Tulips and Herbs

Kinda like Peaches and Herb, but, well - not.

I don't see tulips here too often, and certainly not in grocery stores. Imagine my delight when I found these babies at Central Market last week:

Gorgeous?? 

I was also pleased to find these gorgeous herbs which are destined for the big flower pot on my front porch. 

Basil, oregano and chives. Nothing like fresh herbs!! 

Enjoy your new day. 

The Bedroom - Finish!

Our love nest is nearly completed.

I don't have a before pic - the carpet was just too hideous and disgusting to bother documenting it. Here is the before furniture, with the new floors:

Queen iron canopy bed (which I still love, but it was small for 2 of us), the Ikea cube shelf, old TV/stand in the left corner, and I refused to take a pic of the old dressers that were in there. Suffice it to say they were old, but not antique-cool old. And not nearly enough storage.

Then came the floors, and new furniture:

King size storage bed (look at those three drawers at the end!!), matching night stands, dresser and chest. And new rugs on either side of the bed too (a bargain at $50 each!!!).

Then the touches - new coverlet and lamps (courtesy of Target!).

We just need a couple of king pillows now, and that's it. I originally wanted to repaint the walls from their current Russian Blue to a gray. But now with the bedding in there, and the lamps, I actually like the blue much better. So it's going to stay blue.

Oh, what? You want a closer look at the lamps. Sure! They are one of my favorite things in the room (aside from the uber-huge bed of course).

Oh, you said you can't find that delicious trimmed lamp shade at Target? Me either. I bought plain white shades, and then added Maya Road's zipper trim with a bit of FabriTac. It was just.that.easy.

Here's a closer pic of the shade:

I love that the zipper adds a bit of silver to it.

Enjoy your new day!!

Art in the Darndest Places

We took a tour over the weekend, and found some incredible art in the process. My camera was clickity-clacking, and I was inspired. That means I have to share them with you!

This stool really caught my eye. The modern design, the apple green color - it just POPPED!

I loved these silver wire balls. I think a smaller version would look GREAT in our bedroom. Maybe hanging over the bay window area/seat.

These light fixