~ Forgive the Mess....~

" After..."

" To stain or not to stain...? Stain it of course !!!!...."

" Before..."

Still in the midst of an all out paint -a -thon here at the house. Try to look past all the "clutter" if you can and imagine what the kitchen used to look like and where it is now. I thought I would gear myself towards the cream on cream, but once the cabinets were painted I knew the background had to be a darker color. Along comes Benjamin Moore in Davenport Tan which is actually a deep chocolate, and I think a great contrast to the cabinets. The cabinets only came to life after the coating of Minwax Gel Stain in Aged Oak. What a difference the stain made. It took the cabinets from flat cream to a richer grainy cream. Now the fun begins, choosing all the kitchen goodies that will sit atop all the cabinets. Can't wait to start shopping and snooping through all of my stuff. And even though the kitchen is far from done, I at least feel I have tackled and accomplished the hardest part....

~ Still Painting.......~

Just resting a bit after 3 days of solid painting in my kitchen. Walls were finished yesterday and today I finished staining all the cabinets. Baseboards and trim are now being painted and hopefully it will all pull together tomorrow. Whew!!!!!! I might as well take advantage of my new found energy while I can. Now I just need to direct a little energy at Lone Star......In the meantime- a few soothing photos......

~ A Birth and A Growing Bird...~

" Flying and Eating Seeds...."

" Presley's new friend, which of course is Sushi's favorite toy..."

" Can't seem to get enough of this old chewed up German Shepard toy....."

" That's what I call relaxed...."

First of all my dear friend Barb became a first time brand new Grand mother today!!! Congratulations and mom is doing great!!! I cannot wait to see this beautiful little hair ball of a baby girl!!! In the meantime, the critters have not stopped growing here. The Dove is doing great and is eating seeds but still has about 4 feedings a day and of course we have old Presley who eats and bites everything and doesn't stop to notify anyone of an impending pee pee on the floor. Oh well, all part of puppies I guess. Sushi just seemed sooooo much easier to house break, but then she is a female!!! Redid a little at Lone Star on Friday and sold the table and chairs that took me forever-today....Thank goodness things seem to be steadily moving. Of course that means I better get something else painted...

~ First Nursery ~

" And don't forget, every little girl deserves to have her own mannequin...I'm jealous!!!.."

" Chunky shelf with accents and a great architectural piece with hangers...."

" Multi-tiered plate rack with just the right Frenchy colors...." Later it can be stacked with photos of the new arrival..."

" Here's the old screen door leading into the room. Did I forget to mention that that the ceiling is painted a great frenchy pink?..." And that's the covered closet door....."

" Yep, there's Great Grandmother's old rocker redone.....How about the awesome chunky shelf with all the goodies?....."

" Old vanity/dresser painted in satin black with the neatest stick on chandelier attached to the wall...."

" Twin size bed to the left...Love the colors and the pom pom edges....." How about the old black frame from an old vanity with a memory board created for the center......"

" This is just the beginning........Going from plain to pretty......For a sweet new grand daughter....."

" Let's start at the beginning. A sweet LITTLE square room with wooden floors. Add Lime green paint with pink and black accents......This room only shows that even the smallest rooms when done right can look much larger and fantastic. This room will also grow for the lucky lady because a twin size bed is also in the room......" The closet door was replaced with striped fabric to match the room so it can actually be tied back if you want to. The original door leading from the hallway was replaced with a neat old screen door. And what about the cute little matching drape on the screen door? Black baby bed? You bet! What an elegant color and really all the rage right now. Mannequins and glass blocks along with Great Grandmother's old rocking chair reupholstered in lime green leopard......" Love it !!!!!......

My lovely friend Barb is about to be a first time grandmother.....And since this is her first grandchild what better to celebrate HER arrival than with a new nursery. I took pictures several weeks ago of the befores, and now I have the afters....She has done a fantastic and colorful job with the precious room. I may have to do 2 blogs for you to fully get the scope of the fantastic ideas she came up with.......

~ Random...~

Not having any idea what to blog about at this minute, I decided that posting pictures would satisfy my craving for at least making another post. I am in the process of not only painting my bathroom, but also 4 chairs, 1 end table, 1 larger table, not to mention all the items that need to be stained....I may not be done with any of it-but I am giving it one heck of a try....

~ Still Growing ~

" I can't seem to stop growing....."

Another week or growing and feeding. My sweet little Dove has started to try to fly and is beginning to need fewer feedings..... I can't wait for the colors to finish, but for now he or she is ruddy but beautiful. My mother generously donated an awesome old shabby wire cage so I will fix it up so he has a cozy little home. Painting is slow and we have had alot of rain-but I am not complaining. We are now in August so you know what that means-school is just around the corner-followed by Christmas, but who's rushing......