Tuesday, January 29, 2013

10 Things for February

OK y'all, winter has been plagued with health issues and other not goodness.  But I'm determined to get on the house perfecting bandwagon again!  I have a huge list that resides on my iPhone entitled "Quick Fixes".  Let's be real, sometimes the "Quick Fixes" have the same speed as plate tectonics.  In an effort to make things manageable, I've tried to choose 10 things to knock off the list first.  They're not all the most important or the most grandiose things, I tried to choose a mix of difficult and not difficult, of evening and weekend projects. 

10 Things for February:

1.) Look for a bedroom door.  Yeah, we don't have one.  The doorway is 46" wide, wide enough for some tiny french doors or one massive door, but not a standard size.  We always figured we would wait for the perfect thing to fall into our laps, but somehow I doubt the perfect french doors are going to hitchhike from the Ballard Re-Store on up to Greenlake and deliver themselves.  Time for a little pounding the pavement on this one.
2.) Make or find a zesty shower curtain.  We have the most boring white textured fabric shower curtain I could lay my hands on.  I was trying to get to Manly-town and wound up at Dullsville.  Even the husband thinks its too boring.  Time to either zestify that one or find the perfect one.
3.) Work on a bed skirt.  Notice that I didn't say "finish a bedskirt".  Given the husband's feelings about bedskirts ("no bedskirt prevents crap from congregating under the bed" and "let's have one that just covers the boxspring but doesn't go to the floor") and my feelings about bedskirts ("that last idea sounds like the 80's midi-top of bedskirts?" and "please, let's get one") this task may be more about the collaborative design process than the actual sewing.  I'll keep you posted.
4.) Finish stripping the window frame next to the front door.  I got 14" of the paint stripped off with a heat gun and then stopped.  Time to finish that sucker already.
 5.) Find a stool to go with the antique secretary desk.  Another shopping task?  OK, twist my arm.  The secretary is so sweet, the perfect ladylike size, but it needs something tucked underneath it that could also be used for actually using the desk.
6.) Figure out cushion for reading nook.  The husband made a completely wonderful bookcase for the reading nook in our bedroom.  The couch cushion that we threw on the floor next to it doesn't do it justice. 
 7.) Make Goodwill run.  This is the easiest task of all but somehow hard to get around to.  A great excuse to purge!
8.) Make coasters.  Currently we own an incomplete set of coasters left over from my bachelorette pad.  Time to make some classy adult-like ones!
9.) Rearrange the girl alcove.  A friend came over to the house for the first time and pointed out that with a little light and a little organization, the alcove in my bedroom that houses my little vanity and my hat storage could be really charming.  Point taken.
10.) Clean, organize and hang some damn art in the craft room.  It's time!  I took some "before" pics for you on this one.  Check it out:
Oy.  There is a panoply of terrible things happening here.  Luggage to be unpacked in the lower left, roller shade for the front door in the box, storage that's out of control, wrapping that exploded with Christmas, art to be framed in the foreground. 
Double oy.  Furniture got rearranged for the tiny Christmas tree that we wound up keeping in the living room, stocking stuffers still in bags in the foreground, a giant pile of mail to be dealt with on the desk and a Christmas present awaiting finishing touches on the chair. 

The goal here is to deal with all of that AND do some additional organization.  As well as get some of the art collection and/or photographs up on the wall.  It's amazing how you move into a room and think "as soon as we're settled, I'll finish this room".  Bam!  Next thing you know, you've lived there two years and it still hasn't happened.  The buck stops here, craft room.

OK, so that's my February.  It's a short month, this might be a lot, we'll see!  Y'all are responsible for holding me accountable, so commence yelling at me now!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Too Late for a Christmas Recap? Surely Not!

I love Christmas so much I just can't let go.  So let's rewind.  Cue the Wayne's World "doodly doo, doodly doo, doodly doo..."

We had a lovely Christmas here in Seattle with some wonderful friends.  Christmas Eve we made dinner and celebrated at the homefront:
Note that all the components of a good party are present and accounted for: festive attire, delicious cheese, fun libations and hilarious friends.

After dinner we decorated some truly hideous Christmas cookies.
Totally my fault for failing to stock up on powdered sugar.  The ever enterprising husband tried to make our own out of cornstarch and sugar in the food processor.  It was a good effort.

We went up to my in-laws (with all our friends, yay!) to spend the night.  On Christmas morning everyone unwrapped and promptly donned my gifts, handmade pajama bottoms for all!
All the pajamas were made of flannel with prints appropriate to the hobbies of the owner.  Winter sports, cowboys, ice skating and sheep were all featured. What a good looking crew!  (Eight pairs of pajama pants done the week of Christmas was sheer insanity.  Note to my future self: please plan better next year!)

One of my very favorite gifts was this:
 A new holly wreath themed Bundt pan!  I promptly turned that into this:
For Christmas dinner!  Yum.  

After this Christmas we went to Oregon and did Christmas all over again.  Christmas Eve part two:
(Isn't my mom a betty?  Check out her blog: www.kcsinnsitting.blogspot.com.)  

Christmas morning dawned bright and beautiful.  Check out the view!
The playhouse my dad lovingly built when I was a kid:
Sunlight through the snow:
So gorgeous!  I need to live here full time in the winter!  

Christmas was especially fun because my "niece" was there.  Someone got a pink cowboy hat and her own lasso for Christmas!
And knew just what to do with it.
Christmas is SO. FUN.  I just can't stop. 

OK, I promise the next post will be full of January-esque purging and house stuff, but I just couldn't pass over these photos.  Sorry for the lateness but on towards spring!!