The cabinet is painted!!!

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I finished painting the cabinet a blue-gray last weekend and I'm really happy with how it turned out! (you can click on the photos to enlarge)
First I started by painting it a light gray, then I diluted a "French Blue" paint with a little water and brushed that over (working in small areas) and wiped it off. When that was dry, I diluted brown paint with a touch of black with water and brushed that on and wiped it off (again just working in small areas.) It's amazing to see how it transforms from a flat gray to a color with so much depth.

Since I get so many questions about painting furniture I have put a link on my side bar. Just click on the button that says "My technique for painting furniture" and it will take you to my step by step instructions!
Now I have a lovely piece of furniture and it didn't cost me that much. The cabinet was purchased at a thrift store for $49.99. The appliques were about $50 and the paint was about $12. I had some extra glass knobs. Total cost was a little more than $100!!! What a deal! UPDATED: I should have known some of you would want to know the paint colors I used! The base coat was Behr Interior House Paint in flat latex and the color was "French Gray" The second layer was just acrylic craft paint. The brand was Plaid Folk Art and the color was "French Blue". I don't have the exact colors for the brown and black I mixed together for the last step but they were also craft paint. I hope that helps!

I made pillows!

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Saturday afternoon I decided to make some pillows.  I used some left over floral fabric from my dining rooms chairs to make two small pillows and I used the thrifted blue linen that I had used to cover my other chair I showed you last week.   The large pillow insert came from Ikea.  They have feather inserts for $3 or $4...what a deal!  The smaller inserts are also feather filled.    Angela~Cottage Magpie has a great tutorial on how to make pillows (click here if you are interested).

I'm home this morning.  My car wouldn't start last night so I had to have it towed to the shop this morning!  I'm so bummed, it's going to cost me about $500 between the repairs and the towing!  I consider myself a strong, independent woman but when car problems come along I really wish I could just pass this off to the man of the house to handle but since there is no man of the house here, I had to handle it on my own.   I do call the most important man in my life...my dad, so he can tell me what it could be so I can act like I know more than I do when I speak to the mechanic.  The only positive thing is that I had to walk a little over a mile back home from the mechanic and when it's ready I have to walk back so at least I'm getting some exercise today...see there is something positive in everything!!!

Don't forget...I'll be on the HGTV show "Rate my Space" this Thursday night!!!!  We're on the countdown now!!!

Some New Things

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Last night I went to Target and found this squatty apothecary jar on sale! I was so excited...I've been wanting a squatty one. It was only $13.99...or something close to that??? I love it!

The other day on my lunch hour I went to the fabric store, Fabrics R Us in San Jose, everything is so inexpensive there. I bought this tassel trim to trim pillows for $6.00 a yard! I already had the trim in the background and they go together perfectly. I see pillow making in my future... Becca ~ Of Bluebirds and Roses sent me this little birdie cone. I had commented on another she made awhile back and said that I would like to make one some day...now I don't have to...she made one for me! Isn't that nice! It's so adorable!
And last but not least, I found this little caddy thing at the thrift store last week. It was $7.99 but it was half off so for $3.98 I have a cute little serving piece.

I was wondering what I could use this for and I came up with a lot of different ideas! Here are some of my ideas but I'm sure there are many more!

• hold olives, pickles, etc.
• ketchup, mustard, mayo
• ice cream toppings for sundae making
• hold colored pencils, paint brushes, etc...someday when I have a craft room
• take the glasses out and put little pots of herbs
• hold garnishes for a cocktails

I'm planning on going to an Estate Sale tomorrow with my friend Nelson. I won't have much spending money but hopefully I can find something. This one intrigued me because it said "Decorate your beach cottage" in with all the description of other more specific items.

Have a great weekend!

Black & White with Yellow/Gold

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I think if I didn't have blue in my home I would probably decorate with black and white. I really love the look of black and white with a little yellow like these Villeroy & Bach "Audun" dinnerware. I think these lined up in a black hutch would be so beautiful!This is one of my favorite bathrooms which I found on Rate My Space. Which reminds me...I'm on 1 week from today!!!! Can you believe that it's finally almost here! YAY!!!

The yellow in this room below is a little bright for my taste but I love the room. I would just tone down the color on the walls a bit!

Photo: www.bhg.com

I love how this mirror with the shutters looks like a doorway. It really opens up the room! I would love to recreate this somewhere in my home. It's from Ballard Designs and it's $499.00 so it's out of my price range!

forty-eight

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Today I'm 48 which seems so weird to me...I feel more like 38. Where has the time gone?

