Rejuvenated!

Don’t you just love it when you find a bargain?!  I managed to get my hands on this lovely buffet/sideboard thingy in Salvation Army on 25% off day.  It is solid wood which is unusual to find nowadays and even though it was in need of a bit of cosmetic surgery it was in good shape.  Not one to be deterred by that lovely thick, molasses type varnish, I took it home, sanded, primed, sanded, filled, sanded, painted and distressed it – and all in one day!  It now sits proudly in my work/family/basement room crammed full of my ‘stuff’.  I love my stuff!  My only problem now is that it is in the room where I attempted to lay laminate floor (with my impatient husband) which never really got finished!  And…now I don’t like the color I painted the room so I might have to change that.  Oh the perils of working in Benjamin Moore where you are constantly surrounded by hues of blue and grey and robins egg!  Giving color advise to others is easy but choosing for yourself, well, you know how that goes.

Before

After

 

I have also been doing my usual workaholic routine and have had no time for anything arty.  But I did take some time off this weekend to enjoy having my son home from college for a few days.  It’s never long enough though but what’s a mum to do.

Below are some pictures of a platinum distressed ceiling I did last week and a silver/gold antiqued glazed chair.  I am pretty chuffed with the results.  The pictures don’t really do them justice but I think you get the idea.

Well that’s enough of tooting my own horn – just wanted to share.  I have been really bad at not leaving comments on my fave blogs and I apologize.  Time constraints and all that.  I will make up for it soon though, promise!

I hope you had a wonderful last few weeks?  The weather here in Virginia this weekend was un-be-liev-able!  Perfect temps, sun, and that wonderful autumnal feel in the air.  The leaves are finally changing to those beautiful hues of reds and gold's and I can’t wait to get out and take some pictures before it’s too late!  Of course I will be posting them as soon as I do.

Have a wonderful peaceful week ahead – XxX Anji

Finding time…

Well, it is yet again the end of another week.  A week that just flew by in a whirl with work, work, and work.  Absolutely NO time to stop and smell the roses and enjoy the simple things.  You know, when I get time to read some of the wonderful blogs out there, I am so very envious.  How I wish I had time to go off and see all the ‘junque’ shows, all the creativity and camaraderie that so many people have through blogging.  I wonder to myself  ‘will I still be working when I am 70 years old just trying to make ends meet?’  I like to think that I am a humble type, not really wanting material things from life, not fame or fortune, just a tiny slice of that pie.  That big, fat, juicy pie that some people get to eat everyday.  I feel like I am always stuck on the ‘soup and salad’ course and occasionally get to the entree - but never to dessert!  It’s time to put things into perspective I guess – time to choose exactly what it is I want from life, time for some reflection.  But maybe all I am really looking for is ‘time’.  If I ever get enough of it, I will try and figure out a way of bottling it, and I will adhere a beautiful hand written label that says ‘use wisely’.

So until I figure that out I will wish you all a happy and healthy week.

Until next time…

Catch Of The Day

Just a little image to show you what my husband is up to when I am at work all day.  And he didn’t even bring it home for dinner!

Looking Back

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments on my last post.  I really do appreciate any feedback and if I only knew how to respond – I would!  Another blogger thingy I have to learn….

I also want to add a HUGE thanks to  Gale over at http://myrepurposedlife.blogspot.com/ for such helpful advise on blogging.  I am, for the first time, using Windows Live Writer to write this post and let me tell ya – easy – you have no idea! (unless you use it of course!)  Even though it took me a while to figure out how to actually get Writer in the first place it was well worth the time.  Some of the editing functions are fantastic – uploading images for one.  Pop on over to Gale’s blog for some really great tips.  Thank you so much Gale!!

Another very busy weekend, too much work and not enough rest.  But I did want to upload a few more pics of my trip to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as I am still on a bit of a high from it!  Did you know that there is a town named Intercourse?  On the other side of Intercourse is a town called Paradise and sandwiched in between the two – a town called Blue Balls!  I know, I know, I sound like a little kid still in school but I still get a laugh from it.  I’m sure it has nothing to do with what first comes to mind but you have to wonder….

Please double click on the images if you want to enlarge (the quality is so much better).

 

 

As always – hoping you have a wonderful week ahead!

Anji X x X

The Simple Life

I have got to stop popping off for the weekend - I mean it. I seem to spend so much time going on 'quick trips' and never get anything accomplished OR any work done. But, with the weather this past weekend in the mid eighties, clear blue skies and a September breeze, how could I pass up a trip to Amish country in Pennsylvania? Not the tourist kind of trip where you are obliged to take buggy rides and dress up in a bonnet but the kind where you get to drive around the farmland seeing acres and acres of corn, wheat and tobacco. Where Monday is wash day and the clothes drying on the line are fresh and crisp and sway gently in the breeze. Time has stood still in Lancaster, a better simpler time where children run around in bare feet, laughing and playing with their siblings. Where the only cars you see are from the tourists, where horse drawn carriages are the only means of transport and ~ where life is pure.









I felt so unbelievably humbled and privileged to be able to get these photos. It's very rare that the Amish allow this at all but I guess it was my lucky day and I was able to chat and laugh with this beautiful family, always being mindful not to outstay my welcome.

Onto a farm machinery auction! My poor husband drove me around for hours looking for real life events and boy did he hit the jackpot! Never did I realize that there would be so much choice! Not just farm equipment but hand cranked washing machines, buggy parts and office desks. I had a field day taking pictures there and no one minded - in fact they were trying to get in on the act!

We decided to stay over night in a charming little motel and then headed out Monday morning to see more of the breathtaking countryside. We were not disappointed - the weather was better than the day before and the cloud formations were unbelievable.








So now, of course, I want to be a photographer and travel the length and breadth of the states, snapping away at all of this beauty. Throw on my jeans and cowboy boots (I bought me some when I was in Nashville!), toss my equipment into the back of my truck (I actually own a chevy Aveo!) and take flight! I will have nothing to think about except my next destination and my long, blond hair (I have shoulder length brown hair) will flow like a river in the wind.
But for now I will just have to dream. Tomorrow I have the delight of sanding furniture all day, grocery shopping and laundry...but I always have my memories!

Wishing you a wonderful week everyone
XXXXXX ANJI XXXXXX

Inevitable

This is a piece of artwork I made last year for all the mum's whose children are going off to college. It is inevitable that our babies will grow up to be independent, young adults and leave our nests to venture out into the unknown. All we can do is make sure their journey is safe and let them know they are loved.
A little piece of my heart is still empty today but I will fill that hole with thoughts of seeing my son Josh in the fall.
Please feel free to take this image and use it any way you want. Double click to enlarge it and right click to save.
Hope you all have a wonderful, peaceful day!

Empty nest again!

I will eventually post some more pictures of my trip to Galax and Nashville but for now I wanted to add a few of my son Josh. He left for college in Vermont again today and it never ceases to amaze me how a little piece of my heart is broken every time he leaves. Each trip home seems shorter and shorter and I find myself wishing that he had chosen a school that was closer or never gone to college at all! I think that is the problem sometimes, only having one child, that it is so much more difficult to let go. But he arrived there safely tonight after his 9 hour drive and is happy to be back with his friends. I hope that this will be the best semester ever for him and I can't wait to see him again in the fall.
And to all you mum's out there who are feeling a little bit teary like me, just remember - you are not alone.

Hoping everyone has a great week ahead ~ Anji XxX