To Have and To Hold

Do you have those things that you bought knowing you would find a use for it and just couldn't let it go when you didn't? This tray has been that for me for 4 years now.

When I saw it in the thrift store years ago I thought it was fun and retro. However, fun and retro do not fit in my house. I almost gave it back to the Goodwill when we moved but something stopped me. I think it was this tray from etsy.



Isn't it gorgeous? Now my tray isn't that cool and I wasn't sure about the metallic but I have been loving mustard (the color not the condiment) and after my dresser revamp I had some left over so I thought, why not? It always starts with that doesn't it?

After painting a ridiculous number of coats of white paint on my tray I consulted with Daniel as to the direction of the stripes. He liked diagonal so that is what I went with. First I taped the whole thing down. I went for uneven stripe widths to make it a little funky but still refined.

I used painters tape but in my experience it is still difficult to get crisp lines. I remembered reading somewhere that a good way to get crisp edges was to seal them with the base color so I gave that a try.

Then a few coats of mustard later I had a new tray for the ottoman in the library (ignore the unpainted base boards, Daniel removed the baseboard heater and I haven't gotten around to it).

This is the closest color I could get but it still reads more orange on my screen. It is a really deep mustard and very high gloss.

The paint trick worked mostly. I still had some problems with the lip of the tray but that was more my fault than the paint. The only issue I ran in to was peeling some of the paint up when I removed the tape but it was an easy fix.

So there you have it, my tray did end up finding a home in my house. All it needed was a little make over. Anyone else hold on to things you just know you are going to need one day? It can't be just me!

Cheers!

Expandable Journal

Confession: I'm kind of a journal hoarder. I love them. I love to write, make lists, doodle and so many of them are just so pretty! But I hardly ever finish them. I have tons of half full journals laying around making great shelf decorations. The biggest problem I have is that I like to keep running lists but it would be nice to get rid of the pages I am done with. Then I saw this journal maker on another blog. So cute!



She has so many great journals that you can fill out and add pages too. I was trolling and then it hit me. I could totally make that! So I did.

Here it the process:

Step 1: Cut down two pieces of cardboard to the size you want your journal. I made them a little bigger than half a sheet of paper so that I could use scrap paper as pages. Then cut out fabric an inch larger than your cover size.

Step 2: Get your glue on. Cover one side with glue and then lay your fabric over it. Be sure to smooth the fabric out as you go so there are no wrinkles.

Step 3: Flip the cover over and glue down the overlap. I mitered my corners like so.

Step 4: Cut a piece of paper to be the inside cover and glue down

Repeat with the back and let dry over night weighted down by books to keep them flat. Text books work great.

Step 5: Drill holes for your binder rings. I actually used this step to create the holes through the whole journal. Paper and all. Just cut your pages to size and use binder clips to hold the whole thing together. 3/16" drill bit did the trick for me.

Step 6: Attach binder rings and enjoy!

I had a whole lot of colored paper left over from teaching so I made mine rainbow colored. It is also a great way to use up recycled scrap paper. As long as one side is blank you can go ahead.

It is great because I can move pages and add new ones as I go through them and it uses up all of the scrap material I have laying around. Great for blog ideas and lists. The cover is really sturdy and if I get bored with that I can make a new one! So great for anyone who likes to coordinate with the seasons.

Cheers!

Linking up to:

Frugal Friday

A Spooky Mantle Update

Since Halloween is around the corner, I finally got going on some decorating (Yay!).  You saw the front door vignette but it was time to update the mantle with some spooky decor. Luckily Target had all the little things I needed to finish it off.

This is what I had for the fall mantle party

And here it is now:

Let me tell you how hard it was to find little spiders! The only way I could get them was in a bag of 100 at Target so I went crazy with them. And no, I didn't just forget to dust (though I did have a spider leave an egg on my bedroom curtain which then hatched exploding baby spiders all over the place. My husband loved that one).

 My SPOOKY came from the dollar section of Target (well the $2.50 section ) and was originally purple. It was all beat up so I asked for a discount on it and got .25 off! Yay for asking (though I felt remarkably silly since I knew I was going to paint it black anyway). I just added a coat of Martha Stewart Onyx glitter to the last coat of black craft paint to make it sparkle again.

I tucked spiders everywhere!

This huge beetle actually came from the garden. I was weeding the side yard a few weeks ago and he just about scared my socks off. I thought it was the perfect addition with my little book page pumpkins.

Of course my leather bound books got some spookying up too. My first edition Elizabeth Barrett Browning is my pride and joy and Les Miserables makes me think of my best friend Jessie.

