Bandwagon

These days I am definitely on the DIY bandwagon. Summer school just ended today which makes me completely and utterly free the rest of the summer. I have lots and lots of ideas up my sleeve. Little to N's knowledge this home will soon be looking brand spankin' new (:
My next project, again, not on my summer bucket list, is the kitchen table. N got it for free when he moved into the house, so it isn't anything fancy and it really needed a face lift. I am yet to sand and refinish the top, but I got the chairs done--which is what I will tell you about today. Keep in mind, I basically searched the house, found all the materials, and got to work on a whim. The only thing I didn't have was the fabric so I went to Jo Ann Fabric and found this beautiful fabric on sale for 10% off. It's burlap with gold polka dots. Two of the things I am LOVING right now. Once this perfect fabric was found, I was on my way. This is what happens when I get bored.

Here is the chair in it's original state. Cheaply made and in desperate need of some pizzazz (I had to check how to spell that word...weird isn't it?!). Even though furniture isn't expensive or super high quality, it can still look special...hence my make over.

I unscrewed the wooden part from the bottom and ended up with the frame, and this piece of wood (such technical terms). I laid it out on some foam that I already had laying around the house from a different project. I don't remember what type, brand, thickness, or any of that...like I said, laying around the house. I laid the wood on there, traced it with a sharpie, and cut it out. Super simple.

Then I laid the wood and foam on top of the material, left about three inches around each side, then cut that out. I put two layers of fabric on each chair because A. I got more than enough (don't even get me started on my lack of knowledge on measuring) and B. Burlap has tiny holes and I didn't want the foam color peeking through. 

I then proceeded to pull the fabric tight from the center, working around, and stapling it on. I had to search high and low for N's staple gun and staples, but I eventually found them. The staple jammed a couple of times which allowed me to shoot aimlessly into the air to get it out--lucky I didn't lose any eyeballs there--but overall it was done without incident. Then this brought back memories of high school and a staple gun fight...wish I remember that more clearly....

 Then I screwed that sucker back on in the same spots where I unscrewed it, and voila! I felt like such a pro. I had some issues with the corners but eventually by the fourth one I got that straightened out. This is the first one--it only went up from here. 

 Here is a close up of the fabric just because I love it SOOOO much. It goes great with the rest of the decor in the kitchen, and has that little touch of glam and rugged all mixed together that I LOVE. I may have to get this into the wedding decor somehow.

Disclaimer: These pictures were shot in the backyard as the sun was going down (why do all my projects get done at that time??) so there are some funky shadows, but you bet the gist. 


In other news--I found this sweet thing (not sure what is it) at World Market and cannot WAIT to fill it with something...I'm thinking sand for the summer...there are so many ideas going on. This is the benefit of being young and broke....you have to get creative, I'm sure there's a sandbox around her somewhere....

DIY...?

'Ello friends. Today I am sharing my VERY FIRST EVER FURNITURE PAINTING PROJECT. That apparently seemed like it warranted all capital letters. It is pretty exciting ya know. So I have this thing...I'm not sure what you call it... a buffet, a banquet, a b-something.  I call it the wooden thing in the hall with a radio on it before the bedroom. Anyway it was all beat up and just plain old ugly so I decided I would attempt to paint it and make it more exciting. 
A little background here...N moved into this house and flipped it with his dad. I was working my way through my senior year of college at this point and was student teaching so I basically stayed as far away as I could from all the work, demolition, and painting. That being said I did not have an opinion on anything that went into the house, so it ended up many shades of tan. 50 shades to be exact. Just kidding, bad joke I know. 
So when I moved into N's home I knew I had to throw lots and lots of color in there. That is exactly what I did...with pillows and curtains and decorations of all sorts. Now it is time to move on to the furniture and bigger items. 
This is how the beauty began...without the drawers, which are wicker. I wish I would've gotten a picture with them in because they had REALLY ugly pulls on them. Darn it. Hard to tell but it is kind of scratchy on the top, other than that it was in good shape.

This all occurred when N was gone fishing all day so it was done very slowly and leisurely as I had a book, a glass of Riesling, and some show tunes present with me. 
This is the paint I used...soooo pretty. It is called Bayou by Valspar. Obviously if you pay attention to the background I am in Packer country. Is anyone else as excited for football season as I am ????

Then of course I moved on to the painting. Two coats of primer and two coats of paint later, it was drying as the sun went down. This is a picture of it with primer. Needless to say I am not a clean painter and paint ended up being everywhere. Apparently my strategically placed grocery bags weren't very useful...

My next job was to find the perfect knobs, which I did so at World Market of course. Favorite store ever. They had SO many cute options, but with the blue I thought this antique clear knob would look good. Lone behold about two weeks later I finally drilled them in there and now it is finished and back where it belongs. 

