I Was a First Grade Hooker

(This post ended up getting deleted, so I'm going to write it again in the condensed version.)

                                                                                                         

My husband, son, and I were going through the sewing books at JoAnn's looking at costumes.  BTW, no I can't sew, I just like to pretend I can so people won't suspect that I am really just getting my rest on. I really like doing that. I'm the one at the furniture store "exploring the ergonomical features" of the latest lazy boy recliner (Like I'd really allow one of those in my living room. The sales people are so gullible!).  Or, at the mattress section at Bed Bath and Beyond, "Oh honey! I really need to check out the sleep number in that mattress there!" You can really get your nap on while your out shopping if you're creative enough! Maybe I'll make a tutorial for that later.

Anyhow, the husband and son were discussing what Halloween costume "little Ricky" would use this year and what my husband used when he was 6 or 7. Which quickly translated into "Ricky" asking what was I when I was that age.  Me? I was a hooker.



 Later that evening....


No. Really. Later that evening..........


Me: Mom, do you remember dressing me up as a hooker for Halloween when I was about 7?

Mom: "Lucy", that never happened!

Me: I had my hair teased, heavy makeup on, and club clothes.

Mom: It was the 80's. You  just described half of the American population at that time. (she's not joking btw.... think Boy George and Flock of Segals)

Me: Mom! I was wearing fish net panty hose and 2 inch heels! I was the only kid in the neighborhood being offered to turn tricks for treats!

Mom: *Color draining from her face*

Mom: "Lucy",  you can't write that! What will people think?

Me: I wouldn't worry about it. There are other bloggers out there with more messed up childhoods than me.

Mom: I doubt that bad.

Me: Mom, there is a blog I read sometimes. Her mom tried to get her some action by bribing a kid with subway. 

.......................

Excerpt taken from "Tales of My Messed Up Life" by Design Fluff.



**I seem to have lost all of my comments, again. Not sure why I have the wonkiest commenting system on Blogger, but if any of you needed me to get back to you about something, you can re-post here now that I have gotten rid of intense debates. Perhaps the change back to blogger caused me to lose the comments. Sorry!

Mantel Change Up: Decorating with Tape

Lately, I've felt like a mad decorator scientist with my rub-n-buff, gold leaf pen, and tape.  I temporarily changed up our mantel using frog tape and gold rub-n-buff to make a design on the wall. Since gold leafing our dresser and successfully using the frog tape that was gilded in the process, to faux gild the edges of the dresser(I did the dresser months ago and the tape has not budged!), it has come to mind that I could probably decorate with tape just about anywhere.

I have more tape projects coming up so don't forget to follow if you don't already so you can see my newest projects!

**I seem to have lost all of my comments, again. Not sure why I have the wonkiest commenting system on Blogger, but if any of you needed me to get back to you about something, you can re-post here now that I have gotten rid of intense debates. Perhaps the change back to blogger caused me to lose the comments. Sorry!

Dining Room Update, Sneak Peek

 I stenciled my dining room wall in an ikat pattern. I chose grey and white as the colors. Despite how sick I've gotten of grey, I have to admit, I chose the shade of grey and the theme of grey and white for my living and dining room area because of how soothing it is to me.  Not to mention I'm an incredibly fickle person. I easily tire of things and this would allow me to change out accessories, to change things up without having to repaint the entire room.

A lot of things are overdone by now and ikat is one of them. I originally chose the ikat because in the grey and white combo, it appeared feminine to me. It had a lot of graceful curves the other stencils didn't have. At least this particular ikat stencil did. And for whatever reason it too, was calming.

  I wanted my living room and dining area to be soothing, somewhat formal, a little on the feminine side, and sparkly. Don't get me wrong, some patterns are timeless. Ikat is timeless. It's just that it has showed up everywhere and needs a little break or a fresh new take on it. 
        

Hey, I meant it when I said it was just a peek! No, I'm not keeping the light fixture. We are still under construction!

To be honest though, I believe it's only over done in the bloggy world. I don't see ikat everywhere I go in the real world.  And to be perfectly honest, I'm working on contentedness. I am so bad about wanting to change things around every 2 weeks. My mantra: It's not out of style in the real world, it's just the insane bloggy world. Breathe. You like it. You want to keep it.

