Monday. Am I the only one lurching into it after a long 4th of July weekend ?? Here in the states we just celebrated our nation’s birthday….our 243rd one to be exact.
Yeah we celebrated with a four day weekend 🤣
I may be biased, but I believe we live in the greatest nation.
Yes, it has problems, but we are still blessed beyond measure with the gifts and freedoms we have.
So we celebrated our freedoms and all that we’ve been blessed with…food, fireworks and hanging with family.
Long weekends equal productivity
Having a block of days home let me dive into the deep end on furniture projects waiting for me.
Does this count as athletic activities? 🤔
I mentioned last week I had moved into my new location for my business. I had lots that sold so I was trying to replenish items.
I finished off an antique dresser, four chairs, and some small items too.
I love getting things done!
I’m super excited over how the dresser came out.
Here’s its before pic…
Old, tired and needing a new look.
I kept it simple and it looks so fresh now.
I’m pretty happy with it. The light distressing gives it the aged look it deserves.
Then.. last week I scooped up these antique chairs at the thrift store.
Yeah. I know you’re loving the cheetah print 😏
Cheetah? Leopard? Your call.
Check out the new look I gave them….
Miss the cheetah print yet?
I got this cool chair at an estate sale months ago. I finally got to let the ideas out of my head for it…
Its boring before pic…
Look at it now 🙂
And my final chair. An old harp back and after all my black I wanted to do a bright fun look….
And besides all that, I’ve been working on the room my daughter recently vacated.
Hubby was a trooper and installed new, cooler,molding on the floor and I’ll be painting this week
Then as mentioned previously, the entire antique bedroom set I have in my barn finally has a room to come to 😁
No.
No I haven’t been busy….which is why I’m writing this at 11p m Sunday night..
Oh..and I don’t sell everything…I mean what’s the point of having a fun business if you don’t get to keep some of the goodies??
For instance, I got this super cool old coffee table. It’s over 6’0 long! It has leaves that when open you could use as a table top.
I don’t exaggerate.
Me asking the girl about it.
“Oh, idk, I think it’s from the 50s. I’m selling the stuff for a dead person.”
Me: “whaattt?”
Haha…well she only wanted 12.00 for this solid wood beast so I didn’t waste any time grabbing it up.
Now to decide how exactly I want to spruce it up.
Furniture isn’t the only thing I’ve been lifting
I’ve been adding more strength training days to my week.
Hello sweaty Sunday 🤣
I have a love hate relationship with deadlifts.
I love knowing I can lift some solid weight, I know it’s also gonna be a little work.
I usually do three sets of 6 at my current weight of 165. I’m fixing to add on to that soon.
My 25lb dumb bells have become quite easy to handle. I’ve added more reps on the mix.
I got to thinking when I first started off a few years back I was using 8lbs
8.
Now I can toss 25s around and use a 35 lb kettlebell for swings and other fun moves.
Consistent work is all I can contribute it to
Well…anyone who wants to make progress needs to stay consistent.
Oh. And hard work too 😏
And finally…
Would it be a Monday post if I didn’t offer you up some tasty food I had experimented with???
This is uh…not on the healthy treats list.. but it’s chocolate sooooo….
I made this for the 4th celebrations.
It was devoured.
Trust me, you’ll love it and it’s super easy to make.
So it’s a dark and rainy night here tonight. I “feel” like I should be doing something “productive” instead I’m plopped on my sofa in oversized clothes drinking copious amounts of coffee.
I may or may not sleep tonight.
I decided I could be productive and write, but don’t feel motivated enough to have to think to hard writing on my usual health/fitness/lifestyle/nutrition mantra.
Yeah I do try and be on my A game when I deliver all that stuff…
Soooo…since I was goaded recently by a fellow blogger ( *cough * he shall remain nameless) that I hadn’t written a post recently on my other life….that of furniture flipping…vintage and antique kinds of goodies that is.. I decided tonight was the night.
That comes easy enough to chat with you over coffee Haha
Me: I literally just stumbled into it last year. Like seriously. I did a piece or two. It was fun. The visions came without effort. People liked it and started buying it and well…here I am
I always joked my mom had all the artistic talent. And she did. She could paint all kinds of things and it actually looked like…rose’s or scenery, tiny details or whatever…
Beautiful.
She tried hard to “teach” me. Sigh…. my art work was less than stellar.
Along the way I learned my gifts were more “active” and just decided I had no creativity.
So of course it came as a surprise to me when the furniture thing came so effortlessly to me. I’ve been asked by lots of people if I could teach them how to do it.
Yeah, I could do that. But what I can’t teach is the stuff that’s in my head. The way I get almost immediate visions for pieces. The way I can see the end result already in my head.
I can’t teach you that.
It’s at that point I realized it wasn’t that I didn’t have my mothers artistic abilities, they were just…. different….and that was ok.
Not only ok, it was cool. Cool to do something that took a piece from ugly and hopeless to updated, beautiful and useful again.
I cannot begin to say how satisfying it makes my “work”.
