OMG

I need these in my life:

We still haven't figured out what to do with our tax refund. It might just be my patriotic duty to buy these. Hmmm...

I Want One

I don't know if it's the economy or what but I just haven't felt like shopping lately and I haven't really seen too much out there that's intrigued me.

But I really like these:
It's called the "Take Away Bird Feeder" by Eva Solo and it's $60 from Greener Grass Design. I'd buy one if I felt assured that our hyperactive 8 year old nextdoor neighbor wouldn't break it.

Week Four

Goodbye Junk!

I just finished Week 4 of the Apartment Therapy Home Cure and things are moving right along. This week was all about decluttering and cleaning the living room and getting rid of unused books, CDs, and movies.

Here's what we've been up to the last two weeks or so:

• Replaced some old favorite VHS tapes with DVD versions (sounds odd, but they take up a lot less space and you get to see the special features).
• Recycled a ton of old Real Simple and Elle Decor magazines (I ripped out the articles and pictures I liked and recycled the rest).
• Took to Goodwill: a vase, a mirror, a knife of Chris's, a deep fryer, some old beach towels, and some other odds and ends.
• Reorganized the hallway closet last weekend, purging expired medicines and old/unused linens, candles, and vases.
• Removed half the keys from my keychain (not related to the Home Cure at all, but it felt good to do that).
• Hemmed the curtain in the master bedroom (took all of 5 minutes, not sure why I put it off for 4 years...)
• Repainted the master bedroom.

I'm really happy with the way the master bedroom looks now. I liked the turquoise originally, but lately it just felt like an assault on the eyeballs:

The new paint color just feels a lot more soothing. I eventually want a window above the chair to look out over the wooded backyard, but for now I'm satisfied with it as it is.

Originally I wanted to get a quilt from John Robshaw, but I swung into Home Goods a few weeks ago and found one that was ridiculously close to the JR one and it was only $59, instead of $315. So you can guess which one I went with. Yes, it's made in China and I'm sure the quality isn't the same, but it's really hard to argue with that price difference, so I'm sticking with the Home Goods quilt.

The tasks for this coming week are mostly in the home office: cleaning over, under, and behind stuff; purging files; and organizing.