Craft Room Plans

I know I've already shared some brainstorms about the craft room, but I've been thinking a lot more about it lately and I pretty much have a plan finalized. It's totally different than anything I said last time we talked about it (for example, I did a total 180 on wanting a desk against a wall, and on Scrabble art). That's why I spend so much time thinking about a room before I do anything... I change my mind a million times before I figure out what I really want! 

Currently, my house decorating priority list is kind of like this:

1. Finish the piano room. This is basically just sewing curtains and hanging some art on the long, empty wall. 
2. Finish up the laundry room. I'm actually really close to this, and I can't wait to show it to you!
3. Find something to do with the walls in the entryway. I have one giant wall and one smaller wall, and I just can't seem to figure out what I want there!
4. Totally re-do our master bedroom and move the master bedroom stuff into the second guest bedroom. This is a BIG one. It's going to require quite a few dollars, so we're waiting until this summer when we'll be a double-income couple. It's basically the total redecorating of two entire rooms (and probably the accompanying bathrooms), so it's gonna take a while.
5. The craft room.

Considering how far down on the list the craft room is, I really shouldn't be daydreaming about it just yet. But I am. I have it all planned out already. 

Here's what it looks like currently...

... and here's my idea board for what it will look like one day!

Pretty, right?

This is the one place in the house where I can decorate all girly and cute. Jeff has veto power on the rest of the house, and he routinely vetoes anything purple, pink, or flowery. So, I want it to be feminine and cute! 

I also want to avoid spending a ton of money on this room because (1) it feels selfish to spend a bunch of our money on it because it's really pretty much my room, and (2) I know when we eventually start having kids, the craft room will probably be the first thing we get rid of to make room for a nursery. 

So, let's talk about the plan! I want to paint the whole room a lovely shade of light gray, which I think will look just lovely with our glossy white trim. Then, I want to use a bunch of stuff we already have, and go on a giant Ikea shopping spree!

The wall under the slanted roof is where the purple sofa will go. Or maybe two chairs instead of a sofa. I'm still deciding. I just want it to be a place where I can read and study. Those two white Pottery Barn frames will hang above it (with the mats re-painted in an eggplant color and new pictures in the openings).

Ikea Ektorp sofa

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Close-up of my frames!

In front of the sofa will be the gray and white rug (which I may or may not have already purchased because it's so cheap!) and maybe a white coffee table.

Ikea rug

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Ikea's Liatorp coffee table

I really love this one because you can pull out that drawer and put stuff in the four compartments under the glass!

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Okay, let's talk about the wall with the door. To the left of the door, I want to hang the purple file holder (an amazing HomeGoods find!). 

To the right of the door, I want to put a couple filing cabinets (possibly spray paint some we already have so they match... we'll see!). Above that, I'm planning on hanging these floral prints (I found them on clearance at Target and just couldn't leave without them!).

I'm also trying to convince myself that it isn't totally insane to do this to my closet door:

Source: layersofmeaning.com via Katie on Pinterest

Moving on... let's talk about the window alcove!

Eventually, I want this to be the home of a crafting table. I like this one from Ikea:

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I already have four chairs (we bought them at the furniture auction for less than $10 each!).

I actually have the fabric and batting for the seats ready to go... it's a gray-on-darker-gray patterned fabric, and I'm excited about it! I just need to get some eggplant-colored spray paint for the wood!

For the window, I'm in love with this curtain from Urban Outfitters:

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I think I'd do it just like that photo... one panel with a tie-back and a curtain rod with clear knobs on the end. Beautiful! 

Okay, so this picture is what you see when you enter the room. For the wall on the left, I want two of these Ikea bookshelves:

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For one of them, I want to buy the doors for it so it looks like this:

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Of course, I'd fill the open one up with cute purple and pink and green things. I'd love to put our Penguin Classics collection there too.

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The only wall I haven't talked about yet is the one on the right in this photo (across from the wall with the slanted ceiling):

That wall is where I want my desk to go. I'm really enamored with this desk:

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On the desk, I'd put my sewing machine and a cute little silver office lamp that I already have... and maybe some pretty things too. :) Above the desk, I want to DIY some art like this:

Source: lh6.googleusercontent.com via Katie on Pinterest

So, that just about covers it except for one thing.... I want to replace the light with this:

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Isn't that the most fun light fixture you've ever seen?!?! I love it. It's kind of expensive for a light (well, compared to what we normally spend on lights), but I think I'll ask for it for my birthday or something. :) 

So, that's the craft room plan! I'm really, really, really excited about it. Like, really excited. Now I just need to go to work and make some money so I can make it happen! I'm hoping we can do it this summer (along with our bedroom and the second guest room... we'll be busy!). 

What do you think? 

