Inspiration - West Bottoms

My friend clued me into the West Bottoms...once a month, a dozen or so stores open up for a weekend of treasure hunting.  I was lucky to get some time to myself yesterday, so I went and soaked it all in.  My little brain was on overload from so many inspiring little pretties. 

My ebay and CL search lists have just exploded with all the things I will be looking for :)

Here were a few of the things that got me going...

 old flashcards...

 have been wanting to try this....like PB kids...

 can't seem to get enough of MCM lamps...

 Swoon.  I will never stop loving these.  Wish I could get one for a STEAL!

 the architectural elements were some of the most beautiful things I saw yesterday...

 love the pool balls...my mom did a fun display with some mini ones at her house...

 Yes.  I am looking for a large disco ball.

 lockers on the brain.  Potential bookshelf for sean - then could be toy storage later?!

 vintage tool bag - awesome toy storage?  want one for under my coffee table.

 Krissy - this reminded me of your grandma :)

 always a sucker for a white display.

 checking out these metal spacers as potential risers for bookshelves?

 loved the globe display.

 I couldn't stop coming back to check out this art deco fixture...

 this whole set was only $30!

 liked the deer covered in maps...

 if there was one totally useless but drop dead gorgeous thing I would have bought, it would have been this bottle.  A-MAZING.

 still thinking about this tray - should have bought it.

 really have a thing for silver bowls with a pretty color lining...

 perfect.

Craigslist find - Eames Chairs/Tulip Table

My tolerant husband high-tailed it out to an estate sale with me on one of our last days on vacation in Michigan.  We snatched up a tulip table and four Eames style chairs.  I was wishing for a white tulip table and white chairs, but for the price, we could not pass this up.  Good thing we already had to get a u-Haul :)

I contemplated painting the table, but because of the different surfaces, I decided I would probably ruin it in the process, so we will embrace the table as is :)

I spent too much time searching for fabrics...of course immediately drawn to geometrics, but then wanting something easy to wipe clean with kids (faux leather, vinyl, oil cloth), then looked into laminating the fabric either by a service or by myself.  UGH.  Too difficult.  Just want them to be ready when we get to Kansas.

Randomly stopped in at a Jo-Ann fabrics yesterday and stumbled upon some houndstooth suiting fabric. After seeing my friend's houndstooth upholstered chairs, I have been hooked and wanting something on houndstooth ever since.  I liked the large scale of this print as it made it feel a little more modern to me.

My mom helped me this morning, and I couldn't be more happy that they are done.  Now...stain proofing this material....hmmm, I see a lot of moments of frustration with myself in the future as I know these won't be fun to clean.  That's why I bought extra fabric :)

Metal Cabinet Stripping

Okay.  Now it all makes sense why the lady only charged me $15 for this cabinet.  I practically ran out of the store with it b/c I thought it was such a steal...little did I know that this 'what was supposed to be 3 nap project' was going to turn into such a time suck.

After lots of sanding and ZERO progress, I decided I might have to strip the several layers of paint off.  My dad had a bottle of Citistrip, so I gave it a go.  It took me quite a while to get the hang of this stuff, but I found that it worked the very best on the hottest days.  And, I learned to goop it on...at first I did a very thin coat and barely made any progress.

It took round after round after round of Citistrip, washing, steel wooling, mineral spiriting, washing, scraping, etc.   After all that, I did use a rust remover (this worked wonders on the huge rust spot on the enamel top!) and did more steel wooling and washing.  It seemed at every turn, there was another tool or product that I needed.  Thankfully, my dad's stocked work room was full of most of the things I needed.  Phew.

In short, If I don't do another stripping project ever again, I won't be sad. 

And...at the end, there were still paint spots that I couldn't get off and scratches around the piece.  I was torn on whether to leave it as is, or cave and paint it two different tones of cream.  In the end, I settled for clear gloss paint, and I will live with it for a while.

Original...the women we bought this from in Sharon Springs, NY (where the Beekman 1802 store is) said it had just been pulled out of an old barn.  It was filthy, but we loved it.

After sanding and attempt at scraping...not much different...

 After some Citistrip...

 I intended to leave the inside alone, but then I couldn't help myself.  

Had.to.get.that.paint.out.of.there.

 Final...

DIY Vertical Succulent Garden

I really wanted to incorporate some sort of living wall into the new place (on a budget, that is ;)).  I found an old frame for $2 at a garage sale, and figured that would be perfect.  It has been fun being home and getting to work on projects with my dad - I am very thankful for all his help on this!

I followed this tutorial (check out the follow up pictures...big lush success!)...and here is where we deviated a bit...

1.  We still used the 2x2 pieces of wood, even though Luna-See said she would have used more shallow pieces.  Once we saw how successful her garden has been - Sean encouraged me to stick with 2x2s b/c he figured the plants may just need that much soil. 

2.  We added metal L brackets to the back of the frame on all 4 corners.  Then, my sweet dad notched out the 2x2s so that they would sit flush against the frame.  We thought this may provide additional support.

3.  After seeing that Luna-See used 4 coats of urethane and the paint looks to be flaking off a lot after a year, I figured I wasn't going to break my back to prevent peeling.  I only did two coats.

4.  We did use screws instead of nails (lots of them).

5.  I stapled a black contractor trash bag across the back of the frame after it was filled with the moss/soil just as a small buffer for the plywood.  Not sure that it will help at all, but figured it couldn't hurt.

I forgot to put hanging hardware on the back before I planted the succulents, so we still need to do that.  It is VERY heavy.  I am hoping to put on a wall in the new house; however, if it seems too heavy, I will prop it somewhere.

