We got a puppy ...

I texted this photo to some of our family & friends announcing that we got a puppy! She is a brown & white Siberian Husky with blue eyes, born on December 7, 2011 [4.5 months at the time we got her]. 

We didn't know about her or that our family was open to the idea of getting a new puppy, until 8:30 PM the night before when I read a friend's post on Facebook. The previous owners needed to find a new home for due to allergies & a friend put a note up about it on Facebook [it wasn't that family, it was a friend of the girl who posted it on FB].

My first comment was "oh I WISH!" But then, it all felt so serendipitous, I couldn't shake the feeling that we had to have her. We had made the decision to get Daisy [our black & white Siberian Husky] almost 12 years to the date, under the same circumstances. Daisy's previous family couldn't keep her due to allergies. So we adopted Daisy, giving her the middle name "Mae" [we brought her home on May 1, 2000].  So with all that in mind, I went from 1/2 joking about asking Kyle if we could get her, to convincing him why it was a good [spontaneous] decision. 

A phone call was made that night, a meet-n-greet was set up that next morning. Hazel [she came with that name, which we LOVE & it goes so well with her big sister Daisy] ... came home with me at noon that day. Miss Daisy wasn't all that amused ... but I can't blame her. :)

 Introductions ... Daisy meet Hazel. Hazel, your big sis Daisy.

We did give Hazel a middle name ... Jean. I thought it went well with Daisy Mae. And I thought it was a good fit since her eyes are blue [blue jean]. So she's Miss Hazel Jean.

I do believe it's all the romping that spooks Daisy. She's 12. Doesn't move as nimbly as her 4.5 month old little sis. Freaks her out.

Daisy's thought bubble: "D*mn. That thing quit moving. Didn't know it was possible." [she cusses occasionally, like old, irritable dogs do. We let her as long as it's not around the kids.]

The kids were ecstatic to say the least. They have energy, puppies have energy. Win-win. And it takes the pressure off of Daisy ... since Brett keeps trying to get her to do tricks that he sees on TV & at shows. [Flashback to Summer 2009, here] He would LOVE to see Daisy jump through a hula hoop. She will NOT. But, perhaps he can work on Hazel. 

This photo [above] just might be my favorite from that first day. I think it shows their ages perfectly. Hazel's a blur in a full gallop. Daisy's grazing.  

 Kyle meeting Hazel. Love at 1st sight, for sure.

Too busy & tired to think about dinner that 1st night with Hazel [like most new puppy parents ;)], we got Chinese take-out. This was my fortune. :) Sweet Hazel ... has done just that.

So we've been busy 'round here. We became puppy parents literally overnight. I've been trying to take Hazel out more to burn off some of that energy [for Daisy's sake]. She's an excellent fitness trainer. She turned my fast paced walk into a full jog. And I didn't want to stop because I knew how good it was for her - & how good it was for me. Another win-win. 

Miss Hazel is not perfect. She makes mistakes. Like choosing to get up on my patio table & dig to China in my planter. Her favorite thing is to pluck all my planted flowers out of their pots. Every day there's a new flower that I have to replant. She doesn't eat them, just grabs a leaf with her teeth, tugs & drops it on the ground. At least I can still replant them ... [but it is getting old]. ;)

But her cute pudgy paws, cool blue eyes & all that cute puppy fat around the neck are what make the clean ups worth it.  She's adorable. Puppies are cute.

Right, Daisy? Daisy ... right? [Daisy's faces crack me up]

Hipstamatic Timeline ...

So right after Libby's Birthday ... we got sick. Brett got it the worst. Some sort of a flu bug that had him not feeling like himself for a week, then had sinus troubles & a cough for about 2 weeks. This is him on day 1 of being sick ... he kept telling me "I'm FINE!" Mmhmm.

Here's the line up of meds for me & B. :) 

Getting a little fresh air with Daisy while home from school. :) 

The area in which we live has what they call a "warm up" parade to St. Patty's Day. Our town has so many Irish in it, they have multiple parades. :)  We walked in the parade with our school  & had a blast.

A photographer with the Kansas City Star took this during the parade of Libby & Kyle! :) This was on the front page of the "Neighborhood News" section for 2 counties. Needless to say, we're still hearing from people who saw them [even yesterday afternoon - 2 weeks after it ran in the paper]!

First day of Spring Break ... Davis still in his PJ's making all sorts of paper airplanes. Did you know you could make some that could do aerobatics? I didn't, but do now ... Davis made some that could do loop-de-loops. So cool.  

