Happy Birthday, Anna!!

So many birthdays in the month of June. But this one is extra special. So make sure you wish our Anna a happy happy 23rd birthday!!. We love youuuu!!!!! You are the best co-blogger I've ever had :) Wishing that I could make you this. Sending you so many Xs and Os.

Three Cheers for the Birthday Girl!!

To my dear Ali,

HAPPY, happy 23rd birthday!! I've loved ya since the very beginning, you know. I wish at times like these that we were still in the same city so that we could go out and celebrate. Enjoy your birthday weekend.

Love you!!

Ali on the left, me on the right (circa 1990)

Ali on the right, me on the left (circa 2007)

The Friday Find

We posted a while ago about one way to brighten up an old lampshade; here's a new idea!  Laura at Enjoying the Simple Things came up with a way to use paint stir sticks (which are almost always FREE, by the way!) to create a unique, super easy-to-make lampshade.  This was the final result:

via Enjoying the Simple Things

It has a very cottage-y feel.  I think it would look cute in a screened-in porch or rustic-style kitchen!  

Hope you have a great weekend.  I have two birthdays, an anniversary, and a friend's return from Kenya to celebrate as well as a baby shower to plan....not to mention exams to study for next week.  Eek!

New curtains

I have had sage green curtains for three or four years, and by now I am so sick of them. Green is not my color. Thus, they are staying in my old house while I move to my new house :) And a few weeks ago I treated myself to some nice fabric to make new curtains.

Robert Allen Cats Cradle (a navy blue color)

 
These simple curtains were pretty easy to make, but they're nothing fancy. In fact, I can't believe than anyone would be willing to pay $225 for them. I'll let you know how they look in their new home!

Happy hump day. Hope it's not too unbearable for you.

Photos from the weekend

Had a great weekend in Baltimore. But it went by too fast. Miss and love these girlies. And we missed Anna a lot. We did a lot of talking, walking, and eating. What else is new?

On the deck

Making pancakes

Testing out some snowballs

On a woodsy walk

Maintaining my sanity

In two short weeks I will be taking quite possibly one of the most relaxing vacations of my life. And I cannot wait. My cousin is in the Peace Corps in Honduras and the rest of us cousins are heading down to visit her. It didn't take much convincing. We will be staying in the most unbelievable beach house on the ocean with a view of the second largest coral reef in the whole world. I plan to spend all of my time in these hammocks or in the pool below...

Image via vrbo.com

Image via vrbo.com

Pictures of the trip to come in mid-July :)

Note Card

Image via Sapling Press

How great is this? You can get one here. You may want to buy this one too while you're at it.

The Friday Find

Happy Friday!  It's been a beautiful but long week in Portland, and it's not nearly over yet - four hours of class await me this afternoon followed by a Basic Life Support class tomorrow morning.  I thought I'd stop in to talk about the saying "one man's trash is another man's treasure."  Or maybe "what's old is new again."  When Andy and I moved into our apartment, we didn't have much furniture.  Luckily, his parents have what could be an entire antique shop/flea market in their attic!  When we were in the market for a coffee table, they generously offered us an old lobster trap, similar to this one:

Living in Maine, it's not uncommon at all to see these repurposed as coffee tables.  After living with it as-is for a few months, I decided that I could make it a little more useful.  I ripped out the netting, sanded it down, nailed a few loose pieces into place, and wiped it clean.  Now it doubles as a coffee table and very handy board game storage.  Here's a pic: 

It's not my ideal coffee table, but it works for now.  Have a happy weekend!

P.S. Don't forget to show your dad some love on Sunday!

Currently craving...

...this Industrial Task Table Lamp from West Elm. I would love it in the color Tumeric. Wouldn't mind it in True Red either. For late-night reading. Or nail painting. Or something like that.

Photo via West Elm

The Friday Find

I'm feeling the need to be particularly thrifty this week. Why, you may ask?

1) I have been spending entirely too much money on securing an apartment for the upcoming year.

2) I am spending a pretty penny on a July vacation in Honduras with my cousins. (Side note: It is so worth it.)

