My First Trip to Ikea

I will admit, I never quite understood what all the fuss was about surrounding Ikea. I mean, I know it's supposed to be good inexpensive furniture and it's a big store. I have a friend who, when her son was three, he would rather spend a day there than the park or the zoo. I have looked at the website and while some of the stuff looks neat, most of it simply wasn't to my taste. Still, we have been on a home renovation kick lately and decided that since we'd be in the neighborhood it might be worth a little field trip.

I will admit that it probably wasn't the brightest decision to make our inaugural visit on a Saturday morning (along with everyone else in the world!) but it was what worked into our schedule. It was a bit overwhelming, especially since we weren't in search of something specific. I completely understand how people can spend all day there! I also understand why you would go when you don't need anything at all and how that can be insanely dangerous! Even though neither of us are really into "modern" design, we found tons of stuff we liked.

Once Jeff figured out "how it worked" he was in hog-heaven. He's all about DIY, speed, and efficiency when shopping, especially making larger purchases. It really did seem to be the best combination of lots of worlds to make both of us happy. Furniture (something we both enjoy), hardware and saving money(his things), with accessories and organization (my things) in one fabulously huge place with snacks. We will have to come back with a list, funding, and the big vehicle for sure! It was a serious blessing that we had none of those things this trip!

In spite of all that, we couldn't get out empty handed. I found a fabulous set of candle-holders I had seen at an altar design workshop and just had to have. I may need another set of them just to have more options. We also got two neat, low profile LED lights to be mounted on the top of our bookshelves in the den downstairs. Those were Jeff's "must have" and I agree they were perfect. I can't wait to get them installed. I found a mirror I really liked and a picture of Paris that both would have looked perfect in our guest room that we are in the process of renovating, but since we aren't to the "accessory" stage of the decorating I'll just have to wait a while longer and then make my case for going back!

Sew Much Fun!

I bought a sewing machine my senior year in high school wanting to learn how to use it. I started making pillows and even went so far as to make some pajama pants for myself, and later for a friend in college. Unfortunately, a dorm is not generally a good place to set up craft space, especially with something like a sewing machine so my machine ended up in storage. It stayed there until last year when we cleaned everything out. I finally got all my stuff together and said I was going to pull it out and dust it off, but it just hadn't happened until recently.

During CPE, I was introduced to something called "feely hearts" that were basically small stuffed hearts given to help someone going through a hard time. We were each given a feely heart by our spiritual director and it was very sweet and meaningful. As our time with her came to an end, our group said we wanted to do something special for her, and after talking we came up with the idea of making her a pillow with a pocket on it in which we could all place some sort of note or picture. Seeing as how I am the resident craft person, the task of making it came to me. I can't say I mind, and it was my idea.

In spite of how long it had been since I made something with my machine, it really wasn't that difficult. If you've never made a pillow, I think it's the easiest first project you can make with a sewing machine because it's three and a half straight lines (you finish the fourth seam by hand after you flip it inside out and stuff it!) The hardest part of this was sewing the pocket onto the pillow because I did that by hand, but I did that on purpose because I liked the way it looked!

I'm really excited about getting back into sewing and learning to make some new stuff. One thing I really want to get is a ruffler foot to try making rosettes for various things. I also saw a simple scarf at a recent craft fair that I think I could make pretty easily so I'm excited about trying that. (so if it goes well, guess what folks may be getting for Christmas this year?!?)

On a slightly unrelated note, I think I want to try making some of the cute flower hair clips I have seen (both from silk flower petals and from fabric). A friend suggested using the cricut to cut flowers out, so I may have to give that a shot! If you have any requests, let me know!

Ornament Exchange 2010

Remember how I told you about OneWed and its fabulous forum community? Well, one of the things they do every year for the "regulars" is a secret santa ornament exchange. It's always tons of fun! This year, my secret santa was Keely. She did a wonderful job and got me the most precious peppermint ornament! I love love love it!

It totally suits me, my personality, and our tree! All our stuff is the glass, "old world" style, so my peppermint is perfect. I got lots of compliments on it over the holiday, so I'm thrilled to finally get around to showing it off here!

Thank you, Keely! It's perfect and I will think happy thoughts about you, Chad, and Paisley every time I see it!

The Coolest Piece of Furniture EVER!

