July 28th, 2010
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It seems that everyone has some weird quirk or thing that they really like. For some people it’s a billion roosters decorating everything in their kitchen, sometimes it’s cows. I have tons of quirks, but I love owls. Luckily for me, they seem to be in style right now as I found at least five different types and styles of owl necklaces the other day. I bought two, and I love how the one combines my other quirk as it looks like a Harry Potter owl.
The other necklace I bought looks more professional, and one of my friends, Holly, laughed and couldn’t believe I used “professional” and “owl” in the same sentence when I told her. Don’t worry, I’ll rock both of them at work.
(The first was purchased at Claire’s, and the second one was from Forever 21)
July 26th, 2010
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I love how much Elway and Tito have latched on to each other. Sometimes they way they respond to each other reminds me so much of siblings, because Tito will want to play and Elway will have nothing to do with it. Elway is always mindful of the fact that Tito is much smaller than him and goes out of his way to not squish him on accident.
July 25th, 2010
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When we bought the house, there was a lot of brown EVERYWHERE. I’d bought my couch to get me through college in a neutral brown, and I love dark brown, wood furniture so I had a lot of that. When we got into the house, the walls were brown, and I felt like I was basically living in a huge turd. Not to mention that I love, love, love color, so the brown was too much for me. Here is a picture of the dining room before to remind you, and you can see all the photos of the original room here:
After we painted the living room, the next room we painted was the dining room. Unfortunately, we did not do the “top down” method, so we just slapped some paint on the walls. Now you can tell the trim is dirty and off-white. Right now I’m working on the foyer, and I made sure to start with the ceiling. I think the number one annoying thing is realizing that I was in such a hurry to get something done that we didn’t research enough. I am learning as I go though.
Without further ado, here are photos of the dining room as it stands right now:
The brown curtains that were in the living room made their way into the dining room until I can figure out a fabric choice for in there. The antique desk has been moved out to open the room up.
The next few projects for the room include: painting the trim, putting in the new flooring, updating the light fixture, figuring out what to put in the little nook next to the fireplace, and getting some more frames up.
July 23rd, 2010
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A few days ago I posted the twenty-five things I’d like to accomplish within the next year before I turn 25, and one of the things on that list was to learn how to use Adobe Illustrator. This is something I’ve been struggling with because I’ll start to create something, get frustrated, and then find someone else to do it or give up. I thought that if I came up with simple projects to work on using tutorials I find in books and online I could break it up over the next year. My plan is to come up will an illustration for each week as a mini-project, and then I could post it on here. Then I’d have a record of how I’d improved, and as I go I can use some of them in the design and layout of the blog.
This was my initial attempt several months ago, and it actually turned out rather well.
I used this tutorial to complete it, and I’m hoping to get back on track on learning how to use the program. Getting my desktop up and running will help the process, too.
July 21st, 2010
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In case you aren’t addicted to HGTV, Sabrina Soto is an in-home staging expert for families in need of a quick home sale. Her main motto is to de-clutter, and as a recent home shopper, that is definitely true. In our home, I’ve been trying to de-clutter for my sanity, and it’s a constant struggle. Right now it’s difficult because we don’t have a place for everything, and our home is in a constant state of DIY updates. Luckily though, some of the key rooms are coming together: the dining room. I introduced the dining room here, but what the photos don’t show is how crowded it is in there. One is the dining room which housed this beautiful desk:
Another Sabrina tactic is to give each room a purpose, and any room serving a dual purpose needs to be repositioned. There was no need for a desk in the dining room, and the entire room felt cramped and crowded. Also, the desk was in a constant state of chaos, because it was an easy place to just set that stack of paperwork.
We’re going to give the desk back to its original owner, but it makes my heart happy to know that this room already feels that much more open and inviting.
July 20th, 2010
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I actually got the idea from here where she had a thirty before 30 list. I liked it, because it’s an accountable way to keep track of things you’d like to do. I’d really like to do a list every year of things I haven’t done yet or would like to do. Without further ado, here is my list of twenty five:
- Write a book
- Learn how to use Illustrator
- Buy really nice makeup
- Donate enough clothes that they fit in the closet and drawers
- Remodel Whimsy Flavor in order to incorporate the features I want to have available
- Go to the Columbus or Cincinnati zoo
- Take a week vacation with Steve
- Camp in Gatlinburg, TN
- Go hiking in Hocking Hills
- Help one student to choose engineering
- Start my Masters
- Get flooring done on first floor
- Fly a kite
- Finish my tattoo
- Win a beautification award for the front yard (hopefully in spring next year)
- Pay off 30% of my student loans
- Get a hot tub
- Paint trim upstairs
- Get a car parked in my mom’s garage (I love you, Mom!)
- Get a photo of my grandma, mom, sister, and myself
- Be published
- Get a family photo of Steve, myself, Elway, and Tito
- Throw a wicked cool Halloween party
- Make a set of cards for all events, so that we have them on hand.
- Fix my desktop computer, so that I can use it again instead of the laptop.
Whew! So, that’s my list, and I’m excited. Making that list took me a while, but it caused me to think of things that I wanted to do but could easily put off.
