Pimp My Cozy Coupe: Top 10 Ideas

Hi friends. I realize that Christmas is right around the corner because I am starting to see the Christmas decorations and publications of the "hot" toy list. However, my favorite toys to purchase are the classics. Today, we will explore the Cozy Coupe, a true classic. Except today, we are going to explore ways to revamp and take the old, used, and Craigslist disasters and pimp 'em just in time for Christmas. Here is my Top 10 Pimp My Cozy Coupe Ideas. So, start searching for them janky Cozy Coupes to pimp out for your little ones. Or take the boy one you have and make it girl friendly and the girl one and make it boy friendly. A little paint and imagination goes a long way. 

 10- Volkswagen Lady bug. Source: Pinterest

 9: Woody's Pimp Ride. Source: Pinterest

 8:Minion Mobile

 7: Minnie Mouse Motor Car. Check out the details at:  http://supermessysupermommy.blogspot.com/2012/09/averys-birthday-party-recap.html

 6: The Herbie Heap for the Mama's and Papa's who remember elementary school and the Herbie movies. Source: Pinterest

 5: The Ice Cream Buggy. Check out the deets at http://www.dwellingsbydevore.com/2013/06/cozy-coupe-makeover.html#.UmXjS_lQHTp

 4: Fire Truck. See the how to at http://www.sweetcsdesigns.com/cozy-coupe-fire-truck/.

 3: Batmobile. Check out : http://nikkisnacs.blogspot.com/2013/02/henry-turns-3.html

 2: Dukes of Hazzard. Classic just like the car. Source: Pinterest

 1- The Super Pimped out Echto-1. Source:chickslovethecar.com

You can see these and the other Pimp My Cozy Coupe ideas I have on my Pinterest board: http://www.pinterest.com/31wifefolife/pimp-my-cozy-coupe//

Happy pimping. Until next time,


Nicole

A $64 Dollar Desk

Hi Friends. I wanted to show you today how I restored an antique desk.

The desk style I liked was the Whitney desk from Pottery Barn. But seriously? $999 for a desk? Me thinks NOT.

Here is another one at ONLY $949 plus tax.

Enter the Craigslist disaster. For $35 I got antique, missing pulls, scratched, and even stickers.

Here are some close ups:

scratches and dings

Look at those scratches on the top.

Talk about your fixer upper. This thing looked like it was in need of stripping to restore.The saving grace is that it is sturdy with good bones. Confession: I used this for the past two years in this condition. How unsexy. In our new home, this will be the man's desk. I want him to be able to use a nice desk when he works from home. We need to bring sexy back to this desk.

Solution: A trip to Home Depot for Restor-A-Finish ($8.98) and staining pads ($3.98).

I followed the directions on the bottle and purchased new pulls from Ebay ($15 with shipping). Make sure you measure ALL the pulls' distance to center. This baby was at 2.5 inches for the top pulls and 3 inches for the bottom. 

Look at the top, it removed those scratches. Best of all, this took me under an hour to restore. Really amazing stuff I tell you. 

Ta-da! the after, bringing sexy back! Don'tcha wish your desk were hot like mine?! Restor-A-Finish people. If any of you restore any old desks, please show me. I will do a round up of all your desk projects.

Here is the comparison:

BEFORE:

 AFTER:

Total Cost:
Desk                        $35
Restor-A_Finish         8.98
Staining Pads              3.98
Tax                             1.04
Ebay knobs                 15

Total                           $64
Pottery Barn Desk  $999 plus tax

A total savings of  $935 (plus tax)

Until next time friends.

Nicole

Fixing Chipped Wood Veneer

Hey friends. This is my first tutorial. I will be showing you the ghetto fabulous way of fixing chipped wood veneer. I love all things vintage and love thrifting unique pieces. Sometimes I come across less than perfect pieces. This sewing desk came with the vintage Singer 500A (review to come) that I purchased. The desk is sturdy and functional but there is a big chip in it.

 As I was at Home Depot today, I saw that they had free laminate flooring samples. I snagged a few that I thought matched the desk. 

