Annie Sloan Chalk Paint: Florence

Meet Florence. 

My new favorite chalk paint color. 

I painted a large triple dresser (a free dresser) yesterday in Florence and gave it a heavy coat of dark wax. In person, the piece almost looks like aged copper. The pictures pick up more of a blue hue and less of the green. 

Here are a few before pictures:

I lucked out and was able to use the original hardware. It goes perfectly with the color. 

To distress this piece, I used a wet rag to rub off paint before applying the clear coat of wax. 

I am absolutely thrilled with how this beast of a dresser turned out!

Now to sell or keep??

This may be a keeper.

Linking up to: Superfluous, Primitive and Proper , White Lights on Wednesday, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Clean & Scentsible , Miss Mustard Seed, French Country Cottage , My Romantic Home , Savvy Southern Style , Cedar Hill Ranch , Southern Hospitality, A Bowl Full of Lemons

Hello Monday

 Hello road trip to Melville Trading Co

Hello Florence 

Hello my new favorite chalk paint color 

Hello triple dresser in Florence with dark wax

Hello flat bread pizzas that didn't turn out well

Hello salad and wine

Hello mega storm. You sure had me worried

Hello freaked out dogs

Hello to the power that somehow stayed on

Hello to a long tiring weekend

Hello big yawn

Hello Monday

Goodbye weekend

Linking up to: Lisa Leonard's Blog

If you knew me...

If you knew me,
you would know that I take delight in silly little things,
that I want to move to Paris so I can drink wine at lunch
and I never watch scary movies. Why self-induce the feeling of fear?


If you knew me, 
you would know that I'm a terrible friend because I'm so bad at staying in touch on a regular basis.
But you would know how much I love you and would do anything for you.


You'd also know that I can fall asleep anywhere as soon as 10:00 rolls around and I sleep walk, 
a lot.
You would know that I'm feisty,
I've self diagnosed myself with ADD
and I cry easily.


If you knew me, 
you would know that I'm the size of a fourth grader but with curves
and no, I don't need a booster seat to drive. 
You would know that I prefer to wear ballet flats over heels and adore my cowgirl boots. 


If you really knew me, 
you would know that I'm very hard on myself, extremely insecure and require a lot of love. 


If you knew me,
you would know that I eat often and my stomach will start to hurt if I don't eat dinner by 6:00 or have a snack. 
You'd know that I love to cook and I try to recreate dishes from restaurants. 
Of course you would know that I love red wine and sweet tea. 

If you knew me,
you would know that I have so many amazing ideas in my head but I have a hard time following through with them. 
You'd know that this blog drives me crazy but I like it anyway. 

If you knew me, 
You would know that I'm the lady that gives a homeless person money. 
You would know that I do it because we don't know his or her story.
You'd know that I wasn't always like this but I'm working hard to have a kinder heart and a calmer mind. 

If you knew me, 
You would know that I still like to watch my daughter sleep. 
That I cry uncontrollably if I think about my dogs passing away. 
You would know that I get infusions every six weeks
but I don't mind. 
You would know that I'm learning French. 

You'd also know that I hate to run but ran a full marathon to raise money for Leukemia research. 
You'd know that I'm thinking about doing it again. ugh. 

If you knew me, 

You would know that I'm spoiled by a sweet boy. A boy that writes me letters and hides them in my purse. 
You would know that my brother is getting ready to deploy for his third tour. 
You would know that I dance around a lot and that I'm the star of my own little show. 

If I knew you, what would I know? 


Linking up to: The Wiegand's , My Romantic Home

DIY Chalk Paint

  I've finally started making my own chalk paint, which I was hesitant to do because I'm in love with Annie Sloan's line of chalk paint. However, I'm in need of a few colors that she does not offer. 
Like bright yellow...

What you will need to make your own chalk paint:

-Plaster of Paris 

-Latex Paint 

-Measuring cups and spoons
-Containers 
-Stir stick

How to make chalk paint:

1.) Mix 5Tb of Plaster of Paris with 3TBS of water in a container. Combine until a smooth paste has formed. Add more water/plaster if needed.

2.)In a separate container, measure out 2cups of latex paint.

3.) Combine the plaster paste and paint. Mix well. Keep mixing. And mix some more.  Add a few drops of water, if needed. You can also add more plaster if you want a thicker chalk paint.

This recipe is very flexible and will give you a good base for chalk paint. I almost always end up adjusting it a little as I go. 


