Feature Friday

How about a way over-due feature Friday?  I know you've been missing me.   I just know it.

As you know, it's been crazy chaos around here, but that doesn't mean I haven't been inspired by anything lately.  In fact, my brain overfloweth with inspiration and it's making me crazy to not have time to pursue it.  I swear, I'm always the most inspired when I can't do anything about it.  Isn't that just how it happens?

Anywho, enough complaining from me.  How about something to light up the mood.  BAH!  Get it?

I've been day-dreaming about the perfect light fixtures for different rooms in the house.  I haven't come to any conclusions yet (surprised?), but I am drawing inspiration from these images for various projects.  Yes, I do plan on making them myself because yes, I am too cheap to just buy one of these guys (even the cute tiered fixture from UO), and yes, I have the un-relenting DIY bug that makes me unsatisfied unless I do it myself.

That being said, take a second to devour the beauty in the below images.

{This cardboard corrugated pendant from red, is organic and bohemian, yet structured and sophisticated}

{This ruler pendant (also by red) is as visually interesting as it is dynamic}

{This industrially chic chandelier from Anthropologie is simple, yet profound}

{The most budget friendly tiered pendant from Urban Outfitters is structured and understated}

{Made from twine and a rusty old ring, this is an inspiring and beautiful piece of art seen on 4 Men 1 Lady}

{Possibly my favorite of the bunch (if I had to choose), this chandelier by Apparatus has a certain 70's vibe with industrial flare}

Thanks for indulging with me today!  I hope you have a fantastic spring weekend!

Paint a House? NBD.

Here's to an update.  We painted.  We painted all day.  We came out tired, bruised and unable to make a fist, but we did it.  We painted an entire house.  In ONE day.  That's right.  Don't worry, I'll be signing autographs later.

Thanks to the help of family and some dear dear friends that just picked up a paint brush and ran with it, we were able to check off the BIGGEST (and I mean that in every sense of the word), scariest task we were facing before closing on the house.  

Here's some picture love to all my helpers.  We couldn't have done it (and still have a happy marriage) without you.

In all seriousness, if you are tackling a painting project, get off the computer, grab your car keys and go to your nearest home improvement store to buy a Paint Edger (or 2, or 3) and some Paint Edger Pad refills.  It will save you HOURS and keep you from saying lots of wirty dords.  Whoever invented this gets a big kiss from me!  I am a firm believer in its magic.

Stay tuned for more house updates amidst the crazy and a fun DIY from a fabulous guest blogger!

Colonel Gustard

I can't help but take a second to point out that we have now spent a year with our beloved dog Gus, the Colonel that won our hearts.  Known by many a name, Gus Gus, Gusaroo, the Fuzz Guster, Gussy, Gaseous Gus, Gimpy, Gustipher, the Gus-mister, and of course, Colonel Gustard.

Let's just take a little walk through the year shall we?

{First morning with my new Mom and Dad.  This looks like a cozy spot}

{My Dragon is my favorite.}

{Snuggles with Mom}

{Sweepy Guster}

{Munchkin Man}

{Look how big I'm getting!}

{Sniff Sniff}

{Pumpkin man}

{"I may be a big boy, but I love to snuggle"}

{Dapper Gus in his bow-tie}

{Snowy Gus with a mean mom who makes him stay in the cold for a photo op!}

{I want to be a super-model gus}

I thought I'd share some cuteness with you before I let you know that I may be away for a while.  Closing on the house is coming down to the wire, so when I'm not working, I will be packing, painting and moving.  This said, my posts may be few and far between up until the grand unveiling.  Thanks for sticking with me during this stretch.  I hope I will be seeing you again sooner rather than later!

Feature Friday

It's that time again!  It's Feature Friday! Woot to the woot!

This weeks feature consists of paint dipped beauties.  I have developed a bit of an obsession with this simply accomplished look (as you can see from another feature here), and plan to incorporate it in various ways throughout my house.

{Pretty paint dipped chop sticks by Poppytalk for homemade sushi night}

{Paint dipped spoons by tinywhitedaisies would make for a pretty display in the kitchen}

{I have a major thing going on for these gold dipped champagne flutes by Honestly WTF}

{Paint dipped chair legs by IVillage add a fun dose of color to the kitchen}

{These paint dipped stools as seen on Elle Interior are designed after my own heart}

Paint is such a fun, easy, and cheap way to mix things up around the house.  Need a change that doesn't break the bank?  Grab a can of paint and some pretty blue painters tape and have at it with some of these fun and inspiring projects.

