Olive and Love

Summer Hiatus

2010-07-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

"Summertime and the livin's easy..." *Sublime*

I'm enjoying doing small projects here and there around the house, but I haven't had the heart to make myself sit down and blog about them. In fact I've been trying to make myself chill out a little and actually sit and read or veg in front of the tube. Sometimes I feel like I'm running down a hill with projects, kids activities, chores, etc and I forget to slow down and rest. In fact I expected the end of the school year chaos to diminish and for the long days of summer to bring a little R & R to my life. Instead I found that between much loved visitors, summer activities and house projects, my life nearly sped up rather then slowed down. With three young children I'm finding that I have to plan to do nothing and schedule a rest.

So I apologize for neglecting my blog for a little bit. I'll soon sit down and get you pictures of all my recent projects. I've actually finished my shutter project and am working on the rest of the room so my "after" picture will be more complete. Dan and I painted the playroom and I sewed cute curtains using the tree and bird fabric you chose. We've had two birthdays this month, a couple camping trips, hosted a soccer coach from Wales, spent some time at the lake and this weekend my daughter and I will be leaving the boys behind and are headed for a girls weekend in L.A. Perhaps I'll have to stop at Anthropologie again!

Besides indulging myself with the book Twilight, I've been reading Getting Organized in the Google Era by Douglas C. Merril. On page 30 he writes, "...when students graduate, they enter the workforce having been conditioned for years to think of the summer months as downtime. Being disorganized and unproductive between Memorial Day and Labor Day have become engrained habits." It's a very informative book and the section about the summer vacation dilemma gives no answers but has given me something other then myself to blame about my lazy summer attitude!

What have you been up to?

China Hutch ~ Furniture Evolution

2010-07-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite pieces I've refinished is a hundred dollar china cabinet from a thrift store in Las Vegas.

It was my diamond in the rough. I used an electric sander on the flat surfaces followed by hand sanding, but was only able to hand sand the front. After removing the dust with a tacky cloth, I painted three coats of semi-gloss white. Sometimes the secret to brush painting is using an expensive brush and pulling your strokes to the end of the wood (hee hee....that's what she said). This piece has moved houses three times since I bought it and nicks and dings can be seen in a couple areas where the paint is flaking a bit. On this particular piece I believe it has added more charm, however to the critical eye it shows that the piece could have used a bit more prep work in the sanding department.

I highlighted the detail work by folding a sand paper to the width of the recessed area and sanding to expose the wood. I did not finish this with any kind of polyurethane but instead chose to leave the raw wood exposed.

All hardware was removed during the refinishing process and then spray painted with Rust-oleum Hammered aluminum. Changing the hardware on a piece can make a world of difference, but sometimes all you need is a little Rust-oleum. This stuff really holds up through the wear and tear that hardware can get. And don't forget the hinges when spray painting. I love when hinges are visible. I wish my kitchen cabinets had visible hinges, I think it adds so much charm.

One Project Closer ~ A Winning Entry

2010-06-30T19:36:00.000-07:00

One Project Closer has started their third annual Before and After contest to benefit and bring awareness for Habitat For Humanity. Every week they choose a winning entry. If picked, you receive a gift card for either Lowes, Home Depot, or Amazon. A hundred dollar donation is also made to Habitat for Humanity! What a great deal. At the end of the summer, all the entries are posted and the community votes for the best project. The winner receives an additional $150 gift card!

Olive and Love's Shutter project was fortunate to win last week's contest! Please check back later this summer for a link to vote!

Check out One Project Closer! Maybe you'll win next!

And FYI....Yes I finally finished attaching all the shutters....well, "I" translates to my father in law, brother in law, husband and "I" finished! I still need to touch up the screw holes with paint and then I'll take some pictures and post away!

Wedding Picture Display

2010-06-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

What I appreciate most about photography is the stories it can tell. When presented with our wedding photos 9 years ago, we really couldn't pick just one and sure didn't want to plaster the walls with them.

Instead we chose twenty two of our favorite, some taken by the professional and some by the guests. I took them to Michaels frame department and laid them out in order. They helped me design a mat and choose a frame. Budget was important so my options are fairly base, however I think it gets it done in an elegant matter.

The center picture space displays our wedding invitation printed in black and white. All the photos are also printed in black and white. Although I believe displaying them in color would look good too, I like how the black and white unifies the photos.

