so many goodies!!

Yesterday I started in a brand new position where I work- woo hoo!- but I woke up feeling a bit nervous. And I had a bit of a stress headache, so I dived into the box and got the Urgent Rx fast powders.

Instead of a pill, it’s just a packet of powder. So I opened the packet and poured all the powder onto my tongue… holy crap you guys it was a lot more powder then I expected. And it was supposed to have a lime taste, but um, I thought it tasted kind of awful. HOWEVER, within 10 minutes my headache was gone completely and never came back. So as far as easy to use, easy to transport, and fast acting- it totally holds up.

I also read all the fine print so you guys don’t have to- point of note: it contains a solid amount of caffeine. So either don’t have your usual cup in the morning, or just have half of it. This will give you the jolt you need!

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Disclosure: I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.

That’s right, SEVEN speakers…. and you thought hiding the cord of a lamp was hard!

Psst: IT’S ALL THE WIRES!

In the front of the room we’ve got two tall speakers flanking the tv and one subwoofer right next to it, and those wires are easily scooted under our baseboard and behind our tv stand. However, hiding the wires from our two back speakers and our two sound speakers was a bit trickier. And trickier still…we couldn’t hide them in the walls because the insulation was installed backwards and there wasn’t enough space.

The solution… these awesome, adhesive, paintable wire covers. (And no, I’m not being compensated to tell you that, we just seriously love these things).

Is it completely invisible? Of course not. But it really does a solid job at blending, and anything is better then trailing  wires from the very back of a room to the very front of it.

The packs also come with corner elbows and T-shaped fittings so you can get around tricky areas, like giant beams that span the length of your ceiling:

Overall, I absolutely think these are a lifesaver. It’s Matt’s room and it looks just how he wants it to… but let’s face it- left to his own devices they’re probably wouldn’t be a gallery wall of framed posters, concealed wires, and a plush  comfy rug.

You can definitely use these to hide lamp cords, tv wires (especially if you have a mounted tv!), speaker wires, etc.

So tell me, what are your wire hiding secrets?

Today’s guest post is written by my better half, Matt! On Monday I shared what the movie room looks like, but he’s popping in today to share how we got it to sound awesome as well. Take it away Matt……

Seeing as Stephanie normally gets to do all of the writing (it is her blog after all) I thought that I should get a chance to contribute as well.

To make a long story short, we were in the process of revamping our basement with a shiny new paint job and a new surround sound configuration. On average, we probably watch about 5-7 movies a week so sound is key. We have a 7.1 (7 speakers and 1 subwoofer) surround sound system set up in our basement. You will have to forgive me but I need to geek out here and describe the system in brief detail before moving on—be patient.

            Everything is powered by a Denon AVR-791 receiver that I am in absolute love with. My center channel speaker (where most of the dialogue comes from) is a Klipsch KC-25 and my front left and right speakers are Klipsch KF-28 floor standing speakers. This is where most of the power comes from in the system so it was important for me to have nice clear sounding speakers. The KF-28s, in particular, are excellent sounding speakers. For my surround left and rights, I eventually went with Klipsch KS-14 2-way speakers. Your surrounds give off most of your “moving sound.” For example, if a car whizzes by in a movie you will hear it as it moves from left to right across your whole room. The term 2-way just means that there are 2 individual speakers in each main speaker. This gives the speakers more movement and reach in your room. My surround back left and rights are Polk Audio TSi 100 bookshelf speakers. I bought these many moons ago and while they don’t match the remainder of my setup they do sound excellent—and have a nice cherry wood finish to boot. Last but not least I have a Klipsch SW-450 for my subwoofer (the subwoofer puts out the entirety of the bass or low end in your surround sound; in other words, it is an extremely important part of your system). I had replaced a Polk Audio subwoofer with this new monster and I immediately had a problem: my room was vibrating. This leads us to my featured project, a DIY Subwoofer Isolation Pad.

I did a great deal of research online about ways to fix vibration in a room from a subwoofer. What I kept coming to was something called an isolation pad. Essentially, this setup raises your subwoofer off the ground by about 2 to 3 inches. This coupled with heavy carpeting and soundproofing underneath was supposed to drastically cut down the vibration in a room. Basically, having a subwoofer on the ground can create many problems due to unwanted vibration and an overall “boominess.” We have the luxury of living in a house and not having to worry about neighbors so volume isn’t a problem. Apartment dwellers should especially take care here, as nothing is worse than having an awe inspiring setup but not being to use it thanks to sharing a space.

I found that you could purchase several different types ranging from $50-$100 online (mainly from Auralex), but this didn’t work for me. I had just spent a good deal of my hard earned money on upgrading my system, so I decided to build my own isolation pad.

The purpose of an isolation pad is in the name: it is meant to isolate the bass frequencies from the surfaces around the subwoofer. Raising it off the ground allows the bass to travel to the viewer and not to the walls, heating vents, and doors in your room.

Total cost: under $40

1. I started by laying the MDF down on the ground and placed my 2X3s 6” in on both sides. I made pencil lines to mark where the 2X3s would sit on the MDF. I then applied the Liquid Nails to the 2X3s making a zigzag pattern as I went.

2. Next, I lined up the 2X3s (with Stephanie’s help) and pressed them firmly against the MDF. I wiped away the excess adhesive and gave them about 15 minutes to dry. I then made pencil marks on the 2X3 bases every 2” or so. These would be my rough positions for my drywall screws. I then drilled in the screws to firmly hold and seal the 2X3s to the MDF. This part was loud and long but it’s important to secure these boards.

3. Once the screws were in we flipped the pad over to its top. I sprayed the bottom of the carpet and the top of the MDF with the 3M adhesive (awesome stuff by the way!) and let them sit for 2 minutes before lining up the carpet and pressing it down firmly on the MDF. It will adhere quickly but be forewarned: the 3M spray has a strong smell. If it’s a nice day I would recommend spraying it outside—we didn’t! We let the carpet sit again for about 15 minutes.

4. Once the carpet adhered on we busted out our trusty staple gun. I flipped over the pad and folded the excess carpet onto the bottom. Once it was pulled tight, I put in a liberal amount of staples to ensure it was secure and snug. I repeated the step on the opposite side. Next we had some excess on the front side of the pad so we folded that under and stapled it to the front (Stephanie used a black Sharpie to color in the staples—what a woman!).

5. Once the carpet was secure I decided to use some of the Auralex soundproofing I bought to fill in the middle of the pad’s underside (in between the 2X3s). I had already bought some for the room so I cannot say how it would sound without it but you could always try it to start. This stuff can be expensive but I believe you can buy it in small quantities from Amazon. I cut a piece to size using a bread knife (you needed to use something with teeth, like this or an electric carving knife). We broke out the foul smelling 3M adhesive once more and sprayed both the bottom of the pad and the soundproofing foam. After 2 minutes I pressed the foam tightly and snuggly into the section. I flipped it back over and it was finished.

I can vouch for the quality of an isolation pad. From the second I put my subwoofer back on it and went through a few of my favorite sounding blu-rays I heard the difference in the room. The bass was louder but clearer. It was no longer muddy sounding and I had done away with vibration in the room. Obviously, every room is different and you might need to do some extra work to make the room “tighter.” For about $35, however, you cannot go wrong with making your own isolation pad. For the home theater enthusiast or for the noise-restricted apartment dweller, an isolation pad is a must have!

To see what the room looked like 2 full years ago, when we first set it up, check here. And here’s what the room looked like while we were prepping to paint, the only thing missing is some of the DVD shelving but I really wanted you to get a sense of the nasty ox blood colored walls:

The walls were an unevenly painted crimson red, only half of the overhead lights worked, and the ceiling was dingy

Dutch thought the wall color was fine… but what does he know. I thought it was incredibly stressful and harsh. It had to goooooo. We’ve been putting off painting it because we were afraid of how many coats of primer it would take to cover the red, then we discovered the awesomeness of paint + primer in one and realized if we chose a dark enough color we wouldn’t have to prime at all.

I got a lot of weird looks when I told people we were painting our basement a dark ashy blue… “but won’t it be all cave like down there?” YES. That is the point, this room is for movie watching so we wanted it dark, comfy, and inviting.

After 2 coats of City Nights by Clark+Kensington brand paint, the room was looking a million times better:

We got it in an eggshell finish to minimize reflection and honestly, it makes me want to go back and paint my whole house in eggshell finish. It’s perfect. It’s also about a million times calmer and less aggressive.

My only complaint about the paint is it took FOREVER to dry. It was extremely thick… but to only have to do 2 coats instead of 5 or 6 was totally worth it.

