Can't decide what book to read next?

Have you ever just picked up a book at the library or book store, hoping from the cover and summary you'll like it, and end up hating it?Well, lucky you! My good friend and author, Rebecca McKinnon, has started a book review blog and I'm one of a handful of reviewers on there! So, now my full reviews will be posted there, but I'll try to link up to it from here.
The best thing is that all the reviewers have different tastes and so at one stop you can see what's come out recently (we try to keep it to books published withing the last few years), and if it's any good. Then every friday one of us will highlight a book that's been out for a while, but is worth checking out.
So, head on over to    www.thecrookedword.blogspot.com  and check us out!

1st attempt at reupholstery and some helpful hints!

Well, I've finally completed it! I was hoping to post the before picks (I did actually take them), but our hard drive crashed and now they're gone :( My hubby is slowly getting pics off the old hard drive, but I wanted to put this up without waiting too long.

Anyhow, it was a pretty ambitious project, I have to say, for a first attempt. And although there are things that are a little shoddy, I've learned from them, and you can't see them right away either.

I got this material a while ago at a design fabric store that was closing their location and I lucked out and only paid 30% of the price. Not 30% off, I paid 30%! Don't we all live for deals like that? :) I was originally going to paint it to look like grain sacks, but then I thought, what if I hate that in 5/10 years? So, I'm going to put the more trendy stuff on the pillow I'll be doing next. If I could easily afford another chair, I would just go for it, but for us cheapskates ... :)

Anyhow, here's the final product - Voila!























I did manage to get a picture of a piece of fabric that came off it (just imagine the whole thing in this with really shiny legs):

And, yes, the whole thing was that dirty.

So, there are a lot of tutorials on this topic out there in blogland. The gist of it is take lots of pics/videos/notes and pay attention while you're taking it apart.

But, here are some things I learned (from many mistakes) that I haven't really seen in a lot of tutorials that I've read....


1. So you're using the old pieces as patterns to cut out the new ones? Good for you - make sure to cut them AT LEAST an inch bigger! Especially if there are curves on your chair. You can (and will) cut off excess after it's stapled on.

2. Along the same lines, if there are little cutouts in the old material, wait to cut them out until you start putting it on the chair and you can see EXACTLY where it should go.

3. Be careful with larger weave material, it's going to fray a LOT easier! Just plan that and maybe cut just a little more than that extra inch. And get some seam sealer!

4. Even if you think the seams will not show (when sewing the welting or cushion), don't use contrasting thread. It sounds super obvious, but I didn't think it would show, that's what was in my sewing machine and I lazily didn't want to change it. But, when I sit it pulls the material away just enough to see the black thread. Classy :)

5. To take the staples out, I ended up using a phillips screwdriver and needlenose plyers. I loosened them with the screwdriver first (as many in a row as I could), then went along with the plyers.

6. Number the pieces as they come off and write on the old material. Also, draw which direction faces up, front, etc.

7. If you decide to do nailhead trim - way to be ambitious! :) These are actually not to bad (not nearly the love/hate relationship I had with the curve-ease). If you start hammering it in and the head isn't exactly in line, you can gently hammer at an angle until it is in line.  I didn't use a marker (I didn't want it to show up), but if you have one of those fabric markers that dissapear, just draw a straight line.
















The bottom line wasn't too hard, but if you do a second one, or the first one isn't directly along the bottom, here's what I did:

Measure between the two lines, then go out 8-10 spaces and measure the height difference and put that in, then you can visually check the line as you further along.

But, you do have to be willing to take them out if it isn't working. Like, when I looked at the left-hand side and realized I actually wanted the right hand side,

And end up with a pile of unusable brads like this

To end up with the end-goal you want.

On the arms, they had used finishing nails or something to attach it (you have to put the material around the little insert and then connect it to the front of the chair. I didn't have access to one. So, I just used the brads to hold it in place.

I wanted to do the second row along the bottom to do something a little differently (I was inspired by a  chair on Restoration Hardware). Plus, because that first row was right in line with the bottom, you couldn't really tell. Here's a close up of the nailhead trim:

You also get a good look at the legs. I just sanded off the old stuff and got a sample-size paint at Home Depot (paint for $2.50? sure!) Then distressed it with sandpaper. Then lightly sanded over the rest of the paint as well to kind of blend it all together.

Overall, I'd say it turned out pretty darn good for a first attempt and all those blasted curves!

I knew for sure it was pretty good when my hubby (whom I married because I loved his willingness to be honest even when it would be easier to offer noncommital placations) tried to claim it as only his to sit on!

Linking up to:

What to do with all those zucchinis and tomatoes...

Garden Minestrone Soup

If you're like, well, anyone with a garden, you have many many zucchinis and tomatoes. I have just the recipe for you! Truly yummy Garden Minestrone Soup. Even my husband (whose philosophy is that soup is how a woman tricks a man out of a real meal) liked it!

