The Proposal

Lover and I had date night last week and we finally had a chance to catch this romantic comedy at our local dollar theater. I love Sandra Bullock, and I love romantic comedies, so I was super psyched to go see this movie.

The premise: a Canadian editor in chief is about to be deported unless she marries an American. Her assistant is the obvious choice for this farce of a marriage, but they must convince the authorities and their families that they really are in love.

All in all, it was a great blend of romance and laughter inducing moments. However, I prefer my movies a little less sex-ified, and although there's no actual sex in this flick, there's a whole lot of nudity and a male stripper scene that really turned me off. It was meant to garner laughs, but it was just uncomfortable.

Besides that, a romantic comedy is supposed to be about two people falling in love. And while they did, obviously, in my opinion there were far too many odd elements in this movie for a truly good rom-com. I would have left out the male dancer, the father-son angst, and the spirit dance, and substituted more scenes between the stars, focusing on their relationships.

Sandra Bullock is still a stellar actress, and I swear she has the sparkliest, sweetest eyes of any actress today. Ryan Reynolds did a great job in his role, and the chemistry between them was pretty good. I'll give this flick a B-.

To Be My Husband's Wife: Part 3

Read parts one and two of my story if you haven't already.

As I fell deeper and deeper in love with my childhood friend, I was also starting to notice that there were quite a few people around me that had happy marriages.

People like my grandparents, who have such a tender relationship. My grandma had never gone to college, had raised four children and stayed home the whole time. She was always happy to have her family around, and very content to be "at home." I never had the feeling that she had "wasted her life" by choosing to marry and stay home with her children. In fact, I benefited directly from her choice and wouldn't have had it any other way.

Then there were people like the Smalleys, longtime family friends. These two (grandparents themselves) were passionate (and even inappropriate) in mixed company and alone. They too had married young, and were still very very in love after decades together. He was her biggest fan, through thick and thin. They "got" each other.

What would it be like to go through life with someone who was always on your team? To have the comfort of a constant companion, someone who would challenge me and help me to grow, but above all would love me?

I began to consider that maybe, just maybe, I didn't have it all quite figured out at the ripe old age of twenty. Maybe these two things, being successful and being married weren't incompatible. Maybe marriage wasn't something that held you back, but rather something that could help you go even farther. I began to acknowledge the fact that I did indeed want to marry this man, and have a home together. When he proposed, I said yes, and I figured the rest would work itself out.

Inspiration Tuesday: Cozy Dining Room

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This dining room seems like it would fit right in with my decorating style. I like warm colors but simple patterns and lots of interesting textures and objects. My two dislikes in this room: the wicker chairs (although the look comfortable) and the birdcage (not a fan of birdcages) on top of the hutch. Love the stained (not painted!) moulding, the rug and the table, and all of the other accessories, especially those glasses.

What do you think about this room?

Trash to Treasure

Here's a quick little makeover that I am very excited about. For the past three years we've had a little plastic trashcan that fulfills its purpose wonderfully, but adds nothing aesthetically to the kitchen. I've occasionally contemplated purchasing a nicer, metal trashcan, especially when we were dog-sitting and that blasted dog got into the garbage at every opportunity.

But, I was completely unwilling to pay the ridiculous prices for said metal trashcan that I saw in stores. $30, $50, or even $100 for a can that holds all the smelly nasty stuff that I don't want anymore? No, I am not that fond of my garbage. Plus, there always seemed to be some other financial priority that was higher up than a new trashcan.

On top of all of that, there was the issue of sentimentality. See, Lover and I bought this little plastic trashcan the week we moved into our new apartment, right after we got married. Ah yes, that was a fun trip to Walmart, stocking up on mops, brooms, trashcans, toilet brushes, and all of the other things that make a house a home. You remember that time, don'tcha? That time when your lack of physical possessions makes you deliriously excited about the hand-me-down couch and the beat up end tables? When a Walmart run for household necessities is just so exciting? See, I think it is your very lack of physical possessions that reminds you why the two of you got married, because you simply chose to be together. You are together because you love each other, not because you have the most posh and polished trashcan. This is also why I like camping. You are removed from your "stuff" so you focus on "us." But I digress... :-)

In our little apartment the trashcan went under the sink. No mess, no dog problems, etc. Now, in Wendhurst Castle, the can doesn't fit under the sink, and it's, well, unattractive. And so, good old Goodwill saved me again, by providing me with a hide-and-hold silver trashcan from Target for a mere $9.99 Now we have no mess, no problems, and a pretty trashcan.

Oh, and the old plastic one? That went in the basement kitchen. We don't throw away sentimental things in this house, no sir!

Linked to Metamorphosis Monday, check out the other transformations here.

Bye Bye Summer...

In honor of summer (may you rest in peace until next May August), enjoy these pictures of "wildlife" from my backyard. They're my little friends!

P.S. Lover said to tell you he is impressed that I got that close to bugs :-)

Castle Consultation: A Beachy Master Bedroom

Trisha asked me to help her infuse her master bedroom with beachy, tropical style without being cliche. She and her husband had found a great little painting that would serve as the inspiration for the room's color scheme and style. The picture is a print of a wood carving of the Hemingway House in Key West, Florida. Trisha and her husband like simple, elegant things, in a traditional style.

Here are some before pictures of Trisha's bedroom.

There were a couple of challenges in this room. One of them was deciding where the bed (and focal point) of the room should be. Another was the lack of abundant natural light in the room, (only one window) and the last was an awkward niche at the top of the wall that extended most of the length of one wall.

Here is the layout for Trisha's room now. It is very simple, but takes advantage of the whole room, allows there to be lots of breathing room in the center of the bedroom, creates a focal wall, and still allows for great TV viewing.

This is the picture that inspired the rest of the room. As you can see there are strong colors and elements in the painting, so I knew that everything else that we brought in the room would either have to "fade" into the background, or be able to hold its own with the painting. Here's what I came up with.

1. The colors of this room can all be found in the painting. We have a soft gray green, a sky blue tempered with a bit of gray, soft and warm tans, bright orangey reds, golden yellows, olive grays and deep espresso. Each of these colors will be repeated throughout the room, so that the whole room becomes one cohesive thought. The walls will become that gray green color (Behr's Rejuvenate) for instant moodiness.

2. Let's start with the focal wall. Trisha is trading her light blue upholstered headboard for a wooden door from her mom that she'll paint and convert. I think mimicking the finish on this nightstand from Crate and Barrel will be the perfect weathered look for the headboard-turned-door. First, give the door some character by beating it up a bit. Then paint it with an olive gray like Glidden's Olivewood, and finish it off with a whitewash over top. (Try this tutorial) We're going for a weathered, driftwood kind of look for the door.

Hang the door behind the bed, and then place this seagrass inspired duvet on top of the bed. The blue will really make a statement, while the strong geometric pattern of the white branches will mimic the movement of the ocean. A set of wheat colored sheets will warm up the white tones, and this chocolate textured pillow will look fantastic when flanked by two plush yellow ones set in the middle of the bed.

Then frame the Hemingway painting a bit larger, with a large white mat (2 or 3 inches at least) with a chocolate brown frame (if the frame is textured, even better!) Hang the painting centered over the bed where it will command the attention it deserves.

3. It was a bit of a challenge to find other artwork that would work seamlessly with the Hemingway painting. But once these sea plant paintings came up on my radar, I knew they'd be perfect. I'd hang them in a 2x2 grid on the wall below the niche, centered in the blank part of the wall between the TV armoire and the dresser. Aren't these graphic illustrations so cool?

4. Trisha is willing to refinish her existing furniture, so I'd recommend staining the nightstands and armoire a deep espresso to glam them up in a second. Swapping out the wooden knobs on the nightstands for these silver shell knobs will glam them up right away. Then set these beautiful rubbed resin lamps on top of the stands. The resin has little flecks of deep red in it, that will again pick up those colors in the painting. For the armoire, these beach glass starfish knobs will add a nice little bit of whimsy (top doors only!) and the rest of the hardware can be the silver ones that will be on the nightstands. If Trisha would rather save herself the work of refinishing, she can order these nightstands straight away!

5. Last up we have the bones of the room. Her long dresser can be refinished like this piece from Pottery Barn, with a warm (but not red) stain and lots of timeworn character. Swapping out the chunky wooden knobs for simpler ones will help the piece feel less clunky, and again, if she doesn't feel like taking on a refinishing project, she can simply order one in this finish.

That lone window needs some beefing up, so I recommend these breezy patterned curtains from IKEA. (Link is to an ebay listing, or you can buy them in store) They should be mounted about six inches from the ceiling on a dark metal rod and should just brush the floor. Make sure the rod is wide enough that the panels hang down on either side of the window, not over it. The length of fabric will add some luxury to the room, and they're light enough that any little bit of breeze will make them flutter gently.

Speaking of the floor, Trisha has carpet right now, but I'd recommend a wide plank hardwood in the future. Either way, this plush woven rug can go under the bed and will provide tons of cushy texture while bringing our whole color scheme together.

What about that awkward niche? Well, Trisha should order a bunch of long pieces of driftwood, grapewood and/or manzanita branches from this site and stack them haphazardly in the niche. It will bring in that last beachy vibe for a room that will go from blah to stellar in no time at all!

So what do you think? Does it feel beachy and tropical to you?

Curvy Candlesticks: Making over dated brass objects

One of the little projects I have been working on is this pretty pair of candlesticks. I found them on a shelf at Goodwill shoved in with a bunch of other tacky brass items. I really liked the twisty curviness of them, and thought they had great potential. Plus, their price sticker was the right color so they were 50% off. I got both of them for $1.99 :-)

I knew I wanted to go dark with these babies. My living room is a light creamy tan, and any white or light items on the mantel get lost against the light wall color. I wanted to try and replicate a timeless oil rubbed bronze finish, with my own twist. The fact that these sticks were already bronze meant that the underlying finish would be really pretty.

I took advantage of a non-rainy day, and set up outside with my arsenal of spray paint. I really like starting with a base coat of one color, and then doing very light coats of other colors to make the finish more interesting. I started by coating the sticks in a flat black enamel. The candlesticks immediately had more presence and their "curviness" stood out more.

Then I took a dark brown glossy paint, and lightly misted it back and forth over the black paint. This part is always a little tricky, and sometimes I have to start over with the black and work up to the other paints again. The brown misting was just enough to warm up the black and give the candlesticks a warm, time worn finish.

My last step was to take a metallic gold spray paint and lightly mist it over the sticks. I love a little bit of sparkle. :-) Here's a look at what the candlesticks look like now, all spiffed up and made over. I can't wait to use these guys over the holidays!

Linked to Metamorphosis Monday. Check out all the other great transformations here

And to Thrifty Decor Chick's Before and After Party Come join the par-tay!