countertops!!!!!

It is so close I can smell it. Epoxy and thin set that is.... My whole house wreaks of it. To me it's the smell of success, to the Duck and G , it's headache and hallucination inducing.  I finally feel like I have accomplished something in this whole kitchen/home makeover madness.  We are so close.

Here is where we are at... Counter tops are in and half of the back splash is up...UP!!!!!

I will start with gratuitous product name dropping as soon as we have a finished product. We couldn't have done this without the help of soooo many people. Lovely people willing to take pity on a family desperate to get rid of the evergreen carpet and grape leaf wallpaper and cut us some sweet deals!

To be honest, I can't tell you how pleasant all of our trades folks have been. With the exception of one bad egg in the bunch, we have been soo happy with our crew it was eye opening to see that not all major constructions have to have problems. You can have a positive experience and people who will work and be fair cost wise! I will supply names and numbers soon.

reader request.

So I guess my big blog flaw is that I don't give enough info when I post as to where my pretty pictures come from or how to score some of the goods I source. All I can say in my defense is...most of the time I just forget where everything has come from. My computer is a virtual library with tons of images and zero information regarding where I jacked them from.

 Note to self: remember to post where my pics are from and remember to give info as to where to score the sweet deals.

Here is one I can remember. Recently I turned the BFF onto kmart.com. Now I dunno if you guys know this but there is a lot of cool chairs on the site. In fact I am going to purchase them for myself, just as soon as I dig my way out of the giant debt hole I have recently jumped into.

Take a look....again all are from www.kmart.com

kmart $170 bucks for the pair!!!

as desk chairs....or even dining chairs

$233 for the pair!

lonny mag

Sketch 42

Dream Weaver

I am so sure you (my 4 followers) are bored with these lame stories and boring progress shots, but something really funny happened this morning and your gonna hear about it cause I DON'T GIVE A CRAP! My house is finally starting to resemble that of "a house" and not a nuclear testing site which makes me so emotional I am dangerous to be around. I might grab you and make you let me cry on your shoulder. Or I might blog about my wacky dream/realities and bore you to death.  Let me explain.

This morning when I heard G stirring on the monitor I did what I have done every morning for the past month.

-got outta bed and looked for some shoes and a jacket so I could shuffle onto the back patio where our fridge has been living to get G her morning milk. The jacket was on so I could brave the cold and take a healthy heaping breath in of our living hell, and the shoes, because my journey into the construction wilderness would leave me covered in dirt and dust. The same drywall and construction dirt and dust that has settled on every single solitary surface within a three mile radius of my nuclear testing site house.
I got outta bed to take the dreaded journey out of our room so I could curse myself and my choice to re-model our perfectly tolerable outdated and ugly home.... And then I stopped dead in my tracks.....and BAM!.......it hit me.

I rubbed my eyes and pinched my self... I stood at the patio door and stared at the empty spot where our fridge has been living and  Holy Shit, our fridge is not outside...It's gone...someone has stolen it. Someone has came in the night and backed thier truck up into my yard, loaded it up, and stolen my frickin fridge..

And then the loud screech of my teething toddler echoed in my ears and I realized that no one had stolen my fridge. My fridge was in the house.. In its correct spot in the wall nestled somewhere between my rough topped and almost finished kitchen island and my LAUDRY ROOM...All constructed and dust free..kinda. My fridge was there and my jacket and shoes were not needed because I had heating and floors. Beautiful, beautiful floors. And a warm and cozy.... kinda... HOUSE.

I happily filled G's cup full of milk and ran into our room...."Ducky..the fridge hasn't been stolen. It's in the wall inside the house and we have floors...Ducky there are floors out there"

His look made me realize that I have officially lost my damn mind and that this kinda brain damage is most likely irreversible but I don't  care.
I have a fridge thats inside my house!

Pictures to prove it!!!

Wish boner Chair

"She will be mine, oh yes, she will be mine" ~ Waynes World

I want these chairs... I can't say much more about them other than that they come in some cool ass colors and I like them enough to tell you again "HEY I Want these!!!"

sorry here is where you can buy these! They aint cheap

or 

you can buy them here....still really pricey

here are some reasonably priced options that a little can of spray paint would fix!!

