Thursday, December 24, 2015

Merry Christmas 2015!

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Hey there...

I'm just checking in to say I'm still alive...! We've had a VERY busy spring that has included everything from a new job to a trip out of the country to a quick trip to Chicago to family events (and SO MUCH more!).

My new job has created quite the change in life for me, so I've had a hard time going home at the end of the day to sit in front of the computer. I actually have quite a few things to update on, but at the end of the day, I would rather be hitting up a yoga class or enjoying a barbeque with friends while we have what little summer we get here in Minnesota. Being subjected to horrible winters, really makes you appreciate the nice weather and you make sure to take full advantage of it.

Some future updates will soon hopefully include lots of work outside! We have lots of ideas and plans to improve our curb appeal and our little slice of semi-privacy out back. While we know what we want, getting things nailed down to exact details is half the battle for us. There will definitely be paint involved though. Nothing crazy.

So, stay tuned!

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Living Room Update

It's been awhile since I've shown where our living room is at. Last month we threw a little party for some friends and I was able to take some decent during the day photos of a clean house. Here is what our living room looks like now.






Sources:

Golden Swivel Chairs - FindFurnish of Minneapolis, MN
Lane Acclaim Table Set (we have another side table that doesn't fit in the room) - FindFurnish
Philco Record Player - FindFurnish
Credenza - FindFurnish
Keller Hutch - FindFurnish
Curtains - Ikea
Curtain Rods - Restoration Hardware
Wood/Porcelain Lamp - Golden Age Designs
Arc Lamp - CB2
Foot Stool - Retro Wanderlust of Hopkins, MN
Nixon Couch - Thrive Furniture
"&" Pillow - Crate & Barrel
Yellow Pillow - World Market
Gray Herringbone Pillow - World Market
Teal Chevron Pillow - Target
Gray Sequin Pillow - Target
Knit Blanket - Target
Light Gray Herringbone Throw - West Elm
White Pillow with Gray Chevron Stitching - Target
Gold Owl - World Market
Rug - Menard's
Starburst Mirror - Home Depot
Starburst Clock - FindFurnish
Large Plants & Pots - Home Depot
Small Plants (Succulents) - Ikea, Lowe's & Menards
Small White Pots - Ikea
Frames - Target
Prints on Black Wall - Etsy
Starburst Print - Eames Foundation
Basket under the Side Table - H&M
Gold Lamp - from Grandma!
Bullet Planter - Hip Haven
Jax/Jacks - World Market

I skipped a lot of the small things... If you see something I missed and want to know, just ask!

See what our living room looked like before.

Monday, February 16, 2015

The Free Roadside 1956 Desk | Before & After

The desk is complete! And I love it!



Just a reminder, but this is where it started...


Way back after we picked it up, I cleaned it really well and took some sandpaper to it. Before I painted it, I used {that toxic stuff} to help remove anything else that might be lingering. I did that before we ended up switching sizes on the handles from what was originally there. So, I then had to fill the holes. They were a decent size, so I filled once and sanded and came back again and repeated the process. Sometimes when the holes are a little larger, when the filler dries it doesn't quite fill everything up perfectly.




I only have those couple of really bad in progress shots from my phone that don't really even show too much. I was just too excited to get everything going and totally forgot...

Bill created a template for drilling all of the holes for the new handles. He's really good with being exact with that kind of stuff, where as I usually end up with a wonky hole somewhere in the mix... 

I used one layer of primer (Killz, because it was what I had on hand) to cover everything up and make sure I had a good starting point for the paint. I then ended up doing two layers of paint just to get a good coverage everywhere. For all of the painting, I used a small foam roller for most of it and a high quality brush to hit the places where a brush wouldn't work.

Once everything was dry, we got the handles installed. We waited even longer just so that the paint had some time to sit and dry really well before putting the drawers back in so that the paint wouldn't get messed up. I am soon happy with how it all turned out!

Two daytime shots...



 And a few night shots...




For now, that little Target stool fits perfect underneath, but I definitely need something better... a little taller, with a back. I've also discovered that the top isn't 100% flat. I'm guessing it warped a little at some point. There is only one exact spot on the surface that I have found where the keyboard doesn't "rock" while I type...


Sunday, January 11, 2015

Maid of Honor

Last week, my sister called me in a semi frantic voice asking if I was home. She claimed she needed to borrow a dress for a work party the next night that she had forgotten about. She didn't really need a dress...

"Now I've got my Mister, but I can't do this without my sister! Will you be my Maid of Honor?"

On Christmas Eve, her boyfriend proposed! EEEEE!!!! I had had a feeling it was coming... 

She showed up with this box (we lovingly call each other seester instead of sister)... It was so cute and she was so excited to present it to me, I had to share. Plus I love her to pieces and am soooo excited for her!!!


Sadly, in my excitement, I ended up rubbing off some of the lettering (chalk!)...





Besides asking me the big question, she put together all these fantastic goodies!

- mason jar with handle, mint chocolates, wine, rum, eos lip stuffs and lotion -


The big card hidden behind the jar is a recipe for Sangria! YUM

I've got all the wheels in my head turning and I'm so excited to not only help her plan her wedding, but to be throwing some of the events leading up to the big day!!!


Thursday, January 8, 2015

Happy 7th Birthday Behr!


It's a double post day, because today is my favorite pup's 7th birthday! Look how handsome he is in a bow tie! :) I know, I'm a huge nerd. Tonight we will be doing our usual celebration of opening a present and having a cup cake.

