Sue Nami in a Stepford Gown

Back in April right before The Husband and I moved, I made a fabulous gown for a dear friend of mine named Sue Nami  for our best friends wedding in Las Vegas at the Wynn. She's utterly fabulous and a doll to work with...AND...she loves purple!

The other diva is an amazingly talented and beautiful songstress.

Watch Your Drink,

The Stepford Husband

Drab to Fab Part Deux: Kitchen Remodel

Looking in During, pardon the clutter, we just moved!

Have you ever sanded and repainted your kitchen cabinet doors?  Don't...just buy new ones.  When you move into a 70's apartment I promise you that the hinges on the cabinets have been painted over with each new tenant since then.

Now you have to break out crowbars, screw drivers, hammers, paint remover and an occasional kitchen knife to get the things off, then you have to sand the cabinet itself, then sand the doors on every surface when this is all done you have to paint them and make sure you get a nice even coating on all surfaces. Then you have to put new hinges on everything, you think your almost done right? Wrong!


Since sanding the cabinet doors back to some sort of an original state they no longer stay shut!  Now, I have to put some sort of little magnetic closure on them so they stay shut...next is the door nobs and drawer pulls. They make a handy dandy little stencil for these little costly bobbles it's all going along great your drilling the holes and you go to put on your first door nob and what happens?  The screw is too short, I see that they come with a second screw...PERFECT!!!...this screw ends up being to long, Homo Depot is across town...now I know why people buy new construction!

Part of our deal with this apartment, which is rent controlled might I add, so we basically bought it...was that instead of a deposit we would put in new appliances...let me tell you about the old fridge, it had one shelf in it and it was filthy, the old stove, which was quote, unquote, a new stove had the rusted electric coils and couldn't regulate heat to save your life, and the old dish washer, although still working and dried dishes very well also made an occasional screeching noise, they are now replaced with stainless steal energy efficient appliances...I feel like my new fridge has a funny smell though, maybe it's just the new plastic smell, it's probably me though.

After the new appliances we tiled the back splash...this was so much fun, my mother came out and  helped The Husband and I do it.  Now she can do almost anything, as can I, but I had never tiled anything before, and I am sure with enough YouTube videos and Google searches I could have figured it out, how do you think I learned how to make butter!?

I will tell you though, it's very easy to tile and grout, what is hard to getting the grout off of your tile...I don't think I've ever rinsed a sponge that much in my life...end result, pure fabulousness!

If I can pass on a bit of advice though, don't paint your walls if you are going to be putting in a tiled back splash, why?  If you paint before you are going to be doing a ton of touch ups after words, because the trowel scratches the paint...lesson learned!

Watch Your Drink,

The Stepford Husband

Drab to Fab Part Un: Relocating Across Country

Living room before, looking in.

As anyone who has ever moved a household can tell you, it is never as easy as your mind thinks it is.

Since the middle of April and by middle I mean April 15th, aka tax day, why is this such a big day well, anyone who pay's taxes can explain but also if your husband happens the be an accountant than it becomes especially relevant.  We packed up our home and had a moving company come and haul it away which ended up costing about 3 times what we were quoted, however once they have half of your house in a truck your kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place and have to bite the bullet. Such things happen.

We are now back in the glorious city of Sunshine and fabulousness known as West Hollywood, the day's of rain and fog seem like a distant but fond memory...and yes, I do look back at the quaint city of Pacifica with some fondness now...I appreciate the walk to the grocery store where all the clerks knew me and the sound of the ocean which, regardless of a harsh day or a good one always lulled one to sleep...seeing an occasional whale, dolphin or seal was so exciting and now missed.  However, now we have nearly 340 days of sunshine, world class dining and entertainment, the finest shopping, luxury cars at ever curb, botox and beautiful people, and great friends who are considered family.  In essence, we have the best the world can offer and I am so enthused with this.

Living room before, looking out

I am sorry I have been absent and I have missed writing about our life all this time, so far, we have remodeled our kitchen, bleached and painted almost ever square inch of our new place and taken a 70's chic apartment into an ever evolving masterpiece.

Watch Your Drink,

The Stepford Husband

Design on a Dime: Redo your dining room for under $25,000...

The husband and I know a lovely couple Miss M., and Mr. G.,...soon to be married...and they are lucky enough to have just purchased a beautiful home in West Hollywood...as any straight couple should, they consulted their gay's for some decorating ideas.  After hours of scouring through Pinterest I was able to find some fabulous dining room set ups that I think you would love to have in your own home.

Now I have deducted that Miss M.  has a taste for French Provincial and with their new large and square dining room it will fit fabulously!

As always we are going to try and keep this under budget, now with $30,000.00 I hope we can do it, with a room that so many of us have such fond memories in, I would hate to scrimp but; these are tough economic times so bear with me.

Now, I will be using our favorite mail order furniture store Horchow, and I will sneak in a few new gems from a new place I discovered called One Kings Lane...This will be really fun!

LETS GO!

