Fifteen Feet Looks Like Twenty???

I feel soooooo stupid!  Martie and I have been in our double booth at Rockin' B for almost a year.  A single booth is 10 feet wide.  A booth and a half is 15 feet and a double is 20.  We rented a double.  Ha.  By the way, this is not our white booth (The B Hive) that I'm talking about.  This is the primary booth that I share with Martie.

There were a number of times when I've laid out plans on paper and worked out how we might rearrange, but it never seemed to come out.  Once we would get into moving and realize that the paper plan wasn't working out, we'd quickly rearrange on the spot.  You'd think that at some point I would have realized that it wasn't working out because we weren't working with twenty feet. 

We knew when we moved in that both of our neighbors were over the wall line about 6 inches each.  When we painted the floor, we couldn't go all the way to our edge, but we decided it wasn't any big deal.  Both of our neighbors would have had to move a TON of stuff and we weren't going to insist on that. What we didn't realize was that we only had 15 feet, 3 inches.  Hello! 

Yesterday, one of our neighbors moved.  It just so happened that I was planning to rearrange to move in a new shelf.  That was a perfect opportunity to get back the extra inches on that side.  After I moved over a bit, I decided to measure my booth and the neighbors to make sure I wasn't taking more than was due.  I measured over and over.  It was 15 feet, 8 inches. I pulled in the neighbor for her to see the measurements.  Suddenly everything made sense and I felt like a complete idiot.  We were in a booth and a half - not a double!

Lorraine, the store owner, was fabulous.  She's giving us a number of options to set things right.  That helped a bunch, but it didn't help with how stupid I feel.  Fifteen feet does not look anything like twenty feet.  It's not even close.  Why had we never measured?  I have long suspected I've been losing my mind and now I have more proof!  Ugh!

Oh well.  Maybe this is just another blessing in disguise because we are moving!  It just so happens that two single booths right beside each other are coming open.  That's rare. In fact, that's such incredible timing that it seems this was just meant to be.   I love the location - it's right at a center intersection.  Not only will our booth show well walking up the aisle, but it will also be seen from the opposite aisle.

You can see the two booths in the above photo.  One wall is a very pretty grayish blue.  The other is white.  Lori was in the grayish blue booth.  She moved to a larger booth yesterday.  Cynthia is in the white booth - #110.  She plans to move to a smaller booth tomorrow. 

Martie and I will paint both walls white.  I love the blue gray color, but we have such a varied color palette that it's really best for us to stick with white.  I have been debating a lot about the what to do with the floors but haven't had much of a chance to talk to Martie about it.  I thought about creating a faux wood look.  I thought about creating a tile look complete with sprinkles.  I thought about another swirl pattern.  All of this would take time. Yesterday, painting the floor seemed like the way to go.  Today,  I started thinking that I really don't care about making the floor special.  Plus, I really happen to like the look of concrete, just as it is - very urban, modern.  Leaving it as is, would mean we could move in faster with a whole lot less hassle. I hope Martie likes that look!  This will all hinge on how the floor looks under Cynthia's rug.  If it has a big ugly stain, then we'd have to paint.  I really don't anticipate any floor problems.

Another bonus is the hanger thing above the pegboard walls.  That will be ideal for hanging a chandelier.  Mine sold, but maybe I'll find another soon.

So.....  it looks like all's well that ends well.  We'll have a fresh start in a new location.  I'm looking forward to a new look with a lot more space!!!

Inspired By... Farmhouse Tables

I came across a picture of a farm table in an April issue of Family circle magazine.  I fell in love with it and it has set off a new obsession.  Here's the table I saw -

I love tables.  I enjoy painting and, best of all, distressing tables.  I love the look of rugged, imperfect, well-used tables.  The Family Circle one has a nice chippy look.  It also has a stainless steel top, which is cool, but would add a bit too much $$$ for me to seriously consider at this point.

When Googling, I came across a post on farmhouse tables from one of my favorite bloggers - Donna at Funky Junk Interiors.  She featured some beauties, including a farmhouse table / desk that she built.

Donna also featured a table by another of my favorite bloggers - Miss Mustard Seed.  She's my painting and refinishing guru.  I love her farm table.  Mmmmmmm...  I wonder...  could I possibly? Oh, my wheels are spinning.

She calls this her "Frankentable" because it's a combination of two tables.  I call it Perfect!  I love that room, too, by the way.

