Come on Over!

I have a new post up on the NEW SITE!!!! Come by and check it out!

http://www.yearofserendipity.com

Now that the new site’s up, I won’t be posting anything exciting here.  Update your bookmarks and feed readers to follow me at my new home!

It’s ALIVE!

The brand spanking new self-hosted Year of Serendipity site is now LIVE!!!

http://www.yearofserendipity.com

Come on over and say HI and tell me what you think!

I’m still working out migrating e-mail followers and a few other kinks, so I apologize if you receive multiple posts… (and if you have any other issues, let me know at karen@yearofserendipity.com) but I’m so excited to get this new site and design up and running!  If you follow me with a reader like feedly, make sure you switch over to the new feed!

I hope to see you over at my new home!

Brimfield Eye Candy

Brimfield has such an amazing collection of amazing stuff of all proportions.  (Did you see me haul in yesterdays post?)

If I was a photographer, I could just spend the day taking pictures of history, pre-styled vignettes, and bizarre oddities.

How amazing are these doors??

I would love to see a toddler riding this, but it would lose character if someone restored it.

Dapper or creepy, I really can’t decide.

Remember how I mentioned the bizarre conglomeration of items for sale?

Dad was endlessly amused by this one-armed-bandit… literally

I so wanted to adopt these chairs for my porch… but not for $500.  Don’t you worry, though I have a replacement up my sleeve.

This was definitely my favorite pic of the day.

My attempt at photography was even captured by the other photog (Handy Dad)

So have I inspired you to check out the Brimfield Antiques Flea Market next time around?  (July!)

What a Hoot!

Sorry for my lack of post on Friday- I got a little overexciting about getting up early to go to Brimfield and I totally forgot to blog.  I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me eventually.  Maybe this picture of me with the Jolly Green Giant will help. (check out those amazing industrial storage units behind us!)

So, Brimfield.  Going to Brimfield each year is like going to an amusement park for me.  Lots of crazy characters to watch (with the exception of ourselves of course), some awesome stuff for sale, some beyond ridiculous stuff for sale, and amongst all that is the challenge of trying to snag some amazing deals.

Since I still always get the question “What’s Brimfield?”, Brimfield is the largest outdoor antiques flea market.  It takes place 3 times a year in the tiny town of Brimfield MA and there are over 6,000 dealers set up on either side of a mile stretch of rt 20.  It’s treasure-hunters Meca.

And amazing deals I did get!  My haul includes:

Metal sphere: $20.  I plan to add plants to the inside of this as an awesome architectural feature for my porch or patio.

Child’s shoe mold: $4.

I also got an amazing deal on a gift for someone, but since I don’t want to spoil the surprise, all I’ll say is that I love cool vintage pieces for awesome prices (shocker!).

My absolute favorite find everyone else thinks I’m completely nuts for even buying.  Before I show you, there’s a back story.  For more than three years, I’ve been drooling over one of the owl cookie jars from Anthropologie.  Not long after discovering that jar, I found out that it’s a reproduction of a vintage piece from the 40s.  So why buy a new repro when I can dream of owning an original?  Over two years ago at a tag sale, I spotted the coveted hooter, but the price was higher than I wanted to pay- and I’ve been wishing I had just sucked it up and bought it ever since.  Brimfield to the rescue!

Let me set the stage: I went with the parents and it was the end of a long day out in the sun and dust, we were losing steam fast.  Out of the corner of my eye I spotted him, blurted out “I know what I’m buying” and beelined across the isle and picked up the cookie jar.  By the time my parents caught up, I was already haggling with the vendor.  Originally priced at $150, it had already been slashed down to $75 and I got her down another $10.  The vintage 40s Shawnee winking owl cookie jar also came with 3 (?) matching salt and pepper shakers for $65.  My parents thought he was hideous and I already knew Hubs would agree- he’s scoffed at the Anthro one as long as I’ve drooled over it.  But I don’t care what they think, he’s awesome and makes me grin ear to ear!!!

The shakers on the other hand, I do find creepy, so they’ll probably be finding themselves listed on e-bay. They have shifty eyes and I don’t trust them.

Since Hubby’s convinced that my beloved owl’s going to come to life and haunt him (crazy boy), I’m sparing him by keeping the owl in my office.  I’m secretly (or not so secretly now) hoping the owl will grow on him and eventually it can migrate to another room.  eventually.  maybe.  doubtful.  Oh well, I’m still so excited about this owl!!! AND the deal that I got for him!

I’ll pop in tomorrow for a rare Tuesday post and share some cool Brimfield pictures from Handy Dad and me.  If I put them all in today, this post would never end.  It’s already a bit long since I’m apparently rather long-winded.  It’s part of my charm, I hope.

So do you love my vintage owl as much as I do, or do you think it’s creepy like apparently every one else does??

