15 Months Old - Charlie's *Quarterly* Photo

Hey y'all! I'm back with a formerly monthly, now quarterly photo of Charlie. The monthly thing just got way to hard. He's been walking since he was just about 10.5 months old and it's been just way too hard to wrangle him into position. He also doesn't change as much month to month as he did for the first year, so I've changed it from monthly to quarterly.  Sanity - saved.

Grandma Bear is still in the in there (poor thing always seems to be face down lately) but a green spoon made it into this shoot too. He wouldn't drop it without a fight. Oh well, gotta pick your battles, right?

And now for some outtakes...

He kept wandering over to a rug that we had rolled up on the floor. He loves climbing all over it. It would've made for some great shots if he had bothered to look up even once. 

Here's a funny video I took of him yesterday. He kept trying to give Grandma Bear a sip of his water. It was pretty sweet. Warning, this video may cause motion sickness!

Hey y'all! I'm back with a formerly monthly, now quarterly photo of Charlie. The monthly thing just got way to hard. He's been walking since he was just about 10.5 months old and it's been just way too hard to wrangle him into position. He also doesn't change as much month to month as he did for the first year, so I've changed it from monthly to quarterly.  Sanity - saved.

Grandma Bear is still in the in there (poor thing always seems to be face down lately) but a green spoon made it into this shoot too. He wouldn't drop it without a fight. Oh well, gotta pick your battles, right?

And now for some outtakes...

He kept wandering over to a rug that we had rolled up on the floor. He loves climbing all over it. It would've made for some great shots if he had bothered to look up even once. 

Here's a funny video I took of him yesterday. He kept trying to give Grandma Bear a sip of his water. It was pretty sweet. Warning, this video may cause motion sickness!

Don't Mind Me, I'm Just Over Here Sniffing My Jeans

You think I'm kiddin. I wouldn't lie to you. I can't even count the amount of times I've pulled my knee up to my nose this morning. The other day I went shopping for groceries and had a '$2 off' coupon for Downy Unstopables. I've been buying the teal capped bottle for a while now. But they have a new pink top bottle that was love at first sniff. I mean 'eyes rolling in the back of your head'- AMAZING. Seriously, if this stuff was sold as perfume, I'd buy a case of it. 

. 

And the best part is it's not just good for throwing into the wash. I've poured a small cap full into my Scentsy warmer and it makes the entire house smell awesome. Make sure you use a small amount. It's pretty strong, so a little goes a really looong way. You can also pour some into your garbage disposal and let it sit overnight for a super fresh smelling sink. You could even make a drawer sachet OR car freshener by pouring a little into a pair of old panty hose or sock (who wears panty hose anymore?) and tie off the loose end. 

My number one use for the softener is to pour half of a cap full into a spray bottle and fill it with warm water. Once the beads dissolve you can use it to spray directly onto dry clothes for an even stronger scent. I use it to spray the inseam of my jeans to stretch them longer. My jeans ALWAYS shrink up in the wash. It drives me crazy. I buy a pair that are the perfect length, and one wash later they're 5 inches shorter. So annoying. But the softener/water mix lets me pull and tug them back to their original length. I also walk around the house and spray it on all of the soft surfaces. Drapes, couches, bed spreads, the shower curtains, and even a light spray on the carpets. Holy mama, it's so good. Go. Buy. Now.

I'm off to sniff my jeans again. Have a good weekend!

PS: In case you're wondering, Downy DID NOT pay me to write this post. They don't even know I exist. I just like sharing a product that I love with y'all. 

You think I'm kiddin. I wouldn't lie to you. I can't even count the amount of times I've pulled my knee up to my nose this morning. The other day I went shopping for groceries and had a '$2 off' coupon for Downy Unstopables. I've been buying the teal capped bottle for a while now. But they have a new pink top bottle that was love at first sniff. I mean 'eyes rolling in the back of your head'- AMAZING. Seriously, if this stuff was sold as perfume, I'd buy a case of it. 

. 

And the best part is it's not just good for throwing into the wash. I've poured a small cap full into my Scentsy warmer and it makes the entire house smell awesome. Make sure you use a small amount. It's pretty strong, so a little goes a really looong way. You can also pour some into your garbage disposal and let it sit overnight for a super fresh smelling sink. You could even make a drawer sachet OR car freshener by pouring a little into a pair of old panty hose or sock (who wears panty hose anymore?) and tie off the loose end. 

My number one use for the softener is to pour half of a cap full into a spray bottle and fill it with warm water. Once the beads dissolve you can use it to spray directly onto dry clothes for an even stronger scent. I use it to spray the inseam of my jeans to stretch them longer. My jeans ALWAYS shrink up in the wash. It drives me crazy. I buy a pair that are the perfect length, and one wash later they're 5 inches shorter. So annoying. But the softener/water mix lets me pull and tug them back to their original length. I also walk around the house and spray it on all of the soft surfaces. Drapes, couches, bed spreads, the shower curtains, and even a light spray on the carpets. Holy mama, it's so good. Go. Buy. Now.

I'm off to sniff my jeans again. Have a good weekend!

PS: In case you're wondering, Downy DID NOT pay me to write this post. They don't even know I exist. I just like sharing a product that I love with y'all. 

Hot To: Get Rid of Those Nasty, Cloudy, Spotty Glasses Without Using an Ounce of Elbow Grease!

Search no more. The answer is here. 

Our glasses have been driving me nuts for months now. Every time I ran the dishwasher, I hoped and prayed that those dang  things would come out crystal clear. And every time I'd open the dishwasher door, and get choked out by the steam pouring out, I'd hold the glass up to the light and hang my head in shame. Cloudy. Again.

I tried every trick in the book... well not the book... more like the internet. But those didn't work either. I tried running an empty dishwasher with just a cup of vinegar and a little baking soda. Nope. I tried running a cycle with just a bowl full of vinegar on the bottom rack. I tried physically scrubbing the whole dishwasher down. Nada. I tried one of these thingies. It made the was smell nice, but still didn't help either.

               

I thought we were destined to buy brand new glasses. But a last ditch effort had me thinking that I should go old school with my cleaning methods. I'll be honest. If I didn't have a little nugget running around the house, (whose health and brain capabilities I'm just slightly protective of) I probably would've just put all the glasses in a hot steaming 50% bleach ,50% water bath... and I probably would've woken up with a crazy headache from all the fumes. Instead, I filled the sink with enough water to cover the tallest glasses (standing up) and then dumped a half of a gallon of distilled white vinegar in and let the glasses soak overnight. Yea, the whole thing. I wasn't messin around anymore, y'all.

Then I just let me sit there overnight. Well, actually, they're still in there right now.

But I did rinse and dry one glass to take this after picture...

It's definitely not perfect, but it's about a million times better looking than it was. And now I no longer feel like I have to make a guest a drink using plastic Mardi Gras cup so that they don't see our funky glasses and think we just let Gus lick them clean instead of actually washing them. YAY! Everyone wins!

Search no more. The answer is here. 

Our glasses have been driving me nuts for months now. Every time I ran the dishwasher, I hoped and prayed that those dang  things would come out crystal clear. And every time I'd open the dishwasher door, and get choked out by the steam pouring out, I'd hold the glass up to the light and hang my head in shame. Cloudy. Again.

I tried every trick in the book... well not the book... more like the internet. But those didn't work either. I tried running an empty dishwasher with just a cup of vinegar and a little baking soda. Nope. I tried running a cycle with just a bowl full of vinegar on the bottom rack. I tried physically scrubbing the whole dishwasher down. Nada. I tried one of these thingies. It made the was smell nice, but still didn't help either.

               

I thought we were destined to buy brand new glasses. But a last ditch effort had me thinking that I should go old school with my cleaning methods. I'll be honest. If I didn't have a little nugget running around the house, (whose health and brain capabilities I'm just slightly protective of) I probably would've just put all the glasses in a hot steaming 50% bleach ,50% water bath... and I probably would've woken up with a crazy headache from all the fumes. Instead, I filled the sink with enough water to cover the tallest glasses (standing up) and then dumped a half of a gallon of distilled white vinegar in and let the glasses soak overnight. Yea, the whole thing. I wasn't messin around anymore, y'all.

Then I just let me sit there overnight. Well, actually, they're still in there right now.

But I did rinse and dry one glass to take this after picture...

It's definitely not perfect, but it's about a million times better looking than it was. And now I no longer feel like I have to make a guest a drink using plastic Mardi Gras cup so that they don't see our funky glasses and think we just let Gus lick them clean instead of actually washing them. YAY! Everyone wins!

Gettin' Crafty, Y'all - Repurposing Fabric Shower Curtains

First off, let me apologize for these cruddy pictures. I took them with my cruddy phone. I'll go slap myself on the wrist for even posting these. This weekend I met my sister-in law, Brandi, at a craft fair where she was selling some baby items and fabric bins (more on those in a second). I brought Charlie with me and dressed him in one of her creations. 

She also made this onsie that he wore to her baby shower...

My little baby! Where have you gone? sniffle : /

That afternoon I was standing in my bathroom thinking " I HAVE to change this room up a bit. Not much has changed in about 4 years since we renovated it. Well, the easiest way to change a room is with paint and accessories, right? So the first thing that I decided to get rid of was our shower curtain.  I've been itching to get a floor to ceiling curtain to make the room feel taller, so it was time to say our goodbyes. 

But I didn't wanna just toss it. My mind jumped back to earlier that day when I saw Brandi's fabric bins. I could get a whoooole bunch of bins out of that one shower curtain! And yesterday afternoon she hooked a girl up! That girl being me, in case you were confused. 

Super cute, huh? And the uses are endless.

* Fill it with extra rolls of TP and sit it on the back of the potty for easy access.

* Fill it with fruit and set it on the kitchen counter. 

* Use it as a diaper caddy and keep all those diapers, wipes, and ointment together. 

* Give it to a new grad who's headed off to college to use as a shower caddy so all of their toiletries are wrangled in one easy-to-carry tote. 

* Wrangle up some toys in a playroom or nursery. It would even look cute with a plant inside of it!

* Use it as a gift bag to deliver goodies to your momma for Mother's Day!

* Fill it with all of your 'day at the beach' goodies.

Check out here shop for pricing and fabric options!

Have y'all re-purposed any 'already had it' items lately? I wanna hear about em!

First off, let me apologize for these cruddy pictures. I took them with my cruddy phone. I'll go slap myself on the wrist for even posting these. This weekend I met my sister-in law, Brandi, at a craft fair where she was selling some baby items and fabric bins (more on those in a second). I brought Charlie with me and dressed him in one of her creations. 

She also made this onsie that he wore to her baby shower...

My little baby! Where have you gone? sniffle : /

That afternoon I was standing in my bathroom thinking " I HAVE to change this room up a bit. Not much has changed in about 4 years since we renovated it. Well, the easiest way to change a room is with paint and accessories, right? So the first thing that I decided to get rid of was our shower curtain.  I've been itching to get a floor to ceiling curtain to make the room feel taller, so it was time to say our goodbyes. 

But I didn't wanna just toss it. My mind jumped back to earlier that day when I saw Brandi's fabric bins. I could get a whoooole bunch of bins out of that one shower curtain! And yesterday afternoon she hooked a girl up! That girl being me, in case you were confused. 

Super cute, huh? And the uses are endless.

* Fill it with extra rolls of TP and sit it on the back of the potty for easy access.

* Fill it with fruit and set it on the kitchen counter. 

* Use it as a diaper caddy and keep all those diapers, wipes, and ointment together. 

* Give it to a new grad who's headed off to college to use as a shower caddy so all of their toiletries are wrangled in one easy-to-carry tote. 

* Wrangle up some toys in a playroom or nursery. It would even look cute with a plant inside of it!

* Use it as a gift bag to deliver goodies to your momma for Mother's Day!

* Fill it with all of your 'day at the beach' goodies.

Check out here shop for pricing and fabric options!

Have y'all re-purposed any 'already had it' items lately? I wanna hear about em!

ONE HELLUVA DEAL - 80% OFF ALL CANVASES

Hey y'all! Long time no see, huh? I'm so sorry, but I haven't had much going on that's been blog-worthy. BUT I wanted to let y'all in on a special deal from Canvas People. I'm not getting paid by them to write this post. (I wish!) I just love spreading the news when it comes to a smokin deal. They're having a 80% off sale for the next 4 days. I recently had one of my posters printed my them  when they had a big 75% off Easter sale. It turned out so good (see below). So if you're interested in having a picture or something from my etsy shop printed on canvas,

  CLICK HERE!

Here are some fuzzy cell phone pics of my printed canvas. It's the 20x48" canvas which is only $28 (plus $15 S&H) right now! That's an INSANELY good deal! I paid $35 plus S&H. 

And a closeup....

I was so worried that the words would be off center or crooked, but they did such a good job of centering and aligning the words. Overall, I couldn't be happier with the result. 

Here's the link again if you're interested.

Canvas People 80% Off Sale

and 

MY ETSY SHOP

Hey y'all! Long time no see, huh? I'm so sorry, but I haven't had much going on that's been blog-worthy. BUT I wanted to let y'all in on a special deal from Canvas People. I'm not getting paid by them to write this post. (I wish!) I just love spreading the news when it comes to a smokin deal. They're having a 80% off sale for the next 4 days. I recently had one of my posters printed my them  when they had a big 75% off Easter sale. It turned out so good (see below). So if you're interested in having a picture or something from my etsy shop printed on canvas,

  CLICK HERE!

Here are some fuzzy cell phone pics of my printed canvas. It's the 20x48" canvas which is only $28 (plus $15 S&H) right now! That's an INSANELY good deal! I paid $35 plus S&H. 

And a closeup....

I was so worried that the words would be off center or crooked, but they did such a good job of centering and aligning the words. Overall, I couldn't be happier with the result. 

Here's the link again if you're interested.

Canvas People 80% Off Sale

and 

MY ETSY SHOP

How to take Pregnancy Progress Pictures

It must be baby season because I've gotten at least a dozen emails from some lovely pregnant ladies who have asked how I set up/took my pregnancy progress shots. I figured I'd do a post so it would be easy to find.

First off, you'll need to find a doorway or window that lets in a lot of light. The more light, the better. This makes your silhouette really pop against the background. You'll also want to try and keep the day and time that you take your pictures pretty consistent (for comparison reasons). I tried to take my pictures every Monday afternoon when the light coming through our French doors was at its brightest. I'd get home from work, change into my black pajama pants and slim fitting tank top (to really show off that big ol' bump) and then get my camera set up.

The next important thing is to take your pictures from the same spot each time. I don't own a tripod. I'm figuring that most people don't, so here's what I used instead. 

Yep, that my camera sitting on top of an upside down trash can, on top a chair from our dining table. Seriously professional, right? Here it is from the other angle.

Once everything is all set up, just set your timer for 10 seconds and run (well, don't actually run, I wouldn't want any of y'all prego chicks to get hurt!) over to that door/window and try to stand so that you're shoulders and hips are facing perfectly perpendicular to the camera lens. I stress that your hips AND shoulders are square because if you twist a little (especially in the hips) it tends to look weird in in the silhouette. Stretch that neck out, hold your back straight, and let that bump do its thang.

I usually tried to take anywhere from 5-10 pictures so that I had options to choose from. And believe me, even though these are silhouette pictures and you don't have to worry about your makeup, sometimes your hair can look cute in real life and look totally whacked in the picture. Take these shots for example...

What in the world is going on with my hair? I had it in a braid which looked cute (I think) in person. But in the shots...wth?

You'll also want to keep your arms tucked in super close to your sides so that they don't become part of the outline of your body. Here's why...

ummmm... if you squint.... it kinda...... looks like I have a boy part. 

Gah! 

Eww!

Gross!

You do NOT want that!

KEEP THOSE ARMS AND HANDS TUCKED IN BY YOUR SIDE!

 It will feel pretty unnatural! Think cheerleader straight arms. Illustrated by this little drawing I found...

Like this...............................................................Not this

via 

Once you have a handful of decent shots, upload them to your computer. You can adjust the brightness, highlights, and shadows with most photo editors that are already installed on your computer. Here's an example of what you can do with the Windows editor.

Once you bump up the contrast to show off the bump, crop the photo however you'd like. just make sure to crop to the same size each time. Then you can number the pictures by week, month, or day. 

I hope this explains everything! If y'all have ANY questions, please let me know!

It must be baby season because I've gotten at least a dozen emails from some lovely pregnant ladies who have asked how I set up/took my pregnancy progress shots. I figured I'd do a post so it would be easy to find.

First off, you'll need to find a doorway or window that lets in a lot of light. The more light, the better. This makes your silhouette really pop against the background. You'll also want to try and keep the day and time that you take your pictures pretty consistent (for comparison reasons). I tried to take my pictures every Monday afternoon when the light coming through our French doors was at its brightest. I'd get home from work, change into my black pajama pants and slim fitting tank top (to really show off that big ol' bump) and then get my camera set up.

The next important thing is to take your pictures from the same spot each time. I don't own a tripod. I'm figuring that most people don't, so here's what I used instead. 

Yep, that my camera sitting on top of an upside down trash can, on top a chair from our dining table. Seriously professional, right? Here it is from the other angle.

