Blue on Center

Friday High Five

2. Give a priceless gift this holiday season

3. This is a beautiful commercial. (And this is from a girl who loathes commercials). Well done.

5. I read Half the Sky a couple of years ago and loved, loved, loved it. The authors released their new book and I am ready to dive in. Anyone with me?

Have a great weekend, people.
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House Concert

We hosted a concert at our home on Saturday night. My to do list leading up to the event:

-Paint stuff that I’ve been dreading. Really, really dreading. I am so tired of oil base paint on trim.

-Clean the house, caulk the tub, put on doorknobs, sand some woodwork, paint the dining room & sunroom, etc.

-Keep the girls from wrecking the house after I cleaned it

-Hang lights on the ceiling. This proved a lot more difficult than it sounds on curved ceilings.

-Estimating how many people were coming and what to feed them

Of course, my crazy emotional state last week was making me overthink things. "If you don't get that trim in the mudroom painted, everyone will think you're LAME and no one will like you." And for added stress I decided to prepare some food that I had never made before in hopes that it would be awesome. I mean, of course I should pair raisin bread with rosemary, fresh mozzarella, raspberry jam and prosciutto. But there was a chance it could turn out to be an epic fail which would certainly cause everyone to insult my cooking and leave the concert immediately. Or so my brain tells me.

But all the stress and work leading up to it was so totally and absolutely worth it. Mike Mangione brought a five piece ensemble and they filled our home with amazing sound. And the people...they filled our home with wonderfulness.

(Plus the food turned out pretty darn amazing).

It was one of the best and most meaningful nights of my life. Mike and all the musicians with him are ultra-talented and lovely. It's a beautiful thing for people to share their talents & gifts with each other.

And I am so thankful.

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A Lazy & Cheap (!) Way to Reupholster a Bench

A couple months ago I purchased a bench from a thrift shop.

It had potential. And of course, the price was right. I spray painted it gold and decided to reupholster the cushion because it was a bit blah. I did not want to sew a cover, so I improvised.

Supply List:

plywood

staple gun/staples

batting

a willing assistant

fabric

hammer

I measured the cushion and had a piece of plywood cut at Home Depot a little smaller than the cushion's dimensions. If you're going do do this project, make sure your plywood is thick enough for your staple.

I chose a charcoal geometric fabric from JoAnn. The geometric was actually really useful because the lines in the pattern helped make sure the fabric went on straight as we stapled it.

We initially wrapped the cushion in batting but realized that the indents from the tufting in the cushion was showing through. The babe was sleeping & I didn't feel like going to the store to get more batting so we improvised by wadding up some other fabric to place over the indents.

Yes, I was also being cheap.

Then we rewrapped the cushion in batting and placed the geometric fabric on top. Before cutting the fabric, make sure you have plenty to wrap around the edges to staple.

Then start stapling. This is where a second pair of hands really come in handy. The fabric has to be pulled and held very tight by one person while the other person staples. Also, keep an eye on your fabric's pattern (if you have a pattern) to make sure you're keeping it straight. Crooked fabric on newly upholstered bench = not cool.

Once you're finished with one side, go back and hammer in all the staples in to make sure they're secure.

The edges are a little tricky. We chose to fold and staple one edge and then use a gift wrap style to wrap the second edge.

Done.

I like the bit of funk it adds to the space.

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That Time My Hubs Chose a Paint Color

The upstairs bathroom for the girls was in sad, sad condition when we moved in.

Great sink, check. Original floor & tile in meh condition, check. Crumbling tile and old wallpaper, not so much. We removed the wallpaper and haven't painted the girls' bathroom since we moved in. In fact, it's likely been 30 years since it's been painted last.

And the windows are in terrible condition. And is that toothpaste smeared on the wall? Girls.

I wanted to paint the bathroom a pale, blush pink that tied in the blue floors and new shower curtain. But I DID NOT WANT PASTEL. Dusty, not pastel. I narrowed it down to two colors and asked Greg which one. (Note: I was leaning toward a white with pink blush undertone). And he indicated "that I should choose the one with color in it" (i.e. the other one). So I did. Like a sucker.

And it's pastel. Not just pastel, but the glowing neon kind of pink.

When Greg got home last night, I asked him to have a look at the bathroom and he began laughing hysterically. "It's awful!" he says.

Oh, now it's on. "YOU CHOSE THE COLOR!", I point out. Well, then he says that he hated both of the colors that I chose. Thanks, Greg. Thanks for pointing that out WHEN IT'S TOO LATE. Oh, then he says that if I need help choosing other paint colors just ask because he's recently become a color expert. So I toss him the paint book and tell him to choose the colors for the exterior trim that I've been obsessing over. And he chooses a blue (ahem, think primary color blue) with a gray green.

Mmmm, hmmm. Color expert.

Anyway, this morning the color does look better. But from noon on it turns into the glowing neon. Therefore, I will only look at the bathroom in the morning.