Made by B

Mobile is complete!

2012-02-12T16:41:00.000-05:00

The nursery actually looks like it is baby ready! I had my baby shower yesterday and got a lot of goodies! I am going to have a super fashionista baby. Alyssa and Jessica threw me a super awesome shower, sadly I don't really have any pictures from it.
Afterwards Alyssa helped me put away and organize all the things I got, which took quite a while. Today I went to Target and got a few more things plus some baskets for the changing table. My mom also helped me make my mobile which was slightly more tricky than expected. However it turned out perfect.

It was most definitely a 2 man job since someone needed to be holding the branch while the fishing line tying and bird gluing was going on. I hot glued the birds to the branches. For anyone attempting to make this themselves make sure that if your branch is at all curved you want it making a U otherwise no matter what it will be flipping upside down and you will have some acrobat birds on your hands. I used some eye hooks which we screwed directly into the branches and just tied the fishing line on securing it with a tiny bit of glue in other spots. Here are some pictures of the super fab mobile. I am in love with it!

Here you can see the fishing line a bit better:

This is the only wall I haven't hung the artwork on yet. I am putting these little animal artworks I did for the office a while back up here, plus a little shelf that I am going to paint the pink color of the closet.

I love Shea's painting on the wall.

My Grandma cross stitched the blanket draped over the crib. I love it!

33 Weeks!

2012-02-10T09:58:00.000-05:00

Holy cow! My baby shower is tomorrow and I am super excited! Can't believe how I am already 33 weeks. If you look close you can see my nice popping out bellybutton... Now if I could just get that bestie of mine to take a belly pic with me!

32 Weeks

2012-02-02T20:14:00.003-05:00

This week Lurina got to pose with me.

31 Weeks

2012-01-28T22:35:00.002-05:00

The nursery looks like...well a nursery!

2012-01-25T22:09:00.000-05:00

We have made a tremendous amount of progress in the past week on our baby girl's room! I got the rug, then the crib and crib mattress within a 3 day period. Plus Zach and Janet painted the room, so finally it was ready to start adding everything in. The crib was super easy to put together. Zach and I accomplished it in like an hour. I recovered the glider's cushions on Sunday with the help of my mom. Sadly I did not get a before picture. Just know they were hideous. We wrapped the cushions with some 1/2" foam as well to make them more comfortable. We finally hung the curtain and I spent today stenciling the closet wall. I am super happy with how everything is turning out! The room is super small only 8' x 8' 6" so it is really hard to get photos. The only furniture we are missing is the changing table which Janet is repainting this weekend. The hardest thing is going to be arranging everything to fit.

First up here is a peak at the quilt my mom has been working on for the baby.

This is the backing fabric and the trim. She has all the squares sewn together now.

My wall stenciling wasn't too hard, just time consuming. It went faster as I went. This is my nice little plan measuring how far apart I needed to do the stencils to keep them even.

There was 2 1/2 " between each stencil horizontally and 3" between the small and large stencils vertically. I used a little level to make sure each one was taped on the wall straight. I also used a little canvas board I had tested a stencil on to mark my 2 1/2" and 3" marks to make it a little easier than using a ruler. A little ghetto but it worked fabulous for me!

I didn't have any painters tape so i just used some white artist tape I had. I also marked the center of the stencil on each of the tape pieces so that it was easier to line the stencil's up when I was moving them.

Any one who knows me knows that I love glitter. When I found this at Lowe's I knew I had to use it.

I was using the lids to the paint as my paint tray. I just added some of the glitter each time I needed more paint.

I just continued these steps one at a time until I got to the bottom of the wall. I didn't do the top where the shelves go. Also that eyesore of an electrical box will be covered with this piece of wood painted the wall color. We just haven't rigged it up yet.

Here is a close up of the stencil. It was really hard to try and get a picture of the glitter. Also my stencils are not perfect. The textured wall does not make the process easy.

Here is the finished wall:

Here is the rest of the room!

For the ties we used some left over quilt fabric.

This close up is more accurate with the curtain's actual color.

Here is the dresser Janet found on craigslist and refinished.

Before:

After:

The chandelier:

The rug is perfect!

Still have to get the changing table in here, finish the mobile, and put all the artwork I have collected up on the walls. Most of the hard stuff is done! I finally feel like I am getting closer to being ready for this little nugget to arrive.

Nursery Rug

2012-01-15T21:05:00.000-05:00

The hunt for a rug for the nursery was 10 times more difficult than I thought it would be. Of course I found plenty of rugs that I loved but they were way out of my budget. I looked at every store I could think of that sells rugs in the area and had no luck. There were a few that were okay but ultimately I wasn't really that happy with their quality and/or their price.

I don't think I am exaggerating when I say I went to almost any rug store in the area I thought may have a rug I could afford. I went to TJ Maxx/ Homegoods... (more than once), Ross, Marshalls, Home Emporium, Sears, Kohl's, Target, Ollie's, Burlington Coat Factory, Mark Gonsenhouser's where they had some nice rugs but , an Oriental rug store off of Birdneck Road by the Ocean Front, Pier 1, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Exotic Home ( I just went in there because I have been dying to look in there, they have unbelievably cool stuff but it is a bit pricey. If I had a dream budget I would throw out most everything in my house and go on a shopping spree there). I also looked online at Target, Ikea, West Elm, Walmart and countless other sites. With still no luck! I was really losing hope. Either the rug's colors just weren't right, or it was too expensive. I really didn't want spend more than $150 and even that was more than I wanted to spend. I guess I didn't realize how expensive 5 x 7 and 5 x 8 rugs tend to be. If I wanted to spend $400 or $500 bucks it would have been easy but even Target, Walmart and TJ Maxx the rugs were like $150-$200 and none were really standing out as what I was looking for.

With all my bad luck rug hunting I was starting to think I would never find a rug before my baby girl gets here. I was wondering if I was being too picky and had unrealistic expectations. Thanks to Pinterest I have several of the rugs I looked at, considered, or simply swooned over but could never afford.

Amy Butler has awesome rugs though her 5 x 8 rugs tend to be in the $800 range. The colors aren't really right but I loved this rug.

Here are some other pricey but cute rugs

This one was $400

This one is almost $1000....seriously!?

I love this rug. From a site called Serena & Lily which has super cute nursery ideas.

Too bad it is just under $900.

At $230 this next rug is pretty cute but still more than I was willing to spend.

This Ikea rug was $150 and i just wasn't sure about the color or the quality. Plus I really wanted something with some sort of pattern.

The style of this Ikea rug was more of what I wanted but quality was just not there. Not plush or soft at all. However it is only $20. This would be better in a high traffic area in your house somewhere I think.

This target one was $117 but still the colors weren't really what I wanted. It was really the only one on their website I even considered.

This one was from Walmart but still priced at $168 and I just don't think it looks that nice.

This one is also Walmart and priced at $168 I have the same issue with it. Plus if the color was even a bit off it would be a problem.

Then my mom suggested I look at Overstock. Which has a pretty huge selection.

This one is $164 but just a little too dark for a nursery,

This one is super cute but at $211 it was more than I was willing to spend.

After hours and hours of hunting I found a rug that was what I had been looking for. The price tag $136 discounted 15% from $160.99.

The reviews are all really good its supposedly soft and plush. It is a hand tufted wool rug, so it should be really nice. The only thing in the reviews that I won't know for myself until it arrives is the color. The rug says it is grey however some of the reviews say it is true to the color shown, others say it is a blue grey, and others more of a sea foam or blue-green. Either way it will work in the room since there will be accents of grey, blue and sea foam. I looked for online coupon codes and managed to get an additional 10% off. It was definitely meant to be! Overstock also has shipping for only $2.95 no matter what you are getting which is awesome. My grand total including shipping was $126.11. I feel pretty good about that considering the original $160.99 price tag. I can't wait to get it!

Zach thinks I am making the room too sophisticated. I think he doesn't have the vision I do. This nursery is going to be cute, fabulous, romantic, girly, vintage, and just plain awesome. The main things will be more toned down and neutral but the artwork will be bright and colorful! Plus my little colorful bird mobile. I can't wait until it is finished! Janet ordered my crib today and her and Zach also painted the room today. The one sunlit coral wall on the back side of the closet still needs to be painted but the rest of the room is done. We can finally hang the curtain and tie back! Hopefully I can get Zach to do that tomorrow. Finally I feel like some things are getting checked off the endless to do list and we are progressing towards having something done. I will post updated pictures of the room soon, although there isn't really any furniture in there...

29 Weeks

2012-01-11T21:42:00.003-05:00

Doctor Visit

2012-01-11T16:47:00.000-05:00

I went to my baby check up today. My measurements are on target and everything is good! Sadly I have surpassed the 150 lb mark. I knew I was going to gain weight, but ugh, that is almost 20 lbs and there is still 3 months to go! I get my glucose test tomorrow morning and I am going early because I know not eating is going to be torture for me. I will also get my thyroid checked again and some more blood work. The baby is apparently in the 95th percentile for size. Big baby girl!

