Tag Archives: decorating

Nov 30 2012
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home is a 1970s apartment

Construction rolls on slowly…

The bathroom renovations seem to be coming along slowly because of the holiday, but things are happening…behind the walls. Last week the plumbers installed the shower base and this week they replaced and relocated our pipes. In our building–because it is filled with a bunch of retired people who are around all day, who never remodel their tired apartments and who like to find things to complain about–you become really popular when you have work done. (And by popular, I mean hated.) So I wasn’t surprised at all when the guy across the hall knocked on the door to tell me how I had basically ruined his day with my construction work…

Wednesday the electrician came to work on the wiring and yesterday we passed our inspections of the electric and plumbing work. Today, the drywalling begins…

I really need to pick a paint color…pronto.

Do you know how hard it is to choose a winning grey?

(The picture above shows our shiny new pipes and our nifty new pocket door frame.)

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Nov 23 2012
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celebrations, holidays, Thanksgiving, Trader Joe's, what's for dinner

This was my Thanksgiving…

Another Thanksgiving is behind us…it’s all a little sad for both Naoto and me–we love hosting a party, even a small one of my parents and our friend, Santron. Even though the guest list was small, the food was plentiful! We had all of the classics: the turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing (we make this one every year–it’s Naoto’s signature dish!), green bean casserole (I caved for the classic, although we used the Trader Joe’s stuff and it was much lighter than the Campbells version!), fresh veggies (courtesy of Santron), Hawaiian rolls (courtesy of my mom) and Kathy’s grandma’s cranberry sauce…I made it on Wednesday and I am a cranberry sauce convert…the cognac makes it delectable!

For dessert, my mom made a Twinkie cake, in honor of the “late, great” snack.

The table was half planned, and half happy accident. On Wednesday night I cut a long sheet of kraft paper and made a table runner. I used my fancy gold paint to draw feathers and polka dots. My mom brought up some pheasant feathers (from my dad’s “feather collection”) that I used with my glittery votives to fill out the center of the table. I forgot to buy flowers so my mom mentioned my jade plant (purchased this summer at Trader Joes) as an option. It’s in a copper pot, so it was kind of perfect. (Well, probably not perfect for Sandra Lee, Queen of the Tablescape, but perfect for us.) I finished off the table with a tiny turkey, a gift from my parents earlier this fall.

For the place cards, I used acorns from this Paper Source garland kit (not available again until next fall). I was in a neutral & metallic mood apparently…

 

The meal ended with a table viewing of Psy and MC Hammer singing at this year’s American Music Awards…clearly it will be a meal I never forget.

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Nov 15 2012
2 Comments
home is a 1970s apartment

Home is a 1970s Apartment | the Master Bath

So this is the master bath in all of its 1970s glory. I’ll let you bask in some pictures. Take a deep breath…there’s a lot of shine!

That is basically the view from the door. LOTS of silver wallpaper with big blue and turquoise flowers, LOTS of gold accent, LOTS of mirror. And yes, that is a safety bar in the bath/shower. Just in case. (I have to admit that I used it once when I slipped in the tub…quite the lifesaver. But I also whacked my head on it when I was shaving one day…)

Some details:

The medicine cabinet has a slot for used razor blades. You just drop them in and the blade falls behind the wall. I want to be home when Shawn (our contractor) takes out that wall, just so I can see how many blades are back there!

The bathtub is a pale, pale shade of blue. (It’s also super grimy after forty years of showers.)

Like the kitchen, the bathroom ceiling is wallpapered. Unlike the kitchen, the bathroom ceiling wallpaper is a complementary choice–solid silver.

The side of the wooden vanity is rotting.

I kind of love the floor.

And, the original wallpapering job was so impeccable, the seams are hard to find, and even the outlet cover is decorated!

