DIY #2 - Done!

Remember a while back when I wrote about my coffee table refinishing project? At the time I was so frustrated with how much time and effort the whole thing took that I swore it'd be years before I took on another project like that! Well, that didn't happen!

First, some background... Three years ago, when moving into my first unfurnished apartment, I purchased a little table from Target for around $15 as a temporary nightstand. Buying the necessities, such as a bed and a desk, drained my wallet and I figured I would upgrade down the road. I didn't think I'd take three years, but I'm picky and cheap - not a good combo!

A few months ago I had the week off and took the opportunity to go shopping. I passed by an unfinished wood furniture store as I was driving around. I could hear it calling my name so I decided to pop in and see what they had to offer. It just so happened they were going out of business and everything was 60% off! Who can resist a deal like that? I picked up two new nightstands for $18 each, which were unfinished but already assembled.

This time I decided to do plenty of research ahead of time, not be so stubborn, and get the job done right! The first thing I did was go out and buy wood conditioner and more of those cheap foam brushes.

Since the wood was unfinished I only needed to do a light sanding to prep the tables. I applied the conditioner just like the directions specified and was able to stain one of the tables before I got too sore from all the bending over to get to the second table. Since I conditioned both tables the first day, but didn't stain the second one, I had to re-sand it to "open up the pores" and then apply conditioner again when I came back to work on it. Both tables came out fine, but I think it was this step that caused the two tables to be slightly different in color. One table has more of a reddish tint than the other.

  
I had a lamp on when I took the right photo so the color is slightly off, but still pretty accurate. I used the leftover red mahogany stain and semi-gloss polyurethane from my coffee table project on the nightstands.

The finished nightstands side by side.

I can't wait for the day when we have a garage or better yet a workshop where I can do these kinds of projects! 

Drooling (Literally) Over Kitchen of the Year

Monday, when I got home from the dentist I couldn't feel nearly half of my face. I must be really sensitive to novicaine because even my lower eyelids and ears get numb. It's a great thing to be pain free, but man do I hate that stuff!

Anyway, I decided to take it easy and watch an episode of Flipping Out. In case you haven't seen it before it's a show on Bravo about real estate investor/flipper/designer Jeff Lewis and his team. In the episode I watched, Bright Lewis, Big City, Jeff heads to New York for a meeting about the kitchen he's been choosen to design for House Beautiful magazine's Kitchen of the Year. I had seen a few pictures of the kitchen floating around on the internet and it was fun to see a bit of the behind the scenes action. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think of his designs!

All photos from housebeautiful.com

Daybed Dreaming

After two years of talking about getting a new sofa, even going out shopping one once or twice, we still have the old worn out futon sitting in our living room. It's such an eyesore that I can't even bring myself to post a photo of it.

I recently visited our local Crate & Barrel store and fell in love with this oh so soft and plush daybed.

source

In the evenings Andy and I like to sit facing each other with our legs intertwined as we read or work on our laptops. It's a great was to relax and spend time together after a long day and something this daybed would be perfect for! However, we need a sofa with a back to it and since we don't have room for it as an extra piece of furniture the search continues!

The Week Ahead

I'm not looking forward to this week very much. Although I've already had my first exam of the semester, this is when things really starts to pick up. I've got two exams this week, two next week, one exam per week for a few weeks, and then midterms. Around midterm time is when we get our certificate for injections - yes, injections. We have to practice intradermal, intramuscular, and subcutaneous injections on each other and then demonstrate proficiency to get our certification. Really though, I'm just glad we're not performing any of the ocular injections on each other. Oh, and to kick this week off I have to get four cavities filled after my exam tomorrow!

The Verdict Is In...

The verdict is in - the Brazilian keratin treatment (BKT) was a big fat fail! After four looong days of greasy hair I was so excited to hop into the shower, special sulfate-free shampoo in hand, and see just how well the treatment worked. As soon as I started to lather up I could feel the curls returning. I was pretty upset with that I saw when I got out of the shower and looked in the mirror.  My hair appeared to be less curly than before, but only by a small amount. Certainly not worth the time and money I had put in.

One the left is my hair right after getting the BKT done. The photo on the right shows how curly my hair was after washing it for the first time. The second time I washed my hair (not pictured) it seemed to have completely returned to its naturally curly state.

I got out the blow dryer and flat iron and went to town. The straightening process didn't seem to go any quicker than before. The only positive that I could see what that my hair didn't frizz up when I went outside and it felt very smooth and silky.

Despite the fact that I had very limited success with the treatment I'm still glad I did it. I had been wanting to try it for a long time and now I finally know what it's like. I heard some positive reviews of the Japanese hair straightening from some of my classmates so I may consider trying that in the future. In the meantime I'll continue to use my blowdryer and iron to straighten my hair into submission or, more likely, just let my curls do what they do best and try to accept it.

Oh, and on another note my in-laws will be visiting for the weekend. They are nice enough to drive my new car down and will be staying for two days to visit. I'm not sure what our plans are, but I'm sure we'll find something fun to do.