Mended Furniture - Office Table(s)

Happy Monday...if such a thing exists. I am exhausted this morning - probably from staying up so late watching Dance Moms on Lifetime...aka my newest guilty pleasure. Those women are completely out of their minds and I absolutely love it. Not the point of today's post, though. For our new office, I decided to take some plain wooden end tables/filing cabinets they we've had forever (from Target) and give them a little face lift. 

I started by applying a mixture of Annie Sloan's Old White, Paris Grey, and Provence. You can see two pictures above, it left the tables very streaky and uneven which is exactly what I was looking for. I wanted the top coat to have a little dimension and contrasting undertones. Speaking of the top coat, I created a custom green (which is actually a little more lime/avocado than the picture portrays) using Annie Sloan's Arles and Duck Egg Blue. Once dry, I used a new technique I've been testing out. I applied a mixture of dark wax and mineral spirits, wiping the excess as I go. Lastly, I added both glass and ceramic knobs to freshen it up.The finished product is phenomenal.

For the office, instead of using them as end tables, we pushed them together to create a low, simple table to use as a printer station and filing cabinet. A pinboard is also on top of the table for now, although we'd eventually like to hang it on the wall. Maybe with all of our free time...

Kathy, Corn Dogs, and Tacos

Last night, Beau and I drove down to New Orleans to go see Kathy Griffin live!! For those who don't know, she's an Emmy award winning comedian who primarily jokes about celebrities...and her alcoholic mother. She is hilarious (I suggest you YouTube her if you've never heard of her). Beau bought these tickets a while back for a Christmas present for me - how lucky am I?

So, yesterday I left work a few hours early, picked Beau up from the house, warmed up some corn dogs (yes, you read that correctly), and we got in Baton Rouge traffic en route to NOLA! Since we left early enough, we met up with our friend, David, and had a snack at The Rum House - this really cool little place on Magazine St. If you're in the New Orleans area and haven't tried this place, I highly suggest you do. One part of the menu are just tacos, where you can mix and match all different kinds for ~$3 per taco. Since I was full from the corn dogs, I only had two, but I will be back for more!

Afterward, we met up with my good friend, Joe to watch Kathy! She did not let us down - we all had tears from laughter. All in all, it was one of the best Christmas presents ever!

Enjoy the View.

I ran across this picture this morning looking for inspiration for todays post and I fell in love. So simple, yet it captures so much. I tend to get caught up with all the day to day tasks, and I forget to sometimes sit back, relax, and enjoy the sunset from my sailboat porch. Maybe it's because I'm still at work when the sun goes down?

OBSESSED: Garlic and Lemon Olives

Jeri's Corner! Okay - so I know Christmas is over, but I took these pictures over the holiday break, and I didn't have a chance to write about it until now. Every year, Jeri makes these olives and gives them out as little gifts to a few of her friends to enjoy with yummy cheeses...or in a martini. They're so effing good, I cannot even begin to explain. I cannot recommend these enough!!

They're great for any occasion, though - not just holidays. For example, try making them for an office party, birthday gathering, or your next girls/guys night out. The other night, I brought them as a little thank-you for the host of the New Year's eve party I attended.

So here's what you do:

1. Drain one jar of olives (keep the juice)
2. In a separate (cuter) container, layer the following:
 - 1 10-ounce jar large green pimiento-stuffed Spanish olives
 - 4 fresh oregano sprigs
 - 3 large garlic cloves, crushed
 - Juice 2 whole lemons (slice third and add to container)
 - 10 whole black peppercorns
 - 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
 - add as much of the original olive juice that you can fit in the jar
3. Let this marinate over night and ENJOY the next day!

Mended Furniture - Bedroom Dresser

Happy Tuesday! Today will be my first day back at work since Christmas, and I don't think I could be any more sad. I just want to lay in bed with the danes and do nothing all day! Unfortunately, there's that thing called reality or whatever...

Beau and I picked up the dresser above (along with another one) after contacting someone on Craigslist. True story - when we picked them up and took the drawers off to start cleaning, one of them had a...soiled pair of ladies underwear. Eww! So after Cloroxing the whole thing, I began work on reviving the dresser. When I picked it up, it was almost like a particleboard brown color. Not very attractive to say the least. I opted to paint the whole thing in (you guessed it) Duck Egg Blue - my favorite color from the Annie Sloan collection. I'm still on my FIRST can; this stuff lasts forever.

My finishing technique is where I differed for this project. Instead on simply using the clear or dark wax (or a combination of the two) I created a mixture of dark wax and mineral spirits that I could easily paint onto the whole thing, wiping off the excess with and old T-shirt as I moved from part to part. After it dried, I replaced the knobs and bam!...a finished product that I love!

Note: This item is FOR SALE! If you're interested, please email us at themendednest@gmail.com!

