Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Round 2...

In my continuing quest to become a proficient user of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and Wax I present to you project number two...


This stool is done in Annie Sloan Napoleonic Blue with Dark Wax. This was my first time to use the dark wax and I love the depth it gives to the finish.


Isn't that pretty?

Here sit my two little stools together. I don't think they turned out too bad for a beginner.

I love those yellow tulips with the Napoleonic Blue. Such a happy contrast!

Spring is definitely in the air!

Now, what shall I paint next?!

Are You More Garden or Gun?

Susan from Between Naps On The Porch took a quiz from Garden & Gun Magazine and posted it on her blog. (If you aren't familiar with Susan be sure to pop over and check out her blog. It's fabulous!)

Anyway, Susan found the quiz to be thought provoking so she challenged her readers to copy and paste the quiz in to her comments section and answer them. What a great way to get to know our blog friends better! I love the idea and really, really hope you will play along.

Here are my answers:

1. Favorite Cocktail: Ketel One Dirty Martini
2. Favorite Getaway: Playa del Carmen Mexico
3. If you could meet anyone in the world, who would it be? Jesus Christ
4. Daydream of the moment? Warm, sunny day on a caribbean beach
5. Your personality in one word? Loving
6. Are you more garden or gun? Garden
7. If you were road-tripping, what's the one album you'd take with you? Impossible to name one so here's three! Lyle Lovett - My Baby Don't Tolerate, Doobie Brothers - Greatest Hits or Soundtrack To The Big Chill.
8. What are you reading? About to start The Hunger Games
9. What do you want to do when you grow up? I would love to be a Philanthropist
10. What is your greatest extravagance? Guilty Pleasure? A day at the spa including a massage and facial.
11. Favorite Southern Food? Fried pork chops, Hoppin' John, greens and hoe cakes.
12. Most treasured possession? Can't name just one - its a tie between my wedding rings and family photographs
13. Favorite Southern name? Layla Grace
14. What talent would you most like to have? Musician
15. What's your current state of mind? Grateful

Now it's your turn. Here are the questions. Just copy and paste them in to my comments section and insert your answers (and as Susan suggested, and I did, feel free to use this idea on your own blog). I can't wait to learn more about you!

1. Favorite Cocktail:
2. Favorite Getaway:
3. If you could meet anyone in the world, who would it be?
4. Daydream of the moment:?
5. Your personality in one word?
6. Are you more garden or gun? .
7. If you were road-tripping, what's the one album you'd take with you?
8. What are you reading?
9. What do you want to do when you grow up?
10. What is your greatest extravagance? Guilty Pleasure?
11. Favorite Southern Food?
12. Most treasured possession?
13. Favorite Southern name?
14. What talent would you most like to have?
15. What's your current state of mind?

How do you take your distress?

I've taken on another Annie Sloan Chalk Paint project. This is really my first try at using the paint, heavily distressing the piece and using the clear wax. It's still a work in progress but I thought I would share some photos and possibly get some advice or comments from those of you who have used the paint. I LOVE the look this paint creates and hope to eventually be able to use it to create something that looks like this...


I am in LOVE with that piece of furniture! Isn't it absolutely gorgeous? It was done by Michelle of Stiltskin Studios. You should go check out her Etsy shop. She has some really fun pieces and is very talented.

Okay, back to me and my project. I'll just go ahead and declare it up front - I am not talented! Everything I know about using Annie Sloan Chalk Paint I have learned from youtube tutorials and ebooks. In other words, I have no experience and pretty much no idea what I'm doing. Yes, I realize a class would do me good. Anyway, I thought I should start small so when I ran across this stool at a local re-sale shop I decided it would be perfect for the task at hand.

Some of you may take one look at the transformation and say to yourself, "self, why would she go and ruin a perfectly good stool"? And, if you're not in to the "shabby chic" and/or distressed look I completely understand your question. With that said, here she is...

I covered the stool in one coat of Annie Sloan Old White chalk paint, allowed it to dry and sanded the entire piece with a very fine (150) sanding paper. Once that was done I applied a second coat of paint, allowed it to dry and sanded it again. With the second sanding I distressed the corners and high spots with sand paper and a sanding block. I then applied a coat of Annie Sloan Clear Wax and allowed it to dry for 24 hours. Finally I buffed the stool to a smooth finish.

What do you think? Too much distress? I am considering going back and adding a third coat of paint and using less distress the next time around. I suppose, like coffee or tea, it's all a matter of taste. So tell me lovely readers, how do you take your distress?

Dream a little dream...

The guest room is officially ready for - well, ready for guests. There are still a couple of things I would like to do but they are future projects that will come in time.

I am in love with the blue walls and white bedding with pops of bright colors from the quilt and accessories.

Check out the little black dresser. If only you could have seen it before. Let's just so that it was so bad I refused to take before pictures. I honestly didn't think it would turn out well enough to use but thanks to Annie Sloan's Chalk Paint (I used Graphite) and Clear Wax the 'ole girl turned out pretty well. This was my very first furniture painting experience and I loved working on it. So much in fact that I can't wait to find my next project. If you love the look of distressed furniture you should check out Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. Even I can't screw it up!

Oh, and I love the faux glass drawer pulls. Very pretty, not to mention affordable.

I decided to go with a frameless antique looking mirror. It jut seems to fit the room.

See the piece of art reflected in the mirror. It says, "Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the wind longs to play with your hair". Such a lovely thought.

