Monday, June 29, 2009

DD Update: My work here is done

So, you waited, and waited...patiently while I teased - a shot of tile here, a casual paint reference there, a glimpse of a fixture to tempt your thoughts...AND you're still with me?! You, dear MLHP readers, are without a doubt, THE BEST!

...And, to reward you....Laaaaa (you know, angel choir sound?) {tsk}
***Disclaimer: Author has unnerving "anti" attitude towards camera flash, hence, photos of unbelievably lovely new bathroom read more yellow than it truly appears in "real life." Arrgghhh!***

...In case you don't remember the Before:
Now, wanna hear the redo story? OK, good.

First: The Paint
Remember how my original, inspiration was to do a soft, petal/blush color on the walls? With this in mind, we picked Valspar's Pink Kiss. After testing a sample, and putting the paint chip next to the tile, my gut just said NO! (MLHP words of wisdom: always listen to your gut!)
So, I tossed out the idea of doing a soft, spa-mint green to my aunt, and showed her a paint swatch next to the tile sample - clearly, it worked much better. We went with Valspar's Neon Mint.
Can I just take a moment to say how truly lovely it was to work with my Aunt Betty on her bath redo? She was so flexible, eager, and willing to let me take this little project down what she sometimes may have thought were crazy paths - all because she loves and (apparently) trusts me as her "designer." If all clients could be so kind...
Anywaaaay...The paint - I suppose a seasoned interior designer would have been tipped off by the word NEON in the paint name....but, it just looked so nice on the swatch {sigh}
The first roll of color went across the newly-textured wall, and, let's just say it was a lot more Eeek than Aaahhh....

Obviously, ran back to Lowe's (shouldn't I be on their payroll, already?) Told the paint guru my problem - NEED TO TONE IT DOWN - he added a drop of red, and voila - neon turned spa! So, I can probably get you the numbers if you really want them - but for general purposes, the CUSTOM paint color is: Valspar's Neon Mint - with a drop of Red.

Once I finished painting the walls, cabinets and trim, we were able to address what I like to call....

The Jewelry
You were all very excited after I gave you this sneak peek at the chandelier... Unfortunately, as lovely as it was...it was only set up to be hung via swag (from an outlet/no hardwiring) AND it only had one bulb socket. We got a great deal on it at the hobby store, so, in retrospect, it's rather obvious it is meant to be merely decorative. We needed function as well as form. Note: Cute chandelier will hang in soon-to-be-born cousin Chloe's room!

I saw this rather lovely mini-chandelier on this fellow Texan blogger's post, and thought it might be the perfect replacement. It was.
in fairness, this is a better representation of the finish...
Next, I scoped out the lamp at HomeGoods. (Isn't this shot of the reflection off the tile Gorg?!)
The artwork is a photograph I took of my grandmother's pearls...
My aunt loved this, and I'm rather proud of it, myself!

...The sisal rug is from Marshalls
...And the Fab hardware my aunt picked out is from Lowe's
Some more close-ups of The Jewelry
Vanity light from the "mix 'n match" selections at Lowe's
Oh, wait! I haven't even had the chance to tell you about the circus involving the Shower Curtain!
In my original DD design, I suggested this waffle-weave extra-long curtain. We didn't really want to order a curtain, and this one didn't get the best customer reviews. But since there was nothing inspiring in our small town, I suggested I could attempt to sew one. You all know I'm not a seamstress, right? (I'm trying, I want to be!)

We bought some lovely white, sateen sheeting...and I got as far as this
Well...my Mom got as far as that...I more or less got in the way. We had it all pinned when I asked my aunt to make a S.O.S. call to her seamstress friend. Luckily, the woman is a kind soul - she took the curtain out of our hands, and sewed it beautifully in an incredibly short amount of time.

So, there ya have it: the nuts and bolts of a summer bathroom re-do.

For the Bean Counters out there: My aunt tallied up all her receipts - the total came to just over $1500. Unfortunately, we had to contract-out some of the bigger work, and that ate a lot of the budget.
In addition to everything I listed in this post:
  • We contracted for sheetrock and texture (remember, there was wallpaper and old paneling before)
  • Tile (parts and labor)
  • Aunt is replacing the shower stall plumbing fixtures
I'm just delighted with the results, even more so because my Aunt Betty loves it!

I'm buggin' out, ya'll - heading back to Brazil to enjoy having my precious little family unit back together, and some much-anticipated cooler weather! See ya in a few days! :)

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Baby Safari

It seems the last few days before I head back to Brazil are always jam-packed. This past week was no exception...Besides wrapping up my aunt's bathroom redo (pics VERY soon, I promise!), I was also pulling together a small, family baby shower for my cousin and his wife, who are expecting their first - a baby boy who will be named Henry.

My aunt had a sweet gift idea for her son and daughter-in-law: she wanted to re-do my cousin's baby rocking chair in a fun way, to pass it on to
his baby, Henry. Would I be willing to put some creativity behind the idea? Why, of course!
I was a bit nervous, because I didn't know too much about what they planned for their nursery. I imagined it to be more contemporary, something like this...
...So I didn't want to overdo it in the critters and characters department. (turns out, I guessed right - their crib is very similar to this one!)

