My Favorite So Far...

I scored this beautiful buffet at one of those crackdealin' looking junk stores. They had it on the side of the road with two prices on it - one for finance, one for cash. I made the transaction. It was quick. Easy. Like taking candy from a baby (who coined that phrase anyway?? Taking candy from a baby is not easy...)

I sanded and stained the top, and used my beloved chalk paint for the bottom (I'm going to sing an 'ode to chalk paint' song one day...and buy stock in it). It is truly one of my favorites so far.



SOLD!

Beauty in the details! Ready for a finishing coat!

"Goin' With the Flo" Is OPEN!!!!!

Woo hoo!!!
* It didn't take as long as I thought it would.
* It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.
* It came together better than I thought it would....and....
* It was JUST as much fun as I thought it could be.

Opened today for the first time at Winnie & Tulula's in Athens, Texas, "Goin' with the Flo" echoes the sentiment of "Beauty in ALL Things" with its thoughtfully refurbished furniture, distressed finishes, and funky what nots. And it's not just restoration for the eyes...it's for the soul. Each purchase helps fund local mission trips - because God's Plan IS better.

Yea!!! I think I need to open a bottle of something bubbly!

Before & After Dresser

After all that's happened in the past two days - two rounds of TAKS testing for my students, tornado warnings the past two nights, water pipe busting causing damage to my floors and carpets, and the grand opening of "Goin' with the Flo" 's booth tomorrow.....I should be curled up in a ball, crying "I give! I give!" . MERCY! It's been a whirlwind couple of days....

Fortunately, thanks to my hubs (who has taken over many duties) and Anne Sloan's chalk paint (YES...it IS as good as reviews say!) and my God who seems to have refreshed me every morning somehow, I think I am ready.

This dresser is ready!
Before....

SOLD!

After....Chalk Paint in "Old Ochre"
I love it when I can use the original hardware....

Super Distressed....

My sister is driving in to help me "fuss up" the booth....
I'm so glad.

Tomorrow's the Big Day....AND

Disaster Strikes Our House.

If any of you know me, you know we just got through remodeling our house. Well, lo and behold, here we go again! Water pipe busted.....on my wood floors. In my girl's bedroom. Can I scream, please?

And it was my birthday. Hello 34! What a way to bring it in. Needless to say, it's contained now. Homeowner insurance has been called. Plumber's coming. In a few short weeks, things should be back to normal, but still, talk about the worst timing ever.....

I am right in the middle of this - trying out my new chalk paint! I have one day. ONE DAY left to get these things finished, distressed, and waxed. I'm stressin' a wee bit......just a wee.

But I move into W&T's tomorrow! Wish me luck!!

Thinking About My Girls....

This past Sunday, I took a break from painting and stood still for a day. I watched my little girls....two and six.....hunt eggs in sweet dresses. Wind blowing.....shrieks from Sophie saying, "I found it!" Wondering when Grace will decide she's too old to hunt eggs (she already found out who the "real" tooth fairy is....by accident).

And tonight, my hubs and I sat back and discussed our lives. In brutal honesty, I'll just say, we examined it and figured by all the world's standards, we are not very accomplished. We are both teachers. Our bank account empties pretty quick each month. I just had to "undo" something I said I would "do" because of my lack of time and commmitment (I hate disappointing people). We haven't yet "saved the world" like you imagine you would by the time you are thirty. Let me just say, the words "we suck rotten eggs" came out from my mouth a time or two.....I know, fabulous vocabulary.

It's funny how sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees. My hubs quickly reminded me in the middle of my pity party that in all the things that do matter, we "don't suck rotten eggs". We love each other. Our children are pretty decent kiddos. We create. We dream. We hope.

It's hard to examine your life. But in my "rotten egg" moment, I have to look at these pictures and remind myself what really matters. These girls. Our marriage. God's greatness showing through.......the good stuff.

Finished Pieces....

