A vision.

The other night, Charlie mentioned how difficult it must be to live inside my head.  I know that might sound harsh to some, but trust me, it wasn't.  You must imagine him saying it in a caring voice.  He is never snarky, that one.  It's just simply the truth.  Especially when you consider my crazy DIY ideas and projects that stretch us thin at times. 

Case in point:

Two weeks ago we were out running errands and decided to treat the gang out to lunch.  The boys were in the backseat, so excited to pick a place.   We settled on burgers and set off.  While driving through a neighborhood a few streets over, we couldn't help but notice a pile by a curb.  The stack was massive--broken bikes, a dented metal file cabinet, a spare tire--all heaped randomly with bits of stuff jutting out.  As we drove by, we surmised that the poor residents were likely evicted.  Just as we passed the house, Charlie and I both saw something.  He was the first to speak of it.

"There's your dresser right there, isn't it?" He sighed.

I nodded and held my breath like I always do when surprised.

You see, I had for months, searched and scoured Craigslist for a dresser to refurb into a buffet for our dining room.  I wanted a certain look, a certain size, a certain price point, and, most certainly, a certain level of quality in the construction.  It was no wonder I had yet to find anything suitable.  But suddenly--I felt--there it was, winking at me from beneath a crooked stack of magazines.

So Charlie backed up the SUV and I hopped out, making my way through the muck to the dresser (to add to the ambiance, it had of course just  rained).  I checked the dresser and found, to my utter delight, that it was in solid condition.  And the perfect size.   And I adored the shape.  Aaaaaand....it was made from 100% maple.  With dovetail joinery.

Even Charlie knew there was no option.  We had to rescue it.  So we shuffled the carseats and after promising the boys that Fuddruckers would not give away all of the french fries, we zipped home and dropped off the piece.  Did I mention that the dresser was cloaked in mud?  Because of course it was.

Over the next two weeks we hauled it in and out from the garage.  I worked on it as time permitted.  Unfortunately, I was not the picture of health during this time and Charlie was away so I never found a good chunk of time to get it done quickly.  So back and forth it would go, attracting visits from curious neighbors (although they are getting used to seeing my latest WIP strewn about the yard). 

I first had to thoroughly clean it (lots and lots of Murphys Oil soap).  Here it is all scrubbed...

Next came the sanding.  And then finally my favorite part:  painting.  I used my trusty Rustoleum spray paint in Navajo White (High Gloss) and my love-at-first-sight "spray grip" attachment.  It took four cans of paint and two coats of wipe-on poly.  After a quick trip to Home Depot to pick out hardware from Martha's new line, guess what?  I moved in the buffet of my dreams.

It fits our bay window perfectly.  And it has room to hold an amazing amount--I'm thinking my entertaining ware.  All of it.  In one place.  Here's a closeup of the hardware.  I am in love with the squared-off bin pulls...

I even dressed it up by stitching a runner out of precious fabric I've hoarded for years (Garden Trellis by Paula Prass for Michael Miller). 

I don't think Charlie ever questioned my vision with this piece.  But he did, no doubt, question the timing of it coming into my life.  In retrospect, I am so glad we stumbled upon it when we did.  The goal of having it ready for the gingerbread party created a sense of urgency.  There was only one thing I rushed due to the time constraint--I did not repair one drawer with a chipped corner.  It goes on the "eventually" list.

But I am so happy with it, missing corner and all.  I would have paid a handsome price had I found it like this.  But I'm tickled pink that the out-of-pocket cost came in under $60 for the paint and hardware.  Plus, I get to talk about rescuing it.  A favorite topic of mine if there ever was.  I made nearly every grown-up guest at the gingerbread party come meet the new buffet.   I wanted it to feel at home. 

I thought this was the perfect craft to share as we close out the year.  I truly hope 2012 is filled to the brim with projects, in everything that I do.  No matter if the task is related to parenting, cooking, crafting, or working...I believe that most things are possible if you can imagine it and are willing to put in the effort.  So here's to having a vision.  But more importantly, here's to taking the actions necessary to move towards it.

