DIY: Vintage Step Stool Chair

Almost a year ago, I found this chair on the side of the road. I swiftly turned around and stuffed the dirty thing in my trunk. I set it in the garage for a few months and kept debating whether or not it was worth fixing up because it was so dirty and rusted. While working on another project, we used a palm sander to sand the top of the chair and it came out so nicely that I knew we had to keep it! So I went and got paint and a butt load of painters tape and this beauty was born!

The first two pictures are from before we did anything but wipe it down a little bit. Then we used a wire brush attachment on the end of a power drill to get all the rust off the chair. This took some time, because there was a lot of rust! Then we used some enamel primer to paint a few coats on top of the seat because it was the most damaged part of the chair.

I spent probably an hour putting tape on this thing, it was so aggravating! But I wanted to make this thing beautiful, so I made sure to do a good job taping it up. Afterward, I took it outside and put two coats of red glossy spray paint, letting it dry between coats. I think it looks perfect in Levi's room!

Our First Garden

One thing that I don't like about our house is lack of a yard. We had to tear down a forest to build our chicken coop, and then the garden. Since we're surrounded by trees, our house is mostly shaded and doesn't have near enough sun for the majority of plants and vegetables. We cleared out some land that gets about 7 hours of sun a day, built a raised bed, and filled it with organic soil over the course of a few days.

I bought organic seeds, determined to do it the right way, but it just wasn't happening. Everything sprouted, but wasn't growing well and after a heavy rain, they were done for. So we had to get transplants instead. They're not organic, but it's okay. I'm having to be okay with things like that recently. Like I never wanted to give Levi gas drops, but the homeopathic stuff wasn't working. So now he gets gas drops. And I'm convinced we have Monsanto crops... but it's okay.

We're growing cucumbers, squash, zucchini, red bell peppers, and jalapeños. Our bell peppers have tiny little buds that showed up yesterday. I hope that animals won't be a problem, as you can see deer prints in the last picture. I'm so excited to see some veggies start sprouting! 

Levi: Weeks 1-4

I thought I'd start a series for Levi's weekly pictures. I'd actually like them all to be taken in the same place, because I love seeing babies progress in those pictures and how they start to fill out the space. It's adorable. I'm a slack mama and haven't committed to doing it yet, though. I can't believe he is almost eight weeks old! Here's weeks one through four:

Exhausted after his first bath.

Bein' sweet in the morning

Nap time.

At exactly four weeks, these were his first smiles!

Outfit: Blue Daisy

I pretty much take any opportunity I have to dress up these days. By dress up, I mean put on clothes that don't consist of pajamas or dirty jean shorts. Life is so crazy! I guess it wouldn't be life with a newborn if I didn't get spit up on every time I took a shower or put on regular clothes. Last weekend, Corey's mom came over to watch Levi while we went to eat lunch at one of my favorite taco spots and to try a new sno-cone place that recently opened up. It's so nice to get a break sometimes, even if it's only for an hour or two.

top: TJ Maxx // skirt: H&M // shoes: Vans