Garden Minestrone

Ingredients:

2 t olive oil
1 c chopped onion
2 t chopped fresh oregano
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 c chopped yellow squash
3 c chopped zucchini
1 c chopped carrot
1 c fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
4 c chopped tomatoes, divided
6 c chicken broth (= 3 cans, preferrably fat-free, less sodium)
1-2 c uncooked macaroni
2 (15.5 oz) cans Garbanzo Beans
6 oz baby spinach
1 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground pepper
1 c grated Asiago cheese


I would chop everything first and have it ready by your stove
















Directions:

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions to pan and sautee 3 minutes or until softened.
2. Add garlic and oregano and sautee for 1 minute.
3. Stir in squash, zucchini, carrot, and corn; sautee 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
4. Meanwhile combine tomatoes and 1 can broth in a blender and process until smooth. (You can keep some of the tomatoes to put in the soup if you'd like, but the texture bugs me, so I blend all of them)




















5. Add tomatoe mix and remaining 2 cans broth to pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
6. Add pasta and beans to pan; cook 10 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring occassionally.
7. Remove from heat, stir in spinach, salt, and 1/2 t pepper.
8. Ladle soup into individual bowls and top with cheese (if desired).
9. Enjoy!

The total cooking time may seem long, but while your soup is simmering, you can clean up the prep mess:














Then after you eat, you only have the pan and bowls to clean, nothing else.

What the heck?!

Why does my google account not "have access to view" the blogs I follow? I can still see them, but can't comment on them?! Grrrr.

Random thought of the day: Chivalry

Firstly, this post is NOT inspired by anything my husband does/or does not do! :) His actions go above and beyond mere chivalry. I'm, of course, alluding to the fact that I pass out when I vomit. Which is really fun for him to check on me and make sure I'm okay when I have one of those illnesses that make your visits to the bathroom multi-purpose. :)
I just thought I'd say - Listen up guys - just because women decline your chivalry doesn't mean we want you to stop offering. Is that selfish and silly? Perhaps.
But, I think of all those times I lugged around my double-bass (you know, the "really big fiddle" in the back of the orchestra (As all the old men used to call it when talking to me and thinking they were so clever and funny)?), and the stool I would use to sit, AND a music stand, and guys would pass by and.... not offer to carry anything. Now, had they, I would have maybe let them carry my music stand or stool, if I didn't outright decline (I'm NOT entrusting an instrument that cost thousands of dollars to anyone else!), but still, the offering lets you feel important.
Like the time I was assistant manager at an apartment complex and was called to go snake some resident's backed-up toilet. (The maintenance guys didn't work weekends unless it was an emergency).  I walk into the lady's apartment and am greeted by her boyfriend. Now, does this man, seeing a gal of 22 years of age, in office attire, carrying a large metal pole that will shortly be used to mash up the "material" blocking the water from draining out of the toilet, offer to have me show him how to use it so he can risk getting splashed by what is probably his stuff? Of course not! Would I have accepted his hypothetical offer? No. But, come on! You don't even offer?
Or, all the males at the apartment office who, though my official title was Assistant Manager and I was accountable for all pertaining responsibilities, thought of me as a glorified secretary (being the only female there).  And, thus when I was hugely 8 months pregnant and in risk of hypertension, thought nothing of letting me pass out 256 flyers to the residents, when only 2 apartments were on each of the 3 floors in a stairwell. So for every 6 apartments I had to walk up 2 1/2 flights of stairs and also down those 2 1/2 flights of stairs. Now, would I have accepted their hypothetical offer? N..... You bet your sweet non-bloated ankles I would! I'm not bitter . . . really, I'm not. ;)
Chivalry.
Like Nike says - just do it!

SYTYCD has ended... now what to do with my Wednesday nights?

A (mostly) brilliant season of SYTYCD has ended and now my children will be able to play outside on Wednesday and Thursday nights instead of being ushered inside so mommy can "watch her show." :)  So very many memorable dances this season (and some seriously silly and amateur ones as well)! Perhaps I'll bother you with some YouTube vids of my faves another day when I have time :) But, for now, a link to an editorial I couldn't agree with more about the guest judges:   http://www.hatrack.com/osc/reviews/everything/2011-08-11.shtml
Yes, I know, it's written by Orson Scott Card. I promise, I don't always agree with him. But, this is almost the exact article I would write (if I could think straight when I have time to blog) about the differences in approaching guest judging between Christina Applegate (charming, interested in the contestants, helpful) and Lady Gaga (I can't think of phrases to aptly describe the wretchedly horrific, attention-greedy antics).
Just scroll past the review of The Rise of the Planet of the Apes if you want.

Current state of undress

Every time I complete a stage on my first attempt at re-upholstery I get unduly excited.
Here's where I'm at now...

Actually, now that I'm finally posting this, I do have the legs painted. But, you'll just have to wait to see that :)
Now, comes the hard part - making the new material look good.
Wish me luck!