4 day weekend

A balance of work & play is always essential. Today I work.

Bless you REAL SIMPLE magazine. This issue was packed with non-toxic smelling cleaning solutions, and I got a kick out of their photo spread. Is anyone else too girly to clean?

DIY Industrial Modern chair

Next weekend Gary & I are hosting our first barbecue at our new house. We felt that this was the time to finally invest in some extra seating and a banquet table. I picked up 8 of the Ikea LAVER chairs for $10 each. Although they were quiet nice as is, I wanted to give them a little personality. Enter the inspiration...

source: Me and Alice

Notice the numbered chair on the bottom? Here's my take.

Tutorial

A simple update, but time-consuming none the less. It took about 5 hours to assemble and paint 8 chairs.

Materials

-Krylon Fusion for plastic spray paint

-2" stencil alphabet (available at Staples)

-Painter's tape

-Painter's protective plastic

-Glue stick

Instructions

-Apply an even layer of glue to the back of the stencil and apply to chair backrest. It's important cover and press down the edges firmly. This will prevent bleeding or overspray from seeping under the stencil.

-Line edges with painter's tape

-Cover remaining surface area with plastic and seal with more tape

-Spray with Krylon in long, even strokes, standing directly above painting area. 1 coat should be plenty.

-Allow to dry 15 minutes before carefully removing stencil. Tip: I let it dry in the sun which made the glue residue stick more to the stencil and less on the chair.

I'm excited to debut these for our party next weekend. I'll be sure to take pics, of course.

Style Parade 5.29.10

This was what I wore to work on Thursday. I wish I was on a picnic instead of at work, but hey a girl has to make a living, right? This dress is really comfy and I just adore the floral print.

I don't remember if I've shown you all these cutout flats...but aren't they cute? They're made of suede & they just add a touch of happiness to my wardrobe. I notice I've been wearing a lot of this color combination lately - navy & mustard.

Dress: American Eagle; $39, layered with a white tank from Old Navy (for workplace modesty). Cardigan: Target. Flats: Target; $20-24ish. Polka dot earrings: I'm Your Present on etsy; $5. Flower ring: Target; $7. Blue hair bow: Forever 21.

Industrial home

I'm going to join the bandwagon in saying that I adore industrial chic. Like memories from an old factory, it has me fantasizing about a big city loft space. Aged metal and woodwork glazed in sepia toned light.

The latest Pottery Barn & Wisteria catalogues are loaded with notes of industrial style. They're like free magazines - I love combing them for inspiration. And of course Anthropologie is always amazing, but here's a couple of real vintage and upcycled pieces from etsy sellers.

pendant lamp
industry stool
wire memo
wooden hangers
vintage twine set
magazine racks

Brew.

 

I'm embarrassed to say that I haven't washed our windows since we moved in. But I did find time on Saturday. Once I get started, I can't stop so I swept and hosed down the mess from Friday's tree removal. Everything is nice and clean, after which I enjoyed some home-brewed black currant iced tea.

Hey sugar

Once I had a full body polish spa treatment. My skin felt amazing. This product pretty much did the same thing for $8 and without the embarrassment of being naked in front of a spa employee. Soy Sugar Scrub from Cost Plus World Market. It smells pretty nice too, sort of like a creamy baby powder for adults. Love it!

Style Parade 5.22.10

Since I have Fridays off, I decided to do a little fun photo shoot yesterday. I did a little photoshop filtering on these. Have I mentioned how awesome 'actions' are? Such a time saver when retouching photos. It was so embarrassing - my neighbor totally caught me snapping photos of myself. I tried to explain what a blog is and he didn't really understand (he's quite old). haha. I need taller walls.

Anyway, I picked up this great anchor luggage at TJ Maxx. Isn't it fab? It's from Jessica Simpson's line (man, she'll put her name on anything). But it was just adorable, and since I plan on doing a lot of traveling this year, I figured a carry-on bag with wheels will save me from shoulder pain.

I've had this nameplate necklace since I was little. Funny how I still wear it. After my photo shoot, I went to the Irvine Spectrum and had lunch and did a little shopping. I got a really cute long summer dress at 50% off at Ann Taylor Loft. They have awesome sales. While I was in there, one of the sales ladies said I looked like I stepped out of an Anthropologie catalogue. I wanted to hug her.

Gin Lane Anchor rolling duffel: Jessica Simpson; $130 on sale at TJ Maxx for $50. Stripe shoulder tote: Quote on etsy. Seersucker romper: Target; $20. Blazer: Ann Taylor Loft. Peeptoes: Anthroplogie. Nameplate necklace: from childhood, layered with bow necklace from Urban Outfitters.

Tempted

Oh man, am I tempted to buy 1 or even 2 of these metal pendant lamps...

All pendants from Overstock.com. 1, 2, 3, 4.

I have been searching for the perfect pendant to replace our beyond hideous hallway light (it's gold and beveled glass...ew!) I've never shopped at Overstock, but $2.95 shipping on the whole order...seriously?

On a side note, pleasant news today - our palm trees that are slowly destroying our concrete are being removed as I type. Now if we can just get our leaky spa re-grouted, we'll be all set to enjoy our yard for summer.

Featured on Design Sponge

I hope everyone is having a fabulous day. I'm happy for the weekend after a productive week. A quick announcement. My DIY butterfly candles were featured over at Design Sponge. Read the post here. Thanks Grace for featuring me!

Lovely things: Candlelight

So these are actually bar glasses. I found them at Home Goods for $2 each. They had many styles, but I liked these best because they are like negatives of each other.

I love the effect of this one - it projects little raindrops on the wall... like my own little rain storm. haha.

