Hot Cocoa and Coffee Station

I don't have time to decorate for Christmas this year and have been feeling a little sorry for myself while looking at all of your blogs showing your pretty homes all ready for the holidays.

This morning I happened on Pam's blog House of Hawthornes I always get a kick out of her fun posts and when I checked out her Hot Cocoa Station for the Holidays I just had to have one!

I absolutely loved her cocoa station and just had to do the same thing since we have been on a hot cocoa binge lately.

Pam, I needed your post to get me in the decorating mood!

Thank You!

First I cleaned all the kitchen counter tops and they needed it badly.

(Where do all the paper piles come from anyway!!)

Then I started looking for my old plaid lunch box that was just sitting in the basement doing nothing, it came with the old thermos (found on Etsy, I lived close enough to school to be able to go home for lunch). 

I have a Santa mug that I've had ever since I can remember but he's hiding somewhere....I just saw him a few weeks ago!

Maybe he's waiting for Christmas to reappear....

I opened the box of my mom's Christmas things and took out her wooden red sleigh, I also found vintage paper napkins, brand new in the bag vintage Styrofoam cups with holly on them and the old Santa head hanging on the wall, that has to be at least as old as I am. One of my mom's red shakers with cinnamon because I like a little dash of cinnamon in my hot chocolate.

The peppermint under the tree to the right is a small rug I hooked several years ago, a bowl of dark chocolate covered star cookies to snack on while drinking that cup of cocoa or coffee.

It may look like a plug for Traders Joe's but it's not intended to be. That just happens to be what I have in the line of hot drink mixes (the star cookies came from there too).

It was fun to go through my mom's box of Christmas things today.

It looks so cute! Even Mr. Wild commented on it.

Thanks so much Pam, I like yours better...you even have mini marshmallows and chocolate chips, I have to get some of those next time out. 

I think I'll redo it after Christmas and make a winter hot cocoa station....hummmm...

Mr. Wild has been saving my Starbucks bottles so now I know what I'll be using them for as soon as I paint the tops. Pam comes up with the best ideas! Be sure to check out Pam's blog HERE!

I'm wishing you all a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and Happy New Years early.

I'll be back in January.

Thanks for stopping!

Linking to;

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Green Willow Pond for What We Accomplished Wednesday

Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays

Did I really need more stuff?

 Wisconsin Barn Sale!

Just what I need...more stuff...I guess if I have to be addicted to something, better this than something bad! LOL!

I've been to this one a few years ago but I thought they had quit...I'm glad they did not!

I've found some pretty good treasures in the past.

I love this perfectly crocheted pillow. At the very bottom of the picture above are a pair of pink slippers with ruffly pink flowers. The instant I saw them I remembered my mom had the same thing when I was young and she loved those slippers! These are in great shape and for $2 it was worth the memory.

I never pass up small ornaments if they are cheap, a couple of Gurley candles and some ruby glass found at the thrift store near the barn sale.

I love the old rose picture

Then we went to an antique shop in River Falls. I can't pass up vintage flower hats if they are cheap, a pretty crochet pot holder in the lower left corner and the little silk satin drawstring bag that was too adorable to pass up for $1.

Vintage crochet thread. I always grab that if it's cheap.

The chippy green tote will go on top of my chippy white hutch.

A girl can never have too much vintage stuff!

Right???

Thanks for stopping!

I'm linking to these parties;

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

Ivy And Elephants for What's It Wednesday

Barn Fresh Chippy White Cabinet

Every year for 4 years I've been buying myself a birthday present. 

(That was a couple of months ago, I'm just finally getting it on here)

I decided each year I'll find some chippy white painted piece, wood, metal anything white and chippy, big or small.

This year I found this awesome old chippy white cabinet in an antique store in Wyoming called The Hen House.

I almost fainted when I walked in and saw this. The man had just brought it in the evening before and I happened to stop in the following morning right after he opened the doors. 

I could NOT resist it!

I think I was the first person to see it, it was meant to be and it would not have lasted the day.

The price was really fair, around here it would have been almost double.

It needs a little push on the lower left side and a bit of glue and then the doors will hang straight.

Look at the cutouts in those cupboard doors!!!

