VG2012: Update

Today here in Milwaukee, we are expecting near record breaking heat at 95° and a crazy high heat index.  I went for my morning jog (doing the RunWithJess Half-Marathon Challenge this summer to lose that wedding weight) and felt like I was going to die. So hot! I will undoubtable be staying inside most of the day. Some of my little friends will have to bear the heat though, my vegetable garden.

Since I killed my starter shoots (again) I bought a few varieties of pepper and tomato plants from Steins in early stage and some closer to already producing so we would have a prolonged summer to eat. 

Some of my tomatoes are already ripening.

I did however plant lettuce and string beans straight into the ground and they are both doing wonderfully. We'll be able to eat the lettuce very soon.

I'm making something tonight with our poblano peppers, so pumped!

My late season tomato plants that I bought tiny are now huge and blooming. They should also be producing within the month. My onion plants which I transplanted from last summer (sort of forgot about them) are doing great as well and blooming. 

So far, raised bed garden is doing great! I'm so relieved and slightly proud I haven't killed anything in there yet. The only fail was when we were planting our jalapeno pepper plant, the upper part got snapped and killed part of the plant, good new though, its has new growth coming up around the sides.

How is your garden doing this summer? Post links to pics! Let us know what you are eating this summer.

Mayo Mishaps

Sometimes you can score some pretty sweet freebies. My mom called me up saying that one of her co-workers was giving some side tables away. They were vintage but still in amazing shape. She emailed me some photos and I thought "well those would be nice in our retro furniture bedroom". At my cousin's wedding, we made the switch and brought these bad boys home along with the new couch. They turned out to be vintage finds from Lane Furniture and very high quality.

After doing a little research with Google, I found the same table selling anywhere from $250 for a set, or $280 for one piece. Giving quite a range of $250-$560 for a set. I think we have quite a score! These were just a few of the ones I found.

These were already sold from Furnish Me Vintage.

This one from Vintage & Modern sold while I was looking at for $280 for the single table.

These are currently (as of Sunday, June 24th, 2012) on-sale at Esty shop Walnut Hollow Vintage Collections for $250 for the set of two like mine.

There is one catch though to my wonderful find. Although the overall condition was amazing on these, one had a water stain. I figured I would just sand them down and refinish them but that just seemed like a ton of work. There had to be a better way.

For a couple of weeks, I just covered it with a book or magazine. Yes, I'm that classy. But enough was enough. 

I saw a thing on Pinterest to remove water stains with wood with mayo. I was as shocked as you are now. After some research on eHow, apparently it acts like a deep conditioner. Ever heard of the mayo mask for your hair, think that. I figured why not try it. The worst case I still have to stand them down and refinish them. No harm in trying to improve the situation.

I applied a healthy amount directly to the stain.

Then dabbed it more evenly with my finger. No jokes, yes, I know what this looks like.

I carefully covered the area with a paper towel to adhere the mayo to the table. Be super cautious to keep your pets out of reach, or you will have to do the whole process over again (thanks Turk).

After sitting on the water stain for three hours... I got this.

The stain is darker and less noticeable but I feel its been set in so long that it would not help completely. I guess refinish it is. :( Boo.

The article did say to get the stain as quickly as possible. Oh well. It was worth a try.

Map Art Love

You may recall I mentioned the day we got engaged, I purchased a vintage 1966 Standard Oil street map of Milwaukee for $3 at Ingeborg's Cupboard Antiques and Collectibles in Waupaca, WI. I was super pumped. I knew I was going to make some very cool artwork with it when I saw our current street on it. 

We all know that map art is all the rage in home decor, but I wanted something that really meant something to the two of us. What better way than to show what "roads" we took to becoming engaged? We both have lived in quite a few places in Milwaukee and I thought it would be fun to showcase that as a little heritage and background to our relationship.

I got three different colors of embroidery thread from Michael's for $0.35 a piece and some embroidery needles for $2.99. I used pink to represent myself, blue to represent Max and purple to represent where we lived together. If you are following your color wheel, those shade would blend that purple.

I first used some bad ass embroidering skills I learned in Junior Girl Scouts (which just turned 100 years old!). Each embroidery thread has six smaller threads to weave it up. That is usually too heavy for most projects so you seperate the threads in half and use three.

After smoothing out the thread, I looped it through the needle leaving the tail to hang loosely.

Paper is finer than most fabrics one would tend to embroider so I was very cautious. I poked small holes with the need first of the places we had lived.

