Spring Cleaning

At the risk of alienating some of my more design-weary readers with a continued theme of home improvement, allow me to share with you the results of my latest project. (no, it is not coverlet related...but that update is coming!)


I'm sure you remember the tear inducing catastrophe, lurking just off our living room. I give you....

Before

In all honesty, this picture hardly does the mess justice. Behind the desk is a mountain of (more) stuff, and I didn't even dare take a photo facing the other direction! Our "3 seasons room" had been serving about 33 purposes. It was known as the office/craft room/exercise area/catch-all. (it also serves as a hiding space for our booze when the YL kids come over. So responsible I know!) Recently though, it had shed most of its many purposes and was turning in to a junk den. If I didn't want to deal with something, I threw it in there. And once the organization started to fail, I saw no sense in fighting a losing battle. I surrendered to the piles and let things fall where they may. (things, in this case includes such superfluous items as my passport, social security card, and car registration. Is it any wonder that I drove with expired plates for a year?)

I hated having a space that we never used but I couldn't seem to do much about it. My initial attempt at organization left me with a tidy office, but a dining room full of the displaced contents. It wasn't simply a matter of rearranging. We needed some Storage Solutions! I think we know where this is going...Ikea to the rescue! So we made the trek to the big blue box, and picked up an Expedit shelf (I would link to the product, but it tends to shut our laptop down. Practical shelf, painful website). Eighteen allen wrench scews later, we had more storage than we knew what to do with. Witness the results....

After

Ahhhhhh, now doesn't that feel better? Now in the interest of full disclosure, I did roll the eliptical out of the room temporarily, but it does still fit, and you can even walk around it now! And look- I am now brave enough to show you another angle....

Isn't order beautiful? It's crazy how much one piece of furniture can do! I'm actually wondering what to put on the bookshelf now, because I've cleared out so much space. Something tells me I'll find something......

And the best part is, a few weeks later- the room still looks like this. I may not be the tidiest person in the world (ok, I'm definitely not. I have met that titleholder and she is my mother.) but I can definitely get into the whole idea of "a place for everything, and everything in its place". The more systems I set up, the easier it gets.

Now please, just don't peek in my closet....Baby steps.

Style Test

Some people wake up focused on the first cup of coffee that will get their day going. Others look forward to their morning chat with coworkers around the water cooler. For me, my little piece of AM bliss is opening up my Google Reader. Every morning I am greeted with musings from my favorite online writers, photos from friends, and inspiration galore.

I love my collection of online delights, so imagine my excitement when I had the chance to be featured on one of my favorite sites! Kirstin, from Simply Grove was nice enough to offer up Style Diagnoses to some of her readers. Based on their five favorite photos, SG determined a person's signature style of decor. I loved reading what she came up with for others' submissions, but I was thrilled when she emailed my personal analysis:

Courtney's Style- Eclectic mix of Modern Glam with Youthful Traditional.

"These spaces are very Vogue. Fashion and Interiors love each other and really compliment each other. Colors are trendy and chic. Textiles are focal points as well as beautifully designed pieces of furniture. Looked at and longed for is the name of this game!"

Image from Domino. RIP.

I have a vague idea of what kind of spaces I gravitate towards, but I haven't been able to sum it up as well as she did. (Plus, who doesn't like being called "glam", "modern" and "youthful"?) But my favorite part is "looked at and longed for". It should serve as my personal motto to remember when shopping. Often I buy things I don't love, which leaves me feeling unsatisfied. If I limit my purchases to things I truly LONG for, I will end up with less stuff, but with a collection of treasures that represents who I am and what I truly adore.

Check out her full post HERE. (then wander around her site a bit...you won't be disappointed!)

Look familiar?

Also- Along similar lines, Domino featured a company a few years ago that provides "Style Statements" to their clients. Previously the $500 consultation fee was a bit out of my reach, but now they've written a book to help readers "diagnose" themselves. I just picked it up at the library....expect a review soon!

Baseball, Bobbleheads and Boredom

Today we had free box seats to a Pirates game (sweet right?). The weather was great, the food was delicious and they beat the Braves 10-0. Perfect!
Then we got back to the parking garage and realized that our car may be stuck in traffic for the next year and a half. No worries though. We managed to pass the time with free Ryan Doumit Bobbleheads and a bumpin stereo. I think most of Level 5 was entertained. Enjoy your Saturday!

