It's been 2 weeks since my last blog post, and I owe some sort of an update to assure you that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth! My miscellany, as of late:
- The Colts lost last night. Because they're my home team, of course I wish the outcome had been different. I take comfort in the fact that our loss was not to the Patriots, however.
- I've spent the past two weekends taking apart an old curio cabinet from my grandma's house, priming it, painting it gray, and now installing a wine rack into the middle section that I picked up from World Market. I think the project will end well. I certainly hope so!
- I made about a million cake balls and pops a la Bakerella. I have a few observations: 1) Bakerella must be magic because my balls were nowhere as even as hers; 2) the use of low sugar cake mix doesn't make for round balls; and 3) i feel somewhat dirty typing out "balls" as many times as I have in this paragraph. I am a 14 year old boy. But not really.
- I can't get into the Bachelor. Playing the field with that many girls at once is reeedonkulous. And it's only worked once - with Trista and Ryan on the Bachelorette.
- Apparently their new daughter's name is Blakesley - to each their own I guess. And all that.
- I still remember their wedding. The flowers were amazing. I can't find a picture of their ceremony setup but it had shades of pink row by row. I know a few of you remember!
- You know what dating show I miss? Temptation Island. That show was horrible and fascinating at the same time.
- The last baking project I have for Valentine's Day is to ice my sugar cookies with royal icing tomorrow night. Then I'm ready to mail packages to grandmas.
- The National Weather Service is predicting more snow for us tomorrow through Wednesday. I'll believe it when I see it.
- I've lost 4 lbs. so far on Weight Watchers in the 2.5 weeks since I've started. I'm pleased I've lost weight but frankly, I thought it would be more! Especially because there are times that I am STARVING. But slow and steady is good - that's 2 lbs. per week, which is reasonable.
- I joke with the husband just about every day that I need to get a vacation on the books in order to feel right with the world. I'm not joking. I really need to constantly work towards a vacation. It's motivation, right?
- Big Bang Theory and Better Off Ted are two of my favorite newer shows. I love Portia del Rossi in Better Off Ted, she's hilarious.
- I really want a card catalog from a library. I have no idea where I'd put it - spare bedroom for craft items, maybe? But I need to find one. I've been searching Ebay and Craigslist but no dice yet.
- I got the cutest fabric online at fabricguru.com. I'm skirting the big plastic utility sink in the laundry room and doing a treatment for the window.
- I was so excited to read the comments on the silver leafing! I don't have a permanent place for the table but I'll make sure to let you know. Right now it's still under our flat screen in the master, but I did add a vase of pink tulips, which are beautiful.
Well, that's about it for now. Work is busy and it ain't easy being Betty Crocker every night! All two nights in a row, that is.
My mind immediately went to
Pretty!
Here's the brush.
To get the piece ready, I covered the stenciled areas with two coats of charcoal eggshell paint. I didn't worry too much about covering the stencils too well because I knew that the silver leaf would go on top. 
You can see another project back there. I'm painting my grandma's old curio cabinet. It's like Santa's workshop - only with less of a work ethic. And a fondness for Coors Light.
After the paint dried overnight, I covered the whole thing with the sizing and waited an hour for it to cure. Or dry. Or whatever it does.
This is what it looked like when I got done and cleaned it up a bit.
I left the finish kind of rough, mostly because of my inexperience. But if anyone asks, I meant for it to be that way. I left the piece alone overnight and then painted it with a layer of poly. I need the durability.
I took off the old knobs and replaced them with old glass knobs I found in my grandma's basement a few years ago. I like them, but I think something dark might go better. But I'll probably keep them as they're sentimental.
And here's the finished product. 

