It's Peeptastic!

So, the Seattle Times does an annual Peeps Contest to ring in Easter. We've never entered, and usually laugh at the people (or should I say "peeple"?) that do. Basically you create some sort of scene/picture using peeps somehow (bunnies or chicks, it doesn't matter). Current events are usually the most popular thing.

Check out last year's winners here.

For some reason, my silly silly mom got it in her head that this would keep her busy for a bit. She came up with the idea of "Despicable Peep," which is incredible. My sister Lauren helped her to make the overalls, hair, and eyes/goggles. I had no part in that (I missed out on all the fun!). They sent me some pictures and I just photoshopped them into the original DVD cover.

It was fun, and totally something we would do. Better yet, I think we have a shot!

Here's the original cover:

Here's our version:

 

What do you think? Do we have a chance of winning the Grand Prize (or at least getting our name and the picture in the paper)?

Happy April!

I'm still here

Work-School and School-School have been keeping me busy, but I put on my *hopefully* last coat of paint on the dresser today and should be able to get 2-3 coats of Clear Gloss Polyurethane on it, depending on when I got home (2 hrs. between coats plus light sanding). I want to finish it before I head off to D.C. for Spring break so I can move it into the living room and see how it looks.

Happy Wednesday all!

Dining in Perfection

Here she is! Our dining room is complete (except for a decent centerpiece). All the pieces arrived today, by chance, from the three different vendors. Picture quality is poor as usual, plus it's night. But, I think I did pretty well for an amateur decorator (and for seeing everything online).

I know there is a wet spot on the chair. I got something on it right away.. Good think its microfiber.

View with the curtains.

What do you think?

Hope I didn't make a mistake...

I happened to run across this blog post on a site I read, and she re-did my exact dresser (with the five legs and everything!). The dark finish she did looks so great that I hope I didn't mess mine up with paint. I'm excited for a different look with the turquoise, but always have to contend with self-doubt.

I will just keep telling myself that the top was formica and I had no choice. :)

sTEALing my heart

2 coats done on my dresser. A third-fourth coat is in order for it to be totally complete. Not sure if I'll be able to get to it tomorrow, we'll see.

I also picked up a small can of Minwax water-based Polycrylic in High Gloss. I usually just stick to the semi-gloss I have, but I really wanted the dresser to look more professional, and I think it will help to add a bit of sheen. Hopefully I remember correctly that it goes on pretty easily with a sponge brush. I just hate sanding in between coats. Oh well.

The color I went with is Martha Stewart's Plumage. I felt like an idiot asking for it because I wasn't quite sure how to pronounce... it involved a lot of pointing. As I've mentioned before, Glidden is my favorite brand of paint to work with, and Glidden makes Martha Stewart. I got a tester of that and Ralph Lauren Reflecting Pool, and they are so similar. Anyway, Martha's tester sizes are so huge-normous (8 oz.) that I'm not even done with mine after two coats! Now that's a cheap-o paint job.

Can't wait to show you! This will bring my big-furniture makeover count to 3. Wee!

dontcha wish your husband was great like mine? (dontcha?)

Okay, lame title. But! What a spoiled, spoiled girl I am. Friday night, I announced that I was going to complete all of my homework on Saturday while John was away at a meeting all day. I was also going to get together with my mom and sister. However, my plans changed at about 8:45 Saturday morning when John left a letter on my nightstand as he headed out the door. I'm glad I opened the note because it said this:

**Don't you like the disclaimer? John has a habit of reusing dates, so he was covering his butt.

Okay, first of all, that was a half-hour away, and I was still in bed. Second, I already had plans! Third, how embarrassing is it to go to Starbucks and ask the cutesy little Baristas for the "Clue"?!? Ugh. I was not happy.

Luckily, my sister met me there (her and my mom knew I wasn't actually going to hang out with them). My next clue... I'm not sure where it went. But it basically said, "Drive to Nordstrom's, go up the moving stairs and to the left. You are to meet a personal assistant named Tanya. She's expecting you at 9:50, so hurry! There you will receive your next clue."
I have never shopped at Nordstrom's, and I always hated going in because it felt so snobby. I definitely did not want to meet a personal shopper who was going to hover around me and watch me try on clothes. This is why my sister came, because she knew this could be torture.

We quickly made our way to the mall and found Tanya. She gave us this "task."

