playful and pretty

In case you don't check into [tend] every day like I do, you might've missed my guest post! It truly was an honor to be invited to write a post, so I do hope you'll check it out. Those gals are so thoughtful!

If you entered to win a poster over at Mine Creations, don't forget to check back soon. Julia will announce the winner in the next couple days.

This weekend we'll be out in the field {literally} finishing up a project that's been in the works about a year!

We're also chipping away at making a big girl room for M. She never cared for her nursery, preferring co-sleeping to a crib and playing in the same room we are in, so the nurdio is back to full-on studio and the middle bedroom will be her room. We've ordered Safe Paint Milk Paint and it's on the way, and Monday we'll start painting the walls a light salmon color (90% white, 10% salmon).



We have a used (vintage?) ceiling fan similar to the one pictured. While looking for a picture of a close match to share I found forums and sites of people desperate for vintage ceiling fans. Apparently, if you've got one you're getting rid of, there's a market people--don't just give away potential beaucoup bucks.

The plan is to make her room have the fragile, fleeting, magical softness of an Abby Trys Again photograph with the playfulness and durability of an active child's room. It takes restraint and that's not my strong point.

Wish us luck and we hope you have a phenomenal weekend. What are you getting into?

Tooting other horns

The Handmade Market Raleigh was incredible!!
Neesy and I carpooled there together. Thank goodness! It would've been a long boring drive home, but she's so great and so much fun!
Up in Raleigh, I met lots of friends face-to-face (including 80% of the Wonderland Retreat team!) like Tess, Ileana, and Michelle. I made a couple new friends, too! Beth and Maryellen are so awesome! How inspiring it is to be surrounded by such talent! Do you see that pale yellow, screenprinted, silk dupioni pillow on the bed? That's from the very talented Jenna Cary who was also at the Handmade Market. Other purchases include wares from Red Prairie Press, Art Goodies, and Deadbird. Then I started practicing self restraint. The bad part about a good show is all the cool and too tempting stuff there.
It was like being back in school surrounded by artistic energy and positivity! How rejuvenating it is to know you're in the right place.

The Grow poster is new from Frederic Terral, aka Right Brain Terrain. Not only are his Alternative Motivational Posters so friggin' cool, but he knows great customer service, which is always a plus! I saw them and thought I wouldn't remember to look back for the Grow one to come off the press, so he kindly sent me an email when they did! How nice is that?

The frame I got for 40% off at AC Moore, so it was about $16. Not too bad. They also had a 24 x 36" frame on clearance that ended up to be $7.50! I got that one, too, for a picture of Charlie's that needs reframing. Bargain frames rock, seriously!

I have decided to start working 32 hours a week in the office job and will have 3 full days to concentrate on art!

Yesterday was a big spring cleaning day for me. . . Check out the freebies on my yard sale blog, available now despite the outdated blog address: The Great Purge of '06.

What the next couple days hold in store

Ahh the weekend. Just 8 hours away. I'm on my first cup of coffee for the morning, ready to jump into a day of workplace duties. What the next couple days hold in store:

Tomorrow I start Weight Watchers with my mother. I need is the inner-desire to get the big trek started. And to stop eating cookies when they cross my path. Mmm, I love me some cookies. I'll break up with them this weekend though, and start swooning some spinach.

I might get around to giving my pile of interesting reads some good good loving.

I'd really love to paint the bed. Black, or steely gray.

Prepare for the rug. Actually my Chiasso shipment arrived yesterday, but they sent a 5 x 8 rug rather than the 8 x 10 that I'd purchased. I should get the correct one on Tuesday. Cross fingers for me, please.

I've had some offers lately for incredible opportunities, which I alluded to yesterday. The BIG one I should find out about by Monday. I hope. Keep fingers crossed for me, maybe cross them harder (does that work??), send wishes my way, lend me any Karma points you might have, prayers, dances, and anything else that might help. I'm not dishing out the goods, though. All too often in the past I've celebrated too early and set myself up for disappointment. Lesson learned, gods of the ebbs and flows of life, I will not taunt you anymore!

Here' s a little montage to keep me on track and fill you in with the direction of the bedroom:

Taryn asked when the big unveiling will be. I'd been thinking we were actually months away from a finished room since 8 x 10 rugs are a sizable investment. I'm still practicing buying for the future rather than temporarily appeasing desire, so I had durability and design in mind while pricing said rugs.

Then Chiasso announced a sale! One of the rugs I'd originally looked at was marked 75% off. What does that mean? The 8 x 10 is now less than $100, and after adding shipping I scored a $400 rug for just below $150!

I should get it Friday or Monday. Either way, the bedroom will be well on its way to being complete and cozy by a week from now!

Now to wax romantic: I'm a sucker for well thought out dates, cuddling on the couch, and random surprise flower. I'm never big on Valentine's day and I think a lot of the consumer - romance - traps are wretched. Yesterday, though, my honey came home from work and brought me a Diet 7-Up (my favorite!) and a heart shaped Snickers. Such a sweet (no pun intended) and unassuming surprise!

For tasteful lover-lovely goods, these plates are from Chiasso, and Modish has the most incredible list of V-Day cards!

On the right track

We're getting there with the bedroom. A lot happened this weekend, more than I had planned!
I'd originally thought I would use a gallon of tan paint I already had and would go home right after work and, well, get to work.


If you're thinking about painting a room, this is where I share my experience: Instead I stopped by Sherwin Williams and picked up a gallon of a Martha Stewart Signature color. Why Sherwin Williams, you ask? Because Domino Magazine's website has a 25% off regular priced merchandise coupon! Which allowed me to get out of there are a much lower price than the Benjamin Moore store. Sherwin Williams offers (now I find out) 2 low VOC options while B.M. doesn't offer this alternative in my area! Though neither of them offered any suggestions or much in the way of assistance at all. Also, I've found, the higher end paints are a worthy investment simply because they require fewer coats to get a nice, even surface. The bedroom was covered in one coat with minor touch ups here and there. Less coats=less work.

Be prepared for the snowballing affect of small changes: We didn't just stop at the paint. (You'll recall this actually started with getting matching bedside tables.) First, new curtain rods were installed. They are brushed nickel with pretty little swirl finials: $15 each from Lowe's, not a bad price since they offer rods in the upwards range of $50 each. We found a ceiling fan with convincingly faux walnut blades and brushed nickel accents on clearance (i guess just in the store?) for $20, originally $40. The mister was inspired to change out the original switches and outlets in the bedroom, add an extra outlet in the bathroom, and change out miscellaneous outlets in other parts of the house. We are moving on up!

Before the snowball gets too big, pinpoint direction. None of the color schemes I'd picked had such a grayish brown wall. I needed to narrow things down on my own a bit, when lo and behold I realized this illustration is it! Even though the final product seems so far away, staying on task is well within reach.