Gardening we will go....

Since moving to NY I have found a love for gardening! Flowers & vegetables & fruit! Savannah seems to have taken on the same love affair as well. Dave grew up having a HUGE vegetable garden that his family of 4 lived off of but I never did.

This is our garden a few short months ago.....HUGE firewood pile where the vegetables should be planted & a stack of beat up fence against the shed.

We don't have a huge yard and we want plenty of space for the girls to run and play so we had always put our garden off to the side in a super sunny part of the yard and kept it fairly small. However, that seems to be where the kids always want to be or balls always land, etc. etc. Early this Spring hubby scored a bunch of free picket fence from an old co-worker and so developed our plan to fence off our garden & make a permanent spot for it. Its bigger than ever before and now I will have room for an herb garden and more vegetables too! Cannot WAIT till it is time to plan & plant next year's garden!! Dave got all the fence installed & I sanded it down & gave it a fresh coat of crisp white paint. There is just something so quaint and country about white picket fence!! I know its cliche but being a city girl turned country I love it!!!!

Of course I could not just put up this fence and then leave it plain jane with no cutesy little garden decor :) Sometimes procrastinating is not necessarily a bad thing since all the garden goods are now on clearance everywhere!! I am still searching for a sign to hang in the entry arch but haven't been able to find one I want. A tin sign that reads "Homegrown" or "Fresh Produce" is what I have in mind so I will keep searching! We have grape vines planted on each side of the arch and cannot wait for the entire thing to be covered with fruit bearing vines!

So much fun when cousins come to visit!!!!

Dave's sister Willow came to visit this past week with her daughter Angelina....such a sweetie pie cute little girl...makes me long to live closer to not only her but ALL my nieces and nephews..that is THE single worst part of us being in NY and everyone else in AZ!?!?! I wish I could win the lottery, pack em all up and move em here!!! :) Better start playing the lotto if I want that to ever happen huh!??!

It was a great time and I am gonna miss that little sweetpea!

$20?!?!?

Seriously! I got this for only $20 this morning!! An AHHHH-mazing antique washstand. It was marked only $25 which was an sweet deal but I had NOWHERE to put it, the wood would not match any room in my house...but I could not walk away from it...finally decided I would go home see if I could figure out where to put it and then get hubby to let me go back for it ;)

I got 1/2 way home turned around and went back for it....had to have it and will paint it to match the guest bedroom furniture or figure out somewhere for it!!! The nicest older woman who I bought it from said it was her grandmothers and they had gotten rid of the rest of the bedroom furniture to other family members but this was left, she was thrilled it would go to someones house and not an antique dealer & I was thrilled to take it home! Its gorgeous & the porcelain bowl is in perfect condition with that great crackly finish & beautiful detailing around the outer edge!

Just had to share my amazing find, was not even out to shop garage sales, I was volunteering @ my local MOMS Club rummage sale and saw this yard sale on my home, so glad I stopped since I brought home this treasure and 3 awesome metal barn stars to decorate my new garden fence! Promise that post is coming soon too...I keep teasing with tidbits but I just want to get it a little more put together before I show it off! :)

Peek!

A little peek at the curbside chest turned window seat! As you can tell Emmie is excited about her new piece of furniture!!

I am still waiting to get the new knobs in the mail, hoping they make it here tomorrow or sometime soon! Trying to get fabric shopping this week while JoAnn's has their coupon commotion sale going on then to convince my mother in law or neighbor to quickly sew up a cushion for the top and we are done!! :)

Distressed it a little since let's face it, if I don't Emmie will once its in her room so might as well give it a little headstart! I have done the scrapbook paper lining inside and LOVE it..so cute & super easy with Mod Podge..I think fabric probably would have been better & more durable in the long run but was worried about working with it as a large piece and the ends being frayed, etc.etc...that's just me doubting myself since I have dubbed myself "uncrafty"! Oh well, always next time to try something new!

So far it looks worlds better and Savannah has already learned the lesson of not judging a book by its cover..something might be beautiful if only give it a chance! cannot wait to see the end product & hope to finish it up soon so we can post a picture!

BLUEBERRIES!

HOORAY for living in a state where we can pick fresh berries all summer long! This is one of my favorite things since moving to NY! Strawberries, then raspberries, then blueberries and in between all that you have the garden fresh tomatoes, peas, cucumbers..on and on and on!

We headed off to Critz Farms this morning to pick blueberries since we hadn't made it last week and I didn't want to miss out! The picking was really easy, tons of berries on each bush we went to! Savannah managed to eat more than made it in her bucket and Emmie decided it was more fun to dump the bucket than keep filling it but we finally made it out with our 2 quarts!

A handsome stranger!

So, yesterday I went garage saleing with my trusty partner in crime Janine....but along the way I met a handsome stranger and I am thinking it will be a long garage sale based relationship...

We were laughing so hard as I was trying to get balanced beside him for the picture alongside the road it was HILARIOUS!!! People must think we were crazy or started out the day with a little something extra in our coffee! ;)

I did manage to find a few great treasures while hunting alongside Erieville Lake...this chair for the teeny tiny price of 50cents!?!?!

I am envisioning it minus the ever so lovely toilet seat cover cushion and painted a bright funky color with a cute fabric seat!

This great cast iron birdbath for only $2!?!?! It shows a little peek of our garden fence which is coming in a post of its own soon!

Quickie!

