Green with Envy

Just finished up a dresser Ive been dying to get in my house! With a new child on the way, and hardly any closet space, that means I got to go dresser shopping! This was originally supposed to be for Jake, but it turns out, the Blue One suited him better. I think he has more clothes than me...but no ones counting! At first I asked him for some color suggestions, but didn't really like them (shh don't tell!) So i decided if I'm going to paint it a bit of a girly color, he could have the awesome blue dresser. LOL!

 

Here is the before....yucky old lady-ish! You can't really see it in this picture, but those bottom handles have PINEAPPLES on them! Bleh, not my style.

 

 

 

Here is the finished product!

 

 

 

Cute huh? Are you envoius? I think Jake is! Kidding. The paint is called Pear by Behr. The knobs are from Hobby Lobby (love that store!) and the pulls are from a kitchen store online. The top has the original white laminate (i think) and all the rest has been painted and sealed with Johnson's Paste Wax.

 

These two pictures show the color and knobs better...its a bright one!!

 

 

 

 

New Shabby Chic Dove Tail Side Table

This is a continuation of my recent BLUE PHASE!

 

BEFORE

 

 

AFTER

 

 

You kinda cant tell by the pictures but this was redone in a minty color....it looks white in the photos. The name of the paint is Almost Aqua by Glidden. I stripped, sanded, painted, lightly distressed, and sealed this piece with paste wax. It was a lot more work than it looks like.

 

What do you think?

I'm so tempted to keep it because its a gorgeous solid cherry wood piece...but I simply dont have room for it in my house. I feel like furniture, like most things, have to meant to be. This one just isn't right for my house at this time in my life...which is such a bummer! But Im working on selling my work/art/things I love to a good home. Its hard, trust me.

 

Know anyone who might be interested in this or having a custom piece if their own done? Here's my email address: beckygauthier@ymail.com

 

 

 

 



The Boy Who Changed My Life Forever

Today, Beau turns ONE! Has it really been a year?! I'm in shock.

Beau was born on April 17th, 2012. I knew I wouldn't make it to my due date (May 2nd). I told Jake just before midnight on April 16th, "I feel like it's going to be soon!" And three hours later a woke up saying, "Jake, get me a towel, I think I'm wetting the bed!" My water broke, luckily nothing got on my bed! After a long 16 hours, and lots of hunger pangs (mostly for spaghetti), my little man came into the world. It was an interesting and scary experience, but it was only painful at the end. I had the epidural, and I SO wanted it! Beau was the most beautiful little thing I had ever seen...
 

 

They laid him on my chest and he waved hello. He stole my heart!

 

The past year has been wonderful. Not EVERY moment was good...but it was all worth it. If you want the secrets (that women don't ever seem to talk about) about post birth and the next few weeks (when it came it me, not the baby), let me know...but too graphic for blogging!

My baby was perfect. He has grown and changed and made me the happiest I could ever be. They say it changes your life, and they're right. They also say it goes quick, and man does it ever! I would do it all over again. He is the light of my life, the happiness I wake up for every day.

 

My little man...he's growing up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy 1st Birthday Beau!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blue TV Console

Here's the second piece in my blue phase. I am super in love with this TV console. A neighbor of ours passed away and her family had an estate sale. I got there late, who knows what good stuff I missed! But I did snatch up this and two end tables for dirt cheap...what a steal! Those sales, in my opinion, are the best to hit because people need the furniture gone as soon as possible, so they're willing to take a low amount of money.

 

I intended on selling this piece. But with my toddler getting into everything, I wanted something higher to put my TV on (for now) untill I get a TV mount for the wall. I had to put the baby-proofing cabinet clips on this. You cant tell from the outside looking in because I spray painted the clips the same color (Oil Rubber Bronze) as I did the console's hinges. The hinges were a yucky feau-gold. I got some cute knobs from Hobby Lobby and did a light shabby chic effect on it. What do you think?

