That was fun!

I've had a really hard time posting photos here lately, so I've kind of given up! For now anyway! But I did just post my bedroom on HGTV's Rate My Space and that was pretty fun. The link is here if you want to check it out. It's a fun site and I love getting my "decorating fix" there because I get to interact with it and leave comments.

(oh sure...now it works! whatever!)

Orthographic Projection

We had our first presentation today in Rendering. This is my Orthographic Projection. I think I did pretty well. At least, the responses were nice from my fellow classmates. Next week I'll get my grade.

You might recognize this room from photos I've posted here on the blog- yes, it's my room! I wanted to do a space where I could refer to the measurements as much as I wanted.

Next, we're working on Axonometric Projections. To make it easy for us, the instructor has said we can use the same room, but I think I'm going to make it a little more fun by changing up the color scheme a bit!

And below is a gratuitous self-portrait. This is what I wore for my job interview last week. The good news is that we all got hired on with the new management company! I was playing around with the new features on picnik. This is supposed to be me 39% thinner! Yikes! But, it's okay.

The dress is a black and white and the skirt portion is trumpet shaped and I have the cutest wedges in black and white too. Doesn't it look 20's - 30's?

Playin' House

The boys are back in school and I've been enjoying having a home that stays picked up for more than ten minutes! Of course, I STILL haven't painted yet, but I'm sure I'm getting close! I have been stitching up some pillow covers:

And playing with sea shells and hot glue!

It really is true what they say about "back to school"- it's the most wonderful time of the year!

What is it about me and August?

It just is a super long and tiring month.
Sweet Carmen moved away to Tennessee this month with her beloved Jeremy.
Poor little Yoda had to be put down.
My new, wonderful boss found a new job and left me.
My employer is severing it's contract with the HOA I work at, so in about six weeks I may be unemployed.

*sigh*

It can only go up from here. Right?

Time for the "Way Back Machine"!

Awwww....look at those cute kids! That's me and my little brother, Jonathan at our auntie's wedding circa 1971.

Oh my, look at those handsome young people! That's my wedding in 1984.


And now...uhh...well...what good looking, portly middle aged people! This is my brother's wedding in 2003. Actually- he looked good then and he looks even better today.

That was pretty fun, eh? Thanks to Jon and Deb for emailing those top two photos to me. That made my day!

Love Letter From 1956

That is what this little ottoman is- a love letter! I bought this last fall at my favorite Goodwill. It was one of those silly moments we thrifters all have- you see an object and immediately grab for it, afraid that someone else is about to d0 the same thing! And then...your rational mind steps in and reminds you that the object is a stained and tattered ottoman! It's a real clash of the left and right sides of the brain, isn't it?

Anywhoooo.... this was covered in a beautiful old barkcloth, but it was water stained and ripped. It took many months to finally get around to re-covering it. I think it turned out pretty cute! The very enchanting part of the project came when I had the thing flipped over and was struggling to tug the cover over the foam. In very faint pencil this was written on the bottom of the ottoman: "This was made by Neil and Margaret, Sacramento, Cal., 1956". Awwwww. How sweet is that?

I did some other decorating in the living room too. Since my dining room is now my roommate (and beloved stepdaughter), Kelly's room, I've had to re-think a lot of my home's layout. I originally moved my big craft hutches into the garage, but recently realized that they would be a very welcome addition to my living room! Check it out:

Nice, huh? I think it really brings in that coastal vibe I've been wanting. See the little hope chest under the window? I'm picturing yellow and white cabana stripes painted on it! So bright and happy!

Now I am really itching to paint the walls! Except, I think I will cut the blue in half with white. I really want it to be very soft. In the photo below it looks great, but at night it's a little more colorful than I want it to be.

Just to illustrate how much my poor living room needed this change, this is how this room has looked since Earl moved out last summer:
Ugghh! No wonder I'm ready for a change. Especially since this entire color scheme was chosen to accomodate him. I didn't hate it, but it never felt like "me". Hope you all have a lovely week!

Hugs to all!

Thriftin' Adventure with Carmen

Last week Carmen and I had breakfast with Grandpa, which was very nice. He took us to his morning hangout, The Country Waffle and introduced us to all the other regulars. We were treated like celebrities!
Afterwards, the girly and I decided to hit Goodwill and check out the treasures. I don't know if it was the waffles or what, but we had such a bad case of the sillies! It seemed as if everything we saw was a visual treat. Like this lovely very vinyl purse:

Or this lovely assortment of knick knacks:

Very lovely, yes?

As far as these last two items, I don't think I can say too much here on a family blog! I'll let you use your imagination!

Oh my!