My favorite thrift store finds are accessories; thrift stores are accessory graveyards!  Every time I need to fill a little spot with that perfect piece I hit up my local Goodwill for some treasure hunting. I almost always find something. I’m slowly but surely working on my ‘someday soon’ office. I’ve got a big box of things I’ve started collecting and thought I’d share just a couple of my finds.

{Book Ends}

I found this pair of ceramic bookends at Goodwill.  It was 50% off Blue Tag Day – so I snatched these both up for $1.99!

I knew I could fix these up in a jiffy. The first thing I did was to spray them with Kilz Primer and second with Rust-Oleum Enamel Spray Paint in white.

Third, here comes the magic, I glazed them. Don’t be afraid – glazing is SUPER easy!

Simply mix 4 parts glaze to one part paint (any color).  Cover your piece using a foam brush (a chip brush or a rag works too) and then wipe the access glaze off with a damp rag. The great thing about glaze is it’s easy to manipulate – you can make it as heavy or light as you want by how much or how little you wipe it off. If you mess it up (which is actually hard to do), wipe it all off and start over.

I love how it turned out! I’ll show you how they look together with actual books once I get my office done.

{Wall Sconces}

I found this super cute pair of wall sconces; ok I’ll admit they’re not cute - yet. But, they were only $3.99 for the pair (again 50% color tag day).

First, I pulled out my trusty Kilz Spray Primer and gave it a quick coat.

Second, I used one of my favorite Rust-Oleum Spray Paint colors, Apple Red.

LOVE the red! Here’s a side by side, I can’ t wait to hang them in my office!

Speaking of my office and a great find, check out the desk I just scored on Craigslist:

I got her for only $15 – SCORE! I’ll fix her up a bit and she’ll be perfect.

Love you more than looking forward to a cute office,

Sunday

Please take a second to vote – simply click the fence. I moved up to #13!

{House}

My word for the week is HOUSE – not the one I live in (the one I’m constantly decorating) rather my body or according to the Word, my temple. My house was recently invaded by an enemy called cancer. Obviously, cancer is an unwanted guest (like a gross little mouse). But, like the little mouse caught in the trap, it’s been caught and disposed of: permanently.

If you missed the story click HERE.

Just to create a word picture for you, here’s a picture of my house-house:

And a picture of my body-house:

One of the first questions my plastic surgeon (who is amazing) asked was how I would feel about loosing part of my body-part of my house. I thought about it a second and realized I would feel FINE.

• Will it be an adjustment to accept changes to my body? Yes (hello, I wouldn’t be normal if it wasn’t)
• Will it be a difficult process? Maybe (but, God’s grace is here for me)
• Does my confidence come from my outward appearance? No way (my confidence is found in Him)
• Can I only be happy if I look the way I think I should look? Nope (happiness is fickle – I have joy which comes from the Lord, not my looks)

Spring is the perfect time to spruce up the front porch! I have to admit I actually re-did my front door last fall but, I did get new pillows this weekend so I say it qualifies as a ‘new project’. Since I am enjoying a forced REST, I’m looking for tiny things I can do – I have a need to always be doing something, even if it’s small.

{Before Front Door}

I taped off the door and sides. I used Rust-Oleum Front Door Paint and it was AWFUL. When I say awful, I mean absolutely horrible, worst paint I’ve ever used. It was thick, sticky and dripped terrible – the sad thing was the advertisements specifically said it wouldn’t drip. I was so disappointed and there was no way to fix it. If I ever have the time (or guts) I would take it off the hinges and spray paint it.

Once I got past the horrible paint job – which thankfully you can only see close up (you can kind of see it in this close up picture) I moved on to dressing it up.  My favorite part is the door numbers which I ordered from one of  my favorite blogs, House of Smiths.

{After Front Door}

I’ve added a couple other small touches to my front porch. I found this great bakers rack at a garage sale last summer for $15; a quick coat of Rust-Oleum Canyon Black spray paint and it’s a like new!

It still needs a little accessory help - baby steps people.

