“Look at that sea–all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen. We couldn’t enjoy its loveliness any more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds.”
― Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
I finally finished painting my secretary desk! Here’s the before and after:
My goal was to create the kind of color you’d see on an antique, so I used a mix of Layla’s Mint and Mora milk paint by Miss Mustard Seed and I love how it unified all the different wood tones. (It was made (from scratch) out of three different kinds.) Even though it’s a green that leans gray, I think it adds such a sweetness to the piece! I painted the inside Farmhouse White, also by Miss Mustard Seed.
And if you haven’t heard the story, I found the secretary at Scott’s Antique Market in Atlanta last Fall. The vendor who I bought it from said he had salvaged the wood it’s made out of from old buildings that were being torn down. He paid an Amish friend to put it together as a secretary desk and it had been sitting in the center of his booth for several months before I bought it.
I’ll share some photos of it decorated in my next post, but in the meantime, here are some pics of what else we’ve been up to:
(Early the third morning, before everyone was up!)
We decided to “see the Sea” last week and took advantage of the lower winter rates at our favorite beach hotel, the Holiday Inn Resort at Pensacola Beach. It was really foggy the second day we were there, but the hotels pools are both heated (and, of course, the hot tubs are too) and we had fun swimming all three days.
The gray sky didn’t stop us from having a blast on the beach either. One day, Steevenson and I built an 8-foot long alligator in the sand. My mom has always made them, so it’s fun to keep the tradition going.
Of course, Steevenson couldn’t resist playing in the ocean a little too. That aquamarine color never gets old!
The hotel is about two doors down from a restaurant called ‘Crabs’, so we ate lunch there one day. It was so fun to seat on the beach and eat our shrimp & crab fettuccini and fish tacos! Mmmmm!
At the end of our stay, we drove over to my mom’s house, about 30 minutes from the Gulf Coast. Her camellia trees are in full bloom right now and I love how it almost looks like they have a “reflection” when the flowers fall to the ground.
This stump always stops me in my tracks too:
The moss, the resurrection fern, the mushrooms…reminds me of sweet Beatrix Potter!
When we got back home, we planned a little birthday celebration for Kevin’s mom, Katie. She turned 84 this month and is such a light in our life!
The grandkids requested her famous spaghetti and key lime cake, so she ended up having to cook for her own birthday party, but it seems to be one of her favorite things to do, so I think she was okay with it. 😉 Here are links to those recipes in case you haven’t ever tried them:
My Family’s Favorite Spaghetti:
Well, that’s all for now, but I’ll be back soon with some more fun photos of the decorated secretary desk!
Layla
That secretary turned out beautifully! It was fun to catch up on what you and your family have been doing.
The secretary looks beautiful! Love, love the color.
Thank you so much, sweet Vickie! 😀
Thank you, Teedee! It was fun to share about it and to see your name pop up again today!
I love Gulf of Mexico beaches and camellia bushes/trees!
Me tooooooooo! 😀
Th green on the secretary is so beautiful and delicious! I love it! Also, thanks for sharing the recipes. I can hardly wait to try them!
Yay! Let us know what you think, Vicki! 😀
I love the secretary its beautiful.
The picture of you and your son on the beach is priceless, they grow up so fast, continue making memories. God’s blessings to your beautiful family.
Thank you Silvia! And you are so right about kiddos growing fast. It’s wild! I swear I can almost SEE him growing!
Wow!!! Ms. Katie does not look
Like she is in her 80’s!!!!
Happy Birthday
You look great!!!!!
I will tell her you said so, Myrtle! 😀
I’ve never made a sand alligator–we will have to try that this summer! So fun!
I enjoyed all your spring-like pictures. We won’t be having warm weather or green plants for another couple of months, at least.
Yay! I loved thinking about you creating a sand alligator on your beach, too! 😀
Wow, Layla….you did a beautiful job on the Secretary! The color is perfect….looking forward to seeing how you decorate it! Love the pictures you take!
Thank you, Colleen! You are so kind to leave me such a sweet message to find!
🎼happy birthday dear Katie!
Love the garden photos, the flowers are gorgeous & so many, such beauty! And that TREE, ahhh, reminds me of the ones in the children’s books Brambly Hedge! My kids love those. You just get lost in the detail of there homes and gardens. Have you read them? Oh my goodness Layla the mice decorate like you do! That whole cozy feel-good story design. 🐭
~ Jill E
Brambly Hedge…now that sounds like a book I would LOVE! Thanks for the recommendation, Jill! 😀
Happy birthday to Katie. She is a young looking 84. Love the secretary also.
Thank you, Tina! And I’ll tell Katie you wished her well! 😀
The secretary is just gorgeous!!!! Thank you for sharing your vaca pics !!! So peaceful by the sea!!!! Always a great place to get away for a bit !!
Thank you, Terri! And I agree with about you the sea!! 😀
Beautiful Layla! I really enjoy your blog and the pictures! Key lime cake is something I would love to try.
So sweet! I love the colorful party streamers/banners. What a cute entry. 🙂 That key lime cake sounds dreamy and the spaghetti looks delicious and homey! We usually just combine a jar of Ragu with a bowl of angel hair, so maybe we need to check that one out! 😉 Happy birthday, Ms. Katie!!