Color Me Badd

I kid you not, we have been slaving over the transit map paint drawing in Operation Oscar's Room every single night. The math is incredibly exhausting. Taping is just as bad. Why do we put ourselves through this? Oh, this is why.

We love color.

You should've seen the faces of the two jabrones working the paint center at Home Depot when I handed them our selected paint swatches. They probably thought I was color blind. I don't care; these colors are awe-some. It didn't occur to me until way later that our trio of paints are akin to the CMKY color model. Great minds think alike...anyone? **tap tap tap**

Now the universe has toyed with my daily web browsing and flooded my google reader with heaps of items of the same colors.

::Diana F+ CMYK::

::Love Birds::

::Anime Flower Ring Set::

::BB Dakota Mia Skirt::

Below is a little teaser.

I have a Joey Lawrence "whoa!" moment every time I enter the room.

Lacking No More

Have you ever had one of those days where you just wanted to scream "f-it" whilst throwing your laser level at the wall and catapulting your toggle bolts into the trash? Me too.

This past weekend we attempted to revivify our TV wall with a pair of the ever-so-popular Ikea Lack Wall Shelf.

I have a question for you Ikea. Who hurt you?

Mounting the shelves correctly was as difficult as eating a single Pringles chip without wolfing down half of the canister. A series of WTFs supervened.

The black and decker bullseye laser level's stud finder feature was uber inconsistent (in its defense, it is a couple of years old... so it may have lost its ammo).

Eleven holes later, we finally found a stud! Eleven!! Pssh, 16 inches my butt.

Next puzzle? Hardware. We were advised to use 3/16"x 2 toggle bolts.

Can you imagine how big of a hole we had to make to have the springed wings slide through? Nix that plan after a couple of zaps with the drill (that's what she said).

A few days later (and a couple of minutes googling for new hardware research) we found our perfect match: self-drilling drywall anchors.

Total lifesaver. That audible pop lets you know it's working.

Yada yada yada, the Lacks went up with ease.

We are currently rotating the shelf decor on a daily basis. All I know is that Spuds stays put and a bigger TV wouldn't be so bad...

What do you think?

3/10/10- Linking up to Amanda @ Serenity Now! Our Family Room Project is taking a longer than expected (going on several months now) but I have a hunch that Amanda's linking parties is my spoon full of sugar. ;)

Carpet(bac)teria

It comes to no surprise to our friends and family that Chris and I are a couple of germaphobes. And when I gawked at this, I was attracted to the Dirty Dishes collection instantly.

::E-coli::

Always wash your hands before eating. Always.

Rotisserie Waffles

I love breakfast for dinner! I swear, if the desire to see age 40 were not in our long-tern plan, we'd be grubbing at the IHOP daily. When I heard we were nearing the end of National Pancake week, my sense of urgency kicked in.

Now I'll admit, we did tweak the celebration a bit... and cooked up another one of Smitten Kitchen's recipes, Rich Buttermilk Waffles (the crispier, more resilient cousin of the pancake). Yum. Yum. Yum. Better than donuts!

Before the salivation commences, let me show you our secret weapon; this fancy schmancy waffle maker. (Thanks Annel and James)

Fancy because it can do a rotisserie-esque 180 degree turn.

Who ever said cooking isn't fun?

To top it off, I channeled Martha Stewart and snatched her Apple Compote recipe.

Bon appétit!

Do you have any delicious breakfast recipes I can add to my repertoire?

Watch Your Head Spuds!

As my friend Jam would say, "Friday, Friday, Friday!" Indeed it is...and I couldn't be happier.

This weekend Chris and I will be taking a minor break from Operation Oscar's Room to focus on last year's project, the Family Room...which in reality is only a couple of months old.

In that room, we still have a few loose ends in need of some tying. It pains me to report that the infamous "tabar" conversation has slithered its way back to the table (oh, hai pun). This loopy conversation ignites my Ricky Ricardo "Mira que tiene cosa..." shpeal.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled program...remember those lateral files we bought to use as a TV console? Well...they're looking a little bald against the granite abyss. But, hopefully, this weekend we will rectify that with a couple of wall mounted shelves...and some knicks in need of a knacking. 

Ignore the box of legos on the far left but say 'hello' to Spuds on the right.

Happy Friday!

Stronger

Transit map it is!

We've got a couple of other additions that we're still toying with the idea of...we'll see.

Hmmm, is it just me or does it give off a Kanye West kind of vibe? 

Operation Oscar's Room: Primetime

For the first time in ten years, I was able to participate in the 3-day holiday weekend. I usually work all recognized holidays, save for the biggies, and every holiday eve Chris proclaims, "domestic violence doesn't take a break for (insert holiday's name)" which turns my frown upside down.

While I would have loved to have lazed around and do nothing but watch the winter Olympics, Chris and I were two handymen in action all. weekend. long.

We went full throttle in Oscar's room.

First order of action; remove the chair rail molding. Isn't chair rail molding traditional used in dinning rooms? I cannot fathom why someone decided to nail up chair rail molding on one wall! I guess they were going for one dramatic wall? Talk about drama. 

Two crowbars, a hammer and a utility knife in the works...

...while desperately praying that the molding does not bring along the drywall with her (molding is beauty therefore she's a lady).

We breathed a sigh of relief as the molding came off with only minimal scarring. Chris felt that the chair rail removal went so well... he decided to pull up all of the baseboards. I guess somebody got a little crowbar happy.

