February 2024

As I've been going through my Google photos albums to find pictures for these belated posts and to try and jog my memories of what happened a year ago, I've realized two things: 1.) Aside from our annual road trip and Chrismas time, I didn't really take a ton of pictures from our daily life, and 2.) Roughly three-quarters of the remaining pictures are either of my before and after projects or (more prominently) pictures of my flowers/garden.  This post heavily features the before-and-afters, but just you wait -- the flowers are coming shortly.  Hahahahaha.  {Fun fact:  every Monday when Ethan would video call me on his P-day (ie Preparation day -- a weekly occurrence where he had the day off from proselyting and was able to take care of things like laundry, grocery shopping, and more recreational activities like playing pickle ball or going fishing), I would give him what I liked to call his weekly Garden Tour where I'd walk around and show him everything that was blooming in the front and back yards.  I'm pretty sure he loved it.  Or at least, was very good at humoring me.  LOL.}

Anyway, it's time to get to the recapping, so here we go...

• Sophie's Bday

I'm going to be honest -- the majority of this post is going to be picture heavy and text light, because I don't remember all of the details of every little thing that happened last February.  With that in mind, Sophie celebrated her 17th birthday with some friends as well as her family.  She was showered with perfect-for-her presents, with a lot of candy, k-pop, and cans of Dr Pepper (with some bubble bath thrown in for good measure.)  😊

"Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir" is one of those things that I just don't get, but that Sophie (and my other girls) LOVE and think is the best show ever. *insert shoulder shrug emoji*

I couldn't really tell you which k-pop group is featured on this candle, but it doubled nicely as a candle for her to blow out in place of a birthday cake.  Hahahaha.

• Project Time Part 2

And now -- time for some more before-and-afters!!  Hahaha.  This set of furniture refinishing features a vintage Lane cedar chest that I found at the thrift store and scored for free (thanks to a combination of a slashed price -- due to the chest being locked and with no key -- and a $5 buyer's reward coupon that I redeemed to snap the chest right up) and some pieces I bought off of Facebook marketplace.  

As soon as I saw this, I absolutely fell in love with it and had to get it.  It didn't hurt that it didn't cost me any money.  Hahaha.  But seriously, though.  I loved the lines and its mid-century-modern-ness.  Lol.

Fun fact:  Every Lane cedar chest is stamped on the bottom with a style and serial number.  Another fun fact: The serial number (read backwards) tells you the date it was made.  So, in this case the serial number tells us that date is 042959 -- or, in other words, April 29, 1959.  So cool, amiright??

The Before -- which, as you can see, was missing some trim on the front and like I mentioned above, it was locked.  Try as I might, I could not find an exact replica of this particular style anywhere online.  I was hoping to find one just for reference and inspiration sake, but alas, it was not to be.  The only piece of information I was able to deduce was that the finish on the cedar chest was called "blonde mahogany."  (And it was kind of a pain to strip it all off.)

Here we have it after a couple of rounds of stripping, but pre-sanding down.

I couldn't find any trim that matched the original, so I decided to leave it off entirely.  Unfortunately, even with all of the sanding I did, I couldn't quite eliminate the marks from the stain around those pieces of trim.  As a result, I ended up doing a "tan wash" (a really watered down tan colored paint that I brushed onto the chest and then wiped off immediately) to try and even out the color/tone.  {See below.}

The After...

I ended up having to drill through the lock to get the chest open -- and believe me when I say it took forever and was a whole lot more difficult to do than the internet led me to believe.  Hahahaha.  Yet another fun fact:  These older Lane cedar chests have actually been recalled BECAUSE of that lock, which is a safety hazard for kids who might end up accidentally locking themselves in and getting stuck there.  Once I drilled the lock out, I decided to just replace it with a wooden disk that I stained a similar color to the actual lock and then glued it into place.  Overall, I'm really pleased with the way it all turned out.

The Before... 

a lovely Hepplewhite style dresser that I found on Facebook marketplace 

After stripping the stain of the dresser (which was really difficult and took FOREVER) and sanding it down, I re-stained it with a combination of Special Walnut, Early American, and Red Mahogany and then finished it off with a polycrylic top coat.  I loved the original drawer pulls, so after cleaning them the best I could, I used Rub n Buff to brighten them up.

