Tales from the Projects - Dip Dye Lampshade

Let me begin by apologizing for the pictures.  The mr. took off with my camera this morning – rude –  before I realized that I had not downloaded the pictures of this project.  So, stuck with crappy phone pics.

Ruthie's lampshade

Like most of my plans, grandiose visions were high and pink.  The pink lampshade idea came from an old Ruthie Sommers image.  A small snippet in HB a while ago (probably the awesome 'pink' issue) about her kitchen lamp with a pink shade.  People have been poking fun of my adoration of pink – ahem, Lulu and Ayars -  for even longer than they have poked fun of my love of animal print.  But hey, I cannot deny who I am and what I love.  So a pink lampshade should come as no surprise.  Not bright pink, not little girl candy pink, but more like a Georgia O’Keefe great pussini pink.  Rich, lovely, and deep.  That’s what I was going for anyway, and not exactly what I got.

I don’t hate it but I don’t worship it either.  Not a total wash because I learned a couple of valuable things.  First, it has finally come to my attention, that ALL of my grandiose plans require a bail out from the mr. at some point in the project.  I grossly underestimated the amount of water required to dip a 16” lampshade.  Second, before you dip your proverbial lampshade in the dye waters yourself, consider starting with a smaller one.  Third, get more dye than you will think you need.  Nothing is more annoying than making 3 trips to the craft place for more dye.

Project lampshade dip went down like this:  after a long, exhaustive search for colored lampshades or fancy trims, I determined that both were cost prohibitive for the size of shade I needed.  I briefly considered spray paint but given my proclivity of catching things on fire, I thought the risk not worth the reward.  Not to mention that I can’t spray paint to save my life.  Drip city.  Not wanting to rely upon the mr. on this one (he is a spray paint master), I decided upon dye.  Super cheap.  I scoped out dye colors for months.  Finally I pulled the trigger and quickly realized that like Donny, I was out of my element.  How many liters in a gallon?  How many gallons per packet?  How many dye packets would I need?  What container can I use?  Where do I go with all that dye water?

 

You can see where I am going with this.  Help!  Sink was not an option b/c it wasn’t big enough.  A laundry tub would have worked but ours is not plumbed at the moment.  The biggest container we had was a plastic bin that while empty, was deep and wide enough for the lampshade, but when filled with vast amounts of pink water looked like a disaster waiting to happen.  Could not fill up high enough to cover the entire lampshade so I had to flip that sucker every 15 minutes in hopes that I would get an even dip.  I did not want ombre.  In the end, we avoided disaster but it took two of us to deal with the water disposal b/c 20+ gallons of water is HEAVY.  Doing this twice is not necessarily fun.  Having to do it a third time to get the color I want, is even more not fun.  Plus, I feel like fate and the DIY gods will conspire to bring me those darker floors that I have always wanted, albeit it in a pink shade.

this is happening in the kitchen so I put trash bags down over my hardwoods
massive bowing out on the sides = pink floor anxiety

when i dip, you dip, we dip
and then we flip, many times to avoid a dye line

So I will live with it for now until the weather is warmer and I can do this shizzo outside.  Thumbs down for now.  To be continued…

All photos and layouts by mrs. V

kisses,  mrs. V

The Food Chronicles - Roasted Chicken with Croutons and Wilted Greens

Shooey, it’s been too long since I have done a food post (or any post for that matter!) and this one is too good not to share.  An easy weeknight meal.  In fact, I made it twice last week.  Don’t let the ‘roasting a whole chicken’ thing scare you off.  Seriously, roasting a chicken is the ONLY way to go and the EASIEST way to prepare chicken.  People seem to be intimidated by it but seriously, it is the easiest way to make chicken and the most flavorful.  Skin and bones, a must, people.  Slather that yard bird up and walk AWAY.  For about an hour.  What could be easier than that?  When you have a 4 yr old who is constantly pulling on your apron strings, hands off cook time is prime time.  I rarely bother with tasteless fleshy chicken boobs anymore.  But the various ways in which I roast chicken is another post unto itself.

Even though this recipe originally comes from Everyday Food, the inspiration comes from the late great Sheila Lukins.  She had a recipe for Zuni Roast Chicken with Savory Bread Salad in Ten (one of my favorites) that I have been dying to try for a few years.  The amount of steps seemed daunting.  I stumbled across this version a few weeks ago in one of my old issues of Everyday Food and was immediately reminded of the Zuni recipe but with far fewer steps.  Of course, I have monkeyed with it slightly because I monkey with everything.  And because, if I am being completely honest, I find most of the recipes from Everyday Food to be everyday bland.

bread toasted in drippings and fat = heavenly croutons

after croutons are done, pour any accumulated juices from platter into bottom of a VERY large bowl

Add croutons, greens, and olive oil & vinegar, some more salt & pepper to taste; toss

Plate greens with croutons and top with a piece of roasted chicken

 

A few notes.  Sorry for the yellowish pictures - my cooking happens in real time so evening shots without natural light are crap.  If you can prep your chicken earlier in the day, do it.  Not only is this handy if you are entertaining, but ‘dressing’ the chicken with salt & pepper ahead of time improves the flavor and helps yield a moist yard bird.  Which also means, don’t skimp on the salt and pepper.  Season that sucker with more than you think.  Also, I whisk the remaining olive oil, champagne vinegar, and salt & pepper into a vinaigrette before tossing because I think it dresses the greens more uniformly but I have done it both ways and probably makes little difference.

