You Know You're Off Your Game When...

You Know You're Off Your Game When...

So, while I haven't been here...at all recently...I have been getting back in the kitchen.  And, I've been taking pics which (hopefully) will become blog posts soon.  

On Thanksgiving I knew our dinner would be carb heavy, hello stuffing, baked sweet potatoes, mashed rutabaga with gravy, etc.  So, I prepared some spanikopita filling last week and froze it thinking we would have some quick spinach pies for lunch while the turkey was cooking.

And, it worked.  

Yes, I used frozen croissant dough, filled it, folded it over and forked the edges closed.  They were beautiful.. And, tasty.  And, I would absolutely do it again.

And, I probably should.  So, maybe I could get an "after" pic to go with the "before" one.

#1 Way you know you're off your game is when...
You drop the spinach pies all over the floor.  Yep.  *Splat*

Then today I thought I would start to decorate for Christmas.
 (I'm kinda bummed that we lose a week between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.  How about you?)

So, I headed off to my Chalkboard Pinterest Board and chose a design.  About an hour later when it was finished, I stood on a chair and lifted the really heavy really large board...

#2 Way you know you're off your game is when...
You realize that you only strung the picture wire so the really heavy vintage frame hangs horizontally and not vertically.  Ugh.  And, it's not like we could simply turn it over and drill new eye hooks in the vintage frame...without messing up the work.

Now, for the good news.

It doesn't matter.

The "5 Second Rule" was employed and my husband and I enjoyed the spinach pies.  (Yes, I know it's kinda gross.  Shrug.)  And, for a few days we'll keep the chalkboard standing up against the bookcase.  Then I'll draw a new one to hang horizontally...or wipe it and drill a vertical wire.

Ultimately, it's been a good couple of days.  Yeah, I'm a bit off my game.  But, we're well fed and my family feels loved.  And, that's really what matters.

Did you have any mishaps recently?

 

Do You Over-Complicate?

Over-Complification.

Okay.

I made that up.

But, if there was an "addicted to detail" disorder...I might have it.

Now, we're not talking ADD or OCD.
Cuz if that were the case I'm sure that uneven twine in the photo above...and the box which is slightly askew...

Well, I guess I DID notice those.

Didn't I?

Anyways.  

Raise of hands if you find yourself over-complicating things.

I'm sort of an all or nothing gal.  

I can do simple projects.
I even have a How Simple category...

For example, our Pez Tree (with Santa Yoda Bobble-head!) was dang simple. Then there was Our Thankful Tree. Granted we took a hike to get there, but it's still just a tree branch. And, the perhaps the winner on the simplicity front would be 15 Minute Homemade Donuts...with only 2 ingredients.

Fine, I managed to not over complicate those. 

 But, woo - wee! 

This gal can make a multi=step project out of buttering toast! Did I tell you about the recipe folder I made my niece? No? Well, she just needed something to put her recipes in, right? Sooooooo 3 months later she gets a 3 ring binder, tabs for every possible subject. Pre-filled with recipes. Lots of blank pages to add. Oh, and family photos placed throughout so she gets (hopefully) a little love as she cooks. Seriously. She just needed a place to put index cards and I gave her the entire set of 22 volumes of F&W encyclopedias!

Er, I'm doing it again. 

Over-complicating things. 

I digress. 

When Kleenex asked me to tell you about their new hand towels, I really tried NOT to complicate this one. If your family is like mine, during the summer you're always coming and going. Visitors come through like a revolving door and all they really want is a comfy spot, something cold, and a little good conversation. Most are not looking to put you out. They do NOT want you to spend way too long cleaning, preparing, and prepping for their visit.

So, I thought, "Hmm. hand towels. They wold be "handy" (pardon the pun) right about here!" Next to the regular towel, which is an option. But, if a fresh disposible option is available, I think that's kinda neat.

Out came the craft bin. Twine. I love it. (Lots of rustic twine-y pics of inspiration on our pinterest page.) Twine is simple, inexpensive, and....quick.

(If I wanted it to be even quicker, the Kleenex hand towel box is designed to invert into your towel bar so you can just pull them straight down. Now, that's easy!)

This has got to be the simplest decorating ever. 

Unravel, wrap, tie, thread through. Hang. 

Done! DONE! (I love it!) 

So, tell me.

Are you and over-complicater?

When guests come to visit do you spend more time in preparing vs. visiting?

What is your MOST over-complicated project? 

Join the 14 million people who have already joined the Clean Hands campaign by using Kleenex Hand Towels, and click here for savings and more! 

I was selected for participation in this campaign as a member of Clever Girls Collective. 

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There, I Said It. "Pin it" - If You Must.

Inexpensive artwork.

Maybe you're looking for a Mother's Day gift. 

Or, you're styling a nursery  - and money doesn't grow on trees.

Perhaps money is no object...
But you love DIY.

artwork. doesn't have to be expensive.

Yep - I said it.

It's there in black and white - er, green.

You can go ahead and "pin it" on an inspiration board now. 

Or an "eyeroll" board - if that's your pleasure.

DIY rustic artwork is something I love - which is good because DIY is in my budget.

"Our Bedroom" Pinterest board is chalk full of rustic DIY-ness. 

(I tried containing it in our "Rustic Art Inspiration" board...but it escaped.)

Oh, well. 

 Art, can't be contained. 

(You can pin that little bit of inspiration, too. LOL)

Via

Isn't that rustic tree adorable?  *swoon*

It's always amazing to me - how pretty & simple repetition can be.  

Take the painting below.

Step 1.  

Simple lines for twigs.  

Dots in white, cream, gray, yellow.  

Leaf here and there.

Step 2. 

Let dry.

Step 3.  

Head to you local Hobby Lobby to mat and frame it.  

(Even better, skip the mat then re-use a frame you bought at a  resale shop or yard sale.)

Via

Now, I'm not silly enough to think that my artwork 

will be all balanced,
have flow and movement,
texture, 

and...
admittedly...(sigh)

I've already exhausted my Freshman year art survey vocab.

Heck, I'm not Zoe at Dear Chicago House. (<-- great gal, btw)
But, it's okay.

Because while I do have critics,
they know how to embrace the imperfect.

~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~
Have you made your own artwork?
Would you like to?
What would it look like?

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Help! I Can't Stop Finger-Knitting!

Have you tried finger knitting?
I'm addicted.
I made that scarf in 2 hours for about 50 cents.
While watching Netflix.

If you follow us on Facebook,
You got a sneak peek.

I learned about finger knitting from The Nester,
who posted a link to Gussy's tutorial.
It's "easy breezy."

Since I don't knit or crochet, I needed to buy yarn.
(I chose something that would be "forgiving" if messed up while learning.)

I headed to straight to Hobby Lobby -
where I purchased practically everything for my wedding
with either 50% off on sale or 40% off with their weekly coupon.
Gotta love the Lob.

I'm addicted.
I've already made my second scarf.
A colorful Springtime version!

Yes, I've even started a Finger Knitting Board on Pinterest.

Is there a 12 step Finger Knitting program yet?
I'll need one by Sunday.
Can knitting or crocheting be far behind?

~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~

Do you finger knit?
Crochet? Knit? Other yarn based craft?

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Click on the blue button below, then scroll down.

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Our Jimmy John's Kitchen (Part 3)

Our Jimmy John's Kitchen design...
for our home...
is coming along nicely!

You can catch up with our plans and progress at...

Part 1- The Why.
Did we seriously have Jimmy John's cater our wedding?
The design plans, and some catastrophic before shots.

Part 2 - The How.
BOLD COLORS - How can you be sure you will love them?
Here's 10 easy steps to fool-proof color picking!

Part 3 - The What.
You are here.
Jimmy John's is a restaurant. Ours is a home. How do you make one into the other - ON A BUDGET?! See pics of the restaurant and the annotations of what we felt were the most important aspects we needed to replicate in our kitchen. Details about windows, walls, curtains, stainless switch plates, ceiling fixtures, etc.

Part 4. The reveal!
See the Before and Afters, the Master Project List, "Where can I buy it?" list, and...announcing the Next Project!

A few of you took the time to e-mail to let me know that you aren't blessed to have a Jimmy John's near you yet! So, I should probably show you what we are shooting for!

