Perpetual Journal

I know we’re closer to the end of January than the beginning but I still wanted to share a project that I started at the beginning of 2012. Inspired by Design Sponge via Pinterest (yet again) I decided to create a perpetual journal out of index cards. I really love the idea of seeing how things change year by year. Even if I tried to start a real journal to do the same thing I know I’d never keep up with it. This might be odd considering I have a blog but I don’t actually like writing very much. Especially not on paper. It takes too long, my handwriting is too messy, and I like to be able to re-organize my thoughts. Writing something on paper is such a commitment! But this is just one line. Quick and easy as part of my bedtime routine. (Though, if I’m honest, I’m still struggling to get that nailed down…working on it, working on it…)

The dividers for each month are my favorite designs from two old Paper Source letterpress desktop calendars I still had lying around/was hoarding (depending on your perspective.) It made me super happy to find a good use for them. This is exactly why I save things! ;)

Knowing that I have big hand writing and wouldn’t be able to keep my thoughts to half an index card (like the example on Design Sponge), I bought the larger index cards (4×6) and cut them to the size of the calendar pages (5.5 inches.) Least favorite part of the project. Before I take on my next massive cutting project, please remind me to go buy a larger paper trimmer. But it’s done now.

I could have just written the month and date on each one but instead used this as a good excuse to go buy a date stamp. (I feel like my next project should be to create a card catalog and library cards for all of our books. Maybe I will! Just kidding. I think.) And, of course, I couldn’t just let my little journal sit on my bedside table without something pretty to put it in. My first thought was that it would be a good reason to buy one of Anthropologies’ Farmer’s Market Baskets. However, the width was too small (I’ll have to find another reason to buy those….) so I searched Etsy next and found the basket I used from Baskets8899 . Perfect.

 

2012 Desktop Calendar

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you might already be aware of my love for desktop calendars. If not, you can see what I had to say about the ones I picked for 2010 and 2011.

Since I bought photography calendars the last two years I had it in my head that maybe I’d make my own this year. However, as the year sped by, I realized the idea wasn’t necessarily bringing me any joy. Maybe another time. But sometimes it is sort of nice to just let someone else do the work and buy the finished product. (See, Lauren, it is possible!)

After a bit of browsing on Etsy, I decided on this calendar (yesterday they had the option to buy just the calendar, not sure if that will be back, but the thank you cards are also really cute!) from Whimsical Prints.

{Images from Whimsical Prints}

In addition to the trees, they also have traditional, flower, or mixed designs. They’re all pretty. But I picked the trees because I thought they were a good symbol for some of the things I want to focus on and accomplish this year.

I decided on this one pretty quickly so I don’t have too many others to specifically recommend. But, if you are looking for your own, this quick search on Etsy brings up lots of pretty eye candy for whatever mood you may be in for 2012!

I don’t really do New Year’s resolutions, plus I think I already have plenty to do what with finishing this list and being sparkly and all. But what about you guys? Any big hopes for 2012?

 

I want a clothesline

I love cleaning the house when it’s beautiful and sunny outside and I can have all the windows open. That’s probably a bit strange since most people would prefer to be outside when it’s nice out. But I’m pale and burn easily and the cleaning has to get done anyway. I’d rather it be nice out than not nice out.

I also love clotheslines. I must have been born in the wrong decade (same could be said of my love for round-toed shoes and 50′s style dresses). Or state (I mean, how often is the weather agreeable for this). Or country (helloooooo Europe).  We actually had one at the house my parents lived in while I was in college though and I loved doing my laundry in the summer and hanging my clothes outside to dry. Of course, this might have actually only happened two or three times because I was always in a hurry. But I think that’s why there’s something so simple and lovely about the idea of using one less machine. When I think of hanging laundry outside to dry, it’s in a very backyard-of-a-beautiful-farmhouse kind of way. This picture from New York a few years ago doesn’t quite match the image in my head, but I like the urban version too. It’s a little closer to my own reality.

As I was trying to get some spring cleaning done a few weekends ago, I washed all of my re-usable bags and hung them outside on my own makeshift clothesline. Balcony railings and binder clips aren’t exactly acceptable alternatives for my clothes but they did the trick for these. And the sun was shining and things were being cleaned so I was happy.

Maybe I’ll see if I can find a small clothesline to put out there this summer. My fancy Oak Park neighbors might not like it but I bet my tree-hugging neighbors would approve!

Happy little additions

These two recent additions to our master bathroom are making me very happy:

The greens were pulled out of a Christmas bouquet after all the roses died. This picture was taken last weekend but they’re actually still holding up. We don’t have any windows in the bathroom so it’s nice to have a little bit of life in there.

And the other item? I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner. It’s my new tissue holder.

One thousand times better than the box they came in. You have no idea how long the box of Kleenex has been bothering me. A long time. But the problem went like this -

Me – Pete, we really need to get one of those pretty box covers for our Kleenex. I hate the box.
Pete – Really? OK.
Me – But they only come in the shape of the little square and not the rectangle box.
Pete – Oh. (Pause.) Um, can’t we just buy some with a box you like?
Me – Well, we could, but we already have three boxes and what happens if a) I can’t find one I like or b) I do find one I like but then can never find it again?
Pete – (Waits silently while hoping I will find something else to talk about since he was never bothered by this to begin with.)