I adore this light fixture. Honestly I wanted to use a small chandelier but in the spirit of practicality I went this route instead. As it turns out, it is just perfect!

See the soft and pretty shadows its reflection creates?

When searching Pinterest for decorating ideas I ran across a flower arrangement I fell in love with. This is my knock-off version of it and I'm pretty pleased. I'm still searching for the perfect dark green, textured piece to add and I'm sure I'll come up with it in time.

Okay, see that box window? I plan to hang a straight, fabric covered cornice board - I just have to find the right fabric and I'm honestly not sure what that is. So, future project - in the meantime I'm in search of the perfect fabric. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

A direct shot of the windows.

So, there it is. Our cottage-like, fresh and inviting bedroom beckoning its first guests to snuggle in and dream a little dream.

The Best ________ I Ever Ate...

After watching several hours of the Food Network today I decided to put together my very own version of The Best ______ I Ever Ate. Without further ado, here we go...

Best Pizza: Pepperoni, Coal Vines - Southlake, Tx

Best Fried Chicken: Mrs. Allen's Family Style Meals - Sweetwater, Tx

Best Tex-Mex: Mexican Plate, Franco's Cafe - San Angelo, Tx

Best Steak: Filet Mignon, Papa Brothers Steakhouse - Dallas, Tx

Best Street Tacos: Tacos al Pastor, Carboncitas - Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Best Chinese: Sweet and Sour Shrimp, China Garden - San Angelo, Tx

Best Breakfast: Salmon Eggs Benedict, The Over Easy Cafe - Sanibel Island, Florida

Best Seafood: Grilled Lobster Tail, La Playa Beach Club - X-pu Ha, Quintana Roo, Mexico

Best Cajun Meal: Barbecued Shrimp - Pascal's Manale, New Orleans, La

Best Chicken Fried Steak: It is a tie between Mary's Cafe - Strawn, Tx and my Mom's - Sweetwater, Tx

Best Country Gravy: My Mom's - Sweetwater, Tx

Best Mac and Cheese: Adult Mac and Cheese, Kenny's Grill - Addison, Tx

Best Sandwich: Pugs and Kellys Totally Wicked - Weinberger's Deli, Grapevine, Tx

Best Oysters on the Half Shell: Another tie - Felix, New Orleans, La and Grand Central Oyster Bar, Manhattan, NY

Best Spaghetti and Meatballs: The Senor's, Grapevine, Tx

Best Burger: Dirty Love Burger, The Love Shack - Ft Worth, Tx

Best Gumbo, Prejeans Booth- Jazz Fest, Pheasant, Quail and Andouille Gumbo, New Orleans, La

Pasta with Pink Vodka Sauce, Classic Cafe - Grapevine, Tx

Top 5 Best Random Bites:

Salmon Wellington, The Canary, VanCouver, BC
Thanksgiving Lunch, Can't remember the name of the now defunct restaurant!, Fredericksburg, Tx
Stuffed Eggplant, Pascal's Manale, New Orleans, La
Godiva Chocolate Cake, Morton's Steakhouse, Dallas, Tx
Radiatore Pasta with Smoked Salmon, Classic Cafe, Roanoke, Tx

Top Favorite Meal Of All Time:
My Moma's chicken fried steak or pan fried pork chops with squash, carrots, mashed potatoes, country gravy and rolls.

Yep, you can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl!

Sneak Peek...

I must tell you, I am so dang excited! The paint is complete, the blinds are hung and the beautiful cut glass fixture is installed. The bedding is in place minus some accent pieces. There is still much to be done but here's a little sneak peek of the fresh new guest room at Casa de Reaves...

Pinning Away = Pining Away...

The makeover of the guest room is about to be in full swing. The room has been completely cleaned out - minus the bed and a shelf that will require assistance from the Señor in order to be moved.

The painters are scheduled to arrive Tuesday morning at 9:30. This happens to coincide perfectly with the Señor's upcoming travel schedule. This occurred by sheer coincidence but is a good thing as 1) the Señor doesn't enjoy construction projects and 2) the Señor doesn't like having strangers in his house.

I on the other hand am ready. Bring it on. I'm like a kid with a giant box of crayons and I'm ready to color!

I've been told the painters will take three days to complete their work. Day one the yucky popcorn mess with be removed from the ceiling in the hallway and guest bedroom. Once that is complete the ceilings will be textured and painted. Finally the "surfaces" in the hallway and guest bedroom will be painted. "Surfaces" include the baseboards, cabinets, doors, etc. So by Friday we should have clean, fresh new paint.

As I have said before; patience is not one of my strong suits. The past few days have included a lot of waiting. Again, not one of my strong suits. So what's an impatient girl to do while waiting? Well, shop of course! And that my friends is where the greatest time suck of all time enters stage right. Pinterest.

Ah, Pinterest. I do believe in the past week or so I have combed over every bedroom picture ever "pinned" to Pinterest. Some possibly twice. Yes, I do love me some Pinterest. With that said I will just come right out and state that whoever came up with Pinterest deserves a seat right next to that famous Facebook genius Mark Zuckerberg. Yes, Mr. Zuckerberg proudly sits first chair in the competition for the "Greatest Time Suck Of All Time". Mr. (or perhaps Ms.) Pinterest sits second chair.

So, with the help of Pinterest, a little imagination and the wonders of on-line shopping I have put together what in my mind's eye is a dreamy guest room. Who knows, it might even end up on Pinterest.