I love you Grandpa. You communicated more with a smile or a hug than you did with words.
And you've inspired me to create a Flashback Photo Series . . . it's going to be a good time.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Love
I love you Grandpa. You communicated more with a smile or a hug than you did with words.
And you've inspired me to create a Flashback Photo Series . . . it's going to be a good time.
Monday, September 26, 2011
Oh The Random Furniture Pieces I Focus On
I have thought about this ottoman for the longest time. I knew what I wanted - oversized to use as a coffee table too, upholstered, tufted, coral, contrast welt, turned legs. I looked. I stopped looking. I looked for pieces to reupholster. I thought about creating a custom piece. I talked to friends about the best upholstery shops. I drove Kathryn nuts with my questions. I finally picked out fabric, only to find out it had been discontinued. I questioned my decisions about a million more times. Emailed Kathryn a million more times. Finally I made decisions and committed! The one thing I didn't do - contemplate trying to do it myself.
And I love it. And my lucite tray looks great on it.
And I love it. And my lucite tray looks great on it.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Skill
I've become really, really good at being late for 1pm church. 8am work, no problem. But give me til 1 and time management just goes out the window.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
The Best of Fall
I bought a pumpkin today. I see Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream in my future. It's going to be a great weekend.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Live and Learn
How to Refurbish Furniture by Kristan
Step 1: Find a project on a blog where little Miss self-taught interior designer makes DIY projects look so easy anyone can do it!
Step 2: Look on Craigslist for your dream furniture piece.
Step 3: Purchase said piece of furniture.
Step 4: Go to Home Depot. Realize you don't have any tools needed and end up spending $50 more than you expected. The blogger only needed to buy paint (score!), but you actually need paint, primer, paint brush, paint roller, paint tray, tape, sandpaper, wood filler and a putty knife.
Step 5: Unpack everything. Take apart and clean the furniture.
Step 6: Realize you have no earthy idea what you're doing. Re-read the step-by-step instructions on the blog you found the project. Realize that isn't good enough and start searching "how to" on You Tube.
Step 7: Panic and start texting your friends.
Step 8: Forge ahead anyway, despite your better judgement.
The whole project was filled with clues that I had bitten off more than I could chew. Why? Why do I continue to do this to myself. Friends, from now on it is your job to tell me to just go buy it! When I try to explain that I have experience now, that now I have the right tools, that I've learned from my mistakes, that the second time is going to be better - do not listen to me. At the very least, say "campaign dresser."
First Clue: Removing the brass hardware corner and edge pieces took forever! I sat down in front of the TV and then the next thing I new I was screaming, sweating and not even watching the TV. Those little decorative screws were hard to pull off without ruining them or the wood underneath.
Second Clue: Wood filler should not be hard to use. I'm a moron apparently.
I finally had the dresser ready to go. The hardware was off. The scratches and holes were filled. I'd cleaned and sanded it down. I started with a quick coat of primer.
I let the primer dry overnight and went back to Home Depot the next day for my paint. When I went the first time for all of the other supplies I couldn't make up my mind so I brought a few chips home to decide. I thought I could prime it Friday night, purchase paint and do the first coat Saturday morning, finish with a second coat Saturday night and Sunday morning put it all back together again. Looking back it seemed so easy.
Third Clue: I selected Behr Sailboat, a beautiful blue that turned out to be a bit more royal than I wanted, and I selected the high gloss finish. When I brought my paint selection up to the counter the paint expert told me, "Oh this color requires a tinted primer. If you use white it just won't come out right and may be streaky."
Great. I already had a coat of white primer on the dresser. The solution we decided on was to get a small color sample of the primer + flat paint and apply one coat, then add the high gloss color. So I added my second "primer" coat, and then started with the high gloss. After two or three high gloss coats, it looked horrible. I mean horrible. It wasn't just that you could see every brush stroke, which you could, but it was almost as if you could see right through each layer of paint down to the white. With every coat I added, it always looked like it needed "just one more." By the time the dresser had at least five or six coats total I gave up. It wasn't perfect, but it would do. I let everything dry, put the dresser back together again and added it to my room.
