tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74588160305961355182023-11-16T08:42:33.141-06:00Eccentric Little BeautiesHannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.comBlogger37125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-665555154756362352015-07-05T16:55:00.003-05:002015-07-05T16:55:46.551-05:00Revisiting The (green) $6 Table<br />
I've been wanting to post some updated photos of the green table for a while now and only just today got around to snapping some shots! The old photos have been quite popular on pinterest, but I must admit how it has always bothered me that those pictures were taken in the driveway in my parent's house because I had nowhere else to put the dang thing! This green table has been to two different apartments in Houston with us and is now with us back in Tennessee. Please pardon the tattered hand-me-down chairs that used to be bar-height (that my husband and I hacked down to this size with a handsaw). The missing two chairs are currently being used to barricade the dog from going upstairs. We live an illustrious life here :)<br />
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If you need a refresher on The $6 Table, <a href="http://eccentriclittlebeauties.blogspot.com/2012/04/story-of-6-table.html" target="_blank">here</a> is the first post I did about it. The Annie Sloan chalk paint (in Antibes) has held up great over the years and has made moving a lot less stressful since scuffs and small abrasions really only add to the look.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original state, pretty rough</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The original stain was unfinished and so dark that it obscured the grain. Once I redid it, it looked gorgeous<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: small;">Here's a gratuitous shot of my lovely flowers and that gorgeous grain that looks even better with more light.</span></div>
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Hope you've enjoyed the new pictures and that perhaps they make a little more sense in an actual house instead of a driveway! I know I also feel curious about how my DIYs are going to hold up over time, so I'm happy to report that this chalk painted piece finished with wax has held up magnificently. </div>
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Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-22925488913132123352015-04-29T19:11:00.000-05:002015-05-17T14:34:23.595-05:00The Mirrored Jewelry WindowMy goodness it has been a long time since I've had a project!! We are presently living in East Tennessee and are fortunate enough to be renting a place with a GARAGE, which means I now have a new "studio"! I'm quite excited, if you can't tell from all the exclamation points. There are a few projects in the works already, one that I'm particularly excited about. It might end <i>horribly</i> though, so I'll hold off on introducing it.<br />
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Today I want to share a project that I started a few years ago (and mentioned ever so briefly <a href="http://eccentriclittlebeauties.blogspot.com/2012/05/upcoming-projects.html" target="_blank">here</a>), left in my last "studio" (aka my parent's garage), and only just now finished a few years later.<br />
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It has probably been 4 years since my mom and I picked up a number of old windows at a garage sale and stowed them away in the garage. Although there are a plethora of ideas on Pinterest these days (a picture frame, for example), we were at a loss for what to do with them at the time. My first inclination was to make a mirror out of one, using <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Krylon-Looking-Glass-Silver-Like-Aerosol/dp/B003971BAY" target="_blank">Krylon's Looking Glass</a> spray paint. When sprayed on glass it creates a mirror effect. In fact, I intended to make it look like an old, antique mirror.<br />
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My first step was to remove all the chippy paint that was falling off all over the garage. I scraped and sanded and when I couldn't take it anymore, I mixed up some Antibes chalk paint with one of the blue chalk paints I had on hand (forgive me, it has been years and I don't recall which color I used!) and slapped it on. I then of course distressed it so that the white under layer peeks through in some spots. I like the way the rusted handles add to the character, too.<br />
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You may notice that there are 3 panes missing on this window, making it asymmetrical. I debated knocking out a pane to even it out, but decided against it. I left it in and sprayed the panes from the back with Krylon Looking Glass spray. At the time I started this project, I was in the throes of a mercury glass obsession. In fact, I still love mercury glass! I wanted to make the mirrored panes look mercury glassish/antique mirroresque, if you will. I did some research and decided on a course of action---a handful of layers interspersed with a misting of a vinegar/water solution. I'll be honest, it did not turn out how I intended. I think that this method could work with some practice, but that Krylon stuff is EXPENSIVE and I'm not that picky! The window frame itself has a "vintage" charm about it and the imperfect mirror seems fitting (although I suppose it could be more perfectly imperfect, if you catch my drift). This is the point where I stopped all those years ago because it just wasn't doing it for me. It didn't seem finished. When my now-husband and I moved to Houston, this flawed window mirror just didn't make the cut and was left behind.<br />
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Fast forward to it hanging out in my new garage back in Tennessee. But what to do with it! My brother came to visit us one weekend and we went picking through a recently torn-down house from the 1920s (with permission, of course). We packed the back of my brother's hatchback full of goodies and hauled it back to my garage. I now have a stack of aged, rustic, full-of-character wood downstairs at my disposal! I was looking at a nice, flat piece when it occurred to me that I could screw that sucker to the bottom of my homeless mirror and make a shelf. I had already been toying with the idea of making it a jewelry holder, and this shelf was the perfect solution to how I was going to house earrings and other odds and ends.<br />
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I screwed in hooks across the frame, for holding necklaces, and screwed that exceptionally thin piece of wood to the bottom. It took a lot of cleaning to get all the years of funk off the wood, but with some elbow grease and a few coats of spray poly it looked bright and rustic at the same time. All that was left was to affix some hardware to the back and slap it on the wall! Here are the finished photos (I still need to write about the dresser below it! It has a similar story of being abandoned in my parents' garage until recently).<br />
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I hope this inspires you to branch out from all the window-picture-frame ideas out there and try a new window project! Let me know if you do--I would love to see what you make of it! What are some other cool window project ideas?<br />
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<br />Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-43310827137500623382013-11-17T07:42:00.000-06:002015-05-17T14:54:59.889-05:00The Dresser My Fiance Hates--our Giant Blue Buffet<br />
Today's project is one that spanned across 10 months and 2 states. My godmother had picked up this very solid buffet from a garage sale one weekend, and it sat in my garage while I worked on other projects. I was putting it off because it is quite a large piece of furniture and constituted quite an undertaking in my eyes! When I finally got around to it, I decided to paint it blue (Provence I believe?) with the intent of doing a sort of white wash over just the top of the buffet.<br />
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Here is the buffet in original condition. Very classic buffet style, but incredibly solid and well-made. Unfortunately, it had a varnish so thick that it was practically a mirror.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Partially sanded top, untouched and reflective bottom</td></tr>
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For the top, I intended to strip it, sand it, then paint a white wash over the top that allowed some of the character of the wood to show through. I was somewhat discouraged by the thick varnish, so I got a bit over-zealous the power sander. After getting the worst of the reflective finish off the top, I started to notice how beautiful the wood was underneath that outdated shine. I decided I wanted to finish sanding the worst of the finish off and then leave the wood as is. Unfortunately, I got a little crazed with the power sander before noticing this and thus a bit sloppy. The sanding is uneven in some spots and is something I will probably go back and fix in the future, but for now I have a nice solid wooden top!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlW-d53oodNslM85PBuXhuzjC-MgwW8ysLsR4n6nXgi8LTdyJQWPRj72RFbMGaoq165HhvEWEQyBW0hKRNb2IqVLPR-7dOwuNYMCb8ggMTL9FvOuPCAl5OC5oY3IEpHcK7078BnPBwytA/s1600/IMG_1756.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlW-d53oodNslM85PBuXhuzjC-MgwW8ysLsR4n6nXgi8LTdyJQWPRj72RFbMGaoq165HhvEWEQyBW0hKRNb2IqVLPR-7dOwuNYMCb8ggMTL9FvOuPCAl5OC5oY3IEpHcK7078BnPBwytA/s400/IMG_1756.jpg" width="300" /></a>My next step was to slap on a few layers of paint. I believe the color is Provence. Visually, it was a huge, blue buffet and looked a bit flat to me when I had finished painting. I wanted to bring some visual interest to the piece, so I painted the decorative groove in the two hinged doors white. Holy crap that looked ugly! I immediately painted back over it with the blue and distressed to let it show through it a bit. Much better! Though it cost me a good while and a lot of elbow grease, I clear waxed the entire thing. At this point, we were approaching the Christmas season and the fiance and I moved to Texas. Much to his displeasure (I mean, this thing is soooo heavy and soooo blue), I insisted we bring it, unfinished as it was.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking very flat and boring, albeit blue</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh yuck, not right at all</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just hanging with my girl! </td></tr>
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This big 'ole buffet sits in our bedroom now and the fiance uses it as a dresser. I think he has slowly come to like it, surprisingly. A few months ago I finally got around to finishing the distressing on it, though you couldn't tell from the photos unless they are close-ups. I decided to go rather light on it, nothing crazy, just the edges mostly.<br />
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This is becoming a thread in my posts, but again please excuse the lighting. Our apt is so small and dark I have no idea how to get better pictures! Just gotta throw open those windows and hope for the best :) That is the reason the buffet looks a few different shades of blue in different pictures. If you're curious exactly <i>what</i> Provence looks like, <a href="http://anniesloan.com/acatalog/Provence_profile.html" target="_blank">this</a> link to Annie Sloan's website shows it pretty accurately in my opinion (the furniture piece to the right, not the paint swatch).<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here is the finished blue buffet!</span><br />
