Monday, April 29, 2013

We're back...

The husband and I just got back from a fantastic vacation in the Dominican Republic!


Like we got home at 2am and I had to work at 8am. Ahh, the joys of delayed flights. But I just wanted to put together a quick update / explanation for my recent slacking. This week I'll be working on a post or two about it. But right now, I need to take a nap or just plain old go to bed and attempt to recoup.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Bring Your Dog to Work Day

I work for a place where it's ok to bring your dog to work. I do not normally do so because I find it to be extra stressful and I worry about other people being bothered. I just so happened to bring Behr into the office with me the other day, he would have been stuck inside by himself all day for a lot longer than we normally leave him so I carted him along with me. Pretty much everyone else brought their dog that day too...


He liked standing in this area and had a thing for the plant. I even caught him sleeping behind it at one point. I think he liked it over here because he could just barely see my co-worker's puppy over at his desk. 


But he kept running into the plant so that his eyes were being poked. Not too smart...


Let's just say he won't be going back any time too soon... Way too much work to try to actually work, make sure he is ok and also make sure he isn't being a nuisance/annoying.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Junk Bonanza!

On Saturday, my sister and I made our way over to Junk Bonanza. We thought we would beat the crowd by getting there early... well, everyone else had the same idea and the longer we were there the busier it got.

I was looking for some sweet accessories for the house and I honestly found nothing. Most everything is very antique-y, which fits perfect with my sister's style/likes. I think the mid century styled items are a little too new. There were a few here and there but nothing I couldn't live without. It was still a great time and it's fun to look at all of the awesome things.

I took significantly less photos this time around. I didn't want to be the crazy camera lady... which I am sure I was, I saw no one else with a DSLR. If you were there Saturday and saw a weird twenty-something with a camera, that might have been me. I also was using a fixed 35mm lens, so that made a little more difficult to get good photos with so many people EVERYWHERE.


I spotted this awesome assortment of vintage cameras right away. While I love photography and I think all of these cameras are awesome to look at. I would probably never use them and I don't know enough to know what is a good find. 


My sister has a thing with dolls, mostly them in pieces. (We're a weird family...) So, these were totally her thing. She didn't buy any but we did see them at a second vendor's booth. Any clue as to what they were made/used for? 


The patina on this little table and chairs set was amazing. Photos can not do it justice...


I would say that this awesome "little" TV fits into the mid century category, but ... old, large TV is a no go. 









Took the shot below of the Tonka Truck because it was made in my home town of Mound, MN. Sadly, I didn't catch the logo in focus in my quick snap of this.


The tag for this chair said it was Herman Miller and was marked at $145. It was up really high on top of a shelf, so I'm not sure if was in fact the real deal. I would love to own a real piece of Eames but I already have enough of a chair problem. And really, it's kind of not a color I would really pick out.


This guy was hiding on a low shelf... pretty sweet. Really liking the retro font.




Did anyone else make it over there? Did you find anything awesome?

Thursday, April 18, 2013

The Maybe, Very Possible Future Basement.

I have mentioned our basement here and there recently. I figured with my recent floor plan producing skills that I could drum up what we're thinking of doing. We are still waiting for our quotes to see where we are at and if it is even feasible. I really hope it is because the additional finished square footage would be awesome.

Here we are all unfinished:


I didn't actually "draw" out the things (washer, dryer, furnace, etc.) because I didn't want to measure. It's one of those things where if I go the distance to be accurate on the size of the things, then I'll need to be accurate on the placement and then I will spend about a week trying to put together a simple line drawing.

Right now, we have a lot of junk going on and we've been working on that. That mostly stems from someone's parents always dropping off stuff that was theirs... and just re-doing the living room and winter (summer stuff thrown down there) and the fact that it is the easiest place to just throw everything. Sometimes literally. Shoes? Just throw those down the stairs. Dirty laundry? Just throw that down the stairs too. Works well until you look down the stairs or actually go down there...

