Sheets

Thrifted:














They have the best bed linens for twin beds.

I might just have to move into our Guest Bedroom once it's finished! Our sheets on our bed are nowhere near as fun. Especially now that the kittens have found them. (Read: "oh, is this a scratching post? oh, it's not? well, that's alright. i'll use it anyway.")

So, I feel a little bad that our guest room will have 2 twin beds, since our taller guests wont really dig the bed length much. Which I didn't think about till after we bought the duvet covers from IKEA. But what's done is done, and I have serious double twin bed envy. And Guest Room #2 will have a queen sized bed.

Left on the "to get" list for the guest room:

+roller blinds (2)
+mattresses & box springs (2)
+bed frame (1)
+artwork
+comforters for duvets (2)
+guests (feel free to come over any time!)

I think that we might get just one mattress/box spring for now, so we can at least have it mostly finished and add a second bed later.
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Nothing else is new. I had big plans to paint my studio today, but the sun is out and the last place I want to be is in the basement on a sunny day. The problem with this is that all of my projects are in the basement. So nothing gets done on cold, sunny days except for a little bit of cleaning here and there. It's this reason that I didn't want a house with a basement...because of the lack of sun...but don't get me wrong- it has definitely grown on me. Especially the thought of having a sweet lounge area downstairs someday. :)

hacksawin' it

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(hacksaw + CB2 toro chair legs = shorter toro stool)

which is better for our project that's in the works.

Dining Table = Ordered.

Although not my absolute favorite, this table is on it's way to our house.

I've been on the hunt for a pedestal table for some time now, and have some tight parameters:
1) had to be shipped to us, since we don't have a big enough car yet.
2) had to be the right size (small) for our dining area.
3) had to be under $300, unless we were going to wait another year.
4) had to be a round table, pedestal preferred, because of the tight space. that was the toughest requirement of the 4 to comply with, since i've always lusted after farmhouse tables.

I thought it would be a piece of cake to snatch one off of craigslist, but since we couldn't find one and we are desperate to finish the kitchen (it's the first room we started on when we moved in), we went with this one. Originally $400 but on sale for $200. Don't ask what shipping was...We almost didn't buy it because of shipping, but what are you going to do when nothing else has worked in your favor?

We may or may not paint it white, we'll have to see how it looks first.
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We didn't end up finishing the project I told you about. Drag. We couldn't find the right part for it, so now we're waiting till an IKEA trip because I know IKEA has just what we need.

Hope your weekend was good! I worked yesterday but have today off. What to do, what to do...

nothing new

5 things:

+the kittens are getting "fixed" right now. i feel really bad about it, but know it's a common procedure.
+spring is just around the corner and i'm feeling more and more intimidated by it! so much yard stuff.
+my cb2 stools are supposed to be delivered today, but i am not home to accept the delivery. damn!
+work is going well. i'm excited about getting new people in boats soon!
+we're doing a quick project this weekend. come back on monday or tuesday to see the results!


















(image found through google image search).

Yum

I couldn't think of anything to post (probably a hint that I should be doing something other than blogging...) but then I remembered this:























I picked these up along with a packet of starkist® hickory smoked tuna and a slice of colby jack cheese, threw it in the toaster oven and had a tasty lunch.

I'm not a huge fan of bread, but I love pitas, tortillas and now these. It's nice to finally have something more bread-like for a change.

What have you been eating?
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Today:
+ drawing new designs for these.
+ going to work.
+ meeting joe somewhere in madison for dinner and drinks.

See you soon!

Pink and Yellow

After spending a couple months trying to find pillows that would help me bring more purple into our home, I gave up and went for these ivory and pink ones, from World Market.

Sure I could have sewn my own. But the problem is that I don't sew and I'm very intimidated by the sewing machine! This is probably because the one I was given a few years ago needed work, which I did not know, and turned sewing into a nightmare.