** Edited to add that it would appear that stripping paint off furniture pieces is always a pain and more time-consuming than I'm expecting.  Lol.

 

The After

The Before...

I had been searching for a sideboard for our dining room forever, and when I saw this one on Facebook marketplace it really called to me.  Haha.  It's a handmade Amish piece, and the guy I bought it from said his parents bought it in the 50s. 

(This antique washstand was bundled with the sideboard.)

The finish on the sideboard was an absolute beast to remove.  It had some kind of brown glaze on top of green paint, and that paint -- let me tell you, it was actually impossible to get all of it off.  Even after several rounds of paint stripper, and round after round of sanding, there are still flecks of the green paint that I just couldn't get out of the oak grain.  Boooooo.

And speaking of the oak grain, I don't know why on earth it was ever covered up with paint in the first place!!!  I was thrilled when I uncovered the "tiger oak" on both the sideboard and washstand.  It's technically a quarter sawn white oak, which refers to the method used when the lumber is milled, and the tiger stripes are caused by the way the growth rings are sliced into.  Apparently, tiger oak furniture was popular from the late 19th century into the 1920s.

I found the door and drawer pulls on Amazon, and I kind of love the art deco-y vibes that they give off.

I decided to line the drawers with some peel and stick wallpaper, which -- along with using some Howard's Feed-N-Wax (a wood polish and conditioner that smells like oranges) -- helped to eliminate the old, musty smell of the wood.

The After...

which is now filled with various craft supplies.  Hahaha.

Here is the mostly finished washstand, but to be honest, I don't really have a vision for where I want this to go or what purpose it will serve, so even a year later, its still not completely done.

• Valentine's Day

Our 5 days of Valentine tradition is still going strong, and with Ethan and Grace out of the house, I had to send them a little care package so they could feel the love as well.  For each "day of Valentine" I give the kids a little gift -- and I do mean LITTLE, for the most part.  Candy, trinkety kinds of things, and our now traditional "Haiku for Day 2."  LOL.  For this year, I also got some little squishmallows for their gift on Day 5 -- or, you know, the ACTUAL Valentine's Day -- and that was a wrap on our celebrations!  Hahaha.

Apparently, I only took pictures of Ethan and Grace's haikus.  Whoops.

For Ethan...

Purest heart of gold,

Loving and serving each day --

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!  🩷 MOM

For Grace...

Inherently Fun,

Brimming with all that is good --

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!  🩷 MOM

The aforementioned Squishmallows, lined up on the counter and waiting for the kids to get home from school.

Almost as gorgeous as the pink tulips is this vase I found while out thrifting one day.  😍

Isaac's "Love is..."

Love is God, my mom, and my friends. 😍

• My Bday

My 44th birthday was a delight, with Scott and the kids really knocking it out of the park with my gift options.  I was also spoiled with presents from my family that put a smile on my face.  😊

Some puzzles, books, and a Lego flower bouquet.

• Kid Happenings

To finish things off, here's a bit of a photo dump of the random pictures I could find to document February of 2024...

Super Detective Work!  Awarded To:  Isaac

For solving the Math Mystery:  Case of the Kidnapped Groundhog

I guess Isaac is just a math-mystery-solving maniac!  Hahaha.  Here he is with a friend and a solved "Case of the Heartbreak Hitman."

You may find that there's an overrepresentation of Isaac pictures these days, but that's simply because he's the most amenable to posing for me.  Hahaha.  (That hair, though. 😂)

Speaking of that hair...

Hahahaha.  I'm pretty sure this was pre-haircut, but apparently I don't have a post shot.

Grace enjoyed a visit from a friend back home.

And finally, here is Ethan's missionary plaque, just a few short months before he came home...

3 Nephi 5:13

Behold, I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.  I have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they might have everlasting life.

Kentucky Louisville Mission

May 2022 - May 2024

And that's a wrap!  The next installment of the blog will be another picture heavy post as we cover the happenings of March (which included a weekend in New Orleans for me and the girls -- and Olivia Rodrigo in concert.  Spoiler alert:  It was a blast!!)  Until next time...