Summer To Do List Project.....Like I Need Another To Do List

Happy Tuesday! How was your Memorial Day weekend?

It was also our wedding anniversary weekend and the hubs and I got to spend 8 hours away from our children. We haven't done that in ages. We actually couldn't even remember the last time we did that....so eons ago. Originally our oldest was going to go with us as she got married with us that day six years ago but at the last minute decided she wanted to stay home with our sitter/adopted family member, Hailey. We went to a lake town we love up in Wisconsin and got a text about two hours in to our day from Hailey and Anna saying "take your time, go out to dinner and Happy Anniversary!" .....best. present.ever.

Went out to a really nice dinner, got some ice cream, then took a long walk......heaven.  We laughed, cried and talked about upcoming life projects and changes. Loved every single minute.

Thank you to those two angels in disguise for giving us the gift of time alone to recharge our relationship. They will never ever know how grateful we are for that day.



On to the latest installment of What Can I Mess Up Now???....




Last summer, I found all these cool summer "to-do lists" artwork pieces on Pinterest and thought how awesome it would be to make one for our home.

I even had the perfect piece to create one with.

But do ya think I did it?

No.

Guess I was too busy enjoying summer to make a summer to do list. :)

So I started seeing them pop up on Pinterest again this spring and was inspired yet again.
Because I had all the ingredients in my house to make one.
I wouldn't have to go out and purchase any materials.
And really, it wouldn't take me much time at all to create.

Let me show you some of my inspiration first:

Source: happytocreate.com via Kari on Pinterest

Source: maddycakesmuse.blogspot.com via Kari on Pinterest

Aren't they cute?
The second one I love but that's a lot of stuff to do this summer.
Almost sets yourself up for failure in a way.
And to-do lists kind of conjure a stressful feeling, do they not?
So I wanted my to-do list to be a little less chaotic.
I do give props to the mama who created that one.
I will be thinkin' about ya when you are on # 84 in August. :)


So every project has a starting point or a possible suspect.
In my case, the suspect in question was this bad boy:

I got this for my 26th birthday from my mom and dad.

I loved it so much and it was up in my home for the last 12 years or so but I took it down a few years ago because it just didn't go with my decor any more.

These types of art were HAUUUGE in the 90's.

Berries with baskets.
Twigs in baskets.

Twigs with berries near baskets.

Baskets lined with berry filled twigs.

You get the main idea.

This was sitting down in my basement for four years when I finally brought it up last weekend to reinvent it.

At first I was afraid it would make my mama sad that I painted over this piece but then I thought she would totally appreciate this as she changes her decor style through the years like me and at least now it would be a focal point and not banished to the cellar!

See if she ever buys me a piece of artwork again after she reads this post.....;)

Here is what I did:

-Spray painted the frame Heirloom White by Rustoleum.

- Then taped the frame and spray painted the glass with chalkboard spray paint.

It took about four to five coats.

In my experience, it takes a lot more coats for chalkboard paint on glass than it does on other surfaces.

Or maybe that was just karma for painting over a beloved birthday gift from my mom and dad.

Hmm......

- Then I took the tape off the frame and then I needed to make a decision:

How was I going to execute the whole to-do list and what was I going to use for the chalk.

I could have used chalk pen but I only have one left and it is white.  I wanted mine to be colorful like my Pinterest inspirations.

I also know that color chalk pen is pricey AND hard to find other than online.

26 bucks for four color chalk pens?

No. Thank. You.

So then I started brainstorming.....

regular classroom chalk?

Too chalky.

sidewalk chalk from the garage?

Ours has mulch, dirt and is broken into 1/4 inch pieces.

homemade chalk from a recipe on a blog?

I am not Martha Stewart.

Then I remembered something.

I have special chalk.

Really special chalk.

Magic chalk if you will.

Remember back in March when I told you about doing that hair chalking experiment on my daughter and her friends hair at her birthday party???

Act like you know what I am talking about.

Otherwise, go here and scroll to the bottom of the post.

I was almost giddy when I thought of this.

I can finally use the chalk I took out a loan to buy!

Just kidding.

