Risk Taking

I’ve touched on the subject of mixing colors and patterns before, and most of y’all agreed that you aren’t scared to mix patterns. Hopefully you will also agree with what I’m about to show you.

Yes, I did just mix a farmhouse table, (knock off) midcentury modern chairs, and a Craigslist Italian provincial china cabinet. I loved all three pieces, and I think it just might be crazy enough to work. I would say Pinterest made me do it, but we all know I’m one who doesn’t really care what other people think.

I’ll be back soon with another post about the dining room, as well as some other updates we’re working on.

A Tale of Two China Cabinets

Or: How I Spent my Christmas Vacation

Over my long weekend I decided two things: 1) I want a new china cabinet because the bookcase + secretary (below, before I painted it) that we’ve been using isn’t cutting it anymore. The two above are less than $100 on Craigslist, and Robert is going to look at one of them today. 2) My husband has serious opinions about wildlife china cabinets.

Holiday Amnesia

I think I might have holiday amnesia. When I wake up in the morning it feels like July. Or maybe October (seeing as we have the flannel sheets and down comforter on the bed). As the day goes on I remember that Christmas is looming, but the house remains undecorated. The next morning I wake up thinking it’s summer or fall again.

Last year I had our wreath hung up, I added snowflakes to the front windows (using Gel Gloss since Gold Seal Glass Wax is impossible to find), and decorated the (incredibly expensive) tree while listening to the soundtracks of A Charlie Brown Christmas and the Nutcracker.

I have about 8 more of these snowflake stencils, anyone want one?

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A month or so ago I tried to prod myself into the Christmas spirit by decorating the mantel. I called it a winter mantel, to fool myself into thinking it was ok that I didn’t feel very festive. I broke out lots of blue, mercury glass, and used Sara’s flameless candle insulator trick. Halfway through I gave up, plunked my garnet & gold Bowden flakes on the right hand side, and went to Home Depot. I figured we’d replace it with something more festive when the inspiration came. They’re still there.

We worship the church of football, so that makes it ok, right?

While writing this You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch came on my Nat King Cole (Holiday) Pandora station. I gave it a thumbs up.

I mentioned earlier that we finally brought our Christmas tree inside, but it’s not decorated yet. Fortunately this year’s tree was about half the cost of last year’s, so that part makes me feel a bit better.

As for why I’m not in the holiday mood… Let’s just say it’s been a tough year. Some of my Twitter friends know part of the story, and I talked a little about part of it in veiled terms here. Mostly it’s a combination of factors.

Here’s hoping the new year is merry & bright.

In Which Our Tree is Still Not Decorated a Week Before Christmas

Or: In Which Our Tree Enjoys a Refreshing Glass of Sprite*

You mean the tree is supposed to have things on it six days before Christmas? You people and your deadlines.

*Sprite because when we Googled tree preservative recipes it suggested a tad of chlorine-free bleach, caffeine-free lemon-lime soda, or epsom salts in addition to warm water. So we used all of the above.

Wordless Week – Day 4 & 5: The Good Old Days

Wordless Week – Day 3: Darn Good Coffee

Wordless Week – Day 2: Letters to Santa

Wordless Week – Day 1: Vintage Christmas

25 before 25

seen here

I turn 25 in February, so I thought I’d make a list of 25 things I’d like to accomplish before then. Some of them (especially the first 2) will be harder than others, but that’s ok. I’m telling myself I’ll be ok with not checking everything off (after all, our Summer List was a total flop and I never made a Fall List). I’ve been working on this list for a little while, so some of the things are already checked off or labeled as “working on it”.

1. Finish the guest bathroom
2. Finish the back patio
3. Finish dining gallery wall
4. Hang art in hallway – working on it
5. Hang art in living room
6. Work on Closet Office
7. Build entryway console
8. Paint the master bedroom ceiling
9. Update Our House section
10. Work on blog layout
11. Consider buying a premium theme
12. Or self-hosting the blog
13. Fix text link colors on side bar
14. Work on Design Boards section
15. Visit DC with Robert
16. Cook new recipes more often – working on it
17. Bake a pie
18. Make a pizza
19. Eat more veggies – working on it
20. Eat more fruit – working on it
21. Learn to like asparagus
22. Learn to like brocoli – working on it
23. Make a Green Smoothie
24. Try to like eggs (in ways other than “French toasted”)
25. Work hard & be nice to people.

Other than that the big 2-5 will probably be very low-key. I’m pretending I’ll decorate the backyard like some of the pictures on my Party Ideas board on Pinterest, bake a cake & make invites, but we haven’t thrown a party in years. At least not one with more than 10 people, or cute banners, etc. Plus, can you really decorate the house and do any of that for your own party? Isn’t that kind of narcissistic?

Things You Can’t Tell Just From Reading My Blog

Or, Why Most People Can’t Live With Me For More Than a Year.

seen here

1. If it’s under 70F I’m probably freezing. I steal the covers, I take really hot showers and use all the hot water.
2. I bake, but I don’t eat the finished product.
3. I clean when I’m mad (but not when I’m sad).
4. I’m not a morning person. At all. I set too many alarms & hardly move when they go off. If there’s coffee I probably won’t snap at you.
5. Carbs are my weakness. Pasta, potato chips, Publix cookies, sourdough bread, these are the things I eat when I’m upset. (I’m trying to eat more vegetables though, Jenn!)
6. I love chocolate milk but pretty much only drink it out of a mug straight from the freezer.
7. I don’t cry often. Sure, I tear up at sappy movies, I weep at funerals, but I generally only let myself cry in the shower or around people I trust with my life.

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“I’m lonely. Why do you think I had to learn to act so independent? I also get mad too quickly, and I hog the covers, and my second toe is longer than my big one. My hair has it’s own zip code. Plus, I get certifiably crazy when I’ve got PMS. You don’t love someone because they’re perfect. You love them in spite of the fact that they’re not.”
― Jodi Picoult, My Sister’s Keeper