the finished side table.

i actually thought this table was pretty cute to begin with. i might be the only one who though that but oh well. even though all of our other furniture is black or black/dark brown, it didn't really bother me. it kind of matched the cabinets in the kitchen so i don't think it looked too bad. i actually want to stain our cabinets darker someday though. (or paint white *shocker* but that would require painting the entire house white.. too much work and sean would never let me) and sean wanted the table black. also, since i got it for $5 it had some dings and scratches. it definitely needed something to spruce it up.

the first picture is before. then after sanding. then after priming. and then the rest are the finished project. these pictures did not turn out as i had hoped. the lighting was off because it was getting later and moses was running around behind me so i will try to take some better ones tomorrow. i think the table looks pretty good though! it's not perfect. sean helped me with a few coats and him and i have different spraying techniques.. ha. so when we both did our own coats it kinda of had dripping. i don't know who to blame. so i won't. (probably me but let's pretend him) but when i tried to sand it down, my sand paper gave up. and i really didn't want to run to the store. so i just went with it. for $5 i wasn't too worried about it.

total cost of the project? well $5 for the table. and 3 cans of spray paint later? and a coke bottle colored glass knob from the antique mall? about $15. i'll take it! seriously, i tried to find a table like this already finished and they are like ten times the price or more. i still might modge podge the inside with old book paper. we will see! the spray paint ended up sticking to the unsanded inside. i wasn't sure that it would. sweet! i definitely learned a lot from this project. it was the biggest one that i have done so far. it just got me more anxious to get working on other things. i love finding a bargain. i really do. i will definitely do this again!

p.s. the knob is a circle but it kind of looks like a flower or something in the pictures. it's not. still not sure if i am sold on that knob. i like it better not in the pictures but i don't want to just go downstairs and look at it right now just to confirm that. i am too lazy. i might decide to find something different besides that knob. oh well. it will do for now! i will take better pictures later!

an outfit. another lamp. and sean.

i am not a fashionable person.. but one day i wore this outfit to work and my sister maddie and friend lee insisted that a picture be taken of it and that i post it on the blog. they said i looked like i was going to go horseback riding or something. but that it was cute. haha. i normally wear practically the same thing everyday, so maybe they were just excited that it was something different? anyway, i gave in. here you go maddie and lee! enough about that. this will be the last time you see an outfit post from me. i love outfit posts from other people, don't get me wrong. just not my outfits. my boots are pretty cute though eh?



so here is another DI find.

this lamp was $2. i actually really liked it before painting it, but like donuts to a fat kid i just could not resist the power of spray paint.



i moved the other lamp i painted over to the side table by our couch because the lampshade that i got for it was a little bit too big for the space.





now i just need to find a taller and better side table. i honestly look EVERY SINGLE day for one. still haven't found the one. i am going to put my hunt for one on hold for a little bit because we are leaving for our cruise on saturday and i need to start getting ready for that!

i just wanted to say thank you everyone for your prayers and sweet comments for sean! he is still very sore, but doing great! should be back to his old self in no time. and for those what were wondering, we don't really know what is wrong with him. he was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis 7 years ago (he was terribly, terribly sick, had to get called to a new mission), but now they believe there might be something else going on because his liver counts on his blood work for the past 7 years have always been higher than normal. that is why they decided to do a liver biopsy. it might not be anything, but the doctor said he wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't make sure. sean was feeling pretty good before all this came about so they don't seem too incredibly concerned about it. they just would rather be safe than sorry! :) we will find out the results on March 8th.

p.s. the bridal fair was a great success. i only managed to knock down 3/4 of all the frames displayed on the table while devin and katie were speaking with potential clients. way to go chloe! what can i say? it was like a domino effect, and the more i tried to stop them from falling? the more that fell. oops!

p.s.s. i am watching my girl 2 right now while sean is sleeping and moses is passed out under our bed. anyone remember that movie? kinzy? i know you do... ;) remember how she gets her ears pierced without permission and it's like she might as well have gotten knocked up or joined a gang or something? gosh i love this movie.

and again.

once again, another house/decor post. i sure have kept myself busy lately trying to make things that i find at the local thrift store D.I. look better. every item that i buy there is between .75 cents and $3. i have a feeling that sean might not appreciate me coming home with all this "junk" but when i walk out of there only spending $8 versus target where i would be spending over $100? well i guess he can't really complain. although i did get the placemats at target. if i could marry target and make little target babies i would. but since i can't right now i will just marry D.I.