The last picture is my little niece, exhausted from a long night of dancing.

Paint My Chandelier Or Wait For Other Inspiration?

2010-06-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

Paint my chandelier or get something new?

Here's a reminder of my dining room with shutter wall and current gigantor chandelier:

Various lighting concepts have crossed my mind for my dining room. Some require lots of shopping, some are hair ripper outers, and one is just a simple click at Pottery Barn dot com but eats away at my empty pocket book. You may remember my Moroccan lantern idea or my sisal hanging lamp idea? All fun, but just not in the current cards.

Please excuse my half a** picture....I've been gardening all day and I'm feeling a bit lazy. My thought now is that perhaps, at least for the interim, I could use what I already have with a chandelier makeover. The curtain rod in this room is black so I'm considering hauling the chandelier outside and spraying it black. The shades I am thinking of painting blue with an acrylic and fabric medium mix. This room has always given me issues for some reason and I'm feeling uninspired as to what lighting may compliment my shutters. What do you think?

Lamp Rewire and Makeover Complete!

2010-06-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

I'm finally finished painting and rewiring my thrift store lamp. Now I'm addicted to lamps and have since rewired four additional lamps! ...so easy.
I picked my lamp up during a thrift store shopping spree I had a couple months ago. Here's the before picture:

I began 'demolition' by cutting the end of the cord. This is optional, as you could just unscrew the two screws inside the light socket that hold the wires from the cord. I opted for a completely new wire and lighting hardware because the current one was pretty old. If needed you could also just buy the cord and use the existing lighting hardware.

At this point, this lamp pretty much came apart in pieces pretty quickly, as it was mostly held together by the tension of the light socket on the top. My advice? do this over a soft surface if you're working with any breakable materials. I would also advise against doing this inside over carpet, as some old lamps may have tiny bits of broken glass inside them.

After cleaning up the wood pieces and conditioning them with tongue oil, I laid the metal pieces on paper in my garage.

Using white Rust-oleum Satin spray paint, I gave the metal a couple of coats on both sides, followed by a coat while sitting them on their top, and another coat while on their bottoms.

Follow paint instructions for correct outdoor temperature and wait time between coats.

After the white paint was completely dry with the final coat, using gloves and a rag I covered the metal pieces with Minwax 'provencial' wood stain. After all the nooks and crannies were completely covered, I wiped it away using the clean part of the cloth. The resulting finish was a darker color in the crevices, and an off white color on the raised areas. After allowing the metal to dry, I gave it coat of spray polyurethane.

I decided to use white on my metal after finding my lampshade from Anthropologie

Next step? ....the fun part! Assembly time! I laid out all my pieces on my dining table, including a lamp kit from Home Depot.

Another piece of advice? ....Take some before pictures to help with reassembly. You may think you'll remember where all the little piece goes, but a picture will really help.

So just to remind you what the lamp looked like before, here it is again:

And now:

I used to have a pretty simple lamp here before (also from a thrift store for five dollars):

I think the new lamp really livens up the space, don't you?

Have you ever rewired an old lamp?

Ice Cube Tray Snacks

2010-06-16T13:53:00.000-07:00

I'm always trying to think of new ways to get healthy food into my kids' bellies. Here is an idea I probably read about in some parenting magazine years ago. My kids love having snacks or lunch out of ice-cube trays!

Grapes, beans, cheese cubes... raisins, nuts, seeds, ....frozen water... it all works and makes eating fun!

Necktie Eyeglass Case

2010-06-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

Spoiler alert: If you are a dad in my family, look away!

While reading my magazines in the bath the other day (yes, ahhh...it was wonderful, a rare occasion), I came across a cute Father's Day gift idea in the June Country Living (page 48). It read, "Transform a traditional necktie into nifty eyeglass case for dear old Dad. So off to the thrift store I went....

I think I over paid for my ties, but they were there and I was there and well, frankly, with three kids, sometimes that's as good as it's gonna get.

First step is to cut the tie 17 inches from the point.

The inside of the tie is where the glasses will be held. Only one of my ties needed a quick seem ripper action down the middle.

Of course this ended up opening up the entire thing so I needed to glue it back together.

"Sewing with a tube"...how much better can it get?

