Sunday, April 28, 2013

Sunday Social

Did you sleepwalk as a child?

Thankfully I never did that. Sleepwalkers always freaked me out though because I once watched a show about sleep walking and all the crazy things that they can do. It mainly talked about the brain activity and the different stages. Apparently when someone is sleep walking the part of the brain that controls socialization is turned off. The show also talked about court cases where people have murdered someone in their sleep. Talk about scary! I remember one in particular where a mother claimed to have killed her husband and both of her children while she was sleeping. She was found not guilty, but I don't know if I would agree with that. I understand walking around and looking through drawers of stuff, but KILLING someone seems a little too challenging to do in your sleep. Apparently there a lot of cases like this though.

my perception of sleep walkers:

reality:



homicidal sleepwalking cases


Did you ever try to run away or sneak out of your house?

Heck no! For one thing I was never one to think I could survive without my parents help when I was little. Not to mention I would never want to. I had cable and a computer in my room. What else could a kid ask for?! Running away was never a desire of mine. And that's a good thing because I would have been grounded for life if I ever did and my parents found out....and my dad definitely would have found out. You can't sneak anything past my dad.


Did you have any imaginary friends?

No, not that I remember. I am sure I did at one point though. Doesn't every kid?





Did you ever go toilet papering?

A few times. I have never had any upper body strength so I could never throw the toilet paper high enough to get caught in the trees. I would always be assigned to wrap the bushes so I never had a real interest in it.


Did you ever sneak TV shows you weren't allowed to watch?

I think I mentioned this in a past post, but I was never allowed to watch The Osbournes or Big Brother. Correction. My dad never let me watch them. When he would finally go to sleep my mom would let me stay up with her and watch them though. While The Osbournes are no longer on TV, we now watch Big Brother ever summer together as a family.

Sunday Social

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Back to Blogging & Marburger Farms

I have been terrible about blogging recently. With everything in my life changing I haven't even thought about blogging to be honest. From getting engaged, buying a house and starting a new job blogging hasn't even been a thought. I haven't even been reading blogs I have been following for a long time. I have been terrible really.

me and my fiancé


I miss blogging. I miss reading blogs even more. There are so many things I would have never thought of or seen without reading other peoples blogs. So, I have decided to start back up.

A few weeks ago my mom and I went to the Marburger Farm Antique Show in Round Top, Texas. It is basically tents covering 43 acres of land in a small Texas city. Twice a year over 300 antique dealers come from all over the world. They bring everything from furniture, rugs, pots, trinkets, homemade jellies and hot sauces, candles, clothes, countless home decor items and animals. You name it, you will find it there.




This year my mom and I stumbled across these beautiful pillows.



I have been looking for some colorful pillows to jazz up my otherwise boring white linen couch and chairs. After drooling over them it occurred to me to check the price. Wait for it.....$120 for the longer pillow and $95 for the little pillow! AND that was just for the pillow case. For $120 that didn't include the pillow insert. Everyone that knows me knows that I am cheap. $120 for a pillow is unheard of and even if I had millions I wouldn't pay that.

After choking on my water and carefully putting the pillow cases down so I wouldn't snag them and somehow end up having to pay for them I noticed a sale sign. My favorite four letter word. S.A.L.E. I ended up paying $50 for the larger one and $35 for the smaller one. Don't get me wrong. I still think that is crazy expensive for just a pillow case, but they are from Turkey and they are 100% silk.  I did my best to justify this as I knew my fiancé would die inside if I paid this much. But, the vendor did fly all the way to Turkey and pick out all of the fabric by hand.



I could have easily gone to Marshall's and found pillows similar to these for much less, but I really loved these. Plus these are silk. Long story short I ended up buying them and a few other little things for the house.

After spending all day walking around and shopping my mom and I decided to make a little detour on the way back to Houston. We stopped in Brenham and went to a little restaurant we always go to when we are there. It Must Be Heaven. We both ended up ordering a piece of lemon cream pie and my mom got a coffee.


We were going to go shopping at all of the cute little stores there, but the whole town shuts down at 5.

