Friday, January 28, 2011

Snow Delay

(my sunroom is now a snowroom)

Remember when I said I was going to put this up this week?



And was going to finish making these. 










I was also going to make more of these for spring and summer

    

But then we got this






So we've been doing a lot of this. 




(he wants to be a chef and a scientist when he grows up)


Stay warm and stay tuned. Once school is back in session I'll be back to my old tricks :)
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Wednesday, January 26, 2011

There's MORE! Gold Flatware continued

My post on gold flatware was one of my most popular post to date. So I feel it my duty as a shop-a-holic and responsible blogger to alert everyone that I have spotted another set.



This one is more traditional and I don't know what the price it (yet).  But, I can tell you that the company running this estate sale is my favorite because they know how to price their stuff.


If you're interested, the sale starts on Friday morning at 9:00. Check out their website to get all the details and see photos of other treasures to be found.

Happy Shopping!

Monday, January 24, 2011

And for my next trick I'll attempt...

Wallpaper the powder room!


Ever since I heard about this Sherwin Williams EasyChange wallpaper that is pre-pasted and can be easily removed, I've been really excited to give it a try. 


EASYCHANGE WALLPAPER
easychange-logo.gif

They say its easy to put up.


They say you can "remove it simply by pulling it off the wall - no special tools or solvents needed."


They have some very pretty designs too.



Today I'm showing you what the powder room looks like now--the before.


I've hated the color of my powder room since the day we moved in. And it's directly across from our front door, so it's the first room anyone sees when entering our house. (I think that's so weird!) 


What you see when you walk in my front door


I've tried to make the room look as pretty as possible (and less like a bathroom) without spending a lot of money.  I put a piece of furniture in for storage.


made a silk skirt for the sink. 




I put my $5 yard sale bust in there for a little bit of unexpected whimsy. (I thinks it's kind of funny.)




And now I've ordered this EasyChange wallpaper. It should be here this week and I intend to get started right away. 


I'm hoping this oversized damask print on the walls will give it a fun and elegant vibe.  The color flows nicely with the color of my entry and the floor tiles.




I'm not sure how this wallpaper project is going to go down because I've never been very good with measuring,  but it should be interesting.  

I'd love to hear what do you think about the print? Or if you've used EasyChange yet?

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Friday, January 21, 2011

You Lucky Girl!




Thank you to everyone who stopped by and left a comment this week. I had so much fun hosting this giveaway and hearing from so many new readers. I'll being doing this again soon! 

The winner is, Leslie. 

Congratulations Leslie! Please contact me to discuss what color you would like your new 4-in-1 necklace to be.



If you're interested, I have a limited number of these oversized gemstone pendants left. So if you would like to order a "4-in-1" for yourself (or someone you really love), please contact me to discuss pearl color and pendant options. 

Have A Great Weekend! 

Thursday, January 20, 2011

The Real Deal - Gold Flatware

You're seeing it everywhere these days.


It always kind of bothered me when setting my table, to see that gold band on the china and then to put silver flatware next to it. But we all know that gold was a four letter word for a little while there. It's back now and going stronger than ever.


Eddie Ross

 Every time I see one of Eddie's tables I think to myself, if ever see gold flatware I'm buying it!

Eddie Ross

Last weekend I got lucky!  I found it.


It's extensive, including all the serving pieces you could ever want and place settings for 12. But there are so many other pieces, like luncheon forks in addition to salad, seafood, and main course forks that I could easily mix up the sizes and set a table for 24. It has demitasse spoons, ice tea spoons, ladles, carving knives, butter knives and much, much more. There was even a salt and pepper shaker included!



I love it because it looks modern which is the perfect contrast to my old china.



The way I found it kind of unfolded like a like a love story. I told Matt I needed a little break and I would be back in an hour or so. I stole away to my favorite little thrift store for some thrifting therapy and did a quick lap. Nothing was jumping out at me. Then as I neared the door I noticed a mysterious closed box on the jewelry counter. Feeling a little naughty, I opened it. There she was, the flatware I'd been looking for. The helpful woman working there struck up a conversation.


I told her that gold flatware was the latest great thing. She laughed as if she doubted me. When I told her "I have to have this" she laughed again. I think she thought I was kidding.



Once I got home from the thrift store I googled "gold flatware Italy" to see what a set like this would go for. I found a very similar set that is described at stainless steel brushed gold made in Italy selling at Barney's. It sells for $115 per 5-piece place setting.

