Busy bee

Still here! I am so sorry for the lack of posts.

I have no excuse other than this totally lame one: my day job & our consulting biz are kicking my ass and taking names. Seriously considering taking a personal day just so I can curl up with a latte whilst catching up on much-needed blog reading.

In other news, we're currently mourning the Hawkeyes' first (and hopefully only) loss of the season. It was heartbreaking. I might have thrown a shoe at the TV. We might have been at a crowded sports bar. It might have landed near someone's nachos. Damn you, Northwestern & your wiley Wildcat ways.

Moving on. Mr. FC & I finally tackled a project that's been on our list for months. Fellow home renovaters can attest to this: why is it that when you check a project off your list, you always seem to add 5 more to it? Oy!

It's not 100% completed yet, but here's a not-so-subtle hint:

More to come; thanks for sticking with me!

Framed: chalkboard project

Thank you so, so much for your input on my ornate frame's fate. I took your advice and tried the chalkboard with the frame in its original state first. While it looked lovely, it was a bit too traditional for what I envisioned for the space. I considered straying outside of my comfort zone by going for a snappy turquoise or lacquer red. But as my taste can change like the wind, I was nervous that I'd tire of that far too soon.

So white it was. Safe? Perhaps. Timeless? Heck yes.

A deciding factor was that I had a plethora of white spraypaint left over from various projects that was just begging to be used.

So inspired by these, I transformed this Craig's List gem..................

(hmmm, I do sort of miss the gold now that I think about it--d'oh! )

.............................into this:

A traditional frame with a fresh modern spin.

I am so in love with the details of this frame; beautifully ornate but not overly so.



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The process:
1. I wiped down the frame w/ a sponge and a mild soap & water solution, then cleaned it off with fresh water. While it dried, I prepped my work area. I always spraypaint outside (for ventilation, duh) and atop our patio table (placed in the grass far away from the deck/house exterior and wrapped tightly w/ sheets of painter's plastic).

2. I first tackled the frame with the can of flat white (since it had the most in it). While I was pleased with the outcome, it looked.....well, flat. Like primer. So I went at the frame with a can of white spraypaint in a satin finish. Bingo. Just a touch of sheen can do wonders in adding a bit of dimension. Allow to dry for at least 24 hrs.


The chalkboard paint:

I decided not to go the magnetic chalkboard route, as I wanted this to be more of a design element rather than a "memo board".

1. I painted right on top of the plexiglass that the frame came with, and I've heard that you can paint right on top of glass or sheet metal (for a more effective magnetic chalkboard)-- watch your fingers on those rough edges! It took me 4 coats. Don't worry--each coat only took about 60 seconds to apply. Allow each coat to dry for 10 min. before doing the next coat.


2. Here's the hard part that my impatience struggled with. You have to let the chalkboard paint cure for 2 days in a dry environment (it sat in our basement). Don't give in, you can dooo eeet!

3. Finally, "prime" the surface by rubbing a piece of chalk (on it's side, lengthwise) all over it, then erase what you've done. I recommend a damp rag over a regular old eraser, as that wasn't as effective in getting a clean slate.

{ budget breakdown }

*ornate frame: Craig's List find $35
*chalkboard paint: Lowe's $12 (in their spraypaint aisle)--> I have tons leftover for future projects, too.

*white spraypaint: leftover from various projects
*chalk: $2 (10 pieces)

__________________________

total: under $50

Chalk talk away to your heart's content.

The chalkboard surface works magnificently and the possibilities are endless.

Dinner party "menus"? Love messages? Inspirational quotes? Pictionary?

I can't wait to see what sort of inappropriate messages our rowdy dinner guests might leave for us.

Awesome.

He's a fan.

Dear Bloggers,
Stop the madness. My parents need to get out more.
Licks from the "normal" one,
Hiro

What the Hairy Bastard's trying to say is, we had a blast this past weekend cheering on the Iowa Hawkeyes to an 8-0 record (a first in our school's 162 yr history) and a ranking of #4 in the nation in the BCS polls. We may not get any style points for how we play, but whatev--we'll take it.

As I'm ever the pessimist realist, who knows how long this will last, so.........

GO HAWKS

Care to share your alma mater with us?
I love learning more about you all. =]

More adventures with nailhead trim

gra·cious \ˈgrā-shəs\ (adj.):
marked by kindness and courtesy; marked by tact and delicacy; characterized by charm, good taste, generosity of spirit

kind·ness \ˈkīn(d)-nəs\ (n.):
the quality of being warmhearted and considerate and humane and sympathetic

An enormous thank you to everyone who left a comment about our updated house exterior. I will never cease to be honored (and so excited) that you take the time out of your busy lives to leave such sweet, thoughtful, and encouraging words about our work-in-progress home. We are beyond flattered--we're dazed and amazed by your generous compliments! Thank you, readers!!
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And now, back to our regularly scheduled program................
Remember my search for upholstered dining room chairs here and here? I only needed two (one for each end of the table) to break up the "matchi-/heaviness" of the old chairs we already have.

Through a series of serendipitous clicks late one night, I happened upon these. I haven't been near a Sears in at least a decade! What better time than after a long day of work, in freezing temps, and with a reluctant husband in tow?

Cushy & comfy? Check (our bums are sighing with relief--ooh, talk about imagery......). Tantalizing tufting & turned legs? Check. Curvy camelback? Check. Lovely quality linen? Check. At $99, how could I complain? While Mr. FC was enthralled by the array of shiny hi-def flat panel TV's, I got rung up while he was conveniently distracted busy.

As always, my photos do not capture the true beauty of these guys. The linen's a nice & nubby texture.

I'll eventually paint the turned legs a satin black to match our dining room table. Meanwhile, I wanted to put a "custom" spin on them; thank goodness I've got yards & yards of nailhead trim left over from this project (again, thank you Em for turning me onto this little secret--if we ever meet, I'll totally be on your beer pong team). So while Mr. FC laboriously raked the copious amounts of leaves in our yard, I discreetly drifted away and attached nailhead trim to the chairs instead. I know........ FC = helpful wife.

Don't they sort of look like the love child of Colette & Martine? And "custom" without having to wait weeks and weeks for the upholsterer/furniture store nor having to hand over half of my paycheck. Sorry, but I'm cheap when it comes to certain things.

That's probably why the dining room is so slooooowly coming together.

More to come!

Update: As mentioned in my headboard post (see link above) and this post's comments section, the nailhead trim can be found at most fabric stores, in their furniture upholstery section (mine are from Joann Fabrics).

Hope that helps!

It's what's on the outside that counts

I confess.

I've put off posting pics of the newly painted exterior because I wanted to put the finishing touches on it/style it/add new door hardware, etc. etc. etc. Then I realized that if I was waiting for all that, then by the time I got around to actually posting pics, it'd probably be time to paint the house again.

Then it snowed last weekend. Then all of our trees decided to dump their ice-laden leaves onto our whole property, giving it a sadly naked, rumpled look. So.......of course, this would be the perfect time to take photos for the big exterior reveal, right?! I am just keeping it honest around here. Our landscaping is awful & non-existent, there's a ratty old storm door (pushed aside for the pics), peeling brass door hardware, and much much much more to do.

But to hell with it all! Here is our humble abode (our Colorado cabin cottage if you will) in its current state. Thanks for your patience, my friends!

While I haven't documented every little thing that we've worked on in this fixer-upper house of ours, I have been avoiding discussing the exterior. About the only thing we've done since moving in 2 yrs ago was replace all of the rusty gutters (and route them away from the house's foundation) & the garage door, and pour a new driveway. The exterior was embarrassingly weathered but you could still see a glimpse of its glory days. Like seeing a cougar flirting with the college guys at a bar. Rawwwrrrrr.

We are stubborn do-it-yourself renovaters. I'm pretty sure it's because Mr. FC is incredibly cheap. =] We had the best intentions to do the exterior work ourselves until we actually took a close look at all that entailed: replacing rotting trim EVERYWHERE, installing new wooden planks to the siding, caulking things to ensure proper "weather-proofing", then priming and painting the whole darn thing. Not to mention enduring the sweltering heat and trying to do all of it after 11 hr workdays and nonexistent free weekends. Ugh, just thinking about it makes me want another a drink.

So we hired contractors to do the exterior work. Best money we ever spent (their quote was incredibly reasonable) and it was all done in approx. 3 weeks (it just took me forever to actually take photos). Sometimes it's hit or miss with contractors but these guys were great.

{The ugly money pit on closing day}

{ last fall }

Remember those floating house numbers? Voila!
Despite my paranoia, this is my real house number. It's late & I don't have it in me to photoshop the numbers.
Please be nice, Stalkers. =]

No more rotting trim--heck yes.

Is anyone still reading?! Ha!

The color we chose is not one I would normally have gravitated towards; Mr. FC was actually the one who found it. One day, he came home with a sample of Benjamin Moore's Mohegan Sage and I was instantly so terrified it would be too sage-y or pastel-y (not that there's anything wrong w/ that; just not what I wanted), that I could have peed myself.

I'm obviously an overly-anxious freak. It's the perfect, chameleon-like shade of velvety green with sable undertones. If you were to take all the saturated colors of a rainforest and mix them together, this would be it. For the trim we chose Benjamin Moore's White Dove, thanks to the suggestions of my DecorPad friends who are such valuable design experts to me. It's a soft white that looks perfectly crisp (but not stark) next to the dark color.

I know this color combo isn't for everyone but we couldn't be more in love with it!

Maybe now, little trick or treaters won't run away from our house crying that it's too scary.
Maybe now, I won't have to eat a basketful of Nerds & mini Butterfingers all by my lonesome.

You're welcome, thighs.

Next up: new energy efficient windows!

Honest Scrap

Sara (Russet Street Reno), Angela (Fixing It Fancy), Jeannine (Small & Chic in Cville), Mrs. Limestone, and Queen of Remodel have awarded me with the Honest Scrap Award and LizzieBeth has bestowed upon me the One Lovely Blog Award!! My apologies to these fantastic & inspiring gals because I'm weeks behind in fullfilling my responsibilities. I'm usually so bad at following thru with this sort of thing, it's a wonder I ever get nominated at all. What a fun honor and opportunity though!

The rules:
* Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.
* Share “10 Honest Things” about myself.
* Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have inspired me.
* Tell those 7 people they’ve been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving.

Prepare yourselves for the honesty (sprinkled w/ humor) that is FC.

1. I recently realized that I always offer to watch our friends' dog(s) but never offer to watch our friends' human babies. ::::staring down at my uterus:::: Maternal urges, are you in there?

2. I don't understand the ikat craze. I just can't get into it. To me, it looks like an error.....like someone left painted fabric out in the rain and now it's gone all streaky. Like overpriced tie-dye.

Source

3. I rarely watch TV, unless it's a particularly important event or football game my alma mater is playing. I'd say I watch about 3 hrs of TV max in any given week.

4. I've attended 3 fantastically chic (and large) weddings in the last 2 months. And at each one, this sentimental thought crossed my mind: I wonder who here might be harboring the Swine Flu?

5. I wish there was a sarcasm font.

6. I am 75% Chinese, 25% Vietnamese and was born in Singapore (moved to the States when I was two). And sadly, I have never been to visit any of these countries. I'd rather spend my money on my dream trip to Europe. How shameful is that?

7. I always encourage Mr. FC to hang out with his dude friends (not that he needs it; dude's got more friends than I've got throw pillows). I don't think it's healthy to only spend time with your significant other. It's good for a relationship to spend some time apart. On that note, you should totally watch this movie (hilarious & the home decor is enticing):

8. I get up at 5:30 am and fall asleep on the couch at about 9:00 pm. Wild Freckles Chick.

9. I abhor smokers and will not hesitate to show my disdain. In college (before most restaurants & bars went smoke-free), I'd bring a mini bottle of Febreze to mist all over myself (and anyone in the vicinity who was interested).

10. I'm almost 31 yrs old and still get carded. I wish I look my age. At one of the previously mentioned weddings, someone said I look 21. It might have been the enthusiasm & vigor with which I was consuming my drinks, but that's neither here nor there.

{ { { A lot of you have already been nominated which makes this a teensy bit easier. Still, with all the amazing blogs out there, it pains me to narrow it down, but here they are.

I hope you have a chance to visit these lovely blogs for they are truly inspiring! } } }

Aubrey & Lindsay
Lynett (One Love)
Rebecca (Painting the Roses White)
Audrey (The Artful Abode)
Chloe (The Chloe Conspiracy)
Jesse (Good Girl Gone Glad)
Liz (WALLPAPER)
Kalee (Un Vie Chic) & (Une Maison Chic)
Rachel (All Things New)

Ornate frame's fate

You know you need to get out more when you stare at a computer for 11 hrs/day....only to come home and stare at it some more.

After weeks and weeks of scouring my local Craigs List to find a frame to turn into one of these, I finally found this darling. I fell for her. Absolutely smitten. And now she's mine ($35). ' Scuse the muddy doggy pawprints in the foreground.

{ And for those of you who've mentioned you can't see my PhotoBucket pics, here you go! }

Now dear friends, could you help me out? Should I:
1. Leave it as is (it's a soft goldleafy texture, not brassy at all)?
2. Paint it white?
3. Paint it the same color as the wall (for a modern tone-on-tone look a la Mrs. L's gorgeous piece)?
4. Paint it a bold color?

It's destined for the dining room wall where there is a black farmhouse table, greyish latte colored walls, and a mix of black chairs & new tufted linen ones I just found (soon to be blogged about).

Thanks for your feedback!

Sometimes this head of mine is crammed full of too many random thoughts to make any rational decisions.

Yay for Bloggers.

=]