Lazy W Marie

Carpeing all the diems in semi-rural Oklahoma...xoxo

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brand spankin new e-book by Refunk My Junk

Oh man I have something cool to share with you today.

RMJ clear glaze (e)

 

But first, let me just say that I am lucky enough to be acquainted with some of the most fascinating people in Oklahoma. Well, I know lots of fascinating people all over this world! But our Great State happens to be home to some of the brightest and most creative people you will ever meet, and I know lots of them. For example… Allison Griffith.

 

allison drinks

Allison here at the farm, March 2012

 

I first met Allison here at the farm when Red Dirt Kelly gathered a bunch of us women bloggers to meet. Remember Humilspiration? At that time Allison was just preparing to take the leap from corporate banking and part-time blogging to full-time blogging and artistic furniture refinishing. Well, I was smitten. Her passion for her craft, her high energy with people, and her business savvy were together a completely stunning combination. Since then I have watched with a mix of awe and envy and she has built her business and grown her young family. (Shepherd, baby #2, is due soon, yay!) And today Refunk My Junk is a fixture in the blogging world and a happy gathering spot for regional DIY-ers. People travel to attend her workshops.  I am so, so happy for her. xoxo

I am so, so happy for you too, gentle reader. Because Allison has just released her first E-book spilling all of her tips, secrets, and gems of advice for refinishing castoff furniture. It’s called The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Furniture Painting, which is pretty much a title after my own heart. *wink* I have already purchased and read it and am blown away.

Until now I thought surely I had already seen all the tips I needed for painting stuff, but I hadn’t. I certainly have never seen so much gritty information in one organized place, relayed with such an approachable, exciting vibe. Allison knows her stuff, and she shares it generously.

 

RMJ book cover

Do you have any itch to up-cycle flea market dressers or rehab old dining room tables, but maybe you wonder where to start or how to get those super trendy finishes? This book is the answer. Do you just want someone to encapsulate all the millions of tutorials out there, cut through the noise, and tell you what really helps? This book is for you.

This is one of my all time favorite looks for old wood, and Allison has it mastered. I cannot wait to try my hand at it using her advice.
This is one of my all time favorite looks for old wood, and Allison has it mastered. I cannot wait to try my hand at it using her advice.

 

If you have ever wanted to attend one of Allison’s workshops but just couldn’t get there yet, then start with her book. It’s a bargain at just $9.99, and it’s so smart and sweet. Download it and let the ideas and confidence start flowing.

 

 

RMJ chippy

 

She offers tips on everything from paint supplies and project planning to brush cleaning and when to walk away. She writes for real people, not just professionals (although professionals are giving glowing reviews of the book), people with other things to do and perhaps more enthusiasm than experience. In a word, she makes it all seem very accessible.

 

RMJ in action

Allison was a vendor at Junk Hippy. Does it get any cooler than that? No. It does not.

 

 

Now for a really fun surprise. Allison has so generously offered to give away 5 copies of her e-book to my lucky readers! I am so thankful for this. If you’d like to receive a free download…

  • just comment here telling us about a project you’d love to tackle with some guidance.
  • Or tell us what you’ve already repainted.
  • Or spill the beans about your favorite thrift shop in Oklahoma City; now that would be good info.
  • Tweet this post.
  • Share it on Facebook.
  • Or copy this whole thing onto a paper airplane and send it across the ocean.

Just spread the word and let me know you did, because I am confident that The Lazy Girl’s Guide to Furniture Painting will be a fantastic help to people, not to mention fun. I’ll leave the circus tent open for one week and announce the 5 winners on Thursday, July 31st.

Congratulations for so many wonderful reasons, Allison. For your successful leap to full time creative businesswoman. For your beautiful family. For this new book release. You make Oklahoma very proud, and we wish you all the best!

If You Have Junk You Should Refunk It.
XOXOXOXO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Humilspiration (Blogger Event)

   Yes, I am pretty sure that’s a real word.
    Humilspiration: 
(hyoo-mil-spur-A-shun), noun
A luscious blend 
of humility and inspiration
resulting from gentle exposure 
to brilliant, accomplished people
who are willing to share their passion. 
   It’s what happened to me last Saturday when a small, cozy group of Oklahoma bloggers convened right here at our little farm for a few hours of chatting, nibbling edibles, and soaking up each others’ experiences. It was wonderful in every way.
   Honestly, I am still not sure how in the heck I scored an invite since every other woman there has been blogging far longer than me and has established herself in various ways both professionally and in the blogging community. But I am ever so grateful to Kelly from the Red Dirt Chronicles for her thoughtfulness.

Here are Kelly and Dee strolling with cameras and kind words.

Early on in the event’s planning stages I stuck my neck out and offered to host, trying to conceal the truth that I just meant to cement my attendance. I mean, eventually someone was bound to realize this *crazy* Lazy W lady was pretending to fit into the “real bloggers” club and then promptly revoke my welcome card. Have you ever seen Catch Me if You Can? Kind of like that. But if I was hosting, well… then my chances for retaining my invite just greatly improved.

