Buzzings of a Queen Bee

Postcard from Hibernation #6

2011-12-08T14:07:00.007-07:00

Happy December to you all!

I have found a new favorite project and wanted to share. I just made this adorable sign for my kids' bathroom. What do you think? (Nevermind that neither of my kids can read!)

My husband bought some barn/fence wood from a guy off Craig's List. I love that about him! (My husband, not Craig.) He just cut some of the boards and attached them to each other in the back with some metal strips, then added a hook for hanging.

I printed some letters off the computer, then just traced them (pushing very hard) onto the surface. The wood was soft enough that it made an indentation where I had traced, and I simply went back with my paintbrush and filled in the letters. After that, I sanded to rough up the letters a bit, and slapped on a coat of polyurethane.

If you or your husband don't feel like buying old wood off Craig's List, you can just as easily go to Lowe's and have them cut you a piece of new wood. That's what I did with this Grocery sign that I made for our kitchen! I brought it home and banged on it with a hammer and nails and whatever else I could find in the garage. (Added bonus: aggression release.)

Then I stained the wood (which brought out all the bangs and dents I had just added), and traced some letters onto the wood, sanded, and polyurethaned, same as I did with the bathroom sign above. See? Looks old, but it's straight from the hardware store.

Instant vintage...I love it!

Postcard from Hibernation #5

2011-11-15T12:03:00.008-07:00

These days, it's a big deal for me to post more that one thing per...six months. You know I'm psyched if it's two in the same month! I must be responding to the sweet comments you've left on my last blog post. Seriously, thank you so much for taking the time to say nice things to me...I tried to email you back if your address was attached to your comment, but if it wasn't, please know that I am thankful for your words!

I went to a local charity tag sale last Saturday. That's less than two weeks ago, girls! I am on some kind of hot streak. I picked up this red chair with cute-but dated-fabric for $15. (Nina and Henry discovered that Mama had the camera out and insisted on helping.)

We have crazy warm weather in northern California (this Midwestern girl is not used to 60 degrees in November, I can tell you). So I headed outside, whipped out the paint stripper and went to work.

After stripping, I added some color with Minwax's Dark Walnut stain, followed by two coats of satin polyurethane. Then I dug in the fabric bin for this yellow plaid that I bought a few years ago on clearance. Thanks to my husband's muscle and the staple gun, the "reupholstery" was a cinch.
It's a perfect spot for my Thanksgiving turkey pillow, and I love walking by it and knowing that I rescued this baby from ugly, all for $15. Happy Thanksgiving!

Postcard from Hibernation #4

2011-11-07T17:20:00.010-07:00

Happy November! I truly can't believe it's been over four months since I've sent you all a "postcard." I think about you, and blogging, frequently. I still sit on the couch after the kids have gone to bed and read about all the wonderful things you are doing. But I am still very much smack dab in a season of life that takes all my attention. Blogging continues to take a back seat to Nina (who is loving kindergarten!), Henry (who still attends "mama school," as he calls it!), supporting Brent, and building a life here in California. I admit that I often daydream of living in my forever house, close to my family and back in my Ohio hometown, but for the time being...I am here. So.

That doesn't mean I haven't been busy! Just that my teeny tiny California ranch house is bursting at the seams, filled with projects that I do in hopes of giving them a more permanent home someday. Here are a few examples!

I found this ship at a local resale shop for $5. Though Henry is enchanted with pirate ships right now, I didn't so much fancy having one in my living room.

I took off the metal sails, covered the red bottom with a dark walnut stain, and stitched up some simple blue ticking stripe panels for some new sails. Cute!

Next, I searched for this table for about six months, biding my time on Craig's List. I wanted an antique that I could refinish to match my current dining room furniture, which I inherited from my grandmother years ago. Here it is (before), covered in at least three layers of brown paint. Pretty.

After many...many...many hours of stripping paint, I finally got it down to bare wood.

A few coats of dark walnut stain, a few coats of polyurethane, and I finally have a sideboard that is worthy of the rest of my grandmother's furniture!

Of course, the California ranch doesn't have a dining room to put it in, but a girl can dream!

Lastly, here is a lesson for all your husbands. We were out one Saturday afternoon and passed by a garage sale. Just that morning, my husband had said to me "We are not buying any more furniture while we live here!"

Um. You can see where this is going.

We spotted this huge, sturdy bookshelf for $11.

Let's pause a moment to take in it's ugliness, combined with layers of blue goo.

I cleaned. He sanded. I painted. He added new beadboard backing. It was a joint effort!

But Nina now has a home for her growing collection of books. And I just love the beadboard and cream paint combination!

Just remember this story when your husband tells you to stop acquiring projects. :)

Well, that's about it from around here. I'm sorry it's been so long! Here's hoping you're all doing well...I miss you!

Postcard from Hibernation #3

2011-06-27T11:26:00.006-06:00

Once upon a time (15 years ago, to be exact), I purchased this dresser for $20 at an estate sale. (I blogged about it here if you'd like to know more!) It was a horrible shade of green, and I spent the whole summer stripping and refinishing it.

My dresser gave me a lot of good years in it's refinished state. One day, however, I started wondering if, perhaps, it needed a little makeover. After all, how good would any of us look if we hadn't changed our style in 15 years? Don't answer that.

(And yes, that is a photo of me in overalls, circa 1996. See? We all need a little upgrade sometimes!)

About this same time, I stumbled across Miss Mustard Seed's blog. That girl is a genius! She does some amazing things to furniture, and I fell in love with this dresser:

So, when I had a few days of nothing on the calendar, I whipped out my paintbrushes and got to work.

My dresser looks like a whole new piece! I used leftover off-white paint in my garage, as well as some wall paint from my kitchen (Sherwin Williams Comfort Grey). Then I just sanded the edges and roughed it up a bit.
This girl's got at least 15 more years in her now!

Postcard From Hibernation #2

2011-05-02T05:00:00.003-06:00

Hi everyone! I have done some research on behalf of us all, and I just had to share. First of all, let's revisit a photo of my humble little rental house in California, right after we moved in:

Ah, the green outdoor carpet. The abandoned flower beds. Lovely.

This spring, I've been trying to clean things up out there, on a very limited budget. I don't need Buckingham Palace here, folks. I'm just going for inhabited. So here's the look today, with some flowers, hanging baskets, and updated accessories:

And speaking of accessories, here's my new discovery: how to age a mirror (specifically the one now hanging in my outdoor entryway). I bought the frame below, complete with six individual mirrors, at a local thrift store for $12. And I love it when the original price is still on there. ($99.99 at Cost Plus World Market!) Please excuse the glass cleaner spray on the mirrors. I was impatient...you get the idea!

I took it apart (unscrewed the backing and took out the mirrors) and painted the frame with some off-white paint (Krylon Gloss Ivory), followed by rubbing on some stain (Minwax Dark Walnut) to age it. So then I had a situation where the frame looked all cute and vintage, but those mirrors were winking at me, all shiny and new. Can't have that!

So I looked up a tutorial of how to age a mirror (this one), and came up with this process. It works!

I started with some paint stripper (Ace Extra Strength Stripper) to scrape off all the paint on the back of the mirrors. Then I switched to paint thinner and scrubbed the backs with a steel wool pad. Then I washed them all off with some water. The last step was splattering liquid bleach on the mirror backs to get that spotted appearance, then blotting it off after a few minutes. (For more detailed instructions, follow my link on how to distress a mirror.)

Can you see how the individual mirrors look all beat up and old now, slightly foggy and age-spotted? Not bad for $12! I already had the rest of the materials on hand, but even if I hadn't, this project is much less expensive than all the other adorable-but-out-of-my-price-range antique mirrors I have seen out there!

Give it a try if you want the antique look without the price tag!

Postcard from Hibernation #1

2011-04-04T17:06:00.004-06:00

Hi everyone!

I am greatly enjoying my hibernation, but thought I might send you a "postcard" now and then to say hello.

We've had a fun couple of months. In February we drove to southern California and paid a visit to Disneyland. So much fun!

Then, last month we were lucky enough to go on my husband's company ski trip to Tahoe. I love being within driving distance to all these cool places! (Don't know why the kids look so bummed out in this photo though. Too much snow?)

I promise it hasn't all been about fancy trips around here. I also discovered something new that's only 30 minutes from my house. The Alameda Point Antiques Faire! I could have spent hours wandering around this place, but probably would have gotten in lots of trouble. As it was, we fell in love with this antique farmhouse table. It took some budget rearranging (and a large delivery truck), but it came home with us!

I also made a lovely discovery on Etsy and purchased these two whimsical prints from The Black Apple. I love the colors and the vintage quality!

What else? Spring is here in northern California, so I was inspired to pull out the summer bedding last week.

I must admit that TJ Maxx helped me by selling those two blue ruffled pillows for $10 apiece on clearance!

I dug around and found my robin's eggs to add a little splash of color on my dresser.

And to finish it off, I painted our master bathroom Sherwin Williams' Comfort Grey. (And please note that when I say "master bathroom," it is in the loosest sense of the word. The only mastering that goes on in there is mastering our annoyance as we bump into each other trying to get ready at the same time!)

I have been having a wonderful time, and appreciate all your thoughtful comments and emails to me during my "hibernation." I hope you are all doing well too!

Do Bees Hibernate?

2011-02-23T21:42:00.012-07:00

This was the question I typed into my Google window the other day. A strange one, to be sure. But one that has become important to me as I crafted this blog post in my head. (And, to answer your curiosity, some bees do hibernate over the winter, clustering together to generate heat. Don't ask me about the details; they are fuzzy at best!)

You see, like the bees, I am going into hibernation.

I thought about just calling it a mini-vacation. I also thought about stopping my blog altogether. Neither one seemed right. I have loved having this blog as a personal playground, a creative outlet in an otherwise suburban, husband- and kid-centered life. I don't want to cancel it, but I am also at a point where my "real" life is calling to me, louder and much more insistently than my blogging life.

It used to be that I was overflowing with ideas. Decorating, crafting, cooking, homemaking. I always had something new up my sleeve. But lately, since our move to California, I've been feeling a bit dry. My rental house is all set up, painted and decorated. At least for the immediate future, my work is done. We don't know how long we'll be here; my husband's job is stable and hopeful. His company is based here in northern California, and we've chosen to make the move here so that he can have every opportunity to learn and grow and strive. Until we know more about the next career steps, though, we don't want to buy another house...

...So, yes, it feels very uncertain and unknowable. I think we're looking at a couple of years here at least. Long enough that I know I have to put down roots. I can't just cruise through this period of life, closing my eyes, working on house projects and not leaving time for anything else, and hoping it will be over soon. I have to engage in it, live it, connect to it. And I also have these precious kids to think about. Nina is four and Henry is two, and I want to intentionally invest in these years with them, and not let them pass me by while I am pursuing other, more "important" things. (Please know I am not exercising judgement on anyone else's life with these statements. I just know my own personal pitfalls, and am trying to be honest about them.)

In essence, I feel like I am putting a part of my life in hibernation too. Turning inward, towards my family and my life here, fighting for survival through this winter-ish season in my life, hunkering down.

It's not that I will stop being creative, doing projects, loving the thrill of the thrift store hunt. I am sure I will poke (buzz?) my head in and out from time to time. If I work on a project, or discover some new craftiness, I will want to share it with you. But my buzzings will become much less frequent, for the foreseeable future anyway, and I felt you might want an explanation.

So, you see? Not just a simple bloggy break, but not a permanent departure, either. A hibernation. For an undetermined amount of time. (It's a good thing that some bees do hibernate, or else this analogy would have fallen apart a few paragraphs ago!)

Thanks for sticking with me all this time. I will miss you. Stay well.

Giveaway Winner!

2011-02-23T05:00:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone! Thanks for participating in my giveaway! I randomly selected a comment number, and it was Comment #22, which is...

Tori from The Smith Scoop! Tori, email me at buzzingsofaqueenbee@hotmail.com to figure out how to collect your prize! :)

I hope you all had a great Presidents' Day weekend. I'll be back later this week with more!

President's Day Giveaway!

2011-02-18T05:00:00.004-07:00

** Comments are now closed! I will be back tomorrow with the winner!

Hi girls! Do you have any big plans for Presidents' Day weekend? Feel like winning some serious cuteness for a little diva in your life?

Marili Jean is a fantastic mama-owned company based in Colorado. I first met up with the owner while at a harvest festival with my family. She started the company in 2009 when she couldn't find anything stylish and practical for her own three kiddos. There I was, wandering the festival booths, when I spotted Marili Jean. I think it was this hat that got me:

Seriously? I bought Nina a hat on the spot. She was just barely three years old at the time, and now that she's four and a half, the hat still fits her. I love it!
So many cute options! She's got hats, headbands and barrettes. The one I bought for Nina is called the "Mini Diva," and it comes with a detaching flower barrette in the color of your choice. But if I ever have another baby girl, I think this one below is precious!

For this weekend's giveaway, Marili Jean is offering a $20 merchandise credit for one of my readers! Yippee! All you have to do to enter is head over to her website. Take a look around and then come back and let me know which hot little number you'd pick. And, if you'd like a second chance at winning, go become a fan of Marili Jean on Facebook. Then come back and tell me that you've done so in my comments, and you'll get another contest entry!

