Chair Slips

For the past couple of years my kitchen chairs have been white slipcovered parsons chairs.     The chairs are so comfy and the slipcovers wash up pretty well buuuuuut….I have not actually bought kitchen chairs in over 20 years.     For a long time, I had some ladderback chairs my mama and daddy bought for me in the 70’s, then when I got remarried David and I got some mismatched chairs at auctions until I borrowed the parsons chairs from son and DIL.     When we put mama in assisted living last year, she had 6 really nice ladderback chairs that have been in storage and I decided I’d like to use two of them, mixing it up with two chairs I recently ordered from World Market.    Plus, the legs on my kitchen table are so gorgeous and I hated hiding them with the parsons chairs.

Love the legs of this table!

I also love my new chairs from World Market!

A while back I saw a cute “slipcover” that Chris at Just Beachy made for her ladderback chairs and I so wanted to steal borrow this idea for my chairs.    

I don’t have a tutorial but they were pretty simple, with the exception of the ruffle.    I don’t have a ruffler (is that what it’s called) on my machine so they are trial and error (mostly error) ruffles.   In fact, I will eventually take the one off on hubby’s chair and re-do it (eventually – does day ever come?)     I simply determined the length I wanted my slipcover to come to on the front and back of the chair, and cut two equal rectangles to that measurement.    Then I cut my ruffle 3 1/2 times the width of the chair back and added the side tabs.     Finally, I stenciled the date of our birthday on the back (as Chris did on her chairs) and that’s it!     I am not a seamstress…..let me say that again, I AM NOT A SEAMSTRESS!   But they turned out pretty well so I can live with my mistakes.    (In case you’re wondering, I used leftover drop cloths for my slips so these cost me next to nothing to make)

WARNING!   PICTURE OVERLOAD AHEAD…..

   

Close up of the stencil (this is MY chair….my birthday is September 12th)

Front view of chair slip (still loving my baker’s rack I got for my birthday….you can read about that here)

  

Looking into the kitchen from the den (oh, look at the green fan - since we took down the ceiling fan, I have to keep a fan on the counter to stay comfortable)

  

I love the mix of the two chair styles

First attempt at a ruffle….too skimpy and not sure what’s going on with those “wings” …..I will definately re-do this ruffle!   You live and learn, right?

Hubby’s birth date (September 24th)  (And you can see that side seam where my bobbin was going out so I did rip out that ugly thread and it looks much better now)

 

 

Simple centerpiece using an old dough bowl with “faux” pears

Thanks for stopping by today.    I’m heading to L.A. (lower Alabama) on Friday for a nice 3 day visit with my best friend, who I have not seen since March.    I can’t wait!

Winner of Redi Shade

The winner of the discount coupon from Redi Shade is Rhiannon, from the great state of Hawaii!    (BTW, my sister and her hubby are planning a little trip to Hawaii in November…hey, where’s my invite?)    Rhiannon said “I would really like a Redi Shade for my kitchen and son’s room.”     I know she will be happy with her shade and maybe she’ll post pictures to let us see how it looks in her home.

Busy weekend coming up.    I’m heading to daughter’s house later this morning since her hubby is in Arkansas for the Alabama-Arkansas game.    Of course, we are all Auburn fans, with the exception of SIL.   Shannon went to the Auburn game last weekend so now it’s SIL’s turn.     We are going to be doing a little fall decorating at her house plus some decluttering and redecorating in Taylor’s bedroom.     Hubby is working a ball tournament all day then he’ll be up this evening to cook out and watch some Auburn football!     WAAAAR EAGLE!

Super Duper Redi Shade

I’m always looking for great window treatments that compliment my home and offer privacy and security.    When the folks at Redi Shade Simple Fit contacted me to review their product, I immediately jumped at the chance.    I was really impressed as to the quality and ease of installation.      Click here to read all about this revolutionary product and for YOUR chance to get one of your own at a discount.

Nightstand and Lamp Makeover

So what did I do on my birthday, you might ask?     Got up, ran outside before it got unbearably hot, and primed this free nightstand hubby picked up off the side of the road last year.    Had no idea what I’d do with it but I just couldn’t part with it.    Then when DIL moved McKinley into her new bedroom (read about that here) I knew this little french-y nightstand would be perfect for her room.

