I’m Moving

So, I’m moving. Not physically moving, just moving on the internet, which thankfully doesn’t involve much heavy lifting. This little site has served me well for the past year or so, but I’ve upgraded.

You’ll now find me (and this blog) over at rachelqwest.com along with my illustration and writing & editing portfolios, a link to my shop, and lots of other awesome bells and whistles. It’s the full shebang over there, and I’m pretty excited about it. This blog won’t be updated anymore, but it will stay active for a little while before being permanently retired. Everything has been transferred, so you’ll find it all at my new site. So, please head over and take a look around the new site and blog. I hope you like what you see.

A Little Pixelated Project

In June, I mentioned my intention to paint something to fill the large void above the green chairs in the living room.

In the time between now and then, I narrowed down the size canvas the space needed: 48 x 36 inches. This size canvas was placed really high in the store and looked huge from my vantage point below, which made me worry that I couldn’t fit it in my car. But the painting bug had bit, so I purchased a mini canvas to paint the sketch I’d done in colored pencil, and I went home contemplating how I’d get the larger canvas home. To spare you the suspense, it turns out the canvas fit in the back seat of my car without any problems at all. It was a totally unnecessary mini-freakout.

My idea (a little of which I shared here) was to create something pixelated and full of happy color.


I used this mini canvas to give me an idea how a 48 x 36–inch version of it would look in the space.


These pictures look a little ridiculous, but they helped me realize that I don’t like my original plan. It just doesn’t feel quite right and the space would have way too many sharp right angles and squares going on. So, I’m back to the drawing board, literally.

Decking Out the Deck

This is the last view y’all had of the deck.

It still looks pretty much the same.

We’ve had a couple of very busy weekends traveling, then Tropical Storm Lee popped up and we were without power for several days. All that to say, we haven’t done much work around the house, but we did get around to ordering some outdoor furniture which should be arriving in the next couple weeks.

This is what we’ve got going on so far.

Rectangular wood table from Overstock…

…with these stackable chairs…

…and two side tables that can also be used as seating. We got one of each color: green (it looks more chartreuse in the picture but we’ll see when it arrives) and aqua. I’m loving these guys.

It’s a fun starting point I think. We still have plenty of other things on our outdoor to-do list.
• Finish sealing the deck
• Finish painting the exterior (This is an ongoing project this fall.)
• Replace the shed door
• Paint the doors Valspar’s Cut Ruby, which is a beautiful deep red
• Spray paint the wicker chairs a fun color
• Build a table to place next to the grill so we’ll have a place to stash plates and grill tools while things are cooking

I’ll be sure to show y’all the results once the furniture comes in. Until then, we’ll be tackling some of this to-do list.

Images courtesy of Overstock and Crate and Barrel.

Mirror Exchange

The mirror in the bathroom has always bugged me a little. The screws and pieces holding it in the wall didn’t look great and didn’t look like they were doing a great job of keeping the mirror attached either.

Turns out I was right.

Let me back up. We’ve had this mirror sitting around for awhile. I purchased it when I lived in my first solo apartment, and then I used it in my condo.

It came with me when I moved to Ty’s house, and it sat in the master bedroom for awhile, and then it hung out in the office for a bit. It just never found a home.

Then I realized it would be much better suited to prettying up the bathroom instead of the mirror that came with the house. This one.

So, I took the existing mirror down, and I was right, it wasn’t attached very well. It came out quickly and very easily (too easily). I painted the area behind the mirror with some leftover paint we already had on hand, hung two 75-pound wall anchors (one on each side, which it a bit of overkill since the mirror weighs maybe 30 pounds), and hung the mirror. It was an easy project that took a couple hours, including paint-drying time. Here’s the improved after.

This simple change makes the bathroom feel bigger, a little less ho-hum, and more like a room rather than just a bathroom. The pictures don’t really do it justice—it’s hard photographing the narrow room and the light is definitely a little golden in the pictures (even with color-correcting), but I can assure you that it doesn’t look too Donald Trump-esque in there now as the pictures imply. It just looks better and makes me happier. It’s the little things.

Exterior Motives, Part 3

We finished the deck! I’m actually quite in awe that Ty and his master-builder friend who spearheaded this whole operation completed it from start to finish in two weekends. They had another friend helping for part of the first weekend, but it was a ton of work for two (and sometimes three) people, and they clocked some long hours. We’ve already been enjoying it and plan to pretty much live out there once the temperature cools down.

I also finished painting the back of the house, except for the two doors, which will soon become a rich red. Here are the before and current progress shots. The before was definitely looking a little tired.

