Accessories of travels and deflection....

This year has been a hard one on my little family.... James lost his dad less than a month ago and the punches just keep on rolling in since then... I have found it hard to get time to work on my house, both mini and big, and my grand plans with MJ have fallen through several times due to one thing or another... So when I got the chance to work in the studio today, I jumped on it, and a lot of things happened.

For starters, I got my HBS order the other day so I got to finish the sink first thing.

Love this "paint-it-yourself" clear stuff!

 I scratch built the sink out of odds and ends... the legs are shortened stair posts that I turned upside down... I saw this really great sink in a magazine and the image stuck with me... The legs were more of a round chunky, but hey, you work with what you have some times. :)

I forgot to cut the sink whole in my earnest to make the structure, so I had to do it after... what a pain!

I sanded the whole thing really well and then painted, and sanded and painted and sanded, and painted and sanded and then coated with Triple Thick.

And then I accessorized.  The bathroom...      .....remember to click on the pictures to make them bigger and see more!!!

Tall white vase from HBS, pink glass from HBS, minis in basket are from a swap...from Italy (I will remeber person eventually), fern from Jane S)

 It was so nice to put homeless minis in a home!

Too cute!

 I should have edited photos, but I'm tired and have a lot going on.... Tough.  ;)

Faucet set from HBS, glasses from HBS, toothbrush from random stock, soap dish from random stock

Somebody! Quick!  Shrink me for a bubble bath and wine!!!!

I love the table.  Love love love.  L. O. V. E.

Closer view of the scratch built table.

Vase is actually a pitcher that I took the handle off of.  Doily is from HBS and I dabbed some purple paint on it. :)

TA-DAAAAAAA!!!!  I want to live in this bathroom and it isn't even done yet.

 ...and the bedroom.....

Print outs from the interwebs, and the postcards are actually from Italy! Eeep!

Mardi gras masks from Jane, box from Italy, scooter from Italy, fan bottle from Dales Dreams, Dog from Monopoly. :D  Aussie flag from Jazzi!

Poster from Italy and perfume set from Dales Dreams

Lamp from Brae.  :)

PEA!  I found this at a garage sale!  Ornament score!!!

I love the wood stain on the doors in this room.  :)  And the froggy in the hallway.

 ...and the hallway....

I love how the house is coming together so far.  And how the attic is acting as my actual storage space.  HA!

 And while did this MJ was had at work on this:

Remember to go vote at about.com for the best miniature blog! MJ and I vote everyday.  :)

Wilderness, Florida Stlye

When someone talks about Florida to another person that has never been here, I am sure that said person thinks of a handful of things: Beaches (duh), Disney World and the likes (duh), Daytona, Spring Break, Miami, alligators and swamps.  But what they don't think of is the really great natural forests we have all over the place.  Gainesville has the bragging rights of having the thickest canopy in Florida, which is nice, because we certainly don't get the breezes that the rest of the state gets.  There are jokes about Florida being all sand on top of roots, and the sad thing really, is that it's no joke!  Throughout the city, there are several "Nature Parks" that have boardwalks, bike trails, picnic areas and more.  Each trail has informative signs about the plants and animals in the area and each trail is equipped with a dog doo-doo station!  HA!

One of these nature parks is right by my house and I can walk through it to my sons school, so we did just that yesterday...well, they were cleaning the boardwalk on the way TO school, so we took it on the way back, and of course, we had MJ with us.  She was amazed at even with the lack of rain so far this year (we have had some, but are about 8" below average) everything was really green.  And yesterday, we were also graced with a bluer than blue sky.

Here are some things that MJ saw on our nice walk through Hogtown Greenway and Loblolly Woods North.  :)

One of the boys had to give her a boost to see over the lowest railing!

Here is what she was looking at.  Palmettos.  Ick.  And a lot of sand!  

We made a friend!

So green.  Luscious and incredible.

MJ loved these flowers.  They were attracting butterflies.  :) Plus, they are purple.

Sitting down by the creek.

The kids play in another part of this creek in the summer.  We look for shells, sharks teeth and crawfish.

So greeeeeeeeeeen!!!!

I only included this one so you all could see just how green it is here.

Can you spot the butterfly?!

I hope to get a mini post up here in the next day or so. I got a bunch of stuff in the mail that I want to show you and I am dying to get some work done.  Life as a mom and wife of a business ownery type person, makes me quite busy!

On another note, MJ is so proud of Jazzi to be nominated for About.com's Readers Choice Award.  She is making campaign signs now.  Remember to go vote here, for there are many fabulous bloggers that are nominated along with Jazzi.

White Trim and Custom Furniture

Today, MJ and I worked on the bathroom in the ET.  Well, I worked on the bathroom.  MJ watched "Twilight" on repeat.  I think she has a thing for Edward.  :D  It could just be that she had a downer day.  It was dark, and gloomy, and it rained the whole day.  I don't know about you guys, but when the weather is nasty, I sorta just want to hibernate.

I cut baseboards out of 1/2" x 1/8" strip wood from my HBS haul.  I used 3/8" x 1/8" wood to make the trim on the wall and to frame the mirror.  I will also use it to make window frames.

All the trim got painted Snow White by Americana.

 Since the bathroom has a softer,stylish look, I went with a normal white toilet.  You just paint the inside of the acrylic and PRESTO!  I did leave the lid clear for now, until I decide what kind of lid to put on it...

 We custom built a side table to put flowers on and a bath tray.  What's a bubble bath in a deep tub without a glass of wine and good book?

Got a bit ahead of myself and forgot to leave an opening for the toilet.  OOPS!

I have plans for the new sink, too.  That pedestal sink isn't staying and the one I have in my head is a thing of beauty.  :)

It was a good day of work!

What day is today?

It's MJ and Jazzi's birthday!!!  Happy birthday, ladies!  We had a little bit of a party here at the house for MJ.  Charlie was upset and pouted on the floor.  She was so shocked when we surprised her after dinner!  A small-for-us-but-good-for-her size banner  in purple, cupcakes, gifts and party hats all around! It was a great end to our busy day.

Pardon our disheveled appearance.  Tired, hard working parents. :/

MJ spent this morning perusing through all my inventory in the craft room...she was avoiding the herd of 3 year old boys that came over to play today!  They can be loud, rough and messy!

After picking Cayce up from school, we went through some of the fabrics I have and made her a new dress and another outfit for later (she wore it to her party).

She gave up the idea of needing sensible shoes for work when she realized that I work barefoot... All. The. Time.  I love shoes. But I don't really like wearing them.

She also helped get some work done on the ET!  We made new shelves, stocked the book nook with goodies, wired up the light in there and then chose all the lights for the rest of the house.  It was hard work.

Depending on the weather after school tomorrow, we may go check out some good old Florida woods.  The flowers are blooming!


       HAPPY BIRTHDAY MJ AND JAZZI!!!!!