Shout out

How about a shout out to Craigslist? I am addicted, I mean seriously. I am stalking 3 pieces of furniture right now.

One is way too expensive. Too expensive on Craigslist to me, is over $75. It is the perfect chair and ottoman for a little reading corner in the "new" house. I can look at it and dream, right?

One is a chest of drawers that is desperately needed for b.r.'s closet. I am tired of schelpping around his out of season clothes, on and off the shelves in his closet in big plastic totes. When the weather is so weird...22 one day and 71 the next...I need easy access to all seasons.

Another is a cool curio cabinet that could be fabulously shabbied up.

I bought a set of 6 dining room chairs that I got before X-mas and I need to paint and recover them. I also got 2 completely cool funky chairs for the guest bedrooms....$15 bucks a piece. Hubs thinks they are wretched. Wait until he see the finished product! I'll have to show them soon.

Anyway, I got these 2 lamps on Monday for $10. Yes, 2 for $10! You can't even top that at Wally World!(Please disregard the mess on the dining room table. I could have pushed it aside...but just keeping it real.)

I think they are pretty cute like they are...but on the other hand the paint and lampshade re-do potential is pretty high.

On the agenda today is starting the Valentine goodies for blonde rascal's class. When he gets home from school there will be lots of gluing, chocolate dipping and such ready for his little hands!

There has been lots of flu junk going around town and I have been nursing an ugly headache for about 24 hours. I am NOT getting the flu, though. I just thought I would throw that out there. Even though the 3 sweet neighbor girls that we carpool with all had it...

I am off to main line a Lysol and orange juice concoction.

By a landslide

It is unanimous...Tobacco Road is the winner! Thanks for all of your input and tips. You guys rawk.

Yesterday I spent the day cleaning out/packing the built in, in the breakfast area and the hutch in my dining room. Good grief. What I found was mass disorganization. So I made copious notes of things that must be grouped together when we move and ALL storage is uber organized.

For example. Candles. What the crap? I found at the very least one candle in every drawer, shelf, cabinet. Then there was holiday paper plates/napkins. I am a sucker for the after holiday 90% off sales when you can get cute paper plates for nothing. But what good are they if I never know where they are/forget I have them when the holiday rolls around?

Also included are salt and pepper shakers. And a new category, pool side plastic ware. A happy category indeed! I saw a whole collection of colorful summer-ish plastic plates at Goodwill...that will hopefully still be there after I scrape all of the coins out from under the couch cushions. Remember, we are getting granite, so my decorating budget is...exactly what I can find in the cushions!!!

While I was dutifully working, I couldn't help but stop to photograph the lazy miniature weenie dog napping on blonde rascal's bean bag...
What a life. I loathe using the flash unless 100% necessary, so I am still trying to master keeping the camera steady to avoid blur. I have a nifty tripod...but sometimes that hinders spur of the moment shots.

Then I decided to switch to my ultra cool big momma lens...Admit it, Missy is beeeeeeutiful! Still a little blurry so how about outside for some natural light shots?


Oh geez, sorry....a bathroom break.

Ahem. Moving on.... she goes down for a roll in the grass.
ahhhhh.
Shake your booty.

And then here she comes.......looking like a low rider wooly mammoth!


Last night hubs and I went to a wine tasting party at the home of some good friends. It was seriously fun. We sampled lots of wine while snacking on cheese, chocolate, meat and fruits that complemented each wine.

I was feeling all civilized, cultured and chic...until hubs asked the wine guru if Boone's Farm Strawberry Hill would be complimented by Frito's. You might be a redneck...

(Be honest, raise your hand if you drank a little Boone's Farm in your minor days!)

We are going to the "new" house today to tear out all the flooring which will be replaced (by professionals thank goodness) with wood floors. You know, a little sweat equity. I suspect our bodies, specifically backs, will be hurt by this project. Send Tylenol.

It's mind boggling, really.