Here’s a few more views of the room:

The DVD shelves are from Best Buy, there’s 3 of them and the shelves can be adjusted to whatever height you’d like them. Each one can fit up to 500 movies. The tv stand is also from Best Buy, and the ottomans are from Walmart. The ottoman’s are both the same- you can take the top off and flip it to either be a tray or a soft top and inside is room for storage.

When we moved in that back wall was just three built in cabinets, so we converted them to shelves so they could store more movies. Yes… more movies. The doors on the right wall are to the half bath and to the unfinished part of the basement.

Here’s a run down of what we’ve done to the room:

• Painted the walls
• Soundproofed
• Bought a new rug (after our 3rd basement flood)
• Concealed the wires from the surround sound
• Replaced a broken light fixture (with an exact match we found at the Habitat Restore!)
• Created built in shelves

And here’s a detailed picture of what we’ve got left to do:

Come back all week to learn more about soundproofing, speaker set up, and wire concealing!

1. This was Matt’s first full week without having to work a 2nd job- it was so nice for him to be able to come home from work and be home for the rest of the night. There was no sense of impending doom that he would have leave and work 5 more hours.

2. I got a new job this week! While I do really like my current job, this new position will be a good step for my career and will give me a chance to do a lot more for our students. Woo hoo!

3. I’ve got wildflower sprouts popping up like crazy. I was super skeptical that they’d grow at all, especially since I got the box of seeds from the Dollar Tree, and hopefully the rain we’re getting for the next 3 days won’t kill them.

4. Tomorrow night Matt & I are taking my dad to my favorite Boston spot, the Improv Asylum. He’s going to love it.

5. And when we get back from the Improv, Jack-a-roooo will be there. I miss my little nephew!

What rocked for you this week?

• Basil & lemon basil potted on the front steps (I find it’s too fickle to keep in the ground)
• Oregano that gave me nothing last year has been relocated and now needs trimming each week
• Parsley somehow came back from last year and I added a bunch more
• Peppermint for the first time!
• Chocolate mint for the first time- hanging on by a thread….come on buddy! Live!
• Chives currently potted on the front steps until I figure out where to put them (apparently they spread like crazy)

Today I thought I’d share 3 ways I dry out my herbs as I trim them.

1. Lay them flat on a cookie sheet

This is what I’ve been doing with my basil because I add it to water everyday- it’s my least favorite way to dry out plants because I feel like it takes the longest, but since I use 3-4 leaves daily in water it’s what’s easiest and they don’t need to be completely dried for how I’m using them.

2. Hang them in a bundle

Because my cats have no consideration, I ended up bundling my plants then hanging them from my guest closet’s pole. It worked just fine (in the dark, with the closet door closed) and took a few weeks to completely dry out.

3. Bag and chill them

This technique was the one I was most skeptical about, and it absolutely works the best. It makes the leaves super crunchy and retains flavor really well. Just pop them in a paper bag in the back of the fridge and get them a few weeks later.

What technique do you use? Whatcha growing this year?

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Linked up to Inspire Me Linky Party via Liz Marie Blog

Matt’s and my wedding is just one month away (whaaaat?!) so we got together with our photographer to take a few pictures- it gave him a chance to get used to the space (it’s the middle of a college campus so there’s a lot to shoot around) and us a chance to get used to having our picture taken (so we’re not all awkward-face on the day of). I’m not really into the whole engagement shoot fad, I don’t really understand the point of it, but this worked for us and helped our new-to-the-scene photographer build his portfolio.

Here’s some of the proofs I’ve gotten so far…

See what I mean about awkward? Matt’s all stiff smiled and I look petrified. I prefer the life of a hermit over a life filled with paparazzi. ::that’s why I blog::

What kind of photoshoot would it be without our dog sidekick Dutch? He’s rocking a sweet bow tie here, we’ll have some pictures of that soon.

Reenacting our engagement… I said yes this time too. (PS- my necklace is from Caroline G, get 15% off with code stephanief)

finally used to the camera! only took about 250 pictures to get there…

Marco doesn’t haven’t a business page up yet, but if you would like his contact info just let me know and I’ll send it along. He and his partner were great, and particularly great at catching moments when we were genuinely smiling and laughing versus posed and  weird…. which was no easy task. I’m mostly weird.

Also, our wedding has been “about 6 months away” for like a year! When the heck did next month creep up!

About a year ago I bought 2 slipper chairs, one originally lived in the sunroom but was later moved to the bedroom, and the other lives in Matt’s office. The one in our bedroom has been perfectly untouched, but for some reason the other has been ravaged to bits:

WTF cats. You have 3 scratching posts in 3 different rooms, including this one.

