AT Style Cure Day 21: Oh No, I'm Not Finished!

Apartment Thereapy Style Cure Day 21: Post Your 'After' Pics

I got a lazy at the end and also realized I needed to do things like pack and vacuum before the house sitters (brother and SIL, I'm not fancy) come this weekend, so the room isn't finished. I DID manage to upholster a giant peice of MDF for a headboard. It is currently in position but just leaning against the wall.

I fully intend to tuft it and hang it on the wall. I even made the buttons.

Unfortunately, the longest needle I have isn't long enough. (I think I made the headboard extra padded, which I am ok with.) And tonight I pack because tomorrow I leave so a trip to the fabric store is not near future.

HOWEVER. I still dig the whole Style Cure because it got all the crap out of the room, and it got me thinking about design and function in that space. One month just isn't long enough. Maybe by the end of September...

Way Behind on the Style Cure!!

What do they say about Good Intentions? Something about the headboard on your dining room table is there because you are a slacker, right?

I have been trying to follow the Apartment Therapy Style Cure all month, but I got lost somewhere. Also, there is a lot of sitting and thinking at the beginning of the month, which is easy. And a lot of hurrying to get everything in place at the end of the month, which is time consuming.

And now there is a headboard on my dining room table.

And it's reaaaaaaally heavy. And not even finished. Oops.

Amazing Broccoli Salad to Make for People You Like

(Apartment Therapy Day 15: Catch up. I'm as caught up as I have time or money to be so I'm hopping off of the Cure train for now.)

How about instead I make broccoli salad for the fantasy football draft I am attending tomorrow night? This broccoli salad tastes best after chilling for 24 hours, so I always try to make this the day before. Hre's how you do it, for a crowd. Make broccoli salad, I mean.

Ingredients:

First, like all good recipes, cook some bacon. Since this bacon is to be crumbled anyway, I chop it first.

That was a 16 ounce package of bacon for those of you keeping track at home.

Next, trim the trees. Or chop the broccoli, Dana Carvey-style. Your choice.

The wine glass is there for scale (and for my enjoyment). That's how much broccoli you need.*

Ok, next chop half of a giant red onion. Or a whole tiny red onion. Or 2/3 of a medium red onion. It looks like this.

Some people like measuring.  Beware -- it might be sad.

Onions are stupid. 

Now put this stuff together.

Almost a cup of Splenda. But only sprinkle some in at a time.

Half a cup of reduced fat mayo. But don't be cray and think that's all the mayo that's going in this concoction. It's two cups, a half at a time for mixing purposes. And put a bunch of the onions in. And about two capfuls of vinegar. I used apple cider but I don't really care what kind you use. Also, add fresh ground pepper each time you add the mayo. I took that picture before I added the pepper. Pretend there is pepper in there.

Add 8 oz of cheese because cheese. Add a bunch of the crumbled bacon. You crumbled that, right?

 Looking delish.

Rinse and repeat the mayo/splenda/pepper/capful of vinegar dance until you've done this four times total with a half cup mayo each time. And make sure the rest of the onions and bacon gets in there. (STOP EATING THE BACON. PUT IT IN THE BOWL.)

Then add another half package of cheddar because CHEESE. But just a half.

Stir, stir, stir. I usually need to separate it and stir in another bowl.

Then put it back together for that magic.

This yummy (not at all healthy) broccoli salad is my go-to 'please bring a side'-side. If I like the people I am visting, anyway. If I don't, I'm probably just going to buy some macaroni salad at Harris Teeter on the way to the loser's party. And then I'll leave early.

*I don't possess the skills to cook for less than ten people. Since my husband and I live alone most of the year, we usually have leftovers.

**My husband who reads cookbooks for fun and reads recipes ALL THE WAY THROUGH suggested I mix the Splenda and vinegar and mayo together first, in a seperate bowl. This sounds smart. I think you should try it.

AT Style Cure Day 14: Feng Shui ALL DAY

Apartment Therapy Style Cure Day 14: Go with the Flow

Apartment Therapy has a lovely lesson on 'room flow' here.

