Friday, December 16, 2011

Korean 1st Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my Baby Boy.

It seemed like yesterday your daddy and I bundled you up in 4 swaddle blankets as we exited the hospital on a warm day in July with temperatures soaring in the high 90's. But you didn't complain. You slept peacefully and quietly. So quiet, that I worried that I broke you...so I checked about 20 times to see if you were still breathing.

Now, you're running around in the Cerritos Public Library, the place your mommy used to write her MUN speeches at because she needed the encyclopedia, because we didn't have google back then. You're a big boy now, with friends of your own. Happy birthday my dear boy. Looking forward to many more to come.

Love,

Sunnyluna


2 tiered cupcake stand on paper plates using terracotta pots in Martha Stewart wrapping paper


Balloon friends


Doljabi: Caleb, you are free to be whatever you choose, but just letting you know the occupation to your right pays a lot better than a scholar.



Fondant cake by Michelle Kim at ummaknowsbest.wordpress.com


Friends!!!



Sporting Burberry


Used wrapped boxes to fill space (it's a really large stage)


Closing Thoughts: My next kid's dohl will be with a theme where I can wear jeans and less makeup. 

Craigslist Find: Rolltop Desk

My motto: It is easier to hide stuff, than to clean stuff.


So, searched for the perfect rolltop desk.

Requirements:

1. It has to be able to hide my stuff so I don't have to clean.

2. I prefer it to be small to be functional because Chief and I don't use desks anymore. We plop down on the couch to do any work. If we're serious, we use the dining table. But this is rare, too. So we need a "storage desk."

3. Should be kind of distinctive in features, not too generic and bulky.

So this is what I found:



It even had a cool pencil sharpener!

So this desk is from the 1950's. It was a child-sized desk used in a school. It passed my criteria for a redo:

1. It's old, but not too old where I would strip the value if I refinished it.

2. It's more valuable to me redone than as is.

It's not complete (still need to add more hardware and stuff), but here is progress!


What was done: sanded, hammered off old drawer handles, sanded, wiped clean, primed, sanded, primed, sanded, spray painted, sanded, spray painted, sanded, poly-acrylic added, sanded, sharpener in acid cleaner, scrubbed.

(Chief, you begged me to give you hints on what I wanted for Xmas. Maybe an orbital sander.)

To be done: add hardware, line drawers, maybe redo the whole color with an ivory rather than bright white...we'll see.

Love,

Sunnyluna

Craigslist Find: The Vanity

I used to live in LA. Now, I live on farmland…in NJ. Big change. We trek 1/2 a mile to put our trashcan out on the curb. It’s really gloomy these days, but strangely, natives here rave about how the weather has been so nice. Before I get Seasonal Affect Disorder, I thought…”I need a hobby.”

So I decided to look into antiques. Yes, Pawn Stars and Storage Wars have done a number on me.

So, this is my big craigslist find! Basically, a young guy stopped his friend from throwing out his grandma’s old vanity that was being unused. It was listed on Craigslist for a while and he was eager for more garage space.



When Chief picked up the dresser, he said, “I could see why you like it.” That was it. That’s all I needed for my weekly verbal affirmation. He was impressed.



So we looked at every detail to find out more information. There was no label or branding. After reading a website on how to identify furniture, we found the numbers 534 in the back of the vanity.

According to the Biddington Chart, the patent date traced to 1837. Is that cool or what? Now the disclaimer: I think it could be a reproduction, which is still vaulable. Possibly like late 1800's, early 1900's. Some of the details didn't really add up to be in the 1837ish era. Still pretty old, though.

I was planning on painting it, but now, how can I paint it knowing that it’s so old? I feel like I would be wiping out history or something. So we decided to leave it. I guess I will modernize it with accessories and stuff. We’ll see.

So that was my high for the week!

Love,

Sunnyluna