So Long Popcorn!

One of the first items on the to-do list for the new house was to remove the popcorn ceilings and replace them with knock-down. Some people don't care either way about popcorn ceilings, but we're not those people. In fact we have very strong feelings about popcorn in that we really don't like it. It flakes at the slightest touch and dust clings to it, which makes the ceiling look dirty over the years, plus that can't be good for you. To take it down though is a huge mess, so we opted to do it before we moved in. We contemplated going the DIY route, but after talking to a couple of people who attempted the task themselves, we opted to just bite the bullet and hire professionals.

Here are the ceilings in all their popcorn glory...

The kitchen and family room area

Bedroom ceiling

The ceilings had cracks in certain spots around the house from settling, so we thought this would also be a great opportunity to patch those up...

On the first day, the team showed up to prep  the house and start scraping off the popcorn. Everything that was not  ceiling was draped in plastic to catch all the falling popcorn and all the light fixtures were wrapped...

Then it was time to get scraping! They sprayed the ceilings with water and then started scraping away...

We watched them scrape away praying that they wouldn't uncover some sort of damage to the drywall needing to be repaired. Thankfully all the drywall looked great...

Once the scraping was done they sprayed knock-down texture and left it to dry for the painters the next day...

   

Next day, the painters arrived and started painting the ceilings. Within a few hours our ceilings were done!

 

Not sure if you can tell from the photos, but it made a huge difference in the feel of the house. The popcorn felt dated and now with the new ceilings the house feels more clean and modern. Plus thanks to the new paint the house smelled brandy new :-)

Sprout

My husband sent me an article about a company called Sprout that makes these amazing pencils. He knew I'd go bonkers over this because I have a fascination with pencils. I have them stashed all over the house, I use them to the nub and still feel bad when I have to throw them away because I still think there's more use left in them. He argues that no one uses pencils anymore and he's married to the one person that still does :-)

Each pencil has a tiny seed inside the color cap at the top. When you've used up your pencil, flip it over and place the water soluble cap side in soil and a plant starts to grow! How cool is that?! They have everything from flowering plants to herbs. 

Check out their main page here  where they are asking for pledges to get Sprout growing...see what I did there? Growing? Yeah I'm hilarious sometimes.

Images via CNet and Kickstarter

Notes and a Martini

Hello lovelies!

Turns out my Superbowl Sunday catering was a hit among the family and everyone had a good time watching the game. I didn't manage to score anything Wu though, my local Target was sadly lacking in the items I was looking for. 

This week I'm working really hard to finish up some projects that I've been working on for a while in the hopes to finally get started on some other ones that I've had on the back burner, hence the lack of posting this week. If only I looked as glam as Kate here while reading my notes, perhaps I would work a bit faster ;-)

I hope you all have a wonderful week and an even better weekend! Signing off early!

Mangonett

Image from Pinterest

Me and the Sewing Machine are BFFs Now

After a few months of sitting in the corner my sewing machine was dusted off last night and turned on for the first time...and I am hooked!

Before last night I had never used a sewing machine, in fact I've always been afraid of it. The threading, that fast moving needle, and precise measurements, I found it all a bit intimidating. However watching enough episodes of Project Runway gave me the push I needed to finally buy my first sewing machine. It sat in the corner for a few months because I couldn't figure out where to start, but thanks to my resolution to jump start my projects I decided to power her up and give it a try. My husband watched me set-up and thread the machine like I was performing surgery, and even clapped when I finally got it right...such a trooper. 

I decided to start off with something small, so I began with this little tutorial of a drawstring bag...

It didn't turn out as finished as it looks in the tutorial, but I managed to end up with a pretty nice drawstring bag if I do say so myself! Now I have a whole bunch of sewing ideas floating around in my head. Pillows? Adding some trim on the office curtains? Create that box cushion for the bench at the foot of the bed?

The possibilities are endless.

On Pinterest I stumbled upon Pattern Runway, which sells  patterns for clothing like dresses and flowy blouses. I'm especially loving their dresses...

Aren't they pretty? I'd probably even try to use the same color and fabric for both dresses. You purchase the patterns on their Etsy shop for $9.50 and they send you the files as a PDF, and then you start sewing! I'm going to try making a few more basic things first before I tackle a dress, but these patterns are at the top of my list to try, especially the second one. 

Can you tell I'm excited?

First image via Pinterest

New Year, New Projects

Hello lovelies!