So anyway, I realized that I was unknowingly gathering a pink & yellow color scheme in the living room (more yellow than pink) which is funny since I have been attracted to the pair for awhile now, but only thought about using it in an outdoor area (like for a party).
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Today I am making a recycling station in the basement. It's going to be really simple, but I hope to have one closer to this some day (via apartment therapy):















Also, I bought 2 of these stools from CB2 yesterday. It may seem like I'm buying a lot lately, which I kind of have been, but I'm trying to catch up to the needs of the house. We do not have good seating in the kitchen/dining room, and we are going to be doing 2 quick and somewhat inexpensive projects over the next couple weeks to help remedy this problem. One of the projects will require stools in order to finish it off.


















Of course, I suppose I do not need to fill the house. But for whatever reason, the lack of house-stuff that I would like to have affects my mood in a very negative way. So for my mental health, I buy things. Thankfully, the things that I buy are practical, like seats when we don't have seats.

But I still wish I could be one of those people who just didn't care what their house looked like (within reason...) because it's mentally exhausting to wish for so many things. I would stop if I could!

Fondue

I forgot to post this on Monday, so I'm doing it today.

As most of you know, Sunday was the Super Bowl.

Joe is in a fantasy football league, which means that throughout the football season, that damn television blares grunting, yelling, screaming and cheering every weekend, from morning until evening. So the day of the Super Bowl is always a good one to me (as long as it doesn't fall on my birthday!), because that means that football is just about over for the year.

Now, before we moved into our house, I was very excited to have a home that we could make our own, through simple updates, paint, etc. Just like all the blogs I read.

This was before I realized that Joe really isn't into that sort of thing (that was a very hard day for me)...

For awhile I was pretty hard on him about it. I'd have to say that my biggest character flaw (that i am aware of, and i could be way off) is that I'm extremely critical of myself and others. Which is exhausting for Joe, I'm sure.

I've been working on that issue, though, and to apologize for being a nagging you know what all football season, I made something that I knew he would appreciate. Something that I would have never made for myself, because I don't eat things in the hot dog family (yeah yeah yeah...).














Lil' Smokies with Beer Cheese Fondue. I saw it on Rachael Ray when I was at my parents, and knew that I had to make them for Joe.

I told him all week that I had a surprise for him. He asked "is this one of those surprises that you say is for me but is really for you?" Damn, he noticed....?

It took be 45 minutes to prepare these things, as they're a bit tedious, but they were well worth it. And I even ate them, too, because I knew they wouldn't kill me and anything is fine in moderation (usually).

The cool part was that I got to use my recently thrifted fondue pot for the first time. That thing is awesome. Made in Japan, one of my favorite makers of things. I should mention that the pot came with a burner, but I used candles this time around since I didn't have fluid for the burner.

After the football game, Joe told me that we can do a project this weekend. Really?! That's awesome! Except that this weekend is the start of me working on weekends...You see, there is a small reason to my madness. I had every weekend off throughout the winter, but now I will be working most every weekend until football starts again. Around and round we go.

Quilt and Studio

Although I've only been watching eBay for 2 weeks in hopes of finding the West Elm Chanel Stitch Quilt in Horseradish, I am kind of looking at this one in yellow, from Pottery Barn, as a close second.












It's on sale right now. I don't like it as much as the other one, but I do like it quite a bit. We'll see.

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Today is a snowy one. I'm still on the fence about venturing out to work. On one hand, I just started working again and it's so nice to get out of the house (cabin fever...) but at the same time, it's a far drive and I'm not so sure that it's the best idea to go. The snow looks very slippery...it's the light fluffy stuff, which is never good for driving in, especially during the first half, which is mostly roads going through fields. I wonder if the hardware store in town has a shade of paint that I can agree with. It would be for my studio. I'm going for a deep charcoaly greenish blue (which i've chosen to call "dirty mermaid", haha) and white. After months of trying to feel the space out, it's the only color that seems like it would be right. Which is strange because I'd never really choose that color anywhere else. But the studio is in the basement and is currently a bad putty-orange color, light dusty blue, 4 types of wood and some brown and ivory. TOO much going on in a space that already has the personality of a tornado. I'm going for white tables and walls and that greenish color for the pegboard. Photos to come, even though it's not supposed to be next on the to-do list.

