Friday, February 18, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Orange you glad I didn't say banana?
Lately, I have been on a mission to purge my house of all things beige. And most things brown (wood and leather are excepted, because natural wood and saddle-colored leather make me weak in the knees). Don't get me wrong, I think in some situations having a lot of tonal neutrals can be very calming. I was just getting bored.
I would like a present wrapped up in this paper (from papermojo):
the actual gift would hardly matter because I'd be so enthralled by the presentation.
I've been injecting more brights into our house, toned down with white and gray. One of the colors that I love right now is orange with a lot of red. or vice-versa.
I painted a vintage bar cabinet in Rustoleum's Safety Red (and removed the bar fittings from inside) to make our TV chest.
We organized all our DVDs into boxes labeled by genre. Our genres include: comedy- appropriate, comedy- inappropriate, James Bond, Epic Trilogies, Musicals, superhero, Action, comedy-regular, and Ethan (for movies that he likes but I find too dark, like the Departed or Heat or Traffic). I can always find exactly what movie I want. Ethan has to ask me which box it's in. go figure.
We are using the same type of boxes in the office; orange for Ethan's stuff (like leather samples and car magazines) and white for my stuff (like yarn, and more yarn).
Since our office has gone from beige to bright, I'm looking at some new art. I like the graphic nature of these two (both available on Art.com):
We also got new orange towels from home goods (to go with a black-and-cream striped shower curtain that I sewed up the other day from this fabric:
It looks pretty kicky together!
And since this is a theoretical purchase (which it has to be, because I can only afford chairs with names if they are from the thrift store)
I would like a present wrapped up in this paper (from papermojo):
the actual gift would hardly matter because I'd be so enthralled by the presentation.
I've been injecting more brights into our house, toned down with white and gray. One of the colors that I love right now is orange with a lot of red. or vice-versa.
I painted a vintage bar cabinet in Rustoleum's Safety Red (and removed the bar fittings from inside) to make our TV chest.
We organized all our DVDs into boxes labeled by genre. Our genres include: comedy- appropriate, comedy- inappropriate, James Bond, Epic Trilogies, Musicals, superhero, Action, comedy-regular, and Ethan (for movies that he likes but I find too dark, like the Departed or Heat or Traffic). I can always find exactly what movie I want. Ethan has to ask me which box it's in. go figure.
We are using the same type of boxes in the office; orange for Ethan's stuff (like leather samples and car magazines) and white for my stuff (like yarn, and more yarn).
Since our office has gone from beige to bright, I'm looking at some new art. I like the graphic nature of these two (both available on Art.com):
We also got new orange towels from home goods (to go with a black-and-cream striped shower curtain that I sewed up the other day from this fabric:
It looks pretty kicky together!
And since this is a theoretical purchase (which it has to be, because I can only afford chairs with names if they are from the thrift store)
14 reasons
1. He waits up for me if I am called into the hospital at night
2. He can call me on my bullshit and I can call him on his.
3. Snuggling
4. He drives me to work and picks me up if I'm on call overnight, so I don't have to worry about falling asleep while driving.
5. He is honest
6. He is a constant optimist
7. He never gets angry if I hit the snooze button four times before 5:00 am.
8. When I demand praise for something I'm working on (which I do multiple times a day) he gives it, sincerely.
9. He is thoughtful in his speech.
10. He carved a valentine for me last year. Out of wood.
11. He understands the way I think without me telling him. Because he thinks in the same exact way.
12. He is childlike (without being childish)
13. He thinks that engineering is easy, but thinks I'm brilliant for being able to accurately remember movie quotes.
14. He thinks he's as lucky as I know that I am.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
busy
Last Friday I got some awesome news... that we are NOT going to be moving after all. Or rather I am not going to be moving. It was possible that I was going to have to move without E because of work obligations, which would have been very, very horrible. And not only do I not have to move, but I get to continue my training at the same institution, without having to take a gap year and losing time. Basically, things could not have worked out any more smoothly.
