DIY Side Table

Hey gang! How are you guys? Things are going pretty well here. I'm just spending a few minutes with my coffee and blogs before I get ready for work this morning. Not that I really have much of an excuse to take it easy...I spent the entire day on the couch yesterday after a really long night of dancing and good conversation with friends. I have to be honest here- adding a new record to the books was pretty exciting. Well, actually, I added 2 records to the books but I can't tell you about the second one because I don't think Joe wants to hear about me getting hit on by not 1, not 2 but 3! different guys. This never, ever EVER happens to me, so it was quite entertaining. And rest assured- I didn't get anything out of it other than a good laugh. I like brushing up on my acting skillz every now and then, you know? Ah, the life I make up for myself when talking to weird strangers. But anyway, as I was saying...the record I CAN tell you about. So, yeah...I didn't get home until 7:20 in the morning. Which basically means that I didn't go to bed until 7:30 a.m. Dang! Isn't that crazy?! Yeah, that's the latest I've ever stayed up. And certainly the latest I've ever gotten home. Driving west at that hour reminded me of our trips up north to visit my Grandparents. The sun hits the trees just right. *Sigh*...

Anyway. So yes, what I was getting to is that I picked a great day to spend on the couch because yesterday was Hockey Day on NBC which was AWESOME. I watched hockey all afternoon and lusted after the day we have cable again so this can become more of a routine. Oh, we also walked to the local greasy food joint for a chocolate malt. I was jonesing hard for one and whenever I don't feel the greatest I neeeeed to eat whatever I'm craving or else that's all I'll think about and it's like watching my Zelda heart number dip lower and lower. But once I get what I am hungry for, ZING! Back up again! 

Okay so moving on, I came here so I could show you this thing, in case you want to make one. It's a side table that I made out of copper elbows and dowel rods. 

I've been longing for a table like this for years and years, and it's finally time for me to have one. I had to wait until we had the right couch because it wouldn't have worked with the old set up. And so then we got the right couch but I didn't have $100 to shell out on the table that I wanted, so I just made one. Rather than flood the blog with the how-to, you can check it out over at Houzz if you want to.

Okay, well off I go, or else I'm going to be late for work. No good. See you around, thanks for stopping by. :)

My Latest Project: Reclaimed Wood Bench

Hey friends, how are things!? I hope everything is going well. Sooo, it looks like we're almost into spring! Although, I must say...this winter was kind of a drag since we haven't had much snow. I'm holding tight to the thought that we may still get some, but there will come a point when I will make the switch from "snowshoeing. snowshoeing. snowshoeing." to "canoeing. canoeing. canoeing." I'm willing to give it a little more time.


Anywaaay. I just finished a project that I'm excited to show you! So I've had this photo of a really sweet wood floor in my inspiration folder for quite some time now. It's made up of all these random scraps of wood and it looks really cool. I kept telling myself that I'd have a floor like that some day, but I slowly accepted the fact that new floors are way way waaaay at the bottom of my to do list. So I put the thought aside and moved along. 


I was zinging around my basement one day last month and thought "wow, i have a lot of art pieces that have been just sitting here...i should probably do something with those." I remember going back upstairs to brush my teeth which is when I came up with an idea that I thought was pretty stellar. 

I've been wanting a quilt for my bed for a long, long time now...stay with me here...because I just like the way all the blocks of color look together. But since sewing is not a skill I have, because who the hell has patience for scissors and thread when you can just use saws and nails, I decided I could use all of my wood scraps for something like a quilt, resembling the floor I was after. I thought it would be really cool to just have a huge panel to hang on my living room wall. Like a gigantic panel. And then it hit me...instead of constructing a hardly functional art piece, I could use all these scraps for a bench! I would kill like 5 birds with one stone [my sling shot makes things do loop-de-loops] and it would be the coolest.





































