Yesterday, 25 Years Ago….

I married the man of my dreams!  It hardly seems possible that we have made it to our silver anniversary.  That is for old people.  And after 25 long, memorable years, are you wondering how we celebrated?  Not only is Rick sick (with a fever and chills and cold) but he is also in Texas at SimCom, renewing his pilot training.  I’m at home with our four lovely children.  Big celebration, right?  Wrong.

However, we did throw a shindig last Saturday, that beat the band!  I’ve been dreaming of decorating for a party for a few years now…. all shabby chic, bird cages, vintage books, roses, old picture frames and lace.  Pinterest has held my interest in this avenue for quite some time now.  All my decorating dreams came true for our 25th celebration.  Here is my photo tribute to Rickey, my knight in shining armor, who tore up the dance floor and didn’t mind all the fru-fru in the house.

The Love Birds name tag table on the front porch.  I love birdies.

Here was our guest book table and my wedding dress…. 25 years later.

These were the thank you gift bags that my friend Ginny made.  They were darling.  We put nuts in the bags and the tags said “Still nuts about each other after 25 years!”  See, corny! But it made us laugh!

Another friend of mine, Darla, helped me assemble the largest collection of pink, white and brown edible delicacies this side of the Mississippi.  It was a sugar-loving haven.

We displayed the dress my mother wore to the wedding as well as my banana-yellow going-away suit.  :o)

The party was such fun!  Yes, I’m saving all the decorations for the next family wedding, or baby shower, or birthday, or retirement party, etc.

The Old has become New

Remember back in April when I spent all my birthday money at Goodwill on 50% off day with visions of a shabby chic backyard?  Well, it is slowly materializing!  Finally!  I found this top from a girl’s bedroom set… maybe from the bed or a desk hutch… and I could envision a garden shelf dealie to stack my pots and hang my tools.

Then I looked for MONTHS for a bottom piece to store my dirt and fertilizer and turtle kneeling pad.  I think it was in August or September that I happened on this gem at Goodwill… on another 50% off day!  Sweet mother of baby Jesus!  It was perfect.  The guy at the store told me that it came in from a monastery full of religious books all in Chinese.  So half of the finished product was in the ministry.  :o) 

After much painting and sanding and hammering 1×4’s on the back so it doesn’t fall and kill a small child or dog… it is finished!  My husband took one look at the finished product and asked, “So you had all that junk?”  Nice, eh?  Yes, I did… and one man’s junk is his wife’s treasure.  I actually will use the junk, well, most of it.  The ceramic butterfly in the center was handmade by my six-year-old self in Renton, Washington in a ceramics class at a neighbor’s house.  The rest is truly junk.  Not the butterfly.

We did have a near catastrophe whilst waiting for the 1×4’s to be nailed on the back.  I had it set up in the middle of our back porch… clearly capable of falling and killing a small child or dog.  The wind whipped up a gale to behold and knocked the top right off.  It fell backwards, hit the NEW, glass patio table, got a big bash-in on the back piece and fell to the ground.  Shoot.  I put the big tin plate on the top shelf in front of the bash-in evidence.  All is well now.  Why would anyone need this in their yard, you ask?  Because now my gardening gloves won’t get chewed and buried by the dogs.  That’s really what this was all about…. me having to repeatedly replace my flimsy gardening gloves from the dollar store.  See, all is well now. (I have since planted those violas in those six pots in the little green stand on the right.  They are darling.)

My New Theory on Birthday Money Spending

Last year, as you may recall, I received a birthday chair with an ottoman for my birthday.  It is a lovely sage/olive-green color that matches my bedroom decor perfectly.  That was the first year that I was given something other than stuff that is used up…. by that I mean, scrapbooking supplies, clothing, books to read, etc.  And I must say that I sit in that chair almost every single day.  I love it.  I love the light that comes in from the window behind it.  It is comfy and cozy and perfect.

So when this year rolled around and I was asked what I would like for my birthday, I couldn’t think of anything…. because in the back of my mind I was trying to come up with another non-use-up-able item… and I couldn’t.  THEN I went and got my hair cut at my friend Donna’s house… this is not an ordinary hair-cutting gal… this is an uber talented seamstress, tile laying wonder, gardener extreme, decorator magnifique and truly a creative inspiration to me!  I drooled over her back yard.  It is an oasis in Phoenix… flowers and vegetables and vines and fruit trees and stepping-stones and a pond and a covered swing and curtains outside and on and on.