 

Style Parade 5.18.10

I dipped back into my fall wardrobe pieces because it was so cold & rainy today! The next 2 days are supposed to be sunny and in the 70s...just crazy. Did you notice that I went a little darker with my hair color? Who goes dark for summer? I do...haha! I was feeling a little punky, like I was channeling a british school girl with this ensemble. I've had this houndstooth mini since, like forever. My mom's old friend (I called her auntie) took me shopping at Ann Taylor Loft. It was my very first piece from there, I felt so grown up...I think I was 19 or so.

I've also had this sweater vest for a couple of years. It's such a classic piece. I've been noticing a lot of menswear looks lately, so I felt the need to bring it back into rotation. I remember searching everywhere to find the perfect one. I like it because it's long and minimizes my hips when I pair it with jeans.

I layered my lace tights with knee high socks. They have this cute little velvet ribbon on the side. See?

White collared shirt: Express. Sweater vest: The Gap; $40ish. Houndstooth mini: Ann Taylor Loft; gift. Tights: Apt. 9 available at Kohl's; $6. Knee highs: Target; $5. Boots: Isaac for Target. Locket necklace: handmade by me.

Lovely things: patterned galvanized tubs

Dear Summertime,
Please get here quick. Although I'm partial to Autumn, I would really love a string of of 5 days where it's 75 degrees out.

Don't you just LOVE these patterned tubs? I continue to dream of summer as it rains the next 2 days. These lovelies are from Brody and Ma's etsy shop. They also sell the patterned fabric, so if you're into the matchy-matchy sort of thing you could sew some patio pillows.

Butterfly candle tutorial

I was very much inspired by these beautiful butterfly pebbles that I featured in my Garden Dreams inspiration board post a couple of weeks ago. Then I found these at Pier 1...

Only $0.48 each. Can you believe it? I guess the price stickers removed the shiny paint, thus damaging the candle holders. Didn't matter much to me cuz I planned on painting them white. I primed with spray primer, then did two coats of white spray paint. I let dry overnight.

Meanwhile, I created these butterflies in Illustrator and printed on water-slide decal transfer paper, which works very much like temporary tattoo paper. Paper available here, download the printable template here. Instructions for applying the decals are included with the paper. After I applied the decals to the painted candle holders, I sprayed them with two coats of a clear glossy sealer suitable for indoor/outdoor environments.

Important: Let the sealer cure for 12 hours before using, especially if your surface area involves flame. The sealer is flammable and needs time to dry.

 Display in your garden

 Or create a lovely tablescape.

Friday link love

I'm catching up on some blog reads this morning. I think my google reader list is growing out of control. There is just so much inspiration out there. Anyway I'm off to have lunch with my dad, then get my hair trimmed & colored, then off for a visit with my mom.

When we moved into our house, the old owners were kind enough to leave us one of these rusting in the backyard. I think it could benefit from some DIY TLC from me. Do they make fireplace spray paint in a cheery shade of yellow?

I'm also drooling of this gal's style over at Esme and the lane way, via The Vintage Valley.

Why can't I live in Stockholm so I can shop here? And more importantly, why can't I have a personal mailbox instead of a shared one?

Happy Weekend y'all.

Recipe time

Chicken Piccata Twist   serves 2-4  time: 30 minutes

I modified a classic piccata recipe by adding breaded chicken instead of grilled, portobello mushrooms, beer instead of chicken broth and alfredo sauce.

 

Ingredients
6 small portobello mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced
4 frozen breaded chicken patties
1/2 of a shallot, chopped
1 cup Stella Artois or other lager
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons capers (drained)
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
2 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon butter
olive oil for saute
1/2 cup purchased alfredo sauce
zest & juice from 1/2 lemon
Linguine pasta (use 1/2 box for 2 servings, whole box for 4)

Directions

-Preheat oven and cook the chicken patties according to the package's instructions.

-Cook pasta according to the package's instructions. 

-Heat olive oil in a deep frying pan or wide sauce pan. Add butter, shallot and garlic. Saute 3 minutes.

-Add flour, cook an additional 2 minutes.

-Whisk in white wine (don't worry, the clumps are normal). Let simmer for 1 minute, whisking constantly.

-Add the lager, capers, lemon zest and lemon juice. Let simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

-Meanwhile heat olive oil in a frying pan. Add portobellos and saute until tender.

-The sauce should have a smooth, slightly thick texture at this point. Add the alfredo sauce to the lemon sauce.

-Remove cooked chicken from oven and carefully cut into bite-sized pieces.

-Add mushrooms & cut chicken pieces to sauce.

-Serve over pasta. Enjoy!

Oh baby

A small disclaimer, I am not pregnant nor am I actually planning on doing so in the immediate future. That said, I offer you an adorable inspiration for a woodland nursery. Fawns and feathers mixed with soft white linen dipped in pastels. I suppose after all that shopping for adorable baby gifts has me smitten on sweet little things.

decals. cloud mobile. baby room plaque. woodland scene bedding. owl pillow. clock.

Spring tea

Keeping with our seasonal tea tradition, I met with The Ladies Who Brunch (as we are now calling ourselves) at The Huntington. Yes, it was very lovely day. The weather was the perfect combination of cool and sunny, great for our galavanting and gratuitous photo snapping.

Last time I was here, I sipped on the traditional black tea. On this visit I tried the rose petal tea. It was sensational! My mom got me a french press for my birthday. I'm thinking I may have to make my own rose tea.

After brunch we wandered around the rose gardens. Everything was in full bloom. The scent of roses was everywhere. I loved reading all the names of the hybrids...

The day was long and perfect, but before we left we wandered though one of the art galleries.

I found the architecture more interesting than the art. Gorgeous molding, large windows with ornate wrought iron coverings, long hallways lit by glowing chandeliers and this staircase...

That's my friend Melissa making a grand entrance.

I love day trips! It put me in the right kind of mood for the remainder of the week.