home is where the hearth is

so i did something really fun yesterday.

if you were around in my wedding blogging days, you recall my love-hate (mostly hate) relationship with photoshop. things are still a bit rocky, but we've made some progress. i've been dying to try a little hot before-and-after action on some photographs of rooms but hadn't gotten around to it yet, so when my pal martha asked me for some advice on how to arrange her mantel (seriously? i'm so flattered!), it was just the push i needed to give it a try! martha sent me a picture of the den in her cute, cute house that she and her husband have been fixing up over the past year (check out her blog for some amazing before and after pictures of the work they've done, it's so cute!):


apparently the furniture arrangement's a little different these days, and they have a totally fabulous new rug that makes me jealous, but this is the general idea. i proceeded to probably terrify poor martha with an extremely enthusiastic and prompt response of six photoshopped ideas. so check out my playing-interior-designer-fancy-pants-inspiration-board-mock-ups. or something.

1) fun sunburst or quatrefoil mirror hung in the center, wedding portrait leaning in front. make a silhouette of gibson (their adorable pup) to lean in front of wedding portrait. balance on the other side with a large vessel of greenery and a smaller item or two.


2) find old shutters in a color you like and hang them on the wall. hang portrait on top of shutters. balance sides with arrangements of topiaries/greenery and candlesticks.


3) metallic round mirror in center, portrait leaning in front off to side, along with puppy silhouette. grouping of plants/topiaries/candlesticks on the other side.

4) kindof a mixture of previous ideas...large square mirror with cool frame as backdrop


5) get a neat, structural mirror, like this window-looking one, to hang or lean in the center. lean the wedding portrait to one side, with a grouping of candlesticks on the other side. put a few small things in front of the portrait (these are little birdies made of pottery)

6) find a big cool branch outside and hang in on the wall, prop portrait in front, group small candles around.

whaddaya think? anything pass muster? don't quit my day job?

i wish i had a mantel.

silver-leafed side tables

is that a collective gasp i hear? surprising but true: i have completed another furniture makeover. it helped that this one didn't involve hours of painting tiny leaves. it did involve hours of messing with leaves of a different sort though: silver leaves. i don't know if you can pluralize it like that, but i'm gonna. no use trying to stop me.

you may or may not recall the recent lack of bedside table chez stone. no more, friends. no more. i wanted something reminiscent of this from horchow (and others in the aforementioned post), to tie in with the silver starburst mirror above the bed:


but i wanted to make it myself. obviously. most of my girlfriends think i'm a total wackadoo for wanting to make things that i can already buy in their completed state. but that's why i have blog friends, no? and two kindred spirit bloggers, get your martha on and little green notebook, had recently completed silver leaf projects themselves with fabulous results.

firstly, i procured a pair of tables in my desired shape. these came from my friendly neighborhood target:


then, i coated them in silver leaf size. it went on milky, like so:


eew, milky. but it dried clear and tacky within 20 minutes-ish, at which point i started applying the amazingly thin and infuriatingly delicate silver leaf sheets. tip: pick yourself up a roll of wax paper along with your size and silver leaf. you can cut it to the size of the leaf sheets, lay it on top, press with your hand and transfer the leaf from the tissue paper it comes in onto the wax paper. it is so. much. easier. to transfer it to your project like this. trust me.


i used a soft brush to smooth it down. i didn't worry about overlap or wrinkles or oddly-shaped pieces, because i wanted it to have a distressed vibe. the stuff smooths on pretty well though, so it didn't really matter anyway. when the leaf had all been applied, it looked like this (notice the scraggly bits all over the seams):



the leafing instructions suggested using a soft cloth or piece of velvet to burnish it and buff off these bits. i used a swatch of velvet from my fabric sample stash, and it worked really well:




LIKE MAGIC.

warning: silver leafing will turn your living room into freaking tinkerbelle's fairy dust party extravaganza. even after a good vacuum and a shower, you will sparkle for days. after the glitter settled, the tables looked like this:


only i wanted something less shiny and a bit spotty, kinda like an old mirror, so i finished the tables with a coat of antiquing glaze:




here's one in action:




both tables are complete and in place now, but the one on the other side of the bed is hard to photograph, and also nekkid at present. next on the list for the bedroom: bedside table lamps and window treatments. go.

for kicks and giggles, here's a glimpse of the bedroom last spring, before the wedding. note that this is not a true "before," as i'd already done a considerable amount of sprucing to captain fantastic's bachelor pad by then. the true before, which was also before i blogged and therefore undocumented, involved brown plaid sheets, a black/pink/blue/yellow quilt and a picture of an 1800s log cabin from an estate sale, hanging off to the side of the bed (because the nail was in that spot when he moved in, duh).

and now, the "during" (since there's still work to be done)


and now the real work begins: teaching c-fan to consistently use a coaster. hmmm...

I DIE

...as rachel zoe would say. and i about did, from shock, when i found out that i was the winner of furniture feature friday at miss mustard seed's blog! i was all, "no way!" and miss mustard seed was all, "yes way!" and i was like, "nuh-uh!" and she was like, "totally!" and i almost passed out. so. i'm really excited. it's so cool to get recognition that something you did is actually neat. i mean, one tends to lose all objectivity and reason when the work in consideration is one's own, and i'm historically pretty hard on myself in an uber-perfectionist sort of way. so, thank you to all the kind commenters and new followers, and welcome to anyone who's visiting from miss mustard seed! imagine me jumping up and down, clapping my hands and squealing before i run over and hug you. or, you know, just nonchalantly offering you a seat and a martini, all chic-and-gracious-like. whichever. (insider tip: realistically, i'm probably doing the former)

i actually finished revamping one of a pair of bedside tables last night and had grand plans to shock the pants off everyone by posting a sneak-peek today...until my camera battery died. it's been one of those weeks, y'all. so anyway, expect a makeover soon to the tune of this:




turning into something more like this:


by way of a little silver leaf and a lotta patience.

IS THE SUSPENSE KILLING YOU???

here: a peace offering. while trying to find a video of rachel zoe saying "i die" to illustrate my post title, i came across this bit of internet hilarity. b-a-n-a-n-a-s. enjoy.

special bulletin: stone completes table, blogosphere stunned

I DID IT!!! ok...so maybe i haven't been running (...it's been in the single digits outside!), and last night's final load of laundry has been sitting in the dryer for 18 hours (...we had to watch football with friends!), but i HAVE followed one new year's resolution so far: i finally completed the boring console table that i began making over back in october. and i am thrilled with the results!

from this:

to this:





TA-DA!!!

after a light sanding, i gave the whole thing a coat of light blue paint, then i hand painted the design in white (inspired by this wisteria chest). one meeeeellion years later, i finally got around to coating it in two different types of glaze. i'm really pleased with the way the raised texture of the hand painting caught the glaze, giving the design lots of depth and the whole piece an antique vibe - exactly what i wanted.


not one to avoid a chance to be ridiculously perfectionist, i even lined the drawers with a contrasting harlequin-patterned paper (and mod podge, so it's quasi-durable):


festive, no? now, the million dollar question is....

original knobs that i painted bronze, for a rustic touch?



or faceted glass knobs, for a splash of antique glam?


thoughts?

i'm linking up to furniture feature friday at miss mustard seed

the marvels of technology

isn't the internet amazing? thanks to the technological genius of email, what began as captain fantastic's everyday, mundane real estate work contact with a gal across the country developed into a virtual friendship. their standard work correspondence gave way to discussions about wedding planning and honeymooning, which lead to her reading my wedding blog and becoming my facebook friend. we've never met, but we regularly correspond through facebook and read each other's blogs (she's a talented photographer, check her out here).

what is the point, you ask? today, my virtual friend liz tagged me in a virtual game on facebook, but i thought i'd share it here, because i had way too much fun with it.

Instructions for Playing:

1 - Go to Wikipedia. Hit “random” or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random - The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to Quotations Page and select "random quotations" or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3 - The last four or five words of the very last quote on the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to Flickr and click on “explore the last seven days” or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days - Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photo-editing software (GIMP, Photoshop, etc.) to put it all together. Only modify the image if you want to (size issues, artistic purposes). Typography: anything goes. Also, add the photo credit to your description.

the instructions tell you to upload the finished product to facebook and tag the people you want to play, but you can also post it on your blog like i did. or not post it anywhere. you know, whatev. it's just for funsies.

here's mine:


Wiki Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Botswana-related_topics
Original Flickr Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/asia5555/4249968505/
Quote: "It's the good girls who keep diaries; the bad girls never have the time." Tallulah Bankhead

it's crazy how fun the outcome is. the internet is the best.

keyword: durability

story of my life now. let me tell you how destructive several hundred pounds of man and mutt can be on a daily basis. or perhaps you have experience yourself, in which case, my condolences. if i had a nickel for every time i've said "we can never have nice things!" then i'd have the money to replace all the nice things that have been ruined. so. new game plan. buy things that are durable. really durable.

for example. things that are not durable: sisal rugs.


see that wee, adorable dog? either of my mammoth dogs would accidentally step on that dog and be like, "what was that, a grasshopper?" then they would roll their muddy backsides all over that white couch and do a beethoven-style slobber-fest all over that carpet. and you know what slobber does to sisal? if sisal gets wet, it stains. wouldn't last five minutes chez stone. believe.

