Home to my (limited) creativity

Our guest room/office is getting closer to being decorated and hopefully, done. There will be more pictures to come of that room later.

You see, yet another room is in the works. This time it's my "craft room."

This room used to be the computer/music/catch all room.  Since we have been simplifying our house and surroundings in general, we had this "bonus room."

My idea was to make it a room where I could scrapbook, sew or maybe even take a nap ( I can do that anywhere...)

So, I finally spent last Saturday finding a home for things and arranging them in a way that I could live with for the time being.

Afterwards, I even managed to sew a few little projects that have been piling up.

It has turned into a room I enjoy being in.

Anyway, here are a couple pictures of the room and what it was

(a room gone wrong if you ask me...)

  

The room is very small, so there really isn't much to it.  But it turns out, it's the perfect size for me!  I chose a light grey color on three walls, with the other white.  Eventually, I want to incorporate pink accents for a girly effect.  I also need to make some curtains, weed through a few more things, find homes for others and finally, hang some art.  Maybe down the road, new floor can be installed as well. But this is my crafty space for now. 

My dream is for my room to look like this, but I feel I have a long way to go:

via Pinterest

The "new" guest and/or office!

It has come to my attention that I have a terrible habit of starting something (like a craft project, trip or even a sentence) and never really finish it.  I've also noticed that I do this with blog entries.

For example, a while back, I mentioned that we were working on our guest room/office.  I then promised pictures of the room after we had finished.  

Did I ever do it?  No......

So I decided to break the cycle of unfinished business and share some of that with you right now!  I mentioned before that we painted both the walls and ceiling, and replaced the light fixture.  We also ripped out the old carpet and installed a new laminate and base boards, which match the rest of the house pretty well. The room isn't decorated just yet, but I'll share with you the before and after pictures.

I hope you like it! But if not? That is okay too, because we do. And as far as our house is concerned, that's really all that matters. Hehe.

The Before:

Notice the lovely shade of ice blue

The After:

I hope to show you the end product too, after we add some furniture back in!

But we'll see how that goes....

No we didn't go anywhere, but...

...we did get some things DONE (around the house that is)!

I mentioned a couple posts ago that we've been weeding things out, in effort to simplify our house and hopefully, our lives too.

So we did just that.  This time we tackled pretty much every cabinet and drawer in our kitchen and cleaned off the counter tops.  It looks amazing and somewhat like we just moved in. I'm still not sure what to think of it (remember, I like a little clutter/decoration going on.)

We also decided to update and paint our spare room.  

It used to be a bright blue color, with clouds painted on the ceiling.

See:

the only picture I could find to show you the colors...

Several people used to call it the nursery, which would be fine if we had a kid, or at least planned on it.

But we don't.

Six years after painting it and never really loving it, we decided it was time to make some changes.  

We painted three walls an awesome, calming green color and the other an almond/cream color. We also painted over the clouds on the ceiling with an off-white.

Then we bought a new light and installed it.

It looks 1,000 times better already!

No pictures have been taken because we aren't done with the room yet!

(I don't want to ruin the surprise!)

We also plan on laying down matching laminate flooring.

So when all of that is finished I'll let you know!

After shot

ALAS! A single (and very important) house project has been completed!

You may, or may not, depending on how long you've been with me, remember the idea of hanging pictures above our "new" TV chest.  For those of  you not familiar, here is a link to refresh your memory

(I will also add a few before and after pics here in a sec.)

So for those of you a little too lazy to hop on the link above (no judgement from the peanut gallery), here is an inspiration picture found off this lovely website:

I really loved the idea of staggering framed pictures all over the wall, yet still incorporating the big ol' TV.

Here is what we started with:

Frankly? A little too boring for my taste.

So we decided to display photos we took while in Ireland last year.

First, we had to choose the pictures AND the frames, then decide how to arrange them.  Once we did that, we laid the frames out on a piece of paper to make sure we liked the layout. Then we chose pictures and how we wanted those grouped.

Once we were satisfied with the arrangement, we traced the outline of the frames, hung the paper up on the wall and then placed nails right through the outlines on the paper. 

This is what we ended up with:

Voila!

We are quite pleased with the result, and now I can't help but stare at the pictures instead of the TV.

Now I need to add something to sit on the cabinet that adds a bit more color.....

Eureka!

Ever since a larger TV appeared in our house, we've needed to find a stand/table that would prove to be both functional and look good in our home.

We looked around and haven't found anything we remotely liked.

Then I found a couple ideas on Pinterest and knew what I wanted to find.

Something like this maybe:

 via pinterest



pinterest



pinterest



So imagine my surprise when Aaron found this guy on Craigslist!

