Aging, Photoshop, and the Illusion of Perfection

A couple of days ago, I came across this video through Yahoo.

First, you gotta watch the video.  Seriously.  Take the time.




I laughed my tail off.  Especially about the blog part.  Because its so true.

But, it also something I've been thinking a lot about this year.  Is it because all of a sudden I'm middle aged?  Is it normal to be thinking about this stuff?

My fleeting youth?

This year, I'll be 36.  THIRTY-SIX?  OMGee.  Where'd the years go?

I'm old.

The kid at the drive through calls me "Ma'am."  "MA'AM?!"  I'm not a MA'AM.  That's my MOTHER!


The wrinkles on my face have started to multiply and make friends.


And don't get me started on the Ta-Tas, which are saying "Ta-ta!" to my neck and "Nice to meet you!" to my waist.


Does anyone else look into the mirror and go, "What the heck happened????!!!"

So anyway...  This has been bugging me.

Does anyone else look at celebrities that are forty, but still look like they're twenty and get disgusted?  And not only disgusted, but also feel the burden to measure up?  And know there's NO.  CHANCE.

Shannon from Fox Hollow Cottage and I were chit-chatting yesterday on the phone and somehow we got on the subject of aging...  And men.  And how men age like wine, while women age like...  Well.  We age like milk.  Had I known that the best I was going to look in life was how I looked at seventeen, I might have enjoyed it a little more.

Anyhoo...  To my point:

Stuggling with my self-image as a thirty-something is hard enough even when I KNOW they photo-shop the heck out of pictures of celebrities that are my age and older.

I mean, beyond them having perfect bodies.  I know that they have trainers and spend boo-ku bucks on make-up, anti-aging creams, botox, and plastic surgery.  Besides, their job in life is to look good.  That's why they make the money they do.  But it doesn't help the average woman feel any better about themselves.

Case in point...

I had a little fun with Picmonkey yesterday.  It started out as a new picture for my blog.  My first thought after uploading it and looking at it on the computer was, "Holy crap!  I'm really starting to look old."  My second thought:  "Sunlight is not my friend."  My third thought:  "Thank God for photoshop!"  And then, while I was working on it,  I really thought about what media and the fashion industry has done to us as women.

Here's the before:

Effects used:  Wrinkle Remover, Airbrush, Shine Reduce, Blush Boost, Spray Tan, Teeth Whiten, Lip Tint, Eye Brighten, Mascara, and Weight Loss

Amazing, isn't it?  Scott and I had a good laugh because I said, "See...  You're married to model material and you didn't even know it."  LOL

But, getting passed the giggles...

What is this doing to our daughters and our sons?  

THIS is what is being shoved down their throats every day.  Our daughters are trying to measure up to a standard that doesn't even really exist.  And our sons are looking for a standard that will never exist.  What they see on TV, movies, and magazines isn't REAL.  They've been perfected.  And perfection doesn't exist.

Here is a picture of my daughter, Savanna.  She's beautiful.  Just naturally beautiful.

 Because I had e-mailed the above pictures to her and my mother, so we could laugh over them, she asked me to do one of her.  At first, I couldn't imagine how I could make her look any more beautiful than she already is.  Then I started working on it because she had asked me to and I had promised her I would.

Before, she was the pretty girl next door.  Altered, she could be America's Next Top Model.

To use this as a teaching experience for my sons, I called them downstairs last night and showed them the befores and afters.  I reminded them that they need to keep this in mind when they start dating and begin looking for a wife.  The perfect woman does not exist.  And they should never compare their girlfriends or their wives to what they see in magazines, on the internet, or on TV.  They will never measure up.  Ever.  And that is not fair.

And if you think that your sons are not noticing or even thinking about such a thing at whatever their ages, here were their responses:

Noah (Age 9):  "No wonder girls in magazines look so hot."   Wow.  I didn't even know he was noticing girls.

Ian (Age 11):  "Holy cow."

Greyson (Age 13):  Never a kid of many words, he didn't say anything, but the look on his face spoke volumes.  I'm pretty sure he got my point.


