Candy Colored Front Porch Remodel!

last summer the Mister tore the railing off of our front porch.  one of the best things we've ever done to this house!!  since the railing is off we've used the front porch more than we ever have.  honestly, before the railing came down i don't know if we'd ever sat out there; the railing hit me right in the eyes so it was a lovely view...  we got crazy lucky this summer with some adirondack chairs so it was time to pretty up the porch!!  Here's what we started with: 2 white chairs and 1 red chair (and 1 red table, that may STILL be in the box waiting for a super handy man...).

me being me, i couldn't leave these chairs alone....

 oh yeah, and a ugly dark brown bench that i power washed to some shabby ugliness...

 i grabbed my tools of choice

and got this: 1 gorgeous turquoise, 1 original red color and...

 my gosh, who called in hunter orange? 

and ummm.... this was suppose to be lime, not day-glo yellowy/green

(notice i was smart enough to NOT finish this!!)

so now i have turquoise (which i LOVE), red, (which i like but yet something isn't right), orange (which i hate) and a yellowy green neon bench (which i also HATE!).  i don't want to tell the mister (i tend to paint and regret and re-paint and agonize and...). i just wasn't happy with my pallet, not 1 bit, it was better than nothing, but who wants "better than nothin'"?  the last 2 months every time i drive in our driveway i cringe, it's just NOT RIGHT!! so.... today i am on pinterest doing some "research" (you girls on there know what i mean. researching DIY's that i pin but am so busy pinning i never have time to do).  so anyway, i see this 

source

and the angels sang and the light from heaven shone down on my spray paint obsession collection!!

i ran outside, grabbed the safety cone orange chair and the red one.  red, i loved you but you just don't go with my vision...goodbye!  don't worry turquoise, you and i are in a truly committed relationship.

★was orange★

★was red★

★was just plain old GROSS★

(i know the green kinda looks the same, but trust me, it is less yellow than it was...it's gonna work!)

by george, i think i've GOT IT!!  i'm off to get 1 more can of pink (mister, i promise...just 1 more can is all it's going to take....) and then... i need to get the porch back together before everyone gets home so they can both do their eye roll!  i also repainted our front doors and will do a big reveal of the whole thing. ( i need to get my trim around the door painted and then it will be READY!!!)  and just so ya know...i only painted the doors once!  got that baby right the very 1st time.  please tell me i'm not alone!!! i am someone that just can't get it together until i've done it wrong... story of my life!

paint horror stories? do tell!

The Shoes that beat out Mackinac Island Fudge!

remember we went to Mackinac Island the last week of our summer vacation? 

(are these homes dreamy or WHAT? do people that own these places know how lucky they are? 

well, then again...there is NO Target on the island, so lucky??...)

if you know anything about mackinac island in michigan, you know about their FUDGE!  they're kinda famous for it. fudge AND horse poop. 

because of course, there are no motorized vehicles on the island. ok, there IS a fire truck and an ambulance, but duh, ya kinda gotta have those. ok, where was i going?  oh yeah... the fudge.  there are fudge shops everywhere on the island and it's practically illegal to leave the island without purchasing it.  i'm not a huge fan of fudge, i like a tiny little bite, the kind they give free on the end of a toothpick, but a chunk of fudge? tooooooooooooooooo sweet!  so anywhere, darling and i are going into every shop on the island while the mister hangs around outside answering his phone.  we stop into "Decked Out", the most fabulous clothing, shoes, and accessories shop!! 

(photo by darling. weird face by me)

i yell to darling "go get daddy", 'cause we need some $$, of course!

(oh, who thinks he's a comedian!?)

they have a fan page on facebook if you want to check them out: Decked-Out-on-Mackinac-Island 

so anyway the whole point of this long rambling story is: i bought shoes at this shop and left the fudge behind, the end.

so lets move on to said shoes, cause they are awesome!

perhaps i should have wiped the bottom off...?

don't worry, darling did get a sweet treat on the island

although once we got on the boat to go back, we noticed they shorted us 2 pieces and it wasn't as pretty as the pieces in the showcase. oh well, it was some sweet, sugary stuff that she loved!

Happy Monday!!

10 Random Things Friday...

Ummm, i gotsta, gotsta hurry and i should have done this (post) last night but i didn't because a new episode of "First 48" was on and if you know anything about me, you know i LOVE me some police 

drama!!!! 

Ok....

1. This is why i need to get busy:

("trash", so i don't try to eat out of it, i guess?!)

 i can hardly stand to show these, it is OUT OF CONTROL!  i'm in a downward spiral with photo's. i have soooooooooooo many and i just can't keep them in a box. at this point i am sooooooooo behind that i am going NUTS trying to get them in albums. i have given up doing the xtra fancy pages but i'm a little psycho about making sure they are in date order.  there are stacks and stacks and stacks of pages waiting to go into albums.  as much anxiety as this causes me, i know most would encourage me to just give it up- but it is NOT happening, i'm in too deep!

(paper only- you know, so i don't put "trash" in it!)

2. I'm going to start this book (in LARGE print edition! cause i'm 42 now)

 after i finish this.

3. i put food coloring (1 drop) in my soap to make it fancy and match my kitchen.  i'll let you know if my hands are blue by the end of the month.