If you fall in love with Marili Jean and just can't wait to start shopping, head on over to her website, add some sassy stuff to your cart and simply enter "buzz" when you're checking out. That'll get you 20% off on the spot. Score!

The contest will be open through Tuesday night at 8 p.m. (Pacific Time). Have fun!

Shadowboxing for Mamas

2011-02-14T13:30:00.002-07:00

Hey everyone! Today I am posting at Your Baby Booty, all about making a shadowbox to hold some of those little baby and kid clothes that you just can't bear to part with. Come on over if you'd like to read more!

Caledonia

2011-02-11T05:00:00.005-07:00

This post will end with me telling you about one of my most favorite musicians in the world, who I hope you will immediately listen to and fall in love with. But in order to do that, I need to give you a little back story.

Years ago (almost 12 years ago to be exact) I went to Scotland. My family roots are Scottish (among other things) and I met up with my dad and his wife to explore the country. Here's my dad and me in Edinburgh.

We could trace our family to two different clans, Grant and Menzies. My maiden name derives from the Menzies clan, so I was super-excited to walk the halls of Castle Menzies. (Sorry for the glare on the glass in the photo below, but you get the idea.)

I remember walking through Castle Menzies with a proprietary air, imagining my ancestors sleeping in the rooms and walking the halls. It wasn't until dinner that night that my dad broke the news: our ancestors weren't the ones to live in the castle. They were part of the clan, surely, but not at the top of the food chain, so to speak. Most likely they lived in a cottage somewhere on the clan lands. Here's a photo of my dad, explaining to me that, if the Castle Menzies was the big red napkin, then our family lived in the little white speck down the road.

Needless to say, this took me down a notch! However, it didn't diminish the distinct feeling of homecoming that I had when I went to Scotland. I've been there again since that first visit, and the feeling of home is the same each time. I don't know if it's a self-fulfilling prophecy or what, but there it is.

And now, on to the music. Have you ever heard of Dougie MacLean? That's pronounced Doo-gie Mac-Lean. He's Scottish. He's a folk singer-type. He's kind of like James Taylor but with even more of an acoustic, soothing thing going on. His music has the same effect on me as Vince Guaraldi and A Charlie Brown Christmas. It's calming and somehow makes me breathe a little slower when I listen to it.

Dougie MacLean wrote a song called "Caledonia" about Scotland, which is his home. (Caledonia is a somewhat more poetic name used for Scotland.) The lyrics are all about missing home. Going home. How home will take you, no matter what shape you're in or what you've done. Chances are that you treasure home, whether it's Scotland or somewhere else, as much as I do, or you wouldn't be here. I wonder if the song will speak to you the way it speaks to me?

Now, seriously, don't focus on the fact that Dougie MacLean looks a bit like an aging hippie here. Or that this video is cheesy. (It's the best version I could find on YouTube.) But if you end up falling in love with him like I did, may I recommend my favorite of his albums, called "Craigie Dhu." I hope it brings you a moment of peace this weekend!

Let me know what you think!

"Art" for the Poor

2011-02-07T05:00:00.002-07:00

What I am about to share could be considered sacrilegious to some of you. But I'm going to risk it, for the sake of the rest of us.

What in the world am I talking about?

Art.

I constantly rip out pages from magazines to use for inspiration. The pages above and below both have unique wall pieces that are real art. Like, from people who are artists.

Unfortunately, our budget for pieces of real art from real artists is nonexistent. But what I did have was two of these oval frames. With nothing in them.

I really liked the look of some of those line art drawings in my inspiration photos. But, alas, I am not an artist, and, well, we've already discussed where my budget is in that department. So, I went to Michael's instead and bought a piece of nice artist paper and some charcoal pencils.

I found some free clip art online. (I just Googled things like "free" "images" "bee," "bike," etc. until I found something I liked.) The bike is for my husband, whose garage is not complete unless it holds at least five bikes at any one time. And the bee is for me. :)

I used graphite tracing paper (also from Michael's) to transfer the line art onto my fancy paper.

Then I went back with my charcoal pencil and traced over the lines.

I mixed my knockoff bike and bee art with my family wall in the kids' playroom.

Thank you free clip art!

Dealing With My Dated Den

2011-01-30T18:18:00.007-07:00

Sorry for the silence last week, girls! I had some kind of flu bug rip through our house and it took us all down with it. Feeling better now, and I have saved the best for last in my new house Before & After series!

Behold, the horrific Before photo of the den, from the day we toured it:

And the same room, minus the laundry, clutter, huge television and dated wood paneling:

From another angle, here's a During shot:

And the same wall, after three coats of primer and one coat of "Pearl" by Olympic:

I love the built-in bookshelves and the iron chandelier I got to hang from the ceiling. (Note: I did not love the built-in bookshelves when I had to paint them all four times!)

This house was built in the 1950s, and I'm telling you, those fifties chicks knew how to work the storage. I have lots of cabinet space in here for all my crafty business, plus a cubby that holds all the over sized stuff. I just sewed a few squares of fabric and hung them with a tension rod to hide the messiness!

This bulletin board was part of the room already, and I really like how it looks now that the wood paneling above and below it is painted. I've already used that work table for a few projects, but it also doubles as a catch-all for mail and the usual junk!

A close-up of the bulletin board, with some of my inspiration clippings, fabrics and paint samples. I love having a place to hang up all this stuff!

I also have a little basket for my latest magazines, with a pen handy to circle stuff I like. I know, I am a big geek who gets all excited about a marker and a pile of magazines! I realized that as I was typing it.

So there you have it! How I Made Over Every Room In Our House With Paint for Under $500. Too bad there's not a House Painting Olympic Team. I would SO try out for that.

But now I'm off to take a nap!

Master Bedroom Changes!

2011-01-21T05:00:00.002-07:00

Hello again! Today I'm sharing the updates we've made to the master bedroom. Just like in Henry's room, you're gonna have to look closely to see the changes, because I didn't get a true "before" photo. But here's the master bedroom with it's white walls and general messiness.

And here's the same room, after a little lovin'. The walls are painted "Bristlecone" by Olympic (just like Henry's room; I am nothing if not frugal!).

As you can probably tell, the room isn't all that big. Compared to my master bedroom in Colorado, or even the one in our previous California house, it's a tight squeeze. And would I love some crown moldings or hardwood floors? Um, hello? Do you know who you're talking to? Of course I would! :)

But it's a comfortable room, and at the end of the day I feel safe and cozy there. That's got to count for something, right? The patchwork quilt (Pottery Barn) adds to the general coziness, and it's nice for the winter.

But I've already tested my "summer look" and definitely plan on rolling this out when it's time to open the windows again! Like it?

A girl's gotta have options, right?

Kids' Rooms in a Rental

2011-01-18T05:00:00.003-07:00

This is fun! You guys are a great audience, and thank you for being so complimentary of the changes in our house. Are you ready to see what else we've been up to?

You'll have to look close to see the before and after differences in this post! I wanted to share with you my son Henry's room, but, as usual, my impatience prevented me from getting a true "before" photo. But just notice the white and boring walls before:

And the after: Henry's room is painted "Bristlecone" by Olympic. It's a nice taupe, with some slight overtones of gray. I'll keep saying this: adding paint is the only thing we did in here, and it made such a difference between feeling like a rental and feeling like a home.

We added our usual cowboy accessories in here, mostly focusing on warm browns and reds as the accent colors.

The rug works well in here, although it probably wouldn't have been the one I'd choose if I had an unlimited budget. We liked the price tag though. (Free! It used to be in my husband's basement office in our Colorado house.) The curtains came from Pottery Barn Kids. I love them because they aren't too babyish and can grow with him as his room changes.

And just because this photo cracks me up, I had to leave you with one of Henry in his new digs:

He looks like he could be reading the Wall Street Journal with a latte and a muffin. Nope, it's just his Thomas the Train books. (Big business for a little man of almost two years!)

Upgrading the Playroom

2011-01-14T05:00:00.002-07:00

OK girls, you know I must like you if I am willing to share this photo. It will help you to understand how nervous I was about decorating our new house. Without further ado, I give you the "before" photo of the playroom, taken on the day we toured it:

Fluorescent lights. Dated vertical blinds. White, white walls.

But I shouldn't have worried. This place has been fabulous for us in so many ways, and once I added some things to cozy it up, it felt like a new room. It sits on the far side of the of the house, and is accessible by both the kitchen and the family room...an ideal playroom for the kids!

We painted the walls (Vanilla Brandy by Olympic) and added some curtains to the sliding doors. Just opening the blinds made a huge difference. And of course, adding some family photos made it feel like home!

I know this room will never win any design awards, and that's not the point. But I thought it was a great example of how some cozy furniture, rugs and artwork can distract you from the fact that this could be a rather sterile room.

It's a good fit for our young family. It's practically indestructible, and we need that these days. And it reminds me never to judge a room based on first impressions!

Decorating a Nursery on the Cheap

2011-01-13T10:09:00.003-07:00

Hey everyone! I am guest posting today over at Your Baby Booty, an awesome website and blog designed for new moms. I can't say how much I wish this tool had been around when I was trying to figure out what to buy for my first baby! Alas, now I can just share my thoughts on decorating a baby nursery on the cheap. At least I've got that skill down pat. Check it out!

I'll be back tomorrow with some more distraction decorating for you!

Being Happy With Small Changes

2011-01-11T05:00:00.005-07:00

Guys, I think I may be setting some kind of record. We are less than two months into the lease on our new house, and I have ONE...ROOM...LEFT...TO...PAINT. Can I get an Amen?

I can't exactly say why I am so inspired to get things done around here. Maybe it's all the upheaval we've had for the past few months, but I am ready to give my family a place to settle down and make a home. I seem to have some kind of crazy energy that kicks in between the hours of 2-4 p.m. each day (nap time, folks!). Here are my latest results:

This is our front porch. If we owned this place, I'd be scouting house painters to take care of that wood siding. As it is, though, I am content to just do some small things. Starting with that green outdoor carpet. Buh-Bye.

Here is the same front porch a few weeks later. I ripped out the green stuff and found a perfectly serviceable cement step underneath. It was a bit discolored from years of carpet glue, but I doctored it up with some furniture stain. I spread the stain with a sponge brush, then immediately wiped it up with paper towels. Done!

The cement color isn't an exact match, but believe me, it's an improvement!

And here is the even less exciting post-Christmas version of my front porch.

Renting a house is giving me lessons in "good enough" decorating. It's the cousin of "distraction decorating." And I am becoming intimately involved with both!

Rental Bathroom Fixes

2011-01-07T05:00:00.002-07:00

First of all, thank you so much for your comments on my last post. The January Blahs have been a little less intense since I wrote, and hearing how so many of you feel the same way...well, that helps a lot! Let's all keep reminding each other that we don't have to let that Christmas influence go, just because December is over!

With that focus on home, I have been taking the past weeks to cozy it up around here. As I mentioned before, we have become home renters in California, after being home owners since we got married. But, since we don't know how long we'll be in California, we didn't want to jump back into another home purchase until we know more about our future here.

Renting has definitely changed my perspective. How do you know how much effort to put in a place that isn't yours? Well, I don't plan on tearing out walls or adding granite countertops, but painting is definitely on the list. Check out my rental bathroom, B.P. ("Before Paint").

It was unoffensive. It was all white. It had a scary sliding door on the bathtub. But I can work with that. I added some green paint, called "Crocodile Tears" by Olympic.

We (cough!...I mean my husband) added an inexpensive bamboo shade on the window, just to warm it up and add some texture. We changed out the light switch covers. Put some cute accessories on the walls. And hung my new monogrammed towels (a lovely giftie from my mom for Christmas!), which just glams it all up in there!

Can you see the shower curtain in the photos? Its a Christmas gift from my sister (who knew my family cared so much about my rental bathroom?), the Audrey Organic Shower Curtain from Pottery Barn. Of course I see it is no longer available on their website, so I guess I'm not the only one who got this for Christmas. But it covers up the dated glass doors, which makes me happy.

The good news is that, except for the paint, I can take all these things with me whenever we leave. So I don't have to feel worried about investing too much, but I can enjoy this rental bathroom for the next few years.

More to come next week. Have a great weekend everyone!

Can We Still Be Home for the Holidays?

2011-01-04T10:19:00.006-07:00

[This post is dedicated to Edie of Life in Grace, who lost her home to fire a few days before Christmas. I can't imagine how you feel, and I pray your sense of home is restored, with much grace from God.]

I've been thinking a lot about the holiday season.

Christmas is my favorite time of year. Like most of us, I love the cozy nights by the fire, the excuses to see family, and the many special treats and traditions that we look forward to every December.

There's always something that bothers me, though. It starts to set in bright and early on December 26, and by January 2, it's full blown. The Let Down. Everyone talks about it, everyone fears it. I can't say why for the rest of you, but for me, here it is:

The holidays give us permission to value the things that are really important to us. We walk into a store and the songs are playing over the speakers: "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire," "There's no place like home for the holidays," "Since we've no place to go, Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!" It's like our whole culture allows one big recess from the usual focus on achievement, acquiring, and conquering. We are told it's acceptable, even preferable, to sock in, cuddle up, turn to our families and friends, and allow that to be enough.