Thank You

First post of 2012! It's weird for me to write 20"12"and will probably take my brain a solid two months before I can completely reprogram it to where it's automatic. Oh well. I'm ready for the new year. I, along with most of you, are excited and ready to start a year 3 weeks of exercising, eating celery for snacks, and reading more books. Yeahhh....

This past weekend, Beau and I, along with our partner in crime, Ryan, headed down to New Orleans to celebrate New Year's Eve! I can't speak for Ryan (who may or may not remember large parts of the night), but Beau and I decided this was one of our best NYE together to date. We met up at our friend, Mark's to put or bags down (we stayed there that night) and to have a couple cocktails. Afterward, we headed downtown to a wonderful party complete with the ball drop in Times Square (via TV), an outdoor balcony where we could see fireworks, and good friends that we haven't seen in forever! Afterwards, we taxi'd down to the St. Ann and Bourbon for a little bar fun until..oh...4:30 am when we finally stumbled back to Mark's. I haven't stayed out that late in forever, and I remembered why the whole next day. Oh well...it was totally worth it. The whole night was great. I just wish I had ONE picture to remember it by; we thought it was best to not bring the camera, so I have 0 pictures to share. But....

What I will share is a little advice. Since I had never met the host of the party where we enjoyed a large portion of our night, I'm sending him a very short and simple "thank you" for opening his home to us for NYE. I recommend short and sweet - you don't want to come off as crazy. Just a little something that let's them know that you appreciate them having you over, it was nice to meet them, etc.

I know that this isn't necessary for all occasions. Some friends joke, saying that I should be expecting a thank you card in the mail whenever someone comes over the borrow a ladder or watch a movie. I tell them, "don't be stupid".

Lord it's like a [Moss Family] Christmas...

Christmas morning, Beau and I ate breakfast and hung out with the Hollands and Jenkins until about 10am, then we hopped in the car and drove westbound for THREE hours to get to Lake Charles (Beau's hometown) to visit his dad's side. TOTALLY worth the drive! The whole Moss family is awesome and reminds me so much of mine: loud, funny, big (in terms of quantity), and craaazy! His aunts, uncles, and Mimi are all wonderful, but it's the cousins that bring the family gatherings to another level. I think there are two thousand 17 cousins on that side, and they're all around the same age, and are all great. For this Christmas, even cousins from out of state came in to visit, so we got a chance to visit with everyone...and had they not, Jingle Booty would have never been introduced to my life...

So I know I have mostly random food pictures, but I get a little nervous whenever I whip my camera out at a party - I feel like everyone's watching thinking, "put the camera up, weirdo". Furthermore, it's hard to take pictures when I'm laughing hysterically. Amongst other games, some of Beau's cousins created a little game called "Jingle Booty". The idea of the game is to get as many jingle bells out of an empty Kleenex box that's belted to your butt...by shaking it like...a salt shaker. It. Was. Hilarious.

After the family get-together, Beau and I met up with his dad, stepmom, and twin brothers for a little gift exchange at their house. Amongst other things, they gave us an incredible patio set (table and chairs) for our newly poured patio! Yay yay yay! Then that night, we slept like kings in their new addition/guest house they just finished building! It was so neat to see Mended Nest furniture in it's natural habitat (I recently finished an end table for Beau's stepmom).

So all in all, I think this was one of the best Christmases I've ever had. Seeing my family and both of Beau's in one weekend was exhausting, but so much fun. We're blessed for so many reasons, but family has to be my number one. We love them all. Merry Christmas!

Christmas with the Jenkins and Hollands!

So after spending Thursday night and Friday morning in Covington with the Caraglianos, Beau and I headed south to New Orleans to visit the Jenkins (Beau's sister's family) and the Hollands (Beau's mom, stepdad, and brother). Laurel, Beau's sister (Jenkin's Family Journey), lives in a beautiful house on Fairway Dr., and that's where we spent Christmas Eve and day. We had such a great time sitting around drinking wassel, playing with Beau's niece, Isabel, and enjoying family talks and yummy food.

It was so enjoyable because we had absolutely nothing to do...and major rarity. At home, we usually get stuck working on some sort of project, but there we got to truly relax! We went to the movies a few times and went out to eat, but mostly hung around the house and just enjoyed each other's company. Beau has the most loving family and it's always a joy to spend time with them.

Christmas eve was my favorite day/night. We went to Mass right around the corner and then came home for a delicious Christmas meal...and then exchanged presents! There's nothing like watching a three year old's excitement when opening Christmas presents - I loved it! Of course, Isabel had her presents from Santa on Christmas morning, but these were from Mia (Rose), Bops (Bob), her mommy and daddy, and "The Uncles" (Beau, Bobby, and me). 

So, after enjoying a little more family fun Christmas morning over coffee and breakfast, Beau and I hopped in the car and headed west to Lake Charles, LA for the last leg of our Christmas journey - Christmas with the Moss family!

