Friday, September 28, 2007

In an Effort to Lift

Last night in my attempts to change my mood of yesterday I did the following: had cereal and grapes for dinner, watched LOTS of TV, petted Rudy until she got up and walked away. Perhaps it worked a bit but not much.

Then today I found several new blogs about things that inspire from which I found this etsy shop. I immediately fell in undying love with these two prints and broke out my credit card so quickly that I nearly threw out my arm.




The second is a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt that reads "The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost...To reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences." The larger text within the quote reads "Laugh Dance Sing Play Work Love Give Thanks for Life Itself".

Please GreenChairPress send them soon. I need their inspiration and gorgeousness on the walls of my cluttered, messy, in-process home.

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Another Day Another Mood

Had a great evening last night! Mostly.

First with all of the great stuff. Britten came over and we walked Rudy then went to dinner at Qdoba. I'm always a sucker for a Burrito. Although they are not as good as Taco del Mar in my opinion, it's still a Burrito and that means it's still NUMMY! Dave had invited Britten to pub Trivia over at the Kangaroo and Kiwi and Britten invited me. I nearly didn't go because I was starting to get my lazy on but I am glad I did.

Got there a bit after 8 and the Trivia started around 8:30. I was good to go, answering questions and feeling somewhat knowledgable until about 9:30. That's when my allergies started to attack me with a vengence!

The "Smoking Area" at the bar is a open area that is technically outside but not by much. There are two large doors that keep the smoking area open to the rest of the bar, kind of like a sidewalk eating area. The smoke is what triggered my allergy problems.

I left, rather abruptly, and proceeded to cough and hack all of the way home. Once home I immediately stripped off all layers of clothing and got in the shower. I even hid all of the clothes inside the washing machine, closed the door and the closet door. It was then a Benedryl and straight to bed.

This morning I woke up with a bit of a medication hang over and in a fowl mood. I've snapped at the Accounting guy who is only here one day a week for half a day. That in itself is not that strange because he is a bit annoying. But I have this overall feeling of "if anyone gets in my way today I will decimate your ass."

So a warning to all of the people who might cross my path today, Don't.

(w2d5)

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Nada Nada Limonada

Nothing much happening today, at least so far but it is only lunch time. Biggest excitement was the posting of the pictures last night. Too cool!! Sent them off to Dad for his input on my next steps. Which reminds me that I need to start researching the rental of a reciprocating saw. Certainly don't need to buy one for this tiny little project.

Reciprocating Saws aka. Sawzall:
@ Aurora Rents 4 hour Min $17 or $24 for the day (blades not included)
@ Home Depot (can't find info on the web site)

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

The Proof is in the Pictures

I've gotten a bunch more of the drywall removed tonight. Feels great!
Take a look.


Don't let it stop you (or how the living room has taken over my life)

Even the threat of a little asbestos didn't deter me from continuing my demo duties last night. It's really dusty work so I'm hoping to add a little water to the mix tonight and cut that down a bit. I'm wearing a dust mask but still feel like I'm getting a lung full of the stuff. And poor little Rudy doesn't have any sort of protection. The thought of her wearing a dust mask is pretty cute though.

So far it looks like the header over the "cutout" continues across the doorway which is so odd. The doorway header seems to almost be floating in space. Well not entirely. It is connected to studs coming up from the floor but doesn't appear to be connected to anything at the top. Oh and it's a rather substantial piece of wood.

My dad seems a bit worried that I have my house fix priorities out of whack but here is how I got to this point. I ordered the couch a few weeks ago and should arrive in November. I have to paint the walls and ceiling and don't want any possibility that the fancy new furniture will get paint drips on them. In order to really paint the walls/ceiling I needed to remove the breakfast bar and its supports. The new TV that I want (LCD!!!) will be sitting in front of the wall area vacated by the breakfast bar so that also needs to be purchased before said couch arrives. So after the granite was gone the remaining wall looked just plain silly. To make the living room into the place I really want it to be I decided now would be the best time to see if that newly offending wall could come down. See dad, it all makes sense?!? At least to me.

So here's the list of things that now need to happen to the living room (Subject to change with blog notice):
1) Complete removal of drywall to make sure the wall can come down.
2) Remove all of the wall. (Rent reciprocating saw!)
3) Repair new opening. (Drywalling??!?! Yikes!)
4) Remove silly little crown molding
5) Paint Ceiling (already have the paint for this)
6) Paint Walls (need to find the right color)
7) Buy new TV and TV stand.
8) Have fabu new couch delivered.