We had that actual conversation in several different variations.

Unbeknownst to her, I stole the idea from my mother-in-law after seeing her tissues in a perfect rectangle shaped box. However, it didn’t really occur to me to try something similar (maybe because I’m lacking the perfectly-sized rectangular box?) until I was re-arranging things on my dresser top and the pearly container needed a new home. Oh my gosh, I love it.

Fall 2010

Just a few of the things I’ve done this fall:

1. Started a new job.

2. Went on two great girls’ weekends (and somehow managed to not have a single picture from either one).

3. Decorated.

4. Tailgated (again…no pictures…) and conveniently left while ND was still winning.

5. Attended 3 great weddings (I’m hoping to do another recap soon!).

6. Carved pumpkins. Which naturally meant having bloody mary’s, caramel apples, and other yummy snacks.

7. Turned 29. Only relevant because I’m working on a 30 Before 30 list and really need to finish it or I’m never going to be able to get everything done.

8. Celebrated 2 engagements.

9. Stamped really cute little invitations with my mom for her birthday.

10. Went to the ballet.

11. Finished most of my Christmas shopping.

12. Learned to make pumpkin spice lattes

I have much to be thankful for.

I say tomato

Pete and I made tomatoes! I was very skeptical for a while that anything was going to actually grow. Once they did, I was very skeptical they would ever turn red. But we got to eat two yesterday and when I cut into the second it was shaped like a little heart. Naturally, I put it on a plate, brought it over by the window, and took a picture. Isn’t that what everyone would do?

I can see clearly now…

The way I see it, home improvement generally falls into two categories – the kind that requires technical skill and the kind that (presuming nothing goes wrong) you just need to learn how to do. Something like tiling falls into the first category. Sure if I had the time and patience I could practice and get good at it. But those both happen to be hard to come by so probably better at this point to hire someone to help us out. Changing a light fixture, on the other hand, I have heard is really easy to do so long as you follow a few basic steps (starting with cutting off the power). And so this is how one day I convinced/guilted Pete into doing it for me.

 

The conversation went something like this:

Me – I’m nervous Tony (my mom’s boyfriend who is an electrician) won’t be able to get over here before the return date expires on this light fixture. Do you think you could try to install it?

Pete – I don’t like electricity. 

Me – I know. But it’s not supposed to be hard if you just google the instructions. Other people have figured it out. (For the record…this part apparently did not go over well so I recommend using sparingly. I wasn’t trying to be insulting. I think my husband is smart and therefore if other people can read directions and figure it out I believed he could too.)

Pete – (sighing) Fine. I’ll look at it. 

Me – You can tell me no. 

Pete – I tried. You didn’t seem to like that. 

Me – Oh. Well, I mean, if you really don’t want to don’t worry about it. 

 

I thought that was the end of it and was completely fine with that. But, not long later, Pete was changing the light fixture. I’m apparently very convincing when I want to be. In my defense, I was totally right. He was able to google instructions and easily make the switch. I try to tell him often how fantastic it is to have gone from a glass enclosed fixture to one with a whole lot more light. Especially since the lights can all be directed wherever we would like!

 

Thanks, Pete! You’re the best!

P.S. Not sure why that one item on the wall looks crooked. I didn’t think it was but perhaps I should go check that now…

Oh, Chair Cushions

Sometimes I get ideas that don’t quite work out. For example, I found some cheap chair cushions at IKEA a little while ago but I didn’t like the velcro that actually attached them to the chair. I thought, how about I take that off and just sew on some ribbon to tie a bow. Seems easy enough, right? Only problem is, I don’t sew and anything that involves a needle and thread is not nearly as easy as it really should be.

With a bit of effort I managed to get two of the four sewn on. But it was so irritating to me that the other two stayed on my to do list for quite some time. Then, to add insult to injury, the two that were done got pulled off when someone actually tried to use the chairs. Sigh. Poor little ribbons with no cushions attached. Back onto the to do list they go.

This story is actually a little embarrassing because you would not believe how long the chairs sat with chair cushions on them but not attached. Clearly we do not actually eat dinner at our kitchen table very often.

Finally, I was in Target last week and found very pretty ivory cushions to just replace the originals all together. The material is like a raw silk so has a very pretty sheen to it. They were only $9.99 a piece. And, most importantly, they actually attach with no more effort on my part than tying a bow.

Thank you, Target, for letting me cross off “fix/finish chair cushions” from my perpetual to do list.

Today

Today has been a very good day, full of:

sleeping in

news of another exciting engagement

the farmer’s market

my first pair of skinny jeans

mimosas

my husband loving college football and college beer

chicken wing dip

and a Notre Dame win.

This is why I’m always asking if tomorrow can be Saturday.

At Home In: Sarasota, Florida

As I mentioned in my last post, we’ve been to three weddings in the past six weeks and have one more this upcoming weekend. Of the four, only one has actually been in Chicago. This means we’ve gotten to visit (and stay in) some fun new places. Of them, The Ritz-Carlton, Sarasota has definitely been the fanciest. The room itself was nice – the bed was amazingly comfortable – but it wasn’t necessarily my taste.

The bathroom, however, was beautiful (how about the combination of gold and chrome and marble that works so well together!)…

…I loved the details…

 

…and the service exceeded expectations. Fantastic stay, all around.