Did I Mention I’m Obsessed?

After finding the perfect curtain fabric, I was just flipping through Target today and look what I found. I love this bedspread! All those pieces are less than $100 and I’m assuming it’s rather thin but that’s okay, since I’m in Georgia and this is strictly for looks. They don’t have it in the store and I’m worried because you never can tell with Target. Sometimes it’s amazing, but it could go rather cheap looking, I’ll just have to see. Usually cheap works fine on a simple design like this.

I might not use the shams, I hate matchy-matchy, though I will check to see if the leaf print is on the reverse side. If it is, I’ll turn them inside out and use them that way.

Still on a Decorating Tear

Decorating is so frustrating. Because of time and budget, I have to do things a little bit at a time, and it seems like I never finish ANYTHING. Progress so far:

I found this amazing fabric for my dining room curtains. My husband’s work wife made them for me and they are unbelievably gorgeous.

This is the cushion fabric for the two 30 year old wicker chairs sitting on either side of my blue sideboard. My husband’s work wife made the cushions, too. I could’ve made them, but it would’ve taken me forever. She’s a professional, so yeah.

All I need to do is paint the room and it’ll be finished (except for the table which I hope to have by Christmas. Whit is building it.) This Benjamin Moore Soft Marigold. I love it so. Reminds me of Creamsicles which I think is awesome for a dining room.

Then on to the master bedroom and bathroom. I’ve struggled with this room for ages. I’ve been looking for curtain fabric and nothing inspired me until yesterday. I hit the buy button so fast I got windburn.

Still don’t know about the bedroom color. It will be either Primavera or Mesclun green. I love them both. The master bath, which is next door is Iceberg, so either will coordinate.

What do y’all think? I’m so close yet so far away. We have to focus on stuff like electrical and plumbing and I just want to make it pretty. *le sigh* We need a bathroom vanity and I’m torn. The one I actually want is like $1800. Yeah. So that’s not going to happen. Will probably get this one from Ikea.

I want that mirror, but it wouldn’t work with my light fixture, plus my wall studs are totally in the wrong place.

And, of course the piece de resistance in my bathroom, this shower curtain which I showed y’all before.

Then I’ll be done…if I don’t change my mind first.

Men’s Anti-Perspirant: Better, Cheaper, Gentler on Your Pits

I’m more than a bit annoyed about this. Why did no one tell me that men’s anti-perspirant works better, costs less and believe it or not, is gentler on your skin? As a melanated woman I’ve struggled with underarm discoloration caused by anti-perspirant since forever. I was convinced switching to male products would worsen this issue, but menopause is causing me to sweat like crazy so I decided to try it. No discoloration at all. My underarms actually look better. And Old Spice has some of the most amazing scents EVER. This Citron with Sandalwood is my favorite, but Wolfthorn smells awesome as well. And did I mention this stuff works like a champ? I mean, I never have to worry about not smelling fresh, it keeps my pit game tight ALL DAY LONG and on to the next day.

I Cried With the Cashier in Walmart Today

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I’ve mentioned before how enamored I’ve grown with the house dresses my mama used to call dusters. She loved those things like damn and whoa and after she died we found dozens of them in her room. She loved nothing better than to receive them as gifts for any and all occasions. Now I know why she liked them so much; they’re cool, lightweight and most importantly, THEY HAVE POCKETS! Big, roomy pockets. Let me tell you, when you’re doing your last once over, picking up kid’s stuff before bed, big pockets are a lifesaver.

Anyway, I picked up a couple today, and mentioned to the cashier how much my mama loved them. She got teary eyed and said every time someone buys one she thinks about her mama too. We talked for several minutes until both of us got too choked up to continue. It’s been a while since this happened. The Christmas after she died I collapsed on the floor sobbing in Kmart, blubbering over their Christmas display. My mama loved Christmas; decorating with so many lights our house could be mistaken for an alternate airport runway.

It’s been fourteen years y’all and it seems like just yesterday I could pick up the phone and call her anytime I wanted. It still hurts. I feel like a motherless child, because I am one.

Peonies

My peonies are blooming they’re just breathtaking and the scent is unbelievable. Peonies and tulips are my favorite flowers. In my next garden I want to have a peony cutting garden.

New Tie

Hellboy #2 is going to be Julian Bond in the school’s Black History Month program. I thought this costume would be easy-peasy for once. Not so much. Finding little boy ties is like finding hen’s teeth. Astonishing this close to Easter. I found some at Macy’s but they were $15 a piece! Given a better than 80% likelihood that said tie would NOT make it home, I decided to make it myself. Not bad, I’d say, especially for a first attempt. It took all of 20 minutes and probably would’ve taken less if I’d had the right kind of elastic.

Score!