I just love those knobs. 

I couldn't decide what to do with the wicker. I knew painting it "Bayou" would not be good so my only other clever idea was to leave them be. I did not provide a full picture of the buffet, banquet....thing...because I don't have anything good on there or on the wall above it. That will have to come later. 

All in all I think it turned out well. It bring the blue/turquoise tones from the living room into this wall/hallway area. For my first time I would call it a success. N thought I was amazing. Ha. Oh I love his enthusiasm. 

On to other news...N made guacamole for supper tonight, so I am off to indulge. Yes we often eat just guacamole for dinner. Don't judge.

Hiatus

I realize there has been some kind of hiatus going on here. I promised myself when I started this blog I would write every day, and if I skipped one, I would make up for it. Well then life began and summer school started and it finally got warmer and I got lazy and this, this, and that. So forget those excuses, here we go. This is what I have been up to...

I have been attempting a run at domestic goddess.....Exhibit A: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread...this actually ended up very good. N loved it, I loved it, and really that's all that matters. On a side note, really brown bananas thawed after being frozen for a couple weeks are NASTY NAST!!

Exhibit B: I also attempted Cara's Crock Pot Baja Pork Tacos. I love absolutely everything she does, these were no exception. It made A LOT of tacos and N has been eating them for like two weeks straight, he can't get enough. Generally I don't like pork, but in taco form ANYTHING is good. I mean ANYTHING...

These are random pictures of the ingredients, and the green chiles and spices mixture that looks like baby puke...I'm not used to this take-pictures-for-the-blog-so-all-can-see kind of thing, so this is what I got.

Recently we spent a fun Sunday evening with two of our best friends for---no brainer---Mexican. Our fave. N got a gigantic margarita that also included a Corona. Wahoo! If that ain't a Sunday Funday for ya I don't know what is. 

Other than that my life has been a stream of arts and crafts (summer school), hanging out with my sweeties (niece and nephew), taking naps (don't tell N), and thinking about all the projects I should be getting done but in face am not getting done. 

I did finish this baby though...when I get around to taking a picture I will share that. It went from being brown, scratchy, and drab, to fabulously blue. This is the process one Saturday when I was left home alone. Riesling and show tunes got in the way of my picture taking before it got too late. 

This was not part of my summer bucket list...so I basically just wasted a whole lot of time on something that didn't really need to get done. Story of my life. Boo. 

That is all for today, I promise I will be back tomorrow. Although tomorrow is fun Thursday. More on that another day. 

My World Market Mission

Today I will tell you about one of greatest loves and my greatest weaknesses. This place right here...

I love nothing more than to roam around World Market aimlessly throwing items into my cart. There are very few things at this place that I would not put into my own home. Those that know me will also tell you that I have a big shopping problem. I tend to use retail therapy quite often. Whether in need of it or not. Now a days, I do attempt to stay on a budget, N will tell you the opposite, but really I do try. That being said, I try not to go here too often. 

My recent summer bucket list, which I now feel the desperate need to finish--like, now--says that I need a chair for the barren corner. The barren corner is just what it says. This random corner in the living room we don't know what to do with. I'm thinking a cool chair and this lamp that I looooove could go there and it would make a cute reading area. 

The inside is painted this turquoise-ish color that would go BEYOND perfectly with the curtains and pillows in the living room. I love it. It's cuter in person. So now the mission is on for a PERFECT chair. Which has not been an easy task. I'm all for free or repurposed, but nothing has come up that would work. That is how I began my World Market Mission. 

First of all I went there for some knobs for this buffet I painted blueish (that's a later blog post) , then I decided there had to be the perfect chair there. 

I found this which would be pretty good, love the shape, not so much the color of the leather. Doesn't really go with the comfy feel I got going in the living room. 

This one looked good but I'm pretty sure it is the wrong blue for the living room,  and would also clash with the buffet I painted. Although I really like the shape and the material, it was a very soft velvety type thing. 

I perused the dining room chairs, hoping one would look like a comfy reading chair...no luck. I made about 17 laps to see if I missed something...no luck. I sat in these chairs to see if I would fall in love with the comfort...no luck. 

So I did the next best thing and went online shopping in my pj's. Yay! I found a couple of loves.

This is the first...and IT. IS. ON. SALE!!!!!! The description says it is midnight blue, which would work, but I really would have to see it in person to know for sure...so that's a bummer.

I absolutely love the shape of this one, but again, the colors is nutmeg. What does that even mean??? Maybe they have it in another store I could look at....because that could be possible. It also comes in peacock blue, but I've seen that and it does not work. No siree. 

