Annoyed......with myself.

Ok. I don't know if any of you do this, but I annoy myself like crazy!! At the moment, I'm feeling frazzled for NO reason. I have had a pretty busy week with random stuff. We were the snack people at preschool so that meant we had to provide the snack for Noah's class for 3 days. Nothing major, just something healthy and a drink, plus all the napkins/plates/utensils etc. This is usually no big deal, but it seemed like this week I was throwing it together at the last minute each day. It would be five minutes before we were supposed to be out the door and I would be cutting up strawberries. Grrrr. Seriously, get it together. On Thursday we spent the day at Disneyland with some friends. Myself, my sis, the kids and I met up with our sweet friend Zoie to celebrate her 2nd B-day with Mickey Mouse. It was a seriously fun day, but it was a LONG day. And to top it all off, my sister and I both neglected to remember where we parked our car in the HUGE parking structure and wandered around literally for 30+ minutes looking for our car (as Noah was whining and terrified that we would never get home to see daddy again). Seriously!!!! How many times have I parked my car? A zillion! How many times have I lost my car, once? Ok twice. Ha ha! Grrr. We finally found it on the floor above us. Tired and grouchy. Lastly, I am in the middle of like 5 projects right now. I go through periods where I have seriously NO ideas, and then I go through times where I have a zillion. Right now, a zillion! And, to make it worse, I am not finished enough with any of them to blog about them yet, so for some reason this is making me feel rushed. Does this happen to you?? Am I the only one?? Regardless, I am going to s-l-o-w down, finish my projects the right way, and share them as I complete them. Deep breaths in-and-out. Ha ha. I know, I sound like a loon! We're off to Zoie's circus party today (which I made soooooo many pom poms for to help with the decor), and then tomorrow is Noah's Chuck E Cheese's party with his little friends. See. No time for the projects again, ugh! Serenity now!!! Haha :)

In other news, I got my first order for a custom pom pom garland, yay!!! It's so pretty in cream and white, very chic if I do say so myself!!

And here's a teeny tiny sneaky peak of Hayden's big girl dresser. Almost finished, so stay tuned people!

(Is anyone else trying the new blogger post editor thingy....it's pretty annoying).

Happy Mother's Day to Meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Ok, I know it isn't Mother's Day yet! BUT, that didn't stop me from buying myself a little treat (because darn-it, I deserve it, ha ha). One of my bloggy besties has the sweetest Etsy shop with the most beautiful jewelry along with some other fun goodies. I knew right when I saw her 'nest" necklaces, I had to have one! So, Andi & I worked together and she made a customized pendant just for me. It is AMAZINGLY beautiful and I want to wear it every day!!! The grey pearl is my hubby, the white one is me, the blue one is Noah, and the pink one is Hayden. All of my sweet family together in our nest. {SWEET}. And, it doesn't stop there!!! Her packaging is adorable and because we are ASFL (Aqua sisters for life), she threw in a fun aqua ring just for little old me, yay! Go over to Andi's shop and buy one of these nests for yourself or your mom! DO IT!!!!
ps. Blogger has this new post editor thingy and it's making my pics go all wacky. Bare with me until I figure out how to use it. Ha ha. Ugh!       xo, Ali

Busy busy...

First of all I want to say hello to my new followers!!! Yay!! I'm SO happy to have you on this crazy crafty journey. For the rest of you, if you haven't already, go over to Primitive & Proper (find link on my sidebar...blogger is acting funny and won't let me link it here) and enter to win an Owl Charm necklace - oh yeah baby!!!

The hubby and I went for our callback for the game show today - woo hoo! Now it's just a waiting game to see if we will be cast on the show and potentially win a million bucks!! Ok, the chances of us actually winning the million are unlikely, but they did say that if you get cast on the show, you won't come away empty handed :). My sister snapped this quick pic of us before we drove up to Hollywood for our on-camera audition (disregard my hubby's shirt, he doesn't like to get his fancy shirt wrinkled when he drives). It was fun, and we definitely turned up our "dork factor" and were super enthusiastic and did what we thought would help seal the deal. Fingers crossed that we get on and win some much needed cash. Other than that, I'm almost done with Hayden's new dresser and about a zillion other projects so yes....as usual.....stay tuned :)

XOXO

"Hoppy Easter everyone!!!"

It's official.