There's an odd recess in our dining area that I've wanted to fill since we moved in. It's an area that's grated my eyes since August 2009 and I've gone back and forth around various solutions, without ever settling on one. For awhile I thought I wanted a long row of sleek cabinets screwed to the wall at bar height. But let's face it- we have way more storage than we need and we rarely have guests over AND, worst of all, I would have to spend a LOT of $$$ on liquor to bring it up to the swank factor I'd be going for. So I reset my idea to the thought of a bench...but didn't have the $$$ for one that I'd like. And I wasn't about to build a "nice" bench, because doing so would make me crazy. And so, like with many things, my frustration swarmed and rested again and again.

And so, when I came up with this idea that only took me 2.5 years, I got to work right away. I only had to purchase 2 things for it- a 2x4 and a 4x4. Of course, that meant I had to go to the hardware store for wood, which I always hate doing because since I don't have a dong I must be helpless, but I warded that douche bag off quite nicely. Help is one thing, condescending tone is another. Don't worry, I was nice about it. Anyway. I spent a couple of late nights in the back room of my basement. The whole time I was building it I kept thinking "gosh, if we lived in madison, i would never have a huge workspace like this." See, I'm trying to convince myself that living close to BFE is cool. And it is...until I want to do late night things with friends in Madison.

So I cut and spray painted and block printed and assembled until my heart was content. I have to say- this is the first project I've ever done without getting frustrated, angry, or annoyed. I was excited to be working on it and didn't dread it one bit. No hammers were thrown and no knuckles were bloodied. I think I only dropped the f-bomb 2 times. Basically what I'm trying to say is that it was fun. And the reason it was fun was because it didn't have to be perfect. Since I was using imperfect materials, it could look as raw and edgy and quirky as I'd like. This is the loophole to my sanity. Works like a charm.

Of course, I had to include a secret compartment as well. I offloaded all of the toys I've been collecting over the years. Most of these are toys that I've found on the ground or under a restaurant table when I used to waitress. A couple of the things were toys from my childhood. I got the Micro Machines for my 6th birthday. The Daffy Duck is from Great America when I was about 4 or 5. The little green camera was for my 18th birthday. The bench itself was a gift to myself for my 27th birthday. I finished it the day of.

Here it is, a shot from above. I finished it with yardsticks. The blue one was given to me by a friend. It's my favorite one. I'm going to get some cushions and pillows so I can rest against the wall and read and attempt to admire my backyard. The picture rail is only temporary. I framed some prints I've had forever but I have a few more to do yet, and once they're finished, I'll hang everything on the wall in a grid pattern. 


We're looking for a farmhouse table and then we'll finish the ceiling and the lighting. But for now, I'm finally content with the space....and I have moved my frustrations to my bedroom layout. It's the next project on my list, and I'm trying to decide if demolishing the 2 closets is a good idea or a terrible idea. I am leaning towards good idea...because then I could get a sweet armoire and have my wall of windows looking over the back yard. Maybe I'll even make a quilt for my bed. That would be huge...

So I Painted the Interior of My Door Black...

Hey friends! How are things? I hope you are all doing well and enjoying life. Things have been quite good around here. I haven't been doing many house projects, but it seems that every year around this time I tend to go a little crazy whenever I look around the house. As in, pretty much everything about it bothers me, and I can't rest until I make a few significant changes. 

Recently I decided that I am totally over my soft and calm and airy and restful hey look, everything's WHITE! phase. And so, it was only natural that I turned around to march in the other direction.

This part of the house has been making me clamp my teeth together and wince for, oooh, about a year now. It finally came to the point where I absolutely could not deal with it any longer about 4 days ago. Sorry, I wish I could have gotten a more vibrant photo, but this corner always gives me trouble.

So yeah. I woke up on Tuesday morning, got on the internet, started my rounds, sipped my coffee, glared at the door, read a few emails, glared at the door, closed the computer [much sooner than usual], glared at the door again and eventually dropped to the basement to collect some tools and fuddled my way back up the stairs with my arms filled. Along with me came a tiny pot of Behr Stealth Black paint that I found on the mis-tint rack for $0.50 a few months ago. I threw on a knit cap and my cleanest dirty clothes, ran to the hardware store in town for painters tape and returned to tape off all the windows so I could start painting.

