#tbt Statement Necklace

October 15, 2013

After searching for this necklace for a year, I was about to give up. I found lots of options, but they were all $30+. It's a great necklace, but it's not that great...

While browsing Francesca's at the mall a few weeks ago, I found this gem on the clearance rack...for $10! It wasn't the color I was originally looking for, but I liked the challenge. And at $10, I couldn't leave it behind. It looked great with my gray tee and white skinnies.

Holla!

Walton Rocks Beach

A couple weekends ago, we FINALLY spent some time at the beach.  We went back to the dog beach because I liked that it wasn't really crowded and the beach was big.  It was really windy but hot.  We got blasted by sand a few times, which I chalked up to getting exfoliated (which I needed anyway).  We didn't take our boys because they didn't really like the beach the first time we went.  There were lots of dogs and most of them ran up to say hi, which we didn't mind.  There were also really cute little crabs digging holes in the sand near us.  We didn't stay for very long but it was nice to just lay on a beach for a couple hours.  We're going to try and not repeat beaches from now on since there are so many to choose from.  I want to find a good place to go swimming.  I love our new beach life.

Cheers!

Selfie on the beach!  I got my bathing suit for $10 at Old Navy

He doesn't take serious pictures

I tried something new out in the sun.  This "browning lotion" had good reviews and is supposed to be all natural, although a little pricey.  I didn't see a big difference after the hour it recommended, but I'm going to stick with it.  I can't be pasty white now that I live in Florida.  Has anyone tried it?  Any safe recommendations for getting some color?

The Desk

I've been looking forward to writing this post for over a year. Last summer Mandi stumbled across an antique church desk during one of her trips to Goodwill. It took a little convincing, but she finally talked me into buying it for $40. The plan was to refinish it and put it in my home office. This was a great project to keep me busy while I was unemployed last summer/fall. I started by stripping the old finish and sanding it smooth. I decided to use a combo stain/polyurethane to save a few steps. I wasn't terribly excited about the original handles (simple wood handles that were kind of bulky), so I planned to find new antique handles. This proved to me more difficult than I expected. We checked all of the local antique stores and shows for something that fit the style of the desk, but we didn't have any luck. I was hoping to find something that would fit in the original holes, but that really wasn't a reality. I finally found some brass handles from the same dealer who had the ottoman legs at the Scott Antique Market. They weren't the same size as the original handles, so I had to figure out how to fill the old holes. Luckily the guy also had something called QuikWood that seemed like it would be pretty easy to use. This is where the story takes a familiar turn. Since the desk weighs about a ton (okay, maybe a bit of an exaggeration), we weren't able to move it from the basement to the second floor on our own. We were finally able to move it when Mandi's mom and Neal stopped on their way home from Florida. Neal and I got the desk up to the second floor and this is where it got ugly. Because of the way the door to my office was configured we couldn't get the desk through the door without either taking off the door frame or taking the top off the desk. I wasn't too thrilled about dismantling a rental house, so we tried taking the top off. Sadly, antique desks aren't  built to be taken apart and we couldn't get the top off without damaging the desk. So back down the stairs we went. The desk sat in the front room of the house until we moved to Florida. Now that the desk has a home I felt it was time to finish the drawers. Plus I couldn't unpack the stuff that goes into it until I finished the drawers. I still need to find a marker to match the wood filler to the new finish, but otherwise the desk is finally finished.

After stripping the original finish (I neglected to take a before picture)

The staining process

Finished staining. I love the pullout writing surface.



Finished desk in its new home

My favorite feature: the old typewriter cabinet makes a great home for the printer

A note from the church secretary

 

 

Daily Deal #1

This is going to be a re-occurring thing on Kendi Haus.  We're just going to do a quick post of some great deal we find.  First up, the bakery.

How much do you think all this cost?



4 loaves of wheat bread, 1 pk of hot dog buns



Give up?  $1.79.  Pretty sweet, huh?

Cheers!