I Call A Do Over: Beach Wood Desk Edition

My 4 AM usually consists of DVR or Netflix, food sitting somewhere on the floor or couch, my drill, dremel, and paint.

Since Mr. Superman deployed, I got more into DIY decor and refinishing furniture. Nikki, is a seriously incredible designer that helped me a ton in teaching me techniques and easier ways to do things. 

Now that I have a collection of stuff I've done and on my To Do List I figured why not share it with my Lovelies? So most Tuesdays for me are going to consist of this new meme and this week starts the link up! If you have any projects you've done, post it with the I Call A Do Over picture and then come back to link up so I can come check it out.

Without further ado, we dive in!

I got this week's project while Mr. Superman was still deployed from V-Town's local (and only) Goodwill. The Goodwill here is very hit and miss on finding great items but I knew this one was perfect when I saw the shape, size, and price. I got it for $25 and except one tiny defect that you can't see, it was in perfect condition.

You all know by now that stained wood just really isn't my thing. I went very back and forth on what I wanted to do with it but as soon as I settled on exactly what I wanted for our office, I knew what treatment the desk was going to get. When we were in Panama City Beach, FL for our anniversary a couple years ago, I saw these awesome, shabby beach cottages everywhere. They were all unique but had this one beautiful thing in common. They were all made out of gorgeous, weathered white'ish gray beach wood. They had so much character but still had this softened feminine look. I loved them and always wanted to do something similar in furniture. Well, this desk had some great curves so it was a winner. 

I didn't sand or prep really at all (I never do) and just got down to work. After removing the hardware the drawers got two good coats of white paint as well as the entire desk except the top. The top was a bit more complicated. It had a thick hard top of acrylic gel and I had already tried to pry it up with no luck. I also knew that sanding the entire thing down would take literally hours. I ended up just hand sanding the top for a few minutes, just enough to scratch it up and give the paint something to grip on to. The paint covered most of the stained wood but I also left a little peaking through to give it that weathered look. After the paint was dry, I used a gray glaze all over it. Not gonna lie, it looked fabulous. The hardware got a few coats of gray spray paint and the gray glaze over that then got reattached. 

The finished product? Beautiful.

ignore the leopard print chair, its getting reupholstered

Sunshine & Sacrifices

Hey Lovelies

I hope everyone has a phenomenal holiday weekend.

Do something for me will you?

Take a few minutes to think about what Memorial Day is really all about.

Something else?

Enjoy the sunshine.

I know I will.

Mil Spouse Weekly Round Up

 Head over to Mrs. GI Joe's bloggy blog to link up and check out some other fabulous Milie's!

What's YOUR Song and Thursday Five

Well Lovelies its a twofer today. You get 'What's Your Song?' AND 'Thursday Five'. 

Yay! 

Go to

to join in and link up your song and head over to

to be a part of 

Two awesome link-ups hosted by two fabulous dollfaces.

My song this week is by the incredibly sexy talented Blake Shelton. 

Yummy.

I've been super sick and in and out of doctors offfices and ER's this week but this song just kept making my heart smile. It seriously makes me want to go to the lake or have a bbq. Summertime song for sure.

This week's Thursday Five are things that have been, are, or were

Great

Incredible

Inspired

Rewarding

Swell

 

This week, our new landlords have finally been sending people over to replace rotted wood and trim on the outside of our house and its starting to look Great

Mr. Superman has had to work all week even after sitting with me at the hospital or doctor's all day and not getting any sleep. He is seriously Incredible

 

I've been craving some soft, chewy, delicious snickerdoodles for weeks now. We finally made them and I believe whoever thought these gems up was seriously  Inspired

 

Even when I don't feel like it, once I finally force myself to work on projects like painting the office or putting laundry away, the satisfaction is  Rewarding

 

 The fact that Mr. Superman just got home and doesn't have to go to work again until Monday night is beyond Swell

I Call A Do Over: Faux Italian Glass Edition

My 4 AM usually consists of DVR or Netflix, food sitting somewhere on the floor or couch, my drill, dremel, and paint.

Since Mr. Superman deployed, I got more into DIY decor and refinishing furniture. Nikki, is a seriously incredible designer that helped me a ton in teaching me techniques and easier ways to do things. 

Now that I have a collection of stuff I've done and on my To Do List I figured why not share it with my Lovelies? So most Tuesdays for me are going to consist of this new meme and this week starts the link up! If you have any projects you've done, post it with the I Call A Do Over picture and then come back to link up so I can come check it out.

Without further ado, we dive in!

Now I don't know about you, but I love the look of using glass decor throughout my house. I have several antique crystal scotch bottles, a ton of apothecary jars, mirrors, old vintage dishes all in my kitchen... Its definitely something that catches the eye and can add so much by being such a small piece. For years now I have been totally obsessed with 

Italian Glass, fully colored or a bit transparent 

 

 

Milk Glass 

and 

Mercury Glass

 

All these beautiful types of glass though, unless you are incredibly lucky and find them thrifted or get them as a gift, are super expensive. I don't have money to just go buy a fancy piece of glass. Now that I have finally begun overhauling the spare room that is our office, I was able to unpack some random boxes in which I rediscovered a crazy amount of old vases. I've had most for years and always knew I would use them as decor but never really had the right idea strike me. 

Well it struck and I love how all my pieces turned out.