$500 is a lot for us to spend on anything, let alone clothes. I don't want you thinking that I am some snob who can easily drop a wad of cash like this on clothing. This is not a regular thing by any means. Anyway, Tanya and John had walked around the store the night before to get a sense of "my style" (which is fairly non-existant. Good thing John was there since he picks out all my clothes). So when I arrived she already had 6-8 full outfits picked out and hung in the dressing room. She knew I was a teacher and needed modest clothes that could easily be layered differently and transitioned to nights/weekends.

Basically, I was on What Not to Wear. and LUCKILY, the personal shopper left us alone the majority of the time. She basically acted as a runner, getting different sizes or styles. She quickly learned how not fashion-savvy I was with a few questions like "Do you own gold bangles or gold hoops?" [no] "What types of shoes do you own?" [Keds, Crocs, and Payless high heels]
So, she went shopping for shoes and accessories while my sister and I tried to narrow down the clothes. And, needless to say, I went over. I avoided t-shirts and items that I knew I could find somewhere cheaper. I stuck to finding jeans that fit me well, jacket-y tops, and a pair of shoes. This is what I left with:

KUT from the Kloth Boyfriend Jeans

KUT from the Kloth Capris

KUT from the Kloth White Jeans (not sure if I'll keep)

I thought these would be good for our cruise, my DC trip, and the summer. I had a big problem buying this brand because I hate when words are spelled wrong on purpose, especially when it would still be alliteration if they spelled it correctly. Cut from the Cloth. See? Ugh. Anyway, they were reasonably priced, so that's good.

Caslon Roll Sleeve Jacket

Halogen Ruffle Shirt

Halogen Ruffle Cardigan

Halogen Crewneck Cardigan

Halogen Three-Quarter Sleeve Blazer (ack, don't look at the price, this was my splurge)

LP Mesh Inlay Belt

Sperry Boat Shoes - I LOVE these, but perhaps I need to get something a little less... loud? I thought they'd be a great shoe with my new jeans.

I think that's it. Anyway, at 11:45 as I was checking out, I got my next task:

The address leads to the Aveda Foxfire Salon, which I've heard great things about.

There, I received a one-hour massage. I came out looking like this:

No I didn't. But, it was probably the best massage (of the 3 I've had). The table was heated (yes!), she put hot towels on me, and... it was great.

Then I had a pedicure. Which was nice. My legs hadn't been shave for 2+ weeks, however, so that was awkward.... had I known I would have prepared.

Then I got highlights and lowlights (I think), and a trim. She curled my hair for me, too.

John was home when I got there and he was pretty tickled with himself. I showed him what I got (most of which he had already pointed out to the lady, ha ha). It was 6:00, though, and our reservation for dinner was at 6:15, so I didn't really get to freshen up. I put on a few things I bought and we scooted off to Stanley and Seaforts, which overlooks Tacoma (and is super hoity-toity).

John had previewed the menu to make sure there was something I would eat. Good boy. We got a bottle of wine and Calamari. For my entree I got scallops (without the tuna tartare on top) with asparagus and potatoes. They were huge and it was filling. Also, the free bread was DELICIOUS, but we didn't get refills (good for us).


Was it a special occasion? No. Is John the best husband in the world? Yes. Do I deserve it? Not usually. :)

Anyway, back to work - I have to finish all my homework today. :( Back to reality.

Formica-Me-Crazy

So, I think the top and possibly sides of my dresser-turned-tv-stand are actually formica, which rules out the possibility of re-staining. I could paint those and stain the drawers, but.... I'm not sure how that would turn out.

If I'm just going to paint the whole thing, I could either go subtle and predictable or punched up and fun. I don't want to do black because that would bring down the whole room, but I'm not sure if the mid-century style would lend itself to white... I'm not sure if it could pull off adding some fun knobs/handles either, since it has indented pulls on the bottom of the drawer.

source

source

If I went the more "fun" route, I was thinking of doing a dark, dark turquoise. I would possibly have the paint samples I got darkened even more... Similar to the color of our curtains. And similar to the color Young House Love painted the back of their built-in shelves, here:

Here's the color of our room.

I like the color that it is, but there's too many scratches and stuff that need filled to just leave it as is... Thoughts?? The great thing is that I can always paint it again...

White? Half-Stained? Turquoise? A totally different color because I'm on the wrong track? Let me know!

Dresser-ed to the Nines

Well, after many posts about credenzas and tv stands, it was time to strike. After months of perusing craigslist for the perfectly priced, sized, and styled tv stand, we started making offers and kept getting shut out. Tonight was our lucky night, though. I used "Craigslist Checker" (thanks Zeb!) to keep my eye on things, then found my diamond in the rough.

