Unglued

I've been very lame lately and haven't posted any blog entries for quite some time. I can't seem to find any inspiration or motivation and I'm feeling lots of frustration. That's a lot of 'tions' for one person.

This photo pretty much sums up how I've been feeling:

It's as though one of my antlers has come unglued. (Actually one my antlers did come unglued. Again. It's starting to get on my nerves that I can't seem to get these suckers to stay attached!)

I am also really bored with myself right now. I find most of my joy and entertainment on lawn watering day. The hubs (husband) and I have our morning coffee outside and watch the dogs chase the Polaris around the pool until the sprinklers come on. Then we watch the dogs try to eat the sprinkler water. 

Yep. It's pretty entertaining.

So, to make my self feel like less of a loser this week I thought I would post some photos of things I've done during other weeks when I wasn't being so lame. 

#1 - I PAINTED my ugly 90's era forest green kitchen tile backsplash. I wasn't ready to rip out the tile and redo everything because tiling is a big fat pain in the rear end! It's also costly and I have a big 'ol list of other stuff I want to buy first. I also thought about beadboard but, that too, would have been much more challenging. So I primed and painted. 

 BEFORE

 AFTER

#2 - I painted all of my mismatched dining room chairs white and recovered the seats with beige linen. The linen is a bit boring but I haven't found the exact fabric I want yet. But I really like how the white chairs turned out. I also need to replace the plain black curtain panels I had in that room but I'm not in a hurry on that either. I also want to replace the Waterford chandelier that is currently in here with something very modern. But obviously it's tough to part with a Waterford chandy. I'm thinking about using it in my master bathroom if I ever get around to re-doing that room. I think it would be lovely above an old clawfoot tub.

#3 - I painted a thrift store tray and updated my H wall. The tray was brown wood (and I think I paid all of $3 for it) so I primed it and painted it gray. I plan to line the bottom of it with a nice paper or wallpaper but, again, I haven't found exactly what I have envisioned for it. I also removed some of my H's to make this area look less cluttered and put some of them inside these frames. I had many of the frames already and also picked a couple up at the thrift store. (Thrift store finds are great for this type of thing because if you get tired of them you haven't spent much anyway and can donate them back and get the tax write off!)

#4 - I painted Husband's nightstand. This cabinet, which I think was probably intended to be a TV cabinet, was given to me by a friend of my mom's. It was brown wood originally and it kind of looked like a pirate treasure cabinet or some-such nonsense. Bottom line – it was Arrrrr-GLY! I primed it, painted it and put the original hardware back on it and now it's kind of cute.

#5 -I also painted my nightstand, too. It was a country crackle finish previously and now it's just solid white and much more modern. I am still working on that wall to the left. I've been thinking about a gallery wall but haven't quite decided yet. And, yes. There is a sign above my bed that reads 'MAGIC'. I found it at my favorite antique store near Lake Whitney and immediately knew it should go above the bed because everyone needs a little magic in the bedroom (and a good sense of humor!) :)

#6 - Last but not least (well, actually it is sort of the least because it was the easiest and least expensive project. I made some grown up birthday decorations for myself! I can't take credit for this  idea as it was borrowed from my cousin who did something similar for her wedding. Hers was incredibly beautiful! She used real roses and had tons of them draped and dangling from an antique willow type tree that was on the plantation where she was married. I modified mine by using faux flowers and my trees were much smaller so I only needed a few. But it was very fun to watch them blowing in the breeze. (And I think it only cost me about $10 using ribbon and flowers from the Dollar Tree!)

Whew! No wonder I'm unmotivated – I have been busy! So I'm feeling a little less lame now and might even go work on my other unfinished projects.  Or maybe that will have to wait because I think the clock says it's wine thirty! 

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Weenies

I love weenies. Some people think they look odd but I think they are adorable which is why I could never be content with just one. So I have two weenies – a chubby white one and a skinny brown one. Want to see a picture of them? (Don't worry – this isn't THAT kind of blog!)

