introducing our DIY project #2

there was really nothing to this one. it is a relatively new piece from wal-mart, i think, that my mom bought for my old bathroom at their house. it really wasn't being used anymore since i have moved out, and my mom said she would love for us to have it. it worked out perfectly considering we needed some kind of cabinet for our new bathroom because it is much bigger, but doesn't really have that much more storage.

we are so bad at remembering to take "before" pictures, because we get so excited about the project itself, but this cabinet was stark white with silver knobs. we took it apart, sanded it down and painted it with 3 coats of glidden's mustard seed. then we replaced the old silver knobs with these beautiful ceramic hobby lobby knobs.

putting the glass back in the doors

the finished product

a close up on the knobs

easy as pie, but we are pretty proud. i think it looks kind of vintage, and i like anything vintage.

did i mention how much i love this

martha and i made these headbands when we were at my grandparents lake house and i think i wear it everyday. my grandmother had the most awesome old buttons. i love it!

sweet picture, i know.

photo of the week

my granddad is one of my favorite people! he is by far the greatest granddad imaginable and i try to go see him and my grandmother as often as possible. when i was little my feelings for my grandparents were no different, and we also went to see then as much as we could. however, when it was time to come back to memphis, i used to cry and pat the seat of the car telling them to sit down and come with me. apparently i could really throw a hissy fit when it was time to leave "g and g's".

i was recently telling martha about this occurrence and the sweet thing my granddad did to try to keep me from being so sad when i was away from him. he used to record himself on a cassette tape talking about his week and the things he was doing and thinking about; he would even read books and sing...yes, sing to me. then when we would see him again, he would give new tapes to my mom for me to listen to when we were back home. oh, and if you were wondering, yes, i was spoiled and the only grandchild for 5 years. the point is, i found a picture of myself listening to one of granddad's tapes and it made me happy. i think

he should still make them for me.

i know i would still listen.

i love walking

i realized yesterday how much i love walking...outside that is.

yesterday morning ryan and i got up early and went walking down peabody and all throughout the central gardens neighborhood. we had bama with us, of course, and it was just so unbelievably pleasant. i love looking at people's flowers and yards, waving at people leaving their homes to go to school and work, smelling the flowers, petting random dogs, acting like we own the homes and discussing what we would change about them, and being the only 2 people and 1 dog walking around at that time. it is one of my favorite things.

then yesterday afternoon i went over to cari's grandmother's house by harding, and we walked to audubon park and to the farmer's market and back. it was such a wonderful time to catch up and enjoy the day together.

wish list

these things would look so great in our new apartment...

i want to put mouthwash and lentils in these i want to hang this on the wallthis will feel good on my feet this would look beautiful on our couch
ryan wants a chair and a half, but i think this would doi have a perfect place for this

this is a perfect desk chair

i need this to cover the window in our bedroomi need this to sit on a shelf
notice it is called a "wish" list, and wishes they will remain.

happy week

there were a lot of great things that made this week a happy one. 

first of all, i got to see a patient that now walks but was once paralyzed from the waist down when i took care of him. he comes to see his old nurses every time he is at the hospital for an appointment. i shed a tear (a happy tear) every time i see him now because he is a miracle. i love him and his family so much! 

secondly, i made homemade buttercream icing for some cupcakes i made for a baby shower at work this week. i've already told basically everyone i know, but i'm proud of myself so get over it.

we just finished watching the movie "the kite runner" and i highly suggest it. however, if you have the time, the book is better.

next, i guess would be the furniture makeover that ryan and i did. here are 2 more pieces that we are working on for the new apartment. i think the red nightstand is going to stay as is (i did paint the inside because it smells like mildew and i sanded the edges to enhance its rustic-antique look). the

yellow table obviously needs a top, but my dad is working on that. it's going to be my sewing/crafting table. i think i'm going to paint the whole thing green when it is put together. 

did i mention that my granddad found both of those pieces on the street where he lives?

last but not least, when i got home from work thursday night, these were waiting for me. a freshly picked bouquet of zinnias from my mother's garden, put there by none other than the hubs. oh yea, and he cleaned the whole apartment ceiling to floor (he mopped and everything). i love fresh flowers, the smell of a clean living space, and my husband! 

revision

okay, so ryan just posted pictures of the aforementioned dresser on his blog, so check them out and let me know what knobs would look best. please.

our first DIY project!

since we are moving into a bigger apartment, we need more furniture! i have a very retro, mustard brown tall dresser that i used in college and thought would be perfect storage in our new home, except it is ugly. this past winter, leslie gave me a great idea for a dresser/bedside table that she found on a blog that i now love, cucumbersome. i have wanted to do this project with this dresser since leslie gave me the idea, but i have just now felt like i would have a place to put the dresser.

yesterday, ryan, my mom, and i finally did it and it looks awesome, if i do say so myself. we painted it a light gray color called "secret passage", and i think it will look good with everything we have in our apartment now. i am sad to say we do not have knobs for it yet, because we didn't like anything we saw at lowe's and i really can't decide what i like. i forgot to take a picture of it yesterday, and it is still at my parent's house so i can't post a picture now. i will post one this weekend, because i need your suggestions on knobs. be thinking...

a great read

apparently "real simple" magazine (my favorite magazine) has started a quarterly little magazine called "real simple family", and they just sent it to me in the mail yesterday. it was not only a pleasant surprise, but gave me something lovely to read at work today.

one of the articles in this first edition of "real simple family" was about children's books that are good to read as an adult. most of the books they mentioned, i agree, are good reads, but i am sad to say that my all time favorite children's book of all time did not make the list.

the phantom tollbooth by norton juster. this is a wonderful story with great illustrations. it kind of reminds me of alice in wonderland, but better. i read this book so many times as an elementary school child the pages started falling out. in fact, i don't even have a copy of it anymore because my original fell apart. i love it!

this is my suggestion for best children's book to read as an adult, and i feel like more people should appreciate its brilliance. now i want to go read it all over again.

let's start at the very beginning

well, this is my first blog entry and the beginning of something i never thought i would do.  i think i just wanted to make a blog to design one, but that is much more difficult than i thought it would be. martha, i still need your help. 

it seems appropriate that i should explain how the name of my blog came to be for my first post.

blueberry hill came to me this weekend whilst relaxing in the paradise of my grandparents lake house. when we are there, we always listen to the same radio station that plays the same songs from the 40's and 50's. one little ditty that i always hear when i'm there (and of course heard this weekend) is "blueberry hill" by none other than fats domino, and it always makes me happy. i have a dream of somewhere living in a house that has a name and i think "blueberry hill" would be perfect. it also applies because blue is my favorite color and the color of my eyes, and because so far in life my most famous recipe is my homemade blueberry muffins. now every time i see my blog i will think of my favorite people (jerry and frankie jetton) and my favorite place (their lake house) and i will be overwhelmingly joyful.