I only had to cash in my piggy bank at Coinstar for them.

Sorry for the blurry picture.....

Above is my note to myself.

A blueprint if you will.

I even had to practice drawing a pennant bunting.

'Cuz I didn't know how to before today, apparently.

And then I began to write my "to-do" list!

I thought of all the fun things we do every summer and added a few more that were new to us this summer that we wanted to try.

As well as making the list attainable.

I mean really, milk carton boats?

Water obstacle course??

Seed spitting contest???

I am totally not cutting down the person who came up with that because in her home, those are some of the fun things they do but in my house?

Milk carton boats would be ripped to shreds in minutes if they weren't drug through the mulch and drowned in the baby pool first.

Water obstacle course?

That's called the path to the kids bathtub in our home.

Seed spitting contest?

Really?

I would still be finding watermelon seeds in November....

By the way, those curtains in the window to the right (the red valances)  are going bah bye this summer.

I have had them forevah and am sick of dark colors bringing my bright kitchen down.

I am in the process of lightening things up and will be painting the kitchen a neutral color this summer too.

I love the teal but it really makes this room a lot darker than it needs to be and it shows every single mark, dent, spaghetti sauce splatter etc.

So in the process of being a real blogger, showing you all sides of me...good and bad......I thought you would appreciate this.

The above picture is so tranquil, serene, pretty, right?

Here is what was going on in the background.....

Snack bowls, lemonade in glasses, a hook I took off the wall to fit said summer to do list, my vacuum system on the floor.....all that was strategically moved for the picture.

And I am not the only blogger who does this.

Its all a mirage peeps.

So don't feel bad when you look at your piles of laundry laying around.

I have it too.

I also have OCD so I prob don't have as much but I do have it.

:)

Yes those are flip flops on the counter.

What?

They are on a towel.....

geesh......

And just like that!

Pretty as a picture.

I just moved all the junk to the dining room.....

                                                                      Cost to make?

Nuttin'.

So here is what ya do if you want to make this kind of piece for your house.

Get a framed piece of artwork you don't really use anymore or go to the thrift store and get one (usually never over 5 bucks).

Spray paint it with chalkboard paint.....you could even mix it with regular black spray paint if you are a) out of funds b) too lazy to go get more at the store or c) you are stuck under some really heavy furniture....chalk pretty much writes on any painted surface.

 Then write your to do list.

                                                   This could be fun for any time of year too.

Summer is our fave here so that's why I picked it.

Have fun!

Memorial Day Tablescape That Won't Cut Into Your Beer Budget

So I forgot that this Monday was Memorial Day and then decided that I was just gonna wait until the 4th of July to post this but I always have this fear that blogger will suddenly disappear in the night and there goes all my posts.
There used to be a day when in my Blogger Dashboard there were four or five posts just a waitin' to be published but not anymore. I am lucky if I can come up with an original thought once a month.

So here is my lazy, do really nothing, work with what ya got, cost no money table scape just in time for the holiday weekend.

I must warn you, I just got new glasses and my eyes still aren't used to them.

IE- this morning, I ran into the wall three times.
Yes, three.
Kinda makes me wonder how I got along before these new amazing glasses.
So be warned that my pictures may be a little different than normal because I was under the influence of a powerful drug of the bifocal kind.

And yes, I see two of you right now. :)

Simple, easy and took me two minutes to create.

I bet you have something in your attic, basement, dungeon, craft room that you could pull together without having to resort to the Target dollar crap spot or Dollar Tree.

Not that there is anything wrong with that but wouldn't it be nice to save some money where ya can?

Spend it on burgers and brats rather than on your centerpiece?

Or margaritas?

Yes, on margaritas.....much better.

So here are the det's on the above table scape:

- the tray is from hosting a SLAH party when SLAH still existed. It is now Willow House.

But I am sure you have a tray or two laying around, don't you?

You could even use a serving tray.

Shh, I won't tell anyone.

- the galvanized buckets have seen a dance or two around the blog.

They were given to me by a neighbor who was going to throw them out.

If she knew how much use I was getting outta these bad boys, she may have kept them for herself or at least made me pay for them.

