Hello * Quirk Madame *

Okay everybody, now I'm not going to lie- today was a really, REALLY horrible Monday and after hours of sorting through all the domain, sub domains, DNS, CNAMES, and all other HTML coding craziness I went cross-eyed and punched myself in the face.... Just kidding! But really I almost did... or wanted to maybe? Sorry its way past my bedtime so I'm a wee bit nutty right now :) Thankfully my wonderful GENIUS friend Kayd Roy helped me out very late tonight so I didn't have to do that whole punch myself in the face thing 

smile emotico There's still a whole lot of formatting and fixing to do but the important thing for you to know NOW is where to find our blog because our old web address will be GONE very soon!  In case you missing that or skimmed over it.... THERE WILL BE NO MORE HAMMERS AND HIGH HEELS!  http://hammersandhighheels.blogspot.com is getting KILLED.  Yep, it'll be the saddest disappearance this summer (at least on the inter-webs).  Sadly you'll only find some businesses with zero similarity in it's place other than a name (note: I said businesses, not bloggers).

Now where was I? Oh yes... Thankfully to take it's place is our new place on the web.  Be sure to bookmark it, save it, subscribe, whatever and however you follow- It's bittersweet and emotional to say goodbye to our familiar old name but with a whole lot of fresh energy I'm very happy to introduce you to my new handle, title, and website- Quirk Madame  http://www.quirkmadame.com/blogposts/

http://www.quirkmadame.com/blogposts/

Out with the old story and in with the new!  Be sure to save our new web address, the current site is going to disappear and you will lose us!  Find us on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest- no way you can lose us then!  

I'll be working on getting our new site formatted and organized throughout the week so please bear with me for a bit!   I'm not going to lie, it's sort of a hot mess right now but it's 3:30am here in Minneapolis I need to get some beauty-ish rest :) 

Lots of moving and changes to come!  Hope you'll stick with us because it's going to be bigger and better this time!  

What are you looking forward to reading about on our new blog?

Fashion?  Home Decor? Travel? Our Pups?

I want to know! Don't be shy now :) Tell me in the comments!

We're Moving (kind of)

WARNING:  Big. Huge. Earth Shattering Announcement Ahead.

Hello again!  Can you believe it’s been more than three months since you’ve last heard from me?  I’ve had a lot of time to noodle on the blog and what the next step will be…  that and a WHOLE bunch of (more important) life things of course :)  With that said, it’s a bit bittersweet for me to announce that in a few days my blog baby Hammers and High Heels will no longer be “Hammers and High Heels” as I will begin transitioning it over to it’s new title and URL/web address.  The same goes for our Facebook page.

“WTF Carla?!?  Why the hell would you do that?  WHY!?!!"

Looking back to when we began our blog, I had no idea really what it would be or become.  I only knew we were going to share our home renovation photos and stories, then over time as it grew and our audience grew so did my attachment to it's name & title.  So naturally, parting ways with it is somewhat emotional for me but I’ve probably been ready for it for more than a year now.  The ongoing home projects/ renovations/ to-do’s/ painting, repainting/ DIY’s/ etc. got old.  We were over it, the blog world was over it, and then everything got all dull and silent here.  Our home finally felt complete.  There were no more Hammers and High Heels tales to tell and that was when I realized it was appropriate to move on from it. 

So heck no we’re not going away!  We still have a story to tell and questions to ask. Stories about our lives, travels, food, family, fashion, pet peeves, struggles, etc… and I am sure there will still be some about our home or home decor, but that won’t be a primary focus anymore.  

The real gist of it is that the story may be changing, but the voice will remain the same.  It’s still us :)

We’re working on re-naming/re-branding our blog and setting up a new URL location along with a temporary re-direct (so fear not, we’ll help you find our stories while we work on 'finding' them too!).  I'll have all of that information posted up on Monday August 31st, so be sure to stop back so you’ll have all the deets!