Zach is positive it is from his gigantor genes. These tests tomorrow should rule out any other possible factors. I just can't believe my munchkin genes have no say! The doctor said she will just have to monitor the babies size as we get further along. She said she will probably do another ultrasound at her office to check her size as we get closer to my due date. She mentioned the baby may come early and if she gets too big she may have to consider inducing me. Although she doesn't like to induce patients if their cervix hasn't started opening up yet because it can cause problems and lead to C section. I really hope I do not have to be cut open! Who knows what will happen. I go back in 3 weeks, then after that I start going every two weeks.

On a lighter note my nail polish arrived today. It even came in a little fancy box. I can't wait to test out my fancy polish. How to decide which color to use first! Lurina is even interested!

Alyssa and Jessica are coming over tonight to discuss my baby shower. We are also making breakfast for dinner, which is probably my favorite meal of the day morning or night!

The baby moves around all the time. I really hope I can get a video of my stomach moving crazy. Zach finally saw it yesterday. Since she is moving around a lot more he has got to feel her kicking up a storm. Finally his lack of patience doesn't matter as much and his inferno temperature hands don't lure her to sleep. I swear he has the hottest hands on the planet, like an electric blanket.

I am off the next two days. Not sure what I will do, but I do need to go buy paint for the nursery, work on the Kathy painting that is going in the babies room, and finish up her mobile birds.

Nursery Update

2012-01-08T17:07:00.000-05:00

Well the chandelier is up! Thanks to Dennis for fixing it and the houses weird lighting for us.

Next step is paint, which I think will be happening next weekend. I decided on Benjamin Moore's Abalone.

Then once the paint is done I can actually hang the curtain and it will start looking like a room! I am planning on painting just the back wall of the closet Benjamin Moore's Sunlit Coral which is a close match to the color of the curtains.

Then I am going to do some stencils on the wall. I am going to reuse the ones I used to do the curtains in my living room with.

I think it would be cool to do the stencils in glossy paint. I was considering using Benjamin Moore's Soft mint, and the next shade darker from Abalone which is Silver Fox.

Not sure the best way to get these colors. I won't need much paint at all. I know Benjamin Moore sells little tiny paint pots but I think chances are slim to none that they have the colors I want and that they will be glossy.

One other thing I have started working on is the baby's mobile. I found this idea on Pinterest.

You can find a free pattern to make the little birds on Spool Sewing's webpage.

I got some sticks from my parent's backyard and I have already cut out my little birds. Now I just have to sew them.

My mom is working on a quilt for the baby too. We got all the fabric for it yesterday. I found this idea on Pinterest as well.

You can purchase her patterns here. However we just figured out a pattern on our own, Ours is only going to be 42" wide by 58" long. We will only have 4 squares across and 6 squares down, each 8". I think it is going to turn out super cute.

I did get this for christmas from Kaelyn...

So cute I love it.

I have also picked out my crib. It is super simple but I like it. I think it is just a little silly to spending $300+ on a crib then you still need a mattress and everything, This one has really good reviews and I think it will be perfect.

I am getting more anxious because we are only around 3 months away from her arrival and I feel like so much needs to still be done. Once this nursery is further along I think I will feel a little less stressed but right now there is still so much to do. I think it is going to be extremely cute though!

28 Weeks!

2012-01-04T22:19:00.000-05:00

Technically tomorrow I am 28 weeks, but close enough. Here is the most recent baby bump picture!

I went and got another ultrasound today to monitor growth. She's looking good though she's about 1/2 lb bigger than usual babies. She is a little over 3 pounds right now. Not sure if this means the little girl has my husbands giant genes or what but I sure hope she doesn't get too big! I still have to get my glucose test, which I am assuming will be done on the 10th which is when my next appointment is. Maybe she will decide to come early, who knows!

I was kind of bummed at the ultrasound appointment though because of how the monitor was positioned I really couldn't see much of anything. We did get a few pictures though. Two of those crazy 4D ones which I think are kind of scary looking. Looks like my poor little baby has a big nose and lumpy deformo face! I know it's simply the way they turn out since it is going through tissue and fluid. She is positioned with her head down and her back seems to be on the left side of my body. This is probably why I am always getting kicked in my upper right side since that is probably where her feet hang out. She already looks so squashed in there!

Here are some pictures, I will even add the crazy 4 D ones even though they look all wonky! However I know she will come out looking cute and perfect!

Still pretty crazy they can get a picture that detailed in your belly!

Deborah Lippman

2012-01-04T12:55:00.000-05:00

I have loved Deborah Lippman's nail polish since first seeing it on Pinterest. I really wanted this 'Trendsetter" set which includes Across the Universe, Naked, and Don't Tell Momma for Christmas but didn't get it. So immediately after Christmas with my Christmas money I went online to order it and it was no longer available. I was super bummed. Today while looking online I found it available again! So of course I snagged it up. I am beyond excited. Can't wait to glitz my nails up with this...

Kaelyn's Painting

2012-01-03T22:12:00.000-05:00

I painted this for Kaelyn for Christmas. Hope she loves it!

Here is a close up.

The baby bump is growing

2012-01-01T13:37:00.001-05:00

Well, currently I am 27 weeks but I never did post these last week. So here they are!

The baby moves a lot now. Sometimes I can just watch my stomach and see it moving which is pretty crazy. She is the most active right when I am trying to go to sleep. There are certain things I like about pregnancy but at the same time I will be glad to get back to my normal self. Feeling her move is so crazy and makes it sink in that there is a little two pound nugget hanging out in my belly. I really feel pretty good minus the constant back pain, and random kicks to the ribs. I can't believe that she will be here in 3 months. I still feel entirely unprepared. I don't know that that will go away but I definitely need to get the nursery closer to being finished (at least thanks to Janet it is ready for paint). I haven't started a registry yet either, or have much of any idea when my baby shower will be.

Wednesday I will be at 28 weeks and we get another ultrasound. I am looking forward to seeing the baby again, plus getting some new pictures to share!

Nursery Paint Color

2011-12-15T13:27:00.001-05:00

The babies curtains came in! I LOVE them. Also got this little pull back. So now it is time to pick out a paint color! I am thinking about these...

Really not sure how true the color is to the picture though. I think they are lighter and warmer in person...The colors are Cement Gray, Barren Plain, Portland Gray, and Abalone, all from my Benjamin Moore paint deck. I was looking at the 2nd row from the top. The curtain is a little pinker than it appears in this picture. Here is the curtain though it is a paler pink in person.

and the awesome tieback.

Christmas Tree

2011-12-11T11:31:00.001-05:00

Our Christmas tree is up! SO happy we finally have one. Usually I decorate the weekend after Thanksgiving. So this year was a bit belated. I had to move around the furniture a bit to squeeze the tree in. We got a fraiser fir and it smells so good! I usually get fuller wider trees but I just didn't have the room. This one is still a good 7' tall but its just narrow. I really like how it turned out!

I still need a tree skirt. Last year I just wrapped a white fur blanket around the bottom. I have grown rather attached to it though and sit with it every night. I was thinking of making a tree skirt with burlap. Just not sure if I feel like sewing! I guess I could just wrap the fabric around the bottom this year then make it into an actual skirt for next year...

24 Weeks

2011-12-08T22:45:00.001-05:00

Hello belly...

Glitter Accent Nail

2011-12-03T08:26:00.001-05:00

I used OPI's French Quarter for Your Thoughts. and a Orly pink glitter on each of my ring fingers. I did 4 coats of the glitter so it would be that thick. Love it.

23 Weeks

2011-11-29T19:21:00.001-05:00

Baby Bump Progress

2011-11-18T10:30:00.001-05:00

I have been meaning to add these for a while, figured it was about time since I am halfway!

Nursery Inspiration

2011-11-16T17:38:00.001-05:00

So now that I know the baby is a girl I am starting to think of the nursery. I will have mainly white furniture though the dresser and changing tables may be white with a stained top. My mom has also said she plans on making the baby a quilt which will match my colors... Which will be a light warm grey on the walls. And a pale pinkish/ peach color, plus white, and copper or brown. So pretty neutral with some light pink accents. Also very girly and romantic.

LOVE these knobs for the babies room. on the dresser and changing table. They are on clearance plus I may have a hook up for extra discounts... *wink * Kaelyn... haha

This chandelier I have. It was in my bedroom at my parents house and will be perfect for the nursery. It is way more bronze/copper than this picture looks.

LOVE these curtains. They are 54"W x 84"H. I should only need one panel. But depending on if I can get a good discount or not (they are not cheap) I may be making my own. I am 100% in love with them though.

I love this little mobile and I could definitely make it myself.