In the current culture of perfection of ALL things...  Whether it be our lives, our appearance, and even our blogs,  remember:  Perfection does not exist.  Only superficial perfection exists - in the pictures we see in magazines or pictures we post on our blogs (Don't lie, you know you "tweak" your pictures too.).  That's why occasionally, you'll see that I'll post pics of the real deal.


And ladies...  Just remember...  We put enough pressure on ourselves to be perfect wives, perfect mothers, perfect bloggers.  Its okay.  LET IT GO.  T he conclusion I came to last night is, its okay to always try your best, whether it be in how you look or in the things that you do, but perfection in any form does not exist.  Far more important than being perfect is being REAL.

Because it never gets better than the real thing.

C is for...

C is for CHANDY.  As in a chandelier.  Like in a thrifted $20.00 chandelier.  That was ugly.  That is now bee-yoo-ti-ful.


Before in its black wrought iron blah-ness:

Makes me think of hunting lodges and sightless glass-eyed taxidermied deer staring at me.  From all angles.  Or maybe that's just me.

Here's a peek.  

Its got swag.

And swag covers...  That I made myself.  With burlap.  And straight pins.  And Fabric Fusion.  Cuz this girl don't sew.

Course I had to wait 2 hours for it to dry.  

I oughta learn to sew.

CC stands for China Cabinet.  That got torn apart.  As in extreme makeover.  Inside and out.

Wanna peek?

Go ahead...  I ain't gonna stop ya.  ;)

C is for CIGARETTE SMOKE.  As in FOUR BUCKETS of soap and water to clean off YEARS of nasty smoke residue.  That turned said bucket of water into brown muddy run-off.  I don't care about the smoking, but at least be CLEAN.  Seriously.  EW. 

C is for CARING HUSBANDS who do all that techy work for you - like taking off  backs, removing glass, and unscrewing door hinges and knobs - so all ya gotta do is PAINT.

C is also for CURVACEOUSNESS.  As in the curvaceous detailing.  Its a word.  Because the little red underline thingy didn't pop up.  Thingy however, is NOT a word.

C is also for CRAP.  As in, "Crap!  The china cabinet ate all my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint!"   Every.  Last.  Drop.  Knew I should have ordered more than one quart.  :P

C could also be for CRAZY AWESOME, which is how this baby is going to look once she's been sanded and waxed and put together again.

And finally, C is for CIAO - as in see ya later.  With the reveal.  Soon.  I promise.

ASCP Fun... And a coffee table makeover.

For the rockin' peeps that follow moi on Facebook, you know that on Friday I posted this picture:

I received my very first delivery of ASCP product.  I can't tell you how long I have hemmed and hawed over spending that kind of money, but finally I just did it.  And I am sooooo glad I did.  :)

At first, I was super scared to use it.  I stared at it for a couple of hours and googled the heck out of ASCP technique.  I should have just bought Mrs. Sloan's book.  Its one thing to waste cheap paint on a screw up.  Its a completely different thing to mess up with really expensive paint.  Know what I'm sayin'?

So, after spending lots of time on the wide world web, I decided I better get to it, so I painted a chandy.  I'm saving that reveal for later.  Gotta hang it.  ;)  (I'm such a TEASE.)

Its beautiful, beautiful paint even if it does make a GINORMOUS mess (Think: You need to wear a mask) when you sand it, but my, oh my...  It feels like silk.  Butter.  Cashmere.  Oh, so very soft.  And I also noticed my hands weren't as dried out as they are when I use latex paint.  I'm not sure I can ever go back to homemade, unless I simply can't afford the ASCP.

Next, I decided to tackle a coffee table that I've had for about 6 months.

Back in October, I found this barn wood coffee table on Craigslist. Initially, the lady had it listed for thirty dollars, but I kept watch and after a couple of weeks, she dropped it to $15.00.  SOLD!

