a vintage hostess set (homemade b-day gift for my homegirl)

This past wknd I was able to get away and visit my bff, Jen and celebrate her birthday.

 (a little late as her b-day was in March, but better late than never)

That pic was not exactly from this year as I forgot to take pictures while I was there... but you get the idea. Besides it's one of my favorites of her. We've been able to celebrate many birthdays together. She's a gem!

We met in 4th grade. Our first conversation took place during math class (neither of us were interested in that subject). We had better things to discuss... like our hair style's but unfortunately that earned us the punishment of getting our names on the board. We were off to a great start and it was the begining of a beautiful friendship. Here's a slumber party pic of us in 4th grade. We are the ones with our mouths open for no apparent reason.

This year for her birthday I really wanted to try to be creative and come up with something fun for her. Thanks to Pinterest I had all sorts of inspiration. I decided to put together a "hostess set" for her using a vintage coke crate. She already has a Pepsi and 7-Up crate so I thought I would add to her little collection.

Here's the supplies I gathered: mason jars (garage sale), carafe's (garage sale), dessert plates and napkins (hobby lobby), burlap (fabric store), potted flowers (walmart), coke crate (thrift store).

Here's how it came together:

It turned out pretty fun and festive. Hopefully this summer she'll be able to put it to use along with her other crates when she entertains family and friends for BBQ's. Who doesn't love drinking tea or a summer cocktail out of a mason jar?

Happy Birthday Dear Friend!

Linking To:
the farmhouse porch-cowgirl up
knick of time tuesday vintage party
repurpose remodel reveal party
primp
creative things thursday
feathered nest friday
simple & sweet fridays
frugal fridays

master bathroom... a work in progress

We've been working on projects around here. Here's what we look like on most days with our respirators on. Amazing...I know:)

I've really been wanting to complete at least one room. So I set my sights on my bathroom. I think it's going to be my favorite room in our home. The husband went to work on refinishing the old claw foot tub. (i don't have a before pic) It turned out beautiful! Nice work babe.

Well, as the story goes... we had a little set back. Brett decided he was going to surprise me one evening by getting the tub inside and set. I was gone with little miss, so the boys went to work. They managed to get the tub inside without any problems. I have no idea how Brett manages to move such big heavy pieces by himself but he does. All was going well until the end when B-boy knocked this purple glue/sealing agent out of Brett's hand.
The good news is that it did not get on the beautifully refinished tub. The bad news is it got on everything else and that stuff STAINS. There is no chemical to remove this bad boy! All Brett could do at that point was open all the windows to air out the home and wait for me to get home as they both had a good coat of this stuff on them as well. So, Brett pulled off surprising me! I took my little boy to my moms and soaked him in a tub. It took a few days for the purple to wear off his skin. Brett cleaned up as best he could. Then we took the next couple days to try to get the bathroom cleaned up. Brett didn't want to pull out the floor boards so he decided to scrape it all up with his chisel. Then he stained and finished that part of the floor again. I used a couple coats of stain blocking primer and then four coats of paint on the walls and trim. I think we covered it up pretty well.
Well, perhaps one of these days I will get to complete a room. If you knew my husband as a boy and all that he put his parents through I think you would say the same thing my mom did: "Honey, I think Brett has it coming to him." These boys are sure sweet but they are a handful to deal with on a daily basis:) Lord, please help me!

So we are still alive and well. Just dealing with our own series of unfortunate events. Hope to do a "bathroom reveal" soon. Stay tuned!