Hope for Love, Love for Lauren

Besides sharing the same initials from birth – LMB – my older cousin Lauren and I have shared a very special bond. Since as long as I can remember I’ve always looked up to her in so many ways. Lauren is the type of role-model every mother would want for her daughter; she is driven, beautiful and most importantly, she has a heart of gold. From her I got my love of soccer and the Backstreet Boys, my extreme drive to grind, hustle and succeed in business and most importantly, my ferociousness in finding a life-partner that is my perfect mate.
Lauren and her now hubby, Scott, who was jokingly dubbed “foncy” and it stuck even to this day, are the real deal. When I first met Scott I knew Lauren finally found “the one.” He is the ying to her yang and brings out all the best things in her. Watching their family bloom to include 3 beautiful boys has been a complete joy and gives me hope, faith and excitement for my future with Jeff.

So when Scott asked if I could help him up-cycle some furniture pieces as a surprise 5 year wedding anniversary gift, I was so excited to lend a helping hand. To be involved even a little in their special love is a gift I will always cherish. So with that, here’s a look at the pieces – a vintage cedar hope chest with matching jewelry armoire (Scott found these himself on Craigslist – I mean really, men, take notes.)

The cedar chest was – let’s call a spade a spade, fugly. Sh!tty hardware, random and poorly done black paint job. The jewelry armoire was run of the mill (didn’t get a picture.)

Scott let me take the lead on the design (only giving me the color) so I was super excited to try some new stuff. The top proved to be in excellent condition with some stripping and sanding so I knew we’d keep that natural.

And here’s some “after” shots:

So to Lauren, LMB #1, Queen Bee, I love you, Happy anniversary, thank you, thank you for being my spirit sister and friend forever. All my love, LMB#2, LilBee