I have to admit, I’m a little sad to see this 70s goodness go…it’s so disco-fun! But of course I am ready to have a working shower and a non-rotting vanity…and the fresh start new construction brings. Unfortunately, new construction also means sharing a bathroom again and having someone invading our space every weekday for the next month…ugh. I’ll be keeping my eyes on the prize (a modern shower and a squeaky clean new toilet!) while I wait for the project to be done.

P.S. This was my 100th post! Yikes!

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Nov 14 2012
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home is a 1970s apartment

master bath ideas

Naoto & I spent yesterday choosing tiles and a toilet for our soon-to-be-remodeled master bath. Before I show you the “befores” (which, depending on your age, will make you laugh, cry or wonder why we are even remodeling) I’m going to show you our ideas and choices so far. That’s Naoto above posing with his dream Japanese-style washlet toilet. Sadly, condo regulations in our city make it financially impossible to add one in our bathroom. (It would add several thousand dollars to our remodeling project and involve an annual inspection. So sad.) But we picked out a really nice toilet…just not a fancy washing one…

There was a dog napping in the plumbing store. (See him on the bottom shelf in the middle.) I really wanted him to get up and greet us, but he seemed too drowsy.

Our contractor recommended a “mom & pop” store for our tiling needs. I was a hesitant at first because I thought the prices would be higher than the big hardware stores’ prices. I was pleasantly surprised that almost everything in the store was reasonable and wonderful! And, the tiles I fell in love with were both within the budget! I’ve had my mind made up from the beginning about the wall tile in our shower–white subway tile. It was a simple decision and an inexpensive one. I was afraid of the floor tiles though. I had no idea what I really wanted, or what would look good. With a little bit of searching, I found something that will hopefully be a wonderful balance with the rest of the choices. My pick is the fourth from the right, the dark greyish black one with the “texture”. Our walls are going to be some sort of light grey (like the rest of our home), so hopefully it will all tie together? (One never knows until it’s all said and done and too late, right?)

The only other thing we have chosen is our vanity and cabinet. I am a big fan of drawers (as opposed to cabinets with doors and shelves) and Ikea was the only place that had what I really liked.

Those are two big drawers and the sink is large and shallow (perfect for washing my messy mineral make-up down the drain). We are considering the tall cabinet as well, but we haven’t decided for sure. (I know…time is ticking…)

What we really don’t know about yet is lighting and a mirror (or medicine cabinet). I’ve been trolling lighting sites and looking in other people’s bathrooms (but not in their medicine cabinets!) for months now and I just haven’t seen anything I love. If you have any ideas, please share in the comments! Thanks!

I will be back later this week with “before” shots.

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Nov 04 2012
9 Comments
celebrations, crafty adventures, Election Party, little red toolbox

My Little Red Toolbox | Sakura Quickie Glue Pen

The Little Red Toolbox is back! And, with another pen (not on purpose)! But this one is not full of ink, it’s full of glue. Glue that streams out in a nice fine line. Glue that can be covered in glitter to add little more *sparkle* to your projects. Glue that can be used to stick the teeeeniest bits of paper to other bits of paper.

Sakura’s Quickie Glue Pen writes like a smooth ballpoint pen making it easy to add small glittery details to paper projects. I used it to add some subtle sparkle to some decorations (the Stars & Stripes Garland from Paper Source) for the Election Party. The Quickie Glue Pen writes with a 0.7mm point and is really easy to control. I traced the outline of the stars inside the circles and I had no problem staying along the edge, even though I am often careless, impatient and messy when I craft. When I first started, I traced small sections of the stars and added glitter to each section before “writing” more glue.

By the time I was on the last color, I was tracing the entire star and glittering all at once. (For the record, I only glittered six of these…see what I mean about being impatient?) The good news is, the glue stays tacky long enough to hold the glitter well.

I strung them up (with the included tiny clothespins and twine) and stuck them on the TV stand. I still have eight more circles and eight more stars that I can play with someplace else, if I don’t run out of time (or interest).

