On Decorating

So, Elisa and I have been talking a lot about decorating the house. Our landlord is very chill, happy to let us change the flooring and walls to our delight. We're putting in the cheapest fake wood floor we can find at Ikea and then covering it up with area rugs. That's pretty much decided. But what I've been going back and forth on for ages is the color scheme I want. And I think I've finally - FINALLY - decided.

To begin, I'm using this photo to sort of focus my palette. I love bright colors. Especially these shades of bright colors.
















With that photo in mind, I've chosen this as the color for my walls. I haven't decided on a trim yet, though I'm considering a darker shade or a brown, but I really love this color. I've wanted to paint something this colors probably my entire adult life. Why it wasn't the first thing I thought of is actually rather surprising.

Magically, well... ok... not magically, because this is the exact reason I started thinking about these colors together... I've found a beautiful pink couch for only $150. I love it so much! I'm shocked it hasn't been scooped up already by hipster kids in the Salt Lake area. See what I mean?

And to top it off, there are two other couches on ksl that miiiight go perfectly. I want to check them out first because it says they're rocker loveseats?? And I'm not a fan of tippy stuff generally. I'll probably never in my life own a swivel recliner (one because they're cheesy and gross, and two because, well, see above). But the fabric on these couches are perfect. And the colors fit right in with my overall scheme.

If forced to choose, I'd much prefer the orange couch, but our living room is definitely large enough for all three to fit. If I think they match well enough at least.


As for lighting, Greg Nichols gave me the best idea ever! Our ceiling lights are 1) way way way too high to change (the ceiling is about 12-13 feet high) and 2) not very good at lighting the living room. We of course have the option of floor lamps. Which have worked ok in the past. But I find them annoying to move around and not great at filling the whole room with light.

So instead, I want to string bulbs back and forth, hung from the thick trim that sits about 3 feet below the ceiling (I'm too lazy to take a photo or else I'd just show you). It would be something akin to this but strung closer together. We'd do it in the main part of the living room, possibly in the back part as well (by the entry). I'd probably add some floor lamps too, but at least we'd have some light coming from the ceiling. And fun lights at that.

And the dining room. Well. That I'm still working on. I'm not sure if I'll paint the walls the same color throughout or change the color scheme a bit. Elisa and I have talked about possibly doing Japanese or Indian style seating. I've been mulling it over. On the one hand, it means I only need to buy a table, no chairs. And I think it could look very nice. On the other, we have a dog. And I don't like the idea of Sego being so close to the area we eat. If that makes any sense. Fur and everything considered. So that's still up in the air. Mainly it will come down to what I can afford I suppose.

Oh, and art! I'd love to cover the walls as much as possible in art drawn/painted/photographed etc. by our friends. I'm really really excited about that!

And that's all I've got so far. I wanted to write all this down though before I forget about it or lose my vision :) Let me know what you think, if anyone's reading this.

It's time, can you feel it? I'm making a change.

So, first of all, the way things are falling into place is uncanny. Elisa and I decided to stay in our house despite the odds against us, and so far we've managed to overcome most of them. I've got a meeting with the landlord tomorrow, which will decide things for sure, but I'm not worried. If the furniture, and roommate and basement apartment situations are any indicator, I'm positive it will go well. Particularly with my parents' help.

There have been an inordinate amount of ups and downs these past few weeks. But I have to say, the ups have been astronomical. Life works out. Life is good. I have a lot of wonderful, loving people in my little Provo world and beyond, and the list just keeps growing. I'm so appreciative of them all.

Our house is in a disarray right now, and I'm leaving Sunday for Washington. I won't be back for a month. But I suspect when I do come back, and when we get to work and fix this place up, it's going to feel more like home than any place I've lived since moving, post high school graduation. I'm excited. Incredibly excited.

I'm deliriously tired and deliriously happy. It's bed time and what better way to fall asleep than drifting through the list of my blessings? Thank you, life.

Week in Review

This week I:

Cut my bangs and hair much much too short

Felt utterly hopeless

Overcame my hopelessness without meaning to or trying

Decided against writing a 25 things list despite my many tags

Saw Australia (the movie) and missed the place of the same name miserably

Loved my roommates

Adored Cade and Gheybin's new place in Salt Lake

Played with no less than four puppies

Modeled at UVU

Had my car towed while modeling at UVU

Started two crocheted beanies and tossed one of them

Listened to a lot of Broken Social Scene and 808's and Heartbreaks

Decided to live

And talked on the phone to some of my very best friends

Not a shopping blog, Ross.

