Going on Tour

Since it's been a little while since we moved in, it is now beginning to look habitable and lovely. We've cleaned, gotten rid of a TON of cardboard boxes, and started to decorate. It all really started when Mom bought her new terracotta-colored sofa for the living room. 

Curtains- Fred Meyer $14.99 ea (sale buy one get one 1/2 off!)
Curtain rod- Hobby Lobby $16.99

Patterned Chair- Fred Meyer $108
Coffee Table- Ikea $20
Pillows- Fred Meyer $7.99 (after 50% off)

Artwork- Homegoods $49
Other- already owned

Wall Tin- Hobby Lobby $20
Other- already owned

Wall clock- Ikea
Other items- already owned

Curtains- Fred Meyer (same as above)
Curtain rod- Hobby Lobby $14.99

We had to use a basket turned on its side to hide the gaping hole left by two absent over-the-fridge cabinets.

Basket- Hobby Lobby $17.99

Rugs- Homegoods $14.99 each
'Eat' Sign- Hobby Lobby $9.99

And down the hallway... There will be more to come as those spaces progress too!

Pretty much the scene everyday; Gizmo peeking down the hallway and another random cat too.

Thrifting Successes!

I usually took along my camera to the thrift store because there were so many goofy looking things that I just had to document. But, my first thrift store experience here in Washington was probably the most success I've ever had at a thrift store. 

We found two awesome treasures at Value Village! I'm definitely going back to see what else I can score.

I saw this globe immediately- it's like I was destined to find it. My brother has always wanted a globe like this and for $24.99, who could pass that up?!

I saw this bench and thought it was awesome. I love the mid-Century feel of it and for $9.99, I couldn't say no. 

It's actually pretty sturdy which surprised me! I plan to dress it up with a couple pillows to really make it adorable and comfy.

Kinda like this (I stole some pillows from around the house to dress it up to see what it'll look like):

Three starburst mirrors- Fred Meyer $14.99

So cute! It's also become a favorite spot for the kitties in the household. :)

Drop Cloth It

In our apartment we used to have a nice, big, walk-in closet where we could store all of our clothes and junk. In this house, however, we share a very small, doorless closet. Yes, doorless!  I have no idea where the doors have wandered off to but once our stuff was shoved under the bed and into the closet, it was a big, ugly mess. 

We also have an area under the stairs where I like to keep all the kitty-related items for Ian and Zelda (the other cats have their things upstairs) and it really needed a curtain to hide all the unsightliness. 

I wanted to find the cheapest, most durable curtains for both of these spaces and I remembered a project that Chris Loves Julia did using drop cloths as curtains. I thought it was a brilliant idea and they turned out so lovely that I decided to give it a try! Mine aren't as fancy as hers, they're rather simple in comparison but I'm open to the idea of giving them some beautiful embellishment when I'm not so busy getting other things in order.

I headed over to Lowe's to pick up my 6ft by 9ft drop cloth for about $10. They turned out to be the perfect size and the price was right, score!

After sitting around for a week or two... I finally got around to washing them and drying them to make sure they loosened up a little bit. It's hard for me to wait to start a project and usually try to do anything I can to avoid washing fabric first before a project but this was pretty necessary. If you don't wash them first they're a little too stiff to be beautifully, freely hanging.

Despite taking them out of the dryer immediately, they were very, very wrinkled. That meant... more ironing. (Did I mention I hate sewing and ironing?)

Just look at that mess...

After ironing both drop cloths I then hung them up on their rods to measure how far down they would hang (I used tension rods for both spaces which allowed me to just hang the fabric over and eyeball where I needed to cut off the excess). 

Then, snip-snip...

I made the curtain rod pocket about 3 inches wide and hid the Heat N' Bond along the rough edge (I didn't care what it looked like from the other side since no one would ever see it and kept the edges raw). I didn't end up hemming the bottom since the drop clothes come already hemmed well enough. 

I waited about ten minutes for the tape to fully cool and bond which was difficult because I'm impatient. 

Then... ta da!

And the cat area is now hidden! (I'm not showing you a 'before'... I didn't think you guys would want to see some litter boxes...).

They only took me about an hour and a half from the initial ironing to hanging them up. I'm loving how much better my room looks and I don't have to stare at my closet disaster!

12 of 2012

It's been a crazy year. It's been a year full of travel, weirdness, and changes for my entire family.

So here it is, the simplest way to break down and review the year: the twelve photos of 2012!

1.) January- we visited Richmond, Virginia for the first time. 

2.) February- we celebrated our second Valentine's Day as a married couple in which I surprised him with tickets to a wrestling event in April.

3.) March- I flew to Arizona for a family visit.

4.) April- I took my first cake decorating class!

5.) May- Russ' X-Files themed birthday party.

6.) June- 2nd Anniversary. 

7.) July- Summer Road Trip to DC, Savannah, and Charleston.

8.) August- Enjoying kitten time.

9.) September- Labor Day in DC.

10.) October- Neptune Festival/Sand Sculpting in Virginia Beach.

11.) November- Moving on outta here!

12.) December- The Road Trip from Hell Driving to Washington!

What an eventful year, it almost wears me out just looking back!

Seattle

Despite the fact that Seattle is but a mere 20 minutes away, we had yet to visit it until yesterday. I guess it was because of Russ' crazy schedule and so much left to do around the house. But, I can happily say now that I've been to the Emerald City and I can't wait to take another little excursion!

Our first stop was Pike Place Market which is a Seattle landmark, of course. There was so much to see and experience there that we didn't even get to see half of it!

At the Athenian right there is where a scene in Sleepless in Seattle was shot; the one where Tom Hanks and his friend are sitting at the bar discussing tiramisu. They have pictures and even a little plaque in front of the barstool where they sat. Pretty cool, huh?

This is where I saw some fish-tossing going on. They also sang which made it feel almost like a performance. 

We also toured some of the lower level shops before we headed over to catch the monorail to the Space Needle. 

It was such a clear and gorgeous day. The view of the mountains and the water was breathtaking. 

And then... it was time to scramble back to the car to get home before Seattle traffic! What a fun day!

New Year's Eve and a Pinterest Recipe: Cheesy Sausage Burger Sliders

We had a relatively low key New Year's Eve around here... watched some television, muted Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve because the music was awful (but watching Ryan Seacrest get hit in the face with balloons in Times Square was hilarious...). I tried to search for a picture right now but I guess no one else noticed the abuse he was suffering? 

We made some delicious appetizer-y things like Buffalo Chicken Dip and we tried out an easy Pinterest recipe that was simple, delicious, and of course not too healthy (but isn't that what resolutions are for??). 

Cheesy Sausage Burger Sliders 

1 lb hot sausage
1 lb ground beef
1 lb Velveeta 
2 packages dinner rolls/ slider buns

Brown the sausage and ground beef together.

Drain the fat and add the cubed Velveeta.

Once the Velveeta melts, serve it immediately!

It was such an easy little appetizer meal that I'll definitely be making it again.

Between the burgers and the chicken dip, I had to force-feed us some veggies.

Gizmo watched enviously as we ate our chicken dip.

And tried to sneak some dip bites when we weren't looking. Who knew that a cat could like buffalo chicken dip? 

I hope everyone had a lovely New Years (and maybe next year I'll get to go down and watch the fireworks at the Space Needle!).