Look out - she's gonna spray paint something again.

'Member that old-school lamp I acquired? I had such high hopes for an easy DIY miracle transformation. I was proud of myself before I even got started.

Turns out, I was overly eager. I decided that I'd spray paint it copper, but there were those pesky lines etched into the ceramic that I initially failed to notice, to my chagrin. So I tried to plug them up with wood filler and painted over the base once more. It was looking worse and worse. To further the worsenss, I wasted money on that horrible cloth spray paint for the oddly-shaped retro shade, which made the it look like it had been in a mining mishap (no photo attached--too fug.)

I found this new lamp shade (more reasonably shaped and clothed) for $10 at HomeGoods. I like it a lot better than the original. And on the same day I bought this shade, I was struck with inspiration. I thought I might repaint the base a lovely stormy turquoise color to add a little pop to the piece (and my living room). "Lowes" and behold, I found just was I was looking for across the street.

"Exotic Sea" in gloss. The last ingredient I need to make this project a reality is the motivation to go outside and actually do it. My last few spray painting endeavors left me quite disappointed, so I'm a little wary about putting in the effort again. I think I need to wait for some warmer and drier weather. Spray painting outside in a peacoat and snow boots sucks. I'm also nervous that the color will look tacky, atrocious...pick your adjective. Got any motivating words for me, Spray Paint Soulmate?

The things I want to do to my room.

Fabric for my square, king-sized headboard.

Paint (and hardware, too!) for our night table turned TV stand:

Rug under the bed:

Bedskirt. Sigh.



And last, but not least! Do you LOVE this duvet cover?!

Unfortunately, the duvet cover only comes in twin and full/queen. The bedskirt too. But I'll be on the lookout for similar versions in the right size.

Soup

Well, hello! Check out my soup:

Olive oil, 1 tbsp
Large onion, 1, chopped
Red bell pepper,1, chopped
Fresh rosemary, 1 tbsp minced
Red pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp
Butternut squash, 2 lb, peeled, seeded, cubed (I buy it pre-cut. You can kill yourself trying to cut up a butternut squash)
Coarse kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Low-sodium organic chicken broth, 4 cups plus more as needed
Cannellini beans, 1 can, rinsed and drained
Swiss chard, 1 bunch, tough stems removed, coarsely chopped

I added sausage and egg noodles to this mix to make it a bit heartier.

In a large saucepan, saute the olive oil, fresh rosemary, red pepper flakes, onion, and bell pepper. Cook for about 12 minutes, until the onion gets tender. Then add the butternut squash, salt and pepper. Heat for about 2 minutes, until the outside of the squash starts getting soft. Add the broth and bring to a boil, then lower heat and let it simmer for about 25 minutes.

Add the chopped Swiss chard and wait until it wilts a bit, about 3 minutes. Here you can add things like noodles or cooked and seasoned meat. Isssogood!

I've been cooking like a maniac. I freakin' love it. I'm like my own personal chef :) It's been extra fun because of these:

The cutting boards were a Christmas present, but we bought the knife ourselves a little while ago. Having the right tools makes cooking feel like art.

I'd post more, but blogspot makes it very tricky (and frustrating) to post pictures. I can't copy and paste in here, and when I insert a picture from my files, it loads it at the very TOP of the blog and spaces my lines out strangely. Too much stress for a Friday night--so you know what I'm about to go do. I'd insert a picture of wine here, but I might snap off my laptop screen in a rage before I get the chance.

Cheers, my beautiful!

Consumephilia

I just gave a happy booty shake for your brilliant homage to powerclashing. Here's the OPI I just picked up (speaking of orange! I just love pinky oranges). The only watch I ever loved is one my dad bought from a department store in Paris, and it's permanently broken :(

Thank you so much for your list of economical Christmas ideas. I'm taking you up on the button wreath ornament for a few people I work with and appreciate. I bought several orders of these green buttons on eBay:

This lamp ordeal is becoming expensive and not at all fun. So far, I've purchased 3 bottles of this stuff.

