365ing

I have so much catch-up to do, but I've been a busyyyyy workin' girl.

Bear with me, I'll do a little at a time!!!

06/30/2010

Day 129: It is so hard getting ready when it's dark out & one light doesn't work :o(

07/01/2010

Day 130: Love The Wedge. Love The Kirsten.

07/02/2010

Day 131: Road trip back to Dally with Angie!! (Took like 4 hours because of stupid traffic & crazy rain....)

07/03/2010

Day 132: Addison's Kaboomtown fireworks show!!

07/04/2010

Day 133: 4th of July Parade in McKinney TX. Dad was working. Mom wasn't feeling well. Ryan was working.

07/05/2010

Day 134: My drive back to Oklahoma was the perfect time of day!!!

07/06/2010

Day 135: OMG!!! I ended up getting so sick!!! I spent all night Tuesday in the dark with a fever of 103. Don't know why, but it was pretty miserable :o(...

07/07/2010

Day 136: Not staying put for a long time means you have a lot of bags. 2 weeks...like 20 bags.

07/08/2010

Day 137: I highly recommend Dr. Soloman Chaim for foot surgeries. I told him I wanted to be able to wear heels again....I'm not so sure he had these in mind, but I am so happy!!!

07/09/2010

Day 138: Pretty fast food sunset

07/10/2010

Day 139: Finished the whole damn 2000 piece puzzle. Alone. Awesome. Haha actually it was a lot of fun!!!

07/11/2010

Day 140: Whoops. I decided to redo my dining table....still not done with it. Crap.

I Love ORB.

I don't know who else follows craft blogging. I get a lot of my "inspiration" from some really fantastic & creative women.

House of Hepworths turned me on to ORB. Oil Rubbed Bronze. Rust-O-Leum makes this AMAZING spray paint that has taken over my apartment. I buy it in the Universal All-Surface Paint version so that I can make everything beautiful with ORB. Apparently, I'm not the only one having a love affair with spray paint.

Here.

And Here.

AND HERE!!!

So, how great can a spray paint be?

Rust-O-Leum is top notch to begin with: fast-drying, even coats, etc. (BTW I'm also in love with their canned High Gloss Black oil paint, which is covering two major pieces of furniture in my bedroom along with countless nic-nacs). As far as paint goes, it's the total package. I've heard Krylon also makes a good (& cheaper) spray ORB, but doesn't adhere to plastics. Still good to know for certain projects in the future.

But, there is something about this metallic-y brown-black color in a can that has my heart going pitter patter and my mind going in circles.

My first attack was the potty-wipes box. Yup...wet wipes for your butt. They are great and useful, but the containers are less than to be desired. Add ORB. MUCH BETTER!!!

Since I needed a place to keep my scrapbooking paper, I bought a storage box at Hobby Lobby. It was black, which is a problem. It didn't match the rest of my office/living decor. Problem fixed with ORB.

Ugly white trash $3 can fixed with ORB. Love that this stuff paints on plastic, plus you can really see how it covers in large amounts here.

Then, my toothbrush holder broke :o(. Since I'm out of money (no job & too much orb), I bought the cheapest I could find, made beautiful by ORB.

Solution to hiding electrical wires/surge protector on the built-ins: peg board & orb.

Once not-so-great picture frame (odd wood color & gold accents...). This picture does no justice, but I love the way it turned out.

Then, I decided to get crazy. 12/13 years ago, my dad bought my mom a BEAUTIFUL set of candlesticks from Pottery Barn. Muey expensive-o. No-tarnish silver, or so They said. These things tarnish so quickly and so terribly....usually they would only get cleaned well a couple of times a year. My mom gave them to me, after thinking about getting rid of them, when I said I would keep them polished. Nope. After 2-3 weeks tarnish would come back. (BTW, I've heard PB has changed their silver since then to really not tarnish, so not trying to bad mouth them AT ALL).

Before:

I talk to my mom before doing this, which she gave me the go-ahead to spray paint her $80 candlesticks.

After about 10 VERY VERY LIGHT applications so that I wouldn't get any drips or bubbles, here are the fabulous candlesticks that I am lusting over once more.

Looking back, a primer would have helped, but they still turned out exactly the way I wanted them to! If I ever decided I wanted them silver again, I could get out the acetone, rub away, & find a fantastic silver spray paint, but I ain't polishin'.

Thank you, House of Hepworths, for introducing me to oil rubbed bronze. Now, if only I could get all of the brown metallic paint off of my hands....

ONE LAST THING!!! If you are spray painting in the Dust Bowl or Desert (this includes almost everyone who reads my blog...), spray outside first then MOVE IT INSIDE unless you want to sand in between each.and.every.coat.

Project 365

03/06/2010

Day 13: Nicole & I are so cool that we don't have to go out on Saturday nights....

03/07/2010

Day 14: This is how I've been managing my weeks lately! It's a big 5X7 index card, and everything goes on it. School, work, personal, tv, etc....the goal is to see a lot of black sharpee by Friday!!

03/08/2010

Day 15: I bought some stuff on Target.com, including my new desk lamp (on sale for $19.99!!!). I love it!!

03/09/2010

Day 16: Sam helps Nicole with paperwork....

03/10/2010

Day 17: Second shipment from target.com!! The cutting board I've had my eye on for the last few weeks. HEY THAT LOOKS FAMILIAR!!! I also got new rainboots, but of course it hasn't rained since they came in...

03/11/2010

Day 18: I woke up on the couch from a nap. This is what I found curled up on my chest. Puppy love!!

03/12/2010

Day 19: Alisha & Nicole kick off spring break with three boxes of Franzia: Cabernet Sauvignon, Fruity Sangria & Chillable Red.

Project 365

Just as a recap, Project 365 is a year-long photography endeavor. You take one picture everyday for a year that best encompasses your activities & priorities. I decided to do this for my 24th year.

02/22/2010

My 23rd birthday party, at Blu. I plan on lightening this one....

02/23/2010

Callie came to visit! At the Library

02/24/2010

Lost my voice one day, sick as hell the next. I will not be in any pictures today.

Pretty!

I am addicted to decorating&design. Honestly, I would love to do this for a living more than anything else.

For some people, it is not worth it to spend a lot of time or money decorating a rental space, but it is for me. Most things are ones that I can take with me. Everything else (falls under the category of paint) IS waste of money....but I don't care. So what if I've spent $50-$60 and TOO MANY HOURS painting my place....the process is as good as therapy for me & I enjoy my rooms so much more after the fact!

I haven't even showed the kitchen, which I finished last weekend. When I moved in, the walls were cherry red & the cabinets were yellow. I think they were going for "crimson & cream," but it wasn't working. Plus, the paint was peeling.

Eww

No, thank you!

Isn't the pink great?!

I painted the kitchen walls 2 weeks after moving in to "Sycamore Maple," a mossy green. I worked well with the pale pale yellow. I SERIOUSLY thought I would be able to resist painting the cabinets. Nope.

I love it!!! Now I just need to find a new floor mat and get my cutting board!!

A few weeks ago I had told myself that the FINAL project in my bedroom would be the headboard. I would get a few more throw pillows and new pillow shams...but that was it!

Nope. First, I found a body pillow cover that is fab-u-lous. If I were to take a picture, it would just look black. However, it is plush with a floral pattern on it. Only $10!!

Then, I realized I wasn't enjoying my vanity because of bad lighting. Surely every girl knows how important good lighting is for natural looking makeup. Surely every decorator knows how important good lighting is for a room. I was overdue for fixing both of these issues! I found these wall lights at Ikea!!! $16.99 per lamp.....as far as wall lights go, a steal. I had my dad picked them up, and he helped with the install them while my parents were in town this weekend.

Pretty, pretty, pretty

I also had to rearrange my wall collage because of the new lights and because the shades were covering up 2 of the photos, so this took awhile! My favorite part is the cord covers. For $5 a piece, these are paintable plastic cord covers that stick to your walls. This is great for cord management & for people who aren't able to do integrated lighting/wiring. I'm a fan!!!

