Monday, March 25, 2013

blueberry pancakes, a smoothie, and español

51/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Prairie Chic" 7 March 2013
Outfit details from a prairie chic day.
50/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Daily Spanish" 7 March 2013
One day I'll be completely fluent, one day... this year!!
49/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Smoothie-licious" 6 March 2013
Homemade smoothies, one of the most delicious foods in the world!
48/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Blueberry Pancakes" 5 March 2013
My Love enjoying his pancakes.
47/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Midnight Pancakes" 5 March 2013
Eating those delicious midnight blueberry pancakes. So yum!
**AM

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

daily bits

46/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Blueberries" 5 March 2013
That's right,  blueberry pancakes for dinner. I don't normally recommend carbs in the evening, but hey, you have to indulge sometimes. They were so yummy!
Hmm, time to remove the nail polish?
45/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Boo Boo" 1 March 2013
Slammed my finger in the drawer putting away laundry. See, housework is dangerous!
44/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Evening with Buffy" 1 March 2013
Taking a few minutes off one night to spend with one of my favorite things, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer book.

oooh weeeee, the 90s...

So yes, the 90s are back with a major bang, and I wanted to share a few of the glorious 1990s vintage clothing newly posted at Frankie Marie by Rehcy, my vintage clothing store on Etsy.

Absolutely gorgeous, 90s embroidered sweater! Almost peed when I saw it...not literally, but you get the idea. You can find her here.
 Yea, this is a fitted mesh top. Remember those? Get her here before she's gone.
 Cropped, slouchy, turtleneck, rainbow sweater. Yea, this just happened. Isn't the colorfulness so beautiful?! Get this super soft baby here.
And one of my favs, the Tommy babydoll Tee. Available here

Now is anyone else in the mood to watch Empire Records?
**AM

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

love, goldfish, and fashion design

43/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Muslin Making" 28 Feb 2013
Sewing a muslin of the "Lori" shorts. Can't wait until they are finished and available for you guys!
42/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Sleepy Head" 27 Feb 2013
Just picking on the little sleepy head.
41/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Pattern Love" 26 Feb 2013
Making a pattern for some adorable, high-waisted shorts. So excited about these shorts!
40/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Hand, Face" 26 Feb 2013
His idea for the picture. Little cutie thinks he's funny. Wow, my hands are pale!!! Vampire girl here. By the way, notice the super messy man-cave? My little piglet.
39/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Goldfishes" 25 Feb 2013
Mmm mmm good, one of my favorite snacks of all freakin' time, Flavor Blasted Cheddar Goldfish! Even my nails love them so much that they turned orange!
**AM

Monday, March 18, 2013

prairie chic with my Indy hat


Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a huge fan of the Little House on the Prairie book series which helps explain my love for all prairie-esque garments. And the hat well, being Indi-Anna Jones is my life-long goal. Life threatening adventures, hunting for treasure, traveling to exotic places, and cool hats...who wouldn't want that?
By the way, anyone notice that I'm wearing my sweater again?
(Blouse, skirt, and belt - thrifted at Goodwill; Sweater- vintage Eddie Bauer thrifted at Goodwill; Hat- Christmas gift from Stein Mart; rings- years ago from Body Shop; and the shoes- Vintage Ariat bought on Ebay)
I think I'm going to wear these boots everyday...forever!!!
**AM

Friday, March 15, 2013

samurai, candlesticks, and the 1970s

38/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Sealing" 24 Feb 2013
Finally putting sealant on the samurai painting I painted for my Love. Details on this painting to come in a future post.
37/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Cute Little Shorts" 23 Feb 2013
Loving patterning some adorable 70s inspired shorts for Rehcy Vonne.
36/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Outfit Day" 22 Feb 2013
Details of an Awesome Outfit Day. Check out the entire outfit here.
35/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Second Layer" 20 Feb 2013
Another coat on the candlesticks. See my boots sneaking into the picture, a bit of a chilly day so I wore my warm and faithful Ugg-ish boots.
34/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Little Gold Mirror" 19 Feb 2013
Putting paper over a Victorian inspired mirror to protect it, and so I can paint the frame, you guessed it, white! This mirror was an amazing thrift find. I bought them the same day as the candlesticks below. Oh, the thrift goodies that day...mmm mmm good!
33/365 The Hands That Make Us 2013: "Candlesticks" 18 Feb 2013
Putting primer on some candlesticks for my dining table. These used to be a super blah gold tone, so of course my obsession with white decor changed that. I'm so excited to get them on my beautiful, upcycled pallet table! I'll show you guys the before and after in a later post.
**AM

