The Turquoise Cabinet

Well, I finally finished painting and distressing my little cabinet in the living room.

I bought this like three years ago with the intentions of painting and it's taken me this long to get to it.

I might distress it more. I tend to not like things in my house super distressed so not sure.

My intention was to distress it more but the paint was stuck so tight it was taking tons of sanding 

and I just said - "that's enough"

I sanded for like 5 hours one day and still wasn't done. 

I sanded so much that I sanded my finger print off on my index finger and was not 

able to open anything by touch on my iphone!

For three days!!!!!

Super annoying.

Did you know that some people because of jobs they have had have no finger prints?

Yep, they wear them off.

It can be a job that you work with paper a lot...like a secretary or an accountant.

So for a few days I was afraid I'd removed my identity!

I still had two hours of sanding to do...but the rest I did with a rubber glove on.

That's the before. Ick. I am not into those kinda colors at all. 

Mom loved it and I would have given it to her but honestly, she does not have room for it anywhere.

I already gave her one sideboard I bought several years ago that was black and 

she didn't like it that I was going to paint it and said she wanted it. So I gave that one to her for 

her soon to be (I hope) breakfast room.

 

This photos shows up close the finish. The actual color is somewhere between this photo and the first photo. I don't know why I couldn't get the color to photograph more accurately.

 

I am fully aware that Fall is over and everyone is on to Christmas but with all I have going on at the moment I decided to go ahead and post this while I had a chance and then post again later decked out for Christmas. I can't wait to see it with my Christmas things on it. I think this photo shows the color most accurate.

It's brighter than I intended but I do like how cheery it is.

I used Waverly Chalk paint because it was cheap and I'd read good things about it. Plus you can buy in the middle of the night at Walmart which is how I like to shop. I was very happy with the quality of the paint. I mixed the color using blue, yellow and white plus a little brown craft paint thrown in. I might distress it a little more. I might tone the color down a little more with a wash and or I might leave as is. I have not waxed it yet. I'm waiting to decide if it's done or not.

 I picked up this adorable pillow at Michael's in October. I could not resist it. Michael's has been having incredible sales. This pillow I think cost me $9.

Now if you think I've been ignoring Christmas...I have not.

I have decorated two trees so far .... just not for me. 

I decorated a 9 foot tree for a client last week. What a chore! Just cause it was so tall!

She had great ornaments and enough of them. I was worried she wouldn't have enough.

My friend Toni who is a designer I worked with at the store and who recently quit same store because of crazy management came along and thank goodness she did because it took the two of us 6 hours to do the tree together. I also did the mantle.

I wish I'd taken photos but I was so tired and ready to get out of there I totally forgot. Plus the whole family had gathered for a pre-Thanksgiving night and I felt like I needed to get out of the way.

It was beautiful though. It was a Balsam Hill tree and she had all Balsam Hill ornaments in clear glass, white, cream and gold. Very tasteful. But not very creative for me. It's like you couldn't screw that tree up...with it's monochromatic theme. 

Very tasteful

Then on Sunday my BFF, David wanted me to come over and help him with his tree.

I had helped him shop for ornaments last month...making him buy way more than he thought he needed and keeping him on track with his theme. He was all over the place.

He wanted help finishing the tree up. When I got there I was like "Where are the rest of your ornaments?" He was like "I saved them the tree is full."

"Oh, no"...I said..."You need way more." I had told him you have to tuck the ornaments into the tree as well as on the branches. So he retrieved left over ornaments. About 150 and we went to town. 

Then several trips to the store for ribbon and floral picks completed his tree and he was happy.

It then looked as a tree should. He was happy. I was happy. I went home. 

I still could have put another 150 more ornaments on this tree.

This is David's first tree in his first house.

My first tree in my first house was like 3 feet tall with ornaments I made.

Still no tree up at my house however. 

Thanksgiving I spent with Mom and Peggy. That's my Mom, Alice in the floral top on the left. We ate at Ingrid's Kitchen. They have a huge Thanksgiving buffet every year. Peggy is an old family friend.