It's a nice read, but I didn't think it applied in a room as small as the guest bedroom. But then I thought about the other possible configurations. I didn't like the bed in the corner because it slightly blocked the window. However, while thinking of water running through the room, or 'chi', or energy, or the universal vibes, man....what was I saying? Oh yeah, I realized that if the bed was in the corner then any couple staying with me would have one person crawling over the other if said person needed to get up in the night. Now, they might be into that sort of thing. Or they might just have to pee. No one likes crawling over others on airplanes, so why would they like it in my fancy new guest room? I don't think they would. So I feel good about my flow, yo.

In the interest of doing something, I changed the almond colored outlets to white. Except for the spinny thing that controls the fan -- gotta find a white knob that fits.

I also learned that I only have four outlets in this room. And one is right by the doorway so only makes sense for the vacuum cleaner. Maybe I need a neon sign or something on that wall.

I ALSO accidentally did this while my DVR was meant to be recording 'So You Think You Can Dance'. Luckily that show is super padded with crabcake filler, but I did miss Fik-shun's dance. Which I was not happy about.  #teamjasmine

AT Style Cure Day 13: Do Work

Apartment Therapy Style Cure Day 13: Make Some Project Progress

Oh, come on, AT, it's Monday. Monday. Seriously.

My main project is to redo the dresser, and I don't feel like sanding today. Instead, I stared at the room for awhile and realized the brass headboard may not work. I rummaged around in the fabric bin and found some old Ikea fabric that has been chilling there for over a year. I draped it over the brass headboard and realized that YEP I now have two projects. I have to make a new headboard. So this counts as starting, right?

AT Style Cure Day 12: SHOPPING FOR REALZ

Apartment Therapy Style Cure Day 12: Shop 'Til You Drop

I didn't go shopping this weekend. The room is coming along but I REALLY needed to catch up on True Blood since the finale is today. So I did.

But the universe had other ideas because my Joss & Main rug arrived. You know, the one I bought prematurely when I thought I was redo-ing the master bedroom.

This was my first time ordering from Joss & Main and I am super happy. I bought this one, at $198 WITH SHIPPING. Way less than I've seen on any other site on the interwebz. And it's lovely; I'm super pleased with Joss & Main and Loloi Rugs and the Universe. Of course, it's too small for the master bedroom. But it's going to probably look great in the new guest room. And I also shopped in my house and found a shower curtain from World Market that I bought for the office curtains. I actually thought I would need two, but ended up using only one in the office window.

So now I have a new 'pairing'. Thanks to Apartment Therapy, I've been thinking way to much about decor pairs. And regular pears. But that's how my brain works.

It's coming along nicely.

AT Style Cure Day 11: Plan a Labor Day Party...or NOT

Apartment Therapy Style Cure Day 11: Plan a Get-Together & Send Invites

Today is a freebie day. I get the point of inviting people over; it makes the deadline real. And helps with the finishing. I know that whenever I want Husband's help cleaning the house, I just invite his friends over. Works LIKE A FREAKING CHARM every single time.

This Labor Day weekend, I'll be joining him in LA for business (him) and pleasure (me). But the deadline is still in full effect because we will have amazing house sitters that will be using this guest room. So it's gotta be ready for them.

Different method, same effect.

Done and done.

AT Style Cure Day 10: Make a List

Apartment Therapy Style Cure Day 10: Make a shopping list and a budget.

Hm. This feels like a freebie day though I know it's important. 

Shopping List

knobs - what kind what color omg i don't know yet

black out blinds

new comforter/blanket/bedspread

side table

probably some accessories, but not yet sure what

Budget: Ok, I realize $0.00 is unreasonable. I'm giving it $200. So far I've spent $8.99 on 3M strips for the board games. $191.01 left. 

I like this table from Target. I like that its under $20 and smallish and wiry so won't take up a lot of visual space. And it will fit nicely between the bed and the mirrored closet. And it has hot pink, but not so much as to be annoying. And the white top should compliment the white sides and legs of our Ikea Lack Hack.

It's not at my local Target (checked today) and it's on back order. Ugh. But I'll order it anyway and just pretend it's there for now. I hate waiting. Anyone else? Everyone else? Yeah, that's what I thought.