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I've nearly run out of projects to post about now! I have lots of things planned in my head, but our teeny tiny apartment and lack of power tools inhibits their creation a bit. Hopefully around January we will be moving to a larger place, maybe then we will have the space for more ambitious creations!<br />
<br />Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-16964307627816358492013-10-09T16:04:00.000-05:002015-05-17T14:53:45.279-05:00Branching Out: Using Milk Paint on our Bedroom Headboard<br />
As evidenced by the extensive collection of chalk painted pieces crowding our apartment, I am a big fan of the Annie Sloan chalk paint. It is easy stuff to use and it has always turned out well for me! However, I was finding it hard to find a convenient supplier of chalk paint in Houston and having my mom ship me some from Tennessee was out of the question (that stuff is already crazy expensive before shipping costs!). I played around online and decided to try out Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint, since I could buy it online and have it shipped to me at a rather reasonable price, which is to say expensive but not so much as Annie Sloan. I'm thinking the chalk paint goes further, and I probably could have ordered it online and paid only a little more than for the milk paint, but I was curious to try out this "milk paint" and see what all the fuss was about.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ95X3SDnAZsSkbyg5pG8WH5EA1tXKdOjYZ8y1cbG8BBuQpm_Gsn2HZZ20V5hDwpByvsb98qVdjvAqbcMywOJql28HHu1x2QjpWH1BZ7TDzUfYkPAvPxJ5ckHN5oICHCulPedjUDp01d4/s1600/IMG_3604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJ95X3SDnAZsSkbyg5pG8WH5EA1tXKdOjYZ8y1cbG8BBuQpm_Gsn2HZZ20V5hDwpByvsb98qVdjvAqbcMywOJql28HHu1x2QjpWH1BZ7TDzUfYkPAvPxJ5ckHN5oICHCulPedjUDp01d4/s400/IMG_3604.JPG" width="400" /></a>The headboard I chose to paint is a gorgeous and very solid, wood "antique" of sorts that belonged to my fiance's stepfather's father. I spotted it hanging out alone in a spare bedroom at his mother and stepfather's house, did a double take and thought "hello gorgeous." I would have <i>loved</i> to maintain the beautiful wood, I even would have sucked it up and stripped the whole thing just to re-stain this beauty, but the very top decorative molding is made from plastic. I didn't know how to get around this, so it became the perfect candidate for my next painting project!<br />
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Now for the milk paint: Miss Mustard Seed's milk paint came in dry form in a little pouch and requires that you mix it before use. I also ordered the MMS additive that will keep it from flaking off too much (I wanted a slightly cleaner look than what I was seeing on her website). I watched Miss Mustard Seed's online tutorials and how-to videos and felt well prepared, but damn that stuff did not want to mix!! I mixed and mixed and mixed and it was still watery with goop on the bottom. There was nothing else to do but either scrap it or lay it on, so I sucked it up and laid it on... ohmygosh it looked bad. Really bad. It was almost bubbly looking with little crystals in it and was very rough to the touch. I tried a different brush, I used less paint thinking maybe I was using too much, I tried using different strokes, I even sanded it once dry--all to no avail. In my usual style, I got frustrated that I couldn't figure out how to fix it and left it for about a week (okay, maybe two) until the fiance said finish the damn headboard or don't, but I'm moving the bed back! Whatever, Miss Mustard Seed practically says it will look like crap at first and then get better with more coats, so I mixed up the next coat (also goopy and displeasing) and slapped that on. Then I did another. And another. After three coats, I was out of paint and decently pleased with the outcome, so I scruffed it up a bit with some sandpaper once it had dried and declared it done. I would have waxed it if I had had any handy, but it has held up well the past 2 months or so and any distressing only adds character and authenticity to it, so I believe I am going to leave it. And now some pictures!<br />
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So there is the first coat above. Not so hot, right? And I forgot to mention that I did sneak a little chalk paint into this project ;) I painted the shell/flower motif so that it might subtly coordinate with our bright blue buffet that we use as a dresser in our bedroom (which I need to blog about!). Below you will see the whole headboard after one coat. Not too hideous for a first coat, no, but keep in mind that this whole headboard has the above-pictured texture (yikes).<br />
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Also, it would be negligent of me not to mention the dog hair stuck in every single layer. Broo had some needy moments while I was working on this project and as careful as I tried to be, a black dog and sticky white paint will be together no matter what. You can't stop it. So I embraced it and snapped a photo of my needy, shedding furchild "helping" me paint. Thankfully you really can't see the hairs unless you search for them!<br />
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Now for some pictures of the completed headboard!<br />
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You'll have to excuse the dreadfully wrinkled pillow cases. We're not fancy around here--if it's clean we roll with it. Someday it will be nice to be fancy; we'll paint the walls, maybe get a rug, find 4 matching pillowcases, buy curtains that fit our space instead of using leftovers from college (that now have flecks of white paint on them, oops). Until that time though, I can be happy with the hodgepodge set up we have ;)<br />
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After this experience using milk paint, I must confess I still remain a chalk paint girl. I'm not horribly disappointed or even displeased with the outcome, but it was a large pain in the arse and didn't save me any money either. I could see milk paint being advantageous if you are going for the chippy look that it lends itself to, but I myself am probably done with milk paint for a while!<br />
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<br />Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-65043310625609262052013-08-12T09:48:00.000-05:002015-05-17T14:54:05.783-05:00Going backwards--my second Chalk Paint piece (plus some exciting news!)<br />
Wow, so many months since my last real post! Our little apartment cramps my style more than a bit when it comes to hoarding furniture and working on projects bit by bit. There may or may not be flecks of paint on the walls, carpet and maaaaaybe curtains from my most recent project (but they are tiny flecks, promise!) We even had to dismantle my green table and push it under the bed as soon as we moved in because there is no room for it! Shameful, I know.<br />
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Today I'm actually going to post pictures of my second ever chalk paint project---an Ethan Allen chair that I picked up at a garage sale for I believe $35. I kinda felt like the guy was ripping me off, since the chair was ugly, beat up and the cushions were disgusting. The foam was rotting away and the design was very outdated, but what drew me to the chair was how very solid it was. My mom kept telling me how good a brand Ethan Allen is, so I got the owner down to $35 and lugged it home. I had a little repair to do to the net-like wire-things that hold the seat cushion in place (excuse my sophisticated jargon there) which I expertly rigged with some thingamajigs from Home Depot, but once that was done I got to painting!<br />
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This is the original state---beautiful wood but very very dark and dated looking. The color of the wood wasn't displeasing per se, but with the styling of the chair I didn't know how to update the look while leaving the wood. Enter the chalk paint!<br />
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I slapped on a couple layers of Duck Egg blue, distressed to my heart's content, and then wiped on a layer of clear wax. Now for the cushions---those were a potential problem, as I do not sew. Worse, the foam from the previous cushions had degraded to a point that it was gross and messy and not salvageable. I had picked up a bolt of fabric from another garage sale that I thought looked good with the Duck Egg blue, and when my godmother (and partner in crime) spotted the cloth draped over the old cushions, she offered to have them remade for me as my Christmas gift! It was a most generous offer for which I am so grateful, because without her I would have left that cloth tucked over the old cushions indefinitely :P They turned out <i>so </i>well, and my godmother not only had the foam replaced but she also had her seamstress add piping to the edges, which looks quite fancy!</div>
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Pictures really just don't do justice to these chalk paint colors, and since my apartment doesn't receive good light at any point of the day (and I can't drag these pieces 4 flights down and outside either) the photos are especially disappointing. Know that I am embarrassed for the quality of them but find no better alternatives. Hopefully you can still get a feel for the piece.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUY5kndGvP5O6HQmxTt1BYUJmyf1hQSv6fT86SStfFKnqZHqUSW0OJ5a9imNs4l9qnETqs_oyY1gMx41hi8zzavVMFfUZtHP48cVqsK9h1VtK5UdMYPgtp-nSkdZwk273kw3PnRqZugk/s1600/SAM_2813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWUY5kndGvP5O6HQmxTt1BYUJmyf1hQSv6fT86SStfFKnqZHqUSW0OJ5a9imNs4l9qnETqs_oyY1gMx41hi8zzavVMFfUZtHP48cVqsK9h1VtK5UdMYPgtp-nSkdZwk273kw3PnRqZugk/s640/SAM_2813.JPG" width="480" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrcd9O3jFsZuW8qvHmJZOmCxPh2745GCb06iZgmweto5O_KfvI9NO8dnplVpYFmeQCYynCcmlLA7v9PwBMMnfhx2p1JF8o5_9_-XP3nVySPb7mRCk8z98ZEj4SwjWxGHjfrS4Igfzwik/s1600/SAM_2814.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWrcd9O3jFsZuW8qvHmJZOmCxPh2745GCb06iZgmweto5O_KfvI9NO8dnplVpYFmeQCYynCcmlLA7v9PwBMMnfhx2p1JF8o5_9_-XP3nVySPb7mRCk8z98ZEj4SwjWxGHjfrS4Igfzwik/s640/SAM_2814.JPG" width="480" /></a><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm also pretty thrilled with our new jute rug</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ajTfI2KuB6cyP7dWuBX58vPtDRKpjNxIZYww-7vQHK6Caz0fTBhM7YySInf4WKLGCP3HeSv5Iuh_N2zaHj4sb28qPk2tLe_boBb6S_LYXh6MtTHh2Dco0VaEhn6lD4nSgc0ukiIaVe4/s1600/IMG_3701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ajTfI2KuB6cyP7dWuBX58vPtDRKpjNxIZYww-7vQHK6Caz0fTBhM7YySInf4WKLGCP3HeSv5Iuh_N2zaHj4sb28qPk2tLe_boBb6S_LYXh6MtTHh2Dco0VaEhn6lD4nSgc0ukiIaVe4/s320/IMG_3701.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The doberman pillow in this picture is one my mother made using a photo of our Broo! </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Judging by the amount of dog hair I find on this chair, this is what the stinker does when we're not home and have otherwise physically barred him from the couch. He does look preeeeetty cute in it though! :)</td></tr>
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I have two more completed projects to share sometime soon, so look for those! I even branched out from chalk paint *gasp* so I'll show you how that went too.<br />
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One last thing---since my last post, the bf and I got ENGAGED! So now I have to call him fiancé and wear this absolutely perfect ring :D<br />
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For a year I wore on my ring finger a simple silver knot the <strike>bf</strike> fiancé had gotten me as a sign of his commitment. He always told me he wanted to wait to get engaged until he could buy me the ring I deserved--boy did he deliver on that!!<br />