Once everything is all set up, just set your timer for 10 seconds and run (well, don't actually run, I wouldn't want any of y'all prego chicks to get hurt!) over to that door/window and try to stand so that you're shoulders and hips are facing perfectly perpendicular to the camera lens. I stress that your hips AND shoulders are square because if you twist a little (especially in the hips) it tends to look weird in in the silhouette. Stretch that neck out, hold your back straight, and let that bump do its thang.

I usually tried to take anywhere from 5-10 pictures so that I had options to choose from. And believe me, even though these are silhouette pictures and you don't have to worry about your makeup, sometimes your hair can look cute in real life and look totally whacked in the picture. Take these shots for example...

What in the world is going on with my hair? I had it in a braid which looked cute (I think) in person. But in the shots...wth?

You'll also want to keep your arms tucked in super close to your sides so that they don't become part of the outline of your body. Here's why...

ummmm... if you squint.... it kinda...... looks like I have a boy part. 

Gah! 

Eww!

Gross!

You do NOT want that!

KEEP THOSE ARMS AND HANDS TUCKED IN BY YOUR SIDE!

 It will feel pretty unnatural! Think cheerleader straight arms. Illustrated by this little drawing I found...

Like this...............................................................Not this

via 

Once you have a handful of decent shots, upload them to your computer. You can adjust the brightness, highlights, and shadows with most photo editors that are already installed on your computer. Here's an example of what you can do with the Windows editor.

Once you bump up the contrast to show off the bump, crop the photo however you'd like. just make sure to crop to the same size each time. Then you can number the pictures by week, month, or day. 

I hope this explains everything! If y'all have ANY questions, please let me know!

Charlie's First Real Photo Shoot

 Charlie had his first professional photo session this past Saturday. We went to Missions Trails and met my friend Monique from Photo Junkie Photography at the visitor's center. I had no clue that place even existed so close to where we live! It was like we were in another state even though we were just 20 minutes from home. It reminded me a little bit of Garden of the Gods in Coorado Springs. After 'hiking' about a quarter of a mile, we took a left at the first big rock and walked down some steps to a little valley. In the valley was a little stream with big flat rocks, so we let Charlie roam around. He wasn't excited to be there at first. I think he was overwhelmed with nature! After a few minutes he found 3 little dips in a big rock that were filled with muddy water. Well, he got one little chubby hand in there and that was all he needed to let loose! I kinda cringed at first. I wasn't really hoping to have to strip him down, but he had ideas of his own, so we just went with it. Choose your battles!

Post mud puddles. Look at the legs on those pants!

Pre-mud puddles. I was not expecting to be in any of the pictures, but he wouldn't let me put him down without going into a crying fit. So, Monique snapped a few of the two of us to get him used to the camera.

Finally a smile!
I counted "One, two, three" and did his favorite elephant noise,
which made me look like a total weirdo, but it worked!

Monique said all this picture needed was a tiny fishing pole.
Agh, it would've been so cute.  I should've made one out of twigs!

I'm STILL working on my new dresser. I had no clue it would take this long, but we're doing lots of customizing. Fingers crossed that it'll be done tomorrow!

Wanna see the elephant noise in action?

I hope the video works! I have this picture of me doing the elephant noise (I have no shame) at Charlie's last doctor's appointment. He was grumpy when we first got there, but a few elephant noises cheered him right up!

PS: Apparently I wear plaid a lot. For the record, they were two different plaid shirts!

 Charlie had his first professional photo session this past Saturday. We went to Missions Trails and met my friend Monique from Photo Junkie Photography at the visitor's center. I had no clue that place even existed so close to where we live! It was like we were in another state even though we were just 20 minutes from home. It reminded me a little bit of Garden of the Gods in Coorado Springs. After 'hiking' about a quarter of a mile, we took a left at the first big rock and walked down some steps to a little valley. In the valley was a little stream with big flat rocks, so we let Charlie roam around. He wasn't excited to be there at first. I think he was overwhelmed with nature! After a few minutes he found 3 little dips in a big rock that were filled with muddy water. Well, he got one little chubby hand in there and that was all he needed to let loose! I kinda cringed at first. I wasn't really hoping to have to strip him down, but he had ideas of his own, so we just went with it. Choose your battles!

Post mud puddles. Look at the legs on those pants!

Pre-mud puddles. I was not expecting to be in any of the pictures, but he wouldn't let me put him down without going into a crying fit. So, Monique snapped a few of the two of us to get him used to the camera.

Finally a smile!
I counted "One, two, three" and did his favorite elephant noise,
which made me look like a total weirdo, but it worked!