If all goes well the living room should be up and running some time in November. Why does that seem like a long way off and way too soon all at the same time? Keep your fingers crossed because if I can get this done in this time line I can then have the living room as a sanctuary while moving on to the bedroom and den fixes. But let's not even let my brain think on those two right now. You know how easily I am distracted.

Monday, September 24, 2007

I am sucker for destroying things

Yes, I did it. The aforementioned "wall" between the kitchen door and cutout is on its way to being nothing but a memory. On its way, very slowly, very very very slowly. At least for me.

Molly seemed to be impressed by my progress but to me the "wall" seemed to be taunting me at every turn. I don't have the correct demo tools and so the wallboard is coming out in small chunks instead of the large pieces that would be much more inspiring. I've exposed most of the wall section inside the kitchen and a small hole on the side in the living room.

I did have a plan to start the demo from the kitchen side. That way the living room would look mostly put together and only when someone was in the kitchen would they see the damage. Also, if I found out the wall could not come down for one some reason (structural, electrical, water, other?) then I would only have to repair the kitchen wall. When I wasn't making satisfactory progress in the kitchen I took my frustration out on the living room side. Which means that "plan" has to be scrapped.

The good news is that so far it's looking like the wall can come down Mr Reagan. There is no electrical or water running through there and so far it does not appear to be structural. Big old bonus.

But here is my one concern, perhaps something I should have thought of before I started demo, how do I know if the wallboard contains asbestos? Did they put asbestos in wall board in 1968? Off to the interweb to find out. I shall report back.

**********************************************
According to my favorite series of tubes: Asbestos can be found in pre-1977 homes in the wallboard and spackle. So the wallboard I have been destroying with gusto this weekend most likely has asbestos. Oops!!

Friday, September 21, 2007

The siren song of demolition

Last night I chipped away at more of the adhesive debris left by the removal of the granite slab. I also cleaned up / swept up the debris I've already removed. The "shelf" now left there looks a lot better and is begging for a piece of molding to top it off.

Then I sat down on the couch. I really shouldn't have done that. From that viewpoint I was able to get a wide angle view of the cutout/window and the doorway into the kitchen. There is a small wall dividing the two and the header of the doorway is much lower than the header of the cutout. That area is now begging me to be removed. It is saying to me in my dreams "Wouldn't it be so great if the doorway and cutout were one larger area?" "I know you want your little house to feel bigger, wouldn't that help SO much?" "Just do it. Hit me with a hammer. It will be easy!!"

Then there are the other voices in my head telling those voices to shut the hell up because I haven't actually finished a single project in the house! Sure I've removed the sliding mirrored closet doors but they are still propped up against the wall in the bedroom. Sure I've remodeled the bathroom but the two new light fixtures haven't been installed and the "old" sink and medicine cabinet are still in the living room. Sure the granite slab isn't in the cutout but it is still on the floor right in front of the cutout because it's heavy and I have no idea how to get rid of it.

So what's a girl to do? Which voices should I listen to? Knowing me I'm seeing more demo in my future. Keep your fingers crossed that the house won't fall down around me.

Thursday, September 20, 2007

The FLOR-ing samples have arrived

The FLOR samples were waiting for me when I got home from the Airport last night. I opened them with anticipation but ended up slightly disappointed. Not entirely disappointed but a bit on the bummed side.

The colors of the samples isn't what I was hoping for. Bummer number one. Some of the samples are a bit scratchy to the touch. Bummer number two. I don't think that any of them is one I want to get. Bummer number three.

On the bright side, I think I figured out which of the textures that I want but that doesn't help with the color decision which is in my mind the most important aspect.

What to do next? Since the colors on my computer monitor are nothing like their real life counterparts I'm not sure how to order some without having to order more sample pieces first. Should I do that? Does that make sense? Spend more money on little 6" x 6" sample pieces of carpet? I am not able to make a decision.

A "big D" recap

Just returned from a fantastic 5 days in Dallas. Left on the red-eye flight on Friday night (or is that Saturday morning?) and returned on Wednesday about dinner time.

I suppose I should clarify that I wasn't actually in Dallas because dad and Liz live Northeast of Dallas in a suburb called Fairview. It's a very quiet "town" with no actual town area to speak of. The closest thing to a town near by is McKinney which is very adorable. We spent a nice day there going to a billion tiny "antique" shops the last time I visited.

