Archive for March, 2009
Pretty Presents A Plenty
Last Thursday was my 27th birthday and of course my family and friends didn’t fail to deliver. My sweet hubby whisked me out to a yummy Mediterranean restaurant (Cous Cous!) and the next morning we headed up to his parents’ beach house in Delaware for a birthday weekend with my mom and stepdad along with the in-laws. Before I knew it we were loading present after present into the car and heading home on Sunday. Time flies when you’re having fun (and ripping open some house-related birthday gifts). Here are the goods…
John’s a big proponent of a birthday list, which is always a lot of fun to create. I only need to drop in on a few of my favorite online stores and before I know it I have a slew of links that he can send out to his family (and mine!). I actually spotted these faux topiaries a while back, and was super excited that they were still around to add to my little b-day list. Don’t they look happy in the sunroom?
These fake rosemary and mint topiaries (or as I love to call them: fauxpiaries) add some green to our sunroom, which can’t really sustain actual greenery year round since it gets freezing cold in the winter (it’s not temperature controlled in there, and we’ve tried everything from boxwoods to evergreens with limited luck). I’m not really opposed to fake plants, as long as they look real and aren’t super ostentatious (and there are real plants around too). Thankfully, these guys look just as good in person as they do online… which isn’t always the case. Whew.
My mom also gave me the always-appreciated birthday check along with a little basket of goodies for the kitchen (organic parsley that you can grow right in the bag, gourmet popcorn and Barefoot Contessa brownies, mmmm).
John’s mom and dad also got me this awesome Pottery Barn wreath which I’ve had my eye on since December. And now that it has been marked down from $99 to $29, it’s definitely a steal. I was so excited about it I even took it for a test run when we got home (and actually considered keeping it up year-round, but John managed to convince me that the pinecones made it a bit less all-season than I originally thought). Oh well, bringing it out every Christmas will make it feel like a super special occasion. Only nine more months and counting…
Here’s a detail shot of those gorgeous bleached paper-thin leaves and the festive flowers, pinecones and pom poms (the pics on the PB website don’t even do it justice- and it’s huge!).
From John and his sister I got two of these amazing ZGallerie candle sconces that I’ve been sweating since the moment they were added to the site a few weeks ago. The graphic shape works with so many things that already reside in Casa Petersik- the outline mimics our yellow living room rug, and they even look fabulous with the patterned quilt in our guest bedroom:
Ultimately we decided to hang them in the master suite so we could enjoy them a bit more regularly- and as luck would have it, they also look lovely with our blue and white duvet- who knew those babies would be so versatile?!
Here’s the blank wall that was just crying out for attention (we believe in waiting to hang something that we really love instead of rushing into anything that we may regret- and a blank wall in a bedroom is actually surprisingly soothing):
And here’s the hubs hanging my birthday sconces while I stepped back and perfected the placement (it’s definitely IMPERATIVE to stand back and take a good look at everything you’re hanging while someone else holds it up to avoid about a million “oops holes” as we call ‘em). We also used anchors to ensure that they’re nice and secure (don’t wanna mess around when there’s an open flame involved).
Here they are all purrrty on the wall. I love the staggered placement (John’s idea- he’s quite the decorator) and the way the mirrors bounce around the candlelight so liberally. Aren’t birthdays the best?
Here’s the gratuitous detail shot. I think I’m in love…
So that’s the birthday present play by play. Thanks so much to my lovely friends and family (and especially my sweet hubby- who already made us those Barefoot Contessa brownies). Best birthday ever! And speaking of birthdays, what do you guys do when yours rolls around? Do you ever go for house-related items? Always ask for cold hard cash? Make a b-day list to send around? Do tell.
Burning Question: Up Or Down?
This next query was suggested by one of our lovely readers (thanks KK!) and we can’t wait to get your firestorm of feedback. What’s the toilet seat situation at your house? Must it always be left down (or else!)? Is there a rule about the whole shebang (toilet seat and toilet seat cover) always remaining in the lowered position? Is there a “if company’s coming” rule in place? Or is it a “who cares” sort of thing?
