Reflection

No updates today, no new projects today, no lofty aspirations of grand decor or major construction alterations around the house...nope, today is a day of reflection. Reflection on the place I've spent the better part of the last 12 years of my life. The place I knew before I knew my husband, my children, the perils of home ownership...The place I made life long friendships that I'm grateful for everyday. The place where I always felt inspired to do great things amongst great people. The place where I actually felt I could make a difference. The place I called my home away from home.

There aren't many people in this lifetime who are fortunate enough to find passion for their work and who can honestly say they love what they do. I'm still not sure if it was the actual job or the people I loved more but know the friendships will outlast any career I may move onto in the future. I've been fortunate to have spent the last 12 years of my life being surrounded by inspiring people from all walks of life and it all started with a random interview set up for me by an employment agency...an interview I wasn't very excited about at a company, that from the outside, looked like something out of a bad 70's horror film where monsters come and attack from dark gloomy corners of a worn down warehouse. An interview I begrudgingly went to only because my mom was in town and she thought it would be a good idea. Today,12 years later, many mergers and acquisitions later and I listened as we were told the doors will close for good. The fat lady had been warming up her voice for a while now and today she finally sang her swan song. The past 2 years has been such a struggle but one from which I have grown professionally, emotionally and personally. I have no regrets other than the fact that I didn't have the foresight to have banked all of my money so I could swoop in and start my own company with the talented people I've worked along side for so long now. Any takers out there looking to make an investment in a minority/woman owned company???

I'm one of the lucky ones. I have my family and friends to fall back on and even a few industry insiders checking in to see what my plans for the future are. The future is bright my friends and I'm open to the world of possibilities in front of me. Where the doors at Russ Berrie may have closed, the doors to the rest of my life just opened and WOW is it bright outside!!!

If the shoe fits...

Today I hit the wall of irony in all its guts and glory. I was granted an unplanned, unexpected and unpaid day off from work today. I can't say I was saddened by this but more elated at the opportunity to have a day to myself alone with my projects. I had visions of painted furniture, dusted baseboards and weeded flower beds dancing through my head from the moment I was given this gift. Yes, I am trying to put a positive spin on what was otherwise a miserable run in with the great depression our economy is in the midst of. Oh well...remember, making grape juice out of lemons...

I bound out of bed today ready to start a list longer than there are hours in the day. Top-o-the-list was going to be the grand finish of the behemoth who is still making it's presence known on my side of the garage. Last we left it I set the goal to get it primed and ready to paint. Since that time it is approximately 80% of the way primed only because my hand cramped up in such a miserable crippled position I couldn't hold the brush any longer. For the past two weeks I've had great intentions of getting back to it but every time I'd pass by the beast I swore it was getting bigger. Today when we came face to face with one another I realized it wasn't my mind playing tricks on me ...the beast was getting bigger, just not in the traditional sense. Question: How many of you have a treadmill in your home? And how many of you have found the treadmill of great use as a storage fixture rather than a piece of exercise equipment? I submit to the jury Exhibits A & B:



Exhibit B



Exhibit A



Do you see anything that looks out of place? This not a trick question - there are boxes piled all on one side and junk strewn all over the top. No time or patience to tackle it at the moment so I'm going to go out to clear my head. These days the best place I can find to clear my head is the hardware store. This time I opted for Home Depot (still giving the Lowe's folks more time to forget the last show our family put on). Trip tally:

3 Cans of spray on primer

6 Cans of flat black spray paint

1 spray paint can trigger to prevent finger cramps

2 face masks to prevent inhaling too many fumes

1 circular saw....again, no this is not for my husband. I'd always wanted one and borrowed one enough times that the time had come to get my own...what the heck right? WHOHOOO, power tools make me feel powerful!!! Figured I'm just gearing up for my next home improvement project...just wait, you won't believe me when I tell you about that one!!! It involves making large holes in walls where there aren't any at present.

Back home (only because the Habitat Restore, The Mall and Home Goods weren't open yet) and back face to face with the beast. Still not motivated to clear all the crap out of it so I can get back to painting... Hmm, on my trip up the driveway it occurred to me that our lawn could use a good mow. Quick call to hubby, cliff notes on starting up the riding mower and I'm in business....well, was in business for a while until one of the biggest logs in our yard (covered by a mass of grass camouflaging it) decided to make its presence known. Do you know that if you try and mow over a log with a riding mower the darned thing will just stop dead in it's tracks and shut right off? Well I sure didn't, just thought those big tires would roll right over the 'big stick'. Mower off and back in neutral I hop off to take stock of the damage. Log appears to be the width of the mower and about 4" in diameter and  wedged firmly under mower somewhere between the body and the blade. Thank goodness for great neighbors as I was just about to try and roll the  thing back into the garage and plead ignorance when hubby needed to use it next. 20 minutes later log is dislodged and I've lost motivation to finish the lawn and decided the time has come to attack the overgrown weeds and monkey grass with the weed eater.

