New furniture showroom

Hubby and I finally got our new furniture. It is all set up and ready for use. I am giddy with excitement. Let me show you!
Here is the brand spanking new bedroom:

That's actually dark wood - it's not really that dark in person.

The other angle. The light doesn't do it justice.

 

 

 

 

 

And then there is that room I call the arts/crafts/guest room. My husband calls it the "yellow" room. We are such royalty. We now have a couch that pulls out into a bed. Now I can actually have people spending the night over.

The soft, comfy pull-out couch.

My arts/crafts corner.

And yet another view. Please don't mind the mess.

Finally, let's go to our "formal" dining room. This was unused space for a long time. We both have big families, and we wanted to entertain, but never had enough places to sit down and have a meal together. Well, that is no longer a problem.

Yes, that's a bench on one side.

Our dining/living room area and Wally. 

And now I am in dire need for some art work to put up on the walls. I welcome any suggestions (as long as they are affordable.) I am thinking of doing this thing Amanda did and order some paper prints and frame them. Thoughts?

How do you say "finally, the shelves are up" in French?

I got my package from Amazon today after work - it contained my latest big splurge: Rosetta Stone! I am so looking forward to learning French. I plan on visiting France in the spring 2011, so I might as well start with some basics.
Other good news... our house's walls are very, very thick. We've been wanting to put up shelves for two and a half years now, with no luck as the screws would not go into the wall. Well, today my hubby's friend G came, and the two of them were able to drill those holes together.
Here is one side of the room with the shelves. Later the other side was added. I will show you populated book shelves tomorrow (or whenever I get to moving the books from the boxes onto the shelves).
My home will finally look the way I envisioned it. Yay!

1,785,085th reason why I love my mom

My mom crochet this beautiful window curtain for me. I picked the pattern, and together we picked this beautiful bamboo-blend, soft, green thread. It looks so good!
Love it! Love it! Love it! The pretty color, the feel of it, the mod pattern...
THANK YOU, MOM!! You are the best!

Tree decorating 2009

Hubby and I decided to decorate our tree for the season, and then follow it up with a nostalgic Christmas photo shoot. I hope you can detect the parody in these.
We are just way into that tree.
Hubby really likes this one.
If we were to send out Christmas cards, this would probably be it. Puppy was unusually cooperative on this one.
He was willing to pose with me - what a doll!

Home deco inspirations

Those who know me well, know that I always leaned towards a minimalist style in neutral tones when it comes to home decorating. Clean lines, earthy tones, lots of light, and nearly nothing to clutter and distract. One good example of that style is embodied by hotel Vetro in Iowa City where hubby and I stayed on one occasion:
But lately, I've been really into eclectic, colorful styles. Browsing through blogs, I saw this and had to share:
Love the vintage fabric pillows, colorful prints, and even wallpaper.
My current guest room is a disorganized storage facility. I want to turn it into this:
Yes! - books, pillows, window, bed - my idea of cozy. I also like how folksy and nostalgic it looks.

Stylistically, I am still torn between these two extremes. Maybe my rooms can alternate to reflect my complex and contradicting preferences?

Pictures from here.

The loot from the trip

I didn't spend too much money on the shopping trip. But I am excited about the things I did get:
1) Fun, bright pillow covers from Ikea
2) Cheap frames and wall art from Ikea. Now I just got to figure out where to hang them.
3) A super-cute, super-bright compost bin for my kitchen (the trash bag peeking out is biodegradable - made from corn).
4) A recycling bin that has an opening flap. It is replacing my ugly open green bin. 5) Cute, folksy bedding for our bedroom.
6) A $3 scarf from American Eagle (thank you, mom!)7) Presents for my hubby - a fish theme. Swedish fish from Ikea that he likes, and lures from Cabellas. Awesome loot. Arrrrg!

May is one of my favorite months

On Saturday, I decided to spend a good chunk of my time outdoors. So I weeded and tended my little garden...Removed some bushes and little trees growing around the big trees...
Here is a shot of my yard...
And here is our little shed that Jeff's grandfather built... I found lots of flower pots and garden tools in there that needed to be washed and restored.
I love how the afternoon light illuminates our kitchen. There is my hubby, going to put up shelves in the office (that project is still in progress... I will post a before and an after photo once it's done). Also, once I have some money, I will buy pieces of art on Etsy to hang up in the kitchen. The walls are pretty bare right now.
And then I also started to make some cuff bootees for the Neff's upcoming brand new baby.
Overall, a beautiful and productive day.

Presents from my parents

My parents are so sweet! They went to a number of garage sales last Friday and got some goodies for me. So thoughtful!

One of the things they found was this compartmentalized cubby for my knitting and crocheting paraphernalia. Before this, all of the content you see here was in a plastic bag, which made it so difficult for me to find things. This cubby is so practical and will make my hobby less frustrating.
My dad also saw some knitting needles and thought of me! These are some of the larger sized ones that I was actually missing in my collection.
Oh, and my dad knows how much I love to drink loose leaf tea, so he had to get this for me. It's so pretty and totally me. And now I actually have four matching cups to use for when I have company for tea.
But by far the most eccentric find is this cutting board from the 1950s.
What made it really special is the origin of the manufactured product:Thank you mom and dad! Your gifts are very much appreciated and cherished!

Me colorful cucina

When I went clothes shopping with B this past week, she pointed out that the drab, neutral colors I gravitate towards feed my need to blend in. This, however, is not the case when it comes to my kitchen - the most colorful space in my house.That loudly screaming bag was gifted to me by one of my younger sisters. It is from her trip to France last spring. It has an inscription that says something loosely translated to "I am shopping with my Jaguar". It's perfect for the farmer's market.

And check out that bamboo thing-a-ma-jingie holder I purchased last week. It replaced a boring, plastic cup.
I also got this cute octopus pot scrubber that dispenses soap at Target. And I love that soap in "Kitchen Lemon" from Bath and Body Works. It foams up so nicely and it's anti-bacterial (bring it on, swine flu - or rather, don't).And the brightest thing of all is my kilim rug - it was made for me as an heirloom and a wedding gift. It's colorful, beautiful, and a pain to keep clean. (I've spent many moons brushing the dog hair out of it.)
There is a corner of the rug and the main mess culprit. See - I am colorful. Who's drab?

I wish I had Carla Bruni's milk-honey-butter voice

Last Sunday I opened our hallway storage closet and decided I would no longer tolerate the pile of shoes on the floor. It resembled a landfill. I could never find a matching pair. So being a perfectionist on either extreme (either perfectly messy, or perfectly organized), I decided to do a 180 and give each shoe its own "bed". I found a great shoe storage unit at Target on sale. Here is the After photo:

This required that I donate some of the shoes I don't plan to wear (ever). I also put the flip-flops and other flimsy shoes undeserving of their own rightful place on the shelf into a plastic bin on the top. My vacuum cleaners and mops fit in the corners, as well. Sweet. I kept opening the closet doors and admiring the view.

I also replaced an old, decapitating set of blinds from my kitchen window with a fresh, clean version. And I got some cute place mats by Orla Kiely (from this collection) and chair cushions for my dining room table. Then I made a dinner consisting of fruits and veggies I had on hand and my favorite wine ever, Caba Moch by our own Summerset winery.

There is my dinner, and there are them place mats. And here is my puppy, dressed for the occasion.