Thursday, October 11, 2012
Working Hard
Remember that I mentioned a few times (beginning like a year ago or something) that I've been working on redoing the look of this blog. Well I have been. Kinda. Off and on. I have no clue what I'm doing so it's taken forever, but I'm really, truly, incredibly close to done. The plan is to spend the rest of this week and whatever time I can squeeze from the weekend, wrapping it all up. Hopefully you'll see me back on Monday with a whole new look!
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Kitchen Dreams
I don't know if you remember from the MLS photo tour that I shared when we first moved into our place, but our kitchen leaves a little something to be desired. See what I mean:
We made some cosmetic changes the moment we moved in - removing the crazy amber sconces over the sink, some of the wallpaper (we stalled above the cabinets) and most of the galley rail on the upper cabinets (also stalled). We got a new stove and freshened up the walls with paint. And it goes without saying that the old owner's furniture is gone. I had high hopes when we bought the house that we'd be able to live with the kitchen long-term. The cabinets weren't in bad shape and while they are cream (not white, which is my preference), that could be easily remedied.
But the reality is that the kitchen just doesn't function well for us. We have dry food crammed in the peninsula (which, mind you, is only 12 inches deep) and in the upper cabinet to the left of the stove. That doesn't include cereal, which is too big to fit in either of those spaces and lives in the dining room instead. And our pots and pans are crammed into the lazy susan in the corner to the right of the range. It looks spacious, but looks can be deceiving as there's actually a lot of dead space behind that cabinet. And to boot, our dishwasher just recently died. Whomp, whomp, whomp...
So I was really excited when I heard that Ikea is currently doing a kitchen sale. My dad is a little skeptical about Ikea cabinets, but everything I've read says their boxes are better than competitors', as is their drawer hardware. And their frameless construction means you get more space than you would from a framed cabinet with the same dimensions. Not to mention that even though you have to put them together yourself, they're something that I might be able to install myself (well, with the help of Mark and my dad). So I've been using their planner to come up with a possible floorplan. Here's the current frontrunner:
Check out that U-shaped wonderfulness! This plan has us relocating all the appliances either a little bit in the case of the range and dishwasher (it's hidden by the cabinet door just to the right of the sink) or a lot in the case of the fridge. And we gain four (yes 4!!!) cabinets, including a tall pullout pantry to the right of the fridge, an appliance garage in the far right corner and a trash pullout to the left of the range. All while still leaving some breathing room around the window for fun curtains or artwork. In addition, I've mapped out what items will go in which cabinets and we have an entire cabinet empty right now. Yay for room to grow!
I priced out my first floorplan in an Ikea store. This one's been modified a bit since that 2+ hour pricing session, but not enough to make a huge difference in cost. The cabinets and appliances are within the budget. Now I just need to find a contractor and price out the electrical, plumbing and drywall work that we'll need done. And see if they can build a custom baking sheet cabinet to go in that grey filler space to the left of the sink. Speaking of the sink, I realize it's not centered on the window. This would normally bother my supremely anal-retentive self, but what you can't see is the vertical piece that runs down the center of the window (look back at the MLS photo), which makes it so that the sink is centered on the left pane. Love that this move allows for a nice long expanse of countertop to the right of it!
I'm beyond excited, in case you can't tell!! And thinking that I missed my calling. I'm so addicted to this kitchen planner that I think I should change careers to kitchen design. ;)
We made some cosmetic changes the moment we moved in - removing the crazy amber sconces over the sink, some of the wallpaper (we stalled above the cabinets) and most of the galley rail on the upper cabinets (also stalled). We got a new stove and freshened up the walls with paint. And it goes without saying that the old owner's furniture is gone. I had high hopes when we bought the house that we'd be able to live with the kitchen long-term. The cabinets weren't in bad shape and while they are cream (not white, which is my preference), that could be easily remedied.
But the reality is that the kitchen just doesn't function well for us. We have dry food crammed in the peninsula (which, mind you, is only 12 inches deep) and in the upper cabinet to the left of the stove. That doesn't include cereal, which is too big to fit in either of those spaces and lives in the dining room instead. And our pots and pans are crammed into the lazy susan in the corner to the right of the range. It looks spacious, but looks can be deceiving as there's actually a lot of dead space behind that cabinet. And to boot, our dishwasher just recently died. Whomp, whomp, whomp...
