Progress

1. Use the old sofa pieces to cut out the pieces from the new fabric
   
2. Buy a new litter box for Kali before we move
   
3. Use the Restor-a-finish on the side tables
   
4. Use goof-off to clean the paint splotchies off of the lamp we just bought
   
5. Go for a walk
   
6. Buy new foam and cording for sofa
   
7. Schedule my groupon mani/pedi
   
8. Reserve the moving truck
   
9. Call to confirm that the power is on
   
10. Take lots of deep breaths and fit in the occasional piece of chocolate and Dr Pepper and not feel guilty

Motivation? What Motivation?

The sofa frame is here...

(Excuse the litter box)

The fabric is here...

(Excuse the black furry paperweight)

...and I'm here


I'm struggling folks. We plan on having a moving truck next Wednesday and that's so close I don't feel like I can get anything done before then. Which then leads to getting NOTHING done before then. I have a bad neck spasm, I'm sad, I'm grumpy and I just want to lay on the couch all day and each chocolate and drink Dr Pepper. Pity party, table of one please?

So Micheal says, make a to do list. Can it include getting a massage please honey??

1. Use the old sofa pieces to cut out the pieces from the new fabric
   
2. Buy a new litter box for Kali before we move
   
3. Use the Restor-a-finish on the side tables
   
4. Use goof-off to clean the paint splotchies off of the lamp we just bought
   
5. Go for a walk
   
6. Buy new foam and cording for sofa
   
7. Schedule my groupon mani/pedi
   
8. Reserve the moving truck
   
9. Call to confirm that the power is on
   
10. Take lots of deep breaths and fit in the occasional piece of chocolate and Dr Pepper and not feel guilty

Okay, here goes. One foot in front of the other.

Weekend Update 8/15/11

Hi all! We had a pretty good weekend - we went to our first auction out here (and Micheal's first ever!) and invested in an awesome piece of mid-century memorabilia.

Sat we headed out to Potomac, MD to a "Living Estate Auction" to check out how auctions go here on the East Coast. I've been to many an auction in Kansas, even worked a few and loved rummaging through boxes and the thrill of the bid. Turns out nothing has changed!! We had a great time and picked up a few fun things.

We paid $2 for the turquoise pottery, it's in great condition and I think I want to make it a cookie jar. The Christmas tree was $3 and is why I went to the sale! My grandma has one and I've always loved it so it'll make me feel all warm and fuzzy when I put it out at Christmas.


These guys (dessert dishes) were an impulse buy. There are actually 12 of them along with saucers that I haven't dug out yet. I thought they were cute and the auctioneer did dollar choice on all the boxes since no one was bidding and I couldn't say no.


Guess who wanted these guys? Two dollars brought them all home, on the way out the auctioneer told us he had valued them at $50 a piece, so who knows! Hand carved in Ecuador according to the bottoms. They're growing on me.

Saturday night we were watching Room Crashers on HGTV and the host did a mid-century room. They had a sputnik light included and I just melt when I see those, they're so awesome...and expensive. I took a chance and typed "sputnik" into CL and wouldn't you know a month old ad popped up with a sputnik for $100. We took a chance and contacted them and they still had it!!



Now, $100 might sound like a lot for us to spend, and in reality it is - however...these sell for $300 and up which I would never pay so to find one that is in our range was rare. And as Mike and Frank on American Pickers say: "The time to buy an antique is when you find it, because you never know when you'll find another."

So she's MINE! Aren't her legs sexy? :)

Tomorrow we head up to Wilmington to pick up the keys and clean my new pad. Take some measurements, make lists, and try not to cry too much.

Side Chair Makeover

Back in March I made Micheal trudge out in the rain to pick up this free chair from of course, craigslist.

I originally emailed about it because the lines of the arms seemed to fit the mid-century look; however, when we got there it was clear that wasn't mid-century, probably more like late 70s. BUT it was cute and free and dangit we went in the rain! So I carted it home.

