Thursdays

Well today is Thursday and I am doing my "Things That Make Me Smile" post, along with 2 additional sets that I never got around to the past couple Thursdays. So the topics are Short Hair, White Floors and Repetition. I wanted the hair one to be last but I didn't feel like messing around with it so this is how it's going to be.

Short Hair.


Fun hair makes me happy. And I will forever think that short hair is more fun than long hair. Who the heck wants to stand in the bathroom messing with long hair every day? Not me. So I like short hair better.
All hair photos from wip hairport and madradhair.


White floors.

So maybe it's a huge design trend right now to have white floors. But that's not why I like them. They feel so clean and airy to me...almost like floating. Everything seems to be more pronounced when surrounded by a pallate of white. And from what I've gathered, they really aren't all that hard to keep clean under the right conditions. And by right conditions I mean no black dogs and no kids. And no husbands with leg hair. And no shoes. Okay, so I can qualify for 3 out of 4 of those things. I know most can't, though...so maybe this white floor thing is more for my dreams.


Repetition.





Lately I've been thinking about repetition quite a bit. I feel like I take forever to learn new concepts, processes, ideas...so maybe that's why I find comfort in spaces that include some sort of repetition. It's subtle and not at all over stimulating, but has such a huge impact.

Unfortunately out of my hundreds of photos in my inspiration folder, I haven't really kept much track of sources. I know that most of them came from apartment therapy, but that's about all I can say. If any of them are yours or look familiar or you want them taken down for one reason or another, just let me know.
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So what's new? Not a lot here. It's 9:00 and I'm ready for bed, so off I go. I would post about some really cool things I got that were destined for the landfill, but that post wont come for about a week. We'll have house guests starting Friday night and I usually don't go online much unless I have to escape from them. Our friend is staying for the weekend, my mom is coming up on Monday and then my brother might come during the week, too.

I still have to tell you guys about my new job (started 2 months ago to the day), so maybe next week.

it's friday.

i've missed my thursday post 2 weeks in a row now.

which totally bums me out...

last thursday i was getting ready for this awesomeness.

and it really was awesome. i loved every minute of it. canoecopia, north america's largest paddlesport expo. weeks of tagging product, packing, loading and unloading boxes, setting up, talking to tons of great people, attending after parties, working long days...it was really neat.

then yesterday thursday i drove to willy st. after work for some sumotech. (stuff for my hair.)

then off to kohls in an attempt to find a bra. sorry if you didn't want to read that. anyway, it was only an attempt, as i figured it would be prior to walking in. they don't sell my size there. i got home and told joe "i think i hate bra shopping more than most women." he asked "don't they have girl's size large or something?" thanks, joe...thanks.

anyway, i'm off to work. i'll do my thursday post tonight after i get home.

Plants

Lately I've been thinking about the way I want my balcony garden to be this year. I need to get my herbs started really soon here...probably should have done that already, but you know how things go. For now I've been gathering inspiration photos and also deciding what I'd like to plant.

[all images found on flickr]

I really like this photo.
It's really nice palate...I'm sure the slate colored backdrop has something to do with why I'm attracted to it. Slate has always been one of my favorite colors.
I like the idea of white pottery and terra cotta planters.
For budget's sake, I'd probably get a bunch of terra cotta ones and spray paint them a glossy bone-white color.
[by ossan]

Although my balcony is not nearly this spacious, I do like the set up.
I am going to have a worm farm this year (excited!) and it would be great to put it under a table with plants on top.
[by katiedL.]

Woah.
Forget the plants for a second...check out the view!
This is on the 42nd floor in the city.
Kind of neat.
Anyway, I like how they have their plants lining the balcony's perimeter.
[by 42ndfloor]

And then there's this lovely succulent garden...
Which is actually on a window sill, not a balcony, but I might steal the gutter idea for part of my garden.
[by kalani kordus]

I haven't quite decided what I'm going to grow yet, but I know there will be tomatoes and hot peppers for sure. Last year we were out of town SO often that there was no way I'd be able to stay on top of a garden...hopefully this summer will be a little different.
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Wow it's really windy outside.
Speaking of wind, Joe is in the Windy City right now doing some inventory stuff for work.
He has to drive all the way to podunk Trevor, WI (no offense Trevor...but seriously) afterward to sleep (probably around 1:30 AM) and then drive BACK to Chicago tomorrow morning. And then home from there.
He might as well just sleep in the back room there, you know?
Companies are really cracking down on their budgets.
It's scary.
I used to travel with him whenever he went to Chicago or Madison or Minneapolis.
They have put him up in some great hotels.
Now we live in Madison, so that's not a thing anymore.
Chicago wont have any more hotel stays since his parents are only 62.5 miles away.
But I still have hope for Minneapolis.
I really love Minneapolis...they have a West Elm and a Room & Board.
IKEA, too.
You know, materialistic things that I try to convince myself are just bad news for so many reasons...but always seem to make me happiest. Dumb.
You can probably tell that I'm just sitting here by myself because it's 10:40 PM and I'm going on and on.
When I should be in bed resting up for Canoecopia.
(more on that later...)

newness

I finished the rack today:

Now I have to figure out if I want to put the old one in the living room or not.
I have put so many nail holes in the walls of this apartment and each time I hammer I clench my teeth a bit tighter. I don't really know how the landlord is going to feel about all of the holes and we're not allowed to patch them before we move (which is their way of being able to take our entire security deposit, I'm sure.)

Speaking of moving, we're on a mission to buy a house before November.
I am thinking about picking up a second job as a restaurant server or something equally glorious, ahem, so we can get more money for a down payment.
(because I only have so much to sell for profit on eBay, you know?)
The mere thought of serving again makes me want to jump out my window but I only live on the second floor so it wouldn't be worth it.

How was your weekend?

Things That Make Me Smile :: Etsy

So I decided that every Thursday I'm going to post 4 things that make me smile.

This week the source is Etsy.

Wisconsin on a Stick
$25 + S&H by Etsy seller artis3letters
I'm getting one of these really soon, but with a blue Wisconsin.

Player
$35 + S&H by Etsy seller AliciaBock
This one gets me every time.
I've been wanting it for almost a year now, but I haven't even framed the last print I got from Alicia so I suppose I should do that before getting another.

Needle Felted Dog
$250 + S&H by Etsy seller KaysK9s
Look at the detail! Isn't that amazing?!
This is one of those things that I think is worth every penny but I'm sure most people think is an insane amount of money. And I don't even have a dog (yet).

February No.9
$40 + S&H by Etsy seller fernanimals
And of course I need one of these guys.
Or maybe like 4. Yeah I'd rather have 4 of them...a nice little menagerie on my dresser would be ideal.
So those are my 4 things for today.
I hope at least one of them made you smile.
:)
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I have to get my taxes done and I am totally dreading it.
I really...REALLY...screwed up my ST12 form and sent the state of WI a few hundred extra bucks that was actually supposed to go to federal for my business taxes.

What a bitch. I checked that damn form more times than I can count and I still screwed it up.
And I swore up and down that I was done making things and done selling things, because I hate taxes and numbers and I hate shipping, blah blah blah.

And then you know what I did over the weekend?
Painted a whole bunch of boards to print and draw on.
What the heck.