easter... reno... and other obsessions

easter this year was fun... i had been telling chris for a couple weeks what my mom used to do for us kids on easter... she would put together a scripture scavenger hunt with each scripture clue leading to another with a fun easter basket at the end.  i remember one year it having a big white easter hat and some other goodies... so when chris went to bed saturday night i set out hiding the eggs around the house... with the first one sitting on his night stand.  at the end of all the clues there was a easter basket with some candy, socks, a new polo shirt, and some other things he needed. it was so cute when he woke up in the morning and looked over at me with a big smile on his face saying "you hid eggs!"  it was really fun to do that for him... the rest of easter was really nice we just spent it by ourselves and i made dinner and then we packed our suitcases for reno as we were leaving in the morning.

chris had his 2 weeks semester break.  the first week we lazied around the house and he played golf a couple times... rough life i know! then the second week we headed up to reno to visit his family.  we hit the road monday morning and got there at like 4 pm.  the first night we had mini english muffin pizzas a tradition from chris' childhood. we also went for a little drive around and visited the hicks family and their new home where i totally coveted judy's new sewing room!! someday.... i will have that room too!  then on tuesday morning we got up and headed up to lake tahoe to go snow shoeing.  chris' mom does it with her girlfriends all the time and wanted to take us.  i was nervous about being cold and out of shape but it was actually easier than i thought and not that cold!  we had a good time chatting and talking the whole way up to the beautiful view from the top!!

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we also stopped to feed the chickadee birds. we put a little bird seed in our hands and held them out and sure enough they come flying right to us... i was freaked out at first.  they land lightly and peck at the seed so nothing hurts... its just bizarre, but we had a really good time doing it.

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after we drove around reno to visit susan's friend and to take a look at the dentist office jeff will be working at when he graduates in june... i totally fell in love with this part of town... they called it the south west side of town... older homes but really nice with yards.  i could live there!  on wednesday we headed out to washoe valley to have dinner with chris' dad and his girlfriend karon, and chris' sister catherine and baby scarlett.  it was really fun... i got to hold scarlett for an hour while she slept in my arms... so sweet!!! and dinner was really fun.  we had spaghetti and bread and just talked for a long time.  it was all really good company.  on thursday he mostly relaxed and shopped a little and then visited zach, chris' best friend and his wife katelynd who is prego with twins.  i played games with their daughter Addy who is 3.  she has a very fun imagination and loves to tell stories.  she is so cute.  that night chris played basketball with zach and his dad some other church guys... not fun to watch older guys play basketball... they whine and complain too much. but chris looked good :)  on friday we went and saw a movie and walked down by the truckee  river downtown.  that night we went up to lake tahoe with zach and katelynd to this fun hamburger place... then we drove all the way around the lake... beautiful view!  the next morning we packed up the car and picked up katelynd and addy (who we were giving a ride to indian springs)  and headed home.  the trip was really fun and it was awesome to see everyone again.

once i got home i had to jump right into some projects... i really want to start working on my new bed quilt, but i bought a new dresser for chris at the place i obsessively shop at a couple times a week... opportunity village thrift store... and needless to say there is no room for excess furniture in our apartment... soooo i had to redo this dresser now so we could get the old one out... i had gotten the ideas from some other blogs... here is how it started out....

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i began by lightly sanding the whole thing... and then i primed the whole thing... and then i added this texturized wall paper to the sides... the veneer was peeling off on one side and this was an awesome way to cover it up with out too much mess!  after that was dry i painted the whole thing green... the same color i used on the chair a couple weeks ago... after a couple coats i added my favorite antiquing black glaze.  this is what made the wall paper design really stand out and look awesome!! it also just really gives the whole thing and antique feeling and a lot of character.  after that was done i decided to add something to the front cause it was a little flat... so using texturized stucco and a stencil.... i added a design to the bottom 2 drawers... after the stucco dried i painted it green and then glazed it... i put the original nobs back on and voila!!!!  brand new AWESOME dresser... i am soooo excited how this one turned out!!!!!

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i'm bummed chris gets to use it... but oh well... i still have one more desk to redo and i need to find a new nightstand and a new tv stand... but it will be fun whatever they are!!  next i am making a little quilt for my niece amanda and her 6th birthday... she asked me to make her one... and then i am making a quilt for my bed... yep... chris is back in school and i am back at work on all my projects!! busy busy... just how i like it!