Well friends, today’s the day!  I’m off to New York City to meet up with some blogger friends and attend The Nate Show on Tuesday thanks to an extra ticket provided by the very gracious Janell.  I’m flying out and bunking with fellow Bay Area blogger Cristin, and we are going to have a ball!  I haven’t been to New York City in four years, so today I’m absolutely grinning from ear to ear because I get to spend a few days in one of my favorite places on earth! 

My first trip to NYC was in 2001, just two months after 9/11.  What I still find eerie is we had plans to be in NYC during that fateful week in September, but for various reasons switched our plans at the last minute and postponed our trip until November, not knowing that NYC would suffer the incredibly tragedy it did that day.

I have loved NYC ever since I first set foot in this marvelous metropolis.  On our first trip, we did all the touristy things.  We visited all the museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art; we walked Fifth Avenue and browsed at Tiffanys; we visited Times Square, the New York Stock Exchange and Greenwich Village, we ate a famous restaurants; we visited Radio City Music Hall and climbed to the top of the Empire State Building.  

Central Park in fall is like living in a Nora Ephron movie!

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One of the places I love most on earth is Paris.  There’s something about that city ~ the romantic language, the architecture, the museums, the food, j’adore it all.  I haven’t been to the City of Light since before my kids were born, but I dream of returning in the next few years.  In fact, I’m secretly plotting to spend my 40th birthday wandering the streets of Paris, eating cheese, drinking wine, popping into shops and museums, and pretending I’m a Parisian for at least a week.

*Sigh*

Where was I?  Oh yes, back to reality.  When Megan of Modern Bird Studios offered me a custom one-of-a-kind work of art from her studio, how could I resist a recreation of my favorite view ? 

In my office window sits a custom 24” x 12” Eiffel Tower painted on wood just for little ol’ me in beautiful plum on a soft gray background.  Modern Bird Studios creates personalized, modern art from your photographs with a combination of a digital and hand painted process on an Oak composite or on acrylic mounted to Oak.

Here are some other samples of Modern Bird’s work that I love: 

Do you have a precious photograph you’d love to see recreated as an original work of art?  A landmark that you love that would look splendid painted on wood?  This is your kind of giveaway!  Modern Bird is offering one winner a $250 dollar shop credit to choose whatever piece of custom art you wish for them to create. 

Any of your questions about the creation process are answered on their FAQ page, and you can even take a peek at the color selection ~ there are over 100 colors to choose from, so the creative possibilities are endless!   Good news!  Modern Bird Studios has just become a ‘green’ paint company. 

Eligibility to win a $250 dollar credit to Modern Bird Studios:

1) Leave a comment answering this question:  Where do you dream of traveling to? 

2) For a second chance to win, either follow Modern Bird on Twitter, or ‘like’ Modern Bird on Facebook, then leave a second comment stating where you follow (FB or Twitter). 

3) For a third chance to win, either link to this giveaway on Facebook, or spread the word about this giveaway with a link on Twitter, then leave a third comment telling where you linked (FB or Twitter). 

Giveaway ends Monday September 20th at 8 p.m. PST.  One winner chosen by Random.org.  No previous winners.  US residents only. 

If you don’t happen to win, Modern Bird is offering anyone a 15% discount through Friday September 24th if you use the code CENTSATIONAL. 

Enjoy your weekend and good luck !!

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This isn’t one of those ‘ooooh pretty pictures’ posts.  Nope.  This is one of those ‘get down and dirty by starting a big DIY project’ post.  It’s been years that I’ve been wanting, no needing, to do this, and the time has finally come.  Over the weekend we said bye bye to the carpet on the stairs in the foyer.  Good riddance, if you ask me. 

As I mentioned in part two of last year’s banister revamp, the carpet was there mostly for the safety of our little tykes, but I’ve never been a fan.  For a long time, I have yearned for the gorgeousness that is a hardwood staircase, especially since it’s the first thing you see when you enter our home.

You’ll recall our staircase came halfway last year with the darkening of the banister:

We also painted the oak base white and added a Graham & Brown wallpaper treatment, you can read all about it here. 

Well, this year, since the kids are finally old enough to get the whole ‘no running down the stairs’ idea, we’re finally adding those wood steps I’ve been dreaming of all this time. 

So long carpet!

Yeeeeee haaaaaw.

Underneath is a solid plywood staircase, but we were left with plenty of these to remove . . .

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Hi all, how’s your week?  For me, it’s been interesting running up and down plywood steps on our staircase for the past few days.  We will slowly be installing new white risers and wood treads over the course of the next week.  It’s certainly a lot of precision cutting, and there’s plenty of sawdust in our house ~ more details coming soon. 

Meanwhile, I’d love to show off this fantastic light fixture revamp by Kristen at The Painted Hive.  Kristen shows some real ingenuity and a can-do attitude with her makeover.  She takes this unbelievably dated fixture (the same one I’ve spied at garage sales and in the brass bin at my local Restore)  . . .

Before:

and turns it into this unbelievably glamorous focal point. 

After:

Stunning!

Can you believe it ?  What a clever and beautiful makeover, I am in awe ! 

Hop on over to visit Kristen and read all about how she did it.   No doubt you’ll be inspired to update one of your brassy fixtures too. 

Have you got a fabulous makeover you’d love to see featured?  Drop me a line at centsationalgirl@gmail.com and I’m happy to consider it for the weekly lineup!

I was tra la la-ing my way through my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore a few weeks back, admiring all the great salvage and scheming of ways to put some of it to good use.  I was there because I had spotted a few cool cabinets on Diggers List and wanted to investigate further. 

As I chatted it up with one of the managers, I couldn’t help but notice the sign just behind him. 

Do you love the exclamation point for added emphasis?  Like rejected brass light fixtures are something to get excited about?  Well actually, I kinda do get excited about them.  A lot. 

I actually like antique  brass fixtures, just not these super shiny leftovers from the early 90s.  So with a fixture like this, one that just happens to have a completely fantastic shape, I see no reason why it shouldn’t be spray painted.  White.  Pronto! 

Hello gorgeous.  Don’t you just fit right in ? 

Aaaaaand, she was free.  Fah-reeee. 

Yep.  Free.

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