Where is this all going?

Some days I ask myself, why am I blogging? Most of the time, I find myself stumped for something to say. You see, I'm an incredibly private person, so I feel like I've boxed myself in with personal restrictions on what I will and will not put out there on the interwebz. I like sharing projects, or things I've created...but often I will write a post and decide against publishing it because it's too personal. Ironically I LOVE reading personal blogs, but I just don't want to put too much of myself out there where any old person can see it. So, when I don't have a finished project to show off, or a plan for what I'm going to do next, I wonder what's the point of even having this blog? I toy with just taking the whole thing down, or making it private so I decide who can see it. ...The thing that stops me from taking it down altogether is that I do like having a little log of what I've been doing. I have a crap memory for my own life - I can remember lyrics and movie lines like no one's business, but what I did last week? Yeah, that's gone. I've also gotten to know some really awesome people, like the very fun and cool Sara (who I need to meet up with again and visit her mansion!), and I've liked trading comments with Kim, Delaney, and Kasey, and I'd be a little sad to not connect with them anymore.  Well, at least not a two way connection - I'm not giving up reading and commenting on these and my other favorite blogs!

So, currently I'm thinking I'll go private. Leave me a comment or send me an email if you'd like to keep up with my blog. I can't say for sure, but I think that an added privacy barrier might actually make me a better blogger. If I know who's reading, I think I'll feel more comfortable writing more about my life. Tentatively I'll be making the change early next week - so let me know before then and I'll add you to my reader invite list!

Wingback Chair Reupholstery - Reveal!

For a little refresher on how far this has come, click here.

In August, the chair looked like this:

I had a notion of recovering it in this fabric, so I did some pretty laughable photoshop renderings of my vision for the corner.

However, after the acquisition of that shag rug, and 30 days (I kid you not, I started ripping into this on New Year's day and finished in the nick of time on January 30, mere days prior to my February 8 book club hosting duties) of backbreaking labor later, and the relocation of a table I already had that was somewhat homeless.....I had this:

 

Hooray! I'm so happy with how it turned out! It SURE isn't perfect, many mistakes were made, but I think it's a heck of a result for my very first time upholstering anything more complex than a simple seat that you staple over some batting.

Now for more pictures!

 

 

So there you have it - my baby! If there's any interest/I make an effort, I may eventually post a tutorial.

Because Perfect is the enemy of Good

I have had a finished project sitting in my living room for over a month now. I kept putting off photographing it because it was too dark or the room wasn't clean enough or I'm not a good photographer and today I thought ENOUGH!

Reveal coming Monday. :)

Craiglist, we can be friends again

Finally! I managed to hook up with a seller who was 1) not 100 miles away, 2) willing to negotiate on price, and 3) honored my position in line despite receiving a subsequent HIGHER offer! Hooray!!

So I suppose it's only fitting that I showed up and......it wouldn't fit in my car. Blast! But thanks to my seller being 1) not 100 miles away, we were able to call some nearby friends with a van to come and rescue us. The too-oversized-for-a-Corolla-purchase?

It's ~36" tall x 40" wide x 20" deep, and will make a perfect bedside table on the husband's side - our bed is off center due to a wonkily placed floor register, and I've been SCOURING the world for a non-expensive, tallish item that will fill the space and make the bed placement look a bit more intentional.

See? More space on the right, and actually there's even more space to the right that you can't see because I am a crappy photographer and I don't have a wide angle lens.

I haven't totally investigated the condition of the wood yet, but I'm enamored with the idea of painting it a smokey gray color - we have all white painted built-ins on the opposite side of the room, and our bed is a deep cherry color. I put together this little before and after to get the husband on board with my purchase via Anthropologie's website. New hardware is a definite....and I'll apparently be removing the wheels. I was on the fence....and then we lost one in transit. Dilemma solved!

 

Maybe someday if I do something with it, I'll show you the results. Or maybe not. Since I've had another h-u-g-e project (two actually!) completed for almost a month now that I haven't shown you yet. Trust me, it's awesome. And apparently secret due to my paralyzing laziness in taking "after" photos.  :)

February 1 - Anyone remember those resolutions?

