Happy Halloween

Because we are going to a trick-or-treating party on Halloween, we have not done as much decorating as I had originally planned. However, we still put out a few of our faves.

Our faux pumpkins. Since it is so time consuming to carve these pumpkins, we started using carveable pumpkins from Michael's and Hobby Lobby. This way we can keep them from year to year.


Here is the 2010 edition.


And of course, the hand carved figures on the mantle.

my first Monet

Okay, so it was not really a Monet, but it was starting to feel like one. If you have ever seen "Clueless" you know what I am talking about... "Seen from far away, it's okay; but up close, it's a big ol' mess". For that reason, I have named this piece Amber.

I had been looking forward to completing this sideboard I picked up in December. GASP! Has it really been that long? Anyway, as I started out in the morning it was a perfect day for painting...60, partly cloudy and no wind. Of course D had to go and mention that. I sanded, I primed, I had lunch, and then I went to paint. (using all my favorites of course!) The wind had picked up and it was turning my excitement into sheer frustration. The blasts of wind were causing drip marks, uneven coverage and random yard items to stick to the wet paint. Apparently Mother Nature was upset with the 8 trees we had removed from our yard last week, and she was letting me know it. Not to let her get to me, I did what I could to fix the mess but it only made things worse.

I decided to go the ole fashion route and use a brush and can. I figured that as long as I could get an even coat of paint, the glaze that I was planning using would be enough to cover some of the blemishes. Of course by this point I was so annoyed that D helped me out. With his help, the paint looked so much better and we worked as a team spreading the glaze. I am so thrilled with the results!




I love how much the details pop with the glaze!




Amber and I have come to terms of some sort, as she sits pretty in our dining room for the time being. Unfortunately the space I had all picked out for her has since been taken over by a large hutch we "inherited" from my mom last weekend. I am hoping we can get the muscle to get the hutch upstairs and Amber can take reign in the Living Room.

Here is before I started sanding (minus the drawers of course). I honestly think it looks better in the picture than it did in real life.


Notice all the paint splatters, including pink and purple? While sanding, I also seemed to wake up some ground in glitter.


After a light coat of spray primer...

new name

I decided to start to an Etsy store to sell some of the vintage items we have acquired. Most everything was either from family members, or things I find in my various excursions. In doing so, I thought my blog name should match and didn't think WI Epicurean was the right fit.

So here it is... ViennaCourt. For those wondering, the title photo is of the Vienna Court Opera, 1902. (I love the twin yellow dresses)

I will post again when I have the Etsy store all ready to go.

Eureka! That's it!

Today I had an epiphany! For a couple months years, I have been trying to finish decorating our bedroom. I realized a while ago that a part of my lack of motivation was because the bedroom was also a mess. There are constantly baskets of laundry to be put away and always a variety of things tossed about. This mostly comes from the fact that we just don't have a large enough closet in our master bedroom. In fact, the walk-in in one of the other bedrooms is actually larger than ours (I do store some of my off-season clothes there).

Today, while flipping through the October Country Living, it hit me. Turn one of the spare rooms into a giant walk in closet. This way, our bedroom can be a place of peace, instead of constant clutter. Simplified with only a bed, nightstands and a chair or two.

Lucky for me D was on board with this immediately. I am pretty sure I have suggested this in the past, but this time he agreed that it was not worth keeping two guest rooms for the 2-3 weeks per year that it's used. Really, that bed is usually covered anyway with our luggage and such from our regular packing and unpacking.

And so it began... my mind started racing with ideas with the things we will need. I already have a floor length mirror in the garage waiting to be painted. Along with several dressers that might be able to serve duty as a island in the center of the room. I look forward to using that as a place for packing as well.

I also started thinking to all the CL items I came across in my searches earlier today....

an apothecary cabinet as an island?


I had also been drawn to this cane back chair, but didn't know where I could put it. Now I do! A little coat of white and some fabric... can you just see it?


a lawyer bookcase for shoes?


Some other things to look for...
a round ottoman
a wardrobe/armoire or two


Here is some of my inspiration:











I love Fergie's Ottoman!



I am off to scour Craigs List!

from gold to... gold

I decided to paint the gold mirror. I had posted my dilemma on a decorating forum and out of 49 votes, 96% said yes. So that was that... paint it is!


I started with a light coat of my usual white primer and then sprayed with a coat of Krylon Satin Ivory.


