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Monday, October 31, 2011

Scary!

I had big plans for this wreath.


I bought the form at Michael's and hit up the Dollar Store for 3 boxes of 300 brass thumb tacks. I mean, SURELY 900 thumbtacks would be more than enough to cover this wreath... the duel holiday, just by changing out the ribbon, bright, shiny wreath. So when 900 tacks only covered half of the form, I was off to the Dollar Store for 3 more boxes, only to find out that they stopped selling brass. Like wha?

Silly me also waited until Friday to plan for Halloween so I frantically went across the street to Michael's for a quick wreath plan B.


I grabbed yet another form - I'm not giving up on previous brass spectacular that easily - a black feather boa, black foam board, and black glitter. I grabbed the orange ribbon that I had on hand and went to town wrapping the form, after spray painting it black first just in case there is some green show through (which I can already see there is. Darn.).


I cut out the bats from the foam board and used the old school glue stick and sprinkle method to bedazzle. Those were then glued directly to the ribbon using spray adhesive.


It's definitely more cute than scary but for the self-inflicted time crunch, it works. Bring on those trick-or-treaters! Happy Halloween, y'all.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Family first

Including Huynh and myself, we have 25 people in our immediate family. Twenty-five. Two five. I have... my parents, sister + family (4), brother + family (3 + 1 on the way!) and Huynh has... parents, brother + SIL, sister + family (2), 2 more sisters and 2 more brothers. And that's not even mentioning how close we also are to our aunts, uncles, and cousins plus all the other significant others!! So, getting together the entire family is quite the joke but even just one side or the other proves problematic.

My goal is to have enough seating for everyone though - pretty lofty - and at least enough dining space for the adults - booting the kids to the kids table (didn't you love sitting there when you were young?). The dining room table should seat 7; the breakfast nook table seats 5. The bar then seats 2 so that puts us up to 11. While we don't have room for another table, persay, this table popped up on (where else) West Elm the other day and I think we need to grab it up!


It's collapsible, red (what up!) though it does come in white and, most importantly, seats 6! That gets us just one away from having all the adults at a table but heck, with 7 kids under the age of 8 it's not like we are all eating at one time anyways. Right?


Of course then we would need these chairs. Obviously.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Milkin' it




I found the perfect "how-to" guide for my milking stool on google reader the other day... from 1992! My high hopes for owning one seems to be getting just that much closer (I'm holding out until after Canton).

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Pumpkins!

I finally got around to "carving" our pumpkins this year! We will be bumming in Wichita Falls this weekend, visiting the fam, so I wanted to go ahead and bring a little bit of spook to our nha before crunch time so I grabbed these beauts at our local grocery store.


Woo-hoo. Gatsby was thrilled.


Do you sense a trend with Gats watching me work? He is such the follower. After awhile, he did get bored with my taping, painting, goodness and did go back inside (only to go through my overnight bag from the bachelorette party, take out the goodie bag, grab the peanuts, and make a run for it).

While that excitement was going on, I taped off baby pumpkin with a stripe - keeping it simple - and daddy pumpkin was adorned with... a whole lot of blue tape.


Okay, okay, I drew out Frankenstein! Scary.


I took an exacto-knife to my sharpie rendition and peeled off the paintable part. I did pierce the pumpkin on more than one occasion but did not go all the way through.


After I went to town painting (with MSL Silhouette, of course), I pulled off the tape to reveal... paint seepage.



Not a lot, and if it wasn't almost 10 before I finished this project, I might have stayed up later to wipe off the still very wet paint. Oh well. More spookier, perhaps? Gives it character? Either way, 5 more days until candy fest!


I think we need a wreath.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Coffee Tables

I mean, really. It's as if I barely finish mad searching for one thing before I am all gung-ho to switch rooms and start another.

The latest? A coffee table.






Or, throw out all of those ideas and build our own!


Are we crazy if we are actually leaning towards handcrafted?

P.S. If that's not enough, I LOVE this console table! Think I could convince Huynh to do both??

Monday, October 24, 2011

Paint colors

Our house tells quite the color story.

