Finally Updating

Wow it’s been a while and I am feeling overwhelmed at the amount that I need to catch up on!!  But it’s not like it’s not my pattern, go a few months then post a ton.  I have been looking through pictures and realized all the things we have done lately.  It’s been a busy few months with the holidays and both Ross and I working, but we have had a great time and have been really enjoying our life so far. 

 The holidays were great; it was so nice to spend time with family and to have a week off of work!!  That was sooooo great! J  I finally got up the courage to try to reupholster something and I found a little beauty on KSL for $15.  It was a rocking chair with nasty 70’s green crushed velvet that was overused.  I didn’t even want to touch it much less sit in it, but Dora loved it!  Hahaha I was glad to see the green go!  I drug it home one weekend in December and my Mom and I started to tear it apart.  It was quite the adventure and I learned a lot!  I had so much fun picking out fabric and finally decided on a damask-like pattern with pineapples on it (kinda weird but I loved the color and the uniqueness of it, plus it was only $5 a yard!).   The chair was a pretty long project with the holidays and work and the typical amateur screw ups, but we finally finished and I LOVE IT!  Too bad my stinkin cat loves to chew on it!  I have had to put a fleece blanket over it to protect it from her.  Here are some pictures of the process

EWWWW the green was so gross

Dora was a fan.  She is a fan of anything she can climb

The finished product!   I love it so much!  It turned out just how I wanted it. 

Another project I just finished was my secretary desk.  It turned out exactly like I wanted and I couldn’t be more excited!  Originally it was a yucky cream color from the 70s that someone had distressed.  It was cute enough by I wanted something not so beat up.  So I found this inspiration picture on line and had to try it.  I had never varnished anything before so that was a learning adventure and I think it turned out just like I had hoped.  I love it and it fits perfectly on our little wall in our kitchen, plus it is one more place to store our junk!!  YAY!

These are from my phone so the quality wasn't the best.  

It was cute but so bland!

I started out by sanding but quickly realized I would need to strip the nasty paint to get anywhere

Ross helping me with some elbow grease.  He is so good to help me!

Post stripping.  Man it was so nasty!  but it worked and I was able to sand much better by then. 

Sanding in the snow...it was surprisingly warm that day 

We were in a mess for a while!!  Its a good thing that Ross is so patient with me and my love for projects

The finished product!! 

I found these knobs at Joannes and I was so excited when I saw them!  They complete it so perfectly

My mom stumbled upon some green velvet liner one day and so she got it for me.  It looks pretty great! Plus it reminds me of something you would see in the furniture on Downton Abbey

The varnished inside 

It was a lot of hard work in sanding but it paid off.  I love the difference between the paint and the varnish!! 

The holidays also meant decorating!! I love love love decorating for Christmas and was so excited to finally have a chance to decorate my own space.  We took one more step towards big kid world by buying a Christmas tree!  It’s so beautiful!  I had it up for a few weeks before December without decorations just because I wanted to make sure it worked and then didn’t want to take it down.  Dora loved this addition to our home and defended it like it was her own nest! Hahaha we couldn’t get near it without her jumping out of it or pouncing on us from under it.  We had a great second Christmas together with our families! 

The finished tree.  It was so much fun to decorate my own tree!!

Work ugly sweater Christmas party. One of the white elephant gifts was this beauty of a do-rag

Jaimie and I tied for ugliest sweater,  we had to do a walk off to Spice Girls to pick a winner,  a tie ensued and we split the prize,  a coaster set!  Woot Woot

Showin off the sweaters

Annie gave us all a little gem of a picture of herself.   Cort was the lucky recipient! 

Katie got me more into Christmas than ever, just look at that shirt! Only she would own a  shirt like that :)

Some of the girls at work,  Katie's sweat had Santa skiing on it and it said "its all down hill from here"  I loved it!!

The happy couple

Sam, Bryn and I getting ready for the Menlove family Nativity scene.  Sam looks more like Moses than a Shepard.  He has his serious face on!