SOLD

I love improvement. This little nightstand was a sight for sore eyes...now, it's a dainty beauty! This swivel chair was that golden oak color......after drybrushing (actually, my technique is now called "dry swatting".... I'll tell ya about it one day!) with several different shades,

I am in love, love with the patina.

Golden Oak No More~

For sale $29

My Sister and I Played with Different Arrangements.... Trays - SOLD

Wire basket - SOLD

twin bedskirt - SOLD

Grouped Some Pretty Items....



....and set up a little photo shoot. I'm thinking I'm ready (almost) for the Grand Opening!

Getting Nervous....

Just five short days until "Goin' With the Flo" opens her booth doors at Winnie & Tulula's ~ Needless to say, I'm getting hives. Not really, but I could. Thoughts like "Do I have enough stuff?" "Will people like the 'stuff'?" "Is this just absolutely ridiculous?...I mean, I DO have a full-time job already!" have been running through my mind.

I've been busy, busy painting at night.....like this pretty little nightstand above.....

She's "gettin' her hair did" at Flo's place right now.
She'll be a pretty little thang shortly!
I've been scourin' the junk markets lookin' for junk. Cute junk, that is....

More Cute Junk....


And I've been filling up hub's truckbed on a weekly basis.
He's the cutest delivery guy I know!

T Minus 5 days......but more importantly
Happy Easter! We serve a risen Savior!

EEEEEEEEkkkkkkkk!!!!!

Okay. I just had to get that out.
I'm a little more than excited.

Miss Mustard Seed (the refurb furniture GURU of blogger world) just featured my redo in her latest post! Can I get a woo hoo, anyone? Anyone??

: ) Well, it might just be me that's gettin' jiggy with it (I totally just dated myself), but that's okay. I like doing jigs.

(Thanks MMS, btw, you made my day!)

It Hit Me....

After receiving an email from our Uganda trip's team leader letting us know it's "less than 100 days until we're Uganda bound", I started to get nervous. I haven't renewed my passport! I haven't gotten my shots! I haven't raised enough $! I haven't (fill in the blank)! Luckily, it's one week before TAKS testing, so it wasn't hard to take an afternoon off to get some of it crossed off my list. (And if you didn't hear the total sarcasm in that then you need to get your "eyes" fixed). Passport renewed (check). Hep A&B shots (check). I feel a little better now.

I'm already getting sad about missing this little powdered sugar face

Uganda has been instrumental in so many things already. I can't help but know that God placed it on my heart for a reason. One being the smallest of all - it helped start this passion of mine. I was brainstorming ways to fund the trip, and low and behold, one painted buffet later......a business formed. But two - it helped me realize what God's call actually felt like. I never heard Him say, "GO FLO" in so many words. But also, He never let me be at peace, in my heart, until I finally committed. I wavered for months.......not wanting to give up my time with my girls.....my summer......but I couldn't rest until I said yes.

On a totally unrelated note: I scored this rug while junkin' the other day. It was a STEAL! And, of course, fits perfectly in my house. Can I keep it?!? Please?
No.
It'll be for sale in my booth next week.
(Sigh.)

A Name? Uhhhh....

Here's a peek at a side table I worked on a little yesterday. Two washes - white and dark brown. Wax top coat coming..... Can you believe someone was selling this in a yard sale?
How dare. (Good for me though!)
My hang tags finally arrived! I think they are....okay. I definitely have an image of more creamy whiteness with swirly font on organic paper.......My hubs has been working on a custom "logo" ......but I needed something quick and these will do. I find it funny that when I was in the 8th grade "Goin' with the Flo" was the slogan I used to run for VP of our student council....and here it is again.....two decades later. It honestly wasn't the first choice for the name of this endeavor - I had so many other competitors for the title "F&B Road"......"Oscar & Mabel" (funny story behind that)......."It's So Very Cherry" (just kiddin...!)

BUT. When the time came to make a name, well, really I had about two seconds to decide on a name when the owner of W&T's said, "What will be the name of your booth?". In that two seconds, I decided to literally Go With the Flo. Go with what has worked. My blog's been named that for several years...so just go with it. Ironic.

I'm all giddy.