Also like this Mobile which would also be easy to make. I also love the little shelves on the wall.

These two art pieces from oopsydaisy.com I may be able to get from a friend. But I love them both and think they would look most excellent.

This last shot not only is very much the color scheme I like but it also has my curtains! Love it.

New Painting

2011-11-16T09:19:00.001-05:00

This is the newest painting I've done. It is a 36" x 36". Let me know if you are interested in it!

I also did a painting for a friend, Denise for her bathroom. Sorry, cell phone lighting is never perfect.

It's A Girl!

2011-11-16T09:13:00.001-05:00

Zach and I had our first ultrasound yesterday where the baby didn't just look like a bean! It is the craziest thing to see the little baby moving all around. Zach's face of pure shock when the tech said it was a girl was classic. He completely expected a boy. We both couldn't be happier though. The tech also kept calling the 2nd shot her "princess area".

I am halfway into my pregnancy and feeling great. Due date is March 29th. Currently the baby weighs 13 oz. so getting close to a pound!

I feel like I can really officially start planning things now like the nursery. We have 2 names that we have narrowed it down to, of course I like one better and Zach likes the other better.

Flash Flood

2011-10-02T10:05:00.000-04:00

Last Wednesday night we had an insane thunderstorm. The pets and I stayed up in the front room waiting for Zach to make it home on the flooded streets admist an insane lightning storm with 45+ mph gusting winds. FINALLY after about 20 extra minutes of drive time he gets home only to discover that our back room ( the converted garage) was entirely flooded with at least an inch of water.

We spent the remainder of the night moving stuff out of that room. Putting the furniture up on wood chunks and shop vac-ing the carpet. After dumping the full shop vac out at least 4 times we decided the floor was as dry as we would get it at that point. At least there were no puddles. The next day our friend Kyle brought us a dehumidifier and we had 3 fans set up. The carpet is just now mostly dry however it is now crusty and our house smells extremely of mildew. So sad to say that hideous brown and now crunchy shag carpet has to go.

We decided home depot was our best bet since we still have some gift cards from the wedding. I am kind of bummed we have to use them because we had been saving them for my new countertops. Sadly that is now pushed back in to the way distant future. The carpet is an absolute necessity though and I think the room will look way better with fresh new carpet. We went with a pretty basic patterned carpet and got a pretty good price for it. I am pretty excited about it now although it will probably be almost three weeks before we can actually get it installed. They are coming to measure on Thursday, then it will take about another two weeks for the install.
Here is the sample of the carpet in the color we chose. Skyline Steel.

Zach also spent a lot of time the past few days digging a trench and filling it with rock in the back yard as well as doing the whole flower bed next to the back door with rock. So hopefully we have enough drainage back there now and our room will not flood again!

Fall Nails

2011-10-02T09:46:00.000-04:00

Well I managed to spend all of my birthday money in one day! I knew otherwise it would get spent on food or something.

I got a new mermaid at the neptune festival to add to our collection in the kitchen. I will add a picture once it is hung.

I also got some MAC makeup. I desperately needed to replace my All that Glitters eye shadow and my Painterly Paint Pot. Which were entirely used up. Considering I got the old ones right before my wedding though I would say they definitely lasted. I also got a new shadow Quarry. However when I got home I discovered they had given me a bright purple instead. So now I have to go exchange that.

I also got new OPI nail polish of course. Including French Quarter for Your Thoughts, and three others which I can't think of the names off the top of my head... however I did a french with two of them, and my toes in the other.

I love it. So fall. It is kind of a mocha brown color with a more mauve sparkly tip.

My parents are taking Zach and I out tonight for my birthday. I still haven't decided where I want to go to eat. It will be fun no matter where we go I am sure. The birthday card Zach got me was really funny. I love it, so I must share.

Past Due

2011-09-30T17:30:00.000-04:00

Well I guess I am about past due for a blog entry. I have really been slacking but it is about time I post about being pregnant now that the word is out and all! Ultimately for the past few months I haven't had anything going on since I was super tired and queasy most of the time. I pretty much just went to work and hung out on the couch reading. But I have to say it wasn't that bad. I am very thankful I did not really have morning sickness. Now that I have hit my second trimester I am feeling like I have way more energy. I've got a definite baby bump now rather than simply always looking fat. My back is already bothering me though and I have a hard time getting comfortable in bed. Zach said he would get me a body pillow as the rest of my birthday present. I am pretty excited about that. I mean how comfy does this look!

Now the only thing I have really done to document being pregnant at all is take a few pics. Three so far to be exact. I saw this on Pinterest and loved it. So I have been attempting to create my own.

Once I have the pictures some what edited I will start posting so you can see the progress!

Camera Woes

2011-07-27T15:21:00.000-04:00

Well my old timey Nikon D100 has been out of service for a while. I think there may be a problem with the lens and or camera because it really doesn't like to get in focus and there is dirt inside the lens. I just called to see how much it would cost to get it serviced and the quote was $415. Holy crap! I would be better off getting a brand new Nikon D 3100 for $650. Which sadly I can't afford either option. I would hate to buy a new lens and then discover it is the camera that is the problem. Guess I am stuck without a nice camera to take pretty pictures. Boohoo!

Nail Painting

2011-07-27T13:59:00.000-04:00

If you know me then you already know I am semi- obsessed with nail polish and nail painting. I probably paint my nails once every 3 days since they chip so quickly. Plus once my nail polish chips I sit there and peel all the rest of the polish off. I use OPI's Chip Skip, so usually it comes off in almost one whole chunk.

Here are some of my recent nail polish adventures.

First up Marblizing. I got this idea on Pinterest when I saw this:

I followed the steps on this blog. I actually did them once and wasn't satisfied: Here is my first attempt.

So I took that polish off and started over then I got this result:

Yes this process was extremely messy, time consuming and uses a lot of polish. I think overall with both attempts I spent a good 3 1/2 hours on my nails. The water has to be room temp or it will not work. By the end I had a pretty good method down. But still all that work and it only lasted a few days! Note that this picture was taken before I got to clean my nails up and that was what it looked like with me taping around my nails. Here is a shot with the tape still on....

Here is a kind of close up shot. Definitely not clean around the edges.

I have some matte polish from Essie that I love. You use it as top coat and it turns your polish matte. It took a while to get used to not having glossy nails but I really like it. I think it works best with dark jewel toned nail polish. Sorry that all these pictures were taken on my cellphone. And in weird places...like my car! HA

I did my toes attempting the glitter fade. I think it turned out pretty cool. I liked it so much I did my nails the exact same though I did not get a picture of that.

The lighting on this next picture is awful so I apologize in advance. I used a very light silvery purple with a graphite grey metallic polish on the tips.

This last one is another attempt on an idea I got on pinterest. It uses one of my favorite polishes Essie's Chinchilly with a gold glitter fade.

I think it looks pretty cool. I am currently still sporting this look. I think next I am going to try a french with just clear polish or a very very transparent color with glittery tips. Yes I am slightly obsessed with glitter.

Here is my inspiration:

Too bad I do not sport an iphone to take nice pictures with instagram.

I do have to say I am getting VERY good at painting my nails even with my bad hand!

Uly sleepy cat

2011-07-06T19:54:00.001-04:00

This little guy is a huge trouble maker but its impossible to stay mad at a little guy that cute!

New Dunny Shelves

2011-06-30T21:10:00.000-04:00

I spray painted the shelves I got from the thrift store white and hung them in the den. Finally I have almost all of my dunny's back on display!

I love it!

The Den is Done!

2011-06-30T18:43:00.001-04:00

FINALLY! I have rid our house of the most uncomfortable futon on the planet for some fabulously comfy leather couches. Thanks Mom and Dad! I have also finally painted the hall and den. Did I mention the paint was FREE and in an ultra fabulous color? Janet likes to pick up the bargain gallons of paint from Home Depot and Lowes. You can get gallons of nice paint for $5 just because the color match wasn't right or someone returned it for some reason. She had this blueish grey which she called "Prison Grey" We mixed it with a light tan and another tan that was almost white and our cheap-o paint concoction turned out almost an exact match to Benjamin Moore's Pebble Beach. (I had to use my paint decks to see if I could find a match to my homemade color).

The room looks so much better, it is crazy how big of a difference paint can make. It turned out very coastal looking and goes well with the rest of my house, rather than looking like a mismatched hodgepodge of everything that didn't have a home anywhere else in the house.

Here are pictures from before:

And here is the room now:

Can you see my violets in the window? One is blooming really well and The leaf that I pulled off to clone is ready for planting!

This is Kathy in her favorite corner. She is ALWAYS laying there and usually looks mopey.

There are still a few things that still need to be done, like painting the side tables and adding some more art to the wall with the TV. My charcoal grey curtains are coming back from my Nana's old house too so I think I will put those up back here and take down the green curtains. However, the big things are done!