Ultimate Decor Showdown

We've been in our house almost a year now, but we've still got plenty of projects in the works. One that has been going slower than anticipated is the third bedroom. We've got the paint and a bed, and that's where we got stuck. I found a pillow I love, which led me to envision a camel, purple and white color story. I thought we'd pick out a duvet and we'd be in business. Turns out there are about one billion cream/taupe/white duvets/comforters/coverlets and I hate them all. We've looked at too many to count, and even bought a couple, only to bring them home and reject them for one reason or another.
So the other day at Target, while exchanging our most recent failure, I decided to try something different; I just bought every remotely appealing option. I figured rather than prolong the ordeal, it'd be best to just bring them all home, and sort it out. I set them all up, but am still unsure what to choose. So now it's time for you all to get involved.

I present to you......The Ultimate Decor Showdown! You review the choices and select your favorite; I buy it (or I ignore you selection, rending the entire exercise useless....we'll see!)

**Before we start, let me say that the color of the walls doesn't show up well in photos. No, we didn't paint the room black, it's actually a deep purple color similar to this swatch:

Also- We do plan to have a headboard....it'll be a plain medium tone honey colored wood. Now (finally) on with the choices!

Option 1- aka "As is"

Started with a white sheet set and the floral pillow from Crate and Barrel. Had to have something for guests so we took a brown coverlet from our room and tossed a cream blanket on top. Not exactly gorgeous, but it gets the job done.

Option 2: Tan comforter with white floral pattern

(Ignore the wrinkles....a symptom of the whole "bed in a bag" thing). I thought I was going to hate this one, but that wasn't the point of this search- I had to give it a shot! Up close and personal:


Option 3: White comforter with tan trim
This option and the one previous each come with two pillow shams and a flat bed skirt. Just in case that sways you....

Option 4: Beige coverlet

This might be my favorite, but it is reversible, and the back is black. Not a big fan of that, but maybe it could be ignored? Detail: Styling option (using a scarf as a stand in for the throw I wish I owned). Could be pretty with a flat bed skirt?

Option 5: White Coverlet

I didn't take a detail photo of this one. It's just a plain white coverlet with straight lines of stitching.

So there you have it. Time to vote- may the best bedspread win!

(oh, and if you hate them all, I totally understand. Feel free to leave your suggestions in the comments...$100 and under would be awesome!)

Why, you ask?

I don't want to leave you with a cliff-hanger post, so I present to you the official list of Reasons My Husband is Super Awesome, Mostly All The Time But Especially Yesterday

1. I awoke late on a Saturday morning to a house full of this:


2. The last (very well hidden) egg held this:




3. Despite all the fun, in the afternoon I slipped into an irrational girl funk. He held me as I cried overwhelmed tears, due to various non-crisises like household messes such as this:
   
   
4. He didn't argue with me once when we visited this:



5. Not even when we realized our car wasn't big enough for this:
   
6. Later, he warned me about all the scary parts so I didn't get too terrified watching this:
7. Because I was too scared to go to sleep, he stayed up with me and watched this:

Love you Dus.

And Happy Easter everyone! (He is risen indeed!)

The Best

My husband is the best ever. There is more to that story, but for now I just thought you all should know.

Life: In a nutshell

“Could you tell your life story in the space of a cocktail napkin?” That’s the question posed in a recent Glamour article: The Secret of My Success. They found ten successful ladies to spill their secrets in one hundred words or less. Admittedly, I can’t come close to matching the level of success earned by any of the women featured, but I thought it sounded like a fun challenge to create a word-snapshot of my life. Here goes:

Born in January blizzard. Still hate being cold. Chatterbox kid. Learned to command attention. Watched too much TV. Loved math as much as art. First trip to Young Life camp! Found passion for Christ-centered craziness. Went to Cincinnati fashion school. Got very first B. Drawing is hard! Unexpected whirlwind romance. Convinced Philly boy to move 500 miles from home. Married bliss. Work/School/Work/School= five years, four cities, seven residences. Got grown up job. Tried to act like a grown up. Moved to Steel City. No friends, no clue. YL to the rescue! Haven’t “arrived” yet. More of a work in process…

How about you, my talented friends...want to take a stab at it? Libby, Rachel, Renee, and Brian (oh yeah...and you too Dustin!)…I dare you to take the 100 word challenge- Maybe even pass it on to a few of your friends. For those of you without blogs- leave your legacy in the comments. Short but sweet!