Bathroom Rug

I can be honest. This is one of the ugliest bathrooms ever. But it's clean and it's functional and it's going to be ours. So we make do... as always :).

I wanted to make a tshirt yarn rug for in the bathroom, maybe in a bright color to draw the eye away from the dark brown ... everything in there. And I still might. But I need to color tshirts 1st and Paul is not happy with me heading to thrift stores to my more [crap].

In the mean time, I saw this and thought it was too cute!

It's definitely immature... but so are we. It's so funny and cute and silly. And it's an owl so of course I'm already in love.

There is a whole Awesome Owl collection at target, but that might just be taking this a little too far.

Paul, what do you think? (That I'm crazy?)

I mean sure we can go with something a little more grown up:

These don't even match do they?

But I must say, I also quite like this. It reminds me of our wedding... a lone tree, leafless surrounded by white. The white would also bring some brightness to the bath... and get dirty often. Though we won't be having shoes in the house. Gotta keep that carpet clean!

Ugly Brown Room

I mentioned in my previous post, the infamous ugly brown room. It's ugly, it's dark, it's paneled, and it's temporarily ours. Because of the temporary part, we can't paint it, but oh how I'd love to paint it a nice light cream. I mean check this place out (click to enlarge), it's terrible. The panels are so dark, the molding doesn't match, and the room doesn't get THAT much light.

So I thought, and thought, and googled and came up with what I think will be a great solution.



#1 - I'd like it to be the guest room, as I said, it's will be the least favorite and therefore, least used room in the house. Sorry Parents, Siblings, Grandmas & Friends, you'll get the ugly brown room when you come visit. But I promise I'll do my best.

#2 - We can't change it so we'll embrace it, but we'll also cover it. At least we'll cover some of it. Instead of a headboard, or pretty bed frame, I decided I wanted to cover 1 entire wall with curtains.

Ikea is good enough to sell some wire curtain rods and for cheap. I'm hoping to hang them across one wall pulled taut. From these I'd like to hang a curtain or fabric panels in a color that would brighten but still compliment the brown panels.


#3 - Accent it with a nice bedding set that ties it all in

#4 - Keep it empty and clutter free

#5 - Add LOTS and I mean lots of levels of lighting to this dark room.

So I think this will work to improve the room. It will be a far cry from what I'd do if I had the ability and the ok to paint, but I think it will work. I quickly searched the web world for some textile ideas that will tie in together and I've come up with a few options. Let's see what the hubby thinks of my ideas though.


Here is a photo from Manolo home. Granted this room gets TONS of light and has light walls and a fabulous rug, but you can see the effect hanging curtains as a well covering can make.

To save some money, I'm considering drop cloth curtains rather than store bought curtains. I'm sure we'll need a few panels and I'd like for them to go from floor to ceiling. Google drop cloth curtains and you'll see they look like WONDERFUL canvas curtains in a nice neutral color.

Here is a good example. This one is embellished but it doesn't have to be.

I thought that this along 1 wall would bring a lighter color into the room while still complimenting the dark brown paneling. The queen sized bed can adorn a nice complimentary accent color that can be showcased throughout the room in small doses.

I think this quilt set from Walmart is adorable. I love that it is reversible. I think the obvious femininity of this quilt set will help offset the masculinity of the dark paneling. I can picture light sage and rose accents throughout the room via a small rug, candels & maybe even a throw pillow on a chair. Along with some cream accent furniture, I think this can really help the room.

However, we are trying to save money and thus, buying new bedding for a guest room may be out of the question for now. Our current quilt set is wonderful with it's pale green & white patterns, but won't do well in the light blue room. So maybe it's best to use that at least for now with a few accent pillows that I can stitch up myself. Oooo and a matching painter's drop cloth bed skirt! Hey I can do it right?


Maybe I can do pillows in one of these patterns or even frame the piece of fabric in a 12 x 12 to hang on the wall. I'd actually prefer maybe a solid bedding with colored accents, but like I said, money... tight... saving... using what we have.




click on any of the photos for their location.

Also please - send me your ideas! This room needs your help!

Baaahstan

So Paul is in Boston for a few days this week moving out of his old apartment and cleaning our new apartment. While he was there I asked him to take a few pictures with his phone because I honestly forgot what the place looks like. I asked him if it looked as he remembered it or if it looked better (knowing he wasn't 100% sold on it in the 1st place). He answered that it was worse. Sad Panda.

Anyway, once I received the pictures I realized a few things I hadn't remembered when we 1st saw the place that sucked, but I also noticed a few good qualities I hadn't remembered. So I say, I'm still happy with the apartment and I still hope that once we have our own furniture and art up there it will feel like home.

Without further babbling, here are some of those phone pictures!





This is the view if you are standing in the dining room and looking into the kitchen. Believe it or not, I actually love the color of the walls. It's like a seafoam green with a lighter green on top. I like that it has character, even if it's not necessarily my character. Those dark brown ancient cabinets aren't the prettiest, but it's okay. We'll make due. The great part is the washer and dryer in the corner (next to the newish fridge), the dishwasher, and gas range. They aren't new appliances but they are good working appliances. The floor tiles aren't slowly coming up, and the counter, though dated, is nicely kept. I can't say the same for our current home. I think a cute piece hung on each side of the hallway entry on the right will help give it some more umph. And yes, I kinda do like that light fixture in the dining room. Had this been my owned home, I'd likely change out the cabinets for a white and paint the fixture white as well, but alas, this is a rental and we make due.



This next one is looking into the living room from the same spot in the dining room. You get another look at that light fixture. So those mirrors.... the landlord seems fairly attached to them. As they are, I don't think I like them, but I think if I gave those frames a nice coat of white and distressed it a bit, or even a cream matte finish, I'd prefer them. I'm going to ask what he thinks of the idea once we are a little more settled and get to know him better. If he disagrees with painting them, maybe we'll just take them down completely, and put them in storage. You get a nice little peak of the bay window in the dining room. It's a nice size with a southern exposure. I already see my plants loving the sun they can soak up. What you don't see is there is a little crack in the glass in one window. I noticed it, but it didn't bother me that much. It's in the part of the window that doesn't open, I believe.



Here is a shot of just that window. You can see the ledge. It's not as deep as most bay's but it's not shallow either. Paul has already decorated with his blue handblown pumpkin. I have a matching orange one. We'll need to find our beautiful pumpkins a home... which i'm hoping will be a box in the closet till fall.

Here you see the livingroom windows. If you look at the pictures above, you can get a sense for the layout. I'm happy with the amount of windows and light you get here. I'm also glad the apartment is already equipped with custom sized blinds. I still hope to hang curtains in some of the rooms but I'm unsure what and where yet. There is another little nook on the right by the triangular window. I great spot for a small plant, or a book nook, or a display. I love the amount of light this area gets. The street has virtually no trees which is odd, but it allows for tons of light to enter the apartment. Per Paul, it wasn't too hot in there either. Likely because the blinds have stayed down.


To the side of the living room is what the landlord called the master bedroom. It seems odd as a bedroom but large. It does however have a walk-in closet. We've considered making this either an office/craft room or turning this into the living room and making the true living room into the office/ craft room. We aren't sure yet how we'd like to set it up. I do however like the shelving already up. It would be beneficial to house some craft and office supplies. And that closet can be used to a multitude of things.

Here is another view of the master. It has 1 side window and this 3 paneled front window. I don't know what's going on with the center shade, but no matter. This is one of the rooms I'm sure to want to put some sheer curtains in. Those lower shelves are odd, we'll have to think about that a bit. That door to the right leads to the walk in closet.

Here is what I've dubbed the ugly brown room. That dark brown paneling is pretty ugly and makes the room so dark. I think because it's my least favorite room of the house, I'd like it to be the guest room. It therefore will be the room used the least. I'm going to look up some ideas on how to brighten up this room without having to paint it, because I'm sure we aren't allowed to paint the space.


Here is what I've dubbed the blue room. It's obviously smaller than the "master bedroom" but it's still a nice size. I think the shelves in this room are adorable. I'm thinking I'd like this room to be our room. We don't spend a lot of time awake in our bedroom. We prefer to be in the living room together. Our bedroom has no TV, just our bed, some lamps, dressers and a few nicnacs. It's a place for rest. And therefore, we don't need it to be huge. We just need it to be comfortable, and of course functional. Paul's biggest concern about this space is the closet sizes. The "master" has the biggest closet and the other room's closets seems minuscule. I'll have to see it in person. It may be a situation where we store our rarely used clothing items in another area of the house and keep our frequently used items in the small closet. We can work it out. After all, when we lived in Manhattan, we had 1/2 our wardrobe in the dining room closet!


And here is the ugly bathroom. It's quite dated and the colors are dark, but the bathroom is clean. There is no more need for a shower curtain as it has shower doors, which I'm glad for. No more PVC crapo plastic shower liners in the landfill (no I haven't stopped using those yet). The sink doesn't LEAK all over the place like our current one, and the bathroom is CLEAN! I love that... truly I do. I'll take clean over ugly any day. And frankly, our bathroom now is UGLY!