I used glue on another tie that had a flap where eyeglass frames would probably get caught.

My third tie had a cushiony filler that also needed a little glue.

After patching up the loose areas, fold the length of the tie over the back, tucking in the very end about an inch for a finished look. One of my ties that had the cushiony filler needed the inside cut out about one inch from the end to keep it from getting too thick when folded.

Whip stitch along the top and sides, being careful not to sew the pouch closed.

Attach velcro to the tips and coordinating area when closed. I used the softer side of the velcro where the eyeglasses would slide in to avoid scratches.

Cute huh?

Unfortunately when gluing one of the ties, some of the glue bled through the fabric resulting in a couple small stains on the front. Soooo......

Buttons!

More Shutters...

2010-06-13T07:13:00.000-07:00

The Shutter Wall *que music* dun Dun DUN!!! And the painting continues... I stopped by my local Habitat for Humanity Thrift Shop in search of shutters. I found a few traditional shutters and two long louvered doors. I plan on using the louvered doors to fill in the space between the larger shutters when nothing else will fit quite right. I'm tempted to attach everything to the wall in it's spot and THEN paint. This way I can make sure the colors are just right.

Habitat for Humanity has all sorts of random items. I found this glass light globe and I think it could work perfect for a hanging votive candle or flower vase like I saw at Anthropologie.

I also picked up a few cabinet doors. I think these have endless possibilities. Chalkboards, magnet boards, frame for artwork using a clip or magnets... I could go on and on....and you know I will!

In fact I started painting one already. Because for some reason I don't feel complete unless I have at least 23 incomplete projects. doh!

Suburban Farming

2010-06-11T18:49:00.000-07:00

My friend Rachel from Suburban Farming, shared with me her reclaimed wood raised vegetable gardens.

Rachel's garden is all about upcycling and growing plants that can produce food on her plate. And she might be onto something here...why waist your energy on plants that can't return the favor?

Her raised beds are made from a fence that was taken down in her back yard.

She took apart old cribs to use as growing supports.

Have you ever heard of vermiculture? "Worm composting is an incredibly efficient way to convert kitchen scraps into nutrient-rich compost for your garden." My son's school has a couple tower worm compost bins like this one and they sell the "worm juice" for a pretty penny. It's fantastic for your plants! The bottom tray is where you find all the liquid from the compost and worms. Trays like the one pictured above have a tap. Weren't you just saying how badly you needed worm juice on tap?

Rachel has found a way to make her own worm composting bin. Two large rubbermaid containers with one punctured lid.

The bottom of the top container also has holes.

The top container holds her compost, and the bottom is where she collects her worm juice. Rachel recommends using smaller rubbermaid containers because hers is too large to move very easily. She leaves it outside all summer and brings it into her garage in the winter. Check her blog for more information.

Playroom Fabric Choices

2010-06-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

Which fabric should I use in my playroom as a table skirt and a shower curtain?

I declared that it was time to bump up our play room from 'room I'd like to avoid' to comfortable living area. Sometimes we refer to it as our romper room. We don't keep toys in the play room, it's more of an area for the kids to run around, wrestle and watch the occasional movie.
Here's a BEFORE shot:

I dismantled the jungle gym and am putting it back outside. The kids don't play on it enough to take up half the room. I brought in an old white kitchen table that has been outside over the winter and actually gained a little character. I'm planning on adding a skirt around the base of the table to create a fun fort. I'd like to add curtains to the window, and a curtain to the shower room in the attached bathroom. My husband is also working on creating a loft in the walk in closet. (I think we're living out our own childhood dreams with this one).

This room can be seen from our family room. The curtains I choose will need to be solid print as the family room curtains are pretty funky.

I'm thinking a fun aqua blue and perhaps I'll attach tabs at the top with the same fabric I choose for the bathroom shower curtain and table skirt.

The only art I have in this room was made for my room by my mother. I might update them with a fresh coat of glossy paint on their frames.

Here's the question:

Do I go with a fun gender neutral blue and green tree and bird print? I love this print and I love blue and green. I could even hand paint a giant tree on the wall that matches the print.

or...... Perhaps I should have something with more color. Do you think this floral print is too girly in a house with two boys and one girl? I could still paint the fun tree from the other print. (Definitely wouldn't paint flowers all over the walls but that would be cute for all girls wouldn't it?)