And then there was black. Ahh, it was perfect. And warm. And cozy. I cant wait to watch the snow come down through those windows...the black will embrace it so much more than the white ever could. 

Later I pulled down the Halloween owl, hung the vintage tin sign and set my plant on the stool I had used when I was painting the door. I should also mention that I painted the trim in this corner to be the same color as the walls. The grey door within the white trim has bothered me since the day it was painted 2 years ago. Joe laughingly questioned my decision to paint only the trim in this corner, as opposed to all of the trim in the room. [Breeeaath.] Okay, so first of all, it's such a subtle change that you hardly even notice the difference in color. And second- who ever said there were rules for painting and why is this considered to be strange? [head shake. ugh.] 

The next day I decided that the black door felt too heavy, so I painted it again.

I'm totally kidding. But it did feel rather heavy since there isn't much black in the room, and it was too much of a focal point. So I decided to hang a print that I love [cole gerst|option-g] but haven't had a good place to put it. And as you can see, I hung it on the door. Which, of course, is another thing that will most likely be questioned by someone at some point. But again, there shouldn't be rules to this sort of thing, and I'll be sure to let them know how I feel. So anyway, after the print was hung, I thought that I needed some more yellow to balance it all out, so I grabbed the rug that had always been under our shoes, threw it down and called it a day.

I really really like it. A lot. It feels so much more stately and sophisticated now. And comfy cozy toasty. I've been wanting to raise my umbrella plant for some time, and the stool is only a temporary solution until I finish [start?] my tree stump table. I'm also going to get a new light switch cover soon. I'm pretty excited about it all, it was just what I needed to feel better about the space. Until a few minutes later when the TV wall got under my skin. But that's another thing that's bugged me forever, so I kind of expected that to happen.

Alright, that's all for now. I have a few more projects in the works as well. I hope this means I'm back...I miss it around here.

Creating a Garden Journal

Joe and I are going into our second spring since owning our home, and this year I decided to start keeping a garden journal. 

I sat down a few evenings ago and came up with a list of things that I'd like to keep track of throughout the growing months. Then I made a rough draft of the categories that would help keep me on track-- I didn't want it to be just another unorganized notebook. I'm pretty awesome at keeping jumbled notebooks...I'm one of those people who just opens it to some random page and starts writing. Being unorganized is one of my worst habits!

Anyway. After a couple hours of planning, I made a list of what I needed from the store and went shopping when I got off work. PS: it helps to come up with your color choices before you head to the store.

What you'll need:
- 3 ring binder
- lined paper
- graph paper for plans and drawings
- plastic sleeves for articles & clippings
- magazines to gather photos & ideas from
- decorative paper to divide journal into sections
- pouch to keep supplies in
- pens, markers, scissors, tape (i'm going to get cuter tape from etsy), glue stick, etc.
- hole punch (a 3-ring punch will save you lots of time...i didn't want to buy one, though.)


Total cost: $28, although you can make yours for less. I gathered everything I needed from Target and Archivers. When I searched "garden journal", I saw directions for one that said it would cost $60...not really sure what all that money went towards, but I'm pretty happy with my total cost of $28. I think I could have spent only $20 if I had the tape, glue and ink pads already.

Total time: I spent about 2 hours shopping (i like to look at everything) and then about 3.5 hours assembling, although you could spend less. It all depends on how much you want to get your craft on...and how many photos you take and edit if you blog.

I cut my decorative paper into strips to add a little visual interest to each section. I could have saved a lot of time and some money by just using the actual piece of decorative paper, but I didn't want the journal to feel too chaotic so I decided to use thin strips on blank paper.

Once I had all my strips glued in place, I used my Dymo printer to make section titles. I ended up putting November-March in one section since gardening in Wisconsin is pretty much at a stand still during those months.

In addition to monthly categories, I came up with about 5 others as well so I could keep everything sorted out.

