Lampaplooza: I'm so proud!

I am just starting to love lamps. Our current home has no overhead lighting in the front room. Lamps became a requirement to light the space. Since buying those and reading so many great home decorating blogs, I am starting to appreciate lamps more and more. But since I can't spend lots of money on lamps, I needed to find a way to get them without breaking the bank.

When I found several blogs talking about recovering a lampshade and spray painting the base, I was intrigued. I did some more research and knew I wanted to give it a shot. I even had the perfect place in my home for a lamp. It's right next to my husband chair. There is a little table that sits right below our family picture wall. We bought a lamp to put there but it was too large and obtrusive and covered the pictures on the wall. So I set in search of a small lamp that could fit there. At the local goodwill store, I came across this beauty for $3 and thought it would be just the right size. Don't laugh but I actually kind of liked the orange and thought I might be able to work with it.

Last night I finally made it to the fabric store to cover the lamp shade. I found the perfect fabric but it said it was flammable. Is that a problem on a lampshade? I didn't know so I called my best fabric source - my mom. She assured me it just meant I shouldn't be making kids jammies out of the fabric and it was fine to use on a lampshade.

I set to work at home. I had to goggle (again) how to cover a lampshade because I couldn't remember how to trace the pattern. I didn't have spray adhesive so I improvised on that part. I am so thrilled with how this lamp turned out! Who knew I could cover a lampshade?!


In the end, the orange didn't work with my fabulous fabric so I covered it with ribbon. The lamp fits perfectly in it's new home and doesn't cover up my family pictures. I have been totally inspired by The Nester and her attitude that it doesn't have to perfect to be beautiful. Now I'm trying to decide if I want to add the ribbon trim to the top and bottom of the shade. Maybe I'll just leave it like this for a few days and see how I like it. Oh, and if you see my husband, kind remind him that he will love this new lamp just like I do.

*JM asked me this morning about the lamp. I told him I love it because it 1- fits the space 2- I love the fabric and 3- it adds some texture and femininity to the room. I got a cross between a sign and a gagging sound for a response. Since he didn't put up a fight, I'm taking that as evidence he's ok with it.

Cinematic Outrage

Yesterday we decided to go to a movie with my parents. Even though my parents wanted to see Star Trek, we opted for a kid-appropriate movie, Monsters vs. Aliens. We have already seen this movie once before. Since we are cheap, we decided to hit a matinee. We walked up to the cashier to purchase two adult and one child ticket.

When she gave us our total of $22.50 I about choked. For a matinee! Aren't kids (under 3) free?! Come to find out, that is not the case. The matinee adult tickets are $7.50 plus an extra $2 each for the 3D. A child age 1 and up requires a ticket. Since when is a matinee over $7! I know we don't get out to the movies much anymore since we have a kid, but that seems really expensive.

What really gets me is that I don't actually like 3D that much. It gives me a headache after a while. It freaks BG out and she refuses to wear the glasses. We sighed and paid the over inflated price.The movie was ok, far from our favorite and definitely not worth $22.50 for the second viewing. Am I alone in thinking the film industry has gotten out of hand with ticket prices?

Blah Day

I spend most the day in bed or in front of the TV feeling blah. Perhaps I overdid it yesterday, but I didn't think so at the time. I'm hoping tomorrow will be better. My allergies are also kicking in, leading to regular sneezing fits. I need to call the Dr and get something to take.

The gopher/rodent is back. There was another flower casualty. We tried flooding again but we're still getting holes. Anyone have any other extermination ideas? (Heather I keep meaning to call you!) I'm am not above using potent chemicals to kill the creature(s), as long as it won't make my lawn/flower beds toxic.

This Means War

Two days ago I went outside to water my newly planted flowers. I have been so excited about actually having some color in my flower beds this year. While I was watering I noticed that not one, but two of my plants were completely missing. Not torn up like a cat marched through my beds. Not shredded like a child picked off all the petals. Completely gone. I may have well never even planted them.

