Under a blue moon

4.23.13

I'm slowly getting my office/craft room set up.  Most of the boxes are unpacked.  I can't say it is entirely organized but at least things are being put in the general vicinity of where they belong.

One of the things I always felt was lacking in my last few office spaces was a white board or chalk board.  A standard whiteboard is a bit too boring so I hacked an Ikea frame to make a chalk board.  I've seen this hack all over Pinterest so it's not an original idea.

The frame cost $25 and is made out of molded plastic.  It was a little too Barbie Dream House looking so I sprayed it with flat white paint to give a more chalky appearance.  Then I spray painted the glass with chalkboard paint.  

Warning - if you get chalkboard paint on your person (or your favorite jeans) well then you are just going to have to live with it for the rest of your life because that stuff does NOT want to come off.  

It looks a bit twee against the pink wall paint but that will be changing.  I've picked a cream color that is bright and provides some contrast against the white trim and beadboard in the room.  

Ikea Expedit shelving is all set up too.  I want to get the desk attachment that goes with it but Ikea no longer carries it in two sizes.  The one size they do carry is too short.  I may have to MacGyver something to work.  

Right now I'm using our old eating area table that is pushed up under the window.  I want to replace it with a shallower work table for spreading projects on and then have the (new) desk for my computer/work related stuff.

That pink is really starting to annoy me.  This room was a baby girl's nursery.  The painted branches had Tinkerbell and butterfly stickers on them.  I probably should have painted before unpacking and putting stuff away but who knows when that will happen.  

Please ignore all the packing boxes in the background.  Sigh.  They are everywhere.

(all pictures taken with Instagram since my camera and I aren't currently getting along.  If you want to follow me on Instagram I'm @andreajp135)

 

Friday's Favorites

1. debee - 4, 2. IMG_8200, 3. by the window, 4. for trifle, 5. my new cards!, 6. Cure for the Winter Blues, 7. Pretty Inspiration, 8. "Candy" Necklaces, 9. ❤

• Here's a cheerful bit of bling for your neck. Or if that is too much (or you want a matching set) here are a pair of earrings for just a bit of color and sparkle
• Okay I may be rushing the season but these watermelon stacks look so cute and refreshing.  Can't wait to make them
• I was looking for 40's interior paint colors when I came across this kitchen renovation.  I love it!  That they kept the original cabinets and any new addition or change was selected to fit into the 40's esthetic.  I also love the colors.  I would do the reverse though (color on the walls with white cabinets)
• We need a clock for our 40's kitchen and I was thinking this one would do nicely
• This has been all over the interwebs this week but in case you missed it - How women see themselves vs. how others see them (we are always our worst critics, aren't we?)

Happy Friday everyone!  I'm still buried in boxes but there is light at the end of the tunnel. We are kind of picking at little projects and identifying the bigger ones.  Plumber is due to arrive any minute (which I fear will be a BIG project).

So I answered my own question about washing fabric roll-up shades.  It doesn't work out so well!  Ha!  I took one down and unrolled it and the fabric is just taped to the rod with masking tape.  Well this should be easy, I thought.  I removed the fabric, tossed them in the washing machine and they shrunk in width by three or four inches!  Whoops.  I did go online and research the manufacturer and even though I couldn't find the exact shade all their other fabric shades seemed to be a poly/cotton blend so I thought I was safe.

I popped on over to our local JoAnns who was clearing out their stock in preparation for moving to a new location and bought roller shade material for about $8.  I also bought some beaded trim to finish it off and made new shades for both windows in just a couple of hours.  I'll try to post a picture next week.  Wasn't a project I was planning on undertaking but it was way easier and cheaper than I thought it would be.

Hope everyone has a marvelous weekend!

Edited to add:  The "Home Sweet Home" print in today's photo mosaic is available on this Etsy site: One Little Bird Studio  I just found it online!

 

4.15.13

Here is a before picture of our kitchen.  All pictures in today's post are from my iPhone so sorry about the quality.  I have some on my regular camera but I haven't loaded them onto my pc yet.  I feel so out of practice with the camera.

Anyway - this shot was taken just mere minutes after we took possession of our new home.  The sellers left all the window coverings as part of the contract (so we wouldn't be scrambling to buy new coverings the first day we moved in) but my plan is to eventually replace them all.  

I did remove the valances but left the fabric shades.  Which actually aren't bad.  Just dirty.  Since they are fabric I'm thinking they can be washed but they are the roller shade type.  Anyone ever take one of those apart to launder the shade and successfully put it back together?

I have new valances on order.  White.  Sheer.  Modest amount of crocheted lace.  