Today I went to Jo Ann's and bought the stuffing for my pillows. It took awhile to really fluff up the stuffing, but I am done and can finally enjoy looking at them.

I promise I will be better about blogging from now on :]




Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Oh, How Pinteresting!


This week has been flying by! I can't believe it is already time for another Oh, How Pinteresting link up.


1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6


1. I think I am going to paint my dining room and living room Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter. It is the perfect neutral grey. Not too dark or too light.

2. I should just eat this instead of all the chips and salsa I chow down on. Maybe then I won't be shocked everytime time I get on the scale.

3. This probably isn't the best picture, but I am going to frame out my living room windows this weekend....finally.

4. I can dream.

5. This would be good for a BBQ party. So cute!

6. I really want to get a new front door and paint it black. Why is everything so freakin' expensive?!




Sunday, February 17, 2013

I'M ENGAGED/Social Sunday

I wrote this yesterday, but I am just now getting around to publishing it. As you will read in a few minutes my life has been pretty hectic recently.


I started my blog a few weeks ago and I have been proud of myself for writing post regularly. Sometimes I tend to start things and not finish them. I know, it's a problem.

As some of you might have noticed, writing for my blog came to a screeching halt last Wednesday. After I posted my "Oh, How Pinteresting" blog post I went to meet my boyfriend of five years. He completely caught me off guard and proposed. Since then I have been busy with family and replying to Facebook/text messages from people I seriously haven't talked to in years.


Now I am back and ready to do the Sunday Social link-up!

1. Best Valentines Day you’ve ever had: This year for sure! Since we got engaged the day before it was nice to have a relaxing dinner. I am not a fan of fancy restaurants normally, but I must say that it was nice for a change.

2. Worst Valentines Day you’ve ever had: To be honest I can't really think of a bad one. If I was ever single or if David couldn't be there (I lived in Austin and he lived in Houston for four out of the five years we have been together) me and a group of my friends would all go out to eat or I would stay at home. Being single on Valentine's day never bothered me. Over priced flowers and food aren't my thing.

3. What did you do for Valentines this year? My new fiancé (it feels so weird to say that) and I just went out to eat. I was exhausted from staying up late the night before talking to family that all I wanted to do was sleep.


4. Best Valentines Idea if you’re single: Oh gosh. What I think of as the best idea is probably not what anyone else thinks of as a good idea. I would order take-out, watch movies, eat cookies and then go to bed early. But since not everyone is lame like me I would say just go out with friends and have fun. I wouldn't worry about being single of Valentine's Day. It is just one day out of the year :]

6. Favorite Valentines Memory from your childhood: I LOVED making Valentine's Day mailboxes to put on my desk. When I was little everyone in class would make one and we would spend most of the day going around to everyone's desk and putting a cute card & candy in their mailbox. It was always funny to me to see how different the guys would decorate theirs compared to the girls. 

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Oh, How Pinteresting!


1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6


1. If I am at home, I am in pajama pants. Yes, even if it is 2 in the afternoon. I need to learn how to make my own so I can really get creative with my outfits.

2. I love this place setting for a party.

3. Delicious & nutritious!

4. How to customize a $5 window covering from Wal-Mart. I need to do this for David's back door.

5. Valentine's Day milk & cookies!

6. Last year my Aunt told me about her chicken coop and how much fun it is. I would love to have my own one day!



Monday, February 11, 2013

Gold & Brass Are Back With A Vengeance

Gold & brass are back and are more popular than ever. I, along with everyone else on this planet it seems, have been obsessed with these metallic accents. While I do not think gold and brass should be thought of as trendy, they have come and gone many times throughout the years. Hopefully this time it will last a little bit longer, but either way I am keeping my gold and brass pieces.

Warm metallic tones add a timeless, sophisticated finish to a room that I am in love with. I hate walking into a house where it looks like everything was bought from the same store. I don't care if you bought everything you own at Wal-Mart or Neiman Marcus. If the room looks like it belongs in a catalog, I am not interested. This is one reason that I love hunting down gold and brass accents at thrift stores. As Kate from Centsational Girl put it, vintage gold and brass accessories gives a room a "collected-over-time" feel. Just what I have been looking for!