This time I wasn't the only one heading to their place, Uncle Wayne, Cousin Brandon and Grandpa were also there. I brought Molly with me so that she could meet dad and Liz and visa versa. Wayne and Brandon arrived Friday night and left on Sunday evening.

On Saturday Liz had gotten tickets for all seven of us to go to the Mesquite Championship Rodeo. Highlights: Mutton Bustin' and Barrel Racing. If you've never seen 4, 5, & 6 year olds trying to stay on a sheep then I suggest you get yourself to the next Mutton Bustin' event pardner. It is fantastic!! The kids seem to love it although I'm not so sure the sheep do. And of course the Barrel Racing is just plain amazing. The way those women are able to make their horses cut like that is pure skill.

If there had to be one drawback it would have to be my ridiculous allergies. I'm allergic to nearly every aspect of this type of event. First the dust. It's in an enclosed arena so the dust is a given. The horses/cattle/sheep. Not sure which one of these lovely animals is more aggressive on my nasal passages but holy hell. Then I'm sure there is a large amount of hay around as well. Hay, in case you didn't know, is a grass. This gal is allergic to grass. So the rodeo was a triple threat for me even though I tripled up on my allergy meds in preparation for it. I felt as though I had a hang over the next morning from the whole thing.

Was the rodeo worth it? Yes. Would I go again? Most likely not. I mean if I spent too much time around rodeo arenas I might fall in love with a cowboy and then go broke from the cost of trying to keep my allergies at bay. I will say a fun time was had by all, allergies or not, democrat bashing or not (more on that below).

Trip highlights:
  • There was a point during the event when the rodeo clown attached to the loudspeaker started making jokes about Hillary Clinton and then one about Rosie O'Donnell, to the roaring approval of the crowd. I then turned to Molly and said "These are not my people." Her response "I could never live here."
  • The Trampoline Game. A derivative of Slug-Bug without the hitting. It involves yelling out "TRAMPOLINE" when ever you spot one. Perhaps only fun in Dallas because there are a million and ten of them.
  • Grandpa talking about his time on the USS Boise (CL-47) during WWII.
  • Ping-Pong is so much FUN!
  • Boston Cream Pie is actually Cake, according to the bakery people at Tom Thumb. Either way it's GOOD!

So yet again it was a fantastic trip with dad and Liz! Thank you both for your hospitality and friendship.

Friday, September 14, 2007

The coping "skills" at work

This is how I cope: I eat Smartfood and Cherry Sours for dinner. No joke. That is what I ate for dinner last night. Oh and visiting the brand new Barnes and Noble @ Northgate to stock up on books for the trip. A little retail and junk food therapy. Works wonders every time.

Or at least I'm hoping it will. So far today I am the only one in the office. I get here at 7:30 and everyone else gets to roll in whenever they want. Which some days means 8-ish and other times not until 10. Ah someone has just arrived it's 8:40. The test is on.

Would Carol be proud of the skills I have developed? 5 years of therapy. Were they useful? Most definitely! But I still feel very out of sorts and confused when my emotions get the better of me like they did yesterday. My life is much easier on me when I'm at a nice even state. Sort of like Cesar Millan's Calm Assertive mantra. When I'm at those ends of the spectrum, both the lows and the highs, I feel off balance and strange.

Perhaps I should embrace my "skills" and call them something more official like mechanisms or tactics. Does that make them seem more useful and less like I failed last night? Nope. Feels like last night I was hiding away. Besides the necessary Target outing and the B&N trip I spent the rest of the evening watching saved shows on my DVR and eating aforementioned "dinner". Ah sweet escape.

I think this trip to Texas could not have come at a better time. I get to see Dad and Liz!! And Grandpa and Uncle Wayne. What could be better? Time away from the real life and a few days in a stress free zone. Sign me up!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

The job and the anger

So what do you do when you get so angry about your job you want to walk out? It's silly and insane to even think that anything in this job would anger me so much but today something did.

I am responsible for sending out this publication for the company and it involves a process that I don't yet understand and only have done twice in the 6+ months I've worked here. So how often does it take you to learn a multi-step process that you only go through once every three months? Am I stupid because I don't know how yet?

Here is the crux of the issue. My job is ridiculously easy. I mean easy to the point of nearly boring me to death. For a while I liked that I didn't have much to do at work. First of all it was a very welcome change from life at my previous job where I was everything to everyone all day every day. I stayed at that place for more than 7 years even though I hated it from nearly day one. Talk about draining!