My advice to you today is don't ever paint a room in your house again without first buying a few, hundred, samples. You know how the light in a room changes from sun up to sun down, so you have to live with you color choices for a few days to see how you like it in all light exposures. But who wants to spend $18 on a gallon of paint that you may hate AND goodness knows the little paint cards are honestly no help at all.

There is obviously a brilliant woman (no doubt) somewhere who said... hey make a pint size sample that costs $3.50!

This is a wall in the living room of our "new " house...and no I am not keeping the red accent wall. I think I have narrowed it down to 2.
I am looking for a warm buttery/tan color. When I turn the lamps on at night, my dream is for the wall color to softly glow in a wonderfully cozy way! One is Tobacco Road, which The Nester (and she knows, trust me) swears by. Then we have Cracker Crumb from The Queen Bee...by all means go visit her, she shares some way cool budget friendly decorating!

I think C.C. may be a hint too yellow. I dunno. What do you think?

Funny and sweet

I was going to post about my laundry room in our "new" house...it is actually more like a laundry hall...because I have found some fun ideas to utilize the space. However that will have to wait for another day because I am POOPED.

So instead, I insist that you go visit Meredith and watch the Ellen clip. Oh my heaven above that is hilarious. I want to be feisty like Gladys when I am old and crazy....and I think I have a pretty good shot at it.

I got an award from Tricia Anne. I have just tried to attach the picture of the award and something is awry. User error, no doubt. Not that ANY of that matters because the award is written in Spanish...or Latin...or Zulu.... good grief Tricia Anne gives me WAY too much credit!! (It probably loosely translates to this blogger is a goofus or something so it might be better that I don't attach it!)

Anyway here is what the award represents.....

What the Award is About...
"This Blog invests and believes the Proximity- nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming...these kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self- aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers!"


Tricia Anne is a sweetheart. When she comments on my blog it feels like a hug from an old friend. She is talented, funny and real! One of the many unexpected joys I have gained from blogging is making friends across the U.S. Thanks T.A.!!!

Saving a buck where I can

We are very aware right now of how granite can break the bank faster than you can say "formica sucks"...

So I am aiming to save in every area that I can when it comes to our new house.

When we bought our current house 3.5 years ago we upgraded from a queen to a king bed. Praise God. A king size bed is the ultimate indulgence.

That of course required new bedding. Buying new bedding sounds fun...until you actually have to do it. I could never find anything I loved. Well, most likely what I loved was $1,200 and I don't ever in my lifetime see that being in the bedding budget!!! Anyway I found one at Target that I could live with.
Our "new" bedroom is small and I think our dark bedding will shrink the room even more.

Here is my inspiration room in my quest for new affordable bedding ...
Step #1 I found a creamy matelasse bedspread, like in the picture, on Craigslist for $25. Yep $25 and yep I bought it! Bedspread AND shams...$25. Sweet.

Step #2 I found a Ralph Lauren bedding line, "Charlotte", which I adore.Being RL makes it very unattainable in the budget area....UNLESS it is a discontinued line!! Which translates to EBAY! Woo hoo! It found it readily available on Ebay...sheet sets, new in the package, that I will make into a quilt to put at the foot of the bed like in my inspiration room.

Step #3 is that I can use some of the curtains that were left behind in the house, and embellish them with the RL sheets.

Don't you love it when a plan comes together in an affordable way?

Work day #1

I like that title because it sounds like an episode of HGTV.

We camped out at our little new house on Saturday night. We mostly piddled around and talked about all the different things we wanted to do to the house. I of course dreamed of decorating and arranging furniture!

We have a contractor hired to do a teeny tiny add on of a master closet, enlarge the master bathroom, some trim work and new counter tops. We are trying to tackle any & all work that we can possibly do ourselves and avoid paying the contractor to do it!

Like for instance, I have been crowned the official painter. No sense paying someone to paint when God gave me 2 good arms. No doubt, the quality of my painting skills is questionable and level of soreness in my arms will be the topic of many posts to come. I digress.