I thought about distressing and glazing it to mach the bench sitting underneath the mirror. But I wanted to do something different, and play off the style of the mirror. So, I decided to make it gold. Just not quite the bright and blinding color it had been. Instead, I went to Hobby Lobby and purchased some liquid gold leaf for $5.


Using a small foam brush, I used a couple drops at a time to apply a light coat to the mirror. I have to say that it was super easy to use. Unlike the glaze, it didn't dry moments after hitting the piece. It took me about 10 minutes to apply on the entire frame, creating a great patina.




I took some pictures outside so you can really see the gold color and shimmer, but here it is completed in its current home.

to paint, or not to paint

Today I found this beauty at the Salvation Army.



It was covered in dust and priced at only $3.04 (what is with the Salvation Army and their random prices?), but I knew it was the perfect size for a small, blank wall by our front door. I had purchased it with the intention of painting, but now I am starting to reconsider.

After getting it home and cleaning it up, I noticed a stamp on the back that read "Copyright Syroco MCMLXIX". That's 1969 for those of you struggling with your Roman Numeral Conversion. I did a little Google research and started to see the value of similar mirrors online. I found one that appears to be identical, selling for $125. Now I am now afraid of painting it. I am not such a fan of gold or brass, but I had a bout of painters remorse a few weeks ago after spraying a vintage lamp and now I am a little paint gun shy.

Here it is, as-is, in its new home. Sitting pretty above the up-cycled bench from last month.



Here is a similar mirror I found painted in a creamy white.



What do you think we should do?

mixin up what's left

For tonight's dinner we decided to use a variety of leftovers in the fridge, and freezer overstock.

Our Texan nephews (6 & 8 years old) were here for 10 days, and one night D and I decided to make lasagna with them. They could not have been more excited. From the grocery shopping, to the chopping of onions, mixing the cheese their hands and finally eat the fruits of their labor, they loved every minute of it. We even made our own sauce. We had loads of sauce leftover for the freezer, along with a lb of ground hot Italian sausage I bought at the last meat sale.

There was some leftover half & half from my SIL's daily coffee and of course, the spinach we hid in the smoothies that these "non fruit or veggie eating kids" loved. Add some fresh basil from the patio and I think we have the making of a masterpiece.

Hot Italian Sausage and Pasta in Tomato Cream Sauce

1 lb pasta (we used whole-wheat rotini)
1lb ground Italian sausage (hot)
16 oz of homemade marinara sauce
1/2 cup Half & Half
Two large handfuls washed Spinach
Fresh Basil

• Cook pasta in large pot, according to package directions.
• While pasta is cooking, brown Italian sausage in a separate skillet. With just a minute or two of cook time left, add spinach to the meat.
  
• Drain pasta and set aside.
  
• Using the pasta pot, heat the marinara and half & half until warm.
  
• Add meat and pasta to sauce, stir well.
  
• Top with fresh basil.

This was so good and easy! Just a little creativity and a delicious, quick way to use leftovers.

her name was lolla

She wasn't a show girl, but I am pretty sure there were yellow feathers and a dress cut down to there. For the first time I went to Lollapalooza in Chicago last weekend. D had been there several years ago when it was still a touring festival. However, for the last 5 years it has been located at Grant Park in Chicago, billed as a 3-day, 8-stage music festival. Having been to a number of summer music festivals, I can say that "Lolla" was the most well oiled machine I have been seen.


Beautiful weather, free water, the line-up, the on-time schedule, tasty food options, rarely feeling too crowded and all the sponsors free swag (much of which came in very handy). I could not have been more impressed. We heard a lot of new music, most of which we actually enjoyed. But I think the highlight was seeing the three headliners for the first time.

Lady Gaga - with a show that was all about her. She talked about being made fun of, her 2007 performance at Lolla, her drunk dad, and giving the middle finger to the world after making it. Entertaining? Definitely. Disturbed? Absolutely.


Green Day -who made it all about the fans. There is no denying Green Day's entertainment value, but they also do a great job of making it about the audience. Bringing fans up on stage and Billy Joe even gave one lucky kid a guitar after his rock star performance of Longview.


Soundgarden - it was all about the music. They came, they played, they left. Literally. When the set fished, they walked off stage and that was it. Without a word the show was over.
I swear Chris Cornell has not changed in 15 years. We think they were waiting to tour until his hair grew back.



