On Monday, I mentioned that I picked up an ad sack/feed sack/grain sack (you choose the term) that I planned to make into pillows. I've had my eye on grain sacks for the past year but I hadn't run across one that fit in with our home decor. This bag was a definite winner. Even Ike approved and he's picky.
Read MoreHappy Monday! Are Mondays ever happy? They are when your birthday is tomorrow and you leave for vacation to Austin, TX on Thursday! (Any suggestions on food and activities are welcomed!)
My family was in town this past weekend. We carried on my birthday weekend tradition by doing a little thrifting. I was hoping to find some things for our office. I found a wire basket and an ammunition box. The basket is for our uncontrollable paper situation and the ammo box just looked awesome. I feel like it may be useful in a zombie apocalypse. I'm always prepared. I found a grain sack that I am going to turn into a couple of pillows but probably not before zombies take over. I also found the pickpocket sign for my brother. It's pretty much perfect for him. I think we're going to use it in an upcoming room makeover in his house.
Read MoreDear Future Michelle,
This letter is to remind you that you are the world's slower painter. You need to think REALLY hard before you decide to paint another room. Remember those tears when you couldn't find a functioning roller? Remember that arm pain you experienced while spending an hour reaching across the top of cabinets? Remember the 14.7 billion hours it took you to paint a room with 3 1/4 walls? Yeah. Think hard, weenie.
Seriously. Stop thinking about painting your two story living room. You are delusional.
Love,
Past Michelle
Dear Blog Readers,
My office is painted! Ike is digging the color (Sherwin Williams Thunder Gray) but he is concerned about the future of his precious, disgusting couch.
Sorry, little buddy. The new couch is on order! It's a camel leather couch and it's beautiful.
Ike likes the sound of leather. He thinks it'll look great against the dark walls. He's a stylish one.
I'm obsessed with the wall color, Thunder Gray. It changes throughout the day. It's a dark brown muddy color in the morning and it turns almost black in the afternoon.
I've titled this post The NeverEnding Story: Office Edition because I'm totally going to milk this room for all it's worth. We (clearly) have a lot more to accomplish in this space.
I mentioned that the couch is on order. There are curtains to be hung. I just ran out of energy after spending 7/8 of my weekend painting. It would have been 8/8 of my weekend had I realized that I didn't paint the bottom area where Nate's computer is plugged in. *forehead slap*
I am removing the burlap "wallpaper" on the back of the shelves. I'm a little sad about this but it just doesn't look right with the new color. I have another color purchased I just need to get to work. The shelves will then need to be styled or something. I'm not really good at that whole styling thing so I'll probably just throw some books up there. Maybe I should hire my BHG nominated blogger/styling queen friend, Caitlin, to help me out.
We're pondering art for the room. We're also pondering a replacement for the scrolly thing on the fireplace.
Right now, my arms and I are happy that the walls are no longer blah brown.
Off to ponder painting my living room...
Happy Friday! I hope you had a fabulous week!
Today calls for some awesomeness. Like serious awesomeness.
First up, I'm guest posting over at Cuckoo 4 Design today as part of Julia's Living Pretty With Your Pets series. I am sharing how baby Ike came into our lives. I stumbled across this picture putting the post together.
I love that squishy face so much. Be sure to head over to Cuckoo 4 Design and say "hi". Julia is beyond talented and her home is amazing. She's one of Ike and I's favorites.
(Julia is also super close to the top 5 in the homies at Apartment Therapy. I'd love to help bump her back up! Voting is quick. Feel free to click the +1 next to Decor and the Dog. I only need about 300 votes to oust Kelly from her #1 spot. I'm feeling pretty good about this one. )
The Michaels event went well last Sunday. Well, it went well as in I showed up and crafted with Kim. Everyone else asked me where I could find those silly rubber band bracelet making things. Note to self. Make rubber band bracelets next time. The Michaels employees were great and I hope that we can do it again in the future!
I have a new addiction. Everlane shirts. I have been reading a bunch of fashion blogs lately. (Bad idea.) I had seen quite a few reviews for Everlane. Everlane's philosophy is to provide luxury items at fair prices. I pondered their t-shirts for days. I gave in. Great life decision. The material is super soft and the t-shirt doesn't cling weird. I also love the shape. This is me pretending to be a fashion blogger. You know, with crappy bathroom shots and no makeup.
This is me being photo bombed by my dog that never leaves my side. I feel like Dressed and the Dog could be a thing. ;)
Where was I? Oh yes. Seriously OBSESSED with these Everlane shirts. I want them in EVERY color. They are $15. They are more expensive than the $8 shirts I have previously purchased from Target but these tees fit so much better. The Target ones also shrink badly. So far, so good on Everlane. I can keep you posted, if you care! (This is in no way sponsored but the links are referral links because I want MORE SHIRTS in EVERY COLOR.)
Here are a few links that I think you might like to check out this weekend. I'll be back next week with a living room update and a painted office. (Hopefully.) Finally a few house projects in the works!
Happy weekend! See you on Monday with that living room update!
Today I'm going to feed you cupcakes. Neapolitan cupcakes.
Why? Because I want to thank you for voting for Decor and the Dog in Apartment Therapy's Homies! You did that, right? If not, it will take you approximately 2.13 minutes. And it would make Ike smile like this.
He's a sucker for a good contest. (You can vote for multiple blogs and the list is full of great ones!)
Now here's your cupcake....
recipe. If only I could deliver a cupcake to each and everyone of you.
But you will want to make these cupcakes. I promise you. I took them to work on Valentine's Day. Nothing says love like giving your co-workers dia-beetus. My co-workers ranked these as my best cupcakes. They beat out the chocolate with vanilla buttercream and Death by Oreo.
These Neapolitan cupcakes are a delicious chocolate cupcake topped with vanilla and strawberry buttercream.
I started by baking my World's Best Cupcakes. Buttermilk makes the world go 'round.
Chocolate Cupcake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line or grease cupcake pan.
Beat cake mix, buttermilk and oil until moistened (~30 seconds). Add eggs one at a time, until the batter is well-mixed. Beat on high until thick (~2 minutes).
Scoop the batter into the cupcake pan until they are 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven. Cool cupcakes on a wire rack.
After the cupcakes cooled, I whipped up some vanilla buttercream.
Buttercream Frosting:
Beat the butter until it’s fluffy. Slowly add the sifted powdered sugar a cup at a time. Once all powdered sugar has been added, beat on medium-high until smooth.Add the vanilla and almond extracts, and beat in to combine. Add the cream a bit at a time until frosting reaches desired consistency. Increase mixer speed to medium-high, and continue to beat frosting until light and fluffy.
I piped on the buttercream using a star tip on my Wilton Dessert Decorator.
I then whipped up some strawberry buttercream.
Strawberry Frosting:
In a mixing bowl, whip butter with a mixer until butter is fluffy (about 2 minutes). Add powdered sugar in slowly, beating well after each addition. Drop berries in one by one while mixing. Watch your consistency. The berries will thin the frosting so add about 10 and then watch closely. Whip frosting on high for an additional 3 minutes until fluffy and light.
Apply to middle of cupcake using the same star tip.
I recommend storing these cupcakes in the fridge but bring them to room temperature before serving!
Happy cupcake eating! Or just cupcake drooling like I'm doing now while eating my chicken breast and sweet potato. The world of nutrition is unjust. If only vegetables tasted like delicious Neapolitan cupcakes...
Today's a big day! Ike turns 7.
One day you're bringing home the world's cutest puppy.
The next thing you know, he's 7. And then you start sobbing because you can't imagine life without this tennis ball loving mess of a dog.
I know everyone thinks they have the best dog but this guy truly is.
A Wire Fox Terrier won best in show last week. The owner said that the breed is bred to "look for trouble". That sentence describes Ike perfectly. He's fiesty. He's spunky. But he's also the sweetest dog in the world.
The thing I find the most interesting about Ike is that he loves Nate and I equally. Most dogs I know have a favorite. We're both his favorite. Unfortunately I think tennis ball trumps us both but you can't win them all.
What does a special dog get on his 7th birthday? A cake, of course.
A cake I made from scratch. Eaten at the human table. Yeah, it's probably about time Nate and I think about human spawn because this is seriously ridiculous.
And awesome.
Peanut butter tongue. The sign of good cake. (I made the cake using this recipe.)
Happy birthday little buddy!
Happy Friday! We made it through another work week. High five! Go team.
On Monday, I mentioned that I am hosting a Pinterest party on Sunday at the Davenport Michaels. I'll be crafting there from 1-4pm. You should join me. If you're not local, you can join another fabulous Hometalk blogger near you. It's a great group of bloggers so be sure to check out the list!
