What Up?

So...I am back from a wonderful vacation in Napa.

We did it all. Like ALL the wineries.

ALL of them

oh

and ALL the restaurants.

As a matter of fact, I was really, REALLY happy that my trainer did not ask me to get on the scale on Tuesday.

So, back to work.

Round Top starts in exactly 18 days from today....

EIGHTEEN DAYS.

lawd.

Lets just all say a collective prayer that I will be ready.

We will be taking a box truck FULL of art to this like OMG event in the middle of Texas.

for more information on Round Top, go here:

www.roundtop.com

So last week "W" and I had the pleasure of visiting our favorite place EVER

NAPA

(as in California, not the auto parts store)

First up is my very favorite new wine

(don't be surprise if you see a double heart "Chunk" necklace like this soon ;)

Cliff Lede Vineyards (a must go to event)

Cliff Lede is a rock n roller at heart, so his winery is packed with really cool stuff

Be sure and visit the "Backstage" but get an appt. first. SO fun.

Oh, and ask for Todd.  He will tell you some really hilarious stuff.

I mean like "oversharing" fun stuff.....just sayin

One of the wines "Poetry" got a 98 pt. rating.  And yes, we shipped home a few of those bottles.

more Cliff Lede wine

We stayed in downtown Napa at the hotel Andaz

y'all. I simply LOVE that hotel.  period.

Sculpures were all around Napa and so much new growth is in the little town.

Still lots of construction going on due to the earthquake, but I loved seeing what they are doing there. Just beautiful!

This is one of the few olive trees in Napa.

We did a bruch and tour of Round Pond.  Loved it.

And the wine maker was probably my favorite of the whole week

Wonderful personality and I loved his passion for his art!

We were with this super fun group!

 A view off the seating area of Round Pond

We also toured the sustainable garden...love

I may have stolen a few of these.....

and this guy and I had a great time talkin

on to Turnbull.  yum.

And Duckhorn

You absolutely cannot go to Napa without visiting Oakville Grocery.  The oldest grocery store in California.

(it's pretty neat too)

and then to one of our favorites.  A little known winery called "Godspeed"

just love.

(and you can't get it anywhere but there)

he has the best view in Napa Valley

I don't know where this was.

Okay, here is Caymus

ya know, there's just something about that red wax topper.

Reminds me of the soles of my favorite shoes ;)

and finally Cakebread!!

This has been a super busy week for me!! Came home, painted and went to a super fun event!

I have become really involved with CURE Childhood Cancer.

I want to dedicate an entire blog about this, how I got involved and all about the charity.  It is a super, super organization that I'm SO incredibly honored to be a part of.

A CURE event "W" and I went to last night was super fun!

Onward Reserve a really, really cool shoppe here in Atlanta had a terrific event last night!

go here for info on Onward Reserve

www.onwardreserve.com

LOVE thier clothes!

And one of the HUGE supporters of CURE was there.

that would be Hall of Famer - Tom Glavine

and my new beautiful friend TV personality Jill Becker

I let "W" get in the pic. hehe!!  

More about CURE to come!!!

have a terrific day y'all!

kb

Y'all....Southeastern Salvage...

LOvingly called by me "Salvation Salvage".

Why? Cause I'm old and can't remember the actual name ;)

Plus, it's my salvation.

This is a little known place if you live outside of Birmingham, Alabama.

It's a BIG TIME known place if you live near Alabama...

okay, lets zoom back to my birthday.....

my hubs has known for quite some time that my kitchen is the most irritating thing in my house. (to me at least) (because I tell him every day....poor guy)

Hey...I love to cook in a beautiful kitchen.

The kitchen has.....

12 years old, melamine cabinets (gag response), green granite.... well, you get the drift.

I put melamine cabinet right up there with wire shelving.

Who in the world came up with either of those ideas.

UGH

So, for my birthday, he, in his infinite wisdom (I'm not making fun because it was quite a nice gesture), took me to Home Depot.

He wrote down on a card 8,859.00.

I honestly had no clue where he came up with that number.

