Details, Details, Details

So, I was eating dinner Sunday night (homemade beef stew, which was quite delicious...I was extremely proud of myself), and I noticed something. Can you see it?

(By the way, I hope it doesn't gross you out to see my half eaten food. Sorry!)

Every stinkin' dish or glass had some kind of detail on it! Then I started strolling through the house to see what else I could find...and yep...not one "normal" dish or glass to be found.

Let's have a look, shall we?

Bees...

Beading...

Scallops...and Misc Detail Loveliness

Yep, apparently I just can't get enough of the stuff. And I'm okay with that...as long as guests don't start asking questions or referring to me as "The one with all the wacky dishes." :-)

And since you may ask, I bought the goblets with the bees at World Market, the small glasses with the beading at Williams Sonoma (I believe they've been discontinued), and pretty much everything else at TJ Maxx, Home Goods or Marshalls. Although, the plates were all made in Portugal....in case that helps.

Live in Your Dream HOME Right Now

One of the things I try to do on this little blog is to give you hope that you can improve your surroundings and create a place that feels like home. Whether you live in a dated house or an apartment where you can't touch the walls (with paint...that would be weird if you could never actually touch the walls), you can step out of the box and create an environment that makes you happy.


I haven't always had a house of my own. Back when I was a young single mom with a toddler (as opposed to the ancient 33 year old I am now...joking) I dreamed, and begged, and prayed every day that someday my son and I would have our own home. That dream wouldn't be realized for years, but I made the most out of what I had - which for a while was 2 bedrooms in my parent's house (sorry...I hope that isn't an overshare...just keeping it real here).


Even with those two little bedrooms I made an effort to create a home for us. My son's bedroom had a little loveseat in it where we could read together, or watch movies and munch on popcorn on our Friday night "date night". I would dim the lights and we would pretend it was a movie theater. I chose cute curtains and bedding for both rooms, and I even put up a Christmas tree in my bedroom each year that my son and I would decorate...sometimes with "ornaments" made from pine cones we collected in the backyard.



My point in sharing this is, we all dream of granite countertops, farmhouse sinks, and shiny hardwood floors....but don't get so wrapped up in looking to the future that you neglect the home you have right here, right now.

Partying With Funky Junk - Woo Hoo!

I don't normally post on Saturdays, but it's the weekend and I'm ready to party! Well...virtually at Funky Junk Interiors (...Oh that sounds sad...that makes it sound like I'm a creepy guy living in my parent's basement, getting ready to party in a mean game of...networked video game...I promise that's not the case!).

Anyhoo, today's party is all about vignettes...you know, those little groupings around the house that make you smile. So, I'm living it up by showing you a few of my favorite vignettes at The Cottage.

Enjoy your weekend!

In An Accessory Rut?

Are you in an accessory rut? Take this little quiz to find out:

The accessories on your fireplace mantel:
A) Change almost monthly
B) Change once each season
C) Um, they’ve pretty much been the same for the last year
D) What’s the problem? I got it the way I liked it in 1987 and I’m sticking with it!

I’m guilty of at least “C”. What about you? Now, I don’t think it’s realistic for most people to be constantly changing up their accessories (a girl's gotta do the laundry sometime), but taking a step back and shaking things up every once in a while can be a very good thing.

For instance, this is how my piano has looked since…um…January 1 (cute little me as a newby blogger wrote about it in this post).

(WOWZA - That's a horrible picture...proof that you should NEVER take photos at night!)

The decor's been okay, it’s been fine, but it’s a little boring and I’m kind of tired of looking at it. So it occurred to me one day, “Wait a minute...I don’t have to be tired of looking at that…I can just change it!”. Yep…alert Oprah…I had a light bulb moment.

So I removed all of the accessories so I could start with a blank slate. I pulled a bunch of "stuff" out of my secret accessory closet (you know you have one too), and then added little by little.

With a little trial…and a little error...I created a new look that I like, simply by re-using "stuff" I had around the house.

What little nook have you been neglecting?

P.S. My walls aren't really that yellow...I blame it on zero sunlight today...and I have no excuse for the "before" picture...except for newby blogger naivete.

Can I Paint My Shower Door Surround? - Experiment Results..dun, dun, dun

Disclaimer: This post is for everyone who has asked about spray painting shower door surrounds. I’m not gonna lie to you, it’s a little boring. So if you don’t give a flying fig about shower door surrounds I apologize…really :).

Remember a few weeks ago when I published a post about how I was going to do an experiment to see if it would work to spray paint your shower door surround? Well, I did spray paint my shower caddy and it has held up well…but shortly after I published my post I realized a little, itty bitty, teeny tiny snag in my experimental plan….it could take YEARS to get the full results. Ha! Oops, minor detail (slapping forehead with hand).

Now, I’m willing to wait a few years to see how well the paint on my shower caddy holds up, but I doubt you are. Sooooo, one of my lovely readers (who probably realized my dilemma before I did) sent me a link to blog where a lady actually painted her shower door surround a little over a year ago (you can see her post here). I contacted said shower door painter (Jan) and told her enquiring minds wanted to know how well the paint on the shower door had held up. Here’s her response:

"When I scrubbed the inside of the shower with a scrub brush
at first, the finish did come off in spots. I switched to using a rag, and it
has been fine since, and the rest of the finish looks as good as it did the
first day. "

Thanks so much for your help Jan. Oh, and it turns out she has a lovely Etsy Store by the way (I thought it was the least I could do to give her a shout out).