So there you have it. In addition to what the photos show, there is also a back porch that was enclosed. It therefore acts more of a storage closet. We are still unsure about he moisture and insulation control in that space, but if it remains dry, it will likely hold our snowboards, camping gear, and other items. If it gets damp, we'll likely not use it to store anything of value and maybe just keep cleaning supplies and other items that can be packed in airtight containers (that are not sensitive to the cold).

Things to Remember

This past weekend we had gone camping again in PA with the family. Good times were definitely had by all.... but a conversation in particular sticks out in my mind.

On our last night there it was getting dark and I sat next to K by the fire. He turned to me and we had this exchanged (as closely as I can remember):

K: do we really need to go home tomorrow?
Me: yes, Lauren has school tomorrow too
K: oh man! I was getting so attached. I got so attached to camping, you know? I feel sad. I feel like my insides are being ripped apart.
Me: Wow, K, you are super dramatic.
K: Yeah, it's like there is a rain cloud in my heart.

This sent me into fits of laughter.

A while later he had found a large log for the fire. Paul later put it in. A joked that when K sees Harold the log in the fire, K will be really sad. He may even have thunder in his rain cloud. K came by overhearing and said, "Oh man, Harold is burning. Now I have thunder and lighting and a tsunami in my heart. The Rainbows and unicorns are gone."

K found an even bigger log and Paul brought it over and began burning it. It burned through the night. A named it Fat Larry (cousin to Harold?). These kids are seriously hilarious.

In the morning I tried to ease K's grief by telling him that Paul and I were sleeping over his house for a night. We then had this exchange:
K: Now the unicorns are dancing but it's still raining (of course it is, we were still packing up to go home)
Me: So they are dancing in the rain?
K: No, they are dancing in one spot and it's raining in another spot next to it.

Kid's are seriously so smart and so clever. This conversation had me cracking up all day. I love them.

Sorry to Harrold and Fat Larry who are now ashes. No unicorns were harmed during this camping trip... but they did get a little wet in the rain.

My New Cast Iron Obsession

I've been pretty cast iron obsessed. I've never had one and finally last fall Paul's Mom bought me a skillet as a thank you gift. She got me an Emril brand 12 inch skillet and boy is it HUGE. It came preseasoned but I've been seasoning it now and have used it quite a few times. My only complaint is the size. For the most part, it's just too big for daily use. I do love it though.

I decided that I want something smaller. Something to make dinners for 2 in. Something to make breakfast in. Something that is just perfect for our current family of dos.

I decided to look online and see what I find. To my amazement, the brand Lodge is where it's at. They have reasonable prices, and serious customers with brand loyalty. Now that's what I'm talking about! And you know what is even better - they sell it at walmart.

Anyway I found this 8 inch Lodge Skillet at walmart for only $10.97. Really? That is AMAZING! Can you say I'm buying this! And 8 inch would be perfect. I kinda want a 6 inch too. I think that I may start cooking exclusively in cast iron. Too bad they weigh so much... but hey it's a nice bicep workout!


I've also wanted a griddle for a long time. Lodge makes one of those too - a reversible one. One side for grilling and the other for a griddle. Pancakes, grilled chicken, mmmmm.




It's priced at $29.97 - not too shabby













And this right here is a enamel glazed cast iron dutch oven. I ... shoot even my grandma has wanted one forever. They usually cost a fortune but Lodge makes them for only $49.97. Can you say house warming gift? Just picture the roasts, the stews, the yummy goodness that you'd eat out of this thing!


Of course with all this comes my burned hands from constantly grabbing at the hot handles. I may need to invest in some oven mits haha!


Click the photos for more info.

My Ikea Shopping List

I'm not going ... not any time soon. But I have some things that I want to look into. A move has to happen 1st where measurements are taken and furniture is put in. That way, we can get an idea of what we are working with. In the mean time I can be excited to divulge some ideas that are at least cropping up in my head.



I'd love something like this to put on my kitchen window sill and plant some useful herbs in. I'd likely plant cilantro, basil & mint. I'd love another one filled with only lavender. Maybe 2. They are only $5.99 and are fairly small so they'd likely be perfect. I can smell it already.







I've already posted about my NEED well really my love for hang dried clothes. Most clothes are great if hang dried in the nice hot summer sun, but alas, we won't be able to do that. Instead we'll be hanging our delicates and other items (when weather permits) on our enclosed balcony. Hey - it's still better for the environment! This is the one I had when I was younger. It folds flat for storage and actually allows for a lot of hanging. It's $19.99 at Ikea but I've seen it elsewhere too.





