dresser revived.

I'm so so so so happy for this project to be over with but I must say it was ALL well worth it.  I love my new dresser and it adds the mid century modern touch to our bedroom that I've been looking for.  I bought the solid wood dresser off craigslist for $65 and put about 2 month's worth of  weekends sanding and painting into it (those paint layers take time!)  Here are some before and after pics. 

Before, well, after it was sanded (I forgot to take BEFORE before pics so this is what you get).  It even looks beautiful here as is - my opinion.

Before

After the first top painted layer (I got excited).

After.  And there she is... my beaut.  In our bedroom against the back wall.  Now I need to paint those walls...

After

After.  Opposite angle

After.  Here's a close up of the inverse stencil I did on the side which carries up over the top (that paint job was hell).

After. And probably my most favorite touch of it all... the label holders.  I bought some antique distressed label holders to go on the front of the drawers.  In my opinion, they totally top it off!

After.  We won't "mention" what's in THAT drawer... Oh, it's just my gutchies and braziers, come one people!

Until next post...

Kitchen Makeover...

I know we've had it done for awhile now and I'm just NOW posting about it but better late than never, right? 
We decided that the smartest and most economic way to update our kitchen for the time being was a painting facelift to our cabinets.  I will say that I don't EVER want to do this job again.  It sounds sooo easy but all the tasks combined was pure torture!  We (well, I) decided to go with white because apparently it never goes out of style and before the kitchen was swimming in a sea of wooden darkness.  I love wood, but not THAT much. So, here are some before and after pics because I don't think my mom will stop bugging me until I post them on here ;)

Before - looking over the breakfast bar

Before - pic of kitchen desk (don't know why a desk was in here to begin with) and the pantry door.

Dave and his mom, Debbie, helping us remove cabinet doors during their visit.

Doors and drawers ready to be sanded, primed, painted and then painted again, and again...

The kitchen taped off, primed and screaming for paint

After - simlar view as before looking over breakfast bar (we were preparing for our LOST final episode party - those are palm tree toothpicks on top of the bar)

After - Kitchen desk

After - cabinet doors with painted stencil

After - Center cabinet doors above stove (kudos to sister Morgan for her help - love ya)

After - Dining room bar area and cabinets

After - Dining room window seat and bar area.

After - Kinda  overall shot (the space is awkward making it hard to get everything in one photo)

Now, onto the popcorn ceilings... to be continued...

1 year

It's been a whole year since we said our I Do's and the time has flown by.  I'm almost scared that the next 20 years will go by just as fast. Dave, being the sweetheart that he is, made plans for us to spend the weekend in Kerrville, TX, a small quaint town about an hour outside of San Antonio.  We stayed at a well-known inn where I think they had the best breakfast buffet I've been to in a long while ;-) We ate dinner the night before at Italian restaurant, Bella Vita, and ended the night at the hotel bar where a local country band played while we watched the retirees cut a rug on the dance floor - it was a great time.   Below are a couple pictures from our visit (mainly of Dave - I had the camera):

D recording the... scenery?

Photo op while walking a trail along the Guadalupe River

Might I add, while we were walking, a homeless (and perhaps drunk) man said to us, "Look at that! Two warriors still holding hands, I love it!" 

At the dam

Some hopeful fisherman AND woman, trying to snag some supper at the foot of the dam.

THE door that I tried my darndest to convince Dave was a great buy.  I talked the guy down to $40 and what I thought was a steal was the most stupid purchase Dave could imagine - I fell for his guilt trip BUT NOW I WISH I would have bought the damn thing!  No, I didn't know what I was going to make with it at the time but I know some other friends of mine would agree that something like this IS worth it... you know who you are ;-)