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<br />Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-89739856650043576432013-03-21T15:49:00.003-05:002015-05-17T14:07:11.044-05:00And then there were THREE: Broö<br />
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March 2013 finds the bf and I living in a nice (little) apartment in Houston, Texas, far away from our beloved green hills and mountains in Tennessee. We have been here since the beginning of January and it has been nice so far, though it has been getting increasingly warm, bordering on hot, which has me worried! I'm not one for the oppressive heat and humidity that smothers the city like a hot woolen blanket in the summer months. The bf and I have actually spent the past 2 summers here (or rather I visited him for a month or so each summer) and it was brutal---my plan then was to never go outside unless I was at the pool, since I am prone to fainting and general crankiness in the heat, but that just won't work for us this summer since <span style="font-size: large;">WE GOT A DOG!</span> :D<br />
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It has been a <i>long</i> time coming, but we finally got a dog. We still want a frenchie like crazy, but considering the heat here (bad news for brachycephalic dogs), the cost of potential breed specific surgeries (palette reduction for proper breathing), and the simple fact that there are just <i>way</i> too many good dogs being put down in shelters in part from over-breeding, we chose to adopt.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptu8NlMNBDkh-6bTqnctwcrZ5U0nqk3KFCrX4fD0ZMCgd-BZJzhaeryTIARvgGuSu4YtXqILOLTKvo9GMdVpdlOB_kmlXA-_Clr8YjEQj4YCyIbnq0hNhihjUG39M1TPQ8cjWmA4NvNw/s1600/IMG_2930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiptu8NlMNBDkh-6bTqnctwcrZ5U0nqk3KFCrX4fD0ZMCgd-BZJzhaeryTIARvgGuSu4YtXqILOLTKvo9GMdVpdlOB_kmlXA-_Clr8YjEQj4YCyIbnq0hNhihjUG39M1TPQ8cjWmA4NvNw/s400/IMG_2930.JPG" width="400" /></a>Since we knew we wanted a doberman, we went through the <a href="http://hadr.org/" target="_blank">Houston Area Doberman Rescue</a> (HADR) and highly recommend them. The gentle giant we ended up with is a sweet 8 year old, weighing in at 90 pounds, who lived with the same family his whole life. He is blessedly well mannered and has obviously been well cared for his entire life. He came to the rescue from a 78-year old lady who needed to have back surgery and worried she wouldn't be able to care for him properly during her long recovery. I'm sure it was incredibly painful for her to part with him, especially since he was her departed husband's baby, and the rescue passed on to us an entire garbage bag she had brought with him, full of dog-sized fleece blankets, nail clippers, toothbrushes, shampoo and even beef-flavored toothpaste. We couldn't fathom what all the blankets were for, since he already had a dog bed, but it turns out that he gets cold at night when we turn the air conditioning on, as he must have when he was with his first owner, and he curls up into a tight little ball! I love dragging the dog bed into the bedroom at night as he sleepily follows me and plops down, curling into that little ball, and gives me a heavy-lidded look as I tuck one of his old blankets around him.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MB9Im6R7KtgjCi87IqD1qTVK5IXTdPY8B-TIigt7pHFKErjGW2LROgT919jRhmJL5zGK0MUq-Ww3HjGZ0lqoGcjRfbOEZWWmk7t2XNWXniJ5ZFzK3Kw78xQbPuuZeGxQ2oKJGGz1bdg/s1600/IMG_2981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1MB9Im6R7KtgjCi87IqD1qTVK5IXTdPY8B-TIigt7pHFKErjGW2LROgT919jRhmJL5zGK0MUq-Ww3HjGZ0lqoGcjRfbOEZWWmk7t2XNWXniJ5ZFzK3Kw78xQbPuuZeGxQ2oKJGGz1bdg/s400/IMG_2981.jpg" width="372" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broö likes peanut butter. A lot.</td></tr>
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He is really a joy to have and we are so happy to be his new family! We're still learning all his little quirks and getting used to having this furbaby invade every aspect of our relationship :P<br />
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OH! And his name is Broö, pronounced "brew" like a beer. It really has no meaning in particular, we just thought it fit him.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnw-tEqL1Ilq2cq0djvPIP-VUkvOvqFaWFQkT8GaekLtpPrETy-ORymWnyIJHt2HIU-DE147jg8Cfk_VLb2xdxH1evV9r4Kv7Kui7_i-5IrjICVOHLzBvnCoqfzIl54p96oXh5bmOaKo/s1600/IMG_3014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnw-tEqL1Ilq2cq0djvPIP-VUkvOvqFaWFQkT8GaekLtpPrETy-ORymWnyIJHt2HIU-DE147jg8Cfk_VLb2xdxH1evV9r4Kv7Kui7_i-5IrjICVOHLzBvnCoqfzIl54p96oXh5bmOaKo/s400/IMG_3014.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not enjoying mom and dad getting up at 5 am for work</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzyl0deyoxDc-WD3_ka1br290Q2Bql1WqgVKo3hFijMDIgRQq4rU7rkXDo4ps6h7DsmzNLQGGvp9Yq-QMf5QjZLl8eGS9_2UVoyUt3y4dV5bYbwRv3w1DaMqopDMeONUJczsKGvvw8eFM/s1600/IMG_3017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzyl0deyoxDc-WD3_ka1br290Q2Bql1WqgVKo3hFijMDIgRQq4rU7rkXDo4ps6h7DsmzNLQGGvp9Yq-QMf5QjZLl8eGS9_2UVoyUt3y4dV5bYbwRv3w1DaMqopDMeONUJczsKGvvw8eFM/s400/IMG_3017.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broö always floods the apt when he drinks water--it gets <i>everywhere</i>. Even on his own face.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicfZ4C-sKxt5m6mA1EtdL1NwRh3Y6d22FHqXCxSb0fhJ68mnKSyIz9486YeQyCu8Pn-g64rVujXBOyJPriLs7YRkylcYuKKJE2db1g2tB4vsea-qk-stqtU8kyOgLNa5P7ANn8mhhmcC0/s1600/IMG_3035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicfZ4C-sKxt5m6mA1EtdL1NwRh3Y6d22FHqXCxSb0fhJ68mnKSyIz9486YeQyCu8Pn-g64rVujXBOyJPriLs7YRkylcYuKKJE2db1g2tB4vsea-qk-stqtU8kyOgLNa5P7ANn8mhhmcC0/s400/IMG_3035.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Us at the dog park. We live in a small apt, so we go a couple times a day to run around and socialize!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxfYB1aifRiN7Y9Ta8TF6rFUA0NzPfkOlXi2rMUEaO7bldr5LAnEm3bdAqKW6N9jiCJJfjwdofBD-tL_JaAa-jzbPTKq3HH6nrvpfrxpQRtiChpuHVRT76QFJd_w4V5ZQiBMhy1UifXOY/s1600/IMG_3036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxfYB1aifRiN7Y9Ta8TF6rFUA0NzPfkOlXi2rMUEaO7bldr5LAnEm3bdAqKW6N9jiCJJfjwdofBD-tL_JaAa-jzbPTKq3HH6nrvpfrxpQRtiChpuHVRT76QFJd_w4V5ZQiBMhy1UifXOY/s400/IMG_3036.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wish I could throw further, he gets visibly frustrated with my poor throwing! (This photo is for show only and is not an indication of how I throw/hold the ball ;)<br />
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<b>Annoying but necessary PSA</b>:<br />
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If you're looking to add a furry new member to your own family, I <i>strongly</i> urge you to adopt. I don't want to rant about the crises that are going on with over-breeding and the overflow of unwanted animals at shelters, but if you are unfamiliar with these issues they merit some research on your part. There are presently a whole host of serious health problems cropping up in "purebred" dogs as they are manically bred (inbred, more often than not) more and more for exaggerated characteristics (excessive wrinkles, short legs, curly tail, smushed face, etc), without regard for the viability of those characteristics or the general health of the dog. This is a well-documented problem that is being disregarded by many breeders, so do your research!! If you have your heart set on a certain breed, consider going through a breed-specific rescue (which is what we did). <br />
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I know these articles and videos are lengthy, but I had no idea this problem even existed until I happened across the first BBC piece the other day. The rest of the research I've done online corroborates with what they reported.<br />
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<ul>
<li>This is the original BBC piece, <a href="http://www.myspace.com/video/vid/44215931#pm_cmp=vid_OEV_P_P" target="_blank">Pedigree Dogs Exposed</a>, from 2008 I believe</li>
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<ul>
<li>BBC produced a follow-up video, called Pedigree Dogs Exposed 3 Years Later, which you can also find online</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>Although from 2007, <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1950109/" target="_blank">this paper</a> will give you a good idea of the problems surrounding the Kennel Clubs and breed standards if you prefer text over video</li>
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I don't wish to sound as if I'm preaching from a high-horse (I'm just going to combine those two idioms), but these are some issues that sound quite frivolous (breed standards? who cares?) and yet are truly important when it comes to alleviating the suffering (both human and animal) that is occurring without our knowledge. I'm going to stop adding paragraphs to this now, but do your research and know what you're getting into. Don't think that just because someone is offering AKC registered dogs that they are a good breeder or that they have healthy dogs. Do your research! Or better yet, (much better) adopt!!! :)</div>
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Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-23849068959644581122012-12-21T23:09:00.000-06:002015-05-17T14:07:41.365-05:00Where have all the posts been??<br />
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I cannot <i>believe</i> how long it has been since I've posted! The spool seems like it was only a month ago (obviously, that isn't so). I'm currently in the process of surviving the holidays at work/home and also packing up my life to move to Houston, Texas with my wonderful guy. You can imagine how difficult that is when most of your belongings are large pieces of furniture. I think the bf is about to lose his mind trying to find space in our little apt for all these "treasures" lol but don't worry, I will pay for it thoroughly because it'll just be us 2 loading/unloading the Uhaul :) I actually do have a new piece I've been working on, a large piece, but it isn't finished yet and may not even be finished until after we move (don't tell the bf, shh). Hopefully my next update will be a look at our new apartment!<br />
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Happy Holidays!! And remember,<span style="color: #990000;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000;">it's the most wonderful time of the year</span> :P</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-12227938795830098852012-10-21T11:18:00.000-05:002015-05-17T14:08:25.590-05:00The Super Secret Project!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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In posts from a long while ago I alluded to a secret project I was working on, or rather I was more direct and stated unequivocally that I had a secret project, which was a birthday present for my bf. As you can see from my pictures I'm all about a shabby chic/distressed/worn-in and pre-loved aesthetic, which really isn't for everyone. The bf is on board because it is something I love and he is exceptionally accommodating of my brightly colored and high-personality pieces, but I know it isn't really his thing. While enduring couple-pinterest-time once (am I unbearable or what?) he mentioned that he really liked a spool table, which was just down his alley as it was dark, masculine, and wooden (which he loves) and most importantly, not chalk painted.</div>