I like old things and I cannot lie…
My son asked me years ago before I was even into this why I liked “old junk”. I have appreciated, for a long time, older things. It’s just gotten stronger as I’ve aged. Perhaps I just have a different appreciation for it.
They have a life and story to them that modern day items do not have. There is a “feel” to them. They have somehow traveled through time, families, traded hands numerous times and somehow I get entrusted with it.
The pieces bare wear marks, scratches, missing parts etc of the life they’ve lived. I never try and make an old piece look “perfect”. It has lived life and should still have reflections of it.
I’ll show you some projects..…
I’ve done quite a few things now. I have literally a barn of cool things waiting for me….some personal…others to sell..
I picked up this 1930s radio cabinet last month for 25.00. I knew I was keeping it. I’ve repurposed it to use in my kitchen to hold linens and baking items
It’s pretty beat up from age. The top opens where the radio used to sit. We are putting a solid piece in so I can store linens. The details make me wanna weep they are so gorgeous.
Ok you wanna see it now?
The back isn’t finished yet…but you can see all the pretty parts. I hand sanded the paint back off all the details so they’d pop. I left the doors original for some contrast and because I always try and leave some of its former life if I can. This makes such a pretty piece in my kitchen now.
How about this old button box? It was so dark and dreary…I love how sweet it looks now!
That sold almost as soon as I posted it.
I found this awful, sad and crusty table at a thrift store but I could see its potential…
Look at how it transformed though!
How sweet is it now??
But then I found a vintage suitcase. Hubby asked what I was going to do with it. The corner was broken and crushed.
Me…with confidence…I’m gonna fix it up! Hahaha ( have I mentioned how much I love a good challenge?)
Let the repair work begin!
I dragged in some old weights to plop in corners while gluing damaged area….
Then the base coat after repairs.. can you tell which corner was broken down? you ready to see the end results?
Of course you are 😉
Not bad for a broken down suitcase right? I was soooo thrilled with how it came out.
Then I bought this old, brown antique table. Solid wood and heavy with gorgeous details, I couldn’t pass it up.
And it’s much brighter after pics …
Another piece that sold almost immediately:)
Ok I’ll show you one more…..
I got this cute vanity that was someone else’s better idea project they abandoned
And it’s transformed look….
I found the little bench a few weeks later and it was perfect for it.
I had been itching to do something in pink and black and this was the perfect set to work it out on. I had scored the black and white paper at the thrift store and wanted to use that too. It all came together so well.
It was all meant to be together ha
Do you love all things vintage?
Ok I’ll shamelessly plug my business page and you can follow all of my furniture flipping shenanigans there if you like.
It’s a page devoted to sharing with others my transforming work, selling some of it, and educating when I can on various pieces.
I do occasional posts here on it ( often in my Monday Musings posts) but my business page is all things vintage fun. Mostly furniture but I get other items as well. Currently bread boxes are the cats meow. They sell as soon as I finish them. Hubby was teasing me one week ’cause I had actually managed to get my hands on a few and I had one in my shop.
“you have four bread boxes.”
Me: Yep.
A week later they were all gone. 🙂
Ok so here is the page:
Find it…www.facebook.com/shadesofyesterday
If this wasn’t enough vintage/furniture flipping reading find a couple other posts here..
Hello beautiful people! Good gracious it’s been a bat crazy week and I’ve found myself trying to work in more things in a day then I can fit.
Most mornings start with some kind of training, ’cause you know, that duathlon is coming in November. The weather has been absurdly hot, even early in the morning when I’m out. We were hitting record highs of 106-110 in parts of the state and it’s been like that for a couple days. Yesterday’s bike ride, I was on the road by 7:30 and the sun was already high in sky and the heat and humidity were fierce. It was a tough 23 hilly mile ride. I didn’t do a new PR on those hills like I’ve been lately, but I did break my top speed from a few days before at 41 mph 😛
I’m now starting to fantasize about leggings and colder weather again… or at least cooler weather.. you know… like in the 90’s.
And then of course there are some interesting topics I wanna delve into here like something I heard about the other day… CLA’s (??) its supposed to be some wonder fat burning thing… hmmm.
Then there’s the some new products out that are supposed to magically help you shed pounds without investing that pesky effort, you know, of eating properly and moving your body some.
Fortunately, there will always be plenty to write on in the market of the newest diet/weight loss gimmicks.
Of course one of my favorite topics to write on is healthy, well balanced nutrition and foods to sustain our active busy lifestyles. I don’t care how you exercise, if your nutrition is awful, you’ll struggle in the weight loss arena.
However, between my love of athletic shenanigans and encouraging people to follow suit, training for an event, finding time to write and do plethora of things that come in a day ( cleaning. I love stuff clean, but hate having to give up time for it) and working part time helping my son in his business, I’ve also been getting more involved in a fun hooby/ side job/obsession of flipping old antique and vintage furniture.
You may have read some of my posts on it and seen some of my projects. If you missed out, find some of them below…..
Anyway, today I’m venturing off into another part of my life that isn’t about fitness and eating good. I wanna share some exciting things I’ve had going on this week…
So it looks like my hobby is kinda turning into a business…..for real.
A peek in my shop
A few months ago when I kinda sorta fell into doing a couple pieces and they came out really cute and everyone went crazy over them, the bug bit me to keep looking for sad, awful, needy furniture that could use some new life breathed into them.
No, I hadn’t previously done this. I just started and it turned out I was pretty good at it, I started selling some of what I did and well… it’s just kinda moved along from there.
I’ve tried to set myself apart from so many who are buying up furniture and slapping paint on pieces just to make a quick buck outta their garage ( all while being staged on paint cans with the same brush still laying on floor by piece after they put final coat on) Even though I haven’t had a “store” to sell from, my marketing, photos, and detail to work and professionalism are important to me and set a tone for what I’m doing.
Secretly though, I really wanted to have all my stuff in one spot where it was in public and people could stop and see it, touch it, and well, buy it then and there. I’m not sure how retail areas are in all parts of the world, but here we have places in our town where you can rent rooms of cute old buildings and have your “business” set up in there. It’s a fun shopping adventure as you can roam room to room and see different things based on the individuality of each owner.
There was one such shop I enjoyed hanging out in and had visions of… maybe some day.. it would be fun to have a spot there…..
Well, “someday” happened this week.
I’m so excited to share that I opened my own actual little “shop” within our local Vintage store. There was a single room left that I loved, and thought really, was the coziest of all. Somehow, that room waited for me to make the commitment and dive into claiming the space as mine. I spent some time over the weekend getting things moved in and fine tuning all the details that matter to me. Once again, my amazing husband, who encouraged me to take the plunge, was there moving furniture in and offering his skills to hang pictures, mirrors etc.
When I went back the next day, and walked in seeing it with fresh eyes, honestly it was so pretty it made me want to cry.
Another angle of the shop..
I’m a girl. What can I say?? 😉
Maybe it’s more the emotion I always feel when I’ve taken on something I never have, and do it. When I see it being fulfilled or coming together it always overwhelms me. I’m like that when I finish big athletic events.
Last year, when I crossed the finish line of my first ever multi sport event, the dualthlon, I started crying. The poor guy bringing us in as we crossed was like.. “Oh are you ok??”
Like, how did I explain to him all I felt?
All those months of training and sacrifice, workouts in hot and cold and rain, the exhaustion on some days of kicking my own butt from a heavy workout, the mental and physical conditioning, the moments of self doubt followed by my fierce determination to see it all through, how could I even voice that as I choked back my tears overcome that I had done it? More tears came when I saw the posting I had taken first in my age group.
It felt amazing and was worth everything I had invested into it getting to that point.
Only this time, my little baby “hobby” is some how morphing into my baby business. I’m not sure where it will go. Hubby hopes I make enough for him to retire early. I’m not sure on that but I do know and have learned in life, if I don’t dive in, follow my heart, and do what scares me and makes me wonder what the heck I’m doing I will never accomplish anything and will always wonder…
“what if….”
I don’t want to do that. I like living a bit fearlessly. I teaches me more about myself, and on top of that, I’ve done things I never, ever saw myself doing.
So as I write this today, the shop is open for business and I will just roll along and see what transpires in the months to come.
One of my favorite antique tables.
My business is Shades of Yesterday and you can follow me there on Facebook if you’re so inclined and happen to love crusty old furniture and fixings that have a touch of freshness to their flaking, old, weary brown bodies. I love my business name and took some time to contemplate various ideas but when I something creative comes to me, it usually sticks.
I knew Shades Of Yesterday was absolutely perfect for what I was about.
It’s such a perfect representation of the freshness that cleaning, and often some shades of paint can give to items from yesterday. Once again they are ready to serve in a new way, hopefully for a long time to come. It absolutely brings me joy to restore pieces and have them look so different, in a good way. I guess it’s a skill that kinda just popped up? But I don’t examine it to closely, I just give thanks for it, and am trying to use it in the best ways I can.
I love how cozy and homey things from the past feel and it gives me joy to set up my shop in a way that reflects that and others enjoy too.
So that’s what’s new in my world. I’m venturing into the land of having a business and seeing where it leads. So among my other activities of life, my days are spent not only finding things I think will work in my little “shop” but also a lot of hands on work getting pieces ready to launch into the world to sell.
Simplicity
And because you know I love showing you before and after on some things… I want to show you this little treasure I got at the thrift store. I loved how old and cool it was, all carved wood and such beautiful details. However, it was missing one of the decorative corner pieces. It was only 1.00 so I figured, why not? I felt certain I’d come up with something clever to use it for.
Before….
Then I got inspired to use it in a most clever way in my new little shop…..
After….
I made a piece for missing corner, painted and antiqued it, and now it holds vintage jewelry for sale 🙂 Not bad for taking a 1.00 risk, right? I absolutely love how this ugly tired pieced revived.
Well that’s it on my news. Thanks for going on a virtual tour with me on my newest adventures!
We will resume regularly scheduled news next time…. now I’m off to run… or cycle.. or write.. or make old things new again…..