Don't give up now! It's no longer January, so for most people, I imagine those hopeful resolutions made last month are sooooo last month. But not here! Oh no, I'm living in the past. Actually, I sort of credit my blog with keeping me relatively on track thus far! I read The Happiness Project last month by Gretchen Rubin where she basically made resolutions monthly rather than yearly. One of her biggest tips was pretty much to write the darn things down! If you keep them in front of you, surprise! You pay attention to them!

Here's a look back at mine:

2011 Resolutions

• daily gratitude/happiness journal
• exercise - 2 weekdays and 1 weekend workout
• do the dishes EVERY night
• floss EVERY night
• go to bed earlier - 10 pm weeknights!
• get up when the alarm goes off.  the first time.
• limit drinking mainly to social events

Some, I am a rockstar.....some, well, I have 11 more months to get it right!

• daily gratitude/happiness journal

I have 31 (actually a little more, as my calendar started in December) nice little entries in a calendar next to my bed. It's just a sentence or two about something that I did that day, something that made me happy, something I'm grateful for. NO negativity allowed. Sometimes I even write little inspirational notes to myself if I'm having a bad day. It's pretty cheesy, but you know what? I think it's helping me focus on the great things in my life. Plus it's helping me remember, oh, Thursday. Because my memory is seriously crap these days.

• exercise - 2 weekdays and 1 weekend workout

I'm not 100% on the exercise yet, as you'll notice from my Friday check-in's. Because my baseline is complete sloth, I personally count one or two instances of purposefully getting off my couch as a WIN. And I'll work up to a regular routine.

• do the dishes EVERY night

We (husband makes 1/2 the dishes, so I've enlisted his help with this one) have been doing AWESOME at the dishes resolution! I think there's been one or two nights when it didn't happen, and it seriously bothered me. Added bonus - we have some of our best talks as one washes and one dries. I don't know what it is - some people talk in the car (we're pretty much mute. It's weird), some talk over cooking (I'm usually distracted by trying not to burn things or remove appendages), but for us, dishes is where it's at. Oh, and to help avoid getting absorbed in a movie or something and being too tired lately? I set an alarm in my phone to go off each night at 9. It tells me "Dishes, Brush teeth, Floss!" Even if I don't do it immediately, it's been brought to my attention.

• floss EVERY night

Flossing is going mush like dishes. Yes, it's sad to make a resolution to perform a basic human function, but it's WORKING! I also enlisted/ guilted the husband into joining me here, and our efforts were rewarded at the dentist. I was complimented on my excellent home care, and husband was told that his gums bled a lot less this time!

• go to bed earlier - 10 pm weeknights!

Um, yeah. I LooooooooooVE sleeping, so convincing myself to tuck in early is e-a-s-y. Basically the phone alarm goes off at 9, we clean up, get ready for bed, and I have about 30 minutes to read and I am truly in bed by 10. LOVE it. Yes, I AM turning 87 this year! Ha.

• get up when the alarm goes off.  the first time.

Waking up however.....different story. Hate it. I have the alarm on my phone that goes off twice to ease me into the idea, and the horrible buzzer on the other side of the room.  If I'm working out, I can get up after two horrible buzzes and be on time. Other mornings....I turn off the buzzer and get back in bed and keep resetting my phone alarm. Ugh. My problem may lie in that I don't always have to get up at "workout" time, so I push it later and later on those non-workout days. I realize I SHOULD just get up early....but I still hate it.

• limit drinking mainly to social events

The key to not drinking on weeknights? Water. It's so funny - I'll crave a glass of wine or something if I have nothing to drink already, but if I have a glass of water? I don't really care so much. It's made slightly harder when the people on TV are drinking - the power of suggestion or something! But it's really as simple as giving myself an alternative. Plus it makes me really enjoy that glass of wine on the weekend or out with friends. (Yes, I amended my resolution to basically don't drink alone or during the week. Dinner on Wednesday with a friend - go for it.)

So there's my resolution stick-to-it-ness update. Anyone else sticking to theirs? Or were they just a fun little diversion for a week or two?