Please take the poll and I'd appreciate any comments you have for me.

My Baby's Getting Big

2010-06-09T20:31:00.000-07:00

They grow up so fast as I'm sure you all know. Almost two years ago we set the tripod up in our bathroom and took a family photo:

Today I took another one of the little boy that once was the 9lb 4 oz bump in my belly:

Courtyard Maintenance - Stucco Patch & Elastomeric Paint

2010-06-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

The stucco on our courtyard wall has cracked and flaked due to the snow and ice over the last few winters.

Dan pressure washed the wall to remove dirt and loose paint/stucco.

He used stucco patch from Home Depot to fill in the large bare spots.

After the patch was dry, he used elastomeric exterior paint. Don't you love my messy picture? ....and, uh, garage floor?

This is basically a rubberized paint and we used it in hopes that it will expand and contract with our extreme weather. The paint is very thick and would be best to use it on a warm day.

After the first coat dried, we noticed there were small holes from popped air bubbles under the paint. This may have been why the paint cracked off in the first place. Water gets into those small holes, freezes and separates the stucco. Dan did a second lighter coat to fill in the small holes with the good elastomeric paint and come winter we'll hope for the best. This doesn't sound like a fun job to do every other year!

I Found My Perfect Curtain Rod!

2010-06-06T08:22:00.000-07:00

My three kids and I drove up to South Lake Tahoe on Friday to visit with my Brother's family. My husband was off at a bachelor party in Austin, Texas for three nights, but no worries, I had plenty of fun at the bachelorette party. Saturday felt like the first day of summer. It's been such a cold spring that we all jumped at the idea of a little hike in the sunshine through their property to a creek. In the back of my mind (I can't start any more projects till I finish my shutter wall), I've been thinking about adding curtains to my bedroom, and love the look of using branches as curtain rods. One wall, however would need a super long branch and living in the high desert, we don't come across such treasures very easily. My brother (who envisioned my upside down lamps in my kitchen), carried this beauty from our hike on his property and tied it to my car. It's part of an aspen tree, gnawed down by a beaver.

Now I just have to decide on curtains!

My duvet is the Ogee from Pottery Barn.

I'm considering the Aina curtains from Ikea in light green. Tabbed curtains would work better with the branch so I'd probably have to sew some on using a different fabric. In fact I've had my eye on these for years but every time I go IKEA (2.5 hour drive) I've forgotten the printed bag my duvet came in so I could test the colors. At 50 bucks for two they're not expensive but they're not IKEA cheap either. Next time I WILL REMEMBER.

What do you think? I'd love to hear comments!

Salvage Lamp, Rolled Paper Decor, and Flowing Fabric & Lights

2010-06-03T14:50:00.000-07:00

Stop talking about your trip to Las Vegas already! Okay....last time. With out the distraction of raising three other human beings, it's amazing how much you can observe in one weekend! I just have a couple more observations from recent time spent at the Anthropologie at The District in Las Vegas.

I love the arms and legs on this leather sofa. It's a complementary balance of feminine and masculine design elements. The colorful throw blanket and weaved ottoman coffee table are cheery. Couldn't you imagine finding a coffee table like this at a thrift store and weaving the top with thrift store found men's ties?

I've been into lamps recently with my thrift store lamp redo and my upside down lamps in my kitchen. When I saw this lamp I had visions of finding a piece of architectural salvage and drilling into it and installing a lamp kit.

Have you made a lamp before? What have you used?

Look at this labor intensive paper decoration. I interviewed the sales clerk to get the scoop.

They took water color paper and rolled it around various objects with varying circumferences and used a staple to hold the shape. The paper was then dipped into blue water colors and then stapled to 2x4s that were attached securely to the wall. Cute huh?

I'm wishing I had taken a picture of the fantastic round metal lanterns hanging from the ceiling at Gardunos at The Palms Casino in Las Vegas. Although they would be too large for any home I've ever been in (okay, maybe Hurst Castle would be okay) they are a great inspiration for some fun lighting. Assuming I could find pictures online, I didn't get a good shot (or picture.....shots were plentiful all weekend), but if you are ever in the area, be sure to look up. They're awesome.