And here are the much-improved in-progress shots.



As you can see, the deck is a bit bare, and the two chairs we do have are dwarfed by the massive deck. We’re planning to acquire furniture little by little, but first up on the to-buy list is an outdoor table and chairs. I’m not married to any particular look and really could be happy with a number of options, so I’m hoping to find something great during some of the end-of-the-season sales going on. More updates to come.

Check out Part 1 and Part 2 if you like.

Modern Baby

This image from Purl Soho has gotten me inspired.

Aren’t these baby blankets gorgeous? I have a number of friends who are preggers at the moment, and this looks like such a fun and relatively simple (although undoubtedly time-consuming) project that I think I’m going to add it to my to-make list.

Purl Soho sells a kit (called The Super Easy Baby Blanket) in the nine colorways shown, but I’ll be gathering my own yarn for a few reasons: 1) I want to pick my own colors. The color combinations offered are beautiful, and I plan to use them as inspiration, but there’s something wonderful and rewarding about creating something that is uniquely you. 2) The kit (including yarn and pattern directions) is $120, which is a little pricey, and 3) it’s also for knitters. I’ll be crocheting mine.

I won’t be starting this project for a bit, but I’ll give y’all an update when I do.

Image courtesy of Purl Soho.

Exterior Motives, Part 2

What a weekend! It was a long, hot one filled with more painting and the start of our deck project. With the help of a few friends (including one who came over, crawled under the house, and replaced and moved a water spigot for us), we tackled a lot, and we owe our talented, hard-working friends BIG TIME. See for yourselves.

Before. It was definitely looking a little tired.

On Saturday. (It was a gorgeous day.)

This morning (Smoky and Mack were surveying the changes too.)

We’ll be working on everything again this weekend—and we’ll hopefully be finishing the deck. The painting is going to take awhile. More updates to come.

Exterior Motives, Part 1

This past weekend marked the start of our house-painting project. We had to get moving on painting the house, at least the back of it, since our deck-building project begins in two weeks.

Here’s what our house looked like before (and still does from all angles except the back).

And here’s a peek of a small patch of the back that has been completed.

The trim and shutters are (or will be) Valspar’s Labrador, the siding is Valspar’s Lyndhurst Mushroom, and the doors will be Valspar’s Cut Ruby. We opted for the exterior primer + paint for the siding to cover the current maroonish color, and the coverage is fantastic. Just two coats got us what you see above.

There’s still a ton of painting left to do but we’re just focusing on getting the back done so we can start the deck on time. The rest might be done in small batches with a big push to the finish in the fall when it’s a bit cooler. It was brutally hot out there. More is certainly to come.

By the Pair

During a weekend trip to Atlanta back in April, I found a couple fabrics that I fell in love with.

I didn’t have a particular use or project in mind when I bought these fabrics, but they were simply too beautiful to pass up. Ever since, I’ve been trying to find a place for them somewhere in our home as pillows, but nothing looked and felt quite right, so I decided to make them into napkins to join my growing collection.

Here’s what I ended up with.

And here’s the full collection that I’ve made over the last couple years.

I like to mix and match them at the table or just let guests pick up whichever one they like best. I’ll undoubtedly be adding others whenever I find fantastic fabric that is too good to miss.

Our 2011 House To-Do List… An Update

Six months ago I posted this list, and I thought it was time for a progress report of sorts. Here goes:

• Decide on paint colors for the exterior. DONE…almost. We thought we’d decided but we’re not quite 100% on one of the colors. Decision coming soon. And then paint the exterior. Starting in the next few weeks. Our house won’t look like this for much longer.

• Finish taking the extra slats out of the faux wood blinds that we installed throughout the house. (I have three left to go.) DONE.

• Build a deck. Not done. This will begin and hopefully be finished in August. It’s going to be HOT!

• Add doors to the master bedroom closet. Not done. This fell off the radar with some other projects going on.

• Sand, prime, and paint the closet door frame in the office (a.k.a. the red room) a glossy white. DONE! The result on the right is much better.

• Hem the shower curtain. DONE.

• Finish cutting down the tree in the front yard. Not done. Planning to do this in the fall when it’s cooled off a bit.

• Plant a new tree in the front yard. Not done. See above.

• Touch up the dining room light fixture. I painted it awhile back and it just needs a little extra work. Not done. Another one that fell off the radar.

• Finish caulking and painting the crown molding we installed in the bathroom. DONE.

There are many other little projects we think up and tackle that aren’t included here, but this master list is a good reminder of some of the bigger-picture things we want to get done (or forgot that we wanted to get done).