Fall is here. Tonight was crispy as I took Avery home. I said goodbye to her. It's probably the last I'll see her at least until Christmas (assuming I come home for that, if not, it might be a year). We chatted all evening while I began the dejunking process. I have five garbage bags of old letters, photos, mix cds, clothes, and just plain garbage - anything with a negative conotation really. I'm ready to let go of the baggage.

If need be, I could have my entire room packed into my car by the end of tomorrow. I can't tell if this makes me feel better or worse. Or maybe just the same. Lighter though. That, for sure.

I'm anxious about applying for schools. I'm worried about saving up enough money to support myself without any help from my parents. I'm panicking about finishing my Book of Mormon class. I'm nervous about all the changes happening and overanalyzing even the simplest things. But even so, I'm happy I'm finally moving forward. I'm tired of living someone else's idea of my life. I'd like to practice being me the way I see myself.

Whatever that means.

San Diego in 7 days. It's going to be so fun. And a welcome break from my worries. After that, it's just a matter of being patient until my move. I hope I can make it.

Keeping my hands and head busy

This IS a shopping and crafting blog. Boys, if you want to stop here, I won't blame you.

It's been an interesting week. This weekend came as a relief. Particularly given my parents decided it was a "vacation" Sunday. Which gave me a few hours extra time to start and finish my new sewing project:

It's a yoga bag. (more photos here). It only took me about two hours to finish (which means I'm getting much faster), and despite being a "level 2" I found it quite easy to put together. I also learned a few new things about Isabella in the meantime.

There is in fact a yoga mat inside it. And both the mat and it's cover will be getting quite a bit of use from me!

Tarin and I are starting Yoga classes tomorrow. We found a little studio about fifteen minutes form work that has the best introductory rate I've ever heard of. We'll be getting unlimited drop in classes for two months, which is perfect since it lines up with when I'm planning to leave for Utah. We're starting out with the Beginner's level since its been a while since I really got into it and Tarin's only done Pilates before. But we want to move up to the Intermediate class asap. I'm also going to look into the Yin Yoga class, which is deeper joint stretching.

Given how excited we both are, we decided to trek up to Bellesquare yesterday and go to Lululemon, a yoga gear and clothing store. We each only got a new mat but I tried on some of their clothes and holy cats I wanted them all! They fit like a dream and are soooo comfy.

While we were at the mall we, of course, stopped in Sephora (where I took Tarin's Sephora virginity. She said it was a special moment and was so glad to have shared it with me haha). I got some Stila blush for the fall that basically looks like NARS Orgasm blush but without the sparkles. I love it! We also went into Lush, where I did indeed buy some of the Buffy scrub (I converted Tarin too). I tried the Buffy out today. oooooh myyyyy wooooord. Worth every penny. My skin feels healthy and smooth and moisturized. Best purchase of yesterday, by far.

Oh! And! This will show my truly shallow fashion crazed side, but whatever. If you haven't noticed my worldiness yet, you've been missing a huge portion of this blog :P

I dragged Tarin into Aritzia, and as I was looking at this adorable grey, blue and peach colored dress that of course was sold out in every size except XS, Tarin came over to tell me about a cardigan she was in love with. What was shocking though, was that it was $455.00. Yes. That is correct. $455.00. For a cardigan. I didn't believe her at first because while Aritzia is a bit spendy, its definitely NOT $455 cardigan expensive. Or so I thought.

So we went to check it out. And it really was adorable. I mean drool over it, wear it every day for the rest of my life cute. And it really was $455, which left my jaw hanging for sure. Just then the sales girl walked by and said something about it being a Chloé. And I looked up and sure enough, there was a sign. Chloé. All around us, Chloé dresses, jackets, blouses, sweaters. I ran my hand over the Ikat silk dress that I've seen in countless magazines and tried not to pee my pants. I was touching a Chloé dress hahaha

I don't know if shopping gets any geekier than that. But it sure is fun!

And in closing I'll leave you with some wise words from one Jona Bechtolt (Y.A.C.H.T.) "We want all that stuff, all that stuff that cost's too much. We feel sad and such, are we owned by our own stuff?"

Crafty Little Thing

Some of you may remember (or maybe none of you do, either way see here for a reminder) one April day this year when I decided to purchase a cheap sewing machine from the evil empire that is WalMart and make some napkins as my first foray into the sewing world. Well friends, four months later my little project actually happened. This afternoon I decided to unpack my sweet beginning sewing machine (which I've named Isabella), read every single instruction I could until she was usable, and then practice on some scrap fabric.

Four hours later, Isabella and I churned out some fairly nice looking cotton napkins! My first one has some wonky stitching but it didn't take me long to get some at least fairly even looking edges going.

