Saturday, March 31, 2012

GIVEAWAY REVEAL! The winner is...

...Elly, who commented that E put herself in a cape and HP glasses.

Indeed, E made herself a Harry Potter character in her self-portrait :)

Elly, congratulations! Your prize is on its way. You've won a very special Harry-Potter inspired bookmark from the GeekOUTlet etsy shop.


Thank you all for your guesses!

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Ballroom blahs

The "blah" isn't because of the room itself but rather because of the quality of photos. Here is where I'd like to go on a rampage about how DIY blogs are full of fancy photography these days, and our camera is dinky and my time is super limited--plus I'm a WRITER not a PHOTOGRAPHER--so I can't compete, and, additionally, though I am an admirer of beautiful photography, I don't care to BE a photographer even a little so I don't WANT to compete, but that's how successful blogs roll these days. I think I'll save the rest for a day when I'm in a better mood.

Cut to: the promised ballroom pic update.

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^Here is a dusk shot of our (eeek! wrinkled! sorry, Mom!) camel-colored slipcover, the new rug, and the Target drapery project in the background (everyone wave to the t-ball stand out the center window!).

Also pictured: BG's collection of telescopes; the lamp and chair that go with BG's grandma's desk, which has been moved from the mud room to the ballroom, butted up behind the couch; and an antique couch with a big story that I hope to tell sooner rather than later, taking up temporary residence in that back corner.

How many monkeys does it take... AND A GIVEAWAY!

When my arty eldest, E, went to work recently with her oil pastels, I cheered her on and expected her to crank out her usual landscape or character from the Harry Potter series. Instead, she surprised me with a portrait of each of us with a stained glass window background. I was delighted to showcase her work on the previously barren foyer wall that cried out for some colorful attention.

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So how many monkeys does it take to fill up a wall? Six, apparently.

Now that I've given up our anonymity in exchange for compliments to my 7-year old, I will go ahead and tell you that I'm the fabulously coiffed and super trim dame on the top right. Ah, to be the hottie my daughter sees.

I'm a fan of black frames in general but wanted to give these cheap 11x14s from Family Dollar a little more interest. I used gold leaf paint to accomplish the look. BG used a level and a ruler to place the frames just so and then finishing nails and double-sided tape to secure them.

On to the giveaway portion of this blog post. I haven't done one in a while, and they are quite the thing in the blogosphere lately. Most bloggers pick a random number from comments. That's not nearly weird or entertaining enough for me. I'm going to make you work (hard!) at winning.

There is something special about one of E's pictured pieces. There's also a clue about the special attribute in this very post. The first correct guess left in comments will win a post-inspired prize (U.S. residents please; forgive me, Nadeve!). The guess period ends at 7PM Eastern on Friday, March 30. May the odds be ever in your favor. /comes off a "Hunger Games" high

P.S.--I promise the prize is not a can of green beans!

Friday, March 23, 2012

I've got 99 problems, but the rug ain't one

Finally, FINALLY my Navarre rug is in from Ballard. It was back-ordered twice, and I thought I was going to get a sad email saying, "Oop, sorry, we are actually out of that forever!" but it arrived a couple days ago. I am happy to report it is fabulous and fits the space as I hoped it would.

Also new to the ballroom: a camel-covered slipcover from Wayfair fitted over a plaid hand-me-down sofa from BFF-J, storage bins and toy organization on the book-shelf room divider, and hardware that is not yet installed but has an exciting future on a former-changing-table-turned-TV-stand. You guys have no reason to take my word for any of this, for I've been such a blog slacker lately. I've become a soccer mom, for one thing, and for another, I had the surprise of my life last weekend when two besties from out of state showed up on my doorstep. I wish I had video of the moment BG opened the door (b/c I was scared to). That totally would have been blog-worthy. I should have had the ladies trade DIY for weekend room and board, but that is only occurring to me now. Stupid brain.

As for the "99 problems" I alluded to in the title of this post, we have a terrible roof leak, and the biblical floods rushing through the South are stressing us right out. Roof issues didn't show up at all on the inspection report we got a year ago, but boy have they manifested. BG might be taking a Roof Repair 101 class at Home Depot (which of course they offer only in my imagination).

A ballroom update *with pics* to come this weekend, hell or high water!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Rice is the most selfless starch

We didn't have a projecty weekend. We did a ton of running around with the children. I did have a small window where I could have painted the trim on the room divider/bookshelves, but I couldn't muster the energy to paint a single darn thing. I know I need to get on it. It's been a month. I am appropriately ashamed.

I'm popping in to share a tip that could help you, or at the least, you can mock me for being the last person on earth to know this.*

If you drop your phone in water (the sink, a glass, the... ew... potty, whatever), take it apart, dry it off as best you can, then stick it in a bowl of rice and cover with more rice. The rice acts as a desiccant and will sap out the moisture. It worked for me! Twenty-four hours ago I had a sad little phone that kept shutting off and restarting. Pressing "messaging" opened the camera lens. Rice to the rescue!

*Credit where credit is due: Thanks, EB!!!

Saturday, March 3, 2012

A tale as old as time

In February, I blogged about our family calendar. We're still using it/living by it. A friend asked to see it in action, and what am I if not a pleaser?

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Here you can see my failings as a mother. Each member of the family has a color. Activities are jotted down along with time and place of event. The purple child, E, is way over-scheduled. We just have to survive through May, and then it's lesson learned and two activities max from here on out.

The premier of "Hunger Games" on March 23 may or may not be noted in red (my color) with a giant exclamation point.

Has anyone out there been converted to the cult of the family wall calendar? How's it working out for you?