Let's Play House l Owasso, Ok Unique Home Decor

Yesterday morning I was making my usual blog stalking rounds and found a post about THIS awesome little Etsy store. This incredibly talented woman makes the most adorable playhouses I've ever seen.

I immediately called Steph and we spent 30 minutes on the phone

looking over all of the cute designs.

Our favorites?

A Pirate Ship

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The Beauty Salon

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A Pizza Parlor

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A CupCakery

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Busy Day

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The Library

They fit right over a card table or they can be customized to fit over

your dining room table. She also makes a super sized version that can

slide over a PVC frame.

Check out Blue Cricket Design for a chance to win some cool

prizes from her Etsy store.

And while you are browsing on Etsy, stop by my store as well!

Click Here

Happy Thursday Everyone!

On The Go l Tulsa, Ok Furniture Refinishing

The last 5 days have been incredibly busy for our family. Over the weekend we took a trip to the DFW area to visit my sister and pick up Jay from a week at summer camp.

Saturday was Cruz’s 2nd birthday and it was so nice to have a lazy afternoon at my sister’s house and spend the day with him. We all stayed in our pajamas until 5:00!

We had a little birthday celebration for him that evening and he couldn’t figure out why everyone was singing, but he sure liked it!

Later that night we were able to sneak away for some adult time. We headed out for some sushi and then to see the Klocks, they are a super fun cover band that plays everything from Journey to Usher! I think we danced to every song!

We even got a visit from Aunt Lori!

Hit the road early on Sunday, but not before Reagan and Jen gave Cruz
a little makeover. =)

Couldn't leave Texas without lunch at my favorite place!!

A quick stop at our halfway point (Nana's) for another birthday celebration! At this point I think Cruz and Colton (our nephew) were totally over it!
Enough already!

These last several days have been spent gearing up for school to start and today was Jay’s first day of 6th grade!

Can’t believe it’s already time for school again. REALLY can’t believe
that I already have a 6th grader! We are so sad to see summer
go, but ready for a regular routine again. 

 On a furniture note.....I talked The Husband into taking a tiny
detour on our way home from Texas to pick up this adorable little
hutch that I just couldn’t live without!

He (along with another hutch that will be delivered tomorrow) will be joining my massive "to do" list that is starting to take over my garage.

Here is a sneak peak of the makeovers that are on the top of that list!

Better get to work!

Mid-day Milkshakes.

One Sunday afternoon after catching up on several hours of ridiculous reality television on my DVR, I stumbled upon a food show on the travel channel. They were featuring famous little burger joints all across the U.S.

I was only half-watching until a place called Stand in NYC caught my eye. Now for those of you that know me, you know that I’m not much a beef eater, so it obviously wasn’t their burgers that sparked my sudden interest. Instead, it was their drink menu with milkshakes galore! There were the obvious choices… Chocolate Malt, Vanilla, Strawberry….but there were also more interesting flavors like Apple Pie, Pumpkin, Fresh Mint, Maple Almond, Blueberry Pie, and……wait for it…..Toasted Marshmallow. A Toasted Marshmallow Milkshake? Yes. And it looked beyond delicious.

I LOVE toasted marshmallows in almost any form (in fact, I have a toasted marshmallow candle burning at this very moment) and I knew this was something I had to try. I immediately got online and found THIS knockoff recipe. For months and months and months it sat in my recipe book lonely and forgotten, until recently when I was feeling a little under the weather and I just KNEW the only thing that would make me feel better was a Toasted Marshmallow Shake. The Husband reminded me that I had never even tried said shake, but still obliged when I handed him the list of ingredients to retrieve from the store.

{Picture: Valli@Flickr}

{Picture: Valli@Flickr}

{Picture: Rosidae@Flickr}

The best part? The little blended chunks of marshmallow that creep up your straw! This little friend definitely cured my ailments.

I’m not sure how I missed out on the real thing during my last visit to NYC, but I assure you “Stand” will be on my *must* list for the next trip!

And a dresser to match l Tulsa, Ok Furniture Refinishing

Recently I met Miss C. when I made a bookshelf like this for her little boy’s room.

He was making the transition from a baby room to a big boy room and she asked me to help her find a dresser that would complement the room. I was happy to help since furniture hunting has become one of my favorite pastimes. After looking around and not finding exactly what I was looking for, I suddenly remembered this little guy….

Perfect!!

I came across him a little while back and instantly loved his petite size, interesting shape, and the way the front is slightly rounded. Plus, the previous owner had completely restored the drawers, so even though he has lived through many decades the drawers open and close like they are brand new.

The original wood was beautiful as it was, but I can rarely leave anything “as is” so we decided to give him a makeover to match the bookshelf. After lots of sanding and several coats of a creamy white, I roughed up the edges and added a dark brown glaze to give it a “well loved” finish.

The weather lately has been less than ideal (100°+) for outdoor painting, so it took me longer than I anticipated to complete this piece, but I’m loving how it turned out.

Thanks Miss C. – I hope you enjoy and I can’t wait to see pictures of the completed “big boy” room!

Fever l McAlester, Ok Furniture Refinishing

About 2 ½ years ago I started reading one or two blogs on a semi-regular basis. Since then the list has continued to grow and grow and grow. As of yesterday, I now have at least 15 blogs that I read on a regular basis. From crafting, to home décor, to fashion, to photography, to finance….I think it’s safe to say I’m a blog addict. I’m constantly checking to see if my favorites have updated and it’s always a treat when I see something new greeting me at the top.

Even with all of the blog reading I do, starting my own blog had never even crossed my mind…..until today. As I type this I’m starting to feel a bit of anxiety. Do I really have anything that interesting to share? Will writing a blog cut into my blog stalking time? I already have a hard enough time keeping up with my husband, two kids, friends, family, 3+ jobs…will this just give me another reason to procrastinate doing the things (like laundry) I really need to be doing? Probably. In that case, I’m SOLD. I’ll take any excuse to not do laundry.

As a kid, my grandpa and my nana (Millie) owned an A&W Drive-In and I spent the majority of my after-school hours and summers there. During the lull between lunch and dinner rushes she and one of her employees, Norma, would sit and craft (with my help, of course). There was a constant project…firecracker decorations for Independence Day, spooks and haunted houses for Halloween, beautiful beaded ornaments for her 12 Christmas trees, and each year she would make a different shabby Santa for her 3 daughters. My nana loves home décor and even at 81 years old she STILL decorates for every holiday. This is where I caught the fever.

While I’m not nearly as crafty as she is, she is my inspiration for everything and because of her I love all things home décor. With this blog I hope to document all of the things that I adore, but mostly I hope to find the motivation to complete the many projects that I have stored in my head.

So I introduce to you, Simply Millie.

Welcome :)