I bring JM outside to show him the strangeness of the absent plants when he notices a hole in the lawn. Not a little hole, but a big one. A hole that looked like this. He determined that it was created by a rodent. Eeeewww!!! (I only stuck my foot in the picture to give you an idea of the size of this thing, not to make you feel bad that I am in desperate need of a pedicure.)
We dragged the hose over to flood out the den of whatever has taken up residence in our yard only to discover more holes under our porch. So may and so large I'm a little afraid the whole porch is going to collapse.

So last night after looking online to figure out how to get rid of a gopher (JM's guess) I sent JM to the store to buy some dirt to fill all but one of the holes. It took three full bags of topsoil to fill in all the holes we found. They were surrounding the porch, which means our porch is resting on swiss cheese. We then flooded the last remaining hole in hopes of killing the dirty thing where it lives. If this doesn't work, we'll resort to chemicals. I am trying to save my last half of a flower that has already been visibly gnawed away. Cross your fingers for me.

My Newest Favorite

I love summer salads. I love combining unique things together into a delicious dinner salad. JM doesn't like "funky" salads. He thinks salad should ONLY contain lettuce and veggies. I disagree. I enjoy fruit and nuts in my salad to liven it up a bit.

So when I found this recipe for Spicy Honey Chicken Salad, I was excited to try it. It's made with spicy chicken, mango, avocado, and lettuce. We grilled up the chicken and ate it for dinner a few nights ago. Last night I put together the salad and WOW. Let. Me. Tell. You. This salad is AMAZING. I find that the dressing typically makes any salad and this one is no exception. The Honey Citrus Vinaigrette is easy to make and a wonderful compliment to the chicken. The mango adds a bright splash of color and a delicious fruity flavor. I may have licked my plate after. If you are looking for a tasty summer chicken salad, be sure and try this one.

*Finally, the picture loads! It only took a whole extra day.

And it's gone

Why can't we get more than two weeks of spring?! Yesterday when I got in my car at 5pm the temperature read 106. I thought surely that was high because it is a black car and was sitting out in the sun all day. It did eventually go down, but never below 94 degrees.

This morning at 8:30 the car temperature read 75 degrees. I'm all for summer, but a month or two of spring would be nice.

Edited* And now it's raining! Why is nice weather too much to ask for?! I think I'll move to CA.

It's finally here!

Spring I mean. It's finally nice and consistently warm. And I am loving it!

Yesterday we ate breakfast on our deck. It was quiet and peaceful on a warm Sunday morning. We heard the birds chirping and the grass was green. It was such a lovely little slice of time that didn't last long enough. I'm looking forward to many more weekend breakfasts on the deck this summer.

In the afternoon we took a walk around the neighborhood. JM and I chatted and thought about all our blessings. BG pointed out the flowers, birds, animals, and bugs. I love this time of year.

Beg, Borrow, and Blog

Bloggy friends, I need your help. Next month I will be participating in my first outdoor craft show to sell my jewelry. I will be in the boutique for our city's summer celebration. I'm really excited about the opportunity and the exposure and hope to make some sales too.

The boutique is all day Friday and Saturday in a park. In June. Do you see where I'm going with this? It will be hot. I am trying to find a 10x10 tent to use. I'm hoping that one of you might have one you would graciously let me borrow. Or know someone who might. I know I could buy one of my own or even rent, but I'm not sure if I will continue doing outdoor shows. It this turns out to be a good thing for business, I will absolutely buy my own. However, until I know for sure, I'd rather not make that kind of large investment. So, does anyone have access to a 10x10 tent you are willing to let me use for a few days next month? Would it help to bribe you with using my new power sander?

Mother's Day

My Mother's Day was nice. JM was not feeling well so I still had all the mom duties for a Sunday. On Saturday we took a trip to Home Depot to get my gift. Before you cringe, it was what I asked for. This is what JM bought me for Mother's Day.A power sander! Yes, I am really excited about it. Our garage is filling up with furniture waiting to be sanded and painted. Now I won't have to sand by hand and this will do a much better job. We were going to hit the paint dept too, but JM wsa not feeling well. After spending time picking out flowers from the garden center, he was ready to head home.

