Rolling w/ life’s changes…

I’m not sure where to even start with this. I’ve been a shadow on Upshabby. Not “gone” but faded into the background. We moved 23 miles a month ago. Most would think it’s no big deal but it seems like a whole different world. First, instead of 24 miles to the airport/ work… I’m 4.9 miles. I know that’s true because my car had issues in the employee lot the other day. Ben picked me up and the following day I rode my bike to meet the tow truck driver there.

This house is small but amazing. I’m still trying to get my head around how to fit all of our stuff in here and make it “efficient.” I hate living in constant chaos. I’ll just say its a work in progress. Love the misting system Ben installed in the back!

The swim job didn’t happen but it’s a good thing. He hadn’t been made aware of our move. Instead I’ll focus on finding a position in the Tempe/ Scottsdale area. My résumé is already out there. ❤

The wedding is quickly approaching in November my bride crew and I are going o NYC for a getaway. I’m super excited about that. I was under the impression that I was responsible for taxes and fees but not the cost of the flight. Unsure how I’m going to put this together but it’ll happen.

Things are fantastic! I had planned on going to San Diego but with the issue of my car I put that on the back burner. With the car issue and getting us to NYC, I’ve got to pick my battles.

If you follow, you’ll know that when you see a topic of a “foldable” then I’ve found another job to make my life a bit easier. I had been very clear with the swim owner that I had no desire to replace my airport job.

Try this again…

I started this post and somehow “lost” it. Try again. I’m flying out to see my Maid of Honor today. I work for the airlines so it’s not like it costs me money, if it did, I wouldn’t be able to go. 😦 Wedding is 9 months away and time is flying. We move this month to a community next door to the airport. Smaller house but vintage so it’s up my Alley, pun intended.

I threw out the message to my bride crew that I want to take a gal trip prior to the wedding! Just the 3 of us. Wasn’t sure how they’d respond because each has a family but I want to do it without all the stress.

No I’m not expecting a stressful wedding. On the contrary. Many of the details are worked out. I have the skewer mustaches for photo ops. The sparklers are fantastic. Those will coordinate with glow in the dark bubbles. Unsure how that’ll work but I have the bubbles now. I’ll add glow in the dark and take them with me to play with in Fresno.

Made amazing dirt cake by adding espresso powder. I’ll make that for Karen too. I want her to know what to expect when we get closer! Working on the catering. I don’t care about much but I want the BBQ to happen on site. The ambiance is what I want.

We’ll Upshabby while I’m there which is just the icing on the cake! Thumbs up for a fantastic trip of making memories by the pool!

 

Chalk Paint and graphics kind of day!

So today and yesterday were a combo of chalk paint and graphics. I redid the train case. It looks oh so much better. Esthetically it’s appealing. Then I decided to tackle the vintage Lady Baltimore suitcase. It looks fab! Added the Paris graphics. Every Paris piece of furniture I did sold quickly on CL so I threw her up too. I’ll test the water. It’s completely unique and there won’t be another just like it.

I picked up the vintage washing machine tub turned ice box. Based on the size I’d guess 1960s but who knows. The lid was spray painted. I redid that with chalk paint. I don’t know if we’ll keep it or if Ben will send it with his best man.

That’s pretty well it. I need to tackle bottle cap baubles tomorrow.

Signed… Upshabby

Tomorrow’s ToDo~

The little things add a skip to my step. I have a vintage Lady Baltimore suitcase that I’m going to chalk paint and add a Paris graphic to it. I’ve blogged about the transfer process so if that’s of interest and you want to try it read the blog. 🙂

The other thing I’m going to do tomorrow is bottle cap jewelry. I have bottle caps, the puncher/ domer and my soldering iron. I’ll try my luck at it this time around and see how I do.

Stay tuned. We’ll see how far I get.

Signed… Upshabby

Wedding… This or that?

Let’s start off with what to wear? This or that? This could be a long “story” so I’ll cut to the chase. Over 2 years ago I quit drinking. Not ” slowed down, BUT quit.” I went from a raving drunk to starting to get my life back together. With that, I started to lose weight. Then 8 months ago I “found” the airport job pushing wheelchairs. I quickly started walking 9miles a day at break neck speed. I went from wheelchairs to checking in passengers and their bags. With that, I was quick to see the positive effects of lifting 50lb bags constantly during my shift.

