Ike Wearing Charlie Be Good

If you've been reading awhile, you know that Ike is a very fashionable dog.  He's not really into clothes all that much.  He's more into accessories.  He loves bandannas, long ties and bow ties. Oh, does he love bow ties.  

I'm serious too.  The dog gets super excited about any new accessory.  I should video tape it.

He got REALLY excited when he received a package in the mail from France!  He's clearly an important dog.  What was in that package? 

A bow tie!  An adorable hunter plaid bow tie from France!

The lovely owner of Charlie Be Good contacted me wondering if Ike would like a new accessory.  Ike pounced all over that opportunity.  He helped me pick out the hunter plaid bow tie.  We both thought it would look great for our upcoming holiday photo.

The owner of Charlie Be Good is super sweet. Her fabric selection is fantastic.  She finds her fabric in the Paris textile district.  That just sounds fancy. I think Davenport needs a textile district.  Still doesn't have the same ring, does it?

I am truly impressed with the quality of this tie.  I can sew dog ties but this tie was sewn to perfection.

And Ike thinks he looks stunning.  Modesty is not one of his strong suits. 

Be sure to check out Charlie Be Good for an adorable bow tie for your favorite pup.  They also just opened Charlie Be Home which is full of handmade and limited edition home decor, kids items and accessories. Such cute stuff!

Is your dog into accessories?  Is your dog more stylish than you are?  It's okay because mine is. 

 ***We weren't compensated for this post.  Ike received his ridiculously cute bow tie in exchange for modeling.***

Rantings and September Recap

Merry Christmas!!!

Oh, too soon?  Retailers are making me grouchy with their need to skip Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is one of the best holidays, fools.  There will be no Christmas on the blog.....yet.

And don't get me started on this day light savings time business. I think I might buy a light box this year.  Seriously.  And how is a blogger supposed to photograph her pretty new dining table when it gets dark at 4:45pm and she doesn't get home until 5:30pm? Riddle me that one.  Or the fact that I'm off tomorrow at 4:00pm but it's supposed to rain until 2015.  Ahhhh.

So, instead of my beautiful new table built by my darling husband (barf), you get September's recap.  Yes, I realize that it's now November.  Lay off. 

Here's what you forgot about.  Or missed.  Either way, right? 

New Digs	Layered Fabric Hoop Art	Craft Room Tour	Chicago Favorites
Master Bathroom Reveal	How to Drill Into Tile	How to Change Cabinet Hardware	New vacuum!
Life Lately	New Kitchen Stools	Fall Mantel	Pumpkin Spice Sugar Scrub
Awesome Things	Wanted: Good Looking Legs

InLinkz.com

Catch up on the rest of 2013 here:  

January February March April May June July August

Now I want Chicago style pizza.  Any rants you'd like to share with me today?  What was your favorite September project? 

How to Paint Chairs the Easy Way

This is one of those posts where it's a "Why didn't we do this sooner?" kind of thing.

This weekend we tackled our dining chairs.   (Along with 1 million other things.  We're actually hosting a party next weekend and it's been good motivation for us to get some crap done.  Sorry I wrote crap but cleaning carpets, touching up trim, and clearing out dead flowers are all crap things.)  

Our chair project was actually quite fun!  Seriously. Fun.  Because we bought a paint sprayer!

We purchased the Graco Spraystation 2900.  (Key word "purchased".  Graco doesn't know about us.)  We decided to break down and buy a paint sprayer because we needed a more economical way to paint furniture.  Spray paint is expensive and I was using a lot of it.  We have a ton of paint in our basement that needs used.  Welcome to your new home little paint sprayer.

We decided to go with the Graco Spraystation 2900 paint sprayer based on reviews in Family Handyman. HVLPs are quieter than other pump sprayers.  There is less over spray.   The paint dries faster.  It has a fine finish that is good for furniture.

The paint sprayer is easy to use.   We found that you need to use small strokes and keep the nozzle a consistent distance away from the piece of furniture.  It's best to move your whole arm and not just your wrist.   Ladies, I recommend this paint sprayer because then your husband will be all like "Yay.  New toy.  Will paint wife's furniture for her."  Wise investment.

This paint sprayer is so fantastic that we were able to complete three coats (primer and 2 coats of paint) in 1 hour.  I would still be painting these chairs 3 weeks from now without it.  Best DIY investment we've made in a long time! 

Here's round 1, the primer. 

Next is where things get crazy.  We hemmed and hawed on what color to paint the end chairs.  We wanted them to stand out but we were also nervous about them being crazy.  We decided to go big or go home and try a color.  We went Olympic's Gold Buttercup.  Which is perfect because one of my favorite sayings lately is "What's up, Buttercup?"

It's bright.  We think we like it.  It's a little bolder than our traditional style.  But it's growing on us.  Or is it too bold?  Eh. It's only paint.  If we don't like it, we'll bust out the paint sprayer again!

What do you think of the color?  Be kind. :P  Are you a fan of the ol' paint sprayer?