So I’ve been promising this post to you for awhile and I’ve got plenty of time on my hands and ideas in my head so I’m gonna do it. Back when I started my blog I sometimes wrestled with going off the beaten path of what my brand is, what I’m about, and what the blog ultimately is about.
But then I’ve got this cool published author friend and she said “you are more than just a health and fitness whiz. There is a whole lot more to who you are and what you do than “just” that. Your readers will want a well rounded version of you. Share life with them”
Since that time, I’ve heeded her advice and will often bring posts that have nothing to do with the overarching theme of what my blog primarily is. But I do bring life stuff. And I am well rounded haha and I do have fun letting loose on other topics… so for todays offerings… here we go…
I’ve shared tidbits with you about another part of my life, my obsession, or rather “hobby”.
Yes, let’s call it a hobby shall we ?
I have offered up some of my projects in my Monday Musings just because it gives me an outlet to kinda show some of it off.
It’s a hobby that’s turning into a little side business.
Hobby. Obsession. Business.
Where is the dividing line? Questions to be pondered….
If you’ve missed it, I’m referring to my flipping vintage and antique furniture.
I’ve shared photos of horrible pieces I’ve dragged home and transformed. For some reason, the worse it is, the more I like it.
The Charger never gets to go on furniture runs with me. On this day, I had to get creative….
I’m pretty sure it’s ’cause in general, I just like challenges. And believe me some have presented some challenges. It makes me appreciate an easy, straight forward piece sooooo much more!
Don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate a stunning old piece when it comes around. But if it’s a piece that I think I’d leave “as is” then that leaves me out. I just won’t ruin something that has made it’s way through time and is still in a beautiful, usable condition.
Other things though, they haven’t fared so well. Neglect, cheap wood, flaking varnish, sun exposure, veneer damage … the list can go on…. those items are begging for a fresh look.
I’ve said it before, just because it’s old doesn’t mean it’s in the best shape to restore to some former glory.
And honestly today, many people don’t want bland, standard, varnished brown furniture. They want bright, crisp, clean looks in their homes.
They want something unique you can’t pick up at Ikea or Target. They want real, solid wood furniture and they want a piece that will enhance a part of their home.
Of course I also know the value of a beautiful piece, the wood quality, and that even if it stays in imperfect condition, it’s more beautiful in that look.
So what I do with it largely depends on what it is and it’s overall condition and how it can be given new life and function in todays world.
How long have you been doing this?
That’s a question I’ve fielded a lot lately since people who know me see it as a “new” thing.
Well, it kinda is. Meaning I really haven’t done this for long.
Actually, I kinda just stumbled into this arena and it turns out I’m good at it.
Go figure.
People actually like my stuff.
I never saw myself as the creative, artsy type. My mom was ridiculously talented in painting. I mean she could paint roses that looked like they were blooming off a plate. She had stunning penmanship when she was healthy before it became harder for her to write. She could paint outdoor scenery and all kinds of amazing things.
She tried with me. I remember one year she bought me this whole cool set on painting and flowers and all things lovely. She showed me some simple steps to making a rose.
Honestly, mine looked like those little flowers you doodle out in 5th grade art class. Why didn’t my rose look like it came off “Rose Month” magazine??
I yielded to the idea that the artsy gene skipped me. Just like the amazing green thumb my father had skipped me as well.
Plants come home from the store to die with me but that my readers, is another post for another day.
I grew up and accepted the talents and skills I had, even though my mom secretly believed I had it in me.
I do have a very creative mind. It’s just my creativity has always flowed in other directions.
I had done some creative “repair” work in the past on much smaller objects. In a post I shared about cardboard Christmas houses, I talked about doing some restoration work on a few.
Not tacky with big plastic modern day Santa’s but more of a desire to keep it as close to original form as I could.
That perhaps, was the breeding ground for where I am now. And maybe, in a different type of way, I really did get some of her art skills.
The thrill of the hunt
Part of what excites me really in this process is hunting for that piece that speaks to me.
Oh, and that I can afford. Obviously, flipping furniture I won’t pay the crazy amount some people want for stuff. If it’s a piece I personally want then I don’t mind spending a bit more.
So there’s the hunt. The looking for the right item, the right price, and then hoping I can be the one to swoop it up before someone else does. I want wood, not fake stuff and I overall prefer vintage or antique although I will take a modern piece if it’s super cool and I can see a vision for it ( I picked up a little carved table last month, did my magic on it, listed and sold it in under 30 minutes. I could’ve sold it 8 times. Go figure)
Nothing is more disappointing than starting to love a piece, seeing a vision for it, and then it sells out from under me.
I’ve told myself… “don’t start planning or celebrating ’til you’re driving home with it” then I can let my ideas out.
Now… now I can cheer and let those visions and ideas run loose. I bagged the game!
The visions
Ok so it sounded crazy to me until I read some other posts by people who flip furniture and they would get visions for how it should look. Sometimes, the idea is so strong and powerful in my head I act on it immediately. Last week, I swooped up this feminine sweet chair that had seen better days. I immediately knew how to do it, even stopping at the hobby store on the way home and finding the exact fabric I wanted for its new cushion. It has been one of my most favorite pieces so far.
I’ll let you take a look at it below….
Before…. old original cushion, flakey finish and paint splatters from someone else’s project… but isn’t she sweet under it all?Look at her new beauty revealed 🙂I didn’t NEED another project chair, but as you may guess, the details drew me into this one…
I can’t tell you how vivid and clear the vision was for this. So much so that I bumped it to the top of my list to do it. I love having things come out of my head and seeing them come to life just as I imagined.
Ok I’ll share another project chair I finished this week too. I got it in a group of three. Chairs haven’t been something I had previously gone after but they are often old unmarried pieces and make fun, interesting and unique accent chairs. I love the idea each one can have it’s own look and theme,
When I saw this chair group I caught an immediate vision for one. I have a plan for a second and it is currently in the works.
I wanted to make one bold and fun. I went back for fabric I passed on when I did my telephone bench. I didn’t “feel” it for that project. But when I saw the chair I knew I had to go back for this particular material for it.
Check it out and you’ll see what I mean….
Tired, worn, faded yet still have life lurking underneath….
Yes. Pink. I love how the dark wax softens it while still letting it be bold. My free spirit wanted to do this pieceThose legs….A playful cushion to go with it’s sassy color
To paint or not to paint?
As I mentioned above I have a healthy respect for quality wood pieces and if they need to be left and oiled and preserved then I will do that. For instance I shared in a post about this cool, massive dresser/cabinet with a huge mirror. A stunning piece I got off Craigslist for 80.00.
After dragging all it’s parts home and researching I learn it’s made of quarter sawn oak ( such beautiful wood) and most likely early 1900 in construction. I was stunned that this piece was left behind and the other stuff he had for sale was gone.
Thankfully he had the beautiful scrolled wood piece to attach to top of mirror. The mirror is filthy. It also weighs a ton. I’ve been cleaning hardware and it’s actually shiny under that dirt and grime!
Lucky me. I think it’s very unusual and perhaps a bit rare. I’ve found nothing like it at all in my searchings. Items similar, but nothing like this piece.
I’m carefully oiling it, cleaning it, and allowing it’s 100+ vibe to shine through. That’s it. I’d never consider painting it.
However, for so many other projects, paint is a improvement and help to it’s overall abuse and sad condition. Sometimes there are repairs that need done as well as various issues the piece may have and a lovely coat of paint and sometimes some wax or antiquing gives it a fresh new look ready for more years of service.
Chalk paint is my favorite medium to operate in. Not only is it super easy to work with, it’s extremely forgiving as well. Not only that, I make my own now so my colors schemes are endless and I can match a perfect color for a project as I did with my pink chair above. After sanding and topcoat the finish is silky smooth and beautiful.
Cute early 1920s’ serpentine dresser… but in needy shape
Smooth silky chalk paint and an ebony stained top gives this a fresh new look for years ahead… I loved this piece… it’s now in my entryway 😉
Ok a peek at one I finished up this past week….
it started off looking kinda like this….
I bought this from a guy who was older and said he had found it in his grandmothers attic and was cleaning out. Solid wood, 2 tiered, and cute little clawed feet I was immediately drawn to it, a fun antique piece.
It also felt “masculine” to me so I felt an immediate connection with what I wanted to do with it. I mentioned enjoying straight forward pieces? This was one of those. I love how it came out… I’ll let you take a look….
Chalk painted in slate blue with black wax
I love it’s little claw feet 🙂
Yeah, blue with black wax to pull out all of it’s lovely details. It was a good combination for a masculine table.
It’s always so satisfying seeing something drab, dirty, tired and left and forgotten about turn into a usable, fun piece for years ahead.
What next?
Well, let’s just say, I’m not at a loss for projects. I’ve got several things in the works and several in the wings waiting.
Of course, that doesn’t stop me from hunting for good deals to still drag home.
I’m working on coming up with a separate name and a separate identity for my “hobby”. I am learning new things all the time and am blessed to have connections with a few talented people who do this as well.
Tomorrow, stay tuned for the final part of my sharing on this topic. ( I was trying to not write another War and Peace novel 😉 )
I’ll share a bit more on a question that’s been posed a couple times… “well, don’t you just put paint on it?”
Well.. kinda…eventually… yes.
But what happens before the fun part of painting? This is where any creative artist earns their money… and that’s all I’m gonna say… you’ll just have to come back and find out the rest in the final part of this project 😉 Check in tomorrow….
Tell me.. do you have a favorite hobby? Have you ever started something randomly and seen it grow and take off in your life?
Wow. Is it Monday again? Time for another edition of Monday Musings and what not in my life.
Time.
Ever notice how funny that is? It’s a commodity we all have and are all given the same amount of each day. Sometimes it seems to crawl by, like when you’re stuck in some god awful boring meeting. A few months ago I was in such a one and I felt myself settling into that “to comfortable zone” as in, if I didn’t start moving around or do some active deep breathing I was going to take an unscheduled nap. I glanced at my watch and scrolled to my heart rate.