A now that it's finished, I can start keeping notes and ideas! I'm pretty excited to have something like this to keep me organized, and it will be a lot of fun to look back at throughout the coming years. I will most likely use the same journal until it is completely full and just keep adding paper to the sections as I need it.

In case you are interested, here are the categories I included, although I'm sure I will think of more as time goes on:


- each month has it's own section, other than the winter months
- plants and flowers: i'll keep an ongoing list of plants that i see & like.
- inspiration: i will keep my clippings in plastic sleeves in this section. 
- care and keeping: fertilizing times, what works/what doesn't, problems that arise.
- plans and ideas: i put my graph paper in this section. i'll draw my sculpture and bed plans here.
- etc.

And that's how I spent my Friday morning. What are your plans for the weekend? Joe is getting off work in about 20 minutes, but I'm not sure what we'll do yet. It's really windy outside and I think it's only about 45 degrees- no fun for outdoor stuff. Ah well, it's a good day to start filling my journal. :)

Table Before & After

Remember the table I was working on a few weeks ago? Well, I finally finished it. I suppose it could use some touching up, but whatever- I'm considering it done enough.

I started with legs that I pulled from a table that I thrifted a few years ago & added a table top that I cut from a piece of oak that I had in the basement. I bought the oak for something else, but after it sat there for almost a year, I decided I would just use it for this table that I wanted.

After some sanding and swearing, I added legs and began to paint. Dark blue. It. Was. Hideous. But I decided that I did still want some of the blue to remain, so out came the painter's tape & I made a pattern around the edge & painted the table white. Once it was dry, I pulled off all the tape and this is the result:

Yeah...my Rubber Tree needs a light dusting. I pruned it last night but didn't get around to the sponge bath.

Oh. And can I just say that the composition of the photo above really bugs me? Ack. Almost a good thing...but then fell short. Ah well.

I have the table by the windows rather than by the couch where it was originally going to go. It didn't end up being right for the intended area. So now my plants have a new home & will finally get (almost) enough light each day. 

Oh, and this is my newest Jade in a thrifted pot. Her name is Judi. Judi with an "i"...

Anyway, that's that. How is your weekend going? I worked yesterday but have today off. We went to Sauk to see if we could spot any Bald Eagles, but I was a little irritated and wasn't really in the mood to stick around. When we got home I made some food for a pot luck that we're going to and now I'm sitting here, blogging and drinking coffee. I told Joe that I am going to start my coffee detox tomorrow, although that was most likely a lie. But it would save about $20 a month if I cut my habit in half. We'll see. Coffee is the best medicine, in my opinion.

Rack

I don't think I ever showed you the rack that I made a few months ago. I had a piece of barnwood & used leftover paint from the living room. The hook is from Pier 1.

I have about 12 scarves and I like to hang different ones on it when I'm not wearing them. 

And PS: Am I the only one who is sad that scarf season is almost over? I have worn a scarf every single day since September. Not only do they keep a short-haired girl warm, but they also add some visual interest. Oh...and they hide my wonky hair. My hair grows oddly at the hairline on my neck and I never knew it till I chopped my hair (when the stylist exclaimed "you have the WEIRDEST hairline...and you have 4 cowlicks?!). Um, yeah- I have to shave it to make it look somewhat presentable (on a daily basis). I have seriously considered laser hair removal but since it's not covered by insurance, I think I'll wait till I win the lottery.

New Table

I'm snowed in today (again) and it's the third day in a row that I've spent by myself, home alone all day & night. It's really not that bad, actually. I can find lots of things to do while Joe is stuck in Dallas, where they are having their own weather issues. :(

I couldn't leave the house if wanted to...when I say that I'm snowed in, I'm really snowed in. I'm out of project $ and project materials, so I had to think outside the huge long "winter 2011" to do list. Good thing I'm awesome at making lists and not following them.

I've been wanting to replace this table for awhile now. I picked it up at a thrift store 4 years ago for $5. I've never really liked it much...


























As you can see, I even tried setting it on an angle to see if I could make myself like it. Nope.

This morning I realized that I had what I needed to try something else & got started after a couple cups of coffee.

