I Couldn’t Help Myself

I found these chicken-shaped egg cups at the Salvation Army. I took them home (for the low price of $0.99 each).

Scrubbed them up, and planted tiny plants in their heads.

The Floors!

I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, my friends. After a while (months) of debate, I finally convinced Coach that we should remove the carpet from the bedrooms in addition to the living room, dining room, and library.

This meant I could scheduled the refinishing crew, then I could spend a few frantic days pulling the carpet out of those bedrooms before they arrived.

Before – Orange Lacquer :(

 

So sad. Aside from the deplorably orange-y tint and general wear, there were a lot of dark splotches and matte patterned sections from the carpet.

During

This sanded section shows a few finish options:

1. Right – natural clear coat
2. Middle – walnut stain
3. Left –  thinned down walnut stain

I have never liked light finishes on wood floors that much, but the natural finish spoke to my heart. The red oak was too darn pretty to cover up.

Things started to look pretty nice after just sanding.

After – All My Dreams Come True

I knew the floors would look great afterwards. I didn’t realize they would look SO GREAT. These floors are the prettiest thing I’ve ever owned.

(that’s Coach’s foot right up there)

I can’t stop looking at them.

Now, it doesn’t look like much, but we are close to finishing the rest of the project, too. The baseboards we had to custom order should be ready any day. I’ll tell you about it later.

Goodbye, Porch Awning

I don’t love awnings. Our porch came with one, and while I wanted to remove it, Coach’s approach was something along the lines of “if it ain’t broke, leave it.” So I waited.

After another 4  years of weather, the fabric was in bad shape, and the frame was bent along one corner. My time had come.

Removing the awning was an awkward process. Eventually we got slice-crazy and cut the fabric away from the frame. I only clobbered Coach with a metal framing pole once (it really was an accident).

It’s so much lighter and more open without the awning. Before and after:

An unexpected bonus is that the living room is brighter now – extra light from the porch brightens the room through the side door.

P.S. Doesn’t the smashed lamp look right at home in this busted room?

To Save a Lamp

The dog broke a lamp.

I like this lamp, and it is one of a pair, so I decided to fix it. Thoughts such as “this shouldn’t be too hard” and “I like doing puzzles!” went through my mind.

I set to work with the help of Krazy Glue* and some wine.

It started out great. I sorted the pieces by shape and the line pattern, and then started glueing them back onto the lamp. I was right, this is fun!

Then a piece or two got just slightly mis-aligned. That meant the next pieces got a little more mis-aligned, and I ended up with this:

The last few pieces wouldn’t even fit in. However, the lamp still operates, so it is back in its rightful place, with the smashed stuff mostly hidden by the wall.

Disclaimer: I only had one glass of wine, folks. This can only be blamed on my foolishness.

 

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*”Krazy” with a “K” ? Don’t do this. If you work in branding, please don’t do this.

A Lesson

My folks!

I’ve done some things this summer, a few of which I intended to tell you about. Unfortunately, my phone died.

I thought I had set up photo backup. I had not.

A few days later, my laptop died.

Important Lesson: Back Up Your Stuff

I’m still a lot little bitter about losing over a year of photos, though there is still hope that the laptop may be saved.

Well.

The kittens are all grown up and have been placed in good homes.

I have a shiny little iPhone now (RIP, Moto G).

My photos are backed up.

I’m making blackberry wine.

Cheers.