Life in Color — a scrappy Log Cabin quilt block pieced in pink and green prints.
  • I have one side of my lower floor (because it is so NOT a basement) done just the way I like it:
    Wall

    Looking straight at the side with my desk and

    The said shelf thing.
    Desk

    And the desk. The great thing about getting things for cheap at estate sales, like this $25 desk, that I then put about $20 into refinishing (and a lot of elbow grease) is that I don’t feel bad nailing something into the side of it. On the side you can’t see I mounted the power strip so now the desk is a lot cleaner. I also found how to hang stuff on these concrete walls. I don’t use the concrete. Instead I hung a line down from a nail in the molding we put up, like a gallery would do. That’s how I got the new Target clock to stay up. And on the opposite wall:
    Work_1

    I think all this space really wants now is a super cute vintage step stool (I pulled the freebie plastic one I scored out for the picture. It works, but it’s a bit sad looking), more art on the walls and a cool packing table instead of the fold up one I’m using now. I’m thinking old library table. Hmmm who has one of those, oh ya, MOM, aren’t you sick of that thing yet?  Although the laundry area isn’t re-painted yet (and may not be for a while as the floors are still not perfectly dry and I want to wait for warmer weather), I did some improvements:
    Laundry_1

    These two windows Finally have curtains! Now looking at this I really wish the curtain over the sink could be full length like the rest, but with the pipes it’s just not possible. I did also get the pull backs on for the long curtains. They are mounted on the frame and are hidden when the curtains are closed. Much easier than mounting in concrete. Pictures of that later, when I have a sunny day. Check out the sick curtain I made out of part of my Hawaiian fabric stash, is it not awesome? I solved a potentially horrendous rod situation by just using a shower curtain rod.
    Tool_shelves

    I pulled everything out that had been piling up since I got this thing, cleaned the shelves and really organized it. I’m working on getting curtain rods and pull backs for the craft room, and those pull backs come in sets of two, so I will have one extra I will use down here for this I think. I’m a little sad at using all this fab fabric that I was going to back a quilt with, but at least I’ll get to look at it everyday, and I can always pull it down and use it over.

    Since I’ve been doing all of this, plus work, plus knitting, I’ve fallen really behind on my emails. So if you’re waiting for a response I’m so sorry, but I’m going to be ultra busy through the weekend and I may not get right back to you.

    9 comments on One Side Down
  • SnowIt’s full on snowing here, and I love it! Until ten this morning not a car had been down my street. Ah to live on a street with such homebodies, it’s great! It’s been so freaking cold, barely getting above freezing for days, with out so much as a flake, so this is much nicer. It’s supposed to warm up a bit, and maybe melt some of it, but then we will freeze over night, so it could be a royal mess tomorrow (you know, the day I have to drive to Portland). I stayed up super late organizing Ribbon Jar, and am going to put some finishing touches on it today then take pictures! Enjoy your weather what ever it may be!

    2 comments on Happy Snowy Morning!
  • When areas of my life seem a bit too out of control for my liking, I feel I must take control some where. Most likely something will be cleaned, organized, or purged. This weekend I did a bit of everything and checked a bunch of things off my list, which made me feel so much better. First off all I cleaned up the living room and got everything to right again after the holidays:
    Living_room_2

    I include this photo because I don’t think I’ve shown you that I finally made up the green curtains and hang proper rods (sale the discontinued doorknob line at Restoration Hardware). I never did get around to painting all the tedious parts of all the windows in the place, and since we’ll probably get new ones soon, I don’t think that will happen. I do need to make some pillows that actually match, and try to work with that pink a bit. That couch and chair set have been in our family for quite a while and I really would like to recover them. I have some more plans for this room that I hope to start working on later this week. Oh ya, so those green curtains up there, I made ones like that only turquoise for the Ribbon Jar. I took all the ones already up down so I could properly finish them off, and to be out of the way for some painting. It was like this:
    Before

    part paint, part primmer, part nothing where I had the waterproofing done, for too long. I now give you:
    Green_1

    Ah it’s like a green paradise. Bj and I moved everything over to one side of the room while I worked on this side. Touching up the ceiling, walls, and scrubbing the floor. No, I  don’t think I’ve waited the required time for the cement to cure, but I just couldn’t hold out any longer. I’m sure I’ll re-paint it every couple years any way. The black strip on the bottom is part of the waterproofing. In case a window broke, or something happened where the walls got wet, the water would go down behind this black stuff and into the drainage system. I’m going to play off the black and white for the stairs and stairwell area. I also made up curtains to hid the tool shelves in the laundry room, lined my bathroom curtain (no more shows for the neighbors), and knitted a bit of lace for the window on the front door.
    I feel so much better getting all of this done. I mean I know owning a house is kind of like a never ending battle, but checking all these things off the list (while Bj read off 1300 songs for the Dj’s list) makes me feel really good. I’ll update more as I hang curtains and finish off this Ribbon Jar area for good!

    7 comments on High Strung

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