9-11

Today is a sad day in American history.  It truly saddens me when I think about how many lives were lost 10 years ago today.  It could have been any of us, or our loved ones.  It gives me chills.  And then to think of all the true heroes that rushed in when all others were running away.  We need to take a moment and reflect on the fallen.  Not only those that passed away in those tragic events 10 years ago today, but also the loss of what was left of American innocence.  In one day our country lost so much.  My heart goes out to all who lost loved ones on that awful day. 

The fam... (Tracy)

So I feel like all 2 of you that are reading this wonderful, amazing blog (really, why aren't more people?! ;) are just DYING to know about our crazy little families.  Well, since you asked I'll tell you all about mine!  I have a wonderful, caring, kind and slightly nutty (trust me to live with me and enjoy it you have to be at least a little nutty) hubby. He is all I could have asked for and more!  After 4 years of marriage and 2 kids he still makes me weak at the knees... I know super mushy right? But hey, I'm a girl and it's part of the girl code that we're allowed to be mushy.


Now, on to the munches.  Munch numero uno is a crazy little firecracker that I couldn't love more if he were dipped in chocolate and filled with peanut butter.  If you know me you KNOW that means love ;).  Firecracker is 2.  Need I say more?  He is sneaky when he wants to be, but always honest.  He knows when he's done something wrong and if you ask him he will admit it (a quality I pray about every day when it comes to my munches).  Another quality that I adore is that Firecracker is potty trained!! He decided he wanted to and that was that.  A blessing to be sure!  Firecracker will run until he can't run anymore.  Then he will simply fall to his knees and crawl until he has no strength left in his little body.  I watch him and am amazed everyday by the sheer amount of energy he contains wrapped up in that little body. 
Munch numero dos is my little peanut.  She is 3 months old and sweet as pie!  She has just recently started sleeping through the night which makes this Mama so happy!  I need my rest to keep up with Firecracker ;).  I obviously don't have as much time invested in Peanut yet, but she has stolen my heart.  From the moment I got to see her little face I have been smitten.  My heart is filled with so much love sometimes I'm convinced that it'll burst open.


So my friends, these are the people that I get to share my life, my home and my love with.  I'm blessed beyond measure.  And I haven't even told you about the rest of my crazy, mixed up family (parents, siblings, in laws etc.).  That is a story for another day.  Adios Amigos this Mama has to get the Firecracker up from his nap. ;)

Our Story - Part Deux (Lara's Version)

So, Tracy about summed it up yesterday!  We are those people that just clicked.  I think maybe we were separated at birth.  I mean, we even share a birthday.  So what, it's 2 years apart?  I think Tracy really is 30, she just doesn't want to admit to it!
Ten years now, we have spent being best friends.  For almost 6 of those, I lived in another state.  She is the one person, no matter our individual locations, that I can call and chat with about anything.  And I mean anything.  We have been through college, boyfriends, weddings, marriages (ok, not completely through with those....definitely an ongoing process for the both of us), babies, deaths of family members, lots of tears, but even more laughter. 
She is one of the few people in life that I know I can trust.   On my wedding day, when my photographer didn't show up, she picked up a camera and started shooting.  And she didn't even get upset when  at her wedding, I was sporting WAY too short of a haircut and a lovely farmer sunburn in a strapless dress.
She  reminds me to be
kinder, more patient, more forgiving, more organized.  She amazes me with her creativity and ability to be super thrifty.  I am blessed that "we just clicked".  I am thankful for it everyday. 
So, although that is the incredibly condensed version, that pretty much takes care of it.  Best friends, Partners in Crime, Sisters at Heart.  And I am pretty sure at some point we will be cellmates! :)

Our story- Tracy's perspective

Our story is an interesting one.  One that fairy tale writers couldn't make up if they tried..... Ok well maybe if they tried REALLY hard ;).  So here goes... Lara and I met in college.  My older brother was already good friends with her.  He and I get along like peanut butter and jelly so naturally when I started attending the college he attended I met his friends.  Some of them I liked, some of them.... ummmm not so much and others I LOVED!  Lara is one of the latter.  She and I just clicked.  We eventually became roomates, and now sort of sister in laws.  (She married my older brother's best friend.  Who lived with us for awhile and thus became like another brother to me.) 
Through the years, we have become closer and even refer to ourselves as "brain twins".  We think the same way (which can be scary sometimes ;), and enjoy a lot of the same things. In short we are wonderful friends/ sisters / cohorts in crime.  That's my side of the story and I'm sticking to it! 

