End of Season Yardsales

One of my favorite things to do is get a bargain.  I love Fall, but with it always comes the end of yard sale season. No longer can I buy a new shirt for 25 cents or a toy for baby eel for a dollar. But, I did get some fabulous items yesterday.

For the most part, the morning was a bust. I was on the hunt for some new nightstands, since I'm selling the ones that I currently hate! I didn't actually find what I was looking for, but I did find some other things.

My mom and I got a bunch of furniture at one yard sale. It was a fundraiser for a family trying to raise money for in-vitro fertilization treatments. My mom picked up an entertainment stand, and a hutch-type thing. I got a bookcase. We paid $40 for the entire set of furniture.

I also got a coffee table for the family room. Since we rearranged the furniture in our family room, there is a huge open space from the couch to the entertainment unit. When I saw this table, I knew it would be perfect in there. And it was $5!

As you can see, the top is a little scratched and dinged up. I think my plan is going to be to do a little bit of touch up for now, and possibly paint or refinish it next year. I haven't quite decided. Any suggestions?

I also got two gorgeous lamp bases that will go perfectly on the nightstands that I don't have yet.... They were $1 for the pair.

And... I bought a bunch of books. These are very early reader chapter books, but I thought baby eel would like them in a few years, so I picked them up.

I got a few of the Amber Brown series, and the Junie B. Jones series. I also got the first 4 in the Series of Unfortunate Events series. I also got "The Princess Diaries" by Meg Cabot in paperback, not realizing that I actually already own the book. So, looks like I'll be giving that one as a gift.

I also picked up a foam mattress pad for $2. I don't actually need the pad, but it will be great for upholstering the dining room chairs that I am FINALLY getting around to finishing. They should be done in a couple weeks. They are just waiting for seats.

I really love the changes I've been making to my house as of late.  I've also gone on a "de-cluttering" spree. I've been getting rid of a bunch of things either through freecycle or KSL ads. It's a great way to pick up a little extra cash and to declutter all the stuff I've been collecting.

My mom was nice enough to can some tomatoes for me. Now I've got 12 jars, which should last me through the winter. I love canned tomatoes, and I'm always frustrated by how much they cost at the store. Especially given how easy and cheap they are to can yourself.

Last thing I wanted to bring up was the Relief Society General Session last night. It was really phenomenal. If you didn't see it, I would suggest at least listening to Sister Julie. B. Beck's and President Monson's talks.  They were both incredibly loving, spiritual, yet to the point.  I can't wait for conference next week.

Oh, and I've made my blog public again. This is mostly just a way to keep me motivated to post. So, there you have it. You can now stick me in your feed reader of choice. :)

The Great Hutch Makeover

It's time for another fantastic furniture re-do.  Every once in awhile, the itch to fix things gets in deep between my shoulder blades. That was the case with this hutch I inherited from my great-grandfather.

There were a lot of things I liked about this piece. The details are cool, it's solid, and it's big.  But, I didn't like the color, and I really wasn't utilizing it.  For awhile now I wanted to turn it into an entertainment until for our TV.  So, with the help of Daniel, we took it apart, and using this tutorial from All Things Thrifty, I primed the piece.

Believe me, if I had known how much easier it is to paint furniture with spray paint, I would have done it a long time ago.  It's faster, and goes on so much smoother than painting with a brush. Oh, and it's a lot less messy.

Next, I painted the entire thing a teal blue color called "Blue Ocean Breeze." It looked gorgeous, but a little too bright.  So, I decided to put a dark glaze over the entire thing.  I also spray painted the hardware a nice dark bronze color.  Here is the finished product.

I absolutely love it.  It has gone from being a dark piece of hulking furniture, to something that I am really proud to display prominently.  Here is the before and after again:

What do you think?

What I wish I hadn't passed on to my child

Eczema

I've struggled with eczema my whole life. I remember during junior high and high school having eczema so bad on my arms that I wore long-sleeved shirts all year long. It was itchy, weepy, and just sad. I was so self-conscious and thought that people thought I was diseased.

