Furniture Refinishing Projects

Project #1: Several years ago my mom bought this old birdcage/display but nothing was done to refinish it and it sat in the garage rusting for a couple years. Last spring I took it out, totally sanded it down by hand, and added a rust preventing base paint to keep it from rusting more until I decided what to paint it. I always thought it would be cool redone and a few months ago I finally brought it over to the house and painted it. It’s now in my future office room being used to display some of my library.

Before and after sanding. That was a rough job scouring off all that rust!

I finally repainted it a pewter color and it looks fabulous!

Project #2: I bought this little folding table at a thrift store in the sale bin for $6. It was horribly ugly but it was a cute style and sturdy. I knew it could be repainted and with a little elbow grease look great!

Someone did a crap job spray painting this table. It was gaudy gold painted over bright yellow. It wasn’t primed so it was peeling off showing yellow all over. Blech!

I lightly sanded the table, spray primed it, and used leftover Benjamin Moore Navajo White paint. I then added a clear protective top coat to keep it from being damaged.

Voila!

Have a bright day!
Chelsea

Tea at The Potted Geranium in Greensboro, Georgia

As an avid lover of afternoon tea I’m always interested in trying out new tea rooms when I travel. We heard that The Potted Geranium was an amazing tea room in downtown Greensboro, Georgia not far from Madison, Georgia where we often go for the historic home tours. We decided to make a trip out for Miss Marie’s birthday and it was so worth it! The historic home that houses The Potted Geranium has been beautifully restored and decorated. The food is delicious and the ambiance is just perfect. You feel like you have been whisked away to another time and place. I would recommend this to any lover of tea time or just for a nice ladies luncheon spot. Take a look at where we spent our afternoon and, of course, the tasty treats we partook of.

Jane says, ‘ One lump or two?’

Fresh and warm out of the oven scones. My mouth is watering at the thought.

A delicious variety of savory sandwiches. Pinkies up!

Look at the little tea pot jam cookies!

Beautiful china is everywhere! My weakness!

We toured the beautifully restored house. Lovely touches everywhere.

In the garden. Look how happy those daisies are!

We did a bit of antiquing and walked around town. We went shopping at the local farmers market, The Ripe Thing, and picked up some nice produce.

What is your favorite place to get a spot of tea? Any suggestions on a way to spend a girls weekend? We’re jetting off for another adventure this weekend! Jane is definitely coming along for the ride :)

Have a bright day!

Chelsea aka Bright Girl

Murder, Mystery, Madison.

• Girls weekend, check.


• Wonderful fall weather, check.


• Beautiful scenery and hospitality at the Madison Oaks Inn, double check.


• Murder Mystery dinner, check!!

I’ve been looking forward to this trip to Madison for months and I’m so, so glad I was able to go and with a wonderful friend. Madison, Georgia is an adorable small town filled with  fun antique shops, yummy restaurants, and it is chock full of beautiful historic homes. I only visited for the first time this year and it’s now one of my favorite places to ‘get away,’ it’s less than two hours away from metro Atlanta. My mother and I decided to visit earlier this spring for a girls weekend of our own and I knew immediately I wanted to stay at Madison Oaks Inn. We had the best time! So when earlier this summer Cheryl, the inn keeper, filled me in on a Murder Mystery weekend in October I was ready to sign up right away! My friend Ginny, a fellow lover of history and historic homes, was game too and we’ve been anxiously waiting for October to arrive. Here is how we spent our weekend in Madison!

 

 

We were greeted by beautiful fields of sunflowers entering town.

 

We made it to Madison Oaks!

 

 

 

Madison Oaks was originally called Poullain Heights.

 

 

 

Our beautiful room, the Sisters Room, for these sorority sisters;)

Jane has already made a friend.

 

Our view in the morning. Oak Alley.

 

Jane feels quite at home!

DeeVa has arrived!

Delicious breakfast!

 

     

We headed out for the day. First stop Belles & Beaux.

 

A piece of my past. I love this shop because they carry so many pretty things and I’ve worked for many companies they carry. Yves Delorme soap is the best and I love the smallest size, perfect for travel!

 

Jane is tweeting.

 

What is Jane cooking up?

 

So glamorous! J & K Antiques.

Oh my! Jane has met some dashing officers!

I don’t know why I didn’t see this last time we came but J & K Consignment has vintage clothes. This was so much fun! We scored some great deals and seriously cute ones at that!!

 

Keep Calm and Shop On. I love these Barbie prints. I have all the calendars that feature these prints and just saw the other day there is a new one for 2013! Can’t wait to get it. Check out Graphique de France.

 

What color stetson should Jane sport?

Well howdy!

Ahhhhh!!

One of my favorite booths at J & K antiques. Beautiful antique champagne glasses, Royal Doulton coffee pot, and Limoges soup bowls.

 

 

 

Had to stop by Madison Produce. So cheerful for fall. Going in here makes me want to pack a picnic!

 

 

Saturday was a busy day in Madison. There was a fall festival and chili cookoff going on downtown as well. We tested out some chili and as it was getting pretty toasty outside we had to get some homemade ice cream.

 

 

Homemade apple ice cream!

We came back to the inn to regroup and low and behold, DUN DUN DUN!!!, something terrible has happened. Hmmm. I guess we’ll find out soon what has occurred. Naturally I hadn’t the slightest clue. ;)

 

 

Jane is taking in the scenery. Love those curtains.

 

Beautiful stained glass windows.

 

After we regrouped and refreshed we decided to take a drive around Madison and see some of the beautiful homes tucked away on the side streets of Madison. Most of the homes are privately owned and therefore not open to the public, however, several times a year select homes are open to tour. I plan on attending the Christmas open house tour in several weeks and in the spring I attended Madison in May spring tour of homes. Get your holiday tickets today!

 

       

 

 

Beautiful fret work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After cruising around town we headed back to Madison Oaks and toured the grounds. It’s as relaxing as it looks.

 

 

 

Time to get ready. Part of my costume! I’m DeeVa Louder, a world famous opera singer.

 

What a cast of characters!

 

 

 

Mmm, homemade coconut cake just happens to be one of my favorites.

DeeVa & Lupe had a great time at dinner!

‘Kitty’s’ kitty cat. She’s cute but freaked some people out, Sophie the Pug included. She is a talking, moving, blinking stuffed animal.

Lucky for us neither Ginny nor myself were ‘murderers.’ The Murder Mystery Dinner was very fun and I really didn’t know what to expect since I ’ve never been to one but have always wanted to. It was a great group of participants and I highly recommend going the next time an event is planned!

 

       

       

R to L clockwise: Ginny and myself as DeeVa & Lupe; Cheryl, Madison Oaks Inn Keeper/Hildegard the maid and myself; Jane saying “It’s time for bed!”; and myself posing as DeeVa in her element.

 

Good Morning Sophie!

 

‘Hmm. What’s on your plate?’

 

Another delicious breakfast!

 

Carolyn Guest, author of the Southern Mansion Mystery series, was in attendance at our Murder Mystery weekend at Madison Oaks. Her newest book, number 5 in the series, features Historic Madison Georgia and takes place at Madison Oaks itself! I can’t wait to read the series and listening to her discuss her books has definitely added more places to visit to my bucket list! Be sure to check out her books here.





What a fun weekend! I hope you enjoy sharing the experience and hopefully Jane and I help inspire others to create memories of their own. Who else is heading to the Christmas open house tour in Madison? Any fun plans for this weekend?



Have a bright day!

Chelsea aka Bright Girl