Many of you lovely readers also left helpful comments to my experiment post, and it looks like the overall consensus is that if your spray paint your shower door surround it’s likely to hold up for 2-4 years.

CONCLUSION:

So in conclusion, if I had an awful shiny 80’s brass shower surround that I couldn’t stand to look at another day….I would paint it…in a heartbeat. If it ended up peeling a little bit in a few years, I’d just paint it again. But that’s me…I’m the same girl that painted her laminate countertops because she couldn’t stare at burgundy Formica for one more day. To me the peace of mind is worth the risk...and work.

Again, I’d recommend priming first (any spray primer should be fine), doing at least 2 coats of your spray color, and then a topcoat of spray polyurethane. Not everyone has recommended those extra steps, and they may not be necessary…but if I were painting my shower surround I’d do it just to be safe…but again, that’s just me. I’d also be careful not to scrub it too harshly.

So that’s it. Experiment over. Lab coat coming off…cardigan and canvas sneakers going on (ahh, I miss Mr. Rogers...get it? Cardigan and sneakers?...nevermind).

DIY Monogrammed Door Mat

Well, The Cottage went and did it, she finally decided to get her own page on Facebook. This way y'all can have priceless insights into my decorating psyche. I think it will also give us a chance to interact a bit more. Wanna become a "fan" (ha...that term cracks me up)? Click the Facebook

box on my sidebar...or...below.

Now to the good stuff. Have you ever seen and admired those cute and classy monogrammed door mats at the fancy places like Williams Sonoma or Pottery Barn? And then have you proceeded to let out an audible shreik as you read the prices?

Pottery Barn - $59.00

Williams Sonoma - $69.00

Well, I decided to take a stab at making my own monogrammed door mat. How hard can it be, right?

Step One

I took a plain door mat that I already had (it was originally from Ikea, but you should be able to find them easily and inexpensively at other stores).

Step Two

I taped off the where I wanted lines to go around the edges of the mat with brown packing tape (it's what I had):

Step Three

This is where if your printer's working you print a large letter in a font you like. If it's not (blast!) you take a stab at drawing one yourself. Then cut it out with an xacto knife.

Step Four

I taped the letter down in the middle, and then covered the remaining exposed areas with tape. CAUTION: Be sure to put lots of tape on the back side of the flimsy areas of the letter (I didn't use enough so my edges were a little fuzzy...my one fatal mistake...oh well).

Step Five

I pulled out some black spray paint from my stash and sprayed away. I did a total of four coats because I wanted really full and durable coverage.

And VOILA!

My own monogrammed door mat. Cost? Freeeeeeeeee. (Although, if you don't already have everything you need like I did, you should be able to do this for under $20).

Etsy Love - My New Friend "Cozy"

May I mention for the quadrillianth time that I'm originally from Utah? While I love many things about my mountain home, one thing I DO NOT miss (even for 5 seconds...or 2) is 9 months of grey, dark, cold, snowy, icy weather every year. I never appreciated Fall that much before I moved to Oklahoma because A) It was ridiculously short, and B) It was akin to a funeral march for my dearly departed (and way too short) Summer.

I've actually grown to like Autumn since I moved to Okie land. It's long, it's gentle (most of the time), and it gives you a chance to savor the change to crisp weather, bold colored leaves, and to relish in the opportunity to embrace "cozy". Fall is my new friend and her name is "Cozy".

Let me elaborate with the help of my lovely assistant, Etsy.

"Cozy" loves it when I curl up in a comfy throw:

Etsy - WrapAround

Etsy - Gem43

And sip something warm from a lovely mug that makes me smile:

Etsy - Bellahope

Etsy - Retrogalusa

Etsy - Brookish

(I have to buy the Pride & Prejudice mug shown above. What is it about Mr. Darcy? He's really kind of a jerk, but my-oh-my he makes me giddy as a schoolgirl...can I get an amen? And while I'm on a tangent here...if you haven't watched the A&E version of Pride & Prejudice with Colin Firth...go out and rent it now! Sigh...)

And nothing makes "Cozy" happier than a yummy scented candle:

Etsy - Blisscandles

Etsy - LilacAve

And when I'm ready to step outside into the gently brisk air, I can adorn myself in warm toned jewelry and fuzzy scarves:

Etsy - BotanicalBird

Etsy - Roundabout

Etsy - Lorilooms

Etsy - Bluebirdsandblossoms

Ahhh, "Cozy", I'm glad we were able to meet.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Great Pumpkin

I hope you all had a great weekend. I entertained our guests all weekend, and we had the best time. I was honestly a little (a LOT) panicked the night before they arrived because there was so much that was imperfect with my house. You know how you notice all the little things like strange spots on the carpet or smudges on doors when people are coming over? Yep...I was hyperventilating just a tad the night before, but we had an amazing time...imperfections and all.

Well, it's finally Fall in Oklahoma (55 degrees = Fall here), and I am dying to decorate some pumpkins in an amazingly cool way to adore my front porch. I've had an entire computer file dedicated to pumpkins the past two years...and I've yet to tackle one of these projects myself. Hey...I've been a busy gal.

If you're itching for a great pumpkin (get it..."great pumpkin" ha!) decorating project, here's some inspiration.

P.S. I believe all of the photos are Martha Stewart, but the first two pics were saved in my pre-blogging days...you know, back when I was innocently saving pretty pictures for my own use? So I'm not sure where I found them...so sorry!