Romantic Gesture...

As a mother of two young boys, there is no down time.  And if there is, it is filled with a to-do list about ten miles long- and that is fine- it's the way it will be for awhile!
But to be put out of commission- literally over night- is a tough one! After a night of what I thought was horrible heart burn- and several other similar incidents that I just shoved under the rug- I finally went to the doctor.  With in an hour on a Friday, I was having an ultra sound and then referred to a surgeon and scheduled to have my gall bladder out on Monday!
Ummm.... does that prescription of pain meds come with a prescription for a nanny/ made/ chaffuer?!
Clearly I was in a panic on multiple levels- but with the help from some dear friends and my amazing hubs we pulled it off.  Minus one gall bladder and a few days of work for him we pushed through and even found a bright spot in the middle of it all!
What is that bright spot you might ask.... well with all of the forced down time I had to amuse myself now didn't I? And TV got boring so I was forced to check out craigslist... and there she was... my French provincial buffet just begging to come home to me! But for $200 that wasn't going to happen! I sent a very nice email to the woman explaining that I was not trying to offend or low ball but that my budget was $100 and if she decided she needed it gone and would accept it to give me a call.
She did respond that she couldn't go that low but would keep my number.  Low and behold two days later she emailed and said she wanted it gone- and I was all to happy to send the hubs and a neighbor to go grab it at 9 at night since I couldn't drive or lift heavy things- That's true love for ya!

Now I've said it before, and I'll say it again- natural wood is gorgeous and it was on her too- but didn't match my dining room set- so I knew I would paint it- just wasn't sure what color.  The adventurous side of me thought red- the boring side of me thought classic white.  I even did a facebook poll to get some help in deciding- Red actually won out but was vetoed based on the fact that the room is small and the red would completely take over! and it would be easy to paint white and then decide to go red- rather that going red and deciding I should have done white.
So Annie Sloan Chalk paint was the winner- no sanding or priming- love that! gave two coats and then distressed the edges and some of the details and then instead of waxing over it I did a Minwax water based poly that goes on easy and clear.

I decided it would be just a tad too boring for me if the inside was just plain though- so I went ahead and used a bamboo looking stencil and the navy paint that is on the walls in there already and just slopped it on! I wasn't going for a perfect look- just wanted some interest and I think it accomplished that!  Adding my pretties inside was the fun part- just some things that have had a lack of safe display space in my house (two boys don't forget!) and then I was all done!

I should mention that I did not paint this for several weeks until I had recovered from my surgery- I am super mom, but not that super!

You are getting a small sneak peak at my dining room in this pic as well that has been overhauled and you will see soon:)

Hope you are having a wonderful day!
B:)

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