Thanksgiving Weekend + Christmas Decorating

Hey y'all!

I hope you had a relaxing Thanksgiving weekend and were able to eat your weight in turkey/stuffing/pie! My break was awesome; I ate tons of food and enjoyed a much-needed break from work. Even though this apartment is technically my home, traveling to see my family for holidays is really where I feel at "home." I was sad to leave, but I know I'll be back in a few weeks for Christmas (eek)!

While at home, I planned how I was going to decorate for the Christmas season. My first order of business was to swap bows on my grapevine wreath and throw away the pumpkins in front of my door! A little history about the wreath: I've seen my family decorate with grapevine wreathes, and now that I have my own place I couldn't wait to try my hand at fixing one up. I bought my wreath from my local Hobby Lobby in the beginning of the fall along with several sprigs of berries, greenery, and a wide green wired ribbon. I made a simple bow from the ribbon and attached it to the top of the wreath. 

My wreath when I first put it up, without it's green bow. 

And the new red bow! Sorry for the shady picture here... but you get the idea.

I don't have a picture of the wreath with the green bow because I swapped it out earlier this afternoon (forgive me)! However, it looked very similar to how it does now with the red bow. I plan to add more red berries and Fraser fir sprigs later this week once I get my tree, but for now this is what I've got. I love this wreath because I can use it from the beginning of the fall until the end of winter simply by adding/taking out different elements.

Next on my decorating list is to put my Christmas tree up. I've been thinking about colors for a while now, and I decided to go plain; all gold. I feel like plain lights and gold ornaments will flow best with my apartment, which already has a lot going on in it. This is the first Christmas that I'll be having my very own tree, and I can't wait to fix the tree up exactly how I want it (white lights, big bulbs, and of course a real tree). The tree will most likely be put up tomorrow, so expect pictures of the finished product later on this week! 

For now, I'll leave you with a glimpse of what I worked on over the break... 

Details to come. 

Until next time!

-Emmi

My Bedroom Curtains

Hey y'all!

I hope your week is off to a good start! I don't know about you, but I can't wait for Thanksgiving break. Ellie and I will be headed to Northeastern North Carolina Wednesday afternoon after work, and I'm thrilled to have some downtime at "home" with my family.

I thought I would share with you my latest accomplishment in the apartment. Months ago my aunt and I found some fabric remnants at the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store here in Hickory. If you've never been to one before, you need to check it out. Not only do they sell used furniture and housewares, but my local store also sells brand new couches and chairs from surrounding furniture stores. You never know what you might find... like some awesome fabric!

Anyways, I've had the remains of two bolts of fabric propped against my bed since September. One of those bolts is going to be used on the cane back chair, and the other I knew I wanted to use for curtains in either my bedroom or living room. Since moving in, I've been focusing so much on making the living area cute that I've completely trashed my bedroom. It's become a place to store all the extra "stuff" that doesn't blend perfectly in the living room, but I've slowly been trying to clean it up and turn it into a relaxing place to be at night!

It really bothered me that I didn't have curtains over my bedroom window, so when I moved in I hung the curtain from my last apartment just to try to keep the sun out in the mornings. I made this curtain out of burlap and lined it with black cotton fabric and it worked really well in my old room. However, I knew this was only temporary until I could sit myself down to whip some new curtains up.

I know how ghetto this must look. But trust that this actually looked good at one point, when it fit over my old window properly.

The window when I took the burlap down. So barren.

The "new" fabric.

And the window with its new curtains!

A close up!

How did I do it? I thought you'd never ask!

I started with about three yards of fabric and cut it in half long ways. The width of these curtains was limited to how much fabric I had on that bolt. If fabric was unlimited, I would have included much more width! Regardless, I then sewed the raw edges up on both sides and the bottom, and made my ruffle at the top in accordance to how long I wanted to the curtains to hang. I simply bought a plain curtain rod at Walmart to secure the curtains across the window, and hung them up! 

I know these curtains do not look professional and that this probably isn't the right way to make window treatments, but it works for me!  I think it looks 100 times better than before, and walking into my room makes me so much happier now! Not to mention it blocks the sun out...

What do y'all think of the curtains?

Until next time!