It's called a "Hobby Station" and it's made by Hooker Furniture. Have you ever seen something so nifty? Ok, so I'm a crafting goober. I can't help it that I'm easily amused by things that facilitate my addiction. We are in the process of choosing furniture for our unfinished basement room (once it is finished, of course!) We have been arguing and debating over what should go where. Jeff wanted to put in cabinets and a counter so I could have a little crafting corner. I appreciate the thought, but I'm funny about the space and access I need to work on things. Most of the time I have to be able to sprawl, and I usually end up sitting the floor now. If I'm going to work at a table or counter, I have to be able to get up under it so I can get right on top of whatever project is in front of me! Since we were going to put cabinets under the counter, that wasn't an option so I politely declined a craft counter. (Ok, so I might have screamed that it was worthless to me and I didn't want it. Let's just go with this "polite" delusion.) And then we found THIS! And it is the best of both worlds because it has all the wonderful storage space and slide outs for the printer *cough-cricut-cough* and lost of drawers, sections, and other lovely additions for all my little goodies.

In addition to the greatness of the hobby station, we found the perfect cabinet/bookshelf combo. You can see it here. We want two of these to go on either side of the doorway. We also need some kind of entertainment center, and being a little nuts like I am, it will probably match the bookshelves.

Our other furniture will probably include a leather sleeper sofa and a recliner. Jeff wants a swivel rocking recliner, but we'll have to wait and see what our budget allows and what we can find that we actually like.

French Memo Board

I got a crazy idea at the beginning of the month. In all my boredom, I decided that making one of those ribbon memo boards for my cousin would be a nice graduation gift. Then I decided that since I was doing it for my cousin I should do one for Jeff's cousin, too. And it might be fun to make one for my office, too. Clearly, I can't do anything on a small scale. Well, the one for my office is still in the "to be accomplished" file, but these things are SO easy to make and lots of fun!

The supplies are pretty simple and flexible - a cork board, low loft batting, fabric, a stapler, ribbon, straight pins, and furniture nails. You can also use a frame if you want, or some black "furniture fabric" and mounting hardware.

I had to start by cutting my board in half. I bought one large (16 x 36) board and cutting it in half, so the individual boards are 16x18. You could certainly do this without a table saw (or just buy a board that is the right size to start with!) but I enjoyed getting to put my trusty assistant to work!

Start by cutting the batting to size. You can wrap it around the edge if you want, but Just having it come up to the edge worked best for me. I doubled it up to make it a little fluffier (you could use a thicker batting for this as well and achieve the same result).

Then cut the fabric and wrap it over the batting, pull it taut, and staple it to hold it. Start with a couple of staples in your corners to make sure you don't have any wrinkles and like the way it looks. It's a lot easier to pull out 2 or 3 staples than 10 or 12!

I did this next step a little out of order. It's definitely easier to iron on the applique (if you want it) before you staple on the fabric, but I got the fabric partially stapled and then ironed it on. It worked fine because I only had to get at the back of the one corner. Then finish stapling the fabric around the back. I used a small staple gun/tacker with 5/8" staples. Technically a simple office stapler would work, but again we had to break out the power tool! It actually made things a lot easier. I may have to go back and get a manual one I saw at Hobby Lobby just for my craft projects!

Now lay out your ribbon. You can use pretty much any kind of ribbon and space it however you would like. Both the fabrics I used had pretty distinctive patterns so that made it easier for me because I didn't need to fool with rulers and whatnot. Use the straight pins on the edge to hold the ribbons in place.

Now flip the board and staple the ends of the ribbon to the back. Just remove one straight pin at a time, make sure you pull the ribbon taut, and staple it. Working your way around is definitely the easiest.

Now put your furniture nails where the ribbons cross. They may poke out the back of the board a little if it's on the thinner side, which is fine, especially if you're going to attach the backing.

Just cut a piece of the backing slightly smaller than the back of the board. You want it to cover all your staples, but not be visible from the front. We used contact cement to attach it, but fabric glue would also work well. This will also protect your wall from scratches if the tips of the furniture nails are coming through. Then attach the hanger to the back if you want it.

I have enough fabric, ribbon, batting, and furniture nails to make at least two more small-ish boards. All I need is the board, which will run me less than $5. It's a great way to use up scraps of ribbon and fabric!

We have also been looking into the possibility of making these to sell at craft fairs and maybe on Etsy or in local gift stores. Let me know what you think and if this is something you'd buy! We're going to make several different sizes and will be happy to take requests for fabric and ribbon colors/patterns. Right now I think the new sizes will be 9x12, 12x12, 16x18, 24x36, and 8x24. We are going to try to put a small clock into the 8x24 just to do a little something different. Let me know if you want one!

