My caotic life.

I'm not sure if I'm busier on week days or weekends.

A lot of my clients show up in the evening or on weekends. I do my running around during the day, and once in a while I spend an evening at the studio to catch up on work I couldn't do during the day.

Then I look around and see the mess I've made and I smile.

I work for myself :)

I really should take a pic of my reality, but I'm embarrassed by it at times. I shouldn't be right?

Today I didn't get anything "done" nothing "finished"

But I had a really good time.

I was able to say goodbye to this

 I can't say I was sad to see it go. I mean it was BIG! But at the same time I was almost hoping that no one was going to buy it because it would have been the perfect replacement in my office. Hubby almost gasped when I suggested it. I think he was hoping to save his back.

 I made these wonderful shelves from raw planks, the kind barn boards are made from. I need to do more of this. I swear. I love the look! 

But getting it out meant that I could continue work on some chairs. 

They have been driving me crazy. But I should be able to start painting them on Monday! Doing a mental happy dance! 

And I was able to work on all of this............

I sent my husband a BBM and told him I felt like drawers were multiplying while I wasn't looking. 

But getting to work on all of this means that I will have tons of "finished" products at some point next week. 

And that's what happens when you do it all on your own. 

You get things done, moved out and a ton more right behind it. 

I'm blessed.

High Gloss White and a wacky story.

Some days I feel like my life is a soap opera. You know the TV shows that everyone's mom used to watch. 

Does anyone watch those things anymore? Are they even on TV anymore? 

I'm going to try to cut this story down a bit. But lets start with this. 

I bought this amazing mid century dresser at auction. (along with the matching tall boy...but lets focus here) 

I turned it into this. 

 Lovely right? So I posted it on kijiji and had a lot of responses for it. It sold.

Now this is where the story gets interesting. 

I always try to be nice when responding to people online. I hate hate hate when people respond to ads with one or two words or worse...don't respond at all when you are trying to buy something. 

So I have made it my goal to always respond and be totally honest with them. I had to let everyone know that it sold. 

One of the people that was interested recognized my name in a responding email. 

Turns out she is the..........ready for this?

She is the second wife of my husbands first wifes, second husband. 

Got that? 

Go ahead and scratch your head for a min. 

See we (hubby and I) are a blended family. We've both been married before. Now his ex wife got married again....and then divorced, and married again. 

The second ex husband married again...and it was this person who messaged me. 

All of these marriages and divorces were years ago, and honestly I don't think anyone cares anymore. I certainly don't. And "D" doesn't either. We don't all hang out or anything, but we all have one thing in common.....our son. Poor boy now has three sets of parents. 

Anyway. 

Back to my story. She knows what I do for a living and she asked me to keep my eyes open for a dresser...we talked and I had a pretty good idea of what she wanted. 

It didn't take long and I ran into this while looking for something totally different. 

 Phone pics suck....but it is real. I saw this in a thrift store and knew instantly that it belonged to "D"

Texts were exchanged and this was loaded up. 

She was planning on painting it herself but once they looked at it they decided to let me do it. 

Apparently it was just easier......go figure :) 

And here she is. 

This is going into the bedroom of her daughter. I have the matching bedside tables...but they are not quite done yet. 

I've always said that there is no such thing as a "normal" family. 

But now I'm beginning to think that I should change that to "everyone's family is a soap opera" 

Sharing:
Miss Mustard Seed
  

Tuxedo Dresser

I don't often name my dressers or any of my furniture. I've tried since I think it's oh so cute and cleaver. Sadly I'm not one of those bloggers that come up with all sorts of cutesie names. 

But I did today :) 

Check out the sweet dresser I found

 I know I know. My picture taking talent just amazes you. Trust me I'm amazed too! :)

Ceiling pics in the garage are my favorite. Don't you agree?

ok, enough of me making fun of myself. You came to see the finished product. 

 I wanted to do something I never do with a french provincial style dresser. 

Paint it BLACK!

 Who would have thought that it would look so ready for a night on the town?

 Pass by the next pic...my lack of a ceiling is almost starting to embarrass me.

 Lets just focus on the curves and oh so pretty details

And you know..I didn't glaze or distress this one even a little bit. She is perfect just as she is. :) 

Sharing: 
Miss Mustard Seed
  

Great Junking weekend!

So it's been a while since I've been out actually looking for pieces. 

And it's been a bit accidental. 

I've been a part of a site called Varage. It's kinda like Craigslist or kijiji, but you have to be a member and it's more personal. 

It's free, which is always a bonus for me. I would hate to have to pay to offer or buy stuff. 

It started with me seeing this wonderful piece. 

 I had to have it.

Isn't it pretty? Now it was in Port Huron (that's in Michigan) and I'm in Ontario...that's in Canada. 

Now for those of you who think you can't bring things across the border. Fear not! I've done it dozens of times and have yet to have an issue. 

On my way back I decided to stop in at a few of the places I normally hit that carry good furniture at decent prices. 

The first few places were a bust. 

But then I hit my fav place and BINGO! 

I emptied my wallet...lol 

 First up is this wonderful Dresser. Great shape, needs updating, but it's going to be so well worth it.

Even the mirror is in exceptional condition. I love these pieces because they are generally very well made and very sturdy. Not a lot of repair is ever needed on them. 

 Then this wonderful Harvest table. I had a good look at it before I bought it and noticed the nails. If you have time, do a bit of research on nails. You can almost always find the age of a piece just by the shape of the nails. And trust me not all square nails are equal. I am going to date this piece to early to mid 1800's...just by the nails alone.

Isn't this drawer sweet? 

Finally this amazing desk. 

 Just the look of the desk is sweet....but what I found inside was something so unique I've never seen it before.

 That's a safe. It's built right into the desk. I need to get a picture of the back of this thing. There is the lock on the safe and then the doors also have locks. But on the back of the other side is a cheater hole that allows someone to get in and out without a key. Strangest thing I've ever seen.

So some great finds. 

A few small things, some drawers and lots of frames. 

What have you found lately? 

Sharing:
36th Avenue
  

A non boring entertainment unit.

When you say the words Entertainment Unit what comes to mind? 

Something like this? 

Yup..me too. A lot of people are moving away from things like this. We don't even have one. Our TV sits on the wall. Not that the tv ever goes on...but that's another story. 

I love that everyone seems to be thinking outside the box now when it comes to places to place their TV's. 

Last week I picked this up

I thought it would make a wonderful entertainment unit or buffet. Maybe it was the glass that got me. I just couldn't leave it. 

And it sold

Before I had the chance to paint it. Which is wonderful. That way it's not just my vision for a finished product...I get to have collaborators. :) 

We hashed out a few ideas and came up with something absolutely wonderful. 

What do you think? 

 I'm in love. I think I say that a lot. Maybe it's just an addiction to furniture. Either way I thought the finished product would be great in any home.

 You know how some pieces fit this style or that style...this one has it all.

 And if the new owner ever wants to change it out and make it into something else....perfect. It can become anything.

Can't wait for her to meet this piece in person next week. 

Till then I'm just going to enjoy looking at her. (and yes, in my mind this is a her) 

What would you have done with her? 

Sharing:
Savvy Southern Style
Miss Mustard Seed 
36 Avenue