I guess you can probably tell that my favorite farm tables do not have smooth even tops.  I like the rustic ones best.  The ones that look like someone just nailed some boards to the top and called it a day. 

Here are some more -

This one is a great homemade table from Show and Tell, made from a bunch of old weathered wood she got from her dad.  Be sure to click the link to see the transformation.

Googling led me to this 2009 post on farmhouse tables from Studio M Designs.  She found some beauties.  Here's my fav -

 This is one that I had saved from a magazine for years.  I'll bet the clipping is at least 10 years old. These tables just don't go out of style.

I came across this one on Barn House

 That's enough.  I could go on, but I have things to do, places to go and people to see.  :-D

More Pup Pix - Taking a Walk

Annabelle and Sadie have really stolen our hearts.  Rudy is taking them for walks around the property three times a day.  I've joined him each time possible.  It's so much fun. 

 

 We start by the barn and work away around so that we end by the pond.  There are five dogs in tow.  Two senior citizens - Lou, Lou and Buddy.  The teenager - Jack.  And the babies.  They all love the walk.

They stop and talk to the neighbors along the way.  We have dog neighbors on almost every side.  Some are more talkative than others.  A couple are a bit grumpy.  All are exciting to see.

Once we get close to the pond, the pups get real excited and take off.  They know the routine now.  Rudy and I start gathering sticks.

After Sadie and Annie get wet, then the games begin.  First, Sadie plays fetch for awhile.  She's so amazing.  I've never seen a puppy this young be so good at fetching.  She no longer wades and swims after the sticks.  She leaps and swims.  She's also learned how to leap without letting her head go under.  She brings the sticks back and puts them at our feet.  If for some reason she loses the stick, she whines and worries about it.  This is a very serious game.

Jack is still a bit embarrassed at his lack of nerve where swimming is concerned.  He wants to get in the water.  He watches the pups.  He thinks that maybe one day he'll try it, but not yet. The pups keep urging him, but he's not quite ready.

Jack's favorite part of the routine is a rousing game of chase.  Those puppies are fast so Jack has to go full speed to stay ahead.  He has a smile on his face the whole time.  It's so much fun to watch.

There's a good bit of wrestling and jumping and carrying on during the game.

At the end of the walk, Rudy and I sit in chairs outside.  The pups wrestle and play and act crazy a little more.

Jack plops down, exhausted,  for a much needed rest... for as long as the pups will let him.

Table and Chairs - Before and After

I completed a table and chair set and it *finally* turned out well.

I put the set in The B Hive Booth at Rockin' B.  The chairs sold in a couple of days.  Wow.

The chairs were my first set after I got married.  Back then, pine furniture was the rage. I used them like that for several years. I stained them dark when the next style came along.  At some point their rush seats became tattered and I put the chairs in storage.  I have no idea why I didn't get rid of them all this time.

Now that I have a booth, I knew it was time for me to give these chairs a new lease on life.  First, I wove new seats.  I wove them out of drop cloth fabric and they looked pretty cool.  I hate painting chairs and was hoping I could get away with leaving these dark. I put them over at Rockin' B and waited.  Every time I looked at them, I felt a pang of regret.  I should have painted them.  And they didn't sell.  Once we started the B Hive Booth, with everything white and cream, I new the time had come.  I needed to take those chairs back home and paint them!

Painting took a bit more time because now I had to tape off the woven seats. In the end it was worth it.

I love, love, love them, and even thought about keeping them.  After a firm talk with myself about not keeping everything I like, I took them over to the booth.

The table was just a butcher block top with painted legs that was so popular 10 or so years ago.  It's sturdy and well made.  I love the size of it - just right for a small kitchen table.  It would even work great as a desk and I considered keeping it for that.  But I was firm with myself again and didn't.  I needed a table to go with my chairs.

The table turned out nice, but the distressing wasn't as striking as the chairs because the under color was not dark.  It was still pretty, don't get me wrong, but it didn't go perfectly with the chairs. Still I prefer the look of the chairs and think I may play around with painting dark undercoats the next time I paint a light piece of furniture.  

In the end, it didn't matter that the table didn't quite match the chairs.  The woman who bought the chairs already had a table.  Now I'm thinking of setting the table up to look like a desk.  All it needs is a great chair to put with it.

By the way, most everything on and around this table sold within a matter of days.  The chairs, the tablecloth, the bowl, the chandelier...  sold, sold, sold, and sold.  This booth is loads of fun, but it sure is hard keeping it full.  That's a wonderful problem to have.