 Alaina Kaczmarski of Live Creating Yourself did a post about gold flatware in December. Her search turned up the same set from Italy that I found in addition to these other options.
1. Bamboo Flatware from Neiman Marcus | 2. Oneida gold flatware |
3. Mepra Ice Oro flatware from Barney's | 4. Sun-tipped silverware from Anthropologie


I paid $40. I think without question I got a real deal on gold flatware. Now I'm dreaming up a reason to use it.

I'd love to hear from you if you know anything about what I have. What is the metal? How do I take care of it, and whether you're jumping on the gold flatware train?





Don't forget to enter my jewelry giveaway by leaving a comment, becoming a follower, visiting my jewelry website or mentioning MGH on your blog. The winner will be selected TOMORROW!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

A Blogger Award For Me?



I'm touched that my friend and fellow chair loving blogger, Kim of Chattafabulous  nominated me for a stylish blogger award last week. I've beens struggling to come up with 7 facts about myself ever since. Then this week the very talented Kathy of Stitchfork also nominated me. I'm thrilled that I've found both Kim and Kathy in blogging and I'm so grateful that they like Monkey Grass Hill. Thank You!


As a recipient of this nomination I'm supposed to tell you seven things about myself. 

I've dug down deep and honestly I'm having a really hard time coming up with anything interesting. This has been more difficult for me than figuring out how to make a slipcover. Quite possibly more challenging than teaching myself how to upholster a chair. More stressful than hosting a formal dinner party for 12. 


Here goes 

1. I never knew I was a collector until I started blogging and writing about my days. Now I realize that I collect, lamps/light fixtures, chairs, china, flatware, glasses, milk glass, vintage mink, tables, fabric, plants, the list goes on.  

(I became a milk glass collector after this estate sale haul)

2. I'm married to an accountant, Matt, who I met while working at a company owned by a professional sports team owner.  At the time we met the owner was in the process of buying the team. Matt moved on with him once the sale was finalized and stayed there for most of our married life.  I'm not a sports fan, so the thrill of that and the amazing seats he used to have were lost on me. I never went to another game after we got married. (He's not there anymore.) We'll be married 8 years in June.


4. The first art class I took was pottery wheel when I was in my late 20's.  I really loved throwing on the wheel, but it was too time consuming going back and forth to the pottery studio. Every time I started dating anyone seriously I had to stop because it was too time consuming and the open studio hours were very limited. So I moved onto oil painting. But my tiny little house really wasn't a good space for all the supplies and clean up required. So then I decided to try making jewelry because I could do it from home and it wouldn't take up a lot of space. (and I like being able to design what I want to wear.)
5. I was a marketing and communications manager for Freddie Mac before I had Drew and became a stay at home mom. 

(one of my paintings)


6. My furniture purchases are often determined by whether I can lift, move, and transport them by myself.
(this is the cabinet that is in the pantry now and a couple more plants)

7. My family considers me somewhat of a gourmet cook, but my favorite food is mexican and my favorite place to eat is Moe's. For those of you who don't know, Moe's is a fast food mexican chain like Chipotle--the opposite of gourmet.

A Chipotle restaurant signImage via Wikipedia


Whew!
I'm relieved that's over with. Now I can get back to the easy stuff like heavy lifting and teaching myself how to blow glass ;)



Don't forget to enter my giveaway by leaving a comment, becoming a follower, visiting my website and telling me what piece of jewelry you like best.  

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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Finishing Touches



Remember when I said I was going to make a curtain to hide the laundry section of my new laundry room/pantry.


At first I thought that I would do something colorful. I bought this fabric for the laundry curtain.  But I realized I'd prefer if that part of the room just blended away.  (Thanks to everyone who weighed in on this for my slipcovers. It was a landslide vote to continue with this one for my  sunroom dining chair slip covers.)



I've had a bolt of fabric I ordered for living room curtains years ago. I didn't use it because I thought it was just too drab.

It's a very luxurious heavy velvet chenille with a lattice design. I used a little of it to recover my dining chairs, but there was a lot left over.



The drab olive actually blended quite nicely with the BM camoflage paint color on the walls.


(The color doesn't look quite right in the photos)



I did a quick cut and sew and here is how it turned out.  It works for me! 

I also finally put some art up.

Both of these pears in oil on canvas were done years ago by a local artist named 
Julie LoRusso. They were really affordable!



The changes to this room are really working out well. I've been very happy with the functionality and the storage. Now I'm happy the curtain is up!