Home Maintenance~Sealing and Polishing Granite

I hope you all are having a great week so far!

I wanted to share some home maintenance tips 

that I worked on over the weekend.  

After taking all of the 

Christmas pretties down I really wanted to 

deep clean the kitchen.  

One of the things on my list (for a while now)

was to seal and polish my granite counter tops.

I have used the Rock Doctor Granite Polish 

many times before but I had never used the Granite Sealer.

Since I really liked and trusted the product 

I decided to give it a go and try it out.
I found both products at Lowe's.

I cleared everything off of the counters and while I was at it 

I took apart the stove for cleaning.

Here is a close up of my granite on the island.  

You can see the small whitish marks. 

Those are small pits in the granite.  

The product, along with the polish 

is supposed to fill in these small pits.

I sprayed the Granite Sealer onto the counters and waited 

the 2-5 minutes before wiping it off.  

 The directions said to drop water onto the counters 

 and if it beaded up well then go onto the polish.  

 If it doesn't bead up well then apply another coat.  

 I was on the fence after the first coat 

 so I decided better safe than sorry 

 and I applied another coat.

Now onto to the polish...

You are supposed to spray it on and buff it in 

small circles with a clean 

cotton cloth until it forms a hazy sheen.

Think "Wax On, Wax Off"

Hazy it is!  

Now, wait at least 30 minutes before 

buffing it out completely.

While I was waiting for the polish to dry 

I started another project:

This little table was rescued at an Estate Sale for $15.00.  

I needed a small table for the side of the sofa 

and I thought that I could paint it if I couldn't 

revive the wood.

I am embarrassed to say that it sat like this 

for a few months! 

Isn't it cute though?  

I love the slanted book shelf on the bottom.

OK, let's take a good look at the top of this table.  

Water stains, scratches and just general wear and tear.  

Resor-A-Finish is a product that my mom told me about.  

I have used it on just about EVERYTHING!

I thought I would give this product a try first instead of sanding and refinishing. 
I can only seem to find this at Home Depot.

It is so easy to use, you just wipe it on with a soft cloth 

and wipe off any residue.

Let's see if it worked...

OK, WOW!!!

It took all of the scratches and water marks away!  

The finish is even and back 

to it's beautiful self.  

Do they sell this for faces?  

OK, I love how it looks but it seemed to lack luster.  

I wiped a little lemon oil on it and it just soaked it up!  

I had to apply it at least three times.  

But think about it...

Your furniture is thirsty in the winter!  

I know that I have been reaching for the hand cream 

 a LOT this winter.  

 I have a whole house humidifier and 

 I still feel the dryness.  

 Wood in the winter needs a little more TLC.  

 Just wipe your furniture down with the lemon oil once a 

week and watch it suck it up like it's a Margarita!

 OK, let's see the Before and After...

Now THAT makes me happy!

Back to my granite...

How shiny is that?  

It's like glass!  

I redecorated, cause that is like 

the reward for my hard work...

I kept some things and added some things from storage.

 My favorite Vintage Tole platter.

A sweet cow print.

And in the upper cabinets,

I added a little bling with an old silver platter.

And another cow painting to carry on the theme.

My built in hutch is one of my most pinned pins!  

I kept it simple on the sink side.  

I don't like to have a lot of clutter or appliances out.

My favorite white rooster, a fresh tea towel

And a little greenery.  

This is the only plant in the house that I haven't killed...yet.

Thanks for stopping by,

Until Next Time,

Beaux R'eves

Sharing with:
Savvy Southern Style
  Between Naps On The Porch 

A Stroll Thru Life

 The Scoop 
Tatertots and Jello
 French Country Cottage

Decked and Done! Kitchen Hearth Room Christmas 2012

My Kitchen~Hearth Room is all decked out for Christmas 

and it's put me in the mood for a party!  

Unfortunately,(or maybe fortunately) 

Mr. Beaux is not having the company Christmas party 

here this year.  

Maybe I will invite a bunch of friends 

over for drinks and such.  

Come in and take a look at my traditional Christmas 

decor in my Kitchen~Hearth Room for 2012.

I usually use traditional colors in this room because 

my furniture lends itself to this scheme, 

but also because I always put out the kids 

handmade treasures on the tree.  

Besides, red and green just says Christmas to me!

Our family tree is in the corner by my French bench 

and it is filled with all of the sentimental ornaments.  

I just tucked some red berries inside 

and used the burlap bows that I bought at Nell Hill's tent sale. 

 Santa was a gift to us from our friends in China.  

Well, hey they make everything there right?  

He is handsome though isn't he?  

OK, indulge me here... 

An ornament only a Mother can love!

And some silly reindeer we made one year as gifts.  

Most of them are missing one eye. ;)

I hung three of these pine wreaths along the window wall 

with the script ribbon from Pottery Barn.  

They really make the house smell Christmasy.

Here is a look at the whole room.  

I've switched the old rug back in since it's Winter, although it 

doesn't feel much like it here!

I showed you my dish cupboard last week.  

You can see it again here.  