We are going to touch it up a bit and replace the pulls, but over all it was love at first sight

(and the price was right too!)

I'll show you the "after" photos when we get it all figured out!

There's a saying that goes.......

........"I'm a shopper with a closet problem."

That sums me and my little situation up in a little nutshell.

I don't have a shopping problem, just a closet problem.

Hmm.....Never heard that saying before?  It could be due to the fact that it has never been said before, until Aaron, my fabulous/ingenious husband made it up......

Truth be told,  he got the basic idea for my special quote when he read this: "I'm a beer drinker with a mountain biking problem."

He felt that applied to him (oh how it does) just like mine applies to me.

But I digress.

Again.

Why oh why does this quote apply to little ol' me?

Well....my closet broke.

AHHHHHH!!!!!

As in the bar pulled out of the wall broke.

Check it out.



This is where my clothes should be hanging



Instead this is where they chose to hang out



My closet breakage couldn't have come at a worse time.  You see Aaron's parents were visiting and my bedroom was the only room that I didn't even touch as far as cleaning goes, so it was a hot mess (literally super temperature hot and a huge mess.)

To make matters worse, my MIL (mother in law....fun abbreviation, I know) helped me carry all of my clothes to other rooms to hang them in other areas....

SO...she not only got to see the humiliating mess we call our bedroom, but also got to see first hand just how many clothes I own ( and this after our day of shopping...)

HOW HUMILIATING

Is it a sign that I have too many clothes?

Maybe.  Probably.

Should I do something about this situation?

Probably?....maybe.....YES!

So today I'm planning on putting my little closet back together.  I'll be hanging out with and hanging up all of my clothes again.  Some of the clothes may have to find another home.

If you don't hear from me it means my clothes have planned an angry attack and I'm buried under all of them.

Send help.

In the shape of a California Closet.

Our house

     Have you ever stopped by Apartment therapy?  If not, it may be due to the fact that you've never heard of it.  That's an acceptable reason.  Or it could be that you have heard of it but it's not your thing.  That's also okay. 
    I've both heard of it and it is my "thing".  Mainly because we own a very small house (998 sq feet to be exact) and it has some awesome ideas for decorating small spaces. 
     A little history on "The House."  It was built in 1938 with  an update in the 70's and then what was referred to as "a total remodel" in the early 90's.  Then we came along and swept it off the swelling home market.  It was kinda ugly on the outside (still is) but the right price.  At the time it was perfect for two young kids just starting out.  Sold.
     Cue six years later to the present.  While the house has been great with no structural damage or improvements needing to be patched by the owners (us), at times the limited space and storage seem smothering, especially when we visit other newer, bigger, better, improved homes. 
     As of late, I have had a lot of time to sit at home and really look at it. I have also had a lot of time to look at both home improvement blogs and magazines.  With these visual resources on hand I have come to realize something: our house needs some help.  Right now, it's confused and on the whole a "makeover" waiting to happen.  A "before" waiting for the "after".
     Don't get me wrong.  There are a few rooms I'm pleased with, but only because we recently improved upon them like the bathroom, living room.........maybe our master bedroom.  However, there are so many of them that need to be updated and tweaked and get them to flow with the rest of the house.  Even then, the rooms that I like still aren't 100% decorated and aren't up to par.  Grr.
     Then I pull my head out of the clouds and realize how lucky we are.  At least we still have a house, with some pretty good neighbors nearby and again the house has been easy on us.  We also have a pretty open floor plan.  And you know what?  Maybe it's not the house that's the problem, but the owner's (again...us).
     So I've decided to tackle both my attitude and the house.  First, I'm going to start out by simplifying.  I plan on getting rid of everything (this is going to be DIFFICULT as I'm some what of a hoarder) that is not being used, has not been used or most likely won't be used.  Then I'm going to re-evaluate our space and try to use every single inch to the fullest like many a people do over at Apartment Therapy. 
     Aaron and I have already talked about some of our "ideas" and with a little paint and ingenuity, hope to make them a reality.  Here are some of the possibilities:

• turning our existing dead-space entry way into a bit of a home library
• turning the small room that is now the computer room into a walk in closet (yay) for moi
• making my craft/sewing room that looks like a baby's room into a warm and functional craft room/guest room
• painting the kitchen a new shade to match the rest of the house
• and last, but not least actually doing something...anything to the laundry room at the back of the house

     I really want to do these things, it just takes time and money.  No, it's not going to be a quick process.  It will be slow.  One. Step. At. A. Time.  But sometimes just writing it down makes things happen......

We've only just begun.....

