The Surprise Inside

The news I am about to share makes our family sad. Henry's Dad, Papa to Oscar, Michael to me, has been diagnosed with ALS. 

{ALS, often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease," is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. Motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their death. When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. With voluntary muscle action progressively affected, patients in the later stages of the disease may become totally paralyzed.}

That is the grim definition I plucked right of the world wide web. ALS affects everyone differently and Michael could live with the disease for one year or 20 years. Fingers crossed for the latter! In the mean time, we are making a crazy amount of memories and visiting the heck out of Oscar's Papa.

The Head Start Program that Michael poured his energy into, honored him with naming the facility he helped build (not hammer and nail build, but coordinating, fundraising and legal stuff build) after him. We were not able to be there for the official surprise but we visited with camera in hand.

We were also fortunate enough to get in on a little piece of the surprise by sending this pic of Papa's recent visit to The Lovely's. Maybe next year we will print this pic and do a pic inside a pic inside a pic!

Okay, back to me:) Just when it seems like there is nothing we can do to help the situation, I see a Facebook Message from a friend who is collecting auction items for an ALS Gala! Holla! After some discussion I volunteered to refinish a piece of furniture to be auctioned off. 

I scrounged Craigslist, garage sales and a local auction site and found this dresser for 27.00.

So perfectly modern. I have big plans for the exterior but wanted to go the extra mile for a special surprise when you open up the drawers to fetch your pantyhose.

The Apple Green paint was just not enough. The little man was sleeping and Henry and I were trying desperately to measure my pattern. Losing the beers probably would have been helpful.

 I am not exactly sure where we were in the process below. Measure, tape, curse...repeat repeat.

 Measuring, taping and painting done.

 My favorite part, removing the tape!

Herringbone Drawers! Come on! Totally worth the hassle.

In all seriousness, who is going to want to stack their undies on top of this cute design? I can't wait to share the rest of the dresser design soon! 

Are you amazed at how I can turn any situation into a crafting opportunity? Imagine if my crafts help cure ALS! Here's to trying!

Stripes and Polka Dots

As promised, I crafted a giveaway to help promote the giveaway I was trying to win, as you all know by now, I didn't win. None the less, I loved the supportive comments and have finally completed the craft for my voting winners: Trina, Danielle, Kat, Tia, Kathy B., Kathy F., Tracy, Megan and Susie. Thankfully you are all female, as my crafts are not typically gender neutral and my giveaway craft is no exception!

Hint.

Fashion is not my strength. When I do appear in a photo, I am usually sporting sweat pants and a hoody, which I call my uniform. At the beginning of the school year I carefully assess what the college kids are wearing, which is the very reason I own a pair of jeggings that I have worn once. This year french braids are back (I am going to sign Henry up for a braiding class) and neon colors- which is why I chose the bright green. It's hip people!

Getting on with it...when I was hanging out with my g-friends in Oregon we were shopping and I was pondering buying a jersey knit infinity scarf (oop, the secret is out!) My hip friend, Nicole, wandered over and said "I would never wear that because it's not double sided and when you wrap it the back will show." 

Wheels turning...

DOUBLE SIDED JERSEY KNIT INFINITY SCARVES!

The winners listed above should start watching for one of these striped and polka dotted scarves to arrive in your mailbox! So darn hip!

For fun, jersey knit infinity scarf price comparisons...

$48.00 at Macy's

$12.00 on Sale at Old Gravy

$4.66 made with love in the 

Lovely Residence's Crap Room

I love a deal!

P.S. Susie Mirabendini please use my contact tab to shoot me your address!

Losing Sucks

Dear Blog Followers,
Thank you so much for putting up with my nagging and voting for me. I regret to inform you that I didn't make it into the top 10 finalists for Oscar's playroom makeover. Can you believe it? I felt a little angry at first, but now I am mostly over it, just stewing a little. The silver lining is all of your kind words and feedback, every comment truly warms my heart, even if I have to bribe you with crafts.

For those of you who won my giveaway, including Friday's winner, Susie, your prizes are in the works, and I will share what I whipped up soon.

You can vote for the top 10 finalists here if you want, but why would you? (chin up Nikki, chin up)

XO, Nikki

42 Reasons to Vote!

Today is the last day (phew!) to vote for No. 42 ! Please vote now. The Lovely's are crossing our fingers  for a Mandilious playroom makeover for the little dude. You can check our plea here. If need a little more convincing to vote, here are 42 reasons to vote for No. 42...

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Reason 42

As promised I picked a winner from yesterday's voters and truthfully Kathy F. & Megan are the only voters that haven't already won! So congrats, you are both winners, because I really appreciate the support! I thought of a fantastic craft idea for the giveaway, I promise not to disappoint. The final winner of the Lovely Giveaway will be announced on Monday.

If my 42 reasons don't compel you to vote for Oscar's new playroom then you must hate kids.