durable compromise: indoor/outdoor sisal-look rug. booyah. even better? 9'x12' indoor/outdoor sisal-look rug with a little ripple down the middle that capel rugs has to mark down an insane amount even though the little ripple will probably come out after it's been on the floor for a few days (which, subsequently, it does). check it:


i love the sisaly texture and subtle diamond design, which you can see in that magnified bit that popped up in the middle of the picture when i pulled it off the capel website. the best part is that you can basically take it in the backyard and hose it down. which might come in handy when, hypothetically, your sister-in-law's dog pees on it not 20 minutes after you bring it home. i wish i were kidding. i told you sisal wouldn't last up in hura.

so, there you have it. our living room rug. this is how she looked all decked out for christmas.


what is that black cord? the directv cable, snaking through three rooms in the house because we have not yet had the outlet moved from the former den to the new living room, even though one of us has tripped on it every single day for like 3 months. details....

and to prove my point, please compare the wee, adorable dog on the living room couch above to the mutthounds on my living room couch below:


but dang if that rug doesn't still look fabulous. i rest my case.

the resolution will not be televised

...but it will be blogged.

i bet you hope my first resolution is to stop using ridiculous puns and other such nonsense for blog titles. too bad, so sad. my blog, my rules. and i love puns and nonsense.

so. 2010. here we are. a new decade. coming up on nine years since i graduated from high school and five since college. wow. i still feel like a kid. i can't believe that i'm a grown-up. married. with a house. and two dogs. and friends who have children. several children. legitimately.

time sure flies.

2009 was a big year for me, namely because of that whole till-death-do-us-part marriage commitment wedding-planning bit.

(www.jmalahy.com)

i've also learned a lot about myself - what i enjoy and what i do not enjoy, what i want and what i do not want, what i'm good at doing and what i struggle with doing. quarter-life-crisis and all, you see. i hope 2010 will be a year where i make great strides from THINKING to ACTING, from DREAMING to DOING. and what better way to create accountability for mylazyself than by proclaiming my new year's resolutions for all the interwebs to hear? none. none better way.

and so, without further ado, my 2010 resolutions:

* exercise more. slash at all. let's start off with the requisite american resolution, shall we? the summer of my freshman year of college, i up and ran down my parents' street. and didn't die. since then, i have had an on-again-off-again relationship with running, the peak of which was during the summer of 2007 when i was running three miles per day...and stress fractured my hip...which derailed my running for about a year. the best laid plans, you know. i also ran considerably in the fall of 2008, until i decided that wedding planning counted as exercise (it does). 2009 saw barely so much as a brisk walk, and that's a shame. therefore, in 2010, i shall run again. let's set the bar low here and say twice a week. i'll bump it up for 2010.5 if all goes well.

(me & the captain - sweatbands, front row - the night we met at the first annual chug-n-run)

* create. often. nothing on this planet gives me a greater sense of accomplishment than arts and crafts. i love drawing, painting, coloring, doodling, sewing, decoupaging, writing, photographing, and generally creating beautiful things with my own two hands. always have, always will. from the simplest klutz pre-assembled craft project to the most skillful paintings of the louvre, i love it all. i always wanted to be an artist, and i'm ashamed to admit that i let one college professor's opinion derail my life's main passion. i admit it to you, internet, and my tens of blog readers: i want to be an artist. in 2010, i'm reigniting the flame.

* worry less. this one is tricksy, but very important. less second-guessing myself, my abilities, my choices. less paralyzing visions of fiery car crashes and brain aneurysms. less headaches and irritable bowels. less hyperventilating over rumpled duvet covers and burned french toast. more seeing things as they are and dealing with challenges as they arise instead of freaking out over things that have yet to occur. in 2010, i'll learn to keep my worries in perspective.

* make more decisions. be confident in them. did the world come to an end when i bought a non-returnable rug for the living room and ended up wanting a different one? spoiler alert: it did not. i just moved that rug to another room, where it happens to look awesome. so enough of my perfectionist wishy-washing. let me introduce you to lauren 5.0 (we've been through several upgrades of late, kinda like windows, but with the cooler skinny-jeans-vibe of mac) - now with new decision-making capabilities! in 2010, i will obsess less and enjoy more.

(source unknown)

* DO more. organize the house, including the storage areas. keep it organized. put things away when finished with them. (hint: this would be an excellent resolution for the entire household, ifyoucatchmydrift). fold laundry right from the dryer, every time, even if it's almost bedtime. call friends and family, just to chat. get together with my girls more often. take the dogs to the park. sign up for art classes. read. learn to take better pictures. post more regularly on this blog. actually DO the projects i DREAM. and for chrissakes, turn OFF the tv. in 2010, i will live less in my head and more with my heart.

(my high school besties, new year's eve 2005 - our last one all together, five years ago!!! everyone hates this picture, heh.)

in summary, 2010 will be a year of action, a year of accomplishing, a year of enjoying. this year, i plan to put my creativity to good use, to turn ideas into realities, to live the life i wish to live.

BIG PLANS.

you feel me?