{1} Trim: Behr Ultra Pure White #UL260-14
{2} Main living areas: Valspar Holmes Cream #3004-10B
{3} Master bath: Olympic Camel #D-213
{4} Guest bedroom: Behr Brown Teepee #700D-4PP
{5} Master bedroom: Olympic Sauteed Mushroom #D-214
{6} Kitchen: Valspar Spanish Tile #1010-5
{7} Office: Behr Grey Timber Wolf #760E-3U
{8} Guest bath: Valspar Blue China #5001-8B

I have been in love with Olympic Sauteed Mushroom since I very first started even thinking about decorating a house so when it came time to paint the master bedroom (which was green at the time), I knew immediately that I wanted this rich tone to compliment the dark furniture and light textiles. On that same card in the fan deck, one shade lighter, is Camel so we snatched that up for the (also green) bathroom. Huynh actually picked out all of the other ones when he moved in - quite the trendy and on point bachelor - which I actually really like as well. The Holmes Cream appears pink in tone but I think it has more yellow in it that the tester shows; the Grey Timber Wolf reads more violet in our rather dimly lit room. Also, I claim the trim is Ultra Pure White but really, the trim we have painted is that color... the rest of the trim is still a mystery.

{1} Behr Belgian Sweet #700D-6
{2} Behr Neon Light #380B-5
{3} Behr Chianti #S-H-150
{4} Valspar Deep Sea Diving #5001-8C
{5} Martha Stewart Living Pewter #MSL275
{6} Behr Sparrow #780F-4
{7} Behr Dark Granite #780F-6
{8} Martha Stewart Silhouette #MSL280

For our accent colors, Belgian Sweet is used on the entry way "wall" whereas Neon Light is used on the breakfast nook chairs/new stool to come soon! Chianti is, of course, the color of the front door which I'm still ridiculously in love with. Deep Sea Diving is ... hmm ... the toilet room in the master bath? Is that what you would call it? Pewter is used on the new entry way table and Silhouette is used on the umbrella box that sits next to it. As for Sparrow and Granite? I have gotten the most use out of those two complimentary colors. They make appearances on frames and the wine rack just to name a few. I actually use those colors so much that they stay under the kitchen sink for fast retrieval.

I feel like our accent colors scream "us!" whereas our main colors scream "resale!". We definitely play it safe on the major palette and have a little fun on the accent palette. But by doing so, I think we have so much liberty in textile choices... Oranges! Navys! Heck, even purples and light blues. So now that I have all the colors documented and in one place, maybe I won't be so tempted to repaint and start all over (I think Huynh just had a minor heart attack when he read "repaint").

I'm off to work on this mystery new stool that I spoke of - complete with painted legs! A hint? It looks eerily close to this without the price tag. Wish me luck!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Tucked away

The wall of our pantry got a little uplift this past weekend.


I needed a place to hang aprons for a while. I debated right outside the pantry next to the fridge but... well, the nieces and nephews pictures are there now and they are way cuter. So Huynh came up with tucking them away in the pantry.


I picked up the "P" on sale at Hobby Lobby awhile back. It's actually a drawer pull that I hung using a dry wall fastener and then screwed it into place. Easy peasy.

This weekend I'm heading to a bachelorette party while Huynh stays here and (I am making a safe assumption) watches football. Have a good one!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

"Petite Buffet"

I search Craig's List nightly. Mainly key words like "Buffet" or "Sideboard" but either way, I sit for hours flipping through all the new pieces of furniture that owners are selling that would look perfect on our very bare wall in the living room.


The other day, the words "Petite Buffet" caught my eye and not one to pass up a buffet I clicked on the link and found what I had been looking for. The price was right but the dimensions? Not listed. I feared that "petite" was going to be too small for the buffet that I am actually looking for to go in the living room which needs to be at least 55" long... but I emailed Jannet anyways.

She was so prompt in her response that this buffet was 48" long (oh, and the price was negotiable! woo-hoo!) so even though it was a tad too short for the long lost buffet of my dreams, it was perfect length for an entry way table to replace IKEA!


