Did you think I forgot about you?

It may SEEM like I did but I can assure you that I did not :-)  I survived my first year in my new job and whew, it was a crazy one!  Crazy, but good.  Now that I've made it through a full year I feel like I am settling in.   Now I feel like I'm ready to get back into some projects at home and get back into the blogging groove.

One of the projects next on the horizon is the hunt for a new credenza!

Remember this one?  My favorite piece of furniture around?  Well I sold it (to a very good home).

So, now i'm on the hunt for a replacement and quickly!!  Stick around I'll share my hunt with you.

The other thing I'm on a mission to find is a banquette to go in front of the window in my breakfast nook with my little black table that I refinished.  This table that you can see in the top left corner.

I want the banquette to go in front of the window and then I'm boing to refinish two of the wooden chairs that go with the table for seating on the opposite side of the banquette.

Something similar to this idea but the banquette will be on a smaller scale since it will be in front of the window and I'll only have two chairs on the opposite side.  So keep and eye out for a screamin' deal on an upholstered banquette.

Source

So there ya have it, my current projects.  Not to mention a Sixteenth Birthday Party for my baby girl this weekend (I'll share the pics after) and a baby shower for my cousin in August.  I love to throw a good party.

Ahhhhh, it feels good to be back <3

Finished Coffee Station

Well I finally pulled the trigger (about three weeks ago) and picked up our new coffee maker.  I went with a slightly different model than I posted about previously but we've loved it thus far!!  It was really reasonable too which ALWAYS makes me happy.  I believe I picked it up for just under $35.00!!  #screamindeal

So get ready for a picture dump!!

Doesn't it just make you want to get up and drink coffee?  Oh and be FABULOUS?

I picked the mugs up and Marshall's and I believe I got the gold candle holder (turned straw holder) from Home Goods last year during the holiday!  I pulled it off my bar and thought it looked perfect here!

Here is a close up of the coffee maker I got from Walmart.  If you are in the market for a new coffee maker.  I mean come on it works really well and how super cute is it?  I'm all about function but I'm even more about cute ;)  

This sign I picked up from Hobby Lobby in the clearance section this last summer.  It WAS hanging in my guest bath but I decided it belonged here.  Oops now I need to find a new pic for my bathroom!

Ok, last little detail.  Don't you just love the stars on the handles of these coffee cups?  Maybe I am just easy but these starts make me happy for some reason!














So there ya have it.  What do you think?  Anybody else feel inspired to set up your own coffee station.

P.S.  The curio cabinet is all done and just needs to be photographed.  I promise I'll share the afters soon!!!

Counter Coffee Station

Most of you that know me know that I can't stand things on the kitchen counter.  Well that is (of course) unless they are super cute decorative accessories!  #DUH  

So, when I told my hubby and the kids that I was going to make a coffee station on the counter I was bombarded with several sarcastic comments about things not being allowed on the counters.  Whatevs!!  

My little counter space between the pantries and below the microwave has always been tough to style.  I've never really felt like I found the perfect decor for that area.  Sooooooo in the middle of the night I sat up and thought....a coffee station!  That's it!!  #noreallythathappened

See there.....clearly that wasn't the right decor either.  It didn't last there very long....the owl wax melter did but not the other items.

Then there was Christmas and I LOVED this sign on the counter that I got at Target but alas Christmas came to an end so I had to take it down.  Boo!

So to make a short story long,  I decided that the coffee station was the perfect mix of decor and function.....and now I'm on a mission to get it completed.  

I made a little stop at Marshall's and grabbed a couple mugs to get things moving!  

I loooovvveeeee them and couldn't resist.  Truth be told, I found a mug that said hello gorgeous in gold writing and loved it.  I was going to buy it and tell everybody that Ryan bought it for me but I knew he'd narc me out ;)  So I left it sitting all alone on the shelf at Marshall's.

The next thing I really need to find is the coffee pot.  I want a stainless steel coffee pot but I also don't want to break the bank.  #tightwad

I'm really leaning towards this dude from Walmart.

Walmart

We already have a coffee pot that works just fine but it has seen many camping trips.  Not quite what I want sitting on the counter at all times.  I like the looks of this one and especially the price.....$29.74.  Sounds like a pretty good deal.  Once we get a new pot, we can retire the old pot to the camper.

Anybody out there have this coffee pot?  You like?  Any other suggestions?

Curio Cabinet Prep

I can't wait to share the after pictures with you all.  However I'm not quite finished just yet.  All of the painting is done and now we (read: Ryan) just need to put the curio cabinet back together.  Back together you ask?  Yep, here is what we did:

When we got the curio cabinet into the garage and laid on the saw horses, all Ryan and I could think of was the amount of painter's tape we were going to need to tape off all the glass.  Then my genius hubby decided to take all the glass out and remove the mirrored back.

Here is what we started with!  Light oak didn't fit in with the rest of the decor in our house (especially the dining room).  Everything in the dining room is black,  so black was pretty much a no brainer.  

Ryan took all of the glass panels out of the front of the cabinet and removed the back glass panel. Believe me, the time to remove the glass is WELL WORTH IT!!

Just think how long it would have taken to tape everything off and work around all the glass!

He took off the hinges and removed the door so we could paint that separately as well!

One of the pieces of crown moulding had fallen off in the move.  Sooooo, Ryan attached the two blocks to the top of the cabinet and pulled out the wood glue.

A little gorilla wood glue on both sides and we were back in business.  This stuff dries really fast and we were able to start prepping the surface of the cabinet right away!

I can't wait to see the finished product myself let alone share it with you :-)

Come back, for the final reveal.....

New Year, New Projects!!

Whew, HAPPY NEW YEAR and congratulations on surviving the holidays!!

I don't know about you but I always find my head full of ideas once January rolls around which usually equals spending money.  However, after Christmas, I try to keep the spending at a minimum for the month of January.  Sooooooo, I decided to only tackle projects that I have the supplies for. Does anybody remember this curio cabinet post.  I know I do and it has been weighing on my mind. I decided that this would be my next logical project.  I have a curio cabinet that is light wood which is just not my style.  This is my inspiration and we are getting started on it tonight!  Yiippppeeeeee!!!

This will go in the oh so sad and vacant spot in the dining room that is open now that I had to take down the twinkling goodness that was my Christmas tree :(  Can't it just be Christmas year round????

I digress.....

It will go on the wall opposite this dresser that we refinished into a buffet!

We're getting this party started tonight.  You see, my hubby got bumped to days after working midnights for the last 8 years.....and well I'd hate for him to get bored :-)

Come back and check out the progress!

What are your projects for the new year?