Entertainment Center Turned Bench...Finally!

About two months ago, we decided to buy a new couch.

Buying a new couch meant rearranging furniture.

Rearranging furniture meant this piece that was once used as an entertainment center now needed a new purpose. I decided it was the perfect piece to turn into a bench. It was the just the right height for sitting, plus there is a ton of room in the two side cabinets to store toys! The first thing I did was use Gorilla Glue to attach some thin pieces of wood to the doors...
..and sides of the entertainment center. I wanted to add a little bit of interest to the otherwise plain boring sides. Jason already had these thin pieces of wood left over from a previous project, so all I had to do was cut them to the correct length and glue them on.
After the Gorilla Glue was dry {technically like two weeks after}, I primed the entire piece with Zinsser Oil Based Primer...the same primer that I used to redo my end table. After the primer was dry, I added a coat of glossy white paint...the primer was so good that it only need one coat of the glossy paint to look pretty great! I reattached the original hinges {which were black}, and picked up two new decorative black knobs to replace the small silver ones.
I bought a piece of foam and cut it to the correct size for the top of the bench. FYI: Foam is expensive....if you have any old cushions that you aren't using, save them!
I also picked up a tablecloth at Target to make a cover for the foam. I got a great textured material for less than $10...if I had bought something similar at the fabric store it would have cost a fortune! I wrapped the material around the foam, pinned it in place, and sewed up the edges. I left the back open, so that I can remove the cover and wash it if it ever gets dirty or stained {which is going to happen in my house full of boys}! Throw in a couple of rattan baskets and two decorative pillows that match the throw pillows on the couch, and now I have an awesome bench and even better toy storage piece!

Wordless Wednesday: (Mac &) CHEESE

30

1. 30....I know it is just a number, but it is a pretty big number. For some reason the jump from 29 to 30 seems like a big deal. Just in case this sounds kind of strange, my 30th birthday was yesterday and apparently it is still bothering me today:) Sort of....but not really.

2. My kids are still getting up way to early for it to be summertime! HELP! I would really like to sleep until 7 just once this summer.

3. We had VBS at church last week. I was SUPER busy and SUPER tired all week. VBS was worth all the hard work when 8 kiddos got saved though:)

4. I really missed blogging last week. I hate when I don't have time to respond to emails and comments, and I hate even more that I had no time to visit all of my bloggy friends! I am going to try and catch up this week:)

5. I did some figurative housecleaning in my life over the last few weeks, and it feels nice to get rid of some of the clutter!

6. Now I just need to do some actual housecleaning so my house isn't such a huge disaster area.

7. I am almost finished with my entertainment center to bench makeover. It has taken forever, but I am so glad that it no longer looks like this:

8. Hopefully I can share the finished project by Thursday after I spend tomorrow doing some sewing!

9. I also have to do some sewing for my sister. She has a piece of material that she wants to turn into a shower curtain...pretty easy, except that I hate, hate, hate doing button holes!

10. My living room is still not finished either. I think I have decorator block, because I still can't decided what I want to put on the big empty wall behind my couch.

11. I got a new camera accessory for my birthday yesterday...a white balance filter. Now I just have to figure out how to use it.

12. Speaking of my camera...I only picked it up once last week and I only snapped 3 {really} sad pictures. Maybe I can get back in my picture taking groove this week with my new filter.

13. I at least need to take a picture to post tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday:)

14. Jason and I started watching The Big Bang Theory on Netflix this week. It is pretty funny....plus it fills all the empty tv time that comes with summer.

15. Have I mentioned how much I love Netflix before? I do! Especially tv shows on Netflix...no 3 month wait to find out what happened after the cliffhanger season finale!

16. I'm only halfway to 3o and it seems like I have been typing forever! I told you 30 was a big number!

17. Jason has a business trip to Atlanta coming up and the boys and I are going to tag along. SUPER nice swimming pool, free breakfast, and new places sounds like a pretty fun mini-vacation to me.

18. I am looking for some fun {and cheap} stuff to do in Atlanta, so if you have any suggestions let me know. This isn't technically our vacation, so I don't want to spend very much money....though we are going to take the boys to see the Braves play one night while we are there.

19. I have been eating a lot of cereal and Special K bars lately. They are both really great for helping me lose weight....now if I can stay away from the ice cream I will be doing good.

20. I'm trying to lose weight {thought aren't we all always trying to lose weight} because I am in a friend's wedding in September. I really don't want to be the fat bridesmaid....I would settle for the slightly chubby bridesmaid though:)

21. I can do another 20 pounds between now and September, right?!? That is my goal anyway....but I really need to get the ice cream out of my freezer!

22. Henry and Grant at going to VBS at my mom's church this week. That means it will just be me and Eli for the most part this week. It is already really quiet this morning.

23. I'm hoping that since the boys are going to be gone most of the week, that I can get a few crafty projects done. I need to make new summery wreaths for the front door, hang some vinyl in the hallway, and finish makings some decorative balls that I started but then quit after 5 minutes.

24. My hot glue gun doesn't always like the projects that I work on. I quit working on those decorative balls because I burned my finger at least 5 times in less than 5 minutes. I wonder if they make gloves to wear while you are using your hot glue gun?!?

25. We planted some watermelon seedlings in our yard one day last week. They were dead by the next afternoon. Apparently upper 90's is a little to much for seedlings to take when they came from inside the house:)

26. I was really hoping that my hubby was going to call Merry Maids for me for my birthday....no such luck! I guess that means I will be spending ALL of today cleaning.

