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Jan 15 2013

We Heart Pistachios

We eat a lot of pistachios around here. Naoto eats them almost every night when he comes home from work. He should actually be on one of these commercials, except for the fact that most of the time we are eating Trader Joe’s pistachios. When I randomly came across the Joseph Joseph Double Dish on the internet one day (I have no idea where I first saw it), I added it to my gift list. (For the record, the price on Amazon has gone up $10 since I bought mine…what’s up with that?!) I gave the dish to Naoto for his birthday and I think he was impressed!

It’s a genius design. The top dish holds the pistachios. When you break off the shell, you just drop it down one of the side slots and it falls into the lower bowl–out of sight! It’s perfect for a party because you don’t have to have the unsightly shell bowl on the table, and even better, if you use the dish for olives, no one has to look at each other’s slobbery pits.

Amazon also suggests using it for edamame, but around here, we would need the jumbo version of the bowl for that to work out.

Tagged food, home, homemaking, shopping

Jan 08 2013

1 Comment

home is a 1970s apartment

St Francis Hangs Out In Elevators

Late last Thursday night Naoto came bounding into our apartment as usual. But this time he was laughing because there was “a statue in the elevator!” I didn’t really understand what he meant, but we both went down the hall and he hit the elevator button, the doors opened and there was St Francis! I giggled and said we had to take him home because he was the patron saint of animals and because he could startle the next elevator riders and give them a heart attack! (We live in a building where it could happen!)

So Naoto carried him home, and then turned around and carried him back to the elevator so I could snap this picture. (Thanks, Naoto!) Now St. Francis is living in our entryway, but I have hopes of moving him into the living room until spring when he will go out to the balcony (to live among the birds and the flowers).

I’ve been wanting a statue for the balcony since we moved in and Naoto never takes the elevator, so I think it’s a sign that St. Francis was meant to move into our home. Thanks to our quirky, kind, mystery neighbor for leaving him in the elevator!

Tagged adventures, decorating, garden, home, retirement community

Jan 01 2013

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celebrations, Merry & Bright

Happy New Year!

We ended 2012 with a delicious meal at the Golden Steer under their “festive” red bar lights. We enjoyed yummy onion soup and salad and steak and baked potatoes and wine, along with plenty of sesame sticks and garlic toasts from the cracker basket. The Steer had a special New Year’s Eve menu (pictured above) that made me wish we had a couple of party hats to wear. We rang in 2013 all cozy on the couch watching/laughing at the ridiculous coverage from Times Square and then the local Chicago countdown stuff. Naoto barely made it to midnight…partly because he was tired, but also because he doesn’t have the same patience that I do for absurd television.

Today Naoto worked and I made some 2013 plans, worked on my 2013 planner, watched the fiscal cliff coverage (ugh.) and thought about taking down the tree…in fact, I’m still thinking about taking down the tree…it’s time.

Tagged celebrations, holidays, home

Dec 07 2012

1 Comment

Christmas, holidays, home is a 1970s apartment, homemaking, Merry & Bright

calm & bright

I pushed my Edgar Allan Poe candle to the side table to make room for my favorite candle of all time–the Paddywax Woodland candle. Hands down, the best winter-smelling candle of all time (especially if you love real pine-y scents, as opposed to Pine-Sol pine-ish scents). Placed next to my bowl of silver, gold and pearly Christmas balls, it brings a bit of Christmas to the coffee table. And, I am not lying when I tell you that the living room is the only place of calm and bright in this Christmas house…the rest of the place is a complete, dusty disaster thanks to the end of the bathroom project and the temporary relocation of ourselves and an entire closet of stuff.

This weekend we are painting the bathroom, and hopefully we (well, I) will be cleaning and making our home presentable again. I’m looking forward to the normal life the end of construction promises! Normal things like searching for the missing Christmas decorations and not sleeping in the guest room and playing fetch with Presley without feeling like a crazy cat lady in front of the contractors… And, we have a turkey hanging out in the freezer begging to be cooked up for a mini-Friendsgiving/Friendtsmas…or something like that…plenty of time to decorate and enjoy more Christmas cheer, right?

Tagged Christmas, decorating, holidays, home, homemaking

Dec 05 2012

12 Comments

Christmas, holidays, homemaking, Merry & Bright

shiny & bright (& leaning to the right)

Our tree is up and I’ve stopped moving the ornaments around (for now)! It’s slightly less crooked from this angle (the front angle), but from the side you can tell it is leaning into the room. As long as it leans (and doesn’t topple), I’m good.

This year we chose a White Pine. It has long, soft needles and it doesn’t seem to shed as much as our other favorite choice, the Fraser Fir. Unfortunately, I bought our new lights last year with the skinnier Fraser Fir, and I think I need at least one more strand to brighten this fluffy tree up a bit…maybe next year. For now, it’s providing the required Christmas glow of the season…

Tagged celebrations, Christmas, decorating, holidays, home, homemaking

Dec 04 2012

2 Comments

celebrations, Christmas, holidays, homemaking, Merry & Bright

the stockings were hung…

…on the liquor cabinet with care…

The tree is done, but I’m still fussing with it…I ran out of ornaments, so when I say I’m fussing, I’m pretty much just moving ornaments around on the tree. It’s a total waste of time. I don’t think this tree is bigger than trees we’ve had in the past, but for some reason, I feel like it needs more ornaments…it’s probably just me being all perfectionist with my crooked tree.

In other news, the bathroom is speeding right along! Tomorrow, the sanding of the drywall begins…the messy job. I’ve been holding back on the Christmas decorating because everything will be covered in dust. After tomorrow, I can go to town with my cleaning and decorating (in that order…must. clean. first!) I feel behind…but that’s nothing new around here.

And, Presley could use a new stocking, don’t you think? A little felt one that matches ours better…must think about that…

Tagged celebrations, Christmas, decorating, holidays, home, homemaking

Nov 17 2012

Master Bath Progress…Day 1

Thursday was demo day in the bathroom. I tried not to look–demolition mess makes me a little nuts. It always seems like an insurmountable disaster, even if I’m not the one cleaning it up. But, I did look, and it wasn’t too scary…

The crazy loud noises scared the bejeezus out of Presley, but after about an hour of hammering, sawing, beating and breaking, she got used to it and decided to take a nap on the couch (as opposed to staring wide-eyed from under the couch). And honestly, the sound of the bathtub being sawed (?) apart made me want to hide under the couch! (Please excuse the furry floor…my housekeeping is suffering this week…every week!)

It was a little awkward seeing our toilet being rolled out on a dolly…and even more awkward seeing it sitting in the middle of the (shared) garage…but these things happen, I guess.

Brett (our neighbor friend), Naoto & I went to the city for some tea and some lunch and by the time we got home, our contractor was gone and the place was all cleaned up. This is what remained of the bathroom.

Next up: the build out…

Tagged home, home improvement, renovations

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!

Tagged decorating, home, home improvement

Nov 14 2012

2 Comments

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.

Tagged decorating, home, home improvement

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!

Tagged decorating, home, home improvement, homemaking, vintage