...and it was all yellow!

I have been longing for warmer weather and I mean longing. Even as I type this I am fighting back the urge to swallow because my throat is so unbelievably sore and my head feels like it is going to explode. Needless to say it has rained and rained and then rained some more and I am ready for some sunshine! Well, today I got a little... These drawer faces belong to an upcoming post, a desk I bought for $5, yes $5 at a yard sale a couple weeks back. I'm excited about it!

And here is the headboard I bought for $15 at a thrift store a couple of months ago. It still needs a few minor adjustments (a couple more screws and some trim in the front and of course a cushion) and it will be ready for my back patio...or front, I can't decide! Anyway, here it is so far!

I have to apologize for not having the giveaway yet...it is not quite completed and I don't want to rush perfection (or my friend that's doing it so willingly)! Keep checking back, it should be here soon :) And as always, thanks for stopping by, I hope I have added some sunshine to your day as well!

Linking up t0: domestically-speaking.blogspot.com and funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com, and http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com

Design Forecast: Sunshine with Blue Skies

Here is the $15 barstool I picked up at D.I. last week. It really didn't need to be painted, but you know me... I just can't help myself so with all the rain I decided we could use a little sunshine around our house!

And you can't have sunshine without blue skies so I decided to go with the same Ocean Breezes Krylon spray paint for the plant stand/outdoor end table I built using these odds and ends last week.

Loving it!

Well, that's it for now but don't forget about the upcoming giveaway...I'll give you a hint, its custom, it's pretty, and trust me, you are going to want it ;)

It's the weekend so that means its time to party for all those bloggers out there! I'm linking this post up to http://decormamma.blogspot.com, and http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com.

Weekend Yard Sale Finds!

Remember this old $15 gun cabinet I bought last year at a thrift store? If not, go ahead and scroll down to see the transformation. And I am happy to show you the red suitcases above and the oh so chunky mirror to the right came from my yard saling saturday and all three items cost me a combined total of $7. I spray painted the mirror (it was that bronzy gold color) in Krylons Bahama Blue and love the extra pop of color it gives the kitchen entryway!

Oh how I love a good yard sale find!

I'm linking this post up to http://decormamma.blogspot.com/ for the Frugalicious Friday party all about thrifty decor and http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com for another party all about discovering treasures as well!

Anticipation.

This week I will be continuing my work on the patio makeover and these little guys below will be part of the new and improved relaxation station when I am done :) I built the plant stand today using odds and ends I had (more about that next time) and purchased the bird cage for $4 at a local thrift this last week. Can't wait to show you what I am going to use that one for! As you can see they still need some TLC before they are ready to take their places. This barstool will not be used on the patio but will also be an upcoming post.

My mom keeps asking me about the outdoor area rug I painted. She thinks its the craziest thing shes ever heard of...painting a rug. Well, I do LOVE paint and since it is an outdoor rug, I thought, why not? Here is a glimpse of what it looked like before...hardly inspiring I would say.

And here it is in my basement drying. I ended up painting it while the hubs and I watched the most recent Harry Potter movie. I really should read those books someday...I'm sure I would enjoy the movies a whole lot more :)

And here is another peek at the patio coming along. Yes, I planted the flowers. I just love the bright colors and can't wait to see the different blossoms begin to spill over the sides of the table in a month or so.

I couldn't help but notice that this blog is getting very close to reaching its 100th follower. I have a giveaway coming up that I am so excited about and thought it would be great to do it in celebration of reaching a triple digit. Let's see if we can get to 100 followers, shall we?

Patio Furniture, Second Hand Style!

Last summer I showed you one of my favorite thrift finds, a red vinyl sofa that I painted white and put outside for summer relaxing. We used it even more than I anticipated and so this summer my goal is to finish what I started by completing a seating area on our covered patio. I recently finished this $4 coffee table my friend gave to me. I imagine it once had tiles or glass in the square cut outs but without them I decided to use it outside and put square pots hanging in their place full of bright blooming flowers. So far I love it, I haven't planted the flowers yet because it's still a little chilly in these parts so I will have to wait a couple more weeks for that...you can be sure that when I do I will share a photo :) I also ended up painting an old outdoor area rug I bought back in my college days. It is much brighter now and I love how it pops off the old concrete patio floor. I am still hunting for a couple of chairs to complete this group but since yard sale season has now begun I have high hopes of finding them :) I'll keep you posted, but for now I am linking up to a few parties! http://domestically-speaking.blogspot.com/, http://missmustardseed.blogspot.com/, http://decormamma.blogspot.com/ and http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/, and last but certainly not least http://www.remodelaholic.com

MOD bench and a WINNER!

I am excited to tell you about the bench below, but...

first let me announce the WINNER of Summers Chocolate Giveaway: #6, J and A ! Congratulations! Please email me at lemonsqueezing@gmail.com with your address so I can send your free hair accessories! Now for the rest of you, better luck next time. Below is a corner dining bench I found locally on Craigslist last week. It worked well as a dining corner unit, just needed some love, right? Then I got looking at it and decided it would serve more functions as two separate pieces. More pieces, more love!? So I took it apart and filled in all the nail holes (there were alot). Here is the long bench, which I may have already found a home for, we'll see :)

And here is the smaller one in my kitchen currently drying. I found the paint on the "oops" shelf at Lowes last week for $5! It's Valspar in a satin finish. Love it! I thought I would have a little fun while editing to show you some ideas of things you could do to make it more unique and suited for the purpose you have in mind. This would make a great entry way bench if you don't have a lot of space to work with. Did I mention the seat lifts up for storage?

