2011 Wrap Up

Hello friends! 2011 has been a big year and I can't wait to share with you some of my favorite posts and happenings.

My five most popular posts this year have been:

#5

Easy DIY Art

I love these in my bedroom. The cream color adds some much needed light to the space!

#4

Another Waverly Fabric SCORE!

I paid $14 for 2.75 yards of this gorgeous Sun N Shade fabric and am planning on finishing up my deck project this summer. Here are the fabrics I'll be using.

#3

Downstairs Bathroom - DONE!

This summer I did a mini re-do of my downstairs bathroom. It was just the freshening up I needed...and SO simple! I've since added a DIY Sunburst Mirror to the spot next to the mirror. It's the perfect finishing touch!

#2

Craigslist Dresser...Done?

This was another one of those never ending projects. I had so many problems with the paint bubbling up and I spent so much time sanding and re-sanding. In the end, it was worth it! This is the perfect storage solution for DVDs, diapers and wipes, toys...I love it! I do still need to buy the hardware I've got picked out but I'm having a difficult time getting myself to spend the money. The knobs and pulls are $5 each and I know that doesn't sound like much but that's $60 total and I just don't want to take it out of my budget. I am planning on a re-do of this whole space sometime this year so when I begin that, I'll buy my knobs :)

#1

New Reading Bench

This was by far my most popular post this year and one of my favorite projects. This goes to show you what a little bit of elbow grease can do. I bought the bench for $20 on Craigslist, pulled off some nasty upholstry and padding, repainted and reupholstered it. For a $30 total investment, I have a fun new piece of furniture and a great addition to my little girl's room.

So, those were my most popular posts of 2011. I want to share a few of my personal favorites.

#3

Valentine Wrap-Up

I loved the Valentine's Day crafts I did this year and I smiled every time I looked at them. I can't wait to get them back up and to do even more this year :)

#2

Owl Love You... (Before & After)

I love this little guy. He just makes me happy :)

#1

Lattice Entertain You...

These are my absolute favorite project from this past year. I fell in love with the fabric and got an awesome deal when I found it in the clearance bin at Joann. Unfortunately, I only had enough for one window. I hunted and hunted for this online but this color isn't made anymore. (It's Waverly Lovely Lattice in mocha. They do make this in the Sun N Shade fabric but I had the 100% cotton and needed the same to match up to what I already had.) Finally, I tripped over a store that had this online.

I love everything about this fabric. The weight, color and pattern are perfect and the curtains are perfect for my living/dining area. Almost every time I look at them, I can't believe how lucky I was to find that second five yards :)

2012 is going to be a busy year for me too. I've got a monster list of projects and to-dos that I'm planning on posting soon. Included in that list will be converting my guest room/office into a nursery for a baby boy coming in April. That's my biggest DIY project planned for 2012. (The baby, not the room!)

I've had so much fun looking back on 2011 and it's inspired me to forge ahead in the coming year. I've loved all the friendships that have developed through this blog and all the support I've received. Thank you ALL for making it wonderful :)

Linking up to:

I'm Stuck

I'm sure my lack of posts has been noticed by at least a couple of you. Truth is, I'm so embarrassed that I haven't finished my Craigslist chairs that I've been too embarrassed to post anything. The problem is getting them covered.

Before I started taking them apart I thought they would be a breeze, based on my experience with my reading bench, which had a simple frame I was able to remove and attach my new padding and fabric to.

These chairs don't have that. I'm completely frustrated trying to figure out how to get the fabric to go around the legs and actually look nice. Last night I was trying (again) while my husband was watching football, which gets me all edgy and annoyed anyhow, and I was so frustrated I was yelling at him to not even look at me and my failed attempt. Okay, so part of that might have been hormones. I'm so glad I've got those to blame!

Anyway, I'm almost ready to admit defeat and just take these to a professional to be covered but before I do, I want to reach out for help. Does anyone know of a good tutorial I can look at or have any advice for me? I don't want to be done in by chairs and any help would be greatly appreciated.