I know we have control over our own lives and we can choose what messages we allow to penetrate during the other 11 months of the year. We can sock in and cuddle up anytime we want to, right? But somehow it just feels like the hurdles are bigger, and that we have to defend our choices a little harder.

Does anyone else just feel a bit bummed about having to get back in the fight?

In an attempt to remind myself that "home for the holidays" doesn't have to end after Christmas, I posted this quote in my kitchen:

It reads:

Winter is the time for comfort. For good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand, and for a talk beside the fire. It is the time for home.

--Edith Sitwell, British poet

May your January have as many open fires, chestnuts, and comforts of home as your December.

Dreaming of a White Christmas

2010-12-24T05:00:00.001-07:00

Merry (almost) Christmas everyone!

I am just stopping in today to wish you all the coziest and merriest of holidays. I'll be curling up on the couch with my little family and reading Christmas books, drinking hot chocolate with candy canes, and watching Charlie Brown Christmas.

So what if we live in California and won't be seeing one speck of snow?

Merry Christmas!

My Christmas Advent Calendar

2010-12-21T05:00:00.002-07:00

If you've been around here for awhile, you know all about my Christmas advent calendar. I made it a few years ago, back when Nina was a toddler and Henry wasn't even born yet!

Now that I have two kiddos, it's proven to be a great tradition for our family! The boxes are cardboard, with scrapbook paper on the lids. They are a great size to stash little goodies for each day. This year I'm using little chocolate coins from Trader Joe's. The boxes have magnets on the back so they can stick to the metal sheet that I framed and painted black.

Anyway, enough blabbing, Carrie! I wrote a detailed tutorial on how I made this, so if you're interested, just follow the link for more info.

I hope you have a great Christmas week!

Distraction Decorating in the Family Room

2010-12-17T05:00:00.003-07:00

Happy Friday!

As promised, I want to show you our new family room, with some Distraction Decorating techniques thrown in. Here's a photo of the room on the day we toured the house, taken on my cell phone. Yikes.

As with the kitchen photos, just using a good camera and lighting makes a big difference. But here's a photo of the same room, from the same angle, today:

Just hanging my faithful buffalo check curtains warmed up this room immensely. (Since I always get this question, I'll go ahead and tell you that I made the curtains with fabric from Calico Corners. I believe it's just called Buffalo Check, in the color Bisque.)

The Christmas decorations make a big difference in cozy-ing up the room too!

I don't have a true dining room in this house, but this nook of the family room has a chandelier, so it seemed like the place for my dining set. We had our first meal here when my family came to visit last weekend, and it's actually quite charming to eat within view of the fireplace and Christmas tree, rather than in a separate room. But don't look too closely or you'll see the dust on that table...oops!
I painted the walls "Vanilla Brandy" by Olympic. I really like it, though I wish I had gone a shade darker. Oh well, maybe in the next house! (But please, God, not for a few years...I am so tired of moving!)
The fireplace creates one of my favorite scenes. Sitting here at night is so cozy! And, just like in the kitchen, putting some area rugs around the room helps to distract you from the older carpet in the house.
Lest you think I am some kind of miracle worker, the rest of my house is very incomplete! But I wanted this room to feel finished so we could relax and enjoy it for Christmas. It helps me forget the boxes that wait for me in some of the other rooms!

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Distraction Decorating in the Kitchen

2010-12-14T05:00:00.002-07:00

OK, I think I would like to officially coin a new phrase: Distraction Decorating. As in, parts of my new house are a bit dated, and I'd like to distract you from noticing. Make a big fuss over here, and maybe you won't notice stuff over there.

Here is a photo (taken on my phone) of the kitchen and breakfast area, the day we moved in:

And here is the same vantage point, today:

Of course the lighting and the camera are better in the second photo. But mainly I have added paint and fabric and rugs to distract you. Now, instead of staring at the linoleum floor and older carpet and dated wood paneling, maybe you will stare at my cute stuff instead. See? Distraction Decorating.

Here's another angle of the same kitchen, on the day we toured with the owners.

Same angle, after some paint and other little tricks.
I am loving this combo of plates on the wall:

I replaced all the light switch covers with brass ones. I think it makes it feel more glitzy or something. And the wall color is Sherwin Williams "Comfort Gray."

Below is one of my favorite shots, because you see my wall of plates AND my most favorite curtains. There are birds on that fabric, maybe partridges or quails, I really have no idea. But the red pattern on the butter-colored background is so pretty! I bought the fabric on clearance at Denver Fabrics in (you guessed it!) Denver before we moved. I think it was $3 a yard.

My chalkboard looks great on the other wall, and it's fun to have the table coming out from the wall at that angle, instead of floating in the middle of the room and blocking the traffic flow. Plus it gives me a good spot for my favorite lamp, which I use at night instead of the fluorescent lights in the ceiling. Another Distraction Decorating trick!

Renting a house is a new world for us. I am used to being able to rip up carpet, paint anything I want, and generally wreck it all up as I see fit. As a renter, I have to tread carefully, and it's a new challenge. Hence, Distraction Decorating. Wait till I show you what else I've done! The family room is up next. See you soon!

Re-Loving Old Furniture

2010-12-10T05:00:00.002-07:00

Today I'd like to tell you about the desk in Nina's room. That desk has seen many lives. I got it (free!) from a friend of my mom's when I moved into my first apartment as a single girl. It was originally a honey-colored wood and I painted it white, even before I understood the utter magic of painting things white! And here is the desk in my Colorado guest room a few years ago. It's on the right side of the photo if you look close.

Fast Forward: Then my dad came out to visit us in Colorado in August of 2010. I coerced him into doing projects in my garage all day. And by the way, I think I know from where I inherited this "project" gene; he secretly (or not so secretly) loved it. Can you tell?

Anyway, my dad did some work on the desk to make it more stable on the bottom, and I took the opportunity to re-sand the piece. Here it is in Nina's new room today:

I changed out the knobs too. It's always amazing to me what a little change like that can make to a whole piece! (The new knobs are from Hobby Lobby.) I also added some scrapbook paper as drawer liner, with a little Mod Podge to help glue it down and seal it:

I also roughed up the drawer edges with sandpaper a little more. I love the effect!

Not bad for a freebie from ten years ago!

Do you have a piece of furniture sitting around that you could "upgrade"? Before we all head out to the malls, or even to the Goodwill, it's even easier to wander downstairs to the basement or out to the garage. I still have a few pieces that I'd like to paint or update, right here in my own house, without spending a dime!

I'll be back with more next week. Have a great December weekend!

Birdie Brigade

2010-12-08T11:20:00.003-07:00

I promised I would share more with you about this sweet little birdcage that I put together for Nina's room.

First of all, I picked up the cage itself from a church rummage sale months ago. I think it was $1. Then I got the little nest at Hobby Lobby (maybe $3?), and the blue eggs from TJ Maxx on clearance ($4?). The birdcage is hanging from a simple hook in the ceiling, using a ribbon I had in my stash.

Most importantly, the birdies themselves! Aren't they precious? I got them on Etsy from Megan at My Sweet Pumpkin. She custom sewed Nina's name on each of them, and even went out of her way to find the exact colors I asked for: pale pink, pale yellow and sage green. I think I paid $5 or $6 for each of them. Totally worth it!

I wanted to hang something in the corner of Nina's room to give it more dimension. (Check out my last post if you want to see her whole room put together!) The birdcage is perched high enough so we can enjoy looking at it, but little hands can't grab it. Gotta have a strategy with 22-month-old Hurricane Henry lurking around! :)

I'll be back on Friday to tell you about the desk in the other corner of the room. Have a great day!

My Pretty Girl's Room

2010-12-06T05:00:00.003-07:00

Months and months ago, I got an offer from Dutch Boy Paints to review their product. Obviously, they know my affection for painting things. What with moving my whole house (twice) and all, it has taken me a long time to get around to using the paint that they sent me.

Oh, how it was worth the wait!

I promised my four-year-old, Nina, that her room would be the first room painted in the new house. I selected "Delicate Pink" from Dutch Boy's collection. Here's Nina's room before:

And here is the after! Excuse the harsh lighting; I was trying to get a photo with the accurate color of the walls. It's a pale pink that doesn't overwhelm you with it's pink-ness, which I love.

Nina's room is small, but I am so happy with the color because it gives it a warm glow when the morning sun comes in.

I will be telling you more about this birdcage (below) soon, and also about the desk (above).

The gallon of paint was more than enough to cover the walls in one coat. That is reason enough for this mother-with-no-time to become a convert!

Dutch Boy paint in Delicate Pink. I love it!

I'm Back!

2010-12-03T18:07:00.006-07:00

Hi everyone!

Long time, no see. How have you been? I hope your Thanksgiving was a good one! How have I been, you ask? Let me show you. I've been staring at this:

Yep, those are boxes. Yep, we moved. Again.

About six weeks ago we decided that a move was in the best interest of our family. It happened rather fast, and right before Thanksgiving we moved from the gorgeous 1930s Spanish Colonial (quite frankly, the more beautiful house I will ever live in!) to this:

It's a sweet and humble 1950s ranch in Lafayette, California. While I miss those stunning hardwood floors and amazing view in the old house, I can't deny that there are certain perks to this new place. Namely, this tree in our new backyard, which is just begging for a tire swing:

It's been an interesting ride so far. We did most of the move ourselves since it was only a distance of ten miles. Lots of sore muscles, all in the name of saving some money! However, our poor dog has no idea where he lives, and sometimes I wonder if the kids do either. (For instance, today Nina asked me if she could play in the basement. I had to remind her that we no longer have one. Hmm...)

I believe, though, that this was a good decision for our family. I am feeling remarkably settled, considering how much upheaval we have had in the past few months! And I've already been working on some house projects that I can't wait to show you.

I hope you all have a great weekend. I'll be back next week with some new material, and can't wait to reconnect!

The Wall-O-Photos

2010-10-25T20:25:00.008-06:00

Some of you asked to see the photo wall on the staircase landing. I must say, I have loved walking by it every day. Unlike my old photo wall, this time I branched out to include things other than just photos. I have a silhouette of my husband as a little boy, a framed poem written by my great-grandmother, random stars and mirrors and clocks, and a big letter G for our last name. I also included black accents as well as gold. I like the mixture!

For all of you who hate the angled photos, I am sorry. It's hard to get a good photo pointing up the stairs.

Basically I just started in the middle of the wall with that big mirror, and worked my way out. I didn't worry too much about everything being perfectly spaced, because I don't have that kind of patience! But I am thrilled with how it turned out.

And now, a small announcement: I am taking a break from the blog. I'm not sure for how long, I'm thinking a month or so. We've got some stuff going on that I will share with you eventually, but now I just need to deal with it. I am OK, we are OK, but my attention needs to be elsewhere.

But please don't forget about me, because I will be back!

Welcome to Henry's New Room!

2010-10-20T10:06:00.003-06:00

Here's another example of how thankful a girl can be when her rental house has great paint colors already on the walls.

Henry's room faces the front of the house, and it's got these sloped ceilings that make it extra-cozy. It was already painted a warm brownish-gray, which looks great with his furniture.

The hardwood floors in here are so pretty. And his buffalo check curtains (from Pottery Barn Kids) look right at home!

I picked up that red lantern (hanging from a simple hook in the ceiling) at a Goodwill store back in Denver. We just ran the wire down the corner of the room, and it blends in with the paint color!

I love this little reading nook, where we read Henry's bedtime story every night.

It's a perfectly cozy room for a perfectly sweet little guy!

Living Room Love

2010-10-12T21:55:00.006-06:00

I've been away for a little unplanned break. Working to finish the house, get settled, and more importantly, take time to engage in life here with my family. We've been exploring and enjoying the city, and a few weeks' time has helped to make me feel a little less like a foreigner. The kids and I even have a few play dates set up! So we're surviving.

I thought I might show you my new family room and den. Come on in! This first photo is taken from the doorway, which is to the right of the front door as you enter the house. (Oh, and also? You better believe I am counting the days until fall temperatures arrive and that fireplace gets some action!)

Now here I am taking a photo while standing on the couch, to give you another angle. I could not be more excited about those built-in bookshelves. I swear I would live in a pup tent if someone would build me built-ins in there.

I am standing in the corner by the bookshelves for this next photo. The room beyond the living room is being used as my den. Love that.

Here's a bit closer up of the den. Don't you just love the ceilings in this house?

The den again. Ahhh...lovely sight. This is the first time this grown-up has had a desk of her own in the house. Before I just had stacks of papers on the edge of the kitchen counter. I feel rather spoiled.

It's a great house to cozy up in. My kiddos seem to agree with me!

New Uses for My Old Stuff

2010-10-01T05:00:00.003-06:00

My favorite thing about moving to a new house is the way that you get to re-think how you use your stuff. For example, this chandelier hung in my master bathroom in our Colorado house. It was a huge bathroom, so it worked really well in there.

In our new house, I decided to use it outside. I love how it makes the deck feel more room-like, and gives it more dimension.

Of course, anything would look good when set against this amazing view!

We sat out there the other night at sunset, and the candles hanging above us added such a nice ambiance!
Want to come over for dinner?

