Living Room Pics
July 9, 2009 at 10:55 am | In After pics, The Joys of Decorating | 1 CommentWe finished painting the living room. Woot! Here are three views:
In the corner next to the bookcase, we’ll add an accent chair (already picked out, just need to purchase, along with 5,000 other things) to create a reading nook. In the entryway (the nook of the red wall), we’ll add a table, mirror, and some accessories. I’ll make a cushion for the bench to add some color in the bland part of the room (i.e., the first pic). We’ll find some curtains for the window and put up some artwork and be done with this room.
The wall with the arches that leads into the dining room was originally red, too. It was just way too much, and it really stopped the eye from seeing the rest of the house (not that there’s much to see right now, but there will be someday). We’re thrilled we changed our plan and it’s my favorite room right now. It feels so warm and cozy.
We painted with Valspar paint: Oatbran and Quite Red. I love the color of the Quite Red, but it’s quite unforgiving when it comes to mistakes. When you come to my house, don’t scrutinize too much, ‘mkay?
Design Inspiration: Artwork
July 8, 2009 at 11:01 am | In The Joys of Decorating | Leave a CommentI found these two ideas on www.thenest.com.
To do this, stretch fabric over some wooden frames. Use a staple gun to secure fabric to the backs of the frames. I like the look of this for the master bedroom, once we decide on a color scheme. I love the three blocks of a neutral color and the one block of a vibrant color.
Here are pieces of fabric or paper framed and propped against the wall. I can see this in our entryway, where I’ll put a table against the wall and hang a mirror. I’ve been struggling coming up with ideas for accessories to put on the table, and I think this would work well.
Both of these options sound quick and inexpensive: My two favorite adjectives when it comes to decorating.
A Better Day
July 2, 2009 at 12:27 pm | In Uncategorized | 1 CommentThanks to you all for your comments and e-mails regarding my last two posts. You are certainly helping me feel better and I greatly appreciate that! Blogging about my feelings yesterday really turned my day around. It was very freeing to get those thoughts out of my head; I was able to focus on work and have a great dinner out with Junior. I even put on makeup and did my hair. And wore real clothes!
Our date night was cut short, though. We planned to go to a movie, but I started feeling sick during dinner. By the time we bought my favorite gummy bears to smuggle into the movie perused the home decor section of Target, I had the worst body aches. So, while I’m feeling much better emotionally, I’m siiiick. I have the flu or some virus. It stinks being sick anytime, but I think it stinks even more during the summer. What do you think? It has something to do with not being able to fully enjoy the sunshine, I think.
Sleeplessness
July 1, 2009 at 9:40 am | In Miscarriage | 1 CommentWell, here I am again, not 24 hours later, writing about It.
I couldn’t sleep this morning. Normally, I have a hard time getting out of bed, but this morning, I wanted to get up and get far away from lying there with my thoughts. I laid wide awake with my thoughts of the last few weeks, then those thoughts and details of events surrounding the miscarriage appeared in my fitful dreams.
***
It was just two weeks ago that I had a dream about the baby. My baby. I had never really dreamt much about being pregnant or what my children would look like before I actually was pregnant, and if I did, it was all very vague. But this dream was so different. We were at the doctor’s office getting our first ultrasound. We saw the baby’s profile and the features. The facial features were so clear. So clear. It was as if we were holding the baby in our arms. Almost. We also knew in the dream that the baby was a boy, even though it was too early for the ultrasound to prove that. The memory of the day would go in the baby’s book.
***
The day after I had that dream, we had our first ultrasound in real life. We were so excited. I couldn’t believe I’d had that dream. I started to think of the baby in terms of being a boy. I couldn’t wait to see whatever we could see. I couldn’t wait to share the experience with my husband. It was going to be an amazing day.