The weed eater is not the friendliest of lawn machines. I think I ripped my shoulder out of socket trying to get the thing started. Finally gave up, called hubby for another round of cliff notes and with a few more yanks of the cord we have start up SUCCESS! I'm off to attack everything in my path..obliterating the monkey grass (you can't kill the stuff), eating the weeds down to the dirt (good idea to wear long pants and safety goggles for this kind of action) and attempting to eat down some rogue trees that have appeared out of no where in my Iris and Gladiola beds. Weeds, rocks, dirt and sticks flying everywhere...I'm in the middle of a blur of nature when the weed eater just gives out. Did you know that trying to take out trees with a weed eater will eat your weed eater line up to nothing? Take it apart, pull some line out, put it back together and try to start up where I left off...25 pulls later and the darned thing won't start back up!!! Done with this thing!!!

Back to the garage, the beast staring me down at this point I decide I'm still not ready. Spend the next 3 hours organizing the tools, screws, nails and outdoor toys.  Start a grand pile for Goodwill, recycle and the dump. Crank up the shop vac to do one of my favorite activities (vacuuming) and before you know it...it is 5 o'clock and hubby will be home with kids any moment now.

I did accomplish a lot today...the irony of those accomplishments are that none have anything to do with my main objective for the day. Finish the behemoth. I managed to spend almost 12 hours in the presence of the beast never giving it more than a glance and the cold shoulder. Avoidance Procrastination in it's rawest form. Friday - Friday is D-Day for the beast. I have all the tools and will have extra hands (everyone is off work/out of school) so I have no more excuses. The darned thing has started haunting me in my sleep so something has to be done. I'm figuring this procrastination thing likely has a 12 step program I need to look into. Admitting you have a problem has to be step one right? I am a PROCRASTINATOR. That shoe fits and I appear to still be wearing it.

Grape Juice Reflection

And how about the face lift I got??? No, not the real deal (at least not yet…wink wink). I’m talking about the new blog look that is so appropriate I’m at a loss for words. Don’t laugh (that goes for you Uncle Favorite since you did remind me that my blogs were like mini-novels). Thanks to my baby sis for being such a creative inspiration in my life (and for making me a free logo!!!). Check her out at
http://mwj-everythinginbetween.blogspot.com/

Image Source: http://www.zencollegelife.com/lemons-lemonade-and-grape-juice/

Feeling a bit melancholy at the moment and looking for inspiration. Life throws lemons at me sometimes…doesn’t hand them to me but more or less tries to knock me out with a nice violent pitch. I think it happens when I need to look the truth in the eyes and accept it. I’m looking forward to making great grape juice with the lemons from today.

While stumbling around the web for inspiration for my room that is still considered a work-in-progress I found a thought provoking post at www.marcandangel.com. It was a list of 50 questions you must ask yourself to free your mind. I narrowed it down to the top 25 and thought I’d share for those of you who are in need of a little self reflection:

1. Which is worse, failing or never trying?
2. If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
3. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
4. Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
5. To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
6. Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
7. Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
8. What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? 
9. Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
10. Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
11. Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
12. Why are you, you?
13. What are you most grateful for?
14. Is it possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
15. Has your greatest fear ever come true?
16. Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset?  Does it really matter now?
17. At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
18. If not now, then when?
19. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
20. Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
21. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
22. What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
23. When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
24. If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
25. Decisions are being made right now.  The question is:  Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?

Unintentional Sabbatical



Swiper: No, that's not her
hat. If you'll notice
prior pic of Desctructo and
The Interrogator you may
recognize that hat....



Decoration detour for the last week...sometimes life takes precedence and you have to focus on those things most important...

Destructo and The Interrogator

 Opening season kick off for T-ball last weekend along with first round of real games...so that weekend was dedicated to all things baseball.

Then began the week-o-illness with calls from daycare about kids with fever, multiple trips to the pediatrician and all plans to complete any kind of project by April 16 sidelined. Friday April 15 was a planned vacation day for me from my day job. What I hadn't planned for was the assistance I would get from the interrogator since she was home for day 3 with unexplained fever. Lack of sleep and lack of food didn't do either of our moods any good for the day but we pushed through it and successfully completed too many loads of laundry to count, 4 changes of bed sheets, review and retire of all kids clothes that were too small, too worn out or just too ugly...several advanced meal preps for the weekend, cupcake baking and decorating, a quick trip to the grocery and POOF...where the heck did my 'vacation' day go???

