Wedding Wall

I just love projects that I think are going to be a) easy and b) inexpensive. My wedding wall has turned out to be neither of those things.

We have a random plank of wood in our hallway that I painted to become our "wedding wall"--a wall of the weddings we have been in over the years. On Black Friday I went to the Goodwill to buy 5 different frames, all a little different, to hang the photos. Easy. And they were 50% off that day. So I spent $9 on 5 frames.

After settling on the images and laying the frames out on the floor, we decided to hang the frames from the middle-thus they are centered to the yellow plank, not by hanging from the typical top spot. Enter challenge to hang the suckers.

Because these frames were from all corners of the retail world, a few had the teeth, some had popout holes, etc. Either way, all were not in the right spot. I needed something to affix to the middle of the frame and then could stick to the wall. Enter 3M Command Strips. I know everyone swears by them, but they did not work. At all. ONE of the Velcro sticky variety claimed to hang up 3 pounds. I think most of the frames weighed less than one. We had up to 4 sets of those little buggers on a frame and they still fell from the wall. Sometimes during dinner, sometimes in the middle of the night which is always good for the heart. I'm pretty sure I spent about $25 on those damn things. And then my favorite frame fell and broke. Awesome, who doesn't like 5 trips to Michael's in one week. So I purchased a new frame. And then we tried the stick-ems another way and again, frame dropped, and broke. Make it 7 times to Michael's because I forgot my coupon the first time.

So, here we are, probably $40 later, but I do have the wedding wall, thanks to my resident handy man.

Wider shot towards the front door:

I excel at blurry photos in three feet wide hallways. Yet, the "wedding wall" does bring a smile to my face at each walk-through.

Central Coast Vino Vacation

Solvang, CA-land of all things kitschy and Dutch Danish:



With what I am guessing is California's own-Ostrichland!

Piggy little buggers.

Another novelty: mini pony farm, Quicksilver Ranch!



And the main attraction for the trip: WINE






All in all, wonderful weekend spent!

Vingt-Sept

Doing this birthday post really tells me I need to get to my parents' house and scan my childhood photos so I don't have to use the same picture every year.

I was stoked at 4 years old with my Ducktales party and of course, upon receiving Webby. My parents even surprised me with my preschool teacher, Miss Beauxay (no idea how to spell, it was pronounced Boo-ay) at the shindig. Subsequently, they also tried to set her up with my uncle. Who knew 4th birthdays had match.com moments?

I am going out to lunch with my dear friend Courtney and tonight I'm making a Greek-inspired dinner with my husband and bff complete with baklava and of course cake balls from my favorite bakery, Patty's Cakes. Feels like the perfect way to greet this new year, which is feeling ridiculously far from 20 and all too near to 30.

My wish list 6 months ago was central a/c. Funny how all I want now is a vent in our bedroom, which is both the hottest and coldest room of the house, respectively, but mostly so we don't have to use 3 quilts to sleep comfortably. I know Scott went to South Coast Plaza last night, so methinks no a/c is coming but I am still secretly hoping he'll finish our wedding wall. Scott please note I actually did write "he" as in no implied "we" because I just want it done and I'm hoping you will do it :)

I hate "The Bachelor."

Never had I watched an episode of "The Bachelor" until this week. Never again will I watch an episode in the future. It's not even getting a hyperlink because it deserves zero publicity. Though I do realize I'm writing about it. Thankfully I don't know how my SEO ranks for ABC shows.

OH MY GOD who are these women?

I could just be missing the boat here, but do women love this show because it is a hot mess? Or do they really believe these bachelors are looking for a chance at fame meaningful relationship? Dear me I hope it's not that because what is there to like about a guy who a) gets to be with a dozen moderately attractive to good looking women b) has to find his best side for the camera c) is snogging a dozen different women andtheyknowaboutit!!!

It's madness.

I can't wrap my brain around it. Perhaps everyone just has their own train wreck show. I can't get enough of a Toddlers & Tiaras and for others its that gawd awful Jersey Shore.

The thing about The Bachelor is that I see my contemporaries practically graveling to be chosen in a competition for wife. There is nothing rational about that last sentence which is exactly why I am baffled and watched the show with exclamation marks above my head.

These women are disillusioned if they really believe true love is coming from a television show with an outline, if not a script, and beyond realistic "dates" that are more like showcase showdown prizes. Of course sky diving in Costa Rica after swimming with dolphins in your en suite pool is going to be fun--but it's not realistic. Sorry ladies, once the cameras are off and you have been "proposed" to (which is laughable in itself), it's back to Friday night brews at the dive bar--AND THAT'S OK! But, these women are suddenly accustomed to the posh ABC-funded Hollywood Hills loft, jet setting dates, and a man with a Photoshopped sparkle in his smile.

Perhaps I'm harsh and perhaps I am assuming. Either way, I find nothing remotely redeeming about this show. Clearly women love it and watch it or it wouldn't have been on the past 800 years. However, this is the beauty of a blog, I get to air my grievances with tv programming and they continue to budget for a 10 month wedding for tv's latest enamored "it" couple.

What happened to good old fashioned man meeting at baseball games, church, happy hour, or desk sharing in ASB?

House Tour: Living Room

It's been 7 months of living in our house and I have yet to show any photos because of course I want things perfectly done, but I am told by every single homeowner I'll be saying that 30 years from now. So, here goes the living room.

Before
(and this is after my in laws and dad helped rip up the light mauve carpeting.)

Sadly the wood floors were beyond repair. No HGTV luck here for salvaging!

After

Before

After

Before

After

I searched high and low for yellow curtains and ended up finding this fabric that seemed rather bold on the bolt, but turned out to be the punch I wanted. They have a traditional print but the color makes them contemporary, at least in my eyes. Major thanks to my mom for making them.

We gifted our newlywed Craig's List couches to the Goodwill to make room for the new sofa and loveseat from Living Spaces. And because our office/would-be-guest bedroom is a pass-through, we opted for a sleeper sofa and it's already received a trial run from Melisa at the cousin Christmas party this year.

The most dramatic change beyond painting the walls and mantle is obviously the floors. Scott acted as sous chef to our contractor who cut laid them and they are glorious. There are times that I know he really misses carpeting, but everything feels so clean and we do have a white shag rug underneath the coffee table, as well as our bedroom when desired.

The room is definitely our favorite in the home, probably because it is the most done. Like I said earlier, there are still additions I'd like to make-get rid of the floor lamp and find a petite table lamp for below the clock, figure out something to put on either side of the fireplace as it seems a little bare, and maybe add an accent chair.

In the mean time, we love it!

Dining Room Chairs Redux-update

UPDATE-"before" photos found! We waited an hour and half for dinner on New Year's Eve so it was the perfect time to delete all of the 2010 photos that had already been uploaded to my computer...or so I thought. I KNEW these were on there, just stuffed between baby showers and Halloween. The one with the cushions attached was deleted in my feverish routine but you can still see them on the ground to the right.

Detail shot:

I think it gives the "after" a bit more impact.

Well I can't find my before picture so that makes this post severely lack impact. Therefore, I'll call upon my best storytelling skills.

Imagine a dingy beige chair with an equally dingy ecru seat cushion. Imagine scoring the 4 chairs for $50 on CraigsList and then taking a month to do the transformation. In reality it can obviously be done faster, but we didn't have a dining table to set them with, so no immediate rush.

And voila! The after:
Yeah, it does not have impact without the before. C'est la vie.