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Hi friends...I've been quiet this last week because of this:

Rain. Between regular summer showers and now the edges of Debby we've been soaked - not that that's a bad thing! We've been in desperate need of rain so this is actually perfect, but it's been so wet I haven't been able to get out and paint anything. 

I have to dash off to work now, but I'll be back later tonight with a full update on everything that's been going on - we've had a lot on our plate!

Have a great Monday, and stay dry :)

-Em

Whirlwind Weekend

Is it Monday again already? I can’t believe how fast the weekend went by…we had been looking forward to it for a long time, and it was pretty much as great as I had hoped!

1. Family – My mom and step-dad came up to our house, and my little sister came home for a quick weekend visit from Maryland. We hadn’t seen her since Christmas so it was long overdue! She brought her boyfriend to our house for the obligatory “meet the family” weekend and everything went great.

2. Celebrating Father’s Day – My hubs went and made Mother’s Day really special for me this year, so I wanted to do something cool for him. I found some really neat vintage beer taps at Hoity Toity Mercantile and snapped them up – I don’t have a way to display them for him yet but my mind is working away on that.



He thought they were pretty cool, so I think I just started a new collection for him! I also made a card to go with them…



I don’t have the file on this computer, but I’ll have this available later as a free printable for anyone else that wants to use it next year.

Our wonderful babysitter also took the time to make some things for my hubby (from the kiddo, obviously). She found these ideas on Pinterest. I don’t know what her sources were, but these are her versions:





3. Now that I’m working again I’m appreciating my weekends! When you’re unemployed, almost every day is like the weekend & it stops being special after a while. Now I get to look forward to special family time and relaxation on the weekends.

4. I got a bunch of painting done. The nightstand is all painted now (finally, I know!) and I’m ready to wax it next. Hopefully I’ll have time for that one evening this week so I can get that piece sold and out of here.


I’m hoping that this week will be relatively uneventful at work – I think I’m finally starting to settle into a routine, and I’d really like to get back into my old routine of being able to keep up with housework as well. I’m afraid the laundry monster is rearing his ugly head again, and I’d love to get him back under control.
Have a great week ladies! What did you do for Father’s Day?

I'm linking up with Debbiedo's Newbie Party!





Remember, I’m now accepting orders for custom painted furniture. If you have something you’d like done, email me at Emily@PaisleyandPorter.com and we’ll talk!

At the Office

One of the things that is really great about my new job is that I have my own office! That’s actually super exciting for me because my old company squashed us all into cubicles like sardines. I’m also actually allowed to bring in my own pictures and listen to music and wear casual clothes (other things that were prohibited before).

So I’m trying to figure out some things I can do to make it a little cozier here. Obviously I can’t go overboard on office décor, but I do want to do a few things to beautify. I’d like to bring in a nice little rug for under my desk (since we have tile floors), a blanket (I get cold easily), and a shabby little supply organizer – I’m thinking something like this:

AnitaSperoDesigns on Etsy

I actually had an idea for this in my head already, but this is pretty much exactly it. I had a wood set of storage drawers in mind (wood just seems cozier to me than this metal one), but it’s just the look and style I was going for.

So here is what the space looks like.

It’s a bad, bad cell phone picture, but that’s where I spend my days now! I normally don’t go for the 70’s wood paneling look (ever), but in this case it makes the space feel very warm and welcoming. I’ve been surfing Pinterest for some small-scale décor inspiration. There really isn’t much there that isn’t meant for a home office, but some things could probably be adapted to a professional office building setting.

My eyes have been craving white after staring at the orange walls for the past 2 weeks.

My Ideal Home

A pretend window would be nice…

Dornob – Design Ideas Daily

I love the way terrariums add greenery and life to a space.

DoodleBirdie on Etsy

and some art or wisdom that will make me smile!

Etsy seller ParadaCreations

What do you think? I’d love to hear your suggestions!

Weekend Recap

Happy Monday everyone! I hope y’all are having a great start to your week. My stomach was churning a little this morning when I woke up at the thought of going to work, but of course there’s nothing to worry about. I’m so used to dreading Monday mornings at my old job that I keep forgetting that there’s not much to be anxious about now :) Hearing some of my favorite songs on the way in to the office this morning was definitely a great boost too – you can’t sing along with Lady A and not be in a good mood!

We’ve been having so much rain lately that I’ve hardly been able to get out and paint. I know some of you girls bring your painting inside when the weather gets yucky, but I just don’t have the space for that (between the boychild, the dog, and my own klutziness that would totally be a disaster waiting to happen!). I’m working on finishing up the nightstand I showed you in my last post, and I’ve been on the hunt for the next piece also…

One thing I’m looking for is a small table or bench to put in my entryway. The space is empty (still) and I really want to put something in there to make it more welcoming. I stopped by about 5 local antique shops over the weekend and picked the brains of all my friends who were working but so far I’ve come up empty handed. The entryway is very small and although I did find a few nice pieces that would have fit, they were a tad out of my price range for just now – I had some money to burn from my very first paycheck, but not very much. I’ll have to set that aside and keep saving for the next few weeks so I can broaden my search.


Morning T


BHG


Dear Lillie

There’s definitely no shortage of ideas! My friend Pattie Mae was a huge help – I can’t wait to get in her store and start spending my paychecks! If you’re in the area, definitely stop by Pattie Anne’s Vintage Land – I swear I could live and die there!

In other news, I’ve been working on the design for some business cards. I would have much rather been out working in the garage, but the weather has been so bad we’ve just huddled up inside for the past several days. The sunshine finally did come out yesterday for a few hours, so The Boy and I were able to get outside to enjoy a popsicle, and then the three of us went down to the Tavares splash park…it was such a pretty summer afternoon that we ended up stopping for DQ on the way home! It’s a good thing I’m so busy at work that I barely have time to eat lunch, or all the summertime treats would start to be a problem around my waistline!

One last thing – just a quick housekeeping item to point out. I’ve added a new tab at the top of the page for items that are currently available for sale. If you’re local, please let me know if you’re interested in anything listed there!

Linking up with Debbie-Do's

Coming up for Air

I have been a bad, BAD blogger! I’m so sorry I haven’t been around much here lately – not just for you, readers, but for me. Crafting and blogging has become a part of my heart and although I have a good reason for not posting…I miss it being here.

Work has been insanely busy – apparently this is the busy time of month here so I’ve been staying in the office until at least 7 PM almost every night. Thankfully, I’m told that it’s not usually THIS bad. Aside from working long days and late nights, there’s a lot for me to learn and remember, but already I’m happier here than I was at my old job. My co-workers are kind, helpful, and don’t fixate on gossip and drama. My boss is wonderful, and it makes me so happy that there is constant good feedback on my performance and that she makes a point to tell me that she’s glad I’m here – something I never heard in almost 6 years at my prior company. An added bonus? I’m working for a construction company now so I’ll be eligible for an employee discount on anything related to home renovation – both structural (doors, windows, etc) and material (woodworking supplies, tools, etc). How awesome is that for a DIY/home blogger?! I can already tell I’ll be using that.

On the flip side, I’ve really struggled emotionally about going back to work. When I got laid off, going back to work was always the plan but I let myself hope that this would change. I would love to be able to stay home with my child and raise him and concentrate on developing Paisley and Porter as a business, and I’m very fortunate to have a husband that agrees on those priorities. That time is not now though, so there simply is no other option if we want to continue to do fun things…like eat and keep our house.

Over the past 10 days since I got the job offer I’ve run through the full range of emotions, ranging from devastated to be leaving my child to confident career woman and back again. I worried that I wouldn’t be able to be the mom and wife I want to be when I went back to work. I worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with it all, that I would somehow fail my family. Then I realized that my priorities (serving my family) are still the same, it’s just the job description that is changing. By going back to work, I am providing my family with another income that will allow us to save money, pay down our debt, and make better opportunities for our child – all the things a responsible family should do. And as I’ve mentioned, we have an absolutely fantastic baby-sitter for my son & knowing that he is safe & happy with her is a huge weight off my shoulders.

When it comes right down to it, the bottom line is this: I am lucky. Lucky to be out of a job I was desperately unhappy in, lucky to have 5 solid months at home with my sweet son, lucky to have been out of work for only 5 months, and now lucky to have found a job I enjoy with a company that seems to be very rare. There are negatives in there, of course, but attitude is everything and I’m making a conscious decision to focus on the positive. And there is always the possibility that someday our situation will change.

 

Since all this has been going on, I’ve barely had time to do anything with the blog or business. Last weekend I picked up a really ugly nightstand from the Habitat for Humanity thrift store.

Please pretend like you don’t see all the junk in the garage – getting my crafting area organized was one of the things on my ‘to-do’ list but now that I’m working…obviously that hasn’t happened.

It’s kind of scary looking, isn’t it? My husband actually looked at me like I had 6 heads when I made him get it out of the car for me, but I could see the good bones behind the horrible orange-ness.

Here it is after the first coat of paint…still not great but definitely an improvement already! I’ve finished painting it now (don’t have a picture yet) and this weekend I’m planning to finish it up with some light distressing and a protective wax finish. After that, it will be available for sale in the Orlando metro area. Let me know if you’re interested! & of course I’ll share all the ‘after’ pictures with you here.

 

I hope all of you are doing wonderfully…I haven’t even had time to be on my computer all week but I’ve been keeping up with some blog reading on my iPhone when I have a few minutes to spare. I haven’t forgotten you! I’m still trying to figure out how to balance all this but I’ll figure out a way (even if I have to drag my laptop in to work and blog during my lunch hour – which I am doing now!). 

Love to you all!

-Em