Strikes my fancy

Here is what we were working toward! (Aka: the finished product!) I got this chair either out of the trash or very cheap. I cannot actually remember, as we have a host of chairs without seats in them waiting for a new lease on life. I have been wanting to work on a chair like this for some time. I had a dream a few years back of me sitting and caning a chair with my grandfather. Ever since that dream, I have wanted to see it happen. So this last weekend, I made the trek up to Indiana to spend a few wonderful days with my grandparents. The days spent with them are like living in another world. They have no TV, so we spend lots of time talking, reading and playing games. They live out in the country, and you can see the stars up close. It gets darker, since there are no city light or lights from other homes...which means they want to go to bed at 7pm. :-)... AND wake up at 4am. We got started caning the chair in the cold basement. All of Grandpa's tools were down there, so we coul...

Yes blogworld, I've been cooking. Just haven't had time for posting! My good friend Julia was in town over the weekend and when I saw this on Skinnytaste.com I knew this was something she'd love! Ingredients: 2 medium ripe bananas, (the riper the better) sliced into 1/2" pieces 1 1/2 cup blueberries 1/4 cup honey (or agave) 1 cup uncooked quick oats 1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 1/2 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp cinnamon pinch of salt 1 cup fat free milk (or any milk you desire) 1 egg 1 tsp vanilla extract Directions: Preheat the oven to 375° F. Lightly spray a 8 x 8" or 9 x 9" ceramic baking dish with cooking spray; set aside. Arrange the banana slices in a single layer on the bottom of the ceramic dish. Sprinkle half of the blueberries over the bananas, 1/4 tsp of the cinnamon, 1 tbsp of the honey and cover with foil. Bake 15 minutes, until the bananas get soft. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the oats, half of nuts, baking powder, remaining cinnam...

I was supposed to post this last Tuesday after J posted her part on Monday , but I got a wee bit busy ;-) (we shall see how long I milk this excuse...and how long until I tell you readers what I've been doing on "the side") For Christmas we asked my parents to make a list of "first impression" things at their church that they would like modified. Our plan was grand (they each had 10 things on their list and maybe 2 overlapped!), but we ended up "only" repainting/decorating 1 bathroom and hanging some art in another. Here are 2 photos of what the bathroom (kinda) looked like before. We forgot a before picture, so this is the upstairs bathroom that has the same wallpaper & features. This might be my favorite "during" photo ;-) But it is a good picture of the paint color... More during photos: We bought these plates and put lotion on each of them between the sinks. After: (it's hard to see the gray of the walls, but it's there - ...

Since my family are off to Disney World this week, I thought I would pay them homage and write a title from a Disney movie: Hercules! This weeks transformation is easy, and you could do it to your own piece of furniture in a few days. This dresser started off in a similar emaciated state as puny young Hercules. Little did everyone know the true strength that laid behind the exterior. Its legs were two different styles, and we tried so hard to recreate the cool round one! Alas, it was not to be. The drawers were four different colors of veneer. All in all, it looked like a hot mess. But, with a little paint for the outside, and a little paint for the pulls, it turned out pretty well. It has really nice lines, and is a blinding white with black pulls. A neat little transformation. I put several layers of the white paint on, letting it dry between each coat. The knobs were spray painted, also allowing them to dry for several hours between coats. I did wait 24 hours, before turning them...

This little bench was in need of some TLC. There was nothing wrong with it, it was just bland...and looked like it was from the '80s. So with a few hours (including dry time)... You get this little guy! I used a little glossy black spray paint and new graphic fabric. The fabric is white, grey and black. It was for a bathroom reno that was done (more to come soon).

Oh how we neglected this poor blog over the holidays! It doesn't help that all 4 of us got sick in some fashion while we were together...too much together time! The holidays this year were full of family, less traveling and way too much fun with a 20 month old. But we didn't slack off! For my parents' gift we did a decorating project that we will bring to you next week ;-) J's been getting advice for fabric to work on a new project and tomorrow I'm unveiling my big project that took me all fall (and a lot of help!). So do not fear, few readers, you have not been abandoned for 2012! Also, Happy Birthday today to one of my longest blog readers.