Eeeeeeek...

My laptop had a meltdown yesterday. No posts until things are back to normal. Keep yinz fingers crossed...

It shouldn't be this difficult: The tease that is lampshade shopping

The lampshade above is the only reason I have not updated the guest room work pix I know you are SO eager to see, that it keeps you returning to this lifeless blorg...forget pies and nonsense! We want ROOM MAKEOVERS! Sorry for the disappointing wait. My guess is the final reveal won't be quite as thrilling because of the days/weeks that have passed. It's also 90 degrees on my second floor, so I'm not spending a ton of time up here...(excuses excuses).

But the point of today's post is this meager little shade has become the bane of my existence. This is because it is my current favorite shade for a small table lamp, and once I'm really in love with something, it takes a long time for me to get over it...like when Tears for Fears split up. Devastating.

Anyway, this is a lampshade that I purchased with the lamp itself earlier this spring during my last excursion to the sprawling grossness we call Robinson Tahn Center. Above is a photo of my lamp in my own bedroom.

It should be noted that in my haste to find a bedside lamp in months past, I purchased just ONE of these shades (a move that I regret...wait for it...NOW).




My fave Swedish meatball castle of DIY furniture is now pushing its 2010 line and no longer carries this particular shade. Thanks so much for teasing me with an entire stack of these shades when I was there in March - a stack of lampshades so full, I thought nothing of waiting for a few months before returning for 2 more shades. I mean, this is a store that has carried the BILLY bookcase since before I hit puberty. Who would have guessed 5 months would pass and they'd discontinue the best lampshade EVER?! Oh, and a note to Sweden: it's August, 2009. 2 0 0 9!!! Yinz gotta wait through the beginning of Steeler season and leaf-changing weather before 2010 hits around this area.

Back on track, so I wanted this very shade for the second bedside lamp I now have for my own bedroom, and the hand-me-down lamp that was given to me by my parents' neighbors (thank you Jan) for the GUEST ROOM.

I eventually gave up on the above lampshade and took off in search of something equally attractive in design or shape at every major affordable home store in the area (ok...I went to four stores), with the exception of Bed, Bird and Yermom. I hate that place. Regardless, each store had either NO lampshades without the purchase of a lamp, or something like the photo below - a "stylish" shade to someone I'm sure, but something that makes me think a cat turd would look better next to my guest bed.




So here it is a few weeks later and still no shade for the lamp. I've realized a plain, crisp white shade would really do the trick nicely - I just have to find the right size and shape. Nothing square. No damask. No beading, fur or oddly textured trim. Nothing ivory or eggshell. Just white. And round. And totally impossible to find...

SNEAK PEEK: almost done...

So my guest room paint job is complete, but I'm now trying to rid myself of the oddities I keep sitting around in there, and better organize the space itself. So...here is just a sneak peek to the finished product. I'm a bit closer, but I have some additions yet to come before I'll post it in full...

BEFORE: Canary yellow's last stand...

It's been primed for years, almost 3 to be exact, and I still haven't gotten around to painting the woodwork in my guest room, shown above (also known as "Anthony's room" to those who have lived here from time to time). But today was THE day. I even went so far as to take off that bulls*%$ painters tape around the windows cause really, who needs it?!

When I bought this little brick four-square that I love almost 3 years ago, its insides were covered with a color of yellow that only taxi cabs and certain varieties of bumble bees would deem attractive. Don't believe me? Here is the stairwell prior to a full repaint by me in 2006:




I'm not sure who the paint demon was who took on such a project, but the little old lady who lived here prior to me (Betty to be exact) must've been dead set on keeping a yellow submarine theme throughout the house, and the painter said, "OK." And I, the only nonrelative of Betty's to ever own this home, thinks that painter is a twit. Note, the stairwell now looks like this:




Now, don't think I'm against all things buttery or lemon-like or sunny - I adore certain shades of yellow, but with this hue on every surface of trim, baseboard, window sill and door frame in the house (2 bedrooms, a bathroom, hallways upstairs and down, living room, dining room and office), it didn't take me long to run...RUN for the nearest S-W paint store to purchase the largest vat of semi-gloss white I could get my hands on.



(Note: I've gone with "Picket Fence" white, a former Martha Stewart shade that S-W discontinued in 2007 but can still be requested at one's local S-W paint shop. However, this shade of white is really just a basic can of extra white semi-gloss with a drop of white into it...yeah, I know this cause I worked there for sometime. So if you need an extra crisp white color, just go with the S-W "extra white" Superpaint in a semi-gloss. It's good quality and just as brilliant white. Ok. Done with sales pitch.)

To date, the guest room/"Anth's room" is the last and final room full of yellow trim to be painted. And here it is, pre-paint, only covered in a spotty flat primer on the woodwork and an S-W match of Restoration Hardware's "Sycamore Green" on the walls.

With the exception of a few light fixtures and a furnace grate on the first floor, this is the last of the yellow to survive at Poplar Avenue since my 2006 arrival. So, this is the BEFORE...



(Yes...those are paint cans balancing on top of my ironing board. Yes...that is a zebra-print blanket on the bed. Yes...that is a cat bed on the dresser. Yes...I am this messy.)

Game day...

Card Club, July 2009, Poplar Avenue
Photo by: STORYBOOK PHOTOGRAPHY

Good eats...





The players...






The hostess...

Card Club - Xmas in July theme

So every month, a few of my pals gather for a game day we have deemed "Card Club." Although we have yet to play a traditional game of cards, we like to think of ourselves as blue hairs rallying for a bout of Canasta. This month we played a round of Yahtzee and a 1964 version of Probe (it's like hangman...no seriously) that I snagged while thrifting earlier this summer.

This month's Card Club was our 4th and my 1st at hosting. And although I don't recall who came up with the idea, we had agreed that this month would have a Christmas in July theme. I could've gone nuts with this...but didn't. It's July! I just don't have it in me to hang stockings and drink eggnog when it's not December. There are too many yummy summer treats to be had. So here is my somewhat dumbed down Xmas in July attempt. I did, however, give everyone a vintage holiday recipe on little cards with red ribbons. They were from an old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and really, who can pass up a recipe for Yuletide Mold?!



I did a pasta salad with green and red veggies, wheat pasta and fat-free ranch. I hear some folks hate the wheat pasta because of the texture - not me! I used the Rotini shape (my fave for pasta salad) and rocked some red pepper, cucumber and green olives.



To my surprise, my first attempt at a spinach turnover recipe with phyllo dough - my first time using this stuff - turned out really well. The recipe called for some olive oil, frozen spinach (thaw, remove water), salt, pepper, cottage cheese and feta and dill. I used fresh dill because I LOVE FRESH DILL along with some fresh parsley thanks to the garden wizards in Glenshaw, and it made all the difference. I'm not sure these little numbers would've had any flavor otherwise. But they turned out to be really yummy and easy to do.




My attempts at holiday decor...



1964 Probe game - the cover is worth buying it, but it's also really easy and fun! Also, I really like that the people on this cover are wearing neckties and pearls. Apparently 1964 Card Club was a bit fancier than ours...

Junk blog of the day...

Have I mentioned the blog JUNK CAMP before? If not, check it out. It's like being at a flea market without leaving your house/changing out of your PJs...