Almost Done

My trip to IKEA on Sunday was super fun and very profitable. I purchased a different table and different picture frames than I originally planned which saved me about $150. I was so pleased with myself and so happy Barbara was along to help make decisions. The table I chose is actually a bookcase but it can stand vertically or horizontally; the horizontal way is the perfect size for a console/sofa table. The picture frames I wanted were bigger than I expected and they looked like shadow boxes so I went with $2.99 frames over the $9.99 frames.
I put the table, file boxes, baskets, and lamps together Sunday night. The pictures were placed on the wall yesterday. I still have some plastic magazine holders that I'm going to cover with fabric so the arrangement isn't completely done. My little owl needs to be glazed and fired but it will still be white.
I finally made my design book selections and placed an order with Amazon earlier this week. I'll reserve a spot for them on the new table. I'm not sure what to think about the lamps. They look more lavender than grey in person. I've saved the packaging and will give it a week or two to decide. I'll work on another post once the magazine holder project is complete. Next week I'll be in Myrtle Beach. Yeah!!

Hooray For Harry!

On Friday (7.15) I dragged Jeff to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. We went to a matinee show that was not in 3D. I was so happy the theatre had both options. I'm not a fan of 3D and it costs more. I warned him that I was going to be geeky because I wore my #1 Seeker t-shirt from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. He didn't mind.

I don't want to say too much but I really, really, really enjoyed it!! I think it was one of the best film adaptations in the whole series. After the movie I noticed that my teeth and jaw hurt. I think it was from clenching my teeth during the movie. It was certainly action packed.
I can't wait to go back to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter again one day. Now, if they would only make a Harry Potter graphic novel...

Design on the Mind

I've been making use of my library connections over the past several weeks. I'm on the hunt for design books that are worth purchasing to enjoy and refer to for years. There are about 10 books that I've viewed through interlibrary loan and basic check-out so far and I'm waiting on three more. I only plan to purchase 3 of the 10 books I've flipped through.
As you can see, I'm gravitating toward the cottage and coastal decor. I love how clean and bright everything looks. Another trip to IKEA is planned in a week or two to purchase a console table and frames for these.
The arrangement will be similar to this flanked by two lamps. I'm so very excited about this mini-decoration project. It won't be cheap but it won't be majorly expensive either. And, I have a new obsession; the blog Young House Love. It's totally harmless and relatively free except it has inspired some of my future decorating plans, which cost money. Pouring over this blog for the past week has been pure joy. They have so many DIY ideas, cheap decorating tips, and small suggestions on how to live green and without debt. Anyway, check it out when you get a chance.

Time Table

I've been watching a little HGTV lately (more than a little actually) and I've gotten the craft and DIY bug. I have about 4 projects in the works, meaning I have four projects that I'd like to work on, have bought some supplies for, but have not started. However, one of the four did get completed this past weekend.
Jeff found this little gem while driving around town a couple months ago and was proud of his "find". He intended to clean it up and use it somewhere. I was not impressed and it just sat on the porch for weeks and weeks. Anyway, the DIY bug took hold and I saw a cute little table on Dear Genevieve one day and it became my inspiration. I planned to get all the crap off the table, sand it down, paint the legs white and stain the top. Jeff wasn't sold on the idea and told me to just stain the whole thing at least 5 separate times. I was not deterred.

Day #1: I got up early to begin sanding the top of the table. I had to wait after we discovered ants all over the inside drawer. Jeff and I knocked them off and then I got to work. After an hour of sanding with Brillo pads Jeff pulls an electric sander out of nowhere.
I was a little miffed that he hadn't thought of giving me the sander earlier but I was thankful nonetheless. Two hours later, and five layers of paint, and it looked like this.
It was starting to get hot so I took a break until the evening and sanded the drawer.

Day #2: More sanding early in the morning including the legs. They were tricky and honestly I didn't give them as much attention as they probably needed. I also bought some spray paint.

Day #3: Last minute sanding in the morning. I covered the top of the table with newspaper and prepped to spray the legs. I used the entire can in about an hour and still needed more. No one tells you how painful spray painting can be. My arm still hurts from pushing that button about 500 times.
I had to run to the store to get more spray paint. When I got home and opened it the nozzle fell off. While trying to "plug" it back in my hands became covered in paint. It was a defected can so I had to go back to the store to exchange the paint. After it dried Jeff gave me a good start on the stain. It took about 20 minutes. This is the final product 3 hours later.
It's not a showroom piece but for $15 in supplies (spray paint and dust mask, Jeff already had the stain and sanding supplies) it's not bad.

Go Braves!

Forever and a half ago Jeff and I went to an Atlanta Braves game with my fun friend Kelly and her fella Steven. We had a really great time and we got free Braves hats! Our seats were really terrific. We were in full shade and could see the entire field.

It hardly matters where you sit anymore because they have a gigantic screen showing the game. So, unless you are sitting in the sun or just below the screen, you'll get a good seat.

Kelly and I enjoyed hot dogs (a must at a baseball game) and soft pretzels. The Braves beat the Phillies (stupid Philadelphia!) 3 to 2. There were several home runs which always gets the crowd going. Ludacris was supposed to perform a free concert but as far as I could tell it never happened. I actually do like Ludacris but I wouldn't have stayed behind for anything; I hate game traffic.

After the game we drove to JTC Kitchens. Jeff and I were watching an episode of The Best Thing I Ever Ate on Food Network and JTC Kitchens was featured on their "bacon" episode. They serve a muscles dish, called angry muscles, with bacon and jalapenos. Jeff and I are big seafood fans so we thought it would be a nice meal. The price was steep but that was some delicious food and the best macaroni and cheese I've ever had. I hadn't been to a Braves game in years but I think everyone had a blast. Go Braves!

Are They Really Gone?

For most of May we were dealing with a large population of cicadas. My mother did not get to experience their deafening sound or huge orange eyes but I've had my fill until the next batch arrives again in another 10 years. This year's brood was the 13-year species. The 17-year species last arrived in 2004 so in 2021 they will return. They are both considered periodical cicadas.
Apparently, the nasty things live underground and then emerge (like orcs) every 13 or 17 years, leaving a hard shell behind and taking up residence in bushes, on tree trunks, and anywhere else they damn well please. They first arrived around the house at the lake. Then two weeks later they migrated into town (or I guess came out of the ground there) near work. During the hours of 8am and 6pm they were so loud it was difficult to carry on a conversation outside and could still be heard inside. If one landed on you, you either knocked it off or picked it up with your hand, shook it like a maraca (I only saw the male population doing this, most women screeched and fainted) and tossed it aside. I have not heard them in over a week and only occasionally see a carcass (half eaten by birds and Remy) here and there. I think it's over, for now.

Movies

The summer movie season is upon us. I've already seen Bridesmaids and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Bridesmaids was...unexpected.

Melissa McCarthy (far left) was indeed a standout character in the movie. I loved her in Gilmore Girls and she's had bit parts in other movies here and there. She was great in the Charlie's Angels movies and Life as We Know It. Bridesmaids was hilarious and crude and shocking and I'm not sure if it was the best movie to see with my mom. She laughed alot though. Anyway, I would recommend seeing but don't take the Chaplain's wife along for the ride. Pirates was slow to start but picked up after Blackbeard appeared.

Jeff is a fan of Ian McShane but he (Jeff, not Ian) still snored during part of the movie. Jack Sparrow seemed to have extra eyeliner this go around but the mermaids were pretty neat. I'm excited to see The Hangover II, Kung Fu Panda 2, X-Men: First Class, Transformers (although the last one was horrible), Captain America, and Green Lantern.

Tremors!

Do you remember that horribly cheesy yet hypnotic horror flick starring Kevin Bacon and Reba McEntire? I think there are about 4 Tremors movies now. If you haven't seen it go ahead and add it to your Netflix queue, you won't be sorry if your sense of humor is set to campy. There's a scene in which the town doctor and his wife are setting up materials for their soon to be home site. Their radiator or generator (can't remember) gets sucked into the ground. They assume it was a sink hole or something along those lines and start pulling on the cord that is also now buried in the ground. Well, Jeff and I were working in the garden and he needed help getting a water hose out of the ground. For some reason it was actually buried very deep into the dirt so Jeff had to dig out the dirt and then pull the hose out.
It totally made me think of Tremors and I had to take a picture and share the silliness of the moment. I'm sorry about the size of the picture. Jeff took it with his new Droid phone which he loves.

The Royal Wedding!

I've been up for a few hours now in order to watch live coverage of the royal wedding. I had every intention of recording events the day before and the day of with our DVR. However, we had a severe storm earlier this week and our cable menu has been kaput. So, my pre-recorded schedule is gone and I couldn't record during the event either. I watched all I could for about an hour and a half before I had to leave for work.
This is Google's search page image. Very fun.
I saw everyone leaving and arriving at Westminster Abbey and that long awaited moment of seeing Kate Middleton in her wedding dress. Kate looked beautiful in her dress but she would look beautiful in a garbage bag.
It really was a special experience. I know I wasn't there in person but I've heard so many people talk about what it was like getting up early to watch the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana. I wasn't even 2 years old so there's no way I remember that. I didn't get to participate in a royal wedding tea party but I'll enjoy some tea and scones sometime this weekend.
There will be coverage all day today and I think TLC is showing the whole thing again tonight starting at 8pm. I can't wait to see what the cake looks like. I'm sure a book will be published within the week with every detail of the wedding and their courtship.
While shopping this past weekend I browsed through jewelry departments at several stores. Replicas of Kate's engagement ring were spotted in a few cases and you can purchase one on QVC if you so desired. This is all so much fun and such a magical day!

Fun Weekend

Friday night Jeff and I tried a new restaurant in town. Well, actually it's an old restaurant that just changed owner's and names. The food was not great and same for the service. We did however have a nice table outside to enjoy the view of the lake and the cool weather. On Saturday I traveled to Atlanta to hang out with my friend Barbara. We walked around the Mall of Georgia for 2 hours and didn't buy a thing. Then we had lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Mimi's Cafe. We tried some beignets, my first beignets ever, that were interesting but not great so I don't think we'll order those again.
Then it was off to Homegoods. I've never been to one but the commercials have really peaked my interest. It was a TJ Maxx Homegoods and I almost bought a new comforter set for next to nothing, almost. I wish we had one closer (I wish we had lots of things closer) because I could see myself stopping by on a weekly basis and making a killing on clothing and decor. We also went to World Market. This place is awesome and I can't wait to go back around Christmas time to buy oodles of stocking stuffers, which I mistakenly called "stuffing stockers" while at the store. They had so many miniature food items that my family would love.
It's like a Pier 1 but with food items as well. It was a fantastic day filled with good food and great company. On Sunday Jeff and I went to see Water for Elephants.
I read the book years ago and loved it. It's always a mix of excitement and apprehension when seeing a movie based on a beloved book. On one hand you can't wait to see the characters come to life on the big screen and on the other hand you know there's no way a movie can capture everything about a book. I don't want to say too much but I did enjoy it and it's true what the critics have been saying, the elephant steals the show.