On Good Friends, and Good Finds!

You know you've met your "friend soul-mate" when you have a jam packed day, no extra time, but spot a bench as you speed by a yard sale, make an abrupt U-turn, and said friend jumps out and strikes an amazing deal ("said friend" is Rebakah, of course!).  The deal also included the chair that went with the bench... for get this... $45!!!!!!!!

Today I am working on that chair.  I started ripping the upholstery off which is pretty easy with needle nose pliers.  The back came right off but when I started on the front I ran into some padding that is breaking down.  Decision time.  Rip it off, embrace the mess, and start with a clean slate... or upholster of the existing upholstery.  Decisions, decisions. 

I cannot figure out what is going on with this one?  The upholstery is "new-ish"  as in, not original, but it looks like they had it upholstered without finishing stripping and staining the wood.  Why in the world would someone do this?

Decision number 2. To paint or strip and stain?? I WAS leaning towards staining but after consulting, who else, Miss Mustard Seeds blog, I found these inspiration pieces.  I've decided to paint.

I have decided on the fabric below which is pictured with my "helper".  Man, I hope I don't mess this up!  I did find an amazing Reupholstering Series from ThreeBoys.  Check it out if you are tacking a more in depth project. 

On another note... Rebekah is coming to North Carolina this weekend!  I am over the moon excited!!!!

Kandi

Valentine's Day Ideas

This week has been exciting and crazy! Woven Home has been invited to sell our products at a local store, here in Lynchburg Va.  I will share more about this in a future post, but I have been cutting and sewing all day, everyday to make enough product for our display.  As therapy, in my down time I have been surfing Pinterest looking for Valentine's Day ideas, here are a couple of my favorites.....(all of these images can be found, and linked back to the original creator if you go to my pinterest page ((Rebekah Moody)) and look under Valentine's Day ideas)

how cute and easy is this wreath!

homemade valentine's day card

candy cane hearts

hearts can be found at Michael's, paint with chalk board paint

paper love art, easy to do with a cricut

These are just a few of the images I have found and loved this Valentine's Day season.  I think I will be running out to Michael's tomorrow morning to buy hearts and chalk board paint.

Rebekah

New Years Eve Party

Free NYE Subway Art from Eighteen25

Out of necessity we had a New Years Eve Party this year.  I say necessity because we talked all of our friends into lining up babysitter and going with us to an awesome party at a resteraunt in town... only for the resteraunt to cancel their party last minute. 

We had less than a week from conception to party time so there was lots to do!

My recipe for a painless party…

1. I LOVE invites.  I just like paper of all kinds.  But make or order something that is suitable to your party… whether, crazy fun or simple elegant.  I think it always sets the tone for a party.  While I normally do not send out Evites I had to this time… no time for paper since it was last minute… but it worked like a charm!  And I found an adorable chevron pattern to boot.

2. Guest list.  How to put it nicely… we have lots of different genres of friends… like, I might not mix my college friends with my grandparents… just sayin!      

3. PLAN AHEAD… Plan your food, drink, décor, etc.  I am a list maker by nature which always helps things go a little smoother.

4.  Enlist help and be able to delegate.  Whether it’s your husband making the play list and setting up the bar, or your sister sweeping up and garnishing your dishes.  It makes all the difference in the world.   You might even want to make a secret list of what you may or may not ask others to do (BUT, if your sister finds it, she will roll her eyes at youJ)

Above mentioned sister... who retired to her PJ's early... she's saying "I found that secret list, you are so OCD!"  Kidding!  I'm sure we were just gossiping!

5. Get done what you can the day before.  Have your groceries, get out your serving pieces, house clean, buy flowers and arrange, etc.  If it can be done ahead… do it!

6. Get those lists out and follow thru.  Cook, decorate, etc.  LEAVE TIME TO GET YOURSELF READY!  I like to have my hair and make-up done early in the day and throw on my clothes at the last minute!

 My favorite decor item... my breakfast room chandelier!  I have been wanting to try this for a while and this seemed like the right time.  The greenery and crystals were already in the chandelier from Christmas.  I added the clear glass ornaments with a little hot glue to be safe!  A little water, a few roses and some babies breath.  Whalla!!  I loved it, although it seemed more suitable for a wedding shower... it was still fun to do!

I forgot one thing...party favors and Champagne!  Crutial for a NYE Party!  Dont hate on my favors... this is what you get when you go to buy them at 4:30 on New Years Eve!

Here's to the greatest 2012 you can dream up!!

