Rail

Maybe all this city paralyzing snow is a good thing for us.  Most weekend activities were canceled due to “inclement weather” (3 inches of snow..it’s the South), so we found ourselves with more time than we anticipated.  You know what that means?  Yes, hot chocolate and Monopoly, but what else?  Project time!

We went through the annual list reconciliation, and after examining the new 2011 to do list, we decided to tackle a small, but satisfying line item whilst cooped up.  Buh-bye dining room chair rail!


The CC popped off the rail and floated out the bumps and ridges left behind.

Thing Two and I painted and then we were finished and having Sunday dinner in here.  It is hard (for me) to photograph right now since it has been gloomy and gray with more snow forecast.  I’ll update the DR tour when we get some light back.

The 2011 to do list is no smaller this year…still 2 pages and going strong.  Highlights to come.

Uh, NO, Mom.

During yet another snow day, the winter organization frenzy rages on.  I summon the Things to bring me 20-30 pieces of their favorite artwork.  We are going to frame them!  My plan is to make my own Jan Eleni collage, like below, but with the pieces a bit bigger…say 3″ x 3″ each.

For those who haven’t seen this on any of the 20 blogs featuring it…the gist is this:  She photographs the artwork, then prints it out and mounts it to make the collage you see above.  A great way to showcase a lot of work in a smaller amount of space.  I LOVE this idea.

Thing One HATES this idea.  It never occurred to me that shrinking the art for display would cause such a stir, but I am told in no uncertain terms that these pieces are to be showcased “full size only.”

Noted…and she’s SHUTDOWN.  I only have one empty frame and a dining room table heaping with eager to be upgraded from the magnet board artwork, so Momma better scramble. That’ll teach me to try and be efficient….stupid, stupid woman.

Hiding in Plain Sight

I’ve started to take and post photos for the Downtown Antique Mall’s facebook page so that on snowy days like these, peeps can browse online.  In order to be fair, and represent every dealer, I took a picture of at least one thing in every space.  I didn’t have the tripod, and it was a cloudy day, so not the best quality pics…but we’ll work on that for the next round.

This was an interesting exercise….the cupid and doily booth I would normally breeze past without a second glance HAD to present something redeeming to me.  I really enjoyed looking for something of interest in places I had previously ignored.   I was also able to showcase things I’ve always admired and think someone should have bought months ago!

Like this….I love this chair and don’t know why it’s still there…

Those birds…and everything around it…this space is a goldmine…

You know I love the pottery….

Babs!  Her following is insane, so she won’t last…

This is a needlepoint by number kinda thing…love it!

Since I’ll be doing this on a regular basis, let’s make it a new feature and I’ll share some faves with you here.  To see all 78 pics, go to the mall’s FB photo album here.

Polishing Silver on Glass

Things have been very unblogworthy around here.  Being out of school for an entire week for snow (I KNOW…redonk) I tried to power through the cabin fever with lots of closet/drawer organizing type stuff. Booooring…but kinda thrilling for me.

Organizing goes hand in hand with cleaning, buffing, and polishing so I thought you Mad Men fans might like this bit of info.  After I posted my latest Dorothy Thorpe score,  (last year!) I had a reader ask about how to polish it.

I found out the hard way, many years ago, after trashing one of my vintage pieces.  I found this page awhile back and have been using this stuff ever since.  The key is how much pressure you put on the silver when polishing it.  Easy does it.

These photos are crummy, but I couldn’t retake the before! Sorry…Here is an array of tarnished Dorothy Thorpe and other similar pieces….

This is the magic bottle that is grubby with love….

Ready for use…or back on the shelf.

I still love this stuff, even if it is a complete pain in the ass to maintain.  Newer reproduction pieces usually have a protective coating over the silver, so this little bit of hassle isn’t necessary.

Year Two

Today marks the birthday, blogiversary, whatever you call this thing that we feel the need to measure in increments of time. Two years… already?  Apparently so!  Last year’s recaps are here and here.

Hmmmm… 2010.  This year was vastly different from the last, and I guess we’ll just wait and see what going to 11 does.  This year’s biggest project was completing the next phase of landscaping…front steps and back decks specifically.  The tour of the exterior gives a feel for the sequence of things that seemed to drag on, mostly due to our crazyass weather this year.  The city flooded, which caused us to lose a treatment plant, thus water shortages.  It was a difficult Spring for a lot of Nashvillians.  We were VERY lucky.  We still had a home.

At the end of 2009, I still couldn’t get in my front door, despite having some nice new concrete steps up from the driveway…

But we got that done in 2010….

With some big jobs done outside, it was time to start focusing on making it a home inside….read FURNITURE.  2010 was just getting this place starting to feel like it goes together.  I’ve updated the Tour a bit to show where we are on the main rooms. For example..the living room last year….

was very different than it is now….

I moved in with a mix of Mid Century and Deco furniture that seemed to work well in my previous 1912 home, but, notsomuch here.  It was time to cycle out some old pieces and get in some things that seemed to suit the house..and me better.

With that in mind, I faced a challenge with ModFruGal this year.  When you move inside and start decorating, it’s a lot more personal!  Sharing exterior projects doesn’t hold the same amount of dread that showing your living room to the internet does!

Thankfully, that fear has eased over the year, mainly because I have awesome readers I NEVER thought I’d have, so seriously, THANK YOU for making this a fun, and less terrifying endeavor.  There was a certain comfort in thinking that no one was reading, then boom! There you were, and you surprised me by how supportive you were..and are.  While renovations and growing pains are not everyone’s thang, I’m glad it’s your thang, and you can keep me company while I get this place groovin’.  I don’t call it the Regal Beagle anymore because all the green carpet, maroon walls, and general decor malaise is almost gone! Almost.

So let’s knock out some more projects in 2011, whaddya say?  I can predict one thing for sure for this year…there will be concrete. The CC got something for Christmas that he’s wanted for a few years..well, ever since we did this.

Pour, baby, pour!!!!

Stay tuned, it’s almost time for the annual list reconciliation…..