All photos and layouts by mrs. V

kisses,  mrs. V

Kitchen Confidential

This is the plan anyway.  A starting point, really.  Stretch your imagination to envision an L – shaped banquette, half of which you see here.  Next, pretend that the black faux leather cushions with green welting, that you can just make out if you squinchy up your eyesballs, are totally complete.  If you can do those two things, then you are well on your way to understanding the foundations of the eat-in portion of my kitchen.  

Perhaps you remember when I said I was going in a different direction with Chez V.  In terms of the kitchen, that means finally finishing this banquette and hopefully (when the mr. isn't looking) covering the back wall in a great patterned wallpaper.  My love affair with Martinique has not ended, but I am thinking perhaps this paisly from York could be a contenda!  My kitchen has had many incarnations, the remnants of which you see with the random things still hanging on the walls.

Currently we are using an old farm/work table that was my mother’s.  Love that thing but it is too unwieldy for the space.  In order for folks to get comfortably into and out of the banquette without exposing their nether parts, an oval shape table (preferably a pedestal) is a must.  Not to mention that cleaning under it and accessing the storage under the banquette is a total pain.  For that reason an oval marble topped Saarinen tulip table has been on my wishlist for years but I am thinking of pairing an old Duncan Phyfe with modern-ish chairs.  I think the contrast of the dark, traditional table against the modern white banquette and chairs will create some nice tension in the room.

I currently have the pagoda mirror, the Duncan Phyfe table, the Ikea chairs, painting, chandelier, woven shades, the hide rug, and the wide green wide stripe fabric.  Everything else is a place holders of sorts.  A similar runner will go in between my butcher block island and the sink side of the kitchen.  Will needs lots of pillows for the banquette - Furbish and AriannaBelle are great sources for them.  Because here's the deal, this is one of my favorite spots in the house.  It gets great sunlight during the day (where I like to drink coffee and read my magazines) and when I am entertaining, people are always in the kitchen anyway.  So this huge banquette will offer lots of comfy seating.  I want to do some sort of statement piece in the opposite corner where the plant is now and ever since seeing Lindsay Reid's house in House Beautiful I have been hankering to put a vivid lamp on a pedestal.  Looking for a comfortable yet smallish upholstered host chair.  And you know I am gonna slam a monogram  and some animal print on it.  

All layouts by mrs. V

kisses,  mrs. V

Sally Wheat Interiors OKL Sale

Big fan of Sally Wheat.  Ever since learning of her via Cote de Texas, I have come to love her fresh take on the Houston Look.  She takes the tonal thing, embraces it and then throws it squarely on its head by injecting bright and shiny with a side of vintage swerve.  Lady’s got some nitrous under the engine.  She is having a OKL sale of which I completely forgot.  Luckily I happened to jump on the OKL site today and beheld all of her lovely wares, most of which have been rightfully snapped up.  Love all of her choices but these really caught my eye.

 

Shocker.  Animal print, art, brass, more animal print, guild, lucite, random plaster bust and pink.  No surprises here.

All layouts by mrs. V

kisses,  your favorite one trick pony aka  mrs. V

Mary McDonald Madness

As I mentioned yesterday, I had a rather good scouting excursion the other day.  I found so many things that I want/need/have to have immediately in my life.  Well, maybe need is a strong word but I am fairly certain that if a certain mirror does not find its way to my kitchen wall, a part of me will die inside.  For real.  That very Mary McDonald part of me, you know the part that is equal parts glamorous, witty, more is fabulously more, I'm comfortable slamming things on the wall, get me huge blue and white porcelain jars as tall as my head right this minute, I slept in the guest room because I was too drunk to make it upstairs part of me.  That part of me will wither up and die inside if I don’t figure out a way to make that mirror mine.

Mary McDonald

gotta get it - for my kitchen wall above the banquette

See what I mean?  I mean.  And then there’s the baronial ice bucket, the red chinoiserie dragon panels, can’t forget about those Palm Beachy paint by number numbers I found last week, the glam glam brass light fixture.  How about the burlwood console with the fantastic hardware?  The list goes on and on.  In my manic-induced frenzy the other day, I felt a little like Mary at Peter Dunham's store - I absolutely needed two of everything. I've since come out of the manic ether but still can't get these things out of my head.

bar cart, duh

I would find a place, period.

would look great in my kitchen but probably tile room to
replace a very sad gallery wall

Hallway - with globe bulbs

Considering using the base for TV console

Phone pics are bad, I know, but trust that these things are faboosh.  In order to make some of these things mine, I must sell some stuff.  I have too much stuff.  Hoarder 2.0 much stuff.  Just like Mary. Need to part with some things.  Here’s where I need your help.  Should do I the Craigslist thing?  Should I do a garage sale?  Should I offer up items here?  I can’t really ship an armoire or a sideboard but local folks could arrange pick up.  I have some nice things – both antiques and newer items.  So I feel like I should share the love.

What say you? I would love to hear what you guys think.   Any of you have any luck with any of these avenues?  Gonna be honest – I think Craigs is creepstar.  Sure, people claim to have found great things via Craigs but between you and me, urban legends.  Every one.

 

But I need a fix for my hoarding habit.  Need to find a way to sell some things so that I can get more things.  Let me qualify that statement by saying that I am moving in a different direction with Chez V so I am not just hoarding to hoard, mostly.  Like Mary says, if only I could somehow manage to appear to have loads of money, I would be considered eccentric rather than the reality of being poor-ish and called insane hoarder lady.

Happy hoarding, folks!

kisses,  mrs. V