The 3-D Octagon

And the winner is . . .

So today while Andy was outside in the sweltering heat working on a dresser makeover for the playroom/office (here is a sneak peek)

I started finally feeling the urge to tackle the chairs.  We had looked at pictures and I had an idea but before I had to commit to paint and fabric, I had to get them ready.  I have to admit that the upholstery concept was intimidating.  I was ok with removing cushions from chairs that unscrewed and recovering those and replacing but actually having to reupholster a frame made me break out in a cold sweat.

Well I have read, researched and burned incense to the spirit of furniture restoration and the one message that came across loud and clear is the best way to figure out how to recover a chair is to take the original upholstery off carefully.

So since a picture is worth a thousand words here is what I did (ok mostly so I do not have to type thousands of words) .  .  .

 

The net result is a pile of back and front and seat cushion and arm rest inserts . . .

So the next step is to remove staples.  If a furniture quality is to be judged by the number of staples used to attach the upholstery then Drexel Heritage wins the prize.  There were no gaps between staples and some staples were layered . . .

I HIGHLY recommend the Harbor Freight Heavy Duty Staple Remover http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty-professional-staple-remover-66732.html

It is the best #2.99 plus tax you will ever spend - much better than the old screwdriver and plier method - you will still need pliers from time to time but the staples remove much easier after this little tool pries them out.

So we took the chair from this . . .

To a staple free ready to prime piece (we are keeping the cushioning - it was in great condition so we covered it)

To primed and ready to paint - and yes it is after dark - it is so hot out we often finish our painting at night

We did manage to get the first coat of the paint on and I am in love.  Serious furniture makeover bliss.  So while I was going to announce what the chair was going to look like and post of a picture of the gorgeous fabric that I happen to have just enough of to cover both chairs I think I am going to wait . . . I think we will have the first one ready to unveil pretty quickly :)

Oh Where Oh Where is my little Bergere Pair

Ok is that not either a catchy or pitiful title - not sure which but it has been the kind of week where I feel punch drunk so I am sticking with it.

Want to see something else pitiful?

I have a pair of these that I found at Savers for an insanely good price - they are Drexel Heritage . . .

Now you are probably wondering why such a low quality image - ummmm because it looks better fuzzy - worn out dingy upholstery, intact wood but finish is badly chipped.  They currently sit next to a pretty matching french Drexel round table in my rotunda.  In my what.  Yes there is a rotunda entry way into my bedroom - kind of hard to decorate to say the least.

Anyways back to the chairs.  I have been putting off redoing them because it is a more intensive upholstery redo than I have ever done before and I just had not developed any gumption.  Well I found my gumption and now I just need my inspiration.

My second excuse err I mean reason for not doing my chairs involved what did I want the finish to look like.  Still sporting the knotty pine furniture in my bedroom that I am oh so very over however replacing it is oh so very costly.  Especially when you have University tuition and room/board to pay (which I will be paying for the next 7 years - I am grateful, do not get me wrong, but food is not optional, "new" furniture is)  So do I remove the upholstery and strip the frames until they are ready to refinish in a pine stain . . .

I do not like the fabric on either of these options but can see beyond it to one of my stash items . . .

Image source www.liveauctioneers.com

Image source www.ebay.com

Do I want to strip down and do a distressed or antiqued finish?

Image Source www.safaviehhome.com

Or do I paint it fun and modern color to give it a fresh look . . .

I am singing I see a brown chair and I want to paint it black (or red or cream or something) My apologies to the Rolling Stones btw!

Image Source www.decorpad.com 

Btw - after all this fun and nonsense I realize these are probably Fauteuil not Bergere style but I cannot come up with a snazzy title using Fauteuil.  Honestly I do not think I can even pronounce it.  So what would you do with the chairs?  Where would your imagination take you?

Stay tuned for updates . . .

 

Where did the summer go?

Wow July 29th already.  I talked to a dear friend of mine today - her children start school in 2 weeks and many of my friends' kids back in Memphis start school in 1 week.  We have a month left to enjoy the summer but still - where did the last two months go.  Well, they were not squandered but not terribly exciting either.  We have been cleaning and organizing the house - two purchases on craigslist helped greatly in getting us going down that path.

First was a new server for our dining room - I had an area that looked bare, more china than I could hold and no budget.  Ha craigslist to the rescue.  I found this cherry Thomasville sideboard for $100 and it holds our large collection of Noritake china very nicely . . .

