Vintage Campaign Desk Reveal

Last week I shared a before photo of a vintage campaign desk I had found at my local Salvation Army for only $30.  I mentioned that I was planning to paint the desk a vibrant coral to add a pop of color to liven up the neutral colors of my office.

As you may recall, this is what my vintage campaign desk looked like after I brought it home, before I began removing hardware, sanding, priming, sanding some more, and painting it.  Though the desk was in pretty great shape, I wasn't crazy about the dingy cream color and decided to paint it and give the tarnished brass hardware a good polish.

After several days of work to the desk itself, and several hours of polishing hardware, I'm pretty happy with the cheerful result of my hard work!

The high gloss coral paint has a beautiful sheen that really makes the desk shine.  The color itself is pretty unique and dimensional.  In some lights the desk appears like a warm, pale orange, in others the pink in the coral stands out (it's definitely leaning more orange in these photos).

Polishing the brass hardware that had over 30 years of tarnish was the most tedious part of refinishing the desk.  First I let the hardware soak in Brasso for a good hour and tried polishing it with an abrasive sponge.  That lifted a little tarnish, but didn't provide the shiny result I was looking for.  Next I used a paste of Bar Keeper's Friend and water on a wash cloth and, after lots of scrubbing, that did the trick.  The hardware is far from pristine, there are lots of scratches and still a good bit of discoloration present, but for a desk this old I'll accept the character.

Overall I'm really happy with how my desk turned out!

For those that are curious what steps I took to to refinish the desk and what products I used, keep reading.

July 2012 GLOSSYBOX USA

My third GLOSSYBOX arrived recently (see what I received in my May and June boxes), and I have to say I'm pretty excited about this month's samples.

The July box theme was Summer Nights.  "After a sizzling day in the sun, there is nothing better than a cool summer night.  This month's GLOSSYBOX offers you essentials you'll need to indulge in products that show off your sun kissed skin and hair and enhance sultry eyes.  Afterwards, throw on your sexy sandals and dance the night away under the shimmering summer sky."

Honestly, most months the themes for GLOSSYBOX, Birchbox, and other subscription services seem kind of forced to me.  The samples usually don't relate completely to the supposed theme.  The theme and samples this month for GLOSSYBOX felt that way to me.  None of these products particularly make me thing of a summer evening.  I could truly care less if the boxes I receive each month have a cohesive theme; I'd much rather receive an unrelated variety of great products than so-so products that evoke a gimmicky theme.  So even though I feel the samples this month don't reflect Summer Nights, I'm happy with the collection of products.

This month I received five samples and one "extra."  In my July GLOSSYBOX, I received:

1. Alessandro International - Pedix Heel Rescue Balm ($18.50/100 ml)
This foot creme oil imported exclusively from Germany provides intensive protection and nourishes skin, leaving it soft and supple.

Sample size: 30 ml
Sample value: $5.55

2. Sebastian - Color Ignite Multi Tone Shampoo ($14.95/8.4 oz)
Smart color moisture complex that targets your color-treated strands, to deeply moisturize and restructure hair fibers wherever needed most.

Sample size: 1.7 oz
Sample value: $3.03

3. Sebastian - Color Ignite Multi Tone Conditioner ($16.95/6.6 oz)
This micro-bubble conditioner whips, wraps and wows your strands leaving your hair with long-lasting color and vibrant shine.

Sample size: 1.65 oz
Sample value: $4.24

4. Figs & Rouge - Lips, Face & Body Balm ($6.00/0.26 oz)
This gorgeous tin is filled with 100% pure and natural skin balm, a multi-use wonder product that will keep your skin feeling soft and beautiful throughout the day.

Sample size: 0.26 oz
Sample value: $6.00

5. Senna Cosmetics - Mineral Eyes Shadow Trio ($24.00/0.14 oz)
This silky pressed mineral eye shadow trio in metallic or matte colors gives you a hypnotic yet polished finish with amazing dimension.

Sample size: 0.14 oz
Sample value: $24.00

Extra - Blushed fragrance by Ruddy Water ($22.00/24 pouches)
Features notes of bright red currant and rich vanilla, wrapped around subtle sweet lemon, slightly spicy ginger, and kissed with a hint of sugar.  Take, tuck or share this fragrance towelette.  It's scent will make you blush.

Sample size: 1 pouch
Sample value: $0.92

Total box value: $43.74

As I said, I'm pretty happy with the samples this month!  While I don't have color treated hair, I imagine the shampoo & conditioner will be very nourishing, so I'm excited to give them a try.  I am in a constant battle to keep my heels in shape and I'm looking forward to seeing if the Heel Rescue Balm works any small miracles on them.  The sweet geranium scent of the Figs & Rouge Balm is a little overpowering to me, but the balm is very moisturizing and absorbs quickly so I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of it (and how adorable is that tin?).

 I'm probably most excited about the fragrance towelette (the sweet, fruity scent is right up my alley) and the Senna Cosmetics Shadow Trio.  I received the matte Shadow Trio and I'm very glad I did.  I own primarily pearl and shimmery shadows but have been wanting to add some matte shades to my collection.  The warm browns of this trio look like they'll be very flattering on the eye and the shadows themselves are nice and smooth.

Initially I'm really happy about the samples this month and I can't wait to try them all out!  I'll let you know what I think of them in more detail next month after I've had a chance to put them to use.

Chinchilla Love

Tonight the hubby and I welcomed a baby chinchilla into our family.  We named her Goose and I captured the first moments as we held Goose up to Lucy's cage for them to meet for the first time.  Lucy was overwhelmed with excitement and her reaction was too adorable not to share.  :)