Frenchy Part Deux

My last post was about a set of French Provincial furniture I purchased and sold. Prior to those pieces being finished I got a call from my sister-in-law asking me if I wanted a dresser her dad was getting rid of. My friends and family always know where to go to get rid of their junk. I of course said sure and arranged to go pick it up from her parent's house. This is what was waiting for me:

Now the last piece I did was a better made piece. This one is in fantastic condition, but it wasn't as well made. It was also bigger. Let me tell you if I was in the market for a new television right now I would be keeping this baby as a media console. However, I am not in the market so this is on the market. As I type this I am also answering texts from someone who wants to come see it.

Since the first piece sold so quickly I decided to paint this with Annie Sloan Paris Grey and Old White as well.

 I painted the entire thing grey first. I decided to keep the top wood. I didn't mess with the finish because I am not sure if it is real wood under that lacquer. I will be giving the buyer the option of having the top painted or left as is. The top is really in perfect condition.

I went back over some of the details with Old White to accent them.

I didn't paint the inside because I was being lazy and because it really didn't need it.

I advertised this piece as a media console, buffet, credenza, changing table and dresser. I like furniture that can be used for different purposes. Some people don't think the same way and need a little nudging. This piece would look great being a couch as a credenza or in a dinning room as a buffet. It would also be a perfect media console. Look at the storage!
I did not waxed this piece when I listed it on Craigslist because I have determined that some people aren't fans of dark wax and once it is on you can't go back. I like to keep the options open for people.
It sold in a day. The new owners came out and took a look. They decided to go with a clear wax and to keep the top wood. They also wanted to pick it up themselves. I was stoked about this because it mean I didn't have to load it and unload it. I have been making a lot of trips to the other side of the Portland Metro (not that I am complaining).
I had my driveway clear for exactly 24 hours. My neighbors were happy, but then I got a message on Facebook. Did I want a dresser and desk? Uhhhh, of course!

Sitting Pretty

I have written about my chair collection before. It is getting smaller, but is a long way from being gone. This chair has been holding a box of records in the garage for about six months.

I sold five chairs that matched it (without arms) back in January. I thought about revamping them all, but decided to get rid of them to free up some storage space. Also, I began to realize that the average chair would take me 45 minutes to complete, cost $5 (materials, etc.)  and I could only get maybe $25 per chair. This isn't the best return on investment if you ask me. I knew I could get more for a chair with arms.

This one was pretty straight foward. I sanded a bit so the paint would adhere, painted it with Miss Mustardseed's Graphite milk paint and top coated it with Annie Sloan soft wax. The seat was covered in a great Frenchy scripty fabric I picked up for next to nothing. It was a great one night project.

I actually sold this chair prior to finishing it. I posted another piece on Facebook and it happened to be in the picture. One of my friends bought it before it was even finished! I had a crazy weekend and forgot to snap a photo, but never fear my friend is a photographer.

A picture like this points out my need to take some photography lessons. She does wonderful work. You can check her out at: http://www.kimberlyorthphotography.com/. 

My entire Saturday centered around baseball games, but the weather had something else in mind. I am going to go ahead and start working on some projects!

Traegerized Chili Egg Bake

I have a 3000 square foot house with ONE 24-inch oven. Who designs a house that large with a 24-inch oven? Well someone in 1963 did. Ugh.

The night before Easter I prepared all of my dishes. I am the kind of entertainer who gets everything ready in advance so I can relax for the actual event. On our menu for Easter Brunch was Creme Brule French toast,  a Chili Egg Bake, fruit and bacon. I Traegered the bacon the day before and got the rest of the dishes ready that night.
Easter morning I turned on the oven and began to put the dishes in and realized there was no way all four casserole dishes were going to fit in the oven. What was I going to do?
My Traeger. Would it work? Maybe. I took the chance.

Here is the finished product. It came out perfect. In fact, the egg bake I put in my oven had to be left in the oven longer because it just wasn't baking fast enough.
I was concerned that the eggs may be a bit too smokey for some of my guests, but everyone agreed it was good. It must have been because the egg bake I put in the oven was almost untouched (thus my lunch for the next three days).
I usually put only a few of my dishes onto the Traeger because I worry about the possibility of smoke damage, but my Emile Henry did just fine.

Here is the recipe so you can try it yourself.


Good luck.

Green Chili Bake
Heat oven or Traeger to 350
12 eggs (beat)
1/4 cup melted butter
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Stir in:
4 cups grated cheese (I used cheddar, but you can use one of preference)
3 cups cottage cheese
2 4 ounce cans chopped green chiles
Place in greased 9x13 baking dish for 35-40 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

I was given this recipe by a co-worker, Mrs. Bailey

Glorious Find....HELP

It was Spring Break and I had a little extra time on my hands. I picked up the Ipad and began looking at the free stuff on Craigslist. Someone had posted a grainy picture of a "hutch". It was free. I messaged them thinking it was probably gone.
Fifteen minutes later my phone rang. If I wanted the hutch I could come get it now. As in right now. I told Mr.Dickey he had a job to do and the two of us jumped into the truck and headed to the other end of the Portland area suburbs. He wasn't happy.