Eeeekkk!!!!!  It’s so exciting!  I hope you’ll join Alex and I for a whole new adventure!  And no, we’re not having a baby so don’t ask :)  

Stay tuned….  !

Onto the Next

Perhaps you have noticed the slowing of blog posts and the lack of house project happenings?  I know I have!  The slowing on projects along with our six year house anniversary milestone last month made me realize something-  We've made this house our home, no longer our ongoing project. 

Things have changed for us in the past year, we've been living more life in these walls than thinking about the color they should be painted- no joke I am honestly tearing up as I type, weird!   Long gone are the days when I traded in my heels for a hammer when I walked through the door.  I don't think my DIY-ing days are done at all but I know that the things that keep me creative, inspired, and driven have shifted and I gotta go where that wind blows :)

Our adventure in this house isn't over but maybe now we're onto the 'next story in the series' and it has a whole new plot... or something like that?  You get what I'm saying right?  Sorry, I seem to be full of cliche's and metaphors all of a sudden.

One thing I do know, is that Hammers and High Heels has always meant something more than just this house renovation and the DIY's we've shared.  This blog helped give me a voice, confidence, and a love for writing that I never knew existed inside of me.  I have truly loved sharing every story on this silly blog- even the ones I knew were dumb to begin with.  I've missed writing.  I've missed the story telling.

With that said, whatever that new story might be, I hope you'll join me on the journey.

To be continued......  !

Six Years, Six of Our Proudest & Most Painful Projects

Late Friday I realized that it had been six years since the day we closed on our home and moved into this little old Dutch Colonial.  S I X...  Y E A R S... It's sounds like such a long time ago but it feels like I blinked and here we are.  Wish it felt like that when we were in the middle of each house project, right?! 

In those moments, during each and every DIY renovation, it felt like time stood still and we weren't getting anywhere with anything in this house and that it was never going to look the way we dreamed that we could make it look.  Now here we and the place looks nothing like the bland peachy/beige box we walked into six years ago.  The crazy thing looking back now (which is a good thing I must mention for any new fixer-upper owners out there), most of the work we did happened in the first 3 years we owned the house and then more minimal updates happened during the last 2-3 years.

Like I said, I wish it all happened in the blink of an eye but thankfully we didn't totally drag all the projects out over the last six years.  - Ugh, I shutter at the thought of that! - So celebrate our SIXTH year at home, I thought what better than a look back at SIX of our proudest and most painful projects!  Be sure to click the links for a look back at all the posts and drama documented along the way!  Drumroll....

The (My) Closet & Workspace (additional links here)

The Master Bedroom

The Upstairs Bathroom

The Kitchen

The Dining Room

The Living Room & Fireplace Mantel

Which project do you think was most worth the pain?  

What was the most painful or longest project in your home?

1959 Paris Michelin Guide Map Wall Art DIY

I've been working on a couple fun DIY projects and have the first ready to share- DIY wall art made from a 1959 Paris Michelin Guide Map!  If you have any bare walls at home and aren't sure what to put on them,  this is a SUPER budget friendly and thoughtful way to add in some wall decor.  

If you have any bare walls at home and aren't sure what to put on them,  this is a SUPER budget friendly and thoughtful way to add in some wall decor.

Kind of crazy that I picked up this 1959 Paris Michelin Guide Map for just $5.00 at an antique store in Hopkins almost TWO years ago!  Can't believe it took me this long to do something with it but truthfully I kind of forgot I had it until I stumbled upon it a couple days ago while doing some spring cleaning and organizing... whoopsie! 

That's when my light bulb moment occurred- I could use these maps for wall decor in the small hallway under the stairs!  So, I thumbed through the guide book and picked out six maps for my 4"x 6" frames and hung them up in the hallway.  

I think the contrast of the black frames really pops against the paint color (Behr's Sandstone Cove) and the dusty pink + red maps create the perfect accent color combo!

