Just a tease...

Well folks, I once again have gone blog-MIA for over a week.  This time, I blame it on the fact that I keep thinking I'm allllmooost ready to post about my latest project....and then things take 10 times longer than planned.  My perfectionist self wants to wait until it's all ready, because I think this one is going to be a pretty good before and after!

I'll give you a little hint about the project:

Stay tuned!  :)

A day well spent

Three cheers for parents who teach their kids that the best type of day is one spent working really hard and getting dirty.  And an additional three cheers for parents who inspire you to change this:

into this:

(and no, I don't just mean the presto-chango addition of a Honda Civic!)

So yes, if you're counting, my parents get 6 cheers for doing both.  And, really, they deserve an extra 100 cheers for everything else they did during their great weekend visit (and, not to mention, raising me....which I think they did pretty well, if I say so myself!)

But let's get back to the garden changes they inspired this weekend.  It's no secret that while we've worked really hard all winter on the interior of the house, the exterior leaves a lot to be desired.  And while we certainly can't tackle everything at once, my landscape consultant/mother helped me realize that this area by the front porch was a good place to start.

One of the bushes in the hedge row had died, leaving an awkward space.  And, the one lonely bush close to the porch does not have a parallel on the other side of the sidewalk.  So it made sense to take out that bush and create a walkway.  This not only looks better, but saves us from taking the groceries and other things out and around the front sidewalk.

So after digging out the extra bush, I pulled a bunch of weeds and evened out the soil.  Then I created the pathway using stones Justin had previously dug out of the back yard (it was a path to nowhere).  I planted a bleeding heart bush and some pansies, then mulched it over with the free mulch available to Ithaca city residents.

Enjoy the following picture, courtesy of my husband (for both telling me I needed to climb the mulch pile, as well as snapping the shot).

My front yard work wasn't the only gardening this weekend!  Justin and my dad dug the vegetable garden on Saturday.

I particularly enjoyed my dad's island strategy as he dug:

Although they're wearing shorts, we'll probably be back to winter coats before we're actually able to plant in the garden.  Our seeds are cozy inside for the time being

And even if it's not permanently gardening-weather yet, it sure was nice to get to spend a day outside getting dirty!  Anyone else with dirt under their fingernails tonight?

Sewing room progress

Tonight, I spent a fabulous evening in my cozy sewing room.  While hubby did this:

I made this:

Having a cozy chair like Lilly ended up being a great idea.  Even if it did mean I was listening to a sniper movie while I crafted, it was awfully nice just to have Justin close by (can you tell I'm still getting over two long years of a long-distance relationship?!)

Anyway, I have been wanting to make a wreath like this for a while.  I wrapped a straw wreath with yarn, and made some felt flowers

With the ideas from a few tutorials like this and this and this, the flowers were actually very easy - and lots and lots of fun.  I enjoy projects that can be completed in one sitting.  Come to think of it, given our recent renovations, I enjoy projects that can be done sitting down, period!  And these little flowers sure make me smile!

I hung the wreath on the door to the closet here in the sewing room.  It's one more little step towards having the room decorated.

Notice also my fabulous new night stand, which I found at TJ Maxx:

Yes, the book on the night stand is "Everything I Know I Learned from Home Improvement: The Do-It-Yourselfer's Guide to Life."  The drawings are super sweet, as are the sentiments.

With this week's updates, the guest room side of the guest room/sewing room is starting to take shape:

I'm going to work on making an upholstered headboard for the bed, adding a dust ruffle, figuring out a way to disguise that ugly brown lamp cord, and making some pretty pillows. 

So although that corner of the room is taking shape, obviously there's a little more work to be done here:

Right now, this is the dumping ground/storage area for everything craft-related and otherwise homeless items.  I dream of a long dresser something like this:

Image from Pottery Barn Teen

But since I do not dream of that price tag, I'm waiting for something similar to pop up on craigslist.  I found a nice brown one today, and I'm hoping to hear back from the seller that it's still available.  Although I'd probably paint it, the $50 price tag sure beats the $899 (plus shipping) price of the one above!

I am also scheming about how I can decorate the corner that my sewing machine calls home:

I'm thinking some shelves (for decorative storage of things like thread, buttons, etc), as well as a bulletin board.  Also, some obvious clutter control!

I'm debating whether to use this fabric my sister helped me choose for curtains (as intended) or for the cover to the bulletin board. 

I'm leaning towards a bulletin board cover, because I have a few other thoughts in mind for curtains...

so stay tuned for that decision and more!  And, in the meantime, please schedule some time to come stay in our guest room!  We love having company :)

Oops, I did it again.

My sincere apologies to anyone who's singing Britney Spears after reading the post title.  Literally, I have only met one person in my life who like Britney (but his middle school appreciation for her was enough to make up for everyone I've met who doesn't share that view).