30 Before 30

I've seen a lot of young bloggers lately who have a "30 Before 30" list... a sort of Bucket List for their twenties of things that they want to do before turning thirty. I loved the idea right away, and I've been working on my own 30 Before 30 List for quite some time.

The start of 2012 motivated me to finish it up and publish it for the world to see to keep myself accountable. Of course, I won't turn 30 until 2019, and who knows if I'll still have this blog at that point (I guess it's fully possible that the "Internet" as we know it will be something totally different by then!), but here it is anyway, in random order:

1. Host a New Year's Eve party. (completed 12/31/2011, and again 12/31/2012)
2. Pay off our mortgage. (completed June 2014)
3. Go on a spontaneous vacation.
4. Get Lasik surgery.
5. Drink champagne even though there's nothing in particular to celebrate. (completed March 2015)
6. Own a power tool of my very own. (completed December 2011)
7. Give a large sum of money to someone that isn't at all expecting it.
8. Get a DSLR camera and figure out how to use it. (completed 2012-2015)
9. Re-read the Bible. Every page of it.
10. Become a mother. (completed April 2014)
11. Have a master bedroom that feels cozy and luxurious.
12. Learn all the lyrics to Ice, Ice Baby.
13. Finish law school. (completed May 2013)
14. Get a library card and use it. (completed October 2012)
15. Get a new car and bid a fair adieu to Mazda. (completed April 2013)
16. Finish scrapbooking my high school photos.
17. Decorate our second guest bedroom. (completed 11/12/2012)
18. Find the perfect pie crust recipe.
19. Go wine tasting in actual wine country. (completed August 2012)
20. Pass the Bar exam. (completed July / November 2013)
21. Make creme brulee.
22. Visit Alaska. (completed August 2013)
23. See a beautiful, natural waterfall. (completed March 2013 in Texas, again August 2013 in Alaska/Canada, and again August 2013 in Snoqualmie, Washington!)
24. Take a weekend trip to a Texas town I've never seen before. (completed March 2013)
25. Raise a basil plant and stop paying for fresh basil at the grocery store.
26. Learn to like drinking water. (completed sometime around 2013 or 2014!)
27. Re-read at least three Jane Austen books. (Persuasion - August 2013, Mansfield Park - September 2014, one more left!)
28. Go to a restaurant and order dessert instead of dinner.
29. See the Grand Canyon. (completed June 2016)
30. Do something really special for our fifth anniversary in July 2015.

I think it's a good assortment... if I do all of it, I'll definitely have a lot of wonderful memories and experiences to look back on after I turn 30!

I tried to fill the list with things that will challenge me, but are also realistic. I don't want to turn 30 and only have half of it done... I really want to finish the whole thing. I've actually already begun a few of them, so I'm off to a good start!

Do any of y'all have a 30 Before 30 list? I'd love to see yours - share your link! 

Five Things

Today's post is full of random thoughts. 'Cause that's what's on my mind today.


1. Why I Hate Couponing

I don't like couponing. I try, and it just makes me mad. It turns out that it's not at all like it looks on Extreme Couponing on TV. First of all, I usually buy store-brand groceries, but the coupons are usually for name brand groceries. And even with the coupon, the name brand stuff is still more expensive. Also, it frustrates me that there are no coupons for fresh fruits and veggies and meat. That's what I probably spend the most money on.

Also, what's with the "$1 off when you buy four" sorts of coupons? As if I need four giant packs of toilet paper?!?! There are only two of us, and we spend the majority of our waking hours at school/work, and we just don't pee enough at home to go through a giant package very quickly.

Sometimes I do clip coupons for cleaning stuff or shampoo or something... but then I take them to Wal-Mart and 4 times out of 5 the cashier forgets to scan them before completing the transaction, and then I have to go stand in the Customer Service line for 25 minutes next to a smelly man just to get my three dollars or whatever. SO annoying. I'm giving up.


2. The Blog Would be Weird if I Died

I usually write a few blog posts at a time, and then I schedule them to post over the next few days (Ahh! I just let y'all in on a big secret!). Sometimes, I write posts a month or so in advance and schedule them to post in a few weeks (especially for things like New Year's Eve, or our anniversary, or other special days). I wrote a TON of scheduled posts in November so that y'all would have something to read in December while I was studying for finals and not blogging (it turns out I'm not some sort of Superwoman who can blog and study and cook and stay sane all at the same time).

Lately, I've been writing some Christmas-related posts that I didn't have a chance to finish pre-Christmas (recipes and DIY projects mostly), and I'm scheduling them for next December, so they'll be seasonally-appropriate when they go live in eleven months. But all the scheduling way in advance has me thinking... what if I were to die unexpectedly in 2012?  I mean... you'd all be shocked and my family would be sad and all... and the blog would just fade away... and for a few months there would be nothing coming out of Spirals and Spatulas. And then, in December 2012... all of the sudden posts would start getting published, and I'd re-appear on all your Google Readers, and you'd all be like Oh my goodness... she's posting from the grave! Is that a totally weird thought? Probably.

