Another chance

We found this shelving unit nailed into our apartment's garage wall. I asked Rich, why don't we just pull it off, paint it and hang it in the kitchen? (I wanted shelves for my glass hostess set that was hidden away.) This is what it looked like immediately after I brought it into the house.  

I thought the curves definitely had potential but the nubs on the bottom reallly had to go. One was missing anyway(far right), so we sawed them off and sanded the edges. Here it is dusted and ready to paint. It looked like it had never seen any kind of sealer or finish before and we probably should have sanded it or something but that is an extra step, and with me getting the project finished fast is the objective. 

So here we are painting. This was the first of three coats of wall paint that our landlords let us use to match the shelves to the wall. Plus, it was free.

Here it is hung on our dining area wall with cup hooks attached. Rich had to use the drill to make holes first and then screw them in, but it didn't take long. We mounted it with six screws we found in the garage as well. 

So that is the story of how we gave that sad shelf another chance. Out of the garage and into the sunshine, holding beautiful things and making me smile every day.

This little light

Brightens a dreary day. 

I like this whimsical idea, using a little terra cotta pot for a candle. The scent of this one is greenhouse from Yankee candle. Perfect for a spring fragrance in the house!

Everything Has It's Space

This is the first room in our apartment. In a small space you make do. And for my mind I need everything to have it's own place, or I will really lose it. So I'm sharing how I have divided up our living space.

This part of the room is the TV/sitting area. 

To the right of the doorway is my crafting/sewing table (made from a piano!)
As we continue moving to the right, here is the library section.

Then the entry, I must have a place to drop what I need to right by the door. The coat hooks are working out nicely in that previously empty space.

Then we have the office  area with my inspiration board and finished work. Husband is working on money matters, I'm so blessed that he enjoys the numbers part of things.

And here is the full picture. I love having a ceiling fan. It happened to match our decor so well too!
And here it is from the other side. I have gotten the urge to move things around every now and then but I wonder if all these areas could ever work so well in another way.

Coming Soon

A Baby girl will being arriving at the English household very soon (maybe even this weekend!). The shower was last night and given by the ladies at church. I would say there about 50 women there, and many high school age (it was nice to see young faces and to know they took time out of their busy schedules to come). 

Arlena gave me some patterns that she liked and I managed to put together a jumper and embroidered a onesie to match. 

They are dog people and I found this pattern in a book called sublime stitching. I added the purple bow to make it more girly.

 I'm looking forward to seeing Annalise in her dress this summer!

Kute

I'm pretty glad with how the K turned out today.  I feel so blessed to have Etsy to work with and being able to stay home with Jaren is wonderful. 

Its up on Etsy now. If anyone wants a custom one I have plenty of Dictionary left!

Candle Light

Last night was a candle lit evening with, myself. My mom was on the phone with me after my toddler and 4am-waking husband went to bed. I decided to take some photos of the candle light while the wind roared around the corners of our building.

I loved having the candle light and may try to enjoy it more often plus save on energy costs. I got the candles and holders at hobby lobby half-off. The Tazo tea bottle was too nice to recycle and I'm glad I kept it. I will have to figure out how to steady the candle in it and hold it as it burns down.

I was surprised at how nice it was to sit in the simple glow of the candle's flame. What a blessing from 'bad' weather.

 

Cheap As Free

I got some free shopping in this afternoon. My neighbor moved out yesterday and she decided to get rid of all this stuff in the dumpster. It would have been more comfortable going to the store, but I really couldn't pass up the price. The containers below were the first thing to catch my eye as we drove past the overflowing pile last night and I then determined to see what other goodies would lay in store.

The whole list turned out to be:

Glass containers

Unopened christmas paper ( I am planning to do metallics next year too!)

2 Birthday bags 

Party Decorations

Green comforter

Evergreen comforter

Shelf with hook

Toy Castle

Child's computer

Metal organizer

Mini food processor

Phonics program

Pop-out playhouse

Computer cables

Don't be ashamed to dumpster-dive. It will probably be worth it.