And it sat there for about two weeks. I really don't have many pictures of the steps before or after this because I honestly didn't want to document the whole charade.
Fourth Clue: I wouldn't put the brass pieces back on. They were so hard to pull off, I knew as soon as they were back on I was done and would not be removing them again.
Whenever I looked at the dresser, which seeing as it was in my bedroom was all the time, I hated it. Finally one morning I decided I had had enough. I should have just taken it down to the dumpster, but no instead I went back to Home Depot and bought a power sander and new paint - a darker navy.
Fifth Clue: I won't admit how long it took me to sand through all of those coats of paint. It's ridiculous how much time I put into this stupid dresser. What I will say is that my apartment was covered in a thin layer of blue dust for a long, long time. Painting furniture without a backyard or a garage makes your apartment a complete disaster. I will also admit that stripping the paint any other method than sanding never even crossed my mind. Clearly, I'm new at this.
There was more You Tube, more sweat, more time, more frustration and more money spent. Although I do laugh every time I think about how I own a little mouse sander. And I've actually used it again. And I'm confident enough to admit that I feel really cool doing it. Even if sanding isn't really necessary for the project.
But the second time I finally figured it out! And it looks Fab.u.lous.
I love the brass pieces. They were kind of a pain to clean, but with a little Bar Keepers Friend they turned out nice and shiny.
You would think at this point I was done. And really, I'm shocked if you are even still reading. But I'm not done. It looked great, and I felt great about it. Then one morning I went to pick up my purse that had been sitting on the dresser all night and it kind of made a sticky sound when I pulled it off. Weird, it had been a few days and I thought the paint should have been really dry by now.
Sixth Clue: When I asked a friend her response was, "Well you put a finish on it right?" I just gave her a blank stare. I mean the high gloss look was the finish on the paint and what I wanted it to look like. Apparently I still needed a clear protective finish.
I'm not going to remember the horrible process, the ridiculousness amount of time wasted or the money spent. I'm going to enjoy the beautiful finished product.
Before:
After:
Talk about live and learn. Oh little dresser, look what you did to me.
Step 1: Find a project on a blog where little Miss self-taught interior designer makes DIY projects look so easy anyone can do it!
Step 2: Look on Craigslist for your dream furniture piece.
Step 3: Purchase said piece of furniture.
Step 4: Go to Home Depot. Realize you don't have any tools needed and end up spending $50 more than you expected. The blogger only needed to buy paint (score!), but you actually need paint, primer, paint brush, paint roller, paint tray, tape, sandpaper, wood filler and a putty knife.
Step 5: Unpack everything. Take apart and clean the furniture.
Step 6: Realize you have no earthy idea what you're doing. Re-read the step-by-step instructions on the blog you found the project. Realize that isn't good enough and start searching "how to" on You Tube.
Step 7: Panic and start texting your friends.
Step 8: Forge ahead anyway, despite your better judgement.
The whole project was filled with clues that I had bitten off more than I could chew. Why? Why do I continue to do this to myself. Friends, from now on it is your job to tell me to just go buy it! When I try to explain that I have experience now, that now I have the right tools, that I've learned from my mistakes, that the second time is going to be better - do not listen to me. At the very least, say "campaign dresser."
First Clue: Removing the brass hardware corner and edge pieces took forever! I sat down in front of the TV and then the next thing I new I was screaming, sweating and not even watching the TV. Those little decorative screws were hard to pull off without ruining them or the wood underneath.
Second Clue: Wood filler should not be hard to use. I'm a moron apparently.
I finally had the dresser ready to go. The hardware was off. The scratches and holes were filled. I'd cleaned and sanded it down. I started with a quick coat of primer.
