That Redheaded Sister

I needed a project to take my mind away from thinking about the wedding.  I have two major projects sitting here staring me in the face: our nightstands in the bedroom and a dresser that will become the tv stand someday.  Decisions decisions.

Ive had the nightstands longer and they have been ever so patient waiting for a new life.  (because that is how I make all major decisions).  They were the winners in this vicious battle.

A few months ago while not looking for anything in particular, I ran into two nightstands I have almost given up on finding on Craigslist.  I never expected nightstands to be that difficult to find.  $40 for the pair, for BOTH!  I couldnt believe it.

Sorry for the stinky cell phone pics.  Here is one before.  I WAS going to go with a green because it seemed like the coolest option Sherry from Young House Love suggested, but Matt was against it.  He said to pick another color from the room.  I didnt want anymore blue in the room, so I pulled the gray from the chest I redid a few months ago.

The thing about this project I didnt want to deal with was the prep work.  Honestly, I have a hard time using the sander on the patio while in an apartment.  Its loud and messy.  I probably shouldnt care because the people that live around us are louder than anyone I have ever lived near, but I have common courtesy.  After some research I found a tip for painting 70s furniture.  These particular tables have that glossy, thick finish on the top that would probably be more than a pain to remove. It was one of those tops that feels like you could peel it off in one piece and it would snap in half.

First:

Primer.  I read on a few sites that I could get away with priming this first and skip the sanding.  I bought Kilz primer with a Bondcote mixed in that will stick to any surface.  Everyone in the blog world seems to use Kilz and not the paint/primer mix.  I prepped my nightstands and they instantly started looking better.

Two coats of primer I was ready to paint.  I used the French Linen chalk paint on the chest, but I knew I didnt have enough to paint both of these the same color.  Luckily, the guy in the paint department did a color match for me.  He smeared some on a paint stick and mixed away.  The color had some brown hints to it (probably from the paint stick), but I LOVED IT!!!  It was soft while being a little modern.

I am not going to keep the knobs because they are a little too harsh for the color.  Next time I am near Hobby Lobby I am going to pick up some glass knobs.

My one biggest fear about this was what would happen after the tables dried.  Should I protect it?  I didnt sand it, so I was afraid it would chip away.  I had a lot of extra wax left over from the chest so once the 3 coats of paint were dry, I slathered it on.  After 10 minutes of dry time, I wiped it off and it feels like a strong coat.  I feel like it will be nice and protected from all of the elements!

I think it really lightens up the bed and the darkness of the headboard.  What do you think?

Hi Everyone.  Super fast post here. 

I am in the throws of my huge show at work, so posting wont happen much until the end of July.  I have so much I want to share, but I just dont have the mental capacity right now to form words, edit pictures, etc.

Of course because I am SUPER busy at work, I want to tackle just about everything.  I have a few projects I want to work on, a few crafty items, I wanted to bake a thank you to everyone working on this show for me, start a savings plan/budget to buy a house, etc.  My head WILL.NOT.SHUT.OFF

Not to mention I am supposed to be running.  I had an awesome/difficult 7.5 mile run last weekend and hope to knock out 5 this weekend, but my evenings during the week are shot.  So much for any of my summer races (expect Peachtree).  I really miss having a running buddy and a workout buddy that is serious about getting into shape.  I am really considering running a marathon next year (since its on my 3o things list) and I need the help.

Ok back to marking floor plans for me! 

How is your week going so far?  I have been trying to keep up my commenting on blogs, but I havent really been able to read much

Tell me about what is going on in your world?

Want to be my workout buddy?  We can keep each other accountable virtually!

Our dining room has a very large, blank wall.  Its actually annoying because we have really tall ceilings and this wall made the room look strange.  I have to admit, I had no idea what to put there.  I knew it would have to be something large, but I didnt want to shell the beans out to do it.  I have done a collage wall before at my first apartment and had pictures laying around, but I didnt wasnt sold on reusing those.  I looked all over the internet and tried to find inspiration for this project.  Here is the wall now

What I like about it is there is a hodge podge of things, but they seem to match (at least in my mind).  There are still a few things I want to make/add, but this is the bulk of it.

