Fabulous Finds

Today has been an exciting day at my house!  I woke up exclaiming, "I am going to practice gratitude today!"  All the kids heard it.  I had watched this video link with Oprah and Brene Brown this weekend, and it reminded me about the power of gratitude.  I've been doing a lot of soul searching, and trying to get in touch with the real me.  I'm re reading Brene's books, and I've been led to some incredible blog posts...Graceuncommon, foxborrowartherapy, thecottagenest, and thetinybuddah to name a few.

And then, one of my biggest fears came true.  I walked downstairs, and the toilet started bubbling...and then, it overflowed onto my new wood floors.  That is why we had to replace the floors in the first place.  I screamed, yelled for towels, tried to find a working phone, screamed some more, and tried to find buckets for the leaks that were coming out of the pipes in the basement.  Meanwhile, two of my kids were right in the middle of their showers getting ready for school.  :)  Now we find out, there is a broken pipe, just outside our house, and coincidentally, we also need a new water heater.

All I can say, is...I AM grateful!  I'm doing it!  I'm grateful I caught it in time, I'm grateful for a warm home, food to eat, and a friend that let the rest of us use her shower and bathroom while all the experts came in.  (I'm grateful for insurance and experts).  So, enough said.  It is, what it is.  And, I do believe everything happens for a reason. 

On a recent trip with my husband, I went shopping at Marshalls.  I had been looking for a cute mug for hot cocoa, and I found this one for $3.99!  I liked it so much, that I decided to try to paint it on canvas.

I painted the canvas white, and then antiqued it a little with a brown wash.  Then I painted the nest and words black.  I was planning to rough the whole thing up with sandpaper, and then distress it quite a bit...but I'm still trying to decide.  What do you think?

I also found this 1970s embroidery of the United States at goodwill.  I had to pick it up.  It reminded me of a quilt that my mother in law made with all the state flowers embroidered on it.  I'm not sure where I will put it yet, but I really like it.  I'm trying to decide if I should leave the frame, or paint it.

Can you imagine the hours that went into embroidering this?  Do you know what your state flower is?

 Until it finds some wall space, it sits on the floor next to this fun find.  I found this Eiffel Tower wrapping paper this summer at a boutique.  I love it.  I bought a sheet for a few dollars, and put it in a poster frame.  I haven't found the perfect spot yet for it either, but I love looking at it in the corner of my sun room.

We have had so many snow days.  Ryan painted this when he was little, and I have always loved it.  I think I am ready now for a real fire breathing snow monster to come and thaw us out.

I'm getting back into projects...slowly, but surely.  I decided it was time to paint the yard sale end table that was in my sun room next to the sofa.  I had disguised the nasty top with some cute fabric.

Since it is so cold out, I brought it down to the basement, opened a window and turned on a fan.  Then I put on my spray paint respirator mask that I bought last summer.  Melissa from 320 Sycamore, recommended one for anyone who does a lot of spray painting projects.  I would have loved to try out some milk paint on the end table, but I wanted a quick fix, so I just sprayed it black.  Do you think I should sand and distress it a little?

I'm discovering new life, for old things.  I found a pen and ink drawing that I made many years ago, and decided to put it in a frame on top of my "new" end table.  :)

So, I'm not sure where the blue crayon came from, but I just pretend its not there.  :)

Hope you are staying warm!