4. i'm giving this mascara a try-it says "AVEC volume boosting complex" and because i am a marketing person's dream and believe EVERYTHING they put on packaging... i bought it!

(it's by Rimmel London)

5. The Mister is getting ready for a BIG hunting trip... have ya ever seen so much camo?

6. from my yard

7. i've got this long skinny laundry room, it needs glamified! here is the before, the after is still in my head.  the walls are chocolate brown, i'm going to try and think around that because i HATE to paint and the mister wasn't keen on hot pink walls...

8. one of the projects in that sewing book of kids clothes. i want to dress like this, so therefore, Darling is going to. shut up, i know i can't sew, but in my mind i can and that's where it counts, right?

9 have i mentioned my awesome friend Chris who drew this picture of my daughter (when she was 3 at an Easter egg hunt-my daughter, NOT Chris).  i need to get it framed, it's a goal before the end of this year!

 let's look a little closer, because it is awesome!

10. PLEASE take a look at the above tab, the one about the kids hat drive. if you would facebook, blog or twitter this information, i will LOVE you forever!!

(this photo is from last years hat drive. the poor little one in the front isn't so happy about being in a baby pile!)

i'd also like to announce which orphanage will be receiving the hats this year:

Chengdu City Children's Welfare Center.

IF you have ANY questions about this hat drive, please email me!!

chinamommy_04@yahoo.com

DIY Easy Iced Coffee Goodness

Ok, I know not everyone loves coffee (dorks) and even those that do enjoy a cup O' Joe, may not enjoy ICED coffee, but you should!  Let me share with you a tasty little treat I love to make for myself during the 3 months of warm weather we enjoy here in Michigan.  This is how this mama makes it:

1. Brew some strong black coffee over ice (I like to use dark roast because it's going to get watered down.)

 2.  Add some more ice and some half and half... or if you're lame, skim milk...or if you're Aunt Boozie, add Baily's.

 3. Get out your "Silver Bullet", realize your Mister has left it COVERED in tomato gunk and vow to just shut up and wash it yourself because he was making chili you are going to enjoy all winter and he's the one out slaving away at a real job while you make iced coffees and blog the days away...

 4. Blend it.

 5. Put a bird on it and enjoy!  I mean "Stick a straw in it and enjoy"!! 

Mmmmm....

(I like to blend it, 'cause i'm fancy!)

Back to SCHOOL!

Yesterday school FINALLY started here in Michigan!  

apparently it was exhausting...

(I know-striped socks, striped leggings?-it was fine with the shoes on!)

With the start of school comes the ever important question...WHAT DO I DO FIRST!!!???

Finish my Darling's quilt?

 Finish the family quilt?

 learn how to use this, the Lexus of sewing/embroidery machines? (that I do NOT deserve to own!)

 I NEED to learn how to use the above so i can make something from this book!!!!!

 Embellish, sort, and put these pages into albums?

 and these....

 Re-paint my desk...school bus yellow!  I know, I know... I JUST painted it off white!!

 Finish painting my bench before it gets put away for the....gulp, WINTER!?

 learn this bad boy?

get started on my bedroom wall stencil? re-paint my gumball machine? start painting some of the stock piled canvas's i have? re-pot my plants?  

Seriously, I have so much stuff to do, I don't know where to start!! Have you got any projects started? Anything you need to finish but just don't want to?  I did get my front and side door painted this weekend! I have got to finish the trim and then I'll post pictures!!

Have a great day!! and check out the baby hat drive tab at the top!!!

10 Random Vacation snippets!

Get ready, it's like your grandpa's vacation slide show, only BETTER!

1. We got home from vacation this morning at 12:30ish

Vacationing can be hard, or rather, coming BACK from vacation is hard!

2. We were in Northern Michigan and then went into the UP and over to Mackinac Island!

3. We didn't eat at any chain places the whole trip.  The Mister suggested we try only mom and pop restaurants and it was a REALLY great idea!

4. One place we didn't eat and not ONLY because it wasn't open...

If you have a small dog, you might think the same thing we did... Coming Soon: little dogs poops on buns!

5. Traverse City got crochet bombed

6. While in Traverse City I saw: the receptionist where I use to work and hadn't seen for 7 years! I also saw a friend from High School that I hadn't seen since 1987!  

7. Look at this place on the beach...

We got the low down from some people we met on the beach... there was a LOT of local drama surrounding this house.  It took them over 4 years to get it built, apparently the locals weren't thrilled about this McMansion.  Hey... isn't it their $ and their property?...

8. We took a horse drawn carriage ride all over Mackinac Island, here is our view

9.  I think this lady got left behind...

10.  My darling starts 3rd grade on Tuesday.  She is excited, I am a tiny bit sad...the years are flying by!  The good news: the blog will get back on track! I'll be back to blogging on a much more regular basis and hope to be better than ever.  I've spent a lot of time thinking of what direction I want to go with my blog and with my etsy shop (who died a slow painful death over the summer).

Have a wonderful weekend and we'll chat SOON!!

Oh yeah, and here's a bonus for the weekend!!!!!
a 50% off coupon to Michael's good thru Monday the 5th
coupon HERE!