I really really like this hobby. Projects can vary from a few hours to a few days but progress is so fast! I mean one minute you've got yards of fabric and the next you're cutting, ironing and stitching it into something usable. I would definitely like to keep this up.

Also as stated in the post linked above, I was going to finish my orange knit bag. Well, tonight I finally went to put the buckle on and realized it just looked much better without straps or a buckle. So I undid the stitching on the straps to take them off, and left the flap just hanging. I don't know if I'll ever actually use this bag as it's really impractical for anything other than knitting projects. Get anything heavier than a bit of yarn in it and it droops to the floor. Still, it was fun to make given I had to use gigantic knitting needles. Plus I love the color.

And lastly, I did "finish" the purple crochet blanket. I would still like to add some embroidery on it somehow, and I think it needs some edging so it doesn't look so unfinished, but at least for now it's usable (though in this weather who needs it?). The huuuuge crochet hook I got to use on this was so much fun. Progress was fast too because the double yarn made it so thick.

So, I DID manage to finish some projects for once. For a few more pictures, see my crafts photostream on flickr. I'm sure I'll keep uploading pictures of my projects as I complete them.

Gonna wash my bones in the Atlantic Shore

Ok. I am a stubborn person. I can admit this.

That being said, I have finally - FINALLY - given Band of Horses a fair trial. And... um... I might not actually hate them after all. Well, ok, I guess I never said I hated them, but I wasn't exactly their cheerleader. And I'm not saying they're my favorite band ever, but The General Specific is pretty darn catchy.

On another topic, I'm on my way to being nearly finished with my pumpkin colored knit bag. I've got all but one small piece finished, and once that's done it's just a matter of sewing it up and adding a buckle. I think it's going to be great!

I started French today. It's... going to be interesting. It's the same teacher I had in the fall and the class is mostly full of people who just finished 101 during the winter quarter. So I feel a little disconnected in comparison to the rest of the class. But whatever, I'm going to just stick it out and push my way through to an A. I just want my A.

So that's life for today.

Can I just add that I'm really really happy lately? I mean I have moments where I feel a little down, but overall, life is actually really great. Thank goodness!

Healthier rambling

aaagh, work is boring, and I'm going a little bit crazy!

So, I will ramble here.

Firstly, I have decided to learn how to sew. I know how to knit and how to crochet, but it has become more obvious lately that knitting/crocheting things that don't look like something your crotchety old great grandmother would make for a wee-tyke is very hard to come by. Unless you're super talented/have the time to work teeeny tiny knit stitches to make something more akin to fabric. But then you've generally got to sew it anyway.

I've done a little research and I think I'm going to get a Brother sewing machine from WalMart. They're only $70 and supposed to be pretty easy to learn on. I don't want to invest in something really nice until I know I enjoy sewing. I'm pretty excited about this venture though. I've been wanting to learn for years.

Next, I just want you all to know that I am really enjoying being a vegetarian. I am, for once, eating veggies and enjoying them. And I'm discovering my love for other things I'd never really considered before. So it's going well.

I think I want to start doing Pilates. I remembered this week that I did it once at a YW activity from a real Pilates instructor, and I loved it. I think I could barely walk the next day because I was so sore. But I'm ok with that. There's a new studio opening in Auburn, but I don't think it'll be open for group classes until August, so I might have to go up to Kent instead. Or maybe I'll look into Yoga if there are no Pilates classes around here. I loved Yoga back in high school.

A move forward and a glance back

2007 was a rocky year. There were a lot of ups and downs. But it ended on a pretty high note and I have high hopes for 2008, though I suspect it will be more of an interim year than a dynamic one. I suppose one never knows for certain though until the thing itself actually happens.

I'm applying for BYU for either Spring or Summer term. I'm really hoping I get in. I'd like to get back into school. If I don't, I've decided it won't be devastating. I'll just take online classes, continue working, and reapply for Winter 2009.

I'm currently working for my parents, with whom I also live. Saying this makes me feel like a slacker, but honestly, I love it. I love my family. I have an adorable adopted baby brother who I'm still getting to know and having time to be around him and the rest of my family is really uplifting.

I'm learning a lot about the Gospel these days. About what it means to be a member of the church and how we can have an effect on other people. I have some goals for the coming year, some of them abstract, some of them concrete, but I feel like they will all help me to become a better person, and hopefully they will strengthen my testimony.

I'm thinking I'll document my personal changes on here. But I'd also really like to document any projects I do this year. For the most part I let my creativity go to waste the past twelve months, but I'd like to change that. So crochet how to books, here I come!

Anyway, I hope if you're reading this, you'll come along on the journey. I can't promise it will always be interesting, but hopefully it will have it's moments.