Dresser Remix - Part 1

Among her other talents, my Mom is an awesome, crafty human being. While she was pregnant with me, she took it upon herself to refinish eight sets of drawers, two for each of her children. Each brother got a gray/black combo, reversed so they were different and my sister had pink and white. I got purple and white. Somewhere in there she also refinished a bachelor cabinet in red and white. These drawers have stood my siblings and I in good stead. Most of the sets are still around, although one or two have gone missing over the years, and they don't necessarily still look as shiny and new.

The remaining dresser I have, as well as the bachelor cabinet, have certainly seen better days.



However, they have in large part held up incredibly well over the years. Most of the damage was child, rather than time inflicted (I take full responsibility for those stickers on there, sorry Mom). The reason for this is, in large part, because my mother was terribly industrious when she did the refinishing. So industrious she put on FIVE coats of paint. Yes...FIVE. This would come back to haunt us later.




By haunt us, I mean that after two days of reapplying chemical paint stripper ad nauseum, large amounts of the paint still hadn't come off.



Next up? Sanding time....

Movin' and Rollin'

Last month, with copious amounts of help from two of the best friends a girl could ask for, I packed up my flat in London and headed back to the States. There may also have been a horrific amount of Starbucks' DoubleShots drinks consumed...but I'm not going to go into the details. After ten days at my Dad's, my Mom flew in and we drove out to Michigan to get the ball rolling on that whole 'life' and 'going back to school thing. Oh what a drive...

There is a phrase that there are only two seasons in Michigan: winter and construction. Here's a little protip for you - this is actually true for the majority of the Midwest. Particularly Western Pennsylvania, which is also known more commonly as one of the inner circles of Hell. Picture twenty MILES of single lane construction. Hello Barrel Season.


Oh yeah....there was also a gigantic truck with half of my Dad's apartment and the entirety of his storage locker packed in there....


My Father is what one might kindly refer to as a pack rat. Okay no, that's an exaggeration, he'll hang on to *anything* if he thinks there might just possibly be a use for it at a later date.

This includes the coffee filters to a coffee maker that he owned (and got rid of) in 1975.

Before my parents met.

I am not even exaggerating.

Other gems included a 3 foot tall, mirrored plinth (circa 1980, it was apparently very stylish back then), two 12 x 16 bright purple, shag carpets, and a file cabinet that I think belonged to my grandfather before he married my grandmother (and doesn't open). Somehow, despite my vigilance, all of these things ended up on that truck.

....I love my family. But sometimes, they're nuts.