Win Win

I’ve always wanted a vanity, a space of my own to get ready at, and I wanted a unique one..

So when I spotted this gem at Goodwill a few weeks ago I couldn’t take my eyes off of it and I certainly wasn’t going to let any old ladies put their paws on it so I picked up the chair and went to the register ASAP and paid cash for it right on the spot – IT WAS MINE!! I had full intentions of redoing it and making it my own – I wish I would have gotten more detailed “BEFORE” shots but it was like a stain job gone bad..!

When my Dad was in town I took his advice on how to start the refinishing process. I understand that there are many ways to refinish furniture and this was the route I decided on!

Since I had an electric sander we bought rough sandpaper, softer sandpaper, and some steel wool. Other purchases included KILZ (acted like a primer), some paint brushes, and a gorgeous Olympic paint by the name of “Flannel Gray”.

Our bedroom has blues, grays, greens, and whites, along with the brown furniture so I thought a darker gray would be the perfect look I had in mind – and you know what if I want to paint it another color later, I can do that…!

So after the sanding, I put the first and only layer of KILZ on the vanity – let it dry and then after 3 coats of Gray Flannel (the middle color on the paint swatch) it was looking mighty good!

The hardest part was picking out a fabric to recover the chair. I went to Joanne’s Fabric with my 25% off coupon in hand (probably about 4 times before I made my final purchase). Lots of lunch break runs!

I found a lot of decent options – from yellow, to paisley, to a linen color, but the blues stuck of the most..

What can I say? I’m a blue girl at heart – always have been, and I’m thinking I always will be!

This was the winner and I LOVE IT! Plus it was marked down from $11/yard to $6/yard plus my 25% off means I purchased it for $4.50 and I was pretty thrilled. What do they say? “4^th time is a charm”?

And altogether..

 

You might notice that the hardware is missing.. I want to find the perfect knobs to replace the hideous ones on there before and I just haven’t found them yet… For now its knobless and it works just fine! I have everything I need right here to get ready for the day, plus Ryan has the entire bathroom to himself. Win Win for The Potters!

Reese loooovveeess the vanity.. can’t you tell!?

January Recap

I can’t believe it is already February! January flew by! I’ve been MIA for a couple of weeks due to an unexpected trip to SC and an unexpected car situation, not to mention spending a few days in NYC! – I feel like life is finally settling down.. in a good way!

How about a January Recap!

Meatless Meals

Ryan and I have been trying to fix dinners that are Vegan/Vegetarian in nature and we have had some successes and some failures! I CANNOT wait to share some of the amazing restaurants and meals that I had in NYC – pricey but unbelievably delicious.

• Epic Failure
• Mexican Tomato Bean Soup

• Oh She Glows – Naughty and Nice Vegan Enchilada Casserole – so good! I think I made it 3 times in January

• Oh She Glows – Vegan BBQ Chili

Project Pin

I started “Project Pin” in January and even though I got side tracked towards the end of the month here are two projects that I absolutely love! I have big plans for February!

• ‘P’ for Potter

• Stand By Me

What have I been up to lately?!

Well… I took a trip to SC during the last full week in January and saw my adorable flower girls and ate at one of my FAVORITE restaurants! It was good to be home with Ma and Pa.

Laney and I at Mom’s store one afternoon

Wade’s Restaurant Spartanburg 

Why can’t there be Meat and 3’s in Ohio!? Or in my case” the 4 “Veggie” Plate but what I really want is 1 Veggie and 3 southern comfort foods” Green beans, Mac & Cheese, Sweet Potato Casserole,  Hash brown Casserole, Yeast Roll and of course Sweet Tea Please! So good – it’s a good thing I don’t live there anymore!

Big SURPRISE! My sweet husband got me an iPhone for Christmas and it finally came in! I think I am officially one of the last people on earth to get one – but I’m obsessed – I am amazed that you can deposit a check into your bank account without going to a bank, refill a prescription with the touch of a button, and even blog from this phone… (You didn’t think I’d publish a post without a picture of Reese did you?!)

And I’m saving the best for last… After I drove back from SC, my car of 6 years and 200k miles would not switch from reverse to forward and in mechanic talk that means “New transmission”…

So Ryan and I have been spending quality time every morning together carpooling while my car has been in the shop! Totally takes our relationship to the next level now that we are carpooling don’t you think?!

Hope you had a great January!

NYC recaps coming up soon!

Stand By Me

We had a very productive day in the Potter household! I cleaned the kitchen and living room, organized the closet, and did some laundry all before 11:00 this morning! This afternoon we went to workout, had lunch at Whole Foods, ran to Barnes and Noble, dropped off some things at Goodwill, and picked up some goodies from Hobby Lobby!

Now we are home watching the NFL playoffs and trying to decide what to do for dinner. I’m thinking pizza

This week’s “Project Pin”

This project is one of my favorite things I’ve ever made. It is meaningful and I know we will always have it hung in our house no matter what age we are or where we end up! I saw the idea on Pinterest and I knew I had to try it. This is just a simple matted frame with the lyrics from “Stand By Me” written on the mat. That was the song that Ryan and I danced to at our wedding. I actually made this back in December and gave it to Ryan for a Christmas gift. I also gave Ryan’s mother one, as well as my Dad.

Here is a breakdown:

Inspiration from lovelywrittenwords on Etsy via Pinterest.

13×11 frame with 5×7 opening – Pottery Barn outlet

One of my favorite photos of Ryan and I at our wedding

A fine black sharpie pen

The lyrics to “Stand By Me”

A glass of wine to calm my nerves as I wrote the lyrics out! (very important)

I took a deep breath and started writing out the lyrics. I don’t think I have the best handwriting but the fact that it is my handwriting makes it special – It’s not perfect but it is perfect for us!

The entire song took up about half of the mat so I just repeated it and it ended up that I wrote the lyrics twice and it all fit without even trying!

Like I said earlier, I made one for Ryan’s mom with the lyrics to their first dance, “Georgia” by Ray Charles, and for my Dad we danced to “You are the Sunshine of My Life” by Stevie Wonder. I wish I had taken pictures of the finished product but these are the pictures from the wedding that I used for them.

 

 

My favorite pic of Dad and I!

 

I was able to create something that captures the feelings and emotions that were present during those special moments of our big day and I would have never thought of this idea had it not been for Pinterest!

Our wedding photographers were amazing! Ryan and I both agreed that we couldn’t have been happier with the way everything turned out. We used Lindsey and Craig Mahaffey from Sposabella Photography out of Walhalla, SC. I HIGHLY recommend them and I can’t wait to share more pictures with you!

I plan on adding a Wedding Page and doing a wedding recap post once a week or so. I’ll make sure to start it soon!

Have a good night!