ALONG GOES SUMMER

It's been kind of a crazy little week or two around here

I've been up to some good things outside that are keeping me from my computer inside

I hope you are too!

I am crazy in love with the smell of orange mint

the tarragon is getting used...YUM!!!

so delicious on grilled fish

how do weeds grow so quickly and need to be hoed every single day?

cabbage is doing well

the lettuce is bug free and I'm not sure why

the squash is covered with blooms

the thyme is fragrant too!

grow wisteria grow!!!

cozy little corner

I bought this statue because I thought it looked like Betty

but by the looks of the sonogram...I think I picked one that looks just like

our just about to be little Perrilyn

I wish the other side looked like this..maybe by summer's end

pots from Santa Fe...love this color this year!

The kiddos are usually around a lot and we love that

but these past few weeks?

well

one is about to give birth and sticks close to home

one is frolicking in LA with her boyfriend

one is celebrating her first anniversary and headed to Mexico

we are obviously frolickers!

and we find ourselves waiting waiting waiting

on cute sprinkler guy to give us a turn

This week will be full of summer fun and celebration

to me...July 4 is the Wednesday of summer

and makes me pretty nostalgic

gosh I hope you're having a great summer!!!

TUFFET

Before I say anything let me just say this...

I am NOT a person who should be giving a tutorial in anything really

unless it's in just getting in there and giving something a try

Mr. PV decided he wanted to create a bench 

here

and I asked him if I could hire a decorator

this is the 3rd time he's laughed at me for such a comment

so then I asked him if I could take it to Sergio's Body Shop and have them make it

as in...a car seat...

so I'm thinking...what's mirror cost? and if I mess it up what have I lost?

so if I can cut the mirror then why can't I give tufting a bench a try?

I'm such a good ol' boy

Gather your supplies

Cute carpenter man cut the entire bench, including the top out of mdf

the bottom we covered with mirror leftover from a long ago project

I ordered the white leather from eBay and had the foam from another long ago project

I'm beginning to wonder what kind of girl I've turned into with all this leather and mirror

Miss (Sharon Stone) Muffet

eBay...I love you

Hobby Lobby?  I love you too!

covering the buttons was truly the hardest part of all...probably because the leather was so thick

Mr. PV had to push the button bottoms in for me 

He also drilled the holes in the mdf

take your long twine and long needle

and pull all the way through

you really need some very strong twine or sinew..it comes in a kit

I actually bent my needle but will probably never use it again (I hope)

go through several times like you would any other button 

tie your button down 

this will be puffy because of your foam

reinforce the tie on the back side

this will be covered with fabric also if you want finished project

(did I say finished?)

repeat

and then staple the fabric all the way around the backside

cost?  less than $50 but if I would have paid for this to be done, no telling

this is a partial view of the bench that will have the

two way mirror as the back drop...do you see those wonderful angora pillows?

That's what I wanted to use...as a throw...over the leather...but I found these pillows 50% off at Pier 1

Pier 1...I LOVE YOU!

I confess I am guilty of hardly ever having a complete project to show

(the mirror will could be installed over the weekend IF I light a prayer candle)

and at times a get a little ahead of myself like when I put pillows in places 

that are clearly not ready for pillows

add the piano hinge, shine the mirror, arrange the pillows

sit on it

eat my curds and whey

and look at all the spiders that are probably already in my closet

from my shoes being in boxes in the garage for so long

EASY CLOSET

In our master closet we did all kinds of things wondering 

what was the best approach to a truly fantastic space

we pinterested

we googled

we read blogs and reviews

we researched 

we got bids

and we got advice

from our cute carpenter man

and this is what he recommended

(he probably had no idea Mr. PV would tackle this without him but it's Little League season for him and we have clothes to hang!)

it was quite simple really

you take the measurements

you drag and click

to create your own custom closet

E.A.S.Y.

we decided to take one wall at a time

this wall came in 25

twenty five

25 boxes

poor poor ups man

it was pretty hot that day

step 1

we all know this step

READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!

gather your supplies and tools

this box said

OPEN FIRST

easy enough

patience

thinking thinking thinking

reading reading reading

I won't bore you with more photos...you get the idea

I'll just include some results

finishes have lots of options--we chose the espresso

love the weight and quality of the rods

(can a man have too many white shirts?or too many wooden hangers?)

can a woman have too many white shirts?

love the white satin hangers

lots of baskets to hide ugly stuff

the final results will come later because we still have to

choose the island

choose the coat portion

install the tv and sound

and I'm leaning toward an antique vanity..but they have vanities also

front view of the dusty 2 way mirror that still needs to be installed

this is the back view

when the tv is on..you can see it..when it's off you only see the mirror

the tv and sound will be hidden in a thin wall here that will be for

ties, belts, etc. on the back side of the mirror

ooooo the MATRIX

view into the bath

this is where the vanity will be built..unless I decide on some fantastic old dressing table that will just fit here

I have been seeing chandelier wallpaper but notice the subtle shadow this casts?

I think I will take a gray water color 

 cast a shadow of this chandelier and paint my own "wallpaper"

I was pretty darn proud of Mr. PV.  

he's good with numbers but he kind of scares me with the saw

and electricity!