Here We Go Again

Don't you just hate it when the day doesn't go as you had planned?  The morning you had planned to sleep in, the baby wakes you at 5am.  The load of clothes you crammed into the dryer somehow magically didn't dry like you assumed that it should.  The syrup caked in the hair of your three  year old on the morning that you don't have time to stop and shampoo a  mop of curls.  The furniture project that just doesn't quite work like you thought it would.

Okay, maybe this isn't you.  It is me, however.  I am a planner.  I live on a plan.  I know when and where I am going, and exactly how much time I have to get there.  And I don't like being interrupted on my way. 

I used to think (and to be honest sometimes still do) that having a rigid plan is the best way to get anything done.  However, I have learned in the last few years, that sometimes the plans that get waylaid end up with the best results.

I have seen this numerous times in my own life, especially since having kids.  Sometimes MY plan is not THE plan.  A time schedule has not ever been more loosely defined than a summer day in my home.  You just never know exactly what's going to happen around here. 

But that's okay.  Or at least I am trying to convince myself that it is.  I am making a determined effort to go with the flow.  In fact, you could say that I am planning on it.

A New Found Love

Ok, I know you are going to think I am crazy.  Sometimes, I think I am crazy.  Back a few  months ago, I set out again, looking for the perfect yardsale treasure with 2 children in tow.  Ok, maybe that does make me crazy.  But that wasn't what I was talking about.  

While driving around searching for yard sales (which with me means I got lost and was just trying to find my way back into town), I came up on this run down little shop with some furniture sitting out front.  On a whim, I decided that this looked promising.  I lugged the kiddos out of the car, and started perusing the lovelies.  Ok, well potential lovelies.

As we made our way inside, I spotted a beautiful buffet, but she was sold already, for a meager $30.  Uh, my heart was aching that I missed out on her.  But then, in the corner of the room, buried under dust and miscellaneous junk, I spot these super sexy legs.

So, maybe right then they were the equivilent of sexy legs with a bad spray tan, but I would make them sexy again.  I couldn't even see the whole piece, but when I asked the proprietor what he would take for her, he said, "$20".  Ah, my aching heart was mended. 

Really?  This beauty for only $20?  Sold!

So, we loaded her up  and hauled her home.  I let her sit with me for a couple of months, and the more I looked, the more I fell for her.  I then decided that the wobbly glass and metal computer desk we were currently using had made it to the end of it's days.  She was to be my new desk.

Look at those scars.  I can only imagine what all this desk has seen.  Well, I am sure she wasn't always a desk.  A vanity was her beginning.  Holding pretty glass bottles of perfume, and a nice silver vanity brush set.  Of course, that was her beginning.  A lot has happened between then and when she became part of my family. 

In fact, I know that a lot has happened.  How do I know that?  Because of what I found inside, when I pulled out the drawers to clean them.  But that's for another day.

My First Reveal

Yesterday, I promised you a look at my very first reveal.  Here she is:

Forgive the sad point & shoot pictures.  Remember that teeny, tiny budget I mentioned yesterday?  Well, it does not allow for a super awesome camera or photography classes.  At least not yet.

I used Valspar Premium Paint with primer included for the body of the dresser.  The top has a nice stained finish by MinWax in Dark Walnut with a poly coat.  Since this is a "Chest on Chest", I stained the ledge betweened the top and bottom to break up the color a bit.  I originally thought about changing the hardware, but once the paint and antiquing was finished, the original hardware was just perfect. 

The items on the top of the dresser are all recent aquisitions.  The Mason jar is a sneak peek from a future project.  The bell was picked up at a yard sale for $1.00.  See, that's more in my budget.

The picture frame was found in an old junk shop, painted and stained.  The ironstone platter was another junk store find for only $2.  The topiary was a decorative ball from a yard sale that I covered in some moss, and the wooden candle stick that it's on was a Goodwill find for $3.  That joker is solid wood! :)

The photo in the frame is by a very talented friend and photographer, Molly, with Red Fly Studio.  Check out her site and blog here: www.theredflystudio.com

So, here is Bath.  I hope you like her as much as I do.    I know that she will be hanging around here for quite a while.