I bet you have some sort of container whether it be from your garden or an old vase.

- the craptastic flowers? Fake-o's.

Normally, I am not a fan of fake flowers in the summer but since real flowers cost money and I have an opposite of green (would that be purple or red??) thumb, I am sticking to my fake-o's. I got these guys over seven years ago at a dime store near here.

If you have a great garden or are better with flowers than I am, go get some geraniums from the store and plop them in.

- flags are from many places.....dollar stores, home improvement stores, free from our village, free from parades...I save them each year because they are amazingly cheap or free decor for our Americana holidays.

- burlap wreath bestie Rebecca made for me last fall, I just put the galvanized bucket in the middle of the wreath hole.

I bet you have a cool wreath laying around somewhere that doesn't at all look like Christmas, don'tcha?

And that is it.
I know, a little anti-climactic wasn't it?
Have a good weekend!

Welcome Back Kotter End Tables

Hello friends! It seems like it has been forevah since I was on here and really a week away from the blogosphere is like, well, forever in blogger terms but I am truly appreciating that my loyal readers are hangin' in there with me even with only one post a week. I love you all. :)
  
We spent the weekend in Ohio with family for my nephew Will's 3rd birthday and it was so good to be back there and see everyone. We also got to be a part of Will's baptism on Sunday as well by being Will's Godparents, such an honor for the hubs and I and another special part was that Annie got to help the minister baptize her cousin with the water. So touching, I had tears in my eyes. Such a great weekend and so nice for the hubs, kids and I to go somewhere together as it is a rarity around here with the hubs hours. He had a Saturday off for the first time in nine months.....heavenly. :) And didn't want it to end.......

Ok back to business!



When the hubs and I were dating, he lived in a town home in a golf course community not too far from where we live now.

It was the ultimate bachelor pad.

To give you an idea, the first thing you would see when you walked up the main stairs to the bedrooms was a huge framed Caddyshack movie poster. 

And golf clubs.

And dirty laundry.


And I am pretty sure the previous week's pizza still in the box.


Yes, it was the envy of all married guys in the tri-county area.

And as cool as it was...well to the male folk that is....there was definite room for improvement.

The Welcome Back Kotter end tables that I am referring to in the title were some of the above improvement to which I am also referring. And the funny part of this story? I thought these tables were garage sale finds of my mother- in- law.

Nope.
The hubs bought these.
On purpose.
At a furniture store.
Probably for full price.

Which made me laugh even more.
I love the hubs so much but an interior decorator he is not.
As evidenced in the aforementioned end tables.
Now don't get me wrong, I am not a furniture purist but these end tables are end tables in the most basic form.
They have four legs and they hold things.
And they are kind of ugly.

For years.......seven years to be exact.....I have looked at these bad boys and wanted to do something with them.
Like put them to the curb for the garbage man......

But I would go to furniture stores and see how much end tables cost, sigh and justify that no one really looks at end tables anyway. Their sole purpose is to hold lamps, remote controls, cups, food, magazines....good heavens, end tables have a big responsibility! Then come home and be resigned with our humble little craptastic Sanford and Son end tables.

So I have had an enlightening if you will of late in the painting furniture department as most of you know. I have turned several pieces of furniture in my home that was destined for furniture hall of shame into pretty awesome key pieces.


For example:

From this......

To this.....

And that's all I am gonna show ya because I don't wanna come off as all braggy.

The whole point is that I am showing you at home that you too can do these things for cheap.

You no longer need to be a slave to Pottery Barn, Ikea or Target.

You can take craptastic roadkill furniture or awesome sauce garage sale junk finds and turn them into focal points in your home.

So here is my starting point:

My end tables.

And this is what I did:

- sanded one of the tables. I was going to do both but the finish was so bad on top of them, I didn't even need to sand the other. I did a light sand with the power sander, so nothing over the top.

- then I primed each table with one coat of primer.

- I painted the tops of the end tables with the same color I used for my kitchen table re-do: Espresso Brown by Rustoleum. I used only one coat and liked the look of it. Very rustic  = very easy for me. I really wanted it to look distressed and not at all perfect because these tables are in the room that is lived in more than any other in this home. Meaning I didn't want to invest hours of time and scads of money to have these tables look like they did before this whole project started.