Poor baby eel has inherited my eczema. She has had a rash for about 3 weeks. I tried everything to clear it up. I switched our laundry soap to the special kind with no perfumes or dyes. I stopped using soap in her bath. I switched to a new lotion with no perfume. It made it a little better, but it still wasn't gone.

So, yesterday I took her to the doctor to get his opinion. After waiting for about an hour, he finally showed up and told me it was eczema. No duh. So, he printed off an info sheet about it and told me to start using cortizone cream and to give her daily baths. And, to use a thick cream on her skin 2-3 times a day.

Well, after 24 hours of doing this, her eczema has cleared up considerably. I hope it continues to do so. Poor baby.

On a completely different note, I've been thinking about opening up an independent bookstore. Not seriously of course, because this is a bad time to open a business and I don't have the money to do it. But, I wish that we had a good independent bookstore in Utah County. One that had awesome author signings and events. One that had a great staff that knows your name and what kind of books you like.

I'm so weird that I even know the building I'd put my bookstore in.

This is a really bad picture because I pulled it off google maps. But, there is a little house on the corner of 500 West and 100 South in Provo. It's an old house, but it looks so cute and cozy. I would name it Green Gables Books. Of course I would have to hire someone else to run the money and the business aspect of it. All I care about is buying and selling books. I am no salesman, but I can certainly push books.

Ah, to dream big. Anyway, hope you all have a fabulous Memorial Day weekend!

3 Months Old!

Oh how I love my cute baby. She is growing up to be such a sweet sunny angel, and I love spending time with her. Here are some developments of late

• She is now over 10 pounds. She's getting cute fat rolls on her arms and legs.
• She loves to stand up with me supporting her. I don't know why, but she gets a real kick out of it and puffs up her chest.
• She sleeps through the night most nights now. And sleeps in her crib! Yay! We have reclaimed the bed.
• She is so close to laughing. Every once in awhile while we are playing she'll get this huge grin on her face. And, she's good at shrieking. So, the laughing will come soon.
• She has no interest in rolling over. Which is fine with me. The longer she can remain immobile, the better. I'm not in the mood to baby proof everything.

And, in non-baby related news, I met Shannon Hale last week! She is pretty much my favorite author ever, and it was so exciting to meet her. She's pregnant with twins, so I'm pretty sure that was her last public appearance for awhile. Not that I blame her at all. But, she was so nice and fun to talk to. I got my entire Books of Bayern series signed as well as Austenland. They will be treasured.

2 Months Old

This upcoming week in my last week of maternity leave. I'm trying to make the most of it by doing everything I can think of with baby eel during the day. We go shopping, play on the floor, and take lots of naps. :")

Baby eel's blessing is on May 3. I sent out a bunch of announcements/invitations. If you didn't get one, I apologize, but you are still definitely invited to her blessing.  It will be at 9 am at our church in Payson.

Here are some pictures I took this week of baby eel.  Once the weather gets a little nice and I lose a little more weight we're going to have some family pictures taken. Woohoo!

6 Weeks Old

Baby eel is getting so big. She's starting to get too big for her 3 month outfits. Which is actually okay with me, because all her really cute stuff is 3-6 months... :")

I've started going to yard sales again this summer. We don't have a stroller for her yet, so that's top on my list of things we need.  I see them every Summer, sometimes there are really nice ones for a really cheap price. Once we get a stroller, I think Daniel and I will go on walks with baby eel and Tonks. It will be so much fun!

I think I've lost almost all the weight from the baby, but I still feel a little... "squishy." I've never had an issue with my weight, so this is new territory for me. I guess this means I'll have to start exercising.

And last random topic of the night... I got a new calling. I'm the assistant Primary Pianist. Best calling ever. Basically I can just show up and play. Baby eel can sit in her carseat next to the piano, and I'll feel like I'm contributing to the ward again.

Here are some pictures of baby eel this week.

Week 5

Baby eel is getting sweeter by the day. I love to get out my camera and take pictures of her whenever I can. I'll be so sad to go back to work in three weeks.

I'm still not having any luck getting her to nap in her bassinet. Let me show you what I mean.

Not even joking. How do you combat that?

Good thing she has her sweet moments.

Daddy has hair!

She's definitely worth the trouble.