Here is the hallway back by the bedrooms that we also painted...

I think I may turn all the walls in the hall into gallery walls. Thoughts?

Thrifting Goodies

2011-06-30T18:18:00.000-04:00

Janet and I went thrifting on Tuesday and I found some goodies!

This was actually a lamp, but I dismantled it and just kept the jug.

These were all taped together smallest to largest and it wasn't until after we got home that we discovered they attached together! Best surprise. I am currently in the process of painting them white. These are dunny shelves at their best.

I saw this brass crane and had to have it. I wanted to spray paint it but Zach really likes it being brass. Not sure if I will paint it or not yet...

I got four of these little glass plates. I may hang them on the wall I just am not sure where. But they have a really cool iridescent coloring to them, plus they've never been used!

I also found a pair of grey overall shorts that were from American Eagle that I thought would make the perfect summer paint clothes. However they were priced at $15. I mean come on! Who pays that for used clothes at the thrift store. American Eagle or not. I am still wishing I had them because they were perfect however I will not pay that much for used clothes that will just get covered in paint.

New Paintings

2011-06-21T14:10:00.002-04:00

Finally painted again. I got Kyle's other painting done. It is a 20 " x 20"

This painting is from about a year ago, it is in the office. Not sure that I ever put a good picture of it up.

I did this 36" x 48" painting for our bedroom.

Crackle nails

2011-05-15T16:50:00.001-04:00

Just got this black crackle Opi polish. So awesome.

Fruit Smoothie

2011-05-15T10:51:00.001-04:00

Just made a fresh fruit smoothie with bananas, strawberries, vanilla yogurt, splash of milk, little bit of sugar, and ice. Yum!

Fresh Flowers

2011-05-15T10:33:00.001-04:00

These flowers cut from our yard have made our house smell so good! Plus they look oh so pretty.

Our Garden is Blooming!

2011-05-01T17:06:00.001-04:00

Zach and I have really been making some progress on our garden and yard! Zach admittedly has done most of the work but I have begun tackling the mass of overgrown weeds that has taken over our flowerbeds in the back yard. Zach has made us a composter, a water barrel, and the veggie/herb garden is solely his doing. You can also see my newly painted shutters and front door!

The garden has come a long way!

Zach ordered us 1000 ladybugs and praying mantis's. Here's one of our lady bugs. They came in this mesh bag live and you could keep them in the bag for weeks in the refrigerator. Crazy.

This is part of the flower bed that still needs some serious cleaning up. There are dead bushes that need to be pulled out and countless trees and weeds that need to be taken out.

This is what the praying mantis came in. We got 4 pods like this and you hang them on a tree or bush in a shady spot 1-2 feet off the ground. They should hatch in a few weeks!

This is our composter. The barrels Zach found on craigslist. They previously held pool chemicals. So Zach cleaned them out real well before putting them to use.

Here is our rain barrel.

I finally have a blue hydrangea!

My other hydrangea is coming up in the center, Last year it was very sick so I am happy it looks healthy this year. I am not sure what color flowers it will have. I really want to make this flowerbed more curved rather than a straight line around the fence. Maybe its just me but I prefer organically shaped flowerbeds.

Not sure why one of Zach's water jugs is over there, they were being used over top of our peppers at first. It worked like a little mini green house. I definitely think our yard is improving but of course it still has a long way to go!

Coffee Filter Lampshade

2011-04-20T13:16:00.000-04:00

A friend showed me this and I am in love! I really think I want to try this on my teal lamps in the office.

here is the link with instructions on how to make this!

Wouldn't my shades on these lamps look good like that???

That picture the shade still has plastic on it! It is the only one I currently can find though. I have so many updated house photos I need to load on here! Guess I will have to do that in one big happy post.

Headed My Way!

2011-04-20T13:01:00.003-04:00

These beauties are headed my way! I am so excited! Especially because of the Excellent deal I got on them thanks to Jessica's extra 40% off at Anthropologie right now. Even better is that the items were on sale!
I don't think I could have done better!

Here are some close up pictures...
First up:
This is why I needed a new bag.... on my trip to Orlando I forgot that I had eye drops in my purse and so the eye drops exploded in my bag on the airplane. So I have been toting this sadly stained purse around for a month.

I had wanted an over the shoulder bag for a while though and this one caught my eye but I just didn't have $150 for a purse. However... after it went on sale for $79.95 and I discovered I could get an additional 40% off it was mine! The purse says it is green...but looks yellow to me... we shall see when I get it!

The knobs I am going to put on my vanity table in my dressing room. I have been eyeing these bad boys pretty much since I got the table so that is probably a good 8 months at least.

And the curtains I got 2 panels, one for each window in my studio/office. I got ones that are 63" long. I will hang them and hook them to the side. I think they will be perfect in there!

I can not wait until these goodies arrive!

New Paintings!

2011-04-03T17:59:00.001-04:00

24" X 30" made for my friend Rich.

Three 8" x 8" canvases done for my friend Kyle

This is a 10" x 10" but it is still a work in progress and is not yet complete!

Click on images for a larger view

Little Photo

2011-04-03T17:47:00.000-04:00

Finally! I have at long last found a photo app I adore! It is called Little Photo. It has a bunch of different effects including Lomo Film, instant film, 2 hand lens and countless others. In my boredom of being stuck laying around this week I played around with this app.

(Lurina was a very happy cat this week)

Pets make the perfect subjects.

Gardening

2011-04-03T17:10:00.001-04:00

Last summer we had a plumbing issue and had to dig up and destroy our front flower bed. It looked like this with the hole....

A few plants were salvaged but it has looked barren and empty ever since. Luckily daffodil bulbs still came up ...

Like these!

... and there are a few perennials left. Yesterday my dad took me to McDonald's Garden Center and we got some new plants to fix my flower bed. After lots of hard labor here is what it looks like now.

Of course a lot of these plants will get bigger. There is a type of Azalea's in the back that will have purple flowers. Then there are some carpet rose bushes that will have really light pink flowers. We planted some grassy plants and along the front added in some other little green plants that will have tiny little purple flowers. The trellis has a honeysuckle plant that will have yellow and hot pink flowers. I still have day lilies, daisies, and some other crazy purple plants, not sure what they are called though, so come summer this flowerbed should look even nicer.

Poor house really needs new siding or a power washing.

I plan on expanding the flowerbed on the far left so that it connects to the flower bed in the front of the house on the left. Right now there is a small flower bed in the very corner of the front yard with one little bush and a bunch of Irises. I want to curve the bed out and bring it up to the hedge on the left. I want to plant more of the same honeysuckle to go up the fence and hopefully plant a hydrangea over there in the corner and maybe a butterfly bush? Not sure, however I did have three bags of mulch left so I definitely will be making that one whole flower bed.

Zach has also made us a vegetable garden!

We have a few things already planted, and Zach currently has a bunch of things started from seeds inside the house. Some of the little seedlings will be ready to be transplanted outside in a week or so. Come summer time we will have lots of fresh herbs and veggies including:

Basil

Sage

Rosemary

Cilantro

Dill

Parsley

Oregano

Cucumbers

Tomatoes

Jalapeno Peppers

Cayenne Peppers

Bell Peppers

Squash

Leeks

Green Onion

Strawberries

I am very excited about all the yummy things I will be able to pluck fresh straight from our own backyard.

On another note I have painted the shutters and front door since these pictures have been taken. When Zach puts my shutters back up I will get an updated picture from outside up. I actually broke my foot while removing the shutters to paint them, The saddest part is that Zach was able to take them down without even getting on a ladder. Just my luck, being a gigantic klutz.

Owl Butter Dish

2011-04-01T17:33:00.002-04:00

I love West Elm. I think I need this butter dish they have for $16.00. I am in love!

On another note. I may be doing a lot of blogging the next few days since I fractured my foot on Tuesday.... and I am stuck doing a whole lot of nothing....

Lurina iz frappachino

2011-03-23T20:10:00.002-04:00

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

2011 Printable Calendars

2011-03-23T12:26:00.000-04:00

I was searching for a good printable calendar to use in my office and I came across this site.
There are several cool ones there but hands down my favorite is the customizable Owl Lovers calendar!
Here is what the one I printed looked like:

I love it!

I know I am 3 months late in getting myself a calendar, but better late than never!

Shoe Love

2011-03-17T09:02:00.000-04:00

I want one of these.

Image courtesy Nordstroms

I wish I had some money to go shopping!

I go to Orlando tomorrow for Beth's bachelorette party weekend. I don't know what I am looking forward to most. Getting to see and hangout with my old roommate Beth, Enjoy sunny 80 degree weather, see a drag show, or visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and have some butter beer!

I did get this fortune the other day.... maybe it is a sign!

I am going to start planning a vegetable and herb garden too. I can't wait!