My New Kitchen

2010-09-28T15:44:00.004-06:00

Today I want to show you our new (to us) kitchen! First, a few "before" shots:

Originally the kitchen and breakfast area were painted a nice, sunny yellow. I was thrilled because I thought the color would work really well with my furniture, which it did. Unfortunately, however, once I added my buffalo check curtains (an absolute necessity, as the kitchen faces the back of the house and gets crazy sun) it looked like Big Bird's house. Yellow, yellow, and more yellow.

Luckily, our landlord was OK with us doing a little painting. As soon as I got his approval, I was at the store in a heartbeat! The color? Sherwin-Williams' "Comfort Gray."

Seriously, I had that kitchen painted in a few hours! Nothing like impatience as the great motivator, huh?

The curtains seem right at home now, and I think the new wall color looks great with the trim and the cabinets.

I am also loving the lack of bugs out here in California...we can leave these doors open all the time!
Remember my subway sign? It's got a new home now!

And of course no room (of mine) would be complete without a wreath of some kind. I have an obsession.

The walls seem to change colors throughout the day, as all paints do. Sometimes it looks more gray, sometimes blue and sometimes green. I am really enjoying it!

Our New Master Bedroom

2010-09-24T05:00:00.004-06:00

I didn't set out to get the master bedroom done first. Usually that's the last room to get attention, because everything else seems more important! But somehow, things just came together this time, and the master bedroom is done.

Here is the "before," a photo on my husband's cell phone from when we were first touring the house:

Here it is now!
I love the paint color, and it was so nice just to unpack my boxes and start hanging things on the walls. Hooray for not painting! We already had the curtains and rug and everything else, so I just needed some time to arrange and place things how I wanted them.

My husband hung the curtains, which pleased him to no end. (OK, not really. He says the two things he hates most are hanging curtains and painting walls. Not so lucky for him, given who he is married to.)

But given the emotional state I've been in lately, it's nice to have the master bedroom done. It's a respite at the end of the day, and very cozy with the curtains drawn at night.

Next week I'll show you the kitchen, where I've been working my little hiney off!

Thank You!

2010-09-21T15:10:00.004-06:00

Hi everyone...

Thank you so much for all your comments. Seriously. We all don't know each other in the "real" world, but it means so much to me that you would take the time to connect with someone in blogging-land who's having a hard time.

So, you'd all be proud of me. Today I wandered in to a little bookshop near my house and asked about their book club, which meets monthly. Think I'm going to try and attend next week if I can. I also have plans to go to a Baby Boot Camp session (although I have to admit that I'm scared of discovering how un-fit I am!) tomorrow. Someone I met at the park last week invited me, and said it would be a good way to meet other stay-at-home moms.

I don't want to make it sound like all my problems are solved, but I know I need to "get out there" to feel connected. So off I go.

And just because I simply can't put up a post without a photo, here's one taken of our little family before we left Colorado. It's a good reminder for me to count my blessings. Thank God we have each other! And I thank God for all of you, too.

The Deck. And also, I'm Homesick.

2010-09-19T16:17:00.004-06:00

First of all, I want to be clear that I know I am incredibly blessed. The photos of our new deck will make you hate me.

We decided to rent in the short term because we knew nothing about the Bay area, and buying a house--blindly--scared us. The amazing thing is that we found a house that meets so many of our family's needs, and is beautiful to boot.

Our deck is pretty much the icing on the (already beautiful) cake.

Also, because I don't have to hang pictures and curtains and worry too much about furniture placement, the deck has been easy to set up. It's got a little sitting area, below:

...and a great eating area, with views of the bay.

I love it, and believe me, I know how lucky we are.

Now, the homesick part. We just moved very far away from all our family. They are in Ohio and Colorado, basically, with some in Georgia and Pennsylvania. I debated on whether or not to be honest here. I know some of you just come here for the home decorating stuff, and believe me, I don't blame you. Most of us have enough going on in our own lives, without adding strangers' problems to the mix.

But I can't just pop onto my blog and act like my life is perfect. I'm struggling these days. I miss my family. My husband used to work from home in Colorado, but now that we're in California he is commuting to the office every day. My kids are 4 years old and 20 months. I love them dearly but I think we are all just a bit lonely. Nina keeps talking about wanting to move back to our old house. Henry just wants to break everything, as sweet as he is. My sister, brother-in-law and precious niece are left behind in Denver. We have no one out here. I didn't even know who to write down for my daughter's preschool "in case of emergency" person. Adjusting is hard.

I always knew it would be hard. I didn't expect perfection once we moved here, but I couldn't post "perfect" photos of my "perfect" life and "perfect" house and pretend that things are, indeed, perfect. I don't expect you to solve my problems, because I know we've all got them. (But please don't say anything mean unless you want me to be a puddle on the floor.)

But like I said, it's real life. We can have beautiful houses, but we need friends and family to make them home. I know those things will come, with time. But three weeks in to our California transplant, it's pretty lonely around here. And I couldn't pretend otherwise. So forgive me.

At least you know I'll have plenty of time for house projects! I'll be back in a few days with more...

Our New Digs

2010-09-15T16:38:00.004-06:00

We are here in California! Almost two weeks ago, the moving truck came and deposited all our stuff in the new house. Ever since, it's been all about unpacking, figuring out where the grocery store is, and keeping the kids from falling over (or into!) the boxes. You know, the usual.

I thought it was about time I showed you a few glimpses of our new digs. Even as I type this, I am struck by the differences between our old place in Colorado:

...and the new one in California:
The house was described as a Spanish Colonial, and it was built in the 1930s. It is so charming! I have had lots of fun imagining how things will look (eventually), once all the boxes and clutter have been removed.

So, in the meantime, I will leave you on our front doorstep, where my numbered pumpkins have already made an appearance. Maybe next week I will get brave enough to invite you into the chaos!

New Use for an Old Blanket

2010-09-10T06:00:00.002-06:00

As I was cleaning out my closets in preparation for our move, I came across this blanket. It was my grandmother's, and it sat on one of two twin beds in her guest room when I was growing up. I can remember sleeping underneath it many times! Somehow it was passed to me, and I've been carrying it from house to house for years.

Sadly, when I recently unfolded it I could see holes all throughout, making it not-very-useful for my family today. Still, I could not even think about parting with it.

Instead, (Grandma, forgive me!) I cut into the material and sewed up some simple Euro-sized pillowcases. As usual with my sewing, they will win no prizes for skill, style or durability.

But it's a way for me to keep my special things near me. Still useful. (Even more so, actually, since the blanket had exhausted its lifetime as a blanket!) I am hoping my grandmother would approve!

Shadowboxing

2010-09-07T06:00:00.002-06:00

I am constantly tearing pages out of all kinds of magazines, then stashing them in books for inspiration. You just never know where the next idea will come from! Here's one that popped up in a recent Pottery Barn Kids catalog. It's a shadowbox with a little baby onesie perched inside.

With that as inspiration, I remembered a baseball jersey we had tucked away with Nina's name embroidered on it. Sadly, it's too small now, but I can remember receiving it when she was a baby and thinking "There's no way that will ever fit her!"

So I bought a shadowbox at Hobby Lobby. I added some hooks on the back so I could affix a grosgrain ribbon. I had a piece of scrapbook paper that made a perfect backdrop. And then it was just a matter of folding and pinning the jersey in place.

How cute is that?

I was always afraid of shadowboxes for some reason, but they're quite forgiving and easy to work with. I encourage you to give them a try if you've got an odd-shaped something-or-other that you'd like to save. It's a great way to get things out of the boxes in the basement and up on your walls!

Procrastination Via Topiary

2010-09-02T06:00:00.001-06:00

Why is it that, faced with the overwhelming task of moving my family to San Francisco, I start doing little projects around the house? For a couple of weeks over the summer, I was fanatical about getting piddley stuff done instead of the obvious jobs of packing, organizing and moving. Oh, well.

Here's an example of what I am talking about. I love the little greenery ball in this inspiration photo. Can't remember where I saw it, though.

I got some fake greenery from Hobby Lobby, as well as a foam ball. I already had the base, also originally from Hobby Lobby a few years ago.

I cut the greenery into manageable pieces, and then spent some time sticking each piece into the foam. No glue gun, just lots of poking.

Eventually I ended up with a slightly fuller topiary than my inspiration photo, but still...not bad!

So, next time you should be packing for a cross-country move, try this instead.

Maybe it'll look really cute in your new house!

From the Road

2010-08-30T21:20:00.004-06:00

Hi all!

Well, we are officially on our way to California. Thank you all SO much for your kind wishes, prayers and comments! I won't lie: it's been a rough couple of weeks. I know you all know what I am talking about. Lots of sleepless nights, bickering, and crankiness. And I am not even talking about the kids.

We have had many "picnics" in our empty family room, with boxes as picnic blankets.

And I don't think that you've lived until you've seen the entire contents of your life, in boxes, on your driveway.

But luckily all that is behind us. We have been on the road for two days now, and we have another full day of driving before we pull into the San Francisco Bay area on Wednesday.

Before I bore you with more photos of us in sub-par hotels and McDonald's play areas, I thought I might show you a few projects that I worked on before we packed up and moved out of Colorado. So, stay tuned over the next few weeks for those posts! And I can't wait to show you our new house in California!

Once I actually locate the camera, that is.

Still Alive

2010-08-24T23:09:00.004-06:00

Do you ever have days when it's just a relief to get up in the morning?

What I mean is this: Do you have those times when you've been tossing and turning in bed, half-dreaming of all you have to do the next day? Panicking that you won't get it all done? So, by the time your clock reaches a semi-normal time, you pop out of bed and you're just so glad to be doing, instead of worrying?

Not that I know anything about that.

We are living amidst boxes right now, and just hoping that somehow all our stuff makes it to California! The moving truck comes on Friday, and we officially start our drive west on Sunday. I can't decide if I feel sad, excited, scared, hopeful or just tired. I could practically create a whole new set of Seven Dwarfs over here.

Just thought I would check in to say that I am still alive. I do have some posts that I had planned before all this moving took over my life, so maybe I will entertain you with those sometime soon. But mostly I'll just be packing and trying to keep my kids away from the masking tape.

Hope you all are doing well! :)

Sold!

2010-08-09T21:40:00.004-06:00

Here's a hint about what we will soon be doing...

See all those boxes on that truck? That will be my life, all packed up, although loaded onto a slightly bigger rig.

We sold our house!

We've actually been in negotiations with the buyers for almost two weeks, and I haven't wanted to say anything until the deal was more finalized. But it looks like it's going to happen! I am so relieved, and so freaked out.

We don't have a house in California yet, because we wanted to make sure the sale of our house was certain before we committed to anything. Oh, and did I mention that we have to be out by August 28th?

God help me! (And if I'm not around too much over the next few weeks, you'll know why.)

My Own Personal Bistro

2010-08-05T06:00:00.000-06:00

Weird weather in Colorado lately. It's either been beastly hot, or raining. My back deck has not been a place of refuge, as it's alternately soaking wet or a blazing inferno!

However, when I have a precious few minutes and the kids are napping, I've been trying to get outside just to get a change of perspective. So much more refreshing than running around folding laundry or cleaning the house!

My front porch has a cute little bistro table that's in the perfect shady spot. Even just five minutes out here can change my day!

Most of the time this spot in my house sits forgotten. I'm so glad I've rediscovered it!

Loose Ends on a Lamp

2010-08-02T06:00:00.002-06:00

Hey girls! How was your weekend? My husband and I celebrated our sixth wedding anniversary with a night out on the town...gotta say, it was pretty great! How about you?

Just had a bit more to share about this old lamp of mine. Are you sick of hearing about it yet? See, I keep walking by it when I go down to the basement, and something's been bothering me.

I love the G, but it seemed a little pale, as if the black paint wasn't dark enough. So I went out and grabbed some fabric painting medium. Just add some of this stuff to regular acrylic paint, and it turns it into fabric paint!

I just went over my G with a fine paintbrush and some of this concoction. Don't know how well the photos show the difference, but I am so much happier with how dark the black is now. It makes it look more professional, rather than something I drew on with a paint marker. (Which is exactly what I did, but whatever. I don't want it to look that way!)

In other news, my dad sent me a few photos from his cabin in the Ohio woods! Turns out he converted an old milk jug, too. This one used to belong to my grandparents, and he painted it and added the star. My dad's an Army veteran and a huge Civil War buff. (And yes, he made that soldier, too. How cool is that?) Oh, and doesn't that photo make you want a cabin in the woods too?

Years ago, my dad also converted this old fire extinguisher into a lamp. I can totally remember sitting on the porch as a kid, reading next to this cool relic. It now sits on my dad's covered front porch and makes a great place to curl up with a book or listen to an Indians game.

It's just a reminder to me to think outside the box with some of these cool pieces that you can find at thrift stores, antique shops, and garage sales. I mean, all this stuff would look right at home in a Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware catalog if you ask me! But it's got a history much more interesting than being ordered online and shipped to our doorstep. And isn't that what we love?

Lampshade: The Results!

2010-07-30T06:00:00.004-06:00

Thank you, thank you for your advice on the lampshade! Remember this? Cute, but I wondered if it needed something.