Then I started at this job and all I was responsible for was myself. Taking care of what the customers need and that was it. Holy hell was that cool or what!??! My boss rarely checks in on me. I never have to prove that I'm doing anything at all. As long as the renewals keep coming in and the customers are happy he's fine. So what's my problem? Really what?

This is where the anger comes in. The aforementioned subscription is supposed to be published every quarter. The one I had to send today is dated "July-August-September". Do you see what I'm getting at? This publication should have been sent out in July! Here it is already September 13th and I'm just sending it! As the person who has to deal with all of the customers I feel horrible that these poor people are getting gypped. But why should I care? Well hell because I just do.

I suppose I should tell you how I spend most of my days, reading other people's blogs. Honestly I am getting paid to sit at this desk for 8 hours a day and surf the internet for my own personal information gathering. Oh and then there's the fact that I started this blog which I am now writing in while at work and all previous posts have been made while at work. So really I have nothing to complain about. So I shouldn't but hell I'm going to. So there.

I'm angry that I'm supposed to know how to do something that big boss man doesn't know how to do, never really showed me how to do and seems to think I'm an idiot for not knowing how to do. Angry Angry Angry. Or am I just hormonal? Ah hell who knows either way as Jess always says "feeling are real" and I'm angry. And truely I'm also bored.

So what am I going to do about it? Am I ready to start looking for something new? Am I ready to put myself back into the job seeking world? Not sure. Maybe now that I've moved into the anger stage (which stage of grief is that one?) I'll be able to move to the next step. What ever that next step might be.

A night off from housework

Took the night off from working on the house last night. It felt great. I went to see Jess and Jackson instead! Lovely.

He's really grown since I saw him last. Looking so much more like a baby than a newborn. He's getting those adorable little dimples in the best places; the back of his hands, his elbows.

I was able to make him laugh by doing the silliest thing. He was sitting in Jess' lap facing me. I would take both of my hands and make this sort of buzzing sound then shake his tummy. He laughed out loud! So great!! Funny thing is that it was kind of tiring to do. My head started to hurt from making the sound but getting him to laugh was way too much fun to stop. So I just kept right on going. I think I even gave myself a little bit of a headache from it. I'm such a goof.

Thanks for having me over to play Jess, Jackson, Sugar, Shotty and Toby. You were so much fun!

Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Insulation is expenive

The insulation contractor came by yesterday to give an estimate. He only felt comfortable giving pricing for the attic and crawlspace. He said he's going to talk to his boss, the owner, to see what he thinks about the interior wall.

The total estimate was around $3200 for both spaces. I am not sure what we should do next. Should we just pull the trigger and get it scheduled? Should we wait and try to find another company to do a bid? Perhaps that would be the best idea. To at the very least get another bid. But from who? I had a hell of a time finding "Clean Crawl" to begin with.

Those house things that I can't/won't do myself are the most annoying to me. I'm annoyed at the idea of having to find someone who is reputable and won't take me for a huge ride. Where do you go to find those people? Are they out there? If so, where?

Anyone who wants to install insulation, a patio and a new fence please come on by my place. I'll welcome you with open arms.

Ding Dong the Granite is Gone!

I amaze myself with the things I try to accomplish. Why would I think that I could possibly remove a slab granite breakfast bar? I have no idea why attempting a task such as this doesn't give me more pause. Is it entirely a result of my upbringing? Having a father who always did all of the repair/remodeling in the house no matter the task was a great role model.

My dad could be counted on to take care of nearly everything with very little, if any, outside help. He made two bedrooms and a bathroom from the space above the garages. He made a new back hall and stairway to get to that new space. He built a new deck (a few in fact). The kitchen got a vaulted ceiling, new tile floor and a wall knocked down. There are the two bay windows downstairs and a wall where there was once a door. He has updated/changed nearly every room in that house. It's amazing.

So a big old thank you Dad. Thanks for making me unafraid of trying things, well, house fixing things at any rate. Because of your influence I have installed light fixtures, installed dimmer switches, removed and replaced fire place mantels, installed custom closets, removed mirrored closet doors, installed bathroom cabinets/sink/faucet, fixed a tub spout and most recently removed a slab of granite. I am very grateful to be a girl who can do things for herself. I am very grateful that I got that from you. I can't wait to see what I'll attempt next!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Don't you just love FLOR samples?

Fun Fun Fun! I just ordered some sample pieces from FLOR. The carpet square people. I think I first saw this stuff years ago on an episode of Trading Spaces. Geniveve used it and made a really cool pattern out of it.

