worst 6 months ever

This deployment has been horrible.  One bad thing happening after another.  I have just been hunkering down and riding it out.  We are finally settling down, and my husband will be home in less than 2 weeks.  Man it has been a long ordeal.  Things are going better, and I am looking forward to getting back to normal life. 

Deal of the Year on Buffet Table

I have been using my daughter's old pink dresser as a Buffet table for a couple of years now.  I guess it doesn't really match my dining room, but I have been looking for a really good deal on a new buffet.  Here is what her pink dresser looked like in the space.

We just got this new table which is big and awesome.  Our old table was a drop leaf antique from my step grandmother, and I was scared to use it for fear of breaking it.  This new table is very sturdy.  Notice that the pink doesn't really go?  I did cover it with a table cloth for it to blend better though.  Here's another angle.

Well I found this buffet for an awesome deal.  It was clearanced at pier 1.  Normally $565, it was clearanced for $56.  Yes 90% off.  I was jumping up and down inside.  It matches our table wonderfully.  It is actually supposed to be a media console, but it is the same height as the table, so it works well as a buffet. 

I was just so excited about my deal.  I was in the right place at the right time.

Dresser Makeover

I had originally bought this dresser about 5 years ago from Salvation Army. It was just plain wood, and boring. My daughter had needed a bigger dresser and she wanted it to be a painted dresser. At the time she wanted pink. (Now she hates pink). Here it is in it’s pink state.

I like the designs that I did on each drawer. Well, since then, she has inherited my old bedroom set which is a cherry wood four poster bed, high boy, and bedside table. This pink dresser came out to the dining room to hold dishes and act as a buffet. Last month I found a really good deal on a new buffet, and this dresser could start it’s new life in my son’s room. He was not feeling the pink. I told him to embrace his inner princess, which makes him mad, which makes me want to say it more. So, for it’s new life, my son picked out the paint color and new drawer pulls. He wanted red, which made me nervous at first, but the color turned out beautiful, and I love the handles that he picked. It looks very masculine now. I guess he really wants to keep that inner princess repressed. Oh well.

I had to putty over some of the holes for the handles and drill new ones so that they would fit. Extra steps, but it turned out great.

I am going to link this post to metamorphosis monday at Between naps on the porch.

office organization

I have been organizing the office while my husband is away, and was inspired to beautify as well. This closet office and the nice color coordinated boxes was a source of inspiration.
Here is my first area of the office that I did this organization/beautification to. I can't just say organization because it is already organized. It just doesn't look that great. I bought large boxes at Michael's. They had horrible loud, busy pictures on them. I spray painted them with two coats of primer to cover the pictures, and then a color coat of celery green. I need to go buy more boxes for the rest of the office stuff. Here is the before.

Here is the after.
I also painted a swatch of chalkboard paint on the outside of each box and then wrote with chalk marker what is in each box. That way I will be able to change the label depending on what is in the box.

What my husband will be driving when done with training.

I saw this on I wish Wednesday on blah, blah, blah, blog, and it is funny. This is what my husband will have to be driving when he is done with training and his knees give out, and his back gives out. (I'm just kidding, he may have to wait till he is actually old.)

"Navy Dude"

Now that my husband is gone, we have decided to replace him. We have renamed this build a bear koala, and he is now going to go places and have fun with us in my husband's stead. This weekend we went swimming at my in-law's house, and Navy Dude came along. He seemed to have a good time.

Here he is ready for his water gun fight.

I'm hungry, time to eat.

husband is deployed

My husband just flew out yesterday for South Carolina. This is the first leg of his journey to Iraq. I miss him already, and it is going to be a long year. He is planning to take a two week leave in March, which will be half way through his time, and the kids' spring break will fall during that time so it will be the perfect time to have a vacation. Now we have to decide where in the world we should meet him.