People gave me all kinds of suggestions, and in the end, I combined these two photos. I decided to do a black embellishment on the lampshade itself, but not a bee.

And I liked the idea of doing a letter for our last name, like this lamp:

So I printed out a big G on my computer. (The font was called Gessele Regular, if you want to use it.)
I traced the G onto the lampshade using graphite paper. It didn't come through super-well, but I was able to see it enough. Then I used a black fabric marker to fill it in (got mine at Michael's):
And here it is! You all know I must like you, because I am showing you the lamp as it sits in my basement "lamp graveyard." My husband still needs to rewire it before this little lady gets to be displayed in my living room!

But still, I am thrilled with the results. Thanks again, and have a great weekend!

Lampshade Advice

2010-07-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

Remember I told you I was nesting, but almost in reverse? Knowing that once we move to California, I might (gasp!) not be able to find my hot glue gun for awhile...well, that's got me all fired up! And since I feel rather helpless and immobile as we wait to sell our house, I find myself inventing projects to keep the stress at bay.

Here's my latest. It's an old milk jug that used to be my mom's, converted into a lamp. I love it!

It's absolutely huge! And it's currently being re-wired by my handy husband, who is not quite so energized by my projects, but is nice enough to comply.

The old lampshade was classic 1970s, and it had to go. So I recovered a Goodwill shade with some burlap. I love how it looks, but now I have a dilemma. Should I add anything to the shade, do you think? Maybe something like this bee?

Or maybe a letter or some numbers, kind of like on this lamp, but on the shade instead of the base?
OK girls, I need your advice! What would you do?

Thank you!!

Biting the Silver Bullet, Part II

2010-07-23T06:00:00.002-06:00

This silver thing has brought up a lot of helpful comments. Thank you to all of you who gave me a "recipe" for cleaning silver with baking soda. I am proud to announce that I tried it today! Googling "silver cleaning" and "baking soda" will give you quite a few recipes to go on, but I chose Real Simple's version because it was...ah...surprisingly real simple.

Basically I took 1/4 cup baking soda, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 quart boiling water. Mixed them all together, then poured it over my silver. (I lined a glass dish with tin foil for this little silver science experiment.)

What silver, you ask? Well, that's the other thing. The great irony is that, while I've been checking out antique shops for other people's old silver, I had my grandmother's complete set, beautiful and engraved, all ready to go in my own house.

I've kept it tucked away and only brought it out on special occasions. But why? Why not use it all the time? I've been pondering this. And in the meantime, I got the above recipe for cleaning silver, and decided to use it on my grandmother's stuff, and on other family pieces, like this bowl.

Just pour the mixture over your silver piece(s), and let them sit for a minute or two. My silverware was remarkably clean already, so you can't see much of a difference, but check out the before and after on this bowl!

So, back to the silverware. My blogging friend Sarah, over at Nesting in Pleasant View, encouraged me to use the precious stuff every day. She says "Use it, use it, use it! My mom's silver sat in a hutch for close to 40 years only being used maybe once every 5 years. The setting is very intricate, with a small rosebud on it and definitely looks more 'dressy' than my everyday plates and stuff. I threw caution out the window and decided that if I liked it, then I would use it. Now I can't imagine NOT using it....It makes me happy to stir my morning cup of coffee with a silver spoon that was a wedding present to my mom and dad."

So I did it! I swear, the hardest part was taking each piece out of that velvet-lined storage box, allowing it to come into the every day and being stored without an anti-tarnish guarantee. So far, so good.

I will let you know if it continues to go well. :)

Biting the Silver Bullet!

2010-07-20T06:00:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago, I read a post by Katie at Harrington House that inspired me. She doesn't even know I follow her, because I never have time to comment on blogs anymore, but Hi Katie! Thank you for the tips!

She told us about her silver collection. She said that she started searching for pieces after she got married, and then later made the switch from using her regular stuff to using her mismatched silver pieces everyday. I love that idea!

Starting a collection is hard. Not hard in the real-life-hard kind of way, but just daunting, especially when you see Katie's collection over at her blog. But over the weekend I found myself at an antique shop, and lo and behold, look what I found!

These were marked $1 a piece, with 30% off! Certainly something I can handle. So I bit the bullet and officially started my silver collection!

And let me tell you, there is something so satisfying about polishing silver! Check out my before and after shot, above. I just picked up some Tarn-X at the grocery store, and it worked perfectly.

So now I have a little collection going. Mainly if people want to eat soup or ice cream. But hopefully it will grow over time!

Pretty, huh?

Buying and Storing Kids' Clothes

2010-07-17T15:00:00.003-06:00

I am in a weird place. Knowing that we're moving, that our house is on the market, but we have no buyer yet, so we have no idea when this move might take place. We therefore can't commit to any house in California, enroll Nina in preschool, or even decide, in some cases, which furniture to keep and which to sell.

It's like the nesting phase before having a baby, but not. My garage sale pile grows ever-larger:

I've also been trying to get organized. I figure if I'm not packing and selling a house, I might as well be doing something constructive! Here's my system:

It's earth-shattering, I know. I get a plastic bin for my kids' clothes, one for each age/stage. I tend to buy clothes ahead of time if I see them on sale. Henry's ready for the next year:

Nina's ready too!
But here's my question: Do you have any other tips for buying and/or storing kids' clothes? What has worked well for you? The only problem is that sometimes I duplicate items when I buy ahead, because I forget what I've already got.

Share any thoughts you've got! I'm a desperate girl, in need of projects while I wait for my house to sell!

A New Room for an Old Coat Rack

2010-07-13T06:00:00.003-06:00

Another idea born of recent panic!

As we scour Craig's List and Realtor.com for houses in the San Francisco Bay area, I am reminded again and again of how much we need to downsize. My pile of garage sale items grows bigger and bigger! But I am also on the lookout for projects that might make our storage options in California a bit easier.

A month or two ago, before we decided to move, I picked up this coat rack for $5 at a garage sale:

It was a bit too tall for what I had in mind: a cute little spot for my almost-four-year-old, Nina, to hang her all-important girlie business. My handy husband wasn't afraid to wreck this $5 coat rack, though, and he simply sawed into it, removing a piece towards the top, then reattaching it, using screws and wood glue.

Then I spray painted the whole thing using a combination of paint I had lying around. (I'm sorry, I threw the paint cans away before noting what color I used!) I am happy with this little addition to Nina's room. Her elephant backpack and PJs now have a dedicated place to hang. Very important.

And, I have a feeling that this little guy will be put to even greater use when we move. Who says coat racks only belong by your front door? I can picture them in kids' rooms, in laundry rooms, holding aprons in the kitchen...lots of adorable options!

For Sale!

2010-07-10T14:18:00.005-06:00

Well, it's official. This sign appeared in my front yard yesterday:

I apologize for being so MIA lately. We decided to sell (as opposed to rent to tenants) our house earlier this week, and our days have been filled with getting-the-house-ready-to-sell types of activities.

There I was, thinking "There can't be anything the realtor would want to change about my house to make it sell faster!" Ha. Ha Ha. Pride comes before the fall, my friends! Turns out there's a whole list of things that needed to happen, in order to maximize the square footage and various other features of this house. So much of my stuff has now been moved to the basement, in order to make the rooms look larger, that I am surprised my husband hasn't broken something. Either a bone, or maybe one of my knickknacks, out of frustration.

In the good news department, we already had our first showing this morning and our realtor seems hopeful that we won't sit on the market too long. I'm not holding my breath, though.

Mostly because I am so tired from all these house projects, I might pass out.

My Refinished Tool Box

2010-07-05T09:15:00.002-06:00

First of all, thank you SO much for your encouraging words about our move to San Francisco. I get totally overwhelmed if I think of all the details, so your comments help me to slow down and just take one step at a time. We are meeting with our real estate agent later today, so I will keep you posted!

I've been thinking about all my stuff, and which items to keep, which to sell, and which to re-vamp for our new (slightly cramped) California lifestyle. A long time ago I told you about this antique tool box.

I bought this tool box for my husband eight years ago. I envisioned us, boyfriend and girlfriend at the time, stripping and refinishing it together. Instead, during stolen naptime moments, Brent and I finally finished re-building and re-finishing this piece and decided that it would be great to store our two kids' toys. Never thought the project would take quite this long, but it's funny to see how far we've come!

Anyway, here's the story. The box had some water damage, and my talented husband removed the damaged boards and replaced them with new pine. I stripped the old finish off of the box, sanded it, and re-stained it (so that the old and new wood would match) with Minwax Early American stain. For a more complete tutorial on refinishing furniture, check out my series from last summer, which starts here.

The cool thing is that the original marks and imperfections still come through. And those are the original handles on the sides!

I sealed it with three coats of polyurethane in a matte finish. This tool box, eight years in the refinishing, is ready to hold all the toys our kids can throw at it.

Just in time, since our move to California will demand that we use every inch of space available to us. I need to get really creative with my storage options, girls! I'm thinking that this tool box might be a better place to store the kids' toys than, say, the kitchen oven?

Have a great week!

Our Big News!

2010-06-29T13:22:00.005-06:00

It must be fate.

Today I got my new issue of House Beautiful magazine, and on the cover was a question I've been pondering a lot lately: "Is Small the New Big?"

Now, I don't know for sure what House Beautiful has to say on this topic, but I'm crossing my fingers that it's true! The reason?

We are moving.

To San Francisco.

My husband's company is based in the Bay area, and about a month ago we got an offer to move there. I probably don't have to tell you that some of my first thoughts had to do with housing. Can we sell our Colorado house? (Maybe.) Can we afford to live in California? (Perhaps, if we do some major budget restructuring). Do we rent a house in California? (Probably, at least for the first year while we learn about the area.) Do we buy a house in California? (Eventually, maybe, if we can find the right fixer-upper!) Can we live in a smaller house? (The answer better be yes to that one, since moving to a more expensive market means that downsizing is a necessity for us.)

Do I have the energy to start all over, with a new house to love and decorate? (Ah...YES! That's an easy one.)

So, strap on your seat belts! The rest of the summer will be all about packing, house-hunting in California, holding a massive garage sale, and selling or renting our house in Colorado. I might go crazy. Join me, won't you?

Gone Fishin'

2010-06-21T06:00:00.005-06:00

Except I don't fish. And I am not a dude with a cowboy hat.

So really, just replace "fishin'" with something like "sleeping," "zoning out," or "lazin' around." Point being, I am taking a little blogging break! We have some big potential changes coming up in our family's life, which I will be excited to share with you when I get back. :)

In the meantime, I'm taking a summer vacation. I'll be back in a week or two. Happy Summer to you and yours!

The Chair That Took Nine Months to Cover

2010-06-18T06:00:00.000-06:00

Hi, my name is Carrie, and I am here today to tell you what not to do.

Let me start at the beginning. This is my mom. Oh, and that's my sister and me with her. Cute, huh?

About, oh, nine months ago, I had this genius idea to buy a pattern to recover an old Parsons chair that I had. I asked my mom if she would help me cover the chair, seeing as she knows how to sew and has an interior design degree and all.

Sounds resourceful. Smart, even. Who wouldn't rather spend money once on a pattern that keeps on giving, right? Well, you see where this is going, I am sure.

Yep, that's the finished chair. Yep, it looks fantastic, and I really do love it. However, just call my mom and ask her if it was worth nine months of her time, working on that darn thing every time she came to visit. Cursing the pattern that seemed so simple, but was really anything but. Tossing said pattern into the trash and eventually just winging it.

I love the chair! But here's a piece of advice for you. Unless you have endless patience and some kind of advanced PhD in physics and geometry, just buy a chair cover. Heck, you could fancy-it-up with some grosgrain ribbon and other bling.

So I will sit here and admire my chair that took two people to make (mostly my mom...I just cut some fabric and said things like "I can't believe it's this hard!" over and over). The chair that took nine months, endless patience, a chair pattern, a trash can (for aforementioned chair pattern), lots of pins and thread and eye-rolling and just a bit of wine. :)

I love it.

But take it from me: next time, just buy something and be done with it!

Fun Teacher Gift Idea!

2010-06-15T06:00:00.003-06:00

I know most of our kids are already out of school for the summer, but this idea is so good, maybe you'll want to use it for next year!

This is my daughter's pre-school teacher, Mrs. Rebecca. I adore her. So does Nina.

At the beginning of the school year, I gave her this little list of questions about herself to fill out. You know, things like her favorite treats, favorite places to shop, favorite colors, favorite candy, etc.

It's been so helpful! At Christmas, we were able to get her a special gift that I knew she would love (Barnes & Noble gift card), and we brought her favorite ice cream from Baskin Robbins for Valentine's Day.

For the end of the school year, Nina and I put together the cutest little Summer Survival Kit. We knew Mrs. Rebecca loves tea, so we started with a personalized travel mug (from a local shop in our little town).

We grabbed her favorite candy, some yummy tea, and a little summer tea towel she can hang in her kitchen.

Then I spotted this straw bag with cute polka dots (at Target!) to pull it all together.

The gift turned out so great, and hopefully Mrs. Rebecca loved it!

I know I might be biased because I used to be one, but I just think that teachers deserve to be pampered! Mrs. Rebecca has been such a blessing to our family, and I hope that our gifts make her feel as special as she is.