Very spooky indeed! Daniel's only comment was that he hoped we could still use the fireplace with all the webbing on it but I think deep down he loves it. I can't wait to get to the pumpkin patch and add some carved pumpkins to the mix! I love the holidays don't you?

Finally Finished!

One of the last things on my to finish list this summer was repainting our dresser.

Here's the BEFORE:

and the AFTER

Much better if you ask me. I painted it Behr's Solar Fusion in a high gloss. I also picked up some new pulls from our Re-Store to give it more of an eastern feel. I like the way it plays with the yellow in our bedspread. Once I get a nice mocha-ie brown on the walls the whole room will feel warm and inviting.

This was my first full color furniture painting experience and I was worried Daniel would hate it but he surprised me and really likes the color. See, I'll make a color lover out of him yet! Anyone else have a husband who is afraid of color? Any tips? Daniel is great because he lets me try just about anything but there is always the chance I'll have to paint something twice if he hates it.

Cheers!

Linking Up to:

The Shabby Nest

30 Day Photography Challenge

via 

When Michelle over at Ten June proposed the 30 day photo challenge I was super excited. I love my camera but like many people out there I shoot auto most of the time. Even though the pictures to take each day are simple I tried to use some of the functions on my camera I hadn't tried before. Here is week one.

Day 1: Self Portrait

Day 2: What I wore

Day 3: Clouds

Day 4: Something Green

Day 5: From a high angle

Day 6: From a low angle

Day 7: Fruit

I'm still not a great photographer but it has been fun to try and get that perfect shot and really take my time with it. I'm excited to see everyone who joined in on the party!

Cheers!

New Project

I got a surprise delivery on Friday and I am crazy excited to get started on it.

I did say it would be a project right? Isn't my mom wonderful for shipping this to me all the way from CA? Thanks mom!

It is my grandmother's secretary desk (imagine that rectangle leaning up against it attached to the front). For years this was in our house and I remember how fun it was to use it. It was just so romantic folding it open to reveal all the secret papers inside. I always imagined some young Victorian woman sitting at this desk writing love letters while sipping tea. Some how when we moved houses it disappeared. Out of sight, out of mind. So I forgot about it for years until my mother mentioned she still had it and would ship it to me! You can imagine the poor UPS guy carrying this up our stairs.? I think he was a bit shocked when I told him it was a desk.  Little did I know it was not in the shape I remembered it.  I think I can bring it back to life though and then I will sit at it and write love letters and sip tea and think how wonderful it is to have something that was from my mother's childhood in my home. Antiques are the best aren't they?!

Cheers!

Good Eats Challenge Week 15: Pear Galette

Sorry guys but this was a fail for me. I didn't even take pictures I was so annoyed during the whole process. The crust didn't turn out, the filling was runny and I just didn't like the final product. I may try again but I may not. Maybe one of you has a good pie crust recipe? The holidays are fast approaching and I was hoping this one would be it. **sigh**

Here is the recipe if you are curious.

Ingredients

For the dough:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup stone ground cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided, diced
• 3 tablespoons apple juice concentrate
• 2 tablespoons cold water

For the filling:

• 2 Anjou pears, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 pinch grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 teaspoon flour
• 1 1/2 cups pound cake, cubed
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a food processor, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt. Pulse to combine. Place dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and put the bowl into the refrigerator. Remove 1/2 stick of butter from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. In a food processor, add the 1/2 stick of butter to the flour mixture. Pulse until the fat completely disappears. Add the remaining 1 1/2 sticks butter in separate batches. Pulse until flour mixture resembles the size of a pea.

Combine the apple juice concentrate and the cold water. Using a spray bottle, spritz the dough with the apple juice mixture while folding the mixture with a spatula. After about three tablespoons of the liquid, check the dough for consistency. It should hold together when compressed but remain relatively dry to the touch. If it does not bind, add a little more water. Remove from the processor and form the dough into a ball. Wrap the dough in wax paper or parchment paper and rest in refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add pears to the pan and toss for 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and continue to toss for 30 seconds. Add sugar and cook until the pears have softened. Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, and the butter and melt slowly. Fold in the blueberries. Remove from heat. Sprinkle on the flour and combine well. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Place dough on a floured piece of parchment and roll out to a 1/4-inch thick disk. Transfer to a baking sheet. Place cubed pound cake in the middle of the dough, leaving a 3-inch margin of crust on all sides. Spoon filling over the cake cubes and top the pears with 1 ounce of cubed butter. Lift excess crust onto filling and repeat in a clockwise fashion until a top lip has formed around the edge of the whole tart. Brush the tart with the egg wash and sprinkle the crust with the sugar.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the filling begins to bubble and the crust is golden brown.

Remove from the sheet pan immediately and cool on pie rack.

They can't all be winners right?