19 November, 2010

[free]day

really, these days are my favorite.
i do enjoy seeing the transformation of a piece,
but there is something special about 
finding the piece. 
it is such an adventure.
and surprise.
you never know what you will find 
or where you'll find it.

i thought, since there are just
too many projects to even begin
to introduce more of my found pieces
{especially with the holidays coming up 
& the craziness of making gifts & baking &
spending time with families & working...
oh, dear. i am tired just thinking about it}
i will just remind you of the 
[free]day pieces featured 
within the last few months.
some of them are in the transformation
process. others i haven't had a chance
to love on yet.
but don't you worry.
they are absolutely, positively not forgotten.
and, maybe this will give me a chance
to actually catch up...

here they are. in all of their wonder
and 'lost'-ness.

gloria


edie & vivian {viv for short}


jill

mabel

amelia

jay & trudy

and

miss adelaide

phew. you may wonder where i keep
all of these pieces.
great question. it's not pretty...
just ask my husband.
but, remember one day i shall
have a grand shed full of 
all of my crafts, tools, paints & pieces.
and it will be marvelous.
and i will spend my days
creating and being inspired.
the end.

until then, 
i have projects projects projects
work work work 
and food food food.
i think the latter is the best.
hope you enjoy your weekend
dear friends.
i have some time to be creative
and i am very much looking forward to it.

                   .jessnicole.


ummm, ps: harry potter?!?!?!? 
go see it. 'twas grand.

18 November, 2010

lost & found


one of my sweet friends recently got married
and wanted to redeem
a dining table & some chairs 
for their little home.
{they were practically free for julie. 
a woman after my own heart}
so we got a chance to work on them
yesterday. my first full day of
painting in quite a while.
so...

here they were, somewhat lost & not as put together

and here they are found
beautifully & wonderfully new.


it is amazing what some sanding, painting
and staining will do.
{julie, look at you & your painting skills!
and don't worry, the shiny-ness of the chairs
is the dew from the morning. not the patina.}

amongst painting these,
we found some time to 
make a dresser & bookcase like new, too.
cannot wait to show you the pieces 
in their new home.
i love you julie.
and i'm excited to eat at your 
new table!

i hope you all have a spectacular thursday.


               .jessnicole.



ps: ummm, harry potter tonight?!!!!!!


16 November, 2010

poor man's gard[en]

this past saturday
mr. amazing 
 lived up to his name.
again. 

while i was at work,
he found the most wonderfully 
forgotten dresser. 
we think it was made in the 
late 1800s to early 1900s.
the handles are iodized, 
the wood finish is chipping & worn,
the craftsmanship is unique 
and each drawer has a keyhole.
seriously.
and, we ended up selling our old
dresser {& some rugs} which paid
for our new dresser. almost in full.
perfect.

i LOVE it. it fits everything.
even my trillion pairs of jeans.
what dresser does that?
oh, yes. the 100 year old dressers
{even though they hardly wore jeans back then} 

we know the dresser was handmade
and seems like it was custom built.
there is no stamp or label on it, and each drawer 
fits perfectly into
the drawer frame.
 we think this means some individual built it
for someone special. 
maybe a lover for his bride.
that is what i will believe.

and though the piece is absolutely not for sale,
i think i would like to name it.
 after much debate, mr. amazing and i 
have decided we shall name him 
{even though i would prefer it to be a her}
'clarence'

because he is by far our favorite piece 
of furniture we own.
thus far.

so though this is not necessarily 
an improvement to the structure & interior
of our home or our garden, he wonderfully
enhances our poor man's gard{en}:interior, 
into a rich & lovely landscape.

here is what clarence looked like 
the night we bought him.


and this is what he looks like now.





he just needed some cleaning.
he fits perfectly in our home.

i hope you are having a wonderful tuesday.
my day has been rather full. 
but i am looking forward to chili for dinner
and some much needed time with jonathan.

                       .jessnicole.



09 November, 2010

poor man's gard[en]

today's post
features our 
guest bedroom.

when we first moved in
it was our 'african' themed guest room 
but we have recently acquired
some stunning furniture pieces 
and have been inspired to 
change the room a bit.
and, it's much more fun to 
change things every once-in-a-while.
it makes life exciting.
and satisfies the artist in both
of us...

so here is a before photo
i wish i had taken one of the 
finished african room. sorry.
you'll just have to see it in 
the in-between stage.




it was a room full of mainly reds, 
blues & some fun bold african
prints. 
it was a bright & colorful room.
quite fun.
but, because we both tend to get tired
of seeing the same thing all the time,
and because
jonathan is really good at finding great items
{& i am growing...}
we can redo things inexpensively. 
so that's what we are doing.
pretty much throughout every aspect of our lives.
doing things inexpensively.
minus toilet paper. 
we don't skimp out when it comes to toilet paper.

we'll gradually be working on the guest room
these next few weeks and i will keep you posted
when it is completed. i am super excited.

and, because i love decorating and love
autumn, i thought i would share 
one of my recent 'tablescapes'
with you.




  enjoy the rest of your tuesday friends.
jonathan and i are going on a date tonight.
finally. 

love.
                         .jessnicole.

02 November, 2010

poor man's gard[en]

today's post
features a little addition 
to our kitchen

a handmade wall shelf

we recently celebrated our
anniversary in mexico
{see post here
and found two metal 
shelf brackets that were
handmade by an artisan 
along the coast of baja.

so, of course, mr. amazing
whipped up a shelf to
put some of our cookbooks
on, hide the nasty old-fashioned
telephone hook-up & give us more counter space
to use when cooking and baking.

see our empty wall
{on the left, & before the grey paint}
 before mr. amazing's work:


and now with our wonderful shelf:




thank you jonathan.
it makes cooking & baking
so much easier with the extra space.
and it hides the ugly phone jack.
and we spent $10 total. huh. perfect.

if you want to see more of our
kitchen {from previous posts}
you can go here.

have a wonderful warm november day.
november?!?!! oh my.
where is our year going?
i cannot wait for thanksgiving.
some yummy recipes to come.
do you have any favorite 
holiday recipes?? 
i would love to hear.

ciao       


                   .jessnicole.