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I mentally took note of that comment and a couple weeks later ran across a horribly splintery and truthfully rather shitty spool at a garage sale. I didn't have much hope for it since it had some damage to the layer of wood on the top/bottom and was truly unbelievably splintery. It was only a buck tho so I took a chance (hah) and hauled it home. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgKiHBLOg2I5KPvEbiGPlZnQDLKXCJEqwPJDt8judp6NI-jSLZNUF4wmYCQ_-rv2v375TD9BUJEU4HlsAK1tTKEFtAoVi8KfQEQUHuFiCCTgCDxlQChizwQPDZiGQw6phIAKlNE5CGIU/s1600/IMG_0113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgKiHBLOg2I5KPvEbiGPlZnQDLKXCJEqwPJDt8judp6NI-jSLZNUF4wmYCQ_-rv2v375TD9BUJEU4HlsAK1tTKEFtAoVi8KfQEQUHuFiCCTgCDxlQChizwQPDZiGQw6phIAKlNE5CGIU/s400/IMG_0113.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original state--splinters splinters splinters</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilRSZcpXT6xn34PaSdb3EUWZXGcsaX2eJTE7Oi9Z8IXco3zBb1AyPQqVzU2-hBCyRr19RWtfmM6m-JBJxy6EABrswZvdzxIHS7k3x6c8MRGO-Al1NUFWq9vMqyJyJW5cYP9pjsSTFpdrU/s1600/IMG_0115.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilRSZcpXT6xn34PaSdb3EUWZXGcsaX2eJTE7Oi9Z8IXco3zBb1AyPQqVzU2-hBCyRr19RWtfmM6m-JBJxy6EABrswZvdzxIHS7k3x6c8MRGO-Al1NUFWq9vMqyJyJW5cYP9pjsSTFpdrU/s400/IMG_0115.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Original state---edges in terrible condition<span style="text-align: left;"> </span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBZpTk1661uhL1I0lveJO1HlFhWRasOYxSqrafw1R49nx-oJSE0IgpDXF7aJEVM9T-9iK4CEZ1xQ1wTHBYZKXRQYjwvC-OmbZzCqZT6mqLnnsjoScV8sSeFm5MsCjYDLGOcvHrUTyqT4/s1600/IMG_0131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBZpTk1661uhL1I0lveJO1HlFhWRasOYxSqrafw1R49nx-oJSE0IgpDXF7aJEVM9T-9iK4CEZ1xQ1wTHBYZKXRQYjwvC-OmbZzCqZT6mqLnnsjoScV8sSeFm5MsCjYDLGOcvHrUTyqT4/s400/IMG_0131.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Routered edges, partially sanded</td></tr>
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The first thing I did was router the edges to address the splintering and damaged areas. I routered every edge, top and bottom, and then got to work sanding the bejeesus out of the entire piece.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqU_TR7D97oPbkJsJPQwS3QhM_WgoAmHTcSiHpSARNIrqogBz4lBMCoDhUjqLj5JJunHGZ74lTce8I_-PqB3keeVUlD_VhdN-my2syuve6ypTHx2BNHP623N_0YeEHKkkr5K63kht8Oek/s1600/IMG_0132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqU_TR7D97oPbkJsJPQwS3QhM_WgoAmHTcSiHpSARNIrqogBz4lBMCoDhUjqLj5JJunHGZ74lTce8I_-PqB3keeVUlD_VhdN-my2syuve6ypTHx2BNHP623N_0YeEHKkkr5K63kht8Oek/s400/IMG_0132.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Routered edges</td></tr>
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During the sanding process, I also used a wood filler to fill in the extra-damaged and splintery parts that would never smooth out, despite hours of power-sanding. The next step was to just go crazy with the power-sander and work my way from a 100 grit to a 220 until it was soft as butter. Unfortunately, I spent hours upon hours sanding it in the badly ventilated garage and got a sinus infection :/<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP1I38lIHOl-LCgifMx4nThL6oWywprcG0Zxf3TvgO9YJ4vUmNwY6TTMkW7BcVXMDteeCGX1lvDarYSe-ifgOzbvP-z1-L6uKYuelZYDxB5wjvQuak1kt4fYjd1wty_nFnPOIN8y4dqWo/s1600/IMG_0138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP1I38lIHOl-LCgifMx4nThL6oWywprcG0Zxf3TvgO9YJ4vUmNwY6TTMkW7BcVXMDteeCGX1lvDarYSe-ifgOzbvP-z1-L6uKYuelZYDxB5wjvQuak1kt4fYjd1wty_nFnPOIN8y4dqWo/s400/IMG_0138.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is this a classy work outfit or what?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96OQqGfm6tq-fK4Tz6gmJLRHurSXFIrlgwwYGRUo0ZSSieRTWlf9bjqpVlQ6XLrqOi3DfIA6fJ9LwuUMqFOsHWNEAoRQjQPALJgBwYgxW-nzcqWF1RyrX95gSMp_jswgb8qPbt29JgVk/s1600/IMG_0171.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96OQqGfm6tq-fK4Tz6gmJLRHurSXFIrlgwwYGRUo0ZSSieRTWlf9bjqpVlQ6XLrqOi3DfIA6fJ9LwuUMqFOsHWNEAoRQjQPALJgBwYgxW-nzcqWF1RyrX95gSMp_jswgb8qPbt29JgVk/s400/IMG_0171.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Filled edges</td></tr>
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One of the things I liked about this spool was the print on it, the same on both sides. It was worn beautifully, but to make this spool not only livable but safe I needed to do some drastic sanding. I was concerned that the print would be lost in the stain, so I experimented on the side I chose to be the bottom and filled in the top print with sharpie before staining. If you look at the photo below, you can see that the part I left unsharpied got totally lost in the stain, while the top logo showed through but didn't quite look natural as it had a bit of a sheen to it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWiwe61eOpcx_cfE6GmF0YgWHmmMNoO5TL0gc48vofGqaEySfgCg59sgdI0V3EIZ-dyaGNQiYssSReATLyOSNgoPszHcKxQrb2371pNzhWikjiLIUZTnI0k4EVA8U5bMS7P4yWkQC3PoY/s1600/IMG_0175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWiwe61eOpcx_cfE6GmF0YgWHmmMNoO5TL0gc48vofGqaEySfgCg59sgdI0V3EIZ-dyaGNQiYssSReATLyOSNgoPszHcKxQrb2371pNzhWikjiLIUZTnI0k4EVA8U5bMS7P4yWkQC3PoY/s400/IMG_0175.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bottom side, stained and with sharpie experiment on top logo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RqJfOOY_2NngwdJCwAlOumXs6efkNCv_wG1o-yWemIoZ-2Ze3K4X_Q3xyqZF0i99Lx68veQapQbmfMimBMry58yUTK9zh9a_vhz6q10YC3ua0mIBEgE-Z326q3WE_dyfoFeQZKl3lR8/s1600/IMG_0180.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8RqJfOOY_2NngwdJCwAlOumXs6efkNCv_wG1o-yWemIoZ-2Ze3K4X_Q3xyqZF0i99Lx68veQapQbmfMimBMry58yUTK9zh9a_vhz6q10YC3ua0mIBEgE-Z326q3WE_dyfoFeQZKl3lR8/s400/IMG_0180.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Darkened with sharpie, a bit too shiny to look natural</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPx6g0-vBcYSX3iOnEhnXq5Fi8cRa3QySsuqoMSWumQ4sPIzQ5i9o54itSMaXEIAr7K1VI7MJ4Hg4RekccjJVPlWWBeT4529B1E-9bBPjOCi3gae07Hjag2-6sqKO9PcppnEroV9SpEI/s1600/IMG_0178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxPx6g0-vBcYSX3iOnEhnXq5Fi8cRa3QySsuqoMSWumQ4sPIzQ5i9o54itSMaXEIAr7K1VI7MJ4Hg4RekccjJVPlWWBeT4529B1E-9bBPjOCi3gae07Hjag2-6sqKO9PcppnEroV9SpEI/s400/IMG_0178.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wood was super dry and actually had some lovely grain, so the stain took wonderfully!</td></tr>
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I wasn't super pleased with how the sharpie came out, so I decided to hand paint the side that was to be the top of the spool table. I mixed up a brownish black acrylic paint and got to work, and boy did it take a while! After painting it, I sanded the letters to make them appear aged and worn. I also added a little type to personalize my gift a bit, which you will see in a later photo.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSHzGfIK6PQKtG8EcVipw1OMTS1Pfyr2GbwkwlpspMbymBE0BqoyhUeahPRF_aC4cvXsdxM83TRpbWGaNw74H4VYcMeKN6M1ZRwp3r-QMRwQJq1kLcmKVnqFTnc-ptzXabjoASzrP4_l4/s1600/IMG_0318.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSHzGfIK6PQKtG8EcVipw1OMTS1Pfyr2GbwkwlpspMbymBE0BqoyhUeahPRF_aC4cvXsdxM83TRpbWGaNw74H4VYcMeKN6M1ZRwp3r-QMRwQJq1kLcmKVnqFTnc-ptzXabjoASzrP4_l4/s400/IMG_0318.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sanded to softness, but losing the signature printing!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_yXzISa7aMYsXPUM_G2Esj2svKSIwJRISfPS-afzs368MbCo3lR3MlDyg1gpoXnWRZxIym-rJzaHaq1W2NFTbIIJzpf931Z-C9WZCBaNosz5fnUXLSAKScG1ORfhyZ4iE85ZMBb9yvM/s1600/IMG_0348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn_yXzISa7aMYsXPUM_G2Esj2svKSIwJRISfPS-afzs368MbCo3lR3MlDyg1gpoXnWRZxIym-rJzaHaq1W2NFTbIIJzpf931Z-C9WZCBaNosz5fnUXLSAKScG1ORfhyZ4iE85ZMBb9yvM/s400/IMG_0348.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hand painted logo and type</td></tr>
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The painted letters turned out better than the sharpied ones, although the original state was much more beautiful in that regard. My mom had a lot of cute ideas about personalizing my spool table, but I really had to reign myself in when it came to sassing it up. I wanted this to be a table the bf could be proud of in front of other men, perhaps even be something you could find in a (well-decorated) bachelor pad. That meant not writing cutsie things on it and not even thinking about touching chalk paint to the center between the table-tops.... labor of love, right?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmAz0UN7XIkGWwudJuTgDjjfoPQ4QDp0WpKQiN8U7G02icM_krdLnfhyG57AKhyzFbJHvSnceq4smwKKInZ5IwIc10ggycW6rNE8SN2eqjTzq_Akj-wG9KH3dtcKjF15vBQSd1FqVR3w/s1600/IMG_0460.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivmAz0UN7XIkGWwudJuTgDjjfoPQ4QDp0WpKQiN8U7G02icM_krdLnfhyG57AKhyzFbJHvSnceq4smwKKInZ5IwIc10ggycW6rNE8SN2eqjTzq_Akj-wG9KH3dtcKjF15vBQSd1FqVR3w/s400/IMG_0460.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I chose to simply put our initials on the top of the bottom, a little out of the way but still visible</td></tr>
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Then the fun part started---polyurethane time. This is always my least favorite part of any wood project, and between the staining of the table and the top-coating I probably put this stage off for at least a month. I started this project <i>months</i> and <i>months </i>before his birthday, but by this time I had to rush to finish it! I had to polyurethane every surface of this dang spool, which took a good deal of patience to do all the multiple layers, but it turned out great and will no longer give anyone splinters! Just as importantly, the bf genuinely loved it and was very surprised. And he didn't say "oh this will look great on my porch!" which is how polite people say "I hate it this is not going in my house." Success.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XUu8sCDIFTmBDJObGq2owENojbKLW6Vnb13sPOlZK_13wqxY2UiA_l5J_jk3Ld5L7DZf_M2iiIR3dNtViAWDaCmkmnAmIk43QN7ZKRF1yPvMz1eg2QELLOcFa6xag-Qf8U37bZqsurM/s1600/IMG_0937.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XUu8sCDIFTmBDJObGq2owENojbKLW6Vnb13sPOlZK_13wqxY2UiA_l5J_jk3Ld5L7DZf_M2iiIR3dNtViAWDaCmkmnAmIk43QN7ZKRF1yPvMz1eg2QELLOcFa6xag-Qf8U37bZqsurM/s400/IMG_0937.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished hand-painted type on the top surface</td></tr>
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With good lighting, you can see much more depth and warmth in the wood. Unfortunately I don't have anywhere good to stage the spool table inside, so my photos are awkwardly outside and in natural light, which shows the wood to be rather darker than it really is. Nonetheless, enjoy!<br />
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Also, in some photos you might notice the places where I used wood filler. It hardened really nicely and sanded down perfectly, it even took the stain like a champ. The only reason it stands out is the lack of grain, which is a very predominant feature of the table. I'm okay with it though, it isn't really something you notice and the spool has a lot of "damage," like scratches and dents, which I think gives it character.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished</td></tr>
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Hope you enjoyed my formerly super-secret project! If you're interested in checking out my pinterest, my user name is hannahleighes.</div>
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Have a fantastic week!</div>
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<br />Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-31272931247230504402012-10-12T15:54:00.000-05:002015-05-17T14:09:09.783-05:00Pumpkin Pregnancy Photos and an Ambitious Carving Attempt<br />