This is where a person has to decide between painting and refinishing (staining.) My mama taught me never to paint wood and I've tried to stick by that... However, in this case staining would have not dealt with the outdated look. With the blessing of my mom, I painted it Dove white (Behr) and recovered the cushions in a bright, fun print!

Steps:

1. Clean and rough up with sandpaper
   
2. Prime with Kilz new odorless oil-based primer due to stain bleed-through
   
3. Spray with Behr Dove white paint with my new HVLP paint sprayer
   
4. Recover cushions
   
5. Replace seat webbing

I'm very happy with the finished product!! It transformed into such a fun and bright piece of furniture. It'll be on the truck to Delaware next week!

Shared on the DIY Showoff

DIY Sofa Reupholstery - Day 1

I'm going to be honest; I pretty much figured when I bought this sofa with the intention of reupholstering it that it would stay red thatch for quite a while. Mostly because I have a lot of great big ideas, but sometimes the follow through is lacking.

HOWEVER! Not this time folks, I broke out my tools, my gloves, my Dr Pepper and started this Herculean project. I'm going to try and take you along the journey with me rather than amass a week of photos and try to remember all the steps I took along the way. :)

Choosing Fabric


Things I considered when choosing fabric:

1. Color - be able to match apartment but also transition back to our house when I'm done.
   
2. Texture of fabric - I like the look of basket weave, however the kitties really do too (scratch scratch).
   
3. Price - upholstery fabric is expensive! And you'll need a lot.

Couch Disassembly

The tools I used and found to be the most helpful so far are a set of dykes, gloves, and a small flat head screwdriver. (Also Advil and your carbonated beverage of choice!) Now - GET BRAVE!! Grab an edge and pull and cry pry! One of the internet tutorials I read suggested starting at the back so that's what I did. Start by inserting your flat head screwdriver and try to pry yourself out an edge to start working on.

The top came off pretty easily but I couldn't get the whole back panel off. The fabric appeared to be inside the arms instead of a full back panel. When I looked inside this is what I saw:

It appeared that the sofa was made and upholstered in several different pieces and then put together. Good for construction and aesthetic, bad for Kari.

Taking apart the sofa by myself was going to be tough so I decided to start removing the fabric in another area. This time, the front of the arm.

I'll get some better pics of how I used the tools to remove the fabric since I'm noticing now I don't have any photos of those. But this photo series shows the importance of documenting how the sofa is constructed as you take it apart. You have to put it back together the same way!

The construction of the arm is very important to recreate so I get the same finished look. When you finally get a full piece off make sure to save it label it - I used a sticky note and put where it came from and any specifics on how it was attached. You will use these as templates to cut new pieces out of your pretty fabric!

About this time I took a break, bought a Mani-Pedi on Groupon for when I'm done, and went to get some emergency DP. Then Micheal-gyver got home and it was GAME ON!

My final note for today is to make sure to take pictures of all the complex corners, again so you know what to do with that funky corner you cut out using the old fabric pieces as a template.

Things I learned today

• When working on a 60 year old sofa, make sure your tetanus shots are up to date
  
• If you husband asks you "what are you doing" when he gets home and you've got your arm elbow deep in the sofa...he's probably really just interested and not trying to annoy the crap out of you. So be nice.
  
• Wear gloves, nails, staples, all that stuff is sharp! (And rusty, see the first "thing")
  
• Dykes work better for pulling staples than needle nose pliers - thanks babe!
  
• Make sure you have more than one Dr Pepper when starting a project like this :)

New Stuff is Fun :)

"Knock Knock"
Me: "Helllo UPS man!! Thank you SO much!"
UPS Man: "Alright...(wave)"

Man, he could have at LEAST said you're welcome...but it's HERE! The sofa fabric is here! Yay! This is what happened next:

Moshe: "What's that? Something for me?"
Kali: "No punk, it's for me. Back off before I smack you upside your fool head!"