Work day #1 was demolition. The first item up for the do-it-yourself wrecking ball was the spindle opening in the entry way.
See it over there? Very circa 1986. It was a great year for my hair but not so much for spindles. This is the only picture I have of the spindles and it was while the former owners were still living there. Also a great shot of the white formica....I said almond before. People with kids....or husbands.... do not need a white surface anywhere in the kitchen.

Anyway hubs ripped out the spindles, in a very manly fashion I might mention. That is going to be a solid wall.

Also, in most likely another regrettable 1986 decision, there was cedar planks on one wall of both the guest bath and one bedroom.
(Blonde rascal worked very hard to be in every picture I took that day. After viewing all of the pictures, I can assure you he succeeded!)

We ripped the planks right off the wall along with the cedar baseboards, door & window trim. Hubs thought (hoped) that the wall behind the cedar was in fact a finished textured wall, that is until we removed the first plank. Luckily it will all even out...we saved on demolition but we will pay for texturing the walls and new trim. BUT then factor in me painting the said trim and walls. Oh yeah baby we are firmly in the black.

Yesterday "the breakfast club" which consists of myself, sweet Mary and nutty Lori/Jen A. took a road trip. We have started getting together for breakfast every other Monday. Yesterday "the club" decided to drive to Snyder so they could see the house. It was a raucous good time, as all road trips should be, with lots of small town entertainment like a visit to a deathtrap, dusty, smoky junktique store. I would go into detail, but if you want to know more you'll just have to go on a road trip with me to Snyder and experience it for yourself.

I wonder if they will get suspicious if I suggest another road trip in the near future and suggest they wear some painting clothes?

It is like 18 degrees right now and all gray & icy. We hoped (and prayed at bedtime last night!) for no school or at least a delay...no such luck. I am about to leave to go do my weekly volunteering at the school library. Which I normally love, an hour of handling wonderful children's books... puhhhleezze what is not to love about that? But on a day like today I would prefer to stay snuggled up inside as long as possible. Oh well the understaffed and underpaid public school system needs me! We will be coming home right after school and get a fire going in the fireplace.

Stay warm friends!

Vomit

We are going to replace the kitchen counter tops in our "new" house. Today we went shopping with the contractor. Ouch. I'm pretty sure purchasing a granite quarry in Brazil would turn out to be an ace business venture. Someone is BANKING off of that racket.

Lordamercy...our kitchen is not big at all and it still amounts to a lahhhrge chunk of change. Perhaps I will begin a plasma donation schedule tomorrow or start picking up aluminum cans. Standing on the corner by the liquor store holding a sign "will work for granite" perhaps? Or there is always the hope that maybe almond color Formica will make a comeback real soon and we could just leave the kitchen as is. After all, they say styles are cyclical.

On the up side....it shore is gunna be purdy!!!

Why?

Why peanut butter again? Why can't raisins or brussel (sp?) sprouts or turnips get contaminated with salmonella instead?

Peanut butter is one of the great joys of my life. At least I can still eat it straight from the jar this go round.

Fact

It was a busy week and now I am dog tired. So much to tell you about, but sadly not enough brain power to crank it out.

I will tell you though, I cleaned out my underwear drawer this week. That made me really happy. I threw away all pairs that....A. gave wedgies or B. had holes in them. Why would I keep such things? Just ridiculous I tell you. I mean seriously.

Well, now they are gone and I bought 2 shiny new packages of, actually really cute, Hanes Her Ways at the Wal-Martz, which are neither hole ridden or wedgie prone I am happy to report.

I have just satisfied the weird lobe of my brain that delights in spewing completely random information. Hopefully (for your sake) I will have something much more important/interesting/worthy to say soon....

G'night!

Home

I have an obsession with houses. I love to look at other people's houses. Old, new, big, small it matters not. Driving through neighborhoods when it is dark and going by a house with the lights on and blinds open, love it. Not for any freaky voyeur reasons...but because I love to see how they have decorated...is it cozy, sterile, too modern, too outdated? Going to someones house that I have never been to...love it! Sometimes if insomnia hits at 2am, I lay in bed and think about how I would decorate a house I have been in.