1, 2
I would much rather live in the second living room.


While I have been loving all things gold and brass, I have particularly been on the hunt for a brass coffee table. I love with the one below, but at $1,129 ON SALE I knew that wouldn't be happening.

Horchow

I can't justify spending that much on a coffee table when I recently graduated from college and am in the process of pay back student loans. $1,129 is about $700 OVER my budget! Like I said, not happening.

A lot of people have been pinning/buying/drooling over this Nate Berkus Glass Top Bamboo Style coffee table from HSN. Its gold and under $300 so I completely understand. While I do like it, I want something a little chunkier.

HSN

Then I found this one. But with a price tag that made jaw drop ($1,498), it was not only out of my price range, but also smaller than I would like.


Wayfair


I also found this one at wayfair.com for $336, but it isn't exactly gold or brass. It is nothing a little rub-n-buff couldn't change though. Considering this is one of the very few in my budget and semi close to what I am looking for it is the top contender. I would still like to find something at a thrift store and make it my own though.

Let me know what you think. Are you loving this trend or are you ready for it to pass?


Sunday, February 10, 2013

Sunday Social

This weeks Questions: All about our Childhoods
1. What was your first car? A 2002 3 series BMW. One random morning when I was 15, my parents woke me up and asked me if I wanted to go car shopping. Of course I jumped out of bed thinking I was going to get the Jeep I have been drooling over. Long story short, my mom just so happened to need a car for the next 6 months (she was promoted at work and would be getting a company car soon). My parents knew that my dream car was a 328i BMW so they let me look at one. We ended up finding a used one with low mileage for a really good deal. So good even my dad couldn't pass it up! I am very thankful they bought me that car :] I loved it. I recently traded it in for a Jetta that I love just as much :]

2. Who was your favorite childhood teacher? Mrs. Price. The first time I had her I was in 3rd grade. She ended up teaching my class in 4th and 5th grade too! She is still there today as a 3rd grade teacher.

3. Were you involved in any sports/extracurricular activities? Yes, my dad was a soccer and t-ball coach at the YMCA on the weekends so I played both of those sports. I also played volleyball in middle school and ran track all throughout high school.
4. What was your favorite birthday party? Any one of my birthday parties from 1st-5th grade. My sister and I are two days from being a year apart. Her birthday is May 13 and mine is May 15, so for two days we are the same age. This also means we had a lot of the same friends and friends close in age. We always had a big pool party with pizza, cake and tons of foam pool noodles. Those were by far more fun than any birthday I have now. My last birthday I spent at work. lame.

5. Who was your teen celebrity crush? Oh gosh. I am honestly not sure. Probably which ever one of the Backstreet Boys or NSync member was popular that day.



6. What show/movie did your parents not allow you to watch? I was never allowed to watch Big Brother and my dad never let me watch The Osbournes. Since my mom found The Osbournes life (especially the way Ozzy talked) entertaining, sometimes she would let me stay up late after my dad had gone to bed and watch it. 








Sunday Social

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Simply Succulents

Recently I have been loving succulents. I have been meaning to make a terrarium for a while now, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I love plants and the life they bring to a room, but unlike my mother, I seriously lack a green thumb. This is exactly why succulents are perfect for me. They require hardly any maintenance and yet they still look good. Now if only I could be like that!


Yesterday I went to Trader Joes with my Mom and ran into this little guy. How cute is he?! I was already excited and took it as a sign that this weekend would be the weekend that I would finally make my terrarium. I was even more excited though to find out the pot is an old italian pot. Apparently it was found at a California ranch that dates back to 1908! How about that?! The plant I have been swooning over comes with a little bit of history all for only three dollars!



Hopefully one day soon I will get around to making my terrarium :]

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Oh, How Pintresting!

1234

1. There is always going to be a time when you can use a little extra seating. These folding chairs look so cute and you don't have to pay a small fortune for them.