Decorating Credits

I'm sure you've probably seen most of the photos of the house now (at least if you want to see them!) If not, they are on facebook. Check them out. And if you aren't my friend on facebook, you should be! I would love to take credit for all the decorating of the new house, but I can't. I've been passing off most of the credit to my husband, but the more I sit back and think about it, he doesn't deserve it all either. So basically, here's a list of who did what to which rooms.

Master Bedroom - the furniture choice (except for the bench between the windows) was all Jeff. He purchased his bedroom furniture before we even met. The bench came from my grandparents' house, although unless you knew that you wouldn't really notice it doesn't exactly match the rest of the furniture. The bedding was pretty much me. The wall color was also me (because we were working from the bedding and the rest of the house is beige and I wanted our room to be different!) The artwork was Jeff. The picture over the bed came from his parents and the two pictures by the mirror came from my old house. Jeff arranged all the furniture

Master Bath - I will take full credit for this, although there wasn't much "decorating" to be done. We just used the same color as the master bedroom. I picked out the little wicker and iron shelves and decorative towels. The picture I got from his parents. He did pick out the new drawer knobs and paint the light fixtures, but it was a pretty mutual decision that we wanted the brushed silver.

Guest bathroom - I guess you could say I am responsible for this one because it was stuff I picked out for the condo based around the hand towel stand I got as a wedding gift. The wall color was the agreed-upon beige for most of the house.

Guest bedroom - I really don't know that either of us can take credit for this. All the furniture and bedding came from my old house. My mom picked out the bedding. I don't think I even helped with that one, I think I was away at college. The painting on the bedside table was a gift to me. The painting over the bed came from his mother, but I think we're going to replace it with a few I found from my grandparents' house. Again, Jeff arranged all the furniture.

Office - This was all Jeff. I helped pick the window treatment, but they were originally chosen for our living room at the condo. He did all the hanging of artwork (which is all his) and arranging of furniture (which is all his except one bookshelf!) The burgundy chair came from the house in Cullman but he's the one who decided to keep it.

Living room - This is the one room we did almost entirely together. We picked almost all the furniture together and it was purchased as our Christmas present from my family. There are two tables that came from the Cullman house and all the lamps came from Cullman. The artwork also came from Cullman but Jeff chose it and hung it. I want something different, but I don't know what yet. The current rug is temporary. I did display all the wedding photos in their strategic locations. The furniture arrangement was rather mutual.

Dining room - Jeff actually deserves most of the credit here. He totally saw the vision for the paint when I could not. The color on top was a pretty mutual choice. The furniture was basically all his doing, too. The tea cart was something I got from my great-great-aunt. The table and chairs he found and really encouraged me to love them (which I now do). The china hutch came from his mom and he made the executive decision where to put it. The only thing I can claim credit for is the hanging of the artwork (which also came from his mom) and the current tablecloth.

Hall/Entry way - There are little touches here that I can pretty much take credit for. There is a cross over the front door that I bought several years ago, but Jeff hung. The memo board in the hall was a gift to both of us, but I chose to hang it there. The new light fixture in the hall was my choice, too.

Half Bath - I think I can take credit for this, too. I made the decision that this would be the only room we wouldn't re-paint so it is the purple wallpaper that was there when we bought the house. I chose the paintings now on the wall and the other little pieces. It's a work in progress. I still feel like something is missing.

Kitchen - I can take (almost) full credit for this - I knew what I wanted and Jeff helped make it happen. I chose the color with absolutely no discussion. I also found the metal tiles and Jeff hung them for me. I picked the drawer/cabinet pulls and Jeff put them on. The table came from his mom because she and I traded. He hung the stuff on the wall for me, but that's also a work in progress.

So that's pretty much our house and how it came to be the way it is now. I'm sure it will continue to evolve. Once I get some of the "new" stuff put away there will be more pictures. Stay tuned!

The Bathroom

If I were to design a house I would design it around two rooms - the kitchen and the bathroom. No matter what else happens, you have to eat and you have to potty. Sure you have to sleep too, but I have been know to do that in either of those rooms! (those are other stories for another day)

I don't think nearly enough people invest enough time or energy thinking about their bathroom. It is probably the most personal, private, intimate room of the house. Unless you have small children, the goings-on behind closed doors are rarely documented. It's just a personal space.
Because it is so personal, I don't feel like I can really comment on what is "necessary" in a good bathroom for anyone buy myself. Even my husband and I have different ideas about what is essential and what is optional.
The only universal essential in my mind (aside from the obvious hardware) is comfort! You want to enjoy your time in your bathroom. Our master bathroom is ultimately what sold the house to me, although the kitchen was a very close second. The bottom line was that I knew I would enjoy this bathroom. We put more hard work in this room than any other. And this will continue to be a work in progress for both of us.