I secured the embroidery thread to the back of the map with masking tape which I already owned.

Then I went down the line from place to place that we had lived.

After each thread hole, I secured the thread again with more masking tape. This prevented the paper from ripping. In a few instances, Max lived in the same place twice (his fraternity house) and I had to go back. The tape was a way I could make a new hole and secure the thread.

I had already bought a poster frame for this project at Salvation Army and painted it in my massive, frame paint. Using the plastic from the frame, I used that as a measuring tool of how big the map should be since it was slightly larger than the frame.

I simply folded it over and made a crease.

I taped the folded edge down so it would fit perfectly.

I found a quote about love and paths online and found this one from a famous yoga instructor. I do yoga sometimes and felt it was very fitting. I used a blue fine-tipped Sharpie to write this on an open area of the map.

Here is the final product. I didn't make everything overtly big because I really want viewers to be drawn in and ask questions about it.

I hung it on the right side wall in the living room. I think it turned out amazing.

Total cost of project with everything: embroidery thread and needles $4.04, map $3, frame $5.35 and tape free already owned = $12.39


How are you incorporating the map art trend in to your home? Are you personalizing it or just finding a cool vintage piece?

The Ripple Effect

When we brought the new sectional sofa on a whim, who knew what effect it would have on the rest of our house. I mean, that furniture needed to go somewhere. Max and I wanted to put the sectional in our blue room making our old living space more of a sitting/entrance room.

I have mentioned before, I am a bit of a second hand furniture hoarder. I first released the patio furniture outside so it can actually be used for its intentional purpose. We also wanted to finally use the futon for something other than a couch (hey we aren't in college anymore), a little more on that later... But there is now definitely a gap. Next thing to look for, comfy chair with an over-sized ottoman.

I first brought up two chairs I have been storing for the last 3-4 months in the basement. They are two sturdy "70s-ish" arm chairs. I found them at the Salvation Army down the street one $25 for the set. I know they are still an eyesore with their fading vinyl but after sitting on them, they have very sturdy seats and (hopefully) will be relatively easy to recover. Don't you just love the nail head edging?! I'll definitely have to add that back when I get new fabric.

To get them covered sooner than later, I found this muted zebra print I found at a online fabric store called Texas Sussanie's. I just love that name! Only in Texas would you have a name like Sussanie. Getting back to the fabric, the background is tan and the actual strip is brown.

Amazingly enough, I found this brand-new, in the box Target end table at Goodwill for $24.99. I know, right! I tried to find it online but it might be sold out or no longer in stock. No matter, it. is. awesome.

Here is a better look at the wood top. With the current decor and carpeting, I think it works great. Once we refinish the hardwood floors, I might give it a paint job so that the table doesn't fade into the wood overhaul. We shall see...

I (again) moved this rotating end table to the odd corner behind the TV as more of a featured area. This has now been in the bedroom, guest bedroom and the living room. Maybe it will find a permanent home someday.

Since I moved the arm lamp in by the new sectional, I needed some lighting in this side of the room now. Remember that my mom got me some Goodwill lamps and new shades for Christmas? I could never find a good place for them until now. They look great along the sofa giving an eclectic, modern look.

My desk mini bar that I've had since college, I added as a console table by the front door. This has been another floating piece of furniture. I have a feeling it will get retired in the near future. For now, shine on little buddy.

If you remember, we used to have estate sale cabinet that now houses my grandmother's vintage dish collection in the former sitting room. It was sort of an odd place for it but it was out of the way and no one really went in there much. We ended up moving it probably the most obvious of places, the dining room. This means we moved the beer fridge into the closet/future laundry area. Do we move stuff a lot? Yes. Everything always is in constant flux. Lord knows what will happen when we start to finish the basement...

I love that I can have fresh flower clippings now as well. Like the vase? I got it on clearance from Z. Gallarie for $4.

Another thing I have been hiding, this handmade wine rack I picked up for $5 from Salvation Army. I promise you there was many more bottles at one point in time. They don't tend to stick around too long at this house.

Last, but certainly not least, our futon! We got rid of of the twin beds and moved the "fu" in here to make it look more like an office. It is Turk's second favorite place currently. He even stopped sleeping with us and sleeps in here. Part of me is grateful, the other is sad I'm missing my snuggle puppy. Either way, I think it looks great in here!

Have any major furniture moving fiascoes lately? Are you a constant migratory furniture mover like us? Tell your story!