A little vacation

So, I could start off with yet another apology for going missing.  But in the interest of unpredictability, I won't.  Even though this update should have happened in MAY.

I'll tell you though, that planning a 4-day getaway for 5 people that doesn't involve planes or trains, and sticks to a reasonable budget, is not easy!

Waay back in February, when we filed those pesky tax thingies, I mentioned to Grumpasaur that I'd like to plan a family vacation.  Something we haven't done since Piggy was born, and that we are majory overdue for (he's almost 5)!

Right about the same time, the Lego movie was out, and McDonald's had all things Lego in the Happy Meal.  Including (drum roll please) kids get in free to LegoLand tickets.  It seems my decision was made for me. 

I spent some time researching things, looking at hotels, and other things to do that far down south.  I've been to San Diego for work before, but never had any time to do fun stuff.  Here is the itinerary I came up with:

Friday - pick up boys from school and head out of town.  Overnight in Bakersfield, just to mess with them.

Saturday - drive another 3+ hours down to San Diego.  Tour the USS Midway, then head up to Solana Beach and our hotel.  Which, incidentally, was located almost exactly midway between LegoLand and the USS Midway.

Sunday - LEGOLAND! 

Monday - Beach and the 6+ hour drive home.

Now, that looks pretty darn tidy, don't you think?  I'd agree.  But of course, nothing goes according to plan. 

The first hitch was Grumps coming at me with the idea of a rental car.  Which I diligently looked into, and summarily dismissed.  No way was I going to spend that much cash for the privilege of driving a bigger car than my own mid-sized SUV.  We talked, he was on board, idea tabled.  No biggie.

Second hitch was the first hotel.  The first couple of times I checked it out, we were cool to be in one room, all 5 of us, with a rollaway and no extra charges.  By the time I went to book?  They wanted me to book two rooms, and started referring to my almost 5-year-old Piggy as an infant.  Um.  NO.  Hello there www.expedia.com!  I booked online, and happened to omit the third, oldest, child we'd be traveling with.  I knew that Piggy and Stanky would be fighting over sharing a bed with me anyway, so who cares?  I booked the room.  By the time we were checking in, there was another family checking in with 6 (yes, 6) children, all wanting to stay in the same room with mom, dad, granny and auntie.  The desk clerk didn't bat an eye at my "extra" child.

There wasn't really a third hitch, though there could have been.  Thankfully, I had already spoken with my parents and arranged to borrow my mom's SUV with the third row seat, thinking a little separation would be good for the ankle-biters.  I am so blessed to have such amazing parents! (no, they don't read this blog, it's just how I feel).  They were happy to let us borrow the car.  Even after my car was hit in the parking lot of the boys' school the Monday before we left town.  Yeah.  Totally could have been a major hitch.  It's still driveable, but still.

We drove and drove and drove.  For all you East coasters, that's about 6 states worth of driving.  California is BIG! 

Then, the ocean appeared to our right.  And then, there was this..

See it there, in the center of the horizon?  Yep, that's an aircraft carrier.  And the crowd went wild.

They are so handsome, even when scowling!  Photobombed by random kid...

Obligatory family photo - the first one we've had since Piggy was an infant!

Day One ended at a cute little seafood restaurant a few blocks from our hotel.  Did I mention that Holiday Inn Express & Suites is amazeballs?  The room was cheap AND nice, AND we got breakfast every day!  Finding a room for 5 people is not easy, but HI was awesome.  And we were only two blocks from the beach.

Yes, he's posing with a beer-themed life preserver.  His idea, crazy Piggy.

Day two was Legoland!  We didn't tell the boys we were going, and it took them 97% of the way to the park to figure out where we were.  We actually passed half a dozen life-sized Lego figures on the way into parking, and they STILL didn't figure it out!

We had dinner at a drive-in dive that was surprisingly good.  Seriously, who does the fine-dining thing while on vacation with 3 kids?  Not I, said the fly!

Day three was beach and homeward bound.  Of course, the kids refused to wear their suits in the car, and ended up having to change into them for the ride home.  

Grumpy's version of duck-lips...

I really love this one.  Action for all.

It may have been a whirlwind, but it sure was fun!  

Facebook Freebie Made Fabulous

Have you see those new facebook sell/buy/trade groups? I belong to about four of them. 2 weeks ago, I ran across a free antique buffet on a Facebook group. Didn't think I had any hope of being first in line, but I was! This was the type of piece I'd been secretly wishing for, but didn't even pray for, as these don't typically just show up in re-finishable condition where I live.  