I went out looking for new pillows this week 

and came up short.  

So, I stenciled these pillows that I bought at Decor Steals 

with a kind of snowflake pattern.

Sorry, really bad picture... but you get the idea.  

I picked up this cute pillow at Marshall's.  

I love mixing patterns and fabrics.  

I kept my built in cabinets simple with a real tree in a wine box and a Santa from my collection.

I'll plant the trees outside after Christmas.  

I can always use more evergreen trees.  

On the Kitchen side I've decked out the upper cabinets 

with garland, lights and berries.  

My ironstone platters and new crown plates make a good backdrop for Christmas!

I threw some old garland, berries and lights 

inside the galvanized bucket.  

When I was up there earlier this fall I saw that I still had electrical outlets there but no over cabinet lighting.  

After our flood I guess some things fell between the cracks!

Another Santa stands on top of my cake plate.

And look at my Paperwhites 

that I planted just a few weeks ago!  

I tied them up with a red ribbon and placed them in my doughbowl filled with pinecones.  

Little green and red mini ornaments 

rest inside the red transferware dish.  

My new purchase: Miss Beaux calls him 

"Alternative Santa" and his reindeer.  

He is sitting next to my rustic candle holder

 on the kitchen island.  

I hope you enjoyed a look at Christmas 2012 in my Kitchen~Hearth Room.  

Until Next Time,

Beaux R'eves,

XO Cindy

Linking up to:

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch
    Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday

  Kim at SavvySouthern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays  

 Judy at DIY by Design

  Roeshel  at DIY Showoff

Stone Gable  Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits 

   No Minimalist Here Open House Party 
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Heather and Vanessa at At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Jen at Tatertots and Jello for the Weekend Wrap-up Party

                                     Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special
 Roeshel  at DIY Showoff

Over the Top Decorating

No, I'm not talking about decor dripping 

with over the top gilt and embellishment.  

I'm simply talking about decorating the tops of my cabinets.  
It's a neglected area that I sometimes forget about 

but I tackled it this weekend and wanted to share the results with all of you.  

What prompted the redecorating frenzy was the purchase of these two new covered vegetable bowls at an Estate Sale.  

I wanted to display them in my hutch and 

started moving things around.  

Well, you know how that goes...

Everything came out and onto the island and the 

redecorating began!  

I love to tackle these projects first thing in the morning while the caffeine is still buzzing around in my system.  

Everyone is still asleep and they wake up to total chaos.  

When I took my Rooster down to display on top of my dish cupboard there was a bare spot. 
It was a great opportunity for a total makeover. 

And here it is After.  

I decided to carry the All White theme over 

to this side of the kitchen.  

I am kind of pre-planning for the holidays.

I mixed a variety of white dishes, old and new, along with ironstone pitchers and gravy boats.  

On the other side I mixed plates and platters with teacups, pitchers and my white rooster.  

A galvanized bucket filled with the last of my hydrangeas from the garden rests in the corner.

I had to raise the space over the cabinets a bit so I found a couple of shelves from the office that I had taken out and propped them up with some scrap wood.  A shoe box sits under the large pitcher and if you look really really close you can see some red peeking out.  

I repeated the same thing on the other side.  

Boy was I tired of climbing up and down 

to get everything just right!  

Changing the decor above the cabinets 

meant changing up the counter tops!  

I hung some ironstone plates in the bay window on both sides.  I love the soft yellow wall color against the white plates.

And I brought in my lavender plant and 

planted it in this large white bowl. 

  Let's see how long before I kill this plant!

This is one of my new favorite finds while Estate Sale-ing.  I'm happy that I have a prominent place to display it.  It has the initials NH on it.  I started thinking, wouldn't it be funny if it was just a decorative piece from Nell Hill's?  Kinda like the Friends episode where Rachel tells Phoebe that all of her new Pottery Barn pieces are antiques! 

A pretty floral and embossed platter adds subtle pattern to the all white dishes.

And a tiny cutwork dish (another vintage find) holds my rings and jewelry when I do dishes.

Won't this area be a perfect canvas for Christmas decorating?
Next up on my to do list is 
 to make a balloon shade for this window.  
I have had the fabric for over a year!

And for those of you who were wondering.... 
I asked for advice in my last post 
See HERE
I went with the majority vote and removed the new rug from under the kitchen table.  I loved all of your input and ideas!  Thanks!  
The rug will be finding a new home somewhere else.

Until Next Time,

Beaux R'eves,

XO Cindy

Linking to:
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday

  Marty at A Stroll Thru Life for Tabletop Tuesday

  Kim at SavvySouthern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays  

 Judy at DIY by Design

 Cuisine Kathleen's-Let's Dish

   No Minimalist Here Open House Party 
Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursdays
 From My Front Porch To Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday
Poutpourri Friday at 2805
Courtney at French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday
Heather and Vanessa at At the Picket Fence for Inspiration Friday
Debra at Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration Friday
Sherry at The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday
Jen at Tatertots and Jello for the Weekend Wrap-up Party

                                     Donna at Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special
 Roeshel  at DIY Showoff