So I was really excited when I heard that Ikea is currently doing a kitchen sale. My dad is a little skeptical about Ikea cabinets, but everything I've read says their boxes are better than competitors', as is their drawer hardware. And their frameless construction means you get more space than you would from a framed cabinet with the same dimensions. Not to mention that even though you have to put them together yourself, they're something that I might be able to install myself (well, with the help of Mark and my dad). So I've been using their planner to come up with a possible floorplan. Here's the current frontrunner:
Check out that U-shaped wonderfulness! This plan has us relocating all the appliances either a little bit in the case of the range and dishwasher (it's hidden by the cabinet door just to the right of the sink) or a lot in the case of the fridge. And we gain four (yes 4!!!) cabinets, including a tall pullout pantry to the right of the fridge, an appliance garage in the far right corner and a trash pullout to the left of the range. All while still leaving some breathing room around the window for fun curtains or artwork. In addition, I've mapped out what items will go in which cabinets and we have an entire cabinet empty right now. Yay for room to grow!
I priced out my first floorplan in an Ikea store. This one's been modified a bit since that 2+ hour pricing session, but not enough to make a huge difference in cost. The cabinets and appliances are within the budget. Now I just need to find a contractor and price out the electrical, plumbing and drywall work that we'll need done. And see if they can build a custom baking sheet cabinet to go in that grey filler space to the left of the sink. Speaking of the sink, I realize it's not centered on the window. This would normally bother my supremely anal-retentive self, but what you can't see is the vertical piece that runs down the center of the window (look back at the MLS photo), which makes it so that the sink is centered on the left pane. Love that this move allows for a nice long expanse of countertop to the right of it!
I'm beyond excited, in case you can't tell!! And thinking that I missed my calling. I'm so addicted to this kitchen planner that I think I should change careers to kitchen design. ;)
Monday, October 8, 2012
A Week of Instagram {Oct 8}
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fun ride // dinosaurs attack // kitchen planning
Follow me on Instagram. I'm @explanationrequired. Or click here to keep up to date via the web.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Quote to Remember #99
"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life." - Albert Camus
Photo Credit: CarolynsHope's flickr
Thursday, October 4, 2012
October Goals
I made some goals at the start of last month and, shockingly enough, actually accomplished everything on my list. The focus of the month was Charlotte's room and I reached all my goals of moving the dollhouse to her room, hanging artwork up, making and hanging curtains (that still need to be hemmed) and creating a photo/art display piece. This month the focus is on our only full bathroom. Here's the plan:
* De-beige the space. Our bathroom gets a lot of light, which is lost on the cream tiles, cream floor, cream/tan walls and wood tone vanity. It's boring with a capital B. So we're going to paint the top half of the space grey, hoping that it'll perk up the beige tiles below.
* Add some vintage fun. A month or two ago, on our Goodwill Tour, I picked up a bedcover in a fun floral fabric, with fringed trim. I loved it, but had no clue what to do with it. Then inspiration struck - a shower curtain! So I'll be adding some button holes (once I figure out how to do that) and hanging it up.
* Hang some kitschy art. I already shared the great old posters I found, but haven't come up with a solution for how to hang them just yet. I'd originally planned to laminate them and use clipboards on to hang them, but now I wonder how well the clipboards will fare in the steamy bathroom. Up they'll go, just not sure how yet.
* Pretty up the fixed pieces. The vanity and mirror must stay as there's no way to swap them out easily. So they'll be painted a deeper grey to try to camouflage their beat up wood finish. It wouldn't be what I'd pick were I designing a brand new bath, but you gotta work with what you've got.
We'll see how well this month goes, because it's bound to be a busy one in other ways. There's Halloween and its related parties, a road trip weekend and another 5k race in the works. I've got my work cut out for me, that's for sure!
* De-beige the space. Our bathroom gets a lot of light, which is lost on the cream tiles, cream floor, cream/tan walls and wood tone vanity. It's boring with a capital B. So we're going to paint the top half of the space grey, hoping that it'll perk up the beige tiles below.
* Add some vintage fun. A month or two ago, on our Goodwill Tour, I picked up a bedcover in a fun floral fabric, with fringed trim. I loved it, but had no clue what to do with it. Then inspiration struck - a shower curtain! So I'll be adding some button holes (once I figure out how to do that) and hanging it up.
