Saturday, October 31, 2015

It's Gone

It's gone. 


 The sweet little wooden loveseat.


 The centerpiece of my first ever all white room. 


The feature of so many blog photos.


The recipient of so many pillow combinations.


A chameleon of sorts as she had so many different looks.



 It was so sweet. 


You may not realize that I am a rescuer of lost and abandoned furniture. 
I snatched this piece from the crushing, gnarling jaws of the garbage truck.


 One little arm was broken but I didn't care that she was less than perfect.


Nobody sat on it except for me and the dog.   


The sofa and the loveseat in the living room have gotten a divorce.



I don't think it's a trial separation now that the little white settee is gone.




 The thrift store fell in love with her at first sight.
Who wouldn't?
You will see the changes as soon as I can get some new photos. 

Friday, October 30, 2015

I'm So Done (With Orange)!

It was only a few days until Halloween but I was so done with the orange!


I love October, I do!
It finally starts to cool off here in Texas. 
I love the idea of pumpkins and scarecrows everywhere but the orange drives me nuts. 


I picked up some flowers for my sister in law at the grocery store. 
I forgot to take them to her and they live too far away to run them by.
 They inspired a deeper tone for these last few days of October.


The deeper reds mimic the deep tones in a vintage oil painting. 
It was only $5.00 at the thrift store a few years ago.
I actually hid it from myself. It took me about a week to find it in my tote of Valentine's Day stuff. 
I know exactly how my brain was organizing that day. 
Flowers = Valentine's Day


It didn't matter that these look like Chrysanthemums to me and that the painting should have been with the fall stuff or maybe with the paintings. 
 The lamp came from Target. 
My husband loves it in the entry way. 
I like it here with the white painted cupboard.


I'm may head out this weekend to see if I can find another lamp for the dresser in the entry.
He asked why I moved it.


I told him that the other lamp looked better with the Halloween vignette. 
He was tormented by it and wondered if other husbands had to live with continually moving objects in the home. 
I know that other blogger husbands do. 


The acorn came from Pier 1 years ago. 
It got a silver leaf treatment.


I love, love the light green and pinkish purple of the flowers on the coffee table. 
They might have to come back for a Thanksgiving 
table setting.
How do you feel about orange by the end of October?


 

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Repairing Water Rings On Furniture

When I get sleepy, I make careless mistakes.


You would think that I'd learn but I repeat one mistake over and over again.
I set glasses full of water on the furniture before I go to bed.


In the morning the finish is ruined. I haven't had much luck just repairing the water ring. Usually, I have to refinish the rest of the top as well.



Fixing the stain isn't all that difficult and it doesn't require dragging the piece down to the garage.


My neighbor across the street gave me a bottle of stripper that is a little more ecologically friendly. 
The smell isn't as overwhelming as the strippers in years past. 
I wondered though if it would be as effective. 
It is. 
 Brush the stripper onto the wood. 
Go make an English Muffin. 
Once you are finished with your breakfast take a scraper and scrape off the stripper and stain.


Put the gunk in a can.
Repeat as needed.


Once all the gunk has been removed, allow the piece to dry.
Then allow it to dry, again. 
Make sure it is dry. 
Sand until smooth.


 I took a damp rag over the top of the surface to clean some excess grit off. 
Let dry.
My favorite stain is Jacobean by Minwax.



It is dark enough to go with the rest of our finishes.
 Once the stain is dry, finish with Hemlsman Spar Urethane. 
It is a fairly quick drying topcoat. 
I'll be back with some reveal pictures now that both of my table tops are repaired.


I've removed the dark brown bedding and have been tweaking my seasonal decor in here.
Yesterday, I did some furniture rearranging downstairs.
I'll have some pictures next week. 
Katie 

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Wonderful October!

October is just flying by. 
I realized it has been a busy month when I was scrolling through the pictures on my phone.  I thought I'd share them with you.


We went with friends to Kenny Loggins at our Levitt Pavillion. 
It was a fantastic show! 
It was so much fun hearing songs we've loved for years. 
It was a great night with great friends. 



Our neighborhood got together for National Night Out. 
The weather was perfect!
I painted the tile in the powder room.



We headed out to the lake to help put the jets skies and the boat away for the winter. 
It's a sad day for me. I love the summer! 
Someone was super excited about the last boat ride of the season. 



 The weather was gorgeous. 
We had been having a crazy heat wave but it cooled down by the weekend.



I felt like I was being watched. 




It was pumpkin day at school. 
I got a pie pumpkin for the kids to see and smell and then cooked it when I got home.


I made Paula Dean's pumpkin cake. 
It is interesting to me that this cake is a golden color instead of the orange that you get from puree out of a can.

I won't be doing any Christmas decorating until after Thanksgiving, but I've picked my color scheme. 


We purged a great deal of our old Christmas stuff this summer. 
I replaced some of our old trees with a new all white tree.
I also found some white garlands. 
I shop early for Christmas decor to get the best selection.
The thrift store was getting out a few things this morning. 
I found this adorable vintage ornament in a blush color. 



Love!
I found a shabby chic tree at Hobby Lobby. 
 I've wanted a shabby chic bottle brush tree for years.
A little cottage got a makeover with pink paint and glitter. 


This little guy got a makeover too. 

   
That is about it for now.
Can you believe that it is almost Halloween? 
It's almost time to put the orange away and dig out some turkeys. 
Katie

Saturday, October 24, 2015

Decorating Behind the Potty

Once the tile was painted, I didn't want to put the big shelf back up.


I think I was trying to distract occupants from the big, expanse of blue tile behind the shower curtain. 
Once the tile was white, the cupboard seemed way too big. 
I shopped the house but it didn't work.
 A distressed little cabinet was in Jonnie's old room. 
I brightened it up with paint. 


It took several coats and I was getting annoyed at this point with the cabinet and with the caulk that kept yellowing.  
After living with the white cabinet for a few days, I decided I wasn't in love with it. 
I went to Hobby Lobby hoping to find a shelf or something. 
I left without anything but instantly regretted not buying a little unfinished shelf for $12.99. 
I went back the other day and got it.


I slapped some white paint on it. 
 

It is styled with a white hand towel, some bath salts and a candle. 
 

 A little seasonal trinket will be perfect on this too. 


The room looks so much bigger now that the big cabinet is gone and the tile is painted. 



The oil painting came from one of Bill's aunts. 



Thanks for stopping by.
Katie