That's what really got me and each one is positioned differently.

The drawer pulls are original and cute.

The little twisty thing at the top to hold the cupboard doors shut. The glass is missing but that's okay because I would just as soon not have it there.

It needs some cleaning inside because it was BARN FRESH!

I plan to store my hand dyed wool in the upper cupboard.

It will be so pretty against that old chippy white wood.

I can keep my dyes and dye pots in the bottom cupboards.

Once the 'bunkhouse' is finished I have a perfect spot for this.

A side shot. It appears to have a pale blue/green paint under the white so where the white has crackled the green shows through.

You can't do a faux finish like this one!

It's pretty primitive, I wouldn't want my entire house like this but a few pieces here and there is fun.

I love this chippy treasure and I can't wait to get it set up in the bunkhouse.

Thanks for stopping!

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Ivy and Elephants for What's Up Wednesday

Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesday

The Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday

From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday

Common Ground for Be Inspired

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

Pretty Little Dish

I'm back!

At least that is the plan!!! I've been away for blogging for so long that I almost forgot how to blog!

Life has been awfully busy the last few months, nothing bad, just lots of 'stuff' going on.

Why is it the older I get the less time I have for fun stuff? I don't get it, I thought when I hit 50 I would have all kinds of time to do what I want, I'm past that but it just gets busier and busier.

I had a birthday in August, didn't do a single fun thing for it, but my friend Stephanie sent me this pretty dish for my birthday along with some pretty vintage crochet thread in soft cream shades.

She was using it in her Etsy shop, Exuberant Housewifery, as a display piece to show off her vintage buttons that she was selling.

 I commented once on what a pretty dish it is and low and behold it showed up in the mail!

I love it!

Thanks Stephanie!

This is what we woke up to this morning...but happily (is that a word?) for me...it's melting and the sun is out!

Linking to;

Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday

French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

Vanity Remake, faux chalk paint and finishing wax for $10 total

I wish I could show you the end result!

With the sink and faucet!

I started to work on this to use as a vanity in the bunkhouse (cabin) we are building in Wyoming.

Unfortunately things did not go as planned with the carpenter and we are way behind.

Next year my husband will install it in the bathroom.

I found this buffet at a flea market a year ago for $10

I knew right away what I wanted to do with it.

It was a pretty piece in it's day but it has had a hard life and was beyond repair, just what I felt comfortable about painting.

I can't take a good piece and paint it...just goes against my grain.

My grandfather was a carpenter and craftsman, he made a few beautiful pieces and I own and cherish one of them...but that's another story.

So I made my own chalk paint by adding plaster of paris to the white paint.

About 3 parts paint and 1 part plaster of paris.

Add water as needed because the faux chalk paint thickens quickly.

It took about 3 coats to cover.

I then sanded to distress it.

I used Minwax finishing wax, applying it liberally and then hand buffing it using cheesecloth. I set the can in the hot sun to soften it. It makes it so much easier to apply.

Seeing as my husband had not cut the hole out on top for the sink I painted everything but the top figuring he would scratch it anyway while cutting.

That became an accidental surprise.

The whole thing was white except for the top, he cut the hole out and we both thought it might be nice to leave the natural wood top.

So he sanded it down past the finish and turns out that it had a beautiful dark wood grain.

I applied a clear stain and it was just gorgeous.

I then applied 3 coats (while sanding in between each coat) Minwax fast drying polyurethane.

Here is the 'almost' end result.

I couldn't set the sink in for the picture because he has not cut out part of the drawer to fit it yet.

But the white sink against that dark top is just beautiful!

It was missing one drawer pull so I filled in the holes in the top drawer and only used 4 drawer pulls.

Total cost of project $10.

I get all of my paint and finishing supplies at the recycling center near our home.

Gotta love that deal!

I can't wait to get this where it belongs, I have the entire bathroom pictured in my head, exactly what it will look like. I even have a white crystal chandelier!

It's mighty hard to wait until next summer to finish!

(if you click on the picture it really shows up!)

Thanks for stopping by!

Linking to;

Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday

Ivy and Elephants for What's It Wednesday

Brambleberry Cottage for Time Travel Thursday

The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home

Common Ground for Be Inspired