Dresser Makeover Reveal

A few posts back I shared a before picture of a dresser I found at a thrift store recently.  I also shared the news that we are expecting our third daughter, due in January.  Since I am starting to do some nursery planning I knew that I needed a new dresser, but instead of buying a new one (of course by that I mean a used one, I rarely buy new furniture) for the baby, I wanted to get a new (to us!) one for my 8 year old daughter and use her dresser for the baby.  Since her dresser was dark wood and so is the crib, I knew they would look good together and work in the nursery.

After searching thrift stores for a few weeks, I finally found one.

You may remember that I attempted to make a batch of chalk paint that I intended to use on the dresser, but it turned into a weird sludge that wouldn't work.  Since I couldn't use the chalk paint, I lightly sanded the entire dresser and went ahead and painted it with with regular paint.  I used Valspar's Aspire line in the shade Falling in Love, which is a perfect very light blush/pink.

Since the dresser was pretty dark to begin with, I needed three coats to cover it completely.  I chose to lightly distress it with some sand paper because that was the look I wanted.  I debated sealing it with poly or wax but ultimately decided to stick with wax, since I'm more comfortable with it and like the sheen it gives.  I purchased new drawer pulls at Hobby Lobby, which in my opinion has the best selection of reasonably priced pulls around, especially when they are on sale %50 off.

I am very pleased with the results.

Since I have the dresser situation worked out now, I've moved on to the next step of my nursery plan! I can't wait to share the progress I'm making with you all!

Caprese Salad

We're in the heart of summer, which for us Northern California folks means fresh veggie season. Tomatoes and corn are certainly in abundance around here, and when the weather over the 100 degree mark, anything you can make for lunch/dinner without turing on the oven is a big bonus. 

This caprese salad is a snap to put together and you may just have most (or all) of what you need already growing in your garden or in your fridge.

Ingredients:
tomatoes
basil
fresh mozzarella cheese
olive oil
salt & pepper
garlic optional

Slice up some tomatoes and some fresh mozzarella and arrange them on a large plate or platter.  Add fresh basil, drizzle with good olive oil and season with salt & pepper and a little fresh grated garlic if desired.

I literally have my husband grab a rotisserie chicken on his way home from work and serve it with this salad and dinner is done!  Enjoy!

chalk paint fail... and a little annoucement

Oh my, it's been a busy summer, and I fully admit to slacking when it comes to blogging.  I'd like to say it's because I've been traveling and having grand adventures, but the truth is I've been lazy.  I know, busy summer and lazy don't actually seem to go together, but if you are a stay at home mom and your kids are out of school for the summer then you know what I mean.  The days go by quickly, but you don't really get anything done.  Play dates, long lunches, swimming, and movie watching take up the days and before you know it there are only three weeks before school starts again.

Of course, now I'm feeling the pressure to get things done since summer is almost up, and because I have a little announcement... we are expecting a new baby!  After miscarrying a baby earlier in the year we have waited a while to share the news, but we are expecting another baby girl to arrive in January!  We could't be more excited and have started working on all things nursery, which leads me to my chalk paint fail.

With baby nursery planning in full effect I was on the hunt for a new dresser.  After several weeks of thrifting, craigslist hunting and facebook garage sale site scouring, I finally came across this beauty at Deseret Industries (in my opinion one of the best thrift stores in Sacramento) this past weekend.

The plan is clean her up and paint her and give her to my 8 year old daughter and use her old dresser for the new baby.  Since her current dresser is small and all of her clothes don't really fit in it and the new one has much bigger drawers, I think it will work out nicely.

I let Lily Claire (8 yr old daughter) pick the paint color and she choose Valspar's Falling In Love, which is a soft blush pink. Since the dresser is older and has some wear and tear the plan was to use my chalk paint recipe and then wax and lightly distress it.

Now folks, I am no novice to chalk paint.  I've painted a credenza, a media cabinet, a china hutch, several dressers, a dining table, a bench, a bathroom vanity, a set of kitchen cabinets, and probably more things that I can't remember right now. I have been using this recipe for years and I have never, ever, had this happen.

I'm not sure what caused it or why it occurred but what I ended up with was a container of pink sludge.  Has anyone else experienced something like this before?  Any ideas as to what caused it to happen?

So, what did I decide to do?  Well, I sanded the dresser lightly and decided to skip the chalk paint and just paint the dresser with several light coats and then distress it.  It's still a work in progress, but I promise to update you and share pictures when I finish.

So, now you know what we've been up to this summer!