I really like these candle holders for this nook from Z Gallerie.

I'm really not joking about that either. My best friend, we will call her Ethel, hates that about me.  So does my husband, "Ricky."  This is a serious conversation we had not too long ago, " I'm tired of ikat already, I want a change, I'm thinking of another stencil."     He had just finished by the way and it took him months  a really long time to finish it. He says it was the glossy white paint that I put on the wall. It made the stencil not want to stick.  Note to self: glossy paint belongs on trim and in bathrooms not on dining room walls.      "Lucy, you better not be serious, oh woman I'm gonna......." I'd finish the rest of that sentence but I don't understand  spanish very well.



Linking up with: http://www.funkyjunkinteriors.net/
http://www.houseofhepworths.com 
Linking up with these lovely ladies: HERE

A Chair Makeover: Using What You Have

I'm getting ready to cut the legs shorter on my counter-top height dining table. I'm sick of my legs dangling at the dinner table. 

I can not cut the dining height chairs shorter because of the way they are made. So, I'm in need of dining chairs. I'm looking at these for side chairs:

With a budget right now for furniture of around zero fifteen dollars a chair, I decided to work with what I have in the mean time.

So, here is what the previous tenants left at the house.

Yeah, it's pretty dirty and gross.

I used a krylon 18kt paint pen, rustoleum glossy white paint, upholstery fabric in purple and champagne velveteen, and a steam cleaner and came up with:

We are painting the floors black right now and the black bleed through the frog tape onto the base boards. So forgive our mess.

The chair isn't really what I expected. I think I was a little too heavy handed with the gold paint pen, cause I love using that thing! But for my taste I need less gold. So, I'll be painting over the sides of the legs and returning them to their former glory. 

I didn't want to be matchy matchy and purchased a lovely champagne velveteen for the other side chair. Plus, I'm not big on purple. I just wanted to throw in a little fall color.

A tip for ya, don't use the krylon 18 kt gold spray paint over a glossy surface without proper sanding and priming or you will end up with this:

You can safely use the krylon 18 kt gold paint pen over the glossy surface with no prep. It worked perfect for us. If you get a little bit of streaking, just allow the first coat to dry and go over with the pen a second time. That's all you will need to do.

Here is the Krylon 18 kt paint pen in comparison with no prep work:

 They are 2 different colors! The spray paint has a greenish tint to it and the pen, to me, looks richer in person. I'm really just not a fan of the spray paint. The pen on the other hand is amazing! I reallly have to hold myself back from writing all over the walls with it!
That's it. I'll be back with the second chair done and hopefully the purple one updated.

 Don't forget to follow design fluff through email, GFC, or Linky Followers. I've had some emails that some of you didn't know how to follow, most of my followers are through feed burner but I put up GFC today so some of you can follow that way if you want.

Working On Gold Leafed Dresser

I apologize for the bad picture quality. This was taken before we painted our dining room. Anyhow, we are taking a dresser "apart" and giving it a facelift. It's still a work in progress.

I used some frog tape to place a pattern on my dresser top. Then I gold leafed over it. I removed the frog tape which was gilded and placed it around the edges of the dresser. It worked quite well in faux gilding the edges.

This project was put on the back burner and I've noticed the gold leaf has not held up so well even though we sealed it with the sealer that comes in the kit. So, I'm either finding another sealer and redoing the top or going to scrap the whole thing and mirror it then layer over some O'verlays. Not sure yet. Stay tuned.

BTW...surprisingly the 'faux' frog tape gilding has held up amazingly! Gilded frog tape? Hmmm.... I think I have an idea!  Be back soon with an update!

**I seem to have lost all of my comments, again. Not sure why I have the wonkiest commenting system on Blogger, but if any of you needed me to get back to you about something, you can re-post here now that I have gotten rid of intense debates. Perhaps the change back to blogger caused me to lose the comments. Sorry!

ABC's Once Upon a Time Halloween Dinner

Ok, this year we have decided to geek out and have a "Once Upon a Time" themed Halloween for the family. We absolutely adore this hit show and if you are not watching it, seriously, watch it!

 Snow White Gallery ABC

(Just in case you're wondering, we've been so busy with so many things and for that reason and a million others I haven't been blogging. So, I know it's looking pretty neglected around here.)