Anyway, thought I would share in case any of you would like to steal this idea for the next school year!

How To Make a Homemade Subway Sign

2010-06-11T06:00:00.009-06:00

Hi girls! I promised a tutorial on my homemade subway sign, and here it is!

To start, I had a few inspiration photos and a $3 four foot tall frame. That's about it.

First thing I did was paint the frame. You can see how I did that here. Then I sweetly asked my husband to cut a piece of plywood to fit into the frame. He acquiesced, and I painted the whole thing black.

Then I chose some street names that mean something to our family. I just thought that would be a fun twist on the other signs I've seen, which seem to be specific to one city. But since we've lived all over, this works better for us! Mildred Lane was where I grew up in Cincinnati. My husband grew up on Clover Street in Winston-Salem. We have every major stage in our lives represented on this sign! I printed each street name to fit the frame, using a font called Impact, in varying sizes and spacings.

After that, I traced each letter onto the black plywood using graphite paper. You can see a tutorial on how to do this here.

After that, it was just a simple matter of using a million white paint pens in varying sizes to fill in the letters. I did a few coats over every letter to make sure the white really stood out from the black. Totally time consuming, but totally worth it! Ta Da!

But you want to know the worst part? We don't even have subways in Denver. I am a total fraud! Have a great weekend!

Henry Update

2010-06-10T20:26:00.004-06:00

Once again I want to thank all of you for praying for my friend Kara's son, Henry. He is continuing to take baby steps of improvement, and today I got to see a photo on Facebook of his older brother, William, visiting him in the hospital. You could see William reaching out a finger to touch Henry's little hand...brought tears to my eyes.

Here's an update directly from Kara's blog, Three Little Kings. I have passed along all your prayers and wishes to her, and I know they are so encouraging. Seriously, you guys are amazing! And I'll be back with a subway sign tutorial tomorrow! :)

Yesterday was a bigger day than usual. After I posted the "Day 12" blog, the doctors came for rounds and decided to switch Henry back to the ventilator after all. We were surprised, but have gained such a confidence in the Attending Physician that we felt fine about the decision. And it was a good one! Henry was switched back to the vent yesterday morning and was able to come off the paralytic medication at the same time. We hadn't realized we would see him wake up from his medical "slumber" yesterday, so it was really exciting when he began to open his eyes and realize we were there. He focused on each of us and even started to try to cry when he made eye contact (it was SO heartbreaking . . . especially as he struggled with the ventilator while crying . . . because we can't pick him up to comfort him).

He has been alert for long intervals since then, and it has been a joy to catch a glimpse of our Henry behind all the wires, tubes and swelling. He is losing some of the swelling, especially in his face, but his body has a long way to go. He weighs an extra 3 kilos right now, which is over 30% of his body weight. The lasix is helping him lose the edema, but it's not a quick process.

We were on a bit of a high yesterday as such a BIG step was taken, and I have to admit I've hit a low today. It felt like the pace was picking up and giving us hope yesterday, which all came to a screeching halt as not much has changed today, but I do remind myself that no news is still good news at this stage. We're back to baby steps today, but we are so thankful that they are in the right direction.

Subway Sign Specialty!

2010-06-09T06:00:00.009-06:00

It all started because I was reorganizing my decorating inspiration photos. I found this:

And then I saw this:

And the clincher? Could you just die over this?

Then, to make matters worse, a few weeks ago I spotted this tall frame (about four feet high!) at a garage sale for $3. Do you see where this is headed?

First, I spray painted the frame gold. But then it was, you know, too gold. Like, Follow the Yellow Brick Road or We All Live in a Yellow Submarine. Gold.

Luckily, I had this fancy collection of Rub 'n' Buff. Have you ever heard of it? Hello, I love this product! I rubbed the Antique Gold color to dull it down. Just used my fingers and a few cotton balls, rubbed it on and then kind of buffed it after a few minutes. Perfection!

Much less Yellow Submarine, and all kinds of classy-looking. Took five minutes. I love results like that! (And because someone always asks, I will tell you that you can find Rub 'n' Buff at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, art supply stores, or their website).

Then I finalized the color with a bit of furniture stain (Minwax Dark Walnut) to bring out the details of the frame. Here's a little sneak peak into what I made, but stay tuned for Friday's post and the full reveal!

Tutorial coming, too, I promise!

An Easy Facelift for Antiques!

2010-06-07T06:00:00.005-06:00

Hi everyone! OK, this is an absolutely amazing product, and I just had to share. Have you ever heard of Kramer's Best Antique Improver? Let me show you Exhibit A.

This is my husband's grandfather's desk, which we inherited when we got married. It's in good shape, but the wood looks a little dried out and "faded." The dry Colorado climate has not helped. I've tried various furniture polishes and oils, and the desk just soaks it up, then looks the same the next day: sad and worn-out.

Now, check out the same desk, below, about 20 minutes after the above photo was taken, and after one coat of Kramer's Best Antique Improver:

No touch-ups. No special camera effects. Literally, just 20 minutes with a rag and this miracle product (which no one is paying me to rave about). Go ahead, scroll up and compare those photos again. I'll wait. :)

I seriously cannot believe the difference. And I can tell you that, weeks after applying, it still looks this good!

So, if you've got a furniture piece that needs some TLC, invest the $20 to special order Kramer's Best Antique Improver. It's a lot cheaper, and a lot easier, than most of the other treatments out there. And I gotta love the instant gratification!

An Update on Baby Henry

2010-06-06T20:21:00.007-06:00

I just wanted to say thank you again to all of you who are praying for my friend Kara's son, Henry. I am so honored that you would take time from your life to pray for people you don't know, because you believe it will make a difference. You all are an amazing group of people. I wish I could say more to express that better!

Henry is holding his own, but still has a scary road ahead. Below is the latest from Kara, originally posted on her family blog, Three Little Kings. Feel free to stop by there for more detailed updates or to drop her a comment of encouragement. And I promise I will be back tomorrow with some house-related stuff!

A clear picture of Henry is that he is on an oscillator, which has taken over the job of breathing for him so that his body can rest while it fights off the numerous infections which are threatening his life. He is heavily sedated and often needs additional medicine to be paralyzed because sometimes he starts to move around a bit and they have noticed changes in his vitals when this happens. We really need for him to just rest peacefully as the many treatments (antibiotics, blood transfusions, platelets, etc) do their work.

Our sweet boy does not look like himself right now. His whole body is swollen from the medications, and while they can give him (and have given) some lasix for this, it's a delicate balance and they have to watch his blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen saturation, ventilation, etc. One affects the other, which affects the other and so on. Sort of like "If You Give a Pig a Pancake," but not nearly as much fun.

The diagnosis of what caused all this (a virus is suspected but not confirmed) is still a mystery and may always be. Last week, diagnosis seemed important. Now, as I watch my baby fight for his life, I don't care what the initial cause may have been. I'm sure I'll care again later, but for now I just want my Henry back.

Scott and I feel so loved and truly appreciate all of the prayers and concern from our dear friends and family and what feels like thousands of others who are lifting us up.

Prayer Requests:
* Continued improvement. We are taking baby steps, but they are in the right direction.
* Our older boys, who haven't seen us much and are also very worried about the brother they adore.
* Strength and endurance for us and for my mom who is watching the kids so much of the time while she is dealing with the emotional toll as well.

Please Pray for Henry

2010-06-04T12:52:00.006-06:00

**Updated to add: Here is a link to Kara's family blog, Three Little Kings. She just updated with a post about Henry, who is still fighting this awful infection. Please keep praying! I know it means so much to Kara to read your sweet comments. You all brought tears to my eyes with how quickly you responded. Thank you so much!

This is Henry Aaron, the son of my college roommate, Kara. (Kara has a home decorating blog, called home (ec)lectic, which I know is the last thing she is thinking about now.) I am interrupting my usual house-y stuff to ask for prayers for sweet baby Henry, who is in the hospital fighting for his life. This photo was taken the day before he got sick.

Baby Henry is nine months old, and is currently facing pneumonia, a horrific secondary lung infection, blood transfusions, oscillators, you name it. He is a very sick little man. Henry and the doctors are fighting hard, and I'm asking if you would just take a minute and pray for him.

I'll be back next week with some projects I've been working on, and any updates about little Henry. I can tell you one thing for sure: this makes me want to hug my baby Henry and sweet girl Nina extra hard, and thank God for their well-being today.

Thank you everyone!

My $10 Chair

2010-06-01T08:14:00.001-06:00

Sometimes I find bargains in the unlikeliest of places. I had sold some of my old work clothes to a women's clothing consignment shop, and was on my way out their door after dropping them off. This chair was sitting underneath a pile of stuff. Marked $20, with 50% off!

It was in great shape, and I loved the color. Unfortunately, whoever had painted it must have run out of paint, so it looked kind of unfinished. I just whipped out my usual white paint (Behr's "Country Dairy") and popped in a movie to paint to while the kids were asleep.

I guess my lesson is that you never know where the bargains will come from! Keep your eyes peeled, especially now that it's summer garage sale season. Your next project could be just around the corner!

And I am sure your husband won't mind you hauling home more junk to store in the garage. :)

Pizzas on the Grill!

2010-05-28T06:00:00.004-06:00

In honor of Memorial Day weekends spent grilling on the deck, I present to you one of my all-time favorite recipes! This is for an easy homemade pizza crust that you cook completely on the grill! How fun is that for a party?

I can't tell you how many times I have used this recipe. The best part is that all you have to do is chop the pizza toppings and toss them into some bowls. Then everyone can make their own pizza and you have very little to do at your own party. Score!

This recipe makes about six personal-size pizzas. Here's what you will need for ingredients:

2 T. honey
1 cup warm water (105-110 degrees, the hottest tap water)
1 envelope yeast (7 grams, 1/4 oz.)
2 t. salt
2 T. olive oil
2-3 cups whole wheat or white flour

Dissolve honey in warm water. Add the yeast and allow it to start bubbling. Add salt and olive oil. Progressively mix in the flour, starting with 2 cups and adding more as you go. (I do not add the full 3 cups, it's usually more like 2-2 1/2). Knead the dough, using a bit more of the flour to keep from sticking. It should look smooth and feel resilient.

Here is my dough right after I put the ingredients together:

Smear some olive oil in a bowl and coat the ball of dough so that it can stay moist. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise for a few hours.

Here is my ball of dough after a few hours:

When you are ready to cook, divide the dough into six small balls and just use some flour on a rolling pin to roll them out. Also sprinkle the counter with flour to keep it from sticking. A helpful three-year-old is really crucial at this point:

Heat your grill and scrape it so it's nice and smooth. Do not add the toppings yet! Lay each mini-pizza on the grill over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, just until the bottoms are starting to brown on one side. Remove from the grill and allow people to put their toppings on the already-grilled side. Below, you can see one of our pizzas with the toppings applied, but before it has been fully cooked through.

Put the pizzas back on the grill (raw dough side down) for another 2-3 minutes, until the toppings are melted and the bottom is browned. Here is one of our creations, about to come off the grill:

This is such a fun way to have a party and to involve the guests in the cooking (especially your husband!). Every time we've done this with friends, people have raved about it.

Give it a try sometime. And have a great Memorial Day weekend!

I Got Fakies!

2010-05-26T06:00:00.002-06:00

Fake plants, that is. Why, what did you think I meant? :)

After showing you my summer flowers a few days ago, it occurred to me that some of you may be--like me--gardening deficient. So I thought I would show you how I get a lot of green into my home, with minimal risk.

I am a big proponent of having something green and "living" in every room. But in certain areas, they would either be hard to water, or perhaps not ideal for a living plant to flourish. So here's a smattering of how I mix up the two in my home.

Fake:

Real:

Fake:
Real:
Fake:
Real:
Fake:
Real:
Fake:
Real:
Perhaps some of these photos will give you ideas how to bring more "green" into your home, be it real or fake!

Got Summer?

2010-05-24T15:46:00.003-06:00

Well, I spent my weekend planting flowers, and it finally looks like summer around here!

Gotta say, though, that bets are being taken on how long these beautiful plants will stay alive.

In the meantime, I am loving my purple and green color combination!

And do you even believe those hydrangeas? They're real! They look so lovely that everyone assumes they are fakies. Can't say I blame them. Most people know of my gardening woes.

Ahhhh...gorgeous!

Check back with me in a few weeks to see if these babies are still alive and kickin'!

Supermarket Hydrangeas

2010-05-19T06:00:00.002-06:00

Wish I could tell you that I have hydrangeas in my yard. In fact, I wish I had the guts to show you how pathetic my backyard looks right now! Colorado is not kind to those of us who already have "the black thumb." We rely on sprinkler systems and a lack of hailstorms to keep things green around here. It's not good for people like me.

Anyway, it's lucky that my local supermarket sells flowers. I recently bought a bouquet of three hydrangeas and decided to spread the love throughout my house.

In my kitchen:

My family room:

And our bedroom:

See, this way I can pretend I live on a beautiful country estate where the smell of hydrangeas wafts onto my front porch and through my open French doors. Of course, in this fantasy, my house is clean, my kids sit quietly reading Charles Dickens, my personal chef prepares dinner, and I sit peacefully with my hydrangeas sipping a glass of wine.