On another note, we found out we are having a BOY!! Designing a nursery is going to be fun and I've got a few ideas floating around in my head. :)

Surprisingly AWESOME Christmas Decor!

My mom sent me this image today from House Beautiful. Awesome!! I don't really have anywhere to put it but I wish I did! This would be such a simple and inexpensive DIY - they're just paper wedding bells!

(click pic for source)

Anyway, I was just so struck by this that I had to share. What do you think? Am I way off with my love of this idea?

Progress

Okay, I know it's a long time coming but I'm finally making some progress on my pair of Craigslist chairs!

I wasn't able to find a stapler that would work so I've been going crazy trying to come up with a good solution. I think I found one! Anyway, I'll be finishing these this week and I cannot wait to show you but for now, here is a little teaser :)

Oh yeah, I've also got my ultrasound scheduled for this Thursday! I can't wait to find out the sex of this baby so I can get started on a nursery :) There's lots happening in the Wonderfully Domestic household so stay tuned!

Browsing TJ Maxx

Hello and happy Halloween! I was hoping to have my chairs finished and ready to show you today but I'm running into some issues with tools. I think I'm going to need to buy a special staple gun to be able to do the project right. The seats aren't on a frame like my bench. There's a channel going around the chair that the fabric needs to be stapled into and my staple gun isn't going to be able to get the staples in there. Anyhow, I do guarantee that one way or another, I'll have it done this weekend. I promise!

In the mean time, I was shopping the other day with a girlfriend of mine who has asked me to help her do her brand new house. We stopped by TJ Maxx and I came across some wonderful accessories!

This pierced canister caught my eye. About a year ago I found a pierced ginger jar at TJ Maxx that I didn't buy. I've been regretting it ever since. I didn't buy this because it isn't the shape I want but I still loved it!

How cute is this lamp? It's just filled with fuzzy little pom poms! This would be the simplest DIY for a little girl's room.

These trays were incredible. I love anything with wood. They were SO pretty and I wanted one SO bad but the small one alone was $40 and I just couldn't justify the expense.

The insides were mirrors! LOVE!!

These Foo Dogs were my favorite find of the day. They were about a foot tall, ceramic on a heavy glass base. They had both silver and gold versions and at $20 a piece, they were reasonably priced. I didn't buy any. I have a feeling I'm going to be regretting that decision but with the new baby coming, I'm trying to spend less. I don't know how good my willpower is going to be though because every time I see this picture, I think about how great this would look in my living room. I might just have to sneak back this week.

Anyhow, I really am sorry about the chairs and not having them done yet. Believe me, it's so frustrating not being able to complete a project.

I'll be back tomorrow or the next day to show you my nightstands in my bedroom I gave a quick makeover. Have a great Halloween and don't eat too much candy!

Weekend Project - On Hold

Well, I don't want to leave you all high and dry but my Craigslist chairs project is on hold. I've got them all painted and ready for new upholstery but I couldn't find what I wanted locally so I had to order the fabric online. You know how that is, you have something specific in mind and you just can't make anything else work out...

I can promise you this, these chairs are going to be FANTASTIC! Just the new coat of paint has got them looking so much better and so chic. Here's a little preview...

I'm not going to tell you what fabric I chose because I want it to be a surprise...Just know that it's going to be FAB!! The fabric is in transit so I'm hoping to be able to finish these up this weekend. In the meantime, I've got some other projects to share with you so stay tuned!

Weekend Project Sneak Peek

I mentioned the other day that I was heading out to pick up something from Craigslist. Well, here is a teaser - a before pic from the seller:

You'll never guess how much I paid...$10. FOR THE PAIR!!!! These will be going in my upstairs living room. I still need to pick a fabric to reupholster them and a color to paint them. I'd really like to go bright on the paint but at the same time, glossy black would be so pretty!

I'm hoping to have these done and posted on Monday so stay tuned!