I let the primer dry overnight and went back to Home Depot the next day for my paint. When I went the first time for all of the other supplies I couldn't make up my mind so I brought a few chips home to decide. I thought I could prime it Friday night, purchase paint and do the first coat Saturday morning, finish with a second coat Saturday night and Sunday morning put it all back together again. Looking back it seemed so easy.
Third Clue: I selected Behr Sailboat, a beautiful blue that turned out to be a bit more royal than I wanted, and I selected the high gloss finish. When I brought my paint selection up to the counter the paint expert told me, "Oh this color requires a tinted primer. If you use white it just won't come out right and may be streaky."
Great. I already had a coat of white primer on the dresser. The solution we decided on was to get a small color sample of the primer + flat paint and apply one coat, then add the high gloss color. So I added my second "primer" coat, and then started with the high gloss. After two or three high gloss coats, it looked horrible. I mean horrible. It wasn't just that you could see every brush stroke, which you could, but it was almost as if you could see right through each layer of paint down to the white. With every coat I added, it always looked like it needed "just one more." By the time the dresser had at least five or six coats total I gave up. It wasn't perfect, but it would do. I let everything dry, put the dresser back together again and added it to my room.
And it sat there for about two weeks. I really don't have many pictures of the steps before or after this because I honestly didn't want to document the whole charade.
Fourth Clue: I wouldn't put the brass pieces back on. They were so hard to pull off, I knew as soon as they were back on I was done and would not be removing them again.
Whenever I looked at the dresser, which seeing as it was in my bedroom was all the time, I hated it. Finally one morning I decided I had had enough. I should have just taken it down to the dumpster, but no instead I went back to Home Depot and bought a power sander and new paint - a darker navy.
Fifth Clue: I won't admit how long it took me to sand through all of those coats of paint. It's ridiculous how much time I put into this stupid dresser. What I will say is that my apartment was covered in a thin layer of blue dust for a long, long time. Painting furniture without a backyard or a garage makes your apartment a complete disaster. I will also admit that stripping the paint any other method than sanding never even crossed my mind. Clearly, I'm new at this.
There was more You Tube, more sweat, more time, more frustration and more money spent. Although I do laugh every time I think about how I own a little mouse sander. And I've actually used it again. And I'm confident enough to admit that I feel really cool doing it. Even if sanding isn't really necessary for the project.
But the second time I finally figured it out! And it looks Fab.u.lous.
I love the brass pieces. They were kind of a pain to clean, but with a little Bar Keepers Friend they turned out nice and shiny.
You would think at this point I was done. And really, I'm shocked if you are even still reading. But I'm not done. It looked great, and I felt great about it. Then one morning I went to pick up my purse that had been sitting on the dresser all night and it kind of made a sticky sound when I pulled it off. Weird, it had been a few days and I thought the paint should have been really dry by now.
Sixth Clue: When I asked a friend her response was, "Well you put a finish on it right?" I just gave her a blank stare. I mean the high gloss look was the finish on the paint and what I wanted it to look like. Apparently I still needed a clear protective finish.
I'm not going to remember the horrible process, the ridiculousness amount of time wasted or the money spent. I'm going to enjoy the beautiful finished product.
Before:
After:
Talk about live and learn. Oh little dresser, look what you did to me.
Summer Projects - The Easy Two
I've learned many lessons from my Dad, but over the last few weeks one lesson in particular keeps popping in my head.
If you think you can do something yourself to save a little money, you can't. It will end up costing you more in the long run - in time, frustration and dollars.
I don't know why I won't just accept it. I see these DIY projects and think I can do them. Brooks are not handy. I can jerry-rig just about anything, but if you want it made well that's another story. I should have learned this the first time I tried to put together Ikea furniture. I should have learned this a million other times. But apparently my memory gets a little fuzzy.
