Project Transformations

Update: New Edits and Pictures Added!

Well hello!  It's been a while!  With work and refinishing projects (and trying to fit a work out in), it's been really crazy!  I feel that it's time to update on why I've been MIA!  I wanted to hold off on showing you what I've been working on because nothing has been staged to look pretty.  But I realize that if I wait until I stage my refinished projects this blog post wouldn't happen until probably next year because I'm slow and get easily distracted.  I'll upload pictures once everything gets staged!

So here we go!  I found this cute little dresser for $15 at Goodwill last spring and had been using it at Peppertree (my old Williamsburg apartment) in the guest room.  It went great in the guest room because I had a "sweet, victorian" thing going on due to some white iron day beds I had.  The 2nd room was great because my parents/guest could have their privacy and visit...something I miss in the new loft.  Anyways, I'll stop living in the past :P It's mostly wood, and was is pretty good shape.  I had to fix a few places with nail glue, but nothing serious.  When I moved to my city apartment I wanted to keep it because it was a good, sturdy piece, but the floral hardware and white didn't go with the decor.  So, after about 10 hours of labor, I turned it into this cute little dresser!

                                              

I hand-sanded the entire piece, which, I have learned, will never do again.  I promptly went out and bought an electric sander for $60 at Lowes.  I also completed this redo in my apartment, which has no outdoor area, and is a bit small to be redoing furniture in!  And the polyurethane spray coat...let's just say I may have lost a few brain cells.  I used Victorian (Antique?) Pewter by Olympic to do the grey, and a paint sample for $3 at Lowes was enough for the entire job.  I believe I did about 2 coats and a few touch-ups.  Although I used painter's tape to make off the white area, some of the grey color leaked through.  I painted the drawers with a brush, but used a small cabinet and door specific roller for the rest.  I kept the original hardware on the top drawer, but got new pulls for less than $1 each for the bottom drawers.  I'm really pleased with the outcome!  And with the price of the dresser, paint and supplies, I got this for about $30! 

My next project was to redo Adam's piece of crap lovely little wine rack he somehow obtained from his former place of employment.  This rack sat in the bowels of a hotel for a few decades (I'm assuming) and he brought it into our old apartment while I was away and I let it stay without further examination of the little staples, tape, nail holes, splinters rustic details.  Here it is, all decoared at Christmas time at Peppertree!

When we moved, I decided it didn't go with the contemporary decor, and would get an overhaul when I had the time.  This past weekend, I went to my parent's house (thanks Mom and Dad for having an awesome garage for me to do all my projects!) with my new electric sander and got to work. 

I didn't realize how difficult it would be to sand and paint all the little nooks and that there were a lot of staples, nail holes, tape, etc.  These were on all the sides, in addition to other nail holes, tape, and staples I had to remove.

Also, while sanding, the varnish smelled terrible.  Like grandparents musty attic or something...yuck!  Here it is post sanding/nail holes filled with wood filler:

And then primed with Killz primer:

And here's the completed project!  Paint color is Phantom Mist by Olympic. Sprayed with a polyurethane coat after the paint dried.  Excuse the poor quality cell phone picture, as I forgot to take an "After" with a camera...

I was able to do the entire wine rack with a $3 paint sample from Lowes (almost ran out though!).  Another 10 hour labor of love!  I'm thinking about installing locking casters to the bottom, so it's movable with all the wine in it.

Seeing the Light

This weekend was very busy...filled with great food, good drinks, and we even managed to fit a 4 am free pizza delivery in.  After everything that went on, I think a lazy Sunday afternoon is appropriate.

Did you know that Fridays from 5-6 pm Sticky Rice in the Fan does a half price sushi menu?  (They also do a similar deal on Mondays from 10:30 pm to 12:30 am).  They don't include all their sushi in this deal, but they do have a pretty good selection.  Adam and I ended up going there after I got off work and got a huge plate of sushi and some Sake.  