The fork, knife, and spoon is a project my mom and I worked on last year.  She bought this stencil and we painted it directly onto fabric.  Then we created a frame out of one bys and wrapped the fabric around.  It was really easy and we flew through both pictures (she has one in her kitchen).  I probably should have set this picture up a little nicer by clearing the table, but lets keep it real folks.

The biggest pain about putting this wall together was there is an apartment on the other side of the wall (reason 2347296 I hate renting an apartment).  When I started banging the nail into the wall, the bratty kid next door started yelling at me.  I can say he is bratty because he is.  Ive seen him around.  In order to keep peace, I literally PUSHED each nail into the wall.  What a pain in the butt!  Some of the lighter pictures are held up with thumb tacks because I couldnt stand it anymore.

Looking closely at the right side here is a breakdown of the pictures.  I know you care.  Click the picture to enlarge.

The picture of the tree is actually Angel Oak in Charleston, SC.  I found a great deal on Living Social for a photo turned canvas and had been dying to blow this image up:

I took this picture while I was running that 5k last year over Brooklyn Bridge.  I was so set on having this up there that I couldnt wait to use my coupon ($29 btw).  To my disappointment they couldnt use the image (the canvas was a 16×20).  My image was too small to even blow up to an 8×10.  I was beyond sad.  My settings on my point and shoot are off.  Bummer

I settled with the tree.  I made sure to not edit it because that could also have a negative effect on the sizing.  I like the picture of the tree, I think it might be a little dark though.

The smaller image next to it is a picture I took at an apple orchard a few years ago.  (I dont know what it is about trees)

Above that is a picture of the Arch found at the University of Georgia.  I got this print while I was still attending.  The legend is you are not allowed to walk under the Arch until you graduate or else you wont graduate.  There is enough space on either side to walk around it and you better count on seeing people do it.  I did it.  Once I became a graduate…I walked proudly underneath

May 2007

Back to the wall.  Next to that a red car I snapped from an antique car show

Here is a closer shot of the few pictures.

The yellow frame is actually fabric I have been working with on my chair recover.  Its so bright and cheery.  And the chair is as well.  I am hoping to finish that this weekend.  Hello forever project!

Above that is a blue bicycle I painted for Matt.  Because he would totally have a bike with a basket.

Next image I bought from IKEA.

In the middle you see typewriter keys.  I took that picture in an antique store a few years ago.  The owner loved my camera and told me to walk around and take pictures.  This was my favorite of the bunch

Below that is a light post from the Marietta Square.  Not sure why I like it so much

My little $1 birdhouse from JoAnn’s painted white

My pink bicycle I painted.  Because we are going to ride our decked out bikes around one day. I just need a pink bike.  And a basket.  And a bell.

Last the print out reading “what I love about my home is who I share it with.”  Matt really liked seeing that on the wall (mush!).  I cannot remember where I got this picture (sorry) but Im sure if you google it, you could find it in multiple places.

There is one project I finally completed.  The dining room doesnt look half bad anymore.  Except we need more seating.  Another day, another day.

Dont worry, I just woke up (its def 9:45am).  I had a hard time sleeping last night and frankly it was nice to sleep in. I wanted to catch you all up on some things going around here (that is if you still read…its been a boring corner Im sure)

Running:  I ended up going to the doctor this week.  Mainly I went to get a physical and have my vitamin D levels checked (did you know MOST, if not everyone, is vitamin D deficient?)  I have to say I LOVE my new doctor.  We talked about EVERYTHING that I have ever gone through (did you know I was misdiagnosed with cancer once?  CANCER!)  I talked to her about my leg and she suggested for now to take ibuprofen and place heat on the hurting area.  I cant tell you how great my leg felt after doing it.  I have been applying heat each night and its been heaven. (She also diagnosed me with rosacea which answers a lot questions about my face breakouts)

That being said, I havent been running, but I introduced a new machine into my life, the bike.  I have only ever used the bike in spin class, so I was a complete newbie the first day.  Yesterday I feel like I had the best workout in a long time.

