Transformation Tuesday

I'm feeling blah today Champs. Having a little pity party for my mood-swinging self. 

Not sure if it's the rainy weather or my wonderful, but strong spirited teenage girls sharing close quarters with me this week, but I almost came unglued yesterday.

My younger but much wiser niece, talked me off the ledge and sent me this link this morning.   It's Lisa TerKeurst's material from her book called "Unglued". She offers a "Five Day Challenge" in your email inbox to help get your heart and head straight. :)

Hope it might be of some encouragement to you today as well. 

While feeling unglued is all I’ve really known, today my life can be different. Verse For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you. (Isaiah 41:13)   I’m sad because of the way I acted today. I’m disappointed in my lack of self-control. And the more I relive my emotionally driven tirade, the more my brain refuses sleep. I have to figure this out. What is my problem? Why can’t I seem to control my reactions? I stuff. I explode. And I don’t know how to get a handle on this. But God help me if I don’t get a handle on this. I will destroy the relationships I value most and weave into my life permanent threads of short-temperedness, shame, fear, and frustration. Is that what I really want? Do I want my headstone to read, “Well, on the days she was nice she was really nice. But on the days she wasn’t, rest assured, hell hath no fury like the woman who lies beneath the ground right here”? No. That’s not what I want. Not at all. I don’t want the script of my life to be written that way. So, at 2:08 a.m., I vow to do better tomorrow. But better proves illusive and my vows wear thin in the face of daily annoyances and other unpleasant realities. Tears slip, and I’m worn out from trying. Always trying. I feel broken. Unglued, actually. I have vowed to do better at 2:08 a.m. and 8:14 a.m. and 3:37 p.m. and 9:49 p.m. and many other minutes in between. So why aren’t things getting better? Why aren’t my reactions tamer? I know what it’s like to praise God one minute and in the next minute yell and scream at my child—and then to feel both the burden of my destructive behavior and the shame of my powerlessness to stop it. The emotional demands keep on coming. Unrelenting insecurity. Wondering if anyone appreciates me. Feeling tired, stressed, and hormonal. Feeling unglued is really all I’ve ever known. And I’m starting to wonder if maybe it’s all I’ll ever be. Those were the defeating thoughts I couldn’t escape. Maybe you can relate. If you relate to my hurt, I pray you will also relate to my hope. While unglued is all I’ve really known, I believe that with God’s help, today my life can be different. That’s my personal revelation of hope. As you take this “Unglued Challenge” for the next 5 days, I hope you’ll see this is a safe place to address our tendencies to stuff, explode, or react somewhere in between. I am both a stuffer and an exploder. And I’ve experienced God’s tender mercies and grace given so many times it almost seems scandalous. How can our God be so patient? I don’t know. But He is. Today, He’s offering us the fresh start our souls desperately need. Our key verse from Isaiah 41 promises He will help us. We can be different. A slate wiped clean. A page crisp-white. A chance to start rewriting the old scripts of past failures. For me. For you. Together. We can do this. Does it seem somewhat shallow now to post before/after pictures of another project I've been working on after reading something that deep? I've often said that I love working in interior design because of the transformation that takes place with spaces that are worn out and need updating.  Similar to my soul and spirit. I guess i need a little spiritual updating.  Other days, my efforts, work and profession of choice leave me feeling kind of empty and materialistic.  Balance I guess.   I've never been good at that. Below is a mudroom area that belongs to my friend/client Joy.  Her name fits her. I need more of who she is and what she's got....JOY. BEFORE

AFTER:

Opposite Corner:

Wall leading into 1/2 bath right off the mudroom:

And the transformation of the main floor half bath:

We're putting the finishing touches on her kitchen remodel so I will wait to post more photos of the rest of her house. 

Stay tuned....

"And He said unto me, My Grace is sufficient for thee.  For my strength is made perfect in weakness.  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me". 

2 Corinthians 12:9

love and hugs

C-

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sneak peek kitchen remodel

 this is a fun project i've been working on with my client lynda.  not only does she have amazing taste, she is super sweet and fun to work with! and if that wasn't enough for me to look forward to our consults, the added bonus is that she feels like family to me. she's the sis-n-law to one of my besties, so our paths get to cross even when we're not working on her remodels these past few years. love that. 

love this too. 
her brand. new. kitchen. 
(although not quite done...sorry lynda, i'm just too excited to wait for the grand reveal). 

this won't be quite as effective without the before angles, but we'll get those posted with the new official 'after' shots for greater impact! :)

 wanted to show you a work in progress with the countless selections that go into a kitchen remodel of this magnitude.
to name just a few:

-cornice above sink...do we, or don't we? YES, we do! (photo above)
-built in wine/coffee bar? YES PLEASE. (photo below)
-dark accent color in kitchen-we can get away with that with all the creamy white cabinets and very little wall showing.
-recessed canned lights. don't skimp. always on dimmers. always.

HUGE, I mean HUGE, center island-10 feet to be exact. Wait 'til you see the granite slab going on this baby.

Dark center island in a walnut stain.

Lighter perimeter cabinets to be creamy white with a pewter glaze.

Dark granite on perimeter counter.

Light flecked blingy granite on center island.

Desk area with same island granite. Lower cabinets painted a light taupe.

New colors for the adjacent living room area. Darker greenish blue accent wall to define the conversation area of the long narrow room. 

Lighter taupe color on the rest of the walls to compliment the darker taupe walls in kitchen.

we also chose a darker muted color to help with the transition of the taupe to a lighter buff color behind the plastic tarp in the pic below. that next room leads to the master bedroom addition we worked on together two years ago.

here's the lighter taupe. you can see we switched color where the wall bumps out.

lots and lots of great built- in storage for their four active kids. this mudroom leads you into the newly remodeled laundry room.

 can't wait to see the shaker style cabinet glazed doors in place. we both love this soft grey-ish blue in the laundry area. super calming walls might make the task of doing laundry more enjoyable? linen etched  taupe colored tiles were chosen for the flooring for entire back hall.

the laminate countertop we chose for this room is super fun too. i promise i'll post more soon.

on a side note:

in my shopping adventures for clients a few weeks ago, i stumbled across these fabric letters from World Market.

so great.

so cheap. 

so cute.

places and items like this are gonna put my booth at Not So Shabby out of business but i love 'em anyway. :)

saw this too. sorry about the blurry photo. i just liked how industrial this shelving unit felt. would look great in a den or even dining room with all white serving dishes and platters.

 thought this media console was unique as well. zinc topped for only $449. would've bought it for the client i was shopping for, but it was just a bit too large at 60 inches long. do you have a spot for it? 

that's all for now on this mediocre monday.:)

thanks for meeting me here. 

be back soon.

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CeLeBrAtE GoOd TiMeS, c'mOn!

  there's been lots of celebrating going on in this neck of the woods lately.  i'm getting a little behind in my work  because of it but it's so worth it. i've got way too many regrets in life already without having to look back on this wonderful stage and feel like i wasn't present for all these amazing moments of celebration. 

...like this hippie chick's 15th birthday!

...and this incredible nephew's high school graduation,

 ...this precious niece's 8th grade graduation,

...this end-of-the -school year-celebration!

...this celebration of friendship and good health,

and so many more times this past month that i was overcome with emotion trying to take it all in.

so forgive me if i've been a bit behind with custom orders or email responses.  i promise i haven't forgotten about you.  one of the reasons i love being my own boss is to allow myself freedom  to be there.really be there. not just my physical body, but my heart, soul and mind as well.  thanks for giving me that freedom as well.

it's not been all play and no work.

i've managed to spend some time in my workshop painting up some new signs and making/buying accessories for my booth at not so shabby.

come visit me there this week on thursday, june 13 from 3-7.

can you hear me clapping? i hope you are too. 

with gratitude and celebration,
c-

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Allegan Antique Show

i promised you pics of our monthly stop to allegan antique show. i just love the organic essence of this vendor's booth.

 i am thinking it's the same talented gal i've been stalking with my photos for quite some time, but she was located in a different section of the fairgrounds this time, so i can't be rightly sure, but either way, i loved it all. 

her plantings and displays reminds me of my favorite holland farmer's market gal who sells topiaries and jewelry there on saturday mornings. if you frequent the market, you know the one. amazing stuff. 

in the out-of doors, in the bright sunshine this booth was so artistic and earthy. to bring some of these rusty pieces home, you'd need the right space to pull it off. unfortunately, my hundred year old bungalow is already chipped up, well worn and aged, so any accessories i bring that have the same qualities, make the space look messy and unkempt, however, if i ever get the screen porch of my dreams, i would outfit it with treasures like this: 

caught a glimpse of this rustic barnboard with "love" spelled out with mixed media. need to make one of these babies soon.

another vendor that i didn't recognize toward the back of the park had a beautiful vignette of shabby chic items and lots of vintage furniture and linens. the gorgeous sunny day was a perfect backdrop to show off her cottage style wares.

it was probably the best day weather wise that we've ever had in the last 10 years of visiting the market. good consolation for the fact that we walked away with only a few inexpensive accessories to resell in my booth. 
we did however, hit one of usual furniture 'resale' shops on the way home that day and managed to load up the van with an armoire, an amazing desk that needs refurbishing, legs for a table that ken will build and a small end table. 

now to find the time and motivation to start working on them. :)

i'm excited that june is here and that working in my garage/workshop doesn't require a propane heater and 5 layers of clothing anymore. 

hope your projects are coming along nicely. i'll post a few more of mine next time. see you then.

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