Molly asked if I would order her some blue samples so she could see what they would look like in her bedroom. Since I'm also interested in using blue in the living room it was a perfect idea. Just for good measure I also ordered some greens that I'm hoping will work in either the bedroom or den. It all depends which room I decide to paint Apple green.

Here are just a few of my favorites (I ordered 12 of them total).

They are called (from left to right): Shirt Stripe - Freshly Starched, Modern Mix - Blues, Between the Lines - Citron, and Solid Ground - Citron. Since I haven't seen them in real life yet, I'll let you know which ones end up the winners.

The joy that is demolition

Last night in a fit of energy I started the demo on the granite breakfast bar. I was able to get two of the three supports off. Thought I should leave the third, center, one in place to hold up the granite on the front edge. Then scored all along the living room side between the wall and granite. I started on the kitchen side but pooped out quickly. It was not easy to swing a hammer at a chisel for an hour and a half. Which I can only assume means that I must get back to the gym SOON. Apparently a gal who wants to do all of her own home improvement needs to have serious upper body strength. This problem has stopped me more than once from finishing a project when I wanted to. Annoying.

Tonight the insulation contractor is coming by to do the estimate. I'm really hoping that he can get into the crawl space from the outside rather than having to go through the closet floor. I really don't want to empty out the bottom half of my closet and then put it all back together. I have more important (DEMO!) things to do.

Getting insulation in the crawl space and between the common walls would be really great. I'm hoping it's budget friendly so that we can get it done before winter. Keeping my fingers crossed on that one.

Monday, September 10, 2007

The living room check list

Just got the message from Paul @ Crate and Barrel confirming that my couch is on order. It should take anywhere from 7 to 9 weeks to deliver it to the Crate and Barrel warehouse and then another 5 to 10 days to deliver to my house. If all goes perfectly I could have the couch by the beginning of November. Chances are it would be some time around Thanksgiving though. I need to make sure that I get the room painted before the new couch arrives. That way I won't have to paint around it.

And then there's buying the new TV and TV stand. Oh and a coffee table of some sort. The living room really needs work. That stupid granite eating bar really needs to get out of there before I do anything else. Should I just take it into my own hands and start yanking on it? I wonder how much damage I could really do. It would be a good place to take out any aggression.

So this should be my to do list for the living room:
1) Order Couch - Done!! (9-10-07)
2) Remove Granite breakfast bar & supports Done!! (9-11-07)
3) Repair any drywall damage from breakfast bar removal (Started 9-11-07)
4) Paint crown molding
5) Paint ceiling (white)
6) Paint walls
7) Buy new TV, TV stand and any other furniture items

I think I'll see if I can find any info on removing granite countertops. That seems like it might be fun to do myself.

What a house transforming weekend!!!

Had a fantastic house focused weekend. On Friday night I cleaned/tidied up the kitchen and living room. Kristie was going to come by on Saturday for the first time so I wanted her to see the place in a somewhat presentable form. I also watched Molly's Netflix "Night at the Museum". Not great but it was perfect for a laid back Friday night.

Saturday started with my usual massage and then back home to get cleaned up. Molly had an interior designer come by and I really wanted to be a fly on the wall to hear what he said. I hope Molly didn't mind Kristie and I both chiming in WAY too often with our opinions. She and I cannot seem to hold back when it comes to decorating.

Then I finally got to show off my little place to Kristie and she had some great ideas. One in particular which moved my bedside table into the kitchen nook. The bedside table is really more of a sideboard looking piece with two drawers and two shelves. The black finish of the unit really makes the black accents in the fridge and stove work! It's great.

Then we went to lunch because we were both about to pass out from hunger. Then off to Don Willis Furniture on Lake City Way, Two Tigers Trading in LFP, Ethan Allen, Anna's Furniture and Tuesday Morning.

Talking to Kristie back at my house had made me realize that I had outgrown my summer quilt. It's a cute beach inspired block quilt from Pottery Barn Kids. I really wanted to get something a bit more grown up. At Tuesday Morning I stumbled across a light weight striped quilt called "Retro Sienna". I'd post a pic here but I can't seem to find one. I'll bring the one from the package in tomorrow and scan it. It has every single color in the world in it without being overwhelming or obnoxious. I am loving it. Oh and it goes great with my yellow sheets, big bonus. I think my both my blue and green sheets will work too.