My soon to be potting room will never actually be a potting room. You know that, right? As much as I said I disliked basements when we bought our house, I have officially taken over the entire thing. Bass guitar in one room. Laundry (clean!) all over (allll over) another. Studio in the middle. Packaging materials and tools in another. And then this one. My winter workshop. :) Yes- I'm quite lucky to have so much space.

I made a circle & cut it out of a piece of oak that I had laying around. Er, pretty much a circle. There is one area that makes it not so circle-y. But I have come to the realization that I am not a woodworker, nor do I care to be one, and you can't perfect every single project that you attempt without going nuts. I've tried. Pretty much set myself up for disaster- nothing was ever good enough and what's the point of doing a project that is supposed to be fulfilling if it just puts a damper on your mood? So yes. I have recently learned to just let things go and I've been much happier since.

The bolts that come out of the legs that screw into the bases were too long to work with the table top that I made, which called for my all time favorite thing: hacksaw action! I love hacksaw action. So much.

I screwed the bases on and then added the legs. So far so good! After yesterday's attempted and failed project (let's not talk about that...) I was feeling a little discouraged after effing up something that was so EASY. Ugh. Still not over it. Anyway, yeah- in case you were wondering what's on my thumb nail, it's fingernail polish. I don't wear fingernail polish because I don't like colors on my nails. Too distracting. So I tried this shimmery nude shade on just one fingernail and proved yet again that I'm not a nail polish girl. Do you see how scratched off it is?! Yeah. I've never been that good at being a girly girl.

Next was priming. I like to dress like a ninja when Joe is out of town in case I have to kick somebody's ass. So far people have been pretty lucky. Moonshadow is my guard cat.

So unfortunately, you'll have to wait till tomorrow to see the reveal. Ah I hate doing that! Daylight is quickly escaping and I have to make a second attempt at shoveling the back deck and the roof. Our friend should be here any minute with his plow to help clear the driveway. So so thankful for that right now.

Book Ends

This morning I posted about these sugar bowls that I got for $2 each at Michael's. Well I decided they looked like little houses & bought 2 more.

I paint markered them up and called it a day. At first I was worried about drawing straight lines but then I got with the program- Erin, these are $2 sugar bowls. Seriously.

I couldn't decide what style house I wanted them to be so I just went with 2 that were opposite. 1 Modern & 1 Foursquare.

A word on the books- While I love "Sh*t My Dad Says" on tv, this book sucks. I think I got to page 20. I don't have patience for poor writing...and like the guy really remembers what his dad said when he was 3?" My mom has this thing that she HAS to finish any book she starts reading. Totally not my style.

Anyway. this is probably about 1/6th of my book collection. Weak, isn't it? I know. Don't worry, 2011 is the year of traveling and book buying.

Speaking of :year of", I never did do the list I wanted to do on my birthday. I think about this whenever I start to get bummed about not being able to travel or have many fun toys. But when I look at my list, I realize that will all balance out in the end and that I'm doing just fine. :)

Here it is:

Age:
18: Met Joe
19: Moved to my first apartment, with Joe. Yes!
20: Got engaged! For the record, I hate that word.
21: Got married!
22: Moved to Madison!
23: Found a fun job that I enjoy!
24: Bought a house!
25: Bought a second car- we each have reliable cars for the first time ever!

When I look at it that way, I see that I'm moving right along. Lots of things to buy & places to travel over the next 5, 10 and 20 years. We're hoping for an East Coast road trip and a Portland, OR trip this year. Next year we'd love to go to Europe.


PS: taking any and all suggestions for great places on the East Coast. Especially flea markets or antique malls! That part of my list is rather sparse.


Okay, off to make soup!

Cupcake Flags!

I turned 26 today.

Joe went to the grocery store this morning & bought stuff to make cupcakes. RAINBOW cupcakes! Those are my favorite. While he was making them, I decided I wanted some flags to put on top.