Monique said all this picture needed was a tiny fishing pole.
Agh, it would've been so cute.  I should've made one out of twigs!

I'm STILL working on my new dresser. I had no clue it would take this long, but we're doing lots of customizing. Fingers crossed that it'll be done tomorrow!

Wanna see the elephant noise in action?

I hope the video works! I have this picture of me doing the elephant noise (I have no shame) at Charlie's last doctor's appointment. He was grumpy when we first got there, but a few elephant noises cheered him right up!

PS: Apparently I wear plaid a lot. For the record, they were two different plaid shirts!

Tarva Trumps Expedit

I've been wanting to replace the TV 'stand' in our living room since the day we bought it. It's no longer available from Ikea, but it's from the Expedit series. I thought the shelves were adjustable, but sadly, I was wrong. I tried to make the best of it by filling the bottom row with magazine storage (which I made from cardboard shipping boxes) which looked ok, but I never really loved the piece.

 So the search began (and continued for TWO years) for a replacement. I searched high and low on Craigslist but never had any real luck in finding a piece that fit our needs and budget. I stumbled across Ikea's new-ish customizable dresser called Tarva one day while I was there shopping for something completely different. 

The Tarva is basically the big brother to the Rast, which I'm more than sure you've seen painted every color under the sun on blogs and Pinterest. Even my sister in law customized a pair for her bedroom to use as night stands and they came out so cute! I'll have to take some pictures of them next time I'm over at her house.

I you follow me on Instagram (IG name : bontempsbeignet), you might have seen a photo I posted of my dresser in the making. 

The beer was my therapy. It was just two days before Mardi Gras (which we couldn't be in New Orleans for) AND the dang instruction booklet for the dresser was THIRTY NINE pages long.  Which was only 7 pages longer than the dresser I built for Charlie's room while I was 8 months preggo with a giant belly getting in the way. This time I had a little nugget who wanted to be in the center of all the construction. I needed a drink. 

Pictures via HERE, and HERE

Using the pictures above as my inspiration, I've been working for about a week on it and can't wait to show y'all what I've done. I need to do a little bit more work still, so this post won't have the 'after' pics. Sorry! Bad blogger! So far, I've built it, filled the old drawer pull holes, stained, and painted it, but I still need to add some trim to the drawers, drill new holes for the pulls, add the new pulls, and cut the legs down a little so that the TV will sit lower and the cords below won't be so visible.    

Hopefully I'll have everything ready to show to you by Friday! Have any of y'all refinished any furniture lately? Anyone customize a Rast? Share it in the comments! 

I've been wanting to replace the TV 'stand' in our living room since the day we bought it. It's no longer available from Ikea, but it's from the Expedit series. I thought the shelves were adjustable, but sadly, I was wrong. I tried to make the best of it by filling the bottom row with magazine storage (which I made from cardboard shipping boxes) which looked ok, but I never really loved the piece.

 So the search began (and continued for TWO years) for a replacement. I searched high and low on Craigslist but never had any real luck in finding a piece that fit our needs and budget. I stumbled across Ikea's new-ish customizable dresser called Tarva one day while I was there shopping for something completely different. 

The Tarva is basically the big brother to the Rast, which I'm more than sure you've seen painted every color under the sun on blogs and Pinterest. Even my sister in law customized a pair for her bedroom to use as night stands and they came out so cute! I'll have to take some pictures of them next time I'm over at her house.

I you follow me on Instagram (IG name : bontempsbeignet), you might have seen a photo I posted of my dresser in the making. 

The beer was my therapy. It was just two days before Mardi Gras (which we couldn't be in New Orleans for) AND the dang instruction booklet for the dresser was THIRTY NINE pages long.  Which was only 7 pages longer than the dresser I built for Charlie's room while I was 8 months preggo with a giant belly getting in the way. This time I had a little nugget who wanted to be in the center of all the construction. I needed a drink. 

Pictures via HERE, and HERE

Using the pictures above as my inspiration, I've been working for about a week on it and can't wait to show y'all what I've done. I need to do a little bit more work still, so this post won't have the 'after' pics. Sorry! Bad blogger! So far, I've built it, filled the old drawer pull holes, stained, and painted it, but I still need to add some trim to the drawers, drill new holes for the pulls, add the new pulls, and cut the legs down a little so that the TV will sit lower and the cords below won't be so visible.    

Hopefully I'll have everything ready to show to you by Friday! Have any of y'all refinished any furniture lately? Anyone customize a Rast? Share it in the comments!