We arrived at the address and saw this:

I nearly died. It was beautiful. The wavy glass; the details. My hear stopped beating for a second. The man getting rid of it had stored it in his garage and had planned to do something with it, but never got around to it. They were moving and he didn't want to haul it up to Seattle with him. It did have some damage which is why it was free.

I can fix most of this.

The inside opens up and the drawer pulls out to reveal a little secretary style desk. It also locks. In fact, the entire case locks. He even had TWO keys to go with it. Does it get any better than that?

I will be honest. I want to keep this piece. Part of me looks at it and says I don't even want to paint it. I just want to polish it up and do a little repair and keep it as it is. I think this piece is a good example of my style. It has my name all over it. However, I don't know where I would put it. It is pretty big. I have a few places I could eventually put it, but not at this moment. I have some thinking to do.

In the meantime, I was hoping people could come up with some ideas to help me decide what to do. Would you paint it? Paint part of it? Some things to consider: It is solid wood in some areas, but veneer over solid wood in others. The glass won't come out without a fight so each pane would have to be individually taped. The glass also makes it a little difficult to see what is inside. Also, if I did fix it up how much should I ask for it? China cabinets are a dime a dozen on Craigslist. Some are free and other people are asking over $1000 for them. I am not sure if they are selling for that much, but what would a good price be for this? Would it sell? Decisions, decisions, decisions. Help me.

*I posted a question on Ask Experts about the value of this and one response says it is worth at least $1000. I told Mr.Dickey this and he said, "Well don't paint it and keep it." I think I have made a decision.

Opening Day

I used to hate baseball. I'm not going to lie I grew up in a baseball/softball family and I was the lone non-jock. I grew to resent the game because it meant nights without dinner and weekends alone (in high school this became a good thing).
Now, I admit to getting giddy at the first sight of baseball players on a field. I buy baseball t-shirts to support my son's team (Go Angels!) and even bought this awesome bracelet to wear to games:

It is available at: https://www.etsy.com/shop/CrazyGirlBoutique?ref=seller_info.


Last year I started the tradition of decorating our front window for Opening Day. I kept up the tradition this year:

 This grass is only one week old. It grew so fast!

 It is really difficult for me to get a good picture of this window because of the glare on the window.

I have sold MANY baseball wreaths and have almost depleted my supply of baseballs. I am on the hunt for more. Let me know if you want to get rid of some.
The season officially starts this weekend, but we played a scrimmage last Saturday. It was  77 degrees and was delightful! I am excited for the season to start. We won't eat dinner until after 8:00, we will be at the fields all of the time and our weekends are devoted to baseball. I am keeping score for my son's team again this year and because he is now moving up to Majors I have to step up my game too. Wow, things have really changed.

Biting A French Bullet

A few weeks ago I picked up a French Provincial dresser and night stand. Some of these pieces have a fake plastic-type top, but these babies were solid wood. They were made by Drexel and were in great condition. I see how much these generally sell for unpainted on Craigslist and knew I could make a profit off of them for what I paid.
As my readers know I am CHEAP. Yep I hate to pay for things I can get for free or I can get for less. This is why I created my own version of chalk paint. The $38 a quart price tag is a lot of money in my book. However, I wanted to pull a bigger than usual profit from these pieces and decided to bite the French Bullet...or is it the English Bullet? Maybe both.
Camas Antiques (http://camasantiques.blogspot.com/) was having their birthday bash and was giving away a darling little necklace to the first 50 customers painted with....you guessed it Annie Sloan. To help celebrate they were offering Annie Sloan at 10% off. I had a lovely chat with Amanda from One Girl in Pink (http://onegirlinpink.blogspot.com/) . I ended up leaving with a quart of Paris Grey and Old White. 
I finally got around to painting the set over Spring Break. I finished painting the pieces and then ran out of wax. It was after five and I had to throw the towel in for the day. The next day I ran back up to Camas (a 20+ minute drive) and got some more wax. I finished the dresser and listed it on Craigslist. Twenty minutes later both pieces sold. I guess it was worth it. 

 Isn't the basket precious? I picked it up at Salvation Army for a song. It seemed to me like a bassinet of sorts. I researched it and it is indeed a bassinet from Europe. They sell for a pretty hefty price. I LOVE it and don't think I can part with it.

 Here is a view of the matching nightstand. I gave the buyer the option to add dark wax to age it, but they wanted it with the soft wax only.

I was happy it sold so fast because I picked up this baby and had both sitting in my driveway (thank goodness for our huge overhangs).

My sister-in-law'sSIL's dad loaded it for me. Yippee!