I love the pattern of this chair so I wasn’t about to completely reupholster it with something new, and a very very long time ago Pepper Design Blog was debating curtains for her dining room and this pattern was one of the options she was considering. I snuck through her archives to find the curtain post  but because it was so long ago the site she linked to no longer had the product- it did have the product name though, so I popped it into Amazon and ordered a yard of it (Thomas Paul Dahlia Aegean fabric). I also ordered a pack of cat scratch guards, which seriously I should have had all along.

Once it all arrived, here’s how it went down:

When I say “measure the fabric,” what I really mean is “hold the fabric up against the chair and eyeball a piece a little bigger then you think.” I talked about how to use no-sew hem tape here, and that’s exactly what I did the tops and sides of this fabric (the bottom would be stapled underneath so it didn’t matter).

I hand stitched the fabric up through the binding so you can’t see it at all, then I spent a heck of a lot of time very tightly wrapping the fabric underneath the chair and stapling it down- the legs do not come off so I didn’t have the option of removing them. I will say that this is the 5th piece of furniture I’ve done some sort of reupholstery to and the first piece where I did the corners halfway decent. It’s a skill learned through much swearing and screaming.

And voila! No more damage!  So my friends, if your animals destroy a piece of furniture, all hope is not lost!

What have you sacrificed for your furry kiddos?

The brass was not working for me so I wiped it down, taped off the top and the wire, sprayed it with 2 coats of primer, then 2 coats of Rustoleum white in a satin finish. I also hit it with a coat of ModPodge clear acrylic spray to seal it just in case:

Follow me on Instagram for all sorts of project sneak peeks.

I got a shade at Target.com for $18 (5% off, plus free shipping with your card!). It is fabulous, however the metal-lamp-shade-attacher-part was not working with it. To remove it I very professionally bent it back and forth until it broke off then just placed the drum shade right on.

And now, a picture parade:

For the regulars- no, that’s not Dutch. It’s his girlfriend, she came to stay for the weekend.

The best part of the lamp is the curves on it, which of course are impossible to capture on my camera.

The shade is a little off white and the gray has just a hint of purple in it, but I may be just noticing that because I’m nitpicking. I picked the shade because it goes well with the stencilled wall right across from it, and so far I’m loving how this room is coming together. There’s definitely a few changes kicking around in the back of my head though, like adding a matching floor lamp to the other side of the couch… so stay tuned.

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Linking up with: Inspire Me Please (via Liz Marie), and A Blossoming Life

1. BASIL! I got regular basil from my local greenhouse and lemon basil from a coworker both potted in perhaps the cutest pots I’ve ever seen (thanks Marshall’s!) I’ve already pruned about 4 inches off the top of each, so I expect them to get pretty big and bushy once I move them outside.

tip: When using pots this large you do not need to fill them completely with soil, the roots just aren’t going to get that long. I put a layer of rocks at the bottom, then filled each pot about halfway with dried crushed leaves. If you don’t have leaves, shredded newspaper or junk mail will work too.

another tip: I bring a bottle of water with me to work everyday and I’ve started adding 1/3 sliced cucumber, 3 basil leaves, and a squirt of lemon to it. mmmmmm. It sounds weird, but it is goooood.

2. CHIVES! These came from my coworker as well and man do they taste just like eating an onion. I was going to add them to my herb garden but honestly we’re not going to eat them that much and they get really pretty flowers if you let them grow so now I need to find a  sunny spot to use them as a decorative plant.

Where should I put you?

3. MORNING GLORIES! Also from my coworker, I’m really hoping I don’t accidentally kill these guys. They’re crawlers and stretchers so I’d like to put them at the base of my cement wall so they can grow to hang over it.

4. SUCCULENTS! It’s hard for me to have plants inside because one particular cat (ahem luigi ahem) likes to eat them. So I’ve got them placed on my swing shelves just out of reach. Each one has a layer of rock at the bottom, then cactus soil to help with drainage. They’ve all been doing fine for several months now.

why yes, I do know how terrible this collage is.

5. CACTI! One you see pictured above, and this other one lives in the living room to add just the tiniest bit more color in there… try and chew this Luigi! muah ha ha!

Oh yeah, and note that this is just a “high 5″ post. I’ve also got daisy seedlings, parsley, peppermint, and chocolate mint all hoarded in the basement waiting until this week’s thunder storms are over.

What are you growing this year?