The kids & I went to St.Louis for a few days during Spring Break! We spent a lovely day at the zoo there, where Brett faced his fears head on. For years we have tried to get Brett to look at the snakes & he'd run the other way in a panic. This was absolutely amazing to see Brett not only this far from the entrance of the snake house, but this close to the Burmese Python.  Made my week.

 We also went fishing with some friends! Libby caught 19 fish in about 3 hours. She shrieked & giggled & called out the number of each one.  

On 3/18, Kyle & I celebrated our 12th Anniversary! 

This past Friday we had off school & cousin Roman was on Spring Break! So we walked up to our new local frozen yogurt place, Orange Leaf.   

Due to the fact that it had rained all week, the boys had their 2 soccer games cancelled & Brett had his baseball practice cancelled. Kind of nice to have our Saturday freed up. :) So on Saturday night, we had the other KC cousins over. That night Libby learned how to swing [pump her legs] all by herself. :)  

Such a perfect night. The most gorgeous weather & a fun game of wiffle ball between the cousins, uncles & pappy.  

The aunts, mimaw & Miss Daisy made up the cheering section. :)  

On Sunday Libbs got to do her birthday shopping with mimaw. She picked out this outfit & the new black boots. Here she is checking out the photos I took of her modeling the new outfit. Sass.

This is pretty much what Kyle has been doing. The school he's in has been a bit more overwhelming,  more intense & more time consuming than we thought. I had to get him a new package of highlighters because in just a little over a month, he went through the pink, orange & yellow. He's been busy to say the least. 

And finally, here's Libbs last night. She was helping me hose all the pollen off everything. She asked me if she'd get money for doing it & I told her I'd pay her a quarter. She did that same giggly shriek that she did each time she caught one of her 19 fish. She was ecstatic. :) 

Life's been good. Could've done without the week or 2 of sickness, but it's been good. Hopefully I'll get back down to the art studio soon! Happy Spring! :)

The Latest ...

 11x14 custom order [SOLD]. 

 new 11x14 quote canvas [SOLD].

 5x5 Mark Twain,  found here in my shop. 

5x5 Irish Blessing found here in my shop.

I'm here! :) Just busy ... February flew by. Extremely fast. The bathroom project wore me out. I also have had other little projects pop up like hanging up all of Kyle's military memorabilia in his office finally [will post a pic soon] & also framing our new 16x20 family photo to go above the mantle [ditto]. Besides those projects, I've been planning Libby's 5th Birthday. I've been brainstorming for Libby's PreK class auction gift. My own school auction gift. What to do for Autism Awareness month. Davis's Birthday's around the corner [same day as Easter]. This is our busiest time of year - SPRING. But I'm thrilled it's on arrival. BRING IT ON. With warmer weather & some sunshine, I can handle just about anything. :)

Linking Back & Looking Ahead ...

In an effort to explain my Quote Canvases to someone, I thought it was just easier to send them a link to this little FAQ-like post I did 2 years ago. :) Need to add it to my sidebar like I said I would.

In other news, I have sold 4 of these Annette Funicello Quote Canvases in less than a week! I've discussed it in great length on Facebook, but I have a love-hate relationship with Pinterest. :) Lots of people apparently love this quote/canvas ... but literally thousands have repinned my artwork with the wrong links.  [Same story, different artwork here.]

BUT. My friends, family & I have done some work dropping links & asking politely for them to be corrected. And finally, slowly but surely, people are being pointed towards my Etsy Shop.

I wish I could paint faster. All the ideas I have, quotes I want to do & color schemes I want to try out, I just can't keep up. But, I am in the early stages of throwing around the idea of making prints from the Quote Canvases. There will be a lot of trial & error, but hopefully soon I will give it a go! :)

Thrift Store Finds ...

I'm on a hunt. For a new living room.

Yesterday, I started my search at Revival Home Furnishings here in Kansas City. It's a great store that mixes consignment pieces with new ones. The best of both worlds. :) Great stuff, but nothing that I just couldn't live without. I then went on down the road to a Salvation Army Store. Again, nothing I had to have. So then I went a little further on down the road to Pottery Barn. Plenty I didn't want to live without, but $1000+ for some of the pieces I was looking at. One should never go there directly after going to the Salvation Army Thrift Store. But I do love to look. :)

After doing my chores today [putting away Christmas decorations], I treated myself to a couple more hours of thrift stores, continuing my search for Living Room furnishings.