Saturday April 16 and what had I accomplished in the dining room that was to be completed by this point? Nadda, zip, zilch...other than the rug and roughly primed walls I had completed nothing. Saturday was also dual birthday celebration day for the girls celebrating a late #2 and an early #1 with extended family...

One thing I think I forgot to mention...and one of the main reasons I had set the weekend of the 15th as my target...I have invited my Bunco group (funny because we don't actually play Bunco) to mix and mingle over appetizers for the evening and had hoped to have the grand unveil.

Noon - Saturday April 16...primed walls, rug on floor and no paint color that I love. I stumbled upon an old 5 gallon bucket of paint in our garage that had been there since we moved in over 3 years ago. Opening it up I find it looks like my homemade Italian salad dressing after it has sat in the fridge a few weeks...oil on top, gunky chunky brown beneath. No paint stir stick to be had so I rounded up a ruler and went to work...I think this may be...wait....YES IT IS!!!! It is the camel color that is in my master bedroom that is one of the best neutrals I've seen AND wait...I think...YES IT DOES!!! It absolutely compliments the wheat color in my rug perfectly!!! I have a few random painting tools around, I'm still in my pajamas, my parents, sister and her husband and my nephew AND my three kids are running around like crazy but what does my heart desire? PAINT PAINT PAINT!!! With a few hours left before company arrives I go to town. Quickly rolling my way around the room leaving all trim work in hopes someone would kindly offer to do it for me. That is the one thing I despise about painting. Probably because I never have the patience to tape anything off and usually end up getting paint everywhere it shouldn't go. Down to the wire...hmmm...I think I have a small paint brush somewhere in the garage...still no offers to handle that trim so it looks like it's up to me. Brush in hand, sweat rolling down my face and time running too short for comfort (still refuse to tape off) I go to work and VOILA! Room painted and 60 minutes to spare. Still need to shower and dress, room empty but painted ...BRING ON THE CAVALRY!!! In come sis and mom to the rescue. This room needed some desperate staging.

This tall beauty arrived the night before with my folks. Nothing I love more than hand-me-down relics that add charm to any room. Fits perfectly between the two windows. The behemoth is not completed yet so all I have is an old table that belonged to my husband prior to marriage. We painted it black a year ago and began using it as our desk in the office upstairs that has since become another nursery. It's horrible but beggars can't be choosers. In it goes along with some random chairs I bought years back from World Market...just because I liked them and not because they actually went with anything I already owned or any styles I was already using in the house. Black table, brown chairs...throwing caution to the wind...

Art - thank goodness I hadn't bothered to fill in the nail holes in the wall before painting. Those nail holes served me well along with a picture hubby took prior to me removing the original installation from the walls. Kudos to my very talented art guru for bailing me out of the very first party ever thrown at my home about 1 week after we first moved in 3+ years ago. She pulled in random elements I'd collected and threw them together on my wall in a pattern I still love to this day...why rock the boat??? Check her out over at http://greenwayacre.com/

Now for that gaping recessed area that I've always found to be an odd feature in this room...toss in a hand-me-down hutch base from my grandmother (also painted black many years ago)...I see it coming together right before my eyes.... still missing the touches of 'me'. I'm no fan of void wall space and really don't care much for the current lighting but you know what, not half bad for a few hours of work.

I'll check this one off as my 'temporary' fix and call it a day! Because that recessed area has been bothersome to me since we moved in I think I stumbled upon the solution while perusing random blogs on organization the other day. Check this out:

Compliments to Maillardville Manor http://www.maillardvillemanor.com/2010/07/billy-bookcase-all-trimmed-out.html for this inspiring and cost effective solution. Can you believe these are inexpensive Bill Bookshelves from Ikea http://www.ikea.com/??? Varying widths and heights with the addition of crown molding painted to match and another VOILA moment for me! The look of built-ins without the ridiculous cost or hours of labor to measure and cut..measure and cut...measure and cut. I'll be Ikea bound by end of the week.

I've got the blues...

