white wash

Recently I have become pretty obsessed with the color white. I never really thought much about it before but I look around and there is white everywhere and I LOVE it. I think it is my new favorite color!

I love my fluffy white towels in my bathroom

My white bedding makes me happy

My white bookshelf is my favorite piece of furniture I have ever owned

I own so many white tank tops. I think I buy a new one everytime I go shopping

I re-upholstered my new chair seat with some pretty white fabric

I always buy white accessories for my room

I absolutely LOVE.LOVE.LOVE Matt White

My ringtone is "Falling in Love with My Best Friend" by Matt White

And my absolute favorite new thing that's white: My new computer!

(And I may have named it Matt--don't judge)

"i've been looking for inspiration on your facebook wall"

I had a fantastic weekend but I am definitely making up for it now. After a trip to Logan on Saturday and a boating adventure on Sunday I am as red as can be but it was worth it!

On a similar note--here is a little piece of happiness. Thank you Matt White!

dance 'til your dead

I have been dancing since I can't even remember. When I was 8 I finally convinced my mom that I should be taking lessons. She signed me up for a summer of classes and I was totally hooked. I couldn't get enough. I had been taking lessons on and off for 12 years after that until I was in college and I pinched a nerve in my back. I've been injured from dancing before but that was definitely the worst. It took months for the pain to go away and I'm still not one hundred percent back to where I was but it's much better.

Dance became my life and I still love anything dance related. My absolute favorite thing I own is my handcarved wood statue of a ballerina (picture to come). I own way too many dance movies including all 3 Step Ups and my favorite--Center Stage, and I try and see Thriller every single year. I usually leave so happy and wanting to cry all at the same time because I miss dancing with a team.

Even though I don't take lessons anymore I still dance pretty much everyday. I have gotten into the habbit of practicing turns in the kitchen when I am cooking dinner (the tile floor is perfect for it). Most of the time I don't even realize I'm doing it. But at the end of the day I like to put on my music and practice my technique or run through and old routine. It always makes me feel better. Even when I'm so upset that I don't want to do anything, I make myself get up and do "across the floors" and I instantly feel better.

I have always dreamed of having my own studio. Nothing fancy, just a mirrored wall and a barre where I could practice for nothing in particular. When my parents put down a lamenate floor in the dining room of our old house I was praying they would let me use it as a studio but it didn't happen. Maybe one day my dream will come true but for now I will make due with what I have. Nothing can keep me from dancing...

Laura Schmitt Photography

"seriously? its like your photoshopped"

Going to the movies is one of my favorite things to do. I also love buying movies and most people think I own far too many. Movies just make me happy. I can't get enough.

Recently I have gone to see a couple at the theaters. I went with my sister in law Sue and her friend Serena to see Water for Elephants. Sue and I had both read the book so we were so excited to see how the movie turned out. I really liked the movie a lot. One I will definitely have to pick up when it gets released.

Then after Sue's baby shower, Whitney and I decided to go and see Bridesmaids. It was very funny and just a little naughty :) But the weird thing is there were all these older couples there seeing the movie too. They all had to be at least in their late 60s or 70s. Very odd...but entertaining.

This summer there are so many movies that are coming out that I am very excited about! The first one is Crazy Stupid Love with Steve Carrell and Ryan Gosling. It looks fantastic!



The second one is the Change Up. I love Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman. It looks like its gonna be a good one.



Another one I am excited for is The Help. I read this book a few months back and absolutely loved it. The movie looks even better than the book so I CANNOT wait to see it!



p.s. I highly recommend you read the book if you want to see the movie. It's so good!

from old to new again

Refinishing furniture has started to become one of my hobbies. The process can be long and tedious but the end result is usually worth it. I have done a night stand, a vanity and bench, and now I just refinished one of our old dining room chairs into a new desk chair for me.

I have been using a padded ottoman to sit at my desk but it was kind of difficult to stay there for more than a few minutes. My back wasn't supported and it was pretty low to the ground so the desk was about chest height when sitting. So I needed something different.

I quickly learned that chairs are not cheap! I've never had to buy one before and it isn't something I look for when I'm out shopping to compare prices so I had no idea how pricey they can be. I remember my parents getting a new dining set when I was little and storing the old one. The table and one chair is now my mom's sewing/gift wrapping table in her craft room and the other chair kind of floats around our house, being used when ever someone needs it for something. So I decided to take one of these chairs and refinish it. The seats had been recovered once but that was probably 15 years ago and the stain finish on them is older than me.


I got some sand paper and went to town! I sanded down every nook and cranny to try and get the glossy finish off so the paint would stick. That took about 2 and a half total hours (longer than I thought for one little chair.) Then I got some walnut brown, satin finish spray paint (one of my all-time favorite products) and sprayed the entire chair. One can was exactly 2 coats!

Then next came the seat. I got some 2-inch thick, high density foam from the fabric store to replace what was on the original seat. I covered that with batting and then fabric I fell in love with at the store. I am not so great at getting the corners to look right so my mom helped me out with that. She's such a good problem solver when it comes to stuff like that--love her! I originally wanted to make curtains out of this fabric but I really needed something darker so I went with some dark gray panels I found. But I couldn't stop thinking about this fabric so I thought this would be the perfect place to use it. I also got some extra because it was 50% off so I can make some pillows later!

And there you have it! Check out the before and after :)