HOBO Wallet

2011-03-12T08:38:00.001-05:00

I have had a hobo wallet for the past 6 almost 7 years. I have had two. My first was light blue and the one I have now is off white... or once was.
I absolutely love these wallets, though sadly mine now has seen better days. My bestie got me this one when I graduated college. So it is going on almost 3 years of use.

I have wanted a new wallet for a while but now they have some spring colors in which I like more than their winter collection. Here are the ones I am debating between.

(Same wallet just in yellow. This is the vintage Lauren)

I think right now I am leaning towards this last one since it is a little different than the others I have had. Thoughts?

Norfolk City Guide

2011-03-02T09:04:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite blogs to follow Design Sponge featured a local city guide for Norfolk! Thought I would share the link. It has some of my favorite spots listed. Like Thrift Store USA and Razzo's ( the restaurant Zach took me to the night he proposed). There are a few places I feel like I need to check out now.

Here is the guide!
Enjoy!

Roidizer

2011-03-02T08:28:00.000-05:00

I found a photo app I like! Finally!

I love my pets! Lammy and Zeba my moms dogs are also featured! Baby Penguin is just too cute!

Office Curtains

2011-02-23T14:19:00.001-05:00

The office is so close to being done I can almost taste it. I am bursting with excitement to have the rest of my house back in order and a bright and cheery studio space to work in. The floor is officially complete with three layers of clear high gloss sealer. Only things left to do are to paint the trim again since we've caulked up the holes and crack between the wall and put poly on the desktop. I'm going to tackle these two things when I get home tonight and then we are going to start moving stuff back in!

I've been thinking about what kind of curtains I want in the room. I really want a big bright and bold print. I still stand by the fact that there is way better selection with shower curtains rather than window treatments out there. Here are some I saw at Kohl's:

This website has some awesome fabric selections but its pretty pricey. I love this:

Sadly that fabric is no longer on the website in those colors. This would be perfect for my office. I suppose I could always look at the fabric store and sew some curtains myself if I can't find anything I like. However it would be much easier just to buy some. Marimekko has everything from fabric to wallpapers in an assortment of bold prints.

This website Romo also has some nice fabric prints, of course they are out of my budget. They aren't as bold as I want either. They aren't all florals, I just liked these...

Not sure where else to look. Target used to have some nice shower curtains but last time I was in there they were bare, must be getting in a lot of new merchandise in their bath department. Maybe there will be a new wondrous curtain waiting for me next time I go there. The office has two windows. So I need one panel for each window and they will be able to be draped to the side.

Urban Outfitters actually has some real cute curtains, and they really aren't that expensive.

I've also been thinking that I want my Dunny's displayed in the office somehow. They have been in a box for almost a year now. I still have to figure out if we have the wall space where they will still be visible...

Changes

2011-02-13T15:24:00.000-05:00

I am ready for some changes. Finally I feel that things are looking up. My thyroid situation is mostly under control. I find out tomorrow if my meds need to change or if my prescription now is doing its job. After that doctors visit I decided it was definately time for me to start running again. The thyroid issues caused me to gain weight and prevented me from doing physical activity. I am so happy to finally get back in shape and I am determined to do it.

I haven't really run since last April. That was when I started having a lot of problems. Saturday morning I decided I was going to run and I fully expected it to be an entirely pathetic attempt with lots of walking. I figured it would be like starting over. I decided I would run/walk for 30 minutes 3 to 4 times a week. I also recently bought some 3 lb and 8 lb weights plus I have an exercise ball so I can do basic exercises from home.

Saturday morning before work was my first attempt, it was 30 degrees out and definately hard to get my butt out of bed at 7 am to run, but I did it. I also did way better than I expected. I ran a loop around my neighborhood twice. I am thinking it is about 2.5 miles but I need to drive it with my car to check. I managed to run the entire time too! Granted thats pretty slow if it is indeed only 2.5 miles. But I accomplished my goal of running for 30 minutes and I did it without walking. I felt so good afterwards too. Made me realize I do actually enjoy and miss running. I think I had been so disheartened from my past attempts at running that completely failed. The most recent involved me thinking I was going to faint after only 2 minutes, granted that was due to my thyroid.

My legs and abs are extremely sore today but I am going to attempt run number two tomorrow morning before work, sore or not. You don't lose weight making excuses! Tonight I am going to do an arm and core body workout of some sort. Hopefully I can squeeze it in between finishing laundry, making dinner, and helping zach cut and paint the trim for the office. It's going to be a busy Sunday night at the Johnson household. I feel way happier and motivated being busy doing things rather than turning into a couch potato at night watching shows that I don't even like.

Our living room, hall, back room, and bedroom are still exploding with all the stuff from the office so we are doing our best to get the room finished so we can have the rest of our house back. Still left to do:

Cut trim
Paint trim ( luckily it is already primed)
Install trim
One more coat of paint on the desk
Poly on the top of the desk
One more coat of paint on the floor in the corner where the desk was ( I will do this tonight)
Paint floor with sealer, we've already noticed the floor is getting dirty and scratching real easy, hopefully sealing the floor would fix that.

My goal is to have these things completed before we go out of town this weekend to visit our friends Chris, Candace, Ryan, and Megan in DC. I'm real excited for this mini vacation, but I really don't want to come home to a disaster of a house. I can't even tell you how many times I have tripped in the past week. I will be glad to have all that junk ( which is mostly mine, hey I have a lot of art and craft stuff) back in its place and out of my way.

This week may bring about another change too but I can't get too excited yet, only time will tell!

I will leave you with this sneak peak at the office. My fan project is complete, and I am in love. I will have to give a before and after when I actually do the whole office makeover post. It was a real dated brass and ugly wood fan before. Zach did most of the work for this. He took the fan down, took it completely apart and everything to spray paint it. We even put the skrews into cardboard and spray painted them as well so they don't stand out. I went and got new pulls and new fan light covers.

Knitting

2011-02-09T15:34:00.000-05:00

I really haven't knitted much this winter, which I really need to finish my blanket that I started over a year ago. It is near complete so there really is no excuse. Saturday I got to work at the sales center, which is still completely dead. I did go to work prepared and ready to knit. I made this entire scarf for my boss that day.

Now I am really wanting to knit more before it gets too hot!

Office Progress!!!

2011-02-09T14:28:00.000-05:00

The office is coming along. I am hoping by Friday it will be mostly done! The floor is painted except for the corner where the desk is currently sitting. The two walls behind where the desk is also needs to be painted still but all the other walls and the ceiling are complete! We ripped out the trim so hopefully tomorrow we will have the new trim painted, and installed. Then we can move the desk back in place and finish up the remainder of the painting in the room. Right now the house is exploding with all of the things in the office that needed a temporary home while we get the office in shape. I will be glad to have my living room functional again.
Heres a sneak peak of what things are looking like right now. Zach sent me this from his phone... so sorry that it isn't the best image!

Once the room and desk are painted then I can get some curtains and I also have been thinking I want to paint the dated old brass ceiling fan a bright green and the blades white. I would prefer getting a nice little chandelier from the thrift store and painting that but Zach really wants to keep a ceiling fan in there. So I will attempt to revamp the one we have. From what I read it shouldn't be too hard, aside from taking it down and reinstalling it. I can't even tell you how excited I am to have this room finished and functional as an office/ studio space!

House Progress!

2011-01-30T18:06:00.000-05:00

Our office/ studio space is by far our biggest project going on right now. It is improving though right now it is a bit of a mess. Since I want to paint in there we decided to remove the carpet. Underneath the carpet (Zach and Dave did all this demo) we found asbestos tiles. Eww. So armed with their respirators they ripped that up. It looked like laminate parquet tiles. Now we are left with this black asphalt tar junk and permanent dirt lines from the tiles. There is no way this stuff can be scraped up so we are going to prime it with concrete floor primer and then paint it with concrete paint. We've already got the paint (it is like a very light powder blue) we just need to get the time to work on it. Hopefully this gross floor will be looking pristine very soon.

Here are some pictures of the room right now. That black bookcase will be getting chucked very soon now that I have a new bookcase thanks to our friend Erin, but more on that later.

I've painted some swatches. This is the color the accent wall will be, Summer Blue:

Next to the blue I painted a swatch of Cloud Nine but it is really hard to even tell, the biggest difference is the paint I got is eggshell and all the walls in there now are a high gloss.

I did a swatch on the ceiling too, you can actually tell a difference there because right now the ceiling is a tan color.

Walls and ceiling paint color is Cloud Nine:

Floor color is Pale Star:

The desk will be painted white too. So we have a lot of painting to do in the office, but as soon as thats done I think it will look 100 times better. I can't wait. Zach and I just need some days off together to work on it.