Now granted, when I saw it online I thought the bottom was black. Nope.  Purple.  Maroon.  Whatever.  It was fugly.  Nothing that paint couldn't fix though.  The barn wood on top was fantastic and the legs, not matching, look like either old table legs or porch posts.  I love that they don't match, although I would have put the matching ones on the diagonal from each other, instead of on the same side.  Scott and I tried to take it apart.  Yeah.  I can say this for the person who made it:  Bomb proof.


I stripped and sanded away at her for a couple of days and finally gave up trying to get that hideous maroon off.  It had pretty much dyed the wood and was in all the crevices.  So, I just left her in the living room and promised she would be the first thing I tackled if I ever bought ASCP.

At Christmas.

So she was.


Anyway...  Blah, blah, blah.


Here she is after.

The top is done with Old White - which for people that have never ordered it, is a little more Cream than I would have liked.  I should have ordered the Pure White.  The bottom is actually Calypso Sky and is an acrylic, that I mixed with the Old White.  It worked beautifully.  All the hype about ASCP lasting forever is true.  I painted the entire base, plus the underneath of the base that you can't see, using about a cup.  No kidding.

No staging for pictures.
The dining room is in progress and all my dining room crap is in the living room  :(

Unfortunately, my little stinker ran his trucks over it (be sure to let the wax cure for twenty four hours MINIMUM), so it scratched up the top a little.  GAH!  I guess it being tucked in the corner of the dining room wasn't a hint.  Oh well, it does make a good road, I guess.  Even if I'm going to have to re-do it.  ARGH.

I pretty much did no distressing on the legs and waxed it (as directed by my beautiful bloggy friends on Facebook) with the light wax first, then the dark, then again with the light.  Worked like a charm.  And that dark wax is going to last me FOR-EVAH.

See, even Lucy Kitty likes it.  :)

Not too shabby for my first use of it.  And with a fifteen dolla (HOLLA!) piece of furniture, it was a great piece to try it out on.  Now, for the big boy...  The china cabinet.  Fingers y'all crossed y'all!


XOXO,

Another Website To Suck You In!

Mornin' y'all!  First off, I've got to thank some wonderful ladies and then I'll tell you about another website that you're going to be spending a lot of time on.  You can thank me later.  ;)  

Woah!  I have just been so overwhelmed by the attention my washstand is getting.  So exciting!

I have been featured on four fabulous blogs in the last week!  If you haven't heard of these wonderful ladies and their blogs, click on buttons below to go check them out

Shannon at:

Totally surprised me with a full length feature on the the same day I revealed it.  I love this lady and if you don't know her, you really should.  She made me cry with her sweetness. :)


And the rest of these beautiful bloggers featured it yesterday and today, after I linked up to the linky parties they so generously hosted last week.  I cannot tell them how much it means to me.  Its like Christmas morning in April!  


Jann from:





Laura at:

And Pamela at:

Now, about that website...

Yesterday, Shari (who is also one of my biggest cheerleaders next to Shannon and another of my faves) from 

Shari...  Its now my turn to get onto you...  You NEED a BUTTON.
Get right on that, will ya?  ;)

shared a great post about the latest and greatest thing to help with decorating your home.  Olioboard.  She goes into a LOT better detail than I ever could about this awesome site (which she ALWAYS does), so be sure to click over and read it.
Long and short of it...
You know those mood boards that designers put together?  Yeah.  You can make them.  Seriously.  Yourself.  Its like playing doll house for big girls - with style.  
Will they never cease making websites that drag us away from the things we should be doing?  HAH!
Here's the one I made up for our dining room:

Now granted...  I ain't got a CLUE what I'm doing, but it sure was fun doing it.  :)  Plus, I had kiddos bugging me to use the computer, so I just slapped something together real quick before they died of internet withdrawal.  ;)
Here's the one I did this morning for this living room.  I think I'm getting better at it:

Be sure to take a look at Shari's blog post to get all the details and see the board that she put together.  Its fantastic.  Thanks for sharing, girlfriend!
Now, I'm off to play some more!