(don’t pay attention to the rusty chair to the right….it’s supposed to look like that in my yard….and see how awful the grass looks….it’s terribly dry here)

Most everyone has either had one of these pieces in at some point  or bought one to paint.     I decided not to remove the hardware but just paint over it.

I picked up this primer yesterday and let me tell you, it is sanity in a can!    It leaves a beautiful base coat and I was even tempted to use it as my actual paint color.     But I had a sample size jar I had mixed up at Home Depot in “Popcorn” so I decided to use it.     However, I highly recommend this primer.

It dries so smooooth!     And for the record, I did not sand this piece or use liquid sander.     I was worried the paint would not adhere to this piece of furniture but after I primed it, no problem.

 

I also primed this lamp I had that I wasn’t using….then sprayed it with Ballet Slipper Pink….a perfect color for a little girl!

  

Now we’ll all just have to wait to see how all of this comes together in McKinley’s room.     I am waiting for son to deliver the headboard to me so that I can paint it to match the nightstand.     I’ll be adding an applique and doing a little distressing, then her room will be “done”.      After that we’ll start on the baby’s room.

Between priming and painting, my mom took us to lunch for my birthday.    

Mama loves this bloomin’ onion!

I ordered my usual-----Signature Steak and Wedge Salad

Taylor and Pop lovin’ on each other (they do this a lot!)

And now for the best present I got…..

(Notice how she used orange and blue for Auburn….I’m telling you….her mama is raising that girl right!)

My very own, one-of-a-kind, handmade birthday card from my Taterbug!

Happy Birthday to Me!

 

Sunday, September 12th is my birthday…let’s just say I’m still in my 5th decade.     Today I asked Taylor if she knew how old I was and she said “39”….yeah, I’ll take that!

Last weekend hubby surprised me on our trip out of town with a birthday cake in our room, a dozen chocolate covered strawberries and a fruit and cheese tray.     I ate ALL the strawberries by myself! 

 

After we got back home Saturday from our trip, we went to daughter’s to watch football, then on Sunday we went to son’s to spend some time with our new little grandson. 

Here I am loving on this precious angel.   (Notice the address sticker I have on my hand…..McKinley put that on me…..she said it was my bandaid)

My 90 year old mom is taking her “baby” (me), the hubs, and daughter and her family out to eat tomorrow at the restaurant of my choice.     Today mama told me the day I was born was the happiest day of her life!    

This past week has been very busy (as usual).     Thursday evening I went back to son’s house in Birmingham to help with the baby as son was out of town on business.        Before heading home, I stopped by Rhoda’s and visited with her for a little bit, then over to Consigning Interiors to buy a present for myself from hubby.    Ever do that, buy yourself something, then tell him what '”he" bought?     While I was there, I finally got to meet another blogging friend, Elizabeth Ann.     Check out her blog if you get a chance as well as her booth at Consigning Interiors.

So here’s my birthday present….a little baker’s rack that fits in just perfect in this spot in the kitchen.     Even hubby likes it!  

  

         

(Sorry for the crooked photo!)

I  was so excited with my baker’s rack that I just threw some stuff on it to see how it would look.    Of course, the displays will be subject to change!

     

 

 

I really needed some extra storage for all my white dishes and iron stone and this is perfect.

Also, I’m switching out my chairs in the kitchen to two of my mom’s ladder back chairs and two woven chairs from World Market which I just ordered.   

(this is not my table and chairs but these are the chairs I ordered)

Ya’ll have a great week!

Pottery Barn inspired toy chest

Recently while cleaning out my closet for installation of our new carpet, I “found” the old toy chest my kids used 25+ years ago.    Once I got it emptied, I didn’t want to get rid of it, mainly for sentimental reasons.     Then it hit me that it would be the perfect toy chest for my grandson Jackson’s room.     Taking my cue from a toy chest featured in a PB kids catalog, I shamelessly copied it.    The toy chest is a little roughed up but I think that adds to its character and it will certainly get dinged up when Jackson throws his toys and trucks in it.   

So here’s what the PB toy chest looks like….

…and it costs $199.00 plus S&H!

I spoil my grandkids but I’m really not into spending over $200 on a toy chest!

So I got out some stencils and red craft paint and in just a few minutes I had my own version of the PB toy chest…

Had to do a little gluing and clamping of one of the boards that had come off.  

I cut out each letter of his name and taped them down, spacing evenly.   This was a quick and easy project and will come in real handy for Jackson’s room.       