So, "W"'s pretty businesses minded, if not the smartest business man I know.  So I figured he had a number in his mind that he wanted to spend on this kitchen.

um, it was the day I was born......(it took me a week to figure that out...I'm blonde...a true blonde)

but wasn't that just so sweet? what in the world did I do to deserve him?  (or he to deserve me ;)

Now remember...I'm ONLY going ot put lipstick on a pig.  Not go overboard and do something ridiculous that we would NEVER get our money out of when we sell.

And let me tell you....I'm a damn pretty good make up artist when it comes to a pig's face ;)

and...

 if the truth be known, I'm actually pretty cheap (unless it involves shoes or bags)

(different story)

..enter my obsession with Louboutins......and LV....oh and expensive sunglasses.

like these....

i couldn't help myself

don't hate....just feel the love my friends.

(these go in the catagory of "W" will never know what I spent on them...."

as a matter of fact...in my opinion....they're fake ;)

I did tell my friend "E" that if I loose these to find the nearest gun and shoot me....

Back to the kitchen....

The condo is 12 years old and really I just don't know how long we will stay there.

The prices on our condos are going up but in a mid range priced condo, how much are you REALLY going to recoup from sinkin a lot of cash into your kitchen. I know, I know, I know....kitchen is THE very most important part of your house.  but.  I want to get out of what I put in to it.

So,,,,as I'm chatting about, I will tell you the whole long story, (because it's early and I feel like writing)....

We went to Home Depot....yes, you know the mega store who claims to be oh ya great prices on everything?

But, before I did that, I visited my friend out at True Source in Marietta, GA and picked out Carrara honed marble and subway tile backsplash

www.truesourcecabinets.com

(DONOT try to talk me out of Carrara....I know it etches....I know it stains....I know ALL aboout it)

and I don't care.  It's what I want...

Remember...I'm an EX-designer.

Okay, back to Home Depot.  Customer service is truely outstanding!

They came on in, measured around, had samples, the whole shebang.

All I wanted was to reface the cabinets in this 57 linear square foot kitchen....

nothing else.

Here are the pics of the kitchen as it is now....

I am serious when I tell you this is the kitchen...yuck.

So HD gives me the spill about how great their cabinets are, what they do, the warranty (which I could honestly care less about) and oh, how they use their "own" people, not subs to do the work......

I wanted a simple grey refaced kitchen....

y'all.

14,000 smackers.

can you say, jaw drop, smoke coming out of my ears, wanting to find the nearest bat and smack the guy over the head with it?   I mean really?  Really, really, really?

I was really nice to him but wanted to put on my cowboy boots and stick em where the sun don't shine.

Shame on HD.  As a matter of fact, Aurthur Blank is getting a letter from me.

But, again, the salesperson could not have been nicer.  Oh, he did take 300.00 off after I tried to work him down.  really? my goodness.

DON'T GO TO HOME DEPOT FOR CABINETS PERIOD....

So.  A gal that I know who is a decorative painter and has been for 20 years contacted me and wanted to take a look and see what she could do.

She paints anything and EVERYTHING.  And ya'll she is the best in Atlanta.  I'm serious.

I said PLEASE!!!

Her name is Suzanne Burgess

(I promise I'll blog more about her at a later date)!

Typically one would not paint melamine cabinets but really ya'll there are SO many great products out there that will literally cover anything.

Ya know, I'm not crazy about the look of the doors, but it was something I could live with.

So....she came on by the next morning

9 a.m. prompt on the nose.

We looked, we pondered....I told her what I wanted, you know some make up for a pig.

She happened to have a grey makeup paint in her car, brought it up and damn, shazam.

PERFECT color. Perfect.

So we went on through with what to do.

We are simply going to paint the cabinets.  They will be primed, painted and then sealed with a satin finish.

I cannot quote you the price she quoted me becase as an administrator of a 10,000 member re-sale FB group I get a few perks...let just put it that way.

But, I would think if I didn't get perks, it would be about  1/10 of the price of that ridiculous HD price....

So....here is my goal.

Grey painted cabinets, White carrara marble (don't talk me out of it), brass pulls, carrarra subway tile. and adding hardwood to parts of the condo, including the kitchen.

so pumped.