Kandi

Key Lime Pie and Sunday at Nana's

In my family we are huge on traditions.  I think they are very important.  Growing up, I was surrounded by my entire family.  And, by entire, I mean tons of people... immediate family, extended family, those who are close enough friends that they count as family... you get the jist... tons! For me now, and for every year of my life until now, we have gone to my grandmothers for lunch every Sunday, AFTER CHURCH.  Even when I left for college I knew I could pop home on a Sunday and walk into a giant home cooked lunch.  It's always there, sort of like death and taxes... you can count on it!  Now my kids count on it, and look forward to it, and love it as much as I do.  Its things like that you take for granted when you are young but cherish as you get older.

It looks something like this....

Lets just talk about this... can you imagine, cooking for 20-40 people EVERY Sunday?  I hope she knows how much we all appreciate her.  I try to tell her, but does she really know?  I hope so!  She's the glue (and a darn good cook!)

So, the reason for this blog post.  I want to start sharing some of my recipes on here.  I think food is really what Rebekah and I initially bonded over!  She is one of the best cooks I know and a fabulous entertainer!

This week I made a Key Lime pie for Sunday lunch.  I made it because a bag of key limes was left at my house after our New Years Eve Party... random!  I usually cook either from memory or by reading a few recipes and putting one together of my own .  This recipe is the same way but I also added in a couple ingredients from my favorite Key Lime Pie from a restaurant that is no longer!  From the long lost and dearly missed Key West Fish Company came the macadamia nut and zest addition to the graham cracker crust and also the fresh berries on top... any will do!

Ingredients:

Graham Cracker Crust:

1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
5 - 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 Tablespoons granulated white sugar
1/4 cup crushed macadamia nuts
1-2 Teaspoons of Lime Zest

Filling:

One 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons grated lime zest
1/2 cup key lime juice

                                                                                        

Topping:

2 Tablespoons granulated white sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Garnish:

Whipped Cream
Lime Zest Curls
Blackberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F , placing the rack in the center of the oven.

2. To make the graham cracker crust, mix the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter and sugar, nuts and zest. Press into the bottom and sides of a well greased 9 inch pie pan. Cover with plastic wrap and chill.

3. While the crust is chilling, with an electric mixer beat the egg yolks until pale and fluffy (about 3 minutes).

4. Gradually add the condensed milk and beat until light and fluffy (4-5 minutes).

5. Add the lime zest and lime juice, mixing thoroughly.

6. Pour the filling into the graham cracker (give it a couple light taps on the table to get rid of air bubbles) and bake for 10 minutes, or until the filling is set.

7. Remove from oven and cool completely then refrigerate until ready to serve.

8. When ready to serve, prepare the topping by beating the whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

9. Place topping onto the filling of the pie, add berries and zest curls and serve.

Notes:  It will take a whole bag of key limes to get the 1/2 cup of juice (10-15 depending on how big and how juicy!)  Also, remember to zest your limes BEFORE juicing.

Enjoy!

Kandi
In case you had any doubt... after lunch looks a little something like this...

Canvas Heart Garland

I am so excited to share this post with y'all.  (Okay I wrote y'all and I am from Wisconsin, but living in Virginia, and being married to a man from Mississippi definately has a way of changing one's speach.)  I thought about writing you, but if I was talking to you, I would have said y'all.....so there you go....


As y'all know I am working on my mudroom, and it is almost finished.  The painting is done....and I am waiting for my contractor to help me with a couple of projects before I can show you the finished product. 


So I started decorating for Valentine's Day....hope you enjoy!

Heart Garland, and Canvas Wreath

I used a heavy linen for my hearts.  I cut two identical hearts, and sewed them together, leave an opening so you can stuff it with a poly fill.  Sew the opening closed.  I sewed a little ribbon hanger at the top of each heart.  Finally I put my hearts in the washing machine...easiest way to fringe the edges.

The garland and wreath on the wall were made from torn pieces of painters canvas drop cloths. You can purchase these at any hardware store.  For the wreath, I used a metal wreath form, and for the garland I cut a clothes line to my desired length.  Rip 1" wide strips from end to end from you canvas.  Then cut so your strips are appoximately 1" wide by 8" long.  Tie the canvas strip to the wreath form or line.  Repeat a million more times!  It is easy, but monotomous.

Happy Decorating!
Rebekah
p.s. my hearts are two different sizes....

A Muddy Update

Thursday was a magical day in my kingdom, both of my children went back to school!  And I was finally able to start work on my mudroom.  I have been dreaming of a more efficient and beautiful space but I don't have a big budget, only $200.  I am fortunate that I have a couple of pieces that I can repurpose for this project.  I already  have a wall of hooks, a  bench, and a rug that will  be used in this space.  I would love to replace my rug, but I am afraid that is just not in my budget.  But if it was here are a couple of rugs that have caught my attention.....

