Fires and Bears and Rocks?? Oh my!

It's been a fun and busy summer here at Schrallville. I often have lulls in my business and I try to take advantage of those by spending them with family. This summer has been no exception - beach, mountains, lake - we've pretty much covered it all. 

Just a few weeks ago we went to Banner Elk, NC. I admit I was happy to go but wondering what we'd do. I'm a beach bum so the mountains in the summer were throwing me off. Little did I know it would totally make all three of my boys super happy AND bring up so many fond childhood memories spent in the mountains. I even realized that this was our FIRST FAMILY VACATION with just the four of us. That in and of itself was special. 

Our first stop was Grandfather Mountain, just 10 minutes away. Cole was especially excited to go see the B-E-A-R-S. Seriously, he couldn't wouldn't stop asking about them. The boy loves a bear...and a lion...and a tiger...and a wolf...and a dinosaur. Those are his favorites at the moment. 

Here we are at the bear exhibit (we visited twice that day)...

Note the sign in the bottom left corner "Do not feed the bears" so this is pretty much how it went down: 

Cole: Mom can we feed the bears? 
Me: No honey, we aren't allowed. 
Cole: whyyyyy? 
Me: Because the bears would bite you.
Cole: They'd eat me? 
Me: Yes
Cole: whyyyy? Can I touch the bears? 
Me: No honey, they are dangerous.
Cole: whyyyy? Can I go down there? 
Me: No
Cole: whyyyy? 

You get the picture.  

We also went on a little hike while at Grandfather Mountain; a simple 0.4 mile trail that was a good tester. The boys really got in to seeing what was under rocks with daddy, especially when we found a newt or a salamander (I forget the difference).  

And Cole began continued his life long obsession with rocks. 

He carried that rock the entire trail. It's now back home with us because he couldn't bear to part with it. Get it? Bears. Bear to part. I'm so not clever. 

There was even a "I'm the king of the world!!!" moment. No literally, Charlie screamed this when he was on the rock. And well Cole...he was just happy to be near another big rock. 

The next day we ventured to the original Mast General Store just to look around. Here is where we discovered one of Charlie's favorite things: Coke in a bottle. Seriously, it's like crack for him. I understand. Truly I do. If they had had Coke Zero in a bottle, I'd have been there every day. 

Oh who am I kidding. Twice a day. 

Then there was Tweetsie Railroad. The promise of riding a big train (one of the original steam engine trains). The promise of seeing Cowboys and Indians. The stage was set...

And then we made them ride a ride first. Take a close look at Charlie's face. FOUL would be an understatement in describing his mood. 

Finally we made it on the train and it was full steam ahead (no pun intended). They were mesmerized by the skit they do throughout the train ride through the mountain trail. Watching the Cowboys and Indians "fight" and the "gunfire". It was game on. 

There was candy...(they tossed these two licks in)

There were animals...

There were snow cones (also a bust)...

And mining for gold...(a huge hit)

And one of my favorites...riding the ferris wheel.

It goes fast giving you a tickle in your tummy since it's also looking over a valley. Perhaps the funniest comment of the entire trip was from Cole as he cackled and said "Mommy! This makes my pee pee laugh!" 

Tweetsie brought back memories and flashbacks of when I was a child and our 4-H trips. We'd camp every year as a group and take our horses (yes we brought our own horses) along the trails. So much fun. 

There was an abundance of things to do for toddlers and we stayed for f.i.v.e hours. I literally carried Cole out of the park sound asleep. He just passed out. 

Then the big hiking came the day before we left. We found a hiking trail just around the corner from our condo that was beautiful and more difficult (difficult = more fun). Cole christened the trail by of course, finding a big rock. Charlie christened it in another way which we won't discuss in a documented way. 

And then we hiked...

Surprisingly, this was right up Charlie's alley. I knew he would like it but I didn't realize how much he'd love it.  He led the way and we often found him singing to himself looking at nature. Totally and completely content to be in his surroundings. 

Made my heart smile! I'm a total nature girl (despite also being a girly girl) and can't wait to do it again with them. 

The trail followed a creek for a good bit and of course both boys couldn't wait to get in and throw...wait for it...wait for it....rocks. So in they went. 

We could be those parents that say "no you can't get in, you'll get your shoes and clothes wet" but I say "why not?" That's the fun of being spontaneous! Speaking of spontaneous, they also wanted to hike back...in the creek. They saw two other boys doing it so they of course wanted to try. I quickly realized they couldn't really do this safely on their own so...in I went. 

The boys had *the best* time hiking in the water. It was a complete adventure and I have to say, I totally enjoyed it too. Reminded me of camping with my extended family at Cherokee each summer and the fun I had with my cousins in those creeks. Although I did forget how cold it is!

The trip wouldn't have been complete until we roasted s'mores in the fire pit. They didn't really care about eating them; maybe each took only one bite. It was more about the fire. I daresay that this might have been the pyromaniac Daniel's favorite part of the trip. 

We are so excited to go back again next year (and have Nana and Pop-E join us...or since it's their timeshare maybe I should say join them). A fun new annual family vacation has begun (thanks Nana and Pop-E!) 

How about you guys? Where do you like to vacation? 

Birds, Down Pillows and Alcohol

I bet I just got you thinking with the title of this post, huh? It sort've feels like a redneck Saturday afternoon. But here, let me explain...

First, not long ago I took the boys to my parents for a week. I worked from there and they got to play. While there I went through a few things that mom didn't want anymore and I fell in love with these birds. 

When I mean fell in love, I really mean I pet them daily. I must have an obsession with birds and bunnies or perhaps animals that start with the letter B. There are four of them so three sit on the dining table (odd numbers are best) and another is in the man room with another set of birds. I truly love them and it's even more special knowing they are from a great-grandmother. 

So that's where the birds come in...

You'll remember from this post that while the majority of the living room re-do was done, I was still missing my new pillows. They finally came in and it really does make a huge difference. Here, take a look...

This is before we had all the new pillows but after the re-do. Good but not great. 

Now look with the prettier pillows. It really makes the couches look higher end (these are from Rooms to Go so by no means expensive). 

It also helped add some additional texture and complimentary patterns to the room. I sometimes hesitate with the mix of modern and contemporary fabrics but in this instance I really liked it because it helped pull in some of the robins egg blue from the dining room. 

So that's where the Down Pillows come in to this post...because all my couch pillows are now down and oh-so-comfortable-yet-georg. 

That leaves the alcohol. 

Another fun find at my mom's were these really pretty, old decanters. Can't you just imagine in the 1940's and 1950's having them set up on a bar with various libations in them, having a fun party with their pretty dresses and suits? The people wore the dresses and suits, not the decanters. That would just be weird.  

While they probably aren't really functional now (some have a haze in them), they are still pretty and match the style of our house (it was built in the 1950's). So I set out to update the side table and make it truly more of a bar (or at least look like one). 

It used to look like this...

It sort've became a catch-all for anything I didn't know what to do with like the candelabra and the vases. Now it has a purpose (or at least looks like it does) Fake it till you make it! 

And here's a little secret, those liquor bottles underneath are not all full. Some are just cool jugs I had on hand that I thought looked good paired together with the rest. I also took a bag of old corks from my parent's and put it in the large glass jar for added decoration.

So there you have it. Birds, down pillows and alcohol are my recent decorating updates. I'm sure there are plenty of others coming but this was inexpensive and easy. Oh and I took down the Fourth of July wreath and put back up my monogram wreath. It also makes me smile. 

From Good to Great

Before we moved in, we decided to get a new seating for our living room. In our last house we had lots of antiques, which we loved, but it was also not super comfortable. Plus our sofa had long since bit the dust. It wasn't well made nor did it clean well. 

I measured, looked at the space and was convinced a sofa and love seat would fit perfect. Sort've a make-shift sectional but allowing me to use my side tables still. 

They were delivered, I loved them. But there was one problem: they were much bigger than I had anticipated; the rest of the furniture and the new wider doors threw the proportions off. Anyway, we obviously still kept them and the living room looked like this: 

It's hard to tell in these pictures but the room was just bleh. You know. Average. One side was good but the fireplace wall was just out of joint to me. The left side of the fireplace also had this big hole/empty space where junk tended to pile up. Plus, when you walked in the front door, you instantly saw the TV/disjointed corner. That's a pet peeve. I need to see pretty when I walk in a room. 

I enlisted Anna M to help me rearrange it one Saturday morning. She's always up for a challenge. To be sure we can come up with a better option. I also sent Daniel and the boys out. Daniel doesn't do well with changes in his space so it's just better if he was gone. Off we started...first it all looked like this...

A straight up disaster. 

If we moved what has now been termed my "Noah's Ark furniture" (most of it is solid wood and h-e-a-v-y) once, we moved it 10x around that room. Well not the armoire. We couldn't even get that sucker to budge even with our back in to it. 

Finally we lay on the couches, which were in the middle of the room all cockamamie, completely defeated. Time to call in reinforcements. Man down. 

I called plan C...my friend Cecelia to be exact. She came over and told me what I needed (but didn't want to hear), I needed the TV over the mantle. I had a TV over the mantle in my last house and hated it. Not the advice I was looking for but I can always trust C to tell me what I needed to hear. 

So for the time being it landed like this until I could call the electrician. 

Basically we just flipped the TV to the other corner but it at least confirmed that the right side of the mantle was right. A chair, table and lamp was much prettier to see when I walked in. Granted only one person could see the TV but hey, it was a start. 

Finally the electrician came and the room got worse. 

But after hours of labor (we apparently have funky things in our wall) they installed the TV over the mantle and even hid the cables in the wall. Our cable box and DVD player are under the table in the corner, where the TV used to be. Nice and hidden but still accessible. The fact the cables are hidden and run through the walls makes me much happier if I had to put the TV over the mantle. 

Not only do you see a pretty chair and corner when you first walk in but there is also more seating and more lighting. The TV doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would. The room shape was just too funky to warrant any other spot with the furniture we had. 

I got a wild hare today and decided to switch out rugs too. The living room rug was a little too small and the dining room rug (found at an estate sale) was bigger. So a quick switch-a-roo and the room looks that much cozier. 

I can't wait until my new set of pillows come in next week to finish it off. And anyone else want to give sweet Jackson a hug other than me? He's such a sweet old man! He likes the rug switch-a-roo too since it's softer. 

Anyone else feel like their space is average and making some changes this summer? Or am I the only weirdo that obsesses over thinks about these things? 

Don't toss! Revive!

It's a little known fact that I am not scared of stopping on the side of a road and picking up a piece of furniture or taking what some may call "trash" and turning it in to something beautiful. Daniel may call this one step away from hoarding a sickness but I like to call it recycling. I'm totally doing my part to save the world. One piece of furniture at a time. 

So when we moved in to Schrallville, I really wanted a buffet for our new dining room. Alas, I'm not made of money and couldn't find one I loved for under several G's. That turned my thoughts to storage and I ended up buying this instead. So then that still left me with an empty space. I decided to use my old sofa table turned printer table turned what-the-heck-do-I-do-with-it-now table. 

It was not expensive and didn't really hold up well. The finish was chipped all over the top. Not exactly what you call attractive. Daniel asked me to throw it out. I scoffed at the idea. (that's pretty typical of our marriage by the way...I say yes, he says no...I say "sounds fun", he says "absolutely horrible idea"...you get the picture.) 

Of course I didn't take a good before picture so let's just pretend you can envision the scratched top. You can at least see the before color of the table here (and after we did a light sand). 

I bought a quart of black gloss paint and Anna M and I went to town one night, disguised as a "GNO". I used Sherwin Williams All Surface Enamel in a black gloss. I think they actually carry it already tinted.

Once we painted it, this is the look we had. Pretty but pretty boring. I wanted to add a little element to it that made it less "I just painted this table" and a little more "wow! where did you get this piece?"

In came the stencil. I picked up this stencil at Hobby Lobby with no particular project in mind, more because I liked it and I'm a chronic shopper. I think maybe I was going to use it in the bathroom? Um, yeah. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. 

It was too big for the table so we simply picked out a portion of it and marked it off with a sharpie then marked off the portion of the table we wanted to stencil. I wanted a little border around it and not the entire top. No reason, just personal preference. 

We used the cheap stencil sponges (seen in the middle of the table above) and bronze craft paint we had left over from another project. Thankfully Anna M and I have similar tastes so we share craft supplies. 

It was just a matter of both of us slowly dabbing the paint through the stencil. I wanted a more aged look and not a thick stencil look so we went very light on the paint. Again, this is all personal preference. I have another table where I used a thicker paint approach so it was saturated. Just depends on what you like. 

This is Anna M

Once we did the main stencil there were still holes in the pattern. We used another small stencil that had a fleur de lis (because I love them) to add a few of those and then just took snippets of the original stencil to fill in blanks. We truly eyeballed it so don't try to be perfect. The fact that it wasn't perfect is what makes it look better. 

When we were done it looked like this...

Once it dried I sprayed it with a horribly old can of clear poly. Note to self: check how old the can is before use. I accidentally used an old can that totally left horrible bubbles all over the table. I was not happy. But once it dried you can't tell and all is right in the world again. 

Depending on the use of your table, I recommend putting a coat of poly finish to further protect it. We aren't so easy on our furniture so I always put a coat of poly on. You know...for when that stray toy goes flying or it's doused in water because I over watered the plant sitting on top.

Here are a few pictures of it finished and in place...

Not bad for a little paint and some creativity! I'd like to get a large tray for the bottom and turn it in to a bar, complete with spots to hang glasses. But that's a project for another day!