We have all been sharing our projects with each other, answering questions, etc. It's been a bit intimidating. There is talk of business cards and all day photo shoots. I'm all like "What's a business card? What's a blog?" while everyone else is whipping up 27 projects with perfectly styled photos. Eh. I'll stick with Michelle good at crafting. Craft with Michelle.
Sooo, I felt a little pressure to whip up another craft. I've been wanting to try my hand at painting terra cotta pots with stencils. My stenciling on pot #1 didn't turn out bad but it's also not great. Luckily I was originally aiming for a distressed/aged/imperfect look. Sand paper will made the blurred lines look intentional. I will be working on more of these babies on Sunday.
Here's what you'll need to join me for stenciled terra cotta herb pots.
Start by painting your pot whatever color you'd like. I chose white because I'm boring.
Let it dry and then rough it up with some sand paper if you're going for the aged look.
Paint inside the stencil with chalk paint. I used chalk paint so I can write which herb I am planting in here. Because that's what bloggers do. I mean, mint and chives look nothing alike but it's always good to have them labeled. Once this pot dries, I will write "fake Ikea plant".
Next I added my herb themed stencils along the top of the pot and also painted them.
Remove the stencils and enjoy your rustic, chippy-ish herb pot.
So, Sunday. Be there. Micheals that is. 1-4pm. Right during nap time. That's how dedicated I am to crafting.
Looking for more project inspiration? Here's a list of all of the projects the Hometalk bloggers will tackle on Sunday! Happy weekend!
This post is brought to you by Kleenex. All opinions and talks of snotty noses are my own.
Let's take a quiz. True or False.
Michelle's nose has been running non-stop since the beginning of January.
Michelle likes cute things.
Kleenex started out as a facial tissue for removing makeup.
If you answered true to all of the above, you are correct! You win a chance at a trip to NYC and $5000 for shopping. Seriously.
When Kleenex contacted me about sharing their awesome Kleenex Style Studio I couldn't pass it up. I've seriously had a box of Kleenex stuck to me since the beginning of January. No joke.
To celebrate Kleenex’s 90th anniversary, they’re bringing you another innovative first: The Kleenex® Style Studio . It’s a fun, inspiring way to discover more of the Kleenex® Brand designs and products you love. And maybe even a few that’ll take you by surprise. It sucked me in for a good 20 minutes. Oops.
Tissues boxes aren't always the most attractive way to spruce up your home decor. At this point, I have no choice. Well, I have a choice but the lack of tissue would just be ugly. Luckily Kleenex has cute styles to choose from.
I have a box next to my spot on the couch. Not ideal but it blends nicely. This is my traveling box that also follows me to the kitchen.
I have a box next to my dog. He's a big fan of Kleenex. Kleenex is his favorite brand to shred. He's picky as tissue shredding is one of his favorite past times.
Note: No Kleenex tissues were harmed in the photographing of this post. I can't, however, say that about other boxes.
And lastly I have a box next to my bed.
Over at the Kleenex Style Studio there are a ton of designs you can look through.
I thought the It's a Hoot design would look adorable in my craft room.
Or how about the Rendez Vous in our powder room.
So many fun designs!
If that isn't enough fun there is also a quick style quiz to see how you do judging between fashionable cat walk designs and the designs of the new Kleenex boxes at the Kleenex Style Studio Test your fashion sense for a chance to win a trip to NYC with $5000 for shopping. (I hope you do better than I did. I need to get back to watching Project Runway. Stat!)
Visit the Kleenex Style Finder landing page to play and click on “sweeps” tab in the top right corner of the page. Then click "play to enter".
Also, can you take this quick, 1 question survey ! You all know I love a good survey!
How did you do on the catwalk versus Kleenex design quiz ? Is your dog a Kleenex shredder? What design would work best in your home?
Today let's discuss our neglected office.
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I think the last time I posted any progress in this room was in 2012. It's crazy how fast time goes!
I've decided to get to work on this room. Okay, I've started thinking about this room. One minute I decide I really need to think about things before diving in and then two years later I've done nothing. I've decided now is the time. I think. It's really cold and my couch/blanket/dog are really warm. Maybe I'll need to bust out the snuggie while painting.