So I gathered paper scraps & toothpicks:

X-acto'd them to size:

Folded & Flagged them:

Stuck them in the cupcakes:

Decided that the elephants wanted to come, too:

And next? Cupcake eating followed by snowshoeing.

Painting

I just slapped a second coat of paint on the long wall in our basement.

I kind of wonder how long it will take to cure because I estimate the temperature to be about 52 degrees down there. 

I like to walk around the house sans-socks & wear t-shirts when I can because it makes me more immune to the brisk temps that Wisconsin outdoors has to offer around this time of year. I do cheat and wear a hat when I'm inside, though.

I have to warn you- when you come over to my blog party make sure you bring a hat, mittens and probably a scarf, too. Everybody tells us that our house is cold. And I know that it's cold. But to me cold is comfy and hot is not. Hot is Rosacea and I hate her and avoid her at all costs. Our house is not drafty so I like to keep it at 65 degrees. Sometimes I'm nice and bump it to 66 when we have guests.

Anyway, back to my point here. Paint. $5 mis-tint paint from Home Depot, mind you. The color doesn't pick up very well on the camera & it's not as periwinkle as it looks in the photo, thank God, because I don't ever want to see periwinkle in or near my house again. It gives me bad visions of Joe's old Periwinkle Prowler (Which was actually a dusty-blue 1999 POS ford escort).

Oh and I should mention that those are my favorite work jeans and they've been through quite a lot of projects with me. Unfortunately I can't wear them in public or when people drop by when I'm project-ing because I got a nice tear in the thigh to lower ass cheek region. I might patch it. Technically I can wear them to the hardware store in town and feel okay about it because a) our town has a nude beach and b) there aren't many lookers 'round these parts so it's not like I have to step it up in the first place.

PS in case you are wondering, the jeans are "favorite boyfriends" by American Eagle. Some of the only jeans I can find that actually fit right. I just thrifted another pair in the same size and they are way too tight because of all that fudge I ate last month, but I'll stretch 'em & soon they'll fit like a glove. Hopefully that happens like mega-soon because I can't wear those ones out in public either without looking like a teenage girl who thinks she's a size __ when she's really a size __. I see a lot of that happening at the mall.

This Is How My Brain Thinks

So this piece only took like 10 times longer than I had ever anticipated.

And it's not even finished yet...

 I want to add something to the middle area, maybe. I'm thinking either a few words or something else. I'm open to any and all suggestions, by the way.

My level says it's straight but the photo says it's a little crooked. Dang!

The dining room is slowly coming along! I painted the table the other day and I'm still on a mission to find some chairs. A never ending mission. Why is this so hard?! Part of me wants to do a long bench across the wall so I can sit and read and look out the window all loungey-style. But the problem is that the table would end up being too close to the wall in order to eat from the bench & that side of the room wouldn't be weighted right. It's a funky area to work with, really. My other thought was to do a floating shelf all the way across & use it as a bar area. 

Thoughts?

I think that I'm going to do something like this to the window on the door. It leads to the garage but I don't want a shade on it so I thought this would be a good alternative.

One day I hope to do wood floors, but that's probably far off & who knows if we'll still live here by then.

Onto other things...

I can't help but to love blue & yellow when it's paired together. I keep thinking that maybe I want to paint our bedroom this color and get a yellow quilt, but I don't know. I'm having a really hard time committing to a color for our bedroom! But I do love this blue. A lot. And it seems to be a favorite of everybody who sees it.

This room is the soon to be library & the bed is only temporary. I'm hoping to find a chair with a bold yellow pattern that's also comfy for reading on, but no luck yet. I wish furniture shopping was as easy as magazine shopping! Magazine shopping is too easy. But not as easy as it was when Domino & Cottage Living were still around. Ugh, I'm still not over it.

 Anyway, I went to move the bed a little bit to get it straighter for the photo, and it wouldn't budge- it felt like it was glued to the floor! So I laid on the floor & I realized that the leg was IN the floor. I'm not too terribly thrilled about this, and noticed that there are also dents from the bed on the other side as well. WTF?!