Found Treasure...Bamboo Edition

Okay, well it isn't all bamboo but there sure is a lot of it here...that's okay though, who amongst us doesn't love faux bamboo?

Here are some of my most recent thrifting finds.

I love this pretty painting. I love it but don't plan on keeping it the way it is. I'm going to paint the frame and use it on my gallery wall. In fact, most of the paintings here are going to be used on that future gallery wall!

Here is a set of two original oil paintings. I don't know what I'm going to do with them but it was $2 for the set and I was just sort of drawn to them. I figured that for that price, they were too pretty to pass up.

Another faux bamboo frame...I'll be taking the print and the cheap plastic out of this before I paint and add it to the gallery wall.

Yet another faux-bamboo frame...this print is actually not horrible...I hate the mat but still, it's going to be swapped out for something else before it's painted and hung.

Small faux-bamboo mirror. This might be going in my bedroom. I haven't quite decided.

Ah, the lovely lady. She is so pretty. I picked her up for a girlfriend of mine that has another beautiful lady bust in a similar style. I only paid $1!

I love that hibiscus...

This is one of my favorite finds. Silver (plated, I'm sure) faux-bamboo serving trays. All that's missing is the glass inserts and those are easy to replace. I got these at an estate sale for a steal! I'm considering selling them though since I'm going to need to make room for the new baby and will be losing my office :(

These are funny...I bought them at a rummage sale because I know shells and the like are so popular and I would have felt foolish not buying them. However...I refuse to touch them. I don't know why but they just give me the heebie jeebies!

I thought this one was kind of cool...

Let me know if you know anything about any of these items. I'd love to know what I've got! What have you picked up lately? I'm mourning the loss of summer and rummage sale season. At least I still have Craigslist!

Excuse My Absence

Hello, everyone. I'm sorry I've been MIA and inconsistent for so long. I really do have a good excuse!

Baby #2 is on his or her way in April! I've been feeling so sick and exhausted...so totally different from my first pregnancy. I haven't had much energy or desire to decorate, craft, cook or blog but the good news is, I'm starting to feel much better and I'm getting the itch again and have had plenty of time to come up with ideas!

In the mean time, since the last time I posted, there have been some big happenings...I celebrated my 31st birthday, my husband and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary, my daughter turned 3 and Wonderfully Domestic turned 1 on September 30th.

My top 3 posts have been:


New Reading Bench


Craigslist Dresser...Done?


Downstairs Bathroom - DONE!

My personal favorite post - my new curtains in the dining/family room:


Lattice Entertain You...


My top three referring sites have been:


Apartment Therapy Re-Nest



Thrifty Decor Chick


Miss Mustard Seed


I've got a lot in the works...I've found some great items while thrifting and rummaging, we finished staining our deck, I've got some furniture re-do's planned and today after work I'm going to pick up a couple new Craigslist treasures.

Stick around! I'm so thankful you've stayed as long as you have and I'm looking forward to sharing more with you.

My Favorite Couscous

Hello there! A while back I showed you my favorite Summer pasta salad. Today I'll be showing you a recipe I love just as much and is even easier! (For that reason, I might just love it more!)

Here is what I use. First, I use packaged couscous. I like to buy the pre-seasoned variety (roasted garlic & olive oil here) because I love a lot of flavor but the plain is good too. Then, I use crumbled feta, kalamata olives, marinated artichoke hearts and tomatoes. I love cherry tomatoes but the grape tomatoes are just a little bit sweeter and I like that to balance the saltiness of all the other ingredients.

I slice my grape tomatoes lengthwise.

...and do the same with my olives.

...quarter my artichoke hearts lengthwise.

...and add all of it to my couscous cooked according to package directions.

Toss in your feta...

Mix well and serve!

 

This is good warm or cold but I actually prefer it cold, right out of the fridge. I also like to serve it with a sweet fruit, like kiwi here, just to help balance the saltiness.

This really is one of my favorite things to make but my family isn't too fond of it so I don't get to make it often.

What do you love to make? Are you in love with these Mediterranean flavors like I am?