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!
Life always seems the craziest when you’re actively trying not to be busy at all.
Last summer was rough for us because we had so many people staying with us throughout June, July and August and we vowed that we wouldn’t repeat that this year. We made plans to not make plans at all.
The problem with that is we either end up doing absolutely nothing at all, thus turning into literal sloths who serve no other purpose than to make the ass prints in our couch bigger. Or things end up appearing so unexpectedly that before we know it, we’ve blown through seven or ten days and can’t tell you the last time we got to enjoy our sloth states.
You’d think as much time as I spend being a sloth, I’d be able to think up good things to write. Instead, you’ll get a series of snippets.
————————————————–
This past Monday, I wake up at quarter til seven to the dog going batshit crazy in the office, which is where his perch is located that lets him watch over the neighborhood. And this was his ‘Get the hell of my property!’ batshit crazy bark not the little ‘The neighbor kids are walking across the street’ chatter. I shoot out of bed and squint through the blinds to see two cop cars pulled up to our driveway and Steve standing behind his truck gesturing towards our backyard. So of course, I panic a bit because early morning and cops being at my house doesn’t bode well. I throw something semi-decent on and walk outside to find Steve and a cop standing on the side of the house looking towards the park that backs up to our yard while the other cop is trying to navigate his way across the tiny creek. And in that park is a car.
That’s a silly place to park a car!
I asked what was going on and Steve said he was leaving for work and noticed the car in the park so he called the cops because that’s not exactly a thorughfare. The cop then explained that two vehicles had been stolen from the neighborhood the night before and that the people they thought did it actually lived close enough to the park that they weren’t surprised to find the vehicle there. Said they had been to the woman’s house enough for domestic disturbances and that she was always doped up on crazy pills and stuff. Steve then headed off to work and they spent the next hour or so making calls and trying to get into the vehicle before they finally towed it out of there.
Needless to say, I spent the week worrying a bit because the last thing you need is to find a stolen vehicle pretty much in your backyard. Guess it’s time to get the security system installed.
At least I got to close the day out with Conan O’Brien on The Tonight Show. I love him! I truly do.
——————————————————
Work kicked my ass this past week on so many levels. So many levels that I’m not going to discuss in public because that would not be kosher. I can disagree with my job but I need it and am thankful to have it at this period in time. I just don’t like change and am not good with it. I much prefer for things to continue exactly the way they are because with change comes stress and with stress comes with an unhappy me and an unhappy me is not fun at all.
——————————————————
My toes, on the other hand, are healing. They’re still swollen and still painful but they feel surprisingly better than they did before the doctor aspirated the nail. On Friday, I went back to work but had to wear the slip-on shoes I’d bought when I had my blood clot because when I tried to put on normal shoes, the foot protested by sending searing pain up my foot and into my leg. I was able to remove the band-aid Friday night only to find that the hole was still oozing a bit but even that was over by Saturday morning.
Now they’re just black and blue and yellow and green and I can even move them. The swelling has gone down and the oozing has stopped. I just have to remember to take it easy because they won’t hurt for some time and then I’ll walk on them wrong or catch my foot as I’m walking, as I did last night, and it’ll hurt like crazy again. I thought I was able to stop the pain meds because I was feeling better, but I’m feeling better because of the meds. If I’m off them completely the foot kills and it’s the worst if I’m standing still. It’s easiest when I have the meds in me and my foot is elevated with nothing on it, because even the weight of the blanket hurts.
This was Saturday’s progress! It ain’t pretty.
When I went into work Friday, I slipped my sock off and showed my boss who looked right at me and was like, “You know, you could’ve just asked for the day off!” then smiled.
Apparently, when I do it, I do it big.
—————————————————
I finally finished the closet reorganization that was the cause to the whole toe debacle. Steve had been after me for months (ok, years) to go through our closet and my clothes because well, he’s a man and to him anything more than five shirts and two pairs of pants is too many clothes.
But it was time. I still had clothes in there from college. Skinny girl clothes that I just wasn’t ready to part with because you know, I might fit into them again (we all know how much of a truth that really is). I mean, there are a few favorites that you could hang onto for that reason but they either need to really be your favorite or they need to be classics with style that outlasts trends. An entire closet does not count towards that rule.
