Estate sale finds

Today I went to an estate sale in my neighborhood of Ballard. I'm really loving my finds!!!











All of it for only $150!

Brian will likely scream "I'm not a French prince!" and worry that slowly but surely, he will find himself living in this room:



But, go to a friend's child's little league game on a Saturday morning, leaving your wife to her own wishes and desires...and this is what you might just have comin' to you.

Chairs, a long time coming

One of our recent home improvement projects was finally finished, thanks to Brian who got down to it and started painting a few weeks ago.

I bought these chairs on Craigslist not too long after we bought our house and all of the sudden had a dining room. Actually, I bought a table (which never made it to our dining room and instead sits in the basement, becoming the cat's feeding station away from the crazy food stealing dog) and these chairs came with them. At first I thought we'd trash them but then I looked at them again, and realized that they could probably be pretty cute with some help.







This summer I picked out some glossy white paint with my mom and got to work...





But then, I got really sick of it. And stopped painting entirely. For months. I had no motivation without having a fabric picked out to recover the chairs. And I realized that I was very oddly freaked out of picking out a fabric. So one day, I made my mom come with me and I found a cute green print.

But the chairs still sat there, unpainted.

Then, over Thanksgiving when our neighbors asked to borrow our dining room chairs (they needed extra), I said yes but I was mortified. Our chairs were falling apart, chipping, stained, and totally disgusting. So I almost decided to start painting again, but didn't.

Then, Brian got frustrated and picked up the paint brushes, and painted for about 3 days straight. And we brought the fabric to this wonderful upholstery gal in Bellingham who finished the job -- in one day -- for only $30 a chair.

And voila! Cute chairs!







Now our dining room is getting close to being done. I would eventually like to get an area rug, and we were bummed to find out that our Christmas present to each other, a beautiful dining hutch that was partially paid for through a compilation of saved gift cards to Jayson Home & Garden over the years, is actually a piece of crap. (Thanks again to the honest sales lady who wanted to save us from the frustration of shipping and picking up a heavy pile of poo.) Anyway, we would eventually like to find another hutch that we like. But it's looking pretty good and I have to say, I think it's really a fun challenge to decorate on a budget; it makes you appreciate it all the more.

Painting projects

Poor Brian, he is upstairs painting our hopelessly tacky upstairs bathroom. It's a project that I started actually, about 2 months ago or maybe even more... but it's so detail oriented and ANNOYING with lots of painted cabinets, and trim work, and windows - and there's toilets in the way and the whole project just stinks. My dad is coming this Friday to stay the night, so the pressure is on.

I also started this painting project last week. I'm repainting these vintage chairs that I essentially got for free. HIGH GLOSS WHITE! If I can fix the inset caning part okay, I think they'll turn out pretty well. I need to find a nice green fabric - something that will go with our lovely drapes (that we have yet to hang)....cuz those cushions are pretty pretty nasty.







Paint paint paint. I went to a meeting this week with white paint in my hair - realized it when I got there. That was cute.

The Danish Modern Couple

I'm very skeptical of people who design their homes with only one type of style. For instance, there's The Pottery Barn Couple who only decorates in dark masculine woods and poufy couches, or the Hollywood Regency Girl who obsesses over faux bamboo, or the French Country Lady who primarily displays roosters and slightly irregular glazed bowls (oh wait, that's my mom, tee hee).

Well you guys, I am afraid that we're becoming the Newly Married Danish Modern Couple. Noooo!

Yes, we are.

We recently purchased this beautiful table from Craigslist for only $300 so I couldn't pass it up.



But seriously - we already have a Danish modern credenza and two recently recovered Danish modern arm chairs.





Then we also installed this mid century light fixture above our stairway landing.



HOW MUCH IS TOO MUCH?

I am kind of liking these chairs that are currently on eBay..... mostly because they are simple, would match the table, and the upholstery would match the 1958 EAMES ERA dining room window panels (sheesh). But seriously, tell me to stop!




I gravitate towards more feminine pieces, whereas Brian is more modern - but we have found a safe haven, if you will, in Danish Modern. I like it because it has clean lines without sacrificing warmth.

But enough is enough! Somebody needs to put a moratorium on this!

What a few small interior changes can do...

This weekend we took the ugly brass fireplace doors off of our fireplace. Why we hadn't done it earlier, don't ask me. It made such a difference. Lindsay was so obsessed with the difference that she inspired me to go look at the old real estate pictures -- the ones off the real estate site when we were looking to buy our house.

WOW. What a difference moving some granny furniture out, painting the walls, and taking off some ugly brass fireplace doors, can make in the feel of a room!

Before:



After:



Aahh, much better. This is why people should look past the interiors of a home when buying. :)

Lindsay -- go for the tacky hacienda!

Welcome to my new gardening blog

I feel like I'm always posting about plants but it's my new obsession so, get used to it.

I did so much yard work on Sunday that my body was actually sore yesterday. This doesn't mean much, however, because I am one of the laziest people I know.

The yard is looking great though. Brian edged the hell outa our lawn, it was pretty intense! And I got some pretty ground cover plants at Swanson's Nursery the weekend before last but since apparently we now live in Antarctica, I haven't had a chance to plant them until Sunday.

Here's the golden thyme, planted in the rock garden:



I actually kind of hate these white flower bush things. And the purple pansy things, ew, old lady station. But, I planted some succulents and the the tiny grass plant here on this corner:



And here, ladies & gentlemen, we have my favorite plant in our yard. I do not know what it is but it's gorgeous right now:



Also, we went to the tulip festival the weekend before last. The tulip fields were not in bloom yet (even though they usually are) because believe it or not, they're too wimpy to brave snow and ice storms. But the tulip garden featured a some blooms, and I took a few photos.

