Befores & Afters

The weather was so utterly summer-perfect here
a few days ago

that I took advantage of it ~

(bright, sunny, good-hair days have that affect on me)

plunking peonies in all sorts of pitchers

all around the house...

and filling the rooms with their sweet scent.

I also completed some projects I had on the back burner for a while.

Remember that old potting bench that I took home from our lake house 

so that I could make use of her here at the farmhouse?

This is what the old girl looked like for many years.

Poor thing.

Dressed in a new coat of white paint,

she's gracing the gardens in the back yard

and happily living the farm life now!

She's feeling much younger and prettier now.

We placed her next to the kennel

where I can talk to Maizie while I'm potting and crafting.

Project #1 ~ Completed!

On to Project #2...

Remember that tri-fold door that I nabbed at the Allegan Flea Market last summer

when Debbie and her hubby came down for a weekend

and we seemingly stuffed the entire market into the back of my SUV?

(We swore we could hear the back bumper dragging all the way home...)

This is what the door looked like when I brought it home.
(Debbie bought the twin.)

Pretty....but the curtains didn't do much for me.
They had a strange, old, yellowy cast to them,

and someone had used a heavy hand with the
antiquing glaze on the doors.

This is what it looked like dressed for Christmas

after I spray painted it with "Heirloom White"

and removed the curtains.

 

{Boxwood wreaths:  Farmhouse Wares}

But it just needed.....something...
something more.

Erin first blogged about "rustifying" chicken wire

with spray paint.

(I think it was Erin.  Someone correct me if I'm wrong!)

She used Rustoleum Multi-Colored Texture spray paint

in 'Autumn Brown'.

I decided that I needed a little rusty goodness in the living room.

It was an easy project.

Well....sort of.

I measured the openings in the doors.

Cut the chicken wire,

and spray painted it.

(Ermmm....do you realize how hard it is to paint chicken wire?

Do you realize how much spray paint goes through the chicken wire?

Do you know that I now have really pretty rust-colored grass outside hubby's tool room?
Did you assume that I received more eye-rolling?
You'd be correct in that assumption.)

Anyway, after using three cans of paint,

I grunted and groaned and pulled and hauled those doors,

which are quite heavy and unwieldy I might add,

into the kitchen and laid them out on the floor.

{Yes, I would love to have wood floors in here because I don't like tile floors...}

Staple gun in hand,

I stapled away.

Then I grunted and groaned and pulled and hauled those doors

back into the living room

(miraculously without punching any holes in ceiling or walls),

stepped back

and 

sighed...

So much better!

It will give me a place to clip some old black and white photos of 

friends and family with some favorite vintage clothespins

that my friend, Amy at All Things Home, gave me.

Did I tell you how much I love that 'Autumn Brown' paint....?

Project #2 ~ Completed!

Project #3 ~ waiting in the wings.

Don't go far. 

I'm on a roll!

{ Hugs }

Linking with the parties on the lower right of my sidebar.
Click on the buttons and be inspired!

Through the lens.....

Summer has finally and gratefully arrived here in Michigan!

We waited so long for her arrival.

She's come in like a lion.....

in heat!

We had another 92 degree day

with 73% humidity.

Whew!  

But you won't hear me complaining.

No, ma'am.

I spent the morning taking my sweet little 16 year old Sophie to the vet

to have a lump checked on her leg.

I had prayed over her very early this morning 

when I woke to find her in her usual spot ~

curled up against my chest.

(This is her "secret" sleeping spot.
She thinks no one can see her there....)

My prayers were answered with the diagnosis of a simple cyst.

Thank you, Lord!

The rest of the day was spent paying bills,

doing some paperwork for hubby,

and doing laundry....

grateful for the air conditioning.  

Before I headed outside to water my pots of heat-stressed flowers,

I grabbed my camera to share with you

what I see through the lens

at Heaven's Walk

on a beautiful summer day.

The first thing that greets my eyes every morning when I come down the stairs?

Sunlight spilling into the kitchen and filling it with light.

See that big frame on the side table?  It will soon be turned into a chalkboard.

The view from the French doors in our kitchen.

What I'm reading....when there's time.

Hubby's sister, brother-in-law, daughter, and a good friend

helped hubby and I at our lake house recently.

We worked for about 5 hours

cutting down trees,

pruning bushes,

weeding, 

cleaning ponds,

and doing some major landscape de-cluttering.

We have yearly renters right now,

but desperately want to sell it next spring.

It's almost like a monkey on our backs, you know?

The extra insurance, extra taxes, extra upkeep....

just too stressful.

Our timing was off when it came to trying to sell it four years ago...

right before the economy slid downhill.

Ugh...

So, we had to rent it out to help make ends meet.

View from the private road.

We lived in this house for 25 years and loved every minute of it.

View from the gazebo on the water side of the house.

So, if you know of anyone looking for a wonderful home on a lake
at a reasonable price...just holler.
I plan on dedicating an entire post about our lake house in the near future.

I decided to bring home my beloved, sturdy old potting bench that resided all these years

beneath the porch of the "shed" on our lot next to the lake house.

It needs a little TLC
(ok....alot of TLC) -

a good washing and

maybe a slap or two of white paint to protect it from the weather

and a few vintage clay pots to fill the shelf below and make it look pretty.

After we unloaded it,

I walked around the yard at Heaven's Walk

feeling grateful for this big, old farmhouse

settled in the middle of flowers, trees, and meadows...

I keep the vintage white wicker rockers covered until we have guests to help preserve them.

'Zehpirine Drouhin' is happily blooming.

feeling God's presence surround me...

in every tiny detail.

Robin, bluebird, and wren babies have all been raised at Heaven's Walk.

We also rescued an old birdhouse,

that's obviously seen better days ~

but still has the potential for more happy feathered families.

My sweet, departed mother-in-law used to serve her famous homemade biscuits in this old tin bowl.

"Enjoy stillness and quiet.
Appreciate His created beauty.
There is loveliness all around.
Choose to see it, hear it, feel it, smell it, taste it.
Open your eyes to wonder.
Then create.
Make your own kind of beauty."

And I did.....

all through the lens of my camera.

What touched your heart through the lens today?

{ Hugs }

Linking to the parties on the lower right of my sidebar.

Click on the buttons and be incredibly inspired!