This bouncer lady was standing in front of the VIP section at this small lounge where we were dancing at Mandalay Bay. I stood near her, looking up at this chandelier with flowing fabric. Whipping out my camera I asked if I could take a picture. She puffed up her chest feathers and pretty much told me off. Instead of huffing and rolling my eyes like I wanted, I decided to smile and say nicely, "It's so pretty I thought it would look great hanging over my bed. What do you think?" Her whole face changed shape, she relaxed and said, "It is nice isn't it?" It was interesting how being nice can change someone's whole attitude.

Short story long, she let me take pictures if I angled the camera up. And it would look romantic over a bed, wouldn't it?

Upside Down Table Lamp Pendants part 2

2010-06-01T22:15:00.000-07:00

Dan and I had fun working on our upside down lamp project, bouncing ideas off one another.

Deciding the exact location for our three upside down lamps was the most mathematically challenging part of the project. We first pseudo hung our middle lamp to get an idea visually of how this was going to look.

Using a stud finder, extension pole, level and tape measure, we calculated the outer two lamp locations based on equal measurements from the center, builder installed ceiling box. Our options were limited due to studs.

After finding three possible locations for one side, we checked the other side using the same measurements to see if any would work. Thankfully there was an eye pleasing location available for both sides.

We used two ceiling boxes.

Dan traced around the base of the ceiling box and cut out the ceiling using a drywall saw. Make sure you get an old work/remodel ceiling box and not a new construction ceiling box.

After cutting off the end of the electrical plug with wire cutters, pull the cord through the lamp. This may require unscrewing a couple nuts on your way.

Removing the felt from the bottom of the lamps, I discovered the hole was already in the middle of the lamp. This will help with having the lamp hang in a balanced fashion...(fingers crossed it's in the actual middle). Propping the lamps on their tops, we began to investigate the method to our madness.

Unfortunately they were not very secure and one was knocked to it's side. Woops. Our lamps are apparently made of some sort of resin material and one cracked. Epoxy to the rescue, you can barely tell now.

To avoid any more casualties, Dan fashioned a lamp holder in the way of drilling three holes in a piece of wood to mount the top of the lamps. Painters tape held the lamps together while we performed our DIY magic.

We used a shallow metal ceiling box to provide a surface to screw in our pendant down rods. And just a warning, these things stink. I don't know why, I don't know how, but the stench made me heave and no I'm not pregnant. Be prepared to wash your hands thoroughly or their smell may induce vomiting.

The metal ceiling box comes with a nut and bolt so that you can later attach a cross bar. Make sure to thread these through the holes and tighten before applying any glue. Don't screw too tightly because they will be held in place by epoxy.

Our plan next was to make a reservoir using liquid nails around the base of the hole. This could have been done directly onto the base of the lamp as well. The purpose is to prevent any epoxy from later oozing down into the base hole of the lamp. Caulking could have been used with a similar effect.

We placed all metal ceiling fan conversion pieces to the bottoms of the lamps. Next step? Epoxy. Ours promised to hold 2500 lbs per square inch. Unfortunately our original idea of squirting the epoxy around the base of the metal didn't work since we bought the wrong type of epoxy. If you are planning on attempting this project, I suggest the pre mixed epoxy instead of the type that comes out in two separate streams and requires mixing. Since we couldn't mix the epoxy with the metal already attached, we pealed it off before the liquid cement was permanent.

Thankfully it pealed off fine so our world continued to spin. After premixing the epoxy Dan applied it around the bottom side of the metal and then to the edge after replacing it on the bottom of the lamp.

Rethread the lamp with it's electrical cord.

We then attached the metal cross bars, removing the nuts and then retightening them.

The next step would be to dissect your chosen pendant lamp. We grabbed ours for 18 bucks at Home Depot. A good deal since we priced out the items separately and would have had to spray paint their finishes to match the brushed nickel we already have in our kitchen.

Your ceiling height and your desired height for the upside down lamp will determine how many down rods you will use. Ours came in three sections and we found one to be the perfect length.

The down rods should screw nicely into the cross bar.

Now the lamp is all ready to be hung and wired into the ceiling!

This is the part where you should consider hiring an electrician (or become friend with one) if you don't have any previous experience. Dan was crawling around in the attic for a while, poking electrical cords down through our ceiling boxes and then wiring them all to the middle ceiling box that is already hooked up to a switch in our kitchen.

and VOILA!

Standing on the counter, I helped Dan to attach the first lamp (knees shaking in fear from my fear of falling), but I had to leave the next day for a Vegas bachelorette party where I did a little shopping at Anthropologie! He was able to finish the last two lamps on his own while I dance the night away, which proves that it would be possible to complete this project solo, although I wouldn't suggest it. (Unless it's your hubby doing it while you're partying with the girls.....that would be okay.)

Memorial Day Baseboard Patching

2010-06-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

I hope you had a wonderful three day weekend! We flew our flag outside and spent our windy Memorial Day touching up those irritating spots in the base board that haunt you when you walk down the hall. We let the kids ride indoor scooters and cars through the house. They can get up to a pretty high speed and my 22 month old has even learned to lean into the turns. Sometimes it's like a race track in our house but they love it. Our baseboards however aren't big fans. I believe that in a house with three kids, this is bound to happen, cars or no cars.

This bump here is actually painted white because we believe it was niched while we had our hard wood floor installed and then painted when it was replaced.

Bring on the Elmer's Wood Filler.

Dan sanded the surface a bit to prepare it for the application.

He smoothed it with a putty knife and then painted the whole baseboard.

Once you start painting your baseboards it kind of hurts to stop. Our whole house is in desperate need of an entire base board repaint job but this would take nearly 14 gallons and a LOT of time. We're thinking it'll just have to be done in sections. Dan compared it to maintaining the Golden Gate Bridge. Once we're done we'll probably just have to start over again.

The corners that he tackled look much better.

Some he painted, some he just touched up with the wood putty. But when they look as bad as they did to begin with, sometimes wood putty will go a long way in improving their appearance.

A couple areas of our house needed caulking under the baseboard.

Next Project? The car.

After removing the child car seats, we found about 14 cars, a handful of stickers and crayons....packaged dental floss from dentist goody bags, fliers, note books...the list goes on and on. I brought everything in, put it in a box and made my four and six year old trash it or put it away.

Please tell me your cars look like this too! Could you feed a small country with the snack leftovers found under your car seats? (Not to mention the meals imbedded in the crevices of the child car seat itself.)

Besides helping with the car, the kids enjoyed a pajama day reading books and playing board games.

How did you enjoy your Memorial Day? A picnic? Hiking? Or did you patch & repaint your baseboards too?

p.s. on a side note....I'm excited that my Flowers in Vase project will soon be featured on Mod Podge Rocks website!

Las Vegas Anthropologie - Wine Bottle Chandelier & Hanging Glass Votives

2010-05-31T02:08:00.000-07:00

Oh how I love my trips to Anthropologie. Last weekend I went to Las Vegas for a bachelorette party weekend with out kids (WITH OUT KIDS!!!) I spent the morning having breakfast with old friends and shopping at Anthropologie, browsing the goods with with my giant bag in tow (yes I had to bring five pairs of shoes for two days). Lucky for me it was the first day of a huge sale.....it was as if the heavens aligned and decided to give me a to-for.....a kidless party and a sale in one weekend!!!

I tried on a handful of items and even got stuck in a dress I've been drooling about online for months. The dress had to be "damaged out" after they almost had to cut it off of me when the zipper broke. They had another in my size that I plan on wearing to a June wedding on a boat in Lake Tahoe. After the embarrassing dressing room incident I decided to whip out my camera and start snapping shots of their displays. I figured this would really establish myself as the crazy girl from Reno, getting stuck in dresses, pulling a giant bag on wheels and taking pictures of everything...might as well go all the way with it right?

The first item to catch my attention was this amazing wine bottle light fixture.

It looks like two basic cord sets plugged into an electrical outlet in the ceiling.

What? You don't have outlets on your ceiling? You could probably rig something up like I did with my upside down lamps.

They have maybe fifty or more wine bottles that have been cut in half and are hanging by a rope tied in a knot beneath the mouth of each bottle. It was hard to tell how they attached the rope to the ceiling but I would try plant hooks or eye hooks into studs or anchors.

Looking on google real quick I see a couple different ways to do this. From blow torching the bottle while turning slowly and tapping it in a bucket of water, to using a glass cutter or dremel tool. If you've done this before please comment... I'd love to hear about your experience as I think I might just try this myself after further research, (and a lot of wine).