Sorry for the lack of posting lately, the past couple of weeks I've been super busy with RBP, which has taken me away from my beloved blogging time. Those who follow me on Pinterest, however, will see that I've been busy pinning when I can!

When the new year arrived I looked around the house and resolved to finally finish all those half-started projects that I have around the house. I have supplies hidden in corners all over the place with the promise to my husband that I will finish them soon even though they end up sitting there for months. To clear up all the clutter I'm starting off the new year by finishing off all of these projects, which of course will lead eventually to new ones, but that's beside the point ;-)

I decided to start off with one of the biggest projects I've been meaning to start, the home office. As of right now, it's very disorganized and full of clutter since I've been stashing away all of our RBP stuff in there. Before I started the business, this space was mainly used to keep important paperwork and the office closet works as half of my husband's closet. I decided to take advantage of the long weekend to start working on the space to make it a functioning home office. 

Here's the battle plan so far...

I was inspired by the bulletin board that Bryn created for her home office...

Using her tutorial here, I already have the fabric, spray adhesive, and cork-boards, but I'm still on the hunt for the metal tacks to create the trim. I bought two so that I can hang them side-by-side and use them to pin up all those little notes that usually end up on the desk.

Next is the furniture. We currently have a desk and cabinet from Ethan Allen that look similar to this one:

Except the drawers are in the same wood as the desk top. I'm planning on painting the black part of the desk white and leaving the wood parts as is to create a sort of white/wood combo and lighten it up a bit.

Last we just need some accessories to finish off the room. Yesterday I took advantage of my day off and headed over to Ikea to buy the Expedit shelf in white and a few baskets to put in it. Over time I'm hoping to add some more lighting in the room (I love those horse-head lamps from West Elm) and a few fun office accessories to curtail all of those paper piles. For the desk I definitely need to get a new chair since our current one has seen better days, and I'll probably change out the knobs on the desk to something a bit more fun. 

So that's the plan for now, I'll take photos of everything as it goes along. Stay tuned!

*First two images from BrynAlexandra and Ethan Allen. Collage created by me*

Mushroom Hunting

The three of us went on a little mushroom hunt trying to find as many different mushrooms as we could. With all of the rain lately mushrooms are growing all over the neighborhood and I was amazed that there were so many different kinds. Turns out Brandy is the best mushroom hunting golden retriever out there, at least that's what we told her.

*Images taken by me ;-)

Image of the Day: Golden Sputnik

I am nothing short of amazed at Jenny's endless creativity. Click here to see how she used the IKEA Maskros lamp to DIY her sputnik dining room light fixture.

So cool!

Album for 2010

One of my goals at the start of 2011 was to begin a family photo project that I knew would probably take me all year to complete. I want to take all of our family photos, organize them by year, and create a photo album for each year starting from 2008 when we were married. 

I started off with last year's photos and now we have our first family photo album!

  It's just short of 440 pages and took me about 2 months to make, but it was so much fun to go through all the past years photos! I've already started 2009 and can't wait to see how it's going to turn out. The best part is watching our family look through the album for the first time and laughing at the moments they had forgotten about. To make the album I used Blurb and they've been great, I highly recommend them if you're thinking of doing a project like this one. It allowed me to create a book with a large amount of pages in a large size at a reasonable price, gotta love that!

"I Want to Walk on Your Wavelength"

Hello weekend!

Lots to do this weekend, and unfortunately most of it is work, but since it's work I like doing that's not so bad right? I made the macarons this past Wednesday! They've been awaiting me in the refrigerator since they have to sit for at least two days before they're ready, so they'll be a nice little treat to start off the weekend today. I can't wait to post some photos and show you guys how they turned out!

Lately one of my favorite songs on the radio is Katy Perry's "E.T.", I especially love the video. She's like this crazy looking alien princess with an awesome hair and makeup team...love it.

My sister showed me this awesome acoustic version of the song this week, I can't stop listening to it...

Enjoy!

Image via Patterson Maker

The Macaron Obsession

 I have Parisian Macarons on the mind. It's weird, I know, but since I don't foresee a trip to Paris any time in the near future the idea of attempting to make them has become a bit of an obsession.

On Monday I came home from Bed Bath and Beyond with my very first piping set, stocked with tips and bags, which confused my husband since I initially went there to buy a bridal shower gift. My explanation to him was "Your wife is fixin' to start a baking project this weekend". He kind of just nodded and offered his services as a taste tester. Love him.

