My Dad Supports My Junk Habit

Probably because he understands it, and maybe shares it, just a wee little bit.

When my mom and dad came for our daughter's graduation (which was great! I don't know that I've ever seen her grin quite that big before.), my dad brought me a present.

(I do have to mention, my mom really deserves some props for this, because she could have had first dibs on it but said I could have it. And she really liked it, too.)

Isn't it awesome? Aren't my parents awesome?

 It's the top of an old built in china cabinet. My dad couldn't save the base, but the top came out perfectly!

All it needs is a back, and some creative way to fix the bottom.

I'm debating the whole "do a professional looking job and strip the paint, or don't strip the paint and stay sane" thing. I have time since I can't really jump into anything until after July 4th. I have a parade float to build! Kind of a daunting task.

Anyway, at different times, the cabinet was pink, yellow,

 mustard yellow, and

 my personal favorite, aqua.
So where did my dad get this gem?

He's a contractor, and he was remodeling some old apartments into office space. I asked him to save me anything good that he found, thinking it might be a few old doorknobs or possibly a light fixture.

I didn't expect this! It's like Christmas came early!

I know where I want to put it.

My poor husband.
I see some heavy lifting in his future.


Just out of curiosity, what would you do with it?

Make a Pennant Banner, Already!

I think it's quite possible that I'm the only blogger left who has NEVER made 

a pennant banner.

(did she just say she's NEVER made a pennant banner? Seriously? How long has she been blogging?)

I know!
And they're so cute!

Our youngest daughter

Stella Pearl Photography

is graduating from high school on Friday.
(I have mixed emotions about that. I'm happy for her. But I'm very sad that she'll be leaving us in the fall. Not that I want her here forever~I don't know what I want!)

I thought it was a perfect time to make a pennant banner.

I found these chipboard pennants for a few dollars a package.

I just used scrapbook paper to cover them.

The holes in the paper didn't always quite match up to the holes in the chipboard.

I just used these to help disguise it.

I used sheer white ribbon for the string.

It looks quite festive, if I do say so myself. I really like the white reinforcements.

So now I've made(a very simple)one! I just used rubber cement to adhere the letters to the pennants, so I can reuse it for another occasion. Maybe a baby shower!

I won't be posting again until Tuesday. Guests are going to start showing up today, and I haven't even cleaned one room!

Have a safe and Happy Memorial Day!

Summer Toes

I'm a little ahead of myself.

It's not even close to summer here, not yet.

But my feet are ready!

Last time there was a sale on Jamberry Nails  through GroupDealz, I got some. 

They're basically adhesive vinyl. You warm them up with a blow dryer, put them on, then warm them up again and press. There's a little trimming involved.

 It's pretty easy. They aren't flawless, but no one except for all of you are ever this close to my toes. 

Have you ever used these? How long do they last? I'm hoping awhile. 

Is it summer where you are?

Vintage Globe

I love the look of vintage globes.

The colors! I love the colors!

And they're round. Who doesn't like round?

Plus, they spin. 

I found this one in a thrift store. It was just a few dollars. I saw one identical to this on Etsy for $25.

It used to go in a school, so it has some fun features. It spins and tilts! I thought it could be fun to decorate with, once I bought it a few friends.

I had something like this in mind.

source

Or this

Elle Decor October 2006

Or this

Metropolitan Home October 2006

But I realized something when I got my little replica of the world home.

Globes take up a lot of room!

Really a lot.

Like, almost as much room as a person. A short rotund person. (So maybe a 3 year old person who really digs the Twinkies. And who never moves. Collect 10-12 of these babies, and you've got yourself a very stationary preschool class.)

 I know there are smaller ones. I've seen them in photos. But not in real life. So I don't think I'll be collecting them. I'll be stopping with one.

This one will go in my son's room.

If he wants more later, he can get more later. 
When he has his own place.

Thanks for reading!

I Had a Cheap Moment

I was getting low on my favorite lipstick. I had two choices~call my Mary Kay representative (and I didn't want to do that. It's never enough that I'm buying something. No. "Is that all I can get for your right now? Don't you need anything else? Want to throw a party? Sign up to sell Mary Kay?" I admit it. She annoys me.) or improvise. And improvising annoys me less.

So I scraped out what was left in the tube, and added some Burt's Bees lip balm to the bowl.

Melted it in the microwave.

It only takes a few seconds.

Poured it in the empty lip balm container.

Let it set up, and I'm good for a few more months!

Thanks for all your gook luck wishes for my daughter and her doubles partner. They didn't get a medal, but they were in the top ten. Not too shabby!

This and That

 I wanted something fresh looking and springy, so I changed 

this display up a little.

This feels a lot less heavy to me.
 
I just used things I already had. I think I'll keep it like this for awhile.

I(and by "I", I really mean my guys) got the table out of the shed. It was a big job, since it was in the very back.

It's definitely worth saving. It won't take much to straighten out those legs. I want to leave some of the paint on the top for a really distressed look, and then stain it. I'll leave the legs and the apron like they are. My son isn't so sure about my plan. He of little faith. (But it's going in his room, so if he hates it when I'm done, I'll re-do it. I'm counting on him liking it.)

Guess what else?

My Chinese forget-me-nots (the ones I yelled at) are starting to bloom. On the windowsill. (Perhaps I should plant them. If it would stop freezing at night, I would consider that.) The funny thing is

 this is the only pot that's blooming. Yelling at your plants does work!

I'll be gone the next few days. I'll be watching this girl

 and her doubles partner play at the state tournament. (I was told today that the next two days are the days I won't have internet access anyway. Good timing!)

Wish them luck!

 

We Have Concrete!

It's rained so much that we're a little behind schedule on our porch.

This is what we had for a long time.

Then, at 4:30am (yup, AM! No, we were NOT expecting them.) 

the cement truck drove down our lane, brights on. Our bedroom lit up like it was daylight.

From then on, all we heard was "beep beep beep" and "Hey, we need a board over here! Go get a board!" and "THUNK!! Whoawhoawhoa! Stop! Dude! Are you OK?" (I never did find out the story behind that.)

Yes. 

At 4:30.
In the AM.

It was the only time the truck could come. Apparently, the rain put everyone behind schedule.

 But here we are.

With our giant slab of concrete.

It's progress!

Thanks for reading!

And The Winners Are...

 Thanks to everyone who played along!

I had so much fun reading your comments!

So which one is mine?

I was really flattered that so many of you thought I had done Maureen's and Anita's projects, because they're both so great! I'd love to have each of those in my home. (Which one's did they do? Go find out!)
5 of you guessed right!
It was easier to do this old school, so I put all the correct guesses in a bowl,

and drew out

#14, who is Marie! She said 

"I WAS thinking c because of the bead board and the color... but I swear I've seen tulips in something like that "lamp" before. So, I'm gonna guess B. Should I kick myself now or later? :)"

Congratulations! You don't have to kick yourself at all! Please send me your address and I'll get your prize mailed out ASAP.

The winner of the Home Depot gift card is

 (we just added up all the comments on all three blogs, starting with Maureen's blog first)
Stacey@A Sort of Fairy Tale

Yay! Please contact Anita.

Thanks again, everyone. You've made our 
1 Year Blogiversary celebration so much fun!