And they will look bad again.

I can guarantee it.

I have kids and I will never ask anyone in my house or company that comes over to use a coaster.

That's why I won't buy my end tables at PB because if I spent $1000 on an end table, I would indeed ask you to use a coaster.

Or maybe I would just shrink wrap the end tables.

Or possibly just lay the 10 -100 dollar bills on the floor where the end tables would be and let the kids rip them, spill water on them, accidentally crumple them.....you get the idea. :)

- Then I painted the legs the cream color I painted the kitchen chairs above.

Just for those keepin' score so far, thats no money spent on this project, since I am using all of the products I used for the other furniture overhauls.

And here are the ever important after pics:

See the tops?

 That is exactly how I wanted it to look.

There is some warping....see it toward the front of the table?....that was there before I started and I couldn't get rid of that.

But you can only see it when the lamps are on.

Which in the winter months is pretty much all the time but I will be knee deep into seasonal affective disorder that I won't even notice. :)

The paint makes these tables look a little less 70's shag carpet love den and a little more beachy cottage.

Look how nice this room looks!!

All clean and model home-like!!

Yeah here is the low down on that......

I took some of the normal "schtuff" outta the picture to make it look, you know, prettier.

Below is how my family room usually looks when it is clean.

Toys, crayons, books etc.

You know, like we live here or something....the nerve....;)

And yes, this is even very clean for OCD me.

There ya have it!

A totally free makeover so my end tables are less Welcome Back Kotter and more Mike and Molly.

Or more Modern Family and less Love Boat.

Or less TJ Hooker and more Keeping Up With The Kardashians.  

I could do this all.day.long.......

Have a good one!!

Four-Ish Ingredient Recipe- Baked Ziti + Homemade Garlic Bread

Hello there again friends!
How was your weekend or more importantly, how was your Mothers Day???
It was a great weekend here, my parents came up to see Anna's soccer game and ended up staying the night.
So we had dinner and a bonfire here:

Apparently it is hard to get a clear picture around a bonfire.

We look like Cheech and Chong.....

We made smores, listened to music, had some wine, laughed and enjoyed the beautiful evening.

I looked around at everyone and I wanted to hold that moment in.

I didn't want it to end.

Mothers Day here was lots of fun too, I got some quality time in with my oldest, spent all afternoon outside (and have the sunburn to prove it), went for a run with my oldest early in the morning and ended with some Housewives who may or may not have been from New Jersey.

A great day.

I wish that kind of day like that for all of you wonderful people out there.

On to the real reason we are here.......:)

I have no idea where I got this recipe.
I have made this for the past five or six years and everyone in my little family loves it.
This is great for company as you could make it ahead, refrigerate it then pop it in the oven as guests arrive.
There are four-ish ingredients in this recipe as I have tweaked it here and there but you can tweak it as well to meet your needs.

Enjoy!

1- one package of ziti pasta

2- 1 jar of spaghetti sauce ( I use Paul Newman's Marinara)

3- one package of shredded mozzarella (I use 2% and it still tasted good)

4- 1/2 package of frozen meatballs ( I use the Walmart brand and they are THE best)

4.5- OK so here is the "four-ish" part- spices are key. I use garlic powder, oregano and garlic salt as well as salt and pepper. You could also add Parmesan, red pepper flakes and real garlic too to kick up the flavor a notch.

Boil the pasta according to package directions...or be like me who never boils pasta that way and just cook til it looks done. :) Drain and set aside. Now here is where your preference comes into play.

 If you like lots and lots of sauce? Use two jars. Otherwise use one jar.

I take half the jar (if you are using one jar) and in a greased 9x13, spread it evenly on the bottom of the pan. Top the sauce with some garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Then lay the pasta on top of it.

Place frozen meatballs on top of the pasta.

Then the rest of the sauce and more spices.

Top with shredded mozzarella.

 Bake in a 350 oven for 25-30 minutes.

This is sooo good and the leftovers?