I have neglected this blog so much the past few months! I <i>would</i> regale you with all my really good reasons (read: excuses), but instead I'll just show you way too many pictures of this awesome pumpkin the bf and I carved last weekend! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJrOeCoL0hD1WVvxaE7hDkB1-94unz9jZDEGzdm8V_WjeOBlCeBSo510323poHIb0oVqwH52FhYXWYh_KOZIcXX_X-vwe7RVXbdQZIzZsw9yj_q6C5HZcLnWevZxaQ7CPz9Inwx3xikfo/s1600/IMG_1510.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJrOeCoL0hD1WVvxaE7hDkB1-94unz9jZDEGzdm8V_WjeOBlCeBSo510323poHIb0oVqwH52FhYXWYh_KOZIcXX_X-vwe7RVXbdQZIzZsw9yj_q6C5HZcLnWevZxaQ7CPz9Inwx3xikfo/s400/IMG_1510.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, I'm aware this looks like a creepy pregnancy picture. They all looked like this no matter how we held it lol</td></tr>
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We've had a growing obsession with French Bulldogs for the past few months and are dying to get one (but we have to wait!) so when it came time to pick a design to carve, naturally the only thing we could think of was a frenchie.<br />
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As you can imagine, there aren't many french bulldog pumpkin carving stencils out there, so we printed off a <a href="http://www.frenchiefever.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/french_bulldog-breed.jpg" target="_blank">picture</a> from the internet and traced it, having to decide what would be positive and what would be negative space (aka pumpkin and not pumpkin). We were going to be all fancy and carve into some spots, but not through, to create another layer of detail and preserve the stability of the design, but there's only so much you can do with a grapefruit spoon and a carrot peeler.</div>
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Nonetheless, here's how it turned out! (after a few temper tantrums, grouching, and 2 days)(none by me)</div>
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<b>Note to other prospective pumpkin artists:</b> even if a so-called pumpkin art carving book tells you to do so, do not rub your new baby down in canola oil. Or any kind of oil really. You're going to spend hours carving, cursing and flinging pieces of weird smelling pumpkin guts all over your kitchen/back porch only to come home the first night it is lit and find it CRAWLING WITH ANTS! Then you'll cry and try to burn them with a lighter and bug spray. But this can be avoided! Don't. Oil. Your Punkin.Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-26190610117733176842012-09-17T12:24:00.000-05:002015-05-17T14:09:34.562-05:00It's Aliiiiiiiiiive!<br />
You may recall a post where I declared my <a href="http://eccentriclittlebeauties.blogspot.com/2012/04/littlest-and-probably-cutest-desk-plant.html" target="_blank">little desk plant</a> <a href="http://eccentriclittlebeauties.blogspot.com/2012/07/rip-little-succulent.html" target="_blank">dead</a>. It looked awful, and was as far as I could tell dead dead dead. Being the tidy and efficient person I am, I set it on my windowsill and forgot about it (except for the occasional instances when I noticed it and knew I should take it outside to compost, buuuut didn't want to)(because I'm that lazy). I finally mustered the energy yesterday and lo and behold, I was about to fling it from the pot when I noticed THIS!<br />
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It's aliiiiiiiive!!! Not only alive, but the formerly "cutest and tiniest desk" plant got even cuter and even tinier!! I'm so excited. And my new plan of action is to continue pretending it is dead, since that's obviously working wonders. So no watering, no poking. Let the experiment continue!</div>
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<br />Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-77147464668674473252012-08-22T11:19:00.000-05:002015-05-17T14:09:50.921-05:00Iron Headboard in the Garden: update<br />
Here are some more pictures of the <a href="http://eccentriclittlebeauties.blogspot.com/2012/06/garden-iron-headboard.html" target="_blank">vintage iron headboard</a> I picked up at a garage sale a while back and planted in the garden. I would like to see it covered in the moonflower plant that has taken over the back patio, or perhaps entwined with the clematis that is gently choking out the little fountain nearby. There really isn't a good spot for the headboard in either of those locations though, so it will remain by the rosebushes!<br />
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<br />Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-60977314422247112472012-08-15T23:04:00.002-05:002015-05-17T14:09:59.851-05:00A Facelift for the Bentwood Rocker Hiding in My Attic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Somehow through all my painting craze, the one in which I tried to get my blue and green paint-caked hands on anything and everything paintable, I managed to miss a large and hideous old bentwood rocker up in my attic. It has the classic swirly shape of this well-known rocker and that delectably ugly dark wood that just screams "paint me, paint me!!" So I called up my friend Claire, who has a great little place in East Nashville, and asked if she would have room for a rocker if I made it awesome. You see, I'm all about making sure my pieces have homes before I paint them, as a responsible painter and also because I'm apparently becoming the "crazy cat lady of tables" (psh I only have like 3). I'm also tiring of the jokes about how I should live in the basement studio because it is already fully furnished, minus a bed. Har har. Anyway, here's how the rocker turned out!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSQqvVZ796FZApRZ0osC4_X7I0hIYNGDTkfZ8zQ6N2wrjPlWbBcswvW2S-txA_2T7m7cbEk6IiWwop9mD9Th16dzVrJs5b35gB9EAVFscXdIMnEK-Y-JhbI1MsuMy5GxPTQEVsatc9IE/s1600/IMG_0676.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdSQqvVZ796FZApRZ0osC4_X7I0hIYNGDTkfZ8zQ6N2wrjPlWbBcswvW2S-txA_2T7m7cbEk6IiWwop9mD9Th16dzVrJs5b35gB9EAVFscXdIMnEK-Y-JhbI1MsuMy5GxPTQEVsatc9IE/s640/IMG_0676.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is the rocker in its original state (minus the caning on the seat which got a layer before I remembered to snap a shot)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I painted the caning a nice sage green wash and the body my favorite Duck Egg blue (both Annie Sloan). I also drank some wine throughout the project and wore my favorite shorts that my friends won't allow in public</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOHXYn1aP4W70fFHXeiJlwmFaNlFY4U-Q0RKkyfpWMf2oFoI_1mHwKsIoxNZ6GeR8rm3qbdsGrjQkT7XlRp0H215_NuCxcQclbmtgdbJCu7j7dEFYB36q6rxUBWiI0aeCClSMXye-mZw/s1600/IMG_0684.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYOHXYn1aP4W70fFHXeiJlwmFaNlFY4U-Q0RKkyfpWMf2oFoI_1mHwKsIoxNZ6GeR8rm3qbdsGrjQkT7XlRp0H215_NuCxcQclbmtgdbJCu7j7dEFYB36q6rxUBWiI0aeCClSMXye-mZw/s640/IMG_0684.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After painting, which took a deceivingly loooong time, I decided that I really liked the colors together in theory but the effect in person was just so flat and frankly boring. It looked like it belonged in a nursery.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAHfPJui1PS8RX8VV-OegbRvJVw8yZMQK2Us_er_J7qzCudFv_3W8ySXbtm7piC14IkBheZ1GY2kdERc7qEKdQeFOvdv0Bi_hsO5Go2wVVCqQMilz_VonbDc99rrL74O4ywrhz6p126s/s1600/IMG_0701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIAHfPJui1PS8RX8VV-OegbRvJVw8yZMQK2Us_er_J7qzCudFv_3W8ySXbtm7piC14IkBheZ1GY2kdERc7qEKdQeFOvdv0Bi_hsO5Go2wVVCqQMilz_VonbDc99rrL74O4ywrhz6p126s/s640/IMG_0701.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I clear/dark waxed the entire piece (which ohmygod took forever) and distressed it, but then the caning and body were too closely colored to contrast the way I needed them to</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I went back over the caning lightly with a dark wood stain (idk if that is advisable or not, but it worked nicely for me!) and then wiped it off, bringing a lot of texture and visual interest to the piece. I also strategically wiped off dark wax. Feeling rather pleased with the current state!<br />
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<span style="color: #45818e;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;">I now declare it Finished </span><span style="font-size: large;">(for now)</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">!!</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">It took exponentially longer than I had anticipated to refashion this classic bentwood rocking chair, but it has turned out to be a neat piece and I think Claire really likes it. Job well done in my eyes!</span></div>
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Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-61035071104589819782012-08-13T21:44:00.002-05:002015-05-17T14:10:18.525-05:00Cocoon Love<br />
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I find that some days, instead of driving through a haze of wayward thoughts and ambient music, I really relish my drive home from work. It's on those days when the sun has already set, and the busy cars that clog the road during the day have already trickled home and out of my way. The web of thin, 2-way streets that I follow home is something else entirely at night with the windows down and the warm breeze disappating all errant thoughts. I am a ball of headlight as I blow down the dark streets, the trees arching up and over me, a lush cocoon of dark arms enfolding my car and me. Occasionally I catch glimpses of the sky, a few intrepid stars peeking through light-polluted skies, peering at me through gaps in my leaf-cocoon. If only my trip was longer, and I less hungry, I would spend more time absorbing the tranquility that all but emanates from this warm darkness. It permeates me as I drive home, fleeting but welcome, ameliorating all worries but those of lead-footed deer in proximity enjoying the same night as I.<br />
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<br />Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-325626993681138582012-08-09T13:29:00.001-05:002015-05-17T14:33:09.390-05:00Burger Night<br />
I made some yummy home-made black bean burgers the other night, and they were a raging success. Especially when I compare them to the ones the bf and I made together last spring--we had to mash 2 cans of beans with a plate and the bottom of a glass drinking cup for lack of a food processor. It was labor intensive and they were totally bland, so I looked through a handful of recipes online and compiled my own! Unfortunately, we were so involved in eating them that I forgot to take a picture :( next time!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">*K</span><span style="font-size: large;">eep in mind that the black bean burger is very basic and is a great template to experiment with. If you don't like the seasonings I used, feel confident that you can scratch them and just wing it. My only advice is to add much more seasoning than you think is necessary, it takes a looooot of seasoning to not turn out bland.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #45818e;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Bangin' Black Bean Burgers</span></b></span><br />
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Yield: 5-8 patties (depending on how big you make them, duh)<br />
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1 1/2 C crushed crackers, bread crumbs, or torn up hamburger bun<br />
2 T olive oil, and some on hand for pan frying<br />
1 generous T of minced garlic<br />
2 (15 oz) cans black beans, rinsed and drained<br />
2 t grated lime rind<br />
1/2 t salt<br />
2 large eggs, lightly beaten<br />
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten<br />
1/2 T smoked paprika<br />
red pepper flakes to taste (lots)<br />
1/2 C shredded parmesan (not the unrefrigerated, powdered kind. it won't melt properly)<br />
1 t or 1/2 T chia seeds (optional)<br />
