The cake is on fire!

Happy Birthday to one of my most favoritest peeps on the planet!  

Well…you might just be my favorite but let’s keep that little secret between us!

So here’s the plan for today's birthday activities…

• Breakfast at Cracker Barrel – 7:30ish (I know that’s not too early for ya since you sleep in about as often as I do….ummmmm…like almost never).

• Trip to Home Depot – ‘cause shopping for tools is fun and I’m sure there’s something there you can’t live without!  I’ll buy you a nail gun so I can borrow it…indefinitely of course.  Isn’t that how tool-borrowing always happens?

• Next stop – Hard Rock – how about some slot machines, gambling, poker – yes please!

• Time to eat again – lunch at Chipotle with sweet tea of course!

• Off to see a movie – I’ll let you pick this time.

• Dinner at Beefs – queso dip, wings, and beer...doesn't get much better than that! 

• And then we'll end the day at Coldstone – chocolate chocolate chocolate everything!  Remember calories don't count on birthdays so we'll eat ourselves into a sugar coma!  Good thing we both wore pants with elastic waist bands!

Sooooo...I hope you really enjoyed our day together.  Even if it was only imaginary.  And your card is “in the mail.”  Late of course.  But I’m sure that fact doesn't really shock you at this point. 

Love and miss you,

me

The Rug (Part 2)

So I had the most fabulous plans to DIY an 8x12 area rug for my office.  Why you ask?  Why not I say.  Doesn’t everyone make their own rugs?!  Hummmmm…guess not.

Okay…it was a great idea.  But then I couldn’t find the last 4x6 rug I needed to complete the project.  Ya see…I did the usual song and dance of shopping for a ready-made rug only to find smaller ones that were not quite right (but were the right price) and larger ones that were perfect (and perfectly too expensive)!  So on to Plan B…buy 8ft of shaggy wall-to-wall carpenting off the roll from my friends at Orange.  I did some calculating, more window shopping, and decided Plan B was not quite what I wanted either.  Back to the drawing board.  Plan C????  DIY a rug.

And why does this DIY rug thing make perfect sense to me (and probably only me)?!?  'Cause I can have a custom 8x12 area rug for only $40 buck-a-roos.  When I first started shopping for the "perfect rug" (that I quickly learned does not exist), I found super plush-thick-shaggy-bound 4x6 carpet remnants on sale for $10 bucks each.  Then an idea evolved to get 4 of them in coordinating colors and shagg-i-ness, cut 'em into 2ft square sections, and attach 'em all back together (with duck tape...of course) into one big 'ol rug.  (I'm pretty sure my dad is the only one who will truly appreciate the genius-ness of using duck tape in this plan!)

Problem:  I didn't factor in not being able to find all 4 rugs.  Arggggggghhh!

Soooooo..the rugs I did find and buy just sat on my office floor, rolled up and unopened, for a long, long time.  However, the little bads did use them as an obstacle course during their daily games of hide-n-seek.

But then I got tired of being rugless, so I decided to roll them out and just line them up on the floor.  Some rug would be a 100% improvement over no rug.  And strangely enough..... I'm satisfied with the current set up. Maybe that's 'cause it took all of 5 minutes to complete and I have a custom 6x12 rug.  

Lazy + Cheap = Happy 

(for now....)

The Great Debate

There's a huge debate going on in our house right now.  Are we discussing the next presidential election?  Nope.  The status of the economy?  No way.  Whether the chicken or the egg came first?  Ahhhh no.

Is this a rack for drying dishes????

Or a bunk bed for sleepy kitties????

You decide.

The Man Cave - Part 6 - Finale!

I'll just let the photos do the talking on this one.  It's probably best that way since I will most likely say something completely inappropriate and totally stupid.  So I'm off to play the quiet game...and the time starts....now!

The Man Cave - Part 5

Lastly, I set out to recover/slipcover the black leather (or is it ple-ther? ya know...fake leather) office chair.  So generic.  Such a typical man-space chair.  