 All week I've been scouring the Internet in search of the perfect recipe for me to try. Right away I remembered Emily posting about these delicious looking Salted Caramel Macarons that she made.

Then I headed over to Tartelette and found these summery Meyers Lemon Macarons. I love the flavor of lemon especially as the weather gets warmer, so I was really excited to find this recipe. She also added the recipe for lemon creams. Perhaps the next cooking project?

I started jumping up an down in my chair and clapping when I discovered the macaron recipe mother-load at Cannelle et Vanille. One of my favorite food blogs because of her amazing photography. She has so many types of macaron recipes that I went nuts looking through all of them. Lavender and Orange, Chocolate and Peanut Butter, Strawberry and Vanilla Bean...the list goes on.

So many flavor combinations, and the possibility of so many colors. Now I just have to decide which recipe to try! Decisions, decisions.

Images via Cannelle et Vanille, Tartlette, and Cupcakes and Cashmere

Colored Canvases

I can't get these three images out of my head lately of large canvases filled with bright and fun colors. The painting in the last photo was painted by Jen Ramos from Made By Girl, she wanted a large piece of art for her home and decided to make one herself. I think that is such a great idea! I haven't painted in years, but I think I'm going to dust off my brush set and give it a try. I've been on the hunt for a great piece of art for a large wall in our bedroom, perhaps I'll just paint it myself.

Images via MFAMB, Pink Wallpaper, and MBG

Ouch.

We started this on Monday...

I am extremely sore and tired...and it's only day 3. Ouch.

Yesterday we did the Plyometrics exercise, which from what I hear is the hardest in the series. I've never done Plyometrics before, but if you can imagine a solid hour of jumping, squatting, and lunging in different variations, that's Plyometrics. My legs are beyond sore today, I'm walking around like an old lady and making old people noises.

Hopefully over the next couple weeks my body will adjust and I won't be as sore. This is all in an effort to loose the "happy fat" we've gained the past three years of marriage. I knew it was time to do something when my favorite jeans were starting to get harder and harder to put on...not good. However, I'm excited to have a steady exercise regimen that will get results, something very necessary to a couch potato like myself. 

So, here we go! Day 3!

Ouch.

Dear Closet, It's On

I'm preparing to undertake a rather large project this weekend. I have a feeling it will probably take more than one weekend until the project is done, but I'm excited to get started...I'm making over my closet!

No, this is not a just a reorganization effort, I'm talking the full enchilada here, as in paint will be involved. Lately I have found my closet to be less than inspiring, but before I run out and start attempting to fix it via retail therapy, I decided to make the closet into our own little boutique. I say "our" because my poor husband has to share it with me, which means that his things are often over powered by mine.

My plan of attack is as follows:1. Edit! Edit! Edit! and Edit.

As much as it pains me to get rid of those jeans that I practically lived in during high school, they gotta go. Everything will be taken out, tried on, and eliminated if I have not wore it in the past year, is ill-fitting, and out-of-date. Everything will be donated or if possible, sold, but it's gotta go. Hopefully we will be left with a closet of pieces we love and use, and can slowly build on. 2. Clean and Paint

My vacuum will be my best friend and we will get every nook and cranny in that closet. Oh yes we will...dust bunnies I'm coming for you.

I plan on digging into my leftover-from-other-rooms paint arsenal and painting the walls something subtle, but pretty enough to make the white shelving pop a bit. As is, the white, builder painted walls are scuffed and ugly. I'm hoping a fresh coat of paint will make everything a bit more polished. 3. Accessories and Storage

I plan on having a bit of fun here, perhaps diving into a few DIY projects. My t-shirts, sweaters, and tanks are currently folded on shelves and look like Leaning Tower of Pisa. Removing my favorite T from the pile is like a game of Jenga. I figured I could remedy the problem with nice storage boxes to keep them organized and less "pile like".

To make the closet more boutique-ish, I'm going to use pretty hooks, knobs, and other fun items to display jewelry and keep things like belts and scarfs organized.

I wish I had a pretty tabletop to display flowers like Tamara Mellons over here, but the knobs will do.

4. Enjoy and Shop with Care ;-)

Once this project is done I anticipate my husband walking in and finding me sitting in the middle of the closet enjoying all of its splendor. After so much work, I promise to shop carefully, only choosing pieces that fit fabulously and will stand the test of time. Therefore, no more buying things simply because they are a bargain or because of the label...yes, I am guilty of it.

Are there any big projects you plan on tackling soon?

Images via Miss Gracious Living, We Heart It, Elle Decor