 Even better.

I serve this with a salad and bread. 

When I have company, I serve with a bagged Caesar salad and make my own garlic bread.

Here is the recipe for that:

-1 loaf of italian bread

- spray butter or stick margarine (your choice)

- oregano

-garlic powder

Cut the loaf in half lengthwise.

Either spray both sides with some spray butter or take the stick of margarine and spread onto both sides.

Add oregano and garlic to your taste.

Put in 350 oven for 15- 25 minutes.

So much better than that stuff you buy at the store and so much better for you!!

Rebecca and Kari's Excellent Adventure or Why It Is Good To Eat at Chipotle

Happy Monday friends!
Aww, its not so happy for you? Sorry....I am not a fan of Mondays either.
It is raining, cold and just icky here so its starting off great here.
But Mothers Day is this Sunday!!!
And I will have nothing planned in the form of a craft, project or poem on the blog here like the other bloggers. They have been furiously pounding out the Mama Day crafts for weeks around these parts and have I contributed anything?
Nope.
I am such a rebel.....
So let me be the first to wish you great moms Happy Mothers Day!
Don't you dare cook a thing, make a bed, do a dish or wipe a runny nose that day.
Tell them I told you not to.......:)


So I alluded to some kind of exciting news on my Face book page here last week about how my bestie Rebecca and I got on a TV show that is set to air in June!

Wait, let me back up a little ........

source

Every year, Rebecca takes me out to lunch for my birthday. Usually it is to Olive Garden for their soup, salad and bread sticks but this year since we are on diets and are training for the 5k, we decided to go somewhere a little healthier.

We opted for ....wait for it........Chipotle because 1) you can tailor make your order to create a healthy lunch and B) their food is awesomesauce. The thing is, when you realize the irony of this story, you will laugh out loud or lol if you will. You won't woot. Please don't woot. 

source

The irony is that Chipotle is, like, my all time fave restaurant.
My "go to" restaurant if you will.
The hubs and I may or may not have been known to go there twice in one weekend.
Chipotle is my restaurant soul mate.

But I am getting ahead of myself.
I promise to get to the real irony of this story.


So one lovely day last week we strolled into one of our local Chipotle restaurants for lunch.

We walk in and see basically something like this:

source

 Only our camera man and sound guy are taping the chef extraordinaire making our lovely Chipotle creations.
Immediately, I started looking for the Duggar family......where is Josiah?!?!? Jim Bob???!!!
Then I asked the cashier what was going on and she said "filming" with a huge smile.
Okay.......


So Rebecca and I sat down to eat in the corner by the window and stared at the comings and goings of the restaurant while chowing down on our meal. We saw a girl with a clipboard running around talking to people, a makeup person and the like. 

OK so I make this sound so nonchalant.
I can only speak for myself at this point, but inside I was screaming at the top of my lungs!!
How exciting is this?!?@?@
We are watching something really cool that not many people get to see!!!
Then a million questions start to formulate in my head...

Are they filming a TV show or documentary?
Is this a training film for their employees?
What is this show they are filming?
Is it reality TV?
Are they looking for the next American Idol?
Where is Ryan Seacrest???


Settle down, Kari.

So then Rebecca and I were chatting away about life, love....what the heck am I saying.....we were completely focused on the TV/documentary/training show going on in front of us.

Then it happened.
We were looking out the window and watching some big 50 year old-ish guy in overalls walking into the restaurant and talking about how he is totally gonna get on TV because not many people wear overalls in this day and age, especially when you are a grown man and there is not a farm in sight here for over 20 miles.........

.........when............

the girl with the clipboard came up to us and asked if we would like to be on TV.

Who? Us???
Huh, let us think about YEEESSSSSSSSSS!!!!
And yes, I think we actually said it that loud and that enunciated.

OK she said, I am with the Discovery Channel and we are shooting a show called America's Favorite Foods.

No, that's not what I heard.....
This is what I heard.

I am with Di......Ch......and we.......called.....Food.

Sign. Me. Up. lady with the clipboard.
I am ready for my closeup.