* Hang some kitschy art. I already shared the great old posters I found, but haven't come up with a solution for how to hang them just yet. I'd originally planned to laminate them and use clipboards on to hang them, but now I wonder how well the clipboards will fare in the steamy bathroom. Up they'll go, just not sure how yet.
* Pretty up the fixed pieces. The vanity and mirror must stay as there's no way to swap them out easily. So they'll be painted a deeper grey to try to camouflage their beat up wood finish. It wouldn't be what I'd pick were I designing a brand new bath, but you gotta work with what you've got.
We'll see how well this month goes, because it's bound to be a busy one in other ways. There's Halloween and its related parties, a road trip weekend and another 5k race in the works. I've got my work cut out for me, that's for sure!
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
September PhotoADay Recap
Eeesh, last month was awful for me in terms of completing Fat Mum Slim's PhotoADay Challenge. I'm not sure what my deal was, but I couldn't remember to get photos for 10 of the days. Nevertheless, here are my photos from September:
father // bright // every day // at night // most weekends
black & white // hero // together // table // favorite
price // underneath // man-made // up // before bedtime
3 things // near // love/hate // a good thing // errand
In spite of my not being able to get my act together, you should consider joining in on the challenge! Whether you share them through Instagram, Facebook, a blog or just keep them to yourself, it's a fun way to capture your days. Here's a link to the October challenge.
black & white // hero // together // table // favorite
price // underneath // man-made // up // before bedtime
3 things // near // love/hate // a good thing // errand
In spite of my not being able to get my act together, you should consider joining in on the challenge! Whether you share them through Instagram, Facebook, a blog or just keep them to yourself, it's a fun way to capture your days. Here's a link to the October challenge.
Monday, October 1, 2012
A Week of Instagram {Oct 1}
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breakfast pit stop // pretending // balancing
Follow me on Instagram. I'm @explanationrequired. Or click here to keep up to date via the web.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Quote to Remember #98
"Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere." - Albert Einstein
Photo Credit: ashleypyeatt's flickr
Photo Credit: ashleypyeatt's flickr
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Philosophy and Photography
Another month is nearly gone, so as usual I'm back with some funny bits I want to remember about my Chuckles:
* I was buckling Charlotte into her carseat when she looked at me and said, "Is this real?" I asked "is what real," to which she responded, "all this," motioning around her. Through our conversation I learned that she wants to make sure our planet is real and her idea of how to do that is to go into outer space to see it. She says she'll go to school to become an astronaut first and then she'll come back and be a firefighter. Okaaaay...
* Charlotte loves Hearty. Like really loves her. She dresses her just so for every occasion and gives her lots of hugs and love. And she always knows where she is. Except for one morning when she was left on my bed. Charlotte was searching for her and finally spied her from her position at the foot of the bed. So, because I'm sure this makes sense to a 4 year old, she climbed on the bed and leapt from the foot of it up to the head of it to grab Hearty. I was still in bed at the time. And nearly had a heart attack.
* As much as Charlotte loves Hearty, I love So You Think You Can Dance. It's easily my favorite show. We were watching the finale the other day (yay Eliana!!) and listening to the judges critique Chehon's performance. Charlotte looked over at me and said, "I like the Eliana. You know Eliana and Cyrus, when he was a robot and she was a ballerina." I was floored that she got their names right and remembered the details of a routine that aired weeks earlier. Like a sponge. (Check out the routine here if you haven't seen it before.)
* Charlotte's been potty-trained for a long time now, but we still struggle with hand washing. She knows she needs to clean up after and will remind you to as well if you don't head to the sink immediately. That said, she tries to get out of "needing" her hands cleaned all the time. She thinks if she doesn't touch the potty or wipe (ie. gets Mark or I to do those things), she can get out of handwashing. Not gonna fly baby.
* I mentioned in my post about The Color Run that we bought Charlotte a waterproof camera a while back. We haven't put the waterproof feature to the test yet, but that thing has lived up to it's shockproof claim. It's been dropped from several feet high a million times over with no damage to it and no change to the quality of the photos. It's not the most fantastic camera out there, but Charlotte loves having a camera of her own to use. Here are some of her captures:
* I was buckling Charlotte into her carseat when she looked at me and said, "Is this real?" I asked "is what real," to which she responded, "all this," motioning around her. Through our conversation I learned that she wants to make sure our planet is real and her idea of how to do that is to go into outer space to see it. She says she'll go to school to become an astronaut first and then she'll come back and be a firefighter. Okaaaay...