Let me know if you try it and what you think! 


I'm sure you're wondering why I need bright yellow chalk paint when I paint everything a light shade of gray, white or duck egg blue. 


Just wait and see! 

Linking up to: Savvy Southern Style , Cedar Hill Ranch, Serenity Now , French Country Cottage, My Romantic Home , The Shabby Creek Cottage

Hello Monday

 Hello crackle tile

Hello tile project

Hello calm before the storm

Hello to all the lightening you brought 

Hello heavy rain, so good for us

Hello carnations

Hello to such an underrated flower

Hello bright yellow latex paint

Hello Plaster of Paris

Hello homemade chalk paint

Goodbye project filled weekend

Hello Monday...

Linking up to:  The Wiegand's, Lisa Leonard's Blog

Why grace?

You may have seen in this week's Hello Monday  post that I got a tattoo. 
My first tattoo.
I've been asked several times in person and even in an email why I chose the word grace. 
So why grace?
For God's grace. 
Jesus forgives me for my sins and I need to think about that everyday. So I put it on my wrist, as a reminder that He loves me no matter what because of the relationship we have.
I'm not perfect and never will be. I've had to walk away from the fact that I've messed up so many times. To stop dwelling and move on.
I finally started letting go on 12-24-10. I accepted a savior into my life. For real this time.
grace also reminds me to love and reach out. To not judge and just love people where they are.
This is hard but grace will remind me.
It is not my place to judge you. That is up to Jesus.
So grace means a lot to me.
Plus, why wouldn't I want a tattoo that reminds me of how much Jesus loves me? After all, he does say I'm "perfect", "beloved" and "precious".
And that is something that will make me smile everyday. 

Linking up to:  My Romantic Home,The Wiegand's

Printers Drawer

I have an antique printers drawer that I absolutely adore. My dad bought it for me when I was a teenybopper. I use to display random trinkets in it such as pez dispensers, buttons, mementos from little dates, small collectibles, etc. Nowadays I use it to display some of my wine cork collection. 

(key word: some) 

A few months ago I picked up a smaller drawer at a garage sale and spray painted it white. My plan was to style it in a few different ways to show how you can incorporate a printers drawer in your decor (shells, small ornaments, jewelry, photo collage display, etc.). Well, that plan is on hold for the moment. Fernando is still renting the place out. 

I brought the drawer inside, thinking he had moved on to his next home. Nope. He was just hiding upside down. Good thing he didn't decided to jump out on my kitchen table! Isn't he just the cutest little fella? 

Linking up to: French Country Cottage, My Romantic Home

New Jewelry

 Remember how I won two giveaways/contests in the same day from Le Paper Cafe and Jessie Street Designs??? Well, I won again! 

My oh so very favorite blog, The Wiegand's, hosted a Le Mode Accessories  giveaway and this sweet tea drinkin' girl won! I was already a huge fan of  their jewelry and drool over their necklaces regularly on FB. I was thrilled to pick out $50 worth of prettiness. 

After changing my shopping cart about ten times, I settled on two necklaces: 

La Fiesta Necklace

Floral Romance Necklace

From now on, I will be ordering my own jewelry and gifts from Le Mode Accessories . Check them out, y'all will be glad you did!

Hello Monday

Hello tofu scramble for breakfast

Hello little green tree frog

Hello high anxiety

Hello being scared to death

Hello tattoo

Hello that wasn't too bad

Hello grace, God's grace

Hello mattress shopping

Hello sweet tea

Hello cement that looks like driftwood

Hello to the new Zac Brown Band album

Hello to dancing to every song

Goodbye fun weekend

Hello Monday

Linking up to: The Wiegand's, Lisa Leonard's Blog

I'm Still Around

 I promise I'm still blogging! Going on vacation for a week and walking right back into a challenging work week has made blogging a low priority. 

Can I just go back to the Gulf please? 

Stay tuned for a homemade chalk paint recipe! 

Hello Monday

 Hello Clearwater/St. Pete

Hello 7 days of vacation 

Hello long drive 

Hello good boys 

Hello 4th of July 

Hello Caladesi Island....my favorite hideaway

Hello dolphins

Hello yummy food

Hello I want to open a food truck in Apex, NC

Hello to feeding pelicans 

Hello vacation memories
Hello long drive home tomorrow
Goodbye weekend
Hello Monday 

Linking up to: The Wiegand's , Lisa Leonard's Blog