Good thing about my girl painting the cabinets??? She's doing it while I'm in Napa next week!!! HOT DOG.

Ok,,,back to the main topic. geez I can chase that rabbit all around the field can't I?

Southeastern Salvage.....

The greatest place on earth.  No I'm serious.

If you live outside of Bham, Alabama, just plan a girlie roadie. (with a very large van)

I went in because another obnoxious item in my kitchen is a box light.  Yes. ABOXLIGHTFIXTURE,,,

Oh my bleeding ex-designer heart.

everytime I look at it (and the bugs that capture inside) I almost puke.

I just can't even look at my ceiling.  I hate it that bad.....

Southesastern Salvage has some terrific lighting at like you won't even believe prices....

This is what  chose for my kitchen...They are big, possibly overwhelming for the small space, but really I think they are going to just make a terrific statement!

I bought two of these (they are lined in white)

68.00 each.  yep.

so I decided to go around and take a few shots to blog about!!!

here we go!

very cool desk - 498.00

Longest table I've ever seen- 988.00

LOVED this retro chair - 798.00

these were SO comfy - 798.00 (and great looking!)

for the DIY table maker  - table tops

y'all....the price on this door was 1,500.00....that's oh about 3,000 less than you would get it somewhere else.

I liked these little shaker style chairs - 129.00

great looking table under 500.00

Pine console - I think it was around 498.00

check these 20 x 20 pillow covers....with zip closure - 8.00 each

and more

they also have a 16 x 20 lumbar pillow for 12.00....

f

TONS of these nail head dining chairs - 189.00

I will say that the quality of the stuff that I've bought here is great!!!  Considering most of the things I've gotten for 10x the price from Restoration Hardware arrive broken. This is a really great alternative if you have a small budget (or even if you have a big budget but just don't want to spend the money!)

Here is the link.

www.southeasternsalvage.com

I have only been to the Birmingham store so I cannot vouch for the other locations.

All I know....is this place is DA BOMB

I'm going to document the kitchen renovation so get ready!!!

so excited!!!

oh, one more thingy!!! I've been working on Watercolour technique!! (very difficult btw)

but I do want to show you my first piece!!!

I named him "Who are you? who who? who who?"

J/K

Not sure of the name but you WILL be seeing more WC's in the future!!! 

heehehehe!

have a terrific day y'all!

kb

Round Top!!!! Be There!!!!

I am just THRILLED to announce that I and two of my amazing artist friends will be showing our art at 

.....

Round Top

roundtoptexasantiques.com

What is Round Top for those of you who don't know?

Well, it's the greatest show on earth.

No really.  It is.

Round Top happens twice a year.

Situated between Houston and Austin,Texas

So, about 6 months ago, my studio partner Lisa Moore, another artist Clara Blalock and myself decided to head on out to Texas and set up an art studio.

In one of the tents out there.

Y'all....this will be HUGE.

There are thousands and thousands, and thousands of folks who come to Round Top.

I mean THOUSANDS.

We will be heading out there from September 18 - October 3.

It will be a really fun, amazing adventure!!!

so, just to give you an idea of Lisa's work....

lmoorefineart.com

and then there's Clara Blalock...

www.clarablalock.com

and then there's lil ole me...

www.kendallgallery.net

Stay tuned for more information!!!!

We hope you will plan to attend!!!

Have a terrific day friends!!!

xxxooo

kb

Today is My Birthday! Please donate to CURE Childhood Cancer!

Yep!

56 years ago today, I came busting in to this world.

All 6 1/2 lbs of me.

My mom delivered through hypnosis.

Really?  What WAS she thinking?

She was pretty dang tough.

Anyway.

I'm asking for a favor.

A self serving favor from you my readers.

I am involved in a wonderful, wonderful organization here in Atlanta called

CURE Childhood Cancer.

The event is Quiet Heros.

Quiet Herous was founded 11 years ago by a wonderful woman and friend Chris Glavin.

