happy easter!

Have a happy Easter my lovelies! Wouldn't this Hugo Guinness print look great in a kitchen? Too bad the Easter Bunny only brings eggs ;)

mini makeover lll - campaign dresser

The month is coming to an end and this can only mean it is time for another mini makeover post. You might have already seen some bits and pieces of today's makeover on Instagram. Painting this campaign dresser I got for next to nothing took only about two years from purchase to finish. The dresser had been sitting in our basement untouched because I couldn't make up my mind about what I wanted to do with it. Unfortunately the finish of the dresser was plastic laminate, it didn't look so hot with lots of dings and scratches but I still liked the overall look, especially the hardware. When P told me he needed  more storage in his office as well as a place to put his record player I knew I had to paint the dresser the same color as his desk. First problem solved! Next problem was that one of the pulls was missing and I had a hard time finding one that matched the original pulls closely. When I finally found one in the depths of the internet that matched close enough I ordered two. Because the replacement pulls had a different finish than the original pulls I spray painted everything black. The pulls on the middle drawers are the replacements, they are a little bit bigger but you can hardly tell now that they are uniformed by color.

I have to admit I am really enjoying this column, hope you are as well! It keeps me motivated to start and finish long dreamed up projects. In fact I already have the next projects in mind, actually started working on two of them. What I really need is warmer weather so I can do a furniture sanding session outside and don't have to work inside a dusty basement...

Happy hump day my friends!

week twelve

Phew...what a week! Week twelve left me completely exhausted, physically and mentally. Currently I feel like going through a tunnel but I cannot see the light at the end yet. This feeling is stressing me out and because of the stress I can't sleep very well and can't eat much. I have been persisting on very little sleep and food for over a month now and it is starting to show. Oh, well enough being Debbie Downer and coming back to my weekly recap.

Monday afternoon it started snow and by the time I headed home at night snow had accumulated on the ground. I really hope this was the last snow for this season and spring weather will be starting any minute. On Tuesday I stopped by Mood to look for orange fabric for my next chair because the one I chose originally is just way to expensive, actually the shipping price was ridiculous. I am still not sure which fabric to use but I came home with a handful of swatches. Hopefully on Thursday, in my upholstery class, I can make a decisions because I need to start sewing soon. Wednesday and Thursday I had my Leed Green Associate prep class, I'll need to start studying for the test soon. The passing rate on the first try is about 35% and I really want to pass it on the first try. I really enjoyed the class but I haven't studied for a test in forever and need  to keep the motivation going and get started. The weekend started with a Garbage concert and they rocked the house. I even bought a limited edition concert poster, mine is number 30 of 65. On Saturday we toasted a friends birthday at Apotheke with fancy cocktails. And on Sunday I did nothing besides taking a nap and cooking some German soul food, e.g. Schnitzel.

How was your week? I didn't even have time to check any of your blogs last week but hopefully get to do this soon...Here is to week thirteen!

PS. I am so glad that I participated in Project Postal, initiated by Theresa of inspiration cooperative and Joy of Frock Files. Check out #projectpostal on twitter and instagram. I have sent Clare from C squared W the quote " Take your pleasure seriously" by Charles Eames. My great pleasure being travel and diy I combined the two in my card. Can't wait to see what else will arrive in peoples mailboxes.

week eleven

Another week just flew by and when I look at what is ahead for this coming week I am pretty sure it will fly by as well. When I look in my calendar I will not be home before 10pm on one of the work days this week. Two nights this week I will be taking classes to start working on getting certified as a LEED Green Associate but it is not all work this week, there will be some fun as well. The other nights I will be meeting with a friend from Germany, taking my upholstery class and going to see Garbage in concert on Friday. Because there is so much going on this week I will skip posting on Wednesday and hopefully be back with a post on Friday. 