Benjamin Moore
Hale Navy

Benjamin Moore
New Providence Navy

No silly, not the Kraft Macaroni & Cheese kind, the kind that has me loving these shades of blue paint! The darker the better! Today I made a quick trip with a pal to the local Benjamin Moore Paint Store. While there I collected every shade of blue they had on display with swings into the green and gray families just to be sure I had my bases covered. Upon arriving at home I sprawled out each swatch of color on every square inch of the rug and guess what? Not a singled darned one of them did ANYTHING to compliment the rug. I turned the overhead light on and off, table lamps on and off, adjacent room lights on and off and NADDA...not a stitch of love for any color combinations. During this process it dawned on me that the primary reason for starting in this room was because it was too dark with the hooker red walls and here I am having a great love affair with the new providence navy and hale navy swatches under foot which I don't exactly think fit into the categor of 'lighter paint colors'. I realize my problem in hunting for the perfect complimentary shade of blue is that the rug colors are so well intertwined that they change with each change in lighting (natural and man made). As the sun started setting the livelier shades began to turn dark and mysterious...still beautiful, ,don't get me wrong. Something just doesn't feel right about considering blue now that it was getting dark outside and my rug was giving off a charcoal gray vibe not to mention those shades of olive green just completely changed to brown. Hmm..I'm really in love with the idea of a blue denim finish on the walls but does denim have to be blue? For those of you who remember Captain Kangaroo I bet you'll agree, Mr. Green Jeans would answer that question with an emphatic NO! Is it the color blue and the thought of my favorite pair/s of jeans that evoke that pleasant at peace and happy feeling within me?  Maybe its the earthy organic textured component that is beneath this heated desire for denim. You know, I get the same way about linen. Although I must admit that I don't own much because I hate to iron and the 'no-iron' linens just never look the same. And you know what...the technique used to create a linen look on your walls isn't that far off from the technique I would have been using for denim....

I think I've got it!

By pulling the wheat and vanilla colors from the rug in lieu of the blues AND giving the walls a linen finish instead of  denim I think I'll hit 2 birds with 1 stone (speaking of birds, you'll see them in an upcoming post soon enough). Lighter color on the walls while still staying complimentary with the colors in the rug. Notice I did not say 'matching' the colors in the rug...don't care much for the matchy matchy look but also not looking to take this into the realm of Punky Brewster (sorry for those of you who missed out on the 80's). Yes, I do realize most faux paint techniques are passe and someone out there is screaming for me to get with the times but the only alternative I can think of to bring the look of texture to the walls is wallpaper..has that come back into style yet? If so someone break the news to my poor parents who've spent countless hours taking wallpaper down in too many rooms to count the last few years! I hate seams so even if it's back in fashion I'm not likely to go down that path without a pro.

Considering a linen finish should also bring back in a little formal vibe to what is, in most houses, a formal space. This bit of formal will not overrule my overall style which is about the farthest thing from formal you can imagine. I think this finish will bring in the depth, interest and texture I'm craving.

Are you keeping up with me yet?I'm actually having a hard time myself. With the injection of the new rug into my space all things color related are being revisited including the color for the behemoth - which by the way did get the first round of primer over the weekend (photos will come soon). It's getting late and I'm rambling... I'll do a quick check in over the weekend to let you know how things are progressing. Stay tuned....



Game changer...

I've officially exercised my right as a woman...you know the one where we can change our minds at any time for any reason without warning?? One fateful trip to a TJ Maxx/Home Goods super store a few towns over and one inspirational rug later and I'm headed in a completely different direction than I anticipated. I'm not sure my photography skills (or lack there of) do it justice. I'm sure you are there questioning my choice in a dining room rug and asking if I realized this is more of a living room rug...the answer is yes but I can usually be found throwing caution to the wind when I get on one of my decorating whims...why stop now?

So, what is it about this particular rug that sucked me in? Maybe it is my personal affinity for all things paisley or the rich indigo blue in the background or the contrast of the pale glacier blue accents that wander aimlessly about...could be the way the great rusty reds and rich wheat browns outline the flowing paisley patterns wrapping delicately around pools of olive green and vanilla... Its like music to my eyes! 

Now that the rug is right at home in the dining room that is sitting in blank canvas state at present, I can start making some final decisions. The dining room itself is divided horizontally by stark white chair rail moldings with wide base board moldings with picture frame moldings between the two...did I mention there is also stark white crown molding outlining the top of the entire room -  a special thank you goes out to the  prior home owners since I never mastered those corner angle cuts with my miter saw. I use to just invest in those ready made decorative corner pieces that allow you to make nothing but a straight cut and skip that whole corner angle cutting business. Yes, the miter saw is mine and not my husbands...I bought it for myself. Hubby freaks out when I bust out the power tools. I think it's because he's scared of the tools...he says he's scared of me using the tools...whatever..I still have all 10 fingers and toes and have had stitches less than 10 times in my lifetime so that makes me a pro right? Needless to say. there are lots and lots of moldings which leaves very little wall space that will actually require painting. Because the painting will be limited to the space above the chair rail molding and below the crown molding I may brave a new painting technique. Denim anyone???

