our shabby chic room is such a happy room. the colors are pretty, cheerful, and frankly, this is the only feminine room in the entire house. with 3 boys in the house, i specifically designed most things to be durable enough to withstand Hot Wheels, baseballs, and general dude stuff. but this room is all […]
painting oak to look like Restoration Hardware :: mud room diy
September 11 by
let me start by saying that i’ve absolutely saved no money by doing this project myself! if i account for the time spent, mistakes made, injuries sustained, and my hourly billing rate, i’d be better off having purchased the Restoration Hardware version. BUT, this has been a great project and i feel that my painting […]
sand room mishaps :: my attempt at wood working with a steak knife
September 2 by
sometimes i get hair-brained ideas in the middle of the night that keep me awake. my husband and i call this swirling. several months ago, i got this idea that i’d build a sand room. it’s like a mud room, but is really more for sand, since our family tracks more beach sand than mud. […]
Restoration Hardware inspired work bench
August 31 by
our neighbors had this piece in their back yard. it reminds me of my old place in w. hollywood. before married life, i restored a cute spanish-style home in west hollywood. the previous owners had redone the 1920s home in a very tacky home depot fashion. pink walls. cheapo pedestal sinks. linoleum floors. so […]
so cal garden explosion
August 11 by
we’ve got rogue tomato plants all over the garden. take exhibit A. i didn’t plant this one and look how amazing it is! i’m sort of insulted, to be honest, b/c the tomato plants that i staked, trim regularly, and talk to, are basically ignoring me. but these rogue plants which my friend never picked […]
harvesting potatoes grown in coffee sacks
August 9 by
howdy! several months ago, i stalked a bunch of gardening blogs to learn how to grow potatoes. while spring isn’t the ideal time to grow potatoes in california, i was impatient and wanted to give it a try. typically potatoes require cooler weather. my intent was to plant these around halloween, but life got away […]
summer hydrangea tablescape
June 30 by
i love hydrangeas. i had the luxury of spending a few hours in the garden today and cut a bunch of hydrangea as they’re starting to look a little hot…. sad… so let’s enjoy them while we can, shall we? for this table scape on our outdoor dining table, i put some candles in mason […]
cook. shoot. paint. eat. june 2013.
June 24 by
now i’ve done it. all this blogging about painting free furniture found on curbs or via craigslist curb alerts has created a few monsters within my circle of friends. so the time had come to bring a few of us together for the next installment of cook. shoot. eat. this time, we added some paint. […]
precious twin headboard for a pink-lovin’ girl
June 15 by
these aren’t the most glamorous pix you’ve ever seen, but sometimes when this mamma paints at 11:30 pm, the lighting ain’t great… my friend found this headboard on the side of the road. yes, these are the treasures we find in Orange County. nuts. at our painting party earlier this week, it was decided we’d […]
How to get a modern look from Annie Sloan paints
June 14 by
i hosted a fun painting party earlier this week. my friend Peilin has been wanting to learn how to paint with Annie Sloan. she’s an incredibly talented food stylist and whips together a mean sardine, hummus, olive, fried egg and avocado sandwich when you’re not looking. but don’t tell her that i’m allergic to avocados, […]
Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint tutorial
June 8 by
i’m always blabbing about Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. many of you ask if i’m sponsored. i wish! but i’m broadening my horizons and wanted to try Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint. i absolutely love Marian (of missmustardseed.com) and her work. she’s an inspiration. her work is chippy. and that’s a compliment…cuz y’all know how much […]
garage sale Pottery Barn chess table turned antique
May 28 by
look at this very cool chess table. i found it on eBay. swoon….i imagine some really old dudes in a Provence lavender field playing on this board while sipping on bourbon. now, look at this little ditty i picked up at a garage sale for $5. an innocent-looking Pottery Barn chess table circa 2000. underneath is […]
industrial clothing rack :: Annie Sloan style
May 27 by
after we installed our entertainment center, we had an extra piece of base board laying around. and if you know me, you know that i can’t throw any piece of wood away. i know, i’ve got issues. but you knew that. it started out 8′ long, so i used a hand hack saw to cut […]
a beautiful Japanese maple tree
May 14 by
isn’t this gorgeous? i was visiting a friend back east and spotted this stunning and massive tree. they used to have two trees, but one drowned by an underground irrigation issue. tragic. wow. these leaves are so pretty. they’re smaller than your typical maple. and look at this moss and the flowers that are resting […]
how’d that tomato plant get there?
May 10 by
i love seeing the world. but i also love returning and seeing what’s happened in my garden after a week away. the trumpet vines on our garden trellis are finally blooming and they’re gorgeous! these make me so happy!!!! you can see that all of the raised beds are doing great. the heat hasn’t started […]
