Manifesto

Traci's manifesto. Huh. After reading this post over at one of my all time favorite blogs Miss Mustard Seed I was inspired... to say the least.  She throws down a really intriguing challenge, a really scary one at that.  To actually write down what I really truly want out of my life right now would mean admitting that there need to be changes.  What would Traci's manifesto say?  It makes me nervous to even think about life's possibilities. So, in an effort to grow some balls and have my very own Jerry Maguire moment here it goes:

The truth is, in the past year I have made huge, GIANT leaps in the direction I had always hoped life would go.  I have stepped out from behind a desk and jumped in with both feet to a creative world that I love.  The challenge... priorities.  In the past I didn't like my job so it was so easy to put God and my family first.  I always see quotes on Pinterest saying if you want to know where your heart lies then see where your mind goes when it wanders.  While some of the time it wanders to God, Luci, and Kyle, more often then not it wanders to my shop.  What needs to get done, what is my next project, HOW many chairs are accumulating in my garage?!  If I am being perfectly honest with myself my mind seems to be wandering away from what is most important.  Is this a bad thing? Is it so bad that I am passionate about what I am doing?  Am I an uncaring mother or wife that some days I just want Luci to go to bed so I can actually get something done?  Writing it down actually makes it sound bad.  Where does passion cross the line?  I genuinely believe that having a mom who enjoys what she does and can pass that passion along is an amazing asset.

If I had exactly what I wanted then I would probably still find something to complain about.  So I guess what I really want is to cherish each moment. Luci will only be this age for a short time.  No matter what our  life looks like at each stage I want to live in that moment.  I want to have the time to play without checking my watch, to sit on the couch with my husband and not be distracted by work.  I want to pray with the sole intension of getting closer to my heavenly father.  I want to create pretty things because that is the talent and passion God has given me, but I want to do so in a way that honors Him and my family.  Balance.  I want balance.  I genuinely believe I will find that balance, and in the mean time, while I am striving to find it, I will cherish each moment.  I will work hard.  Sometimes I will get overwhelmed but when those times come I will remember all the wonderful things I have in my life and I will be thankful.

I will continue to strive for this "perfect" life I have imagined.  A clean house, a hot meal on the stove, a giggling little girl, a perfectly arranged shop, a husband who is not stressed, an abundance of time to create and be creative, silent times with just me and God.  As I look at that last sentence I realize... what fun would a perfect life be anyway?  It is in the unexpected moments that I find the most joy.  It is in the hard times that God reveals the most important lessons.

Well, there you have it.  My rambling manifesto.  Writing it down was really scary, sharing it with you all even scarier.  Scary as it may be it was also freeing.  I am not perfect, I do struggle, but in the end I love my life and I am having fun making mistakes.  I challenge you all to do the same.  Really think about what you want, and then write it down.  And if you are feeling really brave share it with someone. 

Tangerine Bliss

Do you guys remember my thrifting adventure?  I got a sweet stash of crap and my crowning glory was this orange couch... or lounge... or whatever.  My sister actually found it first and when she saw a lady getting close to it she ran over and sat on it.  Hahahaha now that I write that down it sounds really funny.  I am surprised she didn't yell "DIBBS" on her way.  

Well, anyway, the cushions were in GREAT condition.  They just needed a little clean up and they were good to go.  The caning was fully in tact which I never find.  For some reason every time I find a sweet chair the caning is always a disaster.  The only issue: I HATED the wood color.

Luckily this was an easy fix.  Just a little tape job, paint job and bam... this already fabulous lounge became this:

Ok, I am aware that not everyone is going to DIE over the orange fabric like I do but I am ok with that. This lounge rocks my socks off!

Happy Monday everyone:)

http://www.allthingslucirae.blogspot.com/2012/05/tangerine-bliss.html

Chicken Wire!!!

I have seen these memo boards around but I thought I would share my version... why not.

All you need is a small roll of chicken wire (you can get it at Home Depot for super cheap),

An old frame (I got mine at The Goodwill for $5 and painted it Ballerina Pink!),

A staple gun and wire cutters.  That's it:)

Just staple the chicken wire to the back of the frame, use your wire cutters to remove the excess and viola!

I actually use this one to display all of my earrings at the shop but it can be used to display photos, memos, whatever you feel like.

Clothes pins look so cute holding them on there!

Plus my little girl's feet and niece's birth announcement deserve a cute place to be displayed!  

Hope you all have a very happy Weekend!

Luci's Very Own Mermaid

Have I ever told you that I am friends with a mermaid?  No, I haven't been drinking... much... 

No joke yo, I seriously know a mermaid... and in my daughter's eyes that is WAY better then knowing Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, AND Johnny Depp.

Meet Lauren, my very own mermaid:)  

Ok, she's not mine, but she is a friend of mine and we took Luci and Stella to go see her last weekend at the Denver Aquarium.

  Luci loves fish, and she had never seen a mermaid (in real life or on TV).  Well, let me tell you, she fell in LOVE.  I mean, she was absolutely mesmerized by their performance.  I have never seen her so into anything!  After the show we looked around at all of the cool fish:

And then it was time for the meet and greet.  We went and met all three of the mermaids and Luci was in HEAVEN!  At first she was a little timid and made me sit with her but after a few minutes we couldn't get her out of the seat.

She didn't want to let the other kids sit with them.  Those were HER mermaids!

Unfortunately Lauren will be hanging up her fins and heading to nursing school so I am glad we got to see her before she quit her mermaiding career.  

I guess that means there will be an opening for a mermaid position at the Aquarium... tempting but my boobs just aren't big enough to fill those bikinis!  

CORAL!!!!

I am pretty much obsessed with coral lately.  If coral was a man... my hubby would totally be jealous.  

