~AN OKLAHOMA OFFICE for my MR. AGP Man~

Now that my guy has found amazing employment we've had to work pretty hard at returning to a normal schedule.  That means no more late night movies (bummer!) and we are once again getting up with the chickens (even bigger bummer).  I'm not a morning person in the first place, but considering the fact that for almost seven months we've slept in almost every single day we've got some serious adjusting to do.  Our body clocks are completely out of whack!

One unexpected thing that I'm excited about is that for the first time EVAHHHHH my Mr. AGPMan has his very own office.  No more traveling out of state (whoot!  whoot!) or even from account to account!  He has a huge desk and chair, a tall cabinet, a table and two guest chairs.  Every single piece of furniture is brand new and the walls are completely bare....

Hmmm....

Knowing this has helped set his high maintenance gal's mind to, um...well, you know...wandering THINKING!

And so, for the past week I've worked hard at convincing my Mr. that an

ANGRY BIRD

decorating theme MIGHT not be such a wise idea given the fact he is employed at an Oklahoma College, a place of higher learning.  I rolled my eyes up into my brain at the very thought of those silly stupid colorful little birdies nesting in his workplace.

:) :) :)

Anyway~after a lot of thought he (truly, it was HIM, not me!) decided he wanted to go with a vintage OKLAHOMA theme for his new place.  Today I'm showing you the first piece of decor that will take up residency in his office.  I found an old wooden sign and painted it out with Simply White chalk paint (CC Caldwell) and then accented it with subway style lettering/wording depicting several places of interest in our beautiful state.

A couple of coats of wax (one dark and once clear), some gentle distressing/aging and it was done.  Not sure what else is going to go in the room, but this is now our INSPIRATION PIECE!

Hope your week was wonderful...I'm just so thrilled our lives are getting back to normal.

Love to you...

 

~FRENCH BLUE....WHAT?~

~YES....IT'S BLUE~

I've been a busy bee of late and lots has been happening around the AGP household.  I'm poppin' in today to share some good news, brag about a painting class I took part in last Saturday and also to share my latest website offerings as well.

~ORIGINAL PRE-SANDED PIECE~

First...let me tell you about the painting class.  It was hosted by Allison from REFUNK MY JUNK in Edmond, OK, and it was soooo much fun.  I learned a ton about painting furniture...what not to do and what you can do!

~BEFORE THE DARK WAX~

The piece I chose was a little chest I picked up at a local tag sale.  It was already pre-sanded and I thought that was a good thing.  But...come to find out it wasn't.  Not for what I wanted to do with it any way.  The white and tan paint I wanted to use showed stain bleed through (you know...that pink haze we all hate) and so I was stuck with painting it blue.  I'm not a big fan of blue and was initially bummed because I would have loved anything but BLUE.  We chose our paint colors in advance and that is all that was on hand.

~SWEET SOAP CABINET~

OK...so blue paint it was!  Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint was used over white CC Caldwell's Simply White Paint.  Then a dark creamy wax was lightly applied.  Wahhhh Lahhhhh!  Done!  Because blue in any shade or form does not fit into my home it is now for sale in my booth at Serendipity Market (also in Edmond, OK).  It's perfect for a little boy's room or a room where anything French Country or Nautical is welcomed.

~REPRODUCTION CANDLE BOX~

All the white pieces I'm showing you have been newly listed on my website under FRENCH FARMHOUSE.  I'm loving getting back to work and doing what I love!!!

~VIRTUOUS WOMAN SIGN~

My favorite is the Virtuous Woman Sign you see above.  I love it when I snag a beautiful arched piece of wood.  They are hard to find these days so I only do a few of these signs a year.  Sweet verse taken from Proverbs...

Lastly...I want to share with you that my Mr. AGPMan started his brand new job today.  I can't begin to tell you how happy and how thankful we are for a fresh beginning.  We are both grateful that when he lost his job due to downsizing last July we didn't know it would be nearly 7 months before he landed another position.  Little by little our lives will be returning to normal.

Oh...and our kitchen remodel...we are STILL working on it.  Everything ground to a crawl/halt when the layoff came.  So, still a lot to do.  Much to share with you soon.  All the grit is done now...before long the fun part of the down-to-the-studs remodel and rebuild will begin!  Whoot!  Whoot!

Blessings and love to you...

~THOUGHTS on a SUNDAY MORNING...A New Year Before Me~

Another New Year is before me.

It's like an unopened book full of lots of blank pages waiting to be filled up with fresh new happenings.

Dreams yet to be dreamed.

Lists yet to be made.

Friendships yet to be formed.

Faith longing to be unleashed.

New creativity hoping to be found.

I must admit I am a wee bit anxious about the unknown bundle that makes up my future.

Best to do what I always try to do...

Leave each day in God's

more than

capable hands.

Blessings and love to you...

~FRESH NEW WHITES FOR YOU~

Dear Friends...

I hope 2014 brings to you good things...only good things.  After some trying twists and turns in 2013 we are truly looking forward to a wonderful New Year!

After returning from Nebraska (where we celebrated my father-in-love's life) we welcomed my big sister and her hubby (from TN)  to our home and enjoyed a week with them just visiting and sharing.  It was soooo good to have fun, junk and shop and then just talk and talk and talk and LAUGH.  With the death of my Mr. AGPMan's father combined with the loss of his longtime job last July I think I sort of forgot how to do that for a little while.  When my beautiful sister left last Sunday, and our home returned to a quieter state of normal, we were finally able to breathe in all the happenings from the last few weeks...  This morning we woke up to bright, clear skies and a renewed hope that life indeed presses on.  

 

So must we.

On Monday I finished making over a charming vintage cabinet I picked up at a local thrift.  I'm sick I didn't take a BEFORE PICTURE of it, but given all we've been through of late it's no wonder I forgot.  Originally the piece had a tacky Formica top and lots of scalloped trim across the top of the cabinet.  They both had to go and I love how the cabinet (or cupboard) looks with the natural wood top (just stained 2" x 4" 's) and plain wood trim!  Kudos to my talented hubster!  He's the man!

 

The second photo shows a sweet little desk and chair also recently transformed.  Aside from the little Disney stickers that were stuck all over the original yellow paint (above) the two pieces were in awesome condition.  I changed out the cheap faux brass knobs and handles and replaced them with vintage brass pulls with their original patina left in place.  You can't tell from the photos, but the desk and chair are gently distressed and it really looks amazing!  Simple and uncomplicated.

Love that!

I'm just now getting back to working on new product for my AGP Website and I hope to have some fresh things soon...  The needed rest has been good and I just now have the energy to work...

Incredibly, this year I have started my sixth year of blogging!!!  I can't believe it.  Seems like it was just yesterday I first popped in to say HELLO for the first time.

It's been quite a ride.

Looking forward to sharing more thoughts, ideas and pictures with you in the future.

Thanks for hanging in...

Love to you~

~BEGINNING AGAIN~

Blessings to you all for a Happy New Year!  

Thank you for all the notes and comments as we said an earthly goodbye to my hubby's dad just after Christmas.  Tough times during the holidays this year and honestly we are so glad they are over.

We returned from Nebraska late last night after nearly a week long family gathering that included the memorial/funeral for my Mr. AGPMan's father.   He was buried with full military honors and the service was beautiful.

Needless to say we are glad to be home.  The skies turned cold and ominous the night before we left and we hit crummy weather during the entire drive through Kansas.  Once we hit Oklahoma the roads were clear once again.

Our La Chaumière de Briarwood never looked so good.

Hope to share fun stuff with you soon.  Thank you again for all the kind words and expressions of love and sympathy for our family.

Love to you...