Viva Terra

Overstock

Who's part of the Cool Crowd

Hey!, How many of you are gonna be the ones to say...
"Oh, dude...I totally was one of the first people to follow her blog, I basically discovered her blog...I am so cool Blah blah blah"

Tell you what....Lets have a contest....who can tell the most people about my secretly undiscovered and cool blog?
For every 10 people you get to follow my blog you win a super secret mind blowing prize.
I am giving away a CAR freshener!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Its the cool thing to do to follow my damn blog so do it... www.bleachblack.com has linked me and look at how F-ing cool they are!
`
Speaking of cool, The LB Flea was all in all a pretty good day. Saw a lot of amazing things....took a lot of pictures of ugly stuff and bought everything I thought was cool. Plus I got to hang with the BFF which is always amaze-balls.

Here is what I loved!

Here is what I bought...

cut a rug

Like a teenage boy puts pictures of a 1994 red bathing suit clad Pamela Anderson up on their walls, I have plastered my office wall with all sorts of cool ass rugs. I have a medley of crazy afghan, kilim, Turkish rugs and a couple of Madeline Weinrib beauties. All of which I can't afford.
I keep hoping I am gonna go on eBay and find a rug so amazing that it jumps off the page and smacks me in the teeth. So far, to my dismay, this has not happened yet.

I am going flea marketing this Sunday with my BFF and... I need nothing, but want everything. Actually I re-phrase, I NEED EVERYTHING and WANT EVERYTHING! 

I have promised my self and the Duck that I would for sure only focus on rugs.. {che-yaahh-right}

Here is some of my room porn on display. Some inspiration for my flea marketing tomorrow and maybe to keep me on track.....again{cheyaahhh rightt}

Oh and I am also going to focus on finding anything carmel and leather...Even if its old carmel colored leather jackets that I can piece meal together to make a sweet ass bed bench... I am plotting SOME NEW DIY!

DIY Ottoman..boringness

Ok blurghhhh and ho hum yawn.
Been thriftin and DIY'in and here are some pics of what I have scored in the past couple days. Totally boring I know so I am following that up with a little inspiration..

25 Bucks for the pair!!

Bought this hunk of crap for 12 bucks. I had a suzani from Ebay that was 25 bucks...so the two made out and created this BABY! Boring and done I know but I couldn't help myself.

This cool pendant was 50 bucks..not bad, and its 22" wide!

Globes..

Tip of the Year: 

Don't ever design your own house if you are an interior designer......all it does is cause severe waffling and constant obsessing.... Yesterday I decided I wanted to change every light fixture in the house..AGAIN.  I decided I hate my pendant lights I bought for above the island and instead I want to do something totally different. Pretty much my whole life has turned upside down trying to make a decision on frickin pendant lights. If this was a client these damn lights would be purchased and perfect by now. 

BTW the Duck totally wants me to "shut-up about these lights already and just pick something, or don't pick anything and wait till you like something"

If only it was that simple...and I could just listen. Get a Grip AMBER

here is my current inspiration..

Update:

Remember the commercial with the eggs in a frying pan saying something along the lines of "this is what your brain looks like on drugs".... Well folks, I officially have a fried egg head.Not because of drugs, no sir, but because of the re-model hell we are living in. Between the constant Mariachi music blasting from 7am-6pm, to the constant microscopic dust that despite all plastic, double blanket barrier sealed hallways, vents, and passage ways, somehow manages to still settle on every single surface in my home...Even the damn cat is covered in dust.  The constant "money pit-esque" two week time lines and the never ending trips to Home Repot Depot, have done me and my poor little family in for a loop. I am pretty sure when we started this whole process we were on crack cocaine. We have a 16 month old who has more energy than a lightning bolt and who has basically, through no fault of her own, discovered that running from one room to the next is her only source of entertainment at the moment. Bless her heart. 

{She is so getting a diamond encrusted Mercedes for her 2nd birthday,just because of the guilt we are carrying around for doing this to her}

Anyways, despite all the frustration and complete ball ache, ball face, BALLS, we are kinda near being finished. The walls are currently being given their second coat of mud and the paint is going up on Thursday. The cabinets will hopefully be going up on Saturday and then the floors can start next week sometime. 

Next time I re-model my own home, someone please remind me to karate kick myself in the temple!!!!

Progress shots: and "G"being patient and awesome.

NEw DIY

This image is making me think of G's room...I am kind of obsessed with modern art for my little monkey. I keep thinking bold color and minimalistic furniture.... a bit of whimsy! (yes i used that word and yes I just punched myself in the mouth)

There is a vibe board coming your way... So hold tight.

Twoems on Etsy