Guest Bed/Dressing Room Makeover!

BEFORE:


The before shots are from the home inspection. As you can see the room was done up in army colors with walls alternating in tan and green.

The varnish on the woodwork (from the 50's) was flaking off, and whoever had the rage issue had made holes all over this room, too.
Actually, this room scared me a little bit since most of the holes seemed to be head height punch marks, and the door to the room was missing. We found it in a trash pile in the garage- it had been punched through right above the door knob, like someone had tried to lock themself in, and someone else had broken through. Scary stuff.
So the first thing I decided to do was give the room an exorcism- a color exorcism! I thought, "What is the exact opposite of army drab?" So I went out to Home Depot and picked a color from the Disney line called Invitation to a Princess!
MIDDLE:
This room was the second bedroom on the same floor as the master, so it was going to basically be my dressing room. As such, I was free to do whatever I wanted!

I figured no evil spirits would want to hang around inspiring anger and violence in a pretty princess room! So it sat like this for about a year, until it felt ready for a change. (Actually, it was after I painted the master that very light grey and realized these rooms really wanted that- before that I couldn't figure out to do with such a long, skinny and SHORT space!)

It seems I never took pictures of it, and only remembered to get some for the next transformation after I'd already move everything around and begun priming!

It was a big job- all the trim needed to be sanded, primed and painted a couple of times, the walls needed priming and painting, the ceiling needed painting, and I had to figure out what to do about the closet door with the giant hole in it! The two undamaged panels I painted white, like I did in the rest of the house, but what do I do with this?:


Ok, you caught me, I forgot to take a real before picture again! So maybe you can tell what I did... but this is the damage those punch marks did to the BACK of the door, so you can imagine what a mess the front was!
AFTER:

The walls are Faded Hydrangea from the Better Homes and Gardens collection at Walmart, but was mixed at Lowes in Valspar paint (they did a VERY good job with the color match!)

The trim and closet doors are untinted white from ACE.

As is my sewing table, which used to be an ugly fake-oak laminate. (yes, lots of primer there!)

Since this is in theory a guest room I put a single bed in daybed style- it's good for watching TV when the main one is in use!

And as you can see, my solution to the closet door was to upholster it!


I used a polyester shantung- I admit to really wanting to use the silk shantung since that was GORGEOUS! But that seemed a little impractical, and expensive... and in person the poly is actually a pretty good imitation (until you touch it...)
I used the leftovers to make a skirt for the sewing table:

Which I see now needs to be steamed! Funny how those creases show up so much better in a picture... oh well!

And finally, it being a dressing room and all, I figured a little shrine to my hottest shoes would be appropriate!

So there it is, my new and improved, MUCH prettier girlie dressing room!

Dylan's Baby Shower

Well, I guess since Dylan is here now it's high time I got around to posting about the shower we had for him back in September!
My younger sister was the mastermind behind the plan, and all our aunties were the geniuses that found two identical tents for under $20 a piece and got them to my house on time. I was in charge of figuring out how to turn my backyard into the "Arabian Nights" that my sister had imagined, and actually putting it all together! (No, that makes is sound like I did ALL the work, which I totally didn't because my sister Sarah totally came through to help with decorating inside the tents!)

The weather forecast the day of the baby shower called for passing showers in the afternoon, ending in the evening. While that's not ideal for a tent party, I figured we could work it out. We DID have "waterproof" tents after all!

I forgot to take a picture of them actually setup, but here is one of them after I tried to set it up by myself earlier in the week. (I took a lunch break, the wind picked up and, well... that's it upside down.) But you see, should be fine for passing showers, right? Well...
Round about 3:00 those passing showers turned into torrential downpour! So one of the anties ran out and bought every tarp in Target, which we draped over both tents.

Looks nice, huh? Well, we dressed it up a bit. Leading down to the tent we had candles and lanterns lighting the way.

Sarah and I risked life and limb climbing on ladders in the downpour to string up twinkle lights from tree to tree.

That shot is from the house, so it looks miniature... but it looked really nice from in the tents. Which is where the really good stuff was!

Now, I have to tell you that I don't have any very good pictures of inside because I was so busy (and wet) that I didn't grab my own camera. Everyone else had theirs, and I figured I'd clean up and take some shots in the daylight on Sunday. But then... oh, then... well, let me show you the pictures I was able to convince people to send (a remarkably difficult thing to do with a new family member on its way!) before I finish that story.

The front half of the tent was the buffet area.

The back half of the tent was the lounging/dining area.

We put down tarps and then layered those with rugs and piles of pillows of all shapes and sizes. I don't really have good shots of the back half, but you get the idea!

We hung tapestries over all the walls, and draped the ceiling with sarees.

The tents were lit with the candelabra over the dining table, twinkle lights and paper lanterns in the lounging area, and tea lights on the coffee table (which the flowers in the foreground are sitting on.)

You can see there how wet everything had gotten in the 20 minutes it took us to get those tarps up! Fortunately an abundant supply of shawls and pillows kept everyone comfy and dry.

Dinner was a selection of Mom-to-be's favorite comfort foods:

Lasagna, garlic bread, simple green salad, mom's mac' n' cheese, and beef stew!