I decided to do a sort of faux painted Italian glass just because they go better with the aesthetics of the room. I just used small paint brushes and painted the insides. The paint sticks and this way it can't scratch off the outside. The office is very mono-chromatic in shades of gray, black, and white but I threw in a punch of yellow to brighten it all up a bit. I loved that I had vases of all different shapes, sizes, and texture and made them even more individualized by using different mixtures of five shades of paint and using some water to give the gray pieces an uneven spotty look similar to tinted Mercury glass.

I can't wait to show you the office when its all done. I am just loving how its coming together.

Now show me what you have been up to. I love seeing what other people are doing with their creative bones. The link-up will be open for 2 days again so get linkin' up!

Um... Come Again?

You know that feeling when you finally do something you've been working up the courage to do for years and then when you do, instead of feeling that heady sense of accomplishment, you're more sick to your stomach than anything else?

When I broke my silence, I was prepared to feel a little safer, a little more alive, and maybe even a little more in control. So far, I have felt unbelievably lost and in spite of all the kind words, I have allowed the hateful words of a few mar what should have been an incredible start to a new, ever-understanding, stronger than I could have imagined, support system.

Why is hate such a strong fuel for some people?

What do they gain from judging others so unfairly and without reason?

Is it because they are so self-loathing?

Is it because they are missing some vital part in their make up that keeps them from feeling remorse, empathy, sympathy, any good human emotion at all?

I just don't get it.

It always catches me off guard and even though there is that part of me that wants to retaliate and retort, more than anything else, it increases my desire to just curl up in a ball and forget my plans for the future. The plans that involved me taking a stand, forgetting the failure of establishments that are supposed to protect and save. Rather than delving into this world where everyone knows what happened to me and are sending me thousands of words of kindness, love, and hope, I want to just shut it all off. It makes me feel as if it would just be easier to shove it all back in that safe-guarded prison of my mind and pretend I can manage on my own.

Love Me Some Link Parties

Today I linked up my Goodwill coffee table turned book pages glam at

They are the cutest sisters with fabulous creative sides.

Mil-Spouse Weekly Round Up

Hello Lovelies!
I'm stoked to be hosting this week's Mil-Spouse Round Up.
I can't believe this is the 37th week!
Its a genius idea from the amazing Roller Coaster and any Milie can join in.

Just link up to your favorite blog post of the week (from your own blog), post the Weekly Round Up photo in today's post and let everyone know you're linking up so people can come join in too.

As for me, I'll just give a quick intro for all those new to my piece of blog world.

I am Mrs. S. and I am married to the incredible Mr. Superman.

Mr. Superman recently returned from his first deployment in Assghanisandland. To say I was excited is an understatement.

I absolutely love doing DIY projects and being thrifty. 
I have my own weekly link up called "I Call A Do Over" and anyone is welcome to link up every Tuesday.

We want nothing more than to be parents to babies here on Earth but so far have been blessed with 3 Angel Babies.

I recently broke my silence on being raped in an attempt to get my life back and even though I'm still a bit sick to my stomach about letting that secret out to the world, the response of love and support has been overwhelming.

I absolutely love this community I have been able to be a part of as a military spouse blogger and I couldn't imagine not having the support system and friendships I have gained.

Next week, be sure to head over to Mrs. GI Joe's blog ACU's, Stiletto Shoes, and Pretty Pink Tutu's. She's an incredibly talented writer and military spouse.

As for me, I hope that you'll stick around. Read our pages, get to know us, and don't be a creeper! Let me know who you are.

Now go share the love, link up, and visit all the other wonderful Milie bloggers!

I Call A Do Over: Sitting Room Coffee Table Edition

My 4 AM usually consists of DVR or Netflix, food sitting somewhere on the floor or couch, my drill, dremel, and paint.

Since Mr. Superman deployed, I got more into DIY decor and refinishing furniture. Nikki, my BFF Forever is a seriously incredible designer that helped me a ton in teaching me techniques and easier ways to do things. 

Now that I have a collection of stuff I've done and on my To Do List I figured why not share it with my Lovelies? So most Tuesdays for me are going to consist of this new meme and this week starts the link up! If you have any projects you've done, post it with the I Call A Do Over picture and then come back to link up so I can come check it out.

Without further ado, we dive in!

This week features another fabulous coffee table do-over. I found this oval beauty at the one and only Goodwill here in V-Town. I loved the curvy legs and that it was a bit more feminine because it goes in my little, dainty, cream and powder blue sitting room. Now I am HORRIBLE at taking 'before' pictures so I found one online that is actually pretty dang close to what I have.

Mine was a similar stain but was flaking the top enamel, deep gouges were all over the top and stain just really isn't my thing unless its on top of paint. I used a light powder blue paint I already had from painting my master bedroom on the entire thing except the table top. I then pulled out one of the old books I always get at Goodwill and started tearing out the deliciously yellowed pages. I used Mod Podge to adhere them and after doing a layer of Mod Podge on top, I let it dry, then used sand paper to get a perfect edge by sanding along the line of the book pages hanging over. I went ahead and sanded all the curves and lines to give it that 'antiqued' look then used my favorite stain to go over the entire thing. The top got a good coating of clear acrylic spray paint to protect the top and voila!

I'm definitely in love. Now show me your stuff!! 

The link up will be open through the 19th at Midnight EST