#477...sunny side up seat

I was cleaning out my garage this weekend, and came across this black basket-like thing that  I once used as the base of a coffee table....seen here.

I was going to pitch it, but Tyler suggested I paint it and use it as an outdoor stool. So, I flipped it over and gave it a few coats of spray paint. I made it a small round seat cushion from some scraps of yellow vinyl I already had. I used a strip of industrial strength velcro to hold the cushion in place.

It looks like a giant sunny side up egg, which adds a bit of humor to my back deck. Speaking of hilarious chairs, this one by Wary Meyers  is cracking me up (egg pun intended)

#476...beet it

Guess what is hiding below all that arugula? Roasted beets tossed in balsamic mustard glaze. I made this warm goat cheese, beet and arugula sandwich recipe from epicurious. Instead of using canned beets like the recipe calls for, I roasted some golden beets I had. Roasted beets are really tasty....who knew?

#475...lowly worm

Do you remember Lowly worm from The Busy World of Richard Scarry? Well, I crafted the above Lowly worm from bits of felt, denim and buttons to serve as decoration at a book-themed baby shower I co-hosted this past weekend. (I look for any reason to craft stuffed dolls.....like this, this, this)

My plan was to print a picture of Lowly to attach to the basket where we collected books for the new baby, but then I stumbled across this blog with the Lowly pattern, and I decided a felt doll is always better than a paper cut-out.

The pattern came from Richard Scarry's Best Make It Book Ever. The book is out of print so it was a real treat to find the above scanned doll pattern on-line. Here is a picture of Lowly in his worm-mobile.

#474...flock of triangles quilt

Back in December, I started making this quilt as a baby gift for my cousin's new baby. I'm happy to say that I finished yesterday....and am glad I got it done before the baby went off to kindergarten.

The quilt pattern is called "flock of triangles" and it is from Denyse Schmidt's  Quilt book. I've used several patterns from this book, including this stuffed cat pattern. The triangle quilt is the first quilt pattern I've tried from the book, and cutting and sewing triangles was quite a bit more labor intensive than the rectangle patterned quilts like this one that I have made in the past. I really like how it turned out and am eager to send it on its way to its new little owner.

#473...mail basket beauty

This mail basket DIY on design*sponge is genius. I should built one stat, and hang it under my mail slot by my front door to catch the incoming mail which currently drops to the floor, and occasionally gets opened via a dog's mouth.

#472...barn beam on the wall

I have a huge fondness for wall mounted furniture....remember this? In the room where my dogs lounge, I am on a mission to get as much furniture off the ground as possible, so that I can easily Swiffer dog hair. I recently got a reclaimed wood beam from this etsy shop, and mounted it to the wall to serve as a side table for my vintage Ekornes Stressless recliner that resides in the dog room.

#471...pendelton chair love

Oh boy do I love this Pendelton upholstered vintage Nelson chair by Strawser and Smith. I have a similar chair...now all I need is some pretty Pendelton fabric.

#470...loft bedside lighting

Since I got a question about the lighting in the loft bed area, I figured I'd share more about it.

First, I mounted two metal window planter boxes like these on either side of the bed. I got mine at HomeGoods. They came with a tray inside them that would hold the plants and catch water. I bent the tray a little and fitted it into the top of the box, to serve as a ledge or tabletop for the side of the bed.

Inside the boxes I simply dropped a strand of white Christmas lights. They plug-in below each box. I am fortunate that the two outlets are actually run by a single wall switch, so it is very easy for guests to turn the boxes on and off by hitting the switch. 

The tray style tables work well for guests to set a glass of water, or jewelry or cellphone. They would not hold a ton of weight, so they may not work for those whose nightstands are laden with books and beauty potions.

#469...painted headboard

I was making up the bed in our loft for our weekend guest, and I realized that I have never posted about the painted headboard that I did in the space. I completed this space in 2008, before a design*sponge loft sneak peek, and long before I started blogging.

The guest bed area of the loft is a tight space. It only has a full back wall and right side wall. The left side wall is a half wall that separates the bed from the entry area of the loft. There is no wall at the foot of the bed and the space is open to the rest of the loft. Here is a shot of the left half wall of the bed space.

When decorating the space, I needed to be thrifty and save space, so I decided to paint a headboard on the wall. I taped off the shape with painter's tape and simply painted out the white headboard with a semi-gloss enamel. I added a opalescent glaze to it once it dried, giving it a pearly appearance. To finish it, I simply added upholstery nail heads to the wall for the detailing. It was really simple, and amazingly I still like it four years later!

#468...coconut red lentil soup

I've made this recipe for coconut red lentil soup several times in the last few months. It is really yummy!

#467...lampshade makeover

I got a pair of these glass base lamps at HomeGoods. They came with an Eiffel Tower print lampshade, which I decided needed to be covered immediately.

For the most part, I followed this lampshade covering tutorial, and covered the shades in a black canvas-like fabric.