Gift Wrapping Center

One of the things I loved about this house are the built ins in the hallway, but this particular cabinet had me a bit confused about its purpose because the top cabinet is tall and shallow with no shelves to hold anything and both cabinets have locks on them.  It turns out it's a gun cabinet and the bottom is intended to hold ammunition.

Even though I'm sure it makes the firearm loving soul who built it roll in his grave, I use it as a gift wrap center.
A while back I decided it could use some freshening and organization to make it more useful.  The interior of the top cabinet was lined in red felt, so I had to remove that before giving it a coat of fresh paint.  This took F-O-R-E-V-E-R because it had been glued directly to the wood and it has been there a really long time.  After much scraping, tugging, and applying a plethora of various adhesive removers, I finally got it off.

I used a curtain rod I had on hand to hang the gift wrap and bags from the clips on the rings which frees up the bottom of the cabinet and prevents the paper from getting wrinkled.  The buckets hold ribbons,stationary, and tissue paper.  A mason jar keeps gift wrap essentials like pens, markers, scissors, and tape handy, though it was missing when I took these pictures.  Does this happen in your house?  I have back-up with my huge tape dispenser)
I'm loving how neat and organized this space is and plan to reward myself for my hard work with a little shopping spree for more wrapping supplies....I admit I have a bit of a paper addiction, but at least I now have a cute place to store it!

Linking up with:  Savvy Southern Style,  DIY by Design, Shabby Creek Cottage,  The 36th Avenue, No Minimalist Here, House of Hepworths, Delightful Order, Homemakers Challenge

Treasures Found Over the Weekend

I have been on the hunt for a group of paintings or botanicals to put on either side of the bed in our room for the last few months, but hadn't had any luck finding anything in my budget.  Last week I ran in the Habitat Restore looking for something else and came across these....

 $2 for the group!

I grabbed some frames from my stash in the attic and spray painted them with Antique Brass spray paint.  I used a more modern mat that I had on hand and I'm really liking them with the botanicals.

So glad to mark that off the list, especially for 2 bucks!

Linking up with Southern Hospitality

Down on the Farm

Today we spent the morning at a nearby family owned farm that hosts tours of their huge vegetable gardens and "nursery" barns so you are able to feed the babies.  We had a blast and the kids fell in love with the babies.....Lyla James was crazy about the piglets and kept cooing,  "Hi, little you," to them as she fed them cabbage. 

True to form, I remembered my camera...minus the battery...uhhh!  SO excuse the phone pics that are mysteriously black and white???

After a picnic lunch, we were all ready to head home for afternoon naps!

If you're looking for a fun activity with the kiddos, check out Cagles Family Farm

A quick hello and a kitchen tour

Sorry for the lack of posts lately....we have been soaking up every second of summer, but I hope to get back to regular blogging soon!

Kelly is hosting another Show Us Your Life Friday Kitchens Addition...I love these as I love seeing how and where other people live.

When we moved in our house the cabinets were a dark cherry, very pretty but they made the room feel small and boxy. Last year we finally tackled that project and Todd installed a beadboard backsplash at the same time....I am so happy with the way it came out!

As the white appliances have died, we have replaced them with stainless....only the stove is left and it works like a charm, so it may be a while on that one!