operation finish

greetings! anybody still out there? sincere apologies for this most egregious lapse in blogging. it's been a whirlwind few months chez stone, culminating in my decision to quit an awful, time-sucking, soul-crushing job without another one lined up. yikes! sometimes in life, things are not what they seem. time to chalk it up to "life experience" and move on. so, what's next? i'm taking a few weeks to recover and reevaluate. kinda like the post-college gap year backpacking through europe that i never had. except with less gelato and more not spending any money.

in an effort to get back in touch with my poor shriveled creative spirit, i'm going to focus a lot on this blog. there are dozens and dozens of unfinished projects stacked up in my craft room, attic and garage that can be completed for zero dollars. there are also lots of closets, cabinets and shelves (not to mention the aforementioned craft room, attic and garage) that can be thoroughly cleaned and organized for zero dollars. tons of projects! hours of entertainment! zero dollars! and so, friends, it's time for....

OPERATION FINISH

show of hands: how many of you are like me, with supplies out the ears for well-intentioned projects that were never completed? over the next few weeks, i am going to systematically revisit these projects. and finish them. for zero dollars. or as close to zero dollars as possible. who's with me?!

despite the lack of time and will to live blog resultant from my recent workplace adventures, there have been some projects in the works up in here. here's what team stone has been up to over the past few months...

building shutters:

the old plastic shutters in the paint-testing phase

celebrating our 2nd anniversary:

family portrait fail

building a deck:

creating a gallery wall:

still searching for a few pieces...

organizing household storage:

indeed, we are rich in candles

and snuuuuggling:


OPERATION FINISH - it's on.

lake house: our bedroom before

you have heard tell of the lake house before. and it's atrocity. the pepto-pink and lavender walls; the circa 1970 toilets; the mish-mash of furniture that came with it. well, friends, it's time to see with your own eyes. i'll start with our bedroom - the before and the inspiration board.

brace yourselves.

from the bedroom's doorway:

the en-suite vanity:


close-up of the metallic floral wallpaper:


ghosts of linoleum past lurking under the vanity:


the harvest gold sink and counter:


and the matching en-suite pottay:


are you so impressed? here's the plan:


a few weekends ago, we did a deep clean and painted the paneled walls white. next steps include removing wallpaper, ripping up carpet to replace with hardwood-looking laminate and building a headboard.

operation lake house resuscitate = go.

indeed

our bed this morning, 7:00 a.m.

well then. that about sums it up.

procrastination: lesson learned

alternate title: why we can't have nice things.

lesson #1:

probably a year ago, i ordered a pair of monogrammed pillows from ballard designs:


with the intention of adding ribbon trim to them for our boudoir, like so:

by melissa rufty

which i did. like 6 months ago. yet failed to photograph all pretty-like for the blog. and a few weeks ago? the day before the 4 year anniversary of the day i brought a baby sterling home from the animal shelter? when i was feeling all sentimental about how much i love that dog? i came home from work to this:


and so. all i have to share now are crappy phone pictures of a bed with one pillow.

but hey, check out that grosgrain trim! with mitered corners and everything!


lesson #2:

in september, i exchanged a gift at stein mart and got a pair of black resin lamps:

i did manage to take before pictures, high five!

which i painted with linen milk paint and glazed, then placed on our bedside tables. and all was right with the world for a few months.

don't mock my salt lamp. i freaking love my salt lamp. it emits good energy and a saixy glow.

until an incident a few weeks ago wherein cstone attempted to help me make the bed.


resin lamps? do not fare well when knocked off a bedside table. sigh.

a pair of these have been ordered as a suitable replacement:


and also less breakable. time will tell...

is your household a death trap for home decor? or is it just me? anyone?

get thee to target

friends. our local target was recently renovated to include a grocery section, and it has given me the excuse to be ten kinds of all up in that store on a weekly basis nowadays. target also happens to be totally bringing it in the home decor department, and i feel compelled to share.

exhibit a, $25 quatrefoil mirror:


in not my finish of choice:


but no matter. a little gold leaf and glaze later...




i wanted an antiquey chippy look (try to hide your surprise), so i got all haphazard with the gold leaf application, which resulted in the desired finish. considering getting another one to hang above it. because mirrors need friends too.

exhibit b, $12 outdoor fabric pillows in a suspiciously familiar pattern:


headed to team stone's lake house for phase one of our lake house bedroom makeover. which brings to mind another target purchase...back in the bathroom reno days, i got a simple mirror-framed mirror there like this:


when i got it home, i realized that there was a crack in the frame that had been hidden by the packaging. being too lazy to return it resourceful, i decided to give it a little nautical flair for ye olde lake house, inspired by this:


of course, that project is still on the to-do list at present. again, try to hide your surprise.

for funsies, here's my main inspiration picture for our room at the lake house:


i'm thinking blue & white, with a hint of rainbow trout. captain fantastic spends a lot of time fly-fishing in the river that feeds the lake, so it would be appropriate, no?

the room is currently decked out in the previous owners' choices of wood paneling painted a pale pepto pink, with a lovely accent wall of metallic floral wallpaper and a smorgasboard of mismatched furnishings. big plans, friends. big plans.

YES

dear sterling and marley,

watch and learn.

love me? love me not?

my camera? is broken. you see, i was trying to photograph some items of interest to share with my internet friends, and there was an unfortunate incident involving a very professional stack-of-stuff tripod and its arch-nemesis, gravity. sad story. captain fantastic has been tasked with taking the ole point-n-shoot to the camera fixers to see if they can get the zoomy lens part to un-jam. who's pretty excited about the whole thing is my blackberry, what with her photographic capabilities being used and all.

so anyway, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

cstone knows the way to my heart is through a hand-selected box of dinstuhl's and a big fat lobster for dinner. i know the way to his heart is paved thusly:

what's better than a surprise box of beer and jerky at 7:00 a.m? only the addition of a pair of the thermos coffee mugs you've been wanting. one for now, one for when you lose the first one. i know my valentine well. love you, baby!

even the big dogs are feeling the love:


this phenomenon was thought to be mythical. like a unicorn. or a piece of my clothing without a strand of their hair on it.