Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Dining Al Fresco

With the nice weather here to stay, all I can think about are dinner parties on the back porch. I love having a small group of close friends over for an evening of food, drinks and lots of laughs. These outdoor tablescapes have me on the hunt for the perfect tablecloth. 




I have every one of these tablecloths in my shopping cart. Lucky for me, they're all in my budget- that budget being: cheap! Now which to choose...
1 // 2 // 3 // 4

Are you looking forward to some al fresco dining as well?

Xo Lindsay

Monday, May 20, 2013

Festivities

Last night, I spent a much needed night parked in front of the tv. I feel like I've been going 100mph since Thursday morning. It started with our radio segment bright and early Thursday morning, to work, to celebrating birthdays Thursday night, to work Friday morning, to a neighborhood get-together Friday afternoon, to dinner & out with friends Friday night, to a million errands Saturday, to the Hope Gala Saturday night, followed by a neighbor's party late Saturday night. Are you still with me? Did you get exhausted just reading it?? 
The bright side to going out 3 nights in a row- good times & cute pictures!

I was pretty impressed with these giant orchids

 If I have anything to do with it, I'll be spending lots of summer days by this pool

 Great night for a boat ride

Gorgeous tables at the JDRF Hope Gala

My babe cleans up quite nicely

Beautiful ladies at the Masquerade Gala


All in all, a fabulous last few days!! But Brad & I are looking forward to a chill week...
Happy Monday, Friends!
Xo Lindsay

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

DIY: Refinishing Headboards

If you'll remember, I bought a pair of twin headboards a few weeks back from a local consignment shop. I immediately knew these little fellas would need a facelift because that ivory paint just wasn't doing it for me. 

No matter which way I decided to take these guys (repaint or stain), first things first: Stripping!
Another blogger (don't remember who... shame on me!!) swore by Citristrip. And well, now I swear by it. Stuff is magic. MAGIC! Although, one piece of advice- buy the spray can. You'll also need a paintbrush (if you buy the jug), a scraper & some patience. Oh, & maybe a cocktail or 2 while you're waiting.


Now, be generous. Very generous. I soaked these headboards in this Pepto Bismal-ish goodness, and it still wasn't enough. So I smothered on more. And more. Then I waited. And waited. The directions say to wait 30 minutes... I waited about and hour and a half until it looked like this

Then, you scrape. 

 This is post scraping, where I decided that I like the wood. And thank God. Painting is not my forte!

 Since I decided to stain, I needed to condition the wood first. Don't skip this step. Imagine shampooing, blow drying & styling your hair without conditioner. EEEK!!!
Miniwax pre-stain wood conditioner, some gloves & a cloth are what you need for this step. Then, wipe it all ova.

Post conditioning

Finally, I chose 'Special Walnut' for my stain color. Still, all you need is the stain, gloves & 2 rags (one to stain & one to wipe away what the wood didn't soak in).

Once the conditioner dried (I waited about 20 minutes), I stained. I stuck my rag in the can, wiped it all over in the direction of the wood, waited about 5-10 minutes, then wiped off excess stain.

And viola!

I just love 'em. They look like a faux tortoise stain in person. Pretty awesome. Here they sit in our other unfinished guest room.
And that's my attempt at something crafty. Waddoyathink?

Xo Lindsay

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Society Social Shoot

So Tuesday was pretty much fabulousness mixed with complete chaos. Bright & early, the Social Society team showed up to take over my house for their magalog. I left when they got there to tend to some work biz, when I drove right up to a crowd of people holding American flags & film crews everywhere. Apparently, a new show called "Coming Home Again" was filming an Army Sergeant arriving back home after being away for a while. The show was surprising him with a backyard makeover. It was the sweetest sight watching him reunite with his family.



After forcing my way into the crowd so that I could be on national tv, I went back home to find my dining furniture in the living room and my bar cart looking oh so major!


And Ella was pretty much the star of the show

I sat back & watched as Roxy & her team worked their magic

The day was a total success. I met 4 wonderful people, watched some serious talent at work for 7 hours, and fell head over heels in love with a rug that is now mine! 

Roxy is seriously the sweetest, cutest, most generous person EVER! And it doesn't hurt that she has talent oozing out of every inch of her... I want every. single. piece. that she designs. 

So basically I had the best day ever. 
Just another day in the life... (I wish).

Xo, Happy Girl

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Happenings

I'm up at 7:00am. This never happens. Typically I write my posts a day in advance and schedule it for around this time because I'm incapable of life before 9am. But today, I have a special friend coming at 8:30, and not being prepared is just not acceptable. Some of you may know my special friend, Roxy... Or maybe you're more familiar with her blog and her biz, Society Social

I'm so thrilled she's here!! Roxy & her team are coming over to shoot my bar cart for her magalog that she does, so I'm in a hurry this morning. And when I'm in a hurry, all you get are a bunch of random pictures on my iPhone. Don't judge- it's better than nothing.

I finally found that bubble gum pink polish I've been seeing everywhere. It's Essie Muchi, Muchi. 

There is actual furniture in my 3rd bedroom, and I'm ecstatic. Yes, it looks sad & incomplete, but hey, it took from August til now for there to be anything in this room other than a bunch of clothes on the floor.

Fresh blooms make all the difference. Trader Joe's has the best!


 I'm loving my new tortoise ice bucket from Nordy's. It's quite small, but I don't really care because it's everything in it's small little package.

And that's all, Folks. Enjoy your Tuesday!
Xo Lindsay

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Gallery Wall, Schmallery Wall

I don't know why, but I have the absolute WORST TIME finding art that I love like. I am so indecisive when it comes to art work. Finding one nice, big piece is nearly impossible, so I decided a gallery wall is in my best interest. Each piece is pretty inexpensive, therefore I never feel too committed. And, if I later change my mind, it's not a huge loss. 

I did manage to fall in love with this nudie art from Furbish, if you'll remember. I've since bought it, received it & hung it.


As you can see, I've committed to antlers, a so-so picture of my babe & me, and a picture of a Scottie that I sketched. Well, these friends of mine need some friends of their own...

Furbish understands me. These ladies know what I like.

I've also always been a fan of the beach photography. And at just 35 bucks a pop, I think this lil' fella is worth a go. 

What sort of art are you attracted to? Do you find art a bitch like me??

Xo Lindsay