Okay, so like this post is a week in the making. Meant to sit down and type it out on Monday and well, here it is Sunday and I'm just now motivated. Why? Because Donna over at http://funkyjunkinteriors.blogspot.com/ is doing a linky party this weekend that I want to join since it pertains to this post. She does a cool, themed linky party every weekend. So while sipping my first cup of Starbucks this morning I check it out. And now here I am typing away...so without further ado...onto the the post...
The week before Father's Day my youngest daughter and I headed over to my husband's (her daddy's) apartment to suprise him by beginning to decorate it. One of the things he really needed was a lamp. Inspiration hit and I came up with this fishing pier inspired ladder lamp:
It was super easy and totally frugal to put together. Total cost was under $10. Everything, except the flamingo and shell (picked up at the beach), came from yard sales. Here's a breakdown: ladder was $2. I let it sit outside in the weather for a couple months to age it then dry brushed it blue to match his other furniture. The oar was $2 and he intended to actually use it. Ha! He should've known better. The light itself was the most expensive piece...exterior portion was originally a wall mounted light for $3 and the guts are robbed from a $1 lamp. A trip to Dollar Tree for the flamingo rounded out the ensemble. Why the flamingo? 'Cause I love 'em and he doesn't. ;) Like I've said before, I am so blessed with a man who has a huge sense of humor.
Despite the flamingo he loves his lamp. It reminds him of being on a pier fishing when it's on at night. Over-all he loves all his new decorations. Of course I'll add to it over time as inspiration hits but here's the beginnings:
(I'm still looking for the perfect material to recover the loveseat cushions.)
Ignore the blanket on the loveseat. It's mine. He keeps it cooler than I like it so I had to bring my own rag quilt. Maybe one day I'll be ambitious enough to make one of my own to stay there permanently. Yeah, probably not. But it sounds like a good plan, right?
This is a close up of the jar on his coffee table. It is filled with x's and o's that my girlfriend cut out for me on her Cricut. It is my Father's Day gift to him. See, he doesn't get to come home everynight to real hugs and kisses, this is a good substitute. Now every time he looks over there he sees hugs and kisses!
This pic is our oldest daughter's Father's Day gift to him. She snapped it a few years back and it's remained one of our favorites of him. It ended up being hung on a west-facing wall...symbolizing him heading west to go home. Which is really the way he drives home each week. Also, Boca Grande, where this was taken is west of him. Just a little reminder of which way is home, which coast of Florida is home. Cool, huh? Totally happened by accident (the placement in his apartment) but love the way it turned out.
These decorations have helped his new digs feel more like a home away from home. It also reminds him of how much we love and appreciate him and how hard he works for us. We suprised him for Father's Day but our goal is for the blessing to last the entire time he's there. For every time he walks through the door after a hard day of working he feels like a part of us is there with him.
And, as for you, Dear Reader, I hope this inspires you to do a little something special for those you love the most to remind them of your love and appreciation for them every day of the year. Be it small or be in grand in scale just let them know how loved they are by you and how blessed you are to have them share this journey called life together!
Happily Feathering ~Betsy
I'm linking to:
all content © Betsy Richardson, unless another source is stated
please do feel free to share a link to any post here
thanks!
No comments:
Post a Comment