Last weekend Lauren said we should get our favorite cake for my birthday. Our favorite cake is Burnt Almond Cake from Dick's Bakery in San Jose. This cake is their specialty and it is so good! Ever since Lauren mentioned that cake I couldn't stop thinking about it (I blame it on dieting) so even though my birthday is today I went and bought the cake on my way home from work yesterday and we had it last night! I could barely taste it because I have a horrible cold! Bummer!

My friends at work were laughing at me for ordering my own birthday cake but when you're single you have to do things like this for yourself! I not only do it for me but for Lauren. I think it teaches her that you have to not only think about others but yourself as well. I think that's a valuable lesson for anyone! Don't you?

Yes, I'm still on my diet even though I'm eating Birthday cake...I'm down 13 lbs so far.

Making Progress

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Here are a couple things that are still works in progress. I finally started working on this chair last weekend. You can see the before picture below. If I remember correctly I think I only paid $15 for this at a flea market. I bought the blue linen fabric at a thrift store awhile back, 4 yards for $4.99. I'm still not finished with it, I need to add the trim around the edge to hide where I stapled the fabric on. I had second thoughts on the trim I had bought to do this (too bright) so I'm going to be looking for something better this week. This was the first time I've ever done upholstery like this and I was surprised...it wasn't too hard! Also, below you can see one of the wreath appliques that I've added to the small china cabinet. The reason there is only one is because sometimes I do really stupid things and this was one of those times! I only ordered one!!! I have no idea what I was thinking but I put in another order and I finally got the second one yesterday so now I can finish this up. I've painted it a light gray and next I'm going to glaze over it with a french blue and then I'm going to antique it. I sure hope it turns out how I'm imagining it! Below are the "before" photos of both these items.

A Really Big Birdcage!

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I've always wanted one of these mega-sized birdcages but every time I found one they were really expensive...like around $100. Saturday I was on my way to Trader Joe's and decided to stop in at Pier One Imports and I saw this bird cage but I couldn't find a price tag. I asked how much it was and they had to call another store because they didn't know. When he got off the phone, he told me it was $80 and he must have seen the disappointment in my face because he then said "I'll give it to you for $40." I could not believe he said that!!!
It looked big in the store but when I brought it back to my little apartment it looked even bigger...maybe a little too big! I'm going to keep it though because you never know...someday I may be in a bigger home and I can picture this on a wrap-around porch with some white wicker furniture and some big beautiful hanging ferns....I'm such a dreamer.

Turning a photo into art

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This is a photo I took recently. You have to see how this got turned into art! Please visit my product review page (click here)! You're going to love this!

Designing for Your Life

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Kari & Kijsa asked bloggers earlier this week to share their favorite spots around their home. I'm just getting around to posting mine. (sorry these are old photos I've pulled off my computer to share again...yes, reruns!). This photo above was taken as I'm sitting in my favorite corner on my sofa where I like to relax with a glass of wine, smooth jazz playing in the background and a big stack of my favorite decorating magazines. It's one of my favorite ways to unwind! I also love to be out in my patio just tinkering around my little garden.

It's hard to pick a favorite spot in my home but I do love my nice comfy bed and I love waking up with the light streaming in the window and being surrounded in a cloud of blue and white.

Beautiful Gifts!

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See that beautiful tea towel hanging in front of my sink? Doesn't it look perfect in my kitchen! It was a gift from Bev who visits my blog.
Bev does gorgeous machine embroidery monograms on linen and lucky me...she sent me some! The toile scene is embroidered on the linen. (click on photo to enlarge it) I know in this photo it looks like it's just printed on there but it's actually embroidered on...these photos do not do it justice! To see the other things she sent me and how you can buy some of your own click here to go to my product review page.

Thank you Bev! I love everything!

Copycat Recipe: Red Lobster's Cheese Biscuits

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I think I've mentioned here before that I belong to a Supper Club. This is actually my second supper club...the first one fizzled out in less than a year when everyone's schedules were too full to actually find time to get together. I've been part of this one for about a year but some of the group have been together for 4 years. I found this group on the Cooking Light website, they have an area set up just for people who are looking to start a new supper club or join an existing one. My group meets about every 2 months. We usually have a theme and we all bring a different dish to the host's home and eat. We met last Saturday and the theme was "Copy Cat" recipes...you know, recipes from restaurants, etc. Although it is a "cooking light" club, I was bad and made a not-so-light recipe...Red Lobster's Cheese Biscuits. If you've ever been to a Red Lobster Restaurant you probably know how good these are! They bring them to your table as soon as you sit down. They are tender, buttery, garlicky, cheesy bits of goodness. I know what you're thinking..."I thought Cindy said she was on a diet"! Yes I'm on a diet and I ate these anyway!