The title of this post was inspired by this song which I have included for your listening "pleasure" as you read the rest of the blog.  Enjoy (wicked laugh):

SO....Where oh where do I begin?  Oh, here's the part where I introduce myself as a silly, silly girl....How foolish was I to believe that by simply painting one.point.5 (1.5) of my walls that the living room would be finished?  True...the painting process is finished. 

Again, here's the before:

 And the after...Tah-dah!

We are both pretty pleased with the color.  However, the re-decorating has only just begun.  Once we started to put the living room back together, I found that the old furniture (okay, only the "side tables"), pictures, pillows....virtually everything just didn't look

 as good. 

First of all, the table and chest we used as our side tables clashed.  So, we took some matching cabinets from our bedroom and parked them in the corner of our living room.  At first the seemed too small and too dark.  After moving them and trying out a lamp on one table, we realized we liked them there.  They were keepers. 

Another thing we came across was the lighting situation.  I'm over the floor lamp that is in both pictures, or at least not loving it in the living room anymore.  We decided table lamps would probably be our best bet (as we have no overhead lighting in the living room.)  BUT, we don't have any lying around, so will most likely be shopping for some shortly - the one in the picture is borrowed from another room.

Lastly, the turquoise pillows in the first picture didn't make the cut into the second picture.  They just didn't.  So I tried red pillows.  Also, a solid no.  However, two other shades popped into view.  I had some fabric (yellow) and a shirt (orange) that I threw over the existing pillows to see what I thought.  Here's what I saw:

I really like both of the colors against the couch/wall.  So I will either purchase OR try to make some pillows in comparable colors on my own.  We'll see.

Also, we are on the lookout for some black/white photography for the walls in addition to some pictures that POP..you know, to keep it interesting.....

All of this decorating/painting has made us want to tackle other projects.  Maybe we will. 
Baby steps....baby steps.

 

Let the painting begin

This is what we woke up to today:

It seems like painting was meant to be today.  Or that's what I told myself. 

I kind of followed Sherwyn- William's "painting instructor."  Kind of.  As you already know, I placed the swatches on the wall and looked at them in different lights....for the most part.  We narrowed it down and chose one.  We did not wait a couple days to make peace with the color.  Who has the time (and the days off) to do that?  Not me.  So the shade we chose is "Amalfi." 

Weird name I know. 
We made a trip back to Sherwyn-Williams and bought paint.  The downside is that is literally cost us double what the "expert" told me yesterday.  He told us that after he mixed the paint up and was checking us out.  Nice.  Real nice.  We probably won't be going back there anytime soon. 

 The upside?  I love the color.

My inspiration for the colors came from a peacock feather ( I didn't take this pic but I wish I had):

We already have a lot of the neutral tones on the other walls, so I was pretty sure the blue would compliment them well. 

So without any further ado: The "before" picture:

No turning back now...

The first coat, finished:

I have to wait at least 6 hours before I get the second coat on.  Yay. 

It looks pretty turquoise in these pics, but since I took the pics it has darkened a lot- as it is supposed to.  I'm pretty excited and can't wait to show you the finished product.

Paint chips and (you guessed it) cupcakes

Woo to the hoo!  Guess who has a couple of days off from work due to spring break?  This girl.

So, what do I have planned?  Oh-ho-ho...Let. Me. Tell. You.

FIRST- Shopping

A friend and I drove to Bend, OR early yesterday for some shopping.  11 hours later we came back home.  At World Mkt. I was inspired to re-decorate my house, but otherwise I wasn't too impressed with the rest of the stores we headed to.  Please don't misinterpret that to mean I came home empty handed.  Oh no my friends.  I did not.  I bought a few things here and there and was glad I did!  By the way, did I mention that we stopped by a super-awesome cupcake shop and snagged some?  We did.  If you are ever in Bend, please stop by Ida's cupcakes.  What is unique about this cupcakes shop is that you not only select the cupcake flavor but you can also customize the frosting.  After you have made the selection that is just right for you, they head off to the kitchen to frost your cupcakes ASAP.  There are no pre-frosted cupcakes...only what you want.  Lovely, I would say!  Here were my choices:

Clockwise from the upper left: Caramel cupcake with butter cream frosting and caramel drizzle, carrot cake cupcakes with orange frosting, vanilla cupcake with raspberry frosting and last..but not least, mocha chip cupcake with mocha frosting.  DELICIOUS!

 SECOND- Catch up on errands.  I had a lot of things to return to various stores and am still looking for new dresses for events coming up.  Didn't find any dresses, but did complete all of my tasks on my sticky note of knowledge. 

