My China Hutch Gets a Face Lift

We bought our china hutch five years ago at a thrift store for $35. It was painted hot pink when we bought it and it has been about six other colors since then.


A few months ago, I painted it a pale blue (above, behind the chairs) which I liked, but felt the hutch needed a little more. I never really liked the fussy hardware, so I bought new bin pulls and a couple knobs from this eBay shop on the cheap (I think it was around $30 for everything). The new hardware instantly updated the hutch and helped brightened the room.


Then I bought a few sheets of pretty paper for a couple dollars each from Paper Source, cut the paper to size (being careful to line up the pattern) and double-stick taped the sheets to the backs and sides of the inside of the hutch.


My original plan was to spray glue or even mod podge the paper in place, but so far the double stick tape has served me well. Which I've decided will make my life really easy when I will inevitably want to change out the paper in six months or so. {Is there a medication for whatever it is that I have?}


Have a great weekend! My parents are in town and I'll be busy taking advantage of full-time sitters and my mom's unfailing eye for home decor. See you Monday.

Teaching my girls about Godly sex!

I don't know about you... but figuring out how to educate my children about sex in a Godly way was intimidating the crud out of me!!! As Christian parents Russ and I want our children to learn about sex in context of what we believe.

We believe that God made sex a beautiful gift to be shared only in a marriage relationship. We also want sex to be an open and comfortable topic in our home. Sex is a tremendous blessing and we don't want our kids to feel weird about it or be afraid to talk about it. We want them learning about sex from US and not Hollywood's demented version or from friends who don't know anything either.

We also believe that adoption is something God values so highly that He chose us through spiritual adoption and chose adoption for His own son Jesus.

How in the WORLD was I gonna find a book to help me explain ALL that??? WELL I DID!!! This book is precious and amazing. It covers creation, God's plan for love and marriage, God's plan for sex AND God's plan for adoption!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? It's AWESOME!

It has two sets of writing. The big words are written for younger children and give more basic information. The little words go into more specifics. This book is amazing! My children love it. Kaitlyn (5 1/2) and I have gone through the portion with the large print words. Zoe (10) and I have gone through all the info. They were both very comfortable with the way the info was presented and it has helped me feel more equipped to handle the topic well. Anyway... I thought I should pass it along since I love it so much. Here are the links to Amazon for this book and some others that I ordered. I am using them all and like them.

http://www.amazon.com/Wonderful-Way-That-Babies-Made/dp/0764223410

This one I got for Zoe. It goes through all aspects of personal care for young girls entering puberty. It is terrific. Very glad I got it for her.

http://www.amazon.com/Care-Keeping-You-American-Library/dp/1562476661/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product

I have read this to Zoe and Kaitlyn. I think it's a great book as well. It presents the information in a different but great way. I find it helpful to have both books.

http://www.amazon.com/Before-Was-Born-Gods-Design/dp/1600060145/

I actually didn't order this book but have heard it's great. It's made for younger children. I think like 3-5yrs old... not sure.

http://www.amazon.com/Story-Me-Gods-Design-Sex/dp/1600060137/ref=pd_sim_b_1

I ordered this book to use in the near future with Zoe. It addresses many questions she may have about sex from a biblical perspective. I have looked at it. In talking to her she still is very unaware of many of the issues addressed so we won't go into it yet. We'll address things as we go. It's handy to have it here though. I'll keep all these books close at hand and make sure I keep sex an open and comfortable topic with my girls.

http://www.amazon.com/Whats-Big-Deal-Cares-Design/dp/1600060161/ref=pd_sim_b_2

GOOD LUCK talking about S-E-X with your kids!!!! Hope this helps. :0) Angel

Triple L Fabric and Temporary Wallpaper - Waverly's on a Roll!

I've received a number of emails about this fabric (which was the photo backdrop to the books in my last post).

Believe it or not, the fabric is a $10.95 per yard indoor/outdoor print from Waverly! It's called 'Lovely Lattice' and the color is 'Lagoon'. The print comes in black and citrine as well.


I ordered 4 yards from here to reupholster my dining room settee. I was thrilled with the print, weight and feel - not to mention the stain-resistant qualities of indoor/outdoor fabric.

It's a tiny bit more blue-green in person than the photos imply (hence the name 'lagoon') and I think it is lovely.

It really seems like Waverly is trying to add trendy patterns to all their product lines.

Check out these temporary wallpaper solutions from Waverly (available online and through Sherwin Williams stores):

This black and cream ($24.49 per single roll), here, would be perfect for an entry hall or a small powder room. Or even framed out in molding for a bigger room. Comes in other colors, too.


This ($24.49 per single roll)


seems like a very loose interpretation of this (also available in black and white) from Cole and Son ($100+ per roll).


This leafy wallpaper looks awesome ($25.89 per single roll)


as seen here, via design*sponge


Never again will I associate Waverly with grapevines and antiqued roosters!

Special Delivery

I present to you the books, in all their glory...





Ordered on a Thursday night (with standard shipping), received on Monday. Not too shabby if you ask me.

And, of course, I love them.

{images by me, taken right after the books were received. So if you enlarged the photos and are wondering about the little particles on some of the books - it's just the shipping packaging stuff that I neglected to notice in my excited state. Sorry about that.}

Faux Bois Mirror

Like you already know, faux bois means "fake wood" {doesn't everything sound nicer in French?}.

I've been watching this auction for a faux bois mirror, originally sold at Gumps for $800. While it will certainly go for more, the current price is $66. Auction ends tomorrow.

In an effort to keep myself from buying this beauty, I'm posting it for the masses (well, for all 10 of you that read this blog). Please, bid on this so I won't.


Here are a few more favorite faux bois beauties on the market right now:

This faux bois rug from Pottery Barn is available on eBay in the khaki color.


Or the green version in 8x10, on sale for $299 at Pottery Barn stores.


I can't tell if this cake stand from Bell'occhio is hot or not. It doesn't really scream "sanitary" to my subconscious and I might feel weird serving an actual cake on it. I still think it's cool though. Maybe I'd use it for holding mail and keys on a console table instead?


Two's Company planters here and here via eBay


A pair of Martha's faux bois shams would make an awesome accent to almost anyone's current bedding.


Crate & Barrel makes this stunning console table ($699) that's worth saving for.


It was featured a while back in Elle Decor.


Feeling like a little dose of DIY?


Pick up a wood-graining tool and follow these simple steps from Martha('s minions). She's teaching us to make wrapping paper here, but most of the same principles apply to other faux bois painting projects.


If you're feeling REALLY ambitious, you could do a whole wall. I love that this wall is a peacock blue/green color. I think faux bois looks cooler when you're not trying to make it look like real wood.


via

Not feeling quite that ambitious? See how Abbey totally transformed her trashcan here.

Girfriends Giggle!

Girlfriend's Giggle is one of my favorite events of the year! This was the 3rd year attending for Wendi and I. IT'S SO FUN! The event is a fundraiser for the Women's Shelter. You can spend the whole night doing fun girlie things like waxing, massages, reflexology, eyebrow(OOPS EYELASH!! LOL!) extensions, henna tattoos and WAY WAY more! It raises a TON of money for such a great cause. What a fun night. The ultimate girls night out. :0) Angel