Ike’s Couch

Earlier this week I showed you the progress that I am making in the office. I was hoping to have the entire room done but it’s not going so well.

I purchased some new curtains.  I wanted plain curtains because patterned curtains make me nervous.  It’s a Michelle thing. 

I purchased a new houndstooth rug.  (You can find it here.  I got it 50% off.)  I’m digging it.  Ike likes to roll on it.  Life is good.

But as you can see, the room is looking “bleh”. I need new art behind the couch.  I am leaning towards floating shelves with photos or a large map. 

I’m not sure if the lamp I picked up at Target is staying or not.

We also need a new couch.  This couch was free from one of my pharmacy school roommates.  It is even prettier without a slip cover.

I have two issues with buying a couch right now.  First issue…I am so stinking close to paying off my student loans.  So stinking close.  Right now I’d rather have the satisfaction being student loan free than having a new couch.

The second issue is Ike. This is Ike’s couch.  He loves this couch.  We have no clue why.  It’s fairly comfortable but the dog is in love with this couch. He’s always sneaking in here to take a nap.

Do you see that death stare that I am getting?  He doesn’t mess around.

“Hey Ike, do you think we should get a new couch?”

I told you.  He doesn’t mess around.

But unfortunately he’s the dog and the dog only gets the say on important things like bandanas and mudrooms. Poor neglected puppy.

Now is when I ask for your help.  What would you do with this space?  (I should clarify, what would you do with this space AFTER my loans are paid off.)

Here’s another angle looking back at the desk area to help you out.

Share your thoughts!  How often do people really ask for your honest opinion?  (Honest, not brutally honest.  I’m a sensitive creature.)  Any good couch recommendations? What color of couch would you go with?  Are you over maps or still digging them? How about floating shelves?  And wood floors?  (I’m still hoping to convince Nate on that one.)  Happy Leap Day!

Sunday AM Glazed Donut Muffins

Don’t you just love Sunday mornings?  Yes, I know it’s Wednesday but I want it to be Sunday so I am going to pretend it is.  Or should I just blame Leap Day?  It messes me up.  Leap Day is keeping 29 another day longer though.  Thank you, Leap Day.

Where was I going with this?  Oh yes, Sunday mornings.

This past Sunday morning was particularly lovely.  I woke early-ish.  I read a little.  Wasted time on the internet a little.  The sun was shining.  The dog was snuggly.  My stomach started to growl.  Nate kept sleeping.  My stomach started to growl more.  Nate was still sawing logs.

I decided to start breakfast without the accounting zombie.  I headed on over to my Nom Nom Breakfast Board and picked out Glazed Donut Muffins from My Baking Addiction. 

Good pick!  These muffins were tasty and easy to make.  I followed the recipe exactly.  (You can find it here.)  I have a few suggestions if you would like to make these yourself.  The recipe stated to bake 15-17 minutes.  I baked for 15 minutes and that was too long.  The muffins were also a little dry..which could be due to over baking.  I might poke some holes in the top to let that delicious glaze settle on in and moisten things up.

The recipe also states that they are best served warm.  Nate and I both preferred them later on in the afternoon.  Not that we ate more.

Is it Sunday yet?  What’s your favorite morning of the week?  Any muffin recipes that I must try this Sunday?

Burlap “Wallpaper” How To

Yesterday I shared with you that I “wallpapered” burlap to the back of my office shelves.

I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to do to the back of the shelves.  Paint was an obvious answer but that seemed like a lot of work. And very committal. I hate commitment.  My husband is a lucky man.  I know you can repaint but I chickened out.  I also couldn’t decide on a color.  I know some people mentioned yesterday that they would have chosen a bright color.  That’s just not us.  We’re very neutral people.  I probably would have chosen brown.  Boring.  Whatever.  We’re a pharmacist and an accountant.  Crazy party people live here.

I then saw a post on How About Orange about using fabric as wallpaper.  It seemed easy enough.  The other positive was that if I didn’t like it I could just take the fabric down and wipe up the paste.  I was digging it.

I told Nate about my plan.  He gave me that “Are you out of your mind crazy woman beast?” look that I’ve been getting a lot lately.  (I think he is going to put a Pinterest block on my computer.  Seriously.)  I put up a good front and acted like I totally knew what I was doing and this project would be a piece of cake.

And surprisingly, it was.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Fabric cut to your appropriate dimensions. 
  • This was probably the hardest step of the whole process. 
  • I’d check out Chelsea’s tutorial for cutting burlap here.  She pays better attention at Joann’s than I do.  Or maybe her local Joann’s employees are a little friendlier than mine.  Just saying.
  • Cornstarch 
  • Water 
  • A brush  (I used a foam brush but any brush would do.)

Bring ~4 cups of water to a boil.  While you are waiting, mix ~1/2 cup of cornstarch with a small amount of water.  Just enough to dissolve the corn starch and make this milk looking sludge.

Add the cornstarch mixture to the boiling water slowly while whisking.  I love whisking.  Seriously.  Favorite kitchen utensil.

Boil until thickened (~5 minutes).  Let cool.

I cooled my paste just so that I could handle it without scalding myself.  (I’m super patient.  I think my impatience was okay in this case though because this paste turns to sludge fairly quickly.)

I removed the shelves and then brushed the entire surface with a thin layer of the paste.  I found that I didn’t need a lot. A small amount would hold the burlap.  I did find that I needed press a small section for a few seconds to get the burlap to stick.  Burlap was a decent material to chose.  I am horrible at cutting and burlap is hard to cut.  It is, however, very stretchy and forgiving.  If my cut was a little off I could just tug and make it work.

Once the area was completely “wallpapered” I put the shelves back in, styled them pretty, and waited for Nate to get home to show him that I this was not the giant DIY disaster that we both expected.

I’ll keep you posted on how this holds up.  How long will it stick?  Can I really remove it easily when I change my mind about in this room in 6 months?  Someone has to be the guinea pig, right?

Who’s going to slap some fabric on their walls now?  Do it!  Anyone else going to soon be banned from Pinterest?  What’s the craziest pin you have attempted?