She's a brat, what can I say. :) I really love the fabric though - I was nervous ordering it online since I hadn't seen it but fabric.com offers free shipping on orders over $35 and free returns so that put my mind at ease. I pulled off the first piece of the sofa tonight, so it's on now! No turning back!

I also took Micheal on another late night Frosty craigslist run (with a Frosty stop on the way) to pick up this cool lamp, or as the poster described it "striking."


The amber color is very pretty, and it's tall! I'm not a huge fan of the shade, it's kinda dingy so I'll probably replace with a nice white and a bit shorter drum shade. Here's a pic to help understand how tall it is...

:) So the lamp itself is about as tall as Da'Moshe. He's so helpful, I tell ya.

Cute, Fun and Easy Lantern Makeover!

After a week of laundry and closet organization I definitely needed to add something cute, fun, and easy to give me a little DIY pep. When I saw that pyrex dish at the thrift store last week there were two other little guys that had caught my attention and I just couldn't get them outta my mind. So I went back hoping they were still around.

Yay!!

As you can see from the pics, they were a lovely brass color. Which of course called for a nice coat of spray paint to update these guys. I disassembled them and used some Bar Keeper's Friend to scrub them down because they had a few oxidized and rusty areas.

I primed with Rustoleum's gray primer, painted with Rustoleum's turquoise and then finished with their matte finish clear coat. I also ran the glass covers through the dishwasher to get them cleaned up. I'm in love!





I think they're so fun and summery! I used paint I already had, so my only cost was the 10 bucks I paid for the lanterns.

Painting Note: I did run into a problem while spraying with the turquoise, some bubbling in the paint - I think it had to do with the heat index and humidity, but I was tired of waiting! So I sanded it down and painted again with a lighter hand and it was fine.

In other news, the fabric I ordered for the sofa reupholstery project is due to arrive tomorrow.



I'm only slightly terrified as that means I'll have no excuse to delay this monster of a project...

Lastly, Kali approves of the cushion I recovered for the outdoor furniture. Too bad it's gonna have a divot now from her chunky butt!



Until tomorrow! - Kari

Weekend Update 8/7/11 & WWL

I'm totally uncomfortable with the fact that it's August 7th, just thought I'd put that out there.

I think Micheal and I have pretty much decided we're not going to dive into any major projects over the weekends since we only have a few left until I leave. So the "weekend updates" might be a little slim but hopefully I'll have fun stuff to post during the week!

We did pick up a new piece of furniture this weekend (I know, I know...) - but how could I pass this up for $15?? I'm gonna flip it, I swear.

We're gonna try out some new products that get good reviews on the blogosphere. Howard's Restor-A-Finish and Feed-N-Wax.

I also used Floorplanner.com to create a mock-up of my apartment in Wilmington. Just a beginning plan but gives you an idea of what I'll be working with - the bedroom is pretty small but the living space makes up for it so I'm excited to decorate!



What We Learned

1. Don't go for a walk the night before garbage day when it's 95 degrees out. Phew.
   
2. The "small frosty" rule now must be applied to the champagne drinking. "Small Champagne."
   
3. People can still have stupid teenager "firsts" well into their 20's.
   
4. Disassembling the guest bed to take with me was a mini gut-punch.
   
5. Our neighbors are doing some DIY and it's "[our] fault" - we inspire! Woo hoo!
   
6. Latex paint continues to be sticky or tacky for up to months when used on furniture because of "blocking."
   
7. I'm (Kari) stronger than I look. :)

Simple Before and After - Closet

Amazing "Before & After" pictures are all over the interwebs - I find that they do one of two things to me. They either inspire me or intimidate me. I feel like if I can't turn my closet or my washroom into a beautiful oasis worthy of a Better Homes & Gardens Magazines front page spread I might as well just leave it the messy hole that it is.

Don't do it! Especially if you have no closet doors (like me) to hide the mess. So I followed some simple rules to closet de-cluttering.