Because I knew we weren't moving, and because I had a bit of cabin fever after not leaving the house for a few days, I decided it was time for some changes. Like most younger people, we have a good amount of furniture that was stuff our parents didn't want. It was not necessarily our style, and it was not very efficient in layout (most of it was bought for suburbs-size houses, not post-war 950 square feet houses). So I did some obsessive-compulsive planning and then took Ethan to Ikea with me on Super Bowl Sunday. Which was the best Ikea trip we've ever had, because hardly anyone was there. (as an aside, may I say how grateful I am that the only sport E cares about is F1 racing? I will gladly watch that once a week for four or five months a year if it saves me from ever having to pretend to care about any other pro sport)
I can't show you pictures of it yet because not everything is assembled and Salvation army has not been by yet to do their pickup of our old stuff, so it's a big mess. but here are the ingredients:
1. 5x5 Expedit bookcase with two desks attached, one after the other.
We still have to get the bookcase because it wouldn't fit in my hatch after putting in 2 desks, 2 dressers, a bed, pillows, a fake plant, and a live cactus.
2. 2 Malm 4-drawer chests. I am using one to store guest linens in the drawers, and the other will probably hold yarn and fabric. I have a thrift store mirror that I'm making over to put above these (more about that later), along with my framed Italian Column prints.
3. Fjellse bed, hacked
Think of this as a before picture. I have already sawed off the headboard to make it into a wooden platform daybed. I think I am going to upholster the frame in a charcoal gray finish eventually, as well as making matching gray covers for the daybed mattresses and the back pillows. I have already done a poor-man's version of this by using matching gray fitted sheets on the mattresses and making a long back pillow cover out of a coordinating sheet... but when I'm feeling really crafty (and can get to a fabric store again) I'll do it right.
So between putting together ikea furniture (which takes a pretty long ass time and is only fun for about an hour, max) and going to work, I've been pretty dang busy. I'll post some more personal and fun pictures once our house doesn't look like a bomb went off in the furniture for sale section of the craigslist ads.
Because I knew we weren't moving, and because I had a bit of cabin fever after not leaving the house for a few days, I decided it was time for some changes. Like most younger people, we have a good amount of furniture that was stuff our parents didn't want. It was not necessarily our style, and it was not very efficient in layout (most of it was bought for suburbs-size houses, not post-war 950 square feet houses). So I did some obsessive-compulsive planning and then took Ethan to Ikea with me on Super Bowl Sunday. Which was the best Ikea trip we've ever had, because hardly anyone was there. (as an aside, may I say how grateful I am that the only sport E cares about is F1 racing? I will gladly watch that once a week for four or five months a year if it saves me from ever having to pretend to care about any other pro sport)
I can't show you pictures of it yet because not everything is assembled and Salvation army has not been by yet to do their pickup of our old stuff, so it's a big mess. but here are the ingredients:
1. 5x5 Expedit bookcase with two desks attached, one after the other.
We still have to get the bookcase because it wouldn't fit in my hatch after putting in 2 desks, 2 dressers, a bed, pillows, a fake plant, and a live cactus.
2. 2 Malm 4-drawer chests. I am using one to store guest linens in the drawers, and the other will probably hold yarn and fabric. I have a thrift store mirror that I'm making over to put above these (more about that later), along with my framed Italian Column prints.
3. Fjellse bed, hacked
Think of this as a before picture. I have already sawed off the headboard to make it into a wooden platform daybed. I think I am going to upholster the frame in a charcoal gray finish eventually, as well as making matching gray covers for the daybed mattresses and the back pillows. I have already done a poor-man's version of this by using matching gray fitted sheets on the mattresses and making a long back pillow cover out of a coordinating sheet... but when I'm feeling really crafty (and can get to a fabric store again) I'll do it right.
