DIY | Reverse Ombre Curtains

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The ombre trend is everywhere these days and I'm all over it. I found this inspiration shot on pinterest and I fell in love!!!!!!!The reverse ombre almost makes it look like the color is raining down. I loved the effect so I decided to try to recreate it for our living room. 

When starting out with this little project, I had to gather the supplies. First, I searched out some white curtains, and of course, look no further than IKEA. What a crazy deal - two panels for $9.99! I bought 3 packs - knowing I would have at least one unsuccessful panel. Then the color, I mixed liquid Rit Dye of Teal and Kelly Green. I mixed the dye in a plastic bin in our bath tub and used a drying rack to steady the curtain panels.

The dip dye process was a little time consuming. I sectioned each panel off in 4 segments and dipped them into the dye in 8 minute increments while I listened to NPR. Here are some action dip dye shots for your pleasure....

And the result......

These two pics are a little dark, but I really love how the curtains turned out.

Birthday Bird | 33've

This year was/is my magic birthday. Why magic you ask? Because I have an affinity for the number 3 and this is the year I'm double 3, or 33've. Wooo! It was a great day. To begin with it was Friday and Gen was able to come to Los Feliz for breakfast, so I got awesome girl/baby time. Which was just the beginning.

Joe bird did it right. After breakfast, I went and had a mani/pedi (which I never do, cause I wear hella closed toe shoes and chip my fingers almost immediately after painting them) but it was a relaxing and a fun treat. When I got home, Joe was all kinds of prepared.We hung out at the house for a little bit and then (when I got hungry again) Joe took me downtown to Nirvana - I mean Wurstkuche, have I mentioned yet how much I love hot dogs!

It has become a birthday tradition to consume an astonishing amount of hot dogs since my 31st birthday - the day Joe and I went to Hot Doug's for the first time. At Hot Doug's, I realized that I am an encased meat fanatic. It was a wonderful day to say the least. In addition to consuming a ridiculous amount of hot dogs, we also bought a dozen doughnuts and proceeded to lie in bed all day watching Twin Peaks. It may have been the best birthday eva!

Getting back to this year. Here's some awesomeness from Wurstkuche.

When we were done gorging ourselves on sausage, Joe took me to the Hollywood Wax Museum - fun for the whole family or two slap-happy dummies.

The absolute funniest wax sculpture.

Did you know my dad and Indiana Jones have all kinds of stuff in common? Well they do.

Yeah. I'm a Big fan of Buffy!

 Needless to say we had a lot of fun at the Wax Museum -  here's a link to the rest of the birthday pics.

Birthday Bird | Kubrick and Cocktails

We basically skipped Joe's 32nd birthday cause he was on set and I was in Australia, but I still wanted to celebrate my bird getting one year older. The weekend after I got back, we went to the LACMA to see the Stanley Kubrick exhibit. I'm not a fan of Kubrick myself, but it was interesting and it made Joe very happy.

interactive sculpture, we were just like kids.

My favorite Kubrick.

Actual Movie props above and below.  Creeptastic.

And when we were done exploring LACMA, we went over to Big Bar for some craft cocktails and bacon wrapped dates. YEAH!!!! Happy Birthday Bird!!!! Here's a link to all of Joe's Birthday pics.

33 Goals Before 34

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Ha ha! Came across this on pinterest and it made me giggle. So remember this - my master plan to try new things. Well I tried to go month to month, but I discovered it's kind of a pain in the booty to stick to a schedule. So yet another new direction - 33 goals to accomplish before I turn 34 in no particular order.

1. DIY create unique typography project.
2. Volunteer at PPLA.
3. DIY finish arranging our wedding album.
4. Explore The J. Paul Getty Museum.
5. Date anniversary weekend in Santa Barbara.
6. Explore Catalina Island.
7. Learn to bake at least 3 different pies, 1 cake and a batch of cookies from scratch.
8. Explore Joshua Tree.
9. Read 12 nonfiction books.
10. Explore the LA Flower Market.
11. Date night at a new restaurant/food truck at least once a month.
12. Explore all the Griffith Park hiking trails.
13. DIY an Emergency Preparedness Kit.
14. Explore the La Brea Tar Pits.
15. Learn to play tennis.
16. Explore the Jet Propulsion Lab.
17. Learn to dance as a couple - maybe ballroom or salsa. 
18. Explore the Aquarium of the Pacific.
19. Date movie night at the Chinese Theatre.
20. Explore the Hollywood cemeteries.
21. DIY upholster the bed.
22. Learn to sew at least 3 projects (not pillows) including holiday stockings.
23. Explore the Rose Bowl Flea Market.
24. DIY a balcony garden.
25. Volunteer at an MSU meet-up.
26. Learn new Photoshop techniques.
27. Date at the Circus.
28. Learn to rewire a lamp.
29. Date night at the Book of Mormon.
30. Volunteer for a nonprofit networking group.
31. Learn to redesign my blog.
32. Date picnic at the civil war reenactment.
33. Photograph our outings and adventures to compile a "2013 yearbook"

Did I miss anything?