Originally this got moved into our dining room, not in place and stuck amongst all the wedding leftovers.  I got bitten by something poisonous (not sure if it was a brown recluse or an alien) but the ensuing battle to heal my leg (it started rotting at one point, lovely) left me pretty de-energized.  But as I started feeling better the whole clutter problem started to bother me - so I got the living room and dining room de-cluttered and clean.  The next huge problem was our bedroom.  Laundry (clean at least) was stacked up on end tables I had bought oh a year ago at St. Vincent's thrift and the original nightstands were still in place.  We spent a day putting away laundry and have managed to keep in clean for a few weeks now and it is such a good feeling.  The other craigslist find was something I had been looking at purchasing for months.  My jewelry was scattered around the different furniture pieces in jewelry boxes and trays and assorted and sundry catchalls.  I wanted a pretty jewelry armoire that did not cost a million dollars . . . Craigslist again and this was a fabulous $35 and helps me live for a few more years with the Broyhill Fontana suite that I absolutely do not love.

I still need to tackle the playroom so I can repaint the dresser yellow and start brightening  up this repository of all the missing mass of the universe into a cohesive room where we can sit and enjoy.  Originally we had next weekend targeted to finish all sorting and cleaning so we could have a garage sale but then common sense struck and having a yard sale in Las Vegas in August is akin to slow suicide.  So we have decided to postpone until it cools down quite a bit.

So next weekend will keep on going through room by room, drawer by drawer and closet by closet to get everything organized.  Hopefully there will be time to finish two projects that we started last spring. We need to paste wax two pieces

Our fabulous Ethan Allen $40 goodwill table that went from ugly and abused

To fresh and summery for the porch - unfortunately it did not like the polyurethane so we sanded it again, freshed up the wood with a light, natural stain and will be waxing it for protection

I also transformed this old tired footstool that I paid around $5 for at Goodwill into a summery place to rest your feet

Ignore the left side - I had run out of staples when I snapped this picture but now it is all tight and even . . .

I love the fabric.  It was a remenant bought at JoAnn's and it was the inspiration for the base of the table.  I also found that they still carried this beautiful Waverly linen blend and bought a bunch more to use on cushions.  We found a place here in Vegas that will cut foam cushion inserts for insanely good prices and after I get Patrick settled in his dorm I am going to come back and make cushions for the teak bench and two wicker chairs that we have out there.  I want to buy four beautiful wicker armchairs for the table to finish our eating area and complete the patio but the budget fairy (oh wait that would be me) has told me to put that idea off for a few months . . .

So not too much on the home front that was exciting or blog worthy!  However with my leg healed and a resurgence of my energy level I should be tackling lots of projects again.  I am also thinking of moving all my photography stuff over here and giving FB a rest from hosting my images.

Final image of the day will be from the last drama and patient of the summer - big boy Picasso had surgery a couple of weeks ago but he has recovered beautifully . . .

Oh good gracious - no pictures please from him too . . .

 

Seems like I will have to find new victims to practice my photography skills on!!

Taste of Summer - honoring a very special lady!!

Sorry the blog has been quiet - the simple reason is that I have not been doing anything blogworthy.  Catherine's Party turned out simply fabulous - lots of food, art supplies and music seems to keep most teens pretty well entertained.  I posted all of the pictures on facebook since I have better security controls and not everyone likes their pictures plastered on the internet.  Well I know that was two weekends ago - what have I been doing in that time?  The simple answer is not much.  Tuesday night, a couple days after the party we took the dogs for a walk and I mentioned when we returned that something had bitten my calf.  By Thursday afternoon my entire calf was red and swollen and hot.  So Andy insisted that I go to the doctor since we had plans to go to Disneyland that weekend.  Well turns out that my leg was already badly infected.  So there is no way of knowing what bit me - possibly a spider - possibly an alien since we are in that area where they see them frequently.  So antibiotics and painkillers were prescribed.  I found out why I needed the painkillers within a few more hours - that sucker hurt!!!! Except I did not respond well to the hydrocodone - it knocked out the pain (for 1 whole hour) but left enough nausea to make me wonder what I had been drinking.  So I switched to trusty ibuprofen (800mg kills most of the pain) and then

We went to Disneyland.

We had a wonderful time at Disneyland even though we took it slower than usual and I sat out all of the cool rides.  So where are the pictures you ask?  Well I am a lifelong shutterbug so my children view cameras with fear and loathing after seeing one pointed in their face for years so now we have an agreement of sorts.  If we are going on vacation to someplace we have been before - Mom leaves the camera behind.  That way they have more fun and I enjoy just being with them instead of futzing with my camera.  We spent three days at the parks and it was perfect.  Enough time to enjoy the sites and sounds and the company - not enough to go crazy and get exhausted.

