Refurbished Buffet Table

Another rainy day project that just took a weekend from start to finish.   The buffet below was a thrift store find for only $35.00.  It was very dark mahogany in need of a facelift to fit into my Country French collection of furniture.  I stated, as usual, cleaning the entire buffet with mineral spirits to take off any grease, dirt, or grime.  That is the beauty of chalk paint as that's the only preparation you need. 

Step 1  I used crackle paint by Annie Sloan and painted the entire piece.  Let it completely dry.  Normally you put crackle paint on top of your first coat of paint to show that color thru the second coat of paint; however, I wanted the wood to show thru the layer of paint so doing the crackle first was an experiment and it worked to achieve the result I was looking for.  Crackling techniques 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBuvy4RfN0M

Step 2  I put Annie Sloan Duck egg blue, Paris Gray and French Linen, and olive on a paper plate(do not mix)  I put my brush in all three colors at once and began painting.  This creates a mixture of colors.  I let this dry completely.  As it began to dry, it crackled and the wood showed thru which created a very distressed look.

Step 3  I painted the sides and bottom of the buffet with the same procedure as step two only using Country Gray and Old World.  They crackled as well.   All by Annie Sloan.

Step 4  I used a technique called Frottage only on the drawers. I painted the olive on the dresser drawers and while it was still wet, I crumpled a brown paper bag good and tight and unfolded it and just gently worked it into the wet paint.  It creates a look like a drawing on your paint.  Dry completely.

Step 5  I always mix dark wax with white wax.  The reason behind: you can always make your wax darker but it is much more difficult to go lighter.  I put the wax on with a good wax brush and then buff it to a nice finish.  I cut my husband's old white tee shirts to use as my polish cloth. You can also use just Johnson and Johnson wax; however, it will not achieve that distressed look.   This sets everything.  Add a coat of varnish if you wish for added protection.  I find Gator Hide by Dixie Belle to be an excellent product and if I do not want the look of waxing to create an old look, I just finish with the gator Hide.  

https://www.blueskydesignsupply.com/how-to-frottage-with-chalk-paint/

If you have any questions, please comment below, as I have a lot of tips and short cuts for you.

To Thine Own Self Be True

When it comes to living as a compassionate non-judgemental human being, the only challenge greater than learning to walk a mile in someone else's shoes is learning to walk comfortably in your own.

"The most confused we get is when we try to convince our heads of something we know in our hearts to be a lie." ~Karen Morning.  There have been many times in my own life when I felt as though people didn't know or understand me.  How could they, when I didn't even know myself.  Some years ago I began searching for my authentic self by peeling away layers of years of conditioning about being told who I should be  These layers can be pretty heavy and sometimes we don't even realize they are there.  We just get used to the status quo.  We know we feel off, something doesn't feel right, in fact, it feels just plain wrong.  When I began the process of searching for "the real me," it required stripping layer after layer looking for and trying to understand why I had the feeling I did about my own self-worth.   I was the oldest of three in my family and was taught that it was most important for me to always set the example for my siblings.  I am certain that many of you remember phrases such as you are to be seen and not heard, don't make any waves, do as you are told, and we all remember this one, stop crying or I will give you something to cry about.  Then, to make things worse, we were always being compared to others.  I often herd "your father is an officer in the United States Army, and your actions are a reflection on us."  This actually proved to be true when my father was being considered for the job of Military Attache to Paraguay, and the FBI paid a visit to my High School to ensure I was of good character and not a trouble maker.  I am proud to say, I passed the test.  This was my family belief system and while it was not wrong, it turned me into a tried and true people pleaser constantly feeling paralyzed about what choices to make, and all I knew was they must always be the right choice.

Having to feel that I always needed to portray a perfect image on the outside was beginning to make me feel very disingenuous so I decided it was time for me to work at changing my target of behavior.  In doing so, I decided to become a fly on the wall and began observing myself objectively.  What I saw was that I wasn't being honest about what I thought, wanted, or needed.  I needed to make space in my life to connect with myself so I started journaling, asking myself tough questions, and being honest with the answers.  Now I have become a life long student of constantly learning how to be my Authentic Self.  What does that really mean?  It simply means being my best self and not a poor imitation of someone else.  I began my journey by not worrying about what others thought I should be (that was an extremely difficult habit to break), instead I concentrated on who I wanted to be.  No one can tell you how to be true to yourself except you.

Next week I will give you a glimpse of how I began to recognize that I was finally beginning to Live My Authentic Life.  

~Live Well and Prosper

Chocolate Chip Cake

Chocolate isn't chocolatey enough to describe this serious delightfully rich chocolate cake.  The good news is, this decadent cake starts with the simplicity of a chocolate cake mix and then rich ingredients such as chocolate pudding, sour cream along with a large package of chocolate chips get added.  All this gets topped with the heavenly happiness of a rich chocolate buttercream frosting.  Now, Let's get this party started.

CHOCOLATE CHIP CAKE

1 chocolate cake box mix of your choice

1 tsp. baking powder

1 small package of chocolate instant pudding (I used Godiva)

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream (do not use non-fat)

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup milk

1  (11.5 oz.) bag of chocolate chips

Mix all the ingredients together, except the chocolate chips, until well combined.  Put 1/2 of the batter into a greased 13x9x2 inch pan.  Sprinkle 1/2 package of the chocolate chips over the batter.  On top of the chocolate chips, pour the remainder of the batter with the rest of the chocolate chips on top.

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Let cool for about 30 minutes and frost.

CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

1 cup of unsalted butter brought to room temperature

3 and 1/2 cup of confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened Godiva cocoa mix

3 Tbs. heavy cream or milk

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

~Bon Appetit

Embrace Diversity in our Communities

Together we can build strong communities when we embrace diversity and accept one another.  We live with billions of people on this earth, and there is so much we could learn from one another if we were to just try.  With the right attitude and good social skills, we can get along with just about anybody.  Of course, not everyone is going to be your best friend but we can still learn to respect others.  We don't need everyone to be an exact carbon of one another, we should instead celebrate how different we are. We need to stop being judgemental and realize everyone is unique in their own way, even those in your own families.

  

Let's think about our neighborhoods.  We could learn so much by getting out there and meeting our neighbors, learning about their culture, and history. People want to travel the world to gain insight into other cultures as well as different foods when we could stay home and learn so much if we would open our minds to something different. We have stopped spreading love in our own cities when someone is a different color, race, or religion than we are.  Do we take the time to get to know that person or do we just ignore them because they appear different?  Do we ignore those people when we travel to their countries?  Of course not, so why do we do it here?  We need to start being more understanding of our differences and spread the love for one another that could make this world whole again.  

Try to see our neighborhoods in color, rather than through rose-colored glasses that tend to cause a hundred different shades of gray and treat others as you wish to be treated.