Chris happens to be the better half of baseball great Tom Glavin

Now.  Those who have been lucky (like me) to have not been touched by childhood cancer cannot possibly realize the impact that this horrible disease affects not only the child, but the whole family.

Especially the siblings of the child.

Y'all.  It is simply horrible what these families go through and I am serious.

I just recently got involved and I did so because I felt I was not "giving" back like I should in my life.  

I was simply living a selfish life.

I needed to give.

So.  I decided to get involved with the auction committee for Quiet Heros.

Quiet Heros is a luncheon which will be held September 19th at the Intercontenental here in Atlanta.

The event honors 250 moms of children with Childhood Cancer.

It is their time to get away from the hospital, be pampered with gifts and get to socialize with moms who are going through the same types of things.

It is truly a special day 

and

I cannot wait to go.

Yesterday I came up with an idea.

I am an administrator of a FB group that has over 10,000 members.  I also have around 2,200 FB friends.

So.....

I set up a GO FUND ME acct.

What is this for you ask?

This is a fund to help 

It is a way for my friends, family, and members of my group to donate to this wonderful event.

I will do one of two things depending on how much money we raise.

I will either purchas a major item that will be auctioned off

or

I will split the money up between the moms and get them each a gift.

Either way, it will be a win/win situation.

I am trying to raise 5,000.00

Please, please, please, go to my Go Fund Me acct and support this cause!!!

and remember, NO money is too small!!!!

Thank you so very much for your generosity!

blessings to all of you!

kendall

****please click the link below to support!

www.gofundme.com/ng3c4cz8

****If you would like to donate a new item to the silent auction, please contact me at
kbdr@aol.com

Gift cards are expecially needed!!!
Thank you so very much!!!
kb

Family Feud - The Boggs' Fam

Greetings friends!!!

Wow, It's been so long since I blogged that I forgot how!

Well.

Yesterday my family made our debut on Family Feud.

Y'all.  It was a VERY long day.  I mean VERY.

We got up at 5:30 a.m. and all got ready in outfits that I planned out.

from left to right....my son Gregory, myself, "W", my sister, and my youngest daughter Callen.

Now, this is one of those "bucket list" items that I can now mark off of my list.

#sofun

At 7:15 they whisked us in to the Atlanta Civic Center into a room with 9 other families.

We were briefed on all the important stuff and then taken in to the empty audience where we rehearsed.  

Now.  We knew that there was a chance that we wouldn't get on even though we made it this far.

The rehearsal (or final audition) was THE most important part of getting on Family Feud.

We auditioned back in either Feb or March so this has been a very long process.

(in the initial audition you are literally up against about 6,000 other people)

In other words, if you make it this far, your lucky.

But, this last part was SO important and we had to "show up"

Well, we were really loud (not to hard for me) acted crazy, danced, high fives and acted silly!

After the audition they put all 9 families in the audience to watch the show.

Now.  If you ever want to go to a game show just know that what you see on TV and what you see when you are in the audience are two different things.

One thirty minute show took about 2 hours.  Not to mention that you have to wait in line to get the tickets, then in a holding section for another 1 1/2 hours.

Worth it?

Yes.

For Family Feud at least.

Steve Harvey rocked my socks off.  

Not only is he hilarious, he is SOOOO inspirational, fun, and just totally entertaining.

Anyway, we watched 2 episodes in the audience while watching them take two families who made the cut back to the back

:(

We were nervous, I'm not going to lie.

Then the third family got taken back.

There were 7 families left and only 2 shows to go.  They are also at the end of the season, so we knew if we weren't chosen, we probably would have to come back next Tuesday or not make it at all.

We started second guessing our performance and were thinking we did a terrible job because we were just so boring.  Nothing really interesting about us!!!

So, after lunch and playing lots of card games, they called out the 4th family.

It was THE BOGGS FAM!!!

OMG, we were SOOOOO excited!

They put us on stage and y'all, it was SO stinkin much fun!

no lie.

I cannot reveal the outcome but I will tell you that if you ever have a chance to be on a game show...

GO FOR IT!!!

It will be one of the most fun things your family will ever do!!!

Have a terrific day y'all!

kb