But I havent been attending the gym as much as I would like for a few reasons:

Exhibit A:9 different incidents on the roads home the other day.  9!  2 of which were in my direction.  I think that day it took me well over an hour to get home.

Exhibit B:
This day there were NO incidents, just congestion.  Lets gather around and watch the impending doom of the pink line approach.  (Pink means NO MOVEMENT)

Exhibit C: I eat too many carbs.  I could not figure out why I have been so tired this week and so unmotivated and I realized I havent been eating my protein like I should be.
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DIY:  I have so many projects going on right now, I dont know where to start.  I also have a few sitting in my picture folder just wanting to be written about.  Nothing crazy, but easy for those who say they are crafty enough (which you know is totally false)

I am ALMOST complete with my chair makeover and I have a few other things I am working on….slowly.  I hope next week I will have a few to show you.
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Baking: With us trying to eat healthy around here, baking has taken a big back seat.  I havent really had anyone to bake for either.  I have a ton of recipes lined up and I have been pinning like crazy (are we Pinterest friends?)
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Other: I started reading Hunger Games.  I know some of you think its lame because everyone reads it, but my thinking is if its a good book, why not read it.  I dont judge it because of the people that read it.  So what if millions of teenage angsty kids are reading it.

Guess what we are going today???  Ring shopping!!  We’ve been talking which explains the explosion on my wedding Pinterest board.

What is going on in your world?  Anything planned for the weekend?

Have you read books that people scoff at?  I read Twilight and loved every second.  Cant say that about the movies though

Did you know you were going to be asked to get married?  Did you pick out your ring? I actually told Matt I didnt want a ring (or something less real for now) so we could put the money toward a house/wedding (which will be a teeny tiny budget), but he INSISTS on getting a ring.  Plus HE has been bringing up weddings, so I decided to just start getting ideas…I do not kid when I say tight budget

Its Friday, Friday!  Its the weekend.

Oh goodness….sorry.

I sort of let DIY projects fall to the wayside lately I think mainly because I wanted to save a little money and because we live in an apartment and its somewhat of a pain.  We are still in the process of finishing our bedroom as much as we can without painting the walls/buying things that arent 100% necessary right now.

When I first moved to my apartment my mom gave me a hand me down mirror.  I never really did anything with it because it was very 90s gold.  Wasnt really sure what to do with this, so it sat.  As some of you know, Martha Stewart has these specialty paints out and I wanted to try one.  I flip flopped between a few different colors, but finally chose one:

I was a little surprised how glittery it was.  I love some glitter, but I wasnt sure about this particular project.  At first I put this on the mirror with a foam sponge, but I dont recommend it.  Just use a paint brush.

I was worried about the first coat.  It went on…clearish.

Definitely not what I was looking for.  I let it dry and did not give up hope.  I am glad I didnt.  The more I used, the better it looked.

I am pleased with the end result.  It went on quick and had a quick dry time.  I liked that because this project took exactly one night.  (Unlike my chair which I have been working on for WEEKS).

Dont mind that lamp.  Its not staying.  And the empty walls are being filled.  Its a work in progress.

Sorry about the short post.  I actually brought work home tonight and I have to play lame-o adult.

Any cool projects on your plate?

After my last post this morning I started working on the weekly chores.  Basically that is me cleaning the apartment.  I dont complain because there is nothing like a freshly vacuumed floor.  After I finished dusting and arranging, I took a look around to applaud my work and it sort of hit me how BORING the color scheme is in my apartment.  Its all brown and creme.

Does that not scream boring to you?  Im sort of at a standstill on what to do.  I am on a tight budget and I promised myself to not neglect my clothing situation this year like I did last.  Granted the gifts I got for Christmas should carry me for awhile. 

The first problem is the dining room.  I am planning on making this:

(credit Pottery Barn)