Current:















Well, I should go. I still have more coffee waiting for me and I have to shovel the driveway. I like shoveling. Everybody keeps trying to get us to buy a snowblower but I tell them that we don't need one yet (don't they know about the COOLER stuff you can get for $400?). Maybe in 10 years (which would be 5 for joe since he'll be that age in 5 years) but not right now. Although I guess I shouldn't say that with the little amount of snow we've gotten this year.....next year it could be day after day, and then shoveling gets tedious (takes too long). Okay, see you.

Too Slow.

I've been wanting this Channel Stitch Quilt from West Elm. I've pretty much been stalking it on the website for about a month now, which really isn't that long for me.

I just went to buy it, because it was one of two things (out of hundreds) that I picked to buy with the money I got for my birthday and an Etsy sale. Well, of course, it's sold out. Like pretty much everything I ever lust after (that's not at a thrift store) and save for weeks on end to buy.





















Sucks.

I guess I could spend it on this lamp, since I've wanted it for even longer...



















But the quilt would have been just what I needed to help with Joe's request (he doesn't make many): To have a bedroom that is more of a retreat, somewhere we can go after a long day and just hang out. I've never been a fan of the idea, but the more I think about it, what's the big deal? Especially the way the bedroom is set up- a window bench and a sliding door out to the hot tub. I think it's only fair that the bedroom is made into something like this when it already has so much going for it. So he's supposed to be going out of town soon, and that's when I was going to do a quick bedroom update. Which was to include this quilt. He saw it at West Elm and liked it as well. The thing that sucks even more is that the OTHER thing I wanted to buy is sold out, too. Sure, there is a LOT that I want to buy. But I never actually end up buying it. These 2 things are different- I was actually going to buy them!

eBay it is. Too bad it may take forever to find it.

Yard

Only a couple more months until we can start furnishing our back deck! We plan on having multiple parties this summer (we haven't had more than a few people over yet) and I want to provide a relaxing area for mingling.

I don't want to go quite this far, but I do like the lighting on the steps and the gravel at the bottom. Eventually, I'd like to incorporate our hammock area with the deck, but I think it will take a couple of years since the hammock is about 25 feet away from the deck and landscaping is expensive.






A large outdoor rug is a high priority, especially on our wooden deck. I've been wanting one for years!





















Our biggest goal for the yard this year is to build a firepit, and I'm digging this one quite a bit. I also like the patio and weathered chairs. My parents are keeping their eyes peeled for wicker and wooden furniture since they go to a lot of flea markets and auctions.


I originally saved this photo for the cute shed, since we need to build one (next year), but I like the brick patio as well.






















The fabric used for the pillows in this photo is perfect inspiration for us, since we're going with wooden and wicker furniture. That way I can change colors whenever I want, since the furniture will remain neutral.





















So, just a few ideas I'm holding onto. I told Joe that I want to keep our budget under $500, and he said how about $400, so I'll try for that. We already have a few things so far, and I've been having a lot of good luck thrifting and craigslist surfing. I also have more barnwood laying around, so if I have to build things to stay under our budget I will.

No sources for the photos, unfortunately, since I didn't start saving that info until recently.
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In other news, I go back to work today. It will be nice to have money again so I can finally carry on with my projects! Working with what I had on hand was fine for a little while until I ran out of supplies, but in a few weeks things should be a little better.

(sorry, i had to turn the word verification for comments on. too much spam getting through.)

Serious Swoonage

Alright. So I'm not going to go as far as saying that I am longing for summer. I'm just longing for new summer clothes.

To wear for cocktails around the Square:

Muse Pring Dress, $138

*to be paired with the rsvp sandals shown further down.

To wear out with friends:

International Concepts Cardigan, $59



















International Concepts Tee, $39


















Slim Cropped Pant, $49.95



















Vera Scarf, $24









rsvp Nikki, $60














To wear to the beach, and around my yard at night before dipping into the hot tub:

Microruffles Tank Top, $55. Bottoms, $38. The color I want is "peacock".

Kenneth Cole Reaction Cover Up, $54

Colin Stuart Double Strap, $25









Okay, so now all I need is $500 and I will be set! Haha. I will most likely only get the swim suit, but everything else would be fun, too.