This room is currently a catch all for the stuff we're too lazy to deal with. I mainly dump stuff in here because the room isn't pretty so I don't really care. Nate does it because he's a boy. Ike leaves all of his toys in here and then gets mad when we shut the door. I digress.
Here's the plan. For this minute. It's subject to change. The walls are going to be painted. I'm leaning towards Sherwin Williams Thunder Gray. It's a dark browny gray. (That's a thing.)
I purchased these curtains during a recent sale. (The ones pictured above were way too ivory. These are more of a greige.) I hope I don't hate them when I hang them. I struggle with purchasing items from the interwebs.
I think I'm going for this kind of look. I think. (I really just pretend like I know what I'm doing.) So I think the curtains will work swimmingly.
I think it's time that we get a new couch. This one has been with me since the early part of pharmacy school. It's pretty gross.
Nate and I are both really liking this one but in a camel colored leather. It's surprisingly comfy! It's like the one couch out of 1000 that we have looked at in our area that we actually like. I now know why most people in the Midwest have big, puffy couches. BECAUSE THERE IS NO OTHER CHOICE.
Sorry the for the caps. Couch shopping stressed me out.
We also have plans for a furniture build in here. Let's keep that a secret. It's no fun giving away the whole room, right? But don't hold your breath waiting for this secret though. It's tax season and Nate's a zombie. I am going to help build this one but I'm not allowed near power tools while unattended. (True story.)
I'm hoping to get started painting this weekend but I do have a big Pinterest party to host and Downton Abbey to catch up on. Priorities.
What are your thoughts on my sad little office?
Happy Monday! I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. Things around casa de Decor and the Dog were pretty quiet. Nate worked a lot. Ike and I cleaned and cooked a lot. Very housewifely of us. We were able to sneak in some crafting! Well, I did some crafting. Ike dug through my bags and stole supplies.
On Friday I mentioned that I am helping host a Pinterest party as part of a collaboration with Michaels and Hometalk. The party is happening this Sunday! Cue the introvert freak out.
I met with the assistant manager of my local store last week. We discussed which projects she thought would be the most successful. Of course her suggestion was burlap. Gross. Burlap makes me all stuffy but I always like to make things harder than I need to so I went for it. Turns out my sinuses are cool with burlap canvases. I decided to turn my canvas into a memo board for the coffee lover in your life. I think it's darling.
I really have a hard time with super simple crafts. I think it's the blogger in me. More, more, more! The Michaels assistant manager assured me that simple was best. This craft whips up in about 30 minutes. Mainly because you have to wait for some paint to dry.
Here's what you will need to create your own DIY burlap memo board for the coffee/tea/hot beverage lover in your life. All of these supplies can be found at your local Michaels store.
I started by painting my wooden mug with chalkboard paint. I gave it two coats.
Once the mug was dry, I hot glued it onto the canvas. I then eyeballed some ribbon, cut it to size and hot glued it to the back of the canvas. Make sure it's tight so you can easily hang things from it.
I hot glued on paper hearts that I made using a heart punch. You could also paint these if you're super talented.
I then rubbed some chalk all over my mug to "prime" it. (Perform this step after your paint has dried completely. Refer to the packaging as all chalk paint is a little different.) If you skip this step, the first words you write may be stuck on your mug forever.
Hang anything you want from your pretty new memo board using small clothes pins. You can also write on your cute little chalkboard mug now as well.
Now comes the fun part! It's time to craft together. It's like craft night but with strangers!
Click here to find a Michaels near you that is hosting an event on Sunday, February 16th from 1-4pm! I will be at the Davenport, IA location!
Purchase the supplies for your Pinterest inspired project and head to the class room to chat and create with a Hometalk blogger. There are specially marked end caps throughout the store if you're looking for ideas! I'll also show another project idea on Friday!
Don’t forget to use those coupons! Grab a coupon for the US or a coupon for Cananda!
Finally, consider joining Hometalk! Hometalk is a home & garden social network where you can clip amazing ideas and inspiration, ask for advice and opinions or share some of your favorite DIY, home and garden posts or projects! Once you have joined follow Michaels on Hometalk to enter to win a $100 Michaels gift card. Five winners will be announced on Hometalk’s Facebook page on Feb 17, after the party.
Who's crafting with me on Sunday? I'll be sure to social media (a verb) all of the fun!
Disclosure: This post is part of a sponsored partnership with Hometalk. But the tutorial, project and social anxiety fears are all my own.
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