It’s hard to see the glitter in the picture, but it adds just enough sparkle to make things festive around here. As soon as the donkey and the elephant are glittered, they will join the garland near the TV for a little sparkle party.

But back to the glue pen. When the glue is still blue, it is a permanent adhesive. While I wouldn’t use a thin glue pen to glue large areas or heavy papers together, I do use it to adhere tiny bits of paper to other paper or to stick down that pesky corner that the glue stick always seems to miss. But for the most part, I use the glue pen just as I used it today–to add some glitter to decorations or cards. Because a little sparkle goes a long way around here. (And even a little sparkle creates a glittery mess that lasts for weeks…but it’s worth it!)

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Nov 02 2012
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celebrations, crafty adventures, Election Party, thoughts

These Guys Won’t Even Know What Hit ‘Em

Election Party prep is in full swing around here. On Thursday I packed up all of the Halloween stuff and the weekend ahead promises to be full of cleaning and craft projects of the red, white and blue persuasion. Those guys up above (a plastic elephant and donkey from the toy animal bins at Michaels) are going to get a glitter treatment. We are still deciding on food and I’m trying to motivate myself to get the cleaning and decorating and shopping out of the way so I’m not rushing around on Tuesday while I’m trying to vote and obsessively watch the election coverage on television.

And, while everyday life goes on here, everyday life has virtually stopped out East. My heart is breaking over the devastation there. Cecelia, my longest-running pen pal lives in Manhattan and I am anxiously awaiting a letter from her so I can hear how she fared in the storm. Of course, I understand that it might take awhile as she focuses on adjusting to the new normal there, but in this age of instant communication, it’s weird for impatient me to have to wait for news in the mail…like we’ve turned back the clock 100 years. Cecelia and I have never exchanged email addresses or phone numbers, so I’m relying on John-the-Mailman to bring me news.

In the meantime, I will be hoping for the best for Cecelia and everyone who is affected…

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Oct 24 2012
6 Comments
home is a 1970s apartment, homemaking

Our Hardware Cabinet Finds Its Home

 

Last week we finally bought our first grown-up TV. Actually this is the first television purchase for either one of us–both Naoto & I have lived on TV hand-me-downs (and my gifted college TV from this post) our whole lives. When I met Naoto, his TV was so old, it didn’t even have a remote control and mine was my parent’s old set that worked perfectly, except it occasionally made this sizzling noise. It was slightly alarming, but harmless, until one day, it sizzled out in the middle of a thrilling Law & Order episode. Sad. (Confession: We hopped in my car and sped over to Naoto’s apartment to finish the episode.)

We finally got everything set up with HD and all that fancy stuff (clearly, I have no idea what I’m talking about here) and here it is! And we are so excited that it fit on our vintage hardware cabinet from Yearbook. Even the HD cable box tucks nicely to the side! (Sidenote: Do you remember this Friends episode where Rachel randomly wears her old cheerleader uniform to woo Joshua?)

I love our little hardware drawers. Most of them are still labeled with the contents of each drawer. I have a vintage Dymo label maker, so I might break it out for the drawers that have lost their identification. But I’m keeping the original old labels on the others.

 

I still need to vacuum out the drawers and decide what we are putting in them (any suggestions?), but for now, we are really happy with our impulse furniture purchase.

P.S. I tried to wipe off the stuff on the bottom drawers, but it seems to be more permanent than dirt…just so you don’t think I didn’t try.

P.S. (Part 2) Thanks for all of the hair love last week! Every comment made me smile!

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Oct 16 2012
3 Comments
crafty adventures

Watercolor Garland

I’ve had my sewing machine for over a year now…it’s only fitting that my first “sewing” project would be a paper one. I’ve been wanting to sew up a garland for a long time now and last week (since the house was a mess, laundry needed to be done and I had to work) seemed to be the perfect time.

