I cannot believe this!

Gold Flashing, lines enticing........

I saw 

THE CHAIR. 

The chair I have been waiting for my whole life.  She may have been rough and dated on the outside but 

****wowsa****

 I knew inside she was a bombshell.

When I decided I couldn't live with her (them, they were twins) "as is" I called a reupholstery place.   The quote was not in my budget so I decided to tackle her myself. 

I tried painting the golden wood speckled with 70s black a calming Mindful Grey by SW. I also was (am?) 

going to sew a few pillows to distract from the gold velour. 

I clicked on this linen lovely and eventually decided I had nothing to lose by trying to recover the chair myself. 


Thank you Alchemy on You tube!  I heart you! 



We got home from co-op and I started pulling staples out of the chair.  Oliver, Abby and Sophie joined. 

Sophie documented our progress.

Keith was busy on his own project.  Yes, another chandelier. 

Needless to say it is all bare!  We need to sand it and finish painting it.  I used the old gold to use as a pattern and cut the pieces out of dropcloth I had in the garage. 

I am blown away!  It was really enjoyable to work alongside 

the little ones.  Oliver was my biggest fan. Normally he is my "biggest Frank" calling everything ugly. All in good fun. 

Oliver told me the drop cloth was "luscious". :) 

Be a wife to *your* husband

Early in our marriage I longed to be a good wife, an excellent wife.  I read many books, attended Bible studies and asked opinions from Titus 2 type women.  These were all good things but 
somehow the fact that all husbands are different and many of these areas are not black and white got lost in the sauce. This was by my own doing, trying so hard instead of being saturated in Jesus' Grace. 

I have listened to discussions of women admonishing other women 
to stop being the "bill payer".  They felt that to do so was usurping the husbands responsibility to be the head of the household.   While this could be the case, each situation is different.   I was recommended to not let any of the children use the downstairs bathroom so it could be a special place for Keith.  (This sounds really weird as I type it (!) but it was a good idea).  I told Keith my plan and he responded that he could care less who uses his bathroom.   

I love learning new ideas to make my family feel special but I have grown to understand that these strategies are not doctrine and nothing replaces asking Keith what is meaningful to him.

 Love your own unique, fabulously created husband in a way that knocks his socks off. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

I love Shirley and Christine at FK.  If you enjoy shopping there too please consider voting for them. 

FINDERS KEEPERS CONSIGNMENTS IS ASKING OUR FRIENDS AND VALUED CUSTOMERS TO HELP SUPPORT US AGAIN IN THE "BEST OF THE CAPITAL REGION LIVING MAGAZINE" FOR 2013. WITHOUT YOU AND YOUR SUPPORT OUR SMALL BUSINESS WOULDN'T BE HERE.  BY VOTING FOR US, IT HELPS ALL OUR CONSIGNOR'S TOO ! WITH YOUR VOTES WE WERE LISTED AS THE "BEST BARGAIN SHOPPING" & THE "BEST CONSIGNMENT SHOP" IN 2012!  WE WOULD LOVE TO MAINTAIN THAT STATUS FOR 2013! VOTING IS VERY EASY AND ONLY TAKES A MINUTE!  HERE'S HOW: SIMPLY GO TO CAPITAL REGION LIVING MAGAZINES WEBSITE  AND CLICK ON "VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITES"  OR GO TO:  www.crlmag.com/ballot.cfm WHICH WILL BRING YOU RIGHT TO THE BALLOT. ONCE YOU'RE ON THE BALLOT, TYPE IN YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS. GO TO: SHOPPING FROM THERE YOU CAN VOTE FOR US IN 4 CATEGORIES: BARGAIN SHOP CLOTHING BOUTIQUE CONSIGNMENT SHOP/THRIFT STORE GIFT SHOP IF YOU WANT TO GO A STEP FURTHER YOU MAY ALSO GO TO: PLACES AND VOTE FOR US UNDER A: PLACE TO SPEND A RAINY DAY ONCE YOU'RE DONE PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU CLICK ON THE "SUBMIT BALLOT" BUTTON ON THE BOTTOM LEFT CORNER. YOU'RE DONE! IT'S THAT EASY! THE DEADLINE FOR YOUR VOTES IS FEBRUARY 25TH SO PLEASE DON'T FORGET US. AGAIN, MANY THANKS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS FOR KEEPING FINDERS KEEPERS CONSIGNMENTS ON THE MAP! WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT & EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR US! AS A SPECIAL THANKS FROM US TO YOU, PLEASE ENJOY 10% OFF ONE SINGLE ITEM THAT IS NOT CURRENTLY ON SALE.  SIMPLY MENTION OUR COUPON CODE "VOTE" AND WE WILL GIVE YOU A DISCOUNT! THIS OFFER EXPIRES 2/25/13.

