Cinco de Happiness (en Mayo)

From time to time, I do little DIYs that make me happy. Or ask for advice on completely miscellaneous projects. Or get compelled to remind you that I’m human by admitting that I’ve never once checked to see that the door to the office closed, only to find this week that it doesn’t even fit into its own doorframe. How weird.

In celebration of Mayo, we’ve been pigging out on tacos and guacamole, and did a few little projects to boot.

1. I raised the roof.

Not really, I raised the curtains in the sunroom. It was a subtle change, but it raises the height of the room which translates to “I’ve raised the roof”. Last fall when I installed muslin curtains I must have had on my super-flat shoes. They were installed to be level with the top of the window, but after gawking at them for the last few weeks while I work at the new sunroom table, I decided they weren’t hung close enough to the ceiling, making the whole room look squatty. There was an easy fix to cure their weird positioning: raise them up 6 inches. Fortunately, there was plenty of extra length to the curtains, and they were adjusted without a hitch.

2. I passed it on.

Big thanks to The Better Half for choosing me to participate in Karah’s Pass It On Project; what a sweet surprise it was to find these tile coasters in the mail!

In exchange, I happily picked a few friends and fellow bloggers to “pass it on” to, Cait of Hernando House and Erin of Erin B. Inspired. Both funny and talented ladies have been long time supporters of my little blog, and I wanted to give them a little love in return, so I sent off two handmade wooden picture frames with windows just a little bigger than 3″x3″. Made with reclaimed real 2″x4″ boards from local salvage, the wood is warm and rich and still very lightweight from being dried out for the last 80 years. Mailed with plexiglass and wire, they’re both perfectly imperfect but have a great history and natural charm.

3. I destroyed Pete’s Harley. And I need your help.

OK, not really destroyed, but I did get a terrible amount of oil-based stain on the fender over the winter during one of my little outdoor staining projects. The good news is that he isn’t angry with me. The bad news is that nothing I’ve tried has worked to remove it (I’ve been testing products on the plastic tail light splatters, not yet on the delicate finish of the actual fender). Not acetone, not car cleaner, not car wax, not soap. I guess I still need to try mineral spirits, which is what I normally use to clean up my paint brushes, and I might try WD-40 as a final effort, but I’m thinking it’ll have to go to the shop for a buffer. Any other tips (I’m lookin’ at you, Rust-Oleum)? And how much does it cost to get a motorcycle refinished?

4. I’ve been doing research.

There are only two doors in my home that appears to be original to the house. The rest, the bedroom doors, bathroom door,  and basement door are 4 styles of mismatched hollow economy-style models. And what’s there now is dinged, cracked, and stained at that. Two of the closet doors are totally removed and MIA. Replacing all of them has been on my list for awhile, and the planning intensified recently when I realized that the office door doesn’t even close (right, I haven’t even tried to shut it in 3 years).

Instead of buying new, I’m looking to find salvaged doors that match the original charm of the house. I’ve started my search, hoping to find bargain-priced originals sized to match my door frames. $15 each would do, if I could possibly get so lucky. This one here would actually fit the office doorframe perfectly.

We shall see how easy this proves.

5. I finally made a decision. And I’m happy with it.

I don’t usually splurge on a Groupon/Living Social deal unless I know with certainty that I can use it and make it worth my investment. We’ve eaten a lot of Sushi over the last year this way which has been fun, but California Rollin’ seems to have finally caught onto our clever way of getting 8 rolls for a $15 Groupon and changed all its rules pertaining to the deal. Shucks.

When I bought one for Overstock.com during the winter, I considered it an insta-win. Priced at $10 to get $20 in merchandise, I figured there’d be plenty of items for me to pick from. Fast-forward 3 months, and I had spent hours scouring for anything that I could buy that wasn’t a total investment piece (I wanted to keep my purchase close to the $20 store credit) but there was nothing I needed or wanted for the value. In the end I landed on a $29.99 woven basket which came in the mail yesterday. Good news: It’s darling. And I’ll keep it. I take back all of those frustrated comments about the site.

I hadn’t done much research on the product or its brand pre-purchase, because I was in a Living Social redemption panic 2 hours before it expired, but when it arrived I was excited to see that it was a legit nkuku product, which according to the website retails for £39.95, a figure that converts to about $64.50USD based on today’s currency exchange.

Sitting within my CB2 bedside table, it’ll be good for holding an extra blanket and a few books.

Best of all: If we have the same decor taste, I think you’re going to really like everything that nkuku sells. Inspired by African and Indian artists, its contemporary designs are super-eco, made from natural materials, there’s some really great stuff to swoon over. I’m going ga-ga for these Franjipani Floral Cups, the Ishara Basket, and the Oni Glass Collections Box. And everything else. You?

Have a fun weekend (and Happy Mothers Day)!