I feel like a princess!! I enjoyed getting ready SO MUCH the last two days!

Lesson Learned?

Today I learned a lesson. Actually, I learned several. Scratch that. Today, I should have learned several lessons....but it is unlikely I will move these from the "ACTIVE" pile to the "FILE" pile (rhymes).

Last night, I drank....I'm not huge on bragging about how much I drink. It's tacky, and it's not a competition. In my case, I just embarrass myself because >2drinks+me=wastyface.

I had 7 shots and a mug of wine. Yes, a mug. CLASSY.

There. I bragged. Now I am left with a sour taste left in my mouth from doing exactly what I said don't like to do (or is that sour taste leftover vom? jk. that's gross).

Lesson 1: Don't drink more than you should.

Lesson 2: Don't mix mediums

I got home around 4:00. Atypical for me. I prefer in bed at 10, asleep at 11 after The Daily Show & Colbert Report. I didn't go to sleep until 6:30. Why is not important. All you need to know is that wasteyface was still drunk and awake when the sun was rising. (Shhh! It was worth it!)

Lesson 3: Don't be awake for 23 hours straight.

Then, wonder of wonders...I rose at 8:30 am. Sometimes (aka every time I drink) my body likes to wake me up as soon as I am sober. It is then impossible to fall back asleep due to 1) sunlight 2) adrenaline as my blood sugar drops 3) nauseau 4) morning after digestive consequences. I could not for the life of me fall back asleep.

So, to nurse my hangover and get things done, I decided to paint.

Lesson 4: Paint fumes do not cure hangovers.

Then again, all of the paint supplies were out (I had one last section in the kitchen to finish, and I decided to paint my closet...I'm so weird) so it only made sense to finish painting so that I could put everything away. There was the paint of course, but also all of the contents of my closet in the bedroom and of my cupboards in the kitchen. Big mess.

Lesson 5: Don't embark on an optional and timely project the night after challenging yourself to Beerfest 2010.

Lesson 6: Clean your place before you go out drinking.

I hate messes. I hate them. They stress me out. They put me in a grumpy mood. If my place is a mess, I want it to be clean. Typically I would clean it UNLESS I am hungover. I don't want to deal with it.

Around 5:00 tonight I decided that walking around in only my underwear covered in paint (Why ruin clothes with paint?) for the last 8 hours was looking a little sad and a lot unattractive. The hangover was really bad. I decided to get in the shower....ahhhhhhh.

Lesson 7: If the shower works, stay in. Run up the water bill.

It was the best shower of my life! I felt refreshed and clean and I no longer felt hungover! Magic!

10 minutes later, hangover symptoms return. Why, oh why would I think I should get out of the magic shower?

After swearing to myself that I will never drink again (false), that I will always remember to drink water before passing out from intoxication (false), that I will not stay up until 6:30 in the morning (false), that I will not make impulsive and timely decorating decision (FALSE!!!) and that I will never again waste a full day do nothing truly productive (false), I've realized that I will do all of these things again.

So much for my lessons learned.

Sidebar: Every time I make a list like this, I consider making it beautiful with lovely paper and fun little doodads put into frames and having all of my rules for living plastered throughout my apartment disguised as decoration. I am so good at living life on the edge.

A Good Day

Some Great Things.

