Lovin' Summer

 We made it!! Our nearly 100 mile annual biking trip to Pentwater was another success! We had beautiful weather when we set out at 6:00 AM last Monday morning and made it into town at around 4:00. Not bad for a novice 14 year old, a sassy 17 year old and a very old and sore 47 year old! Spending time with Kennedy and one (or two) of my nephews each year on the way up is seriously one of the greatest days of my life. 
Amazing conversations, memories and then to be rewarded that night with this? Who could ask for more?



I had to include Brecken in a few pics for nostalgia. She was up at Macinac Island with a friend for the first half of the week, but Ken and I road tripped to pick her up in Grayling on Wednesday so she could join us for the rest of the week with the cousins. She's sporting her doggy cousin, Abbie in the top pic, and posing downtown Ludington in front of an artistic mural during their Friday Night Street Party event.

Most of the cousins and Aunties/Uncles agreed that Pentwater was bittersweet this year. So much fun to spend uninterrupted time with each other, but gone are the days of the kiddo's wanting to play kick-the-can or climb Mt. Baldy to put on shows and musical productions for the parents.
Next year, we decided we need to be more intentional about creating new memories of VB games, board games or activities we can all do together to celebrate the season of life we find ourselves in where our imaginations and our physical states (parents) are a little more limited.

The day I returned, I got a call from Not So Shabby that I had sold a farmstyle table that I had recently brought to my booth before my trip. It was perfect timing because I had some time on Monday to re-stage the booth with some of the newly found treasures from the Allegan sale I mentioned in my previous post.

I've got the thing loaded up with so much junk, but this cart with wooden wheels is so incredible! I can picture if for display in some store window....(which btw, I did spot one of my pieces for sale downtown Holland at JB&Me for twice as much as I had listed it for when they purchased it from my booth this spring.)! Ha! That's the way this game is played. :)

 

Head on in and check out some great finds! Lots of rustic/fall decor to jump start your seasonal staging!

Here are some before/after pics of some of the pieces I refinished from that barn sale.

Thought the two-tone idea was cute, but couldn't live with that bright of a color. Didn't think you could either, so I toned it down with an all over color of "Oyster Bay"-a soft greyish white.

Loved this mid-century modern accent table, but it was in sad shape with lots of water rings and a tired stained finish.  I sanded it really well, primed it and painted it "Oyster Bay" as well for a much smoother, softer look.Notice how you can really see the lines/curves on the drawer fronts now. This piece I'll be bringing with me to Zeeland's Peddler's Market in mid-September.

 Before/After of a cute easel I found: Again, with the soft white, but I didn't like the metallic finish that was dry brushed on before.

 

Mid-century modern end table that I couldn't resist keeping for myself. :)

I finally got around to recovering this wooden armchair. I think it's sat in Kennedy's dormer for at least two years. Who knew you could have so much fun with an air gun? I usually use a staple gun, but no more. This thing worked like a charm.I have to touch up the right side arm that got chipped off. Not sure if I'm keeping or selling this one yet. It kinda matches my sun porch.

 And lastly, we had an order for a rustic twin headboard a couple of weeks ago.  She sent along a pic and we copied it as best we could. I loved how it turned out. We are still taking custom orders for lots of signs, tables, benches, headboards but won't be able to get to the larger items until after the Peddler's Market is through. Let me know if we can help you out with signs or accessories though. We manage to squeeze in lots of those. 
See you back here soon. Enjoy the fleeting days of summer!