I hope all you other mothers out there had a great Mother's Day!

Writers Workshop: Babies

I'm trying this new thing at work. It's called actually working instead of blogging. So that's why this post is coming up so late in the day.

When I saw Mama Kat's writing prompts, I knew I HAD to participate.
2- Do you want a baby?

YES!!!!!!!!!!

Is that a little too strong? Well, I figured this was the perfect excuse to write about our official status of TTC (Trying to Conceive).

When I first got married and we discussed child spacing, I thought 2 years apart was perfect. I grew up in a family where we are all about two years apart and it seemed to work fine. Now that I have a child, two years it too close for me. (I've read all the pros and cons on spacing too, I said FOR ME. Not judging anyone else's decision.) I think three years apart would have been great, but someone else was not on board 8 months ago. Now that BG is almost three, it will most likely end up 3.5 to 4 years apart. Which is fine.

I have started tracking my BBT (basal body tempurature) which involves taking my temp every morning before I get out of bed. JM likes to laugh at me for that, because I wake up just long enough to pop it in my mouth then fall back asleep until it beeps. I think he's actually nervous I will either choke on it or stab him in the eye.

I'm not such a patient person and I'm definitely a planner. So not being able to conceive when I want to is a challenge for me. We got pregnant really quick with BG, but some things have changed medically and it might take a little longer this time around. So yes, we are trying, I am thrilled, and hope to get prenant soon!

Tiny Tidbits

*** BG likes to hold up her middle finger and say "Dat bad." JM likes to accuse me of teaching her such gestures, but I really didn't! (Ok, maybe but not like that!) She did it one day and I told her that's not nice and we don't hold up just that finger. Since then, she has been showing off her new knowledge.

*** Last night JM was looking in the fridge when he turned to me and asked "Did BG drink my last juice box?" Funny, I thought we bought those for her, not Daddy.

*** BG insisted on having her hair curled today. It turned out really cute but takes longer than a wiggly toddler likes to hold still. I spent most of the time yelling at her asking her to hold still.

Victory! I hope...

Sunday marks the second day of wearing big girl panties with no accidents - including naps! (For BG. Not me, just in case there was any confusion.) She has even woken up in the morning dry on a few occasions. I am hoping praying we are fully potty trained so we can move on from diapers. The next you see BG, ask her which princess is on her panties that day. She is so proud.

One project down,many more to go

Disney was fantastic but I'm glad to be home and getting back in the swing of things. My husband has been on a business trip which means I have been frantically making use of crafting time while he is away. I have several projects that were waiting painting and I have worked on them and even completed one! Remember how my mom helped me sew this fantastic letter S? I put it in a frame I had and it's been hanging on the wall. But the frame was a mahogany color and I didn't like the contrast on the black fabric. I have been planning on painting it and finally got it done. Here is the frame before...

And here it is after. Much better. I really didn't like that gold matting.

Ok, so it's kind of hard to tell in these pics but I am liking it much better. I even hung it at the height I want it (as opposed to the height where there was already a hole in the wall. JM is irrationally protective when it comes to putting new holes in the wall.)

Here are a few things I've learned while working on these projects. I'm still in the middle of painting a few other things too.

1. You should NOT use the same place on the drop cloth to paint something white after you have painted something black. You end up getting black smudges on what you are trying to paint white.
2. Lots of spray painting will eventually leads to muscle strain and stiff fingers.
3. It takes MANY cans of spray paint to do a whole bed, even a toddler bed.
4. I'm a pretty lazy spray painter. I spray in one long continuous stream instead of short bursts as recommended. I'm also too lazy to wipe away drips. I wait for it to dry before hosing it down again with enough to cover the drip.
5. I have no idea how to determine if a project calls for spray paint or regular paint. I'm thinking I should have gone for regular paint on the toddler bed. I will certainly buy a can for when I get to the dresser.

If any of you out there are wiser than me on this last problem, please enlighten me!

Linking to Remodeling Guy and Hooked on Houses.