I should've thought of this months ago!

So I have these sailboat paintings I bought months ago, $5 each. I love the colors in them, and the old, rustic man-style (kind of)...but I feel like they make my apartment dark, and a little too 70's porn-office or something.  I guess I never really thought there was a way to make them look bright, but then I had an epiphany! What do you think??
BEFORE

(my kitchen doesn't look like this anymore)

(it looks more like this)

the frames, up close. This is the picture that is the most "true" as far as color.

(paintings up close)

ta da! (AFTER)

I understand that these paintings would probably never find a home in most people's... homes. But I really do love them, and I think they look much less depressing now. In fact, I would almost call them pretty.

What do you think? Better?

oh, how lucky i am!

Remember that really super amazing craigslist find I promised I'd post? Well, here it is:
(here is my "horrible picture" disclaimer, along with the "this is a before picture" disclaimer)
ta da!

It is a headboard from a real wrought iron bed frame. These victorian style frames were almost always shaped by hand, and in general no two are alike. Iron beds were very popular until World War I, when the iron was needed for the war efforts and beds were no longer made--or were melted down. I can barely lift this by myself, and I like to think I've got some spinach-fed guns.

I can't wait to refinish this. I thought about stripping the white paint first to see what was underneath, but the man I bought it from assured me it was nothing to write home about (but then again, he did sell this for $40). Anyway, it will definitely get painted...but should I paint it black? The only reason I hesitate to do that is because I absolutely don't want it to end up looking like one of the "iron" (steel) beds you can get anywhere. So, I'm thinking yellow...kind of a pale-ish/bright-ish yellow, that will give my new thriftpologie bedroom the colorful pop I'm worried it's already lost. 

Any thoughts?

on the frame? or the use of my new word, thriftpologie?

ps My sincerest apologies for the rambling. Indecision makes my speech formulation atrocious. 

mmmmm brussels sprouts!

One of my favorite food blogs is The Bitten Word. Not only are these guys my favorite, but they were also named "One of 50 of the world's best food blogs" by The Times of London. If you've never checked out The Bitten Word, you should probably devote at least a few hours to making yourself really hungry.
I love how Clay and Zach (the authors of The Bitten Word) find most of their recipes in food magazines, and then post a "review" on making the recipe, things that worked or didn't work, and the outcome. Anyway, I most certainly shouldn't speak for them, so check it out!

My favorite recipe from The Bitten Word, so far, is for Roasted Brussels Sprouts.

mmmmmm Delicious!

High-fives all around, this recipe is easy, *cheap*, and so so so scrumptious. Yes, I said scrumptious, and because of this post I think I may leave work early and head to the grocery store. If you get a chance to try this recipe, let me know what you think!

The Bitten Word's Roasted Brussels Spouts with Bacon and Apples

1 pound Brussels sprouts
2 slices bacon (uncooked)
1 apple, cored and cut into 1-inch cubes (we use Honeycrisp if available. Gala, Fuji or Pink Lady apples work great too)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Remove any damaged or discolored leaves from the outside of each sprout and cut off the tough white stem base (if necessary). Cut each sprout in half.

Place the Brussels in a roasting pan with the diced apple. Slice 2 slices of bacon into 1/2 inch pieces. Drop them uncooked into the pan with the sprouts and apples. Drizzle the sprouts and bacon generously with olive oil. Toss to combine.

Roast 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Toss. Continue roasting 15 to 20 minutes more, until the vegetables are nicely caramelized.

a quick tip: Make sure to use enough olive oil. I don't mean that you should use the oil the way Paula Deen uses butter, but don't be a wimp with it either. I also like to put at least an extra half of an apple.

Good Luck! Don't forget to check back and let me know how it turned out!

surprise surprise!

I may just win Find of the Year tonight, check back later this evening (late late for you east-coasters) to see why!

all in a day's work!

So today, I woke up incredibly late, stumbled out of bed in the groggiest fog I've experienced in months and fought through a long day of work. Actually, it was quite a short day. I was a bit late, left a bit early, and I'll probably pay for it on Monday. The second I walked in my door, I had a sudden splurge of energy (and 2 cups of coffee) and got to work!
Let's hop to it so I can still go out and enjoy a beer with the ladies.

First, the small projects:

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frames (goodwill, $1.99/ea)

BEFORE

AFTER...

a little wipe down and some glossy spray paint:

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frame (goodwill, $2.99)

BEFORE

AFTER...

satin off-white spray paint:

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lampshade (goodwill, $6.99)

I'm not sure what I think of the finished product on this one. I like it, but I don't LOVE it. I also decided to go ahead and spray paint this shade, even though I read several articles warning me not to. Sure, fabric paint would have been smart! But considering the lengthy (car-less) jaunt that would have been required to obtain said fabric paint, I decided to go ahead with the spray paint and not worry too much about the loss had it been ruined. I suppose it worked out better than anticipated, although I'm not sure that I will actually be turning the lamp on unless I am the only one in the room to see the nice patchy light shining through spray paint circles.

BEFORE

I covered the vertical ruffly-bits with some foil and tape (yes, regular present-wrapping tape):

AFTER

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brass candlesticks (goodwill, $.99-$1.99/ea)

I adore these. So simple, so elegant, and now so shiny and classic.

BEFORE

AFTER (ta da!)

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stool

I already had this, but the top was getting pretty scratched so I gave it a quick rub down with some fine sand paper and re-painted it:

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and now, for my favorite!!

brass lamp (goodwill, $14.99)

I knew this lamp was going to be amazing, but it was just too easy! Even if it didn't look quite as wonderful, I would still be proud of how simple this was. Also, in case you don't know, I have a lamp fetish (and a thing for clocks, too).

BEFORE

I roughed it up a bit before painting it:

and, viola!

AFTER

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so, what do you think? A productive day, right?

ps Josh loves having all these projects laying around. (Are you crafting again, heute?)

so about those drinks with the girls.. I'm off!

sneak peek!

...of just a few of the things I purchased at goodwill last night. The sugar and flour containers are even better than what I have been looking for, and I've got a small surprise in store for what will come of them.

The little blue bud vases (?) are simply feeding my ceramics obsession, the picture frames are going to be spray painted, and the real silver (padded!) jewelry box I couldn't pass up. It's gonna be a charm once I can find some polish. It has a friend too, a real friend...but I am too tired to take anymore pictures tonight. enjoy! I'll post some "after" pictures once things are wrapped up!

Let There Be Light! and lamps a-plenty.

My sincerest apologies for the long and drawn out decade that was my last post. Clearly, it discouraged me so that I have not posted in over 3 months (although that's actually a short break for this blog)! With that said, starting now, I am going to make it my business to blog.

While my friends (boyfriend included) do their best to appreciate and find interest in my "crafting" and quite amazing (if I might say so myself) thrift store finds, I am going to post them here in case someone out there is (honestly) interested in seeing all of the time I like to waste making things better. yay! Shall we begin?

My first official project documentation is a lamp I found at a Lutheran Thrift Store with Blake. I kept picking it up, putting it down, telling myself to save the $9.99. Needless to say, I left with the lamp. It's one of those really girly things that makes me grumble with my opposing 2 favorite styles. I've been an all-things-mid-century lover for some time now, but for the last year or so the need for frilly, flowery, antique-y, anthropologie-esque things has leaped upon me. I still like simple, but ... well, you'll see what I mean if I actually start posting more as I've promised.

So for real this time,

BEFORE

AFTER