A Happy Xmas Gift

Hello, all. I've been slacking on the posting, I know. But in my defense, I've tried. I keep sitting down to write a post, and cannot think of anything worthy. It's pretty much the same old same old over here. The usual me working all the time and spending as much time with my little peanut as possible.

Clara is growing all the time, as children tend to do...

List of recent accomplishments:
-talking a little more. Mom. Mama. Dada. Mickey and Minnie. Dora. Boots. Shoes. Juice. Cup. Ball. Dog. Kitty. Pee-pee. Poo-poo. (especially entertaining).
-Enjoying "reading" more. She has her favorite books. Even follows along with the words with her finger as I read them.
 -Drawing. I credit this mainly to her Dad, and his love of drawing. She even holds a pen correctly. Pens are her favorite drawing implement. She can even draw (and kind of say) the letter "a".
 -Walking. Running. Going up and down the stairs quickly and with ease. Rough housing. Playing games. Climbing.
-She's very good at sharing, loving, and caring. She has a deep love for animals, and I can't wait until she's old enough for her first pet. (Don't worry, it's a long way off yet). This summer, I see many trips to the beach, the zoo, and the park. As many as my work schedule will allow.

 She's turning into an even more sweet and intelligent young lady. I'm a proud mama, to say the least. To be responsible for even a little of her upbringing, and seeing what a sweet, empathetic little girl she is quite the accomplishment for me. :-)

So, onto the main event!

I've been wanting to make a play kitchen for Clara since before her first birthday. My plan was obviously an idea off of Pinterest. I wanted to turn an old entertainment stand/cabinet into a kitchen. Much like this:

I over-estimated my ability for such a project. Especially since I have no tools.

I had thought about buying a new one, but at $100-$300 for the ones I wanted, it wasn't an option. Lucky me, I ended up finding this beauty on Craigslist a few weeks ago:

I had already pulled the door off when I decided I should take a before picture.

I had debating on just leaving it as is. But, of course, I have to be "creative" and take on yet another project in my busy schedule. So while Clara was with her Dad the weekend before xmas, I bought paint and spent three days on this thing. I bought spray-paint primer, not thinking about the fact that it was too cold to use it outside. So, I ended up painting about 8-9 coats. I've never been happier to finish a project. And I think it turned out pretty well. :)

I promise, she was much more excited when she opened it.

  

Thanks for reading! I've missed your comments!