i have started to stop at D.I. several days a week. then i usually hit up the antique mall on saturdays. i find new things every single time that i go. even if it has only been one day. i love it. seriously, it is a cheap, fun hobby and for someone like me who usually just sits on the couch when i get home from work? it has been good. what i really need to focus on though is some furniture that i can re-finish (because i actually need that kind of stuff) instead of all these little decorative things. oh well. it has become an addiction and i probably should stop, but there are worse addictions right? i even find myself checking out craigslist and KSL everyday to try and find cheap or free furniture that people don't want. so if you know of anything.... ha just kidding. sorta. anyway, here is what i have been up to lately.













those are the before and afters and then below i just took some pictures of how i used it all and what our dining area is looking like right now. i liked it before but i changed it up a little so i could add this "new" stuff...

{placemats from Target. LOVE THEM}

i hung up some post cards that my mom gave me for my birthday last year. sean doesn't want to add any curtains because he thinks that it will block out all the light.. which if you really want to know my opinion about that you can email me and i will let you know. but that is another story for another day. so anyway we met in the middle with these postcards that i just clipped on a piece of hemp. then i hung up some plates that i already had.



got all those babies at D.I. for $1 each. i painted the A for "Ashby". anyway, here it is all said and done! now i just need to find a lamp shade for that lamp! oh and that lamp was only $3 and it works! wahoo!



anyway, i hope that everyone is having a lovely week! thanks for stopping by our blog and always leaving such sweet comments. i don't say that enough, but i love you all. i am sorry that i have been a terrible commenter for like the past year! i need to be better at that.

it's time to talk about it.

i have been meaning to blog about this for sometime. i don't know why i have put it off for so long. maybe it was just too hard to talk about. maybe the effects of it were just still so fresh and raw, that i just needed time. who knows. but i decided it is time to talk about it.

back in the day you may remember when i bought the most expensive bag i have ever bought in my entire life. i loved it. i loved the color. i loved the style. i loved the pattern on the inside. in fact this exact purse sparked my obsession with the color mustard yellow. (see my new blog colors? i have an obsessive personality) i assumed since i had impulsively shelled out more money than i could actually afford, that this purse would bring me all sorts of good luck and magical powers. i imagined all of the experiences and memories that we would share together. i was so happy.




but then it all changed.

i think the purse gods were punishing me. the first week that i bought the purse, we went out to eat at ruby river. and i was eating the sourdough bread they serve before the meal comes out. i love that stuff man. anyway, i love butter. so of course i was covering my bread in butter. and then something happened. i don't know exactly what.. my recollection of that night is a little hazy, but the biggest appendage on my hand (had to be my freaking thumb) managed to touch the purse and leave a huge greasy thumbprint right on the front of the purse. i swear. so i of course freaked out and spent the rest of the dinner trying to wipe of the smudge. i think i made it worse. but over time it somewhat faded and i got over it.

then another time i decided to go see a movie about a vampire and some pale chick and i got talked into buying a huge cup with a shirtless werewolf on it. umm.. sorry i couldn't just say no to that. so i buy it and i watch the movie and then the movie gets out. well the funny thing about this purse, is that i was so afraid i was going to ruin it that i put it inside of one of those recyclable stylish dollar bags. you know the thing you put your groceries in? well it was its protection. but it sucked at doing that job. you know why? because apparently it's not a good idea to go to the bathroom, hang up the bag, and put your big shirtless werewolf cup that is mostly full of diet coke inside of the bag. because the chances of it spilling all over the entire bag, plus your camera and phone are very likely. WTF was i thinking? i would like to blame it on the fact that the lid manufacturer needed to make a better, more secure lid. but whatever. who puts a cup in a bag? i came home and gave the cup to the dog to chew on because i was so mad.

so i get through this tragedy and i noticed that every time i wear jeans with this purse, it stains the back of the purse blue. and if i try really hard i can get the blue off. but it still looks stupid. and no matter how much leather protectant i put on it? it still stains blue. so i created the purse diaper to put on the back of the purse. and it worked wonders for the time being.




i now had protection from outside sources. but then i over looked something.

i have frizzy hair k? and sometimes most of the time i wake up late and don't have time to dry my wet hair so sometimes i might put my hair serum in my purse to put in my hair after it has dried so it is not so frizzy. i even put it in a plastic bag to protect it from leaking. well one day the lid magically opened and the bag zipper "just happened" to come undone. and the results were devastating. i must warn you. the picture below is disturbing.