Design Target: Porch

In the past 2 summers living in this house, we’ve done a lot to our postage sized outdoor space.

Our tiny front porch always escaped the project list since it was in decent shape.  Until now.  The floor is suddenly (or not so suddenly) in desperate need of new stain and there are spots on the trim where wood rot is daring to show it’s face.  Really, the porch decided to put itself on this summer’s to-do list.  It was sick of being neglected.

I haven’t yet tackled this project since the weather is still flip flopping from gorgeous to cold (make up your mind New England!), but I’m working on the plans.

Hubs still thinks nothings wrong with the porch.  I, however, know once I spruce the porch up a bit, Hubby will see what it could have been all along.

My plans for this space include

• new seating for 2 (either 1 bench or 2 smaller chairs)
• side table- most likely a ceramic pop of color
• new light
• repaint trim & ceiling
• stain floor
• new mailbox or mailbox makeover

I’ve been keeping my eyes open for the perfect seating.  Nothing yet, but once I find the seating, I think it’ll catapult the rest of the space forward.  Maybe I’ll find some gems for the porch at Brimfield this week!

I’m excited to get this project started!

Monday Recovery

So it’s Monday, huh?  I turned my brain off this weekend, so I guess it’s time to get it back in the game.  Sorry, no exciting post today.  Since I don’t need to spend my day at Clark, instead I need to dig through the mess and find our other house- ya know, that one we actually live in.  It’s somewhere here under the piles of laundry and displaced tools and DIY supplies.  Somewhere.

I also have some gardening to do to clean up my yard.  Mom and I ran to the flower nursery yesterday, although it looks like I should wait a few more days to plant- the weather is threatening frost over the next few days (?!).

We’re a little behind on the garden and veggie garden this year.  Weeding and mulching are high on the catch-up to do list.  I also have to figure out a way to make our garden guest, the chipmunk (see his hole), decide to relocate to a new home.  Any suggestions?

I just hope the weather’s back to being warm and sunny by the end of the week, because I’m excited to go to Brimfield on Friday!  A gigantic antiques flea market is my idea of a vacation.

Clark has his second showing today, keep your fingers crossed for us!

Meet Clark 2.0

(aka “Clark: Week 12”, aka “Clark’s Big Reveal”, aka “OMG Did I Just Do That?”)

If you’re new to my weekly progress posts, Clark is my first ever flip house (named for the street that he’s on). Check out my previous posts here.

Twelve weeks ago, I introduced you to this misfit of a house.  He wasn’t quite an eyesore, but he had been neglected for years and foreclosed on and just needed to be shown some love.

Twelve weeks later, Clark has been given a new life and is ready for a new family to love him.

It’s just beginning to really sink in to me- I flipped a house in 3 months.  I flipped a house.  In 3 months. ME?!

But my own disbelief in my abilities isn’t why you’re here.  You want to see the big reveal!!!!!

Photo shoot day (yesterday) was dreary and gray here in Massachusetts and I wasn’t about to make you wait any longer, so the lighting in the pics was a bit challenging.  You’ve been warned.

But, without further adieu…..

Come on it, take off your shoes, and enjoy the tour!

First room on the tour is the living room.  The formerly burnt orange living room.

I bid farewell to the burnt yuk color and welcomed a creamy color called Canvas.

And I opened up the wall between the living room and kitchen.  It makes the space feel enormous (which is paramount in a house under 1000 sf)!

The textured ceiling is still there in a crisp new white.  I swear the room is a cream color, not green.  It’s the only room without an overhead light, so it’s suffering from the dreary day outside.  (someone also needs to take some photography classes- hint: it’s this girl)

Once upon a time there was a closet in the living room, but it was sacrificed for a good cause: the kitchen.  Speaking of which….

Oh hai kitchen.

Remember what it looked like when we bought it?  Not enough room for modern appliances and cabinets that were about 25 years past their usable life.

How do you like dem apples??  Now that’s a kitchen!

How about another?

And another.  If this kitchen doesn’t sell this house, I don’t know what will!

I guess there are a few other rooms in this house too if you ever decide to leave the kitchen (and really, who would blame you if you didn’t).

The three bedrooms didn’t get any drastic changes- paint (trim, ceilings, walls), new light fixtures, and a good carpet cleaning

Bedroom #1- The artist formerly known as the red room.

The murder red was thankfully covered up with a new color, Cloud.

Bedroom #2 didn’t undergo such a drastic color transformation.  It went from very badly painted gray…

…to a lighter, neatly painted gray (also Cloud)

The master bedroom (or at least the room I deemed as the master because it was marginally the largest room with the largest closet) started as another burnt something color.  Here’s a good tip for picking colors- if you find it in a diaper, it’s probably not a good color for a wall.  Rule to live by.

Now it’s always summer in here.  Literally.  That’s the name of the new color, Summer.  It’s a nice soft, buttery yellow to distinguish it from the other 2 bedrooms.

