Sunday, July 31, 2011

Homeade Artwork

Worked on a little project this weekend.  I saw on Pinterest a sign from Lemonade Makin Mama where she purchased BAKE letters from Ballard Designs and hung them in her kitchen.  Well I loved this idea because I love baking and thought this much more appropriate than the EAT letters for our house. 
I started with the wooden white letters from Michael's Craft Store.
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And an old cookbook that I never use.
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A little Mod Podge
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I just tore the dessert recipes out of the book with wavy edges and stuck them down on the letters. IMG_5827Once that was done I flipped them over on a mat and cut the edges off up next to the letter. 
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They finished up nicely and I love the result.  I used the Satin finish Mod Podge and this gave a nice finish.  I also love the recipe’s, this was an old home extension agency cookbook and my Mom had a few recipes in the book and I have one with her name on one of the letters :)
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IMG_5839 I wanted to hang these on a skinny wall vertically in my kitchen but since we have the house on the market I thought it best not to add any additional holes to the walls.  So, here’s hoping I will find a perfect spot for these in our new home. 
On that note…I’m going to take the month of August off from blogging.  I hope you all will stay tuned for more projects and ideas come September and this Fall.  I have a busy August a head while having to work the next two weekends and with the house being on the market it is hard to start big projects and decorate around here but I have lots of plans for the next home and we are hoping we get an offer soon!  I also want to soak up as much of this summer as is left, I just love warm weather and I’m looking forward to long lazy days ahead :)
April  



Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Slow Death of a Garden

Not exactly, but still I’m disappointed with the way things have been going growing recently.  First of all it is 100 degrees here with very little rain!!  HOT, but I really don’t want to complain…I would take this heat any day over a cold day any day under 60 degrees. 
Anyway…
First the squash died, squash bugs were the culprit.  Some plants still looked somewhat healthy, but there were literally millions of squash bugs so they were doomed.  I pulled them all up. 
IMG_5692 Gross!
Secondly the cauliflower is not producing anything and they look pitiful.
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Thirdly the tomatoes are having issues.  I have 5 varieties.  I talked about those here.  All of the larger variety have had issues, black spots on the bottom of some and the rest that have even gotten close to being ready to pick have been eaten by something, no idea what. The small ones, Black Cherry & Sweet Gold have done well and keep producing healthy fruit, I even had a caprice salad of sorts with these two that was great (see photo below).
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Last, a glimmer of hope.  The eggplants that I thought were stumped in growth are actually Bambino eggplants.  I pulled out my seed pack to learn this (Duh!) even though the picture on the seed pack shows normal sized healthy eggplants.  I lost half of these because I thought they were not growing and I didn’t pick quick enough.  I did fry some last night and they were pretty good.  I should have a few more of these over the next few weeks.  
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IMG_5689 These are too yellow, past prime picking time.
Here is where we are today, a cluster of tomato plants and eggplants. 
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Hope any of you garden growers out there are having better luck than me.  Did I mention, I am a farmers daughter ?!?  I should be better at this!
April

Monday, July 18, 2011

Apothecary Jar Collection

I’ve said a couple times in other post that I promise one day to show you all my collection of apothecary jars.  You’ve heard me mention before that I love glass and I pretty much had a serious problem of buying these jars all the time a few years back.  Now I have too many to display  and keep the rotated so I only buy when I see one I really love.  One day I’d love to have a shelf long and tall enough to display them all and I would just showcase the design of each jar and keep them empty.  For now here are the ones I have and how I use them.
IMG_5675 This was my very first jar, I purchased this one at Z Gallery years ago and I learned that orchids thrive in them since it creates a tropical environment.
IMG_5674 These have two ferns in them, the one on the right is looking rough, but generally the ferns do well in them.  The one on the left came from Home Goods and the one on the right from Target.
IMG_5673 This is not really a apothecary jar but I keep it in the same category.  Just picked this little guy up at HomeGoods a few weeks ago.
IMG_5672 Holding dog treats, this one I found for $2 at a yard sale.
IMG_5670 You’ve seen these on my mantle before here.  The one on the left is an old one similar to my yard sale find above.  It came from Goodwill for $2 and the one on the left came from HomeGoods.
IMG_5669 These 3 are probably my most expensive ones, they all came from Pottery Barn and were a Christmas gift from my Mom.
IMG_5668 These are in my bathroom holding various items.  From the left, TJ Maxx, Pottery Barn, HomeGoods.
IMG_5667 These are in storage for now, the small one up front came from TJ Maxx, the hidden one in the back left is from HomeGoods and served as a fish bowl for a Beta Fish for a while.  The tall one in the middle came from Z Gallery.
IMG_5666 This small one is not used a lot, not sure where it was purchased.
IMG_5104 This one is from my husband.  It has quite the story :)  It was a Valentine’s Day gift a few years back right in the height of my addiction to buying these.  This one came from a local gift shop.  At the gift shop I found one that looked like this one…                                            IMG_5670
I had to have it, I asked for it for Valentines Day but I was too impatient.   I hate Valentines Day and I won’t get into that but I really didn’t think Will would buy so I did.  I bought it about 2 weeks before Valentines and I hid it.  I didn’t want him to know I had bought ANOTHER one.  Well about a week before Valentines day he went to buy it and the lady at the counter told him they had just sold it…TO ME!!! Well he was not happy, so he bought the other one and I was the one in for the surprise.  Moral of the story…I got TWO!  :)
Sadly the one I bought was one of many to fall to it’s death.  I found the one above about a year later at HomeGoods and it is identical and was about half the price. 
I think all in all I’ve had 4 break, they are extremely fragile and I am extremely clumsy.  I can only be blamed for the death of two that I dropped. The dog broke one running in the house and just recently I knocked the side of one with the lid and it cracked open a big hole in the side, nothing I could do about that. 
So now I’ve showed you my shopping addiction.  At least they are all very useful.  What do you collect?? 
April


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Friday, July 15, 2011

Pendant Light

I received my Pottery Barn catalog this week and I went through it last night in bed and drooled over a lot of stuff this issue. Why can't I be super rich? If I ever win the lottery I'm going on a Pottery Barn binge.

I was able to restrain my self until I saw this...


The Calhoun Glass Pendant

I swear angels started singing, my heart raced and I started babbling something and Will turns his head and says, What the hell is wrong? So really I think I got a little crazy eyed!

You all know I love glass. And the simplicity of the fixture is so clean and neat. But really what grabbed my attention is I have a necklace pendant that was my great grandmothers and it is eerily similar in design to this pendant. Anything that reminds me of her makes me happy!

So here's hoping that I can save some quick money and get this bad boy in the new house when we move. I'm thinking Foyer.

Check out some more images over at Pottery Barn

We've had a few showings this week and one family has been back 3 times to see our house, so fingers crossed!  I'm really tired of keeping everything neat as a pin!


Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Colorful Glass

This was one of the first pictures I “pinned” on Pinterest.  I love glass and I just loved the way these are displayed.

Such pretty bottles, jars, and vases.  I’m almost 100% sure I will amass a collection like this over time.  But for now it inspired me to do this…
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I bought these at a store in Portland OR about 4 years ago.  I was there on a business trip and had a little free time.  These were so cheap, between $2 & $5 each.  They had so many colors but I had to narrow it down.  I stuck to my favorite colors and I wrapped them up in my clothes, stuffed them in the suitcase and they arrived all the way back to Raleigh, NC with no breakage!! 
I have these on the shelf in my guest bedroom now and I’m liking the change.  What do you think?
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April

