February Photo Challenge!!!!!!!

Day 1: Your View Today

I took the subject for today in the most literal way possible, lol. I tried to think metaphorically as in "Do I have a positive outlook today? A negative one?" Then I decided that there have been both positive (it's Friday!!) and negative (we won't discuss) aspects of today, so I opted to take a picture of the actual view from my desk at work. I love sitting right in front of our big glass doors so I can see the sunshine all day! The only downside is when it's raining I tend to watch the rain all day and start to feel reallllllly sleepy all the sudden.

Sunday was so great because my hubby and I decorated our house for Christmas! I made a post over the summer saying how I wanted to try and decorate our mantle in white and silver this year. I just love the shiny clean look that it has, so here is my best attempt!! I don't like to brag but.. I'd say that it turned out pretty good! (Thanks to Michael's and their 40% off sale WITH a stackable 25% off coupon!! woot!)

Of course snacking on chocolate chips was the only way to have enough energy for all this decorating...

Last night I made a huge, heavy, cheeeeeesy lasagna for our work Thanksgiving potluck!! It was a hit!! There is some left over (thank goodness!) for the hubs and I though. Everyone brought dishes that were "nontraditional" Thanksgiving fare, including a Singaporean curry, a rice dish, pizza, spanakopita, and much more!! Oohhh I would have PAID MONEY for a 20 minute nap after lunch.

My cheesy masterpiece... mmmmm...

Today, while taking my daily walk to check the mail, I came across this tree.  Isn't it odd how all leaves have fallen off except little "leafy puffballs" (for lack of a better term)?? Weird!!

Welp only 25 minutes left of my work day, and I'm snacking on a cupcake left over from lunch. I just HAD to make sure that it didn't go to waste!!! ;)  Come on 5:00!

Hi again!

Hello! Remember me? Sorry I went missing for a while. I just didn't feel like blogging about anything, so I didn't! Simple! Hehe.

Sadly, there isn't even that much to fill you in on. Halloween came and went, but not without a Halloween party at our neighborhood clubhouse! There were appearances from Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, Robb Stark and Daenerys Targaryen, a heroin addict, Flo from Progressive Insurance, Captain America, Effie Trinket, care bears, and many others that I can't seem to think of right now. It was a fun evening filled with good friends, lots of food, and beer pong. It reminded me of college except the fact that I am exceptionally worse at beer pong now than when I was in college. Oh well.

I'm super excited about Christmas!! Yes I said CHRISTMAS.  I find it irritating when people think that everyone should say "Holidays" so as not to offend those who are not Christian. I am not a practicing Christian, however I was raised celebrating Christmas so that's what it is to me. If it is Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or simply Dec 25th to you then that's fine too. You may call it those things and I will not get offended. I simply do not like for people to tell me that I have to call it something else!

Wow my first post in weeks and I go off on a rant about political correctness?! I will promptly step off my soapbox now.  Sorry about that.

Currently, I am listening to "Happy Holidays" by Andy Williams and thinking about what I'll order for dinner this evening. Every Tuesday my husband and I are treated to free dinner due to resident interview season! Yippee! Dinner will be at Top of the Hill in Chapel Hill. Some of the food is great, some not so much. But who doesn't like a free meal??  Top of the Hill is a famous restaurant situated on infamous Franklin Street in Chapel Hill. I happen to actually work a few doors down from Top O' (as it is affectionately nicknamed)... too bad the dinner doesn't begin at 5 or I could just walk over!

      Top of the Hill is the rooftop restaurant located to the far right of this picture.

Ok I need to get ready to leave work in a little bit. I promise it won't be another six weeks before I post again!  :)

Happy Autumn!

No better way to kick off the fall season than a WOLFPACK football game!!

The second best way to kick off the season would be home brewing! We hope this beer will be ready in time for our neighborhood Oktoberfest. I have to give a shout out to the best home brew supply store.. Bull City Homebrew. Make beer, not war!

Brace yourselves...

Fall is coming!

Where have I been for the past week? Watching seasons 1 and 2 of Game of Thrones. Thanks CheekyLittleMinx for suggesting the show and putting an end to my social life!

Fall is in the air

I'm so happy because I attempted another pinterest craft, and it turned out perfectly!! After the mercury glass fail, I was beginning to think I was DIY challenged. Turns out I'm not! Now I am super excited to pull out the rest of my fall decor and even try more crafts. I have some blank canvases that I can't decide what to do with. I'll try and do something with them in the next few days. Here are some pics of my wreath at different stages of the project. (Not sure why the blogger app won't let me change the order of them, but you get the idea).

Pinterest Fail

So I tried to make "Mercury Glass" by following a tutorial I saw on Pinterest. It was supposed to be quick and simple, and in the end you have a beautiful shiny vase (or any glass item) that looks like it has been weathered over the years. If you don't know what I'm talking about, this picture is a perfect example of what I was trying to achieve:

 

You are supposed to use "Krylon Looking Glass Mirror-Like Paint." Everything I read said to make sure you get this, and ONLY this.  Well I couldn't find that brand at Lowe's, so I used another brand of chrome metallic spray paint.  I figured it would work just fine.

 

 

 

These are all the items I used to make my vase.

 

 

 

 

I started out painting the inside of the vase. I was told to do this on the website I was looking at. When I finished, it didn't look "mirror- like" at all. So I decided just to spray the outside of the vase instead.

 

 

 

While the paint was wet, it looked very shiny and chrome. However, as it dries, and as you blot it with vinegar (to give it the weathered look), it becomes dull again.  I think that is why you MUST use Krylon Looking Glass paint. It can withstand the blotting and drying process and still ends up being chrome and mirror-like.

 

 

 

 

Here is my final product.  Somewhat shiny, but not mirror-like. It does not look like the mercury glass I was trying to emulate. I really want to try this project again, and use the Krylon paint instead of the Valspar.

 

ps- I did this project over a week ago and it's still sitting in my garage. I kinda hate it. Maybe when I buy the Krylon paint I'll try to spray over it and just let it be a shiny vase.  I just can't bring myself to throw away an almost perfectly good vase.