 

Sorry I forgot to take a picture before I removed the drawers and glass doors...you can even see my paint bucket :/

 

BEFORE

 

 

 

AFTER

 

 

 

One Man's Trash is Another Man's Treasure

One day a few weeks ago I was outside and saw that my neighbors were putting some chairs out for the trash man. I walked over and asked if I could take them. They weren't amazing, but I made them strudier and decided to give them a second chance in life. I believe second chances are important. No person is perfect, but we all deserve a second chance.

 

These are for sale by the way!

 

Teacher chair - Before

 

 

Teacher chair - After

 

 

And the second one, my favorite of the two...

 

Horse hair chair (yes, it had horse hair as the cusion!) - Before

 

 

Horse hair chair - After

 

 

Hopefully these chairs have a new lease on life!

 

New Blue Dresser

I've been soooooo busy! I'm sorry I don't keep up with my blog very often. But I'm here today with a new post!

 

Here's the second debut of my first piece!!!

 

My mom and dad helped me out and bought me a dresser for my birthday. That is awesome in my book because it's something that I will have for a very long time. My mom also helped me with some of the DREADED stripping and sanding of all the original poly and stain. It was gross looking before, pictures don't do justice.

 

Here's the before...

 

 

 

 

 

I stained the whole thing to seal the wood, that added paint to all except the top. The knobs are from Hobby Lobby (love that store! And if you knw the owners of that company...please tell them to build one in Pinellas County),a nd the pulls I found on the internet.

 And here is the after...

 

 

I am so in love with my new (but old) blue dresser!

I am in a blue phase.....I don't know why!! You'll see what I mean when you see my upcoming pieces.

Tune in to see!

 

 

Introducing foods!

Alright guys, the Beau-man is now in his high chair ALL THE TIME!

I mean, maybe an hour a day in total. It's the only way I can get anything done these days!

 

 

We dance and sing in the kitchen...he sits and watches me cook and clean. It's fun!

 

 

So I wanted to share with you a little bit about the food we've been having around here.

 

The first food Beau ate was Cereals (oatmeal and rice, baby kind!) at 4 months old. Daddy did the honors...

 

 

The doctor told me...

"I don't usually tell exclusively breast feeding mothers to start their baby on solids until 5 or 6 months old...but this boy is growing fast and he's HUNGRY!"

Haha!

 

So cereals....they're kinda plain and kinda yucky to eat....

Mixing them with some milk (mine, not formula or cow milk) tastes okay. I haven't actually tried it myself, but it smells like cardboard pretty much. So we moved on to bigger and better things quickly.

 

I received some awesome advice from a friend when I lived in DC (Melissa Miller). She enlightened me on how easy, inexpensive, and above all HEALTHY it is to make your own baby food. Do you know how expensive those cute little jars are? Almost 2 bucks a piece. I think a lot of food and glass would be wasted in our house.

(We also use cloth diapers!)

 

The advice Melissa gave me is to make my own baby food. For example, a staple, sweet potatoes: peel, chop, boil, blend (you don't need a fancy baby food puree blender, just a regular blender/food processor/Bullet works just fine!), and freeze....SO SIMPLE! I freeze it in ice cube trays, pop them out and stick them in a labeled zip lock bag (they're good for about 3 months frozen). Melt it in the microwave when we're ready to eat it! Saves on time and creates less waste! I love everything about it, especially the piece of mind of knowing exactly what's in my baby's food....pure fruits and veggies! 

 

Over the past month:

 

 We went with Butternut Squash first...

 

 

Then some Green Beans

 

 

And his favorite! Sweet Potatoes...

 

 

 

We tried Apples...

 

 

Bananas...

 

 

Pears...

 

 

Avocado....this is the only one he didn't seem to like too much. Might be the thickness and texture...he choked pretty bad on it (and i even watered it down!).

 

 

He loves to direct my hand (or Jake's) to his mouth when I feed him, or he grabs the spoon and tries to feed himself. He's very determined!

 

 

 

Yesterday we had some Spaghetti Squash....

 

 

Oh there is always a little toe for dessert!

 

Thanks for reading!