Thursday, July 7, 2011

A Buffet

You’ve already seen in an earlier post last that recently found a buffet at a thrift store.  I’ve been looking for a while.  I really like the older antique ones with long legs and really detailed designs but I am not sure that style goes with my style of my home and other furnishings.  I needed something with lots of storage I found this one at a local thrift store for $67.99 after asking for a discount I got an extra 15% off, love a good deal. 
If I ever see another that I just can’t live with out I’ll sell this one and replace it. 
However, I am quickly falling in love with this newly painted version.
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I used chalk paint again for this piece in the color Paloma.  It turned out much more lavender than I thought it would be, I was going for a dark grey with a hint of purple.  But purple is my favorite color and it really is pretty. 
Here is a look back
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I ended up keeping the original hardware, which was my big issue with this piece.  I say that because nothing in furniture painting ever goes exactly as planned for me.  Good thing I love doing it!  I bought this hardware from Target. 
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I tell you this saga because if you need hardware this was a great source for money savings.  The pulls were $19.99 for 6 and the knobs were $10.99 for 4!  I really liked the clean lines on both of these and felt like they would keep the buffet simple and clean and help match the style of my table and chairs better.
Problem #1, the pull on the drawer is a smaller width between the holes than the width on the cabinet fronts.  So, I planned to use the Target pulls on the cabinet doors and the original pull (painted) on the drawers along with the knobs from Target because the buffet was missing one of the original knobs.  So I proceeded to spray paint my hinges and 2 original pulls brushed nickel to match the new ones….
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I used the Fusion first, just because this stuff really sticks to anything and that way I could be lazy and not clean any of the hardware.  I sprayed with the brush nickel over the metallic shimmer. 
Once the spray painting was done I started putting on the knobs from Target, creating Problem #2.  They looked really big on those tiny drawer fronts.  I didn’t take a picture, but they looked ridiculous and they were quickly removed.   So even at a great price, all hardware is returning to Target. 
Since I really loved the spray color and the hinges were done I sprayed all the hardware and used that.  It’s not bad, but I will probably change it out eventually (there is a missing knob).  Because the knobs need to be really small I think I will look at the flea market on my next trip and find some old pieces and spray those brushed nickel, who knows maybe I will find a match to the missing one :) I would be so LUCKY as Napoleon Dynamite would say. 
I was also really really eager to finish and share this piece with you all….here are some more shots. 
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I am a light distresser, alot of that is fear that I will ruin it and I am not sure I love really chippy pieces.   This color looked a lot better with a bit of distressing.  Just sanded heavy around the corners and edges and little at the bottom.  
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So in conclusion, just want to share a few more notes about chalk paint in case you are still considering it. 
#1. Every piece I’ve painted I’ve needed 2 coats of paint.  If you were going to heavily distress a piece I think one coat is enough.
#2. I still LOVE the wax the best.  I should have showed you but I thought about using the dark wax on this piece and I tried it on the inside of the cabinet doors. I really liked the color but it goes on heavy in some spots and you have to be careful.  This piece doesn’t have a lot of detail and I didn’t want a dark spot on a flat section.  If I tire of the color I will put the dark wax on.  Tip, Use the dark wax only after you’ve applied the clear wax as not to stain the piece.  This wax is so easy to work with and I love the finish. 
So I hope you like it and if you have questions about chalk paint I will do my best to answer. 
Now to brag a little :)
I LOVE these hydrangeas!! They are from my yard, from a bush I transplanted from my old childhood home that has been in our family for years!  The blooms are blue in the spring but  purple and green in the late summer. 
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p.s. I stopped the design inspiration on Thursday for now….my heart wasn’t in it and this blog is about my heart’s desires :)  I felt like a lot of other bloggers were doing it and I didn’t want to copy.  I will always try to share those inspiring finds that truly capture my heart!  
April





Slacker

I know, I'm lacking in blog post. I am not on some wonderful vacation. I'm just looking for inspiration and some extra time. :)

I have been trying to finish my latest furniture project to write about but I ran in to a snag with the hardware and I really want to show it to you finished. I'm falling in love with the piece, it's my favorite color. And I can't wait to show you!!!

Just wanted to say Hi!

Monday, July 4, 2011

Blueberry Peach Cobbler

Happy Fourth of July!  Hope you all have had a wonderful holiday weekend.  Wanted to share with you my favorite Summer desert.  It’s super easy to make! 

Ingredients

1 c sugar

1 c self rising flour

1 c whole milk

2 tablespoons butter

2-2 1/2 c fruit (mix of blueberries and peaches)

Wash blueberries, peel and cut up peaches.  Mix fruit in bowl and sugar these,  let them sit for a few minutes.  Mix sugar, flour, milk in baking dish.  Slowly pour in fruit.  Dot with butter. 

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Cook at 375 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. 

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Let cool and enjoy!

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Also, here is a sneak peak at what I’ve been working on this weekend.

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Back to the daily grind tomorrow, have a great week!

April