Up Early

When I woke up and saw that it was 4:57am, I decided to get up even though it was early. I had been to bed early the night before, and besides, a cup of spicy eggnog flavored coffee was calling me.

It was worth it.




Here's the western view:






Some early birds:



And the first sunlit tree tops...





It was 27 degrees outside, but beautiful.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for my family, of course, for being employed, and to have a little spare time back to stop & smell the roses.

What are you thankful for?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Mona Kay

Poor, neglected, blog!

Hello to all of my talented blogger friends! I miss you all! It's the same old story, new job, family responsibilities, and my spare time went right out the window!! I have some wonderful pictures to show you of my finished display cabinet...I hope to post them this weekend. In the mean time, I've had a chance to look at all of your blogs, and it makes me realize how much I've missed looking at your talented creations!! Hopefully things will slow down a little, and I can become a "regular" again.

XOXOXO

Mona Kay

Refinished Gun Display Cabinet

I am so excited to have finished the gun display cabinet that I purchased for $5 at a garage sale a few weeks ago!!



It's a beautiful cabinet, but the wood was too dark for me. I knew it was going to look great painted white!





I added the wood appliques (with wood glue) after sanding, but before painting...













I know....I just can't leave this corner alone!! I am having so much fun playing with it though...it's become my favorite trial & error area!!

What projects are you working on??


MK

I Love Marshall's!

Sometimes when a girl can't find (or can't afford!) the vintage or antique items she wants, she just has to make do with repro. And that is why I simply LOOOOVE Marshall's(also Target, and Michaels)!! Here are some of my favorite finds, picked up for a song:






I actually did find the center dish at a specialty shop, but the other porcelain pieces are from Marshall's, and the clock is from Target.



I found these vases at Marshall's plus the bag of faux fruit for fill


I love apothecary jars, and this repro version from Marshalls fit in with my other assorted finds perfectly. I filled it with potpourri from Target.




I still love all my vintage finds, plus the thrill of the hunt...but it was lots of fun filling in my decor this week!

What made you smile this week??

'Til next time...

Mona Kay

Front Corner Continued

Well, it's not like I was going to stop finding great "finds"...I should have known :)



By the way...the new blinds are coming tomorrow. I don't THINK I'll have a chance to make any changes before then!!

The cabinet is a gun display cabinet, but not after I add new hardware and door pulls and paint it white!

Also, apparently, the sofa belongs to Sydney :) Again, I should have known! Before this sofa, her little eyes barely cleared the window. She's so happy now! As you can see, this was before I draped the quilt over it...


And so the evolution continues...it's going to be a looooong winter when it gets too cold to paint furniture!!

Have a great week!
MK

Picker Interrupted...

Hello to everyone who has been so nice to stick with me!! I have many distractions keeping me from what I love - I did not even hit a single garage sale this week :( I'm planning to get back on track in the next couple of weeks, but for now I need to focus on my day job so that I can eat :).

I am living vicariously through all your blogs!! Hope to have some pictures & fun stuff soon!

Mona Kay

Student Desk

Well, I just can't seem to shake this cold...it's a good think I spent a long weekend two weeks ago working on so many projects, and last weekend moving everything into my new shed, and clear out my work space. I feel like I haven't left my sofa since, during free time - I hate head colds!

So here is one of my projects that I did before I got sick...transforming this little student desk. I almost ruined it trying to figure out how to use a paint sprayer (which I never did learn how to use), so I'm very happy to have it finished!















The den is still being transformed...I sold the coffee table in the picture & temporarily replaced it with the square Ikea table (which will most likely get a "farm table make-over" in the near future). I'm working on window treatments & wall decor, but I'm pretty pleased so far - it is very toned-down from vibrant reds in addition to the yellow.

Hope you all have a great week!

Mona Kay