* Charlotte loves Hearty. Like really loves her. She dresses her just so for every occasion and gives her lots of hugs and love. And she always knows where she is. Except for one morning when she was left on my bed. Charlotte was searching for her and finally spied her from her position at the foot of the bed. So, because I'm sure this makes sense to a 4 year old, she climbed on the bed and leapt from the foot of it up to the head of it to grab Hearty. I was still in bed at the time. And nearly had a heart attack.
* As much as Charlotte loves Hearty, I love So You Think You Can Dance. It's easily my favorite show. We were watching the finale the other day (yay Eliana!!) and listening to the judges critique Chehon's performance. Charlotte looked over at me and said, "I like the Eliana. You know Eliana and Cyrus, when he was a robot and she was a ballerina." I was floored that she got their names right and remembered the details of a routine that aired weeks earlier. Like a sponge. (Check out the routine here if you haven't seen it before.)
* Charlotte's been potty-trained for a long time now, but we still struggle with hand washing. She knows she needs to clean up after and will remind you to as well if you don't head to the sink immediately. That said, she tries to get out of "needing" her hands cleaned all the time. She thinks if she doesn't touch the potty or wipe (ie. gets Mark or I to do those things), she can get out of handwashing. Not gonna fly baby.
* I mentioned in my post about The Color Run that we bought Charlotte a waterproof camera a while back. We haven't put the waterproof feature to the test yet, but that thing has lived up to it's shockproof claim. It's been dropped from several feet high a million times over with no damage to it and no change to the quality of the photos. It's not the most fantastic camera out there, but Charlotte loves having a camera of her own to use. Here are some of her captures:
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Thirty-One
Do you know what today is? September 26th. Right. And do you know what is one month from today? October 26th. My birthday. I'll be turning 31 (eesh, when did that happen?!?!) and so decided to put together a list of 31 things I love, just in case someone (ahemhusbandthatwouldbeyou) needs some ideas.