-Emmi

You Guessed It... Plus Pizza

The cane back chair isn't finished. I can't say I'm surprised with myself, but I am sorry to leave ya hangin' like this. I promise that moves are being made on the chair, just painstakingly slowly. Today I actually purchased a large sheet of particle board for the new base, but decided to go a different route instead. With help from a friend (thanks Will!) I'll hopefully have the chair complete in the near future. 

In the mean time, I thought I'd show you my excuse for not having this project finished!

Last weekend I surprised my dad by visiting him in Richmond, Virginia! He operates River City Wood Fire (a mobile wood fired pizza catering business) with his friend and co-owner, Joe. Besides catering special occasions, they appear at different breweries and vineyards on a regular basis. I had been wanting to visit and try out some of their pizza myself, and this past weekend was the most convenient time I've had since moving here! Last weekend they were at Midnight Brewery for their third annual Harvest Festival, and I knew it was the perfect time to strike. 

The oven!

So you can see the fire a little better...

The assembly line with fresh ingredients.

And my dad with a pizza hot out of the oven!

I can't rave about their pizzas enough. They were way more delicious than I was expecting and I tried multiple different kinds. I'm wishing something this awesome was close to me here in North Carolina. Sadly, we didn't get a single picture together (they were crazy busy) but it was good to catch up, even if it was only over breakfast the next morning! I only stayed for one night, so our visit was a short one; but next time I'll be back for the full weekend!

And just for your viewing pleasure...

Ellie looking fab in her red puffer vest! Since it's gotten so cold this week, I've been putting this on her. I think she actually likes it!

Stay warm, and until next time!

-Emmi

The Rattan Chairs

Happy Sunday! 

I hope your weekend was as fun as mine! My work friends and I went to a bonfire in Winston-Salem, so needless to say the chair isn't finished yet. While you're waiting for me to finish it up, I thought I'd share with you another upholstery project that I've done in the past. 

Once again I'm kicking myself for not documenting past projects better, but you'll just have to forgive, forget, and try to visualize the in-between steps!

I found four of these chairs in Bluffton, SC with my grandma (thanks Dee!) when I was interning for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. I love rattan, and I knew I'd use them one day when I had a place of my own. The existing floral fabric was the worst. Not to mention dirty. So I used my free time as an intern to fix them up!

When I took the seats off these chairs, they had a particleboard base which crumbled as the screws came out, so I had to replace them. Since I was living alone that summer with no power tools (and no knowledge of how to use them), I asked my boss if he could help me cut four new bases out of some wood from Lowe's. 

While waiting for the new bases, I spray painted all four of the chairs. My original plan was to use a very light blue, but since it was backordered at Hobby Lobby (and I'm super impatient) I chose a super bright blue called "Aqua" by Rust-oleum. After I got my new bases, I used the existing foam cushions for padding and began hunting for fabric!

I found my fabric at a local fabric shop, and as soon as I saw it I loved it. I actually wish I had bought more of this for future projects. 

Here's the "after" picture of my first chair...

The "after" picture for three of the chairs...

And a side-by-side comparison (plus an Instagram filter, I'm sorry)!

Maybe it's just me/I'm a little tacky, but I LOVE the "new" chairs! They're fun and bright, but still neutral enough so that they blend in with my apartment. Here are a couple shots of them in my apartment today:

Three are around my rattan glass breakfast table...

A close up...

And the fourth is sitting beside my glass bamboo TV table.

Needless to say, these chairs in total were way easier to fix up than the cane back I'm currently working on. They are also super lightweight and versatile, and easy to grab and throw around the coffee table quickly when friends are over.

What do you think of my fixer-uppers? Is the blue too bright or would you have gone with a different color?

Until next time!

-Emmi

I'm The Worst

I didn't finish my three goals. I know, I'm the worst. But I did finish two of those goals. They may have been the easier of the three but they still count, right? My iPhone pictures suck and I'm sorry, but BEHOLD:

Doesn't this corner look one thousand times better?

The elephant.

I know the knobs are the same, but I have a replacement in mind for them. I'll just have to deal with that hideous sheen until I order the new ones online!

And just so you can see a side-by-side...

The chair didn't happen this week. What I thought would be a time consuming, but relatively easy project has turned into an on-going ordeal. I'll be sharing a more in-depth post with lots of pictures of the chair when I actually finish it! I hate to disappoint, but just know my hands essentially have calluses on them from pulling out so many staples!

Happy November, and until next time!

-Emmi