Chalk Talk Mondays

I feel very thankful this week. Thankful for my life, and my family and our small, but beautiful home.

If you didn't already know, my home state of Alabama was ravaged by tornadoes last week. I've never seen destruction like this. It's impossible to fathom until it's right in front of your face and even then it's hard to believe it's real.

If you've seen the pictures on the news, they are shocking and heartbreaking. But I promise that it doesn't compare to seeing it in person. Entire towns are gone. Hundreds are dead and hundreds more still missing.

Maybe it's because this is my home, where I was married, where we started a family. It's just so real when its this close.

It's breaks your heart and at the same time restores your soul. It makes you proud to be an Alabamian. Ive never seen a whole state rally together like this. Everyone is putting aside their differences and pitching in to help. No one's sitting around complaining or waiting for their FEMA check. Every small business and fire station and grocery store and radio station is collecting supplies and donations to help. Volunteers, adults and children alike, are pouring in from everywhere and flocking to neighborhoods that were destroyed to help with the clean up. Even folks who lost their own homes are out volunteering to help others.

As terrifying as the tornadoes were to witness, the recovery has been equally amazing to watch and participate in. No doubt it will be a long recovery. Things will never been the same for some areas and some people.

But we will be stronger for it and more thankful for sure.

Chalk Talk Mondays

I think it's good for the soul to dream.

Some days I dream of silly things like what my living room will look like when I finally finish my white slipcover and find the perfect thrifted coffee table to refinish.

Many days I dream of my 18 month old son and how he is growing and changing so quickly. What will he be like as he gets older? What will his hobbies be? What sports will he play? Will he like music? Will he like to cook?


Others days I dream of having more hours in the day to spend thrifting for old furniture, painting and refinishing those pieces and being able to take my time and enjoy the process.


What have you been dreaming of lately?

Chalk Talk Mondays

Happy Monday everyone! It's time for some new words on the chalkboard.

I'm a big believer in following your dreams. I think there's a lot of power in dreams, especially if you picture your dreams as a reality and just go for it!

*all pictures where edited with picnik's "boost"

Do you have a chalkboard in your home? What does it say today?

I'm linking up this post with my favorite blogger of all time, Sarah at A Beach Cottage.

Chalk Talk

When I first started following design blogs I was immediately enamored with all the DIY chalkboards I saw everywhere. Chalkboard refrigerators, chalkboards on bathroom walls, chalkboards on kitchen walls and chalkboards in kids bedrooms. But most of all I loved the picture frames turned into chalkboards!

It was the first DIY project I couldn't wait to get started on. I already had the perfect frame that had been sitting in a closet collecting dust for sometime (I wish I had taken a picture of it before I painted it). I think it was laminate with a fake wood grain and cherry color. Yuck! But it had this beaded pattern around the perimeter which I loved and I guess that's why I never got rid of it.

I gave it 3 coats of white spray paint and ta-da! Love it!

This was the original picture that came in the frame. I turned it over and sprayed the back side with 4 or 5 coats of Rustoleum chalkboard paint.

Done! Perfect! Piece of cake!

I've been having a great time with it since I made it. Each Monday I write a new quote or saying or word on it and it's sort of my inspiration for the week.

So I thought it would be fun to start sharing it every Monday. Maybe it can serve as a little inspiration for others too! Hope everyone is having a fabulous Monday!

I'm linking this post with Layla's fabulous blog, The Lettered Cottage.