But aside from the kitchen, there’s one other room that I spent a lot of time and effort in.

The bathroom!

The former owners (prior to the foreclosure) tried to put lipstick on a pig and had the gall to advertise this as an updated bathroom.  I’m sorry, if you have a cracked plastic shower surround and moldy linoleum, an updated bathroom it is not.  I don’t care if you put a new pedestal sink in it or not, it was still disgusting.  The picture really didn’t show it in all it’s gory glory, you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Remove the disgusting and add a boat-load of charm and that’s what we see today.

Are those some sexy floors or what??

Only the pedestal sink and the tub remain from the original room.

I have a few very minor things left on my to do list, although most won’t be noticeable to potential buyers… which is good because…  this guy is officially LISTED!!!  And he’s going to charm the pants off of any potential buyers!

The listing went live on Monday (I know some of you peaked already), but we aren’t doing any showings until the open house Saturday.  So if you’re in the market for a 110% move-in-ready house in Worcester with more charisma than you can handle, come on by!

I’m like a proud parent with this house.  I didn’t realize how attached I’ve grown.  I guess when you spend 40 hours a week pouring your soul into a space, you’re bound to form a bond.

I just hope he finds a good family who will love him, and care for him, and feed him, and take him for walks…… did I take it too far?  I think I’m getting punchy at this point.  I need a vacation.

So, what do you think??

Spring Pinterest Polka Dots

If you’re unfamiliar with the seasonal Pinterest Challenges (first of all, where have you been?!), it’s a challenge to get pinterest users to stop pinning ‘someday’ projects and start DOING.  All you have to do is take inspiration from pinterest and put your own spin on a project.  This season’s gracious hosts are Sherry @ Young House Love , Katie @ Bower Power Blog, Emily @ Sparkle Meets Pop, and Renee @ RedBirdBlue.  I can’t wait to see what projects they tackle!

My previous season’s Pinterest Challenge projects include sketch chair art, a DIY juju, and a coffee table bench to name a few (check them all out here).

I know I posted a pseudo-pinterest challenge on Monday,

but I’m an overachiever apparently and couldn’t resist doing another project.

I’ve been loving pretty much any DIY project I see lately with gold polka dots:  Chelsea from Lovely indeed has tackled a gold polka dot photo backdrop, a gold polka dot table runner, and a suede and (you guessed it) gold polka dot mouse pad.  Cassie from Hi Sugarplum went to town on this gold dot vase.  So, I’m jumping on the bandwagon admittedly.

About a month ago, I pinned these pillows from Anthropologie

When this season’s challenge came along, it didn’t take me long to decide on this.  And I did it in under an hour, so SCORE!

(Please excuse the picture quality- I forgot my good camera at Clark again so I had to rely on my iphone camera and I am not perfected in the science of iphoneography… side note to self for future iphone pics: zooming makes it grainy, zoom AFTER you take the shot.  Now back to our regularly scheduled programing.)

I already had the gray fabric, a pillow form and sponge, so all I needed to buy was a few dollars worth of copper paint.  I said it, Copper, not Gold.  Gasp! I thought the rosy quality of the copper would compliment the gray best.

I chose to make an envelope style pillow because they’re easy to make and easy to take off the pillow and wash.

First step is to cut your fabric- this will wrap the pillow with seams only on the 2 sides.  Make sure you allow for overlap for the ‘envelope’ part (I allowed 3 inches since I was using a small pillow form)

Next, fold over one of the shorter sides about 1/4 to 1/2 inch, then fold it over again.  Pin and sew- this will be exposed at your ‘envelope’ opening.

Once that is sewn, fold your fabric into your pillow shape.  Make sure the ‘bad side’ of the fabric is out and the finished edge you just created in folded inside so that everything’s corrent when you turn it all right side out.  I’m not a fan whatsoever of karate chopped pillows– I like them overstuffed, so I made my pillow cover 1 inch smaller than my pillow in each direction.

Once you sew up the 2 sides, you can turn the pillow cover right side out.

Now it’s time for the fun part!!

I did a few polka dot trials on a scrap piece to figure out my technique before I started on my pillow.

I put the pillow into the cover still in its plastic so that I could paint my dots without worrying about the paint bleeding through to the pillow or the back of the fabric.

I let it dry overnight before I took the plastic-covered pillow form out of the cover and re-inserted it sans plastic.

I’m swooning over the copper/gray combo and the scale of the dots!  Yes, I’m swooning over a pillow and yes, I know I have issues.  I embrace them.

Bear approves.

Are you loving it as much as I am??

I’d love to see you’re projects!  Link them up in the comments, or just say HI!

Sugar High

Clark’s MLS listing is LIVE!!!  That means I have only a few days to scramble and finish everything on my To Do list before the open house Saturday!  Friday I’ll be sharing the complete reveal- are you as excited as I am?  You should be!