Christmas at the Caragliano's (Jeri's Corner)

Hello! How was your Christmas? I hope everyone had a great time! As Beau and I were driving home from Lake Charlesl last night, crawling through 3 hours of traffic, we both agreed that this was one of our best Christmases ever. In years past, Beau and I always separated for Holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, etc., but this year, we decided it was time to stick together and split them up between families. Since my parents got Thanksgiving, we visited Beau's families for Christmas. However, because Beau's very pregnant sister, Laurel, is in New Orleans (which is where his mom and stepdad spent Christmas), I was able to sneak in one night on the Northshore at Jeri and Frank's before heading to the Jenkin's (Beau's sister's family).

We got into Covington Thursday night and left Friday afternoon, so it was a very brief visit, but a great one none the less. We all sat around in the living room (MawMaw included) chatting, laughing, sipping on wine, and enjoying a delicious creamy salsa soup with fresh avocado and cilantro on top. (Recipe coming soon!) Afterwards, we exchanged presents and then sat down for a lasagna supper. Jeri and Frank did a good job this year! Beau and I loaded up on some much needed goodies, but the two gifts in the pictures above I thought were so cute that I couldn't help but share: a little mended nest complete with a tiny "duck egg blue" egg that Jeri picked up from a shop on Lee Lane - Best. Street. In. Covington. She also gave us another cute nest with a little bird candle. Instant obsessions with both, and they're already in our new office!

Jeri's corner time: all around the house were these small arrangements filled with tree trimmings, red berries, and leaves from various plants and trees around the yard creating these mini homemade Christmas bouquets. Where she finds the time, I'll never know, but I'm glad she does because I secretly look forward to these little guys all year. I've never seen her do this, but this year she stepped it up: she took a large vase, filled it with water and trimmings from their tree, wrapped it with burlap, and created a DIY dining room table centerpiece! Jeri's funny: she'll decorate for Fall, but not Halloween, Easter, but no bunny, and Christmas, but no Santa. I love that. This is NOT a blanket statement, but a lot of the Santa decorations tend to be cheesy and not cute. Jeri will decorate with tree trimmings, angels, mangers, and other various DIY decorations and keeps the tacky out of Christmas. I want to be JUST like her!

Christmas Tags

As Beau and I were scrambling the other night trying to get all of the presents wrapped, we realized that we had no way of differentiating between who the gifts were for. Beau quickly made these cute cards, and I thought they were perfect. I know it's a little late now, but hopefully we'll be a little more organized by NEXT Chirstmas, and we'll be able to sell packs of them with all kinds of different designs.

This is going to be our last post until Tuesday after Christmas. Beau and I are going to be traveling for a few days, and I'm thinking that a little present to myself will be taking Monday off. Don't worry - we'll get through this together! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone. Cheers and God bless! Oh - and get ready for a big 'ole Jeri's corner!!

It's the Most Won...Hectic Time of the Year!

Last night was a mess. We had multiple loads of laundry to finish, packing for the extended weekend, wrapping all of the presents, a house to clean, hours of freelance work for Beau, and most importantly: the finale of American Horror Story to watch. If that wasn't enough, I decided to tackle a last minute Christmas order for an custom iPad cover. Clearly, I wouldn't have made it through without a few glasses of wine. After finally getting to bed at 1:30 this morning, I am exhausted today!

I don't know what it was about this year (possibly owning a company), but we both felt extremely rushed this Christmas season. This is really embarassing, but I still don't even have presents for Beau yet! Okay - one I've ordered, but I still have to pick up the other one at lunch...from the mall. That traffic is going to be a LOT of fun. Can it just be Christmas, already!?

We Will be Boarding Shortly...

Danes update! Yesterday, I loaded up the danes it my little Jeep and drove off to the vet for a last minute visit so both Duke and Cooper could get their bordetella (kennel cough) vaccine. Beau and I will literally be traveling all across southern Louisiana for Christmas, and there's no possible way we could bring two great danes to my parent's, his sister's, and then to his parents. With that said, we (very sadly) have to board them for a few days over the holidays. I feel TERRIBLE, but we don't have a choice.

Either way, the vet visit was a hot mess. Clearly, half of Baton Rouge had the same idea as us because the vet waiting room was packed. Worst of all, I was that person with the bad dogs! Duke was okay...sort of, but Cooper was terrible! Literally, he non-stop barked and shrilly whined from the moment we got in until the moment we left. My arms are sore from them pulling on my leashed trying to play with other dogs. Omg, I was so embarrassed. They're lucky I love them!

My favorite part of a vet visit - weight in time. This time around, Duke stayed about the same - just under 150, but Cooper grew tons - he's now weighing in at 120 at just 10 months old! He's going to be huge, and I can't wait!!

PS - please excuse our floors in these pictures. Things have been INSANE at The Mended Nest with last minuted holiday orders.