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Monday, August 26, 2013

Why I Love Painting Furniture {Guest Post}


Hi guys! I’m Kala and I blog over at My Breezy Room. I’ll be entertaining you today while Julie is off relaxing on a beach somewhere with her husband!

On my blog I share a bunch of thrifted furniture that I’ve worked on and painted to make new. Today I’m going to let you in on my top 5 reasons I love painting furniture.

1. First and foremost, painting gives you a great excuse to look like crap ALL the time.

I mean, why put on makeup and nice clothes when you’re just going to get covered in dust and paint within an hour anyways? And you definitely don’t have to worry about the perfect messy bun. Just throw that hair up as fast as you can to get it out of the way and get to painting. (See nasty slicked back hair in picture.) I’m sure when you go out in public like this it’s socially acceptable because everyone can tell by the paint on your right arm and left leg and that little bit on your forehead that you’ve been painting, right? Or if just looks like you haven’t showered for a few days….whatever. You know you’ve been hard at work! 




2. People give you presents all year long.

Seriously. It’s like your birthday everyday. Ever since I made it known to all my friends and family that I have a booth and redo furniture, I get tons of calls all the time from friends and family that have this or that old piece of furniture they need to get rid of, or know of a garage sale here or there. Sometimes I’m not good at telling them a piece a won’t work, so then I just end up taking it to the thrift store after I get it. BUT, people are always willing to help. And most of the time, they won’t even let me pay them for the things they give me. Score!




3. You get to practice your haggling skills.

What’s more exhilarating than getting a great deal on a piece of furniture and knowing it’s because you successfully talked someone down. Now I love this feeling when it happens, but more often than not my conversation goes like this:

(I’m looking at a globe at a flea market)
Man selling globe (sees me looking): That’s priced at $25 but I’ll give it to you for $20
Me: Oh…I dunno if I can pay that much. How about $15.
Man selling globe: Nope. $20.
Me (.5 seconds later): Ok, I’ll take it.
(Then I go home and tell everyone I talked him down from $25 to $20)
Maybe I need to work on my haggling skills a bit more…ha.

4. Everyone starts thinking of you as creative and artsy.

I’ve always been jealous of the image that “artsy” people have. They usually have some sort of unique style and can see things from a different point of view. I mean, hey, I don’t know how much creativity and artistic talent it takes to slap a coat of paint on a piece of furniture, but I’m not going to deny the title. I have a unique style that works for me, too. See number 1. I guess I identify most with a grunge look…?

5. You get to have beautiful, colorful and changing furniture all over your home.

So far in my apartment I’ve painted two dressers, two nightstands, a TV stand, and 3 side tables. I can’t make up my mind on which side table works best, so I just paint something new, put it in place for a while, then sell it if I don’t like it and find another piece to paint. The hardest part is finding a balance between interesting colors and neutrals so that your home doesn’t look like a circus. You’re always about that bright funky color until it’s sitting in your living room, then you’re like….”Uh, no, that’s not going to work.” But it’s worth it when you find the right piece and you love it every time you walk into a room.




Well there you have it. I’d love if you’d come over to My Breezy Room for a bit and check out some of the furniture makeovers I’ve been up to lately. Thanks again, Julie, for letting me take over your blog for a day!http://www.mybreezyroom.com/

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Dear College Freshmen


Dear College Freshman,

As you bounce off to college in your sassy new outfits, ready to take on the world, I can't help but hate you a little bit. Okay, a lot. You have no idea the fun you are about to have and you are too young and dumb to fully appreciate it. 

Sure you feel on top of that world and that's good, because you are. You are at the very beginning of the best 4 years (or more, if you're smart, as in you're smart to try to stay longer than 4 years) of your life. There's a few things you need to know though to capitalize on this time in your life. 

Lose the sassy new outfit. College is about rolling out of bed at the last possible minute. This might mean heading to class in your sweatpants every now and then. And with the marvelous invention of yoga pants you can still look good decent. 

Gain 15 pounds. Go ahead, everyone's doing it. Just make sure you drop it by Junior or Senior year cause after that it's going to be a bitch to get rid of. So make those 2 am taco bell runs, late night pizza deliveries and grease covered dining hall foods count. This is the last time in your life you can do it and not feel like a guilty cow. 

Apply for those damn scholarships. No one else is doing it, which means free dollas for you. Yeah it's a pain in the arse but so is working everyday of your life just to pay for loans. Seriously, this girl right here is debt free of student loans because of those pretty little scholarships. 

Nap like a baby. Hang those blankets over your bunk bed to make a nice dark cave and crawl in. Wake up when the sun goes down and get your fun on. Never again will you be able to nap daily and you will hate yourself if you don't take advantage while you can.

Your mom will miss you. She won't mind doing your laundry when you come home on occasion. She will want to buy your favorite snacks and make your favorite foods and do things to let you know that she misses you. Eat it up, it won't last forever, so enjoy it while you can because before you know it the laundry fairy will disappear, never to be heard from again.

Schedule like a champ. Plan your class schedule like it's your job, because basically it is. I have found the perfect recipe for success is  to schedule your classes so you have Wednesday's and Friday's off. I'm a big believer in classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays with maybe a Monday night class thrown in. That basically gives you a four day weekend with a nice Wednesday break in between your two days of classes. You can thank me later for this infinite wisdom. 

FOR-EHH-VER

Well my Freshman Frenemies, I think that's enough brilliance for your small little minds today. Now go. Gorge yourself on salty french fries and soft serve in the d-hall and then head home to your bat cave for a nap. Life's about to get good!


Sincerely,

 
Real Life


p.s. I hate you.


Friday, August 16, 2013

7 Quick Takes {13}


1. My husband saved a life yesterday. I thought it deserved its own post so you get two today. Yay!


2. Leaving work early for a wedding today. Yay again!!

3. We leave for vacation next Friday. Yay Yay Yay!

4. Okay, done with the yay's now...I think. Is it normal that I eat more than my husband? I picked up some BBQ for dinner last night and downed my sandwich and all the fries before Seth had finished his sandwich and half his fries. Then he never even ate the second half of the fries. I was mighty tempted to finish them for him (which would have been way too easy) but instead I fed them to Gunnar since I have to wear a swimsuit in a week. Will power at it's finest. 


5. It's back to school week near my neck of the woods. Basically that means my facebook feed is slammed with photo after photo of my "friends" kids on their first day back to school. Since I'm sad I don't get to go back to school and I have yet to produce offspring...here's a nice little throwback for you of my back to school days. Be jealous of that school uniform! Did I ever mention I spent my elementary years at a school in my grandma's basement?? Story for another day. 

Pippi Longstocking would be proud of those braids. Mmhmm.
6. This morning when I went outside to leave for work it felt almost like fall. What the bejeezus? I feel like it hasn't even been summer yet. Especially after that nightmare of a snowstorm winter we had. Good think I will be soaking up some sun in a tropical paradise soon. Then I can come home to fall and apple cider donuts and pumpkin spice candles. Oh yum. Maybe fall isn't too bad....

7. Never really knew what Vine was...still don't really know what Vine is. You should probably watch this video though that is a compilation of the best Vine videos of 2013 so far. It's 11 minutes but I swear it doesn't seem that long at all. Happy Friday. ENJOY!

Linking up at Conversion Diary.

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