Recap of part one: I purchased an antique door for our new pantry. Even though my brain was telling me not to purchase the door, my heart won out and I purchased it anyway. This decision led to a large amount of work, which included stripping, sanding, and repairing, resulting in a large amount of time invested. Hence, that's why there is a Part Two. With the door sanded and ready to go, I felt like it needed something to elevate its appearance. I chose to add molding around the glass at the top and the panels at the bottom, giving it the finished look I wanted. After applying two coats of Kilz paint as a primer, I then painted the door in a blue shade that complements the colors in my home. Although I hope that my pantry will remain organized (a girl can dream, right?), I wanted to block the view in some way. To achieve this, I found gold wire mesh sheeting at a local big box store that coordinated with the accents in our kitchen. By cutting out four rectangular shapes with wire cutters and affixing them using the remaining molding from the glass front, I achieved the perfect amount of coverage while still allowing light into the pantry. The finished pantry door. I am in love with everything about it. The color, gold mesh, doorknob, and especially its uniqueness. If you enjoyed this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive new posts as they are created.

Throughout the year, I search for Christmas decorations at Good Will. In fact, some of my best finds have been made during the summer months. For instance, I once came across a basket filled with greenery that caught my eye. While others may have seen a dingy basket of greenery, I saw a collection of materials that could be used for my Christmas decorations, all for the price of $2.99. The basket, which was in perfect condition, not only contained holiday picks but also had floral foam blocks and moss. The only thing I had to do was clean everything up a bit. Out of curiosity, I decided to check the prices of these items to see how much I saved. I found all the products on the Michaels website. The hyacinth basket was priced at $18.99, the individual pinecones at $0.99 each, the two types of pine tree branches at $7.49 and $4.49 each, the magnolia leaves at $13.99 each, the red berries at $4.49 each, the floral foam blocks at $10.99 each, and lastly, the moss at $24.00 for the largest bag. Altogether, the total comes to $157.30, resulting in a savings of $154.31. This experience reinforced my belief in carefully examining things before passing them by. If you enjoyed this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive new posts as they are created.

Today, I began decorating for the holidays! My decorating style has changed over the years. Before, I would spend hours clearing a room and then bring in holiday decorations. However, I got tired of having to pack and unpack everything. Now, instead of removing items, I prefer to try to work them into the holiday theme (little secret: if something can't be worked in, I tuck it behind the couch or in a drawer. Don't tell anyone). I recently applied this approach to two large Pottery Barn vases that sit on my mantle. I currently have pussy willows in the two vases. Not only are they beautiful, but the neutral color lends itself to adding other elements. Armed with holly berry stems, fir-pine sprigs, and additional pussy willows, I got to work. There really is no right or wrong way to do this. I placed one stem in at a time, stepping back periodically to see how it looked and tweaking if needed. Next, I added pine sprigs around the rim for balance. Remember to walk around the vase to make sure all angles look good. When everything was done, I took stems out and placed them where there might have been empty space. The last thing I did was tie a bow on the vase. I will not lie; it took me more than an hour to do each vase. I think the result was worth the time put in. I guess I still spend a lot of time decorating, but at least I will not have to drag things back in. If you enjoyed this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive new posts as they are created.

With my annual holiday party coming up, I took Friday off from work with all intentions of cleaning. But as it happens, I got sidetracked. Sometimes this happens to me (a lot really). It started by tweaking one holiday decoration, then another and another, and another until a few hours had gone by and no cleaning in sight. It looked great though, and I checked that off my to-do list! I will not be giving you any cleaning tips (Ha Ha), but I will share what I did! Starting on the outside I tweaked my flower boxes. These were the easiest Christmas flower box I have ever done! I bought greens from Wegmans, laid them in the bottom, placed the lantern in the middle, added three holiday stems from Michael’s on either side of the lantern, and topped it off with ribbon. Voilà! Time to back inside it is cold. Inside I started with the Newel Post. It is the first thing you see as you walk in the house. So welcoming! These are the vases I had been working on, along with the finished mantle! All the stockings are hung by the faux chimney with care! These are the vases I had been working on, along with the finished mantle! All the stockings are hung by the faux chimney with care! These were such a find! I got them at the after Christmas sale at Target. They are the perfect color and style for my living room. In the dining room I tied a bow around the lantern and added a candle. This guy has been with us forever! I used to have him outside sitting on a sled every year. You can tell his gloves used to be a brighter green. He’s earned his stripes and now has a permanent spot in the house every Christmas! I am going to leave you now. I had better get back to cleaning. If you liked this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive new posts as they are created.

