Oct 20, 2011

Coveting….

imageI haven’t yet decided if Pinterest is the best invention ever or the devil in disguise.  It give me wonderful ideas but makes me want to shop and spend even more (if that’s possible!!!)  I can always find a fashion idea, a decorating idea or a ‘hey I never thought of that!’ idea. 

Here’s what I’m coveting this week:

Vintage fashion advertisements—DH redid one of our bathrooms for me in black and white with a real vintage vibe.  The walls are kinda naked for me so I am looking for the right kind of artwork to hang.  I just love the idea of vintage ads like the Chanel one above. I think that this would look so pretty in a silvery frame on the wall and add some class to the bathroom.

Zig Zag CurtainsI’ve seen these popping up on blogs and site everywhere lately! In my slow as molasses attempt on fixing up ‘my room’, I’ve been pinning wishlist items for weeks.  I came across a bunch on Etsy and found a sweet seller at La Fortune Linens who will most likely be making some for my strangely shaped window.  We have a 60’s ranch that has windows that are placed higher up on the walls and I want curtains that don’t hang to the floor.  Plus, I always seem to want something that no one ever has in a store.   I adore the color of these and the design and I think when I get my furniture painted with ASCP in Provence it will look smashing!

 

This top from ASOS—I fully admit to being a sucker for animal print. I have it on belts, shoes, dresses, tops and even a headband! This top is a bit different—kind of a dalmatian print.  The neckline can be worn in different ways and love the cuffs with the full sleeves.  Blair from Atlanta-Pacific (a fave blog) also wore in pattern mixing way.  I don’t know if I could wear it as well as she does (and not to work) but I love her styling of it.  Here’s a pic:

Cobalt Jeans--- As I’ve said before, this is my fave color EVER.  I LOVE these jeans.  The only thing that scares me is the fit.  I will have to go and try them on first.  I’ve got more curves than the model ever will so I’m not so sure they will look good on me.  But I’m willing to try!

Have a great Thursday---what are you coveting?

Oct 18, 2011

Our little weekend away…..

Wow---you are getting 2 posts from me in one day!  What does that mean?  It’ means that DH is playing poker tonite so I have more time to write! :)

A few weekends ago DH and I made our annual trip to Maryland.  We’re one of those couples who enjoys Renaissance Festivals (RenFest).  Although---we are NOT the people in the above photo!  That just cracked me up. 

DH introduced me to RenFests when we were first married.  Where else can you shop, eat, drink and see shows in one place outdoors? The whole scene is just fun and I enjoy supporting artists who actually make their own wares to sell.  Much of the artwork and other items in our home are from various RenFests all over the country.  We have everything from fountains to perfume and then some.

When we lived in MN, were certainly were spoiled as that RenFest is the one of the largest in the country.  But when we moved back to Pittsburgh, we were told to visit the Maryland RenFest.   It does NOT disappoint!

We leave early on Friday and take our time driving to Savage, MD where we stay.  Right down the street from our hotel is our must visit restaurant: Frank's Diner.  We learn to always ask the locals where to eat and someone at the hotel suggested this to us. It’s a REAL diner. When I say real I mean it’s a dining car.  The manager told us it was bought in NY and transported to Maryland.  The decor is still the original 50’s, with the stools and booths.  The food is so delish too.  We always stop for a big breakfast and DH loves their biscuits and gravy.  The owner also has at least 6 cakes on her counter in glass cake stands.  This time she had cupcakes and we each tried one, caramel and chocolate.  YUMMMM.   If you are ever in the area, check them out!

On Saturday it’s festival day!!!  We eat and leave early to get there when it opens. Yes, we are the geeks that stay most of the day.  This year, the festival takes place during the time King Henry VII was married to his final wife, Katharine Parr.  Here they are arriving to the festival:

King Henry

Generally, we don’t plan our day there.  We check out the programs and see what shows look good.   Puke & Snot are never to be missed.  They always make me laugh and they usually break up in the middle of their own show!!

renfood And of course we love to eat!  There are always tons of great stuff to try.  I had been itching to try deep fried pickles for months and there were here!  So of course I sampled some:

friedpickles

There were delectable.

We tend to get a bit spendy at these festivals, but we always plan and know we are going to spend a bit. This year we got a fountain from Bronze Age Studios.  Last year we got a big dragon light that everyone seems to love. This year I wanted a fountain.  DH wants to keep it in the house this winter but I reminded him some kitties would have the entire house wet if we did that!

fountain

We also got a Pirate head pumpkin from the pottery store, some lotions and soaps from our ‘soap guy’ and a few other trinkets.  Mainly we just like to go and enjoy the day there.

On Sunday, we met up with a friend of mine at a wine festival which turned out to be a bit lame but at least the band was good.  Monday we spent at Annapolis.  DH always wears Air Force gear to annoy the Navy guys, esp since AF beat Navy this year in football! 

The best thing we saw was the ‘half Steeler fan’ at the RenFest.  We have seen this little boy before and realized that his mom is a Steeler fan and dad is a Redskins fan.  As long as he’s not a Ravens fan, that’s fine with me!

Steelerfan

I finally got a pic of him and had to show you!  I thought it was a pretty cool idea for parents who like different teams.   Never an issue in our house---HERE WE GO STEELERS!

If you’ve read this far—thank you!  

Question—Have you been to a RenFest?  What did you think?

 

 

More Annie Sloan Chalk Paint fun!

 Okay, Okay---I’m late.  I was supposed to show you my latest ASCP project ages ago.  What can I say?  Life got in the way a little bit.  The past few weekends I have zero time for any projects.  My grass barely got cut!  I thought David the Gnome and his little wife were going to move in my yard soon! 
Also, we’ve had some family medical emergencies.  My grandfather is finishing up radiation this week, and my grandmother broke her hip and had surgery today.  The surgery was a success!  And my father in law fell and broke his nose and rib.  So lots going on medically!  Thankfully everyone is okay and I appreciate all of your kind thoughts and words.  It’s just been a crazy few weeks !
But I DID get my next dresser painted.  I won’t bore you with the long details since you can see the long before and after below.   Here is the dresser before:   talldresserbefore
And here it is after 2 coats of ASCP.  I did the same as last time—sanded it a bit for distressing purposes and then put my same old Johnson’s wax on thinly.   I thought I may have mixed too much water in with the paint as it seemed more runny than the last time I had used it. However, it still covered just as well as the first time.   I also painted our nightstand but totally forgot to take pics!!  Brain freeze!!  I have to say that our bedroom looks so much brighter and pulled together.  talldresserafter1
And to top it off I still have 1/3 of the quart left.  I can hardly believe it.  I’m already planning for my next project, which will be to paint an old dresser in my spare room.  I think I will try mixing the Old White and one of the blue colors together for a pretty turquoise.  The possibilities with this paint are endless!!! I would highly recommend this to anyone, even those who aren’t experienced painters.  Until trying this out, I had only painted walls and one piece of furniture ever.  Now I feel like I can paint anything!  

Linking at:

Transformation Thursday
Furniture Feature Fridays