So with the bedroom getting an identity but now lacking a bedside table I spent a bit of Sunday trying to fill that void. But first on Sunday I met Mel for a walk into Fremont, lunch @ Jai Thai, and a stroll through the market. A great way to start the day! From her place I went into downtown to look at Furniture. I went to "It's Gotta Go" and Continental Furniture but didn't find anything. Then to Cost Plus where I found a few promising items. The most interesting is the Tate Media Stand which doesn't seem to be on their web site. Bummer.

Then I stopped by David Smith & Co which didn't have anything interesting. Then to Far Fetched where I hit the jackpot! Ok not really the jackpot but I found a side table that I really love, the price was most definitely right ($199) and they had it in stock! Talk about instant gratification. The only drawback is that it is a bit shorter than I wanted but I'm working out a McGuyver fix for that. It's the Sterling Park 1 Drawer Nightstand from Zocalo. Isn't it cute?

Now I just need to find a small dresser to house the unmentionables. Oh but then there was the idea that Molly's Interior Designer had about the closet. It involves a bit of construction but would create a great walk in closet space that would be SO great. Gotta see if I can find room in the budget for that!

Friday, September 7, 2007

Which box should greet my mail?

I really want a new mailbox. The one I have has probably been there since the house was built (1969) and is showing its age. For some strange reason it is full of dirt and odd bits of yuck. So I'm in search of a shiney new silver one.

This one from Umbra looks adorable:












This one from mailboxes.com is nice and basic (I think Britten and Brooke have this one):











Then there is the if money were no object mailbox of my dreams:


Oh beautiful Bobi Mailbox why do I covet you so????

The Long Awaited Patio

Last night Molly and I met with Dan Yarger who is a Landscape Designer and Contractor. He spent about an hour and a half going over his ideas for our yard. Several of the ideas he came up with were great! Nothing that I would have thought of but that make perfect sense. One is to put a planting bed between the house and the Patio. I was thinking of running the patio right up to the foundation but his idea is much more inviting. It would also help to hide the "Pink" stone facade which is a big bonus. He also thought that we should use a hedge rather than a fence to surround the patio and then we got down to the idea of having a hedge along the front and using fencing for the portions turning back toward the house. That way we maximize the width of the patio and soften up that end wall with a bunch of green. Oh and then the idea of using the pavers on the walkway up to the house as well as for the patio. I love that idea because it makes the walk way less a part of the parking area and more inviting! I'm so glad that we had him come by. Way to go Molly for making that call! Hopefully he will be able to work our little project into his fall/winter schedule. It would be so great to have that patio ready and waiting for us in the spring. Of course having it done right this very moment would be even better but reality does play a bit of a role here.

Tomorrow Molly has an interior designer coming by to give her some ideas. Since any of his ideas could just be mirror imaged for my place, I'm looking forward to seeing what he has to say too.

It's starting to feel like we are gaining ground on all of the house ideas. Oh and then there's the insulation contractor coming by to submit a bid next week. It feels a bit overwhelming to have all of these things going on at once but it also feels exhilarating! Just need the money to hold out so that all of these ideas can become reality. Anyone want to give me a sizable amount of money with no strings attached? I would put it to very good use I promise.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Finally a NEW COUCH!!!

I finally ordered my new couch yesterday!! I'm so excited. It's a three piece sectional from Create & Barrel called Troy. It's going to be a great use of space. So much better than the couch/chair/ottoman combo that I have going on now. The living room is way too tight to have three separate pieces like that. A sectional seems like a much better option so that I can take advantage of the corners that are currently lost. Here's a "view" of Troy: http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=960&f=24439 But this isn't the configuration I'm getting or the color. I've ordered the armless loveseat, corner and armless chair in a fabric color called Chamois. It's a nice basic color that I hope will be a very nice staple piece in the living room. One that will bend to my color dream whims whenever I have them. I probably won't get Troy until some time in late November. I hope I can wait that long. Now for the rest of the living room I'm thinking of a bookcase with glass doors (possibly a Billy from Ikea) and this Unicycle end table from CB2.

I'm thinking of something with storage for the coffee table but haven't found what I want yet. Can't decide on the color of Billy to buy either. Perhaps that decision will have to wait until the couch arrives. So many things I want to do to my little house.

Update: This tele table from Umbra is even cuter than the CB2 one.

Can't believe I just did this!

What I want to know is why I think I need a blog? What am I going to do with it? Who knows. Certainly not me. I would never have thought just a few weeks ago that I would be compelled to do this. But I am now blog obsessed. I have an ever growing list of favorites and now I want one too! At the very least I figure I can keep all of my ideas/wants/thoughts here even if no one reads it but little old me. So off I go into the world of blogs!!!