Bar Cart Wheels

Yesterday, I showed you how we attempted to remove the brass from the vintage bar cart. Well the wheels ended up being plastic.

After the got hit by all the brass removing chemicals, there was very little gold paint left on them.

The rubber wheel part didn't really come off, so I just used some blue painters tape to protect them from the spray.

Once they were all taped and ready, we needed to pick up some spray paint that would hopefully match our new metal color.

We decided on the Rust-oleum Metallic, it is a dark, sliver, oil-rubbed-bronze kind of color.

I sprayed both sides evenly.

They were then left to dry.

  

Wait until you see them on the bar cart. Next up is the grand reveal!

No More Brass: Bar Cart

This was a project Alan and I did a long time ago, as you can see the grass is still green. Remember back in August when we found this vintage bar cart?

We decided we didn't like the brass color. I read online that you could remove it with various products.

So, I picked a few options up. Besides gloves, a sanding block, and steel wool, I also got some Easy Off oven cleaner and some Blue Magic car cleaner.

First, we sprayed the Easy Off.

After letting it sit for a while we scrubbed it with steel wool. This was supposed to help get some of the protective coating off.

After the first time we actually repeated this step again hoping for a better result. Rubbing, scrubbing, and sanding was the hardest part about this project.

Then we broke out the Blue Magic hoping that it would start to get the gold color off.

We applied it, let it sit, sanded it, and then buffed out the scratches with steel wool.

We really had no idea what we were doing or if it would work. Obviously this is the worst tutorial ever. The reason being we didn't really follow any directions. We just tried one product, then the other. A little sanding here and a little steel wool there, until it started looking a less gold color we were happy with.

It is done now, but you will have to wait for the big reveal! We found out that the big back wheels were plastic and the gold paint chipped off. So tomorrow I will share all about the wheels. I can't wait for you to see it all complete, I think you will love it as much as we do!

House Layout

I just realized this morning that I have never shared a picture of our house layout. I was looking through some of our old paperwork when we built the house and found this with the initial contract. I know you have seen pictures of various rooms, but this gives a great idea of where everything is. We found some features in this layout that we hadn't seen in other places. We loved the huge walk-in pantry, the covered patio, and the open kitchen-living-dining room area. We have now been in the house over 6 months and it is still the perfect layout. We love it!

Deck the Halls

Now that the tree is up and the stockings are hung, it was time to spread Christmas around the house a little more. I picked up some fresh flowers to add around the house too. I love fresh flowers and need to remember to pick them up more often. Some went on the table next to the couch.

And on the entry table. These mercury balls from Pottery Barn last year are my favorite. The tree I picked up at Michael's and added the sparkly bow.

And finally the dining room table got a little more festive. Another tree with a bow from Michael's, more fresh flowers, pine cones, and more mercury glass.

I have a weakness in the form of mercury glass. The candle holder is from TJ Maxx and it has two friends that are varying heights. Love.

The yellow vase and the glass dome were both used in our wedding. The dome covered the cupcake that Alan and I cut for our cake. The sliver ball was a present Mom gave me for my birthday.

It was nice being able to use mostly items that we already had around the house to help decorate for Christmas, especially since we had nothing at the beginning of the season.

Although, I love how our dining room looks, you might see a new change soon. What could it be? Well, it involves a switch. That's all I am going to tell you for now!

Glitter Everywhere

I got a little wild with the glitter. At least I was on the back patio, but Alan did have to spray it off when I was done. What was I glittering? Sticks of course. I grabbed a handful of the sticks in the vase in our living room and decided to make them a little more Christmas sparkly.

The fern is not normally in the middle of the backyard, but it was raining so we were trying to get it some free water.

Anyways, I broke out some spray glue and glitter.

I sprayed the stick.

And then just sprinkled white and sliver glitter on it.

I didn't heavily coat them, just gave them enough to sparkle.

I added them to the sticks that I left in the vase in the living room.

I love the sparkle that they give the room and it makes it feel more Christmasy.

The sticks were in the corner where the Christmas tree is right now, but we moved them to the other side of the sideboard for the season.

What an easy update to make the room a little more festive.

Jingle Bells

I just cant get enough of Christmas decorations. Obviously. This was a quick project that popped into my mind as soon as I saw these giant rustic looking bells at Hobby Lobby. They were 50% off, making them about five dollars a container. There are 6 bells in each.

I already had the jute twine, because it is something that I just keep around the house. This was so easy. I just took 6 bells, looped jute through each of them individually making sure each bell hung at a different length, and then tied all the ends together.

I had some extra sparkly ribbon that I picked up at Michael's for 50% off, so I tied a simple bow at the top to finish it off.

Our jingle bells now live on the sideboard in the living room.