49.
My heart was getting just as comfy and relaxed as the rest of my body haha
But then there are occasions when time seems to fly like when you’re with people you really like or are doing something fun. Time then moves all to swiftly.
Deadlines make time seem to move faster.
Being stuck behind a driver who doesn’t know where the gas pedal is makes time crawl by. 😛
I think, as we get older we are much more mindful of it than when we lived careless days as children.
Speaking of time, it makes me think of seasons. This in turn makes me hopeful that spring is in the near distant future. It’s been a whole lotta grey, misty, dreary, foggy and overall gross days here in the happy land of south Texas this winter season.
I’ve tried not to think that last February I was running in shorts a lot and by March was rocking a decent enough tan that people thought I was using a tanning booth.
That. Will never happen.
I assured a lady my golden skin was a by product of spending time outdoors on bike or foot, not a tanning bed.
All that to say the other day I actually got to hit the road in shorts and I forgot the pure freedom of running with less stuff hanging off me. It was glorious and reminded me that sun and daily sweat sessions will be here before I know it.
Hello sunshine! What a wonderful treat
I’m not whining. Oh no, I’d never be a whiner, but it will be nice to really start logging some miles again and not have to worry about safety issues ’cause of fog and sloppy roads.
If I complain when the humidity cranks up again and its nothing but sun and I’m sweating out the weight of a small child on a run, you may nicely remind me I asked for it.
In the context of time management
When I hit the floor in the morning my mind is already spinning for what I’m doing in the day ahead. I sometimes worry if I have ADD as I can be wanting to do ALL of my projects, errands, and necessary house requirements at the same time.
What I have started doing is writing down all the things I want to do and picking one or two in my day alongside everything else to get it done. I try and get the necessary, not usually my most fun things done, ( like cleaning) out of the way then I can work on my fun projects.
Like my furniture shenanigans.
Last week took me into the big city to this seedy little dive in pursuit of a 1930’s china cabinet I had spotted online.
Yep, that’s my big game in the back 😉
Here it is in all it’s glorious disarray…waiting to be transformed.
Oh, so when I’m at this little hole in the wall shop which, really, was a time warp of treasures from decades, and decades gone by ( I am planning a field trip back there) the only person working was this short little older lady wheezing and huffing telling me she should probably be in the hospital ’cause she might have pneumonia.
WHAT?!
Of course I’m thinking, “she’s the only one here who is supposed to help me get this out and loaded??” She mentions having a dolly, I ask her to get it, thanking God at times like this I’m strong and capable and I wheel it out making jokes I should get more of a discount since I’ve gotta load it too. I did get them to drop it 35.00 😉
Anyway, she was able at least to help lift the other side with me into my vehicle.
Yesterday I spent more time prepping it for it’s transformation. Sanding, cleaning, dusting, digging (leaves??) out from under the drawer, doing a little repair work ( the decorative wood in door needs replaced. Once upon a time it had glass but I’m not putting glass back in it) removing the hardware etc. it’s so close to starting the fun part.
But before we leave this topic… I also got the cutest little cupboard… I tried to leave it behind I just couldn’t. I managed to get it for half of what it was marked 😉
It looked like this…..seriously though… how CUTE is it??
How sad IS it? The obvious before pic.
It didn’t take long for me to catch a vision for it. I finished it today. I am totally, completely in love with it.
What do you think about it’s make over?
The ugly duckling transformed
I will share some more adventures on this topic in upcoming weeks 😉 I have a couple pieces in the works.
In some final musings…
Have you ever wondered why foods you thought were so good when you were a kid, don’t really taste good at all when you grow up?
My youngest son had brought home a half gallon of premade chocolate milk one day. I never drink chocolate milk unless I’ve come off a long hard workout then it’s a delicious instant recovery drink. But I always make it, you know with milk and chocolate syrup… yeah I’m bad.
Anyway, I opened the fridge and there it sat… and I thought …heck yeah.. I’m just gonna have some.
The first chug it was like…. ACK! It tasted like and reminded me of, the way the school cafeteria had smelled.
Which was not good, I might add.
Weird, I know. That chug was all I got in.
Then there’s things like fish sticks. boxed macaroni and cheese, most cheap sugary cereals, and bad thin crust boxed pizza.
Ok true and well, I’ve grown up, but I think I really enjoyed that as a kid. Thank goodness my tastes have changed.
My kids are adults… they complain since I “got healthy” I don’t buy fun foods anymore. This translates to ” crappy, walk in pantry or go to freezer and grab pre made foods and snacks with zero nutritional value”.
They can go buy their own minced, diced, chopped, prebaked fish sticks and what not..
Is it just me? What about you? Have you left foods behind that aren’t seemingly as tasty as they once were?
In the way of food… this week coming up we will be looking at healthy cheap meals, and of course a few spotlights on various fruits and veggies (’cause ya’ll seem to dig those posts), fitness, and as always a little sassy, cheeky attitude to go along with it.
