Is it just me?

Am I the last person in the world to figure out how fabulous BAKING SODA is? My fav appliance {in the kitchen} has, for a long time, been my toaster oven. I rarely use the big jobbie anymore but this little guy cannot be beat for convenience, thriftiness and ease. I've been through about 3 of them now, not because they didn't work or didn't serve my needs, but because they all got gross looking after a fairly short while. Yesterday I got bit by the domesticity bug and began hopping from one little task to another. Laundry, vacuuming, ironing, cleaning. I did it all. When I got to the kitchen, there was no question but that I had to attack the drippy, cheesy, goop that the week's leftover pizza slices left on the t.o.'s floor, door and grill! Ugh! I soaked what I could in the sink and began scrubbing away at the rest with my trusty Dobie pad and scouring powder. Not very appetizing. Then I remembered the jar of baking soda and water I had saved the last time I tried to clean my chrome bread bin. I pulled that out and OMG - what a great job it did! Super quick and easy, I scrubbed away all the greasy, charred spots. I even removed the glass door, handles and knobs, attacking those corners and crevices, and my once elegant, stainless steel Kitchenaide oven is loverly again! Yippee! Oh boy. I guess I REALLY need to get back to work.

Frosting

No, no no not THAT frosting! I too have cupcakes on my mind, what with the Gardiner Cupcake Festival, FINALLY ready to kick off tomorrow. But today I am thinking about frosting glass. I want to show you a little project I've had in mind for awhile and finally got to last week. It involves one of my favorite products that, I think, can be used in many creative ways around your home. It is frosting spray, available at all the craft and home improvement stores (I got mine at Lowe's).

First, some background. When I moved from my little cottage style apartment in Piermont I realized having ALL the things I love on display might make me feel good but seeing the amount of dust they were capable of accumulating in a very short period of time did not. I decided that in the new place most of it, if it were not going to be put away, would need to be displayed behind glass. So I schlepped my matched pair of giant vintage-Conran glass fronted cabinets with me, added glass doors to my bookcases and eventually bought a couple more armoires with them as well. Fast forward to my latest move, where all these large cabinets got dispersed into various rooms. One of the beech-toned Conran pair took up residence in the dinette where it houses all the overflow platters, silverware, vases, bowls etc. I've lived with it this way for almost 4 years, wondering all the time if I liked it enough to keep it in my long range plans. The jury is till out on that but I decided that while it sits there it needs to function better. That's when I figured out that the can of spray frost I had bought for a picture frame project would serve here as well. So I reorganized all the stuff in the cabinet, concentrating the bar-related bottles and glass ware to just two shelves. I then taped off the glass doors, above and below these shelves. I cleaned the glass really well and got to spraying. And in just moments I scored a great solution to a small storage dilemma.

There's a lot of reflection in this picture so I don't know how well you can see it but the stuff that looked cluttered and utilitarian is now hidden behind the elegant frosted glass and the bar shelves are highlighted behind the remaining clear glass! I love it! I hope ThriftyDecorChick will be proud!

As I mentioned this works well to add another dimension to framed art work. What looks like a blue matte in the photo above is actually the frosted part of the glass, softening the sage green matte behind. Really cool. You can also try this spray to add a little interest to an inexpensive mirror by taping off a 1/2 to 1 inch strip and frosting it for the look of an etched frame. Use your imagination!

Quicksand

I distinctly remember when I was a kid, for a few months at least, having an irrational fear of quicksand! Why you might wonder would a 12 year old from Queens, New York with a homemaker mom and a retailer dad have any reason to even think about quicksand much less be terrified by its mere existence? Well, all these years later, I still know why: #1, it was always portrayed in the movies (from whence the whole of my quicksand knowledge was drawn) as surreptitiously lurking out there, hidden in plain sight and #2, of course, the slow and painless way it would trap the hero, unrelentingly pulling him down, down, down until his suffocating fear yielded to real life-ending suffocation. The last month has been like living in quicksand for me. I am stuck up to my waist - not sinking any further but unable to move to get myself out of it either. Each day starts much as they always did...up at 6am, putter a bit, wash, dress and have something to eat while listening to those crazy guys on the radio. But then what? Several people have suggested it's like an unexpected vacation, at first. Well, not really. I do spend 4 to 5 hours on applications but after that it feels too cavalier to do almost anything else. Like I'm on that vacation rather than unemployed. So I surf the web, watch tv, walk to the grocery. Unproductive. Unengaged. Emotional quicksand.

Renovations

So I've reorganized the blog again (I've warned you). With all the job hunting I'm doing I've decided I really need to have a proper portfolio of my work. So I've converted the blog pages that used to do that job to showcase some home projects. I love these little narratives. They do not tell the story of major change. Instead they simply highlight how little changes make such a big difference. Now I realize some may not think that ripping out every single fixture in the kitchen is little. But in the scheme of modern home renovation - believe me it is. In any event these are projects that last anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. They mostly involve as much planning as they do implementation. Regardless of the amount of blood (in the form of dollars) sweat (meaning uncertainty) or tears (due to something NOT cooperating)each provided, in the end they are little bright spots that I see and appreciate everyday. They validate my talents, invigorate my creativity and bring a smile to my face. It seems silly sometime when I compare this little preoccupation to the difficulties and worries we all have - some profound. But it is all part of the tapestry of life. In fact it is what "A Good Life Well Lived" is really all about: live honestly, live simply, find joy where you can, and when you kind of can't - at least try to keep it in perspective. BTW: the photo above? It's the view from the master bathroom through the walk-in to the {unmade} bed in my bedroom. I think it's a pretty picture even if it is unkempt and not really for the public. Seems appropriate for this post, you know what I mean? ;0)

99 More Years

I've spent more time today enjoying all the beautiful homes posted by so many of my blog buddies, especially Dear Daisy Cottage, who not only lets us into her charming home but takes us on tours of others' in her Florida neighborhood. No matter how finished these homes seem, I am sure each of these designers consider them works in progress. We have a vision, a plan, an idea; then we indulge in the research, the buying (and sometimes the returning), the color selection. Eventually it all comes together and then we sit back and enjoy! Except maybe that little white cachepot will look better on the kitchen shelf than the urn...well you all know how it goes. I've been thinking about my own crazy condo a lot these days. I wonder why such an ordinary house, in such an ordinary place is speaking to me so loudly. It is unremarkable but, like the perfect visual arrangement on the aforementioned kitchen shelf, it is my creation, an expression of my style, my vision. And as such it is worth the world to me. Could I find a similar outlet in some other "medium"? Yes, very likely. But this one suits me and there's so much more to do.
Which reminded me of a piece of wall art my Mom had while I was growing up (though they didn't call it "wall art" then)! It hung next to the window in a corner of the dinette - does anyone even know what a dinette is anymore? The ceramic trivet with wrought iron frame depicted a forlorn little bungalow in need of love, with shutters hanging off the windows, a raggedy fence and overgrown lawn. The caption reads: "99 More Years and It's Ours". My sister and I thought it was hideous and we probably gave Mom a hard time, mocking it mercilessly. It's only now that I realize the full force of what that must have meant to Mom and Dad, the prototypical 50's newlyweds, working long days, pinching pennies, scrimping and saving to attain the American dream of owning a house and making it a home. I get it now.

Project Update

With all the drama around me this past week I thought it was time to calm things down a bit and update you on my mudroom project. I was tempted to abandon this one after getting the not so great news last week but things were already underway so I say: what the heck, go for it! To refresh your memory I was 'jonesing' for something pretty, something springy after seeing this vignette and decided to apply it to my garage/entrance/mudroom/landing pad (see the orig post here).

I thought this set of prints from Art and Artifact (above) was very nice, small but with plenty of interest and texture. But let's get real folks...I AM unemployed so spending nearly $120.00 ($99.00 plus, plus, plus if you know what I mean) for a set of small framed art is just plain dumb! I know, I know: some might say spending ANYthing now is dumb but...but...okay there is no but. Maybe it's just less dumb!

Instead I found these vintage seed packets on Ebay - 16 bucks for 8 pieces (above)! Six of the eight I think will give me the look of the original when mounted in the cheapo frames from Michaels ($15.00 for 6 frames, below). Now the frames are black and I really love the vintage-y distressed white from the original so I think I'm going to pull out my trusty paint kit this afternoon and have at it.

I also love the fact that the frames in the original are what they call "gallery-style" - there is no solid backer to the glass so you can see through to the wall. The frames I bought are not like that BUT I have a plan and I'm pretty sure that I can make them look the same with a few supplies I have in the craft closet. I'll keep you posted on that. I am now waiting for the bench I custom ordered from a woodworker on Ebay. This was the item I had bought prior to finding out "the news." It's on it's way here and once I have it this project should all come together. Wish me luck!

Choices

I was alternately laughing and crying the other day reading one of my favorite bloggers, "Thrifty Decor Chick". She was talking about her momentary distress over the financial state of her home (http://thriftydecorchick.blogspot.com/2011/03/why-were-not-moving.html). This emotion overcame her she says when:"We looked into refinancing our current mortgage into a 15-year. To do so, we had a realtor come out to the house to give us an idea of the value. The news was not good. When I say not good, I mean…not. good. We were expecting it to be bad, but not that bad." Well I have to admit to some of the same angst right about now. I am at a crossroads. Like my alter ego, "I’ve poured my blood, sweat and tears into this house because I love it, I enjoy it and it’s my passion. But I was hoping my improvements would help the bottom line a little bit too. At least right now, they don’t." Now, as I have eluded to, I have a significant reduction to my income pending and I have a choice to make. Do I stick with my beloved albatross of a home or do I instead invest in the future? This new venture that I have been working toward would give me a lot of the same satisfaction: planning, building, decorating, staging. But can I turn my back on what I've done here - incomplete, imperfect but so loved - to start anew? Had I managed to hang on a bit longer, had this economy cooperated just a little bit, I might have managed both. But alas that will not happen. Can I say goodbye to this my home, my canvas, my avocation, my friend?