JARS! I can't say enough about how much I love jars. I store everything in them. I store seeds, nuts, grains, pastas, rice, spices, opened crackers, everything! I even use them to mix up dressings & other wet things. They seal up nice and tight. They can be left out or store in a cupboard or even in the fridge. And you can always see what's inside. Oh how I love jars! These types of jars might be my favorite for storing most of our grains, seeds, and nuts. I prefer the twist top ones for dressings. I even use recycled jelly jars... hey why not! If you do have to buy new though, you really can't beat the Ikea prices for this style jar. $2.99-4.99!














We currently have a kitchen trash bin that is smaller than most people's bathroom bins. It is fine for now. We have an excessively tight kitchen and we really don't produce too much waste. We also are encouraged to dispose of trash more often. However we are going to move to a house soon and we'll have the space. I'll also be cooking more so we'll have the trash. I'd love a medium sized trash bin. There is an unplugged compactor unit in the kitchen which the owner said he used to use as a trash bin. He'd simply line it with a trash bag and walla! So I think we'll likely do the same. But we recycle and we recycle well ... I hate the bags of tins, glass & paper throughout the kitchen. My solution is a recycling bin. I want 2: 1 for paper and 1 for glass, tin & plastic. But at the very least I want 1. The paper we can shred and dispose of when full. $8.99


Curtains! Gone are the days of cheap blinds. I can't wait to throw some curtains against the wall. Floor to ceiling window treatments in a sheer light color will be fabulous. It will elongate the rooms, it will provide privacy and it will create a homey airy feel. I've always loved curtains. Blinds are way over rated. They are cheap, hard to clean, and still let it in tons of light when you don't want it and none when you do. Not to mention the break super easily. Curtains are the answer! They can easily be washed and replaced. You can have winter curtains and summer curtains. Hell, you can put them up WITH your blinds. Why not? These simple white curtains are $9.99 for a pair.





Now - I know... I just know, Paul will say WTF? But I LOVE this rug. Our new apartment will have wall to wall carpeting in a neutral beige color but this rug is so fun, so bright, so interesting! I'm thinking it would be excellent in the craft room/ office. With yellow or green accents on the walls! Maybe a sheer white and yellow curtain - SWOON! I'm in love! It's $40 and not likely something we'd immediately buy but oh how I love this!











After Paul insisted on replacing our towel rack in our bathroom (and being unable to do so) I've been living without one for 3 years and I can't stand it. Our towels have no home, and they don't dry well, and worse, we keep them on the door and no one can close the door now! I want towel racks! 2 or 3 of them lined one above the other on the back of the bathroom door. No hooks - just racks. Love them! Don't take yours for granted! This simple one is $12.99 but honestly I'd take a $3 ugly has hell one. Function over form in this case.





This is just one of many shapes, sizes and colors they have at Ikea. I want these in multiple sizes and preferably, all in white. I want one for my closet to hang a few fold-ables. I want another (or 2) for the craft closet to hold my yarn & some fabric. And I MAY want one tiny one , okay it's not tiny, just the holes are, for some shoe storage. I think it will decrease clutter and be a huge space saver. One goal of mine is to decrease the use of chests and dressers and increase my closet usage similar to what we did when living in Manhattan. I love the reduced use of furniture. It makes every space look larger, neater and free of clutter!




There are other things I'd like to take a peek at once we are settled... I'd love to check out their frames, planters, storage bins, kitchen gadgets and even their bathroom textiles. I'm desperate to update the bathroom shower curtain and rugs (we've been using them for around 5 years and they are pretty dingy) but I can't remember what the bathroom looked like, what color it was or even what shape it was. So that will have to wait. For some reason I suspect it's an ugly hideous brown. Oh well, we got to work with what we got!


click on the photos for the ikea site where i found them

Reducing Clutter

Let me be honest, we have a lot of stuff. Our bookcase alone houses tons of books (mostly mine), collections of figurines, chess sets, candles, vases etc... but lets face it - why?

This doesn't mean I'm prepared to start getting rid of all these treasures, but it does mean I want to thin them out.

There are some items that were gifts and honestly, though the thought was nice, and the gesture is appreciated, they don't need to be displayed throughout our house. Those items (hello PR Key Chain holder) must hit the road to a salvation army where someone who may actually WANT the item can pick it up.

But one thing that NEVER occurred to me was display. I felt the need to display everything (except seasonal) items all year round. Buy why? There is no need. We can rotate. Our decor and even pictures can sit in nice bins in storage waiting to be brought out. They can be rotated keeping the room fresh. Why not!

So duh - if our parents didn't let us play with all our toys at once to avoid a big mess - why as adults do we try to.

Sorry Paul, that means the pumpkins are going into storage till fall ;)