Thursday, November 18, 2010

Got a blog? Get free cards!

Shutterfly is offering bloggers 50 free 5X7 greeting cards this Christmas.  Check out the offer here.  We used Shutterfly for our cards last year and I was really happy with how they turned out! In fact, they looked like this !

Here are a few new Christmas Card designs that I think are pretty cute:
Most Wonderful Time of the Year
It's a Wonderful Life
Oh Holy Night

Shutterfly also offers other cute personalized goods such as
Head on over to Shutterfly to check it all out!

Joe and I chose Shutterfly last year because I wanted a photo card and Joe wanted a card that would fold like the traditional style card. They offered us a happy compromise. I don't think we'll start doing a Christmas letter...yet! I look forward to writing one of those someday though! With all the ages of our children and what they have been up to- that will be so fun.


It's funny to think how much has changed since we sent our our last card! We both have new jobs, we found Stella, we've moved once, and now we're moving again into our first house!

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Better After!

Since we just bought a house we are working on collecting some furniture.  Joe and I have spent the last 8-9 years living in furnished apartments and dorm rooms so all we have we really have is a  plethora of book shelves, a mattress, and a box spring.  We have a ways to go.  This is why, I decided to peruse, Rollanet!  It turns out our fellow Rollaonians have boycotted Craig's List... in favor of Rolla Net:.  I wish I would have realized this about a year ago... I have spent a fair amount of time searching Craig's List in vain for anything on sale within a hundred miles of Rolla. Go figure- I was recently clued in on Rolla's preferred on-line classifieds server, so on we go... I purchased the following bedroom set... there are 5 pieces total.  Apparently I didn't get a before picture of all the pieces...



Nice and sturdy- but just a little too 1985 for my taste!  Using the process described here:  Here's what I did to amend this...
Step One:  Remove the hardware:


Step 2:  Apply 2 coats of primer.  I used Kilz Odorless Spray Primer.  This dries in about one hour.
Step 3:  Apply 3 coats of paint.  I used Valspar Interior Exterior Gloss in Antique White.  This dries in about 20 minutes.


Step 3:  Using a paint brush, apply a thin coat of Valspar Interior Faux Finish.  This finish needs to be tinted when you buy it.   I had it tinted "New Black" at Lowe's.  The finish is painted on with a paint brush and then wiped off with a damp cloth.   This finish makes all the etching in this set pop out. 


Step 4:  I spray painted the hardware an oil rubbed bronze. Here's how it all panned out... I don't have an after picture of mirror that goes on top of the long dresser.  It's done... it's just currently crammed away in the townhouse! 






Whew!  I'm pretty happy with it!  However, I don't think I will ever feel the need to spray paint anything ever again...  If you're interested in trying this method I recommend a trip to this blog for more instructions and inspiration:  All Things Thrifty by Brooke

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

New Digs

We bought a house last week!  After looking at on-line real estate postings for the past year, we started actually looking at places about 3 months ago.  We weren't overly serious about house hunting, mostly just attending random open houses.  Then last week, we fell in love with one particular listing and so we contacted the realtor and set up a private showing.  Joe knew right away that we would buy it... I played the role of the patient one, insisting that we look at one more comparable property, just to be sure.  Lucky for Joe, my "comparable property" was really creepy inside! Creepy attic, creepy basement, creepy used to be kitchen, now just a weird room with old cupboards- lol.  So, we confidently went ahead and  put in an offer on first house  the next day during our lunch hour.  It was accepted a few hours later.  I love it because it had wood floors, a white kitchen, and cute red doors- which are good luck!  Oh yes- fun cultural fact- people in Asia paint their doors red right before Asian New Year in hopes of good luck and good tidings in the coming year  Joe liked the basement and the big backyard.  I think we both like the fact it's charming and unique feel, the size, and the price.  Here are some pictures... PS- this is not our stuff!

The pictures don't show everything.  There are 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a big laundry room, and a bunch of sheds outside.

The current owner is an artist that  runs a business out of the basement-    http://hattierex.com/ It looks like she has done pretty well- her stuff has been featured in a few different magazines.  She did some cute artsy stuff in the house too- there is a distressed door in the master bedroom and if you look closely at  the kitchen curtains- they are hanging from bent forks and spoons.  There is a secret thing in the house too!  What is it?  I'm not telling- you'll have to come visit us after we close if you want to find out- hehehe:)  December 10th- we'll be good to go! 

Stay tuned for... a before and after of our new bedroom set I refinished last weekend!