Something Up My Sleeve

Don't you just love doing a little something special for someone else? I decided to take on the tasks of helping my little sister furnish her future college apartment. Although she will be living in the dorms the first year, it is never too early to start collecting some fun furnishing a little at a time, right?! So far I have scooped up this bedspread for $36 from Urban Outfitters here. Teal is one of her favorite colors. I also got 10% off for creating a UO sign in account which helped cover some of the shipping costs...wahoo!

My next project is painting this $40 Craig's list dresser gray (no, that is not my gold shad carpet...hehe). I picked up a small can of Dutch Boy paint named "fire steel" and some hand sanders tonight...let the fun begin! If she is lucky I may even offer to paint the headboard she already own the same color too : )

I also scored 3 white ceramic vases of mismatched patterns and height along with an empty rectangular frame which I plan on turning into a jewelry holder to hang above her dresser for a grand total of $2.24 from my local thrift store. Since I got such a killer deal at the thrift store I splurged at WalMart and spent $9 on a few small white bowls/trays for her to organize her rings and bracelets on top on the dresser in. Trust me, I can't wait to reveal her new furnishings to her for her birthday this summer!

Remember This?

It's the dresser we found on Craig's list forever back. I know, its been too long.... I almost forgot about it too ; ) Either way, I finally found some time to posts some before and after pics!

Here it is before. It really was a clean, nice looking dresser. I am a big fan on the wood look, but the finish didn't quite compliment our darker wood floors. After some Internet browsing, I found some pics on Working Woman's blog here. Seriously loved the inspirational posts : )
And thus the idea for this color came about. I would love to share how the dresser was painted, but I didn't have to paint a lick! My sweet husband stripped and painted the whole dresser himself why I was in St. Louis. I can tell you the whole process involved CitrusStrip, a seagreen color undercoat, and an antique top coat.

Good things can be done when I leave my man alone. On the other hand, you can also come home to a plethora of speakers surrounding your television too. I can't wait till those speakers find a new home in the basement...ha.

Christmas Break Bliss

Oh Christmas Break how I love thee! I can't believe this will be the last 2 week Christmas Break I will ever get- sad ) : This exactly why I am taking full advantage of everyday, and by this I mean sleeping in till 10am...ha! But seriously, I feel like am getting so much done despite my extra sleep in the mornings.

This was also the first year Brandon and I put up our very own Christmas tree, so here it is in all its glory...
Alright, I am not a professional Christmas tree decorator. We got our tree and all the green and silver ornaments/ribbon 75% off at Wal-mart's after Christmas sell. Our slim selection of ornaments come from each year we've been together. I love reading other people's blogs and seeing how their trees have changed over the years, so I went ahead and posted my first attempt at decorating my own tree so I look back and smile later. Maybe next year I will even find a tree topper!

So what have the Leslie's been up to?
Caulking and painting all our window trim
Putting pictures in the picture display
Insulating/Drywalling the basement
Refinishing the Craig's list chairs
A few other random not so exciting projects

And I acutally plan on sharing some pitcures all of the progress a little at a time. I just had the chance to look back at all my previous posts, and it was so fun seeing my year in review. Can't wait to see what 2010 brings!!!