DONE!

(click to enlarge)

More photos and updates tomorrow!

TGIF!

For those of you that have been wondering about the chair, I'm one step away from having it done! I got the back, arms, and trim done last night. It's not perfect, and I probably didn't choose the best blue fabric (It's a silk-type fabric and cotton would have been better - I couldn't get it to tuck under well and there are a few little "wrinkles"), but I say it looks pretty darn good for my first upholstery job! I was actually able to see most of the office floor for the first time in almost a month after I was able to put away the 2 tool sets scattered about, glue, fabric swatches, stuffing, etc...that room has been quite a mess! :) Next is to clean up all the paint, brushes, and canvases scattered all over our dining room - I'm shipping out my big canvas order hopefully Monday so that'll all be picked up SOON! I think Eric's getting a little tired of me being a chaotic mess with all my projects. ;)

Here are some quick snaps I took this morning in the mean-time. I'm not quite ready to show the front yet. Hopefully I can pick up a sewing machine next week with a Michael's or Hobby Lobby coupon so I can do the cushion! 

We're traveling to Fayetteville today in Eric's car since mine's still in the shop {I ended up having to go through insurance because of the $$ - hopefully it doesn't hurt our rates too bad when we renew our policy this summer}. Cross your fingers that the winter weather isn't a problem on Sunday! Ugh - so sick of this! It's not supposed to get above 30 all next week, too. Be looking for photos on Monday from the weekend! - I've been looking forward to this for quite some time! :) We've got my great aunt Carolyn in town from California and my second cousin Walt and his family who are currently living in Prague! It's going to be quite a party.

In other news, Eric is busy busy with grad school. He's taking 15 grad hours which basically equals 18 undergrad hours. Definitely more than a full load! He's been spending quite some time in the library, too. And, for those of you familiar with how strict college libraries can be with food/drink/talking, etc, the health sciences library here is no exception...

Eric walked in with this little coffee cup the other day:

He goes over to the counter and sets it down as he staples some papers. The strict man at the desk says "Sir, you're going to have to get rid of that cup." (The library only allows drinks with screw-top lids, and this guy is always getting on to Eric's friends for "talking too loud") Eric responds, "It's plastic and has a screw top lid..." The man looks at him funny and doesn't believe him, so Eric unscrews the top and proves it to him...the guy is flabbergasted. ;)

That was my little Valentine's gift to him - you can find them at Bed Bath and Beyond and they also come in pink! :)

And, here's a funny little photo from a few weeks ago that I thought would add a smile to your day...

 

Happy weekend! :)

Weekend Wrap-Up

Another weekend come and gone - I'm jealous of everyone in Arkansas that got either a 3 or 4-day weekend! Thankfully the ice storm wasn't near as bad there as it was last year. I don't think it can get much worse than this:

{Ice Storm 2009}

Let's hope not at least.

Friday night we expanded our Columbia cuisine by trying a local Chinese restaurant that was delicious! I think our count of local restaurants that we've tried is up to about 4 or 5. Pathetic considering we've been here 7 months and go out to eat at least once a week. :) We just can't get away from the Ruby Tuesday coupons, McAlisters, and Panera.

Despite the temperatures in the upper 20's, we went out to the park Saturday afternoon for the first time in months. Thankfully the sun was out so it wasn't too unbearable. I downloaded the "Couch to 5K" iPhone app a few weeks ago so we gave it a try. It's a 3 times a week, 9 week program that trains you up to run a full 5K. (It's been YEARS since I've done that, so I'm definitely out of shape!) Our workout Saturday was a 5 minute warmup, and then 20 minutes of alternating 60 second runs with 90 second walks, followed by a 5 minute cooldown. I was able to do it, but I couldn't walk hardly at all yesterday my legs were so sore! Time to hit the gym again tomorrow I guess!

Eric and Clayton picked up the infamous chair on Friday, so I started to rip it apart on Saturday. Eric jumped in immediately and basically took over the whole project. :) After him giving me such a hard time about the thing, he was actually super excited about it.

It took us 3.5 hours with 2 tool sets to rip apart most of the upholstery.

And the smell wasn't too great once we got to the stuffing. Good thing I just got my new vacuum filters in.

Sunday we set out to town to get fabric and a staple gun. With the two of us going we were able to use double coupons so we saved about $25. It took us forever to find the upholstery fabric section at Joann, and then another 10 minutes for me just to pick something out, but I ended up going with a print of slate blues with a hint of gold. Thankfully, they had some weekly ads at the front of the store that we were able to snatch two 40% off coupons from. Then we took off to Michael's to use their weekly coupons (and Hobby Lobby will be hit tonight!).

We got the back and the sides stapled on last night, and as we were flipping the chair around, out flew 3 pens, a guitar pick, a used bandaid (eww!), and 31 cents. Who knows what else we'll find in there this week. A $100 bill would be nice. :)

I painted the legs a mustard yellow, and I'm going back to get some gray fabric to do the other parts of the chair. I need to find some trim or tubing at some point, too. But here's the progress (hopefully it'll be done next weekend!)

And as if that's not enough going on, I've got 7 canvases to do this week, too! I got a huge order over the weekend thanks to Etsy, so I'll have plenty to keep me busy for the next week and a half. Eric also got my chalkboard and antique frame hung over the weekend in our office, too!

And, as if this entry isn't long enough, I found out on Friday that I've been accepted to join the ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) blogging team on Healthcare Design Magazine's website. So, beginning in March, I'll have an entry every 4-6 weeks on this website! I'm super excited!

Have a great Monday!

Quick Update!

Just wanted to give a quick update before we head home for the night! :)

It's been a fairly uneventful week. Eric did however get news yesterday that he's the recipient of a $500 alumni scholarship that will also drop his out-of-state tuition costs this semester! Needless to say, he'll be getting a BIG refund back! We're so happy for him!

I made my first sale on Etsy the other night, and I'm picking up that orange chair tomorrow... risky? Here's to trying my luck at learning how to reupholster! :) Hey, at least if it doesn't work out I can take it in somewhere, right?

NWA is bracing for Ice Storm 2010 right now. We're north of the storm line so we won't get anything, but keep NWA in your thoughts! Hopefully it's not any worse than last year! The storm caused my family's trip to Steubenville to be cancelled...yet another sign that Kim needs to go to Arkansas. ;) Just kidding. They're hopefully going to go later in February or March now.

That's it for today! More tomorrow!

Weekend Update

I really wish that weekends would stop flying by! :)

Friday night Eric and I went to a get-together for the health admin students which was a nice little break from staying at home. Unfortunately though, staying out late messed up my sleep schedule and I couldn't fall asleep last night. I've decided I just need to stick to the 10:00 bedtime even on weekends now. :) I'm too old for staying out late. I got to meet some of his friends that I've heard about and it was nice being around people our own age since we don't know many here.

Saturday we took out in the pouring rain to go antique shopping. I was on a mission for a desk or small table and a large picture frame. We checked out a newer place outside of town where I found this amazing "slipper chair":

It was love at first sight (from a designer's standpoint). Only $28 but unfortunately it needs a lot of help. If only I knew how to reupholster! After looking around on Google, I'm afraid it's going to be upwards of $100 to get it professionally done. I didn't buy it {yet}, but I may just have to go back. Surely I can get some tips online to learn how to reupholster it, right?! ;) Any suggestions?! Should I get it?!

I've actually got Eric hooked on antique shopping, too. I was trying to move quickly since I was on the lookout for just large furniture items, but he was wanting to go slower to look at everything. Here are some goofy pictures from the day:

 

Creepy troll doll anyone?

 

Anna-Marie, this one is for you - fake bird and all! :)

Then we went out to Artichoke Annie's antique store which is by far one of the best I've ever been to. The place is HUGE, and there's furniture galore (my favorite thing to shop for!) Unfortunately, it can be quite pricey. Eric however did find a frame for me though (he's getting so good at picking out my style!).

