Adding a Touch of Rustic With Herbs

Herb accents are so rustic yet delicate, and I love them!

Accenting a table, making up the centerpiece of a table, hanging from ceillings and kitchen walls, and last but not least the beautiful (and useful) herb garden are some favorite ways I have seen a sprig or huge bundle used.

All I decided to plant this year was basil.  Kind of by default, that was the only herb left at Trader Joe's when I decided to give gardening a go this year.  I know other places sell herbs, but I have found Trader Joe's has superior quality at a comparable price (unfortunately the selection is more limited).

Happy Gardening :)

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A Beach-y End Table Re-do

A rainy Sunday afternoon has never been so wonderful to me.  Nothing to do but read blog posts and make plans for next week, plans consisting of "go to Hobby Lobby" and "stop by Target," I could not be loving life more right now!

This whole end table project actually happened kind of on accident Wednesday as I headed to the grocery store.  A thrift store I typically drive past had a big sign out front reading "Huge Sale."  I stopped, curious to see what they meant.  They were not messing around, 70% off of a large selection of their furniture.  Most of it was junk-y particle board, but this little piece stood out to me.

It was pretty beat up, and had a little water damage, but for a whopping $7.50 I figured even if it was a train wreck, I'd at least learn from it without breaking the bank.

When I got home and started cleaning it up and looking closer, I was pleasantly surprised.  The water damage was minimal, the ugly was all superficial, and there was this lovely mark on the inside of a drawer.

I hoped this meant "vintage" and "quality" and it definitely did.  American made, this company made quality pieces until 2000 when they were acquired by La-Z-Boy.

Next came sanding, followed by priming.   

I took a quick trip to Lowe's to pick a paint color and Hobby Lobby to find a stencil and drawer pull.

I settled on Valspar's Hopsack

Two coats later, I was ready to try the stencil.  I did not purchase stencil adhesive, but highly suggest it, my trial and error period would have been much shorted had I used the correct adhesive.

Eventually I figured it out and lightly sponged on some white trim paint we already had.  It took awhile, and I definitely prefer using stamps to stencils, but am absolutely in love with the finished product.

The space between the two holes was too wide (6 inches) to fit any single pull Lowe's or Hobby Lobby offered, so rather than ordering online, I decided to go with the two pulls instead, which in the end, works perfectly with the pattern.

I stopped by Hobby Lobby to pick up some drawer pulls and found a basket that matches the dimensions of the bottom drawer area almost perfectly and that was it!

I love how beach-y it looks and how the pattern especially seems to pop against the blue wall.

I got a little paint-brush happy and decided to re-vamp the ice chest which had previously been in that spot next to the couch, not as satisfied with it, but I'm learning!  

This little guy is DJ's new bedside table, in the back corner of the bedroom, soooo I'm not as concerned...

Anyways, not quite the Serena & Lily Aleppo Inlay Table, but for less than $25, I couldn't be happier! :)

Today's Happenins

Today was wonderful.

Poor DJ had to study allllll day, so I made myself useful :)

Another weekend of garage sailing with some exciting finds

A distressed Southern Living vase, 2 pairs of very lightly used running shoes, a zester and peeler, and 2 movies :)

I finally finished this end table redo (which I LOVE and am sooo proud of!)

I'll definitely be posting more details on it later, just am so suuuuper excited about it!

And then we went on an evening bike ride on the river walk and through the avenues, so peaceful and glad to finally get time with DJ without a textbook or computer (even if I was 10 yards behind him :P)

In other news, Lindsey received the news that she passed her first test of the CPA exams today! It is my parent's 27th wedding anniversary (cutest lovebirds ever!).  My youngest sister has officially set a wedding date at December 28, 2013 and we get to go to Atlanta for their engagement party soooon!!!

Sooo much going on, I love it! :)

Re: I Married The Wrong Person

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The wedding was beautiful, the plans were executed impeccably.

The bride was beautiful, the food was delicious, and before anyone knew it, they were off to the honeymoon!

Then what???

I have seen this blog post on numerous friend's Facebook walls, and keep coming back to the sad truth that not many people getting married are actually focused on the relationship that, after the wedding day, will be the sustaining factor of their marriage.

We don't consider that it is impossible for two broken people to maintain the perfect "happily ever after."  There needs to be more, which has become very clear to DJ and I in the past months as our schedules were turned upside down when he started taking classes full time while still working full time.

Neither of us are perfect people, but we know (and are continuing to grow in the knowledge) that the Lord is perfect and He has brought us together for His perfect plan.  He is the only One we can both fully rely on without being let down.

One of my favorite Bible verses is Ephesians 3:20

Which says:

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us

Yeah, some days are flat out hard.  Life is challenging, the world throws curve balls, but resting in the Lord's might and power brings us both peacefully back to each other at the end of the day, without expectations of perfection, because our hope and trust is in the Lord.

Ideally, that would always be the case, but its not.  We get tired and crabby and hungry and before we realize it we are expecting things of one another without even realizing it.  With expectations come disappointments and the vicious cycle begins.

I wish I could say we have figured this one out, that its taken us two years but we have this one down pat.  I'd like to think that I have learned more than DJ's favorite ice cream flavor in the past two years and I have. But I have also learned a lot about my own insufficiency and my inability to do it on my own.  Which is where the might of my God and the support of my husband come in.

We have grown so much and I love him so much more than I ever could have imagined.  We continue to grow in our confidence in the Lord and His sovereignty and this blog post served to be a perfect reminder of that to me today.

The Lord is capable of and finds joy in doing immeasurably more than we could ever hope for or even imagine.

Happy Weekend :)

Furniture Face-lift: Adding Pattern?

With Maymester over, I wasted no time finding a fun project to occupy myself.

I'll share details later, but for now I am just brainstorming for a furniture redo using pattern somehow!

Here are some of my favorites so far...

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Then there is always the option of simply distressing... (which is an art in and of itself)

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I love all of the looks, the first image most of all.  The bees would be adorable but don't really match our look, the chevron is cute, just a little too trendy for me, and I really am wanting to try a pattern.  Plus, that table reminds me of this piece I have been LOVING at Serena & Lily for sooo long.  Why not try and mimic the style (to a slightly less complicated degree)?

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Can't wait to try it! Headed back to Hobby Lobby tomorrow! :)

A Bundle of Cotton Bolls

How simple yet wonderfully southern and beautiful?

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Love this look, especially as a fall/winter accent! 

One more final to go before I can become a DIY addict for a few days, can't wait! 

Watch out Hobby Lobby, here I come!

Giving Garage Sailing Another Go

So, DJ was out of town last weekend and I figured I'd be adventurous and give garage sailing (I know its sale, I just like sail better) another try.  Its not that it wasn't a good time last time we went, he just is not cut out for it (not everyone is). I love to meander, he on the other hand, can't stand going into a store "just to look".  You can imagine how receptive he was to Garage Sales!

I watched a youtube video about organizing a closet the other day and she mentioned garage sales were great for picking up unexpected pieces of clothing, so decided to give garage sales another try.  I remember babysitting for a woman back in the day who "did garage sales". She and her entire family always looked darling, so I figured maybe there was something to it?

L-O-V-E-D it!

Last weekend I just picked up a few things. This cute little picture of Charleston Rainbow Row (we do live in South Carolina after all), a very lightly used LL Bean Medium sized duffel (which I plan to store/transport our bike/tri gear in), and a pretty blue Pyrex pie dish.

Success! I was selective yet did not hesitate to purchase when I found something I loved (like my little mini picture).

Well, I decided to go again this weekend and was SO proud of myself! I negotiated! If you know me, you know how any sort of conflict is just AWFUL in my mind.  I can't stand confrontation and if it is at all possible for me to passively avoid something, I will.  Not one of my stronger attributes, but it is what it is.

If anything I am the opposite of a haggler.

When I bought my antlers, the man gave me a price, and I offered him $1 more because that was what I had (after DJ had successfully haggled the price down for me).  Fail in the tough sell category.

Anyway, one sale I stopped at had a pair of Nike Tempo running shorts (in my size!!) for sale so of course I picked them up, when I asked the girl how much I owed her for the shorts she said, pants are $1.75.

Here it comes:

"Oh, okay, I would consider these more of shorts, but okay"

"Well, I guess I could give them to you for $1?"

OH YEAH!

I realize, I did not do much, but just to say that much to her was a pretty big deal for me.  So, I am celebrating my small victory and moving forward.  That being said, I still called DJ ecstatic, he was proud (naturally :P)(oh, what I put that man through!). 

All in all it was a pretty good day, here are some of my purchases:

I plan to use one Styrofoam ball to make a boxwood (tutorial here) to put on top of an urn I picked up from a thrift store a little while back.  The pot I will probably use for a planter eventually and have already spray painted that starfish gold...and painted my nails.

Enamelware pot & lid, 3 strofoam balls, blue starfish, 3 bottles of nail polish (OPI, Essie, & Seche Vite), chambray tunic/top

Not pictured: Pink Nike Tempo Shorts & Belt hanger

The pot's temporary home, which is kind of growing on me :) Oh, how I love our little shoe box home!

AND all for under $5!! 

I couldn't take a Saturday morning yoga class for that price, and this is just about as therapeutic :P

While the garage sailing was great, getting out of the house that early really makes me want to be more of a morning person.  Up until this morning really, my mindset was set somewhere between this:

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And this:

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But its all in the mindset.  I sat in the car for a few minutes before a sale opened and it was so peaceful. All you hear are birds chirping and all you see are runners, cyclists, and dog walkers out.  I loved visiting garage sales, yet at the same time every runner I passed I thought "I wish I was her/him."(Except for the lady running with her dogs tied around her waist, that's just hip problems waiting to happen!)

I now plan on getting a good 10 miles in before church tomorrow, we'll see if it happens, but its a start :)

Wow, getting up early aaaand garage sailing, I am getting old fast!