Thursday, March 14, 2013

little bookcase redo


My little bookcase all redone in white. So cute!
Here is the before and after and redo process.
This is the bookcase before, dark brown faux woodgrain... ughh!
First I sanded the entire case, and then wiped off all the dust with a damp cleaning towel. The sandpaper I used was Sandblaster from Wal-Mart, and the sander used...
was my trusty little Black & Decker. I love this thing and use it in every furniture project.
Now time for primer, I used Zinnser 1-2-3 Primer for all surfaces.
First primer coat in process
Painting is the step I love most. The paint is Valspar Ultra Paint plus primer in Ultra White. The paint is a paint and primer, but Lowe's recommended putting an actual primer underneath, which is why I did used the Zinnser primer before painting.
Look at that first coat. The bottom is not painted here because I was waiting for my Love to get home so he could help me flip the case upside down to paint it. This shelf may look a bit dainty, but she's a heavy one! A second coat was needed, and after waiting 24 hours for a complete dry between coats, it was time to move her inside.
Next I had my own personal, professional shelf installer put the shelves back in for me. Such a cutie!
And there it is...now why does it seem so much simpler here than it was in reality. **AM

Saturday, March 9, 2013

this is my sweater...i like my sweater


One magical day last winter, I discovered this gorgeous Eddie Bauer grandpa style sweater on one of my hunts through the Goodwill racks. It was love at first sight, and we have been inseparable ever since... well, at least in throughout the more chilly months. It just sits so perfectly draped over most any garment, almost like a serape. So cozy. Not to mention it promotes delusions of grayed, fabulous, eccentric, billionairess... Geoffrey, please be a dear,and get the door... :-D
**AM
(Sweater: thrifted Eddie Bauer, Dress: a gift, Necklace: many seasons ago from Bealls Outlet, Headband: Wal-Mart, and the boots: Minnetonka bought on Ebay)

Thursday, March 7, 2013

little bookcase in white

I've had this bookcase in storage since college planning to paint it one day. Finally it happened! The case was a perfect fit for the corner of our living-room. What do you think? For the decor colors I've been going for a clean, semi-minimalist inspired, majoritively white look broken up with shades of brownish natural-tones and tiny bits of black. I love openness and light because they incite feelings of creative freedom. I keep telling my Love that it's our little Greek desert oasis. Which I know makes zero sense, but hey, you get the idea 
We originally planned to use it for our movie collection, but after placing it, I decided to use it for books instead. Now we just have to collect all of the classics in those lovely, antique inspired Leatherbound Classics from Barnes and Noble because no puny paperback will be found in our gorgeous bookcase!!  (Yes, I'm crazy, I know, and that's why my beautiful birthday, Jeffrey Campbell Litas are on the shelf.) 
I'm just sharing the bookcase's "after" pictures in this post, and I'll share the "before" pics and redo process in a later post.
I am so happy with how it turned out. Can't wait to get more of the Leatherbound Classics for it!

These Greek inspired, carved stone, vintage bookends were bought at Goodwill for just $5.00!!! I was so happy to find them. I love the color so much, and of course, I love horses... and Greek inspired things... so yea, a win, win, win!


My lil' antique chair thrifted on one of my trips with Peculiar Pigeon.
 I'm not usually a fan of faux flowers, but I love these. They were part of my high-school graduation bouquet. The pitcher vase was given to by my mother because she knows I love decorating with white. She also gave me the white basket on the shelf.
As I took the last few pics for this post, I made a late addition to the decor... this little arch was a gift from Peculiar Pigeon. It's one of my absolute favorite decor pieces.
Have a great Thursday! **AM