We spend every holiday together.

I am still caring for my sister's little Isaac who had back surgery a week and a half ago.

He is doing great but is a handful. He's very smart and strong willed. He has figured out how to get out of his crate. Which is exasperating! But I really can't complain. He's super sweet and all the weenies get a long just fine. It could be worse. 

I just feel like I'm practicing the fine art of dog juggling.

It's hard making sure he doesn't run out the back door on his own. He wants to so badly. But he's not allowed to yet.

That above is Maisie, I rescued her two years ago.

She's about 11 and very scrappy. She acts like she is 3. She loves Franklin and Franklin loves her.

She's very independent. I'll write more about her later. She came from a situation where she was living in the backyard and never got to come inside. Her name was Heidi at the time but had been also Fiona and Fifi. She'd been in rescue situations a couple of times. 

I renamed her Maisie because she didn't know the name Heidi at all. She learned Maisie immediately.

It took a year for her to feel secure here. She's a happy girl now but she had anxiety at first.

Well I tell more about her later.

Next week Isaac goes back to back doctor. I know he's doing very well. He is walking fine. Doing everything fine but I have to make sure he doesn't over do. He is not allowed to run or wrestle with the others. Not sure how long he'll stay here. He seems ready to go home but he gets better supervision here than he will at my sister's. 

Sorry, to go on so....can you tell I'm alone a lot these days?

No one to tell all to.

Tweet

A Little Spring in My Life

 How is your spring going? 

All I can say is I wish I had more time to smell the roses or tulips for that matter.

That photo and the one at the bottom are from my Pinterest folder entitled "Spring"

Today I was off from work but went to a client's house to help 

her freshen up her french country home.

Something that is right up my alley.

We hit it off when we met last week and I knew we were on the same wave length

when I was greeted at the door by a very similar concrete statue 

to the one I have at my own door.
A large dog with a flower basket in his mouth.

truly a classic
 

The rest of the week I'll be busy coming up with a plan to freshen up her home.

That is the best part of my job as an interior designer...all the nice people I meet

and when I go to someone's home and discover I love the same sort of things they do and 

I can help them give it that little extra it needs.

That said I truly enjoy doing rooms that are totally not something I would live

in either. That is what is fun about the job...I get to live vicariously through others...at least

design wise.

 

We are having a big sale at the store right now - 60% off all floor models and 50% off all special orders. It's cause we are getting ready to redecorate the store and get lots of new things in.
Sale runs till the end of April.

Come in and see me! Or email if there is something you are looking for or if you 

need my help pulling together a room or your whole house!

So that little loveseat above? I designed it for the floor. But it sold super fast!
Can't wait to do something similar again. Of course if you need one like it...I can order
for you.

  I love that white china cabinet in this photo.
The table is already sold but the chairs are still available and so is the cabinet.
All can still be ordered too.
 
Here you can see that the loveseat was in the same room on display.
That's certainly enough about work...
I'm currently trying to get my yard in shape.
I hired a new yard guy who is someone I worked with who went out on his own
with his own landscaping company.
Need a great guy to do your lawn?...email me and I'll share his name.
He's very easy to work with and does a great job!

Last year when Franklin hurt his back...my back slider door fell off it's track and could not
be fixed.
I went without a door for about 2 months. Thankfully, the weather was mild the whole time.
But I never showed you the garden doors I got to replace the slider.
This photo was taken the day they were installed.
Mom snapped it. The deck is a mess...cause things were just pushed aside.
But it was an immediate improvement to the house.

I am loving them...but now really really want a matching pair on the back bedroom too.

The dogs are happy going in and out.
And speaking of dogs. Here is a current video taken last week of Franklin in the yard.

Very, very proud of this boy. He was totally paralyzed last August and now look at him!

He's a very happy boy again. 

I'm hushing Harvey in this video because my neighbors have complained about his barking.

Although this is about all he barks and it's for like two minutes a day.

I could go on and on about my interactions with these neighbors.

They think dogs should never bark. I asked my neighbors on the other side

if they had a problem with my dogs making too much noise and they said..

