Life as we go it

Liam and I walk to our local ReStore every couple of weeks. It's only a few blocks from our home. Liam LOVES looking at all of the things as we walk through the aisles.

In case you're unfamiliar with what ReStore is -- it's run by Habitat For Humanity and people donate used or unused home-type goods and materials. The store is always filled with goodies, and at excellent prices :) The store is a maze of wooden doors, used appliances, retro office furniture, ugly ceiling fans, cabinetry, mismatched tiles, etc.

Matt and I have donated a few things to our local store (kitchen cabinets and ceramic tiles) and we've also bought some things there (a sweet window seat that's currently being used as storage in our garage, a cool wooden box that we store firewood in, and a couple of other little doodads).

I bought this old black magazine rack a couple of weeks ago. I'm not big into decorating with the color black, but I saw potential when I spotted this. And it was only $5:

Hello weird ol' eighties-ish magazine rack...

Rust-Oleum in "Lemon Grass"

Two coats

I'm not exactly sure where I want to use it yet. And as I've shared with you before, I'm a bit of a magazine junkie, so I could really use it in ANY room in the house! But it will probably end up in our kitchen, living room or downstairs bathroom.

It's next to our couch for now

The lemon grass color matches well with my new LOVE pillow in our living room :)

And here's a quick show-and-tell from this week's Crafty Club. My friend Andi hosted craft night this past Monday and we worked on two paper-crafting projects:

We each stamped & put together six happy birthday cards

And we each made a bouquet of paper flowers

There are so many creative projects that I need to start on and/or finish these days. Here's a photo list of a few of the current projects I'm working on, or need to begin! I'm working on creating a collage wall above our computer desk. Normally I would have attempted to make all of these items myself (paint old frames white, have Matt make the shelf, find a mirror at a thrift store and repaint the frame, etc), but I found everything in this photo at Hobby Lobby! And it was all 40% off, so it ended up being pretty inexpensive. I still have to put a photo of Liam in the photo frame and tack some cool things to the fabric bulletin board. I look forward to changing the saying on the little chalkboard :)

"I woke up this morning, smiled at the rising sun"

This is a giant metal fork. Our local Fresh Meals On Wheels program has asked local artists to decorate a fork that will be displayed throughout Sheboygan during the month of May. Then in June they will be  on display at the Christopher Farm & Gardens during a June-A-Palooza event which will raise money in support of Fresh Meals On Wheels. My options for decorating this thing are endless....how am I going to make up my mind? Should I put a giant meatball on top? Should I make it frilly and flowery? Ideas are welcome!