My Thrifted/ DIY Sunburst Mirror

I've been drooling over beautiful Sunburst Mirrors all over Pinterest in the last few months.

Find these and other Sunburst Mirrors on Pinterest here.

I picked up a gold mirror from Talize for $3.99. I planned to make it into a Sunburst Mirror as soon as I had a few moments.

Months later....

The massive bare spot above my couch in my living room was starting to drive me crazy. And today was too hot to do any outside painting- or any outside work at all really.

Truth be told, I DID start to work on the Sunburst Mirror a couple of weeks ago.

I bought wooden dowels in 3 different diameters from Dollarama. I spray painted them gold.

I glued the different sizes onto the mirror, trying to give it a 'Sunburst-type-of feel".

Shortly after I had all of the wooden dowels glued on in the way that I liked, I tried hanging it on the wall. I did NOT make sure that it was secure.

And then THIS happened......

To be completely honest, I was SO disappointed and SO frustrated that I couldn't even look at this project for a number of days. Perhaps a bit melodramatic, I know.

BUT, then today, as I said- was too warm to do outside work, and I needed another way to procrastinate on my schoolwork, SOOOOOO...today my Sunburst Mirror was finished.

I'm still searching for another couple of perfect pieces for the wall. It is quite expansive. 

I'll likely paint the other sides of these Christmas wall hangings (here and here) and put them up...but really, who knows...?

Right now I'll bask in the glow of my Sunburst Mirror...

....and ALSO the fact that I have had over 100,000 hits to my blog! Woohoo! I'm pretty happy about that.

I hope you have all had a chance to glance at "Why I buy second-hand", or the "Books/Movies" that have influenced me, or maybe you'd like to see one of the many thrifted outfits "In My Closet".

I'm currently working on a givewaway to celebrate 100,000 hits.

Blog post to come....soon.

Blessings, friends.

For The Home- My DIY Half-A-Day Mailbox/ Light Refresh.

It's finally SPRING!

Time to FINALLY get at all the outdoor tasks that were piling up on my new home.

This past Saturday, while I was finishing up some school assignment, I decided to give my mailbox and my exterior light a quick refresh.

This isn't the best picture, but I forgot to take a before photo. This is cropped from another picture.

Before:

Again, I apologize for the poor quality photo. But I hope you can see that they were in pretty bad shape. And the light had ugly yellow glass for the light bulb to shine through.

First I sprayed the mailbox. It wasn't in too rough of shape- it was just an eye sore.

After a couple of coats of Rustoleum's Oil-Rubbed Bronze spray (my absolute fave- I also used it on my interior lights seen here), my mailbox looked brand new.

After:

I then sprayed the exterior light with the same spray paint. I removed the yellow glass, and replaced it with some chicken wire ($3 at Dollarama!)

After:

I'm SO happy with how this quick and easy project turned out! For a $13 can of spray paint (which I can use for other project now as well), and some chicken wire (I probably used 10 cents worth- if even that), I have a brand-new looking mailbox and light!

Thanks so much for stopping in and reading, friends.

Blessings!

Confessions of a Single Mom- Worth The Wait

Well, friends. It's been quite a while since I did a Confessions Of A Single Mom post.

Since calling off my wedding a year and a bit ago, I've tried to seek wisdom. I've tried to be content in myself. I've tried to really seek the purpose of my life- which has been rather challenging.

I'm not sure that I have gotten it all figured out quite yet, but I have to say- calling off a wedding that was  just never meant to be was the most difficult thing I have EVER done. But it was also the most fulfilling (?), gratifying (?), satisfying (?) thing that I have ever done.

It was clear to those around us that myself and my fiance (at the time), were not in a healthy relationship. But we did have a child together. So I suppose I felt that was reason enough to keep trying.(??) But in reality...it wasn't a reason at all.

For the past year or so, I have made 'WISDOM' the character trait to strive for. Last January Facebook actually told me that 'Wisdom' was my word of the year for 2016. Well... that was enough for me. 'Wisdom' became my goal for all of last year. 

Once I stopped trying to control my own destiny, once I stopped trying to make a partnership where there just wasn't one, once I tried to be content in the 'waiting' (or as my pastor/ friend calls it- in the 'Liminal Spaces'), things started to unfold as they were supposed to.

Shortly after really aiming to live 'in the waiting', I was able to afford a detached home a few doors down from my (and my children's) best friends' home. 

Shortly after striving to live 'in the waiting', I was accepted into teacher's college. Now I can work toward having a schedule that is more conducive to spending time with my boys.

Shortly after deciding to live 'in the waiting', I [re]met the man of my dreams. A man that is more perfect for me than anyone else that I have ever met in my many years on this earth.

Does this new love that I have discovered make the last 5 years worth going through? I really don't know. I'm sure we have heard the story many times...."Now that I really know what love is, it makes the last [insert time] worth going through".

I really just don't know. I was married 16 years ago. I expected that to be it. I never expected to be separated from that man, ever.

But life and other circumstances happened. 

There was infertility. There was schooling. There was that 'oh, we married young' thing. There was that 'meeting someone else' thing.

Does finding the 'REAL' love of your life make going through the worst pain that you can possibly feel worth going through? I struggle, because I still just don't know... 

But I DO know that the waiting was worth it. I DO know that being patient was worth it. I DO know that the man that I love now, is the man that is supposed to be in my life. 

This man was definitely worth waiting for. This man will care for my heart- I have no doubt. This man will care for my boys- because this I have witnessed. This man will support me when I need it- and this has been evident since I started school a few weeks ago.

Although it was so, so, SO difficult- these last few years- I could never comprehend the happiness, the pure joy that I would feel just a short time later. 

I am extremely glad that I was wise enough to not marry a man that I shouldn't have married. I am SO glad that I was able to just seek wisdom this past year. 

And I am beyond happy that I have met the man of my dreams. My 'unicorn'- if you will.

Do not be afraid of waiting, friends.

Love is definitely worth the wait.

Blessings.