our halls have been thoroughly decked ...

One of my favorite hashtags  I use all of the time is #dontjudgeJesusdoesntlikeit {for the over 60 crowd ... don't judge Jesus doesn't like it}. That should really give you an insight into my soul that that happens to be my most used hashtag. ANYWAY, I am going to preface today's post with this ...


#dontjudgeJesusdoesntlikeit


I have fully decorated my house for Christmas .... an entire week before Thanksgiving.

Don't send me hate mail ... don't egg my house ... & for heaven's sake, don't put me on the naughty list!

Neither Mister or I work on Fridays & this past Friday was declared the day to deck our halls. And y'all, they have been thoroughly decked!

Mister is in charge of outside décor. I leave it all up to him, because Clark Griswold does NOT need me all up in his grill trying to dictate where spotlights need to be placed. Do you think Mrs. Beethoven tried to tell Wolfie how to play the piano???  When someone is in their spiritual gifting, you let them be. And Mister is spiritually gifted in exterior illumination.

So, while cords were being extended & lights were being strung outside ... I popped in my Les Miserable dvd {nothing says "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" like the French Revolution & prostitution} & I had all sorts of fun on the inside ...

2 trees ...

1 mantle ...

a nativity ...

& an asundry of zushing later we were all decorated!

Now, rumor has it there is nothing that will make you want to break out in a moving rendition of "Mary Did You Know" than plugging in your Christmas lights & having them all work ... However, I wouldn't know, because IT. HAS. NEVER. HAPPENED! I swear, it's like the Grinch himself sneaks into my attic mid-June & tampers with my strands of lights! Never fails! Bless!

After tugging & twisting & a trip to Michael's to just buy new lights to put over the dead lights ... all is well ... peace on Earth, goodwill toward men!

stumped ...

I'm going to share with you the cheapest project I have ever done ...

... a stump table!

If you are familiar with The Nester {& if you are not, you should be}, you'll know that she & the stump table go together like ... peanut butter & jelly ... Victor & Nicky ... Peter & Jesus. She took something most of us would haul off to the dump & turned it into something quirky & beautiful!

Take a look ....

{source}

painted & natural together for side tables

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paired with another table

for a catch-all area

{source}

this one is my fave!

painted top with the paint

dripping over the sides!

I had to get in on this stump table goodness ... & lucky for me, I have a father-in-law that loves firing up his chainsaw!!!!

There are a ton of tutorials out there on how to convert your lump of wood into something pretty ... some are really good & some are really awful, so be careful if you decide to do this. Read a few before you start your project. THIS is the best tutorial I found.

Now, I will caution you, this is not an overnight project & it is also not for the faint of heart. Once you have your stump, you need to let it sit in the garage for awhile so all of the nice creatures that live in your new end table can find a new place to live. I let mine sit for about 2 months, or so, & I still had to evict a rather plump, nasty looking worm. Bless him.

After all the of stump sitting, I used a large flat head screwdriver & a hammer to strip off the bark.

Next, I sanded the sides, top, & bottom to smooth things out.

(I carved a little heart with S+E in it)

Then ... I painted the top of mine & let the paint drip over the sides (like the photo above) & sealed it with poly.

(I love that this looks like cake frosting!)

After the poly dried, I attached felt & rubber pads on the bottom to protect my hardwoods. & finally, the most important step in the entire process ... before you bring it inside, pray that no creepy crawlies still live in it! Amen?!?

Stump tables aren't for everybody, but they are definitely for me!!!! Love how perfectly imperfect they are!



privileges revoked ...

Our china cabinet was the second piece of furniture the mister & I bought after we got engaged. That's just the way Mama raised me ... home training! Every southern home is supposed to have a proper dining room & most definitely a hutch to showcase all of the beautiful china, silver, & crystal you received for your wedding, right!?!

I've told you all about switching our dining room into a more casual sitting room, because we are by no means formal dining room type folk. Well, the fully stocked china hutch was the last evidence of the dining room that once was ...