LASTLY....I have my top runner. It is a dark brown which would work in the living room, it looks like it is a comfy fabric, and I could for sure see myself curling up in that baby and reading my night away. 

Now to decide....although these are all pretty expensive. Sorry World Market, but I might have to search the market for some cheaper knock offs.   ):   

Usually I'm a great impulse buyer and can decide on a dime, bring my purchases home, and I  usually love them. Not so much. I keep seeing N's face when I come home with a $400 chair. EEEK! 

Hmmm....I guess I'm off to bargain shop.

TTFN

Bucket List

So...today is my first official day of summer vacation now that school has ended. I so far spent it sleeping in, drinking coffee, and watching tv shows, and searching for a puppy. 
Speaking of PUPPY! N and I have been talking about getting a puppy for a LONG time. The conversation usually consisted of trying to agree on the kind to get. He always wanted a lab, but our backyard is pretty small and the front yard faces a busy street so that just wasn't practical. 
When growing up my parents had a basset hound, which I have only seen in pictures...but always loved them. I knew we needed a calm, friendly dog and a basset hound seemed to fit the bill.
N also agreed because he thought it would the perfect garage dog, seeing as he spend lots of time in his garage. 
Aren't they just adorable????? I just can't get over that face. 
Anyway, the puppy search has proven to be tough....I guess there aren't a lot of basset hound breeders in our area??

That brings me to my summer bucket list. Some things rather simple, some that may prove difficult, and some that N doesn't know about yet. Hehe.
Summer bucket list...
1. Find a basset hound puppy and adopt 2. Refinish desk

(It needs to be done...well, lots needs to be done in here. Isn't that computer ancient? N doesn't want to get rid of it?!?!?!). 3. Refinish kitchen table and put cushions on chairs 4. Paint basement and make shelves 5. Buy a new washer and dryer 6. Run a 10k 7. Find a new end table 8. Go camping as much as possible 9. Find a chair for the barren corner

(This is the barren corner. I need a cool chair...another thing that has proven hard to find).
10. Curtains for office and guest room 11.  Road trip to Cedar Point in Ohio 12. Get rid of couch and computer in office 13. Finalize as many wedding plans as possible 14. Make more products for TpT and get selling! 15. Take on my summer reading list. I am already two books down (I started before summer break really began).  Here is my next read...


That is it for now. I'm sure it will be ever growing as the summer goes on, but for now I think I can tackle this.  TTFN

Mish Mosh

Hello again!
This post is basically just a big mish mosh of all sorts of things.  It is sort of rambling...sort of long...sort of crazy....kind of like me. I warned you. 
As I may have mentioned N (the future Mr.) purchased a house about 2 and a half years ago with the intention of fixing it up. His requirements were basically a big garage...and that's it. He certainly was not picky about the actual home. SO he ended up with a MAJOR fixer upper. His dad and him did an amazing job of fixing it up (it was unlivable when he bought it) and it is now our cozy little home. Although we plan to sell it eventually to make some money and move into a different house, there are always projects I feel need to be tackled. For one, he is currently redoing the dungeon (aka basement). This includes a laundry room for me, so I am super stoked. More on that later! For another, when I moved in I had the intentions of painting all the trim white. Well I got to the master bedroom and that was that. Lastly, I've turned into a garbage picker and have been known to stop during a run to bring home something I believe could be made into some sort of decoration, or....something? 
Anyway....here are some things going on around here.

   This is the trim project...it is all done at this point. Now if only we could do something about the gold hardware. Egh. The walls were also originally tan, and now are a very pretty gray. Smokehouse by Vaslpar to be exact. This picture was taken when it was pretty cloudy. 

This is further progress on the previously tan master bedroom. As you can see it is now gray, yellow, and blue. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the curtains. The curtains, lamp base, shade, and mirror are all from Target. I'm on the fence about the mirror, there is one on N's side of the bed as well, I'm thinking maybe something bigger?? This is all from Target's Threshold line, which I am loving right now. If you haven't seen it yet you should most definitely check it out. It looks great and the prices aren't too shabby either.

Whole bedroom reveal to come later. I'll have to see if I can dig up a before picture. It's a little scary. 

This is what I found on the side of the road on my run today. I think it's part of an old fence. I'm a big chicken so I made N go knock on the door to ask if it was ok we took them. The question now remains...what to do with these little gems? I'm thinking wall decor of some kind...

This is my latest Pinterest project. Now my last name does not start with K yet. Seeing as it is on the horizon I  just couldn't resist. The mail lady told me she loves it. 

N attempted wings on the grill tonight. SO delish....I hate when he is better at cooking than me. Kidding. How could I complain about not doing the cooking and loving what he makes? 
If you still stuck around to this point. Thank you! 
p.s.-Three more days of school! I think I can.....