I have the BEST husband...

my love for him grows and grows with each day!

Yes, many wives might say it, but I know it to be true.  Not that I have had any doubt, but Brad Thomas re-solidified my stance on this fact this past weekend.  You see, I have been going a bit...ahhh hemmm...insane? I guess you could say over the past week or two because we are about to enter the 3rd trimester and I feel as if we have NOTHING ready for little guy.  A procrastinator to my core, something has awoken the beast within me, and I have just been badgering B on and on about at least getting his nursery started - I guess I felt it would help so I can feel a little relief because of some progress in some aspect of our prepping for Jack.  Don't even get me started on my long-term sub plans...yup, whoopsie.  I'm going to hate myself here in the next few weeks.

Anyway, last weekend, Brad went with me to pour over paint samples again...and again while I tried to find the perfect shade of blue to paint a dresser...yes, just a dresser.  I'm a freak.  We settled on a color and then he helped me sand and paint the little ditty in this beautiful shade of blue, perfect for our perfect boy. Well, with this circumstance being me and the visions that ensue, I of course was nowhere near finished.  This was to be NO simple paint job...and NO easy task.  Yet, is anything ever just EASY with me.  Don't laugh.  I had a vision.  I am a lover of alllllll things vintage.  Majorly.  You know this. Thus, anything I put into my house is no exception to that.  I like things that have a story.  I like things that tell a story just with their presence.  Don't get me wrong, I like many a modern items...but there is just something that one vintage/ antique piece can do for a room.  I had one issue though, this dresser was anything BUT vintage.  It's just a plain ol' brown dresser that my parents got for me back in college to match my...you guessed it, antique 4-post cherry bed that I just had to have with me in my first apartment.  I wanted this dresser to be blue, yes, but I wanted it to have a story...or at least look to the rest of the world that it does.  Brad Thomas had no questions.  He just continued to nod in agreement and "go with" my vision.

Now, I went to pouring over DIY website after website to find tips on how to 'antique' paint a dresser...you know, give it that worn "I have a story" look?  Okay, maybe you don't, but I sure knew what I had in mind.  Every single website had about 2398674.51 ideas/ tips to get this done and I finally settled on what I thought would be the easiest.  Brad of course went with me and stood in Lowe's without complaining as I went through item after item that would work and could work for me.  Finally, I selected something and we went home so I could get started.  All the while, he was moving stuff around, rearranging...and doing anything that he thought I'd like to get done or I'd asked at some point over much time to get done...without complaints, without hesitation, without question.  Sure enough, what I had purchased wasn't working out to my intentions, so he offered to head to Lowe's, yet again, to fulfill my desires.  Seeing that he himself was mid project (doing stuff to appease me) I opted to go.

When I got home, he had moved the modem from our computer upstairs in the office (the office is now becoming Jack's nursery) back behind our flat screen in our downstairs TV room. For Christmas, his parents got him GoogleTV and he had that set up with our main TV, but without hesitation, he moved his new toy upstairs to the sitting room/ upstairs living room in our bedroom (typically my nook and DVR haven) and rigged up our biggest TV to also be one giant computer.  It's hard to wrap your mind around, but it's way cool.  We basically have a 52" computer screen...or a TV that's also a computer with one GIANT screen.  Technically, our two flat screens are also giant computers...we're pretty savvy over here...holler!  He's so smart!  I love him for all he knows how to do!

You may think this is silly, but Brad has yet to question a single one of my ideas and has supported me all the way.  He moved closets without complaining.  He rearranged the guest bedroom furniture to accommodate the influx of stuff from the office without complaining.  He moved stuff to the garage from the office without complaining.  He drove to Elizabethtown today to meet our brother-in-law, Joe, to pick up Jack's crib (that was once Spencer and Jillian's) without complaining.  He is even parking in the driveway for the next couple of weeks until we can get the desk that was in the office moved to his parent's house and out of the garage, without complaining.  When I put up a fight about him parking outside, he said he wouldn't have it any other way and it was not up for debate.  He had a busy day and STILL did NOT complain about moving his office TV and PlayStation to an opposite wall AND then put together Jack's crib after that!  Lastly, he has done nothing this weekend but things I have asked or mentioned somewhere along the way that I'd eventually hope to see done and has not complained once, nor asked for a moment to do something for him...even though he'd been doing things for a crazy hormonal woman all weekend.  I mean, the playoffs WERE on today.  He's just incredible...in every sense of the word. I am so lucky to have him.  Jack is so lucky to have him.  I am just so grateful to have this amazing man by my side and as my partner through life.  He is truly a blessing to my life and our son's life.  How will I ever be able to repay him for being the strength and support that I receive from him?  Thinking of it takes my breath away.  He is my rock.  I love this man!

