Desk Project

So first of all I would like to say thank you to Jill at the Junk Bonanza Blog and Tamara at Sheer Addiction for the fabulous giveaway! I can't believe I won!

Secondly I wanted to post a preview of one of the MANY projects I'm tackling right now...

This past summer I had my first ever garage sale and took donations of furniture, clothes, and tons of other stuff from family and friends to sell. (Proceeds went to the wedding fund :) ) This desk was one of the things that didn't sell and it was only marked for $5. What a steal! So I decided to hang on to it afterward instead of donating it.

I saw so much potential! First and foremost, there's one thing you must know about me. If it's wood or anything fake wood, I will paint it white. (I tried to convince the fiance to let me paint the wood floors white instead of having them refinished but he wouldn't listen... "but think of all the money we'd save! And it would look so clean and fresh!" but he was not sold on the idea. Insert pout here.)

So naturally when I decided to take this little beauty into my home I had to start by painting it white. (I have a gallon of Dutch Boy's Timeless Ivory so almost everything I paint right now is that color! :) )

The second thing you should know about me is that the moment I discovered chalkboard paint I knew my life was finally complete. Sooooo..... I thought, "Wouldn't this desk be stellar with a chalkboard top?!"

So I took my Timeless Ivory desk and spray painted the top of it with chalkboard paint. But it looked so B-L-A-H. So I thought I'd try my hand at an antique finish. I gotta say, it's still in it's final stages but it turned out pretty neat...

The "before". (WOOF! It's so F-U-G!!)

The "In Between".

The finished product will be coming soon I promise!

**JunkBonanza**

The JB can be summed up in two words: Junker's Heaven. It is truly incredible. It is an endless sea of rusty, dusty, chippy, and well weathered/loved treasures of all shapes and sizes. If you haven't gone yet I highly recommend that you check it out tomorrow.

I found tons of goodies. Inventory includes:

2-rolls of absolutely A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E fabric.

1-porcelain polar bear.

1-letter "A" stamp.

1-mini bleached bushel basket.

1-blue wire basket.

1-picnic basket.

1-tin beer sign (for the fiance of course).

1-vintage flask (also for the fiance).

2-vintage metal trays.

1-skeleton and charm necklace (I got to pick out all the pieces myself).

1-super yummy smelling potpourri.

8-little green leaf ice cream dishes.

2-bud vases made out of the ends of hollow silverware.

1-bag of buttons.

Our first trip:

Our second trip:

This is a mere fraction of the goodies you will find! 

Happy Junking!

Junk Bonanza Official Site

Rest In Peace Old Man

On Friday I had to put my beloved geriatric to sleep. He's been sick for some time now and my heart couldn't bear to watch him suffer any longer. It was one of the most difficult moments of my life. He's been my dog for over 15 years. He watched me grow up and he was the last living tie to a lot of things from my childhood.: my grandpa, my other childhood pets, and almost every trial and tribulation I've been through in the past decade and a half. I know it was the right thing to do and I am at peace with my decision. I hope Doggie Heaven is all it's cracked up to be and more.

 So rest in peace my boy. I will forever hold you and our memories close to my heart.

 

Gold Rush

This past weekend the fiance and I spent a few days down in Oronoco, Minnesota at their annual Gold Rush Days. It was incredible. At night we stayed at an adorable little B&B a short drive away and then shopped til we dropped during the day.

The Barteau House

It was a zoo!

There was something for EVERYONE...

Horses of courses.

Flowers and plants galore!

Vintage bikes.

Adorable hand painted signs.

Hot chicks.

Mini outhouse-for all of your small bathroom needs?

Can you please pass the salt & peppa?

Sea of Denim.

Glassware.

Garage Art? Sorry Fiance, the answer is "NO".

After sifting through THOUSANDS of items, we decided on the following to take home with us...

Inventory:

1-Garage Art sign (fiance's).

1-Vintage/well loved copy of Black Beauty.

1-Golden horse.

1-Chippy white side table.

1-Door for hallway closet. (What a lucky find! It'll only need a little bit of trimming to make it fit!)

1-Bushel basket.

1-Wire laundry cart. (A NECESSITY at events such as this. Who wants to carry all that crap around? Not this girl.) 

1-Hand painted cabinet for awkward corner in dining room.

2-Vintage fans. (Yes they actually work!)

1-Chair for desk.

1-Metal ammo box. (The fiance's favoritest find!)

1-Men's bathroom sign for garage bathroom.

1-Basket weave garbage container for recycling. (To replace the Plain Jane plastic one.)

Junk Bonanza:

Ki Nassauer was there and even let me take a picture with her! (The fiance thought I was crazy, but I tried to explain that this was equivalent to him meeting Micahel Jordan-to which he just shook his head.) She was super nice as were all the ladies that were there advertising for Junk Bonanza and passing out information. (I found the door and the golden horse at their tent.) I've never been to the Junk Bonanza but after seeing the preview, I'm SOLD! They had some really great stuff there and it was all reasonably priced. So if this is any indication of what the Bonanza will be like, it's gonna be A-W-E-S-O-M-E!

Retail Therapy

After taking the dogs to the beach (if you can call it that) and stopping at the The Naniboujou Lodge for tea I went shopping with the future mom-in-law and her friend in downtown Grand Marais. I love retail therapy. Sometimes there's nothing better than a little shopping to lift your spirits.

So here's some pics of from our day...

The Naniboujou Lodge

And of course I couldn't pass up the mason jars...

Busy Bee Part II

Here's some more pics from the weekend. I did some weeding, which, as it turns out is not the most fun thing ever...

The "Before".

And the "After".

Yuck look at all those weeds...

 One of the pretty flowers I discovered.

By George! There was a windmill in there too!

Helper 1.

Helper 2.

Busy Bee

Long time no blog. I've been a busy bee. Friday we went to the zoo, Saturday we had  a wedding, and Sunday we recovered from the wedding. We've also been working like crazy to get ready for our fourth of July party. Here's some pictures of my adventurous weekend...

Zoo entrance.

It was hard to get a good pic of the polar bear (my fiance has named him "Whitey") through the cage.

Nothing like a baby duckie to lift your spirits :)

This guy is just cool.

Kitty was warm.

These guys have the longest, prettiest eyelashes I have ever seen! Jealous!

It's like a painted horse

This guy actually put this t-shirt on...

Hilarious.

And of course the baby lifted my spirits...

The End.