0 Feeling the Love

>> Friday, March 30, 2012

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…

A Matched Pair
A Touch of Arkansas
AJW Design Co
Apartment Therapy
At Home in Arkansas
Bellatina Creations
Blog Catalog
Brixton Nole
Bubbles and Money
Building Moxie
Cara Beth Photography
Casa Sugar
Charlotte John Real Estate Co.
Custard By Design
Dabe to Dream
Decorating by Michelle
Details Weddings & Events
East Goes West
eHow
Five Little Rules
For the Love of Painting
From the Front Porch
Frugal with a Flourish
Home Decor News
Home Sweet Home
I design, you DIY…e-decorating
Jessica’s Journey
Keeping Up with the Joneses
Life Lessons
Live the Life You Love
Livin’ the Young Life
Lovely Tonight
Meet Penny
Michelle Lee Interiors
Modern Maizy
Momcaster
My Life as a Mrs
Oh The Place I Want To Go
Our Family
Our Happy Family
Our Little Acre
Planning Makes Perfection
Providence Ltd Interior Design
Quaint Oaks
Rachael Jones’ Blog
Rambles with Reese
Remodel This House
Re-Nest
Renovation Rants
Show Home Staging & Design
Simple Tips for Life
Splendid Twenties
Sweet Tea Magnolia
Take Life with a Grain of Chocolate
Tearing Up Houses
That’s What She Said
The Buies
The Cape on the Corner
The Dooses
The Deacons
The Divine Mrs. EM
The Flipping Couple
The Good Life
The Hopper House
The Jones Family
The Lowe Down
The Married Life Diaries
The McNulty Family
The Muddy Truth
The Phillips Pham
The Road to Delightful
The Rich Hard Life & Sons
The Secret of the Spoiled Labradors
The Sun Comes Out Tomorrow
Two Dogs & a House
Two Poms and a House
UAMesSing It Up
Well Nested Home
Zesty Nest


Happy weekend!

clip_image002

Read more...

2 Before & After: A $14 Lamp Revamp

>> Thursday, March 29, 2012

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…

image
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.

Lamp_19Lamp_17

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.


Lamp_15Lamp_16

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.

Lamp_14Lamp_13Lamp_12Lamp_122

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…

Lamp_11Lamp_10

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!

Lamp_9Lamp_8Lamp_7

Lamp_6

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…

Lamp_4




clip_image002

Read more...

2 Post of Note: All Aboard!

>> Wednesday, March 28, 2012

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)

imageimage


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?



clip_image002

Read more...

2 Before Story: Lighting Up

>> Tuesday, March 27, 2012

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…



Lamp_2Lamp_3Lamp_1

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


clip_image002

Read more...

2 Fooling Fate

>> Monday, March 26, 2012

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.

IMG_4788

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

image

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.)

clip_image002

Read more...

0 Back in Blue

>> Thursday, March 22, 2012

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

porch_2

 

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

porch_3

They’re baaaaack…

Nest_1Nest_3

…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.


clip_image002

Read more...

0 Going Green: A New Addition & True Confession

>> Wednesday, March 21, 2012

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…

image
IMG_2270

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

plant_4

plant_5


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.

plant_6

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.



plant_3

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

plant_1plant_2

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.


clip_image002

Read more...

0 Just Sold: Brian & Alicia’s First Place

>> Tuesday, March 20, 2012

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.

Miller_3

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

Miller_2

Congratulations again to two little love birds turned homeowners!

clip_image002

Read more...

1 Good Things

>> Friday, March 16, 2012

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

Cara



Read more...

3 Going Green: Baby Steps

>> Thursday, March 15, 2012

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.




Read more...
Related Posts with Thumbnails

  © Blogger template Simple n' Sweet by Ourblogtemplates.com 2009

Back to TOP