Weekend Plans

Hooray for three-day weekends!  I don't know about you, but this week draggggged.  By Tuesday I felt like it should be Thursday and that's just never a good sign.

Anyway, on tap for this weekend:

• Finish stenciling the entry
• Organize the upstairs storage room
• Hang some art
• Do some rug shopping
• Clean off the screened in porch so I can sit out there and read
• Download Tina Fey's Bossypants
• Cook

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Shopping List

This weekend's purchases will definitely include these:

A rug for our dining room

Running shoes for my feet

A pretty book for my brain

I doubt my weekend will include these, but I would very much like them nonetheless:

From here, here, here, here, and here

I really hope Punxsutawney Phil is right...

Yesterday's highs were in the 70s and today's are in the 40's.  I'm not saying this to rub it in to everyone who's buried under a mountain of snow right now; I'm saying this because it actually sucks.  We got a small taste of what spring will feel like, but reality will hit today and we'll remember we still have at least a few weeks before things start to warm up for real.  Phooey.

In the meantime, I pulled together some things that remind me that warm weather will be here soon.  In the meantime, I should just enjoy the cool weather while it's here, right?  Right?

Clockwise from top left:  Hotel Del Coronado print, $30;  Christian Chaize Praia Piquinia print, $2,000 for a 40" x 30" print (which I want SO BAD); Michael Kors Aviator Sunglasses, $90; J.Crew Solid Ruffle shortie, $50; J. Crew Solid Ruched Lido halter, $44; Tarnish Straw Fedora, $46

Random Inspiration

So the other day I was catching up on the GOOP newsletters (I have a total girl-crush on Gwyneth Paltrow) and came across this post, which I thought was really, really good and just what I needed to read right now.  The Californian in me tends to be very easy-going about things and I when I get a little lazy, I can slide deep into disorganized territory.  Holidays and birthdays tend to sneak up on me, as do trips and meals, even though all of them happen on a completely predictable basis.  So!  I'm not calling it a "resolution" by any means, but I need to work on getting myself organized.  I don't want to spreadsheet-myself to death like the woman in the first post, but I think there's something to be learned from what she has to say, so I intend on setting some routines for myself and doing a bit of planning for the year ahead, including some gift-planning, weekly meal planning, and signing up on mint.com to track expenses.

What tips do you have to help keep you sane?  Any ideas you feel like sharing with me?  I think I need all the help I can get.

Peacocks!

I've always loved peacocks.  Their colors, their over-the-top-edness, and their uniqueness.  What other bird is so identifiable by a single feather? 

Here are a few items that I found on Etsy:

Majestic Peacock Locket, $30; Peacock Clutch, $78; Peacock Hair Clip, $38; Peacock Pillow, $60; Peacock Print, $20; Peacock Notecards, $20

Weekend Agenda

Farmers Market
Weed front yard
Plant flowers in back yard
Make coffee ice cream
Paint windows and baseboards upstairs
Coffee with a college friend on Saturday
Hang curtains and artwork
Gym (twice)
Relax

This may be a bit ambitious, but if the weather's as hot as it has been, the gardening certainly won't be happening.

House Hunting

When Chris and I decided to sell the house back in November, we contacted our realtor and made a plan.  After staging, our realtor wanted us to look at a few homes before we put our house on the market just to be sure that we felt confident that we could find what we were looking for in our price range.

So Chris and I came up with a flexible list of priorities:

1. 4 bedrooms and at least 2.5 baths (otherwise there was no point in moving, really)
2. Location
3. Two-car garage
4. No more than 10 minutes to our gym
5. Private back yard (I can't stand neighborhoods where you can see into everyone's backyards)
6. No more than a 20 minute commute to work for both of us
7. A yard where we could have chickens (obviously, not a make or break deal, but a huge plus)
8. A house with character (ie no new construction)

With a list like that, I'm surprised our realtor didn't want to kill us.

In early January, we started house hunting, looking at 9 houses the first day.  While we didn't find the house of our dreams that day, we felt confident that we could find the house of our dreams within our price range and that was really the whole point of that expedition, so we were on our way!  We put our house on the market and got down to the business of house hunting for serious, especially since our house didn't take long to sell (panic!).

Fast forward several weeks, two snow storms, and 25 more houses (no joke), our realtor sent us the link to a house that looked like it would fit the bill so we took a look.  As soon as we walked in, we felt at home.  Very quickly the 2 car garage was no longer a priority; the house had everything else we wanted.  We made an offer; they countered and we eventually made a deal.

We've been here about a month and a half now and while we're still settling in, we couldn't be happier.  This is just the place we were looking for and I can't wait to get to making it our home.

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.

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.

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.