 .... until a couple of days ago.{Had Mama not been 3 states away I don't think I'd had the heart to do it.}

I'd been toying with the idea of using the hutch for more practical storage instead of it housing my 12 beautiful place settings that we have NEVER used in 15 and a half years of marriage. I finally bit the bullet & emptied it out .... with great fear that somebody would show up & revoke my membership privileges to all things southern OR that Mama would show up & put me on restriction.

While it was empty I thought ... well, I might as well go ahead & paint the inside! So .... I did! I'm telling you, half way through my first coat I almost got nauseous because it occurred to me I WAS PAINTING MY CHINA HUTCH!!!!! But then I calmed myself down & after the first coat was finished, I knew I'd love it!

{I used Valspar's Tranquility ... it is a very light blue & just right!}

So, now I have homeless china, but a super cute place for my books!!!! And as a consolation prize for my displaced formal settings, I think we'll eat off of them tomorrow for Big Brother's 13th birthday!!!

P.S. Mama tried ...

again with all of the glamour ...

I wish I could tell you I've spent this week lounging by the pool, but the reality is I have spent the better part of this week cleaning & organizing closets & cabinets. I know ... I lead an extremely glamorous life. On the bright side ... my closet has never looked better & now I want to live in there.

I got rid of a ton of stuff ... Nothing feels better than getting rid of some bad decisions you made in the junior department of the Belk 3 years ago.

Now, I am knee deep in a Dirty Jobs marathon ... because, again, my very glamorous life. What dreams are made of, y'all.

favorite things friday: old business, merit systems, soundtracks, & short skirts ...

Thought I'd bring you up to date on a couple of things I mentioned earlier this week ...

* Monday I was in a really bad place ... realizing the closing of the Reese's Cup Easter Eggs season. So, I did what any respectable adult would do ... I went to Target & stocked up.

Now, I am not fooling anybody! And I am not under the slightest illusion that these Reese's eggs are going to last me until next Easter ... heck, they probably won't make it to Summer. Honesty is the best policy. A friend of mine sent me this on Pinterest & I have to say, it is truer than true!

{source}

* Wednesday I told you guys that I came across a totally free & adorable "hey, y'all" print on Pinterest. Yes, I already have 1, but I am a firm believer that you can never have too many "hey, y'all"s hanging around! Am I right?!?

I printed & framed this one & it now lives in Priss's room on her little gallery wall next to her vanity. I dare not turn around & show you the rest of her room ... disaster, people!

OK ... onto new business. Favorite things from this week ...

* My 6th grade gym teacher posted this on her Facebook page this week & all I have to say is ... THIS. IS. BRILLIANT! And also, I am totally going to be using it! Can't wait to ground my kids so some work can get done around here! Thanks for the great idea, Ms. Long!

* This video has been all over Facebook & it is hilarious!

These guys are college students & obviously are making good use of their parent's money!

My observations from the video ... #1. They own the soundtrack to Frozen or have at least paid to download the song (which strikes me as a bit odd) ... #2. They know every single word & inflection, so they've spent a good deal of time listening to the soundtrack of Frozen (which strikes me as a bit odd) ... #3. The tremendous commitment level these 2 put into their performance is to be applauded! (My favorite part is at 29 seconds ... the guy in the hat)

* American Idol ...

Is it just me or do JLo's skirts get shorter & shorter every week??? And when she walks out on stage isn't she afraid of everyone seeing her hoo-haa? Maybe she's taken precautionary measures & is wearing modesty shorts underneath those short skirts .... I don't know.

That's all for this week ... hope your weekend is a great one! Be awesome, y'all!

the cake stand in the office!

Let me just be honest about something ... I have never cooked any sort of  baked good that required it's own fancy glass stand for it to be displayed. However, a fancy glass stand for cute office supply storage is right up my alley!

 

The Mister & I received this cake stand as a wedding gift ... 15 years ago ... & it has never seen any sort of confectionery goodness. As a matter of fact, it's been sitting all alone in the kitchen cabinets above the stove {the wasteland of kitchen cabinetry} ...until I was in need of a good way to corral my office supplies without taking up too much table space!