Update: I forgot to mention that this list was not my own creation. It was inspired by a blogger that I follow and enjoy  - Little Chief Honeybee.  I felt bad I forgot to mention that, it's important to give proper credit to creatives.

Pat & Steph Foreva | The Reception

 Apologies for taking so long to get this up. Here's a look at probably the most lavish reception I have ever had the pleasure to attend. I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked, so here's a video from this beautiful day. In addition to the video, the vid site has the touching vows Pat and Steph wrote to each other - my bro is clearly a poet at heart.

photo courtesy of Sarah Lapinski

I have a million far away pics of Pat and Steph posing before the cake cutting. They were really patient about everyone wanting to get a shot. They must have posed next to the cake without cutting it for about 5 minutes. (Unlike Joe and I, we cut the cake in about 1 minute flat and ran to our table. Our photographer got like 5 shots and that was it - quick and dirty.)

photo courtesy of Sarah Lapinski

 This is a shot of our table, aside from Mike and Derek, this is the entire US contingent. Representing 'Merica from left to right: Gabby, me, Julie and Tommy Miller, Anna and Tim Miller, my parents and Paula (Sarah is behind the camera obvi.)

I mean look how much silverware I had!  The scallops were the only course I got a chance to take a pic of, but they were all gorgeous. My only beef is that somehow (likely related to my intense champagne buzz) I missed cake. dumb bird.

photos courtesy of Sarah Lapinski

 I'm such a dummy for not getting a shot of the view. The Crown is right on the river that runs through Melbourne, and the view was lovely. And then the champagne kicked in. I stopped taking pics and Paula and I proceeded to dominate the dancefloor. When the band took a break, Paula forced the band leader to play Tootsie Roll from You Tube on his IPhone. And then naturally, she and I were the only ones on the dance floor - cause we were in Australia, and nobody else cared.

DIY | Upholstered Bed Choices

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I LOVE this bed DIY project. I pinned it ages ago and now I'm finally ready to do it. I have most of the supplies including a slightly upgraded IKEA bed frame, but I'm held up on one problem. I can't commit to the color!

I'm torn between the olive and charcoal colors below. I love the charcoal cause it's a neutral and it will go with anything even when I inevitably redecorate. But, I'm leaning towards the olive color because my bedroom is already full of neutrals - the duvet, curtains and sheets are all crisp white, the carpet is beige, the dressers are medium brown wood tones, and the walls are Martha Stewart's Sharkey Gray (which can go a little lavender in tint depending on the light). I was thinking an olive upholstered bed would be a nice statement piece and I could add complimentary pillows, accessories and art. Or I could play it safe with the charcoal and mix in colorful accessories that could easily be changed in and out. I dunno, totes torn. Opinions or input anyone?

UPDATE: After careful consideration I've decided on the charcoal. Now I just need to spend a day stapling! 

Upholstering Bed: Fabric Choice by jmillewitz on Polyvore

Pat + Steph Foreva | Ceremony

April Goals: australia, pat + steph foreva, birthday birds, chinese theatre, coffee table, 

silverlake ramen, is everyone hanging out with out me, la flower market, LACMA, hot dogs

photo courtesy of Sarah Lapinski

Last week my dear younger brother got married to a beautiful and sweet girl from Melbourne. The weather was a sunny 82 degrees, unusually warm for the autumn day, but perfect and welcome. Pat was super nervous when we met him at the church before the ceremony, he was practically bursting with excited energy.  

we didn't plan this color palette, just brilliant minds think alike.

 

 The two kept it traditional, and hadn't seen each other since the day before, making this moment really moving. Steph looked AMAZING in this dress, and so so happy walking down the aisle with her dad. If I was a better sister, I would have gotten a pic of Pat's face (which was awestruck) but it was hard to tear your eyes away from this beautiful bride.

 

The ceremony was a Catholic service, but the couple added their own spin. They had contemporary music, wrote their own vows and had Steph's sister Laura and I read poetry that described their love for one another.  Pat was in charge of few wedding details (as typical) but he picked out the readings which were lovely, emotional and a tiny bit dark, just like Pat: Sonnet XVII and How Do I Love Thee.

Mr. and Mrs. Miller!!!!!!!