It's a very simple mid-century 9-drawer dresser. It's solid wood, and needs refinished. The lines are very smooth and all the sides are flat except for the grooves under the drawers, so I think I will do okay refinishing it. I'm hoping that I can get it sanded and perhaps pre-conditioned this weekend. Maybe even more if I'm feeling extra ambitious.

Remember this guy I turned from honey-colored with gold triangle pulls? Well, probably not because I did it before I started blogging. He was a beast to sand and I ended up cheating with some blank paint on the tough parts, but I'm happy with him. Especially for my first project - I think I've gotten a lot handier since then. So, I have high hopes for the new member of the family.

Anyway, without further ado, here is my most recent conquest:

Our new flat screen will sit a bit higher, which I think we'll like. It will also help to fill out that side of the room and feel more to scale with our sectional.

I will have to start looking at stains, I'm not sure if I want to go very dark, but I also don't want it to look outdated. What do you think? Check out these options.


Enough excitement for a Wednesday night. off to bed I go!

Welcome to the 21st Century!

First, here are the curtains I hemmed with no-stitch hem tape. It worked out great, and I'm so glad I decided on 6 yards of fabric because I love the length. The curtain rod is one we had, and it has a second bar, so I could add sheers behind it... Anyway, here they are! It's slowly coming together - too bad the rug I ordered is on back order and the bench is upholstered to your order... Can't wait!

Our curtains are up!

Closer up.. Slightly pooling at the floor.

Floor to ceiling.

Looking from the hallway.

Exactly as wide as our current tv stand. We're hunting for another one, but have been beat out on craigslist a few times already.... darn it!

Whoa! Where'd it go?? So slim.

The TV was a bit of a splurge from some $ we've run across recently. It's not the fanciest or biggest, but it's such an upgrade from our 27x27x27 box of a TV from college. We feel so fancy! It also has the internet, which is cool because we can play Pandora and watch Netflix and Youtube on it. Pretty cool!

Now I'm just waiting on our dining room rug, bench, and chairs to come in. And to find the perfect dresser/credenza from Craigslist.

Happy Monday!

Curtains anyone?

My fabric finally came in today. I say finally because fabric.com took a week, which is forever compared to zappos's 1-day turnaround. Anyway, it's here! My perfect, beautiful, subtle yet attention-grabbing Amy Butler Midwest Modern Optic Blossom Linen fabric. All 6 yards of it. Can't wait to hang it. I hung it with thumbtacks just to see what it would look like.

Do you think I should spring for a double rod like the living room and do a white sheer behind it or should I just hang as is? I'm thinking as-is. It's a little less "done" than the living room, but I love that this time I remembered to buy enough so that it pools at the floor, and goes up to the ceiling.

From the  living room/hallway. Took off the pictures on the left and the right.

 

Close-up view.

 From the kitchen. 

Really close-up.

These pictures are obviously when it's dark, but you get the idea. Now, can you picture it with these things? I'm still thinking about things...

Two of these on each side of the table.

 

This, or...

This. On one side of the table.

All on top of this?

I'm still waffling. I may end up getting just a jute rug with a yellow border. Do you think the blue chairs match? The original chairs I want were from a dealer that didn't get great reviews, so I nixed that whole thing. I still love the idea of blue tufted upholstered chairs....

Let me know your thoughts!!

A few updates...

Not a whole lot going on here lately. This weekend I:
- Worked on some homework
- Organized our office
- Cleaned, did laundry, you know.
- Watched The Social Network
- Went to dinner/frozen yogurt with John and my parents. Yum!
- Read Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters (book two)
- Went to a ladies poker night with some friends.

And we're back to Monday. Crazy to think we are just back from mid-winter break and only have 4 weeks left until Spring Break!
Anyway, here's a few pictures of... stuff... :) Enjoy.

  

One of the options for my buttons... It didn't win...

 

Gray buttons in the entryway. Too many buttons? Never.

 

Organized office desk. Haven't seen the surface in months. Let's hope my new binder system works out...

 

Cue Ariel music - my pegboard is finally up!

 

Check out that organization! 

 

And then there's the other side of the room... Shelving would help this matter quite a bit.

 Now if I could only get my tax rebate check in the mail to buy lots of goodies without telling John get up my motivation to paint that table I built.Tomorrow I get my dining room curtain fabric in the mail! Can't wait!

Happy Monday all!