stuff i’ve made

Restoration Hardware inspired work bench

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 […]

How to paint wood to look like weathered Restoration Hardware wood

hi friends! i’m back with another furniture painting tutorial on how to use chalk paint to get a weathered wood Restoration Hardware finish. here’s my inspiration. a wonderful wood pier that we visited on our summer road trip. the irony is that the piece i was painting, was in fact, a real Restoration Hardware dresser….from the early […]

painting an Ikea Malm dresser w/ASCP to get a Restoration Hardware finish

    when one of your closest friends decides to move to another state, first you cry.  then you dry your tears, get out the paint brush and start painting everything she’s got stashed in her garage.   my buddy had these two Ikea Malm dressers that she picked up at Goodwill for $5.  i […]

queen anne dresser :: grand finale

don’t you love when life knocks you for a few loops?  i got the flu shot, and low and behold, got a 4 day mini flu.  at least it wasn’t the whole shebang, but 4 days of fever es no bueno, as we like to say in so cal. so, i took a few weeks […]

garden love

Hello, ladybugs!

I released 1500 ladybugs into the garden this morning. I have no idea how many have survived, but while they were alive, I snapped a few pix. They're … [more...]

summer flowers :: hydrangea, roses and lavender

i LOVE my garden, and particularly love the flower arrangements that come directly from the garden.   the hydrangea is quite … [more...]

attack of the bunnies!

When we landscaped our yard, I specifically researched how to keep the rabbits out.  We specifically built raised veggie beds so that the bunnies … [more...]

a gorgeous, romantic, Napa wedding

we just returned from the most gorgeous and romantic wedding....ever. the setting was idyllic with the changing leaves and warm breezes. i wanted … [more...]

Harvesting and germinating rose seeds

I just love roses. I don't know their varieties or names, but instead, I'm the gal at the nursery going around sniffing all the roses to see which … [more...]

artichokes!!!

look what we saw in the garden today!?!? it only took 9 months.  :) anyone have the recipe for the Bandera/Houston's artichoke? … [more...]

a beautiful Japanese maple tree

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 … [more...]

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