Here's Jimmy John's.

It's an energetic place with fun and wacky signs.
Great subs.
Colorful, free-spirited, sorta loud - pretty much like our family!

I annotated the pic, but it's a little difficult to see. There were a few items we felt would be crucial to our design. Basically, we really wanted the crazy signs - the pickle was a must have - and lots of stainless steel. Lastly, we needed to find a way to replicate the feel of the tile work, but not the cost and labor that actual tile would involve.

THE WALLS
Okay, so let's get down to the nitty gritty.
First the "before shot" of our blecky colored walls.

Meet my husband. Yes, the walls really were that green yellow puke color. It was there before we moved in. First, my husband took down the 70's mirrors and sanded and spackled the area. We had already chosen our paint colors - we started with a base of off white.

You can tell where are priorities are.
Paint, brushes, tape, coffee maker....

We decided to paint faux tile.
It was cheap, relatively easy, and wasn't a permanent deal. What to you call that piece up there above the cabinets?? Is that a soffit?

Whatever that's called, (I'm gonna call it Bob), we painted Bob a rich tomato red - so colorful funny signs would pop against it. We kept in mind that having Bob painted red, the kitchen could easily get too dark - so we only painted a few brown and black "tiles."

The taping...was fun. Not really.
It wasn't complicated, but it was difficult to get straight lines since we had to bend over - or lay on - the counter top to get to the walls. I designed a really random pattern in Paint. Then we taped and painted one row at a time, let it dry, painted a second coat... We taped inside some squares and outside others, so that the "white" space would remain empty.
It required a lot of taping and re-taping. But, it worked!

We chose to make the faux tile a checkerboard pattern, not identical with the actual Jimmy tile, but hopefully staying in the spirit. (Please ignore the clutter...)
What do you think? Get the jimmy vibe?

STAINLESS STEEL WALL PLATES

We replaced all of the wall plates for the outlets and switches. We added GFCI's were we needed 'em. (I don't have a before pic - just imagine the original plates from 1959 covered in paint so badly that you can't even plug in your coffee maker!) The stainless was a bit more - but I really like how they turned out.

THE WINDOWS, WOODWORK, AND CURTAINS
As you heard with the wall plates, the folks who lived here before us didn't exactly keep the place up. This includes the windows. My hubby started in on the windows while I was at work.

Taped to each window is a swatch of curtain.
We had already narrowed it down to 2. Each had the colors we were looking for, tomato red, green, and yellow. Now, I'm not a big painter of woodwork. But, here's a before shot of a different window that in the same condition as our kitchen windows.

Nice, eh?
I like rustic charm, but our windows look much better in chocolate brown.

Oh, and I should mention that hubby cleaned the original window pulls.
He also refinished the cabinets.
I had no idea they could look so good!

LIGHT FIXTURE

Jimmy John's uses a lot of different lights in their restaurants.
In the very top photo there's an amber pendant light. (Home depot had that one, but we passed so we didn't bump our heads.) In the next photo up there, the JJ's had silver retro pendants.

We elected to go with a retro-inspired nickle flush mount. (Home depot.) I chose this partially because it reminded me of the vintage art deco fixtures in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. Wanna see how they compare?

Not bad for just seeing something in the store and thinking,
"Boy, that reminds me of the Museum lights. And we love that place!"
Here's our sad little light bulb - what was in our kitchen when we started.

FUN, COLORFUL SIGNS

One of the most important pieces for our Jimmy John's kitchen is the logo sign. Without it, well, it just wouldn't be a Jimmy John's! We lucked out and Santa brought us this METAL logo sign a very nice 15 inches wide. (Thanks, Santa!)

Our 14 year old is getting pretty handy with a hammer!
Here's the sign in its full glory.

We put it front and center just like we had planned.

Making the signs took hours.
And, hours. (And...you get the idea.)
I'm gonna save the reveal of the signs for our next post.
Here's a sneak speak at the rough copies of a few of them.

We'll have our full reveal right back here on Tuesday...this week!!
And, we'll be linking up to the...
Imagine the Impossibilities Challenge.

So, what do you think of our progress so far?
Have we captured the Jimmy John's feel?

Click the blue button below...
to let us know!

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