My mom and I found this desk on one of our MANY thrifting adventures a month or so ago.  And in true Traci fashion, it sat in my garage collecting dust while I "thought" it over.  Then, the other week I randomly bought a can of coral paint while I was at Sherwin Williams without really knowing how I was going to use it.  (I'm guessing you can see where this story is headed.)

When my SWEET bench sold at the store I realized I had to hurry up and replace it.  Since I didn't have anything ready to go I decided it was time for this desk to get it's new life.  I dragged it out, wiped it down and got to work.  

Before:

After:

The original plan was to do a really really light blue.  Almost white.  It would have been really pretty but I am so glad I went with the coral!  This desk makes me want to put it in my guest room and redo the entire room around it!  Unfortunately the hubby reminded me that I had a space to fill at the shop so I will not be keeping this beauty... I guess I can always do it again down the road:(  I hate it when he is the voice of reason.

Happy Bloggyversary

In celebration of my 1 year bloggyversary I decided to take you all back to where it all began.  Yep, my very first post.  Isn't it kind of funny to look back and see where you were a year ago.  That's part of the reason blogging is so fun for me!  No judgement please:)


This is what I wrote, one year ago today:


I caved to my own obsessions!

Ok ok, I finally caved.  I have been an avid (and by avid I mean obsessive) blog reader for about a year now.  I religiously follow about 15 blogs, which leads to minimal productivity on some of those slow days at work:)  My mind won't seem to turn off, so I figured this would be a great outlet for me to share with... whomever feels like reading... the life that now revolves around one little miss LuciRae.  For those of you that know me you can skip this next paragraph but here is just a little bit to get me started.

I am married to the most fantastic man in the world.

Cute right!

I am a new mommy (Luci is 7 months old now!!!)

Cute right :)!!

If you asked me my job title I would have to tell you that I am currently an insurance agent... but this job so does not seem to be the fit for me.  I am actually pretty good at it but my real passions revolve around my God, my family, and creating.  I LOVE garage sales, thrift shops, antiques stores... heck I have even been known to steal chairs from people's trash.  Basically if it looks like it needs some "love" I will probably take it home and try to give it the "love" it deserves.

In this blog I would love to share with you all the happenings in our lives (especially for those of you I don't get to see as often as I would like).  Keeping you posted on the awesomeness that is our lives.
I will also be keeping you posted on the latest and greatest "projects" that I am giving "love" to.  Here is just one example of this...

My mom found this beauty at an estate sale... I did not take a before picture but I absolutely LOVE the after.

Well, that's all for now... I will keep you posted:)

So there you have it... My life in retrospect.  For those of you who aren't caught up on my latest happenings let me fill you in:

I am no longer an insurance agent ( THANK GOD!)  I actually started my own furniture/home decor store called The Dented Lampshade.  I quit my job in insurance and started working part time with an estate sale company.  This little girl doesn't see the backside of a desk unless she's painting it!

As for little miss Luci Rae she is a walking, or should I say running, talking, pooping in the bathtub toddler now.  So needless to say my life is a little more active then it used to be, but that's the way I like it!

And that fantastic husband of mine... he is still cute as can be, and so supportive of my crazy lifestyle.  Gotta love that man of mine.  Oh, and did I mention he is handy too:)

Well, happy Friday everyone.  Thanks for taking this little trip down memory lane with me

Rocky Rocky

I thrifted this little beauty with my sis and mom last week.  I pretty much fell in love instantly.  Shena and I spotted it immediately.  I practically ran to it and hugged it.  The yellow paint was so cute and chippy.  The only issue was the dingy fabric.  I actually liked the original fabric but it was really gross so it had to go.  

After a good scrub down and some pretty new fabric, aka, old curtains, this little guy shined up SO CUTE!  I mean, I didn't even have to paint it:)

Originally I wanted to keep it, but my monkey of a 19 month old took a head dive off of it leaving a big old goose egg on her forehead.  At that point I decided it would be better off in a home with an older... slightly less top heavy kiddo.  Not that she won't find something else to climb up on.  I basically would have to live in a completely padded house to keep that kid out of trouble.  I guess that would classify as an insane asylum so really that would be fitting in our house.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Mullets Rock

My baby has... or should I say HAD a mullet.  I am not proud of this, however, it was the cutest darn mullet I had ever seen.  My mom convinced me that it was time for her first hair cut... and this is how it went:

It was basically a circus trying to get her to sit still.  I was blowing bubbles, my mom was singing songs, Shena was dancing in the background with Stella and we had Mickey on the T.V.  

Dance monkey, dance.  

She looks very cute with or without a mullet in my opinion:)

I guess we can check "first haircut" off our list of things to do.  My little girl is growing up:(

Thrifting Queen

Check out my new stash!  Ok, I may not be the queen of thrifting yet, but I think this last trip at least gets me duchess or princess status or something.  

This rocking chair is absolutely adorable.  The chippy yellow paint is perfect.  I will just change out the seat fabric and it will be ready to go. 

This coral polkadot dress is so vintage chic!  I feel like I should wear it to a derby party or something... with pearls.

I know the sled is a little off season but it was way to cool to pass up.  I figure I can hold on to it for Christmas.

The cherry on top of all of this junk is this beauty!  I can't wait to paint it white and clean up the cushions.  It is FABULOUS!

Guess how much I paid for this chair... go ahead and guess.

$1.99!  It is so cute with the chippy white paint.  It is solid as a rock too.  SCORE!

Oh, and this little scarf and hat made me happy.  Who doesn't need a hot pink sun hat right?  

The ARC by my house is probably the best thrift store EVER.  I never walk out empty handed or disappointed.  So that's it for the latest episode of my thrifting adventures.