Plus, I was having a really hard time finding a place to put things when I did laundry. And I was wearing the same thing over and over again. It just needed to be done.
I thought it was going to take a week. Had it not been for my injury, I would have finished it in an afternoon. That being said, it took a total of one day.
Here’s the before:
Before: The Closet
That is a walk in closet big enough for two people to walk in. If you shut the door, you could fit three, maybe four people. In other words, that’s a lot of clothes. All the ones hanging pretty much consist of my clothes with the exception of a small sliver to the far left that is Steve’s and that starts approximately where the solid burgundy shirt is. The basket on the floor is overflow laundry that has yet to be put away. And the entire left side on the top shelf is my clothes. The back wall on the shelf is Steve’s. That’s not including our two dressers that we have.
Here’s the after:
After: The Closet
It still looks a little crowded but that’s purely because I ran out of hangers, otherwise, the shirts on the top left shelf would have been hung as well. Also, Steve didn’t humor and go through his clothes. But unlike before, everything is organized. The entire left side is now mine and is organized into categories: work shirts and blouses, crossovers (i.e. plain cotton shirts that I can wear to work or out with friends), nice casual shirts (most of them are printed so I can’t wear them to work), polos & button downs and long sleeves. Sweatshirts and sweaters have been moved into our guest bedrooms closet which has been deemed the winter closet. Steve now has the entire back wall with space for his nice shirts and his work shirts. The tucker on the floor contains overflow clothes that he needs to go through but since it has a lid, it serves a dual purpose: as a shelf. Which was an awesome find because I was going to purchase shelves but with this, I can just pile his work pants onto it and they are accessible without me having to worry about putting them into drawers or throwing them on the top shelf (they’re heavy Dickies pants so they were too much for the shelf). The clear boxes and the smaller tucker contain my shoes, the brown bedding is overflow winter bedding for our bed and there’s finally room to tuck the hamper back in the corner. And what you can’t see is that on the top to the left are three of the fabric grocery bags you can buy almost anywhere now. One contains bathings suits, extra bras and my heavy fuzzy winter socks, the other two contain hats and accessories (handbags and belts) respectively. And my drawers, at least, are organized for pants and others things that can’t be hung.
Everything now has it’s place and that’s one more thing that I can mark off my list.
It’s makes my internalized OCD very, very happy!
(I’d like to say the pain of the toe injury was worth it, but it really wasn’t. I mean, I’m crazy, but not that crazy!)
———————————————————–
The only other things worth noting is that we had a very nice dinner with some great friends last night at TGI Friday’s, of all places (they have never been high up on my list of restaurants) and then went to see The Hangover, which was absolutely fabulous and as phenomenally funny as the trailer leads you to believe.
And also, this guy:
SO.FREAKIN’.HOT!
Seriously, I’ve had celebrity crushes before but he is easily one of the best. Right now, it’s him and Gerard Butler, haunting my dreams. Love, love, love! Funny as well as smokin’ hot … my kind of man!
——————————————–
That’s about it though – the most exciting parts of my week crunched into totally unrelated recaps. I’m hoping for a better week this time around but only time will tell. Here’s one final image from this week.
Hangin’ Around …
One of the things about living in the South … there’s always strange visitors right outside your front door!
Tomorrow morning, I’ll be picking up two of my girlfriends who are coming in for a weekend visit from Philadelphia. We are going to be tourists, have long leisurely dinners, hang out and gossip and just generally enjoy each other’s company. I am so excited I can’t contain it! I haven’t had a good girls weekend in forever.
Steve is excited! Deep down, you can tell.
As for now, my house is clean from top to bottom, my fridge is (fairly) stocked, the guest bedroom awaits, I actually hung pictures on the wall and there’s even some fresh flowers to liven the place up a bit. My bills are paid, the dog has been groomed, there is nothing outstanding waiting for me. I am at peace.
I’m going to wake up tomorrow, open all the blinds and let the morning sun and fresh air and just start an enjoyable weekend.
I hope you can do the same!
Just like that, another weekend gone!
It’s amazing how every Sunday night Steve and I find ourselves saying that. I don’t know if that’s indicative of whether we are doing something good or just wasting away.