Annie-Sloan-Napoleonic-Blue-Paint

Look at the pretty I found last night for $35!! Once it stops raining I’m going to paint it Annie Sloan Napoleonic blue. I had thought about painting the hardware, but I like that it’s a bit distressed. I especially wanted it because the bottom two drawers are super deep and we can keep all our game boards and serving bowls in there, and the upper drawers are small; perfect for napkins, and silverware. I’ll probably keep table cloths and serving platters in the middle drawers. Yay me!

Home Decor Quandary

This picture is from my bedroom, and I’m finally ready to paint it and that’s where my quandary lies. The white quilt is my magnum opus. It took me a year to quilt that quilt and I will probably never make another one so awesome. Obviously it was done long before I had children, and I quilted the whole thing with a size 10 quilting needle. I don’t think I’ll ever have the eyesight to quilt with a 10 again. This is a closeup of the quilt, yeah, I did all that BY HAND with a needle that’s about a half an inch long. No wonder I’m blind these days.

It goes without saying that I want my masterpiece on my bed where I can see it every day. It was my intention to paint my bedroom a pretty kiwi green and hang green pinch pleat draperies behind my bed to set off my chocolate brown padded headboard.

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Then the other day I was going through my quilts and saw the pansy quilt. It belonged to my mama and seeing it again made me so happy. I used to have it on my bed after she passed, but it’s too small for our bed now and since I have boys I can’t really put it on their beds either, so I draped it over my headboard. As you can see they don’t really play well together, but they both make me happy, so yeah, I think they’re both going to stay.

My quandary is, what color should I paint my room? A kiwi green would look really awful with the pansy quilt. Can y’all think of a color that would help these two go together better? I was thinking a purply blue, but I’m not sure. What do y’all think?

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Our master bath, which is really tiny, is this color. I think they look pretty together. Screen Shot 2016-01-19 at 2.14.40 PM.png

Tiny Grocery Bags

Kell got an awesome toy kitchen for Christmas and a shopping cart (Got the deal of a lifetime y’all at an online yard sale site. Toy kitchens are expensive, but you can usually score one at a yard sale. (I belong to several sites on Facebook for buying and selling stuff locally. I sold all of Kell’s baby stuff on one.) If all the groceries are gone, you can get those on Amazon and they’re not crazy expensive. Fortunately, the one I got still had the pots, pans, and fruits and veggies. I went to the dollar store and got him some more bowls and measuring spoons).

He loves his kitchen like damn and whoa, but as he pointed out, there were no shopping bags! He’s my official grocery bag toter when we go to the store, so he was quite put out about this. With some quick googling I discovered they don’t really exist! (I’m stunned grocery stores have missed out on this marketing opportunity, you know, get them while they’re young and all, but whatever.)

I checked Pinterest and found some really easy directions and we were off to the races. I made the red one first, then Kell pointed out that we needed a green one too since we shop at both Target and Publix.

I just used some scrap felt I had, if you’re buying, an 1/8 of a yard or a fat quarter is plenty, but check your scraps first. I think these would be really cute made with mismatched fabrics for a scrappy look, and I’m thinking of something I can put in them for party favors, since they’re so easy and cheap to make. Kids love little bags to tote their stuff around in, so even if they don’t have a kitchen they could use it for matchbox cars or little dolls. They’re about 5” wide by 7” tall, so just the right size for little hands.

I prefer wool felt, which can be pricey, but it looks nicer and holds up better. Obviously, any felt or heavy fabric would work. I think felt is cool too because you don’t have to hem it, but if I’d used canvas or denim I would’ve used my pinking shears to keep the edges from fraying. Fray check would work too, but I’m not sure about the chemicals in it, and I know from experience that pretty much anything will wind up in a kid’s mouth.

It probably took me fifteen minutes tops, and they’re so cute! Wish I had some type of printer to put logos on them, but maybe I’ll figure that out later.

Score!

I scored big on this one y’all. Here’s the thing, I’ve been looking for nightstands forever. I don’t like to buy new furniture, because unless you go totally high end, most of it is crap. I like high quality, but don’t have those kind of dollars, so I do a lot of thrifting. I was in the thrift store the other day, and even had Kell with me as I was only going to make a quick run-through. I never do serious thrifting with the kids unless I’m punishing my oldest boy. I was actually bummed because I’d just missed out on two awesome pieces that got away before I could buy them, so I wasn’t really paying attention.

Nightstands are really difficult because it’s almost impossible to find two. I was actually looking for something to paint as I like to do small paint projects to sell on Craigslist from time to time. And then there they were. Pure walnut. Dovetailed drawers with wooden gliders. I know. I know. I started jumping up and down and hyperventilating. I couldn’t believe it. After nearly five years of searching I found my nightstands. They’re such high quality I almost feel guilty for painting them, but I know I can easily strip and refinish them if it comes to that. They’re not antiques, so I’m not worried about hurting the finish. And get this, they were only $13 a piece!!!!

I’m going back and forth between two colors. Antibes green and Napoleonic blue, but I can’t decide. I know I will paint my sideboard (the one that got away! Grrr) Napoleonic blue when I find one. What do y’all think?