Here are my iPhone photos from my little outing today [oddly enough, nothing really for the living room] ...

Libby has a desk in her room almost identical to this one. I got it when we lived in Jacksonville. I paid $5 for hers, but the varnish has worn off in places & it has "Jennifer" carved on the desk part [which I've kept just because it's funny. Adds character.]. :) This one [above] was only $9.98 & is in near perfect shape! I texted a couple people & put this on Facebook because somebody that had seen Libby's was wanting to find one just like hers. I just can't remember who it was. But if you're wanting it ... it's at the Red Racks on Wornall! [*Just realized it's ideal for a left-handed person! Ha! I had to go check Libby's since it never even occurred to me, but hers is indeed right-handed.]

The next shop I went to doesn't look like this throughout the store ... but this was what one of the rooms looked like. Supposedly, it's just sort of a "storage" room. Pretty ... impressive ... little pile.   I think I've done dumpster diving that felt cleaner than this did. But there were some cool little finds, including those 2 armed wooden library chairs [one has a TV in the seat, the other is under the Forta box]. I bought a chair just like these at a flea market last year. LOVE these. NO idea how much they were. But I am certain they weren't much.

I loved this lamp! There was no lightbulb & no outlet for me to test it out [& I didn't ask].  I also don't really have a place to put it if I were to get it. But it was only $11. I adore it. With a new modern shade? This thing would be stunning.

I wanted to buy this. It was $40 ... but needed a lot of work. I would have just attempted to clean it, restain the top & touch up as needed [not paint]. I definitely would keep the knob on the drawer, but the 2 pulls below would have to be replaced [the one on the right was broken].

The piece flips open on both sides & has wooden supports that pull out, doubling the length of the surface. I'm not exactly sure what reason there would be to open it all up like that? Bar? But I would keep it all closed up. I took measurements & will sit on this one. It's by "Thomasville", but looks old.

I was leaving the store & noticed a store window from a room I never even saw. I fawned over the table & chairs ... and knew I'd regret it if I never went in to at least check the price. $300 for the table & 6 chairs [5 side & 1 arm]. Seats would obviously need to be reupholstered [simple] ... but MAN. Is this ever gorgeous. And so well built.               I want it.

I do not really need a new table or chairs. I just painted a buffet & repainted my table & chairs. 2 months ago. But SERIOUSLY.           I kind of want it.                       I do.   If someone were to buy it, fix it up for me & find a new owner for my table & chairs, I wouldn't be mad.

In the end, I walked away with just these things: 4 amber drinking glasses for the kids [$0.99 each] & this green oval bowl for $3.98.

This summer my mom was admiring the flower pot next to my kitchen sink. I bought it because a.) it was mustard gold and matched my kitchen; b.) I needed a cuter pot than the plastic one that came with my aloe plant; and c.) because it was only $0.99. She flipped it over to show me it was a "McCoy" pottery piece & made in the USA, which [according to her] both should have been my clue that it was worth more than $0.99. I had gotten it at a thrift store, of course, and thought I paid too much at the time. So going by the 'vintage American pottery rule', I decided to get this green oval bowl today. Mainly because I like it & hope to use it as a serving dish. It's a Haeger Pottery piece which I later learned is a company that has been making pottery in the USA for 140+ years. No biggie. You learn something new everyday. Today that 'thing' was Haeger Pottery. Now I know. 

For the price of one piece of furniture at Pottery Barn, I could have purchased all this loot today. Crazy. Especially when you realize that most of the things you see in that store? Are reproductions. Made to look like these vintage pieces & originals that you find in thrift stores. Also, in most cases when you buy from a thrift store the money is going to a charity. In the case of my purchases today [4 glasses & the oval bowl], the money goes to Disabled American Veterans. Win-win. Don't be scared. Go on in. Yes, even the rooms that look like a scene from "Hoarders". There are diamonds to be found in the rough, I promise. [*Update: After sleeping on it ... I went back to get the bird lamp. Love it. So happy.]

Dining Room Makeover ...