• I'm learning CS4...and I love the possibilities. I haven't bought it yet, but I reallllyyyyyy want to. **Too bad it's $400**. It all started with the U.S. Citizen's Exchange Grant I am working on...the website is horribly boring. Typical to self, I am looking for the cheapest/most free way to make something ugly look fabulous. I decided that it would be better to just start from scratch...the Dean of Gaylord thinks I'm insane, but I'm going to make everything better. I feel so optimistic about this little side project, and it's great! (btw, I already know HTML & CSS....that's half the battle!)
• Tucker has been doing really really well in his puppy classes! True, he is the oldest puppy. True, he keeps trying to hump Layla The Three Month Old Bloodhound (he's fixed, no worries). True, he's better at jumping than sitting. BUT, I'm very proud of him. He's a very good listener!
• My apartment is fabulously clean! I spent a few hours on Saturday putting out-of-place clutter back where it goes. Usually, 1 or 2 rooms are clean and the crap is moved to one room. Not this week!
• My cabinets are painted! I love love love the Swan White (much better than Banana Cream Pie). It looks so much better, and it was only a $10 fix (I already had brushes and primer). I'm trying to find a few more accents to complete the space, but I am very satisfied with how it looks. Now, I just need THIS! And THIS! And THIS...oh wait I can afford that one!!!
• My bedroom is done, minus a few more little projects...I need lights above my vanity. THESE ones are nice. I want to build myself a headboard...I won't spend more than $50...and it must be fabulous. Then I need to get my rug cleaned...it smells like dog pee. Right now it lives on my screened-in porch protected by the elements.
• School is good. I'm not stressed. Call Guinness.
• My birthday is in two weeks. Those of you who have been around for several years know how much I love birthdays...especially my own.
• I found THE BEST website. I don't know how I've never found it before, but Stumble Upon is quite possibly more entertaining than youtube. Lovesit.
• Forcing myself to "put an effing smile on your face and be happy" works. Everyday. If you believe it, it will happen.
• Tomorrow is Tuesday, which means post-its....who wants one?!?!

This one's for Hoonie.

I swear...I should get snowed in every week! I have gotten so much done, and it feels GREAT! I've been cleaning, grooming, blogging, finishing old projects, starting new ones, and getting caught up on Lost. Hopefully I'll keep blogging after snowy weather goes away, because I really have been enjoying it.

I also watched 6 episodes of Lost this afternoon. While I watched season 1 & 2 in real time, I stopped paying attention by third season. Last year about this time, I restarted from the beginning to pass the time after my foot surgery. I got completely caught up until the beginning of season 5, then I was forced to wait for either (a) ABC.com to put the episodes up, or (b) the box set to come out. So, at the end of December I rewatched the finales of 4, and got 1 whole episode of season 5 out of the way. I realized about a week ago that I was running out of time, so I started watching again, and I should be done with season 5 by Tuesday!!! IN TIME FOR THE PREMIER!! Anywho...that's not what this blog is about.

I: Video for Jaymee. And everyone -- this is my favorite video of all time. Turn up the sound.

This is my cousin's youngest daughter, Trynnity. She is 3, and she is adorable. When I was in Tucson earlier this month, I was getting ready in the bathroom and the iPod was playing. I came out of the bathroom to see this!!!

II: Corkboards for Jaymee!

Also when I was in Tucson, Jaymee and I wanted to make cute corkboards and frame them. After a rude confrontation with store employees, we left the craft store with no cork and no frames.

Personalized Cork Boards

You will need:

3-4 8x10" Frames, depending on how you want to arrange them. (Mine were 97 cents each at Wal-Mart)

1 pack of cork squares, contains 4 ($5 at Wal-Mart)

Painting supplies to decorate the cork & frames.

1 pack of Make Your Own Stencils, contains 3 (These were about $7 at Hobby Lobby. They were pricey, but if you're doing an intricait design, well worth it!! I still have 2 left over, too.)

1 x-acto knife

Scissors

3m strips

1. Start with your cork squares. Measure and cut them down to your frame size with the x-acto knife.

2. Paint the frames, if desired

3. Chose your design to go on the frames. I used Google Images to search for a large damask pattern that I could zoom in on.

4. Trace your design onto the stencil template. Cut out the template. (THIS WAS A LONG AND LENGTHY PROCESS!!! It's hard to maneuver the stencil template with the scissors, and the stencil was to tough to use the x-acto. For such a detailed pattern, I was happy with the labor and results, but it's up to you what goes on the cork boards)

5. Use the stencil to transfer the pattern to the cork board

6. Paint the pattern. Apply 3-4 coats. (really)

7. After allowing to dry, assemble your cork boards.

8. Hang with 3-m strips, being sure to level your frames and keep an equal distance between frames (my frames wouldn't allow me to nail in picture hangers into the wood)

9. ENJOY!!!

III. Follow Your Bliss, for me :o).

I had been wanting a to make a cute little sign like this for a while. I was drawn to the one-word signs made out of cut out letters that say "indulge," "family," or "home"...I just wanted an original one.