Then I found the ramp. It’s a very demanding job physically and requires being able to multi task “on the go.” With all of that said, I’ve lost nearly 55 lbs. I’m not “looking” for them so if you see them just ignore them. Lol…

Ben proposed in December and we selected the last Sat in April, 2015. I bought the 1st dress from a major department store chain. Cute dress but something was “off.” Can’t take it back so I found another bridal dress on CL. It’s not a true bride dress but I didn’t care. It’s a bridal gown and I’m not looking for the big white gown. Did that the first time around. The second time around is MY way, but as my mom said, “are you sure black?”

That leads to the next dress that I also found on CL. Gorgeous dress and it fits well but now that I did the top hat birdcage veil, I’m wondering if the black dress isn’t a better option. I’m starting to drive myself crazy and trust me… It’s a short trip. I think I need to go see my maid of honor with dresses packed to help make that decision.

Bottom line, I have options and will go with the one that makes the most sense. It doesn’t really matter. I’ll be gorgeous and it’ll be a great day. Doesn’t seem possible that it’s only 10 months away. The next thing on my “to do” list is to find the food/ caterer. I really want BBQ food so I’m on the “hunt” for the person to bring in the commercial BBQ and do it up on site. Spirits will be flowing so it’s important to set the ambiance with the meal too. The fantastic smell and the cozy environment are key to us.

Ben bought me a whole lotta sunday pop bottle caps before we left TX too. I’m still deciding how I’m going to incorporate the diet coke into my wedding attire, but a diet coke bottle cap necklace is screaming at me! All details are subject to change but that’s ok. I am learning to LIKE change.

My father isn’t around to walk me. He was a huge positive influence on me over the years and my buddy Brodie Dog got me through the tough years. Neither are here in body but they will be with me in spirit. Small pictures will be attached to hang from my bridal bouquet. I’ll crop out my sis in the pic with dad. It was her wedding day  over 20 yrs ago. Oh pops… I miss you.

Signed… Upshabby. ❤

Top hat & bird cage veil/ fascinator…

Our wedding is in full swing and as I go I’m thrilled to report that tasks get crossed off the list.  I finished this top hat bird cage today. I’ll probably end up doing another and deciding on the day of which I want to wear. Why not? I have multiple dresses to choose from.

 

Chalk painted shoes?! Great Gatsby!

Yes I have chalk painted nearly everything! Recall that our wedding theme is Roaring 20’s. Everything that I’d looked at online had the wingtip look. I thought to myself, “self you have a pair of black ones that you don’t wear. Upshabby THOSE.” I love to find things that I currently own and tweak them to find a “job.”

these shoes were picked up at Payless less than a year ago for less than $20. Once I knew that these were going to beTHE ones I was going to chalk paint, I got to work. The dress is white. It is full length and gorgeous. I wanted enough white to stand out yet not change them completely. My shoes needed some flapper attitude!

Normally if I chalk paint I pull out a quart of paint from the garage. This area that I wanted white was very small so I went to the craft room for a 50 cent tube of paint from Walmart. For this project I used about 25% of that tube. Pour the paint in whatever you’re going to use to hold it. I picked up an empty soda can and turned it upside down. Squirt the paint, head to the water fountain and add a bit of water. It isn’t an exact measurement. I’ve chalk painted enough times to know the consistency that I’m going for. This is the important part. Pull out your baking soda and a pinch of soda. Mix it up.

The consistency you’re going for is pancake batter. The water thins it out but the soda is the “magic” and thickens it while giving the paint something to adhere with. I don’t know how else to describe it. The baking soda acts as the glue giving the paint the “legs” to grab on. If you add too much soda it’ll seem like it’s too much effort to spread it. Not enough will leave an impression that there is no way this’ll work. Mix it well and know that you can add until you feel it’s the correct consistency. As stated, I think of it as pancake mix.