I've got it repainted (here's a sneak peek), but I've still got a little more work to do. Hopefully our trip to Michael's tonight will help me finish it...

I'm in the process of rearranging our office a bit to make a little "studio" area, so that's where it's going when it's all done. More on that later this week!

In other news, my little sister Kim is going on a big college visit this week with my parents. Hopefully we'll have a final decision on where she's going by the weekend. I can't believe she's already that old!
They're going to Steubenville, Ohio (15 hours away from home (11 hours from us in Columbia), just outside of Pittsburgh!) to see the Franciscan University of Steubenville. It would be a wonderful opportunity for her if she ends up liking it. We'll see how it goes! It's between there or Arkansas and she wants to major in social work. I personally think she needs to go to Arkansas since everyone else in the family graduated from there. ;)

And, how could I forget?! I gave in this weekend (I'm probably going to regret posting this later, too)...

Of course, as soon as I got it I wasn't even cold in the apartment all weekend long! I had to settle with the pink because it was pink/blue/or red at Wal-Mart and we had already ran 5 errands on Saturday so we didn't feel like going anywhere else. Now I can handle the thermostat at 65! :)

And lastly, our "Sunday evening fun" was making homemade french bread pizzas. Nothing fancy, but they were really good...

Here's the recipe:
Ingredients:
-1 pack of 2 French bread loaves (we chose Sara Lee, I think)
-3 tablespoons olive oil
-1 small can pizza sauce (Ragu pizza sauce is really good!)
-1 pack of mozarella cheese
-1 pack pepperoni (or whatever toppings you choose)

Directions:
Heat oven to 350. Cut loaves in half and spread olive oil on the top (acts as a barrier so the sauce doesn't soak through the bread). Spread pizza sauce over olive oil. Add cheese and any other desired toppings (don't get the cheese too close to the edges since it will melt). Cook for 15 minutes.

Enjoy! Hope you have a good week!

I <3 Antique-ing!

So, Eric was a fantastic sport this weekend and let me go to the flea market TWICE. I was soo excited.
Saturday, during our multitude of errands, we stopped by and found a coat rack - something we've been looking for the past few weeks and we actually found one under $30! Check it out:



I'm sure we'll use it a lot once the "northern" winter hits here! :)

And of course, I couldn't help but notice the gold antique chair in one of the booths. After giving the puppy-dog face to Eric all Saturday night (ok, maybe I'm exaggerating there), we went back Sunday to pick it up! It goes great in our bedroom, just needs a new layer of stain!...



And here is Eric testing it out...



In other news, I've been working on my art business and website while Eric has been studying away! Stop by my new website at: http://carolineleemisdesign.com/FlairArtwork.html

Eric has several tests/quizzes this week so we're in for a busy week! Cross your fingers that he does well! :)

I'm slacking...

I apologize about the lack of blog entries lately! I'm beginning to slack off :)

Well, since the last time I wrote, Eric's been busy with grad school and I've been spending my evenings trying to revive my art business (check my art blog out at: www.flairartwork.blogspot.com!). We both went our separate ways this past weekend to see family, which was nice (minus the bad Labor Day traffic of course!). It looks like we'll be spending the next several weekends here in CoMo which will be good - I have a lot I want to get done, for sure! :)

With mixed emotions, I traded in Arkansas red for Mizzou gold last Friday for Colors Day. At least Arkansas and Missouri aren't in the same conference, but still...it's not the same. And, not only that, I had to give up my Arkansas drivers license and plate for Missouri! Hopefully I can call Arkansas my home again soon!


{Go Mizzou?}

In other news, we found an awesome antique table a few weeks ago after Eric drove me out to one of the antique stores east of town. He wasn't too happy whenever we found out it wouldn't exactly fit in his car, but thankfully with the help of a bungee cord, we were able to get the thing on the interstate and back home! Here's the final, and newly painted (originally cream) product:


{Thanks Mom for the fall basket! :)}

Next on the list: antique coat rack! Shopping this weekend, anyone?!


{Happy new school year! :)}