I had been working on at least making the bottom of the stairs and what was visible when you walked in the back door presentable. I had sort of painted the stairs, but even after doing prep, it's peeling up in a couple spots. I think it is from the many layers of paint. What was there was peeling already and while I cleaned it up, I'm sure more of it had issues within those multiple layers. Also, the sides of the stairs are/were open. You could see the water heater and the sewer stack. Yay. I stapled some curtains to that side of the stairs as a temporary fix. The opposite side of the stairs has chunks of plywood added, I'm guessing to pass some sort of code for selling the house. (Our city has a fairly strict inspection that you have to pass before you can put a house on the market & sell it). I think this is one of the things I am looking forward to the most: a good view down the stairs.


We have a few weird obstacles... The water comes in right in the middle of the wall, so a general plan right now is to rework the plumbing a little so any valves we would need to access are down low. The line would look like a column and there would be a small access panel to get at everything that needs to be reached. The gas meter is slightly massive, it will probably just be in a closet. I'm not really sure how big that would be at this point, but I'm thinking if it's going to be there, might as well have it a little bigger than what I show here so that I can stick a shelf in there and store some stuff.

Right now I was not really planning on the office area being a separate room, just more of an area. I guess we'll see. It might make more sense to jut add a door. Thoughts? I did add the wall coming from the right side for fun to see how that would "look." I think it might make more sense that way if there is no door. I should really have a door, shouldn't I? I think kids later on will necessitate a door...

I originally wanted a door at the bottom of the stairs, but the last contractor that was here pointed out that building code now requires that a door be placed three feet out from the bottom step, which puts it in a really weird spot. So, no door there.

We are waiting to see were costs are before we decide on the laundry room. Because we're already doing two walls really, we were told it shouldn't cost that much more. Closing in the ceiling there would probably add more though because there is a lot of weird piping and what not in that area for water and gas.

Hopefully in the next month we can get everything rolling. I'm so excited for the possibilities I could burst. I will be extremely sad and disappointed if we can't make this happen though... I am hoping that any work we end up doing can be completed by the 4th of July when we have our annual party.

Anyone out there who has gone through the trouble of having their basement finished, is it worth it? Any tips or advice?

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Junk Bonanza starts tomorrow!

Junk Bonanza starts tomorrow!


Minnesotans (I totally say that how you're probably thinking I do...), you should totally check it out. It's awesome! I plan on hitting it up on Saturday morning with my sister, my favorite thrifting / antiquing buddy. We both work really well together because we're very much opposites. So, we never want what the other wants and can also pick out what the other person would totally love. I'm a little pumped. Now that my living room is actually mid-century-ish, I can start looking for those extra things.

When we went to Junk Bonanza in the fall, our best find was a jewelry box. Our grandparents died withing 2 days of each other about two and a half years ago. One of the things that I inherited was my grandmother's jewelry box. The one we found was its better twin, condition wise. While in excellent condition, it wasn't my grandma's, so not as awesome. But we were so excited, now my sister has one too. We had previously just missed out on the same one over at Retro Wanderlust in Hopkins when they first opened... someone was in the process of purchasing it when we saw it. So, this find was extra exciting.

The Junk Bonanza blog has been doing little features on some of the vendors that will be there, which is great to see. If you're on the fence about going, checking that out might help you come to the dark side. But... those posts can't even begin to tell / show you how much stuff will be there.

But seriously, you should check it out. If I could, I would be going tomorrow or Friday... I feel like it might be less busy on the days that most people are probably working. Let me know if you go and what awesome things you scored!


Update:
Check out my post from the Spring 2013 Junk Bonanza!

Monday, April 15, 2013

The Floorplan.

While I've half been working on getting up photos of the whole house, I thought it might be helpful to get an idea of the layout. So... I spent probably way more time than I should have whipping up this floor plan of the house.

We have a whopping 738 finished square feet. I know, HUGE. Just kidding. Our first apartment together was probably the world smallest one bedroom apartment at about 300 square feet. The rooms were tiny. If you really wanted to, you could sit on the toilet with your feet in the tub and wash your hands at the same time. It probably had 1.5 square feet of standing space. The kitchen was basically the same... you could stand in almost the same spot and use the sink, turn and use the oven or fridge. No appliances were a standard full size. They were mini. My lone cookie sheet at the time didn't fit in the oven. So, 738 square feet is big for us and works fine. Really, we have the same amount of space downstairs that just isn't finished, yet. But we're working on that. For now, we just enjoy the upstairs and the occasional laundry trip downstairs.