But anyway, in all seriousness - Oops, I did it again.  I got carried away with house projects and totally forgot to update the blog at all.  In fact, even I was shocked when I went to the blog homepage and saw the bedroom curtains.  I mean, that's OLD news!

Since then, we've got rooms of new colors, a finished upstairs bathroom, and grown-up furnishings (i.e., a couch, not a bed pushed against a wall; a bed on a bed frame, not sitting on the floor; a guest night stand; two sweet little lamps; and an ottoman for my new chair Lilly).  We've also finished countless little tasks, like installing the covers over the light switches upstairs.  Man, is it nice to walk into a dark room and turn on the light without fear of accidentally hitting the wires and frying yourself.  It's also very nice to shower upstairs and not make a late-night or early-morning trek up and downstairs in a towel.  Also, to own a couch.  Also, to have 90% of our construction tools stored in the basement (vs. the 1st and 2nd floors!)

Yeah, so although we've been busy beavers getting projects done, perhaps the real reason that I've been delinquent on blog posts is tat I've been too busy enjoying living here.  I've realized recently that this is the first time in my life that I'm simply living.  In the moment, enjoying each day.  Every other period of my life seemed to have a deadline - high school preparation for college, college preparation for a job, my Harrisburg job preparing for a wedding and a move.  Not to say that I didn't have good times during each of those previous stages.  Or to say that I'll be a newly-wed in a slowly-coming-together old house forever.  But for this moment, I'm loving this life.  For the first time, I feel like I'm living my life, not just waiting for it to start.  What a fabulous feeling...and one I hope each of you reading can also say you share!

Sorry for the picture-less post.  I'll work on getting some meaty updates posted soon.  But I can't promise I won't stop and smell the roses (or the tiny little unknown bulbs sprouting by our driveway) before then :)

Strange, but true

Tonight I decided to do something about the 10+ outlets and light switches in our house that are sans-cover.  It's one of those small projects that seems to drag on after finishing a room - the space returns to normal (or in our case, becomes inhabitable), and we get so busy living and enjoying the house that we don't really mind the tiny projects (also, paint touch-ups, installing the bathroom door-knob, etc).  Having recently booked several dinner guests AND a weekend visit from a good friend, the tiny projects suddenly seem more important (particularly that bathroom doorknob!).

So....I bought a whole bunch of new covers today.  And, strange but true, it took me longer to decide on those than it did to decide on paint colors.  Seriously.

I'll be busy running around doing the little jobs and other visitor prep-work this week, but hoping to pop back on here with a more substantial update.  Oh yeah - and I painted the living room on Saturday - guess I owe you some pictures!  :)

Until then...reader participation: am I the only one with detail-decision-paralysis? 

Psst!!!

I've (finally) updated my House Tour & About Me pages - click on the links at the top of the page to read more!  My about me is named "Who am I and What do I hope to find?" - this is Finding Former Glory, after all!

:)

Power tools

Picture from here

On Wednesday evening, Justin went out for a mandate ("man - date," aka guy time) with his former roommate. 

After I was sure I'd heard the door close, I got out the power tools.  You see, typically, I'm not supposed to use the drill without the close supervision (really, the additional upper body strength) of my husband.  We've had a few instances where I've tried to "help" putting screws into drywall or other projects, and that has quickly resulted in my return to the tool holder/fetcher role. I'm totally OK with the fact that I'm not able to do everything that Justin can. After all, there's plenty of things that work in the reverse.  Like making curtains.

But therein lay the problem.  I was itching to get started on turning the fabric my sister and I had chosen into master bedroom curtains.  I didn't want to start sewing until I knew the exact length I needed.  And I couldn't decide on the length until the curtain rods were hung.  Enter my best Rosie the Riveter impression.  I was bound and determined that I could do it, and low and behold, I did!

Obviously, I also spent some time with my own power tools (the iron & sewing machine) and sewed the curtains.

You're looking at one of two windows.  The second has only the rod.  You see, there was a slight hold-up in the form of a minor injury.  In a very ironic turn to the evening, I managed to hurt myself - not with the drill, but with the sewing machine.  I have been sewing since age 5, and have never before gotten my finger too close to the needle.  Apparently I just needed a little humbling after my pride at hanging the curtain rods!

Pierced finger and all, I'm still pleased with the evening's progress!

P.S. My finger is totally fine, I only caught a little edge, and you can barely see the mark two days later.  Also, I realize that hanging curtain rods isn't really that big of a project and lots of women do far more, but I was excited for doing something I hadn't done by myself until now!

Anybody else out there with sorely ironic injuries - home improvement or otherwise?  Don't forget...I love comments :)