Everyone seemed to have fun despite the difficulties. Here's the mom-to-be-buried in presents:

Opening took awhile since everything had to be modeled!

All in all the evening was a pretty good success. The rain let up just before dinner was to be served in the tent, and stayed away until after everyone had trouped back up to the house for slumber party time.

And then, OH! and then... well, a couple people were so impressed with the tents that they decided to inflate some mattresses and sleep out there. Which was really cool! Until... about midnight the rain started really coming down again. And it must have pooled up quite a bit, because around 2 AM one corner of the front tent collapsed, spilling water over the sleeping people, rugs, pillows and everything! So you see now why the only pictures I have of the party are the sad ones:

That blue tent isn't supposed to be so lopsided...

And thank goodness we had three days of good strong sunshine to dry out all those rugs!

We are now all affectionately referring to this event as the Baby Monsoon!

Nieces and Nephews

In the last two months I've acquired both a new niece:


AND a new nephew!


My niece, the daughter of my brother-in-law and his wife, is Lana Taylor.
My nephew, the son of my sister and her husband, is Dylan John.

Everybody together now: AWWWWW!!

Nesting

All this chilly weather is making me want to build little nests all over the house. You know, cozy little spots to cuddle up with a blanket, book and cup of cocoa (or tea, or coffee... you get the idea...)
So a few days ago I rearranged the living room furniture while Hubby was on the phone. (Meaning spontaneously, and to surprise him. Judging from the frequency he brings it up in conversation, he really enjoys coming home to new furniture arrangements or wall colors, but him being at home so much leaves little opportunity to indulge! So, while on the phone...)

Mostly I rearranged things to create this little corner:


I would love to change out the wicker for something a bit more cozy, but hey- you work with what you've got!

Place to put your feet up: check!
Place to put your tea down: check!
Good reading light: Check!
Something a little fuzzy: Check!
Sparkle and scent: Check! (That's a cinnamon scented candle on the shelf.)

Cozy little corner: CHECK!!

Bring in on, New England!

Fantastic Deal at Christmas Tree Shop!

I made a little trip to the Christmas Tree Shop to buy some candles yesterday (I'm using a lot of them now that it's getting cold!) and I just happened upon a deal that I HAD to share!

This lovely tassel:

For just $1.99!! It's one of those large curtain tie-backs that I'm sure you all have seen hugely overpriced at other places. Oh, sure those others may be made of nicer stuff, or better quality, but I think for the savings that this looks pretty darn good!

They had a couple colors and styles, but options were fairly limited. But hey, for $1.99, I can be flexible!

Now go forth, and get thee a tassel!

Leaf Peeping

Hubby and I went out yesterday for a little walk in the conservation area behind our house. The light and the colors were pretty incredible and I thought you all might enjoy some pictures!









Happy Autumn!

How to Clean a Teacup and Other DIY Tips and Tricks

Do you have teacups that look like this?


Do you want them to look like this instead?


Then go and get yourself some of this!


(Those would be denture cleaning tablets...) Simply drop one, or part of one, tablet into the cup filled with water, and let it sit and effervesce. When the bubbles stop, wash as normal!

There are so many of these great little homemade tips and tricks out there! And they are so hard to remember unless you find them just when you need them... I picked that particular trick up from my mother-in-law.

She also taught me this one:
Out of copper polish?
Need to shine a something copper?
Sprinkle half a lime with salt and use that to scrub your copper item, then wash and buff dry!

Toothpaste is used for all sorts of things in my house- but it has to be paste, not gel. I use it as blemish cream, just dot it on and leave it overnight.
And as silver polish, for jewelry it's great in a pinch! Just put some on your fingers, smear all over the jewelry, scrub a bit (with your fingers) and watch that black tarnish come off. Rinse, dry and sparkle!

What tips and tricks do you know and use?

Fall Table Setting

Hello Everyone!
It's been awhile- I know! But to sit in one place in my house at the moment is to invite story-time, and it is difficult to listen attentively and blog at the same time, so the blog has suffered.

None the less, here is a quick look at some fun I had setting up the table for our first fall dinner party last week.

This gorgeous tablecloth was a gift from my Mother in Law during their visit from India this summer. Supposedly it is Cotton Silk which is washable, I'll find out for sure trying to clean out the spills!

The runner is actually a shawl that I ironed to a smaller width for this purpose.


The plates are Madeleine by Noritake, the napkins and water glasses are from Pier One, and the gold plated flatware is by Godinger. This next shot is overexposed, but you can see the glasses better:


Those lovely crystal wine glasses are from my favorite source: The Christmas Tree Shop!


For the centerpiece I spent a couple of hours in the yard gathering pretty fallen leaves and acorns in all shades (I love the green ones!) I then sprayed about a third of the acorns metallic gold, mixed most of them in a tall cylindrical vase by Mikasa, and stuck in a white taper candle.


Then I put that whole display on an amethyst glass cake stand from HomeGoods and spread around the colorful leaves and a couple handfuls of the acorns.
It was very pretty, and even more sparkly than it looks in the photos!


Thanks so much to Susan for hosting another week of Tablescape Thursday, be sure to stop by and check out the fun!