Have a great week! And hopefully see you back here on Friday!

street find turned sweet find

I know most of you remember the Saarinen chair I found in the streets of Jersey City last year and I already gave you a little peek of the finished chair on Instagram. Here is the story how I found it. P and I were on our way to visit friends to have a spontaneous bbq last summer, on our way we stopped at a liquor store to pick up some beer. While I was waiting outside the store with our bikes I spotted the chair about half a block away. It got me so excited but I was also afraid somebody else would snatch it up before I could get to it. Luckily nobody did and I grabbed it. I pushed my bike with one hand and the chair with the other to our friends place which was only one or two blocks away. I made a happy dance when I found out the Knoll tag was still in place and also found a Met Life Insurance Co. inventory sticker underneath the seat as well. Somebody was probably sitting in this chair working on insurance claims, or selling insurance or something like that. In September I started my second upholstery class and it was finally time to work on the chair. When I took off the old vinyl fabric I got hit by a mildewy smell, the chair must have been sitting out in the rain and the foam never dried completely for a long time. So I did what everybody in my situation would do and soaked the backrest and seat in a water and bleach solution in our tub, as well as one round in a vinegar and water solution and let it air dry in the sun. After the pieces were dry they didn't smell anymore and the re-upholstery could begin. Unfortunately I didn't finish the chair in the last class but I started another class in February and last week I finally finished it. Love how it turned out, it is such a big departure from the sad ripped and somewhat flesh colored chair I started with.

Have a great weekend my friends! I have some more painting planned for this weekend (bar cart and side table), I am on a roll right now and need to take advantage of it to get as much done as possible. There will be times ahead when I do not feel like doing much on the weekends. On Sunday I will be visiting a friend in Connecticut I haven't seen in forever. Looking forward to a fun weekend. Do you have any plans?

spammer's mash-up

I was just deleting spam comments from this blog and I am always amazed at how funny or weird some can be. Here are the best or the worst of my recent spam comments, however you might look at it...

Thank you so much! But why did you have to link back to a wart, mole and skintag removal site?

Who are you calling brain dead mister? Here is nobody who's brain dead but you for thinking I might click on the link of your obscure website.

Hmmm, what are you talking about? The post was about a table I found at an estate sale. I'll see maybe I can find the battery hiding inside it if I look more closely...

Uh huh and how do I get rich exactly? I guess I'll have to click over to your site...

Can you please explain this for people like me, who are not native speakers of the English language? I have no idea what you are talking about. One quick tip for future comments Andrew Shue and Elisabeth Shue are not only buddies they are actually brother and sister.

Happy hump day my lovelies! Do you get weird spam comments like this as well?

week ten

Wow, we are already up in the double digits! How did this happen so quickly? Hope you all had a great weekend! This past week was definitely a week to knock out some projects. First I finally finished reupholstering the Saarinen chair I found in the streets of Jersey City and started working on the next chair. Saturday I finished the dresser I painted last weekend. It found its new home in P's office and now gives him more storage as well as a spot to put his record player. Because I was on a roll I also sanded and primed the bar cart I purchased at an estate sale last weekend. Hopefully I will be able to paint it next weekend. Oh, and spring did arrive after two days of snow. On Saturday and Sunday we had temperatures in the 50ies with blue skies and sunshine. Honestly this little spring teaser is making me long for the beginning of spring and summer. Working on most of my projects in the basement I did not get to work on this post until this morning, so it will be a short one...What was your weekend like?

estate sale finds - lane acclaim table

Since I already found so many treasures at estate sales I thought I would share them with you in a series of posts. So far I have only showed a piece here and there on Instagram. Actually I wrote about my very first estate sale I attended with Santa last year in September. Since then I have attended a bunch more and became quite obsessed with the hunt for hidden treasures. One of the treasures I found is this Lane Acclaim coffee table, which was sitting in a basement covered in dust. Even though it was pretty rough around the edges I liked the details and the size of the table. Because I did not want to refinish the table I used the trusted method from Morgan of The Brick House to refresh vintage wood. I tried it out previously on other pieces, the first one was the desk I found on my way to work. My coffee table had some kind of varnish finish so I was afraid of sanding it lightly as suggested and instead used a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to scrub of the grime, after a good scrub I followed Morgan's instructions. Once I was finished I gave myself a pat on the shoulder for making this table pretty again. Of course the coffee table does not look like a new piece of furniture now but I do not mind that it has dings and other imperfections. It is a piece with history, that has been sitting in someones living room about 50 years ago and I love it for exactly those reasons.