What?

Unique Herbal Iced Tea

2010-05-17T06:00:00.002-06:00

Happy Monday!

I found a great recipe for iced tea that I wanted to share. Don't know about you, but regular old iced tea doesn't do much for me. So when I came across this recipe by the Barefoot Contessa, I immediately adapted it to my own tastes. And you all know how I feel about the Barefoot Contessa. (She's my BFF, though she doesn't know it.)

Here is her original recipe:

4 Celestial Seasonings Lemon Zinger tea bags
4 Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger tea bags
4 cups pure apple juice

Steep the 8 tea bags in 4 cups of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Discard the tea bags. Combine the tea with the apple juice and refrigerate until cold. Serve over ice.

However, I wanted something that would still be sweet, but not have all the sugar and calories from the apple juice. And then I couldn't find the Red Zinger tea bags, so I had to improvise. Here's what I did instead:

4 Celestial Seasonings Lemon Zinger tea bags
4 Celestial Seasonings Cranberry Apple Zinger tea bags
4 cups Ocean Spray Diet Cranberry juice

Steep the 8 tea bags in 4 cups of boiling water for about 10 minutes. Discard the tea bags. Combine the tea with the cranberry juice and refrigerate until cold. Serve over ice.

This can just sit in the fridge for drinking every day, but is also fun to serve at a ladies' lunch or baby shower. Now that warm weather is actually here in Colorado, I might actually crave this instead of hot cocoa!

Enjoy!

Why I Keep Shopping Secondhand

2010-05-14T06:00:00.002-06:00

I must admit, the winter is long for a Goodwill shopper like me! For the past few months, I've been striking out big time when I shop secondhand. Slim pickings at the shops, no garage sales to behold, even Craig's List has been sad in Denver.

However...I don't know if it's spring fever or what, but lately my luck has been changing. Yippee! Maybe people are just in the mood to purge all their junk? Garage sale season is kicking in, after all! Whatever it is, the lesson is clear: sometimes things look bleak, but keep going. You never know what you're going to find!

A few weeks ago this theory panned out, big time! I went to Goodwill and got this little gem:

I gave it my own special treatment of paint and stain, and now it looks like this:

On the same trip, I ran into a great rug. Now, I usually don't go for rugs and other fabrics at the Goodwill, but this one was perfect! My guest room used to have this (nice, but a little too yellow) jute rug:

I found this (less yellow) sisal rug, same size, softer underfoot. In perfect shape!

Lesson learned? Keep shopping! Just when you think you'll strike out again, you might hit a home run! See you out there this weekend? :)

Today's Creative Blog: I Love It!

2010-05-12T10:02:00.005-06:00

Have you ever visited Today's Creative Blog? It is an absolutely fantastic place to find so many crafty ideas out there. I found it early in my blogging days and whenever I need a homey-type inspiration, that's where I go!

Just mentioning it because I was recently featured as a Flashback. Whoopee! I just love being connected to all you creative peeps.

More soon. It's snowing here in Colorado. Yep, you heard me right. So I am holed up in the house with my kiddos and who knows what might result from that!

Mother's Day Wrap Up

2010-05-10T21:14:00.007-06:00

Hi everyone! Did you have a good weekend?

However you celebrated Mother's Day, I hope it was a good one. I got to spend mine with my two favorite little people. See them below? We went to brunch and had a great day! But does anyone know how to get a three-year-old to smile at the camera?

And my favorite big person (aka husband Brent) took great care of me on Mother's Day. Check out my new gift!
It's this adorable purse kind of thing from Lucky Brand. The straps are long enough that it can cross over my chest instead of the usual juggling-Henry-on-one-arm-and-slugging-my-purse-around-on-the-other-arm routine. I highly recommend it if you are in the market for a fancy new way to drag around your junk.

I'll see you later this week...I promise I'll get back to the regularly scheduled house stuff!

Burlap Candle Cover

2010-05-07T06:00:00.005-06:00

Have I ever told you about my obsession with Yankee Candle? Specifically their Spiced Pumpkin scent. I burn it practically year-round! Problem is, the orange doesn't really, you know, go with my decor. And a girl's gotta think about her color scheme.

I had some extra burlap lying around, and a glue gun. I wrapped the burlap around the glass, then folded over a seam and ironed it to stay in place (I took it off the candle first!). Then I just used the glue gun to seal it up, and trimmed the top with some scissors. (Make sure if you do this that you trim the burlap low enough so that it won't catch fire when you light the candle!)

The candle cover was cute, but I thought it needed something more. So, I printed out some numbers in a cute font (Modern No. 20 in case you're wondering!) and used this technique to trace it onto the burlap.

Then I used a black fabric paint pen to trace the letters and numbers.

I loved the effect so much, I made a second one for the guest room. The covers fit tightly around the candles, but not so tightly that I can't take them off and on as I change candles. Yay for cute, easy and cheap!

Fun With Burlap!

2010-05-04T06:00:00.004-06:00

If you've been into a Pottery Barn store lately, you've probably seen their cute greenery. I love how the bases of the pots are wrapped in burlap. Here's an example of what I'm talking about (from their holiday line).

image from potterybarn.com

I'm sure you've seen this idea all over blogland, so here's just one more reason to get inspired! I took some leftover burlap and literally just wound it around a pot, then tied it with some twine.

The hardest part was cleaning all the burlap scraps off my floor. Seriously!

While I had the burlap out, I came up with another use for it. Check it out below! (And I'll be back soon to show you how I did it.)

See you in a few days!

Lamp Backup Plan

2010-04-30T06:00:00.007-06:00

I absolutely love this lamp, which sits on the little table next to my favorite chair in the family room. However, as you can see by this close-up, it has taken a few nosedives recently. Frankly, I am surprised the whole thing is still in (basically) one piece, but it looks a little worse for wear!

I decided that, until I have children who aren't tempted by such things, I better put away the delicate lamp and use something a bit more durable. So I picked up this lamp at Hobby Lobby. Oh, and here is Henry, demonstrating exactly why I need more durability:

Problem is, I got used to having that lovely robins' egg blue color on the table, and the new black lamp just seemed wrong. So, out came the blue paint (custom paint color, formula here), crackle glaze, antiquing medium and the burlap! Seems to be my standard recipe lately.

I still miss my fragile little lamp, but I am much happier not to have to do the grab-Henry-before-he-breaks-the-furniture! dance every day.

Sometimes function must precede form, but that doesn't mean I have to go down without a fight!

Picnic Box Renovation

2010-04-28T06:00:00.005-06:00

On Monday I showed you a little sneak peek of a project I've been working on recently. It's this old box that I bought eight years ago at an antique fair. When I bought it, it was a gorgeous natural wood color, but I was going through a lime green phase. So it became this:

Now, it's not that I don't like it. In fact, I still think it's adorable. But I realized that I was only using the box when we had BBQ parties and we were outside, which just wasn't enough for me. In the meantime, I've been wanting something to put in the center of our kitchen table for napkins and condiments and such.

So I just decided to paint over the lime green with Behr's Country Dairy, followed by a little crackle glaze and this new antiquing medium that I blogged about on Monday.

I love it now! We have a place to corral all our random kitchen stuff on the table, and it doesn't look like clutter because it's in a cute little box.

Best part is that it didn't cost me a dime, and now I feel like I'm using something that otherwise just sat on a shelf for most of the year.

And if I miss the lime green, I'm just a few paintbrush strokes away from having it back!

Antiquing Polish Update

2010-04-26T06:00:00.003-06:00

Mystery solved!

OK, so for months now I've been singing the praises of Folk Art's Antiquing Polish. Many of you have asked me where to get it, and I happily told you that I found it at Michael's, in the aisle with the other wood stain.

Well, guess what? I went last week to buy some more, and the woman told me that they are no longer carrying it. So that explains why some of you have looked for it, with no success. Instead, the woman pointed me towards this: Staining and Antiquing Medium by Americana (found with the other acrylic paints at Michael's).

You just mix it with any paint color (equal parts paint and antiquing medium), and then use it as a glaze. The antiquing medium makes the paint somewhat translucent, so that the paint from underneath shows through.

Below, you can see a project that I started. On the right side of the box is the non-antiqued part, and the left side is the part I antiqued. Since I mixed the medium with brown paint (Burnt Umber), it gave the paint a slightly brown patina.

My advice would be to rub it on with a wet cotton ball, wait for a few seconds, and then go back with a damp paper towel and wipe until you get the effect you want. Repeat until you are happy with it. Works just as well as my original antiquing polish, but a lot easier to find!

Next I will show you the rest of that box and what I've done with it!

Outdoor Pillows on the Cheap

2010-04-23T06:00:00.002-06:00

On Wednesday I showed you my new rocking chairs, and promised that I'd tell you about my new outdoor pillows, and how you can score some of your own.

First, I stopped by my local Goodwill, and happened to stumble upon four square pillows, for $1.50 a piece. On the same trip, I got an outdoor tablecloth ($3). All this stuff was made with polyester, so I knew it would be good for outside.

The only non-polyester, non-outdoor-friendly part of this was the blue cotton material covering the pillows. (But the stuffing in the pillows is polyester, so we're still good.) And that's what the tablecloth is for. I just cut it into squares and sewed a simple cover (inside out, so the color wouldn't bleed through) for the pillows. Voila! Instant waterproofing.

Here's my one splurge: I bought 1 1/2 yards of Waverly outdoor fabric for $12 a yard.

Then I sewed a simple pillow cover, and for the price of one Ballard Design pillow ($27 total, people!), I got four.
I love a bargain!

Rocking Chair Re-Do!

2010-04-21T06:00:00.004-06:00

Last fall I was driving home and just "happened" by this garage sale in my neighborhood. These people had just moved to Colorado from North Carolina, and felt like unloading a few of their porch rocking chairs. I got two of them, at $5 a piece. Score!

Of course, one of the main reasons they didn't want the rockers was because the woman's husband, in a fit of romanticism, decided that he wanted a blue rocking chair, a la Kenny Chesney's "Old Blue Chair." Out came the spray paint, but it didn't go so well. A few weeks later, the (kind-of blue) chairs became mine. I just took a sander to them, followed by some stain and sealer. Below, you can see what a difference it made!

I used Cabot's Australian Timber Oil in Jarrah Brown (found at Lowe's). It's specifically designed for decks and outdoor furniture, and it is great for color and also for sealing the wood so that it's somewhat impervious to rain. We used it last year on our Adirondack chairs and, though they needed a little freshening up at the beginning of this season, it was totally worth the money.

Here you can see the seating area on my deck, all ready for summer get-togethers!

Stay tuned for Friday, when I'll tell you all about how I made those outdoor pillows on the cheap!

Flower Pot Gift Idea!

2010-04-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

My friend Katie recently asked me for help in coming up with a cute gift idea for her co-workers. She and her husband were leaving Denver to move back to the "motherland," as she calls it. Otherwise known as Ohio.

So, although I was very sad to see her go, I decided not to hold it against her. And good thing I didn't, because look what Katie's crafty little brain came up with!

She worked for the American Cancer Society, which meant for a pretty emotionally draining job. So she wanted to come up with a gift for her co-workers to perk them up on those really tough days.

She painted these flower pots, then embellished them with some grosgrain ribbon and buttons. Then she filled them with candy!

I don't care who you are, that's a great gift. It would perk me right up...until I stepped on the scale after the perking! :)

Stella & Dot Giveaway Winner!

2010-04-19T06:00:00.007-06:00

I know...I love Stella & Dot too!

OK, on to the winner! It's (randomly chosen) commenter #61, Ashleigh from Bee in our Bonnet. Congratulations Ashleigh! I don't know how you're going to decide on your prize, girl, but have fun deciding!

Drop me an email at buzzingsofaqueenbee@hotmail.com, or I will stop by your blog to tell you you've won.

Back soon with more fun stuff I've been working on!

Stella & Dot Jewelry Giveaway!

2010-04-15T06:00:00.008-06:00

*Comments are now closed. I will be back tomorrow to announce the winner. Thank you everyone!

Hello girls! I have a fantastic giveaway today. I am so excited about it, I might have to make up a faux blogger identity just to enter myself. (Don't worry, I'm just kidding.)

My friend Kelli sells the most adorable jewelry from Stella & Dot. Hello gorgeous!

I'm telling you, I love this stuff! It's very cute and unique, and I honestly feel like any one of these pieces would get a ton of use in my everyday wardrobe.

Mother's Day is coming up. (Big hint to the...um...two men I know who read this blog...my husband and my dad!) Perfect gift idea!

So here's how to win a generous $30 shopping credit to Stella & Dot. Go and check out Kelli's website, then come back and tell me what you would like to receive for yourself for Mother's Day. Now, I realize that we are all not yet mothers. Some of us are. Some of us aren't. Some of us are on our way to motherhood. And some of us haven't even dreamed that far yet. But one thing I know: we all love jewelry.

So. Go take a gander. Tell me what you'd like for yourself. :) How fun is that? I will close the comments on Sunday night, and announce the winner on Monday morning.

Bonne courage!

P.S. If the links to Kelly's site don't work, here's the direct link for you to use: www.StellaDot.com/Kelli

Crackle and Candlesticks

2010-04-12T06:00:00.002-06:00

Hey everyone! How was your weekend? I hope it was a good one!