So we signed a form....probably promising not to sue them in the event that we look like crap on national TV......and she said it would be just a minute.

And this, my dear friends is the irony I alluded to earlier.
I am going to be filmed in Chipotle, talking about Chipotle, while eating Chipotle.
Its like the universe was callin' me home.....


So here is how it went down:
-they interviewed three groups of people that day. 1) was the young urban type girls in their early 30's..there were three of them. 2) was an African American couple with their cute little girl and 3) was Rebecca and I. We were also the last to be shot...or filmed....filmed sounds so much better.

- we waited and watched while they filmed them so we could see how they were doing it. Yeah, that did not help, it just made us more nervous.

- then the director, who, btw, was wearing the cutest long sleeve tangerine print dress with a grey scarf and Rebecca noted to me later that she never would have thought to pair a gray scarf with a tangerine dress and I knew she was making a mental note. I can also bet she has a tangerine something in her closet right now that she plans to pair with a gray something because she is always spot on when it comes to fashion. :)

-back to the director, she came up to us and noted that we had destroyed eaten our meal and that we needed a fresh one and that they, at the Discovery Channel, were paying for our second meal. Which would have lead to squeals from us except that we were full. I mean really full. We both got salads/burrito bol's and chips and salsa so full, full. So now we are not only nervous but also nauseous.

-so we waddled up to the counter, to which the staff said, "you are back!".....yes, yes we are.
The director had told us to get what we normally eat because we will be asked about it.

Wait, no one said our first role was a speaking role!!!!!

-so then we waited while the family of three was being interviewed. I sat with my back to them and Rebecca sat facing them while they were being interviewed. So she could see when the camera crew/director was done. So I sat there stupidly looking at Rebecca, then at my food, then out the window.....I was a little shaky at this point. I do know when they were done and coming our way because all of a sudden Rebecca didn't know where to look either. It was quite funny to watch because I would have acted the same exact way but I just sat there with a dumb smile on my face and talking out of the side of my mouth to her half whispering.....are they coming this way??......to which she nodded and looked awkwardly at me and my salad at the same time. Don't know how that was executed exactly but I swear it happened.

- so they come up and say something to the effect of "its real easy, just talk to the host , he will ask you questions and you answer them". Then the director says "and no one has messed up today so see how easy it is?"...to which I smart assedly replied, "great, no pressure then"....to which the camera and sound guy laughed....and I wanted them on my side because they could be my bff's in editing when I look like a deranged Anne Heche and sound like a drunk Kathleen Turner .....and the director smirked and most likely on the spot realized "hiring" me was a biiiiiiig mistake.


-so the host, who looked like a guy I worked with at Kohl's years ago....asked us questions....I don't remember exactly what those questions were but basically what did we order, do we always order this, why do we love chipotle, how often do we come, why do we come to this particular location....blah blah blah.


What I do remember is this, I sold out.
Totally.


The director stopped us mid filming and said something to the effect of....could one of you somewhere say " Chipotle is a foodies fast food heaven".

And without hesitation, I said...SURE!!!!

 Two problems I have with this: 1) I feel like I just jumped in and didn't offer it up to Rebecca. I asked her later, "did I steal your thunder?" to which she replied, no not at all but I did just jump on it. And 2) I totally sold out. I did. I would NEVER, EVER say those words. Foodie doesn't even exist in my day to day vocab.....and seriously? Fast food heaven? Sold to the Out. Might end up being the worst sound bite in history. Unless it ends up on the cutting room floor, which I am sure Chipotle, if they have a say, won't let it. What if that ends up being their new slogan? Oh geesh.........

 - I don't remember much of what else happened. I do know that Rebecca did a great job and was half hoping they would just ask her all the questions and ignore me just sitting there nodding like an idiot.

- I do remember saying the following words: organic, fresh, diet, sanitize....yes, I somehow worked in my OCD......then I said something that most likely won't make it to national TV. I said that it was a better deal than McDonald's and that how when you eat at Chipotle you don't feel like you "cheat yourself".

Yes, I said cheat yourself on TV.
In exactly that way.

