...And It Only Cost Me My Sight & My Sanity

It feels like forever ago that I rambled for an entire post about my lust for patterned walls. Specifically, the one pattern that I loved most but was afraid of committing to because of it's popularity.  Well you'll be happy to know (or probably you don't give a hoot either way), that I faced my fear like the renovating daredevil I aspire to be.

HOW TO RUIN YOUR EYESIGHT AND LOSE YOUR MIND IN 5 EASY STEPS

Step 1: Pick a wall - preferably one in your own home.

Step 2: Print out a template (mine came from here).  Enlarge it to your desired scale, or don't (I didn't.)

Step 3: Trace the shape onto cardboard - anything sturdy enough.  I read a good suggestion somewhere to use the back of a cereal box or, if you happen to have a scary basement full of packing materials and moving boxes, that'll work too.

Step 4: Trace the template in a repeating pattern across the wall with chalk. I would recommend taking your time and being relatively precise with this step.  I wasn't, and have a lot more errant chalk lines to touch up than I would have liked.

Step 5: Paint over the lines with a small craft brush. If, like me, you don't have a steady hand you'll probably realize quickly that this project is going to take you a very long time. I figured it out around this point:

(not a diaper)

...and then keep going.

On the first evening, I did all the outlining, and got this far with the painting:

On day 2, I pushed myself really hard and didn't quit until I spilled paint out of the can all over the floor and my feet - which was probably a sign I should've stopped earlier. I was almost seeing double after a few hours of focusing on the wall at the same distance, which made everything look a little crazy and is probably the reason for this wonky photo.

On day 3, I tried to finish up between work and having company over (you know, to show off...) but failed.

After work on day 4 I just couldn't bring myself to stand on the step-ladder to finish up, so I gave myself the day off.  

Refreshed on day 5, I was done in no time an hour and a half.

I am unbelievably glad that I chose such a small wall.  This project took much longer, and was much more taxing than I thought it would be.  Despite that, I love the way it turned out and can't wait to keep working on the room. I'm also kind of tempted to do another pattern (with straight lines so I can use painters tape - I'm not totally insane) somewhere else in the house.

The next step towards creating a girly crafting haven is, of course, furnishing the room. I've been pinning inspiration for months, and right now my favorite setup is this one:

source

I love the cubbies along the wall, the frosted wall mounted cabinets, and wouldn't a couple of eclectic chairs look cute around such a simple table?

I'll be back with an update when I work some extra shifts to pay for those goodies.  Isn't it a shame that furniture is so expensive!?

It's the Little Things

Sometimes, it's the projects that are (relatively) small, that make me smile the most when they are completed.

BASEMENT DOOR

After replacing the garage door and the pantry door, the door to the basement was painfully, obviously, begging to be scrapped. All three are in a line in the kitchen, so the ugly hardware and dirty door stuck out like crazy.  Also, it didn't close - that's kind of a theme around here apparently.

The above photo was taken before we moved in, while we were working on painting the downstairs, so the pantry is still in its original state as well. Those old window treatments from the living room sat in the hallway like that for an embarrassingly long time, by the way.

It makes me a lot happier to look at those doors now that they are shiny and new.

The unmatching hardware is totally my fault.  A long time ago, I decided that the pantry door should have a different handle to distinguish it as a closet, not an entrance.  Then, when we worked on the pantry, I decided I liked the way the knob looked more than the handle.  Then, I refused to buy new (matching) hardware for the basement door, because it seemed like a waste.

I'm a crazy person.  Moving on...

ENTRY TABLE

This may seem like a very minor change, but I searched for weeks and weeks for a table to sit next to our front door.  We made-do with a moving box for a while, but it just wasn't the "look" we were going for.

There is a 16" vent on the baseboard, and an outlet that I didn't want to cover just above it. This spot is also right at the foot of the stairs, so the table couldn't protrude too far from the wall. I didn't think it would be an especially tall order to find an appropriate little table, but weeks of searching my usual favorite haunts and two returned purchases later (darn vent!!) showed me otherwise. Then, one fateful afternoon in World Market, Mum spotted this gem in a corner back by the rugs.

I ended up getting 10% off the sale price because it was a floor model and slightly scratched (nothing a little stain pen didn't fix), and they let me use a coupon on top of that so I paid $32 out the door.  After looking at wobbly, not-even-real-wood, crappy pieces that were upward of $100 it was such a steal!
I know it's just a table, but I love her so much. Of course she's a she. Look how pretty and perfect she is - she was made for that spot.

LINEN CLOSET

Before we could put away all our sheets & towels, we desperately had to do something about this:

Why do the closets in this house give me the creeps so much?! Why do the shelves look like they're melting?!

So, after a couple of cut-to-size shelves and 2 coats of paint, I no longer feel the need to hold my breath when I open the door to the linen closet.  The paint was just leftover from the dining room, so this transformation was totally on the cheap.

If only I could make it look as neat now that there is linen spilling out of it...

I might be a towel hoarder.

These projects were by no means the most thrilling or grand, but they make a huge difference in ridding the house of that "we just moved in last week" look, that we're so good at.