Since I was the one who put that thing together a few years ago, I knew it could be updated with some staples and a bit of sewing. Of course what that really means is I was totally just winging it and hoping for the best.  Good news:  the chair actually turned out better than expected. And even some of my slipcovering mistakes turned out to be happy accidents that worked better in the end.

And since the hubby requested a "guest" chair, I raided the stash of free ones chillin' in my garage. Yep...I just said "chillin'"...since the chairs are literally cold and figuratively hanging out in the garage.  I know... too funny right?!...I should totally have my own comedy tour!   Anyway...a bit more time with the ORB spray paint, some extra fabric stapled over a new seat cushion, and success...chair #2!

And gotta love Zoey for being my little photo-bomber kitty.  She's kinda a spoiled diva.  But I don't mind.  The other day she informed me that her paws were cold and requested some UGG boots.  Not sure if they come in her size though.  I'll have to check on that along with her request for a Tebow jersey.  In the meantime...the little bads are enjoying the newly redesigned man cave.  Drumroll please...The Man Cave - Part 6 - Finale!

The Man Cave - Part 4

Now that I had all the core pieces set, it was time to try to unify everything.  There was still a hodge-podge of stereotypical man textures competing with each other...black, chrome, glass.  Blah.  Seriously...that décor is the furniture version of a pimped-out chrome muffler...it's like catnip for boys.  I totally don't get it...but then again...I'm not a boy.

So I took to the streets...well, actually just to my backyard...with my new favorite friend:  a can of oil-rubbed bronze (ORB) spray paint.  All the shiney silver surfaces went ORB.  

Then I tried out a can of frosted glass spray paint for the desktop.  The clear glass really seemed to confuse the kitties.  It made no sense that they could walk on a surface they could see through.  But they learned to just trust it.  Then I took the glass out to frost it.  And came back to find really frustrated kitties...jumping up to a glass surface that was no longer there and falling right through to the floor.  If they could talk, I'm sure the little bads would have had a few choice words for me on the subject.

I'm not totally sold on the frosted glass and metal desk look but it works for now.  I'm thinking of building a much cooler desk outta wood and metal plumbing pipes but that's a project for another day.  Maybe when it warms up outside and turning on the heat in the house is no longer required.  Let's see...that should be...ummm...sometime in June?!?!  Oiy!!  Good thing the last of my projects for this is-it-ever-gonna-end makeover were of the indoor variety - more details in The Man Cave - Part 5.

The Man Cave - Part 3

Now that the office had a lounge area with a cozy loveseat...it needed a side table.  Where else was I gonna put my glass of wine?!?!  And then I remembered the table that I started building this past summer but never finished 'cause I got stuck on the design.  The "x" table legs were just hanging out in the garage.  Well the measurements were a perfect match for the space my side table would occupy.  And it was half completed already = less time in the cold garage.  Perfect!  I like lazy projects.

Unfortunately it took longer than expected because my tools are divas and don't like the cold.  I still need to replace that broken drill bit.  And buy a nail gun.  Get a heated garage.  Ohhhh...and we're out of eggs too.  Yep...I may just have the strangest shopping list on the planet.

Honestly...I'm still amazed that this table doesn't fall over!  But to my surprise it's quite sturdy.  I gave it a couple of coats of oil-rubbed bronze (ORB) spray paint...'cause I'm all fancy like that...and attached a pine board as the top.  There's absolutely no finish on the top at all.  I kinda like it looking raw and rustic so for now it will remain untouched.

Thankfully...we've had a "warm" winter up here in the good 'ol north pole.  So my spray painting season extended well into November.  Those details are next in The Man Cave - Part 4.

The Man Cave - Part 2

Next up:  Rearrange all the furniture.  Otherwise known as life-size tetris.  This was the hardest part.  Somehow...I had to figure out how to configure the furniture so that it would best meet the needs of how we use the space.  All this in the midst of a bowling alley-like room with a bunch of weirdly placed windows and doors.  Kinda like the Man vs Food challenges...almost impossible but somehow I pulled it off.  And it didn't require eating a 30 pound hamburger!  Awesome.

