Personal Style: Fancy That

I got these faux leatha leggings on sale at Marshall's. They so reminded me of Wendy Nguyen's styling video with her faux leather leggings. Which if you haven't seen her ideas, you must watch! Wendy's legging pairing ideas are fall oriented, but I wanted to wear these now, crazy in this 104 degree heat, I know. I remembered this adorable idea on Cut Out n Keep by Selena, on how to wear a button up shirt all adorable and tunic like by just folding it, no cutting/no sewing, and thought I would give it a whirl. This striped shirt is much bigger than what Selena uses, and I'm okay with that.

So, the pants look way better on Wendy and the top looks way more adorable on Selena, but in public, people aren't comparing me to them so I'm okay with that.

 And I got these sparkly flats at a garage sale, brand new. I had to roll the leggings under, I'm considering cutting them and hemming them around the lower calf, what do you think?

.

 I also got these amazing vintage buttons at a garage sale. I turned this one into a necklace pendant.

shirt: craft shirt at Michael's
button up: Ralph Lauren, goodwill
leggings: Marshall's
shoes: garage sale
necklace: handmade
bag: goodwill

Horses are our Friends

Severely emaciated? No, but emaciated none the less. It happens all. the. time. Am I a horse expert? Certainly not. But the conditions of these horses struck me as pretty pathetic and having ridden on healthy horses before, these did not strike me as healthy or nourished. These three horses are right by the road, the fence is so shoddy and open at points they just had a large tree trunk thrown around one hole to keep the horses in, and barely enough grass to eat.

The stable looks as if it's about to fall down and yes, there are a few horses in there. So, I did call and complain to the proper authorities about a week ago. I drove by today and one horse is gone, though perhaps he has just been moved to a farther field. This is a stables company after all. The other adult and baby remain.

 I wish I had gotten a picture of the other side of this baby, it had a scaly looking welts all along it's trunk.

 Rib cages and hip joints are not supposed to be so prevalent in a healthy, well fed horse.

Be an animal friend! Especially in this hot weather, where I see countless animals chained outside with no water or shelter, or locked in hot cars That's like putting your pet in a microwave. You better believe I will bash in your window if I see a dog or cat or CHILD locked in there. People don't realize that the temperature rises severely in cars and can and DOES lead to death. I adopted a kitten the same day (I saw these horses) because it was being given away outside a store. The poor thing was panting. Kittens don't pant unless they are having heat stroke. Come'on people, it's well over 100 degrees out right now.

If you witness something amiss, don't be afraid to contact the authorities! In the case of the horses, I don't know if they are severely being mistreated or what. But by calling it in, I leave it in the hands of the experts. So, no harm done if all is well. If it isn't, than hopefully steps will be taken to provide a safer and healthier environment for these magnificent creatures.

Homefront: Reviving a Framed Painting with.... Paint

I got this large, Barbara Hails 1990's print in a semi-lovely fame at a garage sale for $7 a few months ago. It's been sitting here, looking all park bench floraly and very dull, sucking the energy out of the room. I only wanted it to bring some color to this massive brick wall, but the frame drabbed out any colors in the otherwise pretty painting. Obviously, the only clear solution is to paint it, white.

I'm lazy and don't sand, not even when I did my headboard or my mirror. But if you did prime and sand, you will have more longevity on the paint job and it will look better. I really don't mind if I have to touch up a nick, or I may even add intentional nicks to balance out accidental nicks.

 You can dry brush for a naturally shabby chic look and call it fin.

But I liked to pile on the paint, too thick layers, before allowing the first to dry. I'm impatient. I used plain old acrylic craft paint in ultra white. This painting doesn't come out of the frame. But if it did, then a can of spray paint would have been easy.

The print is a textured vinyl, so any paint I got on it, easily wiped off with a lightly dampened paper towel. I even think it would be fun to stencil or free paint some crazy design on here. If your picture surface is also not removable or vinyl, then be sure to cover it, so paint doesn't ruin your picture. I went around right under the frame edge with a piece of paper as I painted and it worked fine.

 It really does seem to brighten up the whole fireplace and give the colors some subtle intensity.

Our inheritance from my husband's grandmother's passing. His parents got this in Germany when he was  born and gifted it to his grandmother. A lovely, huge, vintage scenic candle, handcarved by Johann Gunter.  There are a few broken parts, but it's been moved around 20 times, though it is still very charming.

 I got his lovely bust and The Dicken's Bedside anthology book a few months ago at some antique shops.

 

Love my little bottle collections. This one is from my favorite antique mall a few years back and I glued a vintage brooch on with E6000. The flowers came from the mister. You know how a dying bouquet usually has a few good flowers left? I usually remove those when throwing the bouquet out and add them to small bottles.

Homefront: Spray Painting an Upholstered Chair Makeover

After reading Little Green Notebook's fabric spray painting adventure, I automatically went and ordered their upholstery spray paint (on ebay from Tie Dye Girl because it was a tad cheaper). I used a total of two cans on this chair, but I still need one more can because I didn't get the back of the cushions yet, and there are a few more spots that need touch ups. So, maybe two more cans. Which says a lot about me, because on their site, they demonstrate on a whole couch with only 6 cans. (But, I don't recommend for a huge couch. Also, if the fabric has a pattern on it, the pattern will show throguh just a tad. It still wouldn't be as ugly though, but a nice monotone pattern color.)