***
I can’t sleep lately without seeing the ultrasound screen and the empty sac. Why did I have that dream about the baby? Why was it so clear? People just don’t have dreams like that when things aren’t real, at least not in my experience. But there was nothing there. No baby, and certainly no baby boy with the beautiful eyes, nose, and mouth I saw in my dream.
I can’t imagine I’ll readily forget the details of that ultrasound. I remember the room, the ultrasound machine, the rainy day, the doctor’s face. My husband standing to my left, both of us feeling completely numb and unbelieving. The bloodwork; the nurse’s face when she read the chart after seeing me just minutes before and chatting excitedly with me. The ride home; the cold rain and the wicked lightning across the sky. Silence, and then my awful, sobbing, uncontrollable crying.
***
Over time, I’m sure the details will become less sharp and raw, but everything hurts so bad right now. It’s too hard to think about anything else right now.
Fairy Godmother and Combat Boots
June 30, 2009 at 3:07 pm | In Miscarriage | 2 CommentsSo. I had a miscarriage. Some of you know this, some of you don’t. I wasn’t sure if I was going to blog about this, and I’m still not sure if I’ll do so more than this one time, but I feel it deserves a mention.
I had a D&C yesterday, and while I don’t feel awful physically, I feel crummy enough to feel sorry for myself. Plus, it’s a rainy day and I have *not* seen the sunshine that others report today. Plus, I have a cold with terrible sneezes that make my dog come running to see what’s the matter. And Big Things in Life that need to be taken care of and Forms To Be Completed and such. None of these things are huge, but put them together with our recent physical and emotional challenges and I’m overwhelmed. And sad. It’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day–The grown-up version.
Just when I wanted to crawl into bed and sleep until next year, I trudged out to the mailbox. I’m so glad I did, because in it I found a wonderful card from a dear friend. I find that these types of condolence cards are difficult to find and send; you never know how they’ll be received. But this one is perfect. It talks about finding a fairy godmother with a magical wand and combat boots so she can kick the crap out of bad things. You know what? I like it. I’m still sad, and probably will be for a long time, but having the image of a fairy godmother with ass-kicking combat boots in my corner makes me feel just a little bit better.
Wow, so what I just wrote made me realize that I always have just that: God. Except I never imagine God as a fairy godmother with combat boots, but maybe I’ll start now.
Guest bath, office, and DIY artwork
June 28, 2009 at 8:17 pm | In After pics, The Joys of Decorating | 2 CommentsThe first two rooms (and only so far) we’ve painted are the guest bathroom and office. Here’s the guest bath:
I can’t for the life of me get a good, nonblurry pic of the other half of the bathroom, but trust me, it’s a standard bathroom. We’ll add a couple of white shelves and some artwork my aunt painted for me a few years ago.
A couple of views of the office, complete with our DIY artwork!
I want to sew a curtain for the window and make a fabric-covered bulletin board for above my desk in that same fabric. A new desk chair and a red lamp will complete the room. When we get a laptop, we’ll move the personal computer stuff out of the room and replace it with our perfect-for-apartments-but-way-too-small-for-a-house dining room table, sanded and painted black, so I have another work space.
The artwork was very quick and easy, and we’re now inspired to try other techniques for DIY artwork in other rooms. We used the same blue wall color and added the red. A few flicks of the wrist later, we had these great abstract paintings. They turned out exactly how I envisioned them. Total cost: $23.
I probably should have taken these pics in the daylight, but I was just too excited to post about our artsy weekend.
Retail therapy
June 26, 2009 at 9:39 am | In The Joys of Decorating | Leave a CommentI’ve had a crummy week, and I think for the first time in my life, I understand retail therapy. It is good. It all started with this:
We need more seating in our living room, but not in the form of chairs or a loveseat. We’ve been looking for a bench, and this fits the bill perfectly. I’ll make a comfy cushion; I’m thinking a striped red and oatmeal fabric. Maybe something like this:
Or this:
We’ll look for baskets to fit in the cubbies, but I like the idea of using only one or two baskets for storage, then using the third cubby for a flashy pillow that is much more decorative than functional. I got an amazing deal, which first triggered the retail therapy happiness.
We went to Michael’s last night and picked up the canvases for the art project planned for the office. Doesn’t that sound so official? More on that to come.
We also went to Joann Fabrics. I totally forgot to look at fabric for the bench cushion, but I’m sure they have what I’m looking for. I picked up a skirt pattern that I’m going to attempt. I’m visualizing good sewing technique and excellent fit.
The day ended with me finding sheets to match exactly what I had in mind for the master bedroom:
This is what my dear husband had to say: “Wow. We’re normally on the same page with this kind of stuff, but we’re way off base here.”
Way to dash all my hopes and dream, huz. Apparently he likes the color, but not the pattern. Well at least that’s something, ’cause the color is what really speaks to me. Off to find alternatives…
Update
June 25, 2009 at 3:09 pm | In South Florida living, The Joys of Decorating | Leave a CommentI’ve been remiss and haven’t blogged in a long time. Not that I was ever really all that great at blogging, but I figured it’s time to keep things current.
We’re moved into the house and it’s fabulous. I’ll share pics as we get rooms painted and somewhat decorated. Expect to see the guest bathroom and office pics soon (I promise). I have an art project I want to do this weekend for the office, then I’ll post pics of the (almost) finished project.
I’m starting to get the garden bug back. I’m not sure what I’m going to do about that, because we don’t have much room and I don’t want our patio overtaken with plants, but I’m jealous of people who are growing tomatoes. I just can’t help it. I want fresh salsa with homegrown tomatoes and my lovely aurora peppers. You know, if only I could grow good tomatoes, I could become famous with that salsa. It could be my signature dish. I’d take it to parties and bask in the glow of compliments and tell everyone it’s a secret recipe. OK, back to reality… I have three little pots of herbs growing in my kitchen windowsill (basil, thyme, and sage). Hmm. Maybe we *should* have bought a house with yard where I could devote specific space to growing all the things in my dreams. I don’t really mean that.
I’m also starting to get the sewing bug back. Wow, lots of bugs around. 
I’m determined to make some article of clothing work. Tops are obviously not my forte, so I want to try a simple a-line skirt next. Ha. Simple. Famous last words. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
One last thing: choosing paint colors is hard. Much harder than I thought. Why can’t we just make decisions?!?! It’s not that we disagree too terribly much (although there have been moments…), it’s that we just don’t know what to do. I think the house is starting to speak to me, though, because I decided the other day that we must get new bedding for the master bedroom. The room is so big and bright that we need fresh and hip bedding to go with it. I’m thinking light and airy with just a splash of something new and unexpected (lime green, anyone?).
Tomorrow’s a big day…
May 13, 2009 at 8:47 pm | In South Florida living | Leave a CommentWe are scheduled to close on our house tomorrow. And I do say “scheduled” because I’m still worried something is going to fall through at the very last minute. I’m praying for the best, though.
We’re living in a sea of boxes, and of course Peanut is nervous, but I’m very excited. I’m also feeling very fortunate. We’ve been blessed with great friends who are ready to help us move. We know some of them better than others, but they’re all so kind-hearted and enrich our lives. Let’s face it; no one likes the labor of moving (do they?), and the fact that these friends are so willing to help us makes me smile. 
While I’m looking forward to living in our new house–and the fact that it will be our very own (well, except for the bank owning it for 30 years and all that)– I’m a teeny bit sad to leave our apartment. This apartment symbolizes some big steps we’ve taken in the last year, and the memories are sweet. I know I’ll always have those memories, but I also know my memories of how this place looks and feels will fade. I take comfort in the fact that new memories will be in the forefront of my mind and I look forward to this adventure we’re embarking on.
Who knew buying a lil’ ‘ole townhouse could make me feel so sentimental?
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