So came back with plans to go to the social security administration and work on house projects since I had 1 more vacation day and Andy took a look at my leg and banished me to the sofa.  With it propped up.  And other than work that is where I have been for four days.  It is slowly healing but it might possibly the grossest thing I have ever seen.  The infection does seem to be gone finally and I know the black part will turn back to normal but I do think this one will leave a big scar.  Thank goodness I have never had ambition to become a leg model eh?

So that is why no posts.  But today, since I did not have to go to work, I have been allowed to get up some and do some normal activities.  Like picking up our produce and cleaning out the fridge and going to the grocery store.  Which made me very happy because I was so tired from eating out and eating junk food.  Today I was determined to cook.  I had a mess of corn on the cob in my fridge that needed to be eaten and eaten soon so today I found myself going to a place I have never been able to go to before.

I want to talk a little bit about my maternal Grandmother.  She was the quietest, nicest, most patient person I think I have ever met.  I never heard her say anything sharp nor anything unkind.  I do not think I appreciated her nearly enough as  a child - it was always easier to follow my colorful Granddaddy around with his stories and aura of excitement and energy.  But Grandmommy was always there - always smiling - and she took care of us in her own way without ever asking for or drawing attention for herself.  Which is amazing in its own way because she was probably the best dang cook in the world.  My childhood memories from visits to them are full of meals of southern cooking that I have never seen matched.  And of all of the wonderful steaks and roasts and hams and veggies and cakes and pies and frozen peaches, I had one all time favorite dish.  Creamed corn.   I would skip dessert to have more creamed corn.  It was the most addictive food I have ever tasted.  And it was a huge treat because it was not a dish my own mother (also an amazing cook) ever made.  It was fresh and I have never tasted anything like it and rarely if ever ate it outside of my grandparents house.  It was such a special treat.

My beautiful Grandmother died 6 years ago, 3 weeks after my Grandfather.  She had to make sure she was watching out for him until the very end.  I knew so much love and fun and had so many wonderful childhood memories and I am ashamed to admit that I just have not been able to do things that remind me of them.  However time does dull grief and wisdom dictates that we carry on the traditions as a way of honoring how special that person was.

So Andy and I shucked the mess of corn and then cut the kernels off and scraped out the milk and the pulp.  I melted butter and fried the corn with a bit of sugar and water . . .

then once the corn was tender I mixed an equal amount of flour and water to make a smooth paste and stirred it in, seasoned with salt and pepper and the slowly stirred in a cup of cream mixed  with milk

Cook a couple minutes without boiling until thick and creamy and add more salt and pepper to taste . . .

So how did it taste . . .

Just like Grandmommy's.  And no I did not eat it all - I got one generous serving and Andy had a couple.  But Patrick ate three generous servings and then licked the pan clean.  I got tears in my eyes seeing my son enjoying it just as much as I did years ago and I felt slightly guilty that I had not made this for him growing up.  He is leaving soon and I know he will miss my cooking.  I will make it a few more times for him before he goes off to college.  And now, someday in the future, I will make this for my grandchildren and Grandmommy will live forever.

That's right, put your pom poms down!

Give me an H, Give me an A

Naw just kidding, I ain't no hollaback girl . . .

Ok now that I have that song stuck in your head we are going to talk about poms

Tissue Paper Poms - the cheap and easy party decor idea sweeping the nation - well at least the blogsphere world!

And honestly I have done so many balloons wanted to do something fun and whimsical at Cath's party.  Especially since my order at Luna Bazaar which I placed a week ago and paid for "rush" processing is not going to arrive in time so I do not have the fabulous paper lanterns and parasols I had planned on -- sigh

Here Martha has them with my nemesis - macaroons  . . .

Image source www.marthastewart.com

So these are the easiest things in the world to make - see here are some I have done already

stack 8 - 12 sheets of tissue paper together neatly - the more paper the fuller the pom

fan fold every 1.5"

Fasten in the middle with pipe cleaner or wire

Trim the ends to be rounded or pointy - this is an exercise that involves sawing through a million layers of tissue paper so cursing is allowed but it is over quickly!

Gently and carefull start pulling the folded sheets toward the tied middle part on both sides

Fluff and shape into pom-y goodness

Finally convince any curious Kitties that these are NOT toys

So am I getting everybody fired up

B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

 

Sweet dreams are made of this . . .

So it is almost party time here again - no we are not doing another wedding BUT we do have to have an official party for Catherine's 15th!!!  I love throwing kids birthday parties and have had so much fun planning the themes.  I have done from pirates to paintballs and fairies to horror movies - last year Catherine had a carnival party and we still are enjoying the cotton candy, popcorn and shaved ice machines.  Not to mention the fun house mirrors in our family room.  I guess those should come down (eventually).  This year we are doing an Alice in Wonderland theme.  We will start off with a tea party, then some flamingo croquet and other activities, both the Disney and Tim Burton movies, then I will do a cook out and dance party complete with fabulous night club lights in the backyard.

One request that was made for this year's party was a Candy Buffet.  I first saw these on the wedding blogs, but they have made their way into regular parties as well as a fun and sugary decoration idea as well as a popular favor. 

Here are some cool ones I have seen on the 'net.  We are using clear glass containers for ours but the possibilities are endless

Pretty Blue and Green color theme - great banner!

Image Source http://frogprincepaperie.com/2010/03/the-frog-prince-birthday-candy-buffet-the-birthday-party-wow-factor.html

Love the layered tablecloth look here

Image source http://dollarstorecrafts.com/2010/04/masquerade-party-ideas-candy-buffet/

Here is a simple layout but the candy makes it bright colorful and fun!

Image source http://bloomingdesign.wordpress.com/2009/05/08/heaven-or-just-the-cutest-birthday-part-theme-ever/

well that is all for tonight - I think I am motivated to make some more tissue paper poms . . . more to come on that tomorrow!

Chinoiserie reincarnated . . .

We were looking at Persian kittens online today - not exactly sure how we started but dang they are cute.  Oh wait, now I remember.  Cath was talking about someday living in a white painted apartment in California painting and writing someday.  And then I mentioned that when I was her age I wanted to live in a chic New York City apartment with modern furnishing and Persian cats.  Then I showed Andy pictures of the kittens and we narrowly escaped adding another member to our fur family.  We constantly mention that adding another cat, dog, rabbit, chinchilla, bird, fish etc might not be a bad idea.  I think the fish are next because they have signed a non compete agreement with our current brood. 

So back to my NYC apartment - everyone assumes that living in one must be fabulous!! Like here is a pretty example  . . . 

Image source www.housebeautiful.com

Fresh and contemporary and wait is that my mother's favorite Thomasville bamboo and cane chair.  Sure does look like it.  It is a fabulous chair, blends in with so many styles.  And definitely a prize winning example of some of the Chinoiserie style from the early 1980's that was so popular.  My mother loved this chair and sat in it until it wore out and then rigged the chair so it was still useable, sort of.

Here is another picture of that fabulous eclectic chair . . .

Wait - that picture looks like it is from my garage.  And that chair is in fantastic mint condition.  How did that happen?  Well a funny thing happened Mother's Day weekend.  I was in a consignment store looking for a sofa to replace the one fondly known as Patrick's alternate bed, and walked right into this baby.  I squealed. loudly, scaring the hell out of my husband and probably a few other shoppers as well and got on the phone to see if my Mother wanted it.  She was thrilled and will be even more thrilled to know that it is going to be shipped out this week to her!  And guess what, it was $50.  Yup $50.

Honestly if she said she did not want it, I would have bought it for myself.  It is truly a fabulous chair.

So fast forward now to Cath's room.  The Mod Asian Fusion room.  Have you been looking online lately?  Painted Chinese Chippendale chairs are THE THANG right now . . .

Image source www.horchow.com

Image source www.ballarddesign.com

Image Source www.wisteria.com

I really wanted to capture that look for Cath's room but short of stealing my Mother's favorite chair. resurrected from the dead and painting it what could I do?

Ha - Craigslist of course - now it is not the same but I think when painted a light aqua it will be fabulous (remember the cute dog picture in the composite of her room idea, ignore the dog, focus on the chair LOL)

Not much yet but I think for $30 it was a great start.

So nothing on the artichokes today - but I did make a fabulous blackberry cobbler yesterday

I hope you had a fabulous Memorial Day remembering the service and sacrifice to our country made by our Active and former military personnel!!! We are truly thankful for their devotion to our freedom!

Okey Dokey Artichokey!!

So anyone else watch hours and hours of Hannah Montana with their daughter?  That phrase will remain indelibly imprinted on my brain.  Really is Minnesota that bad. c'mon?

So this is the second time that my Bountiful Basket has contained Artichokes.  The first time they sat in my fridge until they were decidedly no longer edible looking items and got tossed.  So I have wasteful guilt motivating me this week as well as the desire to conquer a new food

So here it is - I have three nice specimens of this odd vegetable . . .

So  I found this article here on how to cook and eat them if you have no clue (which I do not)

Simply Recipes How to Cook and Eat an Artichoke

I have seen some Grilled Artichoke recipes that look promising . . .

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grilled-garlic-artichokes/detail.aspx

http://www.food.com/recipe/grilled-artichokes-157208

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/grilled-artichokes-with-grilled-lemon-mayonnaise-recipe/index.html

http://www.kitchendaily.com/recipe/grilled-artichokes-with-green-olive-dip-150450/

I am still not convinced - I guess if all else fails I can use them in a flower arrangement - they add fabulous texture

Image Source interiordec.about.com

So how do you feel about this strange green plant - how did anyone ever figure out that they were edible and how in the world to eat them? Trial and error I guess - but I am not sure I would have kept on trying lol!

Friday Fantasy Five - for the kid in all of us

OK so it is that fabulous wonderful daydreaming Friday time again.

So today I am going to take you through some items I would absolutely love to celebrate the kid in all of us.

1.  I like antiques, I like carousels and I like rabbits - put the 3 together and stir in $33,000 and oh my this would so be mine . . .

Image Source www.mycarousel.com which is a site I highly recommend if you like antique carousel animals!!

2.  So it is summer time - lazy warm nights - sit outside on a blanket and munch popcorn (yeah still have not regressed back to that diet thing I keep thinking about) and for around $1000 +/- watch a movie on this baby . . .

Image source www.frontgate.com

3.  Hmmm can I ammend my previous fantasy and move from the blanket into the hot tub from time to time?  While my inner self may be a kid - me old bones would love to soak in this .  .  .

Image Source www.lowes.com

4.  Keeping with the water theme - who would not want this combination of slip and slide and air hockey - this just looks like crazy fun to me - and at a cool $49 is anyone up for a game? 

 
Image Source www.hammacher.com

5.  OK and we all know that the best part of summer vacation is going somewhere for vacation.  Now we are getting ready to head back out to our favorite place to play, the House of Mouse, Disneyland and we have always wanted to stay here . . .

Image source www.davidwallace.com

I have no clue how to reserve it but it is amazing - hop on over to the link and look and be amazed.  I have to admit - this is on my bucket list.

Sorry about no post yesterday - was all geared up but then an emergency at work took Andy to the wonderful world of Cleveland so I had to double duty to get ready for a very special birthday today.  Happy 15th Kitten - you make life so fun!!!!

What a difference a couple of years can make :)

Friday is Catherine's birthday - she is a lovely, talented and all around awesome almost 15 years old

I took this picture of her this past weekend - she does not normally wear bright red lipstick but had her dance recital portraits that day and it would not come off!

Here is a picture from her two years ago when she turned 13 - we went to Disneyland to celebrate

She has changed so much - I look at pictures and am just amazed!!  She was just a kid a couple of years ago.  Now she is talking about college and cars and boys and beauty product.  And for that 13th birthday, not only did we go to Disneyland but I redecorated her room.  We live in a rental house so I could not paint or do many of the structural remodeling I would choose to do but she wanted to capture dragonfly colors and wanted something more grown up . . .

 

At the time this room seemed so mature for her and I thought it would be perfect for a few  years.  Ha!! A few months ago Catherine started hinting that she would like something different.  The hints got more frequent and stronger so I finally gave in and asked did she want a few minor changes or something completely different.  She wants different and since we have 2 spare bedrooms I told her that I would keep her room as a guest bedroom and redo one of the spare bedrooms for her.  I started chatting with her about what she wanted and combined the colors she likrd with the interests she has and developed a new style that I am calling asian mod fusion.  Catherine wants red and black with a mod but not starkly modern feel and she loves asian culture so I realized it would pop with the right blend of furniture and accessories.

So I did an inspiration board and this is where we are going . . .

Black, red , cream and a hint of aqua.  The dog is cute but I wanted the chair color.  Painted Chinese Chippendale chairs are very in right now and I can see why - love the pop of color and style they add.  And I cannot believe I am desperately wanting an asian revival dresser from the 1980's to paint just the most lacquer red I can find!!!  The rug background is from homedecorator.com and it is called a poet rug - very fun and funky with the names of famous writers to pay tribute to her mad writing skills and love the bubble chandelier from lampsplus.com to accent her bubbly personality. The fabrics strongly geometric, except for the red brocade pillow which I think would pop on a duvet made of black ticking stripe.   I think this is much more who she is and where she is in her life right now.  I have told her this room has to last until college.

She laughed and said "sure Mom" LOL

I think tomorrow I might just post more on painted Chinese Chippendale chairs - there are some fantastic example all around the internet right now.

Night All!