Gray Pine Scrap Table & Sicilian Wedding

We had the incredible opportunity to celebrate our friends, Ginevra and Keean’s, unbelievable Sicilian wedding! 💗💓💘 It was absolutely perfect! Ginevra was a HUGE help to Zack and I when we first moved to Italy. We met just by happen stance. Zack and I were asking a local business for help and we spoke zero Italian when we first arrived. The worker didn't;t speak and English so we went and grabbed his good friend Ginevra. Ginevra is one of the kindest and most helpful individuals I have ever met. We became fast friends and she literally went to the Dr with me to translate!  So when she invited us to her wedding, of course we came down from Florence and went back to Sicily for the event. 

Perfect Vintage Look for Pine Furniture & Road-Tripping in Italy

This week we are traveling from Florence down to Sicily, it's a long trek but we have several stops planned. We rented a teeny tiny taco car and loaded up out gear. We take a lot of Italy for granted because it's our "normal" now, but I thought you guys may want to check out this Italian Travel Stop food! 

And be careful when ordering 4 pieces of pizza that you check how big the slices are first! 😳😋 For projects I have a great one, because EVERYONE is always asking me how to age pine and we have the perfect product for that!! Weatherwood PINING stain will give pine gorgeous mix of grays and browns colors! One of our favorite clients, Chelsea from Apple Blossom Way, created this farmhouse masterpiece and I thought we would enjoy the inspiration. She is ALWAYS sharing free paint and stain tutorials, so you will want to follow her for sure! Check it out-

Materials

• Unstained furniture piece (can be new wood or stripped, this is PINE.)
• Wood Stain: Pining from Weatherwood [Save 10% with code: WELCOME10]

• Weatherwood Stains' Varnish 

Directions

1.] SAND: Begin with either new wood or strip previously finished tabletop. Start with a rough grit with a 120 grit.

2.] STAIN: Brush on 1-2 coats of Weatherwood Pining stain to weather pine. Brush on and allow product to air dry naturally. Pining turns wood a mix of grays and browns. Here's all 5 gorgeous options from the Weatherwood Color Chart.

Weatherwood Pine Color Chart

3.] PROTECT: Seal the table with Weatherwash Polyurethane, we used Dead Flat.

If you'd like to see more furniture makeovers with this color scheme, here's a gorgeous Nautical Desk Makeover! [link]

Piece of pie, piece of cake! You can save 10% on your first Weatherwood order with code: WELCOME10. I hope to see you tomorrow at our party! 

Easy Brown/Gray Floors & Palazza Vecchio

We are staying at the best location in Florence! We are a 5 minute walk from the famous Santa Maria Fiore and Palazza Vecchio is right outside our door. The palazza has near continuous free weekend concerts and is always filled with people and street performers. It is so much fun. We are so close we just listen for the music and head down tot palazza to enjoy the performance. 




The other day we walked outside and there was a large parade with women dressed in incredible gowns, flag throwers, and military. 🇮🇹  I have absolutely no idea what we were celebrating but it was a blast. The parade closed with a real wolf being walked through the streets! 🐺

Restoration Hardware Salvaged Table Hack & The Spanish Steps

The Spanish Steps! 135 steps connect two large piazzas, at the top and bottom of the stairs. They’re also the site of famous movies like Roman Holiday, The Man Called UNCLE & The Talented Mr Ripley. The square is literally packed with people and street performers.

Cedar Farmhouse Table & Santa Croce Church in Florence

I had to visit the famous old church called Santa Croce because my fav guy Michelangelo is buried there.🎨 But there was so, so much awesomeness happening!!

Herringbone Reclaimed Oak Hack & Santuario Scala Santa, Rome

This was quite the experience! 💜💙 According to Catholic tradition, these are the Holy Stairs from Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem. They are the stairs Jesus Christ stepped on his way to trial during his Passion. ✝️ ⛪ 

The Stairs were brought to Rome by Saint Helena, or Emperor Constantine’s mother, in the fourth century. 

Reclaimed-Looking Beams & Tre Fontane Abbey, Rome

The Apostle St Paul was imprisoned several times on his journey from Israel to Rome to await justice for preaching the "Good News" or the gospel of Christ. This was his final prison and he was beheaded in this small spot between an abbey and a (now) church. 👼🏻 

Faux Barnwood Sliding Barn Door & St Peter's Basilica, Rome

When you got to Saint Peter’s Basilica you have to tour Michelangelo’s famous DOME. 