The little cluster only took one container. As you can see from the top picture, I had grabbed two containers of the bells. What did I do with the other six? Hang them on the tree of course! They match our color scheme and you can't have enough jingle bells during Christmas.

You can really get an idea of there size when they are up next to the other ornament balls, they are about the same size.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle All The Way!

The Stockings Were Hung

Stockings!! Add them to the list of Christmas decorations that Alan and I did not have. Well now we do! I found these three cuties from Target. From Left to right they are Alan's, mine, and of course Mr. Bennett's. Of course Bennett needed his own stocking! A mini one for him because all 4.9 pounds of him can fit into the others. We haven't tried it! But now that I mentioned it...

I think that it is just too darn cute that the boys have matching big and small stockings. The stocking holders are also from Target. The little deer one is just so fun. And if you notice the stockings match the tree color scheme perfectly. Maybe I will get our names put on them for next year.

I can't wait to fill Alan's stocking. He will be filling mine and we will both be filling Bennett's. This is the first time that I will ever stuff a stocking and I am excited about it! Only 17 more days until Christmas!

Decorating the Tree

Since Alan and I got our tree it was time to get to decorating it. We headed out to Hobby Lobby where all of there Christmas stuff was 50% off. I went a little overboard on buying balls, so there is a bag of them that needs to be returned. I guess I thought the tree would need more then it did. We love the way that it turned out.

The start topper is very heavy, luckilly the bow helps to hold it upright. Before it was there the star just hung upside down. We are upright now.

We went with a white, sliver, brown, and gold feel with the ornaments and the ribbon. It looks great in the room, I love all the sparkle.

That corner in the living room was the perfect location for the tree. All we had to move was the vase with the sticks in it. Every night we hang out on the couch and enjoy the lights while the fire is going and eat cookies. I just love this time of year.

There are other Christmas decorations going up around the house. Stay tuned to see!

Loving This: White Poinsettias

The poinsettia is such a classic Christmas time plant, but I have to admit that I am partial to the white variety. Sorry red poinsettias. I have been seeing them everywhere I go and I was this close to buying one when Alan informed me that the poinsettia is poisonous to dogs if they eat them. Dreams crushed! Bennett loves to eat leaves. Dead ones outside on the ground or live ones right off the plant, he doesn't discriminate. And knowing our luck he would trapeze style climb on something to get to the poinsettia no matter where we tried to put it.

Look at how Miss Mustard Seed used them here. Gorgeous! I do love them, so I did a little research to verify this poisonous rumour. Mostly what I found is that they actually aren't poisonous, but they will cause vomiting and other unpleasentries if ingested. Therefore I would rather error on the side of caution and protect the leaf eating puppy. Maybe I need to look for a fake version, that way everyone wins. But for now, I guess these pictures will just have to do.

A Little Sweater

I don't think I ever shared Bennett's sweater with you. Yes, we got him a sweater, it was just too cute to pass up! It's his game day sweater and he wore it during Alabama games to support his favorite team.

The reason it is his game day sweater is that is is grey and white. Also, we thought the pattern looked like houndstooth, but it is really little puppies. It also has two cute buttons on each side.

We found it at PetSmart and guess who made it, Martha Stewart. Damn you Martha! Why is everything you touch amazing? Especially her dog line, I die.

He really doesn't mind wearing it and he just looks like the most handsome little man in it!

A Succulent Terrarium

You might have noticed the terrarium with the succulent in it on our entry table when I showed you guys the new entry rug.

My mother is the genius behind this and she was sweet enough to help me make my very own. I don't have pictures of the step by step process, but it was so easy it only took me about 5 minutes to make it. Seriously, 5 minutes, once you have all the layers it's just as easy as putting them in the jar of your choice.

I picked a succulent out from my local garden center, the Catbird Seat. It was only a few dollars, and was big enough for the jar that one was all I needed.

As you can see here, the first layer is little rocks, make this layer as big as you want for aesthetic purposes. Then we made a small layer of charcoal, just enough to cover the top of the rock layer, so a very thin layer. This helps with draining, so your next layer, the soil, doesn't run into the rocks when you water it.

Then you fill the rest will soil. Leave enough room to make an indent in the middle to plant your plant of choice. After we planted it, we added a little moss around it and a few larger rocks. That's it! It is a quick project. If you wanted to make it an even quicker project, you could just use the little rock layer, soil, and the plant of your choice.

I got my terrarium from TJ Maxx for $12.99. Besides buying my succulent, Mom had the rest of the supplies, because she had just completed some terrariums herself. One thing I did learn from Mom is that you only need to water the succulent when the soil looks bone dry. Neglect is the name of the game here. Now that is something that I can manage!