How Wrong Would It Be?

I had leftover Cowboy Calzone meat mixture (from this awesome cookbook) and
leftover garlic bread...(you know, you get two slices, you eat one, the other floats around the freezer reminding you of it's garlic-y deliciousness in it's partially-opened package...'til you come up with a really great plan, that is!)

Well,  I was going to smack those leftovers together, top them with MOZZERELLA and BAM! Pizza Bread! Yee-ha!

People would cheer!  MY people would cheer!  They'd love me!
"Mom, you're the BESTest!" they'd exclaim!

Matt Groening

Well, Homer, you're out of mozzarella!

(You see, in another frenzied attempt to make something that my family will eat - other than the two recipes I already prepare - I made lasagna.  PW's lasagna.  Meaning LOTS of MOZZ was used...2 pans of lasagna were made.  One partially consumed by said family, one frozen and given away.  Though I happen to LOVE lasagna - think Garfield - we still had leftover lasagna.)

That's when this thought crossed my mind:
 "I could peel the mozzarella off the leftover lasagna!"

I love it when a plan comes together!

Pink Socks and a Smile

Do you follow The Sartorialist?

I have this pic stuck in my head lately:

Sun, Smile, Sunglasses, Pink Socks!

http://www.thesartorialist.com/photos/11211Smallcheckpants_0080Web.jpg

Maybe these will get added to my wishlist (along with a wish for sun minus the snow!)...

Betsey Johnson @ Zappos.com

Kate Spade @ Zappos.com  

Go rock your socks!

Enjoy Today!

I love legs.

Someday...a "leggy" table...

Cottage Living  from LGN

These are the two styles I vacillate between:  "cottagey" and a bit more modern.

via D*S from LGN

Loving the warm woods, red chairs and a chalkboard (?) - a chalkboard would look great there, too!

Sleek Chalkboard Tip

When I was teaching, I hero-worshipped a (great!) teacher.  

She was welcoming, confident, and creative.  

And she had THE SLEEKest chalkboards!  

(No chalk dust lingering on the ledges in her room!  

(Remember when the "blackboards" were green and chalk was yellow?)

Forget content, curriculum, standards; I wanted her chalkboard cleaning secret! I'm quite sure she thought I was a bit off when I asked her 

"How DO you get your chalkboards so clean?"  

"Baby oil."  

So, (many) years later, I share her wisdom with you.  

A few months ago, I experimented with some chalkboard paint on one wall in my "office".  It's out of the way and meant to be used - but I KNEW it could look better!

1.  Clean the board with regular soap and water, removing as much chalk as possible.  

2.  After a good cleaning, grab some baby oil and an old sock.  (I am not a huge fan of the classic Baby Oil smell - so I chose this Aloe Vera version.)

3.  Rub on the surface,  "old-school" style: Back and forth; or "Wax on, Wax off".  

     Either way, apply good old-fashioned elbow-grease!

No flash here, just natural light beaming in and radiating off my shinier, cleaner chalkboard!

  

4.  Breathe deeply and know you're not far away from loving your chalkboard again!

A little (usually) goes a long way. You'll know if you use too much baby oil -
the chalk will start soaking up the oil and "disappear"!

If you've gotten too much on, just take a clean rag and rub down the entire surface again.  (A great repetitive activity for releasing tension!)

Ahh, better.  (I'm off to begin on that chair! :))

Enjoy Today!

Little Big Girl Room

6 Reasons why I love this room:

It's a girl's room, but not entirely pink.

That blue side table.

That red trunk.

That crazy, great chair!

Those fabrics!

My 6 year old likes it (and she admitted it AFTER I said I liked it!).

Meg Dursken via Layla, the Lettered Cottage

Centsational Girl

Have you been to Centsational Girl's blog?  She's going to be on the Nate Berkus Show on February 3rd!

Look what she added to this room...so great!

Centsational Girl

I SO want to do this to my (teeny) entry - there are only 4 of us in the house, but you'd never know that looking at all the coats piled out there!

Check out the Centsational DIY directions here & Enjoy Today!

Bench Love

I love you bench.

Katie Leede & Co.

Chair-spiration

Here are the photos - and real life rooms (!) that inspired me to 

paint my "ladies".