The Guest Bedroom - Getting Somewhere!

After the basement was basically finished, we moved my office down to the new bedroom in the basement. It was what we intended to do and the move was pretty easy. Transition wise, I don't hear if anyone is at the front door and I can't really see anything going on in the neighborhood. So, those things aren't awesome, but everything else has been good.

This move left the 'old office' open and in weird state of mess and empty. It was also in a very vibrant shade of blue. I've never really posted pics of the office during that time... I'm sure I have some floating around in a folder somewhere, but here is a shot from the garland I made for my sister's baby shower last year.


Over the summer (and fall too now), I've been scoping my favorite vintage shops for some things... I haven't found anything I can't live without. I did find a few accessories though. I think that the plan is to get a bed in there, a twin or double, and get the free, road side desk fixed up and in there. Beyond that, a big comfy chair would be nice.

The room has/had some issues. The baseboards were about a half inch off the floor to allow for carpet at some point. One portion of baseboard actually happened to be split, so that added to the not looking good. The floors in this room are the worst in the house too. I'm hoping that with actual furniture, it will be less bad.

At some point over the summer, I grabbed a gallon of Behr's Aqua Smoke from Home Depot, which other bloggers seem to find fantastic. It was in the range of a mint/aqua that I was looking for and just went for it. I think it turned out great.

Unfortunately, my photos are a little strangely colored. It gets dark out at like 4:30, so it's hard to get some natural light photos, which always look best. And then when it has been daytime, where there would normally be daylight, it's been cloudy and darkish anyways. The light fixture is also partially to blame for the color... more on that in a minute.

After that, I found a little mid-century style stool at target for huge clearance. This added another color, orange. This mixes in well with some ideas floating around in my head that I'm still not too certain about.

Not too long after that, I ended up ordering West Elm's Mid-Century Wooden Rod. Seriously LOVE it! A part of me wishes these were around when I was working on the living room, but I do love the ones in the living room too. I curtain shopped for what seemed like forever. I was leaning towards a nice navy blue but I couldn't find anything I liked -- plain, solid in color, no tab tops, long enough, and didn't break the bank. For some reason or another, I ended up at sheers. I ordered these ones on Amazon. They came in multiple lengths, were very affordable, and had good reviews.


I only came across one hitch with the curtains... the slot sewn into the top of the curtains was too small for my rods. So, I flipped them upside down for now and have them through the bottom hem. I am currently going back and forth on using the rings with clips for the first time. The curtains would sit nicely on both sides of the wall mount bracket if I did and they could be "right side up," something only I will notice.


Last week, we FINALLY got the curtains up and the other night had the in-law's nail gun for the night and got the baseboards back in and at the right height! HORAY!


I still have a lot to do... The light fixture below desperately needs to be swapped out. I'm totally already on top of that. There are also some patches that need to happen on the walls (curtain rod mishap), nail holes to fill on the baseboards (old and new), and paint to touch up everywhere. Even so, it finally looks like a room and not so much of a hot mess!


Wednesday, January 7, 2015

The Free Roadside 1956 Desk | New Handles

Quick back story...
A few *cough* 4.5 *cough* years ago, Bill and I were driving along when we suddenly saw this cute, little desk on the side of the road with a FREE sign. We grabbed it and brought it home. I cleaned it up and promptly became busy / forgot about it. Fast forward to now...

The (Very Dirty!) Free Roadside 1956 Desk

Finally, with the old office painted (post coming soon!) and sort of empty, I got motivated to get the desk taken care of. And actually, I was sick of using my personal computer on top of the Ikea Expedit... no leg room. I decided I would just paint the whole thing and put on new handles.

I already had the paint and just needed the handles, which turned out to be a lot harder to find then you would think. I searched the internet and never found anything... What I liked in any given style didn't have the finish I wanted and when I could find a finish I wanted, I didn't like any of the styles. And that was without looking for the proper size...

I should probably mention that the finish was important to me... Actually the handles in general were important. The original ones were destroyed. The metal was pitted and just in a horrible state. They were actually chrome, but... the original caps on the feet are brass. Those were still in good condition (even after hanging out in our garage for a couple years). I thought it was best for the new handles to be close in finish to the caps. Because the caps were old and not shiny anymore, I thought some sort of a not shiny brass finish would be best.

I asked Bill to help look online because for some reason he is the master of Google search terms. He came up with a local store called The Brass Handle. It's located in the downstairs of the Galleria mall in Edina, MN. Picking something out took two trips there, which ended up being for the best. The same fantastic woman helped both times. I really wish I could remember her name to give her a shout out, because she was so helpful and awesome!

There were lots of options in the store, lots of options I liked. It then came down to price and the fact that I needed 7 handles. I guess size options as well were a factor. We ended up deciding that because I was going to paint the entire desk, I would be fine with sizing up the handle some and filling old holes/making new holes. That just gave us so many more options and a lot more flexibility in our choices.

The woman helping us was even flipping through catalogs they had for options they didn't have on display. She found THE PERFECT handles! No joke. And they came in every finish under the sun! AND the price was fantastic and didn't break the bank.

Here is the new handle in all it's glory! (Along with the filled and sanded holes.) That's just sitting on one of the drawers - cleaned up, but sill with that weird faux yellow wood grain...


Up next, PAINT!