Summer Time

Hi,

Geeze, sorry its been so long. Ya know when school lets out life is just so different. My kiddos are only in preschool but they still have the summer fever. We have been so busy over the past couple weeks and I apologize that I haven't been here updating you. But when you have two little kids there are just some things that have to be put on hold! Here is a snap shot of our life

   

So this totally happened with this little girl, and I wish I could use this as my excuse for why I haven't been around, but this was probably the easiest potty training I've had to do. She was ready which makes all the difference and within a week we were accident free and finally free of DIAPERS!!!! I really wish i kept track of how much we spent on diapers, I probably would of given myself a heart attach.

 

A carnival came to town which was so much fun. The kids had a blast and we were able to get in a few pool days.

Jeff and I were able to get away for a night from all the chaos that goes on around our house. The kids got Jeffrey Phillies tickets for Fathers Day. It turned out to be such a great night.

So, back to the night stand....
This weather we've been having was not the greatest for painting. I was able to get quite a bit done on Sunday Thank God, it was beautiful and 70..

There were a few spots on the front around the drawers and doors that small chips of the veneer had come off, I just went ahead and filled it with some wood filler and let it dry than sanded it down.


I finished priming the whole piece, we decided that we were going to keep the inside the nice dark wood, since it didn't have any damage or distress to it.

My absolute favorite primer would have to be Zinssers Cover Stain its around $18 a gallon at any hardware store, this stuff lasts forever, plus it comes in a spray!!!!

 Its a oil based primer, which means it gets the job done without any sanding, and it covers anything from drink stains to strong odors, as well as blocks from any other staining.
 This stuff is the bees knees!

 I recommend using a disposable foam roller to apply this, because since it is oil based, its thick and very hard to rinse out with just water. .....I've ruined a couple nice brushes using this stuff...

I applied two coats for the primer just to make sure that I got all the cracks and crevices.

Once the second coat was dry, I started painting. I used Ultra Bright White Behr paint and applied two coats then put a top coat of clear gloss polyurethane.

Here she is!!!!
We are going to put the doors back on, we had to do a little more work to them because after I painted them and sealed them, they wouldn't go back on as easy as they came off... I will post a pic when we finally get them on.

What do you think? We realized half way through that she was not going to fit next to our bed, so we need to find a new home, maybe in the hallway for linens... who knows

E

Craigslist Find

I posted on instagram over the weekend a picture of a great craigslist find. A vintage campaign style cabinet for just $35, and it gets better,  I don't know about you but every time I find something I really love on craigslist it is always at least an hour away, and then I find myself begging my husband to take the afternoon, ask to borrow my dads truck, pack up the kids and drive to get it... Well, no begging this weekend, it was only 20 minutes away.

And here it is...

* I got a little too excited and forgot to take a picture of it before I took the hardware off, here is the one from craigslist. The previous owner used it as a TV stand.

It is such a great piece, solid wood with dove tail detail and real brass hardware. I was completely shocked, my luck is never this good.

 

I have a few pieces that we've collected over the past year that I "thought" were real vintage campaign, but once I got my hands on them, it didn't take long for me to realize they weren't much more than laminate or particle board.  This is one of our first pieces, it is now our dining room buffet.

 The trip to Baltimore, MD to pick it up was definitely worth it, we had planned a day out of it. We took the kids to the Aquarium and I knew about this awesome store called "Second Chance", its a HUGE warehouse filled with furniture, building materials, doors, stair railings, door knobs, just about anything you could think of.  If you ever get a chance and are in the Baltimore area, YOU NEED TO GO!

Graham also has a piece that we are using for his dresser in his room, again a trip well spent, my sister and I had a great bonding experience driving to Quakertown, PA and the women who gave it to me; yes you heard me right, GAVE it to me. She was so sweet and turns out she was moving to West Chester, PA, about 15-20 minutes away from us. Small world.

 I know that I can't be the only one who over judges the awesomeness of a craigslist find...what have your experiences been with collecting pieces found on craigslist?

I can't wait to show you what we have in store for this piece, follow us on instagram @emandme44 to see small snippets along the way and stay tuned for the whole repurpose reveal!



~Em