1. If you haven't worn it in 6 months donate it.
   
2. If you've only worn it ONCE in the last six months just so you don't have to donate it on your next closet purge, you should still donate it. :)
   
3. Keeping clothes that you don't like to wear or don't make you feel good just to have a full closet is not a good idea.
   
4. Try not to use your closet for storage. I was keeping these items in my closet although I'd never wear them:
   

   While I definitely want to keep my cheerleading paraphenalia, it's unlikely I'm going to break it out in case of a rain storm. So to the keepsake chest they went!
   

5. Use one type of hanger - I had plastic (in blue, white, purple, turquoise, black...), wire, Zips, and store hangers. This makes for a cluttered look, so I went for all white plastic (which I had the most of) and added some wooden skirt hangers from IKEA.
   
6. Use extra space. I put up some 3M hooks that I had around the house to be able to hang a few things that were just piled onto the top shelf.
   
7. And finally, if you have three cats, bring the vacuum to address the dust/hair bunnies (ew)

Then stand back and feel good about the work you put in even IF you don't have a mini chandelier, striped walls, or anything fancy like that.
So who's in? Is it time to clean out your closet?

When does the fun stuff start?

So far this "stay at home wife" thing isn't all it's cracked up to be... I had visions of being super productive and knocking out DIY and crafty projects left and right to share with you guys! So far I've...

• Taken in 8 years worth of dry cleaning (give or take 7 years and six months).
  
• Made my Residency/Wilmington binder so I have all my moving and job docs in one place.
  
  
• Dropped off all the random stuff we had sitting around to donate at the Salvation Army.
  
• Went to IKEA to buy matching hangers for all my work clothes and my new closet.
  
  
• Went to three different pharmacies to find someone that was smart enough to understand that if I have a prescription for Allegra-D I can buy MORE than one box!!
  
• Dropped off my badge and final paperwork.
  
• Canceled my KTag and got an EZPass.
  
• Made Falafel.
  
• Made one quick stroll through the thrift store and almost bought this cool pyrex.
  
  
• Downloaded the Windows 7 software for my printer so I could print coupons I didn't get ot use.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz......have you fallen asleep reading this? I have... It's all stuff that needs to be done, so I'm knocking it all out. But tomorrow I tell you, something interesting will be done! :) And for fun, here is one of Moshe's favorite passtimes, kibble hunting. I took a screen shot of the elusive kibble because if you blink at the beginning of the video you don't see it, he's that fast.

POUNCE!

Unemployment

I actually prefer the phrase "between jobs" since that is much more accurate. Today is August 1st, which means I officially no longer work for Children's National and I have 29 days until my new job starts at A.I. duPont Children's Hospital in Wilmington, Delaware.

I'll be writing about this a lot over the next month. Who would have thought after two years of marriage I'd be moving into my own 1 bedroom apartment for the first time in my life. I've never really lived alone, or even in an apartment with friends - it went parents, dorm (4 years), Micheal.

I'm overwhelmed by all the things I need to do, the stuff I need to buy, and the ultimate reality that on Sunday the 28th Micheal will drive from Wilmington to Silver Spring and then it'll just be me and Kali....

So what do we do when we're feeling overwhelmed?? We make lists and a "moving to Delaware" binder and avoid the inevitable emotional stuff like the healthy psychologist that I am!

I've already started shopping for bed linens to try and decide what "motif" I want for the bedroom. I can't decide between a more bold/whimsical design or a classy, more feminine design.

Shopping at BB&B this weekend I found a few that I like.

I was immediately drawn to this when I saw it - I think it's beautiful and has such a great color palate for coordinating the rest of the bedroom.


However this quilt (not the pillows) I thought looked really classic and I could create a really rich feminine look which might be fun and different for me - deep purple sheets, love.

These two guys are on clearance and I like both of the patterns and color combos as well (and the price!)


Alright, gotta get to work. My first job is to get all my work clothes dry cleaned, purge some old pieces, and ready to go since I don't have to wear them this month! Woo!