I bought these to paint the lamp shade dark black. Two of the three bottles stopped spraying halfway through being used. In a blind fit of rage, I shook one of these defunct cans as hard as I could and ended up bedaubing myself in permanent black spots (at least now I have a designated shirt I can wear when I paint). I just had to just put everything down and walk away. It still irks me to think about what a waste of time and money it was to buy these. I'm sure other brands work great, but don't waste your money on what I now call "Simply NoWay."

On a cheerier note, I made a list of small gifts for my mother so that she can have goodies to give Cole, which got me thinking about more easy gifts I could make for him! Check out these lovely looking donut holes!

For such a slim man, he sure does love his donuts. He recently went nuts over a box of these donut holes from the grocery store, so I figured what better way to demonstrate my love than give him the homemade version?

Okay, one last picture before I have to scoot to the library to tutor. I was perusing that One Kings Lane, and I found a rug I want to marry. LOOK!

They have an 8'x8' for $299. The more I look at it, the more I believe it would work beautifully in my guest room. I wannit realbad. But alas, it is not the season for indulging myself. I just love how rustic it looks with that texture, and the simple pattern seems designed just for me. There is something empowering, though, about hitting "X" and putting it out of my mind. $3oo is a huge chunk of cash, and I could parlay that kind of money into a savings account, a school loan payment, Christmas gifts for my loved ones, or a special trip with my man darling.

More to come when I get home - my botanical prints are so beautiful, and so is my new chalkboard for the kitchen! Love you!

Exciting Lamp Re-do!

Okay, this is quickly becoming all I want to do. Good thing I have the morning off (parent teacher conferences at 1:00 - praise the heavens). I'm starting to feel sick and this blog is the medicine I've chosen to be nursed by for the remainder of the evening.

So last night, Cole and I went shopping and strolled into Pottery Barn. Look at the stockings he bought us. His idea entirely. Darling? Oh, yes.

I was also getting gift ideas while we shopped. I've arrived at the unfortunate conclusion that it's not going to be a bountiful Christmas for my loved ones this year. Money really shouldn't be an issue, but it just...is.

To overcome this humdrum conundrum, I decided to stay optimistic and tap into my inner creative prowess. I did a little digging through our past email exchanges, and I came across this site for vintage botanical prints. Woohoo! (I'm going to use some frames Cole found for me at his mom's house last night, and turn them into fabulous gifts. But more about that in a second.)

To make matters more exciting, last night was Sunday, which means diner with Cole's mom and dad. Cole (he definitely knows me like a best friend--good thing we live together) started digging through crawl and attic spaces looking for discarded goodies for me. He found THIS LAMP!

Yup, circa 1989. Freakin' awesome. I've been thinking about the lamp re-do you sent me (that we actually got a chance to do together! We were amazing!) and possible spray paint/fabric ideas for this guy. Luckily, that charming Southwestern design isn't etched into the lamp base, which is ceramic. It's all smooth. The shape of the shade is a little kooky, but the more I see it, the more I feel it growing on me. I went back to Pottery Barn's website, saw this beauty, and was struck with inspiration. What if...I painted the base this color in RustOleum hammered metallic silver? Hopefully it would result in this look. Oooing and ahhing like I am??? Yes?? Then I could take a gauzy burlap fabric and cover the shade. Bada bing, bada boom. Magic in my living room. What do you think?

Can there ever be too many plants?

I love plants. I just bought my 17th plant. A schefflera arboricola, or umbrella plant. Isn't it beautiful? I put it under the window in our bedroom.

I hope that one day I have a big screened-in porch slash green house jungle room. Taking care of plants makes me really happy. Cole jokes that I'm a crazy plant woman. He calls them my plantalones. Hee hee.

Any new plants for you lately?

Hi!

My project this weekend...fixing these chairs. They're from Walmart, so I have no problem messing with them and changing the fabric over the cushions. Obviously, I was not thinking clearly when I tried to cover them the first time (plus, I had no staple gun yet ;)). See the messy job in the corner? For a while I was thinking I should change the fabric, but I don't feel like spending the money, and the zebra pattern is "funk," as my mother would call it - which is a good thing, if you weren't sure. All in all, I can't help but like this fabric. I could be persuaded to buy some pretty cream colored muslin and lay a little cotton batting underneath to add some comfort. What do you think? Any alternate opinions on fabric? I'm thinking a simple color scheme would work best.