LoveLifestyle: July 2011

Vintage Stool Spolighted!

How awesome is that?! I'm so stoked that more party attenders loved the vintage stool than I thought would. She was spotlighted at Domestically Speaking.

If you have never visited Maryann over at Domestically Speaking you are certainly missing out. She runs an amazing blog with great how-to project, such as these Roman Shades from Mini-blinds.

Thanks again Maryann. I'm uber grateful.

Till next time!

My House Is A B&B?

I'm uber excited! Ya wanna know why? Of course you do. Mr. Uncluttered and I recently learned that our dear friends are coming to spend the weekend with us for their 17th wedding anniversary. We also have another sweet couple coming to share in the festivities for the weekend. I see lots of relaxing, snacking and laughs going on that weekend.

Both of the couples live in the city and consider staying at our place like staying at a Bed and Breakfast. It might have something to do with the 50 acres surrounding us. But hmm when I think about it... I've always wanted to own a B&B. I just didn't realize I had already accomplished that dream.

This is what I always pictured my B&B would look like...

Yeah, not quite what I'm working with, but I do have Irises and huge tree though... :) The rest of it, well its all one big work in progress. (BTW, the picture is of the Rosemary House B&B in North Carolina.)

So, I have one month to get the house ready to serve as a B&B to our first special guests. Better get my booty in gear and finish all the projects we have around this place.

Let's review, shall we...

Bathroom
1. Strip and repaint built-in cabinet
2. Organize drawers in built-in
3. Recaulk toilet and tub
4. Sew new shower curtain
5. Replace wall cabinet w/shelving
6. Accessorize with new towels and rug

Kitchen
1. Install new flooring
2. Install new countertop

Dining Room
1. Make slipcovers for chair (I got 4 Parsons chairs for $30, not each, total at a garage sale!)

Living Room
1. Paint

Guest Room
1. Paint
2. Organize closet (make room for guest clothes)
3. Purchase mattress
4. Decorate room

Porch
1. Install shelving
2. Make curtains
3. Make skirt of laundry tub
4. Repaint and seal wood floors

Whew! That's all I could think of for now... I'm positive there is much more. Why, am I still typing I need to get to work. I'll keep you posted on my progress. I'm sure most if not all of my future posts will be related to something on this list.

And since I'll be busy working around the house, do you have any suggestions on a menu?

Well, gotta get to work now... till next time.

Chocolate Chip Goodness!

I received a recipe a few weeks ago from a friend and it's called: "The Famous Chocolate Chip and Walnut Cookie." With a name like that you know that is has to be amazing to bite into, right?! Well take a look at these ingredients...

Wet Ingredients
1 C Butter (room temp)
1 C White Sugar
1 C Brown Sugar
2 Eggs (room temp)
2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Dry Ingredients
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
2 C Flour
2 C Oatmeal (Quick 1 Minute)

But wait there's more... most important part.
1 bag of Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips
1 1/2 C Chopped Walnuts

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

1. Combine dry ingredients and mix in one bowl, set aside.
2 In another bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy.
3. Add eggs one a time to creamed butter and mix.
4. Add vanilla to wet ingredients and mix.
5. Slowly add dry ingredients and mix well.
6. Stir in chocolate and walnut.

Side note: When I first went shopping for the chocolate chips I couldn't find Ghirardelli so I settled for another popular brand. Then a few days later I went to another store and the Ghirardelli. And let me just tell you there is a difference. A difference in size and more importantly in taste.

7. Form golf ball size balls and gently press down.

This is what happens when you press down to hard... oops.

Bake 9-11 minutes. And finally enjoy! They make a perfect late night snack. As you can tell my kitchen is dark, I was sneaking a few before bedtime... shhh don't tell Mr. Uncluttered.

This recipe makes a whole lotta cookies... 36 to be exact.

Thanks for visiting... till next time.

I'm linking this to:

Frances Was Featured!

Today I notice that Frances the desk was featured by Bonnie at House of Grace.

How sweet of her. I'm not alone in my love of bold colors on vintage desks. I'm cheesing from ear to ear... :)

If you have never paid Bonnie a visit at House of Grace you should. She runs a linky party, "Twice Owned Tuesday," you should join up if you get a chance.

Thanks for visiting... till next time.

Vintage Stool Upcycle

A few days ago I left you with a teaser and showed a glimpse of the fabric I had just received in the mail and then showed this photo.

Well, this a vintage stool I found in the bunkhouse on our property. I've always always wanted one. I certainly didn't think it would look like this though. I'm sure it was a looker in its heyday. But as the saying goes... all good this things come to an end.

But I was not deterred. I could see the immense potential just waited to be unearth. Lots of elbow grease went in to this stool. Let's get a closeup of the legs.

Did you know steel wool is a miracle worker because I didn't find out until Saturday. And I contemplated spray painting them! For what??? (And this was what happened after a few rubs.)

So without further ado... I present to you Shirley the Vintage Stool. I reupholstered her in a laminated fabric, since she is in the kitchen... gotta be able to wipe her down. I also removed the black rubber pads in the steps, they were gross!

Never mind the brown board in the background. We are getting new flooring in a few weeks so I'm testing the color.

One more time... the before.

And the after!

You'll get a full tour of the our small kitchen once the flooring goes in.

Thanks for visiting... till next time.

I'm linking this to:
Meta Monday - BNOTP
Amaze Me Monday - Dittle Dattle
Just Something I Whipped Up - The Girl Creative
Creative Bloggers Party - Homemaker On A Dime
Newbie Party - Debbiedoo's Blogging and Blabbing
Twice Owned Tuesday - House of Grace
Power of Paint - Domestically Speaking
Wow Us Wednesday - Savvy Southern Style
White Wednesday - Faded Charm
Furniture Feature Friday - Miss Mustard Seed
Show and Tell Friday - My Romantic Home

What's In the Mail Today?