 

That cake stand was the perfect solution! Because it has a small base, it takes up minimal table space. AND there's still plenty of room up top for all of my goodies that I like to have close by! Tah-dah! I love finding an alternative use for something just lying around.

 

& also, I may be in need of a Sharpie intervention!

spring is coming ... isn't it

  

Since yesterday we were all home for another day of inclement weather (I have no words), I decided to get the house ready for Spring.  You know how the old saying goes ... nothing says Spring is coming like a sheet of ice covering your driveway!!!!

I got the mantle all ready for warmer weather ...

 The pineapple print is one of my favorite prints from Servant's Heart. It reads, "a rich welcome" which is what I plan on giving Spring, should it ever decide to show up.

  

 

Mama's best friend gave me this cute little rocker & I love it!

Looks just like Spring to me!

If you've been reading for a while, you'll remember Bruce the Buck.

I even got him ready for warmer weather, too!

 

I replaced his snowflake ribbon & pom pom scarf with some nice pastel ribbon ...

{real bucks wear pastels}

 I'm not sure if Spring is actually going to show up on March 20th like it is supposed to .. but if it does, Buck & I will be ready!



snow day makeover ....

I told you guys I had a plan to preserve my sanity during our Snow-tastrophe in the South. I'd been planning on repainting my nightstand & so, that's what I did …. in-between adding on layers of clothing, eating cheese grits, & watching my children get pulled around on an old car hood behind a 4-wheeler (welcome to the South).

Some of you asked for a step-by-step of my little project, so here ya go ...
{NOTE: I am not a professional anything, so just take that for what it's worth}

Here's the little lady's before shot … OK, but not great.

I started out by removing the old pulls, sanding the entire piece & then wiping it down with a damp cloth.

Then, used a small roller to apply Valspar's Sonora Rose.

I prefer using a roller rather than a brush because it leaves a smoother finish … just my preference. I didn't want any of the woodgrain to show, so it took four coats to get the coverage I wanted.

I let the final coat dry overnight & then I applied a couple of coats of clear polyurethane to protect the paint finish & also give it a glossy finish.

After the clear coat, I let it cure overnight.

& then the fun part!!!!! The after ….

 

 

sources:
paint:  Lowe's Valspar - sonora rose
pulls: Hobby Lobby
lamp: Hobby Lobby
bedding: TJ Maxx

linked up with Remodelaholic!
 

snow day priorities ...

While the rest of the world was at the grocery store buying milk & bread for the snowstorm, I was at Lowe's purchasing paint supplies so I wouldn't go out of my mind while we are snowed in .... priorities, people! Mama needs a project or this party is gonna break down fast!

I'm planning a little nightstand makeover & this picture from Pinterest is my project inspiration ....

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I don't plan on doing the stripes or the leaf detail around the pulls .... but you never know how a project will end up.

Real Simple Magazine often has coupons for free 8 oz. samples ... I used mine to get Valspar's Sonora Rose ...

& I bought new drawer pulls {ridiculously cheap} from Hobby Lobby. They usually have their pulls 1/2 off & they have a great selection ... very Anthropology-ish!

So ... while the rest of the South is covered in a blanket of snow I'll be in the garage sanding & painting away!!! What are you doing to keep yourself busy?

hey y'all ...

A couple of weeks ago I ordered this "hey y'all!" print from Stephanie Creekmur's Etsy Shop ...

 

it arrived over the weekend & I am in love!!!!

It found a home for it on my little gallery wall on our staircase ...

{sorry for the horrible quality of this pic ... ugh!}

 

One thing I love about ordering from Etsy & getting art directly from the artist is there is almost always a personal touch added to the packaging. There was a sweet little handwritten note on the cutest stationary enclosed in my package. I loved it so much I framed it & it ended up on our gallery wall, too!!!!

{ain't it the truth!}

You can visit Stephanie's Etsy shop HERE ... she has a "Bless Your Heart" print I'm eyeing!!!!

{stephanie creekmur}

It's at the top of my birthday wish list .... hint, hint, honey!