My mother-in-law gave us an amazing vintage music cabinet that was originally used to hold sheet music and vinyl records. We were excited to receive the cabinet and brought it home with us. However, I painted the cabinet with blue chalk paint, which I disliked, and since I was unsure of how to use it, I decided to store it away. A few years later, I was looking through a magazine and saw a cabinet that had been transformed into a stylish bar. The article made me think of our cabinet and why I couldn't do the same. Guess what? That is exactly what I decided to do! After getting the cabinet out of storage, the first thing I did was fill in the decorative florets on either side. They did not fit in with the vision I have for the cabinet. I chose black chalk paint (all products used will be listed at the end of the post) this time as it goes better with the style of the cabinet. The paint dried a little lighter than I wanted, but I resolved that by adding black wax to darken the color and seal it. Although I liked where the piece was going, I needed some type of wow factor. Initially considering a mirror on the cabinet's back but opted for gold leafing instead because of the cost.   It is best to work in one small area at a time. Once you brush on the adhesive, you need to wait 45 minutes before placing the sheets on. The small area above took two hours. I loved the final result, but gold leafing is definitely not for the faint of heart. If you haven't guessed it, I am turning the cabinet into to a bar. Alas I have run out of time and energy. Stay tuned for Music Cabinet Redo Part Two! P.S:  If you haven't guessed it, I am turning the cabinet into to a bar. If you enjoyed this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive new post as they are created. See below for product information. Products used : Annie Sloan Athenian Chalk Paint Annie Sloan Black Wax Metal Leaf Adhesive by Cratf smart Gold Metal Leaf by Art minds

The Music Cabinet is complete. It was a lot of work, but the final product was worth it. This is what took happened: In the last post, I painted it with Annie Sloan Athenian Black Chalk Paint and added the gold leafing to the back.   To make it a bar cabinet we needed to create storage space for glasses and wine bottles. We replaced the larger boards with thin slats then added three shelves. Two of the shelves, along with the bottom of the cabinet, had quarter rounds added to them to hold bottles of wine. I liked the hardware that was on the cabinet, so I painted them black and added gold antiquing wax to them. I am extremely pleased with the finished product. Taking the time to work it out has definitely paid off in the end! If you enjoyed this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive new posts as they are created.

My husband had asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I said I would like to celebrate with my friends and family. The guest list totaled seventeen which left us wondering how we could accommodate everyone (my birthday is in February no sitting outside). We eventually figured it out and had an amazing evening of fun, food, friends and family. Let's see how we did it! This is our dining room. I love it, but it would not hold seventeen people! This is our family room. No room here for seventeen people either unless you move all the furniture around in your house. We moved the family room furniture into the dining room. I have to say I am loving the wall color and chandelier with this furniture! Then we moved the dining room furniture into the family room. We added another table and chairs, which pays off when you refinish furniture and have seventeen chairs available to use. The seating was taken care of, leaving the menu which my husband was in charge of. It consisted of lasagna, roast pork tenderloins with cherry sauce, Greek chicken kabobs, maple mashed sweet potatoes, asparagus bundles wrapped in bacon, and tossed salad with homemade honey mustard dressing. He also baked two cakes, one chocolate and one white cake (the white one is my favorite). I know, right!! It was a perfect birthday celebration surrounded by my family and friends. The next day we moved everything back, rested and reminisced about the night before. Not everyone would want to move furniture to accommodate a large crowd, but for us it was the perfect solution. If you enjoyed this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive new posts as they are

I tackled my linen closet today. It is one of those things I have put off and put off and put off! Maybe I was hoping elves would come along and do it for me. No such luck! I call it a linen closet, but it no longer resembles one. It has become a catch-all place with a few sheets thrown in. I really try to avoid it if I can. When I do go in there, I grab what I need and get out quick. My plan of avoidance was foiled when someone left the linen closet door open. I came upstairs and got a full-frontal assault. The view was not pretty and could no longer be ignored! So began my Sunday of cleaning, painting, and organizing my linen closet. This is the door that should have remained closed. The idea of all of you seeing this mess made me cringe. But, for the post's integrity, full disclosure was necessary. The first thing I did was remove everything inside. Much better! After emptying everything, I thoroughly cleaned the space. Then, I removed the shelves, making sure to number each one as a precaution in case they fit only in the original spot. Following this, I painted the sides and shelves with white paint and the back with gray chalk paint. Then, I added shelf liner from the Dollar Tree to all the shelves. This prevents scratching and looks nice. After all that work, it was time to have some fun! I picked up some baskets and storage containers at Home Goods. I already had these glass containers. I tried to use them for sugar and flour at one time, but they did not keep moisture out and the sugar lumped together. I fished them out and put soap, Q-tips, and eventually cotton balls will go in the third one when I get to the store. Here it is! So much better than it was before! I am not under any illusions that the linen closet will continue to look like this. But if the door should be left open, there are pretty things to distract your attention, so maybe you won't see the mess? Whoa, I am definitely naive. Oh well, for now, I am just going to look at my beautiful linen closet and take in the moment. If you enjoyed this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive new posts as they are created.