Just a quickie post. I received a package in the mail today.

Oh baby!

That's all you get. But I'll let you know this is involved. No, not the paper bag the stool its sitting on. Its gonna be a fun weekend!

Thanks for visiting, till next time.

Not Your Ordinary Grilled Cheese.

Today, after finishing up at a client's house I had a hankering for a grilled cheese sandwich. But not just any grilled cheese, grilled cheese like a dear friend turned me on to. Its a Pepperjack Grilled Cheese Plus. Yum-o-licious! Is your tummy rumbling???

Pepperjack Grilled Cheese with Tomatoes and Caramelized Onions (makes 3 sandwiches)
- Butter/Margarine
- 1/2 Large Yellow Onion
- 6 slices Sourdough Bread
- 9 slices Pepperjack Cheese (or more if you want)
- 2 thinly sliced Tomatoes
- Salt, Pepper, and Garlic Powder (to taste)
- Sliced Turkey Breast (Optional)

1. Gather all ingredients. It goes pretty fast once you get started.

2. Melt a dab of butter in a heavy skillet over med-high heat. I used a cast iron skillet, great heat conductor.

3. Add onions and cook until caramelized. Do not over cook, you want a golden brown color.

4. While waiting for onions, butter one side of each slice of bread.

5. Once onions are caramelized, remove to a plate and return skillet to stove. Add bread butter side down and grill until lightly golden. Add cheese, sandwich together and continue to grill, flipping occasionally not to burn.

6. Once cheese has started to melt add in caramelized onions. Continue grilling until cheese is completely melted.

7. Remove sandwich to a plate and add tomatoes. Lightly season tomatoes with salt, pepper and garlic powder (the garlic powder makes a world of difference in the flavor).

8. Close it up and enjoy!

Optional - You can also add meat if you like. Its a must for Mr. Uncluttered.

Thanks for visiting - till next time

I'm linking this to:
Delightfully Inspiring Thursday - Delightful Order
Inspiration Friday - At The Picket Fence

Organizing - Magazine Clippings

All the blogs are exploding with Pinterest. The question of the hour is... do you pinterest? Well, yes I do as just a few weeks ago. It truly is amazing. If you haven't tried it, you must very soon.

But, not matter how much I enjoy pinning I also enjoy a magazine or three ~~everyday~~ once in awhile. And being that we live in small home with minimal storage I can not keep the plethora of magazines that come across my threshold. Then add in the fact that one of my dear friends has a collection of Martha Stewart Living magazines, like no other I've ever seen, and she is generously sharing with me. Since it is Martha of course there are a few articles I wanted to keep, I assure you its just a few. ;) So combine these articles with my plethora and get a whole lotta paper.

For the Martha Stewart Living, as I dutifully read each one I flagged the articles of interest.

I photocopied each of the articles (for my own magazines I ripped out the page).

Then I created a binder to organize and store them in.

Each room in the house has its own section. I also have a section for the garden.

As you can tell I left room to expand. I have since added a "Celebrations" and an "Entertaining" section.

Here it is in line some of my other binders and ready to be overflowing with ideas that catch my eye.

Thanks for visiting... till next time.

I'm linking this to:
Home Decor & Organizing Party - Organize & Decorate Everything

A Makeover For Frances

Just a little makeover I worked on the weekend... Oh and by the way, her name is Frances. I'm still learning how to take proper before photos... when I realized I didn't have any before photos this is what I got.

Yes, I know she's upside down, she was getting a light sanding.

And here is the final look. I have no idea what the name of the color is, its a mistint with no name on it. Oh, and it exterior latex house paint. My guess is that it should be more durable than interior paint.

Check out the hardware. Mr. Uncluttered is not too delighted with them, but I adore them. A little bit of modern to go with the modern color on a vintage desk.

I reeeeeeally like shape of this handle.

The distressing continues to the back of the desk.

I debated between painting or staining the top, staining won out. The top is stained Dark Walnut by Minwax. No staging for this piece, she's going up for sale.

Thanks for visiting... till next time.

I'm linking this to...

Meta Monday - BNOTP
Amaze Me Monday - Dittle Dattle
Just Something I Whipped Up - The Girl Creative
Creative Blogger Party - Homemaker On A Dime
Twice Owned Party - House of Grace
Sizzle into Summer - DIY by Design
Wow Us Wednesday - Savvy Southern Style
Piece of Work Wednesday - Primitive & Proper
Power of Paint - Domestically Speaking
Show and Tell Friday - My Romantic Home
Furniture Feature Friday - Miss Mustard Seed

Family of Owls Makeover

I've gotten a few requests to see the family of owls with their final makeovers from my spray paint mishap post. It took a day or two to finish them. You'll never believe how many times I had to use my little steel wool tip to fix my many goof ups. But at last they are done. I haven't found a permanent place for them yet, but its just a matter of time.

Before I show them to you, I have to tell you why I decided to keep them. Here on the ranch we have an owl box that actually has a family of screeching owls (not a technical term even though it should be). Normally it wouldn't be a problem, but of course they make the huge maple tree in our front yard they perch at night. Also not a problem except for the fact that each and every single time they take flight they screech at the very top of their lungs. They have lungs like opera singers.

Sooooooooo every night of my life here on the ranch I fall asleep to the ~~dreadful~~ pleasant songs of these dear owls. Therefore I figured I would bring these very silent owls home hoping they would teach the others how to master the art of being quiet. I"ll let you know how it works out for me, but to be honest I'm not holding my breath. ;)

Now, that you have the back story here is the transformation. Before, cute but ordinary.