Chalk paint is amazing. If I wanted these to be red instead of white I would have used a red tube of paint instead of white. I put 2 coats on these shoes and now that they’re done I’ll set them with wax. The wax acts as the glue keeping it all together. This is the exact way that I chalk painted the leather recliner, my former pink Ariat boots and now these wedding shoes. Ask yourself what you have that’s not being used that would IF it were a different color? Jump on it and have fun. Think Halloween. Costumes for theatre. This could be a huge help in many different venues. Come on… these are my wedding shoes to be worn with the tiered white dress that screamed flapper!

If this has given you an idea or you’ve had an “aha” moment… Share it!  Had I realized how simple it was to put a custom spin on things earlier in life? Pfffsh… share this and have fun! Lastly I’ll mention that the wingtip “dots” in the shoes that are now filled with white paint were done with the round end of a pin. I dipped the pin in paint and pushed it into the space. After that I took a damp paper towel to remove extra paint.

Flapper dress calls for flapper style shoes! Repurpose the closet!

I picked up the white flapper style dress. Love it! Doesn’t matter to me that it’s not truly from that time period. This dress was previously worn for a wedding celebration and it FITS! No alterations necessary.

Asi was thinking about shoes I realized that I have a pair that will work. They are wingtip style which were big in the day. Not a t strap but doable and they’re in my closet. This pic is an example of a flapper style shoe that is currently available on line. Why buy when I have a shoe that’ll work?!

 

This pic is the shoes that I have. They were worn in our engagement photos. No they aren’t the same but they are close and I already have them.

What will it take to transform my shoes to have a white emphasis? Not much. When I get started it’ll take about 30 minutes of detail work to take them from solid black to black and white. Easy peasy Upshabby.

Prior to shifting over to the Roaring 20’s I had put together the bouquet. I’ll take mine apart and add a hint of black and white. The red that I pull out will get split into 2 small bouquets that my bride team will carry. They’ll have more black and white with a hint of red.

 

Wedding dresses to be REused!

Ten years ago in my much younger years I would have fought that notion. Today, however, it makes sense. How many times do wedding dresses get worn? For how long? Then what happens? They typically get bagged and sent to the back of the closet. I have my original gown that has been intended to make its way to my stepdaughter. Shortly after I wore it and married her father she became the blushing bride and wore my dress. Fit her just as amazing as it did me. Now to retrieve it from the closet at my parents’ house and send that on.

With that said, Ben and I are getting married at the end of April next year. I’ve started planning out the day. We have our venue selected. I bought the first dress months ago. It’s gorgeous but something seemed “off.” Yes I’ve lost weight since I bought it so I chalked it up to being too big.

Went out on Craigslist and found a black dress that is gorgeous! Yes CL and yes it was previously worn but 1 time for hours. It’s amazing what’s out there if you take the time to look. A fraction of the price and my priorities have shifted. Then, and last time, I realize that I want a white dress. Mom’s comment, “are you sure you want a black dress” kept reverberating in my head.

In addition to wanting a white dress, I want the theme to be Great Gatsby 20’s. Yes I found THE dress that fits that theme. It’s a newer version dress of that plays into that time period. I won’t post that pic now but it’s full length and tiered with flattering details. At first I was intimidated by wedding dress sizes. They tend to run small so I assumed that my size 10 to 12 frame, depending on brand, would need a 16 and alterations would be necessary. Did NOT happen. The purple dress above is a 10. It’s not a true wedding so no shock there. The black was a 10 and the white is a 12. The last 2 are David’s Bridal dresses.

Bottom line… Don’t rule out thrift type boutiques. I did CL because it was easy locally and I understand the process. If I was uncomfortable with the environment I never would have tried them on. The first dress retailed for $300 but it was on sale from Dillard’s at nearly 70% off. Combining the cost of the last 2 was less than the 1st.

It’s not just about the money though. It’s the idea of repurposing a dress to fit our wedding day. I’m especially thrilled at the Great Gatsby theme. My bride team will be wearing these dresses. Repurposing all over again! Think black slip with 4″ chainette fringe sewn on. I’m so excited as things start to come together!