While that technically leaves enough in the budget for the $18 Anthopologie knobs, I still say they cost too much. Plus I need a new blanket/whatever for the bed and some blinds. But they did give me a 15% off coupon for my birthday month coming up. What's 15% off of a million dollars?

I have an unopened bathroom shelf from Lowe's that I never hung because I am lazy and also I bought these adorable deer.

(From Anthropologie. Full price at something like $20-$25 each!! So I didn't want anything to compete with them.) I need to return the shelf. I can get credit for the blinds. MAYBE I CAN HAVE MY RIDICULOUSLY OVERPRICED KNOBS. But I hate rewarding bad behavior. (Bad behavior = Anthropologie's pricing practices.) 

Look at me trying to justify buying million dollar knobs. Anyone else do this? 

At Style Cure Day 9: Kicking it back to Junior High

AT Style Cure Day 9: Research your decor pairing

I am trying to decide if the super neat-o vintage game boards can coexist with the walls in the bright blue summer sky bedroom. I can think of only one way to research this: Old Skool Scientific Method-Style. Finally using those seventh grade science fair skillz. (Honorable mention, yo.)

Question: Will any of the eighteen vintage game boards work as decor in the pretty new guest room?

Research:  I held each game board up to the wall. Anything clashing with the current wall color, or anything with too much blue, was eliminated. I laid the remaining game boards out in different configurations on the bed, sipped green tea, and looked at researched them.

Hypothesis:  If I hang six of these vintage game boards grid style on one wall, then it will be amazing.

Experiment:  My control is the wall color. My variables are the game boards. But I only have enough 3M strips to hang six game boards. I better get this right on the first try.

Conclusion:  You tell me (please). I've never been a judge for my own science project.

I did this entire science experiment on my lunch break. Gotta love working from home.

AT Style Cure Day 8: Pick Paint and and a Pair

(And a peck of pickled peppers.)

AT Style Cure Day 8: Choose your paint color & think about a decor pairing

I chose the wall color four years ago and I'm sticking to it. I will, however, paint the dresser and change out the knobs. The dresser will be white due to the bright blue paint's non-compete clause, and the knobs are currently TBD. I found some really great ones at Anthropologie that were like geodes turned knobs, but at $18 a pop for nine knobs...what's that? Like a million dollars or something? No way. I'll keep looking.

Apartment Therapy describes a decor pairing here.  The gist is to think about what is lacking in the room. My room lacks art. It also lacks a crib which I really wanted to add, but that I've now realized will not fit. I can fit a pack-n-play in the newly cleaned out closet for a visiting Vera and -- breaking news -- my next little niece or nephew that is currently cooking in my little sister!! So, back to art.

I just removed all color and pattern from the room and it is much calmer now. Like a bright summer sky with a little ray of headboard sunshine. I'm kind of scared to add it back now. Perhaps I should hang blank canvases on the wall in a sort of High Art Installation. A postmodern commentary on the thoughtfulness of decor.

But that would be stupid.

I kind of like this giant picture from Ikea. Nice and muted and would take up most of one wall.

But it's $149 and I'm trying to keep this project as close to $0.00 as I can. I already bought that rug for almost $200 back when I intended to Style Cure the master bedroom so there isn't much left in the Home Improvement portion of my bank account.

Remember long ago when I mentioned the stacks of vintage games in my mother-in-law's basement? Well, they are currently on a shelf in a closet in my house.

How can I sanely pair these awesome game boards with that bright blue wall color? The games themselves are all less fun than Candyland. Spin the spinner and move to red, draw a card and move back two, blah blah that kind of thing. No self respecting kid that has ever heard of Angry Birds wants to play these games. But the game boards themselves are excellent. Plus they are sweetly from Husband's childhood. And plus they are free.

I have eighteen game boards to choose from so I'm thinking SOME of them should work. Maybe if I go for the non-primary-color based ones...you know, the ones rocking the awful awesome 1970s fuchsia-esque palette. What do you think? Can I make fetch happen? Non-framed, just chilling on the wall? I'll get some 3M strips and let you know how it goes.

Bonus Question: for 100 points, can anyone tell me how to add pictures in a grid format instead of one after another? I CANNOT figure it out.