My Go-To Chocolate Cupcakes

Two years ago, when I was just beginning my cupcake baking days, I wasted an sinful amount of butter and sugar in search of the best chocolate cake recipe.  I still remember squealing with delight when I pulled these out of the oven for the first time and seeing their smooth, slightly domed, perfect tops (if there's one thing I hate, it's a messy, sunken cupcake). I don't think I even waited for them to cool before tearing one apart to find a soft, light texture, and my favorite trait of these beauties is that they don't crumble to pieces when you take a bite (if there's another thing I hate, it's wearing my cupcake). I think I wiped the inevitable batter off my phone immediately, that day, to call Mum who had given me the recipe originally and declared that "oh my god, this is the perfect cupcake".  My opinion of this recipe has only increased in the 20-odd times I've made it since - it has never failed me. 

Oh yeah, and they taste rich and delicious too.

This isn't the most glamorously decorated example, and frankly that's because when someone requests just "chocolate cupcakes", I believe that they will be happiest with the cake being the star. I've also topped these with more elaborate frosting and decorations, which have been superbly received as well. In this case, I frosted them with a modest amount of basic chocolate buttercream.

If you're looking to add a filling, these are probably not the cupcakes to choose - I think they are slightly too dense (but in a good way! I promise)

I've been using the same original printout for two years, but for fear of losing it, or covering it so severely in ingredients that it becomes illegible, I tracked down the online source today.
Side note: I have made the Brown Sugar Buttercream that is included with the recipe online, and I'm disappointed to say that it was extremely underwhelming. I definitely don't recommend it.

Devil's Food Cake
Source: Epicurious.com - originally from Gourmet Magazine
Yield 24-28 cupcakes or 2 9" rounds

INGREDIENTS
1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Whisk together boiling water and cocoa powder until smooth, then mix in vanilla and milk.

3. Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda in another bowl.

4. Beat together butter and sugars in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until pale and fluffy, then add eggs 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in flour and cocoa mixtures alternatively in batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.

5. Divide batter among cupcake pans (a large cookie scoop works well for this), and bake for approximately 20 minutes, or until tops of cakes spring back when touched lightly.

Cake can be made several days ahead and stored in airtight container.  Freezes well.

On The Border

Way back before the great blog-hiatus of late 2011, we were preparing the house for our first overnight guests. Unfortunately, even after moving/hiding the boxes which were being stored in it, our guest room was looking like this:

It was better than making our visitors sleep in the ghost room in the basement (a story for another day), but not by much.

Here are the things I don't like about this room:

Wall color - it's indescribably bleak

Baseboards lazily painted same color as wall

Old windows

Weird window shutters

Wallpaper border

Light fixture

Brass headboard/footboard (but we scored them for $20 off craigslist, so they have to live somewhere)

Severely too-small rug (but we scored it for $13, so it has to live somewhere)

Here are the things I do like about this room:

It's huge.  And that's about it.

A lot of the wallpaper was peeling up at the edges already, so I went for broke and just yanked at it. Probably two-thirds of the border just fell off the wall.  Yippee!  Then this happened:

Uh oh.
The paper that didn't pull off easily was seriously stuck down. Seriously. Like it seemed to really enjoy being one with the wall.

I doused the paper in a water-vinegar solution and scraped with a putty knife - no idea if this is an appropriate wallpaper removal technique, but I refused to spend a cent buying anything special/toxic to do it.  It didn't really work, took FOREVER, and there was still a thin layer of paper stuck to the wall in some places.

After two, two hour sessions I thanked my lucky stars that the whole room wasn't stuck, and then took an oath never to install wallpaper in any house I inhabit now or in the future.  You can hold me to that.

I attacked the paper mess with our ShopVac, which was a bad idea since it immediately clogged up the hose. Obviously. I've no idea why I didn't sweep it - sometimes these decisions boggle even my own mind.

I had already put one coat on the baseboards before starting on the wallpaper, so you can see above how much better they looked already.  I also painted the trim around the windows even though they are still wood. It just seems like the right thing to do, you know?

The wall color is Crocodile Tears by Olympic, and I am completely lacking an opinion about it at the moment.  Once there is some real furniture in the room, some appropriate bedding, and a less wonky looking window, I'll pass judgement.

We also threw up some wall art that was lying around the house about 45 minutes before leaving to pick up our first guest from the airport.

I hope you noticed our most elegant piece of furniture in the above picture. Yes, it's 4 (still full) moving boxes covered with a bed sheet. See what I mean about mind-boggling choices? Oh well, at least it coordinates.

There is no story behind the empty frame, I just have nothing to put inside at the moment.

There's obviously still a lot to be done in this room, but it's not exactly a high priority. I have already spray-painted the brass headboard seen in the first picture, but haven't yet figured out how to attach it to the bed or wall (whichever you're supposed to). I also have a few fabric samples that might work for window treatments, but the ugly shutters are probably staying put until we replace our upstairs windows entirely (hopefully by this summer!!!).

Anyone else have experience with stubborn wallpaper? How should I have tackled it? How will I eventually feel about that alligator-y wall color? How does one install a headboard to a frame-less bed?

We'll Be Right Back...

I have not abandoned this blog.

Amidst the holidays and their various incidents (like that time the heat went out on Christmas Eve), and realizing every time I sat down to write a post that I hadn't seen my camera since Thanksgiving...I had to suspend the updating for the last month or so.  But today, I found my camera, so I'll be back with some mildly interesting updates (and hopefully some cupcakes too!) very shortly.

But, you know how these things go...so maybe don't hold your breath quite yet...