 I haven't come up with a concrete menu yet, but I have a few ideas off the top of my head. If you are a Once Upon a Time nut like me, you can borrow them if you like! (This would be a great time to make up some DIY menu cards.)
Menu:
Huntsman's Heart-ey Stew (If your a fan you'll get this)
Sangria as blood red as the Queen of Hearts herself
Sourdough bread bowls satisfying for even the hungriest of dwarves.
Poisoned apple turnover  (just like Regina Likes 'em)
Rumplestilt-skin-less (or with skin if you like)  potato medley with pastured butter and scallions
Red's "wild" foraged salad w/organic celery salt and raw olive oil
(Ok, it may not be wild foraged but we foraged for it at the local farmer's market. We aren't that adventurous people!)

Dessert Bar:
Maybe an extra large Hansel and Gretel gingerbread house

Snow or Mary Margaret. Her style can be rustic, princess, or  Anthro.

Here is the table I imagine. Of course any table will do:

Restoration Hardware Trestle Table. Made from reclaimed wood. I love this table!

 These are all Anthropologie. They are some of my favorite picks and what I imagine "Snow" might use if she set the table. I would maybe pair some of these plates over wooden chargers. I've been waiting for my husband to come home with a chunk of tree so I could slice up my own. But it looks like you may be able to 
buy some on Etsy from Adhocstock

Z Gallerie Quadra Dinnerware on left. 13 inch birch "chargers" top right. And again Anthro for the plates bottom right.

Think birch and bark when setting a Storybrooke table.  Twig flatware is from West Elm.  Cork Knife Set from Anthro.

Tray with 4 legs from Anthro is a lot of fun and whimsical.  It's so very Alice in Wonderland.

Of course, if you favor the Evil Queen's style (Regina),  you may want to go with the Labyrinth table setting from Z Gallerie, which I adore as well.

You can call her Regina or The Evil Queen. Whatever you prefer.

ZGallerie's Labyrinth Collection works well with an Evil Queen Place setting. You can work the Quadra Dinnerware with either motif.  Also, the trestle table can go either way. Regina happens to have a trestle table for her home office.

After dinner we retire to the living room for poison candied apples and watch our favorite show! Followed by other Disney Fav's, Ichabod & Mr. Toad, Black Cauldron, and Nightmare Before Christmas.

Adam's Scary Apples. via Matt Bites. Visit for the recipe!

Since I have a house full of males, we won't be dressing up like Storybrooke characters (Storybrooke, Maine is the setting for at least half of the show.)  I'd love to know if any fans of the show will be doing so!

Since switching comment platforms, I lost all of the comments you guys made on all of my older articles. 

Coco Chanel and Yves St Laurent Loved Sheaf of Wheat Coffee Table

Made in Italy but became the epitome of French Chic in the 60's, I believe. 

I wanted to share a very exciting find from Craigslist. I just about jumped out of my skin waiting to get it!  It's the highly coveted sheaf of wheat coffee table made classic by Coco Chanel and Yves St. Laurent.

Woohoo, look at those sexy gams. You can look but don't touch the sheaves, ladies.

I've seen this table going for as much as $7,500 U.S. dollars! Most I've seen listed $1700-4,000. And you can still find them occasionally going very cheap on eBay or Craigslist.

I want to keep it as it will never go out of style, my husband says sell it!

Above and Below images are from Coco Chanel's 31 Rue Cambon apt.

Coco was said to have used the sheaf of wheat emblem in many of her designs. She believed it was good luck and it symbolized wealth.

Yves St. Laurent's sheaf of wheat table. He was said to use them frequently through out his home.

I

Yves St. Laurent was buried with wheat sheaves all over his casket.

Coco used wheat sheaves throughout her home as well. In fact you could find it in every room of her apt.

Karl Lagerfield paid homage to Chanel by using wheat sheaves in his Spring/Summer 2010 collection.


Today, I just styled the table with what I had available. Later, when I have more time to collect items, I may feel inspired to style in Coco Chanel theme, which is what I originally planned.

**I seem to have lost all of my comments, again. Not sure why I have the wonkiest commenting system on Blogger, but if any of you needed me to get back to you about something, you can re-post here now that I have gotten rid of intense debates. Perhaps the change back to blogger caused me to lose the comments. Sorry!