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1. Combine the oil, garlic and beans in a food processor until they make a thick paste. Scrape the mixture into a large bowl with the breadcrumbs, and then throw everything else in there too. Mix it all up!<br />
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2. Heat a T of olive oil or so in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Now you can either make a patty with moistened hands and plop it down gently in the skillet, or you can use a pancake spatula and a rubber spatula (or w/e) to place a dollop on the skillet and shape in a generally round fashion, which I found to be easier. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the bottom edges are browned and have formed a crust. Flip and repeat!<br />
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Keep in mind that homemade veggie burgers are much more delicate than store bought, and you have to be super gentle to keep them from falling apart (which is why a grill is not recommended). I found that making the patties thicker made them easier to flip (I also added chia seeds on a whim, they thicken things up with their gel)(not gross I promise). You'll just have to experiment and if you find them breaking apart, mix in more breadcrumbs or egg.<br />
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I served mine with dijon mustard, slices of pepperjack cheese and fresh spinach on bakery hamburger buns. Hope you enjoy!<br />
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<br />Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-41718886395663699442012-07-29T23:40:00.000-05:002015-05-17T14:13:15.699-05:00On Goodbyes<br />
I lost a friend this week. Today was her funeral, or rather, celebration of life.<br />
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Donned in the only black clothing in my suitcase, I reflect on how I will miss her presence. I was not there, though. At the funeral. Instead, I am writing from a plane headed back to Tennessee after saying goodbye (for now) to my love in Texas. As usual, I was dreading saying goodbye to him, even for such a short time (our last goodbye from the Houston airport was for 6 months) and I was complaining that as many times as I've had to bid farewell to people I love, it never, ever gets easier. Not in the slightest. I was also frustrated (and complaining) about not being able to get an earlier flight to make it home in time for the celebration of life. </div>
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It wasn't until I was sitting and waiting for my flight, mentally complaining to myself, that I realized that saying goodbye is a privilege. I've been fortunate enough in my life that in time, almost all of my goodbyes have been followed by hellos. Yet I still dread them. Every time I have moved abroad, I told people I wouldn't leave without saying goodbye, but I'm a huge liar in this department. So I snuck away like the evasive goodbye-hater I am. When I say goodbye to someone, I think about all the things I will miss about them while we're apart. It makes my heart hurt, so I selfishly avoid it. It sounds trivial perhaps, but this has been a big shift in perspective for me, to look at this parting ritual as a privilege and not an unpleasant but required social custom. I wanted to be there today, at her funeral, to pay my respects. I wanted to be there, to mourn with others who are grieving the same loss. I wanted to be there to show support to her family and her loved ones, my presence a meager attempt to show them how many people loved this wonderful girl. Most importantly though, or perhaps tied with the last desire, I wanted a chance to say goodbye. I haven't been home or to work since it happened, and it almost doesn't feel real. I wanted to be by her, though her body may be only a vacant vessel now, to mourn the hole she will leave in innumerable hearts and the empty space that we will all feel at work. I'm looking out the window of the plane right now, gazing across the dark profile of clouds, admiring the most striking and boldly-pigmented sunset I have ever laid eyes on. It's so fitting it almost seems corny. I wanted to be there today to say goodbye to the smiling girl in the funky necklaces. However, goodbyes never seem to cooperate with me, so this seems as good a place as any to say goodbye, miles closer to where heaven is said to be, surrounded by a radiant sky and beautiful, dark silhouettes. </div>
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Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-80541267051405168112012-07-24T14:14:00.000-05:002015-05-17T14:14:15.250-05:002 More Early Projects<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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While I am a creature of habit, I am also susceptible to phases, and I have been out of the furniture phase for a few weeks now. I've recently starting to venture back down to the studio, but it just isn't as tempting as it used to be since it has been hotter than hell here the past few weeks (the best joke I've heard so far is "satan called, he wants his weather back"). I don't have anything new ready to write about yet, although I'm still working on the super secret project and am also in the midst of reworking an old rocking chair for my oldest friend Claire, who recently moved into a cute house in East Nashville (I am so jealous and I haven't even seen the place yet!).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbd9WRxR-uxQMyXzBlFP6779vMxdAX_fuLxuQ-7WInwQyzKcpx0D0g3qA1vwYfkLWIEkNs8Mtb0DVlqibW-BGRTgJbbHn2yDvUUbRr0olL-UiZkfmw6GYiYBA3ZxmYmwCksoi7sJoey7A/s1600/photo4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbd9WRxR-uxQMyXzBlFP6779vMxdAX_fuLxuQ-7WInwQyzKcpx0D0g3qA1vwYfkLWIEkNs8Mtb0DVlqibW-BGRTgJbbHn2yDvUUbRr0olL-UiZkfmw6GYiYBA3ZxmYmwCksoi7sJoey7A/s400/photo4.jpg" width="300" /></a>I thought that while I'm airing my clumsy first attempts at making stuff funky that I might share another few early projects. The dropleaf table in the post below was my very first, and while I was huffing around and being generally frustrated by my failed attempts, I painted this giraffe thing that I used to love so much when my childhood room was Indian/African/travel themed. I wish I had known to take "before" pictures, but alas all I have now are "after" photos. It was originally a very typical yellow, black, and red palette and had great texture and shape (which was a huuuuuge pain when it came to painting and waxing, let me tell you). I painted it the only colors I had at the time, Duck Egg followed by a coat of Old White, clear wax, and finally dark wax. I think it's definitely a strange piece, but I really like it and can't wait to have an awesome place to put it!<br />
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One thing I always make sure to bring back from somewhere I've traveled and loved, beyond photos and memories and <i>presents</i> of course, is a little something to hang on my wall. I like to have something visual and unique to serve as a reminder of all the things traveling to that place taught me, as well as to provoke that surge of memories that so often start to fade. Something I splurged on a bit for myself in Chile (well, splurge in the typical, broke-backpacker sort of way) was a small tapestry from San Pedro de Atacama (see a few posts down). I bargained for it with a kind man at the far end of the dusty main street, Caracoles, on my last day in town. It shows 6 bright, stylized flamingos, very representative of San Pedro and Bolivia because the vividly cyan and red lagoons throughout are teeming with the delicate pink bodies of 3 species of flamingo. I envisioned displaying it in a floating frame in which the tapestry would be pressed between to panes of glass surrounded by a simple wooden frame, the wall showing around the sides through the glass. But, being broke and cheap, I instead chose to hunt through the house for materials to fanagle into something like my vision. I found an ugly brass frame to work with, and in the end I went totally the opposite direction with it and ended up loving it even more. Like seriously, I am in love with this frame. It completely embodies my personal taste. It looks much better in person though, and I would have preferred a thicker, more visible wire. Also, it was a pain in the butt to wrap with all that wire and beading, especially because the wrapping interferes with how tidily the glass sits in the frame, but it looks nice and let's be honest, I can't afford better :P<br />
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Here's how it turned out:<br />
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Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-38867108317230071632012-07-11T22:29:00.002-05:002015-05-17T14:15:35.740-05:00Retrospective look at my first Chalk Painted piece I've been painting with Annie Sloan chalk paint for perhaps 5 months now, and I'm still learning how to work with the paint and wax and such. My first project was a huge drop-leaf table that I took from a dumpster in college. I have no idea who would get rid of it, because it's solid and well built! Well, it was pretty filthy and needed to be either painted or refinished but it's a great piece. It happily sat on our balcony for a year and a half, where we played beer pong eeeh I mean studied studiously and took notes! Ahem. For its next round of uses, I chose Duck Egg and had something rather advanced in mind (a version of <a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G5TAuYysy98/Ta-Gle2EfLI/AAAAAAAAH-s/TPyDAlQyI9I/s1600/008+copy.jpg" target="_blank">this</a>) and it did not go as planned. At all. I haphazardly slapped on some Old White first in random spots, not anticipating how fast it would dry and thus not blend as I had planned. After the initial layer of Duck Egg, I distressed it and then ended up completely repainting it because I hated it so much. I got so frustrated it took me a whole month to buck up and finish, and looking at it now I still feel like I need to repaint the big distressed spots and calm it all down a bit. The color is absolutely lovely, but the photos are not quite faithful to this so you'll have to trust me. I used some old dark minwax that we found in the garage (prob another mistake of mine) that was pretty dried up and frankly chunky compared to fresh dark wax. Of course we made poo jokes the entire time. Anyway, I will probably lavish some more loving on this table before I consider it properly finished, but here it is in the current state!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A work in progress</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The big, bald patches are too pronounced for my taste, but I really like the effect of the white underneath with the dark wax</td></tr>
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As a whole, I am very pleased with the color and the general appearance, I just want the patches to be painted in and then I think I'll be satisfied! It's just a matter of getting this baby hauled back downstairs. It truly does weigh a <i>ton!</i> Last time I moved we had to take it apart first because it weighs so much. Quality dumpster diving right there! :D</div>
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<br />Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-18442159508053790442012-07-09T17:36:00.000-05:002015-05-17T14:16:31.799-05:00The Notebook<br />
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Today I was rooting around in my desk and found the notebook that was my constant companion during my stint living in Santiago, Chile. It is torn to pieces, the binding broken and exposed, but it contains <i>everything</i>. Hundreds of new (Chilean) Spanish words that I was absorbing as fast as I could, bus schedules, the class schedule at the school where I taught, lesson plans, names of bands the students wanted me to check out, almost a hundred to-do lists, notes on differentiating appropriate uses of my new vocabulary words, the business card of the street comedian who embarrassed the living day-lights out of my friends and I and sold our kisses for tips. Everything. Or almost.<br />