These are brave daffodils, not tulips:





Awe, Kodak moment!



And finally, two things you don't see everyday -- alpacas and wild turkeys:





And finally finally, Brian's mom bought us her favorite version of tulips, "Fabio," while we were at the tulip festival. We planted him upon our return back to Seattle. I had to take a picture of poor Fabio suffering in the snow storm last Friday night. There is something so terribly wrong with this picture:

Reasons why I love this photo

In order:

1.) It showcases my new antique drum table that I purchased off of Craigslist last Friday for $60. I love a good deal. Against Brian's will, I am trying to carefully integrate a few classic pieces into our home. I think it will provide some synergy with the whole traditional, 1948 vibe going on.

2.) It includes two of my most favorite people in whole world.

3.) They kind of look like they despise each other.

4.) Lindsay's black motorcycle jacket.

5.) The blooming pink Camelia tree poking out from the back!

My obsession with tufting

My favorite part about spring, like most people, is the fact that it's still light out at 7 pm. Tonight, like 5 minutes ago, it was particularly light. The sun was shining through the corner of our living room, and it was just so pretty that I had to take a picture. Then I realized that I hadn't bragged about my new deadstock 1960's tufted pillows that I got for $30 on Etsy yet!

My personal feeling lately is that everything should be tufted. That's not really true, because I saw these beds yesterday and thought "cellulite thighs," but in general, I do love love love tufting.



(Photo from House & Garden)

Anyway, the light was shining on my tufted pillows and I was inspired to share. First, this is the view outside of my window. Until recently (the whole time I've lived in this house) this was a very bare tree, and I just find it so charming with its new spring growth.









I'm starting to like this little corner of our home. I want to get a taller, skinnier pot to put that plant in, so it doesn't compete with the table. Those mid-century Danish modern chairs were recently recovered in ivory faux leather (a.k.a. slightly squeaky vinyl)....I've had those suckers for awhile so their makeover was a long time coming. We recently purchased that little gold mirrored top table from Revival Home & Garden, a wonderfully charming new home interiors store in Georgetown (that actually, thanks to CJ, will start carrying my jewelry -- as soon as I can sweat shop enough together for them. The Frank James trunk show wiped me out!)

Here's a small sampling of Revival H&G, which was recently featured in DailyCandy:

Learning the ropes of gardening

Spring is officially here. There are a few plants in our yard making a colorful appearance. It's really fun because I've never seen our house in the spring or summer, so everything is a big surprise.

So, gardeners out there... I'd like to learn the name of the plants in my yard. Please help.

What kind of plant are these? The blooms look bigger in this photo than they really are in person. They are really tiny, almost lavenderish.



Daffodils, right?



The first bloom on this tree appeared this past week. The entire tree is FILLED with buds so I'm super excited to see how this completely changes the look of our house. (The tree is right in front of our house.)





Also, this weekend we debuted the lawn mower! (I watched and pissed Brian off by snapping photos of the momentous occasion.)



More photos to come as the yard fully embraces spring.

Measuring lights

I'm really into these measuring lights by Chrissy Angliker made out of coiled measuring tape. They'd be great in a sewing room, but since the last time I used a sewing machine was when I manufactured hideously disgusting flannel pig-printed pajamas in the 9th grade (the elastic waist band was suffocating even for my then-14" waist, proving I had no talent even for the simplest of all sewing projects), I think I'd have to create a different use for this light. I think they'd be cute in Brian's studio. It's really our office, but it sounds way cooler to say studio, and you can actually casually and honestly say that word when you're a designer. ANYWAYyyy, they'd look good in there.









Speaking of our office, Brian painted it last weekend. A muted green with a charcoal gray chalkboard paint wall. It looks really really great...will post photos later!

I've got spring on the brain

Happy President's Day! I wish that I could share in everybody's joy of having the day off, but unfortunately I have a marketing plan to write, an op-ed to write, and a client meeting. Yuck. Sometimes I do miss the days of a 9-5 with guaranteed holidays and paid time off.

Another sunny day though...I am loving this change in weather. We went up to Bellingham this weekend to visit my mom. The weather was gorgeous and the temperature was surprisingly warm. In these long, rainy winters, I find it easy to forget about Washington's scenery. The drive home yesterday was just beautiful. Snow on the tops of every mountain, bright sun, blue sky. I wish I would have brought my camera along.

Here are a couple other photos that I'll share instead, from a similarly sunny day. This is Shilshole Bay/Marina, just underneath the bluff that's a few blocks away from our home. The water was so blue this day!





I'm loving our new neighborhood, it's so quiet and friendly. I like our little block, and think I will like most of our neighbors -- who I'm sure we'll get to know come gardening season. I'm noticing that the grass in our yard is slowly beginning to grow though, and I'm really intimidated by the amount of yard work that's staring us in the face. As soon as spring breaks, our weekends will no longer consist of sleeping in late, making brunch, and having a lazy day of making jewelry and watching sports. But, I'm looking forward to the unexplainable satisfaction that gardening can bring, and I'm glad that Brian's dad is excited about teaching me how to care for things. Our yard is just crazily packed with fully mature plants and trees of every variety. It will be interesting to learn the intricacies of each one.

Ok, back to work now.