I had the Man pry the laminate off the floor sample so that I was left with just a thin piece. He said it was hard to do. I think I should have told him to iron it first so that the heat would loosen the glue (oops!).

Those are his man hands double checking that what he cut fit . (Hey, real men can rock their daughter's princess bandages because their "31" wife (*said with sarcasm) cannot find the adult ones.)

He also pried off some of the wood on the desk so that the laminate piece would fit on there since it was a little thick. Then I used E6000 (the best glue ever) to glue what the hubby cut down for me.

I attempted to have a clamp hold this down for me but the clamp was too thick. So I had to hold it in place for a bit until the glue dried. (Yes, I need a manicure.)

There you have it. Not as big an eye sore as before.  Now if I can just find nicer pulls. I hate the brass.

Until next time friends,

Nicole

A Purple New York Themed Wedding

Hi Friends. Today I wanted to showcase a wedding that I did the planning and day of coordinating for. The bride and groom are from New York but their wedding was going to be in California. Since they met and fell in love in the East Coast, we incorporated a New York theme.

Here is the invitation. We incorporated the New York buildings and the couples custom made monogram. The monogram is inspired by the I love NY t-shirts. Our wonderful graphic designer is Arlene from Madjaz & Love Creative (http://madjazlove.com/gallery.html)

The ceremony was an beautiful outdoor ceremony. We used made sure that we could reuse the flowers from the ceremony at the reception.

 Rose petals were scattered on the walk way to match the couple's monogram.

Here is the reception. We had custom lighting made to project on a dark wall. The graphic design used in the invitation was used for the light as well.

We stuck with square shaped vases to keep consistent with our theme because they have the silhouette of New York sky scrappers.

 I wish I could tell you the person who did the flower arrangements but she might kill me. Maybe after this post she will decide to do weddings. ;)

Custom favor tags made by me were created with the logo along with the date of the wedding. We used packaged purple macaroons from a local bakery.

The cake topper was custom made by eBay seller cakebling. It is wooden but custom to match the couple's monogram.

Photography by : Gresham Visuals (http://www.greshamvisuals.com/)

Until next time friends.

Nicole

Guest Post: Chrystal Hunter : A Day in the Hunter Circus: A Picture an Hour

Hey friends, I leave you again with the capable hands of a guest blogger, Chrystal.  Today, you get to see the life of a boy mom. She was blessed with two adorable little boys. What is a typical day like for you and your kids? And do any of you run into the same issue of the kids not napping at the same time? Well, enjoy what Chrystal has posted. Until next time friends.

Nicole

Hello, my name is Chrystal. I am the momma of two wild man cubs. I was thrilled to hear that Nicole started writing a blog and jumped at the chance to be a part of it this week.

Because I am constantly chasing after my two year old, swaying a fussy babe, and doing another hundred things a minute with my boys, I decided to embrace that chaos and show you a glimpse into our life. Going out with the boys takes constant vigilance and patience that I don't always have, but we are not the stay-at-home all day sort. We gladly walk into the face of potentially crazy situations in order to maintain our sanity. That being said, I've put together a photo collage that highlights something we did every hour for one day. I hope you enjoy a peek into the crazy circus we call family. Thank you Nicole for giving me the opportunity to share.

A Day in the Hunter Circus: A Picture an Hour

7am

Praying for a good day before breakfast. Lord knows we often need Divine intervention!

8am

 Decorating Jackson's pumpkin for preschool.

9am

Getting ready

 10am

My jogging companions all bundled up.

 11am

Hanging out in Central Park

 12pm

Lunch date at Chipotle with our ring leader

1pm

 This was supposed to be a picture of a peaceful, sleeping baby.

2pm

Quiet time before big brother wakes up.

3pm

The boy loves him some milk.

 4pm

So close to crawling.

5pm

Finishing off the last of his popcorn from the movies with grandma and papa.

 6pm

Getting ready for date night.

7pm

Token picture of fancy coffee from a hipster coffee shop.

 8pm

Bath time

9pm

Ending the day with a good book.