I had intended to write while I was there. I am known to send some epically long but entertaining emails while abroad, and I love studying people and their culture and trying to explain how I see the world. This notebook contains almost no writings though. Truthfully, I was rather unhappy in Santiago. I felt stifled and that it wasn't where I was supposed to be. This isn't to say that there weren't moments of joy and small successes, great friendships and lots of laughs during my time living there, but I regard it as a whole as sort of a personal failure. It is something I have trouble reflecting on or talking about. This is why I did not write during my time there. The only two writings I have are from my backpacking trip north, once I had left the city behind, living out of a backpack for a month. The following entry was scrawled at the end of my notebook from one of my favorite South American cities, San Pedro de Atacama (Chile). <br />
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Dec. 15, 2011</blockquote>
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I'm really liking San Pedro. My first impression was terror---flat expanses of dull gravel with crumbly hills and mountains in the distance. It got dustier as we approached the outskirts of town until we were dropped off at a tiny bus station/office made of what looked like remnants of wooden pallets. The town looked small, empty and dusty, and the lack of green had me on edge. When we arrived to our hostel, we were relieved to see that it wasn't as poor and basic as our first impression had led us to believe. In fact, it might be the cleanest hostel I've been in and has a wonderful authentic South American feel to it. It is on the outskirts of town tho, and although the inside is very nice, the neighboring structures are poor and dusty. The people seem to be doing just fine. The center of town was such a delight. I know most travelers aim to avoid other travelers, and shun all that is "touristy," but San Pedro is such an important jumping off point for many travelers and I was delighted to venture into town the first night to discover all the other foreigners (mostly non-North Americans actually) strolling the main street, Caracoles. The street is entirely travel agencies, artesianal and souvenir shops, over-priced restaurants and money exchanges, but it has such a nice vibe. The days here are hot and the sun is strong, but the mornings and evenings are so fresh and crisp. The stars at night are bright like back home and I never tire of looking at mountains in the near distance. </blockquote>
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Although the town is hot and dusty, there are so many stunning things within easy reach. Multi-colored mountains of solid rock and gravel and hardy yet colorful shrubs and grasses surround lagoons of the most unnaturally bright blue-green water, with flamingos and vicuña no less. Not too far from there you stumble upon a valley of volcanic rock and dry adobe in the most fantastic shapes, so dry and barren as to resemble the surface of the moon. Upon following this valley further and up, you can reach a lookout that provides a stunning view of yet more fantastically shaped rock and gravel mountains sprouting from a surprisingly fertile and green strip of life spreading across the view.</blockquote>
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Whether out and about, gasping from the altitude and unearthly and contradictory landscapes within reach, or hanging out with the brilliant and interesting mochileros [backpackers] also staying in the hostel, listening to the strong wind tear at the corners and uneven surfaces of the buildings, it is a good place to be. </blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Pedro--Walking from the center of town towards the hostal</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The roof of our hostel. Even in Santiago many roofs look like this</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hostel</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The hostel again</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beginning of Caracoles, with the volcano Licancabur in the distance</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">La niña del hostal</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the lagunas altiplánicas</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view after trekking through the dry adobe canyon, the fertile strip fell into shadow</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The ever-present pastel hues</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Right on the border of Chile and Bolivia</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is technically Bolivia, but it is merely a hop skip and a jump from San Pedro</td></tr>
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Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-36721797921652695552012-07-07T16:09:00.001-05:002015-05-17T14:16:49.463-05:00RIP Little SucculentSooo.... I regret to inform you that on this 7th day of July, 2012 I am pronouncing my adorable little succulent dead :( Poor little thing had no chance. It shot up so tall, and then turned a pallid yellow and the leaves grew feeble and fell off. I watered it (but not too much) and gave it turns on the sunny windowsill. Let's see, that means I kept it alive a whole 2.5 months. That's pretty bad.<br />
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I'm ready to get another succulent soon and see if I can figure out how I kill plants so quickly and what I can do to stop it! Also, my little sister Mia bought me an air plant. It is supposed to be stupidly easy to care for so we'll see if this goes any better ;)<br />
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<br />Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-9945016256278029222012-07-02T12:17:00.000-05:002015-05-17T14:33:38.733-05:00The Ways in Which my Little Sister Kicks Ass in the Kitchen<br />
My little sister Mia is a wiz in the kitchen. She has always been like that. She's 9 years younger than me and plenty often when I come downstairs in the morning she'll offer to whip me up a fantastical omelette (I mean, she won't call it fantastical but what else do you call an omelette with 10 primo ingredients and feta cheese?). It's bizarre to me how inventive and comfortable she is in the kitchen, I admire it (envy more like). Perhaps being utterly outshone by someone so young contributes to my "domesticated" insecurities? Quite likely. But I won't complain, because she fills the house with yummy new dishes and just recently put together an awesome recipe for homemade Lara Bars. It's ridiculously easy and equally tasty.<br />
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P.S. Has anyone else tried to get a recipe from a chef before? It's remarkably difficult, like squeezing a confession from a suspect! I know it's because they don't use recipes per se (the chefs, not the suspects), but sheesh! Talk about hard to get. But I did, so here it is:<br />
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<span style="color: #45818e; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">Mia's Homemade Lara Bars</span></div>
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1.5 cups dried dates, diced</div>
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1 cup almonds, chopped finely (food processor)</div>
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2-3 T raw sesame seeds</div>
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PLUS one or more of the following:</div>
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chocolate chips</div>
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dried cherries</div>
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peanut butter chips</div>
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coconut flakes</div>
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chopped nuts</div>
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other dried fruits</div>
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(Really, you can add anything you see fit. My favorite is chocolate chips with dried cherries!)</div>
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All you do to prepare these is to knead together all the ingredients and push into a small pan, like a small brownie pan or tupperware. Done!</div>
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Note: Mia suggested kneading together just the dates, almonds and sesame seeds and then pressing the additional ingredients into the bar after it is in a pan, but I prefer them more incorporated. Whatever floats your boat! </div>
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These homemade Lara Bars are super simple, healthy, delicious and naturally sweet (no sugar added obviously). Perfect! And if you really wanted to, you could always add chia seeds too.... :)</div>
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The following picture is from 2008, so it's evidently quite old but she is not only squeezably <i>adorable</i> but also sooo young and inventing a recipe with beets. Who does that?? Most kids won't even eat the stuff! <i>I</i> won't even eat the stuff! And I'm, um, an adult... <br />
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Badass from the start.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love you Mi!</td></tr>
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Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-9638261684977231332012-06-27T21:56:00.000-05:002015-05-17T14:17:48.747-05:00Accidentally Insane Yoga<br />
After at least a 5 year hiatus from my sporadic yoga attending "routine," I decided to make the best of my day off yesterday and attend a "restorative yoga class" at my gym. It took me a few tries to locate the class but once I did, I sought out the instructor to say hi and that I was new and to inquire as to the difficulty of the class. Unfortunately, the first thing he says is to the effect of "yeah, this class is advanced and very difficult. I know it says restorative yoga online, I've been trying to get them to change that for years. You're welcome to come and just do as much as you can, don't feel shy to just get up and leave if it's not for you."<br />
Let me tell you, I was not prepared for this class. It was insane. I had never done much besides beginners or intermediate yoga at best, but I really pushed myself during this class and did the best I could. Still, there were definitely things I didn't even attempt for fear of injuring/embarrassing myself. After class, the instructor came over and asked how I liked it. I mentioned the advanced poses (seriously, insane) that I wasn't prepared for, and he asked if I was a dancer, because "you're pretty flexible." I took it as a giant compliment, but tried my hardest not to laugh (too heartily, that is) in his face. It was a huge reminder that people are far from what they appear, because I am about as far from a dancer as one can get. But he is not what I expected either, because as a past-middle-aged, non-buff man he didn't appear fit, limber, young or frankly hip enough to do <a href="http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2008-06-13-MadonnaEkaPada.JPG" target="_blank">this</a>, <a href="http://juliannerice.com/crow_ps.jpg" target="_blank">this</a>, <a href="http://images.teamsugar.com/files/upl1/1/12981/45_2008/f7c84f7dfbcb8536_straight-legs-side-crow.jpg" target="_blank">this</a>, or <a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1280&bih=599&tbm=isch&tbnid=RHaDBwsPeci0tM:&imgrefurl=http://blondeonamission.com/2011/08/18/all-broke-down/&docid=03WT34JbGnLZgM&imgurl=" target="_blank">this</a> from appearances alone. I didn't manage to do any of the propped up poses except for the<a href="http://yogaanywhere.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Crow-Pose-Kak-Asana-Full.jpg" target="_blank"> Crow Pose</a>, but I can nearly get my foot behind my head and today I am really, really reeeeeally wishing I hadn't. On top of that, I was feeling so motivated after class that I popped into the weights section for a quick workout. Oh dear lord, I woke up feeling pretty sore this morning and it has only gotten increasingly apparent how painful "just stretching" can make you feel. For the most part, it is that good kind of hurt from a solid, new workout, but I haven't felt sore like this in quite some time. I think I'm enjoying it, but I'm not sure. I bet I'll have a more defined opinion tomorrow ;) In the meantime, I'm pretty sure I need to find myself an actual <i>restorative</i> yoga class!<br />
