Board and Batten Wall in our Master Bedroom

I had been waiting and waiting to share this space with you until it was completely finished, but let's be real, these things take time...and money...and energy...

I wanted the whole shebang, you know?  A transformation complete with new Euro pillows, a pretty Safaveih rug, chalk-painted side tables, and a cute homemade sign for above the bed...

Pshhh...Who was I kidding?  Hello? -----> Time, money and energy!

So, instead, I figured I'd share the process of how we put up our board and batten and then hopefully I'll share the rest as it comes together.  Well, that's the plan anyway.  ;)

Here's what I did.

First I headed over to Home Depot and purchased some of this fun stuff...

Nine of these boards...

...and three of these...

In hindsight I could've used these larger pieces on the ends of the wall to really block in the board and batten.  Or I could've just purchased all of the boards at this wider width.  Moral of the story, if you're wanting a chunkier board and batten look, purchase the wider boards.  YOLO!  ;)

Now, I could've also used common board, which happens to be a little cheaper and it comes in the same size and basically the same smooth finish as the oak boards, but I had previously purchased a few oak boards to use as sample boards in the space.  So loooooong story short I just went with what I already had on hand and then purchased more of what I had once I decided to proceed with the project.

Just know that there are cheaper options out there.

Okay, so now that I've cleared that up, let's get busy.

First up, since the boards were four feet in length, I painted a little under four feet up the wall from our baseboard using Alabaster by Sherwin Williams.  I applied two coats to ensure full coverage.

Then I told Henry to finish it.

Okay, okay.  Just kidding.

He did, however, assist in some measuring and spacing of the boards.  ;)

Every board wasn't exactly the same size in length and the wall we were working on wasn't quite as straight and as even as we had hoped.  So to be sure the boards would be placed at the same height and with as little gap as possible, we drew a line four feet up from the baseboard and across the length of the wall using a level and then placed the boards "on top" of the line.  <----Geez, talk about a run on sentence.  Sorry about that.  ;)

Next, we used our nifty nail gun to nail the vertical boards in place.  We nailed in the two end boards first, then went to the middle board and worked our way outward from the center board back to the boards on the ends.

We also verified that every board was level and equally spaced apart.

I grabbed some Frog Tape and got to painting the boards...

...hours later I applied a second coat...

...and then a third...

After about a day I applied some caulk on all the edges and any gaps that I found between the boards.  

Voila!  Project:  Board and Batten Complete!

Now, if only I could find some cute Euro pillows, an affordable rug and about six hours to paint some side tables...  ;)

Marie :)

Henry's 6th Birthday Party Recap

Welp, friends, we officially have a six-year-old.

All the crying emojis.................seriously, all.of.them.

Our weekend consisted of a bounce house, pizza, some adult beverages, friends and family and lots and lots of fun!

I didn't get as many pictures as I would've liked, because we were too busy celebrating.  All-in-all, I'd call this past weekend a success.  Also, I was pretty relaxed the entire time, which is huge for me...well, with the exception of a couple moments...but all good things, all good things.

This cool kid was about to turn six.

Please, somebody...pass me a tissue and send me some vino stat!  My heart is a mess because I'm happy and sad all at the same time.  I tell ya, every birthday is the true definition of the word, bittersweet.

I didn't really go overboard with homemade decorations, cake or food this year.  Plus, boyfriend didn't know what kind of party he wanted until a week before AND invites didn't even go out (in text form) until the week before.

#momfail

It all worked out though and I'm so grateful for our friends and family who came to help celebrate this sweet boy of ours.

Henry's cousins and Eliza were pumped to get this party started, even though they had been bouncing in the bounce house that we had rented since 11 a.m. that morning...the party was at 4.  Can you say, party animals?!  Ha!

The party was about to begin...

Easy grocery store cake?

Check.

Plates and napkins ordered from Amazon?

Check.

Super simple goody bags that Henry and Eliza helped put together?

Check.

Pokeman decorations made by Henry himself?

Check.

Pizza?

Check.

Capri-Suns?

Check.

Bounce House?

Check.

The kids loooooooved this.  L-O-V-E-D THIS.

Cake time!

Obligatory licking of the candles?

Check.