I planted some of the succulents that I already had, and I intend to get some more varieties for additional color, but I will do that once we settle.  Let's hope these little plants make it in the car/u-Haul :)

Fingers crossed that this takes...

We glued and screwed the 2x2s in...

Ready for plants...

Let the planting begin!

Take 1...

Kansas, here we come...

Hmmm....I wonder how long this blogging attempt will last.  Bets?

Quick recap - We said goodbye to West Point and oodles of fond memories and dear friends.  I became way more attached than I had anticipated.  We trekked to IL for time with family, trip to the cottage, time with family, trip to Colorado Springs, more time with family, trip to Indiana, and more time with family.  I am beyond thankful that my parents have welcomed us for such an extended period of time.

Next stop...Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.  Due to a shortage of on post housing, we have to wait a few extra weeks to get our house.  We will now be there for ~ 9 months before heading to our next home (location TBD).

So, thus begins the design challenge....
1.  I want to get the house up and running as quickly as possible due to our very short stay in Kansas.
2.  I have never lived in a new house...this is a newer home with an open floor plan.  As I was sketching out rooms and furniture placement, I am shocked at how much furniture won't fit, despite this being the biggest house we have lived in.  Good thing that there will be storage room in the garage :)
3.  I have chosen to not paint...so I need to figure out other inexpensive ways to bring in color...

I have very high hopes for Kansas.  I have heard nothing but great things about it, and I am chomping at the bit to get out there, settle in, explore as much as we can, and soak up every second of family time.  I personally hope to focus on my interior design class and also simplifying/organizing our home (Sommer gave me this book recommendation...loved it!).  We will see how that goes (along with the 50 other goals floating around in my head!)  :)

This summer, I have managed to fill up a lot of my parents' garage with new finds/projects...which I probably shouldn't have b/c of #2 above.  I thought, as always, that there would be more downtime than there has been, so now, I am in crunch time with all these endeavors.  Hopefully the pressure will help :)

A few things that I need to hop to...

 recover these seats...

finish cleaning this up...

finish DIY vertical succulent garden....

clean up this old beauty...

Lamp Love

I'm pretty sure the that I am the only one that is completely in love with this lamp, but I am.  My sweet friend Jen picked it up for me on a thrift store run, and I am smitten.  I just need to decide what to do with it.  The sweet 70's colors match my current decor, but the gold flecks could probably go :)  I like the shape of the shade, but it could use some updating...was hoping I could follow Jenny's DIY instructions for painting a shade...

Since buying these, I seem to have a new obsession with honeycomb lamps.  Most I have found since this one have been very expensive, though!

 It has a little crack at the bottom that doesn't bother me...but check out the gold flecks :)  genuine 70s, right?

Saw this pair last week in DC while out with Hallie....so fun!

 

Terrariums

I have been slightly obsessed with terrariums lately.  After being completely inspired by this brilliant booth at Brooklyn Flea, Twig Terrariums (you MUST check out their work), I came home and got busy.

I have always loved moss...and I attempted a terrarium with moss and rocks in early 2009.  It lasted for a while, but I over-watered it, probably suffocated it, and who knows what else.  In short, I botched it.

Since West Point boasts plenty of moss, pretty rocks, driftwood and pine cones, I figured I would use Mother Nature's gifts.  I have had these for over a month a few months now, and they seem to be doing well.  I sprinkle them with water every 4 days or so.... I have pretty much just left them alone...every once and a great while when I happen to be walking by with my glass of water, I may share a few drops with the terrariums.

Twig Terrariums @ Brooklyn Flea

couldn't get great photos, but one of the ones I made...

NYC Half

Yesterday, Sean and I ran the NYC Half.  I really wanted to run a race in the city before we move, and it was a blast.  I am so thankful to so many wonderful family and friends who helped me get through all the training...Michelle, Lynette, Lindsay, Suzanne, Haley, Ryan, and my pace man yesterday, Sean.  My dear husband trained by running a total of 3 miles before this race, and he was still able to stay in front of me the whole time...how is that fair?)

I had mixed emotions when I was selected in the lottery for the race as I was dreading training, in the winter no less, and while I was sick (I seemed to have something wrong during most of the training...but that is a whole post in and of itself!), breastfeeding, etc.  BUT...I really needed some motivation to lose some baby weight. 

The course was absolutely fabulous.  I took pictures throughout the run and tweeted them (only b/c that was the fastest/easiest way that I could figure out for posting pics).

I didn't 'PR' as my runner friends talk about, but we ran much faster than I had trained or thought I would...2:22. 

A special thanks to my dad who came out to watch the kiddos while we went to the race...thanks so much, Dad :)

scenes from yesterday...

getting ready to run!

 good morning, central park...

 guggenheim...

 so many gorgeous buildings to check out as we went by...

 Hello, NYC. 

 When will we ever have the chance to leave Central Park and run straight up 7th avenue to times square with no cars around again? 

 Pretty sure we stayed at this hotel for one of the dance weekends back in the day...

 we are still moving!

 times square, here we come!

 hard to see, but we had just made it out to the west side highway, right by the Intrepid...

 this was a long stretch...all the way down to battery park...

 I liked this 'You go, girl' message...I needed it right about then!

 Oh, how I was hoping the Novogratz's were outside (not even sure that they still live here)...but if they were there, I was going to try to go sneak a pic with them :)

 I got choked up around the new Freedom Tower that was disappearing up into the fog.  There is truly nothing sweeter than our great, free country.

 Nearing the end...the acoustics in the tunnel were perfect for the end of a race...

 here we go!

 there is the light at the end of the tunnel!

 

800 M to go!!  Yippie!

 Brooklyn Bridge...one of my favorite NYC sites.

 getting the medal...

Now...will I keep running or quit cold turkey? :)