Happy weekend y'all! Do you have any fun plans lined up? The main thing I have planned is to finish the gray dresser, that some of you might have seen on Instagram and in Mondays weekly recap...

mini makeover ll - necklace

It is time for another mini makeover post and this time the makeover is really small, minuscule really. I had purchased this golden knotted necklace a while ago because I have a similar longer one from Urban Outfitters that I love but also wanted a shorter option. At home I really did not like the gold tone of the necklace, it was way too yellow and I never wore it. Because I liked the shape I knew a little spray paint makeover would make a difference. Remember the necklaces I spray painted yellow and neon pink last year? This time I did not want to go as bold and since I had black spray paint on hand I started to work my magic. I can't wait to wear it with striped, white or gray tees once I am able to run around without with a chunky scarf. Are you also believing in the magical powers of paint to transform things that have lost their luster? You know I am!

week nine

And it is Monday again...I can not believe that we have March already. How did that happen? The past week was crazy busy but I still managed to squeeze in some fun things. On Tuesday I saw Herbert Grönemeyer in concert. He is a super famous singer in Germany or other German speaking countries and across the pond he fills stadiums and arenas. In New York he played Irving Plaza, which can hold a little over 1000 people. So it was great to see him in such an intimate venue. If you ever watched Das Boot, you have seen him portray Lieutenant Werner. He just released an English language album for which he recorded some of his hits in English. While researching the new album "I walk" (if you follow this link you'll be able to listen to some of the songs) I found out that he also composed the song "The Tunnel" for the soundtrack of the film The American starring George Clooney. Not that I have seen the movie yet...Oh, well I am only really into his songs from way back when. On Wednesday I did some more dumpster diving and rescued the brass pulls below from a dresser that was beyond repair but the hardware was just way to nice to end up in a landfill. Everybody who follows me on instagram probably already saw that I am working on a makeover of a plastic laminate dresser. I found the dresser on craigslist a long time ago, had patched some dings and then never got back to it. Now that I am on a mission to get one project done per month for my mini makeover series I finally motivated myself to paint it. I will be sharing the finished makeover with you soon. So far I am pleasantly surprised how nice it already looks with a fresh coat of paint. Of course I did check out an estate sale again this weekend and for a whopping $11 I acquired two records, two children's books from the 60ies, a commemorative NJ license plate from the 70ies and a bar cart. The cart is in bad condition but I think a coat of paint would transform it nicely. I see another makeover post in the future as well as a post to share my most recent estate sale goodies with you...

How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun or work on a little DIY project like myself?

NYoy - brooklyn (winter) flea

I almost forgot that it is time for another post in my NJoy/NYoy series and this time I am taking you to the Brooklyn Winter Flea, which is going on every weekend throughout the end of March. In April the flea market moves back outside to its locations in Fort Greene and Williamsburg. The Winter Flea is housed in in the Romanesque Beaux Arts Bank Hall and the Art Deco Vault of the former Williamsburgh Savings Bank building in the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn. We ended up at the flea market on a windy and freezing day when we had some time to kill and needed a place to warm us up. All in all we spent about an hour there and it was not nearly enough to check out every stall or all the gorgeous details of the building. It was built in 1927-29 to become the headquarters for the Williamsburgh Savings Bank and designed by the architectural firm Halsey, McCormack and Helmer in a modernized Byzantine-Romanesque style. Great care was taken to preserve the marble floors, carved teller stations, magnificent 63-foot vaulted ceiling and the iconic 40-foot mosaic of New York as a Dutch colony during the restoration of the Bank Hall and the Vault, both of which are now available for rent as event spaces. The rest of the building was converted to luxury loft condominiums in 2006-2007. Fun fact: The AIA Guide to New York City calls it "New York's most exuberant phallic symbol." I wish I could have spent more time in the building as well as browsing the goodies of the flea market. You know I like to find buried treasures. Are you into flea markets as well?

I have no plans for this weekend, so hopefully it will be a relaxing one. What are you up to this weekend? Going to a flea market maybe? Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend!