DIY - Mini Dresser (Mended Furniture)

Finally, I was approached about refinishing a piece of furniture! Jessica, one of Beau's coworkers, found a beautiful vintage mini dresser at an estate sale in need of a little TLC. As we were chatting at an engagement party, I convinced her to let me take on the project. I gave her the choice of any color within the Annie Sloan collection, but liking another table I finished in Duck Egg Blue, she decided on that color. (Good choice if you ask me!)

I am happy to say that the mini dresser can out beautifully! I used a lot of the dark wax and manually distressed it a little more than usual trying to really give that vintage/antique vibe. I also took the opportunity to replace the knobs with some that were a little more interesting and that better matched the finished product. I know Jessica liked the finished product. We hope you do, too!

Remember, as well as custom invitations, Beau and I also refinish, upholster, and repaint furniture. Also, we have a few pieces for sale. If you're interested in a quote, please email us at themendednest@gmail.com!

Arrangements for Days

 

This weekend, Beau and I were quite busy; we spent a majority of our weekend working on freelance graphic design projects and a few Mended Furniture pieces. However, we did take Saturday off from all of the craziness, and headed down to Covington, LA to attend one of my oldest and best friend, Amanda's wedding. Held at Vintage Court, the wedding was absolutely stunning. Amanda is an old family friend, so I had several aunts, uncles, cousins, and (of course) MawMaw there - as well as my immediate family. This was the first time in a while that we all got together so it was very appropriate that we spent the night dancing, cutting up, and having a blast! 

Well, let me just say - the next morning, I was almost wishing I hadn't had that last glass of wine...and then gone out to The Tap Room after the reception. However, with an extra hour of sleep (thanks to daylight savings), a delicious (and typically chic) omelet brunch complete with chilled, crisp mimosas, and a beautiful Sunday morning, I was somehow persuaded to get out of bed and enjoy the day. I loved it because Jeri's house was FILLED with flower arrangements from the wedding. Last minute, my parents had to go help break down everything, and somehow they got stuck with those. I mean, we had flowers for days. It was pretty funny, and I kind of loved it!

A Red Affair

Last night, Beau and I, along with several of our close friends, attended "An All Red Affair" at White Oak Plantation. This event, hosted by Family Service of Greater Baton Rouge, was put on to recognize HIV awareness, specifically honoring three families for their contributions to our Baton Rouge community. As with any occasion planned and executed by our friend, Jeanne McCollister, we all thought that the event turned out great! The theme was to wear black and red - a combo I usually detest, but we pulled it together and had such a fun evening full of laughing, dancing, eating, and drinking. Oh I'm sorry - did I mention all of the food was prepared by renowned Chef John Folse. Who's jealous?

Photography - U.S.S. Constitution

I stumbled across this picture while looking at my friend, Katie Rose's pictures on Facebook, and I couldn't help emailing her and requesting that she send me the image so I could put it on The Mended Nest. I didn't realize photography and pictures moved me so much, but they really do. I've truly been enjoying taking the pictures for the blog, and it's always nice and refreshing to get new inspiration. Well, this picture of the USS Constitution, taken by Katie on her iPhone, has really inspired me to get out and get creative with my camera. Not every week, but moving forward, I want to start including interesting, unique, or unexpected pictures on the blog. Hope you enjoy. Thanks, Katie Rose - I may even frame it!

Pasta, Frank Sinatra

Thanks to Jeri, my mom, this is another of my favorite recipes just as it was Frank Sinatra's, and for good reason: it's delicious! This pasta dish is perfect for when you have another couple over on a chilly fall/winter evening paired with a bottle or two of Pinot or Cab, a warm fire, and the Sarah Bareilles Pandora station. It's a fairly easy dish to prepare (depending on who you're asking), and there's a lot of "sip" time. What I mean by that is after the sausage and peppers/onions are cooked down and placed in the baking dish, you have a good hour or so, while it's baking, to sit and sip on wine with your guests!

1. Brown sweet Italian sausage (not cooked all the way)
2. Sauté 3 bell peppers and 3/4 white onion with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper
3. Place sausage, peppers, onions in a baking dish and add ~ 1/2 bottle of red wine
4. Bake @350 for ~1 hour
5. Serve over wheat angel hair pasta with a little freshly grated parmesan cheese

Before and After - Living Room

So we haven't done a "before and after" of our house in forever, so here we go! There are so many after pictures that I wanted to share with you guys, but I wanted to keep it consistent with the before pictures that I took, so the images are a little limited. As you can see, Beau and I had quite a bit of work cut out for us - notice the new fan installed by yours truly! It was hilarious, although not at the time, but when I finished installing it and flipped the breaker, something was wrong and half the house lost electricity (including the a/c). This was in the middle of summer after a long day of work. I was NOT happy. However, the biggest challenge (for me) was repainting. Since the original color (aka baby blue) was painted in a semi gloss, I was forced to prime the walls (twice in some areas) THEN apply two coats of our paint. Nonetheless, I couldn't be happier with the outcome. 



To keep it consistent, except for the bathrooms, we went with a pale gray called Madeline Steps (Valspar). I'd recommend this color to anyone, just be careful! Depending on your trim and floor color, different colors in the gray will be brought out, and it could seem like the wrong color. For example, in our old house with more yellowish/antique white trim, this color came out a nice shade of...purple. At first, we though it looked off because we were painting at night, but when we go back the next morning, it was STILL purple. I almost died.

DIY - End Table

Well here it is! I've referenced this table a few times on Facebook and Twitter, and I've finally finished it! I found this antique in Jeri's attic last weekend, and it was in major need of some tlc. As soon as I saw, I knew this table had the bones to really become a beautiful piece of furniture. Based on the color and shape, I can totally see this table in a baby's nursery (although it'll look good pretty much anywhere...except maybe a bathroom or laundry room!



Finished in Annie Sloan's Duck Egg Blue, distressed, and finished with both the dark and light waxes, the table has a light and airy/French-country look. For the time being, it's placed in my living room, and it looks so good I'm almost hoping it doesn't sell (OMG - kidding. Please buy it!) This is the first of many pieces I have finished and am ready to sell.

This item is FOR SALE. To inquire about this piece specifically, or any others (including furniture you'd like to get a quote on), please email us at themendednest@gmail.com!

Pumpkins and a Movie

This week, Beau and I (along with a few of our closest friends) had our annual Pumpkin Carving Party! Really, it's less of a "party" and more of a "bring a pumpkin, a little booze, and let's hang out" kind of thing, but either way, it's always a lot of fun. I was going to wait to post about this until Halloween day, but I thought writing about it before would give you enough time to do this, yourself...if it sounds fun to you. If you do (and especially for younger kids), try grabbing the pumpkin carving stencils, which you can pick up at any party/Halloween store, most grocery stores,...and Walmart if you dare. They make the process so much easier; most of them even come with a few pumpkin carving tools.



This year, we made plans to go see Paranormal Activity 3 to keep in line with the Halloween/scary theme. OMG, it was so fun, although not as good as the other movies in my opinion. If you haven't seen it (and you like scary movies), I highly recommend you go! About this weekend  - it's weird, this is the first year that a lot of our friends aren't going to dress up and go out to New Orleans or a local bar here, in Baton Rouge. I'm just not really in the mood to see casts of jersey shore, every outfit Lady Gaga every wore, or sexy police officers, firewomen, teachers, etc., etc., etc. We may just hang low, be fat and order pizza, watch some movies, drink a little (or a lot) of wine, and enjoy the company of our friends.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Roasted garlic, goat cheese, and rosemary - these are most definitely a few of my favorite things. Now, when put together on top of a toasted baguette...well, I can't think of a better appetizer! This is something SO cheap and easy - everything together costs less than $10! Plus, I promise your guests will LOVE it; this appetizer is a crowd-pleaser and always goes quickly.

GARLIC
Peel the outer layers of the garlic bulb and cut off about 1/4 inch of the top exposing the individual cloves.
Drizzle with a little olive oil and wrap in foil.
Bake at 400 degrees for ~30 minutes.
*make sure oven is pre-heated to 400 degrees

While that's cooking, fresh goat cheese over toasted baguette. Once it's is cooked, simply add the mashed garlic over baguette and goat cheese. Finally, add a little rosemary for both aesthetic and obvious taste reasons. Bon appetite!

Mended Nest Invite - Tyler's Birthday!

This custom invite was one of the first official projects of The Mended Nest, llc., and we couldn't be happier with the finished product! We were approached by someone requesting a birthday invite for his boyfriend's 23rd birthday. Along with a few other specifications, the general request was something that wasn't over the top, fairly to the point, with fall inspired colors. I feel like this is exactly that. I LOVE simple, chic invites that aren't too loud, yet still interesting and fun. Check out the paper on the second image. We offer a variety of paper options in terms of color and texture - this one was a white with the linen finish.

If you'd like more information about custom invitations from The Mended Nest, please send us an email: themendednest@gmail.com.

The Wine Store

Just a few years ago, Beau's aunt and uncle, Martha and Mike opened the first and only wine boutique in Lake Charles, LA appropriately named, The Wine Store. Like most wine stores, the shop offers an assortment of wines from around the world, select beers and spirits, and miscellaneous wine accessories. However, what I really love about the store is the custom gift baskets! Created by Martha, herself, she carefully takes into consideration the occasion, preferences, and budget when assembling them making each one unique and special. However, the one common denominator is the beauty of the baskets. What a perfect Christmas present...hint hint!

Another great service The Wine Store offers is wine tasting. There are weekly tastings that are open to the public, but Martha and Mike also offer private tastings which you can do at the store or in the privacy of your own home. They'll even work with your caterer to assure the wines match the hor d'oeuvres and main dishes - perfect for the dinner party professional who needs to one up the other non-working ladies in the neighborhood!

I have to say, I love the barter system. In exchange for some design services, Martha and Mike generously gave us a case of assorted wines - 12 bottles in total. I haven't found one that I don't love, so the only problem is that they're being enjoyed a little too quickly. I'm praying that they need Beau's design services soon. I mean, really - how appropriate is it that I would have family in the wine business?

Brothers & Sisters Lights

Finally, after years of wanting them...and procrastinating, Beau and I finally purchased Brothers & Sisters string lights for our back porch! At our old house, we had a front porch, but we rarely took advantage of it - probably because it's usually too hot outside (unless you don't mind sweating). Well, our new house does not have a front porch and (go figure) I really wish I had one. Luckily, we do have a cute little side porch, but until recently, we did nothing with it. There was no seating and the dogs did a fine job of keeping it dirty. As I mentioned in a previous post, the Hello Sushi crew generously bought a super fancy grill for me as a parting gift when I submitted my resignation. Well, the grill is actually what sparked our quest to revamp our porch this weekend (turning from a boring walkway to the back yard into a picturesque, quaint seating area - perfect for entertaining and...drinking wine).

So far, we've only assembled the grill, hung the lights, and placed a few chairs out there, but it's made such a huge difference. A few nights ago, we had a few friends over, and it was SO nice. We have many, many more ideas in mind for our little side porch, but as always, you'll just have to keep reading...

Just a Little Something

Last night, Beau and I had one of out oldest and best friends, Ryan over for some
homemade pizzas to thank him for watching dogs this past weekend while we were at the wedding in Lake Charles. Poor Ryan - that weekend couldn't have gone more wrong (to NO fault of his own). Sunday morning when he came to let the dogs out, he realized that their barks weren't coming from their room, but from the front door. When he opened the door, his assumptions were realized...and then some. One of the dogs (I'm blaming Cooper) peed all over the floor twice at some point in the night! As you can imagine, it got everywhere since (I'm sure) both dogs ran through it and then walked all over the house. I literally laugh when I think about Ryan's face when we walked in to all of this. Poor thing. Of course, we wouldn't have know the difference if he hadn't told us. I think the floors were actually cleaner after he got done than they were when we left.



Of course, everything has been cleaned again and disinfected since, so it's really easy to laugh about it now. Regardless of how destructive the danes can be, we were going to have Ryan over to thank him for watching them while we were gone (like I said earlier). When he got here, he had with him a little bunch of flowers as a thank you and a sorry for the dogs...which was completely unnecessary. I've mentioned in previous posts that bringing a bottle of wine is an easy, good idea when someone invites you over (which he also did). However, I think flowers send an equally nice message. For me at least, just the though that someone went out of there way for something so considerate means a lot. I think this is a great idea - especially when someone has you over for the very first time. Even if it is "just a little something".

Wedding Recap - Jimmy and Katherine!

As I mention in Monday's post, Beau and I traveled to his hometown of Lake Charles, LA in order to attend his cousin, Katherine and her husband, Jimmy's wedding. In true Moss (Beau's dad's family) fashion, the whole weekend was quite an event in all the right ways. Since Beau sang in the wedding, on Friday night we were invited to the rehearsal dinner held at the Pioneer Club in downtown Lake Charles. The Moss family is pretty big (not in lbs. but in quantity), but Jimmy's family is even bigger. He's one of thirteen...yes thirteen children, so you can imagine how man people were there. The company, the food, and the wine were out of control, so needless to say we had a great time, but the weekend fun didn't stop there...

The wedding was held on Saturday evening at the stunning Immaculate Conception Cathedral. The church, the bridal party, the music, and especially the bride were all beyond words. Katherine looked so happy and beautiful, and it was so refreshing to see some flattering bridesmaids' dresses for once! After the ceremony, the tears dried up and the real fun began at the reception held at the Country Club on the other side of town. It. Was. Amazing. From what I understand, trees with changing leaves were flown in from other parts of the country, and Katherine's dad, an architect, even built a custom bar! And the food...omg the food. DELICIOUS! Obviously beer and wine were served, but Katherine and Jimmy also had their signature "his and her" drinks as well. The night carried on with eating, dancing, laughing, and an all around great time was had my all. It's so fun to hang out with his family. They're all crazy-fun and easy going. However, let me just say that I have honestly never been as hung over as I was that next day in my entire life. Well worth the headache, though. I CAN say that much.


The only thing that I regret is not getting more picture from the reception. It was dark in the space, and it made it difficult to get good shots. Hopefully you can get an idea of how beautiful it was!

Mended Furniture

Since submitting my resignation at Hello Sushi, my evenings have opened up and allow me to focus on more creative endeavors and DIY projects around the house. As part of the original scope of services we had in mind when creating The Mended Nest, llc, Beau and I now (finally) have the time to offer furniture repainting/refinishing (using the Annie Sloan paint) as part of our repertoire of products. Remember, we also offer custom invitations, announcements, holiday cards, pre-made stationary, etc...PERFECT for this upcoming holiday season!

We will be posting and selling furniture that we've purchased from thrift and antique stores or garage sales and then refinished. However, if you have a piece that you'd like repainted, please let us know! Send us a few pictures to themendednest@gmail.com, and we can give you a quote. We'll mostly be using Annie Sloan paint because it's easy to create a vintage, antiqued, French-country look (that I wish my entire house looked like). Just click on the link in the previous sentence, and you can choose whichever color(s) you like for your furniture! Also, you'll have you choice of wax colors (depending on how you'd like the finished product to turn out). Hope to hear from you soon, and keep reading later posts to see what we're working on!

A Perfect Pairing

Peanut butter and jelly, eggs and bacon, cats and mice, Monica Lewinsky and sex scandals. There are so many examples in life where something, without the other, just isn't the same. Peanut butter, for example, is something that Beau and I love, but when you combine it with jelly and spread over plain white bread, it takes it to another level. This same theory is true for possibly one of the most sinful pairings of all time: hot coffee and warm, glazed donuts.



Saturday morning, we all woke up to Mr. Bob getting back from picking up (per Isabel's, (Beau's niece) request) soft, warm, ultra-fresh glazed donuts...along with a few chocolate and donut holes! I feel like it's a little offensive to say I was in Heaven, but let's be honest. I was more excited about this than Christmas morning. To make it more of a dream come true, we got to enjoy it with Rose's (Beau's mom) famous coffee. I can't tell you the recipe, but take my word for it when I say I've had no coffee better in my life. All I know is there's something vanilla, some perfect creamer/sugar combination, and it's topped off with a dollop of whipped cream. When the donut is dipped in the coffee, there is NO better pairing I'd rather be a part of. And now I'm hungry...

We were in Lake Charles this whole weekend celebrating Beau's cousin's wedding, so there will be a few posts this week related to Lake Charles food, family, and fun. Hope you keep reading!

Friday Finds - Fishs Eddy

Happy Friday! I couldn't be happier for two reasons: 1) Today I'm taking a half day at work because 2) Beau and I are going to a wedding! His cousin, Katherine and her finance, Jimmy are getting married tomorrow afternoon (remember "Our Lake Chuck Weekend" for the shower?), but we're heading in today for the rehearsal dinner, which we were invited to because Beau is singing in the wedding. Yes, he is a man of many talents.

None of that is the point of this post, however. I was told about Fishs Eddy by my aunt and uncle who had visited the one and only shop near Gramercy park in New York City. While I haven't been myself, the store looks incredible, although possibly a little overwhelming, too! With stacks and stacks of dishes, barrels of silverware, racks of stemware, and countless tchotchkes, this place is somewhat a dream come true for me. It almost reminds me of Hoarders...if the person hoarded nothing but chic, reasonably priced, and curiously vintage house/stem/dinnerware.

Since theres only one store in NYC, it look like I'll be ordering from the online catalog. Let me know if you've purchased anything from there. I'd love to hear what you think about the quality of the pieces, etc.! Have a GREAT weekend!

Pictures pulled from Fishs Eddy website

Goodbye, Hello

Sadly, after 4 years of service, I have decided to resign my position as a server/bartender at Hello Sushi. These have been my best years of Baton Rouge, and I am taking with me literally countless memories full of fun and laughter as well as some of the best and strongest friendships of my life. Two years of working two jobs (the other with PRO Unlimited in Human Resources/Client Services) has been tolling on my life and relationship, and as much as it saddens me to leave, those two come first. Furthermore, as Beau and I have created this company (The Mended Nest, llc), I owe it to us to dedicate the necessary time and effort to get this off the ground.



Hello Sushi has been such a major part of my life that it's going to be a very transition to be without. Everyone from the owner to the dish washer have transitioned from co-worker to friend to family. Phew...I'm tearing up. More than anything, Stephanie (the GM) has become like an older sister and best friend to me. A confidant, mentor, fellow foodie, and a shoulder to lean on - she is the nicest, sweetest, and most generous person I've had the pleasure of meeting, and she - above all else - is what I will miss most about Hello Sushi.



On the bright side - I'll see her ALL the time. I mean, who do you think is coming over for all my bbqs I'm going to throw now that I have a bbq pit (thanks to everyone at Hello)?! Everyone pitched in and surprised me with it on one of my last nights. How awesome are they?! If you're reading, I cannot thank you enough. I love you all and will miss you dearly!

Red Beans and Pumpkins

After using them as table decode for a few months now, I've decided to retire the split peas and introduce red beans in their place. For whatever reason, a few people have commented, telling me that I didn't make this (and some other ideas) up. So, I thought it went without saying, but let me be the first to testify that this isn't my own invention. HOWEVER, I do love the idea for a few reasons. Placed next to a few small pumpkins on my dining room table, it reminds me of fall, yummy dinners by the fire place (if we had one), changing leaves, and Thanksgiving. I like to keep it simple with just the red beans, but you can make it your own by adding, mixing, or layering any other kind of dried bean that has the color palate you're looking for. Also, switch up the vase/container you're using. It can go from plain to more elegant just by using different shapes. Try it out! Besides, who doesn't love cheap, cheap decor?