The Birthday Girls

This weekend I was lucky enough to spend it with some of my favorite girls on the planet. My peeps from MN and I met in the middle in the exotic city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Ooooo....you say. I know, right! Sun and sand and...wait....not in Sioux Falls. But we did have thrift stores and pedi's and bead class and FOOD. What more could sister chicks want? Not much, in my opinion. It was the weekend closest to their birthdays and we couldn't think of a better way to spend it than together. Of course my pictures are somewhat lacking....shocking I know....but I did get a couple of group shots that I love.
These women are amazing. Really, they are. I'm not sure why they let me hang out with them, but I am so thankful that they do. Ms. Nae, she is an athlete at heart. She inspires us to reach beyond what we think we are capable of and be amazing like her...at least we try. Her type A tendencies keep us on time and scheduled....and laughing the whole way. She is a farm girl and tough as nails. She sets the bar high enough for us to have to reach...but not so high that failure is imminent. Ms. Heather has mad wizard skills. She is our go-to girl for all things organized, out-going and off-the-wall. She is just crazy enough to get the job done. Seriously....she isn't afraid of anything. She will talk to anyone, try anything and follow any of us off whatever bridge we are jumping from.....loyal to the core. Being around these girls makes me happy. So happy in fact, that even today....I can still feel the effects of the weekend laugh-fest. So as I count my blessings today, I start with my friends....and I am SO blessed to have MANY friends....and these two...well, they have my heart.

Before, During and After

I have been searching Craigslist for the last 3 months or so looking for the perfect piece of furniture to go in my entryway. It couldn't be too big....and it couldn't be too small. It had to be just right. I looked at pieces like this.....

And a lot like this.....
A few like this.....
Until I found this picture. I loved the color and size of this piece. I loved the drawers and the cupboards too. It has a pretty skirt at the bottom and nice legs. Now if I could just find one in my price range. I didn't want to pay a fortune for this.....after all I would probably definitely be painting it. I looked in thrift stores and on Craigslist for months, until one day.....
This baby was posted on Craigslist a mere 20 minutes from my house. I called on it right away as I was just sure that she was perfect. I traded my car to Jim for the use of his trusty pick-up for the day and set out. When I got to the swank neighborhood that mapquest guided me too, I was afraid I'd been led astray. Usually family heirlooms like this, in "hoods like this, were out of my price range for sure. Luckily I was wrong. I found the house and was led in and introduced to Ivy. Yes, I've named her. She was sitting in a corner of a HUGE dinning room and looked quite happy to see me. The couple that was readying themselves to part with sweet Ivy was really cute. See, they were moving to Denver and didn't have room in their new place for such a treasure AND the hubby informed me that it just didn't "go with their place". OK....and score for me then. They had already turned down one buyer who wanted to "ruin the integrity of the piece" and turn my Ivy into a bathroom vanity, complete with a sink. Gasp! "No way!" I said in an offended voice. Who on earth would want to change such a perfect piece of furniture as this? Of course I fully intended on making Ivy over to help her to fit in with my other furniture finds....but I wasn't about to tell Mr. & Mrs. Scarypants that. Oh no, my friends....I wanted Ivy for my own. So of course when they told me of their trip to pick up Ivy from his Grandma's house back in the 60's I was respectfully impressed. I even wished them well as we loaded up my prize.
Of course upon getting Ivy home the first thing to go were these ugly priceless dingleberry drawer pulls. You don't even want to know what my 17 year old daughter compared them too. I blush just thinking about it! Who taught her to think for herself anyway.....curses.....Under the dreaded dingleberries there were the old locks. They didn't work with the skeleton key that came with Ivy (it works on the doors though!) so I didn't feel bad about covering them up again.
As I started to clean Ivy and prep her for paint....I did start to worry. What if I mess up this beautiful piece of furniture. After all Mr. & Mrs. Scarypants said it is solid burled walnut....crap. So I went to consult a professional. There is a store in my town, Weathered and Worn. It is the most amazing Mecca of vintage and new that any girl has a right to behold in one dwelling. I called upon Sue, master furniture painter. She told me (for a very reasonable fee) that she would paint my treasure and I'd not have to stress out over it. We agreed that a warm white with a dark top would indeed be heavenly and I left her to it. She took the doodads off the front of the doors. I am thinking about using them on the sides.....
The next day I got a call from Sue who informed me that it wasn't solid walnut, but a nice thick veneer. Still worthy of the price I paid but not so precious that a little paint would ruin some one's eternal peace. So she continued on....and she did a wonderful job. She left the door pulls on, thinking the wood knobs would do it for me....Not so much. I bought a couple to try and settled on the round knob from The Big Orange Store.
Jim is even coming around. To him....you don't buy old junk and you NEVER paint a nice wood piece of furniture. But truth be told....he is starting to like Ivy...really, he is.
I think she was worth all the time and effort searching and the price paid for the final result was worth every penny.
She has some beautiful flaws "character additions" that are still visible and I love them.
She is holding her age just as well as before. But she has gone from a piece of furniture that I liked a lot, to one that I will be passing on to my grandchildren one day. She is sturdy and beautiful....
One last reminder of before.....
And Ivy in all her newness. What a gem!

The Cheese Touch

So apparently my daughter has The Cheese Touch. If you don't know what that is....you need to rent Diary of a Wimpy Kid. If you don't have any 6 years old boys hanging out at your house, you might want to rent one of those too. It just makes the movie that much better. Trust me. So I have so much to tell you....first off....while I was in Utah for my Dad's wedding my daughter's fish died. Not her favorite fish, Juno, but her newest fish, Leah. Leah was sweet and unassuming. She just loved to swim and eat....and little else. Somehow poor, sweet Leah got sucked up into the filter thingie and not being a small fishy, she got stuck and passed on. Sad for Leah...but REALLY sad for my baby, who, like her Grandma Connie, has a very tender heart where her pets are concerned. Fast forward to this morning when I get the frantic cry for help from the basement. Apparently, Juno decided she just couldn't go on without her pal Leah and swam under the filter thingie and became lodged there.....stuck by the suction. When I arrived on the scene Juno was still gasping. Hoping to save her we acted quickly and moved the suckie thingie and Juno swam free.....only to turn upside down, gasping and trying to right herself. It was a morbid scene and I decided I'd better put Juno out of her misery before my sweet baby suffered any more trauma. So I did it. I had to flush a still wiggly fish to it's eternal resting place. Does that make me a monster? I sent my girl back to bed where the dogs and I joined her for a quick therapy session. The dogs tried to console her with their foul breath and wet noses....and it did seem to lessen the sting of Juno's betrayal. I went up and made my baby some cocoa and toast (a quick cure for a broken heart) and sent her off to school. Now I must decide how bad I want to fix this for her. Do I rush out and buy a couple new fish (and a better suckie thingie) or do I wait and let the dust settle, our hearts mend and then go find some more future floaters? Do things in your life seem to fall apart all at once.....or do you get to face your life's tragedies one at a time?