Blog break breakdown and a Fire pit facelift

Hey dandies it has been quite the while! i physically havent been doigg so well and physically signed the consent forms for back surgery where they will decompress and fuse me lowest two vertabrae. So I've been I'm so much pain that even writing wasn't sounding great to me. But the point of this blog is to take my mind off of how much it hurts and it'll be over soon. I've even had little angels of encouragement randomly along the way to set my heart and mind at ease.

I had a major procedure called a Discogram followed by a ct scan who h showed my back to be much worse so its time. The consequences of going without doesn't leave much of a future for activities or being a mommy one day without it so cut me up doc! Haha my doctor is the sweetest guy and a very brilliant man and comes with a long list of accomplishments over the last 35 years he's been a spine specialist/surgeon so I'm in good hands. On to happy and better things!! My husbands niece Kim came in from New York with her boyfriend and they are spending the week with us. It was one of the things that fueled our patio fix including a lot of beautiful flowers, patio set. An antique ladder as a planter, string lights, and its coming along just lovely. The yard isn't quite complete but stil, we have a bit to get there! 

 So when we moved into our beach bungalow we were left with a disgusting yard which should have been handles by our landlord who is quite a bit of a persnickety lady (think weeds up toyour knees  cobwebbed moldy hibiscus and a moldy banana tree all bug infested) and a very sad little fire pit. Seriously it looked like a zombie fire pit, as you shall see,It was completely charred and rusted over but what remained looked to be like one they have at Walmart. Our hope is to finish an outdoor bar and built a stone fire pit but with me stopping work soon, disability won't pay for that just yet. Gotta make sure we have a little nest for a bad month. So here was the progress! You can do this with your old BBQ too if you'd rather spend your $ on party stuff or food or yard decor.

*First you'll need Rustoleum's high head flat of semigloss restorative spray enamel. This puppy makes pretty and stands up to 1200 degrees of built up heat!

* then pull apart your fire pit or BBQ if you can and hose it down with good water pressure on your hose nozzle or bust out the old summer spritz with a finger partially over the hose head, and get that puppy well rinsed.

 Then use a metal grill brush to scrape off any excess "funk" that may be plaguing your pit. 

*Once it's dry you can paint! Shake the can well and keep it a good 6 inches from the surface. Try to spray in the same direction. I had to sit for this part so it took me a while but let that dry for 20 mins and spray one more coat, make sure you always keep the can moving to prevent streaks, blotches or paint running. Let dry. Then set it back together. Now it's voila and ready for logs and marshmallows!!! The can can be bought at The Home Depot for around $3/$4. Not bad for the zombie fire pit! 

 

The crafty itch

So as some may know, I'm preparing to have a major back operation this summer. I have had to cut back on my regular work as a stylist and makeup artist because its physically too much with the degenerative issues I have in my spine. And I've been waiting to muster up the energy when I'm having s good day, because with a degenerative back diseases, simple easy tasks are difficult and painful. Just washing a few dishes could mean a lot of unbearable extra pain. Now there's a tangent being born here.....
Since we rent, I have a constant itch to add knick knacks and make things feel as much as mine as possible. Renters need apartment therapy sometimes, but nothing beats not having the stress of a mortgage, we could pick up and go if our gypsy hearts chose. Since both my husband and I work in the commission and contract job industries that we do, what never know what's around the bend. Not that anyone does, but we don't even have a cushion around the bend. Which means buying anymore furniture than we already have isn't in the cards if we want to start a little Cushion for the coming months ill be out of work.
Since I'm going to be stuck in recovery for at least four months, I've come across some amazing vintage and funky finds that are begging me to be repurposed. Starting with this amazing brass candleholder that needs some tlc, a vintage broyhill bed frame (going to re knack and just use the head board cause our master room needs one), turn a slowly saddening ikea table into a farm table esque table and ........I'm determined to take a crap plywood dresser and knock it up with some paint, decal printing (I see a tutorial in the future?) and putting some amazing knobs to add character. It's so easy to dress an old piece of furniture up with some cool knobs. I usually hit up world market or wait for knobs to go on sale at anthropologie. I got my rustoleum colors picked, some steel wool, face masks and a silly smile! Here's a sneak peekin!!!