Before & After: Master Bedroom

I'm finally ready to unveil Step 1 of our Master Bedroom Redo!

The redecorating of our master bedroom was no small feat... if anyone remembers, the previous owners had some very eclectic taste which they exhibited masterfully in the master bedroom.

The room was a mix of sponged-on mustard yellow walls and large vertical stripes of red and green fabric separated by gold ribbon a la Christmas wrapping. Hm. Interesting.

What we did: We used Stone 2 by Laura Ashely (from Lowe's) on the walls. I saw the color on a design blog, where it was used in a nursery and I loved it. It's surprising, because it's a pretty neutral color for me (I'm generally a bit more dramatic and bold) but it was so soft and pretty and completely unlike the look of the room that we wanted desperately to undo.

The paint is a kind of pinky-taupe that I think looks amazing with our bed (which I've had dreams of for years and we finally got from Humble Abode). I realize most of these after pictures are bed-centric... but we don't have other furniture, aside from a dresser, and it's not a huge room so the bed really is the focal point.

We have so much more to do to bring the whole room together (Step 2) - curtains, pictures of walls...but for now this is what we've got!

Before Pictures









After Pictures

The Cutest Dog Ever

Vivi Videos!!

Vivi has a wild moment:



Vivi barks and just looks cute:



Vivi tilts her head in response to an obnoxious sound:

Outside Seasonal Decorations

As promised, here's the fall decorations on the front of our house...

Actually, we think we'll leave the crazy weird and slightly scary (and creepy) flying monkey hanging from the nail in the middle of the porch ceiling. This was my dad's and we love it. No matter how weird it is!

Coming Soon...

...My new unhealthy love for seasonal decorations.

Seriously, I don't know who this person is that I've become, but all I want to do is buy, like, twelve different wreaths for my front door.

Stay tuned...

Welcome to the Neti Pot!

This week I got sick.

This was a major drag, because last weekend I was fine, but on Sunday I started sneezing. I figured it was allergies.

I continued to sneeze on Monday. "Damn allergies!" I thought to myself.

I went to work, and then to an after work meeting in Northampton at La Veracruzana, a Mexican take out/eat in restaurant. I was super proud of myself because I drove into Northampton, parallel parked, went to the meeting and then drove home in the dark - all by myself!! (Remember, I'm a new driver, so these were firsts... don't kill my buzz, dude.)

(La Veracruzana Side Note: I took home two Carne Asada Burritos for Andy and me... they were fine, for what they were, and the salsa was great, and I appreciated that I got some limes with the order... but I really find myself missing Burritoville and it's creativity!!)
Anyway, somewhere on the drive between La Veracruzana and my house, I came down with an awful head cold. I was suddenly so congested and disgusting that I could barely be alive. I was sneezing non-stop... it was gross.

A day later I'd had to miss work and was still nasty, so I forced Andy to drive me to Whole Foods where I purchased my first Neti Pot.

A neti pot is a little pot (kind of looks like a mini tea pot) that you fill with warm saline water (you buy the neti pot salt separately and mix it in, or use Kosher salt), and then pour it into one nostril for it to come out the other. Sounds gross, right?

It kind of is, at first, and when I first did it I felt like I'd jumped into a pool... it's just that water-in-your-nose-and-face-cavity feeling. But you get over that.

The whole point is that the saline washes out toxins and mucous and crap that's making you all congested and nasty. And, by Golly!, it worked! It absolutely worked. I've been doing it twice a day for three days now and I feel great. I would definitely recommend the neti pot to anyone. I mean, people swear by it for relief for allergies, sinus issues, everything, and now I know why. I'm a true devotee for life.

Hooray for the Neti Pot!!

And if you have a hard time picturing the process, here's the official how-to video to help you:

New Rug!

Hooray, we finally got a rug for the living room! It finally feels (fairly) complete. We still have some little tables to buy and pictures to put on the walls, but it feels like a real room now.

We got the rug from homedecorators.com, which has proven to be a pretty great resource for us. We also got our TV cabinet, standing/reading lamp from them, and now we're waiting for our new dining room chandelier.

It was also a relief, because we weren't sure what colors would look good...I've gone with a semi-monochromatic look (notice how most things in here are blue?) with highlights of yellowy-gold (the couch) and the complementary color of orange (the copper of the top of the coffee table).

Anyway, the rug looks fab with it all, I think. If you disagree, don't tell me!

I'm a Jerk!

Not really, but I am busy.

With my job...remember, that thing, that job, I got?

It keeps me busy.

Working.

And I'm tired.

That's why I've not written lately.

I work with kids, you know.

And they're young.

Some are, like, five. Years old.

So, I'm kinda beat lately.

But, I'll write soon. Just know I'm alive, just super tired.

I'll be back soon!