I found this cute little bench on Craigslist a couple of months ago for $30 – fit’s the spot perfect. I used a white Elmers Paint Marker to write ‘Packages Here’ on top – I LOVE these paint markers!

And finally the reason for my post – cute pillows! I found 2 of these cute green pillows at Walmart today – YAHOO. My first outing since surgery AND a cute pillow all in one day!

My second pillow went over my cute black swing – yes the one in front of the queen bed currently being stored on my front porch - oh joy. 

The front porch is almost done – next on my list is a big rug!

Love you more than a cute front door!

Sunday

Don’t forget vote today!

I know, I know this is not the typical DIY post from me. But, this is has not be a typical month for me! If you’ve read along you know my world has been rocked a bit this month by a diagnosis of breast cancer. If you’ve missed it you can get the low down HERE.

Don’t worry the “c” word can’t scare me because the big “J” word has me covered!

While being in the hospital can be a real bummer, I did find a couple of cool things- ok, well actually my sister did.

There are many things to enjoy in the hospital: the food, not being able to pee by yourself, cords following you everywhere you go, nurses waking you up every few hours (they are wonderful – btw) and the best part is not showering or washing your hair. {Not sure if you are picking up on the sarcasm here}

Now, one thing you must know about me is I like my hair.

The day of surgery this is what I looked like. It’s the same way I looked leaving for the hospital all 4 times in labor -

a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do (including her hair-do)!

Hours later, after a long surgery this is how the hair looked.

Ok, so I don’t look any too happy – in fact I’d say I was pretty grumpy. But, my hair survived the surgery in tact (for the most part).  It’s not too bad.

Surgery was Tuesday, by Thursday – this is how we’re lookin’:

Yikes! We’ve got some serious bed-head and greasy hair going on. There’s nothing worse than not only feeling like crap but, looking like it too.

Enter amazing sister, Kelsey, to the rescue with my new ‘find’!

Suave Dry Shampoo

Seriously people – this stuff ROCKS. You simply spray it in your hair around the roots and back comb or brush it in. I LOVE it and it works! It also smells supper yummy. The icing on the cake is: it’s only $3.00. I can tell you for me, sitting in the hospital feeling yucky – $3 in a can made me smile!

Now, I’m not saying I look like glamour shots or anything, but I’d say this hair ain’t too bad for day 5!

Anytime you face something tough, you can find a little silver lining – this time my silver lining came in the form of a silver can.  I’m so inspired I’m looking into trying the No Poo method with my hair. Have you ever tried it?

Love you more than having hair that’s NOT greasy!

Sunday

Please click the fence to vote – I’ve moved up to #14 – YAHOO. Help me keep movin’ up the fence!

{Just the facts Ma’me…}

I apologize, I wasn’t able to make a video this week. That doesn’t mean I don’t  have something to say; I always have something to say. My life has changed in just this past month, in a major way.

In case you missed my blog post explaining what is going on, check it out here:

Sunday’s Breast Cancer Story

This is  just he beginning of my story and I’m telling you right now it has a happy ending. I’m hoping that as I walk through this there will be things along the way that help YOU, regardless of what you are facing.  The principles in God’s Word apply across the board: sickness, relationship issues, and even money problems.

Right now I’m in the position of deciding who I believe holds my TRUTH. The doctors (who are amazing) have evidence or facts which support the report that there is breast cancer in my body (which has now been removed).

The thing is: the doctors don’t have the TRUTH, they just have facts.

{Facts and Truth are not the same.}

For example: Think back to the Bible story about Joseph and his rotten brothers. They sold him into slavery, yet told their father he was killed by animals. The evidence they brought to prove Joseph was dead, was his bloody coat.  The problem was: he was alive!  The evidence did not support the truth.

TRUTH is the Word of God, not the evidence from my doctors.

Just to clarify :

• Do I listen to my doctors and their advice? Absolutely (God blessed them with wisdom)
• Do I close my ears and say “La, la, la, I’m not listening to you”? No way (they are smart guys)
• Do I stake the outcome of this on the doctors report? Nope (My life is in God’s hands – a great place to be)
• Which report do I believe – the doctors or the Word? Hello – the Word (After all that’s the truth)