I got a sneak peek at their bedding selection, and it gave me some ideas...
Maybe a little bit safari...but still soft.

Here's cousin's chair dressed as its former self...

...And, in its new attire...
If tender gratitude was the goal....
...I think we had success
Here: Mom, Dad and Grandma-to-be

Congratulations, Brian and Alli, it was wonderful seeing you both - we can't wait to meet Henry!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

The Heat is ON

The calendar marked this past Sunday as the First Day of Summer, but the skyrocketing temps here in South Texas make it feel closer to Labor Day. All I can dream about is what kind of pool I'd prefer to be lounging in...


Wouldn't it be nice to cool my jets in a
lagoon with beach entry?
Or what about this piscina, surrounded by a rainbow of mod pods? I imagine it would be extra fun for the crumb-crunchers
This small and private tropical oasis would be perfect for a nighttime adult swim ;)
...But, if you want privacy, why not go all-out with a secluded, Caribbean villa? (Hey! This is my fantasy, I can exaggerate if I want to!) Seriously, if I landed here, I don't think I'd ever leave...
I don't know, though...something about the Southeast Asian-style lap pool draws me in...the symmetry, serenity - the Balinese know their bidness when it comes to water
All this lust for a swimming pool...{sigh} I think I'll just have to settle for a cold shower... Hope you're keepin' cool!
P.S. - Click on pics for links

Little Happies: Happy Plates

If you love iomoi (like, moi!) then you'll probably flip your lid over these melamine plates from La Plates. I'd like this one for me

(maybe turq-waz with brown monogram)

This one for
Ben
(those colors just might work)

...And this one for
Miss Avery
(I'm thinking pink with navy?)

Thank You, Mrs. Blandings for the hot tip!

My ordering finger is getting really trigger happy Right. About. Now!

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Voilà La Coiffure

For those of you who encouraged me to take the plunge...
Well, I hate to disappoint...but, I just wasn't that bold, today...
Still, we lopped off FOUR INCHES, so I'm not totally spineless!
Unfortunately, that's not quite enough to donate to Locks of Love, nor are my chemically-treated tresses particularly preferred, but I do thank this lady for reminding me of such a wonderful organization, and for her plans to donate.

Despite having seen one of the true Goddesses of Haircolor (she's in San Antonio - email me {atexski@yahoo(dot)com} if you want the deets), I still had a bit of cutter's remorse...

But that quickly subsided when I finally got my hands on the Daiquiri Ice I've been dreaming about!

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Chop, Chop?

Going for a much-needed cut 'n color today... Right now, my hair is mid-back length, and I end up wearing it like this 300 days of the year. So really, why bother having long hair, right?I wish I had the style courage to chop it like this...
...but, without a bevy of stylists hovering about, I'd undoubtedly end up with a non-descript Mom Cut {sigh}
I'll let ya know if The Spirit moves me to do anything fun...
Ashley Olson pic courtesy of I *Heart* You

Monday, June 22, 2009

Make it Seven

I'm breakin' the rules a bit (I know, such the wild rebel!)...The 7th (uninteresting) thing I love... I don't know how I forgot to list it...The Classic White Shirt It can be tailored, sexy - both male and female - so long as it's crisp, clean, and pure white. Ahhhh.....from here
and here
Dean love from here
OK, I'm done.

My fave (uninteresting) things

I was recently tagged by Maureen at Ingletalk, and Averill at Odi et Amo to name six uninteresting things I love - hmmmm....well, you could just about take Averill's list, copy and paste it into MLHP, and you'd have mine, but I thought I'd give it a little more effort...


So, without furter ado...a peek into just how mundane I can be...

1) Moss - Yep, you read correctly. The soft, squishy, green stuff. Love it on rocks, between pavers, and especially when it covers planters and urns.
via JRM
Thank you, THANK YOU for the pic, Jenny
2) Copper Pots - Like 'em new-n-shiny, but have high regard for it after it's seen years of recipes, splatters, and delightful meals. It's a bit of an investment, but it's timeless, classic, and with a bit of TLC, will last for-EVAH
3) Font - I'm so obsessive about font, I might need to check out OCD rehab programs! I'm one of those people who looks first at the script of an invitation before the I read about the event. I hate that Blogger has such a limited font roster, and that I'm forced to use Trebuchet...I subscribe to monthly font newsletters - Yep, amateur font geek, that's me.
for more, go here
4) Vintage Linens - The softness of laundered years gone by. What can I say - they just don't make 'em like that anymore (well...they DO, but you'll pay out the whazooo...) I prefer character over lineage.
From the rustic...
from here
...to the pristine
and here
5) Paper - From stationary (heavy cotton, please) to wrapping (it's the first impression of a gift, right?) - I'm all over refined tree pulp!
letterpress stationary from smockpaper
To die for letterpress recipe cards and box from 1canoe2
6) Hardware - I know, not real original in the detail-oriented design world, but it's true of me none-the-less...Door knobs, bin pulls, plumbing fixtures, etc. Life's too short for all the gorgeous options!
Some of my all-time faves...antique brass bin pull via RH

if you're in the market for one of these...go here