Howdy pillow was moved to the new chair, the bench shifted to the office, and the new entry way table found a new home!




Regardless that there might be too many "P"'s, I can't help but be excited that our keys finally have a place to land on this new Martha Stewart Pewter painted piece of goodness. 


Still some loose ends to be tied up - covering the socket since now it's basically framed and fixing the right door that doesn't stay closed - but easy enough for a weekend project. Surprisingly, Huynh is supportive of its curved lines - perhaps the grey won him over? And though I have no idea what I will store in here, I am sure that it is only a matter of time before it is full. 

Meanwhile, the office is looking a tad bit better.


The TV stand (originally in the living room)/TV stand (in my bedroom when I first moved in)/bench/now turned bookshelf will hopefully find some organization when I get around to it but at least it's getting the books up off the ground (and our bowling shoes out of the dining room since I don't want you to think that I think those pink and white tennis shoes are actually cute) for the time being. 

But enough about the thrown together office. Back to the fun part!


Well, hey, good lookin'.

So left in this entry/dining room:
There you have it. My ode to Craig's List.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Little touches

I have been working on making little touches throughout the house to make it feel just that much more homey.


Like, for example, this Houston tea towel. Tucked away where not many people see it, those that do love it. How do you bring a little bit of yourself into your home?

P.S. I even have the Texas pillow tucked away in the guest room! I love this brand.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Chair-joy

Back in April, when our friends Pam and Jason got hitched, we spent the weekend in Austin, eating brunch, munching on cookies, and even managed to squeeze in a trip to West Elm.


Enter this chair. I sat in this chair in the Austin showroom and desperately wanted it. But at the time, we weren't quite in the market for new furniture, coupled with that we were out of town, we walked out of the store with just living room couch pillows.

But I never stopped thinking about that chair.

So when we finally bit the bullet so to speak and bought a new dining room table, I knew that my time had come to also pick up this chair.


It is so comfortable and fits in perfectly with the decor. We tossed on a couch pillow and also got the Martini Side Table to sit next to it.


I absolutely love it.


As does Gatsby. Can't you tell with his thrilled look of excitement?


We aren't close to being finished with this room but my indecisiveness in picking out a rug along with my seemingly inability to pick out a coffee table has definitely made it feel like we have been working on this room for months. And if you go back to the original list for this room, it looks like we have made zero progress:
  • New rug
  • Sideboard
  • Side table
  • New coffee table
  • TLC
So, I guess by definition this addition falls under "TLC" and probably "Side table". Regardless, every little bit helps!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Boo.

It's beginning to look a lot like Halloween!


I wouldn't necessarily call me a Halloween enthusiast but I am a fan so I decided to put together a little pumpkin vignette this weekend while the boys were busy watching football.


Taking left over orange yarn from the UT wreath, twine, and fabric that I picked up when I was trying to decide on ottoman colors for the living room, I took those foam pumpkins that are always on sale at Michael's and spruced them up just a bit.


So out of our weekend plans, that's one down. We did watch Star Wars; we even cleaned out camera memory. The trim was fixed but the reveal will come later. Plans were made for Gatsby's new crate and we even shopped for furniture. A clean office is still yet to be had but given the amount of napping I did this weekend, I am surprised I was able to get anything done (yes - me). Huynh on the other hand is the sole reason our house got vacuumed much less new trim in the laundry room. He's such a keeper.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Plans?

What will you be doing this weekend?


Us? Oh, well, we obviously will be taking it easy. We just need to:

  • Finish yarn wrapping pumpkins
  • Fix trim in laundry room
  • Clean the office
  • Watch Star Wars
  • Golf
  • Clean out camera memory
  • Ebay a couple of items
  • Learn Vietnamese
  • Walk Gatsby
  • Eat brunch
  • Cook these potatoes
  • Listen to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me

...and, I am sure I am missing something. You know I will be taking pictures though, and documenting it all to share on this little space of web we call our blog. So we are off to make some dinner and get started on number one. Enjoy!

