Five for Friday: The Cross Decor & Design

Keeping it short and sweet today since the fiance and I will have a townhouse-full for the WSU/ASU football game and Halloween this weekend.

After a marathon cleaning session of the casa, I can only muster the strength to post these lovely images that have been circulating around the design blogosphere courtesy of The Cross Decor & Design. Perfection.

 

 

[via]

[via]

The little things

Slowly but surely the fiance and I are turning our rented townhouse into a home. And even though there's still a lot to do, we took care of a few, mostly small, projects.

After revamping the fiance's nightstand, adding doors to our bookcases, bringing in rugs to the office, adorning the coffee table with my DIY tray and hanging curtains in the master bedroom, I'm convinced design really is in the details. Changing color, adding a graphic pattern and hiding clutter are small and cheap ways to take a room to the next level.

Nightstand: Nothing a little wood filler and new paint color couldn't fix.

Bookcases: Adding doors provides an organized look, taking away from the clutter of the DVDs and CDs and shifting the focus to the upper shelves.

Office: A little graphic goodness goes a long way.

Coffee table: A pop of color is just what the white surface needed.

Bedroom curtains: Finishing touch frames the pretty window.

In rotation: Warpaint

I'm constantly on the hunt for new music and thanks to Bethany Cosentino's blog, I found Warpaint.

The indie all-girl quartet from Los Angeles take the listener on a moody, psychedelic rock journey best heard before bed.

Get familiar with Warpaint:

Listen to their first full-length album "The Fool," which was released Monday, here.

Myspace


Last.fm


Phoenix New Times review

50 states: Tour de Pac-10

Cross the California colleges off the list of the Pac-10 schools stadium tour. Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto was the final stop in the Golden State. And the fiance and I definitely didn't save the best for last. 

The atmosphere was really strange. You would never know it was their Homecoming or the team was ranked No. 12 in the country by the quiet fans and half-empty stadium. At times, the WSU fans were louder, which made me happy even though we lost by 10.

The best California Pac-10 stadium to watch a football game in is easily Cal. The pre-game festivities are always fun unlike UCLA; Bears fans actually cheer for their team unlike Stanford; And Cal supporters aren't rude to opposing schools like USC.

This upcoming weekend, I'll cheer on the Cougs at ASU's Sun Devil Stadium for the first time. After that, the only Pac-10 stadiums I haven't seen a game in are Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Arizona Stadium in Tucson and Husky Stadium in Seattle (Which I will never visit). And with the conference expansion, future trips to Colorado's and Utah's stadiums are in order.

WSU at UCLA: Rose Bowl, Oct. 4, 2008

WSU at USC:
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Sept. 26, 2009

WSU at Cal: Memorial Stadium, Oct. 24, 2009

WSU at Stanford:
Stanford Stadium, Oct. 23, 2010

Five for Friday: Going back to Cali

It seems like the fiance and I left California such a long time ago when in reality it's only been eight months. And this weekend, we're making our triumphant return to the Golden State, more specifically the Bay Area ... Also known as one of my most favorite places in the world.

We're staying with our wonderful friends, Fred and Paty, and attending the Washington State/Stanford football game Saturday in Palo Alto. Our school will most likely get annihilated, but I am looking forward to completing my California Pac-10 schools stadium tour.

In honor of the trip back to the land I called home for three years, here are some of the most incredible sights I had the privilege of capturing through my lens:

1. Monterey: December 2007

 2. Santa Monica: April 2008

 

3. Hollywood: April 2008

4. San Francisco: July 2008

 

5. Pismo Beach: April 2009 

And because I couldn't decide on only five images, you get one more. Happy Weekend, friends!

6. Yosemite: November 2009

Celebrating 100 with a little DIY

What better way to celebrate my 100th post than revealing my latest DIY transformation. I've been searching for a tray to adorn the coffee table for what seems like forever. Finding one I liked within my price point was proving to be a challenge.

Enter the Goodwill. It was the end of the day of my thrift store window-shopping tour and I was perusing the frames section when I found one that caught my eye. Nevermind it still held the picture of a small child. Sketchy. But there was potential.

The layered frame had pretty detailing and looked deep enough to be a tray, so the creative wheels started turning. It was nothing a few coats of spray paint and fun pattern couldn't fix. And the best part? The frame was only $2.99 and the total cost of the project was about $10.

The creeptastic before:

The fun after:

The DIY journey from sketchy to fab:

1. Remove picture, sand, spray paint and add poly.

Finding the right yellow was difficult. I wanted a pretty and non-seizure-inducing shade. I chose Rust-Oleum's Painter's Touch in Sun Yellow and couldn't be more happy with the color. This was my first time using a protective finish, and it made the tray look polished.

2. Create image in photo editing program of your choice.

The picture slot was 10x13 and I made four different patterns of that size to change out in the future.

3. Print images.

We don't have a printer yet, so I saved the four patterns on a thumb drive and headed to the FedEx Office up the road. It was 40 cents a piece to have the patterns printed to 11x17 cardstock.There was the option of plain paper, but the cardstock looks more professional and sturdy. 

4. Cut out images.

Since FedEx Office only does standard sizes, I had to go with 11x17 paper. It's fine if you don't have a steady hand. The frame hides any wobbly cutting job.

5. Choose pattern.

The chevron is in the tray now. Is anyone surprised?

6. Insert pattern and cover.

The frame came with a plastic cover that was pretty gnarly, so I gave it a good scrubbing with a multi-purpose cleaning solution.

7. Style, admire and love.

The new tray is begging for some fresh blooms. It turned out just how I hoped and my assistant Wazzu is a fan. The final result also proves it doesn't take a lot of money, only a little imagination, vision and spray paint, to give a scary and old picture frame new life.

My first time with Craig

It's no secret Craigslist is the go-to source for diamonds in the rough, fun finds and fixer-uppers for those on a budget. I could (and sometimes do) spend hours scouring the free service for vintage furniture and decor in need of some TLC. But, for whatever reason, I had only been a spectator in the sport of Craig. 

Until last night.

And what was worth making the trek to a complete stranger's house to check out a listing for the first time?

Campaign Furniture. 

It's an obsession and the antique furniture Holy Grail. But that's for another post.

The jury is still out on if the dressers were authentic Campaign. Even if they were, one was missing the brass pieces and the other a drawer handle, so the search continues.

Despite my disappointment with the furniture, my experience with the seller was great. She was nice and the fiance and I got to meet her mom, sister and dog. I hope all my future Craig endeavors are as pleasant as this one. 

[The ad that prompted my first Craig adventure]

  

Sneaky peek

I'm almost ready to reveal the fruits of our labor from this past weekend. Until then ...

Five for Friday: Laying low

This is the last weekend the fiance and I have down time for the rest of the month, so hanging out around the townhouse is in order.

1. Befores and afters: It's still in the mid-90s around these parts, but I refuse to let the hot weather stop me from starting and finishing a few painting projects any longer.

2. Work it out: My journey to a healthier me is full-speed-ahead and exercising on the weekend is ideal thanks to less gym traffic.

3. Cover up: The fiance and I are making an IKEA trip to see if the doors for our bookcases are available. I'm not getting my hopes up because they haven't been in stock the past three shipments. Wish us luck.

4. Saturday's finest: The Cougs are steadily showing progress and their effort in the previous two games has given me hope for the future. No. 17 Arizona comes to the Palouse on the heels of a loss. Perhaps an upset is in the cards?

5. Quality time: It seems the fiance and I have been going non-stop with work, charity golf tournaments, concerts and more concerts, so the opportunity to relax together is welcomed.

[source]

Seen live: Sleigh Bells + Pictureplane

If you attend a Sleigh Bells concert, plan on skipping your cardio for that day. One of my most-anticipated shows of the year was intense, fun and non-stop high-energy. 

The noise pop duo of Derek E. Miller and Alexis Krauss put on quite the show. The mosh pit was outta control from start to finish and Krauss even participated, stage diving into the group of rabid fans. The highlight was an all-out performance of  "Crown On The Ground," which is included on my own workout mix.

Denver electronic musician and opener Pictureplane primed the crowd with some hot beats, but fizzled out toward the end of his set.

The only complaint was the venue. I'd heard bad things about The Clubhouse and those drawbacks were confirmed when the fiance and I stepped through the door. The space was cramped due to a poor layout and there was only one women's bathroom. The sound and stage height made up for the rest of the venue's shortcomings, but it wouldn't be my first place to see a show in the future.

The moral of this concert story: Don't expect too much of a venue in a strip mall.

Pardon the shaky and blurry images. I did my best, but quality pictures and video are hard to acquire in the midst of a wild most pit.

See more live music fun times here.