3. Chickening Out

When we moved into the house, I was all "I want to paint the guest room aqua!" and "Let's paint the piano room green!" Then I changed my mind, and I decided I actually like the neutrals + black look of the piano room, and I like the creamy tan walls in the guest room. It's not that I don't want to paint... I actually find painting to be pretty enjoyable and rewarding, but I just like the tan. Does this mean I'm growing up and becoming boring? Am I afraid of ruining my pretty house? Maybe I'm just discovering ways to personalize it without painting bold colors? Maybe I'm growing up? I don't know. I mean... the apartment had a bright red wall that I loved... but now I'm Mrs. Beige all the sudden. What's up with that?

4. Wedding Withdrawals

I'm having wedding withdrawals. I loved planning our wedding, and then the next year I was a bridesmaid and got to help plan other people's weddings, but now... I just miss it. I'm craving color-coordinated DIY projects and flowers and romance. I miss designing save-the-dates and ceremony programs and day-of timelines. I miss searching Etsy for the perfect earrings, or the perfect birdcage veil, or the perfect garter.

I'm strongly considering volunteering to help with wedding coordination at church. It wouldn't be any DIY or decor or anything, but I'd at least get to do the ceremony-organizing stuff and see a marriage be born every now and then (and seriously, Catholic churches could use a few more friendly, accommodating wedding coordinators). But really, can someone please get engaged and let me plan your wedding? I'd totally be a free day-of coordinator or something. Not even joking.

5. Law School Grades

I finally got my grades from last semester (yes, law school grades take forever to get posted). After all that worrying and stress, my GPA ended up staying exactly the same as it was before this semester. Praise God (because seriously, there's no way I pulled that off without a large amount of heaven-sent help). This means BigLawFirm will probably still like me. Potential full-time job = safe for now.

Of course, because this is law school, I got A's in (1) the class I didn't really care about because "I'll never use this in real life" and only started studying for the day before the exam, staying up all night before taking the final [aka Evidence], and (2) the class I was confused in all semester and said "Woah, what the heck was that?!? I don't think I've ever written anything so incoherent and crazy" after I finished the exam [aka Federal Income Tax]. My lowest grade was in the class that I worked really hard at all semester and told Jeff, "I SO rocked that test" after finishing the final. Silly law school.

Can anyone relate to any of that? Am I crazy for hating coupons and missing weddings and contemplating my own untimely demise? Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks these things...

I Need YOUR Opinion!

I promise I'll do a Thanksgiving Recap post soon, but it's just been so busy around here with finals coming up and I just haven't had a spare second to go through photos yet. Maybe tomorrow I'll have a Thanksgiving post done, but today - I have an important question for all of you!

Here's the situation. We're considering rotating our dining table 90 degrees in the dining room. We're both pretty in love with the rotated version (we think it makes the room look bigger/nicer, plus it allows us to use the leaf and extra 2 chairs in our table), but there's one problem - if we rotate the table, the chandelier is off-center by about a foot and a half.

So here's my question: is it worth the hassle of moving the chandelier to rotate the table? I'm not even sure what all goes into moving a chandelier, but it sounds pretty tough/expensive. I think the room looks a LOT better rotated (with the off-center chandy), but if it's not actually a big difference then I don't want to mess with moving the chandelier.

Oh, and before anyone suggests it, I am STRONGLY opposed to "draping" the chain over and hooking it into the right spot. Not happening. Not in this house.

So, here are the original pictures (not rotated, centered with chandelier):

Table against windows, chandy centered with table.

View from the hallway.

Again...

and again...

6 person table (no leaf)

This is the view from the front door. It's one reason why I don't like the table in it's original position. When you walk in, you can't see the table at all and it just looks like a giant empty dining room with a china cabinet.

And here are the rotated pictures (rotated 90 degrees, leaf and two chairs added in, chandelier is off-center):

Table rotated, chandelier is too close to the back wall and not centered with the table

Ignore the buffet table on the back right - it's not staying there. Although, a benefit of the rotated layout is that we CAN fit some sort of table there.

View from the front door: you can see the edge of the chair and rug peeking out.

8 person table with leaf

Okay, so... does is look better rotated? Is it so much better that it's worth moving the chandelier? Has anyone ever moved a chandelier before? I have a feeling it's pretty complicated, especially since we don't have attic space above this room and we have textured ceilings... I'm pretty sure we could pay someone to do it, but it would probably be pricey... thoughts?!?!

Backyard Dreams

We have a lovely big backyard. Size-wise, it's great. But right now the entire thing is just one big rectangle of grass. No landscaping, nothing interesting. Just grass.

Grass.