2. I am not a fan of fake flowers normally, but I am loving these. Even a small wreath on your front door makes such a large impact.

3. I have been wanting to make my own terrarium for awhile now. This is such a cheap and easy way to do it! I would have never thought to use an empty coke bottle.

4.While I would probably never put them in my backyard, these would be so cute at a beach house!



Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Elephant Bookends

I am the first to admit that I am addicted to thrift stores. I love the hole-in-the-wall ones that are stuffed with junk. Cheap, disorganized, needs-a-good-coat-of-paint type junk. Luckily I only work half days on Fridays. While most of my co-workers use this time to run errands and do other responsible adult things, I use it as an excuse to visit some of my favorite thrift stores. This past weekend I spent my afternoon digging through the shelves of The Guild Shop. 


After rummaging through countless cluttered rooms I found these elephant bookends. 











While they aren't exactly my style, I knew a little spray paint would fix them right up and make them the perfect addition to David's new office. And at whopping nine dollars for the pair, I couldn't say no. 

So I scooped these bad boys up and sped home. To be honest, I should have taken the time to prime these. It took 4 coats of white spray paint to finally get rid of the hideous maroon. Each time I sprayed them I let it completely dry before adding another coat. When I was satisfied with the coverage I sprayed two coats of clear enamel gloss to add shine. This really helped to modernize the bookends even more.



finished!

up close and personal

on David's bookshelf :]


Why pay over $50 for elephant bookends when you can just make them yourself?!


Friday, February 1, 2013

From Bleak to Chic

There is nothing I dislike more than laminate furniture. It's not the actual look of it that really gets under my skin. It's that I know IT'S FAKE wood. Something about it just drives me mad. 

So, when my boyfriend bought his first house a few months ago, he inherited some unused/unwanted furniture from family. His oldest sister gave him a pair of wood night stands and a dresser for his guest bedroom. I liked the shape of them so I knew I wanted to refinish them rather then spending hundreds of dollars on a new set. Originally, I planned on staining them darker, but once I found out the top was laminate I knew they would have to be painted. 


Being the guy he is, he liked the look of the light wood and was totally opposed to me painting them. After some pleading, he caved in and let me work my magic.

After a weekend, a quality can of primer & paint, new hardware and some good music, I was able to turn ugly things......





into these beauties...



    
I like instant gratification, so of course, sanding was out of the question. Instead of taking the time to sand (which is sometimes necessary), I opted to buy my favorite primer. Zinsser oil based primer. It is a little bit more expensive than your average primer, but it is well worth it. Be careful with any oil based paint/primer. You will need mineral spirits or paint thinner to remove the paint from the paint brush...or you can do what I do and buy cheap roller brushes and just trash them after you are done painting.



I took out the drawers and wiped down every piece with a damp paper towel. I let that dry and then painted one coat of the primer and then let it fully dry. Make sure to read the back of your primer to see how much time is needed for it to dry since each primer is different.

Remember earlier how I said I didn't want to take the time to sand? Well I ended up sanding after I primed. I lightly sanded with a fine grit sandpaper (I used 220 grit paper) to make sure the color would go on smoothly. Remember, the higher the grit the finer the finish. Don't sand too long in one spot. Just quickly go over the entire piece. Wipe it down once again to get any debris off.

Now for the fun part. The color. For this step please make sure to buy a quality brush. You will spend a little bit more, but it will last a long time if taken care of and will make a huge different in the finish of your furniture. A bad brush will leave brush strokes and even worse, brush hairs on the furniture. You can use a paint additive called Floretrol (this is only for latex paint, but there is one called Penetrol for oil based paint) which prevents brush strokes.

The color I chose is Behr Glowing Firelight in latex semi-gloss. It's a beautiful deep orange that added a a much needed pop of color to the guest room. I did two coats and let it fully dry in between coats. Lastly, I sprayed on two coats of Miniwax Polycrylic protective finish.



By the time the paint and hardware was purchased, I spent around $100! You can't beat that for two night stands and a large dresser.