{renovate} coffee table

Happy friday friends! What are your fun plans for the weekend? Any great projects lined up?

So, you know how white is prominently featured online? White rooms, white couches, white tables? I love looking at those rooms -- so peaceful! -- but I never really thought white was for me. I always lean more towards color and black. But then, I painted my fireplace white. It completely changed my perspective.

So today, I'm sharing a before and after project I finished this summer.

 

I bought our coffee table (see above) at a garage sale a couple years ago for pennies. It was really scratched up, but I loved the storage. Two drawers + a basket? Yes, please. So I threw a table runner over the top to hide the majority of the scratches and called it good.  

Note: obviously, that photo isn't in my living room. I thought I had photos of the table in the living room, but it turns out they were lost when my computer crashed earlier this year. Awesome. So I snapped pics when I happened to run across the table in the store. Which is perfect, because now I can actually share a before and an after!

While I should have been working on the back porch this summer, I decided that I couldn't live another day with the table as is. And yes, it was probably that dramatic. Poor Chris. So I bought a can of spray paint, and created this:

Aah, so much better. The color is Rust-Oleum's Heirloom White and the new pulls I'd picked up on sale this spring at Anthropologie.

I'm completely inspired by all of Camilla, of High Heeled Foot in the Door's, grass cloth DIY. In a nod to this table, we layed a grass cloth center to create a little added interest. I think this is my favorite part.

I was actually completely surprised what a white piece of furniture did for the room. Since it's such a heavy piece -- both optically and in reality -- the white actually lighted it so much. We completely love it.

Who knew white furniture could have such an impact? Okay, probably everyone but me :). 

Now, I would love to put some sort of label in the pull. How cute would that be? But I can't think of anything! So, the question friends, is what word(s) should I put in the labels? There are four! I would love to heard your ideas.

**1/11 update: I've added this to Primitive and Proper's POWW party. Hop over to check out all the awesome entries!

{inspired} artist Amy Ruppel

I am so so so excited to be sharing with you the latest addition to my tiny art collection:

You should know this about me ... I love Oregon. I just think it's the greatest place to live and so I'm always drawn to cool Oregon artwork. That's how I discovered Amy Ruppel, also a Portland girl. I ran across this print, somewhere online, and knew I needed it in my house. And, like a crazy person I bookmarked the site and decided to *think about it*. Did I mention it was limited addition? Yes, crazy. So, when I finally set out to create the art wall in my living room, I went back to buy it. Sold. Out.

I've been hoping since then that she'd release more. A couple weeks ago she posted on twitter that she released a second run! Friends, it didn't take me more than 5 minutes to complete that transaction. I wasn't letting this get away again.

And I love it. This picture is sooooo Oregon. The green, the trees. It makes me smile each time I look at it. I'm rotating it around my house now looking for a permanent home.

Don't sharing my dying devotion to Oregon? First, you clearly have never visited then ;). Second, Amy has also created this wonderful U.S. print called This Land is Your Land. It benefits the American Forest organization. 

Amy's Etsy store is also worth taking a few minutes to peruse. There's so much goodness there. I love this alphabet print. So perfect for a nursery! 

I also love her giclee prints. Giclee is such an interesting and cool medium anyway, and I love seeing what new images Amy has produced. This is my current favorite.

Visit Amy's website or Etsy store to check out more of her amazing creations!

{create} a layer cake!

Did you all have a great weekend? What did you dress up as for Halloween? We had an incredibly mellow weekend. It was bliss. 

This is a post I've been wanting to do for quite some time. For me, frosting a layer cake was up there with making a pie crust from scratch. I knew it could be done, but I could not figure out how to both make it both taste good and LOOK good. It took me years, many articles, and many lopsided cakes, to figure out a technique for frosting a layer cake. I'm still no where near perfect, but I thought I'd compile my steps here, both for my reference and yours. These directions won't give you anything fancy, but they will give you a well-presented, scrumptious looking cake. I hope this post convinces you to give it a try. They really are beautiful, and with the right steps, not hard ... just a little more time consuming than a sheet cake. And, if you've been doing this for years, please chime in with your hints and suggestions! :)

Assembling the layer cake

First, bake two layers of a cake. May I suggest this white chocolate lemon cake or this vanilla cake with rich chocolate frosting? Let your cake cool completely.

Decide what surface you'd like your cake to be presented on. This can be a plate, a cake plate, or the bottom of your spring form pan (above). Just make sure you're positive before you begin. Once you start frosting, there is no switching surfaces. Once you've decided on a surface, tear off wax paper or parchment paper and lay on the edges of your surface. This makes clean up a breeze.

Get your first cooled cake and remove any dome that has formed in cooking. Just slice it off with a knife. You want both sides of your cake to be flat. Then, place the cut side down on your surface. You want the flattest side facing up for your next layer to sit on.

Grab your filling, lemon curd here, and put it on top of the first layer. Make sure it comes within a 1/4" of the edges and is thick enough that when you cut into it, you can see the filling layer. No one likes skimping on filling! 

Cut the dome off your second cake, and place it cut side down into the filling and press to squish (that's the technical word) filling to the edge of the cake. Having the bottom of the cake on top ensures a completely flat and smooth surface for the top of your cake.

Next up is the crumb coat. For the longest time, this was the hardest part for me. But, it's essential! It keeps your frosting clean and crumb free. Starting on the sides, cover your entire cake in the thinnest layer of frosting. This thin layer will trap all your crumbs and keep them secure for the next coat of frosting. Place the cake in the fridge for 20-30 minutes. You don't want this layer moving around when you start working again.

After you pull your cake out of the fridge, it's time to really start frosting. Using a small offset spatula, or a butter knife, spread your frosting out over the cake. I tend to start by just slapping frosting here and there so I can see how far my frosting will go.

Then, starting with the top, smooth the frosting out. When you smooth out the sides, make sure you bring them up to meet the tops frosting. It'll create a neat little edge. You can frost it as rustic or a smooth as you like. I'm not such a perfectionist here, and really like cakes to look a bit more rustic. When you're done frosting, carefully remove your parchment paper.

And then decorate as you wish!

Now, if I could just figure out how to make a butter pie crust, I would be happy. Someday :).