ORBITED BY NINE DARK MOONS

ORBITED BY NINE DARK MOONS

Upstairs Cat Platforms – Part 1

I’ve been plotting to build a 2nd cat platform. The one I built in the dining room window was such a huge success that I’ve been itching to start constructing another. I decided the window at the top of the stairs would be perfect, since Darwin already loves to sit on that windowsill, and Bonkers loves when I hold him up so he can enjoy the view too.

Architectural Salvage

Last week I stumbled upon the website for Architectural Salvage, Inc. which is only 40 minutes north of us in Exeter, NH. It looks like they have some really awesome stuff, including old wooden doors [need!], reclaimed barn wood [want!], stained glass windows, leaded glass windows, cool hardware, and funky light fixtures. I told hubby we’re going on a roadtrip soon!

The Great Basement Clean of 2014

Last time I cleaned our basement cage was summer 2012. It was so neat and tidy! Somehow between summer 2012 and February 2014 it looked like a bomb went off – you couldn’t even walk into the cage! So I spent 4 hours yesterday moving pretty much everything out of the cage, vacuuming the space with my new shop vac, and laying down our old living room rug for a nice, homey feel. Then I moved everything back in, with a new layout.

Recessed Lighting – Part 2

So… yesterday afternoon, to distract myself from the train wreck of the girl cave bookcase and ceiling lights, I grabbed one of the recessed lighting trim pieces from the living room, brought it down to the basement, and spray-painted it white. It took 2 coats to cover the black. Once it dried, I popped it back into the living room ceiling. And… It’s too white. *SIGH*.

What I’ve Learned Since Yesterday

So I had a mini meltdown last night. Caused by a string of events that started yesterday afternoon when I learned from my mom that the small bookcase I’d painted dark purple in the girl cave was originally painted with oil. Which explains why the paint wasn’t sticking. Which means a total re-do that will be 3x more work than the original paint job I did. Sanding off the latex. Priming with BIN sealant. Repainting with dark purple latex.

Recessed Lighting – Part 1

We have [*cough* UGLY *woof*] recessed lighting throughout our condo. It’s very 1980’s. They look like putting green holes to me. Like I should be standing on the ceiling hitting golf balls towards them. They’re also reminiscent of “whack-a-mole” [although having moles popping out at random intervals, singing happy mole songs to me, would be AWESOME! *daydream*]…

Girl Cave Small Bookcase – Part 1

Back in January, I started painting the small bookcase in the girl cave Benjamin Moore’s Galaxy, same as the ceiling. I thought it would look really nice, and it did! On Tuesday I learned I made the ever popular DIY mistake of painting latex over oil [my parents gave me the bookcase recently, but I had no idea they’d painted it with oil like 40 years ago – GAH!]. It’s one of those mistakes that almost every DIY’er makes once, but isn’t likely to repeat.

Girl Cave Ceiling – Part 2

Yesterday I was home due to the Federal holiday, so I decided to make myself useful [something I had avoided all weekend by spending most of it sprawled on the couch, under a puff, watching hours of HGTV]. So I set up my ladder, draped some plastic, and finished painting the girl cave ceiling. As you may recall, I started painting the edges of it back in October… The color is a beautiful, rich dark purple called Galaxy by Benjamin Moore.