The back room/ den/ converted garage/ Zach's man cave, yes this room has too many names, has come a long way too. We've hung curtain rods and moved the curtains we had in the bedroom back there. We've finished the old dresser that we refinished. I'll give you guys a nice before and after. Plus we have gotten a fabulous new bookcase thanks to Erin. I have wanted a bookcase like this for a long time too. We actually were going to build one for that exact spot. Here are some pictures!

Before:

After:

Hard to believe that came from a thrift store for $10!

Here is the new bookcase!

I just love it! We will eventually paint it but that is probably a long way off. We need to paint the back room too, not sure how soon that will happen either. Eventually we will probably get a sectional for the room too.

The bedroom is improving!

2011-01-30T17:23:00.000-05:00

So for christmas I got that West Elm duvet I loved! Thanks Mom! My grandma got me a nice down comforter to go in the duvet too. Thanks G-ma!

Here are some pictures:

I also used a target gift card Zach and I got from Josh to get us some non-temporary curtains for our bedroom. I actually ended up getting shower curtains. I think they ended up working out great though, they are double lined so they are really nice. I think Targets selection of shower curtains is way better than their curtains too. I still want to paint the wall behind the bed a grey color, and get some lamps for the nightstands but for now the room looks nice and is quite functional! I am very happy with it. The kitties are too because they all love laying in there!

New Dishwasher

2011-01-30T17:10:00.001-05:00

So a few weeks ago our dishwasher died. Dang being a homeowner and its impromptu unforeseeable catastrophes! Luckily Best Buy was offering 18 months at zero interest. We were lucky to get a bit of a deal due to Zach's old work connections and find one we liked in stock at the Best Buy near our house.

Zach, Greg and Dave spent most of the day installing it. After two trips to comet plumbing it was done!

Here is the old junker being removed:

Installation in progress:

Ta-da! Shiny new dishwasher is done!

I am in love with this new dishwasher. It is near silent and works great plus it looks wonderful and matches the rest of the appliances. Bye bye ugly black piece of crap!

I was bummed I had to put off my new counters but we should be getting them when we get our tax refund. So I have that to look forward to. Then the last things left for the kitchen will be the glass back-splash and refinishing the table and chairs. The ceiling also needs work but that's a low priority.

Here is a sample of the counter tops:

Snow

2011-01-30T12:15:00.000-05:00

This post is definitely about a month past due, but better late than never!

painting for grandma

2011-01-23T17:23:00.002-05:00

This is the 10" x 10" painting I gave to my Grandma for Christmas. This is the painting that got wrapped before I got a picture of it. Sorry the pictures are cell phone pics so the quality isn't great.

Christmas 2009, Christmas 2010

2011-01-09T14:40:00.000-05:00

Hey not much has changed....

Zach, Kathy and I

Christmas 2009

Zach, Kathy and I

Christmas 2010

Recent Paintings

2011-01-08T20:02:00.001-05:00

Here are some of my more recent paintings!

Here is a better picture of the 36" x 48" canvas I painted for Alyssa's apartment.

Here are some detail shots:

These two 24" x 36" canvases I painted for my Dad's office. I really like how they turned out. Here is a detail:

This 10" x 10" I did for my little brother.

This series I did for my bestie, Ashley. It is three 8" x 10" canvases. Here are individual shots.

This painting I gave to my parents for christmas. It is either a 30" x 30" or a 36" x 36" I can't remember which. Ooops. Here is a detail:

This is a 16" x 20" painting I did for my Aunt Jooji.

Detail:

Details:

This series of three 8" x 8 canvases is for my Aunt Becky's Christmas present. I still have to ship them so Becky if you see this before you get them then MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU!

This last painting is a 36" x 48" canvas that now has a happy home at our friend Justin's.

I did another 10" x 10" painting for my Grandma but I ended up wrapping it before I got a picture. Woops! I will be painting a 20" x 20" and three 8" x 8" canvases for our friend Kyle this upcoming week. So look forward to some more pictures of new paintings!

New favorite book?

2011-01-06T19:02:00.001-05:00

I have just finished reading the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind .

Let me just say I absolutely loved the series, These may be my new favorite books. (yes more than Harry Potter) I am sad for them to be over. However, there is a new book coming out.

The Omen Machine, that takes off where Confessor ended. I'm not sure when the release date is. March or July? But it's still something to look forward to!

I highly recommend reading them!!

Baked Three Cheese Ziti

2011-01-05T14:20:00.001-05:00

I made this for dinner the other night. It was super tasty and real easy.

It was in one of my williams sonoma books. I altered it a bit. Here is the recipe:

1 C ricotta
2 C shredded Romano ( I used a mixture of Asagio, Parmesan and Romano)
1/2 lb or 8 oz. Fresh Mozzarella cheese
1 lb box of Ziti
1 can diced tomatoes
1 jar tomato sauce ( I go for Prego Traditional)
1/2 C chopped fresh parsley
1 small onion diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 egg yolk
olive oil

Preheat oven to 425. Grease a 3 qt baking dish. I used a 13" x 9" baking dish. Bring a salted pot of water to boil. Cook Ziti until al dente according to package directions.
Meanwhile in a large saucepan over medium high heat cook garlic and onion in a little bit of olive oil until onion is transparent. Add in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.You can turn down the heat some since you just need to be heating up the sauce.

In a large bowl mix together Ricotta, 1/2 of the Romano cheese, egg yolk, and parsley.
When pasta is done drain and add to cheese mixture.
Add the mozzarella to the tomato sauce and let melt a little. When it is mostly melted add tomato sauce to the pasta and cheese mixture.
Pour pasta and sauce into baking dish. Top with remaining 1/2 of Romano cheese and drizzle with olive oil. Bake about 20 minutes until slightly brown and bubbling. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Slacker

2010-12-29T12:04:00.000-05:00

I'm still continuing to be a slacker! The lack of posts on here is depressing. Good news is that things are progressing! I finally have chargers for the cameras. The back office room is somewhat organized though we have no seating in there and the desk still needs to be painted. I have so many things I want to post about but no pictures with me. So stay tuned for:

My house decked out in holiday decor (I know its past Christmas)
Snow at our new house!
New paintings
Great Christmas gifts

Those are the big ones. Today Uly is getting declawed. I feel terrible for it to have to come to this but we have tried everything from a plethora of scratching posts to cutting his nails daily. We covered the couches in double sided tape, We covered the couches with blankets and tucked them in but he still gets underneath them to claw the couch. We tried the claw covers that you super glue on (which he manages to get off within 24 hrs). No punishment works on this cat either! If there is trouble to get into he will find it. I will have to take pictures of our poor couches. We are using the laser declaw method which is supposed to be less painful and an easier recovery. Poor kitty has to sleep at the vet tonight. Rocker and Setzer my families old cats were both declawed and they were still able to catch animals and everything so I think Uly will be fine. I still feel really bad about it though.

Christmas morning seemingly overnight Penguin and Uly became best friends. They play and wrestle constantly. I think Penguin ends up getting fed up with it since Uly doesn't tire or give up. He is getting big too. Hes almost 9 lbs and is taller and longer than both the other cats. His paws are huge so I know hes going to continue to grow. I'm so glad to have kitties that frolic! He loves to play with Kathy too who usually lets him do whatever he wants to her but she will play with him sometimes. So cute. I seriously could spend all day simply watching my pets. Pretty sad. When there are four of them though something is always going on.

Justin's Painting

2010-12-09T11:16:00.000-05:00

Here is my latest creation, This is a 36" x 48" acrylic on canvas.

This is way more of a landscape than I usually do but I like how it turned out. Hopefully Justin loves it and it has found a good home in his apartment!

I can't believe how long it has been since my last post. Good news though! Janet just got me some chargers for our cameras FINALLY! I should get them today or tomorrow. Plus with Zach's new macbook pro it is a lot easier to update my blog now since I don't have to sit sideways on the couch to use my computer. Sadly the back room still looks like a war zone.

I LOVE WEST ELM

2010-11-17T17:02:00.000-05:00

I am in love with all of these things from west elm!
Christmas is coming up everyone!
I NEED this duvet. I have wanted a nice fluffy comforter to go with my new quilt on our bed. This is similar to the one at Anthropologie but only $120 instead of $300+. I will buy this with christmas money if I don't get it... hahaha

I love glass bottles and these antiqued ones are awesome! I especially love the mint green one and the dark green ones.

These little owl ornaments are too cute.

I forget that I don't have a Christmas tree skirt every year. My mom gave me her old one but it doesn't fit our tree stand. I actually really like this faux fur one. I think it would be super simple to make too...

I think this garland is pretty. I saw these branches with little silver leaves on them at this little shop called Shore Gallery. I really wanted them to put in a glass cylinder for the holidays but they were $65 a bunch! Bummer. I figured I could make my own with paint and normal leafy branches but I have yet to find the right thing.

Since we got new kitty he is enjoying scratching up our couches. We've tried the little claw covers and he chews them off. For whatever reason our other cats don't scratch the furniture much. So our couches are covered with blankets galore and even with 3 throws on one the other is still bare. Plus the blankets don't match the room so it looks stupid. These faux fur blankets look awesome though and I desperately want one! Like the grey. Or really any. SO COZY!

West elm also has a ton of awesome pillow covers....and guess what I have like 7 pillows that need covers. I know if Zach reads this he will say WE DON'T NEED MORE PILLOWS OR GLASS BOTTLES! But these are just so nice and sophisticated! Plus since our house all has a somewhat similar color scheme things like pillows are interchangeable between rooms. Its always nice to be able to shuffle things around.

I adore this last pillow but I think the kitties may like it as much as me. Doesn't stop me from wanting it!

I am also in need of a fresh batch of tights, and if you know me you know I pretty much wear tights daily. I prefer dresses and tights to jeans any day. Most of my favorite tights have gotten life crippling snags which turn into giant holes and runs. So most of my favorites have recently met the trash. :( So depressing every time it happens, but trust me that I got their use out of them. Minus one that I got last Christmas which I somehow managed to put a giant hole in the first time I was putting them on. Now that was sad.

Anyways I'm just dreaming about how beautiful my house would be with these wonderful things in it! And how beautiful I would be in those tights! Just kidding.

Images courtesy West Elm and Anthropologie

Best of Friends

2010-11-17T13:26:00.000-05:00

Ulysses seems to have won over every ones hearts! (We named the new kitty Ulysses) Lurina is the only one still a little grumpy about it but she only seems to be irritated when he chases her or pounces on her. Kathy doesn't know what to do when he gets rambunctious with her. Penguin plays with him chasing him around, I am waiting for them to wrestle but they haven't gotten that comfortable yet. He was so sick and underweight when we got him. His bones were sticking out however we've been feeding him kitten food and he has gotten SO much bigger in two weeks. Its crazy. He doesn't know his name yet, I usually call him little man or Uly (yew-lee) because Ulysses seems like a mouthful. Seriously though how cute is this!?

He was super mellow and laid back when we first got him. However now that he is feeling better he has gotten way crazier. Just the normal antics of a little boy kitten though. He is a great cat though and we love him!

Halloween!

2010-11-03T12:32:00.000-04:00

I love costumes and dressing up! I thought my costume this year was super successful. Bummer that my cameras are still lacking chargers so I had to revert to the cellphone for pics. My makeup was really good too, its a bummer you can't see it perfectly. I scared the poor lady at CVS when I went to buy lipstick...

Corkboard

2010-11-01T11:51:00.000-04:00

My corkboard is finally complete! Thanks to Earl and Kay for giving me all those corks to use! The frame is 24 x 36. There are 540 corks used on that board! It was pretty easy too. Janet and Mike cut me a piece of 1/4" thick wood to use as the backing and I used clear drying caulk to glue them on. My original plan was going to be to use a hot glue gun but I figured that wouldn't hold good enough. I think it looks awesome though! Now if only we could complete my desk so that I could start straightening the room up....

Im still stuck using cellphone pictures. I have had no luck finding our camera chargers and no stores around carry them! Ive tried RadioShack, Best Buy, and Batteries Plus.

New addition to the family

2010-10-25T12:01:00.000-04:00

Sadly the camera chargers/cords are still nowhere to be found! It is awful! However there is some good news!

Unless something goes terribly wrong we will be welcoming this little guy into our family on Thursday!

Zach and I are still debating over what to name him.

Camera Woes

2010-10-20T17:00:00.000-04:00

Well I am very sad because I had the day off yesterday and several wonderful things I wanted to blog about. However my cameras had different ideas in mind rather than photograph things in my house for me. Both mine and Zach's cameras are dead. PLUS neither of the chargers are anywhere to be found. Believe me I searched every nook and cranny in our house. I may have to go out to buy a battery charger.

I will figure something out sooner or later. Now that some of my house is closer to being in a condition that I actually like I can start thinking of the next things on my home makeover list. The living room and kitchen are starting to look good and less like works in progress. Here are the things I am itching to get done:

New countertops for the kitchen- currently there is white laminate that is stained and falling apart on part and awful white tile on another. I REALLY like this one laminate that is in stock at lowes. It has a nice edge so it looks more like granite or higher end that plain old laminate. Plus I think it would look awesome in our kitchen. AND its affordable. I think total it would be $300-$400. Although we still have a $150 Home Depot gift card from the wedding. So I think this will be happening soon!
Glass backsplash in the kitchen, I already have a set plan in mind and it will look awesome!. I hate how our current white and grey checkerboard tile is only on one wall and not behind the stove.
Curtains for the bedroom. Now that my bedroom is making progress in the bedding department and actually has a color scheme, the olive green curtains need to be moved to another room and replaced with some charcoal grey ones. At least thats what I have in mind.
Accent wall in bedroom- I also want to paint the wall behind the bed charcoal grey. Super easy fix.
Paint office.
Finish and paint desk- this project has been taking way too long. We need to just get it done!
Cork board- To make this I need wine corks. So far I have like...8. Sad. I need WAY more. Anyone drink lots of wine and have corks to donate? I'm considering asking restaurants to save some for me. At least the frame is done.
Paint halls and back room. I already have the color picked. I think its benjamin moore's owl grey? I could be wrong.
Refinish kitchen table and chairs. If I get the counter tops I want then my plan for the table and chairs may be changing. I was going to paint the table white and the chairs this aqua and sea foam green color. (two of each) I am starting to think that I should do a weathered stained look? Not sure.
Finish the top and paint the tv console in the back room.
Paint other furniture in back room.
Comforter for the bedroom. I now have a wonderful quilt but I really want a comfy maybe down grey comforter for my room. I would love the Anthropologie one but I may have to look into similar cheaper options. I've seen some at West Elm, and Bed Bath & Beyond.

Thats about it for my list of things I really want to do! Maybe by the end of next year we will have some of this done...

sleepy cat

2010-10-19T15:08:00.001-04:00

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Two down, five to go

2010-10-13T14:45:00.002-04:00

I am feeling super guilty for not blogging! I just have not had any time. Plus my computer at home is so uncomfortable to use, however hopefully that will be changing very soon! We finally have the materials to finish the desk, just now we have to do the work! Zach is off work this weekend so I may be putting that on the honey do list.

I spent my day off yesterday slaving over some curtains. I have been desperately in need of curtains for the majority of the house. Now I can officially say I have some for the living room and the kitchen. Next on my list will be the bedroom. Here is a preview since I have yet to hang them. I am hoping to get hardware tonight after work.

I have so many ideas on things I want to do for the house and it is really nice to actually get some of them done! I feel very accomplished. Hopefully I will get some real pictures up soon as well as my birthday presents!

Speaking of my birthday... Zach and I ended up going to eat at Warriors Grill. Which is always good and inexpensive. I noticed their light fixtures. I thought they looked pretty cool and would be real easy to make something similar. I don't exactly have a place for it but it would be neat and simple.

whos the cutest dog in the world??

2010-10-08T20:32:00.002-04:00

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Paintings for my dad's office

2010-10-07T18:47:00.001-04:00

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Zach's surprise

2010-10-01T09:27:00.001-04:00

Zach made me a plethora of desserts! From left. Jewish gooey bars, grandmas special apple pie and dark chocolate brownies! Yum!! I love that my hubby can cook and bake too!

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Beautiful Glamping Princesses

2010-09-29T15:55:00.000-04:00

This weekend we went camping in West Virginia with some friends. It was super fun! While the boys all went white water rafting Alyssa and I went and climbed on the rocks... and sunbathed. There were some crazy hippies taking over our campsite, hanging out at our tents and putting crap on our tables. We decided to go into hiding until the boys got back because the invasion of our space was freaking us out. We got nail polish and painted our nails. So I guess we were glamping. (Glamorous camping). I actually really like the nail polish I got.

I am pretty sure it is impossible for me to paint my nails without messing them up somehow.

Tomorrow I turn 24. Zach has class so I won't really see him at all. He is taking me out tonight and apparently working on some surprise that involves 3 phases. I have no clue what he is doing and I am excited!

Fabric Resources

2010-09-22T10:53:00.000-04:00

One of my favorite blogs: Design Sponge posted this about a week ago: Fabric Resources. I love fabric and personally feel like the selection locally is lacking. There is Joann's and Hancock. Which are convenient. But also chains that are very basic and limited with their selections. Fabric Hut off of Little Creek is good for bridal, and special occasion fabrics. They do have basics as well but it is expensive. Blaney's in Norfolk has upholstery and home decor fabrics. I need to check out The Second Yard, especially since I hear good things about it. It is close by on Laskin Road and my mom's friend works there.

Still, in Hampton roads we have nothing even remotely comparable to Mood.