I know I haven't shown this space on the blog before so in case you are wondering, the hallway connects our kitchen to the back entryway and the door on the right leads into our scary old basement.  We have a couple topographic maps by the kitchen so I like that the theme/type of art flow is similar through to the hallway.

Like I said, if you have some bare walls you are looking to fill at home be sure to always keep an eye out for interesting books at antique or thrift stores.  Who knows, you might be able to create a whole gallery wall with a couple thrifty book finds!

What do you think of the new DIY wall decor?

Would you have done something different with the guide book maps? I'd love to know!

**********

I'll be working on another forgotten antique find this weekend.  Can you believe I got this antique camping stool almost THREE years ago and haven't done anything with it?!  It's just been sitting in our old gross basement, poor guy.  Anyway, cue the makeover montage music, it's time to get to work!

Ugh, I love a good makeover montage.  I mean who doesn't?!

I'd love to hear any color/finish/fabric suggestions for the stool, let me know! 

Be sure to stop back to see how it turns out!  

Deja Vu or Just the Winter Doldrums?

Since we are in the worst part of the winter doldrums here in Minnesota, I felt the urge to head over to Bachman's to get some fresh flowers and plants for the house.  Once I got to the store and started looking at the mini potted plants, that deja vu feeling hit me because I suddenly remembered doing the same thing last year AND the year before, blog posts that proved it even (freaky)!  And just look, I am doing it again, LOL!

I suppose it's just an odd time of year- holidays are over, it's not quite spring or close enough to Easter so I suppose I'll just call it my winter doldrums decor update :) highly likely that I'll be doing the same thing next year so why not give it a name right?  Anyway, I'll just get to the whole point of the story and show you the freshened up sideboard decor in the dining room... 

I picked up three $3.99 bundles of Mini Myrtle stems and three $2.50 Delphinium stems at Bachman's and placed them all in my large glass Ikea vase.  I also bought that cute little rosemary plant for #3.99, couldn't resist!  Then, I added in a framed landscape map, ceramic fruit bowl (Alex is really into clementines and kiwis right now, random but not random), and oval mirror on an easel.

I also draped two necklaces I purchased during my first trip to India, I know it's different but I see them as art and not just jewelry so why not display them?  * Sigh *  Traveling sounds like a dream right now!

I have to say, fresh greenery and flowers really does make a difference when cabin fever is hitting hard.  Just having something new to look at counts for a lot too I suppose?  Ugh, can you tell I am tired of being stuck inside?  Winter, barf.  It's just not cute anymore.  Who's with me?!

What do you think of the updated sideboard decor?

Anyone else out there experience deja vu moments during the winter doldrums?!

DIY Zippered Pouch with Angled Corners

Hello and happy Monday from sub-zero Minneapolis!  Hope you had a nice weekend, I'd say mine was nice-ish because even though I hate being trapped inside during this long stale part of winter, I did manage to tackle a couple sewing projects!  So... WIN (slash "nice-ish")!

First up to share is an update to my DIY Leather Zippered Clutch tutorial from last year.  The new twist- Angled corners!

Not gonna lie, it's a pretty simple update honestly :)  Glad that I went ahead and tried it though because I still use my zippered clutch/pouches all the time and after a year, it's pretty nice to have something a bit different to make the ol' zippered clutch look new and fresh!

The DIY steps start the same as the original tutorial (click here for those steps!) but instead of sewing the rectangular shaped corners, you'll will make a 45 degree angle...

... and then cut off the excess/triangle corner piece.  Easy-peasy!

Like I said, not rocket science or anything, just a simple switch-up to something I've loved for the past year!  They say change is always good, right?

In case you missed them, below are a few pics along with post links for the previous Zippered Clutch tutorials in case you missed them...

 Original DIY Zippered Clutch tutorial 

 Zippered Clutch with Handle Strap tutorial

Hope to share the tote bag I've been working on next!  Fingers crossed it doesn't end up being a huge FAIL... eek!   Wish me luck!

What do you think of the new clutch/pouch shape?

What new twist/update would you have done instead?