Inside and Out

Yesterday was a good day of experimentation. I have been feeling the Gloom descending upon me for the last couple weeks, and was really determined to stave it off: This is no time for wallowing in self-pity, this is time for positive action! So, I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and got outside. I rode my beautiful new/old bicycle, Miss Patty, to the library and back. While at the library, I got some dvds on travel and finances, plus a yoga video. I thought these might be a good way to stimulate my creativity in a practical way and learn something while doing so. I took the scenic route on Miss Patty. It was wonderful, though, admittedly, a little challenging since I haven't ridden a bike in ages. When I got home, I had a little snack before heading out to Duke Forest for some solitary hiking. (Actually, I invited a friend, but it being a last minute invite, she wasn't available.) Being in the woods is always therapeutic for me. I hiked for over half an hour, and would have stayed longer, but the darkening gray skies were threatening rain, and I didn't fancy getting my car all soggy on the ride home.
These excursions cleared my vision a little, so that I was able to make a few more decisions about the house decorating project. I removed the blue lace 'shades' from the living room windows. Despite loving them in the room, they were casting a greenish tint against the ivory drapes hanging over them. I just couldn't jam on the murky effect that was having, so they had to go. Instead, I realized they could work as the curtains on the kitchen annex window. This room is just off the living room, so they'd help to tie the colors of the two rooms together. Then I hung the pictures I framed on Monday and Tuesday above the sofa, so that the walls wouldn't look so sad and bare. The room will still have a way to go before being finished, but I think it's definitely starting to come together into a cohesive design. Since I'm working on a limited budget and trying to focus on re-purposing items I already have rather than bowing shamelessly to the gods of consumerism, I rifled through old magazine cutouts and saved calendars to find pictures to frame, and used mostly old frames I had stored in my attic. I tried to keep the color palette a reflection of the colors in my sofa to connect all the disparate subjects in the pictures. I chose the high school graduation photo of my mother as the center anchor of the arrangement. She's so beautiful, don't you think? I'm going to have to start earnestly planning for the painting of the walls very soon. (I hate painting, so this is going to take some discipline!) I'm still unsure of the best color for the walls in the living room. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

Weekly Roundup

Well, this week has been an interesting one. I've been having a lot of inspiration about projects I want to complete at the house, and have been trying to get them all organized so that I might actually be able to get them done at some point. The big catch is that I am suddenly facing a pretty sizable decrease in income. So, on top of all the project planning, I'm also having to ramp up my creativity on how I might find less expensive ways to do the things I've planned and everyday ways to save money during the course of my mundane activities. I'm forcing myself to look at this new predicament as an adventure in creativity and thrift rather than a roadblock.
So, before all of this had taken effect, I had managed to purchase some fabric for window treatments and a new duvet cover for my bed. I also got a down blanket to fill the duvet cover. I got a new trash can - finally - since I'd been using an old galvanized outdoor can that took up way too much space and, thus, looked a little dumpy. (Pun intended.)
I've been having trouble finding fabrics for my bedroom that really make me happy. I've made several purchases of fabric that I thought might work, but then ended up schlepping them back to the store when they just didn't work like I wanted them to in the space. I'm still waiting to find the right fabric, but my fabric shop choices are limited around here. I've checked online, but still haven't managed to find anything that really compares to what I'm envisioning in my head. I'm envisioning a sort of 1970's-esque palm beach fabric with pinks, reds and oranges on a white background ... sort of reminiscent of a Diane von Furstenberg dress. If anyone has any suggestions on where to look for a fabric like this, please do share! Maybe later - once I've gotten all my project ideas organized and written down - I'll post my plans on here. I'll also post some photos of the finished windows in a day or two. Until then ... happy experiementing!

Monday, Monday ...

Usually I have no beef with Mondays. They've generally treated me pretty well. We've gotten along okay. Today, however, Monday was a wee bit bitchy with me. Nothing extremely earth-shatteringly terrible happened. There was just a series of tiny little crummy instances that left me feeling a little undone. Now, normally, when I'm in a funk, I'll console myself by hopping into my pajamas, grabbing a glass of something numbing and resorting to watching something from my dvd collection for the millionth time. Today, I came home, feeling a little weepy, and put on my pajamas. I heated up a calzone, and finished the fourth Harry Potter book. Somehow, this was enough to put me back to rights. After that I did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen (yes, my kitchen is pretty much always in need of a clean), then cleaned an old tiny shelf that had been on my porch. I painted said shelf. I put said shelf in my bathroom and redecorated half the room. I also began a loaf of [gluten free] no-knead bread so that I can have the loaf ready by tomorrow afternoon when I will no doubt be hungry for a brie and chutney sandwich. With all that behind me, I'm feeling much less mopey. In fact, I'm feeling pretty darn good. Now, I'm going to grab that glass of wine and start on book five. Happy Monday!