I’m definitely looking forward to a mini-‘vacation’ as we look for our next flip, though.  I gave myself this whole weekend off and I’m not sure my body knew what to do with itself.  Maybe after this week I’ll finally get to my neglected projects around here (I’m talking to you sexy secretary desk).

I was originally planning to save this for my Pinterest Challenge post on Wednesday, but why wait?  I might even to a second project for the pinterest challenge then too.  We’ll see.

Anyway…

Guess who turned ONE on Cinco de Mayo!

Yup, Cutest Nephew Ever, Eli, celebrated his first birthday this weekend.  And Auntie Karen was tasked with the cake(s).

I may not cook, but I do bake every blue moon.  The last fancy cake I made was for my friend’s baby shower 2.5 year ago, so I guess it was about time.

The main cake was inspired by animal prints that I made for his nursery last year, modeled after ones I saw on Etsy.  (decorations are gumpaste and the frosting is this recipe.  There was also a penguin face on the other side that I didn’t get a pic of)  I really like how this cake came out

but Eli’s smash cake just makes me smile

Smartie pants figured out what to do with it pretty quickly and required a wardrobe change after the mess he made (the way it should be!)

Pinterest was a GREAT inspiration for these cakes because I was kind of figuring out the designs as I went along.  These pins were my top inspirations for his little cake:

Pinterest via 100 layer cake

Pinterest via Project Nursery

I’m very pleased to say that all of the huge cake and Eli’s cake were gone by the end of the party- I even saw people going back for seconds!

Oh, and if you need a great stress reliever, throwing handfuls of sprinkles at a mini cake is definitely a good time.  Just sayin…

Are you planning on participating in the Pinterest Challenge this season?  I’d love to see your projects! Link them up in the Comments section!

Clark: Week 11

If you’re new to my weekly progress posts, Clark is my first ever flip house (named for the street that he’s on). Check out my previous posts here.

The end is near!!!  This is veryveryvery exciting!  Our realtor is coming over today to take pictures for the listing which will go live on MONDAY!!!  w00t!  Even with the listing live Monday, we won’t be doing any showings until the open house the following Saturday (our agents strategy to drum up interest and build antici…wait for it….pation).  So that means that I have next week to do all my finishing touches- and there are a lot.

Since I’m not doing my big reveal here until I finish a few last things & don’t want to post almost finished room pics, you just get teaser shots today.  So much finish work happened this week- this is the most exciting part for me!

With the amazing weather this week, I was more than happy to spend some time outside adding curb appeal.  The house painting is complete and I started adding a few accessories.  Yup, I went with a yellow door.  On a slate gray house it looks A.MAZ.ING. (in my humble opinion)

The previously untouched front garden:

got a bush-ectomy, weeding, and a bunch of mulch

and speaking of mulch, it now lines the 2 banks on either side of the driveway.  Lots and lots of mulch.  30 bags in the front yard!

The backyard just got a lot of cleanup and throwing away trash that was piled.  Not a huge transformation, so no pics, sorry.  I figured I’d spare you the “look, I raked and trimed weeds” pic.

Back inside, the hard wood floors are ALL DONE.  Phew.

The previously ignored bedrooms finally got attention.

This is all that’s left of the blood-red bedroom.  so sad.

All three bedrooms got new light fixtures more appropriate for the size of the rooms (the old ones were severely undersized).  I actually reused the light that was originally in the kitchen (since it wasn’t bad, just not right for the kitchen) and bought 2 others to match which worked perfectly!

The bedroom carpets also got shampooed.  We borrowed my parent’s carpet cleaner, but it needed a new belt before it could be used.

Nothing really happened in the kitchen except cleaning, but I’ll post a gratuitous kitchen shot just because it’s a damn pretty kitchen.

Clark’s ready for his photoshoot, just not his close-ups just yet.  To get him ready for the Open House and showings, I still have to:

• fill LOTS of nail holes in the floor and trim
• finish the hard wood transitions at the front and side doors
• get the kitchen sink and dishwasher hooked up (they look pretty, but don’t work yet)
• have the electrician come look at a 3way switch that isn’t working
• paint a few more closets and doors
• install the shower knobs
• clean up the basement and paint 1 last wall
• dispose of the remaining brush from the back yard
• clean
• clean
• clean

And since I never have enough on my plate, guess what time it is!

This season’s challenge is hosted by these lovely ladies: Sherry @ Young House Love (who just bought a new house!!), Katie @ Bower Power Blog, Emily @ Sparkle Meets Pop, and Renee at RedBirdBlue.  (Check out my past season’s challenge projects HERE.)

Since I’m already working on a little project for a very special little boy’s first birthday this weekend, I totally have a plan to incorporate the challenge.

Ah, so many exciting things happening!