Do you see that gouge?! Oh, it hurts so bad! Oh well. I suppose it will help with my quest to let things go. Ha. Yeah. Huge help...

I have 12 more days off before I return to work & I hope to make a pretty big dent (hmm...i seem to have dents on the brain. note to self: don't bring car anywhere today) in my to do list during that time, so I suppose I should get going. That wall isn't going to paint itself! Which is really too bad, by the way...every time I paint I think "huh. is this what carpal tunnel feels like?" and then I end up painting with my left hand. I love a good challenge. Even if it's as weak as this.

Living Room Switcheroo

So about a month ago I talked about making a new media stand.

The one we had before is a dresser that my grandparents owned before they passed away.

It's one of my favorite pieces in the house, and I didn't really like the television being on it because of potential sagging.

The other reason was because the television was too high for comfortable viewing height.

The budget doesn't really allow for a new one or even something thrifted, so we used what we had on hand:

Wood that we tore down from the basement closet and one side of the bi-fold closet door.

Is it my favorite thing ever? Not really. But I don't hate it. I was pretty excited when I finished it, and I like it a lot more in person than in photo.

It's at a better viewing height, there is less weight on that side of our narrow living room, and my dresser is now in the guest room, getting ready to help that room along into it's makeover.

I'm not super thrilled with the art arrangement, but for now it's what I have and it needed something bigger than what was up before.

In case you're wondering, the print is by Cole Gerst.

And the other cool thing is that there is enough room for my Ny Rocking Chair, which I picked up second hand for $10 a few years ago. I need to get it recovered and refinish the arms, but I do love the chair. It took me a long time to figure out who the designer was, but I finally did thanks to this post on Design*Sponge. I was really excited to see it in DWR  a few years later for $450).

So where did the stereo & speakers go?

 

They took the place of the stuff in the photo above.

Aaaah, breath out...

Rather than fight the ugly speakers, I decided to embrace them.

So out came more Cole Gerst prints (i own 3) and a dresser given to us by Joe's aunt & uncle. I think the prints & vintage fan give it the vibe I was going for.

The speakers didn't go with the stuff that I had there before, and frankly I was getting cranky from my previous set up. It was like salt in my eyes. I hated the scale of the things against that wall and this morning I woke up and decided I had to change it. TODAY. It was just too dainty and farmhousey and beginning to lean little more toward the chic side of things than I care to venture. I'm really digging the more masculine look now.

I also redid the other side of the living room, but that's for tomorrow's post.

Whenever I start to realize that my inner dialogue is going in circles and I can't control the things going on in my life that are affecting my thoughts in a negative way, I rearrange my stuff. It works like a charm.

Quick Weekend Project

So there were 2 areas of our house that disgusted me to no end.

One of the areas being underneath the kitchen sink:

 with the help of $5:

I ripped out that 70's laminate nasty brown scuzz & put in some new tile.

Then I primed the interior cabinets & painted the inside of the doors.

 I left the inside part just primed & didn't bother to paint. I'm fine with it.

I put the SOS pads in a mason jar & got rid of a bunch of stuff that the previous owners had left behind. Yes, this has taken me a year and some odd months to get to.

Then I scrubbed the pipes & called it a day.

I love simple $5 projects that make a big enough impact to make me smile every time I look at it.

I know a lot of people would laugh and roll their eyes at this sort of thing.

But it's this sort of thing that helps make each day better.

Before it was like sand in my eyes- I cringed anytime I opened that door.

Now it's like Visine in my eyes! Sorry, I couldn't help that one...but really, people.

Small things like this can make a huge impact if your an aesthetic type like me.

And you non-aesthetic types- consider yourself lucky that this sort of thing doesn't drive you absolutely effing crazy.

Oh, and PS: My house guests will be happy to know that we finally own a wall clock now.
I bought it for Joe as a Christmas gift. He pretty much geeked out over it.

