Lilacs and Longhorns: 06/01/2013

Friday, June 28, 2013

19 Great Hutch Makeovers {Favorite Things Friday}

There's nothing quite as satisfying as taking an old, forgotten piece of furniture and making it look and function like brand new. It's amazing what a little bit of paint and TLC can do!

One of my favorite furniture makeovers of my own is my little blue china hutch:

(You can read about the makeover here and here.)

Amazingly, my little hutch caught the eye of the folks over at Hometalk and they asked me to curate a clipboard of my favorite hutch projects. What fun!

Hometalk, in case you're not familiar, is a great place to find furniture makeovers, DIY projects, home and garden resources, and other people who love the subject of home. You can share ideas and connect with others to help you solve some of your home dilemmas or just browse for inspiration.

It was easy to find several great furniture pieces that inspired me:

You can see all 19 makeovers on my Hometalk clipboard, but today I'm giving you a taste of what you'll find on my board for "Favorite Things Friday."

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this post

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Peanut Butter, Chocolate and Leftover Cereal = YUM!

This summer, my kids and I decided that we would make something together every Monday. It could be a craft or a recipe. So far, we've been opting to make our favorite recipes because we love the edible results!

One of my kids favorites is this recipe for "Garbage Bars." We made them this past Monday and have been happily nibbling ever since!

The name may not sound appetizing, but trust me, it's a favorite among both kids and grown-ups. And, it helps you clean out your pantry, too!

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this post

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Library Chair Makeover

When I showed you my grandfather clock makeover, I told you about how Mr. Longhorn (my husband) came with some inherited furniture when we got married.

One piece is this old library chair.

It is a chair his mother (who is still living, by the way, so it's not really an inherited piece) got from a former neighbor somewhere along the way. There are actually two of them (both of which have been sitting in my attic) but I decided to experiment on one to see if I might like it in my foyer. It's been looking a little dull and uninteresting lately.

I cleaned it up and set it the entry and decided it needed to be painted.

It was nicely rustic already, but since I have a plethora of stained wood happening in my house I thought a painted piece would be better.

I got out my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in graphite and got to work.

I painted one coat of graphite and then gave it a coat of AS clear wax, then buffed and sanded and then added a coat of AS dark wax, then buffed and sanded a little more.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this post

Friday, June 21, 2013

The "It's Complicated" House {Favorite Things Friday}

Last week I showed you the house from the movie, "Something's Gotta Give." I told you it was my very favorite movie house ever.

Well, yes, that's true. But a very close runner-up (and I mean Michael Phelps in the Bejing Olympics close -- you know where there's like a milli-second between wall touches for the win) is the house from the movie, "It's Complicated."

Oh man...this house!!

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this post

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Fourth of July Pottery Barn Knock-off {Tutorial}

I was browsing through Pottery Barn the other day and spotted these:

Pottery Barn Fourth of July burlap stars

I had seen them in one of the catalogs, but thought they were even more stunning in person. They are much bigger than I expected...one is 16" and the other 18" in diameter!

They're already sold out online. In the store, I think the price was somewhere around $19 for the one I saw.

I immediately knew this was something I could create at home -- especially because I already had everything I needed and wouldn't need to spend any money.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this post

Friday, June 14, 2013

My All-Time Favorite Movie House {Favorite Things Friday}

A week or so ago, the movie, "Something's Gotta Give" was on TV. Of course, I watched it even though I've seen it a million times.

Yes, the movie is good, but the real reason I keep watching it over and over is because I am absolutely, positively in love with the house.

CLICK HERE to read the rest of this post

Thursday, June 13, 2013

A Grandfather Clock Makeover and a Little History

I was 32 when I got married and my husband was 34.

Getting married a little later in life meant we both came with stuff...a lot of it! I had an apartment full of furniture and he had a house full. Not just his own bachelor stuff, but a lot of inherited pieces that came from his grandparents.

One of those pieces was this grandfather clock.