Victory is mine!

I finally, finally, finally settled on a paint color/finish for our bed frame! FINALLY. After a failed attempt at rusting, a messy try with my beloved Rubb n' Buff, and a fleshy tone mistake of a painting disaster, I tentatively perused the paint cages at Home Depot once again (I'm so glad our local store leaves them unlocked--I would hate to have to bug someone every. single. time. I visit.). The big shocker? It's not even a rust color. It's not even in the copper toned family (ha! sunscreen reference). The paint that won?

Rust-Oleum Hammered Metallic spray paint in "Silver." In real life, it's just as hammered, grooved, and textured as it is on the cap/nozzle/sprayer thing. So far I've only hit the finials (since it's going to be a pain to drag the whole bed frame down stairs one piece at a time), but I'm loving the results. Hoping to have most of the bed painted by the weekend, but because of the nature of the paint, the curing time seems to be a bit longer than regular spray paint (feels tacky for longer).  

In any case, I can't wait to see the finished frame! Now I can start focusing on the other parts of the room like hanging curtains, sorting out what books and decor I want on the shelves, and getting stuff organized (but in a cute way). 

Worth the wait

I know I mentioned in a previous post that we had yet to do anything in our dinning room. Part of the reason was our need to relocate our book cases (done!) but the biggest issue was it had become a dumping ground for boxes when we first moved in... ...and we never got around to moving them. But after four months of staring at a pit of ugliness (and chaos), we braved the clutter and got our butts in gear. 

And holy crap was it worth the wait. I refused to take any sort of before shots, so believe me when I say these afters are even better than I could have imagined.

Ignore the bare bulb. We have a light fixture ready to be hung, we just need a ladder. The room feels little off kilter, as there's some open space to the right of this photo (we have plans to keep our eye out for an old rusted serving cart or something similar), but I didn't want to off center the table from the light. 

Our little Tessie étagère gives us a spot to drop sunglasses (we have hooks for bags and keys on the other side of the door) and coral all her goodies; from her treats, to her leashes, to her bubble machine (she loves to chase bubbles), it's all pretty and organized in a vintage soda crate.

The corner hutch that I refinished back at the old house has a new home int he corner of our dinning room. I had the most fun decorating this time around. I stuck with white, silver, glass, and wood tones to play off the blue back drop and the rest of dinning room. The globe on top is from Pottery Barn (marked down to $12!), and I love how the water is black rather than blue. Jason has a thing for globes.

My little glass collection is hiding in the cubby below. My (not so) vintage coke bottles, an Eiffel tower bottle Jason and I bought for our very first apartment, and a small sampling of my many mason jars.

Some items I kept from the original set up at the old house, but since I was working with a new color scheme, I had fun finding new items to show case (like the cake topper from our wedding).

In my vintage milk glass candy dish I used some leftover reindeer moss from the copper bird cage and dropped in some eggs for a little pop of color.

Every time I walk downstairs now I have to pause and stare dreamily at how it looks. We even managed to to do upgrades to living room to make it feel more cohesive, but that will have to wait for another post!

L♥ve.

Hammer time

NOTE: to anyone who takes home wedding centerpieces, double to check to see how much of it is real and what (if anything) is fake. Imagine my surprise/squeeged-ness when I realized the moss under my bird'd nest was real, and thanks to the moisture from the floral foam was starting to grow mold! Squeege! 

Along with all my other painting trials and tribulations this week, I managed to repaint the ivory birdcage I stole from a centerpiece at my sister's wedding (are you sick of that link yet??). I could have left the cage the way it was, but I wasn't digging the white finish at all. Metals in our house tend to have color to them be it bronze, silver, or black. And this time, I wanted to go with something a little warmer.

Since I'm currently obsessed with finding a rusted finish for our bed frame, I wanted to stay in the same general color family with the birdcage (especially since it wouldn't be in our bedroom, I wanted to carry that color throughout the house in another way). So I grabbed Rust-Oleum's Hammered finish spray paint in "Copper" and went to town on the little cage (once it was flower, foam, and mold free).

Once it was finished, I grabbed some reindeer moss from Pottery Barn and built up a bade for the bird's nest again, all while guaranteeing I wouldn't have a mold issue in a week or two. Plus, come fall I'll probably swap it out for a leaf garland, and in winter some holly berries. Gotta love decor that can stay out year round with just a few minor tweaks!  

I popped it into a tray that has been all over our house in one way or another (from JoAnn's of all places), and completed the vignette with some of my favorite Irish-themed books, and the whimsical wood carved mushrooms we grabbed at the county fair last year (we tried to find more this year, but sadly we didn't see any we liked).

Loving the warmth the copper cage adds to all the blues and greens we have going on in the living room. I'm in the midst of decorating the wall-unit-turned-tv-console that it's sitting on, so I'll be back with more pictures of that (hopefully) soon!

Strike three

If there's one thing I know about this bed project is once I'm done with it, I should be absolutely in love with  our bed frame because I've exhausted every possibility for colors, textures, and finishes. But unfortunately, that time just isn't here yet. 

Jason and I ran to Home Depot on Sunday and grabbed three different cans of Rust-Oleum spray paint (I'll touch on what we did with the other two cans later this week). The one I grabbed for our bed was in their textured finishes line and was called "Lumber." The finish on the cap looked and felt like what I was going for; even though I had gone with the plan of buying "Autumn Brown," when I got there it seemed too dark. So "Lumber" it was.

