DIY Art Project

On day 9 of my 11 day weekend (thank you, snow), I decided I needed a little craft project to keep myself busy. Did you know there is now longer a cross stitch section in Michaels? I'm appalled! That is always my go-to, easy, time consuming project. So, scratch that. Then, I moved on to the scrapbook section (a.k.a. the entire store) in hopes of finding cute paper I could frame for my computer room/office. Another no-fail, easy project. Well, do you think they had ANY yellow patterned paper? Yellow being a primary color and all... No! Of course they didn't. Aisles and aisle of paper but I guess nobody likes the color yellow anymore. I was running out of ideas fast.

In the end, I walked out of the craft store with two blank canvases ($7.99), yellow paint ($.99), and a set of paint brushes ($3.99). Since easy was no longer an option, I was going to paint some purty pictures myself. Unfortunately, I can't paint/draw/etc. So, I turned to Google in hopes someone could help me through this dilemma. I came across this oh so helpful blog with a set of instructions on making a stencil out of painter's tape: All Things Thrifty.

Basically, I was able to follow all her instructions except I didn't have a pattern to trace. So, drawing on inspiration from a pillow I have in this room already, I created my own pattern using the Paint application on my computer. And this is my Do It Yourself Project big reveal:

It was definitely a learning experience. Painting over a painter's tape stencil is not as easy as it sounds - paint bleeds underneath or globs. A lot of touch up work was required. I would absolutely recommend "cutting in" around the stencils rather than quickly going over them with a brush. It's worth the extra time.

The room is still a work in progress, but I'm happy to finally have some yellow and white art!

November Deals & Steals

The month of November was good to us. We scored some really good buys.

1. Barstools! Originally $260 + $60 shipping + $18 tax ($338 total). After holding out for months for free shipping, plus an additional 25% off, I scored 2 for $200 total. I danced around the house with joy. They are so perfect! Target.com.

2. Jacket! I have a lot of love for Old Navy this season. I got this $69.50 coat for $25.78. How? I ordered it during Old Navy's 50% off outwear sale while they were also running an extra 30% off card holder's event.

3. The Sims 3! Originally $50, but we got it for $30.


4. Clothes, clothes, clothes. Our favorite company and my former employer, Gap, Inc., had a fabulous Give & Get weekend this month where they offered an extra 30% off (plus a 5% throwback to the charity of your choice). Joe and I took our coupon to the outlets where it stretched the furthest. Excuse my extreme dorkiness, but I actually snapped pictures of what we bought. When it was all said and done, we averaged about $11 an item, spending only about $165 for everything you see below.

Laura's finds above, Joe's finds below.

An early birthday present

So it may have taken us the better part of a day, but we are proud to say that we have successfully installed a new pendant chandelier over our dining room table. Yay! With no handy man experience, we have little knowledge to draw upon with attempting these minor home improvement fetes. As a result, project days at the Guido household are not very pleasant times - there's a little cussing and a little fussing, but eventually we tackle the challenges.

We haven't been in love with some of the builder grade features that came with our condo. Exhibit A: blah, silver, (dusty), apartmenty chandelier.

As with a lot of what's in our house, it takes me a while to find things I like at the right price. I recently came across a lovely pendant light on overstock.com (one of my fav online places to shop). You cannot beat their quality and shipping prices. See Ventura Large Round Chandelier.

And viola...
You love it, right? So far, nothing has caught on fire so we are still pleased. Keep your fingers crossed - it is the first time we have attempted any electrical work.

Weekend Update, Columbus Style

On Friday, we headed up to Glen Burnie to celebrate Liz's (my sister-n-law/Joe's sister) 22nd birthday. Her boyfriend Matt had arranged a surprise party bus outing with friends masked by a handful of us pretending to be there for a family dinner. Long story short, we had dinner at P.F. Changs (this was a first for Joe & I) and were entertained in the party bus the rest of the night.


Saturday I went shopping for house things while Joe attended an Oktoberfest with a bunch of guys from work in Alexandria. I found a mirror to replace the builder grade one in our half bath and we have since put that up - a cheap, easy, upgrade! Joe enjoyed some German brat and pumpkin beer and was quite content not shopping. It was a lovely Saturday.


Sunday was a typical Sunday full of errands and housework (Redskins for Joe) but, since it was a long weekend we were able to fit in an evening outing with the Grundys. We went to Annapolis for some California Pizza Kitchen and to see the movie Couples Retreat. It was quite enjoyable!

And lucky for us, we are off today for Columbus Day. This was quite an eventful weekend for us so I'm in the process of catching up on the laundry and mentally preparing for another "week" at work. I wish the weekends would last forever!

PS - This week Joe's flag football team is in the playoffs and he is pumped.

L&J +0 Update

Joe is on a flag football team at work. I watched a game this past week. He made some good catches and scored a touchdown - yay Joey! But, he also spent a fair amount of time yelling at the refs - a side of Joe most of you have never seen before. I am working to adjust his bad sports attitude.

Last weekend, I went to IKEA. I purchased:

A lantern which is now on our bedroom dresser.

Sticks aka "dried plants." They are in a clear vase beside our TV in the family room.And, a wine rack for Jill.

I also got some plants. Gotta love IKEA. Unfortunately, when I was packing up to leave, a lady pulled in the parking spot in front of my car and bumped it! UGH! She didn't even back her car up before going inside. Thankfully, there wasn't any damage done to my car.

Speaking of cars, this week I got pulled over for the second time in my life. And for the second time, I didn't get a ticket. Phew! I was doing 29 in a 20 in my very own neighborhood. There have apparently been a lot of complaints about speeding. I understand the annoyance with people who fly down neighborhood streets but I don't consider speed under 30 to be that dangerous. To maintain 20mph on most of the roads I have to ride my brakes the whole time because there are hills. 20mph is agonizingly sllllooowwww.

In other news, I had a girls night with some pals last weekend. We met The Captain.

I'm also excited because we recently purchased tickets to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra when they come to D.C. in December. They play rockin' Christmas music and we are music nerds that appreciate it.