New Beginnings

Life in design is in some ways an all encompassing pursuit. If you love the elements of design - color, proportion, scale, light, depth, texture - you have the great good fortune of enjoying it every minute your eyes are open! A silvery shimmering puddle, the beige-brown circle a cup of coffee leaves behind, the bright white highlights glinting off an old white pitcher - it all fills your senses and sparks something inside. Because of this it is a rare occasion that you are down for too long. I am having a bit of a rocky period now. Change is hard...even when we know we have gotten too comfortable (read: lazy) and we suspect our life is a bit too stagnant for our own good (read: safe) we still find it hard, sometime, to get out there, leave all our comforts behind and venture into the unknown. And then you are forced to. Luckily we always take along some of the greatest joys of our lives: family, friends and the exhilaration we feel experiencing the wonder all around us. I've moved my laptop to the dining room, savoring my second cup of coffee. I'm looking out the glass doors to the barren pots on my patio, dripping in this morning's light rain. It's tempting to feel a little melancholy, not knowing if I will be able to relish this place and this room - this view - much longer. I expect Annabelle to show up any moment. And I have to smile. I realize that whatever comes, there will be charm and beauty and lovely moments. Whether this is the time to chase that big dream, or bide our time living our average life for a while longer, this we know: there will be dreams and disappointments, choices and hard decisions, joys and sorrows. This is life.

Project Mudroom

There has been a bit of chaos in my life this week, most of it out of my control. This requires action, a counterattack, if you will: I need to dive into a home project! I have the list, of course, as I'm sure you all do. Or you maybe you have several lists: the manageable projects list; the large projects list; the projects to do when I win the lottery list; the projects to do in an afternoon list. And yet, though I've had quite a few idle afternoons this snowy winter, the lists have not gotten any shorter. Now I plan to remedy that with my downstairs hallway. This manageable project is a dreary forsaken space, a tiny 2 foot x 6 foot landing pad/mudroom off my garage.

There is no natural light and a few odd bumps. When I moved in I propped an old print on the ledge, never really intending to do much more than clean up the baseboards, patch the sheetrock and paint it a nice color. Now I have determined to recreate the image of "Cheery Colors" I've posted up there to the right. As I said I am captivated by the colors and textures of that little vignette and because it is out of character with the rest of my home, I think this will be the perfect space to do it. I am in the planning stages now and will let you know how it goes.

Spring Cleaning, Part 2 (Inspiration)

I was browsing through the new Pottery Barn catalog yesterday and found this neat take on a rotating art display. A little fresher looking than the ledge, this wall mounted peg rack serves a similar purpose and functions better over a bed. Rotate small framed images, an antique mirror, even organics. Suspend favorite treasures with rustic wire or satin or vintage velvet ribbon for a more personalized look. The overlapping mass and varied textures really give the display interest. I admit I fell into the wall decal craze in my bedroom. I have a ceiling that slopes up to 12' so even though I have a tall headboard the space above cries out for something. I think I just might make this another spring "cleaning" project!

Spring Cleaning

We've had a short stint of consecutive warm, sunny days in New York this week and it has finally got me thinking of spring. That in combination with all the beautiful home/design blogs I've been reading with such gorgeous imagery, well, I've gotten the itch to redecorate. When I moved from my last {very large} apartment to my new {not so large} condo I was happy to pare down. I tend to nest too much anyway and, after living in the same place for 10 years, I had more furniture than I wanted, including many pieces bought each time to address a particular need (usually a way to store - and hide - yet more stuff). So I took advantage of my new home's smaller layout and additional storage (a whole garage with wall to wall shelving !) and put most of my stuff away. I have many pretty little things accumulated over years of travel and craft show shopping that all went into a large glass fronted storage cabinet. The larger pieces - footed Tuscan-style bowls, hammered metal trays, Navajo peace pipe, antelope skull (I kid you not) - were carefully bubble-wrapped and now live in one open storage bay. Framed photos and prints have their own carpeted bin. After living with bare walls for a few months I chose a few pieces that were just right for each room and set about nailing and hanging. I identified a couple of key locations and each season I create new vignettes for them, usually choosing from the pieces in my own private warehouse. But now, 3 years later, I am ready for something different. Damn you creative, inspiring, oh-too-productive types out there! I will keep you posted on my progress.