The Lavender Tub For Sale

As difficult as this is to share.......

Sob, Sniff, Sniff, Boo-Hoo, Blubber......

All Out Ugly Cry.....

the lavender tub will soon be for sale!

Not my blog, 

but the actual lavender tub and the home that goes with it. 

In the past I alluded to something coming up in July.  Well, as life goes.......that didn't quite happen.  Some changes took place in regard to my kids' schooling, and we had to delay our plans. However,  Edward recently had an MRI because he has been having a great deal of back pain, and we learned that he has 3 compressed discs.   The 110 mile roundtrip that Edward makes to work each day is aggravating those discs - and so we 

need to move.  Happily, it is in the direction of this little sweet pea, and we will likely be within 15 minutes of her and her parents.  I'm so glad for that because I really like this old, lavender tub house, and it is sad to think of leaving.  However, having Edward feel better and living close to my babies will be worth it.

I took this of her today.  

Edward and I had her while her parents climbed around on an oil rig.  

My son-in-law builds them, and this was take-your-wife-to-work day.

The reason I've been so scarce the past few months is because I've been knee deep in projects to get ready for the sale - well, that and just normal, busy life.  We still have a little ways to go, but I'm super excited to start showing you some of the things we've been working on.  If you like to look at neat, old houses - I hope you will enjoy this phase of 

The Lavender Tub.

So.......that's the news from Lake Wobegon The Lavender Tub. Should you know of anyone wishing to re-locate to the quaint town of Shawnee, Oklahoma - please tell them about our lovely, older home.  It truly is a one-of-a-kind beauty, and I know they will enjoy it as much as we have.

Thanks for stopping by 

(do you mind if I just borrow your shoulder to cry on while you're here?),

Ellie

100,000 Views!

I know 100,000 total views is not a big deal for the big blogs out there, but it was pretty exciting for me when my little blog reached that point this week!

 To put 100,000 in perspective for myself, 

I came up with a few comparisons, like:

100,000 minutes equals almost 69 1/2 days.

100,000 pennies is $1,000.

100,000 feet is equal to almost 19 miles.

and perhaps my very favorite:

I would have to eat 526 1/3 of the above pictured candy bars to reach 100,000 calories!

So, in celebratory fashion, I decided to share a few facts about the author of this blog (me) since I've been rather private and have not shared much.  It will likely bore you to death - which is why I'm probably private about these things, but my friends might get a kick out of it.

I'm a pretty fair singer and even started my college career as a voice major.  Unfortunately, I lost my nerve after throat surgery some years ago and no longer sing in front of people.  However, when I find myself alone in the house, I grab my ipod, crank this song up really loud, and sing/air guitar to it

Today definitely feels like a day for dancing!

When I was in high school, I worked as a reporter for our local town newspaper.  During an election year I was covering the caucuses in Iowa and actually got to ride in a limo with Miss Lillian Carter, President Carter's mother, as she campaigned for his re-election.  She was a sweety.  (Now you all know how old I am - and, yes, that's a picture of Miss Lillian and not of me!)

My favorite book is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.  It is a page turner and I read all 480 pages in about 4 days.  I was so tired afterwards, but it was worth not sleeping for 3 nights.  If you haven't read this book, please try to find a copy.  

I'm also crazy about Jane Austen.  My all-time favorite movie kiss is in the 1995 version of Persuasion when Captain Wentworth kisses Anne after all those years.  So romantic!

One of my most embarrassing experiences was when I had my third child.  My water broke at 6:15 a.m. and I immediately went into hard labor.  We attempted to make it to our hospital which was 45 minutes from where we lived, but the labor and the iced up roads changed our game plan.  Instead, we went to our local community hospital and Edward wheeled me into the emergency room without asking anyone's permission.  At 7:03 a.m. (just 48 minutes later), I delivered a healthy baby boy!  Unfortunately, due to the excitement of a baby delivery right at the nursing shift change time, and uncertainty as to which EMS crew would take me to the originally intended hospital - there ended up being 25 or so people in the emergency room while the Dr. finished up with me.  In a town of only about 5,000 people - that was a pretty high percentage of individuals to see my not-so-public side, if you know what I mean!  I couldn't look people in the eye for weeks!

My baby boy a few years ago.

OK, enough about me.......what's something fun that most people don't know about you?  This is kind of like a blog slumber party, isn't it?

This celebration couldn't have happened without you, and I just want to say, "Thank you so much for visiting The Lavender Tub!"  I'm having so much fun with this blog, and I'm most grateful to you for stopping by.

XOXOXOXO

Ellie

Chalk Painted Filing Cabinet

Sooooo.......I finally bought chalk paint 

and thought I'd share my first project.

 I still have much experimenting to do 

 before I can form an opinion, 

so all I'm going to do in this post 

is share a few pictures.

The laminate wood cabinet before

The metal handles before

The handles with 2 coats of chalk paint only

The finished product after the wax was applied.

I know blogland is all over this stuff, but I thought I'd share a few projects since not all of my readers know about chalk paint.  Like I said - I'm still deciding what I think of it - but this project was pretty fun, not to mention how lovely it looks in my office.

Thanks for stopping by,

Ellie

Parties I Will Be Linking To:

Sunday - The Sunday Showcase Party at Under The Table and Dreaming, DIY Project Parade at The DIY Showoff   

Monday - Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Tuesday - Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife,  

Wednesday - Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, 

Thursday - Open House Party at No Minimalist Here,   Catch As Catch Can at My Repurposed Life

Friday - Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Weekend Wrap up Party at Tatertots and Jello  

 

Painted Cake Stand & Mixing Rub n Buff

I'm sure it's against the rules of collecting to paint certain things like silver, brass, or even fine wood.  The way I look at it, however, is if I only paid a few $'s at a yard sale, and I don't like the item as it is - then Let's Paint!  I doubt The Antiques Road Show is ever going to stop by my house - or  my blog for that matter - and tell me my $300,000 table is now worth only $60 because I painted it.  You neither?   Good, because here's the deal:

I had a brass cake stand that was quite pretty, but I didn't like it because the color was weird.  It looked like it should have been silver, but when you cleaned it up - it was more gold.  It just looked cheapy.  Plus, someone recently called to see if I had a white cake stand they could borrow - and, well, I didn't - but decided it might be very nice if I did.  So, what the heck - I painted the brass one, and it is so much more to my liking.

I probably should have used spray paint, but I'm testing the paint+primer from Ace Hardware on different items and thought this would be a great opportunity to try it on metal.  To read more about my thoughts on this paint, go here.

 I brush painted the cake stand with two coats of Navaho White

Rubbed the cake stand down with sealing wax

Then mixed together two colors of Rub-n-Buff to create a cooler shade of brown, and low-lighted the raised areas

I was trying to coordinate the cake stand with these plates.

The leopard print on top of the cake stand is a plastic circle I cut from a placemat from the $ store.  It is perfect to store muffins and cookies on, and makes easy clean-up of the cake stand.

I don't think I miss the brass at all.  

What have you painted that would make "the experts" gasp?

   I'd love to hear about your rebellious side.

Thanks for stopping by,

Ellie 

Parties I Will Be Linking To:

Sunday - The Sunday Showcase Party at Under The Table and Dreaming, DIY Project Parade at The DIY Showoff   

Monday - Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch

Tuesday - Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife,  

Wednesday - Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style, 

Thursday - Open House Party at No Minimalist Here,   Catch As Catch Can at My Repurposed Life

Friday - Furniture Feature Friday at Miss Mustard Seed, Feathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage, Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home, Weekend Wrap up Party at Tatertots and Jello