On a Wednesday night whim, I pulled out my cheap watercolors and “painted” with all of the fall colors. I use the term “painted” loosely because I really just slopped the colors onto some watercolor paper. I tried an ombre effect–sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t–but it didn’t really matter how neat and tidy the painting was because I knew I was going to cut up the end result. I mostly used a sumi brush instead of my watercolor brushes. It covered more ground and it soaked up the cheap watercolors like a dream.

Once the watercolor dried, I flipped the paper over and did a solid color wash on the back so that the garland would look pretty on both sides. The next day I punched out a bunch of circles with my Fiskars two-inch circle punch. At first I tried to keep each color within the same punch, but by the end, I was mixing things up, letting some circles have white space or two colors…whatever worked. As I cut, I trimmed off the scraps so I could keep cutting further into the paper.

Then, I moved into the bedroom and uncovered the sewing machine. Yes, it is avocado green. It deserves its own blog post.

Things did not go smoothly at the sewing machine. (It was the first time I’d used it without help.) The thread kept coming out of the needle and I wouldn’t notice until I had a few circles through…it was terribly frustrating. The circles weren’t connected, but there were all sorts of tiny perforations in them. I finally got out the manual only to learn (after several tries) that the machine wasn’t threaded all the way. Once I solved that little dilemma, there were no more mishaps. Smooth sailing with the rest of the garland. (And, unless you look closely, you don’t notice that some circles have a few extra holes!)

Right now the garland is living on my desk, but I think it will move into the dining room for the rest of the season. I am excited to try it again with some bright wintry colors, and maybe some shimmery watercolor snowflakes for December!

P.S. Happy Birthday, Mom! XOXO

 

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Oct 11 2012
6 Comments
Halloween, holidays, homemaking

The Halloween Desk

 

 

The desk, since it’s new this season, was the most fun to decorate. I was happy to hang up my new prints and to finally stick something–a glittery skull–in my curio lamp. It’s the just-right amount of creepy. The book is a collection of Edgar Allan Poe stories with wood block print illustrations. It’s my favorite, and since we are reading “The Murders of Rue Morgue” for book club, it’s handy to have the book around. The little mercury glass votive is filled with vintage flashcards that have creepy words on them, like “cadaverous “and “corpse” and “heinous”. Every year, I say I’m going to make something with them, and every year I don’t…this year shall be no different.

I’ve had my foam/plastic jack-o-lantern for years–he lights up like a champ at night. The jade plant is from Trader Joe’s. (Am I the only one who has a hard time passing up the plant section there?) And I bought the little Charlie Brown Halloween ornament last weekend at the Hallmark store–total impulse purchase. Who has a Halloween tree to hang ornaments from? Clearly, that didn’t stop me from buying it…I have such a soft spot for the Peanuts gang.

That’s all for now. I’m waiting to see my mom who has some pumpkins and gourds for me before I finish decorating the dining room. And, now that I’ve shown you my tidy, decorated workspace, I’m going to move my crafting mess back onto the desk and try to finish my watercolor project before I have to go to work this afternoon.

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Oct 10 2012
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Halloween, homemaking

Autumn Nostalgia

 

I’m still struggling to finish decorating for Halloween around here. Nothing is working for me, and I have the same stuff as I had last year. That might be the problem…boredom. But really, it will be good enough, especially since we aren’t having anyone over this month and I will have to quickly put everything Halloween away and haul out the red, white and blue for the Election Party. (Typing that sentence makes me wonder why I’m bothering with this Halloween stuff…) But, the good news is my new prints from Tag Team Tompkins look great above my desk, just as I’d pictured. (I will show you tomorrow when I have better light!)

I’ve had the little autumn squirrel pin above since I was very small…1982 to be exact. It’s vintage Hallmark, and even though it’s rather cutesy and child-like, I still wear it every fall. (And I occasionally troll Etsy for other vintage Hallmark pins because I love them so…) Ahhh, nostalgia…gets me every time.

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