You’ll just need to check back in here and see what’s up 😉
Now tell me…
What are some favorite foods that hang on from childhood? Do you have any new healthy foods you’ve tried this week?
Hello world! Time for another edition of Monday Musings, a general collection of my random thoughts, observations, and other life stuff that’s going down.
So what about that Super Bowl last weekend? Between hubby and three sons I’ve had to get on the football wagon in these past years or get left behind.
That being said, I weirdly miss it once the “big” game happens and then there’s nothing active or current going on with it. I actually got excited last fall when someone said it was almost football season.
What happened to me???
That being said… of course I was watching last weeks events unfold with the Patriots “we’re just here to scoop up another ring” and the Eagles “we’ve never won and have no rings but are ready to bring our A game” to the big field.
Ok… so I’m always a sucker for the underdog. I can’t help it. Damn that compassionate spirit and what not. I wanted to see them have the win. The other guys, they’ve got enough bragging rights and rings, they can try next year.
And what a game it was. The Eagles came out and played like they wanted to take the win, the ring, and the Disneyland trip home with them. Not that Patriots didn’t try and deliver, they just didn’t deliver, enough.
So although I was only like, one of two, cheering for the Eagles win it didn’t matter. It was a cool experience watching men overcome with emotion to achieve that. As an athlete ( on a much smaller scale!) I understand emotions that come from the accomplishments of doing something you haven’t done before.
It’s worth the tears.
Speaking of athletic shenanigans
This last week I’ve spent a little more time doing indoor strength training. When I say that I don’t mean solely weights, although I do. But, like using your body and that alone, is the way to build some strength. No matter what you may or may not have, you have a body and can do exercises to build strength with it.
Squats of all varieties, lunges, jump squats, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, push ups, ( sweet heavens how I hate them) Russian twists, planks, side planks, V up’s the list goes on.
So I incorporate a lot of that, I use real weights too ’cause you know…girl muscles… and I kinda like out flexing most guys haha but seriously, I just like being strong for life, ya know?
It’s great to build muscles, but if you can’t walk a block or run a flight of stairs, um, you need to rethink cardio.
So before strength training I usually knock out either 10 minutes on the rowing machine which gives me around 1.3 miles or so, I sometimes do a 20 minute round of boxing or a quick run. Of course other days in my week are nothing but cardio….enter running and cycling 😉
Speaking of strength ….
the winter Olympics are upon us. Although I haven’t seen much yet, can I say all the snowboarding athletes. Holy cow Batman!
And Americans have been scooping up some gold goodies too.
The Olympics are the cream of the lot when it comes to athletes. I wanna be one when I grow up.
Complete, total machines.
I’m fascinated at all they have had to do, and continue to do to maintain the level the operate at.
Well. Wait. Do they have like… a senior Olympics? I might be able to do that! haha
Do you have a favorite Olympic sport or event you enjoy watching?
In fun projects I’ve been up to this week….
So I may have mentioned when I’m not preaching athletic stuff or learning about nutrition one of my other “hobbies” has become old, antique furniture. There’s a certain thrill of “the hunt” and if I’m successful I get “the prize”. I want the odd, unique, different things I don’t see floating around. It’s so exciting when I get the prize AND for the price I want.
There’s something therapeutic about transforming a piece and giving it new life.
Like this ugly little night stand…. I’m so in love with how it turned out….
I wanted a project piece to experiment with pink. I love pink. I just wanted something to practice that look on. This night stand was headed to the dumpster when I snatched it from my son thinking I’d clean it up and donate it. One day while working out as I was pondering my desire to do something pink, I realized this was just sitting there, staring at me waiting to be transformed….
the obvious before photo…. isn’t it ugly??Isn’t it beautiful now???
Since I really had nothing to lose it was fun to let go with it. The piece had been speaking to me and I had a vision for what to do with it. Now I really want to practice this on a bigger real piece of furniture. Like an old school vanity….
Anyway…..
I also got this super cool, unique, interesting piece this week, I’ve never seen anything like it….
My newest score this week on the antique furniture hunt
Thankfully, I came across a man who is very knowledgeable in this work of knowing furniture. I shamelessly pick his brain on various things regarding a couple pieces I got recently. So of course, when I could turn up nothing on this ( for the love of old things I don’t even know WHAT to call it to search it up) I shot him a pic asking if he had a clue.
Oh lucky me. He knows his stuff… and this is what I learned….
A dresser like this is called a cheval dresser. He went on to say based on the hardware ( which I’m in love with and can’t believe it’s all still on it… with a real key hole) he thinks it’s English made and made of quartersawn oak and get this… circa 1900! AH!
One interesting factoid you probably don’t know…. As I’ve acquired a few pieces recently I of course, want to know how old it is. Evidently at the turn of the century (20th) they stamped the mirror on the back before putting the wood cover over it. This would reveal the month and year it was made. You can understand how tempting it is for me to want to pull the back off of a vanity mirror to know it’s age.. but then there are all of the neat brass tacks holding it in place and that checks me from doing it.
For now….