In case you were wondering about how some of the projects turned out...here are some pics and some updates.  I will not post any nursery pics of the progress until it is completely done and we have a finished product, but I WILL post pics of some projects along the way so you can get a little mental image of my visions.  You may think I'm a "crazy kooke", but please know I'm a hormonal crazy woman, so keep those opinions out of earshot from me...kapeesh?!?  Tee-hee.  Maybe that's what Brad is smokin'...the crazy lady with a baby theory?!?  Bahaha!

Dresser:
Brad and I sanded it and painted it baby blue.  Next, I gave it a huge 'shellacking' of crackle gloss and allowed that to dry overnight.  Finally, I coated the crackle paint with a gold gloss finish to enhance the look.  It may sound random, but I really wanted to give it a weathered/ 'antiquey' appeal.  Pictures don't really do it justice...it's way cooler in person.  Actually, in pics, it almost looks dirty, but here are some pics of the process...

Crackle coat

crackle coat

crackle coat on drawers

dresser before the crackle, but after the blue paint

crackle coat

gold finish to fill in crackle layers

gold antiquing gloss...the missing drawer is one I'm repainting.
I will be purchasing more antique knobs to put as the pulls!  This is still a work in progress!

see...almost looks dirty on pics??  waaaaay better in person...especially with the light to pick up the gold!

Guest Bedroom:
remember how I mentioned the cheery 4-post bed?  Well, it's still with me and is in our guest bedroom.  I also have my Nana's "fainting couch", circa the 1850s in there and so there are only so many ways to rearrange those priceless pieces!  The bed used to be in the middle with the fainting cough immediately to the left as you walked in.  We also had to move Brad's tall dresser (the tall match to the one we painted..so that'll give you a good before pic!) into that bedroom after we moved the long one that we're using for Jack, out.  This room is our last room we have to finish in our house...meaning, it needs PAINT.  So, please do not judge us on the white, lack of character walls!  I have every intention of doing wide gold matte and gloss painted horizontal stripes.

View from the hallway...nevermind B's laundry down there on the floor...eeek!
But, the theme of our weekend was projects and his laundry is NO exception to that!

TV:
Here is some pics so you can get a visual of how our TV is now also one giant computer.  When we moved in, our house was barely 3 years old...but it had this very random square cut-out for TVs.  Being that we moved in in 2009 and the house was built in '06, we found it random that it'd have a TV nook since most people were moving towards flat screens...us being on that train. It actually worked out VERY much to our advantage because my dad and Brad were able to put our satellite box in the cutout as well as any other TV necessities up in there while our flat screen hung from the top and covered it all!  I hate, hate, HATE to EVER see any cords so this seems to be the solution to all of my technological woes!  B was able to fit the computer modem up in there too so you don't even see it!  How cool is that?  Turns out, it's a nifty little TV nook and we LOVE IT!

Like I said, I will continue to post pics of projects as we complete them.  We are still waiting on our custom glider to come in...it's fantastic and it will really add so much to Jack's room, as well as his monogrammed wall decal to hang over his dresser/ changing table.  I am still looking for window treatments, a large area rug, a bookcase/shelf that I can paint in the same fashion as the dresser, and various accessories to bring his room to life!  I am still eyeing this chandelier from my favorite vintage store as well..it's absolutely PERFECT for a boy's room and well, I just have. to. have. it!

While there is still tons and TONS to get done, I take comfort in knowing we are making progess and we are making it because we are working together.  I am so fortunate to have a loving and supportive husband in my life who is going to be an incredible father.  I can't wait to see where our projects take us next!
I have the BEST husband!