This wine bottle lighting is pretty long and would look sweet if you had a two story entryway or stair case. I'm sure it could be made wider to play off the length of your dining table. Perhaps the rope could be hung from a metal garden trellis? What do you think?

Next grand idea I gathered from my visit was these cute hanging votive candle holders.

A simple glass container with beaded wire wrapped around the lip and looped over the top. Such a cute gift idea! How fun would these look hung in groups over your tub or perhaps just one on a metal hook next to a mirror.

So much to be seen while on vacation. Have you spotted any ideas from Anthropologie or other shop displays?

My Living Room

2010-05-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

Living Room

The book cases on either side of the fireplace didn't fit at first. I was so disappointed, having fully envisioned them there during the building process of the house. We stuck them in our dining room for a couple days until my brother came to visit and suggested we remove the baseboards on the wall around the niche and voila! They fit! The gigantor coffee table was originally a child's bed circa 1600 China. I don't know exactly how it must have looked as a bed, but you can see where the springs were once attached on the under side. The bottom windows of my cabinets are covered on the inside with cheapo kid art paper. Perhaps someday I'll think of another way to hide the c-r-a-p (I spelled it out so as not to offend you). Curtains are Ikea, Rug, Pillows, couches and curtain rods are all Pottery Barn. And shhhhh don't tell, we hung the curtain rods upside down. I don't know what we were thinking when this happened, but it turns out the matching rods in the dining room would not have worked right side up so .....whateva!

That's Dan, my wonderful husband giving me 'the look.' We recently switched over all the furniture from our family room into our living room, including moving our TV. So his hard work in setting up the surround sound and stereo wiring in the family room "was for nothin." Leaving our ceiling speakers in the family room for music, he is installing some older speakers in our living room so *gasp* we don't have to watch TV with out surround. He's been in and out of the attic wiring for about a month now. To the left of the TV you can see a rounded wall with a map of Death Valley....we love maps. The china hutch on the right is a piece I painted and have filled with old glass bottles.

Continue on my Home Tour...

My Vegas Trip - Bachelorette Party

2010-05-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

I had the best time last weekend. My good friend Gena had her bachelorette party of twelve girls in Vegas. We all stayed at her second home which was set up as party central with multiple beds in each room and a pool with floaties in the back. It felt like camp. For me, the weekend was more then the limo bus (with stripper poles) to VIP clubbing and staying out till four in the morning....followed by a day time beach club and then out at night again. As a mother of three, I have to admit that usually the only thing that keeps me up at night is poop, puke and crying. When given the opportunity to sleep or go out, sometimes I choose sleep and I'm excited about it (pretty sad, but true). I was rather nervous to see how I would hold up for a hard core Vegas weekend (don't worry... we didn't wake up with a tiger in our bathroom, or find an extra baby.) Although I needed about three days of recovery after I got home, the time I spent with these strong, confident, non competitive, friendly woman has recharged my soul and given me a new perspective on the importance of friendship.

Gena's sister Charla and friend Veronica helped make this bachelorette party special for everyone. Before the big weekend, everyone was asked if they would like to participate in providing items for a gift beach bag or "she emergency kit" for the bride to be.

Veronica wrote little poems for each item, attaching them with ribbon for Gena to read as she opened them. The bag items included fashion tape, bliss problem salve, beer cozie, passport cover, luggage tag, a silly button, barf bags, a "love" Buddha, lipgloss, a book about friends, after sun lotion, mints, etc. I wish I could write the poems here for you to read as they were hilarious, but I prefer to keep my blog PG.

All guests were provided with a little box of goodies and a pink lei which we all wore to the Moorea pool beach club. Guest goodie boxes included lip gloss, hand wipes, kleenex, gum, recovery drink powder, hair band, safety pins, shot glass, and a rubber ducky. Our little She-mergency Kit was labeled for the party and included such items as bandaids and sewing kits. These girls didn't skimp on anything!

All in all there were some fantastic ideas that really bumped up the party to a whole new level. And although I'm still finding napping essential to my recovery, I would do it all over again in a heart beat.

Stay tuned for more about my Vegas trip, including some great lighting ideas and other finds at my favorite store, Anthropologie!