The sticky balls in the upper left corner of the photo (basically fried rice, crabmeat, tempura battered, and fried with a aioli sauce) were to die for.  We also tried the eel, octopus (too chewy for me), a spicy salmon roll, crunchy shrimp roll, and a yellowfin roll.  Oh!  I almost forgot, the house hot Sake is also half off during this time!  

Can you guess how much all this sushi and two large hot Sakes were? $27 + tip.  At any other time, this would have been double.  Such a great deal and so yummy!  

After dinner I peeked in the DT2 thrift store across the street.  It was closed, but I wanted to see if there were any neat things displayed in the window.  I saw a really neat lamp and an unfinished, all-wood short bookshelf for $10 that could have made a really great wine rack.  

I had all intentions of going to grab up these two neat items when the store opened, but we ended up going out to Shockoe Slip that night, and well, it didn't happen.  When I finally got out of the apartment and over to DT2, the bookshelf was gone, but the lamp was still there!  (This goes to show that if you see something you want while thrifting you should get it as it might not be there even an hour later!) Anyways, the lamp was originally $25, but with the 25% off coupon I referred to in an earlier post, it was $19.  The metal part of the lamp where the shade connects had some structural issues that made the lamp shade wobble, but I was able to fix it with a heavy application of Krazy Glue.  It's worked thus far, so hopefully it stays!  I also think using an extra washer would solve the problem too, so if the glue doesn't hold, the washer will be another simple fix!

I love how the lamp also doubles as shelves.  I plan on finding some really cute picture frames to put in each!   

We also celebrated Mom's birthday last night at award-winning Avalon in the Fan.  Adam and I went once before and I fell in love with this place! Soon after we went, I bought a Living Social coupon deal ($15 for $30 to spend), which we used last night.  I am a Groupon and Living Social junkie!  These websites are great because they allow you to try new places without paying full price.  They are also dangerous because the deals are only available for a day, so you end up buying them for fear of missing out.

Anyways, Avalon is a small plates/tapas-inspired restaurant, so the idea is to order a lot of plates and share.  I would have taken a picture of all the food we got, but I was so excited about eating that I forgot (I also had 3 glasses of wine at this point).  The standout dishes were smoked seafood chowder, grilled caesar, buttered brussel sprouts (signature dish...you must get these if you go), arctic char, and the cheese plate.  Avalon is great because there's so many different flavors in each of the small dishes!

So two questions: Do you like websites like Groupon and Living Social and have you purchased any amazing deals from them?  And what's your favorite restaurant in Richmond?  Maybe I'll go try it out!

Coupons Aren't Just for Food

Spent a good amount of time editing the blog layout today.  What do you think?  By the way, I have no idea how to format blogs beyond the presets in Blogger, so I got creative!  To add the title heading (picture of the cool yellow chairs that I found online), I used Microsoft Publisher, created my image and text, saved it as a .jpg, then went into Windows Live Photo Gallery, cropped the .jpg image, saved it as picture file, and uploaded it where Blogger gives you the option to upload a picture in the title.

Will someone tell me if there is an easier way to do this for future reference? I see so many cute blogs out there with a ton of personal ad-ins and this took forever!

In other news, I'm a pretty big "saver" when it comes to shopping.  I've even started couponing at the grocery store.  Would you believe it's actually a little exhilarating when the cashier rings you up and you've saved $10!  I'm not trying to be one of those crazy-get-everything-for-free (everything that's chocked full of preservatives) people, but I do like saving if I can. 

And you can too! 

Look at this cool offer I found from Diversity Thrift (near the Diamond) and their second store DT2 (in the Fan across from Sticky Rice).  Also, all proceeds go to benefit the Gay Community Center of Richmond, and the other non-profits that support them!  Additionally, they take donations (see website for donation days)!