Dining Room Table: Reveal

I apologize in advance for those of you who voted for the book shelves to be done first, instead of the dining room table.  Unfortunately, the book shelves require Scott's know-how and the dining room table did not.  I'm still waiting on the trim for the book shelves.  I really should learn how to operate power tools.  LOL

Anyhoo...

The dining room table was my Mom and Dad's.  After their divorce, my Dad got the dining room table and when he died, I got it.  My Dad was all about wood, like most typical men.  Stained wood furnishings were the rule of thumb in his house.  Needless to say, I inherited quite a bit of paintable furniture.  He's probably rolling over in his grave, somewhere in Delaware Bay.  Sorry Daddy, but the wood has got to go.  I know you would still love me anyway. :D

Okay, so on that morbid note, here's the before pic taken shortly after we moved into our house.

I still can't believe that this was the office!

After five years of basically using it from everything from meals to homework to school projects to crafts, it was looking mighty rough.  When I questioned my mom as to why in the world they bought a maple table because its such a soft wood, she said, "Because it was on sale."  Oooookay then.

So, I wiped her down and did some light sanding for prep:

And the same with the chairs:

I had to sand a little heavier on the edges of the tops and sides because they were knicked and dinged to death.

Using my trusty chalk paint recipe, I painted the top with "Cotton Balls" by Benjamin Moore and the bottom, my favorite color ever...  "Covington Blue" from the Benjamin Moore Historical Series.  Its a blue without being a blah blue.  Depending on the light, it can take on almost an aqua-y feel without being aqua.  Its a lovely color.

 I debated on going all white for quite some time, but as I usually do, I went off of what I am drawn to in my home decor magazines.  And its always the tables that the bases are painted blue.  Every.  Time.

And you know me with my "too much white" thing going on.  And of course I had to "make it look old".  ;)

And I can tell you its no fun trying to reveal a piece of furniture and get a good picture of it when the room is still in demo stage.  LOL

 So, just try to ignore the half painted book shelf with its missing trim and the destroyed wood floors that we've finally decided just to paint.  Obviously having someone come in and re-do them just ain't going to work.  The pine is just too soft to withstand our foot traffic and I'm not going to throw another $900.00 out the window for the floors in the office and the dining room again, only to have them look like they do now... Again.  Contractor horror stories, anyone?

I am still amazed at how much going lighter has made a difference in the atmosphere of our home.  Its so much more cheerful and relaxing.  

My goal is to get a bench to go on the wall side of the table, so it can be pushed back against the wall when not in use.  For now, painting the two oak pressback chairs to match works.  Plus, a bench will seat three of my rugrats, making room for everyone at the table.

I can't wait to get the wainscoting done, so I can hang that gorgeous mirror on the wall above the table.  Scott?  Are you reading this???  ;)

Next...

My Dad's rocking chair or the china hutch.  I haven't decided yet.  Check out my facebook page for new uploads of the china hutch.  We picked her up last night.  :D

XO,

Linking up to:

Dumpster Diva

The 36th Avenue

Days of Chalk and Chocolate

The China Cabinet and A Typical Laura Debacle

If you follow me on Facebook, yesterday I posted a picture of a hutch that I scored on our local Facebook For Sale page.  This is a great tool, in addition to Craigslist, for homeowners in our area to offload stuff they want to be rid of.  Unfortunately, our page seems to be clogged with a seemingly never-ending pile of crap, from people posting multiple pictures of one.  article.  of.  clothing.  at. a.  time.  (Makes me want to smack someone).  Occasionally, people will post furniture and it goes fast, if its for a good price.

The other night, this picture was posted:

Sorry for the quality, but I think she took it with a camera phone.

Immediately, I broke out in a sweat.

I.  HAD.  TO.  HAVE.  IT.  

We NEVER see stuff like this come up.  For SIXTY DOLLARS.  

Unfortunately, someone posted that they were interested 4 minutes before I saw it.  Usually, as a rule, I don't try to undermine someone that's already interested in something, but I WANTED.  THIS.  CHINA.  CABINET.  So, I posted underneath that I was VERY interested, which I'm sure ticked the original interested person off.  I never knew I could get so competitive over a piece of furniture.  Then, a friend of mine commented how she knew I would want it when she saw it and we bantered back and forth on the thread - which really probably further aggravated the originally lady.  Sorry, lady.