Thought I'd make up for the long blog break with a long post that will take you 2 days to read! This will also explain what I've been busy with the past couple of weeks - when we weren't spending a week in Orlando doing the Disney thing! :) 

So the make over started when we inherited this buffet [below]. We did what I call "Musical Dressers" - sort of like "Musical Chairs", but with dressers: this one goes here, this one goes there, that will go there ... and that [changing table / dresser] will get listed on Craigslist & sold that same morning to a lovely couple who will turn it into a TV cabinet! :)

We got the buffet from Kyle's parents. The storage was great, we had space in our dining room for it, but the finish wouldn't work. It was way too formal for my dining room and for my personal taste. It was cherry & glossy. We are not a formal family & we have a unique set up for a dining room ... it is an extension of the kitchen. It is where we eat daily - not just on holidays. It is also where we do puzzles, do homework & carve pumpkins. In other words, this room has to be casual enough for daily use, but fancy enough to host Thanksgiving dinner. 

Buffet before with its cherry finish. If you have an aversion to sanding & painting furniture, you can end here. Otherwise ... continue. :)

Sanding. Lots & lots of sanding. Not a good idea probably if just a week ago you were diagnosed with bronchitis - but I was vigilant with cleaning up the sawdust [see the vacuum?]. A palm sander comes in handy for this part.

Rookie mistake ... I should have primed it. I tried to get out of it. I painted 2-3 good coats before I surrendered & got out the primer. Don't make this mistake. Prime first. As you can see, what was left of the stain bled through.

Then paint. I did a combo of roll & brush. This is freak-a-zoid Libby sneaking into the photo. She gets her freak-a-zoid-ness mostly from me, but her mad photo-sabotage skills from her daddy. She's the best of both worlds! :)

Next up on the redo list were my 6 dining room chairs. They had been painted cream right after I got them, but I had never sanded them. I had just primed & painted over the gloppy country blue. Then when we lived in Corpus Christi our kitchen had a little Spanish style thing going, so just for fun I had rubbed some antiquing glaze on the chairs. Between that & a little freak-a-zoid tracing green marker into the crevices of one of the chairs [see? Told you we're casual], it was time to give them a makeover as well. 

I sanded all 6 chairs down, made repairs where needed, then gave them all a fresh coat before screwing the seats back in.

I left the table for last. It had been painted a few years ago, but I wanted to give it a little more attention this time around. [Two years ago I did this post where I had just painted the table. I also wrote about it here where you can see the before photos of both the table & chairs!] There were a couple cracks that I filled with wood putty, then sanded down before painting.

 Ready for its close-up ... but still had one more thing I wanted to do before putting all my supplies away.

In the background, you'll see Davis who while playing games on my iPhone, was there for [an incredible amount of] moral support. But in the foreground, you'll see a pine board getting prepped. The day I bought this table [summer of ... '02?], I told myself one day I'd make a leaf or 2. Only took me about 9 years to do that project. And to think it only took about an hour & a 1/2 to do it. :) Took my measurements to the hardware store & had them cut down a pine 1"x12"x6' board to the width of the table. It cost me just over $7. I already had a wooden dowel [from other projects] that I had tested out in the already existing holes in the table. I believe it was the 3/4" [diameter] size. 

 The table came with 2 or 3 little pegs [but no leaves, they had been lost ] so I used the originals to make more. 

I made more than I needed just to have a few extra & stored them in a drawer of the buffet. I just used a jigsaw to cut the dowel into approx 1.5" pieces, then sanded down the edges. They aren't perfect, but work perfectly fine!

 Original holes, new pegs!

 This next part made me nervous. Very nervous. I wasn't sure how to make the holes in the accurate spots. At first, I marked the ends of the dowel pegs with blue chalk, to see if they'd leave a perfect circle onto the pine board when butted up next to each other. They didn't. So then I traced it with a pencil, which wasn't perfect either. So I used the combination of pencil & chalk markings to guesstimate where I needed to drill.

 Then held my breath & breathed again when it all fit together like a glove. Awesome. Old table from [we think?] the 1930's with some new accessories made for it in 2011. You just gotta love that.

 Above is a pic of the table with the new leaf in place, all primed & painted. We don't have enough chairs to do this, but if needed, we can squeeze 3 chairs on one side now.

 Finished. Less than 2 days before I hosted a Thanksgiving dinner.

 The leaf helped us to spread out, which I think when it's 6 adults [kiddies had their own table], it's kind of nice to be able to do. Love love love. So so happy. 

 And since that last photo was right next to this one in iphoto, I couldn't help but put this one in of our Thanksgiving turkey [recipe found here]. I love trying out new recipes & thought with 200 reviews, a 5 star rating & a blanket of bacon, it was hard to go wrong. :) Hope you & yours had a wonderful Thanksgiving!