 Buster and Luna

I think most people would also have to agree that although it's extremely childish, it's really fun to say the word “weenie”. I think it's because when you say the word “weenie” the muscles around your mouth form a smile and you can't help but be happy and giggle. Especially if it you say it three times in a row...weenie, weenie, weenie! (I bet you couldn't resist saying “weenie” three times, could you?)

And I know that they are called Dachshunds but saying 'Dachshund" is no where near as fun as saying "weenie"!  (Found this photo below on Pinterest.)

I was horribly deprived as a child and my parents would not let me have a dog. Well, technically we had a dog for almost a year but my mom said he was a communist. I guess he had to go back to the Soviet Union so he could continue being a communist or something because one day when I came home from school he was gone.

Anyway, now that I have dogs (who are not communists..at least not that I can tell) I want them to be comfortable and happy in our house just like we are. They need a place to sleep and take naps and a place they can get away sometimes and they need a place to eat. BUT, shouldn't those things be cute, too?

There are LOTS of great décor items out there for dogs, or that celebrate them, that are not only functional but can also add charm to your house. Since I'm partial to weenie dogs and think they are the 'bees knees' (which is also really fun to say because, again, saying it makes your mouth smile automatically), many of these feature my favorite stubby-legged friends but some are just cute items for any dog lover.

 I adore this quirky wallpaper from Swedish graphic artist, Lisa Bengtsson.  

 Check out her site here

I would love to put this in a small guest bathroom or on one wall in my entryway for a fun statement.

Look at this cute little weenie dog pillow!  I found it on Etsy.com  I'm thinking this will be great on my office chair!  I would always know this weenie would "have my back"!  Haha! 

 

 

 

 And look at these cute bookend guys from johnathanadler.com

I also found a great site for dog beds that are eco-friendly!  It's called MollyMutt.com  They sell dog bed duvet covers in the cutest fabrics!  Here's how it works:

 

You buy a duvet cover and a special insert and stuff it with old towels, blankets, socks, underwear, etc you have around the house (or maybe you stuff it with ugly clothes your husband has that he refuses to get rid of) and then put it inside the duvet, close it up and voila! You have an eco-friendly dog bed that doesn't use stuffing.  (AND...when your husband starts looking for his ugly old shirt he'll have to deal with the napping, grouchy dog if he wants it back!)  

Here's the duvet from MollyMutt.com that I have on my wish list:

 

MollyMutt.com also has really cute dog crate covers.  Here's one I like:

 

It's also important for our four-legged friends to dine in style.  Check out these cool dog bowls:

This one I found while checking out Houzz.com   It's hand-painted in this awesome chevron pattern.  

I also like these from Glamourmutt.com although they look more like a piece of art than a dog bowl.  It would be tough for me to justify the cost of these since they would be licked by dog tongues and I know where those tongues have been.  Blech!  But aren't they fantastic?:

I have a few final photos to share.  It's a picture of my current guest bathroom!  I am including it in this post because it has a subtle tribute to weenie dogs.  I thought it was a great way to incorporate something that I am fond of but in a way that is a bit more subdued.  

 

This is a weenie dog sketch that was drawn by the artist, Picasso.  No, mine is not an original Picasso sketch - I found the picture online through Google images, printed it on photo paper and framed it in this inexpensive gold frame I found at a thrift store.  It now hangs in my teeny tiny guest bathroom:

My WEE (nie) Guest Bathroom

(that's the framed Picasso print on the right hand wall)

I realize this is not a great picture of my guest bathroom but this room is not quite finished yet.  I am still on a search for the perfect rug and a few more accessories to complete it before posting it in entirety. I was inspired by the photo below on Pinterest and couldn't stop thinking about that shower curtain.  I had to have it!  Since purchasing I have also replaced the ugly pink/lavender ceramic tile we inherited with the house.  It's coming along nicely albeit slowly.

Thanks for taking a wee bit of time to read about my weenies!

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney