Oriental Midnight, buffet project.

While I'm at it.
Here's a before and After from the Buffet's Makeover.

Here is the Buffet originally. It was in my grandparent's house. My Aunt assured us that it was not an important piece and if it was too much to lug around from apartment to apartment, we could get rid of it if we wanted. I had contemplated doing so many times. But, my sister wanted to keep it. So I asked her if I could paint it. The wood looks lovely in this photo but in person, it was anything but. It's moved a lot and has so many scratched and dings. My sister wanted me to keep it in original form so that it would match her bedroom furniture if she were to move into a studio. She eventually caved and suggested I paint it grey. Well, awesome. Except the couches are now grey and it wouldn't work in the same space. So, I went with something a little different.

The color is called Oriental Midnight, I can't recall the brand... It's from OSH. I have the can here. I was going to replace the hardware as well. But, I ended up really enjoying the way the antique brass looks with this color.

I decided to leave it the kitchen. I like the color against my grandmothers paintings on the wall in our dining area.
Project complete.

Update.

So, I've been pretty good trying to keep myself busy. I thought I finally show some photos of what I've been up to. I'll start with a post on the Living Room's progress. It's not done. But, I'm pretty happy with how far it's come from what it used to be.
For example:
You can't see much of the living room, but these are honestly probably the only 2 tmes we EVER hung out in the living room until now.
This was back in August. We had a futon, and a tiny little 4x6 rug from target, that was actually retarded (not sure what I was thinking).
This is much more recent, March of this year. I had passed along the futon in January, because I had the plan to obtain a proper Couch. March rolled around and I still hadn't so, I pulled out My grandmother's fainting couch that I inheirited, just so there would be something in the room, for over a month, there was nothing, and it was depressing. I really LOVE the fainting couch, BUT, let's face it, it belongs in a big old master bedroom (some day...) It's NOT comforatable And, it makes me nervous on the hardwood floors since it's on old casters.
This photo also shows my poor drapery choice. :/

Anywho, here is my living room today...
I toned down the drapes. I had to. I have a wall entirely of drapes to hide my storage, since we don't have much storage space at this place. And I have ALOT of stuff I'm holding on to.


The pictures are from a book I found at Ross. I just ripped them out and framed my favorites. I had done this in my last Apartment as well. I LOVE old Hollywood, and old movies. Audrey is the newest addition. She's Jeremy's favorite, so she needed a spot.
I was happy with how this turned out. I had been keeping my books in what looked suitable for VHS tapes. I bought this bookcase at Goodwill, but it's originally from Target, I believe. Notice the Pink frame on top. I LOVE that thing.
This is where more needs to be done. I threw the TV on Jeremy's Coffee table when I decide to paint the Buffet that it was on before. I would ideally like to have a small Entertainment cabinet with doors. Something cheap and even beat up. I would like to paint it anyway. Something BOLD and colorful.
Off to the corner, I made a space for all of my sewing goodies. I used my grandparents Secretary's desk to house all of my sewing supplies. Though I can;t realistically sew in this space, it organizes everything well enough.



I think that's it for that tour!

So, on my list for the living room now,is just an entertainment cabinet, and a round coffee table! I don't think I'll ever find either. I'm wayyy too picky about what I want for the coffee table. The entertainment cabinet, I'm more flexible on. But, my budget is very strict.


Thanks for Looking!

Excuse me, while I wipe the drool off my face...

This Armoire is amazing! From LivingEtc.
Sooo, now I'm inspired to find an Entertainment Armoire to paint for my living room...

Yikes, stripes!

I'm planning a trip to Ikea today for this:
Stokholm Rug, they had an 8x10 in the as is department Monday night. I'm crossing my fingers that it is still there today. I need a big rug to cover the floors in the living room. And rugs are too expensive for my blood. And I happen to LOVE this rug. If I had the money to get it Monday I would have.

So, I'm off to ride my bike to the bank, and then come back and cruise over to Ikea in hopes of soming home with this lovely piece of floor covering, and, maybe a coffee table?

I also need some sort of Entertainment unit/ TV stand. Not today, though... unfortunately.

I can see clearly now....

I came home last week to this: New windows!!!!! They are updating all the windows in our complex this month. So far only the upstairs is done. But, they started the downstairs windows in other units, so I'm waiting ever so patiently for our time to come. It's going to be so nice in our NEW living room. I took this photo as soon as I walked into my room and saw. I left the drapes off for like 3 days, I was so pleased with them.

The Windows before we SCARY...

They actually don't look half bad in this photo. But they are so dirty on the outside... andthe metal is just a mess, and not all of the locks work... which is my biggest complaint. They screwed the screens on from the outside,I assume as a locking device. Seriously, I ripped the screen with my key... Screwing them isn't keeping anyone out.

Grosssss. And yes I do clean them, from the inside. It's all I can do. There's a thumb tack in there acting as a locking device also. pretty sad. It doesn't work. Don't tease me, I tried a few things. On this window I ended up putting on of the working locks on, because I ripped the screen from the outside.

COUCH.

So, I may have my couch. It's in San Bruno, and my dad is coming with me to look at it today at 530, and possibly bring it to my house if all goes as planned. I'm pretty stoked on it from the photos.
It looks similar to this, but this is not it exactly.

But, it's got the chaise that come out on the side, which I LOVE. It's Grey Microfiber. It just keeps getting better. I love that it's grey. I hope all goes as planned, when I see it in person!

Room Service.

I came across this pretty radical Furniture site:

Room Service.

I wish I could afford a few items...



I need to be rich.

Spring Cleaning?

I really want to move! But, that may not happen for some time at the rate I
m going on my Job search. So, I've decided to re-do my living room. I spent this morning and afternoon deep cleaning the kitchen and living room so, it's prepared for my big plans!

I've been wanting a real couch for quite a while now. And lately, I've actually been hunting for something affordable on my unemployment budget. I've mostly been anti-craigslist for a couch. But, I have seen a few that look actually nice. But still I'm spoiled and I'm really not sure how much I trust it. Sunday night, Jeremy and I took a trip to Ikea, and.... I found a couch. The price is good and its cute. It's cheap because it has no color options and does not come with any warranty. Which is fine for me. I'm hoping someday I'll have money to afford a sectional sofa. This just needs to make me happy for the next few years. Anywho, It's a nice brushed brown twill. I wish I could post a photo but I can't. I'm hoping to buy it next week!!!! weeee! I just need to ask my dad for use of his truck...

Next on my list is to keep surfing craigslist for the rest of what I want:
-A 5x7, or 8x10 Area rug, that's not ugly. (So far this is the most difficult, because rugs are bannkk) I really need to protect the nice bamboo flooring we have, though.
-Dining table with 4-6 chairs. (I currently have 2 hopefuls, so we'll see)
-Coffee table, and 1 or 2 side tables (Jeremy has decided he wants to build these possibly, which would be awesome!)
-Ottoman.
-TV Armoire or some sort of proper TV stand, entertainment unit.

All items need to be free or under $50.
I'm not too too worried about paint finish and condition to a certain point. I'll take the best deals is it's something that can be painted or easily repaired.
It's been fun searching so far. Wish me luck!

I think I'm too embarrassed for a before photo. But, I'll have an after, someday....

Show and Tell.

I know, I've been neglecting this blog. But, I have been distracted. Not a huge loss. Anywho, I plan on making my blog much less personal anyway once I switch over and get my spiffy new site and URL. But, real quick here's one super personal entry. Hope it's not too annoying. I just really wanted to share a couple photos I'm really happy about.

Jeremy's return! This photo I took of us on Jeremy's 27th Birthday last week.

This is a great one!!!! Jeremy and his niece, Elora. After we took her to Bounce-o-Rama to play with Lolo and Ryan B! We've gotten to steal her away from Jeremy's sister a few days and take her to play with the Ry Guy!!! I love her smile! it kind of makes my heart melt. And, I love that in this photo, Jeremy and her have the same smile!!!! So related.


Okay, I'll try to steer away from the boring personal stuff now. Just wanted to share my happiness!!!!

Nude picks.

Just a quick note to mention my favorite polishes at the moment. Since discovering the new Sally Hansen Insta-Dri line, particularly the shade beige blast, I've become more obsessed with Nude nail polish. It really ALWAYS looks good, I feel like. It's kind of a fool proof shade. I've cleaned out a lot of my colors now.

So, in case anyone's interested. Here are a few highly recommended Nude colors:

#1) Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in 03 Beige Blast
#2) OPI in Bare in Trafalgar Square
#3) Rimmel Lycra Wear 10 in Milk Chocolate

But wait! Bck to the Sally Hansen Insta-Dri, TRY IT! it's amazing. Even if you don't like nudes, they have a whole line of colors and they seriously dry instantly and it's amazing. I LOVE it.