THEN came 50% off day at Goodwill…. the day after my birthday.  Thank you, Jesus! I had a fist full of birthday cash that was burning a hole in my wallet.  (Darla bombed out on me and I had to go alone!)  The first Goodwill I entered… was, well, disappointing.  I left empty-handed… except for my fist full of money. Absolutley nothing to get my creative juices flowing.

Upon entering the SECOND Goodwill store, I didn’t even get a cart because I didn’t really expect to find anything.  Well, after seven minutes in the store, I had a pile of things on the floor… and no cart.  I spied a large plastic tub that was for sale… I used it as my wheel-less cart to drag my goods to the front while holding various other items in my free hand.

I have been admiring outdoor “rooms” for years.  I have pages and pages that I have ripped out of magazines and saved for such a time as this.  The time had come.  Goodwill was a shabby chic gardeners house of glory that day!  I stuffed the back of the van and still had half of my birthday cash left over!  Sweet mercy, I was thrilled.  Of course, to the untrained eye (which is MOST of my family) it looked like other people’s junk …. at 50% off.  But NO!  I have visions of grandeur coming!

This was my favorite find… a vintage mirror with a carved wooden frame.  And I paid $4 for it!  Unreal!  In an antique mall it would be over $100 I’m sure! Yes, I plan to hang it outside.  It was $4!  Why not?

Next we have the top of what will be my garden hutch.  I’ve already sanded it down to shabbier chic and I’m painting the back wall green. A table is needed for it to sit on….. and the next 50% off day is only 10 days away!  The plan is to put hooks for my tools, baskets for my gloves, cutesy jars for seeds, etc.  Just you wait!

This next item was a GOLDMINE!  Shutters are so hard to find… and in the window casing is just icing on the cake!  $8!!!!  My plans for these have been varied and not finalized at this point.  But in the backyard they will go for all to see and admire.  Donna hinted at planting herbs in them…. ohhh!

I’ve always been drawn to candles in the garden and when I spied this baby, I grabbed onto it like a flea on a fat coon dog.  (We are reading Where the Red Fern Grows right now.)  There were also eight votives that fit it… unmatching, of course.  Yes, the leaves are mirrors…. $2!  I know!  $2!

Several times I’ve seen shabby wooden ladders used in the garden… and lo and behold, my shabby ladder was at Goodwill when the birthday money was in my fist!  $5!  Shut the front door!  $5! I’ve already painted it white!  I’m gathering pots and birdhouses to set on the steps.

Soon I will have photos for you of my boring block-walled backyard that was transformed into a sweet sanctuary of delight that draws you from the house, no matter the soaring temperatures.  Really.

The Play Kitchen is DONE!

I discovered this great vanity bench at Goodwill back in the summer.  I don’t understand how Goodwill prices their furniture.  They are WAY too expensive for being in a second-hand store.  Thankfully I was there on 50% off day.  It was still too much, but I had visions of grandeur in my head for a play kitchen for Nora.

For several months I gathered the pieces as I found them…. kitchen sink… stove burners… flower hooks.  I sanded and painted and sanded and painted.  I added a shelf on the support bars underneath, perfect for dishes and cups.  Then I was browsing play kitchens on google and came across several kitchens that had ruffle curtains!  Oh my word.  How adorable.  So, back to the craft store for darling fabric.  I originally planned to put the curtains on dowels, but then I couldn’t figure out how to make them sturdy enough for a vigorous seven-year-old cook.  I ended up putting a strip of wood over the top edge of the fabric and hammering tiny nails all the way across.  Hopefully it will hold through many days of cooking and baking and washing dishes.

Nora loves it, but she did tell me that it is a little too short for her.  She seems to be managing just fine!

Busy Beavers over here!

A few months back inspiration hit when I discovered the DIY (do it yourself) play kitchens made out of repurposed furniture.  My little girl definitely needs one!  So the search began for the right nightstand, or side table, or entertainment center.  THEN I stumbled upon the perfect piece at Goodwill and it was even 50% off day!  Sweet mercy, I love when that happens.  It was a shabby chic white vanity bench.

It had a three-inch cushion on the seat, but that was removed within five minutes of being in my garage!  I needed a small piece of furniture because Zaza’s room is not that big… and we’ve squeezed a lot in there already.  This week I started working on it, finally.  There is going to be a sink and a two-burner stove top on the surface.  I put a shelf inside for storage and I’m making cutesy ruffled curtains for the front. 

Here are a few I found for inspiration:

http://outofthecrayonbox.blogspot.com/2009/10/diy-play-kitchen-4-green-kitchen.html

http://www.weloveindie.com/posts/48980.html

And my favorite:

http://ana-white.com/

Oh, the ruffles and ball fringe make my fruffy heart glad.