(all photos from LollapaloozaFest)

take that antique store!

I love a good deal, especially when I find the same thing at an antique store for 10x more (or in one case, 40x more). Two weekends ago, D and I went a 4-times-a-year flea market just a few miles from us. Of course D went somewhat begrudgingly. But in typical fashion, 3 of the 4 things we bought were for him. One of which was the Marriot's Great America bowl for only $2. For those of you in the Chicago/Milwaukee area, you know what a throwback to your childhood it is to find something that is Marriot's, not Six Flags. I agreed to it's purchase as I plan to use it as a 4th of July decoration.

The cute blue-speckled enameled pitcher was my $6 score. It was amazing to me how many variances in prices and quality there were for similar items. It sure pays to shop around... especially when, less than a week later, I saw a similar smaller pitcher for $60 at an antique store - YIKES!

The last two things we bought were vintage games; one of which is gift for a family member, so we cannot share it here. But the Breakthru game is part of a series of book games from the 60's - we already had 3 of them.



At my fave thrift store, I found several cute milkglass lamps over the last couple weeks. The two little ones were $1 each and the large one was only $6. The best part was that I spotted the first little one at an antique store for $40... and without the shade!





This is also where my recently revised mirror currently hangs.

mirror mirror on the wall

While browsing the Centsational Girl blog a couple weeks ago, I was inspired by this post. I have been trying to come up with an idea for the front entryway, and decided this was perfect. I promptly headed off to a couple thrift stores who often have a fair supply of beds. Although I did not find the perfect headboard, I did find a mirror I could not live without. I had been keeping an eye for a similar one. Unfortunately, everything I found had a plastic frame. I was thrilled when I spotted this one with a wood frame and knew it was meant to be... especially at only $8!




I knew I would be doing some heavy distressing as I wanted the gold to show through. So, I opted to use spray paint and make my job a whole lot easier. When I bought the mirror, the glass was falling out of the frame, so it was breeze to take it out and not have to worry about covering the glass before painting. I bought a new can of spray primer and white spray paint. After two light coats of each (and before it was completely dry), I used a sandpaper sponge to rub off chunks of the paint. Then I brushed on some of the remaining glaze from my bench and homemade oak cabinet. In just a few hours I had this...



I love the gold underneath, and the few spots that started to crackle from the moisture.



Total Cost you ask?

Mirror - $8
Paint & Primer - $6
Glaze - $0

Total = $14

favorite flowers

I have been out of town since for work since Monday and was thrilled to come home to find these blooming beauties! I promptly had to cut some to bring inside.

a "new" bench

In January I posted about a bench I found at my fave thrift store.


Well, I finally got around to finishing it today. After tearing off the gold chenille, there was a layer of some hideous upholstery fabric with some odd stains that gave me the willies. A little white paint, some new padding and a half yard of fabric later....


I first painted it with some of the leftover paint I mixed for our coffee table. It looked a bit too stark with the fabric, so I distressed it and covered with a very light coat of some leftover glaze I had from a cabinet.

The fabric is not exactly what I had been looking for, but there is a serious lack of good fabric stores in the Milwaukee area. The closest thing to me is a Jo-Ann fabrics - which is neither that great, nor very close (20 minutes). For only $6/yd, I decided I could easily replace it if I found something I love.



Bench - $15
Paint & Glaze - $0 (leftover)
Padding & Fabric - $5

Total = $20

another month, another post

I was talking to a friend over the weekend who said she had just been on my blog to get suggestions on spray paint and primer. It was then that I realized how long it had been since I had blogged. It gave me the motivation to finish up a couple things today (so thanks Amy!).

The first is a chair I got a garage sale for $1. The best part is the previous owner had done most of the stripping already.


I whipped out my new paint sprayer along with some paint I already had. A little scrub down with a sandpaper sponge and here it is! (Although it is very hard to see the distressing in the picture)


My new favorite find is this 1950's white metal garden cart. The wheels still even work! I had to look three times at the sticker to see it was priced at only $2!
I look forward to our landscape redesign and finding it a permanent home. For now it sits amongst my hydrangeas... which I cannot wait to bloom so I can enjoy them on my mantel.


Finally, I cut some fern leaves out of our yard to use in my ironstone creamer, which was only $1 at my fave thrift store