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Redemption. Please?!?!

Here's my attempt at the blogging since Ms. Sarah's a little tied up at the moment - a little thing we call work that gets in the way every now and then.

So what would my first post attempt be about? Sports, of course; or at least support for my Alma Mater.  Last week we didn't  do so well against one of our major rivalries, but maybe our house decor project for this week will help us win against the Cowboys - wishful thinking.





That's not exactly the backdrop anywhere in or around our house.  The assembled decor is currently sitting in our office waiting for a wall to be hung on, but I must say it turned out rather nicely.  It's a 3D puzzle that was very simple to assemble.  AND it's made from recycled paper! GO GREEN! Wait, I mean go Burnt Orange! Either way it's a Win-Win, hopefully on the latter also.

Who are you rooting for?

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Purse woes.

My purse ends up everywhere. Literally. I feel like I walk in the house and just throw it at whim and hope that it lands on a flat, fairly clean surface.

Yes, I am talking about my purse and therefore this post has zero benefit to Huynh. Eh, you win-some, you lose-some right?

But, back to my purse woes. Most of the time, it ends up on our entry way shelf. Some of the time, it'll weasel its way into the kitchen and other times, all the way into the bedroom. Monday was one of those days that it ended up on the kitchen counter because, well, frankly, I was more excited about the delivery of our new dining room rug, and less excited about the placement of the 10lbs bag that I choose to carry daily though it apparently EATS Adele tickets. So last night, I decided that it was time for a more dedicated place for my bag of choice.

Exhibit A: the laundry room wall.


This wall just happens to be right at the corner of the laundry room and the hallway, which just happens to be the exact place of the alarm.


See. Light switch, meet alarm, meet light switch. And, this picture just further proves to me that our hallway is in fact REALLY yellow in tone - note that the laundry room and hallway are painted the same color. I mean, really, really, yellow. Considering we just painted it from the builder's white that it was for years to this color to match adjoining rooms, the hallway is not in rotation for a change... I'm just going to have to figure out a better way to capture this dark space on film... or perhaps change out light bulbs?

Back to the bag, I grabbed this hook awhile back and just never had the right place to put it. It's a little bit country, not at all rock-and-roll, but a very non-subtle nod to my love for all things Texas so I knew that it would look perfect in this little nook of our house... and even more perfect that it's hook was large enough for my 12lbs purse (yes, it gained weight as I typed this). 


It took screw brackets and some oil-rubbed bronze spray paint to tone down the screws but the star is securely mounted and not at all in danger of falling and scaring our furry creature... okay, or me. Still. We'll see how long this lasts... especially knowing that said furry creatures teeth marks are still in the trim and, unlike the hallway, the laundry room desperately needs revamping. One day, we will fix this. Promise.

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

It's here!


Oh, and I love it.


This picture is definitely more true-to-color with the blue dining room chairs. We are waiting for the rug to lie down a bit and we will probably vacuum it once more before we move the chairs back on it. And of course, we are still waiting on the table and we need to move the overhead light fixture.

Details.

I think I am just more excited that the so-called dining room that once was an office but really started as a storage room for shoes is finally coming together!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Lazy

We were lazy this weekend.

{sunbrella, el greco calypso}

It rained 3 inches at our house which forced me to lounge on the couch watching football instead of being productive. We did manage however to host a little gettogether to watch OU beat UT (sadly). We ate delicious food though! I would highly recomment PW's beef tenderloin. It was delish.

{sunbrella, maxim heather beige}

Sunday, we braved the downpour to go catch 50/50 at the Alamo. I throughly enjoyed it even though it did end a little too perfectly.

{sunbrella, regency sand}

Meanwhile, I think though that I narrowed down accent chair fabric for the master bedroom to these three choices. I love the El Greco Calypso but convincing Huynh would be another issue. The colors in Maxim Heather Beige are more what I think we really want but on the scale of the Regency Sand swatch. Just means that we need to go to the store to actually see these in person - hey, any excuse to get us downtown!

How was your weekend? Did you read 2 books instead of cleaning the office like me?