I also removed the curtain under the sink.  Of course I don't want my garbage can and jumbo sized bottle of dishwashing detergent on display so I whipped up a new curtain to replace it.

A year or so ago I bought a pair of vintage French pillow cases from a vendor at the Alameda Antique Faire.  The lace is beautifully and the pillowcase seemed sturdy and in good shape.  Until I washed them and they kind of disinigrated.  I salvaged the hems with the lace on it, figuring I would just sew them onto new pillow cases.

I found another use for them instead.  They became part of my new undersink curtain.  I had a scrap of Kona cotton in white what was the perfect size and I hemmed all the edges, added a pocket for the curtain rod and then added the lace hem to the top and the bottom.

Not bad for salvaged pillowcases and leftover scraps of fabric.  And much more my style.  

Friday's Favorites (weekend edition)

1. Bird hooks, 2. Untitled, 3. Untitled, 4. I love Washi tape, 5. Day 79 • A • Handwritten Letters, 6. Delicate Dreams, 7. One of a Pair, 8. Papoila, 9. Untitled

• A friend of mine gave me a set of sweet clothespins similar to this for closing up chip bags and the like
• Ha!  Isn't this the truth.  As is this
• Sweet, simple earrings.  My favorite kind
• Has anyone seen this book: At My Grandmother's Table? Looks like it might be a good one
• Very moving video about lost love

Unpacking is coming along.  I don't mind the unpacking part so much - it's the putting away that bedevils me.  I don't have the same amount of storage space in the new house and I can't quite decorate like I did in the old house.  Not that I wanted to just replicate what we had before but I'm struggling with where to put things.  

I know it will all come together eventually but I kind of like things to be DONE.  Right now I feel like I'm just haphazardly slapping things into drawers and cupboards and I'll never find them when I need them.  

I'm kind of wishing we painted before moving in but I wasn't ready to decide on colors nor did I want to wait another minute to move in.  Our bedroom is this weird greyish/taupe color that turns lavendarish in late afternoon and evening.  The room is on the North East corner of the house and it really needs a warmer color on the walls.  Right now it is very gloomy to me.  That just might be the first room to get painted.  

I hope everyone is having a splendid weekend!

4.9.13

Quick peak of the kitchen at the new house.  Unpacking is coming along.  I think the kitchen stuff is all put away for the most part, but will undoubtably be rearranged over the next few months.  I never put a lot of effort into figuring out where stuff will go in a new kitchen because I KNOW I'll move it anyway.  You need to live in a space for a while to know what will work.

We got the keys on Monday, April 1st and and I took a ton of pictures before we moved anything in.  I want a good before/after reference. 

Before we could unpack anything I spend a good three days scrubbing and disinfecting.  I swear I don't think the place had EVER been cleaned.  It was completely gross.  Looked great on the surface but open a cupboard or drawer and yuck!

The curtains and light fixture will be changed (from the above picture).  I am so not a fan of curtains but the house is on a fairly busy street.  Not just with cars going by but also foot traffic.  People sure do like to walk around here.  I want light and airy looking curtains if I am going to have any at all.  Something that I can easily throw in the washer.  I think that is what freaks me out about curtains.  How they just hang there, collecting dust and grime.

There is a little courtyard off of the sitting room.  Oh and the roses!  There must be a hundred rose bushes on the property.  They are all full of buds and I can't wait to see what types and colors they are.  We need to get out there and start weeding and deadheading.  

More pictures to come, once I get the rest of our things unpacked and put away.  Then I can start decorating.

Friday's Favorites

1. textures, 2. Sunday Roses..., 3. My sister's cat, 4. peach fizz, 5. bright eyes and bushy tailed, 6.Autumnal Leaves, 7. confections, 8. shadowplay, 9. precious things

• Sweet Easter eggs.  Looks pretty easy and doesn't require a lot of stuff.  Just cute napkins and some eggs
• I love these curtains (this from an avowed curtain hater...).  I tried to find the original source of the picture for directions or where to buy but couldn't find it.  I think they look like they would be pretty easy to make if you found the right fabric and crocheted lace
• This must be the year of the bracelet on UABM.  Last year I was all about the aqua and gold earrings.  Pretty feather bracelet (and at that price get an armload!)
• Pretty use for vintage wallpaper scraps.  Envelopes
• Isn't this paper quilt GORGEOUS?  I may have to try my hand at this...

Moving day is Monday!!!  I'm taking ten days off from work to get settled and unpacked (although I doubt it will all get unpacked...). First thing I'm going to do, before we move a speck of furniture in, is take a ton of pictures to share.  I have pictures now, but they all have the previous owners' stuff in them.  I'm pretty sure they wouldn't be happy to have them posted on the interwebs for all to see.  