Annabelle and Sadie at the Pond

Baby number one came with her name - Annabelle.  That really fits her.  Rudy calls her Annie.  Baby number two finally has a name - Sadie.

We have realized that our first impression of their personalities was not correct.  Annabelle is not the outgoing one.  Sadie is. Beth (the one who gave us the dog) told us that Annabelle had a mothering personality.  That is true.  Annabelle is a bit apt to study the situation before jumping in.  I mean that literally as well as figuratively.  Take a look at some of their latest adventures.

 They both love the water... once they get there.  Sadie will follow us anywhere, almost any time.  Annie doesn't like to get out when it's hot.  I can't say I blame her.  But if we go to the pond while the sun is high, Annie needs to be carried. If you put her down too soon, she'll run back to the house.  The house is base. Sadie likes to be carried as well, but if you put her down she'll keep following.

Once at the pond, Sadie is first in.  Ooooh that cool water feels good.

Sadie is  likely to be our trick dog.  She loves playing fetch.  Balls, sticks, you name it.  She'll fetch.  And fetching a stick from the water is her favorite.  This shot shows a peak at Sadie's pointing abilities.

She swims way out to get it.  The first couple of times, she didn't want to venture too far from the edge, but now she's going 10 or 12 feet away and is very comfortable swimming.  It's amazing.

Both Sadie and Annabelle love to jump and splash at the edge of the water.   They are a bundle of energy!

 They can get pretty wild.

 This is one of my favorite shots.  Rudy has just thrown a stick out into the pond.  Look at that classic pose.  That's Sadie.  Right after this, she dove in and fetched the stick.

 This is their favorite toy.  It's Jack's rope.  It's pretty big and Sadie and Annabelle are perfectly happy to chew on it at the same time.  They'll fetch the rope, too and they'll both hold onto it as they bring it back.  I wish I'd been able to get a good photo of that.  I'll keep trying.

For now, this is the best I could do.  Notice that our porch is pretty devoid of decor.  We quickly realized we needed to do some rearranging.  The cute stuff has been moved to screened porch areas.  We put some chairs and things on the front that were most likely to survive puppy chewing.  Pillows are a no-no.  It doesn't look very attractive, but maybe I can come up with some creative ways to add color.  It's a small sacrifice for having such joy and happiness.  Puppies are such fun!

By the way, we highly recommend getting two puppies together.  There has been no crying or whimpering from missing mom.  They comfort and entertain each other.  They are happy as can be.

Puppy Love

Happy father's day!  We have two new babies in the house.  They are totally sacked out right this minute just a few feet away from me and I can hear a little puppy tummy growling.  I had almost forgotten how wonderful puppy breath smells.

They are sooooo cute, but then all puppies are adorable, aren't they?

 

They look almost sad in this photo, but that's not the case.  They are pooped.  They were both asleep just a few minutes after this shot was taken.

They are almost identical except for some small white markings and a little bit of a different look in their face.  Annabelle has a little bit of white on her chest.  The other one (we can't make up our mind on her name) has a little white on her back feet. I'd like to call her Lily, but Rudy is holding out for something better.  I'm going to refer to her as Lily in this post. It seems disrespectful to not use a name for her.

This is Annabelle.  She's a complete lap dog, as you can see here.  Once we got them in the house, Rudy sat down in the floor in our coat room.  She crawled right in his lap and feel asleep in no time.  He stayed there for ages, missing golf and racing and baseball.  That's puppy love!

We got both dogs from Beth, a friend of a friend (Sharon).  Beth is the one who came up with the name Annabelle.  I loved that name immediately and it has stuck. Sharon has one of the sisters and has named her Onyx. 

Lily is a bit more reserved but very loving.  She'll crawl all over you and follow along on walks and sit in your lap, too, but it takes her just a minute or two longer than Annabelle.  Annabelle is more fearless.

I am totally in love with them both.  Rudy is a puddle of mush.

Tiny Houses... Again

Cynthia wrote a post on her blog, A Love of the Past,  that has sent me back into a longing for a tiny house.  She found some beauties, too!

These two aren't necessarily my favorite ones, but they are the ones I can actually see myself living in.  They are dream-able!

This one is move-in-ready!

My hubby would be perfectly happy here, but I consider it a fixer-upper with loads of potential.

 Both of these houses would need an addition as well.  I see a screened porch as a non-negotiable essential.