The walls in Oscar's room felt rather wallpaper-textury underneath the paint. We figured we'd sand-down a few spots on the wall to see what new affliction lay in wait.

And while Chris buffed-down the walls, he dodged himself a trip to the swedish kingdom, Ikea.  My little sister, Pita, joined me in the Ikea quest. (cue the sister love)

(Hi Pita!) (Don't pay attention to my freakishly long arms)

After the noteworthy trip I came home to this:

Wallpaper verdict? Negative (hallelujah!) but the bubble gum pink paint underneath is totally Elle Woods inspired.

Ended the weekend with a little spackle and a whole lot of primer.

George Washington would be proud.

Anyone else have a productive 3-day weekend?? 

Blog Love 2

Earlier this week some of my favorite bloggers granted our lil blog with the following humbling award.

A million thanks to Little House on the Corner, Thrifty Little Blog, Russet Street Reno and just added House Notes! The quartet of lady bloggers are creative, spunky and wads of fun. And without a doubt, they are on almost everyones blogroll.

Now as the story goes, listed below are ten things you may or may not have known about us.

1. I'm Mexican...and I grew up in East Los Angeles and somehow managed to come out with my eyebrows intact and sans the accent.
2. Chris and I began dating soon after we met in Biology 101 class on the beautiful campus of Cal State Fullerton almost 10 years ago. 
3. I didn't announce our engagement (to anyone!) until a full week after the proposal (I wanted to enjoy this blissful time without the zillion questions a bride-to-be is engulfed with as soon as there is a tangible diamond ring on her finger).
4. Chris is currently taking a woodworking class. (!!!)
5. He also surprisingly baked a Chococat cake for my birthday one year.

6. Chicken on the bone scares me. I can't deal with any meat on any bone. Boneless all the way, baby!
7. Our college graduation party was held in a bowling alley. 
8. People have often mistaken Chris and I as brother and sister. 
9. Ten months into our engagement we secretly tied the knot. No I wasn't with child though the rumors flared up like a hemorrhoid. A month and a half later we had the best post wedding reception at Park Ave with all our friends and family.

10. And we designed our own marriage announcements.

We are just a couple of odd balls...who pose with cupcakes. ^_^

I would like to tag the fabulous award to the following bloggers who inspire me with their salivating decor, home design and daily finds.  I urge everyone to check them out during your relaxing three-day long weekend! 

Chez Larsson

Retro Renovations

Jenn Ski

2 Modern Design Talk

Design * Sponge

Making It Lovely

The Inspired Room
MadeByGirl
deedee9:14
The Yellow Front Door

Operation Oscar's Room

I feel the first order of business to Operation Oscar's Room is narrowing down some paint selections. I'm not quite sure what color hues to go with as of yet but I have a few paint pattern ideas in mind that may make my heart (and hopefully Chris') go pitter patter.

                                                     ::my first try at google sketchup::

                                   ::not to shabby ^_^::

I know, it's basically a giant paint swatch, but seeing it in a large scale kind of makes me say, "oh la la." I wasn't going for a focal point here (like we did with the family room) but rather, more of a backdrop. I think it might work nicely with all white furniture.

Another idea we have is a bit tricky...trickier than anything we've painted before. Our inspiration? A subway transit map. More specifically the NY city subway map from the 70's. 

Could it be done? Perhaps. Would it look good? Tough to say. In either case, we'll be buying enough 3M painter's tape to make a whole village of Smurf Mummies.  

What are your thoughts? Giant swatch or transit map? 

And The Oscar Goes To...

Remember that gigantic and hideous "hi-I-sell-drugs" security doorknob I posted a couple of weeks ago?

Well my friends, I feel it's time to tell you about the tall tale of Oscar's room. Oscar is not a roommate nor is he a pet of any kind. He is not a family member who mooches from us either. Oscar is the name of our spare bedroom. And yes, he is real.

We met Oscar over a year and half ago when we closed escrow on our home. Oscar was renting a bedroom from the previous homeowner and he was a tad late getting all of his belongings out of our bedroom. We had the opportunity to chat with him a bit (mostly to find out what the previous homeowner was like since we never met the gal nor did we ever receive the "keys" to our [then] new home). Oscar was a bit of a character. He looked like a Mexican version of Donald Faison, you know, that guy from Scrubs? But with more of a 'Stand and Deliver' persona. All and all a nice guy.

Oscar was kind enough to leave his manly doorknob lock with us. He divulged the secret code, ahem, 420 and even left behind some 'panama red' in the garage...under a home depot bucket. Perhaps it was a housewarming gift? Nah, the chow chow they left behind was our "housewarming gift."

On our Twenty-Ten Project/Goal list, I pledged to makeover Oscar's room and bury his name for life. This past weekend, we broke the ice.

I do have a confession (but more like a warning), and please tell me I'm not alone! Oscar's room is what I like to call my Monica Closet. It's my version of my chaotic space. I'm a fairly neat person all around, but when I come across a future DIY project I tell myself I'm going to get around to it later and promptly stick it in Oscar's room. I stick everything in Oscar's room, including our college degrees signed by the Terminator himself...they are inside my hello kitty sewing machine box. Sigh. I'm a closeted disorder-er, you could probably find me in the DSM IV.

As you can see, most of the items in the room are empty boxes. But before we rummaged around, Chris declared several arguments will ensue throughout the process. He was correct.

I'm relieved to reveal the not so embarrassing aftermath snapshot.

Let the decorating fun begin!

And please tell me there are others out there with their own version of the Monica Closet.