::it's not you

There might be a bit of a slowdown in postings over the next week. Life has gotten a tad hectic (am I listening to a broken record?). I'll try my best to keep you informed on the goings on over here. Go outside, enjoy this weather, eat a caramel apple and as soon as you know it, I'll be back in full force!

::it's time

I'm ready for fall. (Yes, I do know it officially started already.) However, with the weather remaining in the 80s, it still feels like summer to me. Here's to a moodier palette, sweaters in the evening, house booties in the morning, and bonfires in the backyard!

And for a mid-week, mini-kitty post (though there's nothing mini about Mr. B) here he is in all his tubcat glory:

Why sit on the actual couch, when you could smush all the back pillows down into a crevice of your own. And yes...paw on the leg means he owns you.

::fill in the blanks

I stole this from Rachel's blog. What a cute little thing if you've got some writer's block and/or you just can't seem to get your projects finished. Anywho - here we go:

1. Somewhere someone is sitting on a beach. Oh vacation...how you are missed.

2. Currently, pinterest is my muse. Very inspiring. It is eerie though how similiar your taste can be with someone else's. Like "we must have shared the womb" creepy.

3. It would stink if crock pots were no more because, I'd have to learn how to use my oven.

4. Zumba and the fact that there is a container of gumbo waiting for me in my fridge are my favorite things about today.

5. Life is kind of like wow, really want to say a box of chocolates here...but I guess I'll go with "a comedy of errors". At some point you just have to laugh about the stuff that happens.

6. If I could have anything I wanted I would want patience.

7. A funny thing happened the other day... A Jehovah's witness came up to my house and when I answered the door she asked if my mom was home. *_* Here's to good aging! Thanks mom and dad!

**And a Happy Birthday to Lee!! Hope you have a great day today :)**

::logic

Waking up early on Saturday + waking up early on Sunday + waking up for work on Monday while it's still dark as night outside =

Started work on a new project this weekend. I was planning on being awesome and having pictures up by today but things have not gone as planned and the paint I bought did not do the trick. So, what should've been a 30 minute project has now turned into a couple days worth of waiting. Ahh well - I'll get pictures up here soon enough!
And in other news - Happy birthday to Josh!! You're awesome and I hope you have a great birthday :)

::for sale

I'm selling my barstools. If you (or anyone you know) is interested, send me a message!

::yep, I'm sure

This only solidifies my decision to paint the laundry room blue. Ok, must buckle down and do it. Must buckle down....after I finish the chairs. :P

::Andrea 1, Jim's Place 1

Took off last Friday to head over to the Jim's Place sale. I was going to pick up a pair of Chippendale arm chairs to put on the ends of my awesome new table! Alas, fate was not on my side and my $100 per chair max could not cover the $200 per chair they were asking. Oh well, I tried. At least it was fun walking around the building one last time before they're closed up for good.

Not all was lost, however, as an impromtu trip out to Arlington found us at another "estate" sale. This is where I scored a Pottery barn pendant light for $20!! I had seen this online and knew how much they were going for. Yah, I had to get it. 2 drawbacks?


1- the glass is a bit chipped at the bottom and a bit dirty


2- some of the mounting hardware was no where to be found


Both problems were nothing I couldn't live with. $20 later and a trip to the hardware store I have this:


She is either going to live over my kitchen sink or in the guest bathroom over the shower. I have a few more cleaning products to try on the glass and it's still a bit dingey, but for $20...I'm sold!

::time well spent

I mentioned a little while back that I had commissioned a new table. Well, that's what I spent a good portion of my free time on last week and I'm now here to share the work with you.

Let's take a jog back down memory lane.

Past the clutter was your basic butcher block top, 'scrolly' wood legged table.

The is the ultimate look I'm going for:

So I asked to have this table made. Simple, clean lines and with the right finishing I could achieve a bit of a weathered look:

In a matter of a day, this was born...

I had the measurements customized for my space as the original plan called for a longer table. The wood selected for this was Excellent! So much grain as you can tell here. With a little stain, a little paint, and a lot of love it turned out to this:

Which now leads to the "After". Behold!

And one last close up for good measure!

Every time I walk into my kitchen I do a little happy dance. It just looks incredible. Once I get the kitchen completely the way I want, it'll look a little more appropriate in the space. Up next, gotta do something about those light chairs now. Cute before...a bit of a sore point now. But I've got just the fix and now it's just a matter of time and a little elbow grease...

::reminds me of

Maria

::so much for good intentions

The schedule has already been thrown off ladies (and possibly gentlemen). Oh well, we roll with the punches. Last night to give myself some time I forewent (is that a word?) zumba and decided to run instead. Here's to 45 more minutes! 45 minutes that in turn were dedicated to deciding to do an extra something to the table before I put on the topcoat. And of course this involves another trip to Lowes. Wah waahh. And you can't go to Lowes without looking at the shrubbery. Well, at least I can't. Stupid flower bed will be the death of me!

Ahh, well. I must say, it looks SO much better now and much closer to what I was ultimately going for. You should've seen me though, I'm sitting in the garage with the little attic light in one hand (cause it's relatively dark and I really shouldn't have been doing anything to the table without some sunlight) and paintbrush in the other. My dad would drop dead if he knew what I was doing to his lovely table, hah! Well, here's to hoping efforts pay off. I'll get to see it in the daylight when I get home today.

I'm trying the second of those freezer meals I mentioned a few posts back (the chicken curry recipe) tonight as well. I'll let you know how it turns out. And since we're talking about kitchen tables, I'll leave you with a picture of a splendid kitchen.

::umm...

Well, this just about sums up my week:

Don't know how this has all run together...but somehow the stars have aligned and decided to strike down upon me.

Granted, this isn't even everything that I need to get done...but I'm hoping with the day off on Friday I'll catch up with myself.

::reminds me of

Carolyn

::tubcat is tubbeh

I realized I hadn't posted a picture of kitty in a while. The other morning while I was getting ready for work, he decided to protest my leaving. I would've obliged, but I didn't know if "my cat won't let me leave" would work as a legitimate excuse for skipping out. Hmm...maybe if he tries it again, we'll see ;)

PS. He's not really that fat. It's just an unflattering picture. Poor thing will get a complex.

::a day in the life

Looks to be a promising weekend! Will be accompanying a group of people whose job it is to say "Oh...it looks soo beautiful" while trying on bridesmaid dresses! You'd think it would get old....but it doesn't! :D

Other weekly recap -

- Made these meals in preparation for the upcoming fall schedule. Chop everything up, freeze it, throw it in the crockpot and you've got dinner. We've tried the BBQ dish and it's Awesome!! My kind of meals!

- Bought some boots. I might try and see if we can become legally wed. Sorry Aaron!

- Commissioned a kichen table. It's great when you have people in your life who are incredibly talented. It never ceases to amaze me. I will definitely be doing a post on this in the future.

- Decided on a color for the cabinets in the bathrooms. Now, when I'll actually get around to this is anyone's guess. I'll add it to the list behind painting the laundry room, the front door and trim. 0_o Yikes.

Phew! Enjoy the long weekend everyone!

::repeat

Yes. You get 2 cartoons in one week. Mostly because this is how I've spent the majority of my free time (Side note: the content isn't always PG...just a heads up). And mostly because this has been my life this week. Insomnia has completely set in and all sanity is quickly deteriorating.

It'll only take one day to crash and burn and I'll be back to normal. Dear day, make haste!