This floor plan is not super accurate, but it's fairly accurate and proportional. My doors and windows are not super accurate...


Here is our size break down, according to the listing when we purchased.

Living Room: 17' x 11'
Kitchen: 13' x 8'
Master Bedroom: 12' x 11'
2nd Bedroom: 12' x 9 '
Bathroom: 8' x 5'
Deck: 16' x 16'

We also have one small "hallway," four very wonderfully small closets, and an equally small back entrance area.

Hopefully I will have a basement with rooms to put together a floor plan for in the near future...



Pst... I'm on google+ now. It's not too fancy yet, but it is there!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

A Minnesota Spring...


That is a photo out my living room window today. Two days ago all the snow was melted and it's snowed two days in a row now. It was also thundering and lightning out this morning. What is happening? Yuck. It's punishment for last year's short winter.

Hopefully my bulbs, specifically the Tulips, will make it. I noticed before this heap of snow came down that they were up pretty far already despite the not so terrific spring weather we've been having.

Even Behr is disgusted. This is the look he gave me when I asked him about it...


Ok, not really. He was just avoiding the camera. Again.


But he managed to be cute on camera for a minute. I think it is safe to say that he is enjoying the new couch. I stuck that old pillow under is head because he had already left a big puddle of drool. Yuck.

We are starting to go stir crazy and all of the things I am really itching to work on require working outside in some capacity.

We did however have a second contractor in to put together a quote/estimate. While I'm fairly certain the second guy is going to be the one, I have a feeling he's going to be more expensive... We'll see. Estimate should be ready early next week.

BlogLovin

I'm now on BlogLovin...

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I just started checking it out recently, so I'm new to it.
Any useful tips or tricks? I am slightly worried I will find way too much awesome-ness and get sucked in. 

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Smalls To Do List

This is my small(er) things to do list... which a lot of it is weather dependent. I'm putting it out there so I don't forget and I hold myself somewhat accountable, otherwise they might not get finished. Or remembered. You can probably just ignore this and they may not make much sense...


  • The now giant hole in my kitchen ceiling.
  • Do something with the doorway in the kitchen that used to have a door, but no longer does and still has the door frame.
  • Spray paint the gold-ish owl in the living room (above). Or maybe I shouldn't paint it?
  • Make a plan for the free road side desk, execute plan.
  • Remove grout between counter and tile, caulk.
  • Caulk all the weird gaps in trim, etc. around the house.
  • Plan for fixing up/refinishing Lane Acclaim tables. Test it out. Execute.
  • Declutter my house --> mostly the basement. We are currently working on this, but it's always good to continue to ingrain into my head in every way possible.
  • Patch the wall "damage" in the kitchen from fixing the electrical.
  • Find "art" for the empty end of the living room. I'm think some mid century candle holder type things would look good. And I may have found some on the cheap-ish.
I know there is more, but I can't really think of anything right now, so I'll probably keep adding on...

Monday, April 8, 2013

Living Room Before & After / Tour

I finally finished painting! It only took me like 2 months. But it's done and it looks great! The room is about 1000% times brighter and it looks absolutely nothing like it did before.

While this room has changed a LOT since we moved in, I am just going to focus on the before and after in terms of what it looked like right before this change because it has been the biggest.

This is the day we moved in...



Those curtains make me cringe every time...

Here is what it looked like for most of 2012. We've had most of the same furniture since we moved in or just after. The plan is to use all of this in our basement family room when it exists. 



I never really knew what do do with that wall... 



At this point we had only had these shelves for about a year. While intention was good, they kept accumulating more and more "things" (mostly books) and at this point it was too much for me. It was too busy.

Here is where we are at today. While there is still a decent amount of things to accomplish, I'm happy with the progress. 


The shot above and below show pretty much what I'm calling done in terms of big stuff. We do want to replace the rug and some of the TV components will hopefully end up in the credenza when I get the courage to drill a hole in it...




I had to steal this one above from when I took photos of the Eames Foundation print, I sort of missed this area and I absolutely love these chairs. The tops of our Lane Acclaim tables need to be refinished/spruced up still, but we got a great deal on them.


The corner with the black cabinet is definitely not done. That's the "for now" arrangement. And that foot stool is just sort of hanging out and getting shoved around. I'm not sure if it's something that is going to stay even though I really like it. The plan for that cabinet is to find a small hutch or something to showcase a *few* books and a couple vintage pieces like the fan and cameras we already have. 


We are also still waiting on the second curtain rod to finally arrive to put them both up. The Ikea lamp in the corner will be making it's exit eventually as well, but for now it's nice to have the extra light. We're waiting to see how a hutch works before we add any sort of art work at this end, but I have a couple of ideas in mind.

As for where we got it...

Golden Swivel Chairs - FindFurnish of Minneapolis, MN
Lane Acclaim Table Set (we have another side table that doesn't fit in the room) - FindFurnish
Philco Record Player - Find Furnish
Credenza - Find Furnish
Black DVD Cabinet - Target
Curtains - Ikea
Wood Chair - Golden Age Designs of Robbinsdale, MN
Wood/Porcelain Lamp - Golden Age Designs
Arc Lamp - CB2
Foot Stool - Retro Wanderlust of Hopkins, MN
Nixon Couch - Thrive Furniture
"&" Pillow - Crate & Barrel
Yellow Pillow - World Market
Gray Herringbone Pillow - World Market
Teal Chevron Pillow - Target
Gray Sequin Pillow - Target
Knit Blanket - Target
Light Gray Herringbone Throw - West Elm
White Throw - Ikea
Gold Owl - World Market
Rug - Menard's
Starburst Mirror - Home Depot
Starburst Clock - FindFurnish
Large Plants & Pots - Home Depot
Small Plants (Succulents) - Ikea & Menards
Small White Pots - Ikea
Frames - Target
Prints on Black Wall - Etsy
Basket under the Side Table - Target

You can tell where we shop the most...

See something I missed? Ask away!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Master Bedroom Before & After / Tour

I've been working to get the "Our House" portion of this site up, so here is the next installment / addition.

Our bedroom is really only the master bedroom because we own the house and that's where we sleep. It is also the largest bedroom weighing in at a whole two feet longer than the other one. This room has gone from a pale yellow to a 'neon' green to a really great red to the gray it is today. They gray was finally the it color.

These two before images are from the day we moved in. 



And as of today, this is how it's looking. There is still a lot more I want to do... like get a headboard and replace the Ikea dresser. We actually just very recently pulled out our Ikea Malm bed and just went for a regular metal frame. That bed was a beast with very hard and pointy corners that I ran into often. The plan is to buy a mid-century style headboard or bed (West Elm!!) or build/buy an upholstered head board. 



This corner above has been virtually untouched since those things have been put there when we moved in. I'm just waiting to find the right things to replace it all with -- mostly that dresser. While it does hold clothes still, the bottom drawer is close to not functioning and it's held together with a LOT of Gorilla Glue.


I'm unsure of the chevron covered pillows at the moment. I ordered those covers online with no place in mind and I had two white pillows so, that's where they ended up. I am thinking I should have ordered two of the same color, but I'm not sure which one I like or if I like them at all.



Don't mind part of my giant scarf collection falling out from behind the door...


Some of the basics on where it's from:

Gray Throw - West Elm
Yellow Quilt - Crate & Barrel
White Duvet & Pillow Covers - Ikea
"Brown" Dresser - Ikea
White Dresser - "Dumpster" find at our old apartment
Light Fixture - Lowe's - More Here
Night Stand - Ikea
Lamp - Shade from Target, Stand from Ikea
Flower Pillow - Target
Striped Body Pillow Cover - Target
White Frames - Ikea
Ung Drill Frame in Yellow - Ikea - More Here
Antlers - West Elm - More Here
Hamper - Pier 1 Imports
Paint - Home Depot
Light Switch Cover - Home Depot - More Here