Should have gone with "Autumn Brown!" The color was much more flesh toned in real life. Not at all like the caramel color the cap had on it. I was so unimpressed I didn't even finish painting the finial from our bed.

Am I kicking myself for not grabbing my original choice? YES. But when I go back, I think I'll take a good hard look at each of their textured finish colors, because the feel of the paint when it's dry is perfect. It feels very bumpy and rough, and if I can find the right color I know I'll achieve the look I'm going for.  

Just not on this round...

Goody bag

I'm calling this a melting pot of posts, since it's encompassing so much all in once place. I'm hoping that once I get used to my new schedule, I'll be able to blog with more regularity, but for now these "goody bag" posts will have to suffice.

First things first, I've officially completed my first three days in my new job position! And it. was. crazy! The first day I came home so exhausted I fell into bed at 8:30. My old position is still in the process of being filled, so I'm splitting my time between my new job and my old job which is making me feel like a Stretch Armstrong doll: pulled in every direction!

On a bright note, they have offered someone my old job so hopefully soon I'll be settling into a normal routine. And, I can happily say the two new sets of shoes I purchased for the job have kicked some serious executive ass! No blisters and only some very minor rubbing by the end of the day. And since we're on the shoe subject, look what I found on my first visit to a Nordstrom Rack (Nordstrom's outlet store).

They're teal Badgley Mischka kitten heels and I scored them for $85. I bought an identical pair in black last year for the Marine Corps ball and paid close to $300 full retail. The color is magical, and it's almost ridiculous how many items I have that these will go with.  

On the DIY front, Jason and I are heading to Home Depot today for some garden goodies. I snagged these super adorable purple plants from my sister's wedding last weekend (they're called Joey plants). I loved them because they remind me of fluffy thistle.

I'm hoping to find a nice long planter that will fit on our patio wall (they love full sunlight) so they'll be a nice welcome as you walk up to our front door. I'm also finally purchasing the spray paint I've been wanting (since I mentioned it on July 18) to test out for our bed makeover (here and here). I'm planning on spray painting the little birdcage I also snagged from the wedding so it has a rusted sort of finish to it. I'm pretty geeked out to get back to the big orange store as it's been forever since I went (and my shopping list is pretty long). 

I'll be back to share more progress throughout the week!  

Growing up {part 2}

Last we left off, I was talking about my promotion! My first ever if you can believe it. To take a moment and get all mushy, I really do have to thank the universe for the amazing job I've been blessed with. I've been here for two years now and have had the great fortune to work with some amazing people, and now I've been gifted with this opportunity years before I ever thought it would become available. But I digress...

With all the my-sister's-getting-married craziness, I don't think it actually hit me until Monday that I'm starting my new position today! I'm getting my own office, business cards, and even a title. As my husband and I have been saying (in Southern accents a la "O Brother Where Art Thou?"), I'm bonafide! It also means I have to step up my wardrobe (no more uniform!) and start dressing in corporate casual. I have some super cute outfits that I've added to my closet, but many more pieces are needed, including a new suit (truth be told, the one I bought five years ago from JC Penny has held up remarkably well all things considered). Current items I'm on the lookout for include: a khaki pencil skirt, a wrap dress, black and khaki capris, and  a good old fashioned trench come fall. I'm trying to build a very classic work wardrobe and I'm all about pencil skirts right now!

My biggest challenge has been finding comfortable high heels as I'm going from a five hour day to a nine hour day, and I know I'll be on my feet a good portion of that time. Let me rephrase that: I'm having a hard time finding comfortable high heels that don't cost me an arm and a leg or don't look like something my grandmother would wear. If I wanted to throw down $400 for some of the higher name brands then I'm in business. But I don't. Even some brands like the Cole Haan Nike Air line at $170 seems a bit too steep for me right now (let me climb the corporate ladder a bit more). Other brands like Clark's and Naturalizer are tooted for their comfort, but I'm a horrible snob when it comes to the appearance of my footwear (I freely admit it; don't boo and hiss at me). Fortunately, Macy's was my saving grace when I recently found not one, but two pairs of shoes for about $70 a piece.

First up, my Calvin Klein "Kail Lizard Print" heels, which have to be some of the most comfortable shoes ever; not just high heels. Shoes. Ever. The foot bed has some of the best padding I've felt since my New Balance running shoes, and the super snappy texture and stacked heel make these neutral babies my new obsession. It also makes me want to try other styles in this line.

The other pair are "Fairfax" by a brand called Alfani, which I'm not sure if it's a Macy's specific brand or not. But the black patent leather and faux-snake skin pattern keeps these feeling fresh without being boring.

They also have a super comfy foot bed, although I did have to add heels grips to keep myself from stepping out of them. I love these even more because they're similar to a five-inch tall pair I bought from G by Guess (actually being worn in the bachelorette party attire).

I am feeling super nervous/excited/sad all at once. I really don't want to leave my people, but I know this is an opportunity that cannot be passed up (and truthfully this is the job I've had my sights set on since earlier this year). So wish me luck! As you read this I'm probably preparing myself for my first day as a "bonafide!"

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I was in no way perked, bribed, or otherwise compensated by Macy's or any other companies and brands listed in this post. My thoughts and opinions on the above items are 100% my own. However, if I ever was cool enough to be offered anything for my time and consideration, I would whole heartily disclose it with my readers.