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<br />Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-8604108625005001142012-06-19T22:50:00.000-05:002015-05-17T14:18:10.307-05:00Garden Iron HeadboardNot too much to report on the furniture front, with the exception of the super secret project that I will obviously have to wait to update on. I think I'm the only person dying to get it out already but I'll have to just put on my big girl panties and deal with it!<br />
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A couple weeks ago I picked up a really awesome iron headboard at a garage sale. The woman said it was hers as a child and that it had been passed down for a few generations. It is absolutely a genuine vintage iron headboard, which means it weighs about a hundred pounds! It's really a charming piece and I was intending to restore it (since it's a bit rusted with chipped paint), as I would have liked to use it myself, but I don't have a full bed. Also, it would have to be rigged to a bed frame since it is missing a few original fixtures and I didn't want to try to sell it as such. I decided it would look really nice in a garden though, with vines and flowers climbing up it, so my mom and I drove a couple rebars into a flowery spot in my family's back yard and set it up. I think it turned out very cute, and will only look better as things start to grown on and around it!</div>
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UPDATE: here is a more <a href="http://eccentriclittlebeauties.blogspot.com/2012/08/iron-headboard-in-garden-update.html" target="_blank">recent post</a> with photos of the headboard as the plants have filled in a bit throughout the summer!<br />
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Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-60301281357369286232012-06-09T21:25:00.001-05:002015-05-17T14:18:26.443-05:00Bizarre art by my favorite artist, Andy Kehoe<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztNRzEWpb409qJaqFd-8kjMXZ2glvtnhjDlsGe4bEahn1al6I1M0p781nSPcfgWIl0j4VImCO1MM99KVZ7hJ6BtwIqK7zKyMTOZS9hzuAGDEhNE7ZL4q0OLhQTfDZBMdY2E_Czu7Bm8k/s1600/2272605_All_Turns_to_Brilliance.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiztNRzEWpb409qJaqFd-8kjMXZ2glvtnhjDlsGe4bEahn1al6I1M0p781nSPcfgWIl0j4VImCO1MM99KVZ7hJ6BtwIqK7zKyMTOZS9hzuAGDEhNE7ZL4q0OLhQTfDZBMdY2E_Czu7Bm8k/s400/2272605_All_Turns_to_Brilliance.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All Turns To Brilliance, Andy Kehoe<br />
(forgive me for posting without permission, but you have to see these) </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On The Banks of Broken Worlds, Andy Kehoe</td></tr>
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Continuing along the lines of the last post, I wanted to share the work of another artist I admire. His name is Andy Kehoe and not only is his artwork reason enough to know his name, but if you browse through his website or take a gander at his blog (<a href="http://andykehoe.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Tall Tales of Depravity</a>) you'll find that the guy is absolutely odd and completely hilarious. He throws frivolously ridiculous sentences into otherwise perfectly normal descriptions. Or he just jumps in with ridiculous right from the beginning. Take, for example, the first few sentences of his autobiography: (courtesy of his <a href="http://andykehoe.net/news.html" target="_blank">website</a>)<br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Andy Kehoe was the son of a sea merchant that was killed by pirates when he was just three years old. His father barely had time to throw his son overboard before the cargo ship that usually carried pickles and kittens to Spain, carried the burning corpses of his father and all his closest friends to the bottom of the ocean.</span></blockquote>
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What?! That's not the whole story and that's not even the only self explanation he offers. In fact, it's only one of three. I strongly recommend the rest if the above tickles your fancy in the least.<br />
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As for his art, it entirely stuns me when I look at it. Seriously, do yourself a favor and browse through his <a href="http://andykehoe.net/home.html" target="_blank">portfolio</a>. It has such a distinctive feel to it as a whole---creepy...yet not unpleasant. Take a look and see what you think. I'm having trouble putting what it makes me feel into words! The aesthetic just really appeals to me, and feels very much like a modernized version of art in the Pacific Northwest Native American tradition (think highly stylized animal forms, particularly faces, in yellow, black, brown and sometimes red). Mix that with a heavy dose of <i>Where The Wild Things Are</i> (whose author, Maurice Sendak, died recently) and you have Andy Kehoe.<br />
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Hope you enjoy.<br />
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UPDATE 6/26: Here's one more picture. I just can't stop obsessing with these paintings! I think this one is new, it's called Mutual Enchantment.<br />
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<br />Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-77888225577098121882012-06-03T21:46:00.001-05:002015-05-17T14:18:56.082-05:00Ben Ozburn: Photographer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This handsome guy drinking a beer is my dear friend Ben Ozburn. He is an immensely talented photographer and has most recently been documenting the natural beauty in Scotland. Photos from his recent posts have just taken my breath away and I wanted to share them! Take a peek at his <a href="http://benozburn.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">photographs</a>--I particularly like the boat ones from the Red Castle post, scroll down a bit for those.</div>
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As for myself, I'm still a bit sick and working/attending medical interpreter training classes so nothing new to report on the furniture front. I actually think the sinus infection was probably due to the 10+ hours I spent stupidly power-sanding the super secret (and formerly super dusty) project in a badly ventilated garage stall without a mask. Needless to say I have learned my lesson! Safety first, unless it's <i>reeeeeally</i> inconvenient. Just kidding, I never want to feel this sick again. I picked up a SARS mask or w/e they're called at the dr's office so I'll have that for future sanding endeavors :)</div>
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Have a lovely week</div>
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Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7458816030596135518.post-40856817150895048922012-05-28T14:24:00.000-05:002015-05-17T14:19:18.126-05:00Making Sunshine<br />
So today I'm home from work with strep throat, which means I'm not making money and I'm not able to devote my day to projects either. Boo. One thing that has brightened my day is these wonderful flowers I bought at work a few days ago!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">What better way to tell yourself "I love you" than buying yourself your favorite flowers?</span> Such a simple way to brighten your own day.<br />
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It's a brand new day</blockquote>
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I got lots of love to give away</blockquote>
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It don't matter if it's raining</blockquote>
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Nothing can [faze] me</blockquote>
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I make my own sunshine </blockquote>
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If you think you can break me</blockquote>
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Baby you're crazy</blockquote>
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I make my own sunshine </blockquote>
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Alyssa Bonagura "<a href="http://youtu.be/sUFDFePer_c" target="_blank">I Make My Own Sunshine</a>" </blockquote>
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It's a sappy, happy, driving-with-sunglasses-on-and-the-windows-down kind of song that you sandwich in right between Corinne Bailey Rae's "Girl Put Your Records On" and something by Colbie Caillat. Haha I would be judging myself so hard too right now if I didn't enjoy singing these songs in the car as much as I do. <span style="font-size: large;"><b>However, I don't want the sunny, bubbly music to overtake the message</b></span>. I think it's really important for the modern woman (and really everybody, for that matter) to take responsibility for her own happiness and remember that self-reliance and strength of character are the two best qualities she can cultivate in herself and encourage in her friends. It's so effortlessly and unconsciously that we get wrapped up in other people's lives that we forget that when everything boils down, we're the one driving. It's blindingly simple but also something I need to remind myself of frequently---so many things and especially people in my life bring me abundant happy moments and endless warm fuzzy feelings, but incorporating those into my happiness and not letting them entirely define my contentment and well-being is my responsibility. That's not to say I don't rely on anyone, but I remind myself that nobody is obligated to make sure I'm always a happy camper. It's something I forget, it's something my friends forget, and it's something that I fear young women don't consider often enough. A few popular novels that have been circulating, Twilight for one, horrify me with their depiction of a modern woman. I won't deny that I like the Twilight series as a very guilty pleasure, but Bella really is a horrible role model. When the time comes that my little sisters get caught up with the challenges that come their way, or more likely than not, boys, I'm going to remind them of all these things. And boy are they are going to kill me if they read this. Anyway, enough thinking. This is just what happens when I'm stuck on bedrest. Maybe I'll eat some ice cream and sneak down to the "studio"...<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Enjoy your holiday! </span><br />
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P.S. Don't discount the video on account of the supremely annoying misspelling of faze (phase? really?)<br />
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<br />Hannah Leighhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05097510422576648927noreply@blogger.com2