Garnet Hill Bogart Flat Weave

 West Elm, Andalusia Dhurrie

Garnet Hill  

I love the overall look of this last space!  I wish I was bold enough to paint my doors.....maybe....

Here are a couple pictures that have the feel I am after.....



I am going to leave you with one last picture...

  I purchaced this china cabinet for a whooping $100 at my local estate store.  I think that it will meet all of my storage needs.  It was built in the 50's so it is solid wood constuction with dove tailed drawers.  But boy is it ugly!  When looking for a second hand piece of furniture, look at the quality of constuction, and its lines.  In my case I wanted a sturdy piece that would hold up to two boys opening and closing doors and drawers.  This cabinet is going to be perfect. 
  I only have $100 left, and I will give you a hint to where that money is going.....Paint Paint and More Paint!

Rebekah

3 Money Saving Projects and a Basement Update

It has been a little more than a week and my basement reno is still not quite finished.  It kind of took on a life of its own and what was going to be a little face lift turned more into a major over-haul.  There were a few snafus that slowed me down... starting with the fact the color I bought [2 gallons of] was horrid and even worse the polyurethane I bought to go on my cabinets turned them from a beautiful white to full on banana yellow!!  Please learn from my mistake...ONLY USE AN ACRYLIC BASED POLY WHEN PAINTING OVER WHITE.  More on this topic and how I remedied it in a later post!  Then, of course my husband came home and got involved and we now have beautiful new floors down here and I won't complain about that at all!!  Thankfully the basement is about 99% complete now and I am only lacking a couple baskets to feel good enough about it to post it on the blog.

Today, I am going to show you 3 projects I did down here that saved me tons of money!  Who doesn't like that?

1.  Spray painted refrigerator.

What?  That's right!  I spray painted our little under bar fridge that was bought in 1980 and had the brown wood grain color to prove it!

I figured I didn't have anything to lose and if turned out horrid I would just go buy another one.  I taped up the handles, primed with Kilz, and then hit it with Krylon Fusion spray paint in Metallic Shimmer (2 coats). Easy as pie and less than an hour project including dry times!  I think it was 100% worth it and no one had any idea it was spray painted.   We are talking $5 rather than going to spend $150 on a new one!  Good stuff!

2.  Repurposed Goodwill Lamp and Walmart Shade. 

This was $5!!!!  Yes!!  They actually had a few to chose from but I wanted one that could take up a good bit of visual space on a big side table.  I was drawn to this lamp from Ballard Design, but the $169 price tag seemed completely unrealistic to me!

Pretty huh!  Here is a link if you don't feel like doing it yourself.

For the lamp base I first checked to make sure it worked before I did any work to it!  Wrap up the hardware with painters tape and next give it a quick wipe down a a coat of Kilz primer.  I would normally spray paint the whole thing but I didn't have any bright white and was sitting beside a big can of Super White Benjamin Moore trim paint.  I did two coats of that and then hit it with a coat of Rustoleum High Lustre Lacquer. 

The shade was just a little trickier but not much!  I found a $14.99 drum shade at Walmart.  I had a scrap of fabric left over from pillow making and used the plastic protective covering from the lamp shade as a template, traced it onto my fabric, and cut that out leaving an extra 1/4 inch or so around all the edges.  Next, just pin the fabric onto the shade, cut off any excess, and slowly glue (I used hot glue) the top edges all the way around. Lastly cut two lengths of matching ribbon to hide your raw edges and glue those down.  It turned out pretty close to perfect... close enough for me anyway!  One thing I learned is to line up the seams of your new cover with the existing seem on the lampshade.  Otherwise, when the lamp is on you will see both seams. 

I'm kind of in love with it and my total price including the $14.99 Walmart lamp shade was still under $30.  A far cry from the $169 price tag on the Ballard Design gourd lamp!!

3.  Gallery Wall. 
I have been pinning tons of gallery walls on Pinterest!  But, to price all new frames, mats, etc was gonna be a little ridiculous.  So, I gathered up tons of existing frames and a few other pictures and mirrors from around my house and got out... you guessed it... the spray paint!  I wanted to stick to the green, black and white so all I did was lay out my design and decide which frames to paint!  I even painted some mats and it worked beautifully!  Hopefully the glass pops out of your frames (some of mine didn't) which makes it very easy work.  Spray prime, spray paint, hang.  Easy as that!  I am left with a cohesive gallery wall that I think highlights the pictures which is exactly what I wanted!

There you go... 3 incredibly easy money saving projects that absolutely anyone can do!
Full room reveal this week sometime!

Kandi