 15 years :) Granny ALWAYS carried a tissue in her pocket. Brought back lots of memories. Happy memories...

A Chocolaholic's Dream...

My sweetie brought my Valentine's gift early.

Oh, yeah. Come to Mama...

Strawberry and Chocolate Cake from Coldstone Creamery.

I'm telling ya, this is one thing that will chase those winter blues away.

It's gonna be one SWEET Valentine's Day!

FOF- Repurpose that cabinet door!

What's a gal to do with a stack of extra cabinet doors?!

Make 'em into chalkboards, of course!

Ooops...I forgot to take a before pic. But it was your typical ordinary plain old oak door. Oak Schmoak...Blah, blah, blah. Enter some chalkboard spray paint, white spray paint, and a few pretties to jazz it up ....and Voila! A super easy project that really dresses up that empty spot beside my desk/office.

The best part is that I had everything to make it with except the 3 little hooks. I found those at Wally World for a buck each. Pretty cheap project!

I've had these little buckets (from the dollar tree - 3 for a dollar!) for awhile...now I have the perfect place for them :) And candy just makes ANYTHING look better!

Just for fun, I added the vintagey glass knob. Loooove me some glass knobs!

The secret to the chalk is CHALK MARKERS! The best thing since sliced bread. Writes on easy, dries hard, don't smear, and wipes off with water. Lovely. I'm completely hooked.

I'm linking up with Chari's Finished Object Friday party.

Happy Friday, y'all!!