DIY Barnwood Walls & Beams & Catacombe San Sebastiano, Rome

This ancient church was built over top St Stephan’s Catacombs. 💀 The catacombs buried ancient Romans & then Christian Saints who had been martyered in the coliseum. ✝️ It was also used as secret church for the early Christians who didn’t want to end up in the coliseum like their saints. ⛪️ 

Beachy Side Table Transformation & Santa Scala, Rome

The Santa Scale was quite the experience! 💜💙 According to Catholic tradition, these are the Holy Stairs from Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem. They are the stairs Jesus Christ stepped on his way to trial during his Passion. ✝️ ⛪ 

Architectural Headboard in Smoked Oak & Santa Croce, Florence

I had to visit the famous old church called Santa Croce because my fav guy Michelangelo is buried there.🎨 But there was so, so much awesomeness happening!!

St Frances started this particular church ⛪️ & monastery for the Franciscan monks that follow him. The monks still have a leather shop here. 👜 💀

Custom Birch Kitchen & Tre Fountain Abbey

The Apostle St Paul was beheaded in this small spot between an abbey and a (now) church. 👼🏻 The cream building called the Scala Cceli was Paul’s last prison. 😢 The top floor is now a church, ⛪️ while the basement holds the original cell. When we visited there were several nuns also visiting, praying, & singing. 

DIY Reclaimed Pine Floors & Our Florence Neighborhood

Hey friends! Florence is finally warming up and I thought it was the perfect time to show you our neighborhood. This is the intersection our AIRBNB is on. You can see we live in the middle of the tourist district, so basically we're in a mall. The buildings are mostly sienna coloured plaster and grey stone. The streets in Florence are alive with the sounds of street performers and always smell like (Italian) food. Note, there is no Italian food in Italy. It's all just "food"! ;)Each week we've been here the crowds have grown and it can sometimes take 10 extra minutes to navigate these streets. We don't have a car here, though we rent them from time to time. So everything we do is "a piedi" on on foot.

Restoration Hardware's Wood Beam Round Dining Table & Florence Piazza

It's Saturday night and the mood is right...we went and checked out the Lenarda DaVinci museum here in Florence. Although DaVinci lived here there's only three pieces of art from him, all found in the Uffizi. The DaVinci museum is more of a hands on place to see his experiments. After that we strolled the Florence streets, juts like the locals and all the other tourists. The Italians call this a passegiare and it's typical to find street performers are almost every square. Check out this rolling, 2 man band and the dancing pinnocchio.  

Quick Oak Shelf Makeover & Montepulciano. IT (New Moon Filming Site)

Montepulciano! If you’re a twilight fan, this is where New Moon was filmed. 🧛‍♂️ 👧 The midevil town is tucked in the Tuscany hills so you drive up these tight, winding switchbacks on these narrow ancient streets. 

Farmhouse Pine Coffee Table & Romantic Arno River, Florence

We don't have a car here, although we rent them frequently  But every day life is on foot, or a piedi. Our grocery shopping walk (or passegiare) takes us across the famous Arno River in Florence. It's a romantic walk, even when we are carrying heavy groceries back home.

White-Washed Side Tables & Volterra, Italy (Twilight Series)

Thank you, Stephenie Meyer, for writing about Volterra- because it’s completely magical! After we left Rome we took a one day detour to check out Voltarra. We stayed at a quaint B&B where the host assured us, everything there was in true Tuscan style. 🌟 

Rustic Cedar Beams & Roman Baths

Had fun with my favorite guy at the Baths of Diocletian. 🛁 Romans baths consisted of 4 stages. You would start with a (slave) massage 💆, then the hottest bath (with heated floors 😱), then two more progressively cooler baths. 😓 

DIY Farmhouse Tray & Villa Borghese, Rome

Zack and I went to the Borghese Museum to see these fabulous Bernini statues🎥. Here's a video of my favourite piece from the museum and it's probably one of the best marble statues ever made. It's from Greek Mythology, when Apollo falls in love with the wood nymph, Dauphne. At the very moment he catches her, she cries out for help and is swiftly transformed into a tree. You can see the leaves sprouting from her fingers tips and vines tethering her feet to soil.

Farmhouse Coffee Table Upcycle & St. Paul's-Outside-the-Walls, Rome

The Apostle Paul lies entombed beneath the alter of this giant basillica in Rome. ⛪️ This church is about two miles from his martyrdom site, which we were also able to tour. ✝️ This site is extremely busy with pilgrims and tourists, bustling with persons from all over the globe.