There are jobs everyone hates to do. Cleaning the bathroom, picking up dog doo, cleaning litter boxes. Currently, I am in the process of doing a job I hate to do painting a ceiling. Usually, I paint ceilings every few years, unless someone tried to knock a spider off the ceiling with a shoe, which is what happened in this case. Besides craning your neck or having paint drip in your hair, the most frustrating part is losing track of where you already painted. If the ceiling you are painting is white and the paint is white, when it starts to dry, it is very difficult to keep track of where you left off. Because of this, I came up with a system to help keep me straight! Here is said footprint on the ceiling. I did try to clean it but being a matte finish it is hard to get out. I laid down plastic on the floor added an extension to my roller and was ready to go.                                        It is hard to see, which is why I use this system in the first place. I start in the corner and push my roller above the molding, making sure I get the paint right up to the edge then roll out about a foot. Keeping within that foot line, I go the length of the room. After finishing the length, I go back to the starting place, put my roller at the end of the first foot, and repeat the process down the room until the ceiling is completely painted. After I am done, I do not clean up until the entire ceiling is dry. This way, if I missed a spot, I would not have to take everything out again. If you enjoyed this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive post as they are created. Products Used: Behr Ultra White Interior Ceiling Paint

The COVID pandemic has disrupted our daily routines and coping mechanisms. Personally, I find solace in keeping myself occupied to the point of exhaustion, which helps me avoid dwelling on the current situation. This has always been my approach. Fortunately, my understanding husband allows me the space to navigate through this in my own way. He trusts that I will eventually come to terms with the challenges we are facing. I have reached that stage now! I feel incredibly thankful and humbled to reside in a nation where individuals jeopardize their well-being to support and sustain our community. A heartfelt appreciation to all the healthcare professionals, essential workers, and service providers who are the backbone of our society during this crisis. Thank you! As I promised, I will keep writing my blog, with the hope that it brings you a little distraction in this strange time. Here we go: Today I am going to show you how the upstairs hallway has turned out. This is the hallway that began with reorganizing the linen closet and then painting all the doors from black to white. It somehow morphed to include painting the ceiling, walls, touching up crown molding, baseboards, door jambs, and changing light fixtures. Before I started painting the doors, I sanded around where the doorknobs because the new ones are smaller. I also noticed a couple of drips from when I painted the doors black and sanded those as well. Now we are ready for painting. I started by painting the doors with two coats of primer. This will help the regular paint adhere better and I will use less of the more expensive paint. The knobs I purchased for the doors were black, but the hinges on the door were silver. Instead of buying new I scuffed the hinges with steel wool then sprayed painted them black. To no surprise, after painting all the doors, the walls, and ceiling looked tired, so I repainted them as well. After refreshing everything, the next step was to replace the light fixtures that came with the house (no judging about the dust).  I began my search, but the options were all above my budget. I came across a fixture I liked the glass dome but was not a fan of the brassy gold. brassy gold color. The price was eight dollars and decided to take a chance on it. I painted the base black, installed it, and was blown away at how beautiful it was. The pattern on the ceiling and walls was breathtaking. With the doors, ceiling, walls and light fixtures done it was time for artwork. This was easy I just shopped our house. I placed the bicycle Giclee from our family room at the top of the stairs, the sepia prints also from the family on the large wall leading to the bedroom, and finally family photos which I mounted on two amazing shutters (with patina already on it) that I purchased at garage for four dollars. I am so happy with the final result; the space is now so calming. It's exactly what you'd want to see before going to sleep each night. If you enjoyed this post, please give it a "like" and subscribe to receive new posts as they are created. Products Used: Kilz Primer Paint Behr Interior Ultra-Pure White Paint Rust-Oleum Matte Black Spray Paint Flush Mount Ceiling Fixture