Red Lobster Cheese Biscuits

2 ½ cups Bisquick baking mix
¾ cup cold whole milk
4 tablespoons cold butter (1/2 stick)
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
1 heaping cup grated cheddar cheese

Bush on Top:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
¼ teaspoon dried parsley flakes
½ teaspoon garlic powder
pinch salt



Directions


1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine Bisquick with cold butter in a medium bowl using a pastry cutter or a large fork. You don't want to mix too thoroughly. There should be small chunks of butter in there that are about the size of peas. Add cheddar cheese, milk, and ¼ teaspoon garlic. Mix by hand until combined, but don't over mix.
3. Drop approximately ¼-cup portions of the dough onto an ungreased cookie sheet using an ice cream scoop.
4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits begin to turn light brown.
5. When you take the biscuits out of the oven, melt 2 tablespoons butter is a small bowl in your microwave. Stir in ½ teaspoon garlic powder and the dried parsley flakes. Use a brush to spread this garlic butter over the tops of all the biscuits. Use up all of the butter.



Makes one dozen biscuits.

Nie Recovery Auction-My Donation

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I've donated my shell wreath to Kim's Auction to help Nie. I'm sure most of you who visit around blogland have heard the tragic story of this young couple...

On Saturday, August 16, 2008, Stephanie Nielson was in a plane crash with her husband, Christian Nielson, and his flight instructor, Doug Kinneard, near St. Johns, Arizona. Doug Kinneard passed away soon after arriving at the Maricopa County Hospital.

Christian & Stephanie remain in critical condition at Maricopa Burn Center. Christian has sustained burns on over 30% of his body. His wife Stephanie’s body was burned over 80%.

To read more about helping the family, click here. You can also visit Kim's blog, Today's Creative Blog and bid on some wonderful things that other bloggers have donated. The kindness of bloggers always amazes me and this is no exception!

I would like to thank Kim for doing this auction. I can't even imagine how much of her time this has taken her to pull this together!

This is my second post today so scroll down if this is your first visit...

Flowers, Awards and Taggged!

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I bought this little chintz creamer on eBay a couple months ago. It's only 2 1/2 inches tall but makes a perfect little vase for gardenias and a rose from my garden. I love little bouquets like this scattered around my apartment. In fact, I think I prefer lots of small bouquets over one big one!
I also have received some awards. I'm so horrible at remembering to acknowledge these! I really want to apologize for being so late on some of them. I hope I haven't missed any but I know I probably have!




I recieved the award above from Gayla~Oatmeal and Whimsy. Gayla is a high school teacher and she must be really nice teacher because some of her students wrote her a song. How sweet is that!

I received this award below from Flippery. She has the coolest looking vintage typewriter and now I want one too. Although I have no where to put it so I won't even be looking for one!

I was also just tagged by Jennifer ~ The Old Painted Cottage for 7 Things About Me. I think you've all been to Jennifer's blog, her Cottage of the Month and her boutique but if you haven't you are in for a real treat!

7 more random facts about me...these are getting harder and harder to do.

1. I have a gap between my two front teeth and I HATE it! That's why all my photos have me smiling with my lips sealed!


2. I prefer sweets over salty snacks.


3. I hate sweet and salty things together. Ham and pineapple do not belong together on my pizza! I don't like kettle corn and I'll never eat a payday candy bar.


4. I've always been more attracted to older men. I can't even imagine dating someone younger than me. Okay, you all know I'm not even dating at all until my daughter is raised so I don't know why I brought this up...this is for the past and future, not present time.


5. I've been thinking about dating a lot lately since Lauren is about to turn 16 and my excuse for not dating will soon be expiring. It scares me to death! I have no clue how to get back into that scene! If you have a good man...consider yourself very lucky!


6. I really want a house of my own! I'm not giving up on that dream...ever!


7. The diet...I've lost 10 lbs! Most of the Nutrisystem food is okay. It's the easiest diet I've tried, that's for sure!

I won't be passing these awards and tags along but I would really like to thank the bloggers above for thinking of me.