About two months ago, Josh and I decided to celebrate our second anniversary by getting tattoos! He had always wanted to get an anchor once he got married, and I really did love the idea, so away we went! (Fu’s was our shop of choice.  If you live in Charlotte and want some work done, check it out!)

Of course the first question that everyone asks is, “Did it hurt?” (Which I think that answer is obvious.) But the second question everyone asks is, “Why did you get it?” That is a much better question.

And to be completely honest here, when we first got them, my answer to that question wasn’t a very good one.  It had something to do with being “anchored” to Josh, or because it resembles a cross, or something about Jesus….

Needless to say, I didn’t have a good, clear answer.

But throughout the few months since our anniversary, my anchor has taken on a meaning of its own.  One day I came across Hebrews 6:19 which says, “We have this hope, as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.”  Basically it’s saying that our hope is in the promises that God made to us.  And those promises will never change, and they will never go away.  No. Matter. What.

These words have been fresh water for my soul during this current time of life.  They have reminded me that I am not the one in control, and I have nothing to be afraid of or anxious about, because I know and trust what has been promised to me.

And every time that I start to get those small moments of panic about what the future holds, I can look down at that small anchor on my hand and instead take a deep breath and choose to look ahead with anticipation that God will take care of the details.

Have you heard of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint?  The Nester introduced it to me a few months ago.  It is fantastic.  What’s so great about it is that it takes away almost all the necessary steps for painting furniture.  No stripping, no sanding, no priming required!

I thought that this paint would be the perfect solution to my table woes.  So off I went to Lowes to get the rest of the supplies I needed.

Here is a picture after the first coat of paint. {Remember, no primer, or sanding…}

Here is a close up… one thing about this paint is that you will most likely see brush strokes.  It goes on pretty thick, and dries rather quickly.  So you have to move fast.  But I kind of like this look, it feels more comfortable to me. If that makes any sense.

Here it is again after the second coat of paint.  All of these steps so far I did in one evening.  Isn’t that fabulous?

After I applied the second coat, I wanted to wait a day to let the paint really dry.  And although it’s not necessary, I wanted to sand the table top a little just to make it smoother. So I waited, and sanded the next evening with a fine grit sanding block.

Which meant I was ready for the last step: applying the wax.  Annie Sloan also makes a soft wax that is SUPER easy to apply and leaves a nice, soft finish to the piece of furniture your working on.

That picture up there is what my table looked like in between waxes.  Two coats would definitely protect the paint from chipping or fading, but who has time for all of that?  So the table became a holding area for about a week until I could return to do the finishing touches.

And the finished project!  I had a lot of fun with this one.  The table turned out better than I could have planned for, and it brightens up my dining room just enough.  I will definitely be using Annie Sloan paint again.  And I am excited to experiment with different colors and textures.

And PS ::: see those folding chairs around my table?  They have a bright future ahead of them.  Stay tuned!

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, a few weeks ago I wrote about the Top 5 on my Bucket List. Be informed.

Which adventure is next?!

]]> http://www.karriedobie.com/bucket-list-update/feed/ 3 http://www.karriedobie.com/what-i-want-to-capture/ http://www.karriedobie.com/what-i-want-to-capture/#comments Tue, 13 Nov 2012 16:22:01 +0000 karriedobie http://www.karriedobie.com/?p=484 October’s 31 days is over.  (If you missed it, click here and see what it was about!) And I’ve been silent since.  Part of the silence is because I just needed a break.  The other part of my silence has been because I’ve been thinking and dreaming about what I want this small space to be.

I’ve read a few posts from other ladies.  I’ve had some in-real life conversations, too. There seems to be a common vibe.  Whether they’ve been writing for 5 years or 5 days, a question many seem to be asking what the purpose of their writing is.

So, this is what it means for me.

Writing is something that I enjoy doing.  I love putting words to the things that happen in my life.  It helps me to be intentional with every moment and not miss the small things.  I have some ideas about where I would like to focus my writing, but for now, I am going to focus on capturing the small moments in life.  And the beautiful ones, too.  And the messy ugly ones. Simply put, I want to share my story.

I hope you’ll keep reading.

These past few weeks have opened up my eyes and forced me to explore an area of my life that I had let slip a little.  Maybe it wasn’t the most adventurous life.  But I discovered how to have adventure each day, in simple, small ways.

If you’ve stuck around with me all month, I hope that I was  able to encourage and provoke just enough. I hope that the words written here brought life to you.

Don’t be afraid to branch out. Take that risk.  Choose the adventure.

You’ll be better for it.

:: This post is part of a 31 day series.  To see a list of all the posts, click here. ::