Or this could work well on a covered porch with your house numbers displayed and a cute pot of flowers or bright turqoise cushion, hee hee.

Or you could still use it as a dining bench and play it up a bit with some whimsy fonts with the word "Eat" or "Dine" on the back. Vinyl would work great for all of these options but if you wanted to save some money and paint them yourself you could always use stencils.

There are so many more things you could do to this bench, it would look great at the foot of a Twin bed with hot pink or orange color accents and if the color is too bright for your liking a simple glaze in a dark brown or tobacco would mute it easily. I am asking $55 for it. Email me at lemonsqueezing@gmail if you are interested. Thanks, I hope you all have a fabulous mothers day weekend! I'm linking this post up to the SNS party over at http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/ tonight! Then check out this linky party on Tuesday at domestically-speaking.blogspot.com

Summer's Chocolate Giveaway!

I recently met up with an aquaintance of mine at the craft fair a couple weeks ago. I already knew firsthand that Summer, whom I had recently met through a mutual friend, knows how to make a mean chocolate cake (she brought it to a girls night party a few months back). I did not know, however, that she is also a highly talented crafter as well until the craft fair when I fell in love with her headbands. It only seems fitting that her blog/website name is Summers Chocolate. Her creations are truly eye candy for the hair accessorie gal whether you are in your 30's...ahem, or still in diapers she has something you are sure to love like this one of a kind headband that I bought from her below...eye candy I tell you!

Or this zipper band I get compliments on everywhere I go!

She has every color...

and style you can imagine (and for you vintage lovers like me, she has access to a whole stock pile of old jewelry)! The pieces below (a little girl headband and ponytail piece) along with one of the zipper head bands can be yours if you take part in this giveaway.

Here are the rules: For one entry like Summer on Facebook here.
for another entry visit her blog here and become a follower. For yet another entry, visit her website here and leave a comment telling her your favorite item. Essentially you have the possibility of having three entries...make sense? Of course you need to leave a comment on this post for every entry you deserve. If you already follow or like Summer just leave me comment so you will be entered as well :) I will post the winner on Saturday! Good luck to you all!

Also for the locals, Summer is taking part in the Farmers Market hosted in the Wells Fargo parking lot every first thursday of the month from May to October at 6pm until dark (starting this week!) in Kimberly so go see her stuff in person...you won't be sorry!

Handpainted Chest

Yay, I finally have a completed project to post :)! Okay so again here is the "before" shot after I got it home from the thrift store. And here are the "after" shots I took this afternoon. I painted the outside frame ivory and added a brown glaze on top. The drawers were painted a medium brown and afterwards I freehanded the leafy sort of vine in a pearlized medium with some metallic copper highlights here and there. I love the hardware now that it has been painted in Krylons Oil Rubbed Bronze finish.

I wish I had a better camera. These pictures simply do not show the detail that can be seen in person.

Email me if you are interested in purchasing this piece at lemonsqueezing@gmail.com

Thanks for taking a look! I just purchased a bench off of Craigslist yesterday that I am soooo excited about and be sure to stop by in a couple days, I will be hosting a giveaway that you won't want to miss :) Adios!

I'm a little late doing this but am linking up to The Power of Paint Party over at http://domestically-speaking.blogspot.com

It's too COLD!

One of the projects I am currently working on...

Just thought I would post a bit about some upcoming projects. I actually had a little time today set aside to work on them but unfortunately the weather did not cooperate...I mean really, snow? Sadly I am blogging with very little to share. Here they are unfinished and waiting to be made beautiful again. This first one is an old glass door my friend Jen gave me a couple weeks ago. It needs a pane replaced and then I know exactly what I want to do with it...hmm, I think I'll surprise you all with that one when it's finished. You'll notice the headboard behind it still unfinished as well, sigh. And below is a small dresser I picked up at the local D.I. (thrift store) and have began working on (see top photo). I also still have a hutch to paint (someday).

Oh and once the weather warms up a bit I will show you the patio furniture I have been slowly but surely working on :). What can I say we have all been sick with terrible colds this week and I cannot wait for summer to get here!

My Story

A few of you know that I recently completed an Isagenix Cleanse. It was an 11 day nutritional cleanse I underwent during an already stressful time for our family. Sounds like a nightmare right, food deprivation combined with heavy stress? Well, that's what I thought at first too but my experience ended up being the complete opposite, I had more energy(without caffeine), more tolerance with my kids, more desire to work out, and an overall feeling of wellness I have never experienced before. The best part was weighing and measuring at the end with a total weight loss of 12.8 lbs and a loss of 21 inches! Since I began having children I have struggled getting the weight off. It hasn't helped that I have an identical twin (yes, identical) who successfully keeps hers off. In the past year I have ran four races including a full marathon (26.2 miles)without losing any weight. To say it has been frustrating would be a huge understatement. I am sharing this story, even though it is very personal, because I believe in the product. It sounds like such a cliche but I know what it has personally done for me and others and I want everyone to know about it. That's why when I was approached a couple weeks ago about selling it I accepted. I have never been a "salesman" in fact I avoid certain retail stores just for that reason. I'm not going to turn this blog into a place for me to push a product either, I just want to share my story in case anyone out there is struggling like I was and looking for a way to jump start thier weight loss and overall health. Please feel free to email me if any of you want more information on the Isagenix Cleanse at lemonsqueezing@gmail.com. I promise I will not pressure any of you in any way. I watched friends and coworkers use the products for years with success before I was ready to try it and I completely understand and respect personal choice in the matter. If you are still reading, thank you...now back to design! I have some amazing projects going right now that I can't wait to share so keep checking back next week and Happy Easter everyone!