The thing I love most about the bathroom is obviously the great big tub. The hot water heater isn't QUITE large enough to fill it all the way up with super-hot water (which I know is probably not super healthy anyway, but I love it!) but it is still lovely for soaking. There is more than enough room for all of our stuff without feeling like it's crammed everywhere. There is still room to turn around. And if Jeff and I need to get in there at the same time, we can.

The thing I hate is that it's really cold. It's on the corner of the house. It kind of sticks out and isn't very well insulated. The floor is ceramic tile and it has two big single-pane windows. It doesn't matter what you do, it stays very very cold. We put in a small space heater which only helps a tiny bit. We're working on it.

My biggest word of advice when it comes to outfitting your bathroom is don't skimp on quality. Sure, know your budget. But maintain high standards! Choose a color your enjoy, you'll be staring at it a while. Buy good towels. Even if it means you buy fewer and wash them more often, it's worth it (and if they're quality, they'll hold up to the washing!) Make it a place you enjoy!

Calling All Artists

I have decided we need some new artwork for the new house. Don't get me wrong, we have some nice stuff now. But I would like something a little different for our living room. Although it's not exactly "early american dorm room" it doesn't look as put together as I would like. Sure the artwork sort of goes with each other, but it doesn't really go with the new sofa. We'll leave the cheap area rug out of the discussion for now...

The sofa is a brown with some sort of rusty undertones. The walls are painted beige. There just isn't a lot of color going on. The art we currently have displays lots of dark green. I'm not opposed to dark green, but I don't just love these particular flower pictures.

I like flowers and nature prints. I would probably choose them over something a little more abstract and modern. But these just don't do anything for me.

Because of the texture of the sofa, I feel like the throw pillows need to be a print rather than a solid. I haven't found anything I love yet but I'm leaning away from stripes and I don't think polka dots would be quite what we are looking for. That pretty much leaves floral patterns, which I think will do fine. I haven't got anything in particular in mind yet. I feel like I can pick the art and then use it to choose the color/pattern for the pillows.

Now, because I am Anal Annie about matching, I'm not sure how I'll feel about floral prints and floral patterned pillows. It might be a bit much, even for me. Especially if they're very different. I think it would bother me.

I'm not opposed to something neat and abstract, just so long as it's not TOO out there. So if you have something you want to sell or know of a place where I can get something good, let me know!

Nomad No More

Friday is moving day. I can't believe it's finally here, but at the end of this week Jeff and I will be living in OUR house. And my life as a nomad will be ending.

I feel like my life has been a six and a half year long game of the hokey pokey. I can't remember how many times I've moved in and out and had to shake it all about! The best count I can come up with is at least ten different times in the past six years. It stinks. It truly does. And I'm over it. It may have been an exciting adventure a while ago, but no more.

I'm ready to be settled. I'm ready to give away all the boxes. I'm ready to recycle all the paper. I'm ready to throw out the foam. I'm ready to put nail holes in the walls and make height marks on door frames and carve our initials into a tree. I'm ready to have a place that truly feels like home!

And as much as I'm looking forward to being in our new home, the process of getting there is making me nuts. I HATE packing. Unpacking I actually enjoy because I can organize as I go. There is nothing more exciting to me than a set of empty shelves or a wall of empty cabinets. But a stack of empty boxes? That is the stuff nightmares are made of. I am haunted by thoughts of flat cardboard and packing paper and foam wrap and that awful tape!

Right now it's a tease. We have new furniture for the dining room and the living room. The dining room was a good find at a secondhand store. We got a nice oval table, the pad, 2 arm chairs, and 4 side chairs. The living room furniture is our Christmas gift from both sets of parents. We got a couch, a chair, a coffee table, and 2 end tables. All this stuff is in the house. The living room furniture still needs to be moved, but at least it's there. The fridge, washer, and dryer are all there. The house is liveable. We just aren't there yet!

Thankfully, we have hired movers this time. They can do all the heavy lifting and the hauling up and down stairs. I can smile, direct traffic, and start unpacking the moment the right boxes hit my kitchen!

Furniture Shopping

One of the perks of setting up a home is getting the furniture to put in that home! We currently have some very nice furniture, but the vast majority is stuff that has been inherited from one of our families. We're both happy with it for the moment, but we eventually want to get some things of our own that we have picked for ourselves.