Several home made dishes and decadent bakery luxuries filled the table that day.
   Anyway, the other eight women who joined in on Saturday were just dazzling in every way. About another eight were invited and had to decline, but I know they would have dazzled me too. I certainly look forward to meeting them eventually.

I can still smell the sugar…
   You may remember that last Saturday was a drop dead gorgeous day in Oklahoma. Bright sunshine, warm skin, cool breezes. As everyone arrived one by one and trickled down the driveway, we mingled outside and fed treats to the animals. Mia the gander bonded suddenly and passionately to Rose, one of the loveliest and warmest people you will ever meet. She has recently revived her blog OKRoserock, and I am so glad she did. Go find her post on International Women’s Day!
But Mia was rude and inappropriate with Brooke. (So sorry for that.. but Pacino did think it was funny.)

Here are Laura and Brooke are getting acquainted with Pacino the macaw, 
and moments later Brooke suffered some unwanted aggression from Mia the gander.
   I had the very real pleasure of meeting Sonya of Beyond the Screen Door, a woman whose exceptional seamstress work and talent for combining unexpected fabrics has been inspiring me for a long time.

I had to apply every ounce of self control in my body
to *not* ask Sonya, pictured here chatting with Allison,
her opinion on a fabric idea for my kitchen.
She is so gracious, I would have ended up taking advantage of her.

Another guest was a kind of local celebrity, Katie from Dishin and Dishes. She is a food blogger who appears weekly on Rise and Shine Oklahoma. She is also in the final stages of writing a book surveying all the best local restaurants in Oklahoma! This will definitely be on my Christmas shopping list next December.

Here are Rose Marie and Katie, two fabulous women 
who first forged an acquaintance on Twitter 
then had lunch together the week after this event!
I almost cropped this photo, but if you look closely 
at the bottom you will see Mia, 
the gander who chooses people to love. 
This day he had his sights on Rose, loud and clear. 
   Allison is the super energetic talent behind Refunk My Junk. All of her ideas are fresh and pretty, and she makes it seem doable! Love that. If you’re in OKC, you can find her wares over at The Feathered Nest. We also discovered that she and Handsome worked for the same big box bank once upon a time. Cool!

Allison is* hilarious* to listen to
and her style really flows over into her blog. 
(Stripper glitter, anyone?)
I managed to snap a photo of her during 
exactly the four seconds she wasn’t smiling and making friends!
So sorry, but it’s kind of my talent.
   Dee is the talent behind the curtain at Red Dirt Ramblings. Her topic of focus is my not so private obsession, gardening… Oooh la la… Plus she has spun her skills and knowledge into a full blown writing career. This is what I am talking about, you guys! These things are actually possible! After some note trading and chatting, Dee and I noticed that her children are attending my high school Alma mater, Mount Saint Mary in south Oklahoma City. Small, beautiful world where we live, huh?
   Laura is a young, gorgeous professional who has been stylishly chronicling her home renovations over at The Steen Style. She is one of those women whose smile is bright and whose energy is contagious. In fact, she arrived at the Bloggers’ Ball (as it was cheerfully dubbed) with another lovely young woman, Brooke, and we all assumed they were lifelong friends. Not so! They had only met in 3-D that morning, on the way to the Lazy W. How’s that for making connections real?
   Brooke has been writing Rural Gone Urban for a while and recently launched a brand spankin new site for Chickasaw Country. Very exciting. Now she’s writing a children’s book, so keep your eye on her!

These ladies showered me lavishly with unnecessary but much appreciated hostess gifts. The funny thing is they didn’t know it’s also my birthday week, woo-hoo!

   After we pressed the clock for every spare minute sharing stories, ideas, questions, and hopes for the future of our little group, everyone said goodbye and drove away from the farm. I was literally stunned into silence. Not the normal post-party fervor or exhaustion, just a wonderful, bizarre sense of possibility. 

Possibility for my blog.
Possibility for Oklahoma, my heart’s homeland.  
Possibility for the universal experiences 
of creativity and sharing.
   I could barely speak for about fifteen minutes. See… each of these women started blogging for intensely personal reasons (like me) and each has gradually discovered her voice, mission, and platform in her own unique way. Now they are evolving unapologetically and sharing those mindful resources.   Collectively these bloggers were an ocean of knowledge on IT and had a firm grasp on social media, all of which is crazy useful to me. But their greatest gifts were openness and drive.

Kelly’s Twitter stream of most quotable remarks during the session was priceless.
“Blog drunk, edit sober.” Solid advice, ladies. Solid.

In a nutshell, it was one of those times when life shows you exactly how much you don’t know but simultaneously offers you a chance to learn it all. And to learn it through some really delicious connections.

I am whole heartedly looking forward to the next event and expect to see some of you between now and then, too. Thanks again for visiting the Lazy W, thanks for the gifts, thanks for the generous exchanges. Best wishes to everyone this spring and summer!

Birds of a Feather Can Still Be Mighty Different.
And That is Very Good.
xoxoxoxo