and it managed to be on the top of the bag and the other side of the bag. this picture was taken after trying to clean and blow dry it for an hour. i was in tears. the funny thing about this was that i was almost out of serum. i don't get how this much serum happened to appear and get everywhere.

i seriously hate this bag. it has caused all sorts of drama in my life. it has caused me more anxiety that i anticipated. constantly having to cater to it and bringing other bags to put it in, creating purse diapers to protect it, spending hours cleaning off stains? it was not worth it. i am telling you now.. my $15 purses from target do the trick. if it gets stained? so what? it was $15. i have no problem putting it on the sticky movie theater floor. it doesn't require a purse diaper. what is the point of a cute yellow mustard purse if you can't even display it because it's hidden inside another protective bag? yeah. not worth it.

anyway, i hung it up in my closet and swore to never touch it again. well a month or so later i saw it hanging up and looked at it. the stains were almost completely gone! in fact, where the oil had touched? it looked better than the rest of the bag! so i thought i would give it another go around christmas time. heck, maybe i should cover the whole thing in hair serum??

well sean had me hold onto his candy cane junior mints at the movie. actually i don't remember him asking me to hold them. i think he just put them in the bag. and didn't secure the cardboard lid. because they spilled all over my bag and melted. so yeah. this bag and me? over. we are done. we BROKE up. so i am on the hunt for a new,cute, CHEAP bag. if you see of anything let me know.

anyway, i guess some good can come from bad. i am obsessed with mustard yellow. i think it's gone a little to far though. as you can see...











i got the butter dish, yellow plates, and recipe box at the antique store this saturday. i love them. i got the shelf at D.I. and painted it up and fixed it a little. unfortunately sean can't find a place in the house that he likes it so it is sitting on the top of our fridge. i made the mail box. okay i didn't make it but it was black before and i painted it and distressed it a little and wrote mail. anyway the moral of this story is that i love mustard yellow. and i hate expensive purses. and i am obsessive, impulsive, and all over the place. and i love sean. that is all.

i love D.I.

since i didn't end up decorating our living room all yellow, i figured i would throw in splashes of yellow where ever possible.

D.I. (Deseret Industries) has been my new favorite place. i spent $9 last night and walked out with all this stuff and more.






the rooster that needs another coat of paint and the salt and pepper shakers are not from D.I. but all of the jars and bowls and bottles are! i love that place. i got some other things there that i am still working on. hopefully i can finish those up tonight!

birds.

i can't stop working on crafts. i think i have OCD tendencies. i always have something that i get obsessed with at any given point. whether it be crafts, or having to check expiration dates on license plates on every single car that i see.. yes, that really was a phase at one point in my life. anyway, here is what i worked on tonight.



i painted these birds on canvas and then i spray painted this picture frame white. it used to be silver. see below picture. i didn't mind the silver but i am really into white lately, and i think spray paint is like cocaine but for my hands. so why not? i painted 2 other frames while i was at it. also this below picture was from when we first moved in and it was all cluttered and just not very put together. and we had the old tv stand. it's come a long way eh?





someday we plan to put a family picture above our tv. you know, a huge one with sean, moses, and i. sean is adamant about that spot being saved for a big family picture. so i decided to buy those one command strips that they always show on tv and i just want to testify to you that they work. they really do come off. i know this because i put something totally in the wrong spot and crooked and when i followed the instructions and pulled the little tab thing? totally removed from the wall like nothing was ever there. no stickiness.. no hole. no ruined paint. it was awesome. so putting these up with command strips was a good idea because sean is going to make me take them down when we get a family picture. i just wish i would have used these on some other walls that sean doesn't know about... let's just say it shouldn't take ten holes to hang 4 pictures. oops. and you know what sean? if you are reading this? we can't all be like you and pull out the tape measure and calculator and leveler just to hang one tiny thing. or maybe it's just me. waaaaay too much work if you ask me. (just don't look closely at those frames because they may or may not be uneven and crooked..ha)



so i got these coasters at my cousins wedding and there were a ton extra so i thought i would play around with them. i thought they were cute before though, but was in the mood to craft so i just took the extra and did this..



then i took this sign that used to say "bistro"...



and put our last name on it. it was cute before..but i seriously think i will spray paint anything right now.. so you better hide yo' kids....



that is all for now! goodnight!