It's official! I'm throwing in the towel on the stinky beast in my backyard. ICK. I went outside today because I was going to give it one more shot. I was going to sand the outside of it, prime it, and let it live in my closed-up bathroom overnight to see if the stench was still there. When I went out to get started, it was just so stinky, I couldn't stand it. The biggest problem, that will be super hard to solve, is the stench coming from inside the drawers. I wasn't planning on sanding or painting inside the drawers, and if the baking soda and vinegar didn't work, I fear nothing will. So, I've learned my valuable $30 lesson and I'm moving on. Good news though, I found this beauty today on Craig's list for $40 and I think it will be perfect for Hayden's big girl room once I work my magic on it. It's doesn't have that uniquely cool oval detail, but it has a much more feminine silhouette than the other one, which I love. And I also love that I can hang a pretty mirror and a bunch of other cool stuff on the wall above it because it has a lower profile. So, as usual, stay tuned!

A few other things are in the works over here too. I painted this canvas using a stencil, and I was originally intending on putting an "H" in that Oval and adding it to Hayden's 'wall of H's in her room." But, the color came out a bit dark, so now I'm not so sure what to do with it. Hmmmm.

I also sprayed my flea market frame white, and a few other that I had laying around. I'm working on a project with them that I will share sometime next week.Tomorrow is a BIG Easter egg hunt in our park, and then Sunday my baby boy turns 5!!! He told the Easter bunny at the mall, "thanks for sharing your day with me." So stinkin' sweet!!!

Happy weekend :)

Newbies and some family fun...

New pretty pink pom pom garland in the shop :)

New necklace too :)

& yesterday we went to a local regional park for some Easter family fun!

There was an Easter egg hunt for the kiddos (& bad mommy forgot their Easter baskets so we improvised, ha ha)

And there was even pony rides, yay! It was a GREAT day! We came back to a home with clean carpets and some seriously sleepy kids. Happy Easter week people!!!

Today......

This is what's happening around here today....Rug Doctor Day! So, I'm shuffling the kids from room to room until there isn't anywhere left for us to go. Then, it's off to the park for an Easter Egg hunt.

And thanks so much to all of you for being sympathetic to my stinky dresser situation. Out of everyone in my life, I knew you all would "get it" and be supportive while I whine. The update is, it's going to sit and breath in my backyard for a week until trash day. During this week, I may try lemon oil or a few other suggested methods. I could list it on Craig's list and say that it needs to go to a home where there is smoking, but there is a spot of water damage towards the back bottom that I'm now realizing may be cat pee damage....eeeew. I think it may just be too icky to even bother with. I'll update you with what finally goes down, but my guess is it's a goner!

Happy Tuesday :)

Grouchy.....and some treasures.

Hello people. I'm grouchy. Grrrrr. Ok, I'll start from the beginning. I found this BEAUTIFUL chest of drawers on Craig's List for $30. YAY! I am in the market for a dresser for Hayden's big girl room and this was THE ONE!! I am in love with it!

My mind instantly started swirling with ideas about all of the super cool things I could do to that awesome oval on the front. Pretty fabric. A 3D "H," even her silhouette popped in to my mind. SO awesome!!!! So? What's the problem? Well, the lady I bought it from was a smoker. Not an occasional smoker, but like a ten-pack-a-day smoker and her house was filthy. The minute she opened the door to her (disgusting nasty stinky) home, I should have ran for the hills. I don't know why I didn't think about the fact that the dresser would most likely hold on to the smoke smell like everything else does. Well, it did. Once I got home, I was super excited to get started. I dusted it off (there was an 8" layer of dust and grime coating the whole thing...again, another red flag) and started priming the drawers. As I was priming, I started to smell something gross. Not sure what it was, I started looking around my garage. Then, it hit me, it's the dresser!!!!! UGH! I instantly contacted my furniture guru (thx Cassie) and she told me what to do.

But, after 4 days of scrubbing it inside and out with white vinegar and water, and coating the thing in baking soda, and leaving bowls full of vinegar sealed up in the drawers, it is still SO stinky. So, I'm moving on. $30 is not too much to pay for a valuable lesson (but it does sting because I love it so much). It's getting thrown away (if I can't have it, nobody can) and I'm starting from scratch. It's going to be hard to find another one to live up to this one, but I really fear that I would spend tons of time making it just right, and it would end stinking up my sweet baby girl's room....NOT ok! :(

Moving on, I have some new "treasures" to share with you. I went to the flea market with my sister and some friends yesterday and we had a blast! It was a HOT day, but super fun too. First up, I got this awesome (random) finial thingy. It's shabby chic and I love it (& for $6, I couldn't pass it up)! Hmmm....now where to put it ??

Next is this awesomely gaudy gold frame for $5. It will probably get a coat of paint....not sure what color. Decisions, decisions.

I got these super pretty vases ($10 for the pair). Again, not something I "needed" but definitely pretty and a great deal. I may spray paint the green one....hmmmmm.

Next I got this trio of prints of the sweetest vintage ballerinas for Hayden's "big girl" room. I love the antique look of these and they are so girly and sweet. All 3 for $10 = a great deal!

This cute little swan dish was calling my name as I walked by it. I know, I know, I did not need another swan. I know.