Anyway, he went on to tell me if I can look behind mirror, if the back of mirror is red or gold it was made in England. If it’s silver, it’s American. Regardless, it’s still circa 1900 wherever it was crafted.
So ok, yeah I’m a wee bit excited at this online find. Oh, did I mention I paid only 80.00 for it?
Eighty bucks.
Obviously my remodel thoughts on it now are quite a bit different as I will be sanding it back to it’s original beautiful wood tone… it will be so worth it.
I love a good challenge.
The wood around mirror top has some broken pieces so that’s where I’m setting my hand to first. Then, on to the next thing.
My other acquisition this week was a 1920’s ladies writing desk….
1920 Sligh ladies writing desk
So it’s been a busy kinda week, but a fun, good kinda busy. I love doing so many creative things. Writing is definitely a wonderful outlet, exercise is always a creative time, but transforming things let’s more of my creativity come out. Stay tuned in upcoming weeks for updates on their transformation.
Tell me, what do you enjoy doing? What’s your passion or something you have a love for that makes your heart sing?
Good morning beautiful people! If you’re reading this, then it means my mission was successful on Sunday night of actually sitting down and churning something out for you while you toss down your coffee and eat a stale bagel. Welcome to my Monday musings.
I can’t contemplate the week ahead without feeling some level of success over the past week.
A good week back on with my workout schedule and getting to a more focused eating plan. I just feel better when I’m in my normal routine after all the holiday festivities.
Speaking of that…. am I the only one who ever wonders… does anyone REALLY use those little replacement bulbs for those strings of lights? I have like… 10,000 of them. I can literally guarantee you I have zero patience with the idea of going through bulb after bulb trying to find the dead culprit.
None. Nada. Zilch.
I just wanna meet someone who might actually have the skill level and the patience of multiple saints to sit and do it…
It’s not this chick.
Oh. And I finished getting all of my Christmas decorations down and put away so there’s that. I’m just bummed when it’s all taken down. It looks so empty and non-festive. If you read my Christmas post you’ll know I enjoy decorating a little…ha.. well…a lot…. https://sassyfitnesschick.com/2017/12/08/the-most-wonderful-time-of-the-year/
I did a few new things this year I loved so much. They were of course, the last things to go.
I’m still having coffee in my fun Christmas mugs though.. ’cause why not ?
However, once it’s all put away I do enjoy a fresh start and re-doing things and changing the house around. Sometimes, this confuses hubby who is a creature of comfortable habit. I’m sure though, he will adjust 😉
I got to work in the Batcave today ( my newly married son’s room he’s now vacated) so I’m excited over finally getting to do something fun with it that doesn’t reflect “20something bachelor guy lived here”
I’m also chomping at the bit to get back to a new interest I picked up at the end of the year… chalk painting. I’m a little bit hooked on it now that I have a couple projects under me (like my bathroom cabinets that look stunning) and I now have a list of things to do.
Seriously, that paint can make the ugliest thing ever look rather amazing. Perhaps I’ll do a fun lifestyle post on it sometime.
in other news….
my blog for my keto- dash diet review I wrote last year is still trending at the top of Google search so there’s that. Seriously, ya’ll out of millions of postings on this topic I’m currently #2… actually it bounces between there and #1 but I’m good with both….so I think it’s just a bit super cool.
Pinterest is at the top of my focused list so I’ve been pinning and learning more about working that avenue. Find me there as well and follow my healthy food boards. I’ve got some tasty things pinned.. check it out… @sassyfitnesschick If you’ve got any good blogging tips with it, offer them up, please.
Speaking of tasty. I’m doing a fun little project on my social media experimenting with different veggie recipes with the hope someone might want to eat more of those yummy morsels. On my experiment list is cauliflower. I know you’ve heard of all the crazy things you can do with it besides you know, eat it in it’s given form 😉 I decided once and for all I’m going to see if it can really be used to make pizza crust or my new interest.. cheesy breadsticks???
SAY WHAT?!
I’m gonna be your lab rat and will report to you my findings. I will admit, at this point, to being rather skeptical. I guess we’ll see.
Regarding my athletic shenanigans, I’m pretty sure I did my coldest ride, ever, on Saturday.
By that I mean it was in the low 30’s with a wind chill dipping into the mid 20’s. That mind you, was if you were standing still, NOT flying down the road at fast speeds riding a bike in it like some crazy fool.
I only did 13 miles but it was better than nothing and anyway by then my extremities were numb so that made it a lot of fun too.
Coffee was really…really… good after that… but when isn’t it?
And in regards to coffee.
Topping my list of new favorite things for the week, Starbucks is featuring their Blonde roast right now and I’m kinda into it. Have you tried it?
And speaking of my lovely bike. I ordered a new saddle that should be here any day and a fun bag to stash my random stuff in while I sail down the road… like my camera for those on the run selfies.
Because #socialmedia, right? Keep up with me there on Instagram and Pinterest as well as my Sassyfitnesschick page on Facebook.
Now here’s to Monday and a week of new opportunities!
sassyfitnesschick 