Deep Thoughts #4

The real voyage of discovery

consists not in seeking new lands

but seeing with new eyes.

—Marcel Proust

Dining Room Redo: Phase 2

I mentioned in my last post that I had gotten the West Elm capiz chandelier during their local going out of business sale, well I also picked up some window treatments.

I've loved these medallion curtains since I first saw them and knew they were the perfect way to add some interest to our otherwise boring dining room. I was happy to see that they had been marked down and were an additional 40% off, so they ended up being a great deal.

Here's our boring windows before-

And after-

I've used oil rubbed bronze hardware for our other window treatments but decided to go with an off-white rod as to not compete with the busy medallion pattern. I also wanted to match our trim because I had planned on hanging the rod above the window, just below the crown molding to make the window look even larger. I looked everywhere for the right color and ended up finding the perfect rod at WalMart of all places and for a mere $16.

What a difference the new chandelier and curtains make! We still have a ways to go in this room but it's finally starting to have some personality. Phase 3 will be coming soon.

On a side note, is it Friday yet?!?

love, S

Capiz Please

Remember when I posted this?

Well, it sat in our dining room for a few weeks. I'd been been lusting over the West Elm Capiz Chandelier for quite some time but didn't want to pay the $259 price tag. After several unsuccesful Ebay searches, I had given up. Then I got an email saying that our local West Elm was closing and everything was marked down. I went in and as luck would have it, I got the last capiz chandelier (and for cheap too).

Sunday, I finally took the contents out and got to work.

I've never changed a light fixture out before but thanks to the greatness of YouTube tutorials, I was confident I could handle it. I turned off the power in our dining room-

removed our original chandelier-

and got the new one hooked up. It was actually really easy. The most tedious part of the entire process was unwrapping every strand of chapiz shells, which took nearly an hour.

Finally, let there be light-

It's very dramatic and the shells really glisten when it's turned on.

This is phase 1 of our dining room redo. I'll post pics of phase 2 tomorrow.

Have a lovely week. love, S

Deep Thoughts #3

Perfection is achieved,

not when there's nothing more to add,

but when there is nothing left to take away.

-Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Clean House

I have to admit January and February are my least favorite months of the year. The holidays are over, the Christmas tree is put away and the weather is still cold and dreary. So, I use these months to focus on major cleaning, decluttering and preparing for Spring! I originally shared my seasonal cleaning list here. I've done some tweeking and here is the updated list for 2010.

Seasonal Cleaning List


Kitchen:

__Empty and scrub down the inside of the fridge and freezer

__Empty and clean inside of the utensil drawers

__Scrub down the cupboard exteriors

__Clean the stove hood filter and fridge condenser coil

__Replace water filters in fridge, sink, coffeemaker, etc

__Clean drain (baking soda, vinegar, cover, sit, then add boiling water to wash it

down)

__Shine sink (Bon Ami, then Windex)

__Polish appliances and clean coffeemaker

__Scrub tile grout

__Clean out pantry and reorganize

__Clean oven (use self-clean feature)

__Clean microwave

__Discard expired food


Bathroom:

__Launder shower curtain

__Empty, weed, clean out and reorganize medicine cabinet

__Shine sink

__Scrub tile grout

__Go through and discard old makeup and beauty supplies

__Clean and wipe down walls next to sink

__Use Draino on all sinks


Bedrooms:

__Strip the bed, flip the mattress, and vacuum

__Launder mattress pad and dust ruffle

__Launder pillows

__Sort through wardrobe to donate unused clothes/accessories

__Clean out from under the bed

__Organize and purge from night table



Living/All Areas:

__Wash inside of windows

__Change HVAC filter

__Flip sofa and chair cushions

__Clean and scrub down baseboards and moulding

__Wax floors if needed

__Clean light switch covers

__Disinfect all door handles

__Launder/dry clean window treatments

__Shampoo wall to wall carpeting and air-out area rugs

__Dust and clean all light fixtures and ceiling fans

__Clean fireplace and flu if necessary

__Test/replace batteries in smoke alarms


Outdoor:

__Wash outside of windows with water and vinegar solution

__Clean screens

__Power wash porch areas

__Clean out grill

__Clean and store/bring out outdoor furniture and accessories


Hope that helps! I completed this entire list over 2 weekends and am trying to train J to keep it clean. So far, so good:)
Hope you're having a fabulous week. love, S

Spray Paint Satisfaction

This is the first weekend in ages that we were home both Friday and Saturday night. I needed some time to relax after a killer work week and had lots of things on my to-do list.

Finally got around to a project that I've wanted to do for awhile. I hate the white plastic outlet covers and light switches in our house. However, I did not want to pay $7.95 each to replace them with oil rubbed bronze metal covers. We have 24 outlets/light switches on our 1st floor alone, so that would've been a lot of dough that could be better spent on a fabulous pair of shoes saving towards our basement finish.

Instead...
 I bought this-

and got to work.

Here's the before shot:

I was a little unsure how spray painting plactic would turn out. So, I just did the covers in the kitchen area to try it out.

Here are the plain covers-

Here they are with 1 coat of paint (it took 2 coats for full coverage)-

and viola...

the finished look-

They turned out beautifully. No one would ever guess that they were in fact plastic. The spray paint was $6 a can and is enough for me to do all the covers on our first floor. So, for less than the price to buy ONE oil rubbed bronze cover at Home Depot, I'm able to get the look for TWENTY-FOUR!

Gotta love that. Here's to a great week for everyone! love, s

Deep Thoughts #2

You can do anything,

but not everything.

-David Allen

Happy Friday! love, S

*photo credit: Flickr timwillis

2010 Dream House

Back with this year's HGTV 2010 Dream House. I like this house so much more than last year's home. It's modern, streamlined and simple. I also enjoy the industrial influence. The designers allowed the gorgeous views to be the main focus and selected colors and accents that enhance the views, rather than compete for your eyes' attention.

Here are my favorite rooms in the house:

1. The kitchen/great room area. The warm colors and wall full of windows are perfection.

Look at that view!

Love how the glass tile backsplash goes all the way up the 16ft. tall ceilings.

Close up of tile

2. The Master Bedroom. The bed looks a bit small for a master but I love the light, breezy window treatments, the earthy colors and mix of textures.

Simple sliding glass doors seperate the bath and bedroom.

3. Little nook perfect for reading and relaxing. The light spa blue glass tile is gorge.

4. Media Room. Designers are finally getting away from severe, dark media rooms. Thank goodness!

5. Office

Overall, this house is much more style that previous years. It also very liveable and comfortable. What are your thoughts?

Don't forget you can enter daily through February to win.

On an unrelated note, THANK GOODNESS IT'S THURSDAY. Just one more day til the weekend.

love, S

Impromptu Project

Came home from work to find my closet like this-

Looks like the left side gave out under all the weight of my clothes.

Argh! You can guess how I'll be spending my weekend. Hoping J agrees to a closet re-do. We'll see...

The Kitchen Sink

On Christmas morning, J surprised me with something that's been on my wish list ever since we moved into our new house-


A new black granite composite sink!
I've done a ton of research and found that granite composite is extremely durable and easy to clean. It's also scratch resistent and can handle up to 500 degree temps from hot pots.

Unfortunately due to the frigid temps and blizzard like conditions the past few weeks, my dad wasn't able to come over to help us install it until yesterday. It's been a long 3 week wait but totally worth it!

Bye Bye old stainless steel sink that stained and scratched and didn't match-

First step was removing the old sink. It actually came out pretty easy. Just make sure the water lines are turned off and everything is unplugged and disconnected. We used an exacto knife to release the caulk from the sink and countertop.

You can tell how excited J was to take on this project.

Second, we removed the faucet and placed the old sink upside down on our countertop to disconnect the garbage disposal-

We then reconnected everything to the new sink and installed a new faucet as well.

I'm in love with our faucet. Looks so modern and streamlined.
The sprayer is also attached. LOVE that!
Here it is! Please ignore the white caulk that was still drying around the edges of the sink. I was a little anxious to take pics:)

This made a huge impact. Our whole kitchen looks better.

Thanks to J and my dad for the hard work (took them 4 hours). I love it! I'll share more pics once I piece back the rest of our kitchen; we made a mess yesterday.

Have a great week! love, S

Deep Thoughts #1

I've always enjoyed reading great quotes and even have a file with dozens of my favorite thoughts, sentiments and ideas saved. I've decided to start sharing these every Friday.
Who couldn't use a little ounce of wisdom, laughter and intrigue as we pack up our desks from a busy work week and begin our 2 days of freedom (for most of us anyways).

Without further ado, here's the fist installment for 'deep thoughts' -

You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest,

that it leaves your arms too full

to

embrace the present.

-jan glidewell

photo credit found here

Happy Friday.
love, S

maybe she's born with it...

Because I know a lot of people's resolutions involve improving their appearance, I thought I'd share my discovery tonight- the CVS annual beauty clearance event. I actually headed to CVS to pick up some medicine but walked out with a whole bunch of new makeup, and the best part was everything was marked 50-75% off.

I am extremely excited to try out the new primer and I'm a sucker for mascara. If I could only use one beauty product, it'd be mascara hands down.

(please excuse the horrible cell phone pics)

Here's a breakdown of what I got and how much it was:
Loreal sharpener $0.79
Revlon Beyond Natural concealer $2.49
Revlon Beyond Natural mascara $1.99
Revlon primer for dry skin $2.99
Loreal bare naturale shadow $2.49 (got 2: olive and bronze)
Almay intense i-color mascara $1.99 (for green eyes)
Almay pure blends eye shadow $1.99 (in lavendar)
Sally Hansen maximum growth polish $2.25 (in real royal)
Milani nail polish $1.12 (in key lime shine)

I also wanted to share a new You Tube discovery. A huge thanks to the nesties on the Fashion & Beauty board for the introduction to MakeupByTiffanyD. Click to be linked to her blog which has her 35 YouTube tutorials all about hair and makeup styles and how to achieve them.
Here's to a beautiful New Year! love, S

worry less, celebrate more

That's it. That's my New Year's resolution.

Instead of creating a list of random resolutions for 2010, I'm going to stay focused on the possible and the important: worry less, celebrate more. I have so many things in my life to be thankful for and I want to spend the upcoming year and all those that follow celebrating the good things and the good people that I've been blessed with.

I do however have many design/house related goals for the New Year. Here's what's on the 2010 agenda here at Sunshine and Wine-

1. Kitchen (mini) redo. I'll be replacing a major part of our kitchen and adding in some extra flavor (pun intended) into the space.

2. Dining Room Makeover. I shared some of my plans for this room and will be getting to work SOON! Can't wait to share pics once I finish up the room.

3. New furniture for our Great Room.

4. Finishing up my master bedroom. I shared pics of our new bed, DIY headboard and paint, but I've got a few more things up my sleeve.

5. Beginning the finishing of our lower level. Finishing our basement is something that J and I have wanted to do since we moved in. We've been saving money and collecting ideas and hope to start the huge transformation later this year.

And since Kansas City has been a bit of a Winter Wonderland the past few weeks, I've been inspired by the beauty of the winter white. Check out these lovely white rooms-

decor pad

decor pad

liz lass interiors

luxe and lilies

Images below courtesy of Phoebe Howard

To all my Mid-west readers, stay warm this week! With highs in the single digits all week, it's going to be a brutal couple of days. love, S