I have this fantastic old dresser.  It was my mom's as a little girl.  She'd painted it cream and written her name on the back in giant paint strokes along with a friend.  In Junior High, Elise and I painted it blue and added our own names to the back.  The wall paper inside is peeling off around the edges.  I sometimes have saw dust on my clothes, and the drawers are tiny, but I love it.  I love that it was my mom's.  I love that it has our names on the back, along with our childhood friends from down the street.  I love the little old wheels on the bottom.  And I love that it's blue.  I love the shape of it.  And its impracticality.

The only thing I don't love is the knobs.  I never have.   And at some point, my mom decided to surprise me and paint them silver.  But, I was never a big silver girl.  I didn't love the surprise.  And I then loved the knobs even less.  (Don't worry, I knew it was well-intended and once I finished crying, we worked it out. Yes, sadly, true story.  I know I was a brat to cry over it.  Jet-lagged and homesick are my only excuses.)

Changing the knobs has been one of those things I've always meant to do, and I've scanned the knobs section at Anthropologie every time I've gone in for the past 5 years.  But the expense didn't ever seem worth it.  Yesterday, mom took to me a giant craft/ home decorating/ party type store.  I knew I'd end up spending money.  But, I have to say, I'm pretty proud of the purchases I limited myself to.  Here are my brand new knobs.

The photos don't do them perfect justice, but I love them.  And I even love how they reveal the old cream layer of paint beneath.  It's probably tacky and looks lazy to some, but to me it's more than just "looking" vintage, it's sharing a little secret about the life it lived before me.  It's reminding me it once sat in another girl's room and held her (mini) skirts and t-shirts.  I love it and I don't think I'm going to bother to hide them.  I will however paint those key holes something other than silver. ;)

Since you can't really see them, there are three different types of knobs.  The majority look like keys in a key hole.  I left one turned the wrong direction, as if turned in the lock.  I just liked it. :)  The second to bottom drawer has it's own unique two knobs.  Which truthfully, is because I was two short of the key-ish ones.  I planned to put them on the bottom drawer, but ended up liking them right out of place second to the bottom.  I think they just match this quirky blue dresser full of sawdust and secrets.

(yeah, sorry, those are kind of terrible photos of them.  You'll just have to see them in person.)

Confession:

I love stamps.  :/  It's true. 

I felt brave enough today to tell you all.  I do.  

*please note my brand new "merci" stamp.  Just added today.  ;) I made myself put four others back after carrying them all over the store. 

I'm going to make one of these. Eventually.

Rosemary Grace,  I think you should make this. :)

(Toni - aka Rosie - sewed me a very pretty cross-stitch of my middle name a number of years ago, I've treasured it ever since.  And if you've been in my room, you may have noticed it on the shelf beside my bed.)

[i want to make these]

"Do Kristin and I have matching tutus?"   Who said that?  ;)

Spent the evening sewing with mom.

And enjoyed (almost) every minute of it.

Re-sewing and unsewing tests my patience a bit and gives me terrible flash-backs to when we sewed our Handmaidens vests (some of you know what I'm talking about) inside out and had to entirely undo and redo them. :(

And I think (rather, I know) sewing with me tests my mom's patience.   She did all the sewing of the first layer on the machine, while I leaned over her sholder and "helped" by keeping it all straight.  It turns out she didn't exactly find it helpful, and she let me just take over soon into the top layers. ;) lol.  Sometimes, I'm a bit too much like my dad it turns out.  And 'dad,' helping mom sew, is an interesting concept.  But one I think that turned out rather nicely in the end.  See, mom keeps me having to move faster, and I slow her down a bit and try to strategize and foresee future errors and ensure perfect straight lines.   In the end, I learned some new tricks, and we have this.  A costume skirt that will someday be a favorite item in a dress-up box no doubt.  Mine was always our big fluffy skirts.

Mom, how hard would these be to make? Meaning, that trimming...can your sewing machine even do that? :/

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Decisions, decisions, decisions! I already have a lot of plans for this weekend.  And with the little remaining time I have (a few hours after work tonight, a few hours tomorrow, maybe) I'm trying to decide: finish craft, read my book, go to a fabric store - costume shop, or simply nap.   Decisions, you know how great I am at them.  Happy almost weekend. : )
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Someone was supposed to make me a quilt, a few years back.  I picked out patterns, and colors.  I wonder whatever happened to that.  Hmmmm.  I wouldn't mind getting one for my 25th birthday, perhaps one that matched my room, with tans, browns, maybe some olive green and/or the 'terracotta' color of my wall.  Hmmmm.  I wonder...  ;)

I saw a post recently on one of the blogs I follow.  The woman mentioned how she had made cake platters from antique candlestick holders and plates/platters.  I liked the idea so much, I decided to follow suit.

Here is one of the two I made for this weekend's book club.  Shakespeare, Strawberries and Sweet Tea = hello Summer Love.

PS, now whenever I say "craft" my sister Kristin responds by quoting Rules For My Unborn Son, (via Thomas Hallstrom) "Know the difference between arts and crafts."  :/  I craft, and I craft, OKAY!?  :P