Trimming the Tree

It's busy around here.

That seems to be a common tale.

Sadly it isn't the productive busy that I'd like, but more of the being out quite a bit and having a baby sick with a cold and keeping Mama up at night, kind of busy.

Still, I'm trying to remember it's not really about finding, or making, the perfect thing, but just enjoying all the simple things that make Christmas so special.

My vintage Christmas ornaments bring me a lot of cheer.

Singing "Joy to the World" with the kids every morning after we read the Christmas story, enjoying our neighbors' Christmas lights, and lots more sweet and simple Christmasy things are making our days merry and bright.
Hoping you, too, are taking a moment to slow down and enjoy the little things.
Love from,
Greta

An Ode to Vintage Automobile Design--1963 Ford Falcon

Also an ode to beautiful design for a functional item--yes, the two can mix.

How fun it was to wake up this morning and see this in the driveway.

Aaron has waited so long for this car.
It makes my heart happy to think of him driving a car where the driver side door actually opens.
One where he hasn't had to bang out the fender with a hammer after someone crashed into it.
One that he actually likes to drive.
Oh, I know, be thankful he had that truck to drive.
Believe me, I was thankful.
I was thankful for almost 300, 000 miles and almost no $ to get it there.
But mostly I am thankful for a man who would make a sacrifice for his family and wait so long to get something he really wanted.
That old truck is a mix of funny stories, good and bad feelings.
I am not sorry to see it go.
And neither are our neighbors, I'm sure.
Because now, there is this!
Cars used to be so beautiful.

I love all the details.
Even the gas cover design is thought out.

Look at those luggage racks.
They're like sculpture.

More details.
I like the little cover over the locks on the doors.
Smooth.

It was funny how our kids didn't know how to operate the handles and locks on the car.
You don't just pull on the handle to open it.
And these locks aren't automatic either.
We had to tell them, "pull up!"

No automatic windows either.
The kids think rolling down the windows, all the way, is so cool.

Perhaps I am extra fond of this car because it reminds me so much of my first car.
A 1964 Ford Mustang.
I bought it from the original owner.
I was 18, saved my money, and against my dad's better judgement, bought that car.
And loved it.
But it was old and nothing had ever been replaced.
So there were plenty of tearful phone calls to my dad from the side of the road.
He rescued me every time.
But he told Aaron when we got married that he was glad Aaron would now be the one taking those calls.

The steering wheel is just like the one in my Mustang.
Isn't it beautiful?

That turquoise takes my breath away.
Yes, you can make fun of me for saying that.
But really, isn't color one of the best things in our world?
Aren't you glad for it every single day?

I like the ash tray in the back in case the kiddos need a smoke while we're on a long drive.

And speaking of kiddos, they are so into this car.

They pretty much think it's their playground.
James said, "isn't it cool that we could get an old car?"
We're raising them well.

But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
The other day, a little friend of ours looked in our minivan and said, "your car is so cool."
Her mom drives a vanagon--the only cool minivan.
But Avery likes ours.
I had to laugh at that.
Because I am no fan of minivans.
At least not for style.
For practicality, they rock my world.
But not for looks.
Not for beauty.
Well, not to me. 
But who knows what someone will think about the minivan in 50 years?

I guess we've got the best of both worlds now.

Practical car and fun car.

I am so very grateful for both.

We are blessed indeed.

Here's to finding beauty in a hubcap.

Love from,

Greta

1963 Was a Good Year

It's been a busy weekend.

And it ended with this.

Aaron bought a car.

A 1963 Ford Falcon station wagon!

It has turquoise interior.
Come on!!
Could it be more perfect for him?

It's really the cutest car ever.
If it had air conditioning I would totally steal it from him because it is soooooo much cooler than my mini van.
But I've done my time with no air conditioning and I'll never go back.
My first car was a turquoise (notice a trend here?) 1964 Ford Mustang.
It had no air and often overheated in the summer when I drove it up and down the mountain sized hills to my college.
So I'd be driving with the heater on in 90 degree heat with no air.
I'm over no air.
Lucky for Aaron.

The kids love the car too.
The seats are bouncy.
And slippery.
It's a fun car.

I'll take more pictures in the morning by the light of day.

I'm so happy my man found his car--he's been waiting for years.

It's Christmas!

Love from,

Greta

For the Love of Spray paint

My husband is addicted to spray paint.

From the amount of spray paint cans we have in our garage, you might suspect him of being a tagger.

But he's not.

He just loves to spray paint furniture.

Lamps.

Hardware for the front door.

Mail boxes.

Halloween costumes.

You name it, he'll try spray painting it.

We (mostly he) tackled these lovely tables over Thanksgiving weekend.

They were in pretty bad shape.

Lots of scratches, dings and a generally ugly finish.

Just as we started sanding them, I remembered, "I have to get some before pictures!"

Here they are having been just touched with the sandpaper.

When sanding for spray painting, it is important to give the piece of furniture a "tooth".
That is something for the paint to grab onto.

We did not sand deep or hard enough to take out all the scratches.
We just gave each table a good rubbing down and made sure there were not any real uneven spots in the finish.
The secret to a good spray paint job lies not just in the sanding but in using a primer.
Get gray primer.
It works best.
And give your piece a real solid base coat with that primer.
It will make all the difference in the world.

Let the primer dry well and then put down your final color.
This turquoise is amazing.
It is really saturated.
It makes me happy every time I look at it.
I could not be more pleased with the end result.
Spray paint magic!

Aaron also hit this lamp I bought at an estate sale more than a year ago.

I really bought it just for the shade.

The lamp is kind of weird.

Aaron said it reminded him of a bomb from the old Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons.

So he hit it with some orange spray paint to see if it would look any better.
I like it a lot better.
Still not sure if I love it, but I'll give it some time and see if it grows on me.

And just to give you a final glimpse of the wonder of spray paint, here is the table and lamp before spray paint:

And here they are after spray paint:

Magic, I tell you, magic.

What do you love to spray paint?

Love from,

Greta