Quick post since I just had to share my garage sale find...hit a few garage sales this morning...found these great little dessert cups..got 8 of them for 25cents each and I love them! Not that I have fancy dinner parties that require glass sherbet cups but I can already see my girls enjoying sundaes or pudding out of them :) The older woman I bought them from said they were her mother's and something called "Franciscan glassware"? I know nothing about that or if they are worth much more than I paid for them but I am happy with my $2 purchase :)



We had Dave's family picnic for work yesterday afternoon and then friends over for dinner tonight so the window seat chest still sits in the garage with only the 1st coat of pink paint, BUT the knobs are ordered and scrapbook paper picked so I am excited! Hoping to finish the pink tomorrow so I can distress it, work on the interior and get the hardware plates back on while waiting for the knobs to arrive! I also still need to shop for fabric for the cushion (and sucker either my lovely neighbor or mother-in-law to make the cushion since I have zero sewing skills!!)

Window Bench update....

Already way better...24 hours after picking it up on the side of the road its been cleaned of spider webs and all the critters evacuated...sanded down A TON & I had to remove all the laminate from the one side since it was peeling off really bad, hardware removed & I repainted the large pieces black and am searching for cute new knobs..Primed white and looking so much more lovely & worthy of Emmie's room already! Took these pictures yesterday afternoon in the sweltering heat while the girls played in the pool, got a lovely sunburn on my back but I am so determined to get this cabinet done ASAP and show Savannah not to judge things by 1st glance!!! :) Dave is thrilled that its not going to just take up residence in the garage or attic for months until I finally do something with it!!

I gave it a first coat of the pink paint this morning, so cute and hope to do the second coat tonight. I have a GREAT plan for the inside too. I saw on one of my top blogs this cool trick to mod podge fabric or scrapbook paper inside cabinet drawers to dress it up so hoping to find a really cute matching paper!

Here are some options for knobs I have found so far I think the pink will really POP off the dark black plate behind it!

Eat your words!!!

So, driving home from errands this morning I see a pile of FREEBIES on the side of the road..of course I have to pull over and look! I spot this great old chest..really rough shape but I see its future as a pale pink lightly distressed window seat w/ a cushion on top and inside is a place to store all her books! It is really bad and will need lots of sanding, cleanup, paint and new door hardware so I am undecided if I should grab it since I have quite the stash of "projects" at home already...

Savannah sees me eyeing it up and opening the doors, she then yells from the car "Mom there is NO WAY you are getting that, its JUNK" Umm, I had to turn around and make sure it wasn't Dave I had with me! ;) So then it MUST come home with us and I MUST make it beautiful...this thing is insanely HEAVY but I dragged it to the car and got it in the back somehow!! I get in the car to drive away and Savannah keeps going on and on about how its gross and its junky and she would NEVER want anything like that..I tell her my plans for it and its going to be so amazing she will be begging me to let her have it..BUT its destined for Emerson's room right below her window and I can already see her sitting on top, reading books and looking so cute!

"You will eat your words my darling oldest daughter" I tell her when we get home. She is quick to inform me "No way, I won't ever" then a couple minutes later "Mom what does eat your words mean?" I explain to her that means she will be sorry she said that and wishing to take it back when she sees her little sister enjoying her beautiful window seat as a private reading spot!

She rolls her eyes and walks away..........ok, so that part of her is all me but the JUNKY comment & attitude towards old discarded pieces part is all Daddy!

Happy 4th!!

Happy 4th of July everyone...I have come to really love this holiday since moving to NY...I don't know if its the small town effect with parades and fireworks @ the lake or the sense of patriotic pride you have in small country towns that you don't get in the big cities but this has become one of my FAVORITE holidays!!!!

We went to the parade in Caz this morning, hanging out for a BBQ this afternoon and meeting up with friends to watch the fireworks @ the lake tonight! GREAT day! Hope everyone is spending time with their families and celebrating this AMAZING country we are so lucky to live in!

A week full of Veggies & Paint!

This week my girls & hubby have eaten the following foods without a clue!!! Sweet potatoes, cauliflower, spinach, carrots, blueberries, plain non-fat yogurt, celery, & butternut squash!!! WAAHOO I am feeling mighty victorious so far!!! Here they are playing in the backyard since they are so full of energy from all the nutritious food they are unknowingly consuming! ;)

Quick update on our master bathroom face lift (I learned to call it that instead of renovation/remodel because hubby is so not thrilled I am changing ANYTHING since its all brand new 7 years ago & we already have a "to do" list a mile long!) The buffet is still sitting in front of our tub untouched yet, it is however serving as a place for dirty laundry, toys, cleaning supplies, etc. etc.

I have yet to decide on the sinks to use, was really wanting a vessel sink since I like the look of those & it would save space underneath for more storage...but it might make it too high since the buffet is already taller than a normal vanity. We are both tall so I was happy to have a raised vanity but by the time you put a vessel sink I think it would be too much and there is a no way Savannah could wash her hands in there without a step stool.... I have started painting though...I LOVE what paint can do to change a room but I HATE the whole process, the taping off, the actual painting & the cleanup...ugh! BUT I am happy so far, here is a little peek at the new paint..it was cream with metallic gold sponging before which I was not a fan of anymore...I still like the gold though so I took the metallic gold paint and watered it down a bit then used a rag to basically wash the walls..3 coats and its a shade I can live with, at least for now ;)

So now to decide, vessel or regular drop in sink?!?!? Most vessel sinks are really modern but I have found several porcelain and glass ones that have that old vintage look & charm about them!