We actually were really, really productive though so I definitely don’t feel like we wasted it. After yesterday’s cleaning and shopping marathon, I woke up with no REAL sense of purpose today. So I spent the first two hours watching trash TV (Rock of Love Bus is so boring now that the uber-skanks are gone!) then I decided that I might as well accomplish something. I hung a bunch of pictures, finished the loads of laundry (note: they still have to be folded, along with the past few weekends of laundry. Does anybody else hate folding as much as I do?) and picked up a few other things.
Then, about four o’clock, I was plagued with another sinus headache. I knew it was because it we ran the heat last night and it was so dry in here when I woke up. So I took one 500mg tablet of Tylenol, which the doctor has told me I can do, and I think that was a mistake. Not long after that, I started feeling nauseous and really dizzy and the pain in my head was excruciating. So I laid down for a bit and that didn’t seem to help. Then I took a hot shower and laid down some more with an ice pack to my head. By the time I got back up at 7, I felt much better but I was still out of it. Fighting a headache like that has always taken a lot out of me. The pain can go away but it takes me hours to feel back to normal.
I hate having this problem because I always feel like “I have a headache” seems like such a lame excuse. But it’s not just a headache – it’s pain in my face, in my temples, underneath my skull that just feels like whole head is going to explode. It’s nausea, it’s dizziness, it’s weakness. Light and noise makes it worse. I can feel when there are pressure and temperature changes in the air. It’s something I’ve lived with all of my life and I’ve learned to sort of live with and control. Even when I’m in the throes of it, I feel self-conscious that people think I’m making a big deal out of nothing or that I’m faking, but it’s merely that I’ve lived with it for so long that I’ve learned to mask it, to push it aside until I’m absolutely at my breaking point and only then do I realize I need to just go home, take a hot shower, pop some Tylenol and sleep in a cool, dark room with an ice pack to my head.
It’s genetic and it’s something that can’t be fixed. I just have to learn to live with it. They’ve taken MRIs and injected my veins with dye while doing so to make sure everything is ok and the all came back normal and fine. I’ve taken Imitrex but haven’t gotten it replenished in years, partly because it’s expensive and I didn’t like the way it makes me feel.
Regardless, after that ordeal, I couldn’t force myself to do much more. Steve made dinner and we watched Lakeview Terrace which was pretty much just eh! Kind of what we expected it to be. (I Love You, Man, which we saw on Friday, was far more enjoyable, albeit a bit awkward to watch because Paul Rudd is so awkwardly adorable in it. Definitely go see that movie though because it was good – not just funny but a great story too.) Then we ate some ice cream, watched the season finale of East Bound and Down and did the last few loads of laundry.
Now I’m in bed watching Chelsea Lately and preparing for another week at work. My house is clean and organized and ready for our visitors on Friday, and I’m ready for the time off.
I can’t believe it’s almost April!
I just loaded my site to login to WordPress and I saw the picture of that pizza that I uploaded last night. My mouth started watering as I remembered it’s gooey deliciousness. I haven’t eaten anything all day. And I just sat down. Literally. I have been running and running since 9am.
The house, as I’ve been saying for weeks, is a wreck. And since we have guests coming in next weekend, I needed to do a top to bottom cleaning. It is not pretty much spotless. I still have to fold the laundry and put away some shoes and hang some pictures but it is clean and it smells nice. There is a great satisfaction in sitting down and looking around and knowing the house is clean.
Then, I needed to get some things from the store so I head out around six. Three hours and some bit of money later, I finally got home and unloaded all the stuff. Then I spent another two putting everything out. My house now looks a little more like home because I finally picked up a few things we’ve needed since we moved in.
I probably could have spent the day outside and enjoyed the weather but I didn’t. But seeing the house nice and clean and knowing things are organized and ready for next weekend makes me feel like I didn’t really waste a day. I’m exhausted and hungry and my feet and back hurt but I’ll sleep well tonight. And I’ll have all day tomorrow to relax and enjoy the rest of my weekend.
For now, I’m going to make some dinner, take a shower then crawl into bed and read or watch TV for a bit. This is another lazy post but it’s the only time I’ve had to really even breathe today.
Hope you had a good Saturday and here’s to a restful Sunday!
