Pineapple Lamp Project

LOVE Pineapple Decor, have for a while now.  first we considered getting a pineapple chandelier.  we thought it would be perfect for our south florida home.  

pineapples are tropical and regal at the same time.

we ended up with a shell chandelier, which was always another coveted favorite {tutorial on how i restored one coming soon}.

so back to pineapples...  always loved pineapple lamps, too.  so, since, we didn't get the chandelier, thought that a lamp would be perfect.  this is how we did it:

1st we got some cool old wood-carved pineapples from Paula Roemer, Inc.

then we thought we'd upcycle an old trophy base {from a golf trophy we had taken apart} and use that as the lamp base.

*definitely* wanted to reuse the monogrammed lampshade i had made- remember this project?

this is the drill + bit my hubs used to drill a hole down the middle of the pineapple

so here's our whole 'project suite', or at least the one we originally had planned.  {we decided to reuse the lamp parts from the original, above-mentioned lamp as well.}

...so this was the result...

...but my husband suggested that the lamp base from our original lamp might look better, too...  so we tried that since i was not 100% happy with the 1st result.  

we both liked it better, don't you?  feel free to comment below! 

lastly, i 'painted' it a distressed white finish using a rag instead of a brush and clean white latex paint.  it took some rubbing on and off until i was finally satisfied with the results on all sides and from every angle. 

thanks for stopping by!  if you make one, i'd love to see yours, too!!

xoxo

happy thanksgiving/thanksgivukkah everyone! ☺

our Thanksgiving table this year

...of course, i've already started planning for next year!:

Let Them Eat Cake! party

dear diary, i am so exited.  my sister will finally be here for the 1st time next month and it's her 50th birthday!!  we have lived here going on three years now so it's about time she came- don't you think?

i am starting to compile ideas for her birthday dinner, which my husband and i will be hosting!  what do you think about these ideas / inspirations?:

layering up the china, beautiful pink flowers, and statuettes

pink depression glass holding treats/for serving desserts

sandwiching cookies cakes or macarons and berries or fruit

DIY labels and ribbon via the crafting chicks

marie antoinette cake topper

labels for table and desserts...

cake stand servers, milk glass, pennant banner...

...see a theme starting to develop?  don't even have to plan these things, they always just end up coming together ☺ as i'm reviewing and editing these ideas, i have a lightbulb moment!  wanting to do a 'pink party' was secretly for me {actually, i wanted to do pink and green- so palm beach, but it's my party}...  but my sis' favorite place in the world is paris and she LOVES versaille and provence, basically anything excessive and decadent and provincial- what could be more perfect than a marie antoinette/let them eat cake theme?!!  and i still get my pink- LOTS of it!! ♥
i still even have a crystal parfum bottle in the shape of the eiffel tower that we put at her table at our wedding- that'll tie in all my crystal- perfecto!  {or parfait}.
i will 'modernize' it a bit with a little paris circus influence since our family rode the ferris wheel and the merry-go-rounds together there!!  i LOVE this flag idea!!  

and, of course, i'm going to have to add some of newly-painted, very coveted animals- i'll probably swap out giraffes for some pumas or something..., along with fabric flowers on the cake!:

marie never would have frowned upon too many cakes.
more ideas to follow...  xoxo

follow up:  okay so it all worked our beautifully.  at practically the last minute i remembered that i had bought a mini porcelain antique 'marie antoinette' bust that i was planning on giving her anyway- a lovely cake topper!  then, my neighbor dropped off a surprise {he had no idea about any of this}- but he just happens to drop off a pair of flocked damask curtains with chandelier silhouettes on it.  isn't that so marie antoinette?  didn't i tell you everything ends up coming together?
so here is the dessert cart that i put together for her, using one of the curtains as a tablecloth:

have you ever seen anything more beautiful?  these are 

cheesecake cupcakes!! 

thanks, rachel zoe!

now i haven't read rachel zoe's book, but i did learn a great style trick from her that i'll bet isn't in there- wearing my engagement ring on top of 2 other rings.

i used to 'sandwich' or what i call 'bookend' my engagement ring between my wedding band and whatever other ring i felt like at the time, it goes in phases {lately, it's been my triple rolling ring}.  i did this not only because i love chunky jewelry, but because my engagement ring is a bit too large for my finger and i feel like the ring on top helps keep it in place- although the diamond still spun around my finger all day every day and that drove me a bit crazy...  {the reason it's not exactly the right size for me is another story for another time but let's just leave it at that my knuckles are huge and my fingers are skinny}.  
recently, i noticed that rachel wears her engagement ring on top of a diamond band and a triple rolling ring and, since i wear mine with a diamond band and a triple rolling ring, i decided to try wearing mine on top, too...
the moral of the story?  if you, too, have large knuckles and want to keep your ring in place, stack 2 rings under it so that it sits on top of the larger part of your finger- closer to your knuckle, like a booster.  i Love it!!  and i Love how it looks, too.
if you would like to see how i used to wear it, click here

 

 

are you asking if i copied her with the rolling ring too?  no, i did not.  not that i wouldn't, but anyone who knows me knows that cartier -and even sometimes 'cartier inspired' {i don't have rachel zoe cash}- is my favorite.  classic and timeless.  it really is a coincidence that, aside from our engagement rings, we both wear rolling rings together with a diamond band {although i believe hers is an eternity band...maybe someday...}. 
oh, by the way, i recently learned another thing that we have in common:  we both go by first and middle names only.  i didn't know that zoe was her middle.  so, that too, is a little coincidence.  
and we both studied sociology and psychology in college- and both in the DC area!
i've been watching her show the rachel zoe project.  i really like it.  i'm kind of hooked.  i can't always identify with her- for instance, we don't at all have the same taste in interior design- but there are some things we have in common...  {besides just the jewish background, the huge, highlighted hair...}
both we and our husbands share the grateful dead background, which i find is so hard to find among people who care about couture as much as we do.  so it's nice to hear someone who loves all the fashion houses at least as much as i do talk about that.  it is such a part of me, such a part of our family and our household.  and the couture, well, that is something i grew up with and it's just in my bones.  i'm the only one i know who sits at fashion shows and literally get so emotional that i cry.  with real tears.  like three at a time sprouting.  i can't stop it.  i got like that the 1st few times i watched the sex and the city movie too, and part of that was just because of the fashion...  on some level, we definitely both share a gut-wrenching, extremely consuming love for the things that we love -we never just kind-of care about things, i think.  that includes vintage, too.  i always prefer something with a story which is how i ended up with the diamond in my engagement ring.  my husband and i scoured the country {i'm not exaggerating} for an estate piece and finally found my, at the time, 50 year old diamond which we had set.  it is still one of my proudest pieces.   
but back to rachel, i really admire her work ethic and her success.  i realize that my business cannot begin to compare with the success of hers, but we both are entrepreneurial proprietresses of our own fashion-infused businesses that we are passionate about {and that sometimes frustrates our husbands, but also makes them proud!}.  
...mine may not be a name everyone recognizes, but, back when i lived on the road, i used to get recognized in every state i traveled to- and that counts for something, right?  and, i am able to make a living doing what i love without having to work for anyone else and i like that. ☺

thank you, rachel, for teaching me something new!  hope that you'll give us a shout the next time you and rodger are in palm beach- i can really see our husbands getting along and we can all listen to the grateful dead together ♥