"Cherish" Room - Day Five!

Today was the first of two big moving days!  I took lots of furniture and wall decor I had been working on into the store and started setting it up in the room, after I finished painting one more wall the blue-gray color.

This antique shabby dresser was the first to be placed and was a temporary home for some accent trees until I can get all the furniture in place.

The little white rocking chair will end up in this grouping shown in front of the newly painted wall.  I didn't hang the large frame, choosing to set it on the little dresser until I have the other furniture in the room placed - I may need to move it a few inches depending on how much room I need!

Next up was this vintage desk.  The top of this desk had some scratches on it so I decided to sand and repaint the top before bringing it into my space.

 I repainted the top with 'Emperor's Silk' red.

 Next, I added a coat of clear wax -

followed by a final coat of dark wax to add depth to the desk top.  The original wood seemed a bit dry, so I added a light layer of dark wax to the rest of the desk as well and it really brought out the cabin details on the front panel!

  I placed the desk under the black metal items and rustic frames so it became the anchor of my 'cabin' wall.  I hung the hand forged iron cross above it and placed the 'Welcome to the Cabin' sign on the desk with a little tinsel tree.

I found this gorgeous chalkboard at the Sacramento Antique Fair at Restore and Rework's booth.  I gave it a fresh coat of chalkboard paint filling in the 'swirls' at each end to make them really stand out, added a fresh coat of white paint and then sanded the dentil molding across the top to make it stand out a little more.

This was just the piece I needed to grab customer's attention when they entered my room the first time.  I wrote one of my favorite sayings on it "Each heart is whispering - Home, home at last!"  Very appropriate for both Thanksgiving and Christmas - it reminds me of being away at college and traveling home for the holidays!

I put my 5 foot round shabby pedestal table in front of the super chalkboard and added a plaid tablecloth.  The red star to the left of the chalkboard repeats the red of the little rocking chair and I left some of my table top decor on the table - tomorrow all the table tops will get decorated.

Next, I hung this fun wire cubby shelf with four hooks - perfect for stockings!  The 'joy' banner and the 3-D metal letter 'm' may not end up here but for now they found a place to settle.

By the end of the day, the view from the doorway into the room changed quite a bit!  I'm bringing in another table tomorrow so depending on how it fits in the space I left for it, I may need to move things around again. The stage will be set for all the Christmas decor.  I can't wait to add ornaments to the tree, banners, twinkling lights, and do all the tablescapes!

A "Deere" Celebration!

When Alan walked into his parents home and saw this invitation sitting on the kitchen table the surprise was off! Although Alan knew his family was throwing him a 'surprise' party for his 60th, what he didn't know was how well his family designed the party theme after his daily mode of transportation - John Deere Tractors!  Alan has been a rice farmer in the Sacramento Valley for about 40 years so the theme was perfect. 

Coming up to the house, the party theme was immediately apparent. 

 There were John Deere toy tractors and pumpkins greeting guests at the door, with bundles of rice sitting atop hay bales.

The early evening weather was perfect for a backyard celebration!  And since there was rain the day before the party, most of Alan's farmer friends were able to make it to the party since it was too wet to harvest rice that day!

Round tables were covered in green tablecloths and John Deere fabric toppers.  White plates were flanked by the silverware and topped with yellow bandana print fabric napkins tied with jute. Water glasses were canning jars accented with jute ties as well.

Centerpieces were pulled from the family's treasure trove of John Deere collectibles!

 There were collectible dolls on every table. . .

 .  . such as small scale John Deere tractors, metal lunch boxes and other pieces.

The floral arrangements were designed by daughter-in-law, Leslie.  Vases filled with fresh sunflowers were anchored with rice straight from the field, instead of oasis or flower frogs.  Leslie's mom, Fran, and sister-in-law, Julie helped with the set-up.

There were plenty of ride on toys for the 8 grandchildren to entertain themselves with throughout the evening, although most were camera shy so I didn't get a good picture of any of them on them!

The grandchildren even wore John Deere clothing - here grandson Cage models his Deere green shirt - along with his bandage from slamming his finger in the door the day before!
Daughter-in-law Cory, Cage's mom, was in charge of setting up the bar so Cage's accident added to her list of duties the day before the big party! 

Brynn, Alan's oldest grandchild, smiles for the camera with Katie, who is sporting her pink John Deere overalls!  These girls will be excellent party planners some day after watching and learning from their moms, Leslie and Melissa, and their aunties Cory and Julie, who all worked together with grandmother Debbie, to plan and implement this birthday! celebration!

Alan's daughter, Melissa, found and ordered the invitations from Lemonade Moments, an Etsy site.

Melissa also created this clever balloon wreath to hang on the patio door after seeing one on Pinterest.

The guests' party favors were placed in a large John Deere tin on a console table by the front door. Yellow bandanas protected the table's surface and John Deere Collector's plates added to the charm. A chicken wire basket accepted cards for the birthday boy!

Party favors were handmade shortbread tractor cookies in two patterns, Melissa had found on another Etsy site.

Susan Dobbs of The Tailored Cookie, created the tractor with the cab cookie, 

and the 'tractor without a cab' cookie!  The two types of tractors represent the years Alan has farmed; as he started with tractors without cabs (driving one you eat dirt all day!) to the luxurious air conditioned cabs of tractors today!

The buffet table was decorated with gingham checked fabric, pumpkins, bundles of rice, more John Deere toy tractors, and other farm decor.  The delicious buffet included ribs, chicken and chopped beef from Dickey's BBQ Pit in Roseville.  Debbie made the rest of the menu which included tasty beans, potato,fruit and Cesar salads, heirloom tomatoes and rolls.

And last but not least was THE CAKE! The three tier cake was created by Jessica Calta, a former student of Debbie's, and featured a tractor on the top tier, a cornfield on the middle tier and a split rail fence on the bottom tier - all, of course, in John Deere yellow and green!

The grandchildren couldn't wait for that cake to be cut! 

 
 Meika grabbed Alan and brought him over to the cake table where Cole, Cage, Wade, Katie, Brynn and Blake gathered.

Alan's son, Brad holds the youngest grandchild, Emma, while helping Melissa light the SIXTY  candles . . .

and light . . .and light!

 As 'Happy Birthday' was sung, the tractor looked like it was on fire!

The big moment came and the grandkids helped Alan blow out his candles!

 Alan will no doubt cherish this event which his "Deere'' family so wonderfully put together!