I Want That!

More Chairs. Yes, there is always room for more chairs. Especially a beautiful 19th century French Bergere armchair. I love everything about it, from the low sloping back, to the blue paint and striped upholstery, although it's a bit prissy for my house. I think a pair of these, in a more neutral palette, would go nicely in the family room.









Crochet Poufs! I want to bounce around in a room full of them. I think they are most intriguing to me because I can't wrap my head around how they are made. I mean, I get it. I know how crocheting works, generally, but how do you make it into a big squishy ball? I think these are super cute and very kid friendly.









Black Lamp Shades. I recently added a lamp in our bedroom corner (a steal on sale at JCPenneys for only $11) and picked up a black shade at Target to go with it. I wasn't planning on keeping the set in the bedroom long term, but now I'm so in love with the black shade that I'm thinking about getting more for our bedside lamps.








A Terrarium. I've been fascinated with terrariums since I was a kid. I've wanted to put one together for years, but it just hasn't come together. I have looked for plants over the years, and only recently have I seen them at Home Depot and Lowes. Last year I even went as far as to buy a glass jar for my terrarium. And promptly dropped the bag in the parking lot, smashing it to bits. It was the end of an already bad day, and so I took my defeated self home and forgot about the project for a while. One of these days though...







Stripe Duvet Cover. This duvet cover is from West Elm, and is quite reasonably priced. Crisp and clean, modern and classic all at the same time. This is on my shopping list for sure. This duvet cover is so cute, it's almost a shame that winter is almost over.













Holden Pet Bed. Maybe has asked me to add this to the list. This bent-plywood platform pet bed retails for $250, and is shaped just right for cuddling up.

Your Oops is my find.

I've become a bit of a compulsive shopper when it comes to the Oops paint at Home Depot. So much so that I've self-imposed a moratorium on anything new until I can use up some of what I already have. Now, I'll only buy from Home Depot of course, because Lowe's just doesn't knock down the price enough. What I've been finding lately is all quarts, and the Depot sells them for $1. Lowe's wants $5. Highway robbery!

If you're not familiar with Oops paint, it is usually paint that has been mixed and then returned, or often never even left the store because the original buyer did not like the outcome. Considering the money we've spent on paint in the last year, checking the Oops paint is always worth it.

On a recent trip to the Depot to pick up one quick item, I buzzed right by the paint department, almost without stopping, until I heard someone say, "Excuse me, where do you keep your Oops paint?" Oops paint! Must turn around! I found myself a few paces behind the couple that had inquired about the paint, only to hear the husband disappointedly say, "Ugh, just some stain and this ugly blue color." Well I'd love to see their house if they thought this was an ugly color. Their bad taste is my score. It was a quart of the most perfect pale robin's egg blue, semi-gloss, just how I like it. For the price of a pack of gum, this little quart of paint made my day.

I used to have a blog.

I don't know where the last month has gone. It seems like only yesterday it was New Years, and yet here we are, February flying right by. I've started a new job, which has consumed almost all of my energy for the last while. Finishing up my old position, and gearing up for a new start, with a new spiffed up wardrobe and all, kept me quite busy. But now I've gotten smoothly into the swing of things, up bright and early each morning, and home right at 5:30pm everyday.

We've started attacking the dining room wallpaper again. It is tedious work, and will take many more hours before we feel like we're getting somewhere. It helps that it's staying lighter later each night. It makes it easier to want to get some work done on weekday evenings. Spring is not far off, although looking out my window tells me otherwise. I'm looking forward to warmer weather so I can get back to some painting projects. I have a backlog of furniture in the garage that is ready to be painted, including a fabulous new little armchair I have yet to share. This was a Craigslist win. I got lucky with my timing, and a seller who stayed true to dealing with the first responder. She told me she had nine other people interested, but it was first come, first serve. And I was first!

I've also readied myself for some sewing projects, finally. I brought a table into the family room, so I can work in the evenings without being upstairs alone. I'm starting with covers for the throw pillows for the family room. Four in all, from three different fabrics. Three of the pillows I already have, and will just make new zippered covers. The last is a large pillow form I bought at Joann's on sale for 50% off. I just happened to be running errands and stopped in to find this great sale. The pillow form, which normally would have been expensive, was much more reasonable at half-off. I also purchased some foam to give a little extra padding to the seat of that armchair I was just telling you about. The fabrics are all from my recent purchases at www.Fabric.com. Two variations of blue and natural zig-zags, and one from a softer yellow and ivory Ikat. I haven't sewn in a while, much less sewn in zippers, and on fabrics with patterns that need to be carefully matched up. Gosh I hope my sewing machine still works!