I have been particularly fond of the mantra "Follow Your Bliss" by Joseph Campbell. An American philosopher, he once wrote : "If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are—if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time."

Basically, if you do what naturally makes you happy every day, if you follow the path that this happiness leads you on, you will find your true calling.

Here's my "Follow Your Bliss" sign. It cost about $15 to make, and I got everything at Michael's.

I put on my entry table so that it's the first thing I see every time I walk into my apartment!

I'm posting again.

School aka work was cancelled, so in an attempt to be in a better mood, I am therapizing(new word, made it up, call webster).

For me, cleaning is so so sooo therapeutic, especially when it's not rushed or stressful. I enjoy cleaning, and I enjoy when things are

clean.

After doing some reading this morning, I decided to clean the bathroom before I took a shower.

Then I realized that Tucker needs groomed. I'm not going to clean the bathroom and take a shower before I groom the dog....that would be silly. So begins my afternoon.

Begin with dog. Okay, Tucker was not

ridiculously long, but it had been a long time since he had been groomed. Early November, I was in the process of painting my bedroom. Tucker was in the process of playing with paint. I ended up having to cut him very s

hort to get the paint out. He really needed to be bathed, but I figured I might as well give him a trim and make him look super purty.

Dog hair that ended up in the sink. Most ended up on me or on the floor.

Trimmed but still dirty puppy.

"Mom, stop. I don't take pictures of you right out of the shower."

And, Jaymee, everyone knows that after you dry your hair, you may need a few touch ups...

Time to brush his teeth! Beef flavored toothpaste...yummm!!!

Our least favorite part. Pedi paws. The damn thing scares me just as much as it scares the dog, but it does have a nice end result.

Now that the bathroom is covered in dog hair, it was time to go ahead with my original plan....clean the bathroom.

Much better! Clean sink, clean mirror, clean toilet, clean shower, clean floor...ahhh!

I also moved my washer and dryer. Behind it, I found 2 hangers, a box of dryer sheets, a bottle of Nyquil, Pledge, Swiffer Dust & Shine, a Clorox bleach pen, a comb, trash, 2 used dryer sheets, 3 pairs of paints, 6 mis-matched socks, a bra, and a cleaning rag. No money. Darn.

As I went to return my bathroom cleaning supplies to under the kitchen sink, I was faced with a nightmare.

Have you ever had the experience when you put something into an already full cabinet only to have 2 things fall out in its place?

So I emptied out the cabinet under my kitchen sink. I was faced with another nightmare. I hate the pepto pink that my cabinets were a few generations ago. Frankly, I hated everything about under-the-kitchen-sink. Convinced that I would keep under-the-kitchen-sink cleaner if it were prettier, I decided to do something about it.

First I primed.

Then I painted it. I love fresh white paint. I love it. White is such a lovely color, no?

Then I put everything away. My mom always laughs at how many cleaning products I have. I love cleaning products. When I find something I like, I want to tell the whole world, "Yes, the commercial is right...this is the best toilet cleaner on the planet."

Anyway, here's what I had: 7 cans of spray paint, a giant bottle of ammonia, 5 bathroom cleaners, 4 different bug killers, lamp oil, a box of brillo pads, 3 sizes of trash bags, 4 air fresheners, counter cleaner, 3 glass cleaners & windex wipes, clorox wipes, 3 bottles of dawn (2, 95% empty, were thrown away), goo-gone, 3 hard floor cleaners, 3 carpet cleaners, 3 cans of pledge, Swiffer Dust & Shine, Stainless Steel cleaner, Febreeze & wet sweeper cloths

It looks so much better!!!

And, so does Tucker!

Now, my apartment is trying desperately to lose power (*flashback to December 2007, Finals Week*). Hopefully this won't happen, but I have had 5 or 6 blackouts and up to 5 minutes without power already.....

...K WISH ME LUCK!

Okay, more studying.