27. But, I can't get started cleaning until I get home from getting the oil changed in my car...which means the house probably won't get cleaned today:)

28. We have been on a pineapple kick lately. I think we have gone through 3 fresh pineapples in the last 4 weeks...and I think I may buy another one today. Fruit is good for you right...even the stuff that tastes really good!

29. It has been raining every afternoon and some nights, which makes playing outside and going to the walking track kind of hard...but I'm so glad that it rains to cool down the temps some. We are just now technically in summer and it is SUPER hot here!

30. See, I told you 30 was a big number!

A Yummy Treat

A while back my blog friend Angie posted some pictures of a SUPER easy and SUPER yummy treat she made for her SUPER cute kiddos. Her treats inspired me to make these really fun Nilla Wafer Ice Cream Sandwiches!All you need is Nilla Wafers, ice cream, and sprinkles!

Lay out two Nilla Wafers.

Add a small scoop of ice cream to one of the Nilla Wafers.

Let your helpers pitch in by adding the other Nilla Wafer on top of the ice cream.

Then roll your yummy ice cream sandwich in sprinkles.

Ideally, you would place your Nilla Wafer Ice Cream Sandwiches in the freezer for about an hour to harden up the ice cream...but my boys found them irresistible and ate one each before the rest of them made it to the freezer:)

Wordless Wednesday: Picking Veggies

MIA, VBS, and a Feature

It is Vacation Bible School week for us, which means I am running around like crazy from the time I get up until noon every day! Being busy with VBS means my blog will be kind of quiet for the most part this week, and I will probably be MIA from your blogs this week too. Hopefully when VBS is over I will be able to catch up on all my favorites:)

Since I'm not sharing any of my own fun today, I figured I would send you over to check out someone else's great ideas! Mickey aka Monster Mama made some SUPER fun pudding pops the other day! Go check out her version inspired by rainbow pops , and while you are there look around at all the other great recipes she has shared. Her PB Brownies look amazing...and I know that if I made them they would completely ruin my diet:)

Ramblings...

Today is going to be a day of rambling...mainly because I don't have any projects to share:) So, here I go!

Can someone please explain to me why my kiddos have been up by 6:30 every morning since summer started. During the school year I was dragging them out of the bed at 6:30 all groggy and sleepy-eyed. Now they come bouncing down the stairs intent on waking me up! Seriously boys, it's summer...we can at least sleep until 7:00!!

Henry got his cast taken off yesterday. He has to wear a removable brace for the next two weeks, but that means he can swim and take a REAL bath! Thank goodness. Boys are stinky enough as it is...but add a cast to their arm and you double the stink factor!

Eli has been getting some strange bumps lately. I can't tell what they are....maybe bug bites?!? But they are multiplying at night, which makes me feel bad because that means that some kind of weird bug may be attacking my poor baby during the night. That or it is mosquito bites from being outside in the evening that we don't notice until the morning.


My craft room {aka the dining room that is rarely used for dining} is a TOTAL mess! There are at least three of my projects spread out on the table, Jason has some tools and supplies piled up in there, and all my stuff for Vacation Bible School is sitting on the table too! It makes crafting very difficult when you can't even find the table to set up on:)

We went and picked fresh veggies the other day. Sadly, all the veggies are still sitting in the buckets that we brought them home in. I really need to get them out and clean them before they get all gross...but I seem to be going through a lazy phase lately!

Now, we are off to the walking track and the splash pad! Henry is SUPER excited about playing in the water...and I am hoping I have lost another pound or two after all the walking I have done this week.

I hope I haven't bored you too much with my ramblings, and don't forget to hop over to Mimi's and check out FREE 4 All Fridays today:) I hope you all have a great {random} weekend!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

...or when you buy a bag of lemons at the produce stand...

Make Lemonade
We made The Best Lemonade Ever!
Really, that is what the recipe is called, and it was SUPER good!
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups white sugar
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups lemon juice
Directions
1.In a small saucepan, combine sugar and 1 cup water. Bring to boil and stir to dissolve sugar. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled.
2.Remove seeds from lemon juice, but leave pulp. In pitcher, stir together chilled syrup, lemon juice and remaining 7 cups water.
I made the water/sugar mixture and chilled it in the fridge.
Then the boys helped me squeeze the lemons. We used a collander over a bowl to catch all the seeds and pulp.
We added our fresh squeezed lemon juice to the water/sugar mixure and then everyone got a turn to stir the lemonade....

...even Eli!

Pour your yummy lemonade over ice and enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday: Family Day at the Farm 2010

Click here to see Family Day at the Farm 2009

End Table Redo

{*Alternately titled: The reason I love spray paint!*}

I picked up this end table at a flea market/antique store a few weeks ago. It cost $25. A little expensive considering the condition that it was in, but it was the perfect size and I loved all the details on the trim. I was hoping to find something under $20, but I went ahead a paid the $25 because I could see how great this table would be with a few coats of paint.

I used Zinsser Oil based primer {the stain blocker, bond coat kind} to do my first coat. This stuff is amazing....no need to sand down previously finished furniture, because it will stick to any glossy surface. The table is looking better already.
After the primer was dry, I put on a few coats of my favorite spray paint {Krylon Bahama Sea}! I loved the color, but it was just a little too bright.
So, I tried my hand at glazing for the first time. I took some left over black trim paint and watered it down...approximately one part water to three parts paint. I used a paint brush to apply the watery paint and an old tshirt to wipe it off. I made sure to let the glaze sit a little longer on the trim pieces so that it got into all the little details.

Once the paint was dry, the end table fit perfectly beside our new couch.

Our living room is {slowly} coming together! Hopefully it will be finished soon!