I've been eyeing the candlesticks at Pottery Barn lately. But when the prices range from $24-$34 per candlestick, I think I can find alternative arrangements!

image from potterybarn.com

Luckily I had this candlestick that I picked up at Goodwill a few months ago. It was $4.99. I love the shape, and I thought I could make it look like my new obsession!

I already had these tools on hand. Acrylic paint in Burnt Umber, some crackle glaze, and a semi-gloss can of Behr paint in "Country Dairy."

I started by painting the Burnt Umber over the black, then covered it with the crackle glaze. The crackle glaze, when dry, allows you to paint on top of it. It will then "crackle" and allow the underneath color to come through. Make sense?

I think it turned out pretty good!

Now what else can I crackle?

Portrait of a Girl

2010-04-08T06:00:00.003-06:00

I've had this painting in my basement for years. It's one that my grandmother had painted of me, based on a photograph.

I love it, but I didn't like the color of the frame with the painting. So I just removed the frame and got down to business!

I added a layer of gold metallic paint, followed by some antiquing polish to dull it down.

It took a few coats to get the color right, but I like it!

Still working on where to hang it, but right now my five-year-old self is presiding over the guest room.

But I had to laugh when I glanced at this three-year-old photo of Nina, also in the guest room:

Like mother, like daughter, I guess!

Pretty in Silver

2010-04-05T06:00:00.002-06:00

Hello everyone! How was your Easter weekend?

Just a quick post to share a new discovery. I've been picking up little silver vases as I find them at thrift stores. Here's a photo from our Easter brunch yesterday. Don't you love my pretty pink tulips? The smaller vase in the forefront was 79 cents at a local consignment shop.

The silver pitcher is a family piece from my mom, but I've seen ones like them at Goodwill and other such places. Most of the time they just need a little shining up.

Just love the way this silver looks on my table! These little vases are not real silver, but they look pretty and they hold water. Basically all I'm looking for. So keep your eyes peeled when you're out shopping. You'll be glad you did!

Signs of Spring!

2010-04-02T06:00:00.001-06:00

A few days ago I finally mustered the energy to break out some Easter decorations! Those of you who have been around here for awhile will remember these cute Easter eggs:

They were so fun to make last year. Just covered some over sized plastic eggs with some scrapbook paper and Mod Podge. Here's the link to last year's post, where I explained in a little better detail how to make these.

A cute little glass "basket" with some glass eggs. Far away from little grabbing toddler fingers!

(Eggs from Crate & Barrel, glass from Pottery Barn)

My favorite springtime visitor, the toile bunny. He was a cardboard critter I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby. Just some more scrapbook paper, Mod Podge, and a grosgrain ribbon. And messy, messy fingers!

So, though there may still be snow on the ground out here in Colorado, we are desperately attempting to celebrate spring!

Happy Easter!

Luggage Rack Renovation!

2010-03-30T20:45:00.003-06:00

Hello friends!

Well, I can't say that our spring break was restful, but I am glad we had it. My husband and daughter both ended up getting diagnosed with strep throat, and then my son got some other kind of nasty bug that he's still fighting. Wa-hoo! Lots of couch-sitting and cherry Icees (which my husband swears are necessary when one is sick).

But in between all the medicine doses, I got to work on a few projects! I've had this luggage rack in the basement for over a year. Ugly, dinged up, and with some seriously gross-looking straps to hold it together, it was no prize at the thrift store when I picked it up (for $5!).

I gave it a coat of primer, followed by two coats of creamy white (Country Dairy by Behr). Then my very accommodating husband removed the old, ugly straps and attached these new leather ones (bought by the yard from Joann's).

He just used a few upholstery tacks to get the job done. What a great result for not a lot of time!
And why did it take me a whole year to do such a simple project?

Spring Break!

2010-03-22T06:00:00.003-06:00

Henry and I are tired.

Actually, to be precise, I predict we will be tired. Nina is on spring break this week (from her grueling two-mornings-a-week at preschool). So we're off to do some fun family things, maybe take a few Colorado day trips, and generally enjoy the freedom.

I'll be back next week! In the meantime, Happy Spring!

Hallway Landing Switcheroo

2010-03-19T06:00:00.005-06:00

I promised I would share with you how I ended up using my fancy $2.50 thrift store frame. In order to do that, we need to take a little walk down memory lane!

Here is the landing on my stairs a year or so ago. I loved having all these black and white photos of my family and friends. It was a nice view to walk past every day!

But all the photos had to come down when we did our loft remodel, and I figured it was a good time to make a few changes. So, for awhile, I hung this mirror and wreath on the landing, but it didn't feel right somehow. Too plain.

Then I finished painting my Goodwill frame, and I figured it would look good as another "layer" on the mirror.

But then I stared at it for a few days and didn't like it. The space needed something else; it was too angular somehow. So back I ran to Hobby Lobby, to purchase a $2.99 grapevine wreath and some fake greenery. Picked up a glue gun, and about ten minutes later I had me a little wreath!

Now I am officially thrilled with the landing. And unexpectedly in love with this wreath! It's great when a problem forces a solution that's even better than the original idea!

And my blue frame has a new home. Can't beat that for $2.50!

Using Antiquing Polish

2010-03-16T06:00:00.003-06:00

When I shop my local Goodwill, I always keep my eyes peeled for interesting, well made wooden frames. I love decorating with them, and they're so easy to paint and fit into any room. Just the other day I found this frame, almost 2 feet square, for $2.50!

I painted it robin's egg blue, because I had some left over from other projects. (Color recipe here if you want it!) Then I took this sanding block (best tool ever, pick one up at any home improvement store) and roughed up the edges.

After I sanded, I could see the raw wood peeking through. However, I wanted the edges to be a little more noticeable, so I used some antiquing polish (found at Michael's) to darken them.

I tried to get good photos of "before" and "after" to show you what a difference antiquing polish can make. Above is the before, and below is the after!

A few tricks that I tried this time:

First, I used a damp cotton ball to apply the antiquing polish. This works well as long as you don't have too much surface area to cover. I let the polish soak in for about 10-15 seconds, and then I came along with a slightly damp paper towel to soak up the excess. Just repeat that until you get the color you want!

Can't wait to show you how the frame turned out! Stay tuned...I have fun plans for my $2.50 beauty!

Gussy's Winner!

2010-03-15T11:25:00.002-06:00

Isn't Gussy's stuff the greatest? I love it too! OK, on to the winner, chosen at random...

It's (comment #91) Kjirsten from Sew Graciously Blessed!

I will try to get in touch with you, Kjirsten, if I don't hear from you soon via email. But you can reach me at buzzingsofaqueenbee@hotmail.com to claim your prize!

Thanks to everyone for the comments and the advice on what you like around here. It has been super helpful, and I appreciate it!

I'll be back tomorrow with a mini-tutorial, just for you!

Gussy Does a Giveaway!

2010-03-11T06:00:00.005-07:00

Comments are now closed! I will be back later today to announce the winner!

I'm in the mood for a giveaway.

How 'bout you?

Let me introduce you to the adorable shopgussy.com. Have you met? This girl makes some of the cutest things I've ever seen!

As you can see, she makes checkbook covers, zippered pouches of all sizes, and just about the sassiest laptop bags I've ever laid eyes on. How cute would I be, going to the coffee shop to do some blogging, carrying my laptop in this? (Oh, to have the freedom to go to the coffee shop, period. Without sippy cups and cheese sticks? Heaven!)

And when I saw these baby blankets (handmade, and in such fun colors!) I was totally sold. Don't you love that spring green?

To enter to win a $25 shop credit to shopgussy.com, just leave me a comment answering this question:

What are your favorite types of posts to read on Buzzings of a Queen Bee? Tutorials? Before and after? Crafty stuff? Room decorating? Thrift store re-do's? Recipes? The giveaways? Or even a little dose of cuteness from my kiddos or a peek into my Colorado life?

I'd love to know what keeps you coming back here. That way I can keep delivering! So, thank you. I'll leave comments open until Sunday night. Good luck!

How To (Kind of) Make a Rice Pad

2010-03-08T06:00:00.009-07:00

A while back I told you about a silly little thing that I totally love.

My rice pad.

I have heard them called bed buddies, rice bags, stress busters. Who cares what they are called? I just love mine! I am always cold, and just three minutes in the microwave is all it takes to heat this up and make a cozy little pillow for your lap, your back, your feet, wherever. Today I thought I would give you a few pointers on how to make your own.

(Notice I said pointers. This won't be too detailed, so be prepared to improvise a bit!)

First, go out and get some unconverted white rice. This is the cheap stuff, not instant, uncooked. Wish I could tell you exactly what "unconverted" means, but I can't. But just think about how this thing needs to be able to go into the microwave again and again, so, you know, plan accordingly.

Below, you can see I fashioned a bag out of muslin, sewed it up (tightly, so the rice doesn't leak out), and left a hole through which to pour the rice. Make sure whatever material you choose is 100% cotton (again, that microwave element). Put in as much rice as you think feels good. Me, I like the rice bag to be full enough that it has a nice weight to it, but can still shift around. After I poured the rice in, I sewed the bag up with my sewing machine. It's not pretty. But it doesn't have to be.

Next, I chose a pretty 100% cotton flannel, and put together a pillowcase for the rice bag. It's kind of like a pocket pillowcase, just folded over onto itself and sewn together. I added some Velcro to the edges to seal it, but also to allow me to remove and wash it. (In case I spill red wine on it. Um...not that I know anything about that.)

While I was at it, I made one of these for Nina, my three year old. I can't tell you how many nights find us both "cozied up" with our rice paddies on the couch. And yes, I know rice paddies are something completely different in China. I can't help it! Someone (not sure if it was Nina or me) in my house started calling it the "rice paddy" and now the name has stuck!

Give this a try if you're always cold like me! Just pop it into the microwave for three minutes, then sit yourself on the couch. It stays warm for a long time...perfect for TV watching, reading, or even taking to bed with you. Because it loses heat slowly, the rice pad is great for sleeping. By the time it cools off, you're asleep, but you don't wake up all sweaty like I do if I forget to turn off my electric blanket.

OK, enough boring details about my life. Rice pad=Good. I hope you give it a try!

The Queen Bee Book Review, Part II

2010-03-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

Recently I picked up the book "Feeling at Home" by Alexandra Stoddard at my local library. It really got me thinking about the purpose(s) of my home and how it makes me feel.

Here are a few examples:

We can't just plunk furniture around a room and expect to have the space come alive. There has to be some emotional integrity to what is selected. In the case of using inherited furniture we don't like, it can become a trap. We feel guilty not using it, but it is wrong for us. It is also tempting to buy "just-for-now" pieces (cheap furniture that is not well made or well designed), purchased as a stopgap.

Think of your home as a place of healing. Light a candle. Play some favorite Mozart or Beethoven. Bake a Shaker lemon pie, clean out a messy kitchen drawer, sit in a favorite chair and read to a child, or have a nap...

Our home should be a safe, private place where we can discover and rediscover our passions, what interests we want to pursue, what enthusiasms we've found fascinating...Each of us is an individual with unique talents, gifts that need to be explored for us to feel real fulfillment in our short lives.

Interesting stuff, huh? It got me thinking about this ad for Twinings tea that I see in some of my home magazines (stay with me, I have a point!):

Every time I see it, I stop and stare for a minute. Something about the rain against the window in the photo, and the idea of slowing down to enjoy a comforting cup of tea. I love it. How does this relate to the book?

Because it prompts me to pursue a "safe, private place," a "place of healing" in my home. This chair next to my fireplace, sitting quietly with a cup of tea, is that place for me. It's so easy to look at your house as a war zone for your kids, a showplace, a party location, or just a big old mess that needs to be cleaned and painted and organized. Me? I think of my home as all of those things.

But sometimes I force myself to slow down, close the curtains, turn on some Van Morrison, and just curl up in my favorite chair. I have to be intentional to create that place of healing in my home. I have to force myself to leave the dishes, the laundry, and the toys on the stairs. I actually long for cloudy days around here (few and far between in Denver!) because its easier to curl up and take that time for myself. I guess that's why the rain on the window in the photo gets me every time!

I encourage you to think about ways to create a "place of healing" for yourself in your home. And share with us how you do! I think we can all use a little inspiration...I know I can!

Vintage Botanical Art

2010-03-01T06:00:00.005-07:00

Like this inspiration photo below? It's such a pretty room, but the reason I saved this in my inspiration file is that I love those classic frames, stacked one on top of the other, in the far corner of the room. I can barely see what's actually in the frames, but I am drawn to the set of three. Alas, I don't have the funds to buy lots of pretty flowers and other frameables like the ones below.

I was bummed until I discovered Mary Walcott and her vintage botanical prints. Just recently I scored a set of 25 of these on eBay for $25. Considering how many ways I can find to use these, I consider that a worthwhile bargain!

So now I have these pretty florals hung up throughout my house. Still looking for a place to line up a set of three of them, like in my inspiration photo, but it's a fun challenge!

So, if you're looking for an inexpensive way to add some pretty vintage art to your home, just head to eBay and use the keywords Mary Walcott.

Happy bidding!