I can't wait to share the house with you and what we do with it, decor and renovation-wise.  We don't even live there yet but it truly feels like home.

Happy weekend and Happy Easter everyone!  

Friday's Favorites

1. *, 2. Milk tea, 3. Low Visibility, 4. Untitled, 5. Untitled, 6. white light, 7. Untitled, 8. Untitled, 9. hiding spot

• I saw this laptop bag and loved the crisp stripes and leather details.  Then I read about the company and loved it even more
• LOVE these bridesmaids' dresses.  Via Etsy
• I sure wish we could have chickens at our new house.  I'd get this book for sure
• Cute plant waterer.  Available here
• Sweet Bunny Zippered Pouch.  Just in time for Easter

T -10 and counting!  Only ten more days until we have the keys in our hands and can start the unpacking process.  One nice thing about this move is having a break between the packing up and the unpacking.  Both are so exhausting.  

We have a busy weekend ahead of us which should help the time go by quickly.  On Sunday my niece Maddi and I are throwing a baby shower for her sister Lizz.  It's hard to plan a party when all my stuff (pretty linens, nice serving pieces, etc.) are packed up in a warehouse somewhere in Sacramento.  

I'll take pictures and hopefully will have something to blog about other than Friday's Favorites and the incessant impatient chatter about the new house.

Happy Weekend Everyone!  Hope yours is fabulous!

3.16.13

With Google Reader saying buh bye I've moved all my favorite blogs over to Bloglovin'.  If you don't' have a blog reader it's a great way to follow a bunch of blogs (of your choosing) and see when they have been updated.  

Rather than going out to one of your favorite blogs and seeing that, yet again, they haven't updated anything in months (ahem...).

It's very easy to set up an account and add your favorite blogs.  And if you already are using Google Reader it's even easier.  Bloglovin' will just copy over your list of blogs.

If you want to follow me just click on the icon below or from the left sidebar.  

 

Friday's Favorites

1. Pretenders, 2. sweet summer moments, 3. yamate, yokohama, 4. Yearning for Simplicity, 5. *, 6. 伸びろ伸びろハートの木, 7. Peek-a-boo....I see you~~♥ 151/365, 8. refreshing, 9. white moments....

• The Ball Mason Jar folks have come out (again) with blue jars.  No need to scour antique stores for overpriced ones
• Love the colors and layers in this beaded necklace
• According to this vintage poster thoughts about eating local, not wasting, avoiding wheat...aren't such new notions (great site with free printable vintage posters too...)
• This is rather touching...children around the world with their favorite possessions
• I was looking for St. Patrick's Day appetizer ideas (I could always go with the ever so appetizing sounding leprechaun balls...) and decided to forgo the green theme.  Or Irish theme for that matter.  I'm making these olive pastry bites and Chinese scallion pancakes (hey both have green in them).  Actually these Guinness pretzels look good.  I could do them bite sized and serve with a Guinness cheddar dip

Happy Friday!  Has everyone recovered from the time change? There is something about putting the clocks forward that absolutely discombobulates me.  Takes me a good week or two to get my biorhythms back in synch.

Only 17 more days until we move in!  In the meantime I'm scouring the interwebs for paint color ideas for a bedroom with North and East facing windows.  I'm thinking a pale, creamy yellow maybe...It's painted a cool taupe with grey and lavendar undertones.  Exactly the wrong color for that type of light.  I suppose we should actually move in before I start buying any paint.

I hope everyone has wonderful weekend!  Sláinte!

 

Friday's Favorites

1. Floral Rainbow, 2. Milk and Cookies Tonight . . ., 3. cups 'n pegs, 4. Note of Love to all my Flickr Peeps ♥, 5. Good Morning!, 6. Beauty Contest, 7. Fetish for Strawberry !!, 8. On the way to the workplace, 9. Little baby Fairytale dreamcatchers

• I was trying to pick a favorite out of these sweet bracelets but I think you need to just get an armful of them
• Pretty soon you can take a trip on a replica of the Titanic.  With extra lifeboats...
• Love these DIY envelopes using vintage wallpaper  
• Think I have time to whip up a felt shamrock before St. Patrick's day?
• This is so silly you cannot help but laugh.  Goats yelling

Happy Friday!!  This week seemed twice as long as it needed to be.  We finally have a move in date (23 days from now) so time seems to have slowed down to a crawl.  

Did you know that Daylight Savings is THIS weekend??  Doesn't that seem too early?  On the plus side we do get to put our clocks ahead one hour so our move in will happen that much quicker.  How is that for looking on the bright side?