Sneak peek!

The dining room is painted! The dining room is painted!   (Ahem, update here!)

And yes, it's pink. I love it. I keep going in there just to check it out. I thought we'd be stuck with the distressed drywall forever. I'm so happy with how it looks. More to come on that soon!

I hate to say it...

but I was disappointed in the Domino issue. It really saddens me to say this, but it is true.

After seeing a friend on Facebook had picked up a copy, I went on the search for mine. It was not at my local grocery store, so I headed to Barnes and Noble. I had to dig through the stands to find the last two copies, or what I assumed were the last two copies, because everyone was rushing out to scoop this up, right? The cashier at checkout was intrigued by the magazine, so I told her how great it used to be and what a big deal this issue was, and also that I'd taken the only ones they had. Sorry, chica, these are mine!

When I got home I made a cup of tea and made myself comfortable on the loveseat. Being about 10 weeks pregnant at the time I'd become used to allowing myself lazy evenings on the couch. Anyway, there I sat. I was almost scared to open the cover. Scared to be disappointed. What if it wasn't fabulous?? And so I dug in. I read the whole thing cover to cover. If I had never seen the magazine before, I would have thought it was great. But I have poured through every issue, repeatedly, and this mash up quasi Domino didn't really do it for me. There was nothing new. It read like a homework assignment left until the last minute, and then smashed together from old content. As I read in another review, it was "repackaged", which is a perfect description. I think they could have done a better job.

Another issue is slated to come out this fall. My hope is they'll put a little more effort into freshening this one up, instead of just completely recycling from old issues. I'll be there to buy that issue too, but maybe just one copy this time.

Countdown.

One week from today marks the start of the wallpaper removal. I'm not sure I'm quite ready for the quick transformation our home is about to take. I need to get some artwork and photos ready to get up on all these freshly painted walls we're going to have.

This also means I only have one week to pick a paint color for the bedroom. No pressure, right? I'm sweating this one even more than normal since we'll be paying someone else to do the painting. I need to make sure we love this color. At least I have it narrowed down to blue, now to just pick a shade.

I'm thinking this will call for a mini makeover of the bedroom so I'll be searching for new curtains and curtain rods too. I've already printed dozens of wedding photos so we can plaster those in frames around the bedroom. We are obsessed with our wedding photos and can't wait to get them up on the wall.

Sometimes, dreams really do come true.

At least, they sort of do. Domino magazine will be making a brief comeback this month in the form of Domino's Quick Fixes, a single edition stacked with inexpensive spruce ups and DIY home projects. I will be checking newsstands regularly until I get my copy (or two).


Look what I found searching for old Domino covers! I'm not sure how I feel about those chalky neutrals, but I do spy a chubby little Boston in that photo.

Is it possible?

Could it be true? This might be, gulp, wait for it, the end of the wallpaper. We are finally taking charge. We have a few people coming over this week to give us estimates on wallpaper removal for the hallway and our bedroom, and repairs to the dining room and guest bath. I can't even imagine what it will be like to see nice, clean paint on those walls instead of this hideous wallpaper everywhere. It's going to feel like a brand new house again.

In case you forgot just what we're dealing with here.

I know what I'm going to be dreaming of tonight...

ETA: I just realized this means I'll have to decide on a wall color for the bedroom. Eek! We already have paint for the hallway (gray), but I've been having a hard time deciding on what to do for our bedroom. Now I know I want some soothing shade of pale blue, but narrowing that down? Oye! Time to break out the fan deck and my piles of magazines and paint chips.

Where did my painting weather go?!?

Now of course I knew that 80 degrees in March was too good to be true. That doesn't mean I can't miss it when it's gone. I was all prepped and ready for three painting projects, but now it's gone cold again. It snowed today! I hope everything that is blooming can survive this little cold patch.

Meet Oscar.

Oscar is our newest foster. He's been with us about six weeks now and is currently taking applications for his new forever family. Oscar was found as a stray before he was pulled into rescue. He needed to be neutered and brought up to date on all of this vaccines, but all of that has been taken care of. He is a wonderful dog and will make a great family pet. Half Beagle, half Boston Terrier, he is an absolute sweetheart. How about those ears?!

Trash picked.

Remember this little stool? Soon after buying it I decided that it would be better off as part of a pair. My intention would be to put the pair in front of the dining room window, assuming the dining room is ever finished, to hold most of my houseplants. The dining room gets great light through the huge picture window, so I'd love to make a mini botanical garden in that room. The height of the stool is perfect for in front of the window.

I thought it would take me a while to track one down, but I got lucky on a trip back from the store recently. Driving down a fairly busy street I spotted a little twin stool on the side of the road. I got myself turned around and quickly scooped it up. It was dusty and dirty and in need of repair, but hey, it was free! It still had a moving company sticker on it, so I imagine that maybe the caning was damaged in transit and it was relegated to the basement until it was time to be tossed. Or maybe it was already broken and just didn't make the cut in the new house. Either way, score one for me.


The stools aren't 100% identical, but they are close enough for me. My plan is to paint them both, either black or cream, put a piece of glass on top and then top them off with the plants. Since I'm going to put glass and plants on top anyway, I'm not too worried about fixing the broken caning. I may try to glue the ends back into place, but at this point in time, I won't be replacing it.

I'm taking off Thursday and Friday this week to work on some projects around the house, including these. I'm so excited to have all this warm, sunny spray painting weather so early in the year. My front yard is going to be a little furniture factory the next few days. Wish me luck!

I almost passed this up.

This antique dressing table is another lucky hand-me-down from my aunt and uncle. Beautifully hand painted by my aunt, it had lived in their guest bedroom for as long as I could remember. Actually, it shared a room with the full size bed that we are now so happy to have in our guest bedroom. Clearly, my aunt and uncle were ready for a change, and luckily for us, were ready to give up these great treasures.

I was going to pass on this dressing table, as the faux finish was not really my style. My sister encouraged me to give it another thought, and my aunt reassured me that I'd of course be free to do with it whatever I wanted, no guilt, no worries. And with that green light, I moved quickly (before I changed my mind).




I knew I wanted to use a cool aqua to pair with the gray walls in the small guest bedroom. I picked a color, and at the last minute changed my mind to go one shade darker, and I'm so glad I did. I used Benjamin Moore's Oceanfront, and the color is exactly what I wanted. I used a paint with a built in primer, to make sure I got even coverage over the existing faux paint finish.




I still have to finish painting the knobs and put them back on. I dressed it up with a few accessories, including this Boston Terrier piggy bank from Urban Outfitters and a stack of books we picked up at a local antique store. It also makes a great place for the latest addition to my vintage hat collection.

Greenery.

I'm really enjoying these little miniature shrubberies I found on clearance at the grocery store after Christmas. The pots they came in were cheap felt, made to look like Christmas stockings, so I quickly covered that up with a bit of craft paper and some twine. Best part is, they smell like lemon. Here's hoping I can keep them alive awhile!

I'm mobile!

Blogging from my shiny new iPhone. Who, by the way, does not like it if you don't capitalize the "p". I'm not at all sad to have given up my crappy old Blackberry, and I'm looking forward to using this fantastic new phone to be able to upload pictures straight to Blogger.