Thrifting Thursday - a nightstand in need of a makeover

Well, I finally found a little dresser to use as a nightstand for the hubbies side of the bed.  Ever since I found and fixed up the one on my side of the bed, I've been on the hunt for another piece.  I kind of thought I wanted something round or a different shape, but when I came upon this piece, the storage element won me over.  That's the adventure of Thrifting, you never know what you'll find and you have to be ready to change your plan when something great is spotted.

This was definitely a little spendy for me, I paid almost $50 for this little dresser. But, it is solid oak and really a new piece of wood furniture is going to cost me at least $200. And after I gave it a makeover, I have no regrets at all. I think it looks more like a $300 piece of furniture now, and it's one-of-a-kind. No one else owns this piece of furniture!

I used my How to Paint Laminate Furniture method, even though this piece was wood, and it worked really well. From start to finish, I had this piece sanded, painted and moved into the room in 24 hours.

I debated on what to do to the piece, what color to paint it or stain it. It wasn't going to stay that yucky oaky color, that was for sure. I didn't want to paint it the same as the other dresser, trying to make them look like a set, when they weren't. Plus, I think that's just too matchy matchy for me. So, I turned to my Instagram friends for help and advice. They had some great ideas and I actually ended up going with my stylish friend Julia's idea and did the opposite paint job of my bedside table. I also gave the old hardware a good sanding and then sprayed them with a metallic gold spray paint. This grey, white and gold combo is really quite sophisticated.

Come back tomorrow and I'll share pictures of it in our bedroom.  Are you working on any furniture projects? Do you own some pieces that could use a makeover?  I'd love to hear what you have in the works.

Geometric Heart Tote Bag

I can't stop! Maybe I have a problem, but I just keep coming up with ways to use my geometric heart pattern over and over.  This little tote bag took no time at all to paint.

I used my Cricut to cut a freezer paper stencil out. To start, I worked in Cricut Craftroom to create the stencil. I simply used a right angle triangle image repeatedly to make my heart.  Then I cut it out on a 12'x12' square of freezer paper. I ironed on my stencil onto a pre-made bag I purchases at Joannes and painted white and metallic gold randomly in the triangles.  Then I let it dry completely and set the paint with a hot iron.

This is going to be my go to bag this summer.  It's a great size for Olivia's stuff, like a diaper, wipes and a sippy cup, or I can just stylishly bag my groceries. 

Do you find yourself drawn to the same colors, pattern or shapes? What's designs are on your favorite list currently? 

Science Themed Party in the Making

This weekend we are celebrating my baby boy turning 10 with a Science Themed Party. Each day this week I've given myself of list of things I need to complete so that I can be ready for the party. This theme seemed like a natural choice for my mini nerd (I'm married to a real life Science geek).  My inspiration for the colors and decorations came from Minted.  I used Minted's fantastic invitations and also their Blackboard bunting.  

I ordered some beakers and flasks from amazon to display candy in.  I've also found some great nerdy Science fabric that I'm sewing into goody bags (it's kind of a tradition for my kiddo's parties).  And to fill the bags I have some fun treats like candy and slime in test tubes, nerdy glasses, and magnifying glasses.

I think it's going to be a fun party with lots of yummy treats and Science Experiments galore. My Biology teacher hubby is bringing his classroom to our backyard.  

The Land of Nod is coming to SoCal

I am beyond excited friends.  Yes, I do love a good online window shopping session, but real life window shopping is soooo much better.  And now if you are living in Southern Cali, you get shop at a REAL LIFE Land of Nod shop.  Eeeeek, I can't wait to see everything up close and in person.  The Land of Nod is opening a brick and mortar shop at the South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, CA on May 31th.  If you live near by, you are going to want to be there for the Grand Opening, there will be lots of free goodies for everyone who arrives early to shop.

You probably know that I am a HUGE Nod fan.  I share their products here often and when I gave my daughter's shared bedroom a makeover, I turned to The Land of Nod for the fun, funky, and fresh look I was looking for.  I'm still so jealous of Denali's new gold dot sheets, Nod bedding is amazing.

Deer // Lamp // Metal Letter

Walnut Dresser // Pillow

Feather Print // Gold Dot Wall Decal // Rocking Chair

I'm heading to the new SoCal Land of Nod shop at the end of the month.  I've got my eye on some great "grown-up" pieces.  Although The Land of Nod is really a shop for children's furniture and accessories, I've found some great pieces that would be fantastic in any space or room in my home.  But specifically, I would love to have these pieces for my living room.  I'm working on trying to make the space a little more modern and although it's technically a grown-up space, I really want to keep it playful and family friendly. I can't wait to share with you what I come home with.

You may want to follow The Land of Nod on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram to find out what's new or what creative adventures they are on.  I love following their Instagram, it's great place for inspiration.  

You might also want to enter The Land of Nod Win A Room Sweepstakes. The Grand prize is a room designed by The Land of Nod (a $4000 value). The winner with receive a design consultation with a the Nod design team, a room makeover with selected products from The Land of Nod, and then be featured in the The Land of Nod Real Families section of an upcoming catalog. The sweepstakes runs till June 17th. 

“This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Land of Nod, but all my opinions are my own. #PMedia #NODinCA   http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.”

This Week

This week... well it was a doozy.  The weekend was fabulous with lots of celebrations. We celebrated my baby brother's 25th birthday (who also finished painting my garage), Lonnie's birthday, Mother's day and a I hosted fun baby shower.  Then came Monday morning - I got rear ended at a red light!  Boo, Mondays do stink.  But, I've pushed through this week and actually ended it on a pretty productive note.  I'm refinishing a small dresser for Lonnie's bedside table and I'm also repainting Olivia little play kitchen.  I hope you all have a great weekend.  I'm looking forward to getting a lot accomplished.

Olivia // My freshly painted garage

Honeyed Apricot Marshmallows // Lonnie with his birthday cinnamon rolls

Thrifting Thursday Finds // A last minute baby shower gift

Me enjoying a post-baby shower iced coffee // A sneak peek at the thrift store dresser I'm refinishing

If you follow my instagram, these pictures may look familiar to you.  But here's a little instagram taste of my week.

Thrifting Thursday - Pyrex Pitcher and a Ceramic Bowl

It's been way too long since I hit a thrift store.  I love thrifting, but for the past few months I've restrained myself because I really needed absolutely nothing at all.  But, on Monday, I couldn't stand it any longer.  What if there was some really great treasure out there that I was missing out on?  So, Olivia and I headed to our local Salvation Army.  

My first attempt to get there was foiled.  While stopped at a red light, we were rear-ended my a big full-sized truck.  My little Toyota Matrix got hurt pretty badly.  Olivia cried, I think mostly because she was scarred, and I ended up with a fat lip and some sore muscles.  I am pretty bummed with the whole situation.  I love our little Matrix and it's totally paid for.  Now I am just waiting for the police report (which takes over a week) and then we can see what the insurance company wants to do.  

But, I didn't let this stop me.  The next day I headed to the thrift store in our truck (I'm so grateful we have 2 cars, we didn't for the first 13 yrs. of marriage).  And I came home with this cute Pyrex Pitcher for $3.84 and this beautiful hand made bowl for the same price.  Did I really NEED these items?  No, but I think this was a pretty harmless $8 to spend.  And I know I'll use both, and probably often. 

Cranberry Orange Corn Pancakes

If you've missed it this week, I'm in the mood to go camping.  Yesterday I shared some cool Camping Decor and the day before a little video from our Spring Break trip to Joshua Tree National Park.

I really enjoy cooking for my family when we camp.  It's a great excuse to come up with new, easy to make in the great outdoors recipes.  The last two times we've been out camping, I've made these Cranberry Orange Corn Pancakes.  They were a hit with my family.  They require very simple ingredients and really no syrup is required, they are naturally sweet with the orange juice.

We even ran out of camp fuel, and I cooked these over the fire one morning.

Cranberry Orange Corn Pancakes
1 pkg. JIFFY Corn Muffin Mix
1 egg
2 tbsp. butter (melted)
Zest of one orange
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (about 2 oranges)
1/3 cup craisins

Place the butter in your frying pan or griddle, heat it until the butter melts.  In a bowl, combine all the ingredients , including the melted butter, well.  When your griddle is hot, pour about 1/2 cup of batter for each pancake.  You will need additional butter for cooking the pancakes.  Cook the pancakes just as you would regular pancakes.  When the tops of the pancakes are bubbly, flip them.  Because these pancakes have corn meal in them, they are a little more fragile to work with. Don't be alarmed if the first couple break in half.

I've also discovered that Trader Joe's sells shelf stable UHT whipping cream (so no need to refrigerate).  I used to buy this when I lived overseas in Papua New Guinea and Yemen.  I had never seen it here in the States though.  It's such a handy product to have in your pantry.  I gave the chore of whipping this by hand to my kiddos.  It kept them busy while a cooked the pancakes.  A dollop of whipped cream on pancakes while your camping - wow, now that's pretty good.

If you're interested in more kid approved, outdoor tested camping recipes, you might like some of these:

Hobo Meals - Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Campfire Orange Cinnamon Rolls

Chocolate Graham Crackers

Campfire Nachos

Chocolate Coconut Camp Cookies