easy peasy lemon squeezy lighting project.

lighting pwn!

so cute, right? i can't thank nicole at parlour enough for inspiring me to make this adorable pendant light!

it was about as easy as it gets - and super cheap too. here's what you need if you want one yourself. gather up:

1. single light pendant (like this one at home depot)
2. paper lantern - i used the 20" version from pier 1
3. coffee filters. i used about 600 for mine. you can get them on the cheap at amazon
4. your trusty glue gun and lots of glue sticks. i hadn't used mine since my sorority days - brought back some memories, i tell ya! (" i am a sigma kappa girl, sigma girl. i wear a pin of gold and pearls, gold and pearls...")

and then you just start gluing. and gluing. and gluing. put a dab on the bottom of each filter like so:


and place the dots of glue veryclosetogether, like this:


about half way...


and DONE!


now i just have to call my electrician. AGAIN. i'll post a photo when it's up in the guest room. until then, back to the dreaded kitchen cabinets...

guest room PWN.

that's right, my guest room got PWNed! jen FTW! (do i sound dorky enough today?)

it's been far too long since i have updated y'all on this sweet little treat of a room.

funnily enough, when we moved in, this room was my absolute last priority. many of you also know that i chose the color on a whim (read: panic) one night before some of my friends (read: free labor!) came over to help paint.

shortly thereafter, by the grace of the god of decorating, it turned out to be one of my first finished and most-loved rooms. and the reaction to it has been universally enthusiastic - even from men who surely, i thought, would HATE the color scheme and ruffles.

to remind you, we started here. bad paint. bad carpet. bad bad bad!
a lil' paint. floor recovered from years of abuse...and then we were here. but no nightstands! quelle horreur!
and now, thanks to my LOVELY friend aviva for these pretty pictures, i can show you where we've landed...

welcome, dear guest!
ahhh... so RELAXING!
a book for your pleasure?
or a freshly plumped pillow?
maybe a lollipop the size of your head?
and then off to dream about your next escape...

yup, this is how we do in fog city. ;)

happy red, white and BLUE!

happy fourth of july, dear friends and readers!

my dad and my grandpa were both military men, and my great-gran was a farmer in south dakota, so i am proud to celebrate our freedom today and the sacrifices that so many great men and women, from all walks of life, have made so we may enjoy it.

and, on a much DORKIER note, holidays always get me revved up - the parties, the decorations and the colors!

today i'm thinking about blue (but not feeling it - it's a beautiful day here in san francisco and we have lots of friends on the way for a big backyard blowout!)...

some of you have already seen this, but i think it's about time to fetch my dad's homework desk from the family garage and bring it back to the f.c.s. house for some t.l.c. it'll look exactly like the one above and end up on the right side of the bed in the guest bedroom.
guests will be able to look out the window at the city lights by night and write jealousy-inducing postcards to their loved ones back home...
i've also been on the hunt for the perfect, petite nightstand for the left side. no luck for months at the antiques markets or on the craigslists but LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE HERE. the appropriately named "petite bedside table" at pb teen looks like just the thing! and super-reasonable at 99 bucks!
and i still need to hang this bad-boy in the room as well. the aqua teardrops are a bit too bright for me so i'm thinking of putting a thin coat of white glass paint over them to soften them for the room.

anyone have any experience with glass paint? i'd love a tip or two!



have a happy day, friends!

what do we think?

i'm thinking that this chandelier might be fun for the guest bedroom. it looks like the raindrops are the same color that i plan to paint the desk (i.e. a shade darker than the last ruffle on the curtain).

you dig?

be our guest! (guest room reveal. sort of.)

"be our guest! be our guest!
our command is your request
it's been years since we've had anybody here
and we're obsessed
with your meal, with your ease
yes, indeed, we aim to please..."

with gina moved out and the holidays upon us, it was time to do a bit of "sprucing" in the guest bedroom. and, while it's not completely finished (there are more furniture pieces to find and acquire), it's done enough for guests and, thus, for this unveiling.

if you recall, this is what i started with. yes, the entire house was this color, including the ceilings in many places (and this room was one of them). *ugh*

and, you may also recall, by a stroke of luck (or, as i prefer to refer to it, GENIUS), i made a game time decision and chose to paint the room in a lovely shade of greeny-blue - "beach water" by ralph lauren. it looks like a pistachio ice cream milkshake and it's SO lovely.

from there it took some time to develop the look and feel of the room. i had lots of conflicting thoughts on everything except for the bed.

the bed was to be white-on-white-on-white-on-white. something that guests could sink into like a cloud and really feel at home in. luckily, ikea has a lovely vintage-feeling wrought iron scrollwork bed, the "leirvik", and at $80 (on sale) for a full it's a steal.

bedding is a mix of whites as well. jacquard dot sheets from both martha stewart and target (theirs are sold out online, but you can still find them in-store) for a mix of textures and sheens, paired with a big fluffy down comforter from pacific coast down (a DEAL at costco), and a coverlet from target for warmer nights (or nights that require extra warmth) - all of these make for a nice hotel-like bed to burrow into.

the room was still missing some ZING though and i was lacking in inspiration. so, a couple of days ago, while mourning the loss of my favorite candy store in the city (the AMAZING miette on hayes), i decided to go for a vintage candy shop feel.

as luck would have it, i was returning some gifts at anthropologie that day and a shower curtain that i'd been flirting with for months caught my eye. our windows are 70" tall (HUGE) so a shower curtain is actually the perfect height for them. (and i don't think there should be any rules in a house about what goes where, so why not a shower curtain in a bedroom?).












as you can see, this curtain adds so much punch to the room, both color-wise and in terms of texture. in the daytime, with the sun streaming in behind it, it literally lights up the room with all of those lovely colors. and it provides a much-needed palate for the remaining furniture and accessories purchases. (note also the switch plates and outlet covers that i agonized over.)

i also had to choose a color for the closet interior, to continue my "project doorway". it was a tough choice - i wanted something cheerful but not distracting. i ended up choosing a blueish-emerald to bring out the tones in the wall. it's behr's "precious emerald" in high gloss. i love it.

and, finally, to make the room habitable, i added just a couple of temporary touches. a small rattan bench seat that i have had since i was a little girl. a potted plant for freshening the air. and some GORGEOUS lollipops in blue and green as a nod to my initial inspiration (they will eventually end up upright on a desk - i have one just like this, it was my dad's homework desk when he was a boy - or table).

hope you all like it! please let me know if you have any fab ideas for accessories or furniture - i'm hoping to poke around the local antiques fair next month!

oh - and start booking now! san francisco is super this time of year!

jen x


p.s. i know i am SUPER behind on posts, so i'll plan on two next week: "best holiday pie ever" (bookmark it for next year) and my master bedroom reveal because *YAY* i've finally received my chandelier!

lights out - nap time!