when the boyfriend's away...i get to use the whole garage

I went to my new favorite antique/resale shop in Orange City last week with Baby Bird and her mom.  Since they're out of school for the summer, we've been able to hang out a bit more- I had them over for lunch before we went and tried getting into Hawaii mode with some marinated grilled chicken and tropical rice.  I made up my own recipe for the rice since I couldn't find one online that incorporated ingredients that I had on-hand.  Easy-peasy recipe at the end of this post!

Anyway, I had a laundry list of items I've been looking for- a luggage rack for my guestroom, a chair to replace the Chair O' Death at the desk (more on that later), an oval standing mirror, and a magazine rack.  I had great success, actually- found everything!  Well, except a luggage rack but I got a low bench instead and figured I can fix it up and it can do double duty.  After we crammed everything into 2 cars and BB's mom headed out for another errand, BB and I drove up to Deland to kill some time.  Wandering around the historic area of downtown, we came across a candy store that was giving away free Italian ice (surprise!  yum!) and a formal/bridal/flower shop that was advertising formal dresses for $25.  Now, normally I'd just pass it up, even though I DO need something to wear on our cruise in September.  But with Baby Bird with me, I was feeling braver so in we went, preparing to be underwhelmed.  

I FOUND THE MOST PERFECT BLUE FORMAL GOWN FOR $25, YA'LL!!!!!

It was great to have BB there for a second opinion and I joyfully left with my purchase.  Pics to follow once we go on vacation!

Anyhoo, the reason I was getting in quality chick time is that Scot was working in Punta Gorda (Southwest FL) for the week.  I decided that, since his car was gone, I could spread out all my new finds and get to work in the garage.  

The luggage bench was first- it was an ugly blonde pine color, but check out the after!

BB's mother let me use her sewing machine (which I hadn't touched I think since 7th grade HomeEc class) to make the cushion.  I sanded (with the electric sander!), primed, filled in the screw holes with spackle, and painted it from the same can of white I bought for the hutch.  Love it! 

And now the chair- Everyone who sits in the office desk chair we have in the game room leans back and the whole thing damn near tips over.  It'll send your heart into your throat for sure and, rather than risk a broken neck, I decided to replace it.  Again, I sanded, spackled, primed, painted and recovered the chair I bought at the antique store.  BB picked out the perfect fabric to cover the seat and, over the course of the week Scot was gone, I pain-stakingly fixed it up.  Take a look!

 Before- ugly!

 After- super awesome!

Close-up of the fabric- it's so...Me!

Here's the breakdown for both projects-

Bench: $11

Fabric: $6

Paint/brushes: free (already owned)

Spackle/sandpaper: free (already owned)

Total for luggage bench: $17!

Chair: $4 (I'm not kidding!!!)

Spackle/sandpaper/paint/brushes: free (already owned)

Fabric $6

New foam pad: $9

Total: $19!

Sidebar- this does not include the staple gun- technically I found one in the garage and could not figure out how to use it, load it, or what size staples it took (I guess I still need him lol) so I bought a new one with instructions included which set me back about $15.  I'm still annoyed about that.  Overall, I'm very pleased with my week's progress.  The magazine rack i bought was kind of a brass, swirly design and ugly as sin, so I painted it the same glossy purple I used on my light-globe flower vase a month or so ago.  

The biggest project- the chandelier over the dining table is still sitting there, taunting me.  When I get brave enough to take all the crystals off of it and paint it, I'll post about that.  If I survive.  

Anyway, just got a text from Scot saying he's 30 minutes out and can't wait to get home- it's been a rough week down in PGD.  Maybe I'll greet him in my new $25 princess dress :)

nail polish? nah, i paint my nails with Behr Premium

On a whim while we were in Tennessee last fall for my birthday, I decided to start collecting pottery.  I suppose I was feeling especially country, what with all the fall leaves and Dollywood and hiking and all.  Anyway, I fell in love with Pigeon River Pottery and purchased a couple pieces that spoke to me (or rather, screamed my name and begged me to take them home.)  I've obtained a few more pieces since then, for Christmas and in Key Largo, all varying shades of blue and gray.  It feels very grown-up and turned out to be the stress of my latest DIY project.  So, here we go-

I decided I needed a corner hutch to display my pottery pieces in, so I started hunting.  It took me about 2 months of frequenting every Goodwill, ReStore, Salvation Army, and thrift store I came across before I found what I was looking for, at a price I could handle.  I discovered my new favorite shop- an antiques dealership in Orange City.  The place is probably 4x the size of our house and is filled with treasures!  For $104, I picked up a solid pine hutch and painted and glazed it.

I wiped it down with wet rags, took the doors off, and lightly sanded it.  I chose 2 colors- a white and a yellow paint/primer in one.  Still, I kid you not, they both took like 6 coats.  I painted on that thing for 3 days.  Admittedly, it was on days I was working, so I'd get home and do a couple coats, let it dry til the next day, and repeat.  After the paint was dry, I mixed my good ol' brown glaze that I've used on the red chairs and the garage sale cabinet and toned it down a bit.  I found some really cute little yellow glass knobs at World Market, reattached the doors with new hinges, and TA-DA!
Here's the breakdown-
Hutch- $104
Paint/Brushes- $20
Knobs- $5
Hinges- $6
Glaze- already owned (free!)
Grand Total- $135 (not too shabby!)

 BEFORE

AFTER!

finally, by some miracle...

It's been a while since the last post (in which I whined about the non-progress of the pool) but GUESS WHAT???  It's finished!  I have some lovely before and after pics to share-

So classy!  So grown-up!

We (well, the fence people) also put up that white fence you see outside the pool screen.  It's like our own mini-resort now and I just love it!  We hosted around 15 friends for a pool party last week and it ended up raining all day because Tropical Storm Debby decided to blow through.  I suppose it turned into a hurricane party of sorts, but we still got in that pool, rain and everything!  Overall, All Seasons Pools did a great job on  the remodel, even if it did take freakin' forever (about 2 and a half months).  I'm just happy to finally be able to park it on the swing with some new, overstuffed pillows and just enjoy it all.   

 

(Gratuitous cat-lady pic...sure, I chose the color palate to match my animal)