Light, Reflection, Shadow

Sometimes you just need a little writing inspiration. I'm going to continue mine from Ann Voskamp's blog,  A Holy Experience, & write on one of her JoyDares. If you look at her list, I'm on #8 out of 31. Slow and steady wins the race. Pretty sure I started on these two years ago.

Number 8 says: a light that caught you, a reflection that surprised you, a shadow that fell lovely.

Light that caught you: Oh, glorious sunlight, how I have missed thee. During spring break, I warmed my bones in the sun. Bliss.

A reflection that surprised you:  In general, it always surprises me when I connect with people who I have previously judged. I'm guilty of it and I'm sure you are too. Although, every now and then a circumstance presents itself which allows you to see your reflection in others. This has happened to me a few times this year & it always reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."

 - Mother Teresa

A shadow that fell lovely: On Saturday, I was very excited because Josh finally had the day off work for the first time in what seemed like months. Weekend bike rides used to be one of our "things" but lately that has gone down the drain. Since there was finally a day with no hurried schedules, we decided to get back to it! His part of town is a little better for bike riding, so we had to transfer our bikes from my house to his house via our cars. Mind you, we both have small cars, therefore the bike's front tires were dismantled, back seats of cars were folded down and bikes we carefully shoved placed in the tight car spaces. All this to say... it was a process. After the big transfer, we ran inside to change clothes and eat a quick snack (never know how far you're gonna venture from home base...don't wanna be stranded and hungry....which is my main concern....always) I swear as soon as we opened the door, the rain started. This is where the shadow turns lovely. We went anyway. It rained harder the longer we stayed out but we had the best time. We rode around through neighborhoods and picked out which houses were our favorites, we ran into one of my 6th grade students who was also out playing in the rain with her umbrella, water was dripping off the bill of our hats, our clothes were soaked completely through, and it was great. Actually, it was lovely.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

I'm gearing up for Clean Diet round #3. This time I will try to do it without going to the group meetings at the yoga studio, so we'll see if I can stick to it. I've already made a meal plan for the entire first week so that I don't have to put any thought into WHAT I'll be eating, but only purchasing/preparing my meals. That in itself is still plenty of work. As for now, I'm still working on polishing off my leftover Valentine's Day chocolate. Come March 19th, it's ON.

This Spring Break has been pretty relaxing, just as I intended. Most days I've stayed in bed until approximately 11 am. What would I do without my sleep? I need it more than any teenager.

My main project of the week (because there is always something) has been my coffee table re-do. I found this coffee table with perfect character at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. It's brass hardware all around the outside of the table is what sold me.

 I had plans to paint it which is what led me to one of the greatest discoveries of my life: Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. I did some research and found that this chalk paint requires no sanding, no priming, just straight to the fun stuff. There were 2 roadblocks: A) Who the heck sells it in Savannah? B) Its way expensive. We're talking....$40 for a quart.

Road blocks were overcome. First of all, this sweet little studio on Whitaker Street called Lily Bay Bazaar is the only seller in Savannah.

Second of all, a little paint goes a long, LONG way, so the price is worth it. Also worth it for not having to deal with sanding & priming. While I'm raving about it, I also must add that is has no smell, it dries extremely fast, and its not drippy and gooey, therefore there is not much of a mess to clean up throughout the process. After painting, you have to apply a wax coat (wipe on, wipe off = easy breezy). The wax is also pricey, but again, you don't need much.

Here's a collage of the process. I was in the zone, but I think the whole project took about 2 hours from start to finish.

The color I used it called Duck Egg & its perfect. I may do a little distressing to maximize the shabby chic look, but for now I'm just going to keep it the way it is. The chalk paint has a way of making it looked a little distressed anyway because there is a matte finish to it and I didn't fully cover some of the rough areas. Another piece of great news... I only used 1.5 sample containers to do this whole table (2 coats) It really does last you, so don't be scared of the price.

And here's a look at the final product. I am in love. Oh! One final note: I did bite the bullet and buy an Annie Sloan paint brush for $28 because you can use the same one to apply the paint and the wax. Simply wash it with warm water and Dawn in between uses, then wipe away the excess water with a paper towel. Doesn't get much better than that!

It's not this blue in real life...its truer to the paint color in the sample containter

This could be the start of a painting addiction.