This Ol' House Thursday...Kitchen Counter Switch Up

I found this old frame (with a HIDEOUS picture) in it at a yard sale.  The lady that I bought it from thought I was nuts...I told her I had a plan for it.

A little bit of my own chalk paint concoction...and chalkboard paint over the glass.  Voila!

(This chalkboard is for sale...click HERE for more information.)

I have ordered this chalkboard print from Dear Lillie but, haven't made it to Staples to pick up my engineer print yet...so, I just wrote it for now.  Click on the Dear Lillie link for more...love them!

One of my favorite cookbooks and chefs...Nigella Lawson's 

How To Be A Domestic Goddess.

Right.  

I hope you are having a FABULOUS week...ours is flying by, I am sure yours is, too!!

Love & Junk~

Julie

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Dairy Wife Wednesday...CA Cheese Pairing? Get the App!

I LOVE cheese.

I LOVE wine.

I LOVE cheese and wine together...for dinner...that's it.  Nothing else.  

www.realcaliforniamilk.com

This time of year ESPECIALLY...as it is starting to get a little warmer and the afternoons and evenings are so nice.  So...to help you do a little cheese pairing, the California Milk Advisory Board has created a mobile tool that makes it easy for you to pair your favorite cheeses with beer and wine. 

 Go to the app store and search "Pair Savvy" and download the FREE app!

Click here for the Pair Savvy App

  I think I mentioned my favorite right now is the Pinot Grigio from Alyson's winery, Chateau Lasgoity. 

This is Alyson (my hubby's sister) she is the winemaker's wife and runs all wine tastings and events.  Check out their website for beautiful picture of their over 100 year old home, four beautiful children and historic vineyard.

Chateau Lasgoity Winery

So...to pair this fabulous wine up I used my app and will be having this:

CA White Cheddar with Apples

Or.....

St. Jorge Cheese with Quince and Toasted Walnuts

Or...maybe both...and then for dessert???

Don't you just love these wine bags...

These bags are hand made by me...and available in my Etsy shop.

Click HERE to Buy the Wine Bag!

I love this app...and hope you will, too!  You can find more recipes, coupons and real stories of        CA Dairy farming families at Real California Milk .

I hope you are having a wonderful week!

Love & Junk~

Julie

Transformation Tuesday...Yard Sale Chair Turned My New Hallway Chair

I found this chair...in shambles, to say the least.  Only one leg was still on...and the wood was in desperate need of some paint.  A little (okay, A LOT of TLC was in order!)

I painted the chair with a base coat of white chalk-like paint...yes, my own concoction!  Easy to do...check out this post for the recipe Make Your Own Chalk-Like Paint

Sweet little yellow damask fabric over the old ugly seats.

Light little distressing...the white and dark wood peeking through!

One project at a time...I am getting ready for upcoming shows!

Have a fabulous week!

Love & Junk~

Julie

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Motivation For Your Monday....Appreciating What I Have

I found this on Pinterest this weekend...it is really a simple reminder.

It is easy to think about those things we think we need and want...

and think we will be "happy" once we have them.  

It is more challenging to recognize what we have...and appreciate that.

Today, and everyday...I choose to focus on what I do have...great family, hard working husband, two beautiful girls who are healthy...we have everything we need.

I hope you have a FABULOUS week...I am headed out to tackle my pile of junk in the garage.  I LOADED my husband's truck (front seat, back seat and bed) with yard sale finds and didn't have time to work on anything til now.  We unloaded it and that was it.  I am headed out there with chalkboard paint in one hand...and my upholstery tools in the other.  Wish me luck...and come back this week to see what is for SALE!!!!

Love & Junk~

Julie

Furniture Friday...My OWN Chalk-Like Paint Experiment...SUCCESS!

So, yesterday's post...led to this.  I simply can't afford to buy all of the Annie Sloan...and if I am being honest, I like making something myself (duh!)  Out to my garage...where my vault of paint is (wow, I have a lot of paint.)  So...I am turning ALL of those cans into chalk-like paint.  It is easy and I found it to work really well.

Here is what I did:

1.  Mix 1 cup of latex paint...whatever brand/color...

2.  2 TBSP of UnSanded Grout (tile isle of hardware store)

3.  Mix your unsanded grout with a TINY amount of water to form a paste

4.  Mix your grout paste in your paint...mix WELL

That's it!  It works the same as the EXPENSIVE stuff.  Keep covered in an airtight container for a few days...you may need to mix in a tiny bit of water each time you use it.

Here it is...it looks a little more green here than it is in person.

This is the table I used as my "test" piece.  This is not real wood...so, if my chalk paint sticks to this then it will work on real wood.  This table is actually the middle table to a set of three nesting tables I have throughout our living room.

My chalk paint went on easily and covered well.  I gave it a light scuff with  buffing/polishing sanding block just to smooth out the paint.   Then I gave it a coat of wax...buffed it to a perfect shine once it was done...I LOVED it so much...I painted the other two tables!  

My husband asked if everything in the house was gong to be this color now.  Well, mister...maybe...just maybe!  No...I like variety!

I just love the red and black coming through the distressing.

Done.  Love it.

Try this paint recipe...and make it work for you.  I got a text from a friend last night that mixed up her own red chalk-like paint and painted a coffee table.  We both LOVED it!

Love & Junk~

Julie

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