I love all "home" magazines, not because I aspire to have the latest decor, but more because I like to gather ideas. I even love looking at houses for sale online like on Coldwell Banker or whatever...the still lived in houses, not the already vacant ones. And blogs...oh have mercy that is why I spend waaaaaayyy to many hours blogging....I get to see inside houses! Oh bliss.

Maybe I should join a 12 step program?

My dream career would be that of a realtor. They get to see houses for a living!

On Thursday hubs and I will own the 3rd house in our 14 years of marriage.

When we got married we lived in an apartment for the first almost 3 years. Hubs wanted a little piece of land so he could keep his horse there. We searched and searched to find one in our budget. Our budget was...small! Hubs was a police officer and we knew we didn't want to buy including my salary because our goal was for me to stay home after babies.

So we found a little fixer upper on an acre. I would show you a picture but that was before digital and I am too lazy to scan right now! It was a little 1700 sq. ft. house with a basement. It was really cute, all stone on the outside. When we bought it, it was horrible on the inside. In need of updating and rather dirty. But we could afford it, so we worked our fingers to the bone cleaning and doing all of the cosmetic updates ourselves. The only thing we hired out was getting new carpet installed.

We made do with what we had, hand me down furniture, my couch from college and a wealth of frugal decorating ideas from my beloved magazines! And it turned into a warm, inviting, cozy home.

We lived there for 7 years. By then the Marine was in the teenage years, blonde rascal was 5, the street we lived on was going down hill, the school district was not the best, we knew any further improvements on the house would not be recouped in a sale...so we decided to move.

Hubs had retired from the P.D. at that point and gotten his job in the auto resale field so finances were not quite as tight and we made a pretty good profit on the sale of our little stone house. We found our 2,400 sq. ft. house that was only 2 years old. We loved everything about it. Hubs loved that it was on 10 acres & had a roping arena. I appreciated that it was his "country" living but it was still a neighborhood, so I could borrow a cup of flour when needed!

That fact that it was relatively new was great. Everything is fresh and current...but I never could get that cozy feeling that I love. I have told hubs that while our house is nice, it just isn't me.

I miss something about our old small house. Was it because that was our "first" house as a married couple? Was it because that is the house we lived in when we brought blonde rascal home from the hospital? I am sure those both have a lot to do with it, but I think it was because it was lived in and quaint!

The plain truth is that I am an old house person. Granted wherever I live will always be "home" because the people I love live there with me. However, my preference would be to own an older house. It doesn't sound right when I say that I don't like our house because it is very nice and we are certainly blessed to have it...but it is just not me!

The way I see it now, after having owned both an older and a newer house, is that a new house with all the bells and whistles dictates how you will decorate. Whereas an old house that you have to paint and primp...takes on your own very unique thumbprint. Our current house with columns and arches and curved ceilings, trendy paint techniques, high ceilings... has led to a more stuffy feel. New homes have beauty & style and older homes have charm. Sign me up for charm.

(This is all MY opinion of course....love the house YOU are in for your own reasons!)

We would have stayed in our current house forever, and I was fine with that, had our life plan not changed a little!

So tomorrow we will own our 3rd house. A 2,000 sq. ft. house built in the early 80's. We have to give it some paint, love and TLC....but then it will be "us". My goal is to have the house be warm, cozy, a little quirky, charming and welcoming. I have no doubt that we will achieve that and I am very excited about it.

We have been to see it 4 or 5 times and every time we go, you know what it feels like? A vacation. Not a fancy 5 star resort (there is NOTHING fancy about it I can assure you!) but more like renting a cabin in the woods type vacation. A get up and watch the sun rise with a quilt and coffee on the porch type vacation. Or watch deer from the porch at dusk. BBQs on warm summer nights. Swimming, exploring, entertaining friends. And then best of all ending up back in the small cabin, snug as a bug, with my family.

I honestly can't wait for my old, small, quirky, charming house!

What about you? What do you love about your house? Are you an old or a new house person?