This month’s

                I’m calling Re-Run to Re-Boot!

First off: Sorry all.

I have been MIA this last month. No real excuses, just an inertia I couldn’t seem to pierce.

Part of this scattered malaise I can attribute to trolling through endless posts of possible investment properties in NYC.  Not unlike Facebook, these sites are a total time suck and fairly overwhelming. Particularly as I am poking into such environs as the South Bronx and hoods I know nothing about. (IF, I ever buy something, I will be sure to post. My ideal is a great “deal” with just enough renovation to make it sexy. The ultimate Trash to Treasure!) However, for the time being, my search has led to…nada.

Another reason for my lack of gumption is grief. My Dad had his stroke and went into hospice and died two years ago in November. Two years. I think I’m over it. I think it should be easier now. But it isn’t. And after pushing my feelings away for weeks, I am now owning them. The realization that I am not “done” brings me a strange comfort. I am still allowed to be sad. I am still allowed to cry.

Lastly, the horrific events in Paris leave me fixed to my couch as if somehow by absorbing every bit of the news I can take on just a fraction of the pain these poor folks are experiencing. If only it worked that way.

So, between trying to write, and 700 sqft apartments (that are mostly dumps), and re-runs of “Fixer Upper”, and yoga, and, yes, grief, I am posting a re-run of something I did years ago.

This is a hutch is hardly Trash. But my friend was tired of the heavy look and hired me to re-do it. She wanted it more French Country.

Hutch Unpainted

Painting lovely wood furniture is always a gamble. But my friend assured me that I could “do no wrong”, she just wanted something different.

So, after sanding priming, crackling, painting, and gilding this was the result~

Hutch Painted

A pretty dramatic difference. Right? I am sure some folks will be just horrified, but my friend was very pleased and so I was happy as well. (if you mouse over you can see more of the detail.) Let me know what you think of the transformation.

November is a tough month for me since my Dad’s passing. But it is also a time to reflect, to feel, and to be thankful for all the blessings in my life. To Re-Boot!

Thanks for tuning in!

(BTW, The Dressmaker’s Duke, goes on sale for 99 cents starting the 20th (tomorrow!) on Amazon!) Enjoy a bit of romance with your Turkey!