3) The vaccines to travel to Honduras are PRICEY! Not to mention, I haven't had chicken pox, so I had to get that vaccine too. Let me tell you - it is definitely more cost effective to have chicken pox as a kid than to get the vaccine as an adult.

So this week there is not much money left over for furniture shopping for the new apt. Thus, I will show you how to re-paint an old, dilapidated dresser and make it shiny and new for just over $50.

1) Have a friend like Rachel with an old dresser. Rent a Zipcar and pick it up from her ($8).

(The other drawers did come with it,
I had just pulled them out already)

2) Visit your local hardware store. I like Logan Hardware. If you are a female, you will have a particularly fun time at the hardware store because all of a sudden, the male workers become oddly friendly. Hilary tells me this is the "female in a hardware store" experience. Anyways, purchase 3 sheets of sandpaper, a paint brush or roller, a can of primer, and a can of paint in the color of choice (I stuck with black). They will give you the tool to open the paint can and the stirrers for free. (Unless that is only part of the "female in a hardware store" experience.) (About $25)

Primed dresser

3) Visit Lee Valley Tools online and purchase new brass drawer pulls. While shipping is not included, these drawer pulls are a steal at less than $2.50 each. (About $25)

Sanded, primed,
two coats of black paint, new ring pulls

And voila! You have a new dresser. Happy Friday!

MIA no more

We're sorry. We really are. This blog hiatus was unacceptable. We brought you all this bouquet to show you that we truly missed you and we felt bad for leaving you (temporarily).

Photo via Thunda Funda

You see, so much is/was going on. Anna is working her butt off. But she's going to be the best nurse! (I would be the worst nurse - I'd be too afraid of your germs.) Did she tell you she got a new stethoscope?!

I, too, have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I spent weeks months searching for an apartment. In weather ranging from 60 degrees and rainy to 90 degrees and humid. But it was worth it. Because the one I got my hands on has a working fire place, and a kitchen with a granite breakfast bar, and a shiny new washer and dryer. And now I just have to move in. With my new roommate. More on that later :)

I also went to LA with Ben and his family. Here is a picture of the city through a stone cut out at the Getty museum. If you've never been to LA, make sure you stop at the Getty.

And here is a picture of the Santa Monica beach. Breezy in the mid-70s. Mmmmmm.

While I wasn't blogging, I was re-painting a dresser, frequenting happy hour at Masa 14, dreaming about fudge popsicles, and watching a Mourning Dove get pregnant, lay eggs, sit on her eggs, and eventually, have little baby Mourning Doves! More on that another day.

Sleep tight xo

Home Improvement Part 2: Lampshades

Happy Monday!  I feel like I've barely come up for air since mid-may.  I've been in nursing school world - new faces, new concepts, and lots and lots of reading about bodily functions.  I decided to take this afternoon off from school and come up for air to share a little project I did recently during my home improvement spree.  I was inspired by this post, which I originally found over at Little Green Notebook (one of my favorite decorating/DIY blogs).  I actually liked the original fabric on the lampshade I used, so I chose to just add some simple trim.  The original trim was peeling off and starting to look pretty ratty.  Here are some pics of the process:

I used regular old fabric glue, which made the project quick, cheap, and easy. 

I probably could have done a neater job on the inside of the shade, but it ended up looking fine. 

Here's the outside edge.  The tape helps to keep it in place while the glue dries.

All in all, it was super quick and easy fix for a not-so-pretty lampshade.  I will definitely be trying this again!

MIA

Ack, where to begin!  We've been MIA: Liz in LA, me on Cape Cod, work, school, life...you know the drill.  The point is, we're back.  And, more importantly, SUMMER is finally here - the season of fresh salads, cold watermelon, lime popsicles, and Porch Swings.

Speaking of food, today was a big day in the world of nutrition.  Naturally, Liz and I geeked out about it over g-chat at work.  This morning, Michelle Obama unveiled MyPlate, the visual nutrition guidelines that will take the place of MyPyramid.  The guidelines themselves haven't changed much, but MyPlate puts nutrition in context by helping users visualize how much of each food should be on their plate.  It's basic math, really - about a quarter each of vegetables, fruit, grains, and protein, along with a glass of milk or dairy equivalent.

via choosemyplate.gov

Find out more about it here.