Did I mention I REALLY wanted it?  

Of course the way the page works is first come, first dibs, so I had to wait for the seller to contact the original interested person, who posted beneath mine and my friend's convo - "PM sent".  FOR REAL?   I wanted to know what was going on.  GRRRRR.  And then later...  "Thanks."

Well, what does "thanks" mean???  Thanks as in...  You're going to get it???  Thanks as in...  No thanks????  WHAT???!!!  Tell me.  Tell me.  Tell me!


So, being the occasional pessimist that I am, I went to bed thinking I had lost out on the hutch.  Read:  *pouting*.  


But the next morning, lo and behold, the other woman didn't want it because it was "too dark" - WTFlip...  You couldn't tell from the picture what the color was?  Seriously???  You caused me all that turmoil and all along, you really weren't all that interested?  And then you were all coy about it?  Guess that was my payback for all those comments on the picture.  LOL  So, I immediately said I wanted it and would be there to pick it up last night.  I figured there couldn't be much wrong with it that I couldn't fix.

Well, I'm a blond.  Naturally.  Even if it IS getting darker as I age.

I didn't write down the seller's phone number.

You know, because I figured that I would get it off right before it was time to leave.

Yeah.

The post had been deleted.

I about FREAKED out.  Okay...  I DID freak out.

So, what's a girl to do?

Yep.  Posted the pic of the cabinet on the page saying I was seeking the seller and her phone number and then posted MY cell phone number so that the 4,000+ members of the page could all see it.  Now, I probably wouldn't  have done that if we didn't live in Iowa - in a small area.  I have faith in my fellow Iowans.  Plus...  I was desperate.  I did get texts telling me her name and who her mother was, but no one knew her number.  But, THANK THE GOOD LORD, she called me.  And was laughing at what I had done.  We still weren't sure where the post had gone - maybe the page admin deleted it because she knew I was buying it.  I don't know.  Thankfully, all's well that ends well.  Oh, Lord.  Only I could get caught up in something like that.  HA HA HA!


So, since Scott had to bid a job and we weren't sure I'd be able to look at it, we only took our car, instead of the truck and trailer.  So, TECHNICALLY, I don't have it.  If I did, you'd have a better picture of it.  LOL  But, I did pay for it and its mine.  We're going to pick it up tonight.  :D  YAY!


It does have some issues...

Now, I really didn't expect it to be solid wood for that price, but ya never now.  The doors are TERRIBLE.  Just really super cheap veneer, but they close well.  And you can see all the other issues I highlighted.  At least its solid construction-wise and has no damage to the exterior.

I want to know where these peeps throughout blogland find these gorgeous solid wood pieces and what they're paying for them.  

Because personally, I can't see paying a few hundred dollars for a piece, only to paint it - unless I'm going to sell it and I'm sure I can make a really good profit on it.  In Iowa, people just ain't gonna pay upwards of $800.00 for secondhand painted furniture - unless they're in Des Moines or Iowa City or something.  We be frugal like that.

However, the piece does have some perks...

Not to mention the detailing.  I can replace the shelf and get passed the rest of it.  And if something comes along better later, I'll sell her.  Sounds good to me.  :)

Needless to say, I've been scouting the web for ideas for her:

Delish.com

Young House Love

Enchantresses Three

The Thrifty Side

I definitely know what I DO like:

Light

Bright

Very minimal decor

Distessed

Antiqued

Next is the question...  

Where do I put her?

 The Living Room?

The Dining Room where she belongs?

Hmmmmm....

Decisions...  Decisions...

But, I can't tell you how excited I am to have found this piece and for $60.00 to boot.

And I CAN'T WAIT to get started on her, especially since I'm all but done on the dining room table...

and at this point I'm just waiting on Scott, bless his busy little heart, as usual, to install the front door, wainscoting, and trim.

Stay tuned for the dining room table reveal...  TOMORROW!

XO,