Here's the Deal:
If you are a college student (or still have some form of college ID), go to this link for coupons or print them off from my blog, and you can get 25% off any regularly priced items until 9.30.11 (there's a coupon for Diversity Thrift and DT2).  I believe this includes your entire purchase, and not just one item, so it's a great deal!  Additionally, Diversity Thrift was voted best place to buy second-hand furniture in Richmond by Richmond Magazine (tried to find the link but couldn't, sorry).

If you aren't a student, they have senior (50+) Thursdays, where anyone over 50 gets 10% off a regularly priced item.  My idea is to take your parent with you and have them pay...just justify they pay so you can get the discount!

Diversity Thrift is also offering limited time specials that you can read more about on their website.  I have yet to visit this thrift store, but I've heard great things about it and will be stopping by soon!

Re (Purpose)

Last work week did not go by so smoothly. Although my job isn't incredibly challenging, it can be super stressful at times!  I also work in a very small office (as in, me and my boss) so it gets really lonely.  Adam has been in paradise, better known as Hawaii, for the past 2 weeks, and it's been a difficult adjustment.  He's really been a great support system, especially when I need to decompress and leave work woes behind for the day.

Sometimes I wish I was still in college.  While no school means no homework, and free time after work and on the weekends, I kind of miss the excitement and challenges of being in college.  I really need to either really focus on finding a dream job for the future, or put my energy into something I enjoy.  I'm hoping to start Rosetta Stone (Spanish) soon, and maybe even teach English in Spain one day...wouldn't that be neat!

As for working out, I've been doing Body Pump like it's my job.  I've gone up on all my weights by 5 lbs, and I am really proud of myself! Also, I don't know if it's the new thing to do, but I've taken 2 BP classes where they didn't turn on the fans.  Of course, I could speak up and say turn on the fans, or turn them on myself, but who wants to be that person?  Still, BP is a whole lot easier when the fans are going. 

It's been difficult trying to balance work and working out though...at least trying to fit it all in.  When you like to fit the gym in for 2 + hours a day and then work 9 hours, and then try to fit time to eat and sleep, plus all the other errands you need to run you find your day is completely booked.  I just wish I had a little more free time.  Side note: This pregnant lady came to BP last Saturday (I've seen her in there before), and apparently she was due the next day! Is this safe? I mean if it is, that's some dedication!  I really think I need to start running more....possibly training for a race....not sure yet though!

Also on Sunday I went thrifting with the mom.  Some people know I love this, love crafting, love creating things.  I'd rather make it, or refurbish it than buy it brand new.  I do wish I had more expertise on refinishing furniture and sewing though, but I get by.  Anyways, we went to Class and Trash and I found a few things.  I think I could spend more time in there, but there's no air condition and I think we went on like the second hottest day of the summer.  I did find some really neat, good quality fabric I'm going to use as art (picture to come) for $2.






Then I got these Thalhiemer's Leather gloves for $4 that definitely need some TLC. They were made in France.  Hoping to get some leather polish and cleaner and fix them up at some point!















Lastly, we stopped in Hickory Creek Antiques in Ashland, VA. I've been looking for a storage trunk/ottoman type thing to store blankets in for our living area.  I've seen ones at Target, but they are so expensive and bulky looking, and the less expensive ones are not great quality. I'm really into retro-modern stuff.  I also like shabby chic, so it's a challenge decorating.  Our living area is retro-modern.  I found this hiding in a corner at Hickory Creek for $10!

With a little cleaning, it fit in perfect! I'm going to the dollar store to get some sticky drawer liners for the inside too.

I love thrifting/antiquing.  Some people hate the notion of using other people's things, but I think it's great and economical.  A lot of pieces I have now have come from thrift stores!  I also have found two J. Crew Cashmere cardigan/sweaters at Goodwill (I don't get my clothes there, but sometimes they have really great finds!) and paid $5 for each.  A trip to the dry cleaner, and you have a $200 sweater for $10.  It's really amazing!