This summer I tackled three "projects." The first and third were executed exquisitely. They were simple and easy - my type of projects. The second was the project that would never end - more to come. But what I did well were:
My Antique Coca-Cola Crate
I can't find a before picture, but I found an old Coca-Cola crate at an antique store that was going out of business. I had absolutely no need or any idea what to do with it, but I loved it and for 60% off I couldn't say no. It was dirty and dusty with old glass bottle rings stained on the bottom and rust all around the edges. Well I took my little sander (the best purchase ever to come out of the disastrous project #2) and sanded down the rust, sanded off the "Boise, Idaho" stamp and smoothed out the wood. Then I added a polyurethane glossy finish which made the red pop and the fear of splinters disappear. Let's just say I'm beyond proud of myself. It looks awesome and now has a home on my table for mail, books and even flowers.
My Wall Gallery
I have a weakness for prints and photography, and Etsy, Pintrest and blogs have provided me so many fantastic finds! I finally framed a handful and created a wall gallery behind my couch.
There is the London canvas from Kelli where 9 years ago (9! how did that happen?) I fell in love with cities, traveling and accents. The green calligraphy "K" from Shannan full of Kristan-isms. Peonies from Nice. A "Live What You Love" letterpress print. The "Day 2" couple in the rain photograph I find incredibly romantic. An East 63rd St NYC consignment shop find. And the three newest additions:
A little Beach Boys love,
The key to my heart,
and the biggest compliment I could ever give you.
Look what I can do when I combine my shopping problem and a few weekend afternoons.
If you think you can do something yourself to save a little money, you can't. It will end up costing you more in the long run - in time, frustration and dollars.
I don't know why I won't just accept it. I see these DIY projects and think I can do them. Brooks are not handy. I can jerry-rig just about anything, but if you want it made well that's another story. I should have learned this the first time I tried to put together Ikea furniture. I should have learned this a million other times. But apparently my memory gets a little fuzzy.
This summer I tackled three "projects." The first and third were executed exquisitely. They were simple and easy - my type of projects. The second was the project that would never end - more to come. But what I did well were:
My Antique Coca-Cola Crate
I can't find a before picture, but I found an old Coca-Cola crate at an antique store that was going out of business. I had absolutely no need or any idea what to do with it, but I loved it and for 60% off I couldn't say no. It was dirty and dusty with old glass bottle rings stained on the bottom and rust all around the edges. Well I took my little sander (the best purchase ever to come out of the disastrous project #2) and sanded down the rust, sanded off the "Boise, Idaho" stamp and smoothed out the wood. Then I added a polyurethane glossy finish which made the red pop and the fear of splinters disappear. Let's just say I'm beyond proud of myself. It looks awesome and now has a home on my table for mail, books and even flowers.
My Wall Gallery
I have a weakness for prints and photography, and Etsy, Pintrest and blogs have provided me so many fantastic finds! I finally framed a handful and created a wall gallery behind my couch.
There is the London canvas from Kelli where 9 years ago (9! how did that happen?) I fell in love with cities, traveling and accents. The green calligraphy "K" from Shannan full of Kristan-isms. Peonies from Nice. A "Live What You Love" letterpress print. The "Day 2" couple in the rain photograph I find incredibly romantic. An East 63rd St NYC consignment shop find. And the three newest additions:
A little Beach Boys love,
The key to my heart,
and the biggest compliment I could ever give you.
Look what I can do when I combine my shopping problem and a few weekend afternoons.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Reason 1,000,001 I Love My Friends
After watching Bachelor Pad:
KB: Wait, next week is the finale? There are still four couples? Is it going to be three hours?
KE: I wonder. The premier was.
KB: You can scan one week ahead on the guide; let's look. No, looks like only two. Sad.
Next day via email:
KB: I sent a link to an article stating the finale is in fact three hours.
KE: Should we feel embarrassed that this meant enough to us to spend a full ten minutes checking into it last night? I'm gonna go with no.
KB: Wait, next week is the finale? There are still four couples? Is it going to be three hours?
KE: I wonder. The premier was.
KB: You can scan one week ahead on the guide; let's look. No, looks like only two. Sad.