Image courtesy Mood

Which I drool over every time I watch Project Runway. I am in love with that white and grey print, third down from top on the far right. I am a bit weary about ordering fabric online though. You just can't see what it will look like in person through the Internet. Maybe some day Virginia Beach will get a giant fabric store with an endless selection of awesome fabrics. But for now I will have to settle for the ordinary or take a road trip.

Brandon Flowers

2010-09-20T12:12:00.001-04:00

Zach loves The Killers, so of course he had to buy Brandon Flowers new CD Flamingo the day it came out. I've been listening to it a lot, and I can't get enough of the second song Only the Young. This is the best video I could come up with.

alyssas painting

2010-09-16T16:54:00.001-04:00

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The start of Alyssa's painting

2010-09-14T17:57:00.001-04:00

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painting for sale

2010-09-14T16:00:00.001-04:00

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In love

2010-09-13T13:50:00.000-04:00

I am so in love with these two things. I want them more than anything. Why do they have to be so expensive?? :(

Janet just refinished this side table for me, a thrift store find for $6. It is going to go in the living room where my computer currently is.

Now the only thing left will be curtains.

Birthday wish list continues...

2010-09-12T14:49:00.000-04:00

There are so many things I love, especially when I have no money to get them.

I really want an over the shoulder purse. Here are some beautys from Anthropologie, plus some cute shoes there.

I really looove this one.

I think this last pair is SO cute. Especially with tights! Too bad they are way pricey.

Here are some Nine West shoes

I would always love some of the Dunny 2010 series. I dont have any yet :(

Polaroid Film. Find it here.

Jersey Shore party!

2010-09-12T10:18:00.000-04:00

My birthday is only 18 days away! Now I am extra excited because Bekah is throwing me a Jersey Shore theme birthday party! So friends get those fake tans ready to party! I have been craving a new theme party since my oh so fabulous 22nd birthday party which was and ABC or (Anything But Clothes) birthday party. The turnout was great.

Then there was Laura's holiday's birthday party. (I was Octoberfest)

Then we had a 70's party which got a bit out of control.

The annual Ugly sweater or fancy dress christmas party.

Then the white trash party!

Zachs awful crustache.

So this party is going to be fun, and I can't wait! Its on October 2nd!

Who will we be?

More Birthday Wants

2010-09-08T16:51:00.000-04:00

And just lovely things in general...

For my vanity I want to get some cute knobs. These are from my favorite store of course, Anthropologie.

I am thinking either these:

or these:

I also discovered that they got new colors of my coasters! I love them, and I really like all of these!

I saw this book and thought it looked awesome! It makes me think of one of my classes in college. The class took place over spring break in New York City. We got to visit 10 different artists studios, maybe more I can't remember. Some were very successful artists too. My favorite had to be Ryan McGinness, who's work I love. Plus even better that we went to the same High School! I was extremely envious of their work spaces and I am sure that wouldn't change looking at the different studios showcased in this book. Maybe it will give me some more ideas for my dream studio.

Of course to have this comforter would be amazing but its way out of my budget.

Anyone who reads my blog is probably sick of seeing this.

Anthropologie also has doorknobs like the original knobs I wanted for the living room furniture!

These towels are cute too.

What would this post be without clothes?

Zach thinks he has my style down and could 100% shop for clothes for me now. Bummer I won't be getting any from him for my birthday. That's okay though because I am pretty excited about my present. We are going to see Muse and Metric play in Charlottesville in October. I am really stoked about it, but still a bit bummed I won't get to enjoy my birthday present until a month after my birthday. Plus I love clothes and am dying for some new things. I could list wants all day long though.

Neglected

2010-09-07T20:27:00.001-04:00

Oh blog, I am so sorry how neglected you have been lately. I promise to anyone who reads this I will start blogging more frequently.
My job has changed again for now, and I have been super busy. I now have no down time at work, and no internet access which means that I am surfing the web, home decor sites, and other blogs way less. Sadly my desk at home still has no top, so using the computer at home is a bit uncomfortable. It involves sitting cross legged sideways on my couch.

Yeah, not fun. Fingers crossed for a completed desk soon. Not only for practical reasons but also because that back room / future office looks like a tornado went through it. Kyle is supposed to come over Friday and update my sad and very slow old Mac. My to-do list is endless, and I have been a bit worn down lately. Hopefully this is all due to my newly discovered thyroid problems, and will be fixed soon. However, some things have been done recently thanks to Janet.

I have just had 5 days off work and some of those days were spent relaxing on the beach in Nags Head. So I do feel somewhat rejuvenated. While we were away Janet got busy working. She has made us a headboard out of a door, refinished our night stands, painted our bedroom walls, and refinished a table for our garage entryway. She also refinished a small desk I am now using as a vanity in my dressing room.

Here are some before and after pics:

The headboard before:

During:

After:

The Nightstands Before:

After:

The Vanity Desk Before:

After:

The Entry Table Before:

After:

I love them all!!! Now here are some pictures of my bedroom after all the paint.

Here is my dressing room with the vanity table and the Jewelry display I've been working on.

For the lamp I followed the same process as my teal lamps. I simply spray painted a brass lamp with primer and then a pearl spray paint. It has an iridescent look. Anyone who knows me knows how much I love iridescent things, this lamp is no exception.

The hooks I got from Thrift stores and spray painted. I still want to put some decorative paper behind the earrings I just haven't found the right one yet. Zach thinks I went a bit overboard with the teal spray paint, but I already had it and I think it looks good.

I saw this at Target recently. I want my bedroom in these colors whenever I can afford to put some more work into it.

I am thinking that I will do the back of the quilt I have been working on forever to look similar to this quilt at Anthropologie, only in creams, grays, and shades of teal.

This s probably going to be real hard, oh well. I think it will look really cute though. Plus anything reversible is always a plus. The other side is green, light blue and coral with a sort of parquet pattern.

Like this:

Lets hope I can finish it sooner rather than later.

Now that this post has taken me forever to write on my sad little mac, thats all I have for today. But I promise the posts will keep on coming. I have yet to put up pictures of my new couch!

Topsy Turvey

2010-08-18T12:35:00.001-04:00

Well my life has been really crazy lately. My job was cut back to one day a week so the rest of the time I have been training in the call center. I am good at it but it isn't my cup of tea. So now I think after next week I will be moved to a store. Not sure if this will be any better but at least I will be busy. This also means less computer time and less blogging. :(

I am going to make more of an effort to blog after work though! I have a few projects going on at home. Painting the kitchen table is next. I've been testing the paint because Zach is worried the Poly will be tacky or sticky. I also have gotten a big ornate picture frame. Which I will be turning into a cork board. (with wine corks) I think Liz is giving me some.

I have painted it teal so it matches the lamps. That back room with the desk is also next on the to do's. I think I am going to paint it a light yellowy green. Still on the hunt for a chair or stool to go at the desk. The desk still needs it's middle support and a top. Then we will be painting it white.

I have so many projects I want to do. I also have a plethora of paintings to do. Alyssa got me some canvases (4) to paint for her apartment. I am painting something for my friend Candace in exchange for a goober plush and I am hoping Chris will maybe chip in with some photography or something. ;) I also have two paintings to do for my dad's office.

The good news is that I have moved all of my painting stuff to Cousin Ashley's studio and I am planning on heading over there after work a few days a week. Now that I have space there is no excuse! Hopefully people will see the paintings in my dads office and want some of their own!

I've also been watching the seasons of weeds I haven't seen (1-5). I'm trying to see them all before they are no longer on showtime on demand. I have until the 31st and I'm on episode four of Season 2. Long way to go!

So that's the scoop as of late. Hopefully there will be some good blog posts to come.

Since I must liven this up with a picture. I love this dress from the shabby apple . Thanks Ashley for more dresses to swoon over...

roasted chicken

2010-08-12T19:43:00.001-04:00

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Birthday and house wants

2010-08-07T12:26:00.000-04:00

I know my birthday is still around 2 months away...but still here are some things I really like!

These are all from my favorite store... Anthropologie. Sadly everything is so expensive there.However anyone who wants to get me a present theres some ideas!

Here are some things I want for my house:

My dad finally wrote me a check for the things I left him at the old house. I am considering using it to buy these for the living room...I still plan on making curtains to go in front of them though.

Ive also been on a hunt for containers like these. Found one small one at a garage sale for $2. These are at Crate and Barrel, which we still have an unused gift card there. Maybe I will get those.

Remember this idea?

I want to do it here:

Here are some ideas:

Both at Crate and Barrel.

I really like these two, like paint speckles. I like the idea of alternating blue and green. I wonder if I found white ceramic plates at a thrift store if I could recreate this with acrylic paint? Because the Anthropologie plates are a bit expensive.

Here are some more from Anthropologie:

These are from Target:

I was thinking I could paint the back of this last one to make it more interesting. It is an acrylic plate. I am liking the idea of the white painted ceramic plates the best so far.