While I’ve been in the garage sanding and painting and caulking and sawing, my son has been doing all the same activities in the back yard.  He started making a shed for his tools four or five years ago… and this week he finished it!  It’s too dark for photos tonight, but he did a stupendous job, if I do say so myself.  I’ll take photos tomorrow and add them here.

Like mother, like son.

The Quilted Chair

During Spring Break we took off for Northern California for a week of relaxation at the home of my high school friends.  While there, my friend Connie talked me into helping her recover an old chair with quilts that she was saving for such a time as this.  Neither of us had done reupholstering before, but hey, we can watch youtube instructional videos like the best of ’em.  And we looked at pictures in a book at JoAnn’s.  Anyway, we succeeded and now I’m addicted to recovering old furniture.  I would love to find a little girl’s plush chair to make over for Zaza’s room.  However, our dear friends also sent us home with several more additions to Zaza’s room…. so a newly recovered chair would be a squeeze for sure.

Here is your photos essay on recovering a chair with old quilts…. something you always wanted to know, I’m quite sure.

Gather as many of your people as possible for tack removal.  This is not a fun job, but most necessary.  BUY the little hoof shaped tool for $7 at JoAnn’s and you won’t be sorry!  We even used most of the old tacks again.

We saved all the batting as it was in decent shape.

We used the old cover as a pattern for the new pieces.

The bottom was really easy…. compared to the top and back!

Connie made miles of welt cord piping cut on the bias for ease of turning corners.

We fluked out and unknowingly used a chair that had these nice wooden pieces on the bottom to hide all our tacks.  Sweet!

The wedding knot on the back looked adorable!

Two different quilts with Grandmother’s Flower Garden pattern were used on the front.  The green piping tied all the quilts together and it is adorable! Can’t you see why I want to do another one?!?

Anne of Avonlea

We name all of the Bags for Zaza after books, and this is one of my favorite bags, so I picked one of my favorite books, Anne of Avonlea.  This chic little purse has an extra long strap to sling over your shoulder.  It is made of vintage scraps of table cloths, quilts, a beadspread and Calvin Klein jeans.  I know there is someone out there that this little shabby gem was made especially for.  It will be up for auction this week with all the proceeds going toward bringing home our little girl from Colombia.  You can see many more pictures (and click for zoomed-in shots) on the BFZ site:  www.BagsForZaza.blogspot.com.  Please share this with your friends and help spread the word!

I’m Back in the BFZ Groove

I’ve envisioned a shabby chic denim and pink floral Bag for Zaza for many months.  I made the flap tonight.  So cute… if you like shabby chic and denim…. with cutesy heart buttons and yellow chenille rick-rack.  I also have a little girls size 2 denim skirt to make into a little princess’ bag for her treasures.  AND Darla, my friend who wants a denim bag, came over and picked out all the coordinating fabric for her bag…. last November, maybe December.  Anyway, I don’t have a blinkin’ thing to do these days, so I’m on a roll, baby.  AND I’m playing my “Learn Spanish in Your Car” CDs while I’m sewing.  Oh, I feel so productive even typing that….. now to remember the words in el español.

I didn’t comment much on our recent trip to Lake Tahoe, but there were, as per usual, entertaining stories that emerged.  My personal favorite came from garage saling, which we have continued the Saturday morning Tahoe tradition again this year.  Last year we came home to PHOENIX with such useful items as a snowboard, an orange butterfly quilt, a bee-bee gun, a $2 prom dress, a Beetles black wig, a purse shaped like a Chinese take-out box, butterfly sheets and a 1920 Singer sewing machine (minus the most important part to make it work).  I rolled my eyes as most of those purchases were made.  THIS year there was a higher level of eye rolling….. oh, Rick should be grounded from garage saling.  We came home with two pair of snowboarding boots (Rick and Larisa), an entry rug, a pink oriental little shirt (BFZ!), a green coat (Larisa), Vans tennis shoes, and Rick hit the jackpot:  a garage sale run by a sweet little widow who was selling her deceased husband’s clothing… ALL Rick’s sizes.  He got a really nice NEW pair of brown leather shoes.  No eye rolling there.  I kept pointing out other things to Rick like red plaid house slippers and white church shoes… with a matching belt.  He was satisfied with the brown shoes.

Anyway, Rick wore the shoes to church this morning and being the loving wife that I am, I pointed them out to one of his friends.  Of course I said they were a dead man’s shoes.  How could I pass that one up?

Back to the sewing machine y mis lecciones españolas. ¡Dios me ayuda!  (God, Help me!)