A Box of Happy

I heart birthdays.  I also heart a reason to give someone a gift (and a deadline to do it by - sometimes I just work better with deadlines, it's true) from my heart to theirs.  One of my besties just had a birthday, so I decided to send her a box of happy (birthday to be exact). 

Inspired by Oh Hello Friend and her book of notes, here is a glimpse of what I think brings joy and smiles.

{I grabbed a handful of these super cute pins at Blicks one day, so I attached one to a little note and wrapped with bakers twine}

{Message in a bottle as seen on Oh Hello Friend}

{Brownie and Frosting Mixes from Trader Joes.  The tag on the brownies reads "Have your Cake and Eat it Too}

{Green Tea mints wrapped in lace from Trader Joes}

{Floral paper clips packaged in a jewel toned box make studying for your graduate degree so much happier}

{"Owl Always be There for You" Necklace I've been hoarding from Urban Outfitters waiting for the perfect moment to gift}

{A scroll wrapped in ribbon, opened to reveal a word search decorated in doilies with words to describe a dear friend}

 {Homemade glitter clothes-pins designed to "pin" and share happiness.  You can either make some yourself or buy them here}

{A box of happiness packaged and ready to go}

I encourage you to think about where and with whom you can spread some cheer.  It doesn't have to be someone's birthday to share a smile.  It's something I need to do more often myself and hope that this encourages you as well to show someone you love them by sending them a box of happy, or a book of notes.  You don't have to do something expensive or over the top to make someone smile.

House Update

Since we last talked about the house, the front wasn't quite finished and insulation had just gone up. Now, NOW, the outside of the house (minus the shrubbery - anybody else just jump into the Monty Python skit?), and the drywall installation is almost complete.

Baby steps.  Baby steps to the painting, baby steps to the moving of everything we own.  What about Bob anyone?  I am on a movie referencing frenzy today!

It's a cake! No, it's a Cheeseburger! No, it's a Cakeburger!

True story.  A cake that looks like a cheeseburger.  It's for real.

Today is my Grammy's 84th birthday and her all time favorite food is the good ol' fashioned cheeseburger.  She always said she was a cheap date because a drive through Wendy's was all it took to make her happy.  I may or may not get that from her and if I could justify it, I may or may not eat a Cheeseburger every other day of my life.

Along with my love for cheeseburgers, we all know I have a soft spot for sweets.  Combine the 2 and it makes me weak in the knees.  SO, for Grammy's birthday celebration, we had Cheeseburgers for dinner and Cakeburger for desert.  Check it out. 

Grammy LOVED this cake.  It was a lot of work, but so worth it to see how thrilled she was.  Food is love in our family, and she could see just a glimpse of how much I love her when I walked in with this cake.

In order to make this beast of a cake, I combined about a bajillion recipes.  I used this recipe for the cake and buttercream icing.  For the icing, I omitted the cocoa powder and ovaltine and substituted with powdered sugar to thicken it to the consistency I wanted so it would be white instead of brown, which meant I could color it.  I made the brownie from this recipe to act as the "burger."   As you may have already noticed, all of the recipes I chose were by Joy the Baker because if you want something to be tasty, you use her recipes.  It's a fact.

Once I had my baked goods made and cooled, I frosted the bottom bun on the cake stand and topped it with the brownie.  I then colored some fondant orange and cut out a large square to act as the melted cheese.  I rolled and cut it on parchment paper so it was really easy to apply to the brownie.  I just carefully placed it "cheese" side down on the brownie and slowly peeled the parchment away.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy. 

The next layer was the lettuce.  I pressed coconut, which I had dyed green and then toasted, into the cheese, making sure some of it would peek out the sides.  It got a little messy, but sloppy burgers tend to be the best kind, so I went with it.  I then piped on the icing I had colored yellow and red to act as "mustard and ketchup" using good ol' fasioned plastic baggies with a hole cut in the bottom.  Finally, I placed the top bun on, frosted it with my tan icing and sprinkled rice krispies on the top in place of "sesame seeds."

During my assembly, I had some major icing melting problems because my kitchen was super hot since spring decided to be summer in Ohio and I had the oven on all. day. long.   I reluctantly went with the flow and accepted its imperfections since I ran out of time and could do nothing about the weather.

On a side note, this weather phenomenon also made for an adventurous ride to my parents since we thought it would be a good idea to drive directly into the hail and tornado producing storm that proved to be the scariest experience of my life. 

Good news.  Guy, girl, dog, and cake all survived.