Spring is here

Sorry to the family in Michigan:

A few things I want right now

There hasn't been a lot that I've been really loving this spring in terms of fashion, but here are a few things I think are particularly lust-worthy.

I have two black purses, but neither of them are quite right. They're either too big or too small, but this may be just right! I have a 15% off coupon for Hayden-Harnett and I'm really tempted. Maybe next month though.

Love this top. It's backordered until April 15, which actually isn't that far away now. I might have to buy it.

These I wish I could buy. But I can't really envision spending almost $200 on green peep-toe Mary Janes. Oof.

I really love the shape of this Eva Zeisel sauceboat. I'd use it as a catch-all for keys, not for sauce.

A domino magazine rant

There was a mass rant a few weeks ago on Decorno's blog (which I just found and now I'm hooked on) about domino magazine. It used to be so great when it first came out and still is one of the best home decor magazines around, especially for people that aren't 80, but lately it's gotten away from decor and instead has moved toward makeup and fashion and other stuff which most readers can (and do) find in other magazines (that do this much better than domino). So, the editor of domino chimed in on the rant and promised things would be getting better soon. So I was hopeful.

Until the magazine arrived.

I really wish I had a picture to show you. I'm not sure words adequately describe this spread and all its ridiculousness. There is a 3-page spread on organizing your purse. Not just organizing your purse, but "elegantly curating" it so that is "telegraphs both style and put-togetherness." What does this have to do with home decor, you ask? I'm not sure.

Then the article goes on to show "four impossibly chic ways" to organize your purse. Uhhh...okay....but do I care what the inside of my purse looks like? Not really.

Then they named the looks of the different organized-purse-combinations. So your purse can telegraph the image of a "High-End Bohemian," an "Executive Punk" (whaaa?), a "Girl About Town," or an "Art Student." (The introductory image unfortunately doesn't have a name, but the purse and its contents would set you back a mere $4,798, which includes a $3,275 Cartier pen.)

The "Executive Punk" look had me laughing out loud though. The descriptions of the items are particularly great. The makeup bag is "a posh stash for your smokey-eye arsenal--and even black nail polish." And the little pink notebook is "a neon holder for all your subversive musings." Because all the executives I know are super subversive.

I dunno. I just wish they'd move away from this bullshit and get back to what they're good at.

Week Two

We're now finishing up with Week Two of the Apartment Therapy Cure. The tasks this week were to clean the kitchen from top to bottom; create room for an "outbox"--a holding place for things you're thinking about getting rid of; clear one surface in your house and use the outbox; and fix one thing yourself.


Yesterday I took a huge box of books to the used bookstore and got rid of a bunch of foam leftover from my reupholstery project, a bunch of miscellaneous junk, and my old laptop from college.


Since I had the day off yesterday, I sanded and started to repaint the old kitchen cabinet doors, which will be repurposed in the pantry. Hopefully I'll have those done tomorrow so they'll be ready to hang. It's only taken me like two months to get to it.


This process is helping me realize that I'm the Queen of Unfinished Projects. I have a lot of ambition when it comes to my house and I get a lot done. But I get like 99% of a given project done, then feel satisfied enough, and then stop. So as a result, our house has more than its share of materials for these unfinished projects. I'm hoping these 8 weeks will help me get some of those projects done.


Last weekend I was able to finally finish reupholstering my chair. It's not the greatest job in the world, but I think it looks better than before.


Before (it was a yucky green color and the fabric was scratchy):



After (I'd maybe like to play around with the fabric near the arms to see if I can get it a bit tighter):

Our trash collectors are going to hate us

I've decided to participate in this Spring's 8-week Apartment Therapy Cure. (I know we live in a house and not in an apartment, but I don't think they're going to kick us out for that.)

I didn't really think our house was in too much need of help, especially since we've remodeled the master bathroom and the kitchen, but when I took photos of the house? Oh. my. god. We have a lot of stuff. I don't know if it's because we've lived here almost 4 years, or because we have pack-rat tendencies, but we've accumulated a lot. Far more than I ever remember purchasing.

This week's tasks were to:

1. make a complete list of repairs and solutions (see below)
2. vacuum and mop floors (today's project)
3. remove one item from the house and put it outside or donate it (I'm getting rid of my old stereo from high school and college)
4. buy fresh flowers (done)
5. sit for ten minutes in a part of your home that you never sit in for new perspective (done)
6. look into Earth friendly cleaning products (done).

So here's our to-do list. A lot of this is not going to get done in the 8 week cure, but I'm hoping to at least get rid of a lot of junk around the house and fix some things that have been bugging me.

1. Add hook to entry-way closet for scarves
2. Finish reupholstering living room chair
3. Buy a new entertainment center
4. Declutter bookshelf in living room
5. Refinish and install cabinet doors in pantry
6. Sell books to used book store and donate the rest to the library
7. Sell some cds and store the rest
8. Purchase organizer for gift wrap
9. Fix windows in guest room and office so they can be opened.
10. Insulate attic pull-down
11. Install new showerhead in guest bath
12. Install crown molding in guest room and office
13. Hem curtain in master bedroom
14. Install bamboo blind in kitchen
15. Install new screen doors
16. Fix crack in wall in master bedroom
17. Hang full length mirror
18. Get rid of under-the-bed clutter
19. Remove most tools and paint supplies from guest room closet

There is just a LOT of stuff to get rid of: old cell phones, books, scraps of paper, cds, half-used candles, etc. Our trash collector is going to hate me for this.

Can I have a do-over?

Last weekend was glorious. Really, really splendid. It was the first weekend in forever where we didn't have anything that HAD to be done. So hubbykins and I went to the farmers' market on Saturday, cooked great food, and strolled around downtown on Sunday to buy good coffee and sit for a beer.

Veggies from the state farmers' market

Cool sign across the street from the Hibernian (I liked the font)

Guiness

This weekend, however, could not have been more different. I've had the flu and ran out of tissues only to realize we the only toilet paper we had left in the house was single ply, which we still have leftover from a massive Costco-sized mistake. Even though we've since gotten real tissues in the house, I think my nose still might fall off. Fun.

Anyway, despite feeling totally crappy, the light outside our house yesterday evening was spectacular.

Okay, must lay down again. Hope your weekend was better than mine.

Dispelling any notions that I have good taste

I just downloaded the following songs:

• Easy Lover (Phil Collins)
• Man in the Mirror (Michael Jackson)
• Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)
• ...and here comes the kicker...Against All Odds (Phil Collins)

I think it's fair to say I have ZERO street cred.