Fabric Addiction

Before I did the hand stitching on my latest pillow I decided to see what was underneath.

I have a serious pillow covering problem!

Random Things in EJ's Life

The barn wood table is still holding up amazingly well and my parents are adorable. Oh and this recipe was a major hit and crazy easy when I made it for my little dinner party of 4.

My dog hates sitting like a person, but she is SO cute. I'm also taking a little break from curly hair. Oh how I wish my hair was naturally this blonde...

I finally got my new light fixture from here. It took me FOREVER to find one I liked. Now I just need to beg my dad to put it up for me! It's the same grey as the kitchen and upstairs bathroom walls!

I'm digging these quotes:

I live in the burbs and have a fairly easy commute in to the city. Despite this, I see a fatality a month. Tonight was a crazy scary car fire with nobody on the scene yet. Too many people die young. I don't want to take this life for granted. 

I really don't want to waste this life of mine.

On a much less serious note... I will never get enough of this video. It makes me laugh so much!

I'm in the market for one of these bad boys. I tried to test drive one yesterday but couldn't get anyone in the dealership to look my way. I long for a Pretty Woman moment! I can else give you 112 reasons why you shouldn't buy a Kia Forte if you're in the market for one (seriously such first world problems!)

My latest Stitch Fix is coming tomorrow!! I made the mistake of liking them on Facebook and Instagram and now I keep seeing fun new things on their site and wishing for them!

That's about it. Happy Monday to all!

More Barn Wood Play

You may remember that I scored some barn wood frames at a garage sale. I had big plans for them, but was lazy about refinishing them, given that I knew what refinishing barn wood entailed

I decided I didn't want the entire frame to be the photo and that I wanted a really thick mat. I wanted a black one to tie in my living room. Rustic like the barrel and modern like the coffee table and tv console. I found these sign it mats at Michaels that were just perfect. 

Today I had an extra day off and decided to make it happen. Right before I got started I remembered that it's never safe to use an electric sander near a furnace and water heater. 

I finally settled on the downstairs bath as my sanding headquarters. I wanted a small contained space that I could close up to keep the dust to a minimum. 

Good thing! It is so messy sanding that stuff! It's also really important to wear eye protectant and a mask. 

(This is from my last time working on barn wood!)

Look at the inside of that mask. Yuck!

This is the amount of debris that comes from 4 simple frames! 

After that I brought them back into the furnace room and gave them all a coat of Howard's Feed and Wax. 

As I was about to go upstairs I decided to flip the bottle around and read the warnings. Turns out that that is also highly combustable. Whoops!

After several coats I left them to try for a few hours

And then gave them 2 coats of polyacrylic to make them good and shiny. 

After that was all done I attached the mat to the back of the frame (there is no glass or opening to slide things in). There was a great debate between black and white.

 White won and the black frames went back.

Then I attached my picture: 

And I put them back up on the wall!

Check it out:

 I love that they're kind of fun-houseish (how is that for invented words!) and not completely square.

 

  

   

What Happens When You Believe Everything You Read on the Internet

Today I ironed my hardwood floor. 

Why? Because I read this post over at apartmenttherapy. I had also read comments on Pinterest about how well it worked. And, because my boyfriend literally dragged the old couch into the basement in 3 different spots leaving deep grooves in my floor that he assured me would buff right out. 

Every day when I get ready I look out and I see that long line on the way to the front door! So when I read that tip I hopped right into doing it. Without reading the comments and fine print at the bottom about testing it in a non-visable place, old floors might have a white sheen from doing it, sanding might be required to get the dent to rise, etc. 

So... I wet a wash cloth well and ironed away.

It was supposed to be ironed for 3-5 min. After about 1.5 I peeked to see if the groove was lifting. 

The groove had actually turned dark and the surface of the floor had bubbled and turned a slight white shade

It's hard to tell from here and maybe it's like an I Spy game but I totally see it! 

Needless to say, I did not iron the other two spots. I'll just have to live with them. Ugh. So... Don't believe everything you read on the internet and always try experiments in an out of the way corner! 

Quick Tip: Hiding the Flats and Sandals

I'd mentioned in my last relationship post how I was working on saving space and had to share this. I added another basket to my front closet for all of my flats. 

I now have 17 pairs of shoes off of the floor! Awesome!!!

Conquering My Fear of Birds With Birds...

I FINALLY saw the movie The Birds last weekend. My mom wouldn't let me watch it growing up and I finally got up the nerve this weekend. I am seriously afraid of bird. I'm afraid of them landing in my hair, pecking me, swooping their wings in my face, clawing me, etc. Yikes! 

Well, let me say that The Birds is a GREAT scary movie! It also succeeded in keeping me good and scared! Then I walked around my house shutting off lights that night and realized how many birds I have dwelling in this place...

I don't know if this is my attempt at therapy, but I love them! As long as they never ever ever ever get into my house! 

Knowing When It's Right