The Navy Blue Desk

With three sons and a grandson, I'm always on the look out for cute boy things. When I saw this desk I knew it was meant for a boy and needed to be painted navy blue. I have really been enjoying strolling through the thrift shops looking for furniture that just needs a little lovin. One of the things that makes this so enjoyable is doing it with my daughter-in-law, Abbey and Little Elijah Boy. I can't wait for garage sale season! I never thought I'd become a junker but I see things now and think, I can paint that!

With my son being in dental school and Abbey being a full time mom, Abbey and I would like to take our love for making things pretty again into a little business to help Peter and Abbey pay the bills. Soon we will have a web page just for this, but for now I would like to share the first piece we are selling with you.

Here's what it looked like before...

 

 

...and here's after!

 

 



This desk is solid! It is painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint with a dark wax finish for a bit of an antique look. The dimensions are 43" long x 31" high x 19 1/4" deep. We are asking $150.00. Please let me know if you're interested in it!

Thank you for letting me share this with you!

Blessings,
Julie Wagner

Soup Sunday - Potato Leek

 

 

 

I love Soup Sundays and I love this soup! It's smooth, creamy, flavorful... If I had a restaurant this soup would be on the menu! I also love my LeCreuset Pot, my Furi (add 2 dots above the "u") knife and my immersion blender.

Ingredients

 

6 slices of bacon

1/4 C butter

2 leeks chopped, white part only

1/2 C onion, diced

3 gloves of garlic, minced

4 C chicken broth

6-8 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 1/2 C half & half

salt and pepper to taste

 

1. Cook the bacon in the pot you're going to make the soup in.

 

 

I find it easiest to use my Wusthof (again, add 2 dots)kitchen shears to cut the bacon directly into my pot. ( I really like my shears too! They're super sharp and come apart for easy cleaning. My father-in-law gave them to me for Christmas one year.)

 



2. Remove bacon, leaving about 1/3 of the grease in the pan. Add butter, leeks, onion and garlic. Cook the veggies until tender.



 



 

This picture gives you an idea of how many potatoes I use.

This is a smaller Pampered Chef Batter Bowl. (Also, check out

the sweet knife!)

 

 

3. Add potatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a slight boil and simmer until potatoes are tender.

 

4. Using an immersion blender, food processor or blender, blend soup until smooth.

 

5. Stir in half & half and heat thoroughly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

6. Serve in a bowl and top with bacon and other desired toppings.

 

 

This is mine...

 

 

...and this is Parker's!

You will definitely want bread for dipping!

 

I just like this soup so much that I want to be able to taste the potatoes and leeks! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

 

Blessings,

Julie

 

P.S. People have told me that they have been unable to comment on my post. Hopefully I've fixed this problem. To comment, where it says "comment as" you need to select anonymous. I would really like it if you told me who you were though! :)  







My Buffet Table

Like many others, I have joined the world of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint..... and love it!

 

The first piece I painted was a dresser. It turned out ok, but since then I've watched a lot of tutorials on ASCP. Plus, I'm planning on antiquing or painting the hardware because I'm not crazy about it. It's too white! I used Duck Egg Blue on the dresser with a coat of clear wax and a coat of dark wax, and did very little distressing.  

 

 

So, onto the buffet! Here are a few before pictures.

 

 

When I was cleaning this piece up and getting it ready to paint, I couldn't help but think about who might have owned it before me. Where did they live, were they happy?..... While  scraping candle wax off of it I pictured it in a dinning room with a family sitting around the dinner table telling stories about their day, or an elderly couple sitting at the table sharing dinner together and holding hands. I don't know much about antiques, so I have no idea when this piece might have been made, but it seems pretty old to me.

 

I got my inspiration for this buffet from Pinterest and paintinmyhairboutique.com. I used a mixture of Graphite and French Linen. 

 

After applying two coats of paint I distressed it with sandpaper, trying to distress where it would naturally wear.

I felt the distressing on the bottom drawer was a little much so I painted over it and tried again.

 

 

Better!

 

Next was a coat of clear wax followed by a coat of dark wax.

 

 

My finished buffet!..... Now I'm searching for the perfect pieces of ironstone to display on it!

 

Blessings,

Julie Wagner