Next day via email:
KB: I sent a link to an article stating the finale is in fact three hours.
KE: Should we feel embarrassed that this meant enough to us to spend a full ten minutes checking into it last night? I'm gonna go with no.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The Alamo Freeze
Everyone keeps talking about how the only good thing about summer ending is that football season is starting. Well this is what I have to say about that: there is nothing good about summer ending. My old boss accepted a professor position at BYU and a little part of me was jealous he was going back to school. The weather has definitively started to change; the mornings/evenings are crisp and cool and lunchtime is still nice and sunny. And yes, the football chatter has started around the office. Somehow, I'm still not exactly sure how, but somehow is it September. Fall is here.
Since everyone else was off celebrating Labor Day weekend with football, I decided I should join in the fun.
I know this may come as a shock to some of you, but no, I had not watched the Fifth and Final Season of FNL. First, I didn't have Direct TV. Then once it started airing on NBC I wanted to wait so I could watch a few episodes back to back. Then I didn't want to start watching because I knew it would end, and I really didn't want it to end. Then I got busy. Then I was waiting on a friend/sister to watch it with. And then I finally decided it was time to say goodbye.
You may remember Sam mentioning how she does understand that Rory and Loralie don't know her name. Well, it's true. I do realize that Coach and Mrs. T, Riggins and Matty, Buddy and Billy, and even Vince and Luke do not know my name. But that doesn't mean they aren't real. It doesn't mean that I love, respect and admire them any less. It doesn't mean I didn't bawl my eyes out while watching the last season in just about 24hrs.
So . . . you have really have changed my life, and I love you for that. Being a part of the Panthers/Lions has been the greatest experience of my life. Maybe one day our dreams can merge together. You may never know how proud I am of you. I'll never turn away a memory. It has come time for me to move on. You will always be part of me. In my heart and in my soul, you are my family. I will remember this time. I will cherish these memories always.
I will always get chills and a little teary eyed when I hear Explosions in the Sky or watch an old episode.
I need to find my Coach. My own molder of men. And then my dad will flip . . . you asked him, right? Just what I need . . . in case I don't already have ridiculous standards and issues.
For all my non-FNL fan friends - shame on you - but I know, you can make fun of me for the ridiculously awesome TV junkie that I am and that is this post. FNL friends, I know you get me. We can mourn together.
Since everyone else was off celebrating Labor Day weekend with football, I decided I should join in the fun.
I know this may come as a shock to some of you, but no, I had not watched the Fifth and Final Season of FNL. First, I didn't have Direct TV. Then once it started airing on NBC I wanted to wait so I could watch a few episodes back to back. Then I didn't want to start watching because I knew it would end, and I really didn't want it to end. Then I got busy. Then I was waiting on a friend/sister to watch it with. And then I finally decided it was time to say goodbye.
You may remember Sam mentioning how she does understand that Rory and Loralie don't know her name. Well, it's true. I do realize that Coach and Mrs. T, Riggins and Matty, Buddy and Billy, and even Vince and Luke do not know my name. But that doesn't mean they aren't real. It doesn't mean that I love, respect and admire them any less. It doesn't mean I didn't bawl my eyes out while watching the last season in just about 24hrs.
So . . . you have really have changed my life, and I love you for that. Being a part of the Panthers/Lions has been the greatest experience of my life. Maybe one day our dreams can merge together. You may never know how proud I am of you. I'll never turn away a memory. It has come time for me to move on. You will always be part of me. In my heart and in my soul, you are my family. I will remember this time. I will cherish these memories always.
I will always get chills and a little teary eyed when I hear Explosions in the Sky or watch an old episode.
I need to find my Coach. My own molder of men. And then my dad will flip . . . you asked him, right? Just what I need . . . in case I don't already have ridiculous standards and issues.
For all my non-FNL fan friends - shame on you - but I know, you can make fun of me for the ridiculously awesome TV junkie that I am and that is this post. FNL friends, I know you get me. We can mourn together.
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