Thoughts from Drive by Daniel Pink

I am about halfway through Drive. I ripped my slip from the library to mark a few pages I didn't want to forget.  

Carrots and Sticks: The Seven Deadly Flaws

1.  They  can extinguish intrinsic motivation
2. They can diminish performance
3. They can crush creativity
4. They can crowd out good behavior
5. They encourage cheating, shortcuts and unethical behavior
6. They can become addictive
7. They can foster short term thinking

My take away is DO NOT OFFER if/then rewards for anything that is not a just climbing, ring by ring job.

If the assignment is mind numbing carrots won't hurt. Some other strategies to motivate are to 
1. offer a rational for why the task is necessary
2. Acknowledge that the task is boring
3. allow people to complete the task in their own way

He calls intrinsically motivated behavior type 1.  Type one behavior is more concerned with the inherent satisfaction one derives from the activity than the reward. T1 behavior isn't a fixed trait. 

I like this book, it melds well with the other books I am reading. 

I need to hit the rack.  We are having a small gathering tomorrow if the snow stops. 

There is a whole story with this child and this pillow.  He also teases me daily about the sheet music wreath. That is for another day. 

Wreath Crack and Randomness

I was going to title this post 

Third Time is a Charm. 

Yes, very original. 

The first picture depicts the first "vintage sheet music wreath" I made on a frustrated Thursday evening. The photo doesn't capture the sheer enormousness of this wreath.  I decided to take it down and replace it with the second wreath I made. 



The above shot of wreath 2 was obviously taken by the Mister. 

And yes, above is wreath 3.  Full of all things vintage and good. 
Finally!  Even AnnMarie (my mom, it is fun to call her AnnMarie, try it) liked this one. 

I  decided to take down the huge one and use the normal sized one (#2 as perfect wreath #3 was already happy under the new chandy) behind my couch. (What would I do without parentheses?  Construct better sentences maybe?)

The living  room was so boring without it.  I tried to put the wreath down. I wish I never tried it.  I thought I could give it up. 


Christian my genius first born came up with the solution. 

Put the new medium wreath inside the huge wreath in an odd Frankestine-ian fashion. 

What will AnnMarie think? 

She always has an opinion.on.everything.

Like, when did gratuitious use of periods become ok?

BFF wanted to see the chandy in context. 

An aside.  Please meet George and Charlie. 

Cohoes with Mom

Sunday was an amazing day with my mom and Uncle Rob. 

We traveled around Cohoes looking at places where my mom grew up. 

This is an alley off Ontario street where my mom and the other local kids played. 

My dad rented a room here when he first came to the area before he met my mom. 

This was my Grandmother's beauty shop.  After her husband passed away she continued her business out of her home. 

This was "Stanley's Store" run by my grandfather Chick.  My mom and Aunt Barb worked here every day.  There weren't child labor laws then! 

Entry to their apartment building

You could see Babci's apartment from theirs.  They would shout from window to window sometimes. 

When my mom was growing up they were first in a first floor apartment.  They then moved to a better apartment.  The windows on the top of this building was their apartment.  The middle window was the kitchen.  The one on the right was their one and only closet. 

Where this field is was where St Micheal's pavilion stood.  There would be many Polish gatherings there. 

Woods next to the alley

These stairs led to their apartment.  

Again, these top windows were my mom's families' apartment 50 years ago. 

I think this was Babci's apartment.  She had to move a lot. 

 My parents met while my mom was working at the Golden Crust. 
Dad was known as "Tennessee".  The Golden Crust burned down on their 23rd anniversary......... 

 Not sure what I was photographing here. 

Grandma loved Bill's. 

St Micheal's Church, where my mom's family attended and my parents were married. 

Grandma grew up with Babci and Jaji in apartments that used to be in front of the church on Page Ave. 

This used to be St Micheal's school where my mom attended. 

Grandma used to swim here. 

Aunt Betty used to work at the above store. My mom's engagement ring came from there. 

 Jupiter's Store used to be where Cohoes Family Care is now. 

Babci lived at Cayuga Apartments before she had to be placed in a nursing home. 

The family moved to Bickford Lane when my mom was a senior. 
The house looks great!  Grandma's clothesline is still there along with the hedges she planted. 

"Oil Mill Hill" which is Northern Boulevard. All directions start with Oil Mill Hill. 

This is the house I was in until I was 4 on Piney Point Road. 

Thanks for sticking with me for this long. 

The day was unforgettable.