I'm Still in Love With Turquoise

I may have run out of turquoise spray paint, but I'm still in love with turquoise, as is evidenced by the following...

Source: polyvore.com via Natalie on Pinterest

(Except I'd wear grey Toms instead of sandals, and I probably wouldn't have the courage to wear polka dots.  So not the sweater.  Especially since it has a bow, which isn't really "me".)

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Beth at Babyette is gorgeous, as is this lovely sling!

Source: thediydish.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: nattybydesign.blogspot.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Ok, maybe this (and the next one?) is blue.  Whatever.  I love it anyway.

Source: etsy.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: polyvore.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: insidetheloop.tumblr.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Natalie on Pinterest

I have a necklace by this etsy seller with dark brown beads, and I love it.  It's really sturdy, AND when a bead broke (our fault all the way)  the seller was a total dream to work with and fixed it at no extra charge.

So... turquoise.  Just seems like summer to me!  :)  What colors are you loving right now?  Gray seems to be making a big splash right now, especially with yellow...

Musings on Slipcovers...

I'm very tempted by this slipcover tutorial I ran across this morning, titled, "The Laziest Slipcover Tutorial EVER!" We have a great chair, ottoman, and couch that I love- they are really comfortable and roomy and the pillow covers come off for washing, and they were free. I mean, can you beat free? I submit that you cannot.

So I really like them, and want to keep them around for a while, but unfortunately whoever designed these amazing pieces lost their mind around the fabric selection part of the process (or had a showroom in mind instead of my living room, populated with real people), and chose a lovely cream with lavender stripes. MmmmHmmm.

So I've been thinking of slipcovering, but every time I look at the couch, especially, it just seems too big and overwhelming. Also, I get distracted by the piping and the way the stripes line up and wonder whether the slipcover should go under or over the cushions, etc. Also, I'm intimidated by fabric selection. It is one thing to buy fabric for a skirt, or a window treatment, or a mai tai- if you change your mind, it is a small amount of fabric. But a couch is pretty big, and I would want to get duck cloth or something similar, heavyweight, and that adds up quickly. So I don't want to make a mistake, but I'm not sure what is most practical.

I was thinking maybe white- then I could bleach it if it got stained, and line dry it to help brighten it up before it needed the heavy hand of bleach. On the other hand, everything will show up on white.

What do you think? Would white be best? If not, what would be better? A dark pattern? I kind of like the bright, airy look of the cream and lavender, so I think I'd like the white, but I don't want to bring down extra furniture maintenance or extra laundry on my head. Thoughts?

New Favorite

If you're like me, most of your furniture comes to you in a condition which suggests that it has been either extremely well loved, or abused.

If you're like us, the furniture continues on the same path of heavy usage after we acquire it.

This is the dramatic story of a coffee table.

I was given this hand-me-down coffee table shortly before we got married last year, back when we could count the pieces of furniture we owned on our fingers. When I came into possession of this table, it had glitter and marker all over the top. Fortunately, that came off with elbow grease, and I gave it a little shine with some furniture spray. Until now, that furniture spray was the big gun in my furniture improvement tool box. Well, it's been replaced by a better solution for most of the problems. This Old English Scratch Cover (yes, this is the part of the post where it starts to sound like an advertisement, skip to the end of the paragraph to miss that part) is amazing. I like darker colored wood furniture, but scratches show up really well. And if, hypothetically, the puppy chewed on the legs? Well, all I can say is, that would be really bad.


Like, really, really bad.

So, anyway, I found this scratch cover, and I tried it, and I like it. Here is the before:


...and here is the after.




True, this is still not perfect. You can still see the tooth marks from that scourge- er, I mean, adorable puppy. But it took me less than 15 minutes, and since it darkened all the scratches they aren't the first thing I notice about my coffee table anymore! And THAT is something to smile about. :-)