And last but not least, I bought my first official knick-knack (& if you think my swans are knick-knacks , you are SO wrong - ha ha). This little bird mobile thingy just looked magical to me. I don't know what it is. The colors, those sweet birdies. I don't know, I just love it. Again, not too sure where it will go, but it's mine and I'm a happy girl ($5).

Other than the ouchy sunburn, I had a wonderful day with my sis and friends, and even got recruited to be on a new game show on NBC called "It's worth what" about vintage items and collectibles hosted by Cedric the Entertainer. My sis, the hubby, and I are all going in to be interviewed this Thursday so stay tuned!! The ultimate prize for the winner is a million bucks. Um. yeah. I'll take it ;) Happy Monday everyone!

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!!!

I'm hosting a giveaway of one of my pom pom garlands at the DIY club today! Go over and enter for your chance to win :) Happy Saturday people!

GUEST POST from my twin sis! YAY!

Hello people! I am SO excited to have my sweet sister guest posting on my blog today! She is lagging BIG time on creating her own blog, but we really wanted to share her awesome dresser makeover with you. Without further adieu, take it away sis!!!

Hi! My name is Lisa and I am Ali's twin sister. I am the baby (by 32 minutes - lol) so I have always looked up to her for various reasons. She was always the outgoing one, the athletic one, the one that all of the boys loved...and now.......she is the talented crafty one! Sheesh!! Since she has been exploring the crafting/DIY world, I have been following along, shamelessly hoping that some of her talent would rub off on me. Well.....unfortunately, that has yet to happen, but alas, I decided to take a stab at it anyway. We are very much the same (we both like to collect random vintage things) but are also very different (her collections consist of CRAZY swans and I am coo coo for vintage citrus reamers!!), and I am so excited to share my first furniture makeover with all of Ali's wonderful blog friends :)

When I saw her completed French Provincial buffet, I was in LOVE and knew that I wanted a similar shaped dresser for my room but with a modern metallic flare!! I wanted mine to have the same over-all look, but I wanted mine to have a mirror. After searching and searching on Craig's list, I finally found one that I thought would do! It wasn't the cheapest find ($100 & a 50 minute round-trip commute to get it), but it was sturdy, it had dove-tailed drawers, and had an AMAZING mirror attached, so I was SOLD! I am a blog rookie and didn't get a photo of the dresser all put together in it's original glory, but nevertheless, here she is getting ready to become fabulous!

I took the drawers out and considered replacing the hardware, but I decided to leave the handles as-is to maintain the patina-ed/vintage feel.

The mirror was EXACTLY what I had been looking for, and although painting all of the curves seemed like a daunting task, I was up for the challenge (never mind my "distressed" painting jeans in the reflection - haha)

The first step was to prime the dresser. The nice man at Home Depot suggested that I use a tinted gray primer so that the metallic silver paint would look as vibrant as possible. (That is my adorable little helper Sadie in her bed looking on. She kept me company!)

Here she is all primed and ready....

The primer adhered really well and looked smooth and ready to be painted. The metallic oil-based paint on the other hand (which I didn't get a photo of as I was applying it) is now my official nemesis and better watch it's back!!! It was thin and watery and streaky and difficult right out of the gates and it took a TON of time to get it to look just right (ugh!!) Lesson learned, for sure!

So.........without further delay.............HERE SHE IS!!! All done up with her silver metallic sheen!! (again, I am a big blog rookie so I did not get a photo of her before I brought her in to my room). You can also see a peek of my other love, my new upholstered bed in the background. I'm a newlywed and am looking to start a family soon so my bedroom needs to be fabulous (ha ha, sorry for the TMI). Although it was a multi-step, somewhat frustrating task, I am really thrilled with how it turned out! I had so much fun tackling my first re-finishing job (and I am looking forward to tackling another one once my paint-rolling claw turns back into an actual hand!!) Ha ha. Thank you so much fabulous sister for letting me share this on your awesome blog. Happy Friday everyone!!!

XO, Lisa

What do you do??

What do you do when you find a duplicate swan at Godwill for $3 and can't stand leaving it in the store for someone else to buy?? If your answer was spray paint it turquoise, you're right!!! And, if you thought I would want to sell it in my Etsy shop, you would be right. BUT, if you watched the wind knock it over as it was drying and leave the back all scuffed up, you would realize that it was meant to be mine and tell me to keep it. Wouldn't you??!?

AND, what do you do if you got this cute little divided tray at Micahel's for $4, but the light blue just didn't quite "go" with all of the bright turquoise in your life?? If your answer was spray paint the outside of it white and leave the light blue inside, you'd be right :)

I picture it filled with shells and starfish this summer...{dreamy}. Ok. that's enough of my rambling for today :)