Dresser Reveal (Finally!)

I wrote a month or so ago about some DIY projects that I wanted to complete before the girls were born (see To-Do Lists). I am happy to say that some of them have been completed, like the office organization and the chair/table recovering. Preston's baby book has made progress, but still isn't done. Hey, I still have a month, right?!?

Anyway, that very weekend my mom and I went yard-saling and found a dresser set that I wanted to re-do for the girls nursery. Preston's dresser used to be my dads and after some stripping (of the dresser...not me) and staining, Ed made it look brand new. So, I decided to save us a huge chunk of money and re-do dressers for the girls. How hard could it be, right?

Here are the before pictures:

This is the front of the tall dresser (chest of drawers? armoire? whatever.)

and this is the other shorter dresser. Again, don't ask me what they are called. I call them both dressers. Tall and short to be more specific. I didn't take a picture of this one fast enough before we started removing the hardware, but you get the idea. 

And this is the finished product:

My original plan did not include making them shabby looking, but after what felt like 700 coats of primer and paint we found that the drawers would no longer fit in the dresser.  Ed had to do a ton of sanding and re-working to make them fit and we discovered that we actually liked it better this way AND it goes with the vintage-y look of their nursery. 

In addition to the paint, I also painted the drawers pink, added glass knobs, and lined them with a fun floral wrapping paper. It was a lot more work than I anticipated, for a number of reasons. After we started sanding the finish off we found that red dye was leaking through and near impossible to cover up (hence the 700 coats of primer and paint), then because the dressers were so old the pulls were oddly spaced so we had to fill them in and drill new holes. Add to that the humidity, and oh, a hugely pregnant woman working on them and yeah...it took a couple of months. All in all, though, I am really happy with how they turned out. I honestly couldn't have done it without help from my mom and Ed, though, so a huge thank you to them! 

Now to fill them with lots of girly clothes :-)

To- Do Lists

Anyone who knows me can attest to my love for lists. Ed insists on making "mental to-do lists" (rather, he gives himself a reason to conveniently forget the tasks he doesn't want to do). I, on the other hand have to make a list. I have lists that coincide with other lists. I'm a little type-A.

Anyway, I always find that before some big life-changing event I want to do a million different things that really aren't that important. This happens most often when I am pregnant or we are getting ready to move. As luck would have it....we are in the midst of both. Now, we aren't moving for another 5 months (and lets be honest...not at all if I get my way, which I won't, because the Navy is in charge), but thats just enough time for me to do all kinds of random things that are seemingly unnecessary to anyone but me.

Here are just a few of the projects that I have in mind --

1.)) Preston's Baby Book

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You read that right...the kid is going to be two and doesnt even have a completed baby book. Not for a lack of trying, though. In all actuality, he has probably 3 half created baby books. I did make a super cute Memory Keeper for him from Paper Coterie that has his hospital hat and bracelet and other memorabilia in it, but I'd like an actual book. Thus, I am working on a digital book, because that seems like the only way it will get done! Where else am I going to put all of those cute cards that people wrote when his name was going to be Parker?!?

2.)) Office Organization 

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Never in a million years will my office look like this. Mainly because Ed would have nowhere to put his submarine memorabilia if I went with a pink and green color scheme. Right now our office tends to be a couple of things: a) a Navy diggit room and b) a hot mess. As I look around, there are stacks everywhere I look. We are talking unopened (and opened) mail,  things that are broken, a stack of stuff for goodwill, and upward of 3 cameras. I. Want. To. Scream. For all I know this picture above has the exact same stuff just shoved into color coordinated boxes. I am good with that. Just get it off my freaking desk.


3.)) Re-Covering Folding Chairs and Table

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I realize that this falls under the category of completely unnecessary. I get it. A couple of months ago I saw this idea on pinterest and fell in love. Our card table and chairs have been sitting in the garage and are all banged up. We use them often, though, so I hate that they look crappy. All I need is an afternoon, a couple of cans of spray paint, and a few yards of fabric and we will be totally fancy again. I also realize that it probably wont be that easy, but I dont really care. 

My list could continue on...I have a bench outside that was made out of my old bunk beds that I want to repaint, a ton of projects for the nursery, and...oh yeah, a toddler to chase. Eh, whatever. 

Cooking and Cleaning and Crafting - Oh My!

I don't know about the rest of you moms (and non-moms) out there, but before becoming pregnant I was your stereotypical single girl. Granted, Ed and I lived together and I was relatively domestic, but it wasn't until I was pregnant that I turned into this "super mom".

I have never been much of a cook. Spaghetti? Got it. Grilled cheese? I'm on it. Salad? Done! Anything that required ingredients I didn't readily have available or took too much effort I just wasn't interested in. I am the girl that use to have french fries for dinner and on more than one occasion, wine and garlic bread. (In my defense, Ed was on the boat so he was gone a lot). The first time I made something with more than 5 ingredients was a couple of months before we got married. Friends were impressed. I wish I were kidding.

My mom is crafty. Like, super crafty. She can see something and generally duplicate it. She makes silver jewelry for heavens sake! Anyway, I am not really that crafty. I use to scrapbook and paint but got away from those and other than the DIY aspects of our wedding, I haven't hadn't been much of a crafter as an adult.

Then I got pregnant.

I tell you people, those hormones do some crazy things! It was almost like as soon as we moved in and got settled (I was roughly 2 months pregnant?) I decided that I needed to start making EVERYTHING. (This is also about the time that pinterest came along. I blame them too). Since then I have gotten majorly into paper crafting, card making in particular, and now I find all kinds of projects that I want to do. This bathmat, a t-shirt quilt for all of Ed's old Virginia Tech t-shirts, and this name art project for Preston's room are just a few of the projects waiting in my queue.

I am constantly amazed at how motherhood changes things. Sure our priorities shift and we are now responsible for growing and nurturing a little person (or people), but its amazing how much it changes things you wouldn't consider.

Alright, I'm off to Hobby Lobby before picking P up at the sitter. I am determined to get our living room wall done this week (and pictures to come!).