Thursday ...

      Four days into my new job and I'm even more excited about this opportunity.  This is such an amazing company!

     But, let me tell you about some other things that have been keeping me excited and busy this week!

     First off, I'm extremely excited to announce that I've started my own online side-gig business with [click link there >] Mary & Martha!

     I did my research and this was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up.  They are a division of DaySpring ~ which has been the number one seller WORLDWIDE of faith-based cards and products for 50 years! ~ and Hallmark ~ which also has an astounding history.  Mary & Martha are known for their beautiful decor and lifestyle products.  The products that arrived in my starter kit are just such high quality, and so beautifully made!

     I would really love to share more information about the company and products with you, so message me on my website!

     On Tuesday, one of my friends told me of some furniture that was up for grabs from an apartment cleanout.  Her neighbor had died, and the landlord was throwing away some items that had been left behind by the family.  I got this table and chair which are now my "encouragement" corner of my office.  I've started to send care cards with my church, and it will also be where I do my Mary & Martha business.

     The chair will be repainted this summer, the seat cushion will be recovered and more foam added to raise me up to a more comfortable height for working at the table.  The curtains in the room are olive green with a gold batik leaf pattern on them, and I may try to find a similar patterned fabric for the chair seat and paint the wood and cane an olive green.

     I'd been planning on buying wire shelves to fit in the back of the only tall closet in the house at the top of the stairs.  I wanted to be able to put my off-season clothes somewhere other than in tubs on the floor, or empty comforter bags.  But finding shelves to fit was going to be difficult and expensive.  There was a dresser that was also being thrown away and I snagged it.

     It fit PERFECTLY and I wouldn't have been able to buy something as nice!  It even has more storage space than wall-mounted wire shelves would have given me, and no need to worry about the cats turning my winter sweaters into furry naptime beds.  I won't even need to fix or redo it at all since it will be hidden behind hanging clothes.  Honestly, it looks wonderful just as it is!

     This lamp will get a new shade, but I've been told that it is a mid-century Stieffle lamp.  Researching them, I found that new ones sell for $235-$375!  It is a heavy brass that will get a nice cleaning.  The shade on it has been re-homed already to someone who liked the thin burlap fabric, and so I'll be looking for one I can upcycle to fit my decor or my creativeness!  New Stieffle lamps have a bell-shaped lampshade, and so I will probably look for one like that at the thrift stores before I start looking for a new shade.

     I'm still in the process of doing some redecorating the living room, which includes a gold velvet loveseat.  I was thinking of painting it, but the velvet is in such nice condition, I might just leave it and find a fabric to recover the cushions and make a cover for the back of it where Charlie likes to sit to spy on the neighbors.

     Finally, this corner shelf and cabinet unit has become part of the dining/craft room.  The peeling paint will get removed this summer, and I am tossing around several ideas on how to refinish it.  It is going to be used for craft supplies and displays, and I'm thinking of using scrapbook paper to cover it and then lightly distress it so that it has a shabby chic appearance.

     But I could also repaint it with all of my left over paint from my blue and yellow phase last year when I was working on the trunk turned table and cat bed.  I will have to troll Pinterest for ideas for it, and for the loveseat.  I have an image in my mind for both, but would just like to see something someone else has done to put it all in motion.

     I hope you have had a wonderful week, with a relaxing weekend ahead!

                                     Hugs, Ci