If you are not sure to what this refers, it means crapping your pants.
Yep, only I would say to America that if you eat Tex Mex food at your local Chipotle, you won't crap your pants.
I could see the words hanging there like a cloud and I couldn't take them back......

- the rest was a blur, but this I do remember. After "wrapping" our interview and telling us "great job", we sat at our table and decided that we couldn't let our free meal go to waste so we started eating. Without even being hungry. We both just ate the meat in our salads justifying that since we are runners now or gasping joggers (sorry, that's just me) that we need protein and lots of it. So as we were innocently stress eating away after our acting debut, Rebecca nods toward someone behind me. The camera man. Taping her eating and the back of my head. He gives us a thumbs up and a big smile to which I returned the favor.......sure that's not gonna make it to Discovery Channel. Then he goes away and comes back and films me eating my food.

OK if there is one thing I don't like, its me getting a picture taken. I take a baaaaaad picture. I also look bad in video and I hate, hate the sound of my voice. So imagine my glee when I learned that not only will I get to see my mug on TV and hear my voice but I also.....wait for it.......get to see me eating food on TV. Hooray for reality television!!!! Somehow I don't think this how the Kardashian's got started......

We did end up getting a BOGO coupon for Chipotle.
You'd have thought they actually paid us the way we hollered when they handed it to us.
Oh wait, that was probably only me who hollered.
I was just glad that whole thing was behind me.
It was fun but way too stressful.
Plus we didn't get our makeup done or hair styled like our host did.
And I am pretty sure our SAG cards aren't coming in the mail any time soon either.


But I am glad I got to experience this with Rebecca and it is a birthday lunch we will never forget.
Next year, we are goin' to Olive Garden.


As of the writing of this post, I know no details of when this will air.
We were told June 3rd but I can't find any info as of right now.
I will post on my blog and my Face book page when I find out anything more. :)

The Little Record Cabinet That Could

Hello my dear friends, how was your weekend?
Good to hear it!
I had a great weekend, my mama was in town to help celebrate my birthday.
If you can guess how old I am, I will give you a cookie.
I will give you a kiss if you don't guess over 42. ;)
We went out to a fab mexi restaurant in the city then got on the 10 oclock news!!!
No not for robbing a bank.....


This is a pic of my mama and my Annie waving at our weatha fella Jerry Taft......

We were one of those fools who waited outside in 35 degree weather to wave furiously at the camera after the ABC 7 news aired here in Chicago.

So much fun.....and we got on TV!!!!!

A weekend filled with shopping, hugs and love, kisses, reminiscing by the fire (it was 40 degrees here all weekend...Happy April!), a very chilly soccer game, LOTS of great food, wine and some tears was just what this bday girl needed.
And I miss my mama ever so much right now.
So much that I spent most of Sunday in a snuggie watching really bad 1994 Tori Spelling made for tv movies.
Sniff sniff.

So I have had this little cabinet in my home my whole adult life.
It was actually a gift to me from my parents when I was in 8th grade to hold my ....ahem.....records.
To clarify for you younger readers, that's like a cabinet to hold your Itunes gift cards.
Oh and this cabinet held my cassette tapes too.
Again to clarify that is like a cabinet to hold your.....air.

Originally it was white.

I think.

That was a loooooooooong time ago so forgive me if my memory does not serve.

Then I think it was painted a robins egg blue.

Then hunter green....what? At that time it was the 90s....everything was hunter green back then.

Then I painted it black.

So it has been sitting in my kitchen for the past five or so years holding photo albums instead of record albums. And I so love this little guy but I couldn't help but notice how it looked a little depressed lately.

I tried to help it out by painting the knobs white. But it still wasn't gettin' it anymore.

Then I accidentally got white paint on the top of the cabinet.....

Oops.

Big honkin' oops.

 I almost cried when this happened because if I remember correctly, my mom stained the top of this for me years ago and it was ruined in one foul swoop.

So I knew that I now had to do something to this so I guess in a way it was fate intervening to get me off my butt to finally paint this thing.

No.

I am pretty sure it wasn't fate but rather me being lazy and impatient and placing a lamp I had just spray painted onto the top of this to create this mess.