Our friend gave us this chair, and I actually love it. It's huge! But, I am not a fan of the colors, plus my boys have stained it so badly. I've been covering it with my wonderful vintage granny square afghan, but now that is being torn apart and will need repair. I've wanted to slipcover the chair, but I don't sew, nor do I have a staple gun... though the Hello Giggles girls have a cute alternative requiring fabric and safety pins that I may try later.

The hubs kindly volunteered to help.

I'm rocking an all black outfit, turned inside out, just in case. My toes didn't escape the paint, however.

The neat thing about this paint, is it can be worked and smoothed into hard to get areas with a cloth.

The drips are easily wiped off with a damp rag. I will be sanding the wood down and painting it white later, so I'm not too upset about any paint that remained.

And, because my nail polish got destroyed by paint speckles, I gave them a little gun metal finish. (Yes, I am aware I have a disfigured toe, you can't see it, but that toenail is painted too!)

For my little dream catcher piece, it's just a cheap canvas with a Dollar Store dream catcher pinned on it. I put foam poster board on the back of the canvas for pinning different objects to my canvases when I tire of them. Like my ephemera canvas art tutorial here.

Look, my painted armiore, I don't think I've shown that yet! It still isn't finished ;)

linked to:

Simply Designing Linky Party 

The Shabby Nest Frugal Friday

Modern Country Style Paint Please Party 

Chic on a Shoestring Flaunt it Friday.
Shabby Chic Cottage Transformation Thursday 
Fingerprints of the Fridge Feature Yourself Friday
The DIY Showoff
I Heart Naps Sundae Scoops
Sugar and Dots What I Whipped Up Wednesday

(not at Frugalicious Friday's Linky, but had to share anyways) 

 The Vintage Farmhouse

Sweet Treats: Chocolate Chip Strawberry Walnut Banana Bread Recipe

I bought two  bunches of bananas last night, still a little green. But that doesn't stop the boys from cutting into every single one looking for a ripe fruit. Now, I could have trashed them, but decided to turn an aggrivating situation into a mouth watering one.

♥ Chocolate Chip Strawberry Walnut Banana Bread Recipe ♥

1 c sugar

1/2 c vegetable oil

2 large eggs

4 bananas

1 tsp vanilla

2 c flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda (oops, I used baking powder and it was fine)

1/8 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 long squirt lemon juice

1 c walnuts

1 c chopped strawberries

1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Mix sugar, oil, eggs, bananas, lemon juice and vanilla together in one bowl. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix them together. Stir in walnuts, strawberries and chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes in a greased bread pan (or muffin pan, just lower the time).

 I don't like to smother on butter, I like just a small little hint on a thick, warm slice of bread.

My little guy couldn't shove it down his throat fast enough before begging for another piece.

linked to Chic on a Shoestring's Flaunt it Friday.
Sugar and Dots What I Whipped Up Wednesday

Personal Style: Lovin Some Gray

This dress's bottom ruffle is coming off in about 8 places. Nothing a few safety pins couldn't handle. I'm handsewing a dress refashion and it's taking me forever, and I really wanted to wear this dress so the safety pins had to do. It's thrifted, it's maternity, (no I'm not pregnant), but it fits like a normal empire waist dress. Plus, gray is my favorite color, so I spiced it up with well, more gray.

Earrings can be purchased here.

dress: motherhood maternity, thrifted
sweater: jc pennys (?)
belt: off a NY& co skirt
bag: thrifted
shoes: steve madden
watch: fossil
earrings: metal roses (the larger version), made by me, jeweled ambrosia

Linked to Clothed Much's Rule Breaking Monday

Personal style: Gaudy Stripes on Stripes

This is officially my ugly "necklace". But, I kind of love it. It's so big and bold and ugly, that it kind of makes an outfit out of these non matching, baggy and ill fitting pieces. I found it at a thrift store along with two other huge brass vintage necklaces, and sometimes I wear them so much I have to tell myself not to touch them for a while.

While stripes on stripes are typically a no-no, I found the subtle pinstripes to be a nice contrast with the bold yellow and white horizontal movement. I think it would be even cuter had the top been a chevron pattern.

I'm doing a troll face here. I love these loose, pinstripe, seersucker-like pants, but they are crazy baggy, and don't really look pair well with anything I own. I'm thinking of cutting them off and making long shorts with with a lightly rolled hem. What do you think?

These shoes I got on clearance at Express the other day also don't really 'match'... but the denim color kind of goes with the pinstripes. But I adore them and they are so cute. Unfortunately, I continually stab myself and those around me with those ginormous rhinestones.

 *the overdone shoe shot. I don't think I have ever participated*

top: forever 21, thrifted

pants: american eagle

necklace: vintage, thrifted

shoes: express