Grass.

More grass.

We like to think of ourselves as fairly interesting people (ha!), so living with the world's most boring backyard just isn't going to work. We wanted to tackle it right away when we moved in, but landscaping during the summer of the Great Texas Drought of 2011 wouldn't have been the smartest idea.

Now that Fall is coming, we're ready to get going on our backyard makeover! Jeff brought home some fabulously huge graph paper from work, and we measured out a to-scale drawing of our backyard, then added in our landscaping plans (which I colored in with colored pencils, because who doesn't love an excuse to pull out the colored pencils?). Here's the plan:

(click to enlarge)

We want to extend the current patio (the grey part) so it goes out as far as the house (the new patio is shaded in brown). Along the house (by the windows to our bedroom), we're going to install a flower bed and plant red and white azaleas.

On the far fence, we're going to install a second flower bed with some crotons, some sort of large tree (maybe a Magnolia? Or just whatever's on sale... haha), a baby tree from Jeff's dad (who happens to be an avid gardner), some sort of shrubs (oleander? sage?), and some little swamp irises (also from Jeff's parents). In the corner, we want to make a compost pile (so eco-friendly!!). 

Along the other corner of the backyard, we want to do a big corner bed with a crape myrtle in the corner, more shrubs (indian hawthornes? buford holly?), and some pretty flowers. 

Even though we want to do everything ourselves rather than pay someone to do it, it's still going to be fairly expensive. So, we've divided the plan into phases:

Phase 1 (Fall 2011): Install three flower beds. Plant shrubs and trees.

Phase 2 (Spring 2012): Add stones as borders to the flower beds. Plant flowers. Build an extension to the patio. Add some potted plants to the patio.

Phase 3 (Later?): Buy new patio furniture. Install landscape lighting. Install compost pile.

Let's envision the future... first the view from the back of the backyard:

Right Now

Future!

Here's the right corner:

Currently...

Future!

Here's the far side of the backyard:

Currently...

Future!

And someday this patio will be extended to line up with the house:

We're pretty excited about this whole thing! Phase 1 will get going pretty soon, and I can't wait to share the progress with y'all! Bye bye, boring backyard!!

It's the little things...

Lately I keep catching myself thinking of random little things that will be really nice about the new house. For example,

• When doing laundry, I won't be able to hear the washer and dryer throughout the entire house. Also, we'll have a side-by-side instead of a stackable, so I'll actually be able to reach the dryer. Wonderful!

I believe the builder's putting in something like this...

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• When I'm cleaning the counters in the kitchen, I can wipe all the crumbs right into the sink. This is HUGE. I believe I once referred to the undermount sink as "the epitome of the American dream," and I meant it. 

This is what our sink is like... straight off the granite and into the sink!

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• My clothes will have more space in the closet, and I won't pull a hanger out only to find that the shirt has a giant wrinkle from being pressed so tightly against the shirt next to it.
• I can get a doormat! Our apartment has carpeted indoor hallways, so we don't have one!
• I can have a compost pile in the backyard! Hooray for being eco-friendly and becoming more and more like my Grandpa.

Plenty of space back there!

• The master bathroom is big enough that we can share, so I won't have to move all my bathroom stuff every time we have guests staying with us!

• I can have a whole entire cabinet in the kitchen dedicated to cupcake papers and sprinkles and icing supplies and other baking paraphernalia! 

Plenty of cabinets!

• Our address won't have an apartment # at the end of it, so we'll always get our mail on time, even if people forget to write the apartment number.
• Speaking of our address, I can finally get one of those return address stamps! I never got one for the apartment because I didn't know if we'd stay here long enough for it to be worth it.
• When people come visit, I won't have to go downstairs and let them through the gate. They can just park at our house and walk to our door!

• We'll have neighbors! I'm especially excited about the empty lot next door. This means we'll have new neighbors not too long after we move in, and I can go bring them some banana bread and welcome them. I'm irrationally excited about this. 
• Sidewalks. I grew up in a neighborhood with sidewalks, and I've missed them ever since we moved when I was 10. 
• I will never, ever again have to clean a glass stove cooktop. Unfortunately, this is happening right after I finally found the perfect product to use to clean it.

This stuff is the BEST by the way. You can get it at Bed Bath & Beyond.

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• Garage - no more quick prayers for a good parking spot in the garage!
• We'll have trick-or-treaters on Halloween!

I'm just getting more and more excited about the house! Hopefully all of these positive things will convince me that the increase in my commuting time isn't so bad... you all know how much I enjoy Houston traffic (not.). Yes, I just said "not." Can we bring that back? I kind of like it...

Anybody else have a dryer you can't reach? Am I going to be okay sharing a bathroom with a boy? Haha. Will I freak my future neighbors out if I bring them various loaves of bread every day for the first week after they move in?