Happy New Year. 

Sandra 

Christmas, 2011.

How was your holiday?  Fabulous, I hope.  Ours truly was.   

The boys have been so wonderful, I can't stop squeezing them.  They tell me I can always hug them tight no matter who's looking or how big they get.  I intend to hold them to that quite literally.

There are still new toys strewn about.  No one can bear putting them away, including me.  Besides, I need to figure out how half of them work before the older boys go back to school and littlest one looks at me expectantly.  Although I should point out that we didn't go all high-tech this year.  Lots of new board games for the game cupboard.  Just in time for winter, thank goodness. 

Here is our Christmas card for 2011 (though on the real version our last name is included).  I did it on Mixbook, which took over Scrapblog (the company I used in 2010 and 2009).  If you click on the thumbnail, you should see a full-size image.  The photo outing was rather painless, though I must remember to share the out takes to reveal the true goofy nature of the shoot. 

I've been taking it pretty easy this holiday.  And it feels ridiculously indulgent.  There has been some knitting, lots of baking, and even some furniture refinishing I will post about.  But not now.  Now is for hugs and empty laps to fill and tummies full of cocoa and jammies until noon.  As Leo said, "this is the life." 

  

 

May you enjoy this special time of year as well.

Sandra

Reindeer Pops.

Here I go with the shortcuts again.  Just like the no bake Turkey treats from yesterday, I went semi-homemade this year for Rudolph pops (former cake pop version here).  I dipped double-stuffed Oreos into chocolate, broke some pretzels for antlers, red M&Ms for noses, and sugar pearls for eyes.  I also drew on details with an edible marker.  Easy peasy, but still cute, I think.  Even so, I am itching to make some real cake pops soon.  We're heading to a party tomorrow evening, so maybe then.

These were for our annual gingerbread house decorating party.  It was a whopper this year--pictures soon.  But first I need to scrub the house because there is frosting everywhere.

Sandra

Oh my and hi.

You know those friends you mean to call?  To write?  To catch up with?  The ones you miss desperately and have so much to tell?  But you wait and wait because you only have three minutes here and there and you certainly have more than three minutes of info to share?  So the result is days--nay, weeks--fly by and you have yet to connect?  Well, for me lately, it's been like that with blogging.

Thinking about it, I found myself getting overwhelmed, fretting I'd never catch up.  But rather than wait for a time when I might fully capture the events from the past few weeks, I finally realized that the best plan was simple.  It's what works well for me whenever I face a task of intimidating size:  forget about finishing; just get started.

So here I go, jotting down some things that I don't want to forget.  Weeks ago, over Thanksgiving weekend,  it was a bit of a scramble getting ready because I'd been sick but still wanted to host.  I needed to conjure up treats for the preschool but had no time to do cake balls like last year.  Instead, I came up with some simple--but still cute--cookies assembled from store bought items.

Our school is nut-free, so it can be a challenge to find appropriate ingredients when relying on store bought items.  Here I used Nilla wafers, Whoppers, candy corn, and the all-important star sprinkle for the waddle.  The kids loved them.  And I loved how quickly they went together.

That weekend was also filled with the younger boys "helping" me cook.  They were adorable sous chefs.

They set up their kitchen beneath the dining room table...

It was fun watching them work together, taking their job ever so seriously.  There is nothing in their pans but you'd never guess watching them...

I loved their make-shift oven...

Thanksgiving dinner itself was lovely and plentiful, as it always is when we gather with my family.  And the next morning brought about my very first Black Friday shopping experience.  For what?  Why yarn, of course.  Several of us (including my niece!) braved the cold and got in line by 5:45 a.m., donning our handknits and making sure we had lists ready.  Of course, my shopping plan lasted all of five minutes once I got inside the store and found the stash of Shelter and the new Loft at 30% off.  Let's just say I have several projects planned in those bases for 2012. 

 

 It was incredibly fun.  And we're already planning for next year.

 Sandra