That's it, you guys.  I sooooo wish I had more pictures, but I guess I can say I was "living in the moment."

This boy, this boy...this boy...this boy.  I wish I could remember every little moment from birth to now.  As happy as I am that he's six, I'm sad he's getting older.........but also happy...but so sad...I'm sure you know what I mean.

I'd give anything to snuggle with his tiny little baby body if only for a moment.  Lucky for me, Henry still loves it when I snuggle him (thank goodness) and he still loves to sleep with his stuffed animals, which makes me realize that while he's no longer a baby, he's still a little boy...our little boy...my little boy.

I had been good all weekend and I managed not to shed a single tear...well, that is until Sunday night arrived (his actual birthday) and I took it upon myself to watch some of Henry's baby videos.

Um, yeah - #uglycrying

I'm sooooo proud of who Henry has become and who he's becoming.  So, so, soooo proud.

I hope that he continues to be kind and gentle, I hope he continues to be silly.  I hope he continues to be eager to learn.  I hope he grows more confidence.  I hope, I HOPE he always accepts my hugs, my kisses, my love.  I hope he listens to Jon and me when he's a teenager.  I hope he knows that it's our job to keep him safe.  I hope he always knows that his Dad and his Mama will always be his number one fans.  We will always cheer him on, wherever life takes him.  Always.  We will cheer him on during his triumphs.......during his failures.  I hope when he's grown he comes home for Thanksgiving...for Christmas.  I hope he opens doors for people...yes, I really hope for this.  I hope he calls me once a week.  I hope he knows he can trust me and lean on me...even when he has facial hair.  I hope I'm everything a Mother can be for her son.  I hope he has kids so that he can experience the same intense love I have for him.  I hope he smiles on rainy days.  I hope he can make others smile on rainy days.  I hope he's happy.  I really want him to be happy...

...and you know what?  So far, so good....  ;)

Love you, sweet boy.

To the moon and back.

I love you a google.

Mama.

Side Table Makeover

We've all heard the quote, "One man's trash is another man's treasure."

Welp, me hearties, I reckon I found me self some loot.  Arrrghh!

Okay, so I'm not a pirate and there were no ships or sword fights involved when acquiring this piece.

But, what I will tell you is that I happily drove over to our local Goodwill, found this side table, graciously paid five bucks for it and squealed with excitement as I carried this baby out to my car.

I should've stuck with the pirate story, huh?

Waaaay cooler.

Soooooooo, what do you think of it?

Okay, okay - so my newly purchased "treasure" happened to be in shambles.  But there was just something I absolutely loved about the round pieces (not sure of the technical, carpentry term) on the sides, the round legs and the original knobs.

I've gotta tell ya', it was exactly what I'd been looking for...even with all those scratches, dents and wobbly legs!

Nothing a little Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and a screw driver couldn't fix, right?

Challenge accepted.

Last weekend I got to work on getting it painted.  Over the course of an afternoon, I managed to apply three coats of a mixture of Annie Sloan's White and Vintage White to this wobbly little side table.

Once the three coats had dried, I then sent a picture of it to two of my girlfriends asking whether or not I should distress it

They voted it get distressed.

I agreed.

After sanding the edges and corners I was completely covered in chalk dust...and I kind of loved it!

I then removed any excess dust with a damp towel and I used cotton swaps to get chalk dust out of those tiny little crevices.

I let it dry for about an hour and then I sprayed it with a sealer.  The particular sealer I used says that it dries to the touch in about twenty minutes and it's ready to handle in 24 hours!

Umm...awesome-sauce!

Ever since it was sealed, I've been letting it sit out in our garage to let the fumes dissipate a bit.  I did, however, manage to move it inside earlier this week for a quick photo opp.

I don't know about you guys, but I'm quite proud of this little side table.  She's not perfect, but she's perfect to me........  ;) ;) ;)

I'm sure there's some kind of cheesy 70's music/song/lyrics that should go right here.  HA!

I'm hoping to permanently move her inside sometime today and dress her up a bit.  I'm thinking a vase full of lilacs would be the perfect accessory!  What do you think?

Thanks for the visit!

Marie :)

I'm linking up over at the Totally Terrific Tuesday Link-Up Party!