Upside Down Table Lamp Pendants part 1

2010-05-25T21:55:00.000-07:00

I've had this idea for a hanging light fixture for years now....upside down lamps. It's funny because I thought I got the idea from a display at Urban Outfitters, but when I finally found the picture I took (in 2006), it wasn't an upside down lamp but just a couple hanging shades.

These lights would look really fun in a corner perhaps with a reading chair, but were not what I had envisioned. So my search for using upside down lamps continued. I found a pictures of a place in L.A. called S Bar.

The design of this bar was inspiring on multiple levels. I love, love, love the unique lounge chairs paired with the long tables! The hanging lamps are all different with similar sized bases and shades. Look at the wall to wall area rugs and the frame to frame portraits on one wall. There is a lot going on here and I would love to see first hand how it all looks in the dim evening light.

I'm in search of the perfect lighting for my dining room (with shutters lining one wall). For a while I planned on three or five upside down lamps (always aim for odd numbers) but my brother suggested I use the upside down lamps in my kitchen instead. This idea sounded perfect and Dan (my husband) was totally up for the challenge. The next day I found three black lamps at Home Good s and when we got home Dan jumped up on the counter so we could imagine their placement and try and figure out the logistics of our new find.

We thought of hanging them from their cords covered in fabric but this didn't sound secure. We considered rewiring them with a weight rated electrical cord but couldn't find something attractive at Home Depot. We thought of using a 1/4 inch galvanized electrical conduit as a down rod, and attaching it into a fitting on the base of the lamp. This could have worked but would have been difficult to get all the metal to match and look finished. Dan browsed the aisles of Home Depot trying to get more ideas and he ended up buying three light pendant fixtures at eighteen bucks a piece for us to use for parts. I think perhaps you could find something similar for less at Ikea. The pendants were a great idea because the kit included a down rod and canopy cover for the ceiling box.

...Stay tuned for a step by step guide on how we created our upside down table lamp pendants!

Simple & Salty Appetizer

2010-05-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

My sister Lisa made the best appetizer the other night. So simple but tasty ...I had to share it with you. It was just family so we didn't go all sophisticated with the presentation, but you could dress this up really easy with a nice bowl and a couple springs of fresh herbs.

She took kalamata olives, capers, feta cheese, fresh campari tomatoes (best for off season), olive oil, salt pepper and dried basil to taste and stirred it all together in a bowl along side a fresh sliced baguette. You could put a multitude of items in this mix, especially once the summer heats up and our gardens grow.

Such a simple little salty collection of goodness. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Bedroom Mood Meter

2010-05-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

How fantastic is this sign? Of course my mother (of all people) found it for me at a thrift shop. I used to have it hanging in my bedroom but just moved it to my hall half bath that I'm filling wall to ceiling with fun items...(more on this later). It's just too funny to keep hidden in the bedroom.

Have you ever seen something like this? Do you have a funny sign you'd like to share? I'd love to hear about it!

My Lampshade Arrived!

2010-05-13T14:55:00.000-07:00

So last month I scored big on my thrift store shopping spree. I've been thinking about what to do with the lamp. Here's the before picture:

It's almost finished now and I'll blog about each step, but I couldn't wait to share with you my icing on the cake....

It's called the Bloom Shade and it's from Anthropologie. It was a total splurge. If you read about my shutter project, you might have read that I'm on the mend from surgery and so I'll blame my skewed price judgment on the drugs. But it's here now and I AM IN LOVE! I'm not sure I've ever bought a cool lampshade before but I can say now I feel that it could be a serious addiction. Besides, the lamp was like 5 bucks so it all works out, right?

Stay tuned for the AFTER pictures!!!

Welcome To My Home!

2010-05-13T09:10:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my home!

My house has a very open floor plan. I like roominess but I crave intimacy. It's a fine line. I'm in search of a new light for my entry way, but have plans for the current chandelier. You can see how I blocked off one of the openings to my dining room with a buffet, plants and a hanging window. The double doors on the right lead to my office.

This is the view upon entering my front doors. Again I have blocked off another opening with a piece of furniture. The rubber plant above it is thriving and is a piece of art in itself. I hope to someday find an old leaded window or stained glass to hang above the plant under the archway (not pictured). The rocking horse I found for twenty bucks at a local thrift shop. This find had me on a thrift shop high for nearly a month. It's taken my three kids on many adventures.

Continue on my home tour