We didn't go out intending to shop for furniture. But we had some time to kill and decided to go wander around. We ended up at Rooms to Go first. We wandered in and were accosted by the sales guy named Elvis. Although he didn't stand over us, he followed us around the store. On several occasions I saw him staring at us and it was just plain creepy. He never really offered any help, just kind of creeped us out. We found a few things we liked ok, but nothing we really loved. We walked out feeling a little bit let down.

We decided that, since neither of us had ever been up to Ashley Furniture and we were close, we would pop up the hill for a bit. When we walked in we were greeted by a very friendly salesperson named Johnita. She explained the set-up of the store, told us to look around, asked our names, and promised to check on us soon. And she left us alone! I could look over my shoulder and not see her staring at us, and it was wonderful! We stopped and looked at a few things along the way and she caught up with us and explained how to read all the little sales placards. And once again she left. Again, she gave us a while and caught up with us, this time we had questions for her. She answered our questions and explained everything very well. We continued to make the rounds and she continued to just check on us periodically, answer all our questions, and generally make it a great experience. 

When we were finally ready to go, we were in love with a dining room set, a sofa set, and a nice storage ottoman. She gave us her card and printed out pictures of the sets that we liked. We will be more than happy to go back and give her business! 

And if you're in the market for some furniture in Birmingham, go down to Ashley Furniture in Hoover and see Johnita!

Table-Settings

Call me old fashioned, but I think setting the table is an important skill to have and something that a person should pay attention to. Don't get me wrong, I love pizza in front of the TV as much as the next person. But there's just something nice about a pretty table. 

Perhaps I am a snob and a perfectionist, but there is a right way and a wrong way to set a table. There are diagrams and descriptions all over the place so it's not a hard thing to learn. And once you learn it, there's really not any good excuse for not doing it right. This becomes especially important when it comes to entertaining. I have a pretty broad definitions of "entertaining" and that is any time you have someone who is not a resident of your home come in, particularly for a meal. I may relax this understanding later, but this is where it stands right now.

I know that because I'm a little OCD, I probably make a bigger deal out of some things, but it really does make a difference in the whole environment of a meal, whether it's for 2 or 20.

When we were preparing to host one of Jeff's family Christmas events last year, I went out and bought 24 buffet plates (they were at the Linens N Things going out of business sale so I didn't spend a ton!) and several tablecloths. I really wanted covers for the folding chairs, but I may have to get those this year. The night before the party I set to work setting the tables. We were expecting about 16 people, so there were 2 folding tables, the kitchen, and the dining room to set. I literally set every place with silverware, a napkin, and a glass. Every table had a centerpiece. I put a lot of work into making it look nice. I didn't have enough plates or glasses for everyone's to be identical, but I did make sure that every table had all the same pattern. I put a lot of time and energy into making everything look nice. And through it all Jeff looked at me like I had two heads! He was used to a much more relaxed atmosphere involving paper plates and whatever forks you could find. But it all looked really nice and it really set the tone for a much nicer party.

Jeff's mom and I both have a thing with dishes. We love them. And although she has always only had service for eight in any of her patterns, I was taught to do service for twelve. Given the size of their family I am actually quite shocked by this because they have twelve just from with Jeff's grandparents, the five kids, and their spouses without listing any of the grandkids, their spouses, or the great-grandkids. She got new dishes for her birthday in service for eight because that's what she asked for. But just before father's day, she went out and got four more because she really liked them. And it made for a very nice dinner because there were ten of us there for dinner and we could all use the same "real" plates. They were square Corelle, not fancy china but pretty. But once you added a nice tablecloth and cloth napkins with napkin rings, suddenly these "everyday" dishes looked absolutely beautiful and it was a very elegant table setting.

Little touches make a big difference. It doesn't mean you have to spend a lot of money, but invest in a few nice things and spend a little bit of time and you can be amazed at the difference it makes!

Tybee Island Photos

I enjoy photography for several reasons. I think the biggest one is that it's a creative outlet or me. I know that none of what I do is technically brilliant or terribly creative, but I enjoy it and am pretty proud of what I do.

Most of my favorite pictures are those that capture moments of genuine emotion, unique perspective, and simple beauty.

I really enjoy taking photos of nature because I always feel close to God in nature, and my pictures serve as a reminder of those feelings and occasionally inspire me.

I will probably take two or three of these photos, blow them up, frame them, and hang them in my hall bathroom. My colors are ivory and dark brown so I may also convert them to sepia tone, but I'm not sure. Thoughts would be appreciated.