If you thought denim was just for jeans, think again. What could be better than bringing the worn-in look of your favorite comfy pair of jeans to your walls??  I can think of nothing I'd love more!!! 

Inspiration: Denim Painted Walls

The most common technique to achieve this look is a two layer paint process. Start with a nice pale base coat (glacier blue for me) then apply a top coat in a darker shade (mine would be the rich indigo blue from the rug's background). Then before the top coat dries you drag a “weaving” tool over the walls to give the finish a woven appearance like a real pair of jeans. I think I'll also interview a few paint counter consultants at my local Home Depot or Lowe's to see if they've any experience with the technique themselves just in case they have pointers...and this time I will make that trip alone as it looks like I'm going to need to make friends at the paint counter ...which means I won't go back to the store in Mocksville until they've had time enough to forget the incident from last Friday evening.  From the instructions I've found online for this technique, it really doesn't seem that hard...famous last words right?

Color my world...

And now I'm back around to paint. This time for my wall color.  I've been following the suggestions to collect a variety of paint chips. I'm almost positive I own every color chip from every paint store within a 30 mile radius at this point. From experience I know to hold off on making my final choices until the theme for the room is finalized. Since paint is easy to change and one of the cheaper elements of a room I know this isn't my most urgent of decisions to make. I'm collecting ideas but ultimately waiting to make my final decision until after I select my area rug, settle on a light fixture and make sure I'm good with the fabrics I'll be employing.

My present home is a variable  plethora of color. I'm not a believer in the style rule that each room should have complimentary colors that flow into one another...I'm more into the shock factor of throwing in a random color that has nothing to do with any other room in the house. I am absolutely not scared of color...just ask anyone who visited my prior home to see the vibrant purple guest room accessorized with bright orange and hot pink feathered pillows.

After the birth of my last two children, both of whom are girls, I find myself taking a step back in time to all things frilly, big brightly colored ribbons and bows, pony AND pig tails, tutu's , ruffled white socks, patent leather Mary Janes, my best friend Beauty Secret Barbie and her hunky boyfriend  Sport & Shave Ken...  Ahh, such pleasant times when all of my choices were made for me and I didn't realize just how good of a thing that was. So now I'm left to my own druthers and just what color am I feeling inspired to consider...PINK!!! Not pale pastel 'half-hearted' pink but BOLD magentas and HOT pinks. Why you may ask...I honestly don't know...just something I cannot seem to get enough of lately.

I did an Internet search to try and find inspiration for hot pink rooms and came up with several giving me some great ideas to think about if I go the pink route. First one I stopped to take a second look at was this great harlequin pattern...I obviously have forgotten just why there were so many expletives exchanged at my last house over wanting to have something 'differnt' on the walls than just a solid paint color...and all we did was a simple yellow and white stripe! Somehow I don't think this one will get the buy in from hubby...

Another one I really like...shocking pink! Love the pops of bright green in there...maybe I should rethink the shade of green I'm fixated on for the behemoth and reconsider something more bold... probably another tough sell to hubby but you know what...with 3 ladies in the house (both of my girls are drawn to all things pink) I think he will be outnumbered!

What do I love about this one? That tonal stencil effect on the walls is fantastic! May be a little too burlesque-boudoir looking for a room where we'll be eating a meal (albeit only twice a year).

 Bold pink and brown with touches of ivory...I'm in love! Not sure how to apply this look to the dining room but will file this one away for the upstairs office...just as soon as the baby comes out of her crib. I've got a few years to go on that one but never the less...it's never too early to start planning.

Notice a trend with my inspirational pictures? None of them are dining spaces...as a matter of fact I was completely unsuccessful in finding even one inspirational dining room image to work from so maybe mine will be the first if I go this route.

In reading up about the use of pink as a wall color I did learn a couple of things #1 Steer clear of gloss finishes when painting in shades of pink. Better to go with matte, flat or even chalky finish to prevent the finish from looking too much like a piece of candy and #2 Bolder pinks are very energizing. They bubble with life and energy so they should be used in moderation. I think I'll interview a few more color schemes this week and hopefully make some decisions by the end of the week. All of the energy I've gotten from the images of pink rooms is making me tired.  More decisions and the clock is ticking....