Then in a few years when Jackson outgrows it, I’ll stain over “Jackson” and stencil “Cade” on it, so both of my grandsons will get to use the toy chest that belonged to their parents.     Pretty neat, huh?     I thought so, too!

Looks like my glue didn’t dry clear.     Any ideas on how to get this glue residue off?     My husband said try using something like Goop Off.  

We’re off to the gulf area again for a couple of days then SEC football starts Saturday.     W-A-A-A-R EAGLE!

Welcome Baby Cade

Yesterday at 3:09 p.m. my son and his family welcomed a new addition to their family….a baby boy!    

It has been such a long wait from this …..

to this!

Isn’t he gorgeous!   

What a long day we had.    The doctor was supposed to break Jennifer’s water at 5:00 a.m. so I got up at  4:30 a.m. and headed to Birmingham around 5:30 (BTW, traffic was crazy even at 7:00 a.m.!)    When the doctor came in to do an ultrasound to see how the baby was positioned, he found out he was breached, so they decided to do a c-section, which Jennifer was not happy about at all!   She was originally scheduled for surgery at 1:00 p.m. but the doctor’s schedule ran late so they finally took her to the O.R. about 2:40 and at 3:09 this angel baby arrived!   

Here’s dad “suiting” up

I don’t know about you, but when I had babies I looked nothing like this right before I delivered!    She has the easiest labor and deliveries I’ve ever seen!

My boy and his boy (those lights make his hair look green!)

Big sister McKinley holding her little brother for the first time

 

And of course cousin Taylor had to get in on the action.     Being a twin, she never got to hold a new little brother or sister…as her “baby” brother was only 2 minutes younger than her!   And yes, that’s an Auburn hat he’s wearing!

I’ll be doing babysitting duty for the next couple of weeks so my blogging will have to take a backseat.    I do have quite a lot of decorating projects on going as the painters have just about completed painting the rooms since the water heater damage.    The tile floor in the master bath will go in next week and then carpet.   After that two more rooms will be painted and then hopefully once I get back to my “normal” schedule I can put the rooms together and have some photos to share.

My inspiration for our bedroom came from this photo I got from the wonderful Cote de Texas blog (thanks Joni!) as the headboard is almost identical to mine as well as the drapery panels and dust ruffle….fingers crossed my room turns out half as pretty as this one!

I decided to go with Macadamia as the wall color in our bedroom and bathroom and I love it.   It’s the perfect khaki color, not too dark or too light.    I also bit the bullet and ordered a duvet cover and euro shams from Pottery Barn (like the one above) but I haven’t tried it out on the bed yet. 

Have a great week and stay safe…..

Judy

Color Suggestions?

Since our crisis with the hot water heater (if you missed that you can read about it here) I am now having to chose a new color for my bedroom walls as well as carpet.     I have not liked the wall color since it went up about 2 years ago so while this ordeal is very stressful, I’m looking forward to a new wall color in the bedroom.

Now I need all you decorating divas to chime in and give me some suggestions.     Here’s what I’m working with and what has to stay:

1.   Upholstered headboard from Ballards in creamy pintuck.     I have been using a white matlasse spread and with dark khaki dust ruffle and shams.    It’s not working.     For whatever reason, the headboard comes off yellow-y with the white although I’ve seen that combination in blogland but of course, colors aren’t always true on the internet.    I’ve also considered making a “slipcover” for the headboard with ties on the side to match a dust ruffle and shams….see I’m all over the place on this!

2.    We have a triple dresser and highboy in a dark cherry finish…these have to stay.

3.    The window treatments are tortishell bamboo blinds and my go-to drop cloth drapes.    I plan on sewing a wide contrasting border at the bottom like I did in my dining room but haven’t done that yet b/c I’m not sure what I’m using on the bed!

I wanted to just paint the walls a creamy color but that’s been impossible to decide.     While at the paint store Saturday, someone in there was getting another gallon of paint in Macadamia…which I really like.     Another color sample I have is Woodstock Tan which is a really rich color but hubby thinks it’s too dark.  I guess I could have the Woodstock Tan cut to 1/2 the strength.

Now I’d love any suggestions for paint color and if you have some inspiration pictures you could send me a link to, I’d love that as well.     The sheetrock work is being done tomorrow morning so I’m thinking the painting will start over the weekend.

I can’t wait to hear from ya’ll!