0 Feeling the Love

Happy Friday, y’all! I’m packing up to head off to bridesmaid it up in a very good pal’s wedding. While I’m packing away, electricians are wrapping up a quick punch list of to-dos in my kitchen. I swear to you, I cried tears of joy when I heard the rumble of a working garbage disposal…I’ll also be crying tonight when my Mega Millions lotto ticket takes the cake.

Have a great weekend and there will be many adventures in kitchen backsplashes when I return. Until then, a big hug to all of the fine folks who’ve linked to LTHL…

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Happy weekend!

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2 Before & After: A $14 Lamp Revamp

Remember the sad little $5.00 lamp that came home with me after a thrifting adventure dedicated to finding a bedside table that I did not find? Click here to read Tuesday’s post or continue to the before photo below to jog your memory…


Poor little lamp, so dirty and neglected. Nothing a couple swipes with a spray paint can and new lamp shade couldn’t fix.

First, a good dusting to make sure the paint had a clean surface to stick to. Then I detached the base of the lamp from the body, since I wanted to paint them two different colors. Just a few twists of the nut on the underbelly of the lamp and the two pieces came right apart.



Then to the backyard to put a couple cans of spray paint to work. The plan was to paint the body of the lamp grey and the base a glossy white.

To protect the parts of the lamp that I didn’t want to be grey, I put a few pieces of paper between the base and the body and a plastic sack over the top.



After giving the body plenty of time to dry, I covered it with a plastic bag to keep the white paint off of its newly painted curves—wonder where this shopping sack is from…



Once dry, a quick reassembly by tightening the nut I loosened before painting, the addition of a lamp shade I already had laying around and this rehab was a wrap for $14 start to finish!

And because my brother-in-law likes to give me a hard time when I post about a light revamp without posting an after shot with the light actually turned on, this one is for you, Ollie…

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2 Post of Note: All Aboard!

That crafty crew at Apartment Therapy knows what’s up in the DIY/furniture flipping arena. We need to discuss one of their latest creations. Take a look at this TV tray turned cutie pie side table (remember, I have a serious craving for accent tables this week…click here…and here)

I mean really? So stinkin’ cute. Click here for the how-to. I’m picturing this project in a nautical themed kid’s room…or lake house…or sunroom…anywhere! Who’s up for trying this one and sending the before & after pictures my way?

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2 Before Story: Lighting Up

My theory about never being able to find what you want when you want it took center stage in yesterday’s post…and is still going strong. With the itch to go in search of bedside tables to rehab, I came home empty handed after my first thrift store stop. Well, not completely empty handed. While not a single table caught my eye, other items were calling my name from every corner of the store, and who was I to deny them the chance at a new life? I had absolutely no choice but to take home a still-in-the-box-brand-spankin-new $7.00 light fixture for my front porch and a not-so-brand-spankin-new $5.00 lamp to revive…

…but still no tables. So far: Fate-1, Cara-0.

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2 Fooling Fate

It’s been a good minute since I’ve had a furniture rehab on my to-do list. A really good minute and that just won’t do. Only trouble is, this construction site of mine is nearly filled to the brim with my already rehabbed rehabs. Almost. I supposed I could get crafty and squeeze out a few  more inches of space just itching to host a furniture flip or two.

I do want new bedside tables in my master bedroom. These were great for their price tag of zero dollars, but I want something a little more shabby chic.



And a table behind the sofa in the den could be nice…



But as it always goes in the furniture flipping world, little gems itching for new life find you, not vice versa. If you go out looking for something in particular, it never fails that you find 18,000 of exactly what you don’t need. So this week, my accent table craving heart is on the hunt for dressers and dressers only. (Wink, wink.)

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0 Back in Blue

If you’ve been around this blog for a while and followed my adventures from crawlspace to attic, backyard to front porch…

 

…then you may remember a certain visit from a few houseguests that occupied way to much of my time last spring…



They’re baaaaack…



…and I’ve already made a promise to June Dog that we will check on them no more than 6 times per day. Things have got to get done around here, and I just don’t have the heart to worry over these little babies just for them to love me and leave me like they did last year.

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0 Going Green: A New Addition & True Confession

After my visit to Costa Farms in Miami a couple of weeks ago (click here for the details of that lovely trip), I’ve been on a mission to bring more plants into my construction site. Especially once I caught sight of the orchid farm. I’ve never seen so many happy little plant faces in one room…




So during a recent run to Kroger, I picked up a new little orchid friend of my own…

For only $10, I loaded my newly adopted orchid into the Prius and cruised on home to find the perfect perch for him. And with super simple how-to-not-kill-your-orchid instructions, I had a newfound sense of confidence that I could keep this one alive. Best news of the day.



In other news on the attempt to turn my brown thumb green, the seeds I planted last week? I may or may not have left them out in the torrential downpour we had overnight.

But even with my neglectful plant mother behavior,  I have a few precious little tomato sprouts…

The bad news? I’ll soon have to cleanup my backyard and find a place for these little babies to keep growing once they outgrow their nursery. Doesn’t sound like the most fun I’ve ever had but the fresh tomato & basil salads in my future will be worth the effort.

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0 Just Sold: Brian & Alicia’s First Place

A big congratulations to Brian & Alicia on their first home! Not only has this couple been busy with the house hunt, but they have a wedding just around the corner as well. First home: check!…Wedding: (almost) check!…Honeymoon: Can’t get here soon enough.



Sure, owning your first home can be a bit intense, but Brian & Alicia aren’t scared…well,  maybe a little.



Congratulations again to two little love birds turned homeowners!

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1 Good Things

My computer is fixed, the Prius is back and my roots are under control. It's a good, good Friday.

Cara

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3 Going Green: Baby Steps

After my trip to Costa Farms in Miami last week--Missed that adventure? Click here to play catch up--my inner green thumb, buried way down deep in my DIY soul under mounds of paint cans and sheetrock dust, started itching to come out. But let's be honest, I'll never be a master gardener and baby steps are definitely in order. So what better way to start than with a seed planting kit made especially for those still worrying about report cards and making sure no one steals their chocolate milk in the lunch room.

It's is pretty cute how my garden was taco themed, including tomato, cilantro, jalepeno and lettuce seeds.

Self watering tray? I like the looks of this...

Because we are friends, I'll be honest with you and admit that I mainly wanted to kick off this experiment so that I could use my cute watering can/plant sprayer.

True confession: I ditched the lettuce seeds and opted to double up on tomatoes instead...

While I'm hopeful to have a few sprouts in the near future, I did notice a squirrel eyeballing my creation. Maybe he'll take a bite out of a jalapeno seed. Serves him right.

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