But we can call it fate for the sake of the blog, k?

So after painting my old kitchen table turned media desk here, then trying my hand at painting my kitchen chairs here, I felt up to the task of turning this bad boy around.

I emptied out the photo albums and carried my record cabinet to the garage to start the whole painting process.

Ok here is the thing.

In the process of being a more real blogger and spending more quality time with my family than with my blog, I didn't take any step by step pics.

I think we all know what a primed and sanded piece of furniture looks like, right?

So why waste both our times showing you the process.

Personally when I read a blog, I skip to the bottom to see the end right away.

I know, I am a buzz kill.

But anyhoo, let me quickly tell you my thought process.

- originally was going to paint it cream

-then decided after sanding it and priming it that I would like it to be a cooler color...a little funky if you will.

- had some Strawflower spray paint by Rustoleum in the garage and decided that if Melissa from 320 Sycamore can spray paint a piece of furniture, then I could too!

- then after one coat of said Strawflower, ran out of paint.

-went to Home Depot with a four year old four days later to find said Strawflower only to see they don't carry it anymore.

- after 110 paint swatches and saying hello to the Behr Bear 30 times with the above four year old, I decided that I could live with a different color but close to the original color yellow spray paint. I settled on Warm Yellow by Rustoleum.

So after approximately 4 coats of Warm Yellow, it looked like this:

Oh wait, let me back up a little.

I had drip lines on the front of this guy not from the spray paint but from the primer.

I sanded and sanded.....probably four or five times....nothing.

                                                              The drips wouldn't budge.

And since my time is important to me and my standards are so low, I made a decision.

                                                           It was gonna look distressed.

So after the last coat of spray paint, I did a little recreational sanding.

And lets just say it is so good for the soul to do a little rec sanding.

I took out some agressions on this baby.

Apples are back up to 3 bucks a pound at the grocery???

                                                               SAND SAND SAND....

We owe our crappy state more money in taxes???

SAND SAND SAND.......

I gained three pounds last week even after sticking to my diet AND running three days a week????

SAND SAND SAND

The Kardashian Family????

SAND SAND SAND

I could do this all day......

So let me tell ya about the steal or deal of the century.

I needed six knobs to replace the original knobs on this cabinet.

Because they were getting nasty looking and since I had already done a really crappy job of spray painting them white?

                                                          Yeah, I needed new ones.

And here is a tip: don't try and save moola by spray painting knobs.

Just go out and buy new ones.

Don't believe HGTV or other bloggers when they tell you how easy it is.

It isn't.

You paint them, have to wait forevah for them to dry...especially if they are metal......then you need to turn them and spray.

And turn them and spray....and so on and so on.

 Then when you think you are done?

No.

Missed a spot.....and the vicious cycle continues.

Break down and buy new ones.

So I was at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago looking for new knobs for this project and found some really cute turquoise ones on sale for 50% off.

I wanna say they were 4.99 originally less half off and needed 6.

And I was pretty much ok-ish with spending 20 bucks on the knobs because basically this project wasn't really costing me anything but a can of spray paint.

Then I happened over to the clearance section and found these babies:

Guess how much.

Yep, 40 awesomesauce cents!

I couldn't believe it.

But here is the thing.

Anytime anything cute is on clearance for that low?

There is a catch.

Especially with letters.

Usually only X's or Z's remain.

And who can spell anything without vowels??

I did have more to work with in this batch and with a few seconds, I actually came up with something.

Uplift.

I know, I scare myself sometimes.

And just so ya know, the first thing I thought of?

Bra's.

So no, not that kind of uplift but brightening spirits kind of uplift.

Which when you really think about it, is what I did to this dreary little record cabinet that has been through lots of times with me since I first met it when I was only 13 years old.

So if you are doin' the math?

40 cents times 6?

Yep, 2.40 for all six of those puppies.

See my little owl lamp?

Wee!

My mom got one on Target online and I loved him so much that I got one as a birthday present to myself!

I love him so much and he makes me smile every time I look at him.

Total cost for my furniture project?

Under six bucks.

Now I just need to find some records to put in this cabinet........:)