In continuation of my post from yesterday, I thought I’d share with you some of my favorite places in the house.
Guest Bathroom: This came together rather slowly because it wasn’t high on the list of rooms to change. Truthfully, we didn’t remove anything, I just added my own personal touches. The walls stayed the same color and even the shower curtain came with the house (it’s a soft suedelike fabric and it was too nice not to use). What I love most about it is how the accessories bring it all together. The two pictures over the toilet are paintings of local landmarks in cheap $4 frames I picked up from Wal-mart that almost match the frame around the mirror. The brushed nickel sink accessories match all of the other hardware in the bathroom. The pineapple is a candle I picked up from Bath and Body Works just recently that I think fits beautifully (and the pineapple is the symbol of hospitality!). And the white towels and washcloth always stay on top of the toilet until we have guests and I wash them. Regardless, I find it very welcoming and warm and have received quite a few compliments on it.
Front Entryway: I love the decorative glass and the tile and the way the light plays through the windows at night. I still want to get a console table and maybe a coat rack but overall this was one of the things that made me fall in love with the house.
My Kitchen: I love my kitchen! Compared to others, I might not spend a lot of time in here as I’m not a gourmet chef or anything. But I do love it – it was one of the main reasons we bought this place. I love the black on white, something I didn’t think I’d be too keen on. It has enough space for two of us to move around comfortably in and for even more to gather and chat and hang out when we have people over. I love that it has the little breakfast nook off of it so people can sit and chat if you’re preparing something but it’s closed off enough from the living room to keep the kitchen noise from disturbing people in there. I love our knives, our canisters, the paper towl holders, the sink, the cabinets, the window, and the granite countertops (though, while I love the color I don’t particularly like that it’s tile and in the future would consider a full slab – tile is pain to keep the crevices clean). Overall, this is a place that’s welcoming and comfortable and modern/chic looking enough for my taste but still warm enough to make it feel like a home and not a museum.
My Corner: This my end of the couch. On any given day, you can find me here surfing the Internet, watching TV or playing video games. Please note that all of my accouterments are there: the laptop, meds for any given thing (this day it was sinuses and pain and some antibiotic ointment), the books and magazines I’m currently perusing (Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult, two Glamours, two Cosmos and a Real Simple), my purse in case I need anything from there since that’s like my little portable home. In the teal ottoman is a ball of yarn and my current knitting project, more magazines, a Dave Ramsey book that I want to read and there are yet more magazines in the slot under the tabletop. Please also note the fuzzy blue blanket to the right. This was the last thing I should have included in the my favorite things post yesterday because that literally is my security blanket. When I travel it comes with me, when I’m home, it’s always near me, even if it’s summer. It’s soft and warm and protective and just plain comfy.
So there you have it, some of my favorite places in my house.
Maybe next I’ll try video blogging!
I think part of my problem is I don’t make time to write. And then, when I finally do, I don’t know how to make the mundane sound interesting. Or how to make a month or two’s worth of information readable without it being a laundry list of this and that.
I always say, “I’m going to do it this month. I’m going to write about something, anything, every day”. Then I spend all day at work on the computer and little tasks at home get in the way and before I know it, the day is over and I can’t even remember half of the little things that sparked even the short thought of, “Maybe I could write about this”.
Sometimes, briefly, I thought about giving up this site but then my stubbornness kicks in. I’ve had this blog for eight years. At this site. And yes, interest has probably waned both on my part and my readers part but at the same time, I don’t like to think of life without it. Partly because I’m resistant to change and partly because this at least is my outlet, even if I only use it sporadically.
So I don’t think I’m going anywhere anytime soon. I just need to give myself a swift kick in the pants to actually START being interesting again.
(Maybe that’s my problem – I’ve done grown up and bought a house and got a real job and just don’t FEEL interesting anymore! Somebody, validate me, please! LOL)
September and October have been rough though I couldn’t specifically tell you why. I feel like these weeks just blew by and thinking back, there are very few moments from them that stand out enough. I’m still working seventy hour weeks or so and have actually been really, really busy during my time at the office. I think that’s part of it all. Work kicks my ass lately and despite the fact that I never wanted to be that person, sometimes, it’s the only thing I’m thinking about, even when I’m not there. Because I want to do a good job. Because I need to be awesome, at everything I do! (All joking aside, I’m kind of serious – I want to rock at my job because it makes me feel like I’m not wasting my life away in a career I hate.)