Anyone have a man bathroom that has no rules at all? Are there toilet seat related mishaps you’d like to share? Dish the toilet seat dirt.
Image courtesy of Country Living.
Reader Redesign: Gotcha Covered
We just had to share this great repurposed light cover-turned-vase idea submitted by Camille. Here’s her letter:
I just wanted to share (just in time for spring) how I re-purpose old glass lamp covers to use as vases. They work so great and I see them at thrift stores all the time for just pennies. Or even pop over to a home improvement store and get them for around a buck! Different varieties and designs make a grouping all the more interesting. Enjoy! -Camille
Are these guys unbelievably simple and sweet? And super affordable to boot. Thanks so much for the fabulous idea Camille!
Planter Banter
We’re back with the final tutorial from our latest R. Home column all about reinventing thrift store items on the cheap. You’ve may have already seen our terra cotta planter makeover, but here’s the step by step breakdown for all you clever DIYers. We picked up an assortment of cheap $2 planters from our local Goodwill and Salvation Army. Here they are fresh from the thrift store.
We also purchased Thompson’s Water Seal from Lowe’s which is specifically formulated for sealing terra cotta pots so they can be painted. It’s simple and it’s only about $4. You spray it all along the inside of the pot (the sides and the base) and it locks the moisture in so it can’t seep through and cause your paint to bubble or peel. A few thin coats should do the trick. It will look like the pots have just absorbed it all when they dry (they don’t appear to be darker or shiny afterwords, but don’t worry- they’re sealed).
Then just use high gloss exterior latex paint for a cheerful new look in less than ten minutes. We painted some of our pots pale yellow (Like Butter from Valspar), some of them got a darker tone below the lip (Amber Pearl by Valspar), and one special guy even got a sweet little striped treatment.
Adding the stripes was easy. We just cut a sponge into fourths to create a strip that was perfect for stamping our yellow on yellow pattern (we used a paintbrush to gently apply the paint to the sponge).
Here they are in all their glory. The hardest part of the whole shoot was finding flowering plants a few months ago (since magazines are shot so far in advance, anything seasonal is hard to dig up). But we managed to hunt down some festive foliage to complete the look. Total cost for this project: $35 for the $2 pots, the exterior high-gloss latex paint and the sealer.
If you have an hour this weekend, you can totally tackle this entire project. And now that flowering spring foliage is in season, it should be a cinch to perk up your front porch or your back patio. What colors will you go for?
Looking for another tutorial? Check out our How-To page for everything from concrete floor-staining instructions to fireplace painting advice.
Ankasa For Your Casa Freebie Winner!
Holy moly, people. It’s a good thing these giveaways are virtual because we might’ve had a stampede on our hands for this one. Not to mention that we were very impressed by all the intricate things you guys have managed to craft with your own two hands (and some yarn, flour, wire, neutrons, etc). I thought we were throwing out kind of a toughie this time but you all delivered once again. Some of you even delivered literally, claiming your children were the most complex things you had ever made. Very clever indeed…
But enough about that, let’s talk about these babies from Ballard Designs:
One of these hand cut and hand embroidered Ankasa pillows priced at $99 (a total steal for the craftsmanship and detail, btw) is about to be gifted to one lucky winner as picked by the trusty random.org sequence generator. And I know our winner will totally appreciate the intricate hand-stitched charm of these pillows, since apparently she has experienced the process of turning stinky lambs wool into something beautiful firsthand (well, or at least into something bizarre). Sound familiar? Well, if you’re Katie D. it should. Yep, Katie, you’re our lucky Ballard Designs pillow winner!
Congrats on your new Ankasa pillow. We can’t wait to hear which of the three you’ll pick: the bordered square, the center square or the floral rectangle. Do tell! And if you didn’t score this week’s prize, keep your chin up. There’s another freebie headed your way on Monday (here’s a hint: the prize rhymes with schmift schmard).
Looking for even more details on our giveaways? Check out the Giveaway FAQs. Images courtesy of Ballard Designs.