My 9-year old son and I drove out to the boonies after church, and managed to muscle and shove that thing into the back of my SUV with about a quarter of an inch to spare. We got out of there quickly when the guard-goats started showing up, and drove home with spider eggs, webs and all. 

It then sat on the front porch (yeah, we redneck up in here!) for a week.  Of course, a week is nothing in DIY land. My husband and I finally brought it to the back yard so I could start working on it about a week ago. This thing was in pretty harsh shape.  The veneer was crumbling into dust, parts were missing, and it was overall just nasty dirty and infested with incubating spiders. But, it had dovetail drawers, original hardware, and excellent bones. I knew I could make it beautiful.

Dirty & nasty, sitting on my front porch.

Redeeming factor #1: Original, solid brass hardware.

Redeeming factor #2: Dovetailed drawers!

First step?  Hosing it down with bug spray!  I used the new Raid kill 'em all spray in the auto-trigger bottle.  This stuff is awesome, and even kills flies (which are everywhere in Central California in the summer).  Once that was done, I gloved up and just pulled out all of the nasty before giving a good scrubbing with Simple Green and Mr. Clean.  Overkill is better than under when it comes to spiders, right?

I mixed up a quick quart of DIY chalk paint using a can of oops paint I pilfered from Dad's stash and some unsanded grout.  I had originally wanted to paint the frame white and stain the drawers, doors and top, but man did that cherry veneer bleed like a stuck pig!  I ended up with HUGE neon pink spots all over the place.  On to Plan B I suppose.

This was my original vision: white frame + stained fronts and top.  Bleed happened.

Plan B involved two pots of sample paint in Valspar Stonemason Grey, a gorgeous blue-gray color.  I mixed them into chalk paint, and started brushing.

Valspar Stonemason Grey

Pretty, no?  But I wasn't getting good coverage, and I wasn't about to head back to the hardware store AGAIN.  Then I remembered I had a whole quart of My Color by Pantone in Cloudburst that I had won in a blog contest a couple of years ago.  I mixed the Cloudburst with the Stonemason Grey, and ended up loving the color.  Pantone paint is self-priming, has excellent coverage, low VOC and cleans up with water.  What more could a girl ask for?  

I decided to spray the sides of the drawers in a light blue color called Slate Grey by Rustoleum.  Keep in mind, I've had most of this paint lying around for a couple of years, so, you may not be able to find the colors!

While the paint was drying, it was time to assess the hardware.  It is solid brass, and has a beautiful wheat pattern with rope detail.  It was pretty tarnished, and I knew I didn't have any brass cleaner.  I figured, white vinegar gets out pretty much anything so, I might as well try it.  

It worked beautifully, and with a minimum of toothbrush scrubbing!

Yes, one of those cabinet pulls is bent.  I still love it.  It just shows the age and use of the piece, which is fine by me!  Besides, we all know that nothing stays perfect in a house full of boys...

Once the frame was painted, I started sanding down the top.  Turned out that only the lacquer was crumbling, and the veneer was in near-perfect condition under all that mess.  I sanded it all down smooth, and left the "age spots" alone.  I stained the top in my go-to mad-scientist mix of Ebony, Golden Oak and Dark Walnut stains by Minwax.  

Once I brought this beast into the house, I had to find a place for it!  I'd always envisioned my oak bookcases up in my room (painted white, with a stenciled back of course, but that will have to wait) in sort of a library configuration with my desk/table.  This was the perfect opportunity to do so, and would leave me with the best spot in the house for my new/old lovely.

I muscled both 7-foot solid oak cases upstairs, by my lonesome, on two separate days.  God and I were worn out after the first one, but the second went quickly after a day of rest!  I transferred everything up, and now have a nice place for my "office" things, as well as prettily styled shelves in my room.  SCORE!   And, to keep things real, here's a shot of the progress: 

Dog beds, DVD's and junk, Oh My!

Why yes, I do have two different candles on those sconces.  Don't judge.

And here she is, all styled up and gorgeous in my newly airy entry!

The light in this area sucks.  I had to open the front door to get enough to keep the flash off!

Pretty drawers and fluted columns.

See the "age spots"?  I love an authentically aged piece.

And one more, just because I love it so much I smile every time I glance it's way, and run my fingers lovingly over the surface when I walk by:

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House On The Way