Early in October, I got this brilliant idea to have a Halloween “gathering”. By deeming it a “gathering”, I figured I could get away with inviting people to my house, feeding them some candy, having them bring their own booze and letting them hang out and play my XBox. Well, I got kind of carried away and now that “gathering” has turned into a “party” of almost twenty-five confirmed guests. And since I seem to think I’m Superwoman or Martha Stewart (or just plain awesome!), I’ve already sailed away on that ship called Overboard and am a little bit knee-deep in a lot of work that I only hope will produce a fabulous celebration.
I made custom spooky wine bottle labels, ya’ll!
It’s a lot of work and I really don’t mind because I was going to put out that kind of effort to decorate our front yard (we like to be that scary house on the block) but the pain is in the details and my perfectionist person just has to learn to let some of the stuff go. Like putting caution tape over the doors in the hallway? Great idea – can’t find my caution tape – DO NOT NEED to go running back to Wal-Mart to get some more. (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been to Wal-Mart this month!)
Regardless, I’m sure it will go over well and since it’s in like two days, I can at least start to feel excited about it, instead of stressed about the fact that nothing’s done (trust me, there’s still a lot to do, but I have a LIST! A list always save the day!).
And yes, my floors were finally fixed which is why I’m ok with having the party. Three months later, the living room is back to normal. Now I just have to pay the guys and get MORE money from the insurance money (something about depreciation costs – God, being a grownup homeowner sucks! I would so get my mom to call for me if she could). They also finally fixed the couch, after two service calls. It still doesn’t feel right to me but I don’t think it ever will unless they replace it completely, which they seem adament about NOT doing. So for now, we’ll just delegate that one to company use only (though, come to think of it, it would make sense to use it every day since neither one of us ever sit in the middle – hmmmm, I guess I do get bright ideas when I finally sit down to write!).
I was finally able to get Sammy’s haircut (hey, you talk about your children, I talk about my dog – just put me in the doggyblogger category). I figured it was probably time when he jumped up and ended up scratching my face with his claws. I could have also gauged it around the fact that he was scooting in circles around the rug in my living room but he does that all the time, especially when company comes over, so perhaps not (“Hey Mom, Sammy learned a new trick!”). Poor thing had to go through the stress of the haircut then the very next day had to deal with the workers sawing and hammering the new floors. I’m sure he needed a Valium or something because Steve said he was so nervous he threw up like five times the day the workers were there. I swear, only we would get the dog that is terrified of loud noises but will bite the shit out of you if you look at him wrong!
The big accomplishment with Sammy though has been that I was able to teach him “Paw!” and “Roll Over!” in the past month. Those were the last two he needed to learn and they were difficult because both required him to do something he didn’t want to do, i.e. submit to us and let us touch his paws. But a good bribe, persistence and praise will make them do anything! Granted, when he gives paw now, even without a treat, he kind of claws at our hands like he’s trying to pull them close to get a treat, but hey, before he growled whenever we even held our hand out. So it’s a step in the right direction!
We really need to take him out of the backyard more. A few weeks ago, we took him to dog park and he seemed to enjoy it. He’s definitely intimidated by dogs bigger than him and I don’t think he understands the “play” signals that the little dogs give off, particularly the ones with high energy. He’s definitely a loner and would prefer to just wander in and out of groups and sniff the grass.
I’ll tell you, we love him to death, but sometimes we just shake our heads and wish we had gotten a normal, overly-friendly goofy dog that we can do almost anything with.
We’ve tossed around the idea of getting another one. To be honest, if we had the room and unlimited funds, I’d adopt every animal I could. I would love to have a few cats and wouldn’t mind taking one of them on because they’re much easier than dogs. Losing Scamper this month was especially hard on me but Steve is really allergic to them and it’s definitely not fair to bring an animal into the house that’s going to make him miserable.
Even Sammy gets to be too much for him sometimes!
So we’re still grooving along! Tonight, my parents are coming over to carve pumpkins and tomorrow we have Tyler’s football game then Friday is the party. So I hope to be back this weekend with some pictures to share because you better believe I’m documenting all this hard party work with photos so I can remember how awesome I really am!
How do you take a picture of humble? Because I should probably do that to!
Have a Happy Halloween everyone and if you’re in the area, feel free to stop by! What’s one more person, right?
