Pitiful Patio

Back in April, I showed you our outdoor, above the garage, patio area:

As I mentioned yesterday, I got our patio set from the sandblaster. The Midwest has been insanely humid this Summer, so I opted to have them primed before I picked them up to avoid them rusting on the way home or before I got all the pieces painted.

I knew I wanted a lime green paint color, so I purchased 1 can each of Rustoleum Lime Green and Rustoleum Green Apple, because I wasn't sure which would give me a better color:

 The one on the left is Lime Green, the one on the right is Green Apple. I hate them both. Mister hates them both. Any ideas?
The fabric draped over them is the tablecloth I purchased.
This is the umbrella I want:

Pottery Barn

Here is the rug I bought:

West Elm

Are there any other bright green spray paints out there?

Father's Day Flamingo

My dad hates getting presents. Despises it, really. But we always end up getting him something and so this year he beat me to it.
My parents have a thing for flamingos. Any flamingo. They have flamingo wine glasses where the stem is a leg and you have to be careful not to poke yourself in the eye with the head. They have double-walled acrylic low-ball glasses for sipping poolside. They have some random pink piece of metal that is supposed to be a flamingo which sways in the breeze. They have a metal planter which had seen better days.
When I was picking up my patio set (more to come on that tomorrow) to take to the sandblasters he told me I could take the flamingo along, then spraypaint it for his Father's Day gift. Well, I was totally on board, since he NEVER asks for/wants ANYTHING. EVER. Awesome. Easy peasy, right?
The sandblaster finally got my stuff back to me on Friday evening. This is what the flamingo looked like at that point:

And here's what he looked like after two cans and about a gazillion coats of Valspar Tulip Pink spraypaint:

I wish I had gotten a picture of him in his natural environment on Sunday, but jackass that I am I forgot. Big surprise there, right? I sent both parents this pic on their phones Saturday while I was working:

And asked "How do you like the color? Black on his eyes, beak, and/or feet?" My mom texts back immediately with "Looks good! All three!" My dad calls me two hours later to tell me there's a storm warning and to ask "What's this Google map you sent me?" The fact that my 60 year old father even knows what Google is cracks me up! And how exactly does this look like a topographical map? Anybody? Bueller?

I ended up only painting his eyes black, cause I didn't get to that point until ten o'clock Saturday night and cause he looked cute and I was afraid more black would look awkward. I also made sure to coat him with about six coats of Rustoleum lacquer in "Gloss", to keep him looking nice for a few years, but it didn't turn out all that shiny. Not sure why. It's a good thing spraypaint dries quick though, cause the last coat went on about an hour before I had to leave!

Master Bedroom Progress

I have decided there will never be anything to call a finished "Before & After" here at the Little Pink House, only "Before & During". Remember how I talked about my inability to follow-thru with anything? Well, it doesn't seem to be improving.
I can't find any beside tables that I like or can commit to, I haven't found lamp bases, and I haven't hung the art I have for the room. I did find lamp shades and throw pillows that I absolutely adore at Target a couple of weeks ago, though. I also purchase the Pottery Barn Woodland Organic Duvet Cover on Ebay recently, but I still have to get the shams. There is a reason I don't normally buy things on Ebay; there is no return policy (usually). I should have looked at the bedding in person before I ordered it, there is a lot more brown in it than I realized. Oh, well. Shockingly, Mister actually likes the Duvet Cover. I really thought he was going to hate it!
Anyway, here is a glimpse at where our Master Bedroom is currently.

Things that still need to be done:

*Add trim to the curtains.
*Make or buy Roman Shades for the "radiator season".
*Make a black and white cover for the dog bed.
*Organize the bookshelves.
*Find nightstands.
*Find lamp bases.
*Hang art.
*Decorate the top of the bookshelves.
*Buy Woodland shams to match duvet cover.

Fashion Friday

I made a surprising find at my local Target store a few months ago. Now, don't judge me and I am definitely NOT pregnant, but I purchased a dress from the maternity section. I know, I know. But it was really cute and it turns out I am an Extra Small in maternity! I love it when I am an Extra Small in anything. I am not a big girl, by any means. I am 5'4" and weigh in around 135 on a good day, but I am "curvy". My "big girl" cousins smirks and scoffs when I say this, but I am not using the term curvy as a euphemism for chunky like most people do, I am using it in the original way, like Marilyn Monroe or Sophia Loren. Ha! Not that I look anything like either of them, but you get the picture. My chest and my hip measurements are equal and my waist is 11" smaller. This is a big difference and it's often hard to find clothes that fit well. So I tried on this adorable dress and I bought it, because it fit well, it was cute, and it was on sale! I have worn it multiple times and not a single person would have guessed it was from the preggo section (ya know, if I hadn't told every single person I know that it was).

I went back to Target on Tuesday and scoped out the maternity dresses, thinking I might get lucky, again. I did.

Liz Lange Knit Dress - Black

Liz Lange Twist Front Maxi Dress - Green Print

Liz Lange Knit Dress- Turquoise Print

I bought three more dresses! $70 total for three knit dresses that I can wear casually or to work. As my mother would say, "You can't beat that with a stick"!

I also saw these two online and I want them, too!

Liz Lange Tie-Dye Maxi Dress - Gray

Chiarakruza Maternity Olivia Sleeveless Dress - Violet

But my local Target didn't have them... *pout* I think I am going to be stalking the maternity section this summer. Whatever works, right?

Current Obsession

Every week I wait for Design*Sponge to publish their Before & Afters. It is my favorite day on their site and usually my favorite posts on anyone's blog or site.  So, have you seen the website Better After yet? Before & Afters everyday! Totally rockin' wicked awesome! And the girl (Lindsey) who writes the little intros to the pictures is clever, which always makes a blog more enjoyable. Check out some of my favorites:

 Suburban Spunk

 Potholes & Pantyhose

Piney Flats Style

I totally stole the ric rac trimmed curtain idea for our Master Bedroom, which I will reveal to you in all it's loveliness if I ever find bedside tables I like and we can agree on.
I have always wanted a table made out of a log and Mister and I talked about it years ago already. Rebekah's concept is much better than ours, so now I must steal her idea too!

Family Time!

I love my family! Is that dorky? I don't care. They are awesome, generous, fun, humorous, etc... My paternal grandmother, Nani, turned 90 on June 14th! 90! That's a reeeeaaaaallllllyyyy long life. We had a birthday party for her at my parents house, by the pool.

I didn't take this photo, my maternal grandmother did. I hope somebody got a shot where you can actually differentiate between people!

Can you see in the photo above, Gidget came along for the fun?

"Mo'om, stop taking my picture"

Do you recognize this room? Probably not, since it was buried under 6 feet of crap last time you saw it!

My SIL put this together using 90 Nips. My grandma is obsessed with Nips, my dad buys them for her and keeps her well stocked. I'm surprised she hasn't developed diabetes thanks to all the sugar! She cried when she first saw this with all the time Angie put into it and all the signatures...

My aunt brought those brownies all the way from Michigan and looking at this picture I JUST realized that I didn't try one... Oh well, I'm not a fan of brownies anyway. We also had a chocolate fountain, but I forgot to get a picture. I think the chocolate in those always tastes like ass no matter what kind you put in.

Happy Birthday, Nani!!

Monkey Love