"What? We can't hear your's - our's bark all the time!"

Their dogs do bark but it doesn't bother me at all. 

It's not a mean bark...it's a saying hello to the world bark. 

Same as mine.

Anyway...we are on pins and needles here trying not to bother my neighbors on one side.

Closing with another pretty photo of spring tulips.
All I managed to plant this spring so far is some bright pink phlox.
I've always admired it when it comes out in spring around the neighborhood and this year...
I finally got a little in the ground.

Hopefully, next year it will look like this.

Happy Spring!

Tweet

I'm Back!!!!

We're Back

That's my boy...Franklin. He's a big part of the reason I've been gone so long.

I never meant to stop blogging...but somehow a few weeks turned into months.

Back on Labor Day weekend my little Franklin ruptured three discs in his back.

It was a terrible weekend. I didn't know he'd hurt himself.

It started with him limping a little on Saturday morning.

Saturday night when I got home from work...he couldn't walk at all and was in 

lots of pain. 

I rushed him to an all night vet where he stayed till Tuesday morning when I

was able to take him to a surgeon.

By then he couldn't feel his back legs any more.

He was paralyzed from mid back down.

The surgeon said there was a 40/60 chance he'd be able to walk again.

Even with those odds...I decided to try the surgery.

It was a rough go that first week.

He was still totally paralyzed but not in a lot of pain.

He had to be kept still in a pen for 8 weeks.

He was mad at me...he looked at me like..."Why had I done this to him?"

We made many trips back and forth to the vet and the surgeon.

He had a terrible bladder infection that made him even more miserable.

This video is one of the first times Franklin was out in the yard after the surgery.

This would be the first week after surgery.

He couldn't walk and couldn't wag his tail. 

About a week after the surgery he moved the tip of his tail for just a second.

That was monumental! Mom and I had him at the emergency vet once 

again because I was so worried about his ongoing bladder infection.

They had taken him to the back to try to get a urine sample and when he was brought 

back out to me...he moved the tip of his tail just slightly.

Mom and I both saw it and ww started yelling...

"He moved his tail! He moved his tail!"
We were crying and laughing and jumping up and down.

Everyone looked at us like we were nuts but it was our first glimpse that he might regain some movement.

The surgeon told me it could take 6 months...and that is about what it has taken.

Sorry these videos are all sideways. I don't know why I filmed them that way.

They looked fine on my phone but look stupid here.

But you get the idea.

This is Franklin in the backyard last week.

I'm so proud of how well he has done.

Sorry, my voice is so irritating on this video and sorry that the video is sideways.

I'll try to shoot a better one this week - turned the correct way.

I feel very lucky that Franklin has made such a great recovery.

He walks a little funny now but nothing slows him down these days.

He's a very happy boy again.

I've found now that I'm working full time as an interior designer...

it's really hard to get projects done around my house.

I did get french doors put in the breakfast nook off the kitchen.

About a week after Franklin was back home and recuperating in the breakfast nook in

a kennel...the back slider door fell off!

I had to live for about 8 weeks with no door while I waited to have one made and installed.

I had plastic sheeting up to keep out the weather. I lucked out as we had a very mild

fall and not much rain.

Mom would come many afternoons and check on Franklin during the first 8 weeks of his

recovery.

I'm so happy to be back with all of you and will be posting again on a regular schedule.

We'll talk again soon!

Tweet

Indian Summer

 Sorry, Mod Mix Monday didn't happen this week. I'll just do it next week.

Too much going on with starting the new job. 

Which is going really well. 

I'm spending this week just getting to know all the lines of furniture.

Last night when I came home I came around to the back deck and the geraniums, though it is October 22, looked the best they've looked all year.

I couldn't resist taking a few photos.

 Silly Sally running around the deck. 

My deck needs to be cleaned and refinished so badly.

That's a project for next year!

I've been saying that for several years.

 Coleuses went nuts. I think you are suppose to keep them from blooming 

but the bees love the blooms so I just let them bloom.

 Harvey and Sally

 My wall fountain looked better earlier in the season. 

But it's still blooming like crazy.

 I was going to replace these geraniums with pansies the other day but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. 

They are super healthy. So I'll wait till after it's really cold to put out some pansies.

 Sweet potato vine shows no signs of slowing down. 

One day I'll come out and it will be all dark and withered when it gets cold.

 I tried to get some good photos of Franklin but he was busy hunting squirrels.

 Here you can see how long his fur has gotten. 

He's got a very beautiful coat and it's very very soft.

That's a show worthy stance.

Tweet

Evening in the Back Yard

 Currently, this is my favorite spot at my little cottage.

My back deck. I call it my secret garden.

I shot a few quick photos at twilight last evening.

I added a string of twinkle lights to the inside of my chiminea.

I know it's suppose to have wood burning in it but I'm too scared of fire.

With lights in it...I can enjoy it EVERY night and I HAVE!

Puppies got into the action. 

They are blurry though because of the speed I took these

pictures in the evening light.

 

This is my view as I come in the back gate each day.

Oh...how I will miss all this when the cold hits.

More of that silly Franklin. 

 One more...little Harvey there in the corner. 

I'll take some photos during the day when the light is better and share

but I wanted you to see my glowing chiminea.

And....guess what?

Mom helped me get the giant cement pot out of the back of my SUV

and we bought stuff to fill it.

I'll plant it and share soon.

I'm very glad it's out. I feared I'd have a wreck with it in there and be killed 

by a giant pot riding around in my car.

Good to know I won't be killed by a giant pot.

That would be a terrible way to go.

Don't forget to enter my pillow give away!
click below to enter

http://modvintagelife.blogspot.com/2014/09/elliott-heath-designs.html

sharing at

Tweet

Drop It or Swap It

 I've got a new sponsor over there on my left hand sidebar.

Check it out this week...

http://tarnishedroyalty.com/

Ann of Tarnished Royalty started up a new party.

Each Wednesday you can link up anything in your house, wardrobe, garden, etc...that you've

decided you don't want any more. Link it up and see if someone wants to swap

you something for it.

Sounds like fun...doesn't it?

Here are some of the things that were listed in last week's party.

I'm diggin those shoes, myself.

So I had two days off this week.

Day one...I slept. That is it. That is all I did.

Oh...fed and watered and let the dogs out but other than that....

I moved from the bed to the sofa.

I watched TV I'd missed but dozed through most of it. 

It was the first day of nothing I'd had in about two months.

I don't now how you women do it that have kids to take care of and husbands to feed.

I just have to every once in a while have a day where I do nothing but sleep.

Good news is...I'm not depressed. 

Sleep is my drug if I'm depressed. I just go to bed and hope that all will be better when I awake.

This time I was just bone tired. 

Today I'm better and trying to get things done around here.

Plan was to paint the dining room....um...yesterday.

Well, that didn't happen. Did anyone really think it would?

I hoped I would...but I was just too tired.

I don't know what I'm doing for Easter. I might be doing nothing.

Which makes me sad...but sometimes that is the way things go.

I haven't talked much about the weenies lately.

They have been very understanding of my new work schedule...

they were happy to sleep all day with me yesterday.

Franklin is getting sweeter and sweeter. He's two now...and that is when they start

to settle down and really be dogs.

He's still full of fun...but paying more attention to me.

Kissing me more...which is always good.

I found a new food for Violet and she's doing really well on it.

She has terrible allergies. 

Right now I'm feeding her Wellness Dog food...grain free.

She didn't sneeze once yesterday. 

And she's good today too. 

She seems to be allergic to grain and chicken. 

Wish I'd known this when it all started happening.

I spent at least $1,000 trying to figure out what was wrong with her.

Only to discover she got immediately better when I switched her food

which was done really by accident.

If you have a dog sneezing a lot and coughing and her nose is all snotty, get them checked at the vet

but if the vet is perplexed....try going grain free and chicken free. 

Poor Violet suffered for six months before I knew to do this.

Hope you are having a Happy Wednesday!

Tweet