THIRD- Paint the living room.  I mentioned in a previous post that I've wanted to do this since early March ( I think?).  Anyway, I really, REALLY, want to do this.  So I've picked up every imaginable paint chip shade that I think would be pleasing to the eye and have slapped it on the wall.  Case in point:

     With these shade selections I feel a lot like Goldilocks.  Some are much to light and others are much too dark. It's been difficult to find the shade that is "just right."  But, I think we may have found it.  Today I visited Sherwyn-Williams.  Not only did I get some good advice (put some paint chips on the wall, look at it in different light, don't rush it and give it a few days) but I was also sent home with a complimentary "color book" with every imaginable shade out there.  AHH!  Not only did that little book help me to select the shade that will most likely replaced the "so-last-five-years" red wall, but it has made me want to paint so many other rooms.  Think that's the point of sending me home with this book?  Yeah.  Me too. 

     By the way,  I have plans to show you the before and after of our living room when we 100% decide on the shade and get to painting!!  As usual,  I'll play show and tell when the right time comes.  Stay tuned....

Bonus Day!

     Yesterday afternoon I was told I didn't need to come to work today.  NO I wasn't fired.  My Dr is sick and didn't want to expose everyone to her illness.  Don't get me wrong, I was sad she didn't feel well but I was also very appreciative that she didn't want to share her germs.  Furthermore, I was psyched to have an "off-day" in the middle of the week!  Want in on a little secret?  I've been wishing for a sick day(s). A lot.  It's not that I don't enjoy my place of employment, it's just that I wouldn't mind another day(s) off in addition to the ones I already have, to do what I want to do.  And that's what I've done so far.
  The first thing on my list of things to do on "bonus-day-off-day" was to sleep in.  It was so important to me that before I went to sleep last night I told Aaron that I wanted to sleep in.  Here's how that went down:
Whitney: Okay, I want to sleep in tomorrow morning, got it?
Aaron: Yes
Whitney: Tell me what I want to do
Aaron: Go for a bike ride
Whitney: No, sleep in.  I want to sleep in.  Repeat to me what I want to do...
Aaron: Go for a walk
     You get the gist.  Well, guess who didn't sleep in? Me.  However it wasn't my beloved's fault.  It was mine.  Apparently my body had something else planned.  So not only did I get to bed super late but I had to get up early, so naturally, I did.  Oh well. 
   I'll spare you the mundane details of us getting ready to go, but that's what we did.  Ready to go where you ask?  Well, we had a list of places to go and things to do.  In the past and usually on Saturdays, Aaron and I have been known to spend the day driving around to wherever our hearts desire, be it a coffee shop, bike shop, Goodwill, antique store, etc.  One of us will call out an idea and we drive there.  So that's what we did today.  I LOVE it! 
     First we ran to Starbucks to grab some coffee for the girls who did get to work today (kind of a condolence prize if you will.)  I was able to score two free drinks just 'cause the lady liked my honest face (not really- but the free drinks are true...).  We dropped them off then zoomed to Diamond Home Improvement to pick out some paint swatches.  I've been reading A LOT of home improvement blogs and have stumbled on a shade that I am obsessed with.  This one is from younghouselove.com:

We then ran to Fred Meyer's to look at magazines and lamps to further fuel my decoration fire!!  I wholeheartedly feel that this teal color will be a refreshing change from the existing red wall.  One day I woke up and realized I was super tired of the red.  This color was the answer to my......uh....tired-ness?

THEN, we drove across town to the Portland St. Mkt.  At this local establishment, they have a respectable amount of both micro-brews and wines, of which we made several purchases, thank you very much.

By that time we both realized we were hungry so we went drove to our old neighborhood to a greek deli and picked up some sandwiches.  They were just what the people's ordered.  Oh and on our way there I spotted a new bakery called 'Cakery', so we went there next.  I'm always up for cupcakes so we snagged a couple.  Sad to say, the Creamscicle cupcake did not last long enough to have its' picture taken.  R.I.P in my tummy little cupcake!  But here's the P.B. cup-cupcake:

After that, we drove to a bike shop for Aaron to pick up his final installation for a bike he's been working on.  In case you didn't know he likes to get bikes no one loves anymore, cleans them up and restores them into new treasures.  Interested?  Here is a pic of his new bike:

And here are a couple of the bike he restored for me last summer. 

 Take note of the argyle and "super W" on the front.  You can't buy a bike this awesome!! (don't mind the bug guts...Aaron says it's because I ride so fast that they are there.  I have to agree.)

So, that's all we've done so far.  I had such a good day I had to share it with someone!  Thanks for stopping by!  And stay classy....but mostly thanks for stopping by.