So between putting together ikea furniture (which takes a pretty long ass time and is only fun for about an hour, max) and going to work, I've been pretty dang busy. I'll post some more personal and fun pictures once our house doesn't look like a bomb went off in the furniture for sale section of the craigslist ads.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
make your own dog toy.
for about a year, I've been making Reagan his fleece dog toys. This is because one dog toy cost fifteen dollars and was only available in un-masculine color combination of pink, purple, and lime green. So we made a trip to the fabric store and bought a yard and a half of fleece for about ten dollars, which has already made three dog toys. Because his last one had been finally killed:
(Reagan has a very strong predatory drive, especially for fleece)
I decided it was time to make his new toy.
Step 1: cut 3- 4 pieces of fleece, 4-5 inches wide by about 2 feet long, and roll them into little cigars.
Step 2: knot the fleece strips together very tightly at one end, place end under foot, and make a very tight 3 or 4 strand braid. I used 4 strands because it makes the toy more rope-like. The braid has to be very tight because it is going to be pulled and chewed on repeatedly. If it is loose it will get destroyed more quickly.
Step 3: knot the end of the braid.
Step 4: place a knot in the middle of the toy, and trim ends to even lengths.
Step 5: Play with dog.
So that's my genius dog toy making tutorial. I know it's not actually genius, but it is fast, and easy, so it has that going for it.
A note about fleece: we use fleece dog toys rather than the rope kind because we have read that the ropes can be eaten and wrap around the dog's stomach/ intestines. This is not possible with fleece, so it is safer for the animal.
(Reagan has a very strong predatory drive, especially for fleece)
I decided it was time to make his new toy.
Step 1: cut 3- 4 pieces of fleece, 4-5 inches wide by about 2 feet long, and roll them into little cigars.
Step 2: knot the fleece strips together very tightly at one end, place end under foot, and make a very tight 3 or 4 strand braid. I used 4 strands because it makes the toy more rope-like. The braid has to be very tight because it is going to be pulled and chewed on repeatedly. If it is loose it will get destroyed more quickly.
Step 3: knot the end of the braid.
Step 4: place a knot in the middle of the toy, and trim ends to even lengths.
Step 5: Play with dog.
So that's my genius dog toy making tutorial. I know it's not actually genius, but it is fast, and easy, so it has that going for it.
A note about fleece: we use fleece dog toys rather than the rope kind because we have read that the ropes can be eaten and wrap around the dog's stomach/ intestines. This is not possible with fleece, so it is safer for the animal.
Friday, February 4, 2011
snow
I know it's snowing everywhere in the entire United States right now, but since we only get it about once a year in Dallas (if that), it's still pretty remarkable to me. We've been having horrible weather all week. On Tuesday, I woke up to a world covered in a wintry mix that had frozen solid. The streets in our neighborhood had about 1-2 inches of solid ice covering them. So what did I do? made Ethan drive me to work and pick me up. Wednesday the ice was gone from parts of the road, and other parts were covered with black ice. same yesterday. so today, we have six or so inches of snow on top of patchy black ice. and I'm on call from home for the hospital. But as of now I cannot make it out of my driveway.
Because of the weather, all of our elective cases and most of the clinics have been cancelled. which allowed me to finish THIS:
The yarn store called me up last Friday and told me that my precious honeydew yarn which I had been waiting on for a month and a half was finally there. So I got to work and finished this lovely.
Would you like to see my favorite square?
It's Orchid, Flamingo, and Wasabi. What a disgusting recipe that would be. but a beautiful blanket.
And the edging:
Mediterrenean, Orchid, and Azul.