It only took us like 5 years to get one.
I mean, doesn't everybody just check their cell phone if they want to know what time it is?
Haha, kidding.
Of course you know that the reason we didn't own one before this was because I could never find one that I liked enough to put on the wall.
And when I did find one that I liked, it was too expensive.
And because people should just carry their cell phone if they need to know the time...
PS: I might order this one, too. I have a Wisteria promo code and this would be a nice birthday gift to myself.

*oh! and and and my new camera will be here in 4 days!

Snow Day

I am supposed to be at work right now, but we had a snow day! They closed the facility and nobody had to work. Yes! I love not having to work at night...I was scheduled till 9 p.m. so I was pretty excited to hear the words on the weather hotline.

 
Joe has spent about 3 hours shoveling the driveway so far. The photo above was taken during his first adventure. I'm usually all about helping, but he broke one of our shovels so now we only have one left AND the other thing is that he owes me. I don't remember what he owes me for, but I do remember telling him that he owes me multiple times the other day. OH wait, I remember now. It's because I've spent like 5 or 6 hours writing & addressing Christmas cards and I haven't asked him to write any of them. 30 down, 10 or so to go. I told him I would help shovel, but he said "no". I didn't argue. Plus, it's not like we aren't going to get another 80" this winter.

So since I didn't shovel, I worked on my potting room. Remember this? Yeah, that's what it looked like when we moved in. Gross, right? After a bit of paint and some hardcore scraping, it's coming along. It's still far from finished, though. I haven't done anything in there since spring. So I decided to go in there today and make some headway. Before I could get any work done, I had to clean a few things up...

The dirt was frozen in the pots so I just left it all in there when I brought them in for the winter. And then the cats found it. Oh, kitty cats, I love you.

Since we don't have a shed, this room is housing our outdoor furniture. The pile of wood is from the basement project we're doing. My stencil wall hasn't progressed much since I worked on it in the early spring, but that's okay.

I collected plant containers all summer long. Okay, my mom collected them for me too. I didn't get too much planting done this year. I hope to have a huge plant sale in the spring, but we'll see if I get to it...it kind of depends on if I finish my room in time and if I can afford a grow light or two. Fingers crossed.

Above is the view out the door that leads to the back yard. I rarely use this door, but hope to install French doors someday, which I'm sure will get heavy use. I'm part French so I figure it's my duty...But if I'm not able to afford them, than at least a floor to ceiling window. I really love looking at the backyard, but the ranch windows that we have are all so high and the yard isn't really framed the way I wish that it was. One day...everything is eventual.

My mom gave me this pine shelf for the room. After cleaning up a bit, I moved it to this corner and set our outdoor pots on it, along with some of our other outside things. The only way I can seem to get organized is if I'm able to make it look pretty. Yeah, it takes like 10 times longer to do, but it's so worth it.

See what I mean about the high windows? These are the highest ones in the house- I can't even see out them- but I'm thankful that they are there because otherwise there wouldn't be any light in the room. PS- by now you've probably noticed that there is no trim, but I am going to be putting it up this winter. I'm using old barn wood that I'll cut to fit.

And finally...the right side of the room, as neat an organized as it's ever been. Aaah, it feels so good to have it look like this. It's like I live in a magazine! Kind of. I got the pod chair on Craigslist last winter (I have 2 of them now...) and I think it's perfect for this room. Or at least it will be when I actually hang out in here. The long table is my future potting bench. My mom built it for me last winter when she was here. Yeah...I know, my parents rock. Without them we wouldn't have the living room painted, the guest room painted, the basement wouldn't be in operation-remodel stage, our fallen trees wouldn't be firewood (although my dad is giving me a chainsaw soon and I can't wait!),  oh- this room wouldn't have white walls, etc. etc. etc. I could go on and on. Our parents help us with projects A LOT.

Did you do any projects this weekend? 

Yesterday I listened to music all day long and played my bass guitar for a couple hours. Those two things go hand in hand and I am trying to avoid full-on addiction, but we'll see how I do. I just get so sucked into it all and I could go and go. I suppose that's not a bad thing...except that when I get sucked into things and then suddenly don't have time to do them (working full time & life stuff) I get really. really. cranky. Big time.