Although, the new office layout did create some new challenges.  The TV and computer monitor no longer had a surface to sit on (the desk they were on got sent to the basement).  Luckily I found an old headboard at the local free-cycle spot the same weekend I started rearranging the office.  And it makes a perfect TV console. Bonus:  it's on wheels!  Which is really nice since nothing stays in one place too long around here.

And the "new" loveseat that we brought up from storage in our basement was...ummmm...a bit out of date.  Unless you're into 1980's rainbow-brite decor.  And I was.  But that was in the '80s when pastel rainbows were cool.  Now...not so much...so the loveseat needed a slipcover.  ASAP.  Enter some more painters drop cloths.

Of course...a proper loungey couch area would not be complete without somewhere to prop up your feet.  So I gave this other free-cycle find a quick makeover too.

And no room makeover would be complete without the need to build something.  So stay tuned for those details in The Man Cave - Part 3.

The Man Cave - Part 1

And the man cave (aka the hubby's office) got a much needed makeover.  2 months ago.  I know...kinda a bit late sharing the details.  Again.  Oh well.  It's good to keep expectations low.  That way I seem more impressive when I'm actually on time.

And since this "quick" makeover actually consumed several hours of my life and took a couple of weeks to complete...I'll share it in parts.  Ahhhh...the suspense!  I'm sooooo impressive like that!  Anyway...back to the man cave.  Most of the décor in there was black, metal, silver, chrome, glass and more black.  The stereotypical man space.  Blah.  And for some reason the furniture kept moving into weird clusters in the middle of the room.  Kinda like an airplane landing strip for furniture, all gravitating toward the TV.  And my clutzy self was injured on more than one occasion trying to navigate that obstacle course.  It was a horrible room.  So bad that there are no photos.  And I was well on my way to a broken toe or two...it was only a matter of time.

Some of my comments to the hubby included:
"ahhhhh...my toe!  why ohhhh why would you put that chair there?!?!"
"seriously...this space works for you?  it can't...you must be confused."
"so you really can navigate this clusterf#@% of furniture and not get injured?  wow.  okay."
"how do you get anything done in here...the feng shui is sooooo wrong."

Therefore, something had to be done.  First on my list was curtains.  Thought I would start small in case I got bored and decided to quit and just pretend that the man cave didn't exist.  Finding curtains seemed like a simple enough task.  Boy...was I wrong!  So here's a rundown of the curtain saga...

Step 1:  Shop the stores for curtains.  No luck.

Step 2:  Shop for fabric to make my own curtains.  No luck.

Step 3:  Shop for a stencil to make my own patterned fabric.  No luck.

Step 4:  Make my own stencil to make my own fabric to make my own curtains with painters drop cloths and wall paint.

Needless to say...I've only gotten as far as sewing and hanging the painters drop cloth curtains.  I think I've given up on the stencil idea.  For now.

For curtain rods, I used bamboo poles from the garden section, spray painted 'em black, and hung the curtains with ring clips.  Suspended from the picture molding at the ceiling of course.  Very old brittle plaster walls don't really appreciate nails and screws.  

After hanging the curtains, I was still intrigued with changing the room.  So I started to ponder the dreaded furniture layout.  I really don't think it's a lot to ask to walk through a room without the furniture trying to trip me up.  I'll share that adventure next in The Man Cave - Part 2.  

A Cleaning Convention

To my surprise…I only found a few dust bunnies hiding out under our bed.  Hummm….where did they go????  I’m quite positive (and hate to admit) there should have been more.  I did, however, stumble upon a cat toy convention in full swing under there. Apparently only mice and birds were invited.  And I’m guessing they got hungry and ate the bunnies.

Gone Fish'in

The batteries died.  The cat chewed through the power cord.  And it’s dark outside at 5pm.  Seriously…even my most stubborn, determined, strong-willed self can’t complete with all that!  So if anyone happens to be looking for me…I’ll be hibernating on the couch until further notice.  Pizza deliveries and bon-bons would be much appreciated!