The yarn was so soft and so beautiful to work with. If you have a yarn store near you, you should go bury your face in a pile of this stuff. My favorite store in Dallas is the Shabby Sheep. The ladies inside are gracious and there's a big table where you can sit and work or lay out nine colors of yarn while debating what the tenth color should be. And they don't seem to look down on people who crochet as second-class citizens (which some knitting stores do... it's kind of like that scene from Pretty Woman, except with older women wearing really fancy hand-knit clothing playing the part of the snooty sales clerks)
One more picture of our house this morning:
Thursday, February 3, 2011
colors
If I hadn't been a doctor, I would either have been an anthropologist or an interior decorator. Actually, I don't have the guts at this point to start a business of my own that would have potentially tenuous finances rather than an assured salary. As it is, I AM a doctor, so I have to fit in any of my more creative impulses on the side where they will fit.
My mother in law is looking to re-cover some furniture and change up the style in her living room, which hasn't been re-done in quite some time. Her style is simple and traditional. Here are the pictures and ideas that I have come up with
Drawing: the living room is currently wood paneling. not the gross 70's type, it's actually architecturally very beautiful; however, it's a LOT of wood. and I think it makes the room look darker. So in my fantasy living room changeup, I would paint it all either light buttery yellow or a lighter version of wedgewood blue, with white glossy trim. She has a built-in wet bar, which I would actually leave the current wooden color (or possibly put on a little bit of a darker stain).
She has a pair of camel-back sofas with really pretty lines, which I would get covered in a heavy white denim slipcover (multiple dog household). She also has a pair of wingback chairs, which are currently light pink. Since she's told me she is really tired of the light pink, I would have them re-covered in a tonal light blue pattern. I would use a darker blue and white pattern like this for throw pillows. And I would get an old-looking traditional wool rug from someplace like overstock to center the room. And maybe an upholstered storage bench for some extra seating (they have four boys, all with girlfriends or spouses, two dogs and three grandbabies after all)
Aren't these walls pretty? the overall style of this room is more modern than she is ( I could never imagine her having gallery-style randomly placed pictures but the wall color is sooo pretty.
Will any of these changes ever happen? I have no idea. She may hate it. But I still had fun making up a potential makeover. I used to do this for my parent's house ALL the time. And I've been known to repeatedly doodle parts of my own house with slightly different furniture when I'm bored. It's like my version of a coloring book! Actually, I think I'd enjoy a real coloring book also. I think I have one stashed away somewhere around here. I am probably the only 26 year old I know who has a huge box of crayons in their office (and no children).
My mother in law is looking to re-cover some furniture and change up the style in her living room, which hasn't been re-done in quite some time. Her style is simple and traditional. Here are the pictures and ideas that I have come up with
Drawing: the living room is currently wood paneling. not the gross 70's type, it's actually architecturally very beautiful; however, it's a LOT of wood. and I think it makes the room look darker. So in my fantasy living room changeup, I would paint it all either light buttery yellow or a lighter version of wedgewood blue, with white glossy trim. She has a built-in wet bar, which I would actually leave the current wooden color (or possibly put on a little bit of a darker stain).
She has a pair of camel-back sofas with really pretty lines, which I would get covered in a heavy white denim slipcover (multiple dog household). She also has a pair of wingback chairs, which are currently light pink. Since she's told me she is really tired of the light pink, I would have them re-covered in a tonal light blue pattern. I would use a darker blue and white pattern like this for throw pillows. And I would get an old-looking traditional wool rug from someplace like overstock to center the room. And maybe an upholstered storage bench for some extra seating (they have four boys, all with girlfriends or spouses, two dogs and three grandbabies after all)
Aren't these walls pretty? the overall style of this room is more modern than she is ( I could never imagine her having gallery-style randomly placed pictures but the wall color is sooo pretty.
Will any of these changes ever happen? I have no idea. She may hate it. But I still had fun making up a potential makeover. I used to do this for my parent's house ALL the time. And I've been known to repeatedly doodle parts of my own house with slightly different furniture when I'm bored. It's like my version of a coloring book! Actually, I think I'd enjoy a real coloring book also. I think I have one stashed away somewhere around here. I am probably the only 26 year old I know who has a huge box of crayons in their office (and no children).
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