A Chatty Post – Behind the Scenes This Week

Hello my stylish friends!

I have something a little different for you today instead of Style Scouting. I know many of you enjoy those posts, but I was busy this week and wasn’t online as much as I usually am to come across interesting and inspiring items to share with you.

So instead, I thought I would update you on what I have been doing behind the blog posts this week – lots of random things. Some of what I have been doing will become blog posts, other things are what that made up my week.

So grab your favorite fall beverage ( I am drinking this tea) and get cozy.

Making Over My Kitchen Table

DIY decorating project-wise this week, I decided that the top of my kitchen table needed a new look. It has had a few makeovers over the 20 + years since I bought it at JCPenneys for $159… Stripping... painting and covering with paper that looks like wood planking.

I am not afraid to start experimenting with paint to get the look I envision. It is only paint that can be removed if I don’t like what I create. I can always cover it with the wood-look paper again.

The look I want is a little bit rustic, but not a wood tone. I would like to add some contrast to the grey and brown wood tones and textures in the open concept living room and dining area of the kitchen. I am thinking a faux slate or zinc.

I am experimenting by adding layers of paint until I like what I see on the table surface. Once I like what I see I will share the results with you. I have been documenting all the steps.

So stay tuned to see what I come up with.

Thrift Store Shopping

I live in a rural area of a lake town. There is not much in the town center besides supermarkets, drug stores, banks, beauty salons, a library and a few small shops and restaurants.

To shop for most items I need besides food, I have to drive 30 minutes or longer to the city of Columbia and towns of Lexington or Harbison. I schedule a day every week to head to one of these towns to go to stores like HomeGoods, TJMaxx, Marshalls, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, Target, World Market and Walmart.

This past week I went to Lexington to go thrift store shopping for a large lamp. I have been searching for just the right size for a few months and found this to makeover.

I plan to use this lamp in either the living room or foyer once I transform it to fit my decorating style. I also bought a new lampshade for it at Walmart and ordered a dimming socket for it on Amazon.

Cleaning Out My Clothes Closet

This is my clothes closet.

With the change of every season, I take stock in every piece of clothing I own, what fits and what I haven’t worn. Over the last 3 years I have put a focus on eating healthy and keeping active. My reward for this helped me lose 36 pounds.

This past week I tried on all my cold weather clothes and most of it was too big. No complaints!!! But I had bags of clothing to take to the thrift store.

With so much gone, I took time to clean the closet and reorganize everything…

… even all my Dansko clogs and sneakers.

They all have names – Sneakers – Paisley | Britney | discontinued style | Karena |Maureen – discontinued |Malin | discontinued style | Martina

I use to be a flats lover. Ballet flats, leopard flats, but wearing them for years was not a good thing and I developed plantar fasciitis in my right foot. It was very painful. I found a podiatrist who told me to stop wearing flats and wear clogs or boots and my problem would fix itself.

He was right, it did. My shoe style has been slip-on clogs ever since. Boots are just not me. :-)

Adding a Wood Beam (sort of) In The Kitchen

Back in the summer I found a stash of thick and heavy aged grey wood beams in our garage. When I asked Ed where they came from he had no idea. I call them the “mystery beams”. I came up with one way to use one when I made the long planter box for the mantel over the summer.

A few weeks ago when sitting in the living room and looking towards the kitchen, I had another idea on how to use another one of the beams. I asked Ed if he would hold it up so I could consider if I liked the idea or not.

I did like it! :-) We attached it to the wall with two long heavy duty screws.

Having the wood over the plain window gives the window more impact, but more importantly it balances wood accents throughout the open space.

I still have two more beams, so you may be seeing another project made with them in the near future.

What Every Homeowner Needs

Ed and I were on the upper deck on Saturday morning using this step stool to clear out the pine straw from the gutter on the lake side of the house.

While we were working, I mentioned to Ed that this stool is going on 35 years. It was one of the first things we bought when we bought our first house.

It is still going strong. I mention this as one thing every home should have. It comes in so very handy for so many things.

As you can see from the patina it has taken on, it comes in very handy for painting a room. :-) The company doesn’t make them quite like this anymore, but here is one that is very close.

• Cosco Metal 2-Step Step Stool

Do you have a step stool like this in your house?

Searching for a Resource

I found this Italian grey pot at a local garden store for $6.99. They had a large variety of them in many shapes and sizes. I liked that it is has a grey color wash and a more modern vibe than a basic terra cotta flower pot.

When I got home I tried to find an online resource to share, but only found it being sold abroad, not in the US. It is a Vaso Patavium Greige pot. If you like the look, maybe your local garden store carries the line.

Waiting Sometimes Has It’s Rewards!

And lastly, I am so excited about this.

Do you remember back in 2018 when I posted this photo of a bed displayed at my local furniture store? I loved this duvet set and wanted to buy it, but the price was out of my budget and was something the store wasn’t even sure they could order.

I ended up buying another less expensive comforter, but have never gotten this duvet out of my mind. I liked that it was not a solid color or a pattern – but in-between the two.

Even after 2 and a half years I still get questions about it since the photo has been pinned to Pinterest many times. When asked questions about it, I always feel bad that I could never give a resource for it until now.

Last week I was scrolling through Overstock for something unrelated and I did a double take… There was the duvet…. at less than half the price! I didn’t have to think twice about buying it.

I am hoping it is the same duvet. I am pretty sure it is. I’ll find out on Tuesday when it will be delivered.

Tomorrow I will be posting about something I repurposed + restyled to use on my Thanksgiving table. Best of all it was totally free!

See you tomorrow. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.