2 Lido Host Chair...$1,799.00ea.
Natural Dining Table...$2,199.00
4 Maya Armchairs...$999.00 for 2
Viola Mirrored Bar...$5,929.00
2 Gianna Console...$1,279.00ea.
Golden Chandelier...$1875.00
Slate Leiden Curtains...$89.00ea.
6' Barley Twist Rod...$167.00
2 Drapery Rod Rings...$68.00/set
Belvedere Chest...$1,199.00
Dinner service for 8...$664.90
Antique Baroque Flatware...$339.90
Cheers Glassware...$155.40
Azure Cotton Napkins...$114.00
Orchid Napkin Rings...$645.00
8' X 11' Panthea Rug...$649.00
4 Aero Sea Glass Pillow...$556.00
Glass Bottles w/stoppers...$295.00
Perched Birds Table Jar...$575.00
Turquoise Decor. Accents...$86.90
Golden Geometric Tray...$425.00
Swarovski Photo Frame...$270.00

Four Songbird Prints...$425.00
Antique French Floor Mirror...$550.00
Demetrius Mirror...$1,050.00
Four Silver Bird Panels...$1,795.00
Julius Center Piece...$219.00

GRAND TOTAL: $24,633.10
Somehow we came in under $366.90 Maybe I should get another vase?

Since this room is inspired by French Provincial design, I wanted to have a lot of light an airy pieces, such as the bird prints, centered with bright and colorful accents scattered throughout the room...large furniture helps fill up a large room, but by adding mirrors you keep the room from feeling overstuffed or claustrophobic.  The real room I thought of when I designed this is directly visible from the front door, so I wanted a statement chandelier which instantly sets the mood and overflows with class and sophistication, your guests know exactly who their host is from this chandelier. The table has lots of textures and is plush and inviting from the head of the table to the guest chairs and their cushions. The Side tables around the rest of the room serve as additional storage for serving platters china etc...they also allow you to always have a place for fresh flowers to be scattered around, adding to the French theme and filling your home with even more color and the best parts, fresh scents!

Now, I added this fabulous Viola Mirrored bar...it's fantastic!  the front doors slide into the sides so you can pack it with booze then hide the fact that your an alcoholic and yet still be classy while doing it.  These fabulous glass bottles with stoppers are decorative and functional for brandy's decanting etc.

All in all this room is now full of luxurious, comfortable and fashionable pieces, sure to intrigue your guest, and delight the senses almost as much as the fabulous food you will soon be serving...Hopefully!

Now, I wonder if I could do a room almost just like this for under $2,000.00? HAHAHA I know...that's funny, but who wants to see me try?

As Always, if you would like to create this fabulous room or one like it don't forget to visit our friends at Horchow and One Kings Lane!

Watch Your drink,

The Stepford Husband

Los Angeles House Hunting

Anyone that has ever moved will tell you, it's not packing up your current house and making sure everything is safely tucked away in a moving truck, it's actually finding a new place.

The Husband and I, are lucky enough to be moving back to the fabulous city of Los Angeles with all it's celebrities which cause lines on streets in shopping centers and even at your favorite restaurant, it's extravagant and sometimes overpriced restaurants and entertainment hot spots, and yes even the amazing residents which give tourist the world over a horrid taste in their mouth...it's not us its you and the fact you have no idea what a cross walk is...

Now, finding the perfect home in Los Angeles isn't so much about finding the style you want but you must also do complex calculations such as location: Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills Adjacent, West Hollywood, Century City, Hollywood Hills, Brentwood...the list can go on but if it did I would be lying because I wouldn't live in them. Next Grocery Stores, then Starbucks, Liquor Stores, if you go beyond Olympic a cab will cost you at least $20...this is all a very complex system.

So with some light hunting I found this little gem!  I hope it's still available when the time comes.

It's absolutely perfect as it's very large, has space for an office for both the Husband and I, large bedrooms, large living room which is perfect because I can set up different entertainment areas, a formal dining room which is fab because when it comes time to clean up, your guest don't see the dishes being cleared.  It has a absolutely charming dining nook, and the kitchen is quite large...the drawers might need some sanding and new tacks but that's something I am willing to deal with.

Cross you fingers for us everyone!

Exterior

Entry

Living Room

Living Room From Entry

Art Deco Retro Kitchen

Formal Dining

Break Fast Nook...looking into Kitchen

Den/Office

Master Bath

Watch Your Drink,

The Stepford Husband

Madonna's "Give Me All Your Luvin"

I get so tired of the media ripping on celebrities for "copying"each other in Madonna's new  video for "Give Me all your Luvin" at one point in the video you can clearly see a group of football players pulling off a Burberry Trench coat...seams very similar to a scene in Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance Video" so, who is copying whom?

Also later on in Madonna's video you can clearly see a reference to Marilyn Monroe...granted this is nothing new, as Madonna has been doing this for the last 30 years or so...so it's really not surprise...what do you think of this new Madonna song and video...it's catchy, but honestly, I expect more/better from her, but then again considering what she's been putting out over the last 10 years maybe I shouldn't!

Watch Your Drink,

The Stepford Husband

Joan Rivers Stoned on Louis XIII

78 and still living it up, one of my favorite comedians, Joan Rivers is getting high on a brand of Organic California Reefer or Hash or whatever it's called named Louis XIII...after getting a weed prescription for cateracts or it might have been consistently narrow stools...I'm not sure!  She proceeds to get so high with her friend and then with a case of munchies they are so high they can't drive and Melissa has to come get them!

Hallarious!

Watch Your Drink,

The Stepford Husband