I can't go on this site without falling in love with something 

and this dining set was no exception...LOURVELY!

Jessica Thomas via House of Turquoise

I heart Miss Mustard Seed.  She's really great at this.

Miss Mustard Seed

LOVED the dark gray seats with the white (and that shape!) and promptly ran out and found some kid-friendly vinyl :).  Thank you Vanessa!

Vanessa De Vargas via Houzz

And this one has "the final vision" in mind:  bench seating, light paint color, warm wood tones with white.

Su Casa Designs via Houzz

I'm thinking of changing the name of my blog, for various reasons...and since I have exactly 0 followers, I think I will!  Leader to no one is VERY empowering!

Enjoy Today!

The Ink Society

While browsing, I found a super-stylish website that featured this:

theinksociety @ Etsy.com

(Love that!)

I promptly followed the link to Etsy, saved for later, and forgot where I was (Hmm, not much new here and how are you?)

Wouldn't these prints be great for:

...your Mom?... (Think Spring - Mother's Day!...on sale, too!)

theinksociety @ Etsy.com

... my your office ?...All together, now:

theinksociety @Etsy.com

... Valentine's Day (and beyond - they come in other colors!)...

theinksociety @Etsy.com

theinksociety @Etsy.com

theinksociety @Etsy.com

...us! Because we dared!

theinksociety @ Etsy.com

Enjoy Today!

HHMMM...Those Chairs!

As she so often does, Christine's post at Bijou and Boheme made me catch my breath!

I love the idea that something "old/antique" can look modern with paint and fabric...those pink "bootie" feet! LOVE!

Really. Really.  Love. via Parlour Home Blog

Nichole is really genius...she also featured this great print on her blog - so smart!

via

Painted Ladies

While dreaming of "that perfect" kitchen, here's what it looks like for Today.

That fridge is missing a handle.

"Blonde" table and chairs.

(Note my favorite cleaning product: Window Cleaner...uh, next to the cereal...ok moving on!)

Howdy, partners, Let me show you around.   

This was the FIRST table and chair set I bought.  Ever.  In my life. (From KMart. :))  Still, I was thrilled!

Along come two adorable, just-as-potentially-messy-as-me people (as well as booster seats and the need to wipe down every surface multiple times a day) and the table and chairs were beginning to show their years.

Mom thinks it was the booster seat and window cleaner...

The set I ultimately found was from Craigslist &  it was the shape of the chairs that I really loved.  Welcome, curvy ladies!

After a good cleaning and removing the seats, 

the chairs went out to HM's shop for spray painting ...which he lovingly did  for me!

(The Royal Me found spray painting very frustrating...

I'll stick to small spray-painting jobs and a roller & brush!)

The finished paint job... after many fume-y hours 

(well, a few hours, he's pretty good at this sort of thing!) by a sweet handy man.

Close Up by HRH.  These chairs delight me!

Though I love weathered finishes, I wanted "the ladies" to be a bit glossy.  

Since I'd been following/stalking Jenny, for some time, I knew to run out and grab 

some glossy Wipe-On Poly.  Which was the easiest thing ever to rub over the Krylon White.

I reupholstered the seats in a vinyl.
As you can see, I couldn't decide on a color.  
Two in charcoal, two in sand.
I have a feeling I'll be recovering them in the next few years anyway!
(I can still use my beloved Window Cleaner to spray them down!)

Here's the table, not ready for her reveal...and the birthday party aftermath...
(Yes, that's a toy crane in my kitchen.  I know, you want one, so here's the link...
Your dream toy crane awaits you here.)

The "new" table & "Painted Ladies"!

So much more to do... 
Someday:

• Replace fridge (Hooray! - LOVE a new fridge!)
• Replace the bench with a "semi-built-in" bench/window-seat
• Repaint - (I'm loving gray, lately!)
• Add decorative moulding or panels to walls
• Refinish table
• Add an indoor/outdoor rug for under the table (or am I asking for ruination?)
• Change out the blinds for the (4) windows (fabric?)
• Replace a falling apart recipe/arts storage unit (have my eye on something!)
• Oh, and fix that "T" - it's too big!

Someday (Summer!)

Dreaming of summer...

...while it looks like this here!