1. Traveling in the US. This book seems to have some great ideas for that.
2. Europe would be good too.
3. Charlotte's artwork. Perhaps made into magnets.
4. Chalkboards.
5. Silly home decor items.
6. Taking pictures. How about a new camera or lens?
7. Yeah, the camera and lens are pricey. Maybe a new camera bag instead.
8. A good steak.
9. Walt Disney World. Good thing I have two trips planned for next year!
10. Old quilts.
11. Sleep. ;)
12. No really. Sleep.
13. Jason's Deli.
14. Art with words. The Wheatfield and Pen & Paint have some really great pieces.
15. Thrifting with my mom and sister.
16. Dinnertime with my family. Conversation starters would be fun.
17. Tried and true family recipes like chicken soup and pork spaghetti. Them made into custom art would be awesome.
18. Tea towels.
19. Old books.
20. Starbucks iced green tea.
21. New, pretty kitchens. ;)
22. Lime margaritas.
23. Singing in the shower. This radio would help drown out my pitchiness.
24. Pedicures.
25. Vintage sheets. I'm especially on the lookout for plaids and stripes.
26. Movie nights.
27. Groovy needlepoint.
28. More groovy needlepoint.
29. Even more groovy needlepoint.
30. Vintage paint by numbers.
31. World peace. ;)
1. Traveling in the US. This book seems to have some great ideas for that.
2. Europe would be good too.
3. Charlotte's artwork. Perhaps made into magnets.
4. Chalkboards.
5. Silly home decor items.
6. Taking pictures. How about a new camera or lens?
7. Yeah, the camera and lens are pricey. Maybe a new camera bag instead.
8. A good steak.
9. Walt Disney World. Good thing I have two trips planned for next year!
10. Old quilts.
11. Sleep. ;)
12. No really. Sleep.
13. Jason's Deli.
14. Art with words. The Wheatfield and Pen & Paint have some really great pieces.
15. Thrifting with my mom and sister.
16. Dinnertime with my family. Conversation starters would be fun.
17. Tried and true family recipes like chicken soup and pork spaghetti. Them made into custom art would be awesome.
18. Tea towels.
19. Old books.
20. Starbucks iced green tea.
21. New, pretty kitchens. ;)
22. Lime margaritas.
23. Singing in the shower. This radio would help drown out my pitchiness.
24. Pedicures.
25. Vintage sheets. I'm especially on the lookout for plaids and stripes.
26. Movie nights.
27. Groovy needlepoint.
28. More groovy needlepoint.
29. Even more groovy needlepoint.
30. Vintage paint by numbers.
31. World peace. ;)
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Crib Spring Photo Solution
When I made my to do list back at the beginning of the month, one of the items included was to work on a way to showcase some of Charlotte's artwork and family photos. Whatever I decided to do needed to meet a few requirements. It needed to be made in such a way that it'd be easy to swap out one item for the other whenever I saw fit. I know myself. And I know that if it requires taking down a frame to swap out a photo I'll have the same photos up years from now. I also knew that it needed to be cheap. I am a tightwad, after all. Here's what I came up with:
Sources: La La Love You print - Sparkle Power, Let the Sun Shine In print - Slide Sideways, pants hanger - Ikea, paintings - courtesy of Charlotte, super cute girl in the photos - courtesy of me :)
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Sources: La La Love You print - Sparkle Power, Let the Sun Shine In print - Slide Sideways, pants hanger - Ikea, paintings - courtesy of Charlotte, super cute girl in the photos - courtesy of me :)
Monday, September 24, 2012
A Week of Instagram {Sep 23}
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goofy girl // making curtains // timeout pout
Follow me on Instagram. I'm @explanationrequired. Or click here to keep up to date via the web.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Quote to Remember #97
"The things you take for granted someone else is praying for." - Unknown
Photo Credit: nimble photography's flickr
Photo Credit: nimble photography's flickr
Thursday, September 20, 2012
The Birth of Hearty
I told you yesterday about our colorful run through Richmond. I didn't mention what went on for the rest of the trip - a lot of driving, a lot of shopping and a lot of eating. Basically, the most boring trip imaginable for Charlotte. So when we happened upon a Build-A-Bear Workshop during one shopping outing, I know we had to stop in. She has a reindeer from there, but it doesn't fit into most of the clothes, so we've never spent much time in the store. Until this weekend. I think we were in there for about an hour. Eeek!
Our bear-building started with her picking a pale pink bear and helping Allison (the worker at the store) get her stuffed and fluffed. Charlotte decided to name her bear Hearty, after the heart patterned fabric on the bear's paws. We all got a good laugh at the super obvious name, but Charlotte stuck with it. Here she is, captured by the same junky waterproof camera that I used on the race:
Our bear-building started with her picking a pale pink bear and helping Allison (the worker at the store) get her stuffed and fluffed. Charlotte decided to name her bear Hearty, after the heart patterned fabric on the bear's paws. We all got a good laugh at the super obvious name, but Charlotte stuck with it. Here she is, captured by the same junky waterproof camera that I used on the race:
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Wednesday, September 19, 2012
The Color Run
Have you heard of The Color Run before? I hadn't until this year. Once my friends and I learned about it we scurried over to their website to sign up for the DC run, just to find it was sold out. Whomp, whomp, whomp. So we did the next best thing and road-tripped to Richmond to take part. It was so much fun!! I mean, you run (or in my case walk, due to some medical stuff I've got going on right now), get colored corn starch thrown at you, and act like a crazy fool. What's not to love?!
Luckily, I'd bought Charlotte a waterproof digital camera a while back. I figured if it can survive 14 feet underwater it can survive a Color Run. I was right. So here are some (unedited) shots during the action:
Now the run itself is fun, but as you can see, our shirts ended up being just a slightly more pastel version of their formerly white selves. Boring! So into the after party we went, where participants get to throw packets of color in the air. Or in each other's faces. Your choice. :)
We stayed in this hue-filled mosh pit for about half an hour before we headed to our cars, dusted ourselves off and went back to the hotel. We met Charlotte and my mom there (thanks Mom for watching her!) and Charlotte didn't even recognize me. Not that I can blame her, given that my face was completely purple.
I'm psyched at the thought of signing up for this again when it comes back to town next year!
Luckily, I'd bought Charlotte a waterproof digital camera a while back. I figured if it can survive 14 feet underwater it can survive a Color Run. I was right. So here are some (unedited) shots during the action:
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