A number of the houses are actually sheds or pool houses, but I don't let that stop me from imagining.  Click here to see the rest of them.

My house is not big, but it is definitely larger than we should have built.  That is a huge regret.  I drew it out.  I thought about how much room I'd like to have in each room.  It seemed great on paper.  I know now that it was wasteful... for us.  Nothing we can do about it now.  But it has caused me to daydream about tiny houses a good bit over the last couple of years.

I try to picture myself actually living in a tiny house. I'm not sure how tiny I could go.  Anyone with a husband with high testosterone needs plenty of room.  Without some space of my own, I might end up on an episode of Snapped! 

Some space is needed for function, too. The tiny kitchen in my previous house drove me crazy.  No storage space in my previous house drove me crazy.  Maneuvering through rooms with dogs and cats underfoot drove me crazy.  Tiny doorways that were not wheelchair friendly drove me crazy when I broke my ankle.  Remembering my previous house does impede on my tiny house daydreams a bit.

On the other hand, the layout of the previous house was not good.  Maybe I can lay the blame there.

So I keep dreaming and planning ahead.  I am slowly downsizing my "stuff".    As I find things I've loved for ages, but no longer need, I either take them to Goodwill or I sell them in my booth, if suitable.  I picture someone new getting joy from them.  By the time I get to move to a tiny small house, hopefully, I'll have a lot less to have to move. 

If you, too, dream of living in a tiny house, then you'll love My Shabby Streamside Studio and  Tiny House Blog.  I have links to those on my sidebar, too, so I can visit when I need a tiny house fix.

Bowl to Birdbath

At a yard sale a couple of weeks ago, I bought a very large bowl and stand.  I did not plan to use it like this.  I had other ideas.

That same day, I also bought two plant stands.  They were slightly different sizes and I just knew one of them would work for what I had in mind...

A birdbath!

Hey! That geranium on the left is not dead.  It looks nothing like it appears in this photo!

'

I can't feel completely smug about making a purely decorative piece useful.  Since we have cats, we don't actually want to lure unsuspecting little birdies to their death.  So I keep emptying the rainwater onto my flowers.  As dry as it's been, I really haven't had to do that very often so far. 

Beautiful Flower from a Friend - Clivia

My neighbor, Pat, gave me this beautiful plant two years ago.  It blooms every spring --- around mid-May.

I had forgotten the name of it and had to really do some serious Googling before find it.

It's called Clivia.

Pat told me to keep it indoors when it gets cold.  When it's warm outside, Clivia is very happy outside, but must be kept out of direct sunlight.  My north-facing front porch is perfect.

This photo is from 2 or 3 weeks ago (which should be a clue on how seriously behind I am on EVERYTHING in my life).   Isn't it a beauty?  I wish I had picked off that little dead bit.  I never seem to notice the flaws til I view my photos. 

White Hutch Makeover

I finally finished the white hutch and got it into our white booth, which I'm trying to remember to call by it's new name - The B Hive.  The hutch turned out really nice. 

It previously had a maple finish. I'm sure it was nice in its day, but it sure looked dated and unloved when I got it.

The white is not a stark white.  It's sort of ivory.  Once I sanded in key spots, the hutch looked more cream colored.  That distressing sure does make a difference.  At that point it looked so good that I decided not to stain over it with wax or gel. 

The hutch was moved into the booth a week or two ago, at least most of it was.  We were doing the initial booth arrangement and a hutch is no easy thing to move around.  And this hutch is really heavy!  I'm sure I developed a hernia or slipped disk or pulled muscle or something from the strain of lifting!

The doors were not ready - they took twice as long - two sides - and I wasn't rushing them.  It was no big deal having the doors off.  We merchandised the open spaces.

Finally, yesterday I got it all in place.  The hutch actually has four doors, but everyone felt that the hutch looked great with the top two doors off, so those are tucked in a drawer for whoever buys it to use or not.

I'm pretty pleased with this makeover.  My only disappointment is that I cannot find my before photos!  Shoot!  I know I took them.  but that was before the old computer crashed and everything was moved to the new laptop.  Oh well.  You'll just have to take my word for it - it looks sooooo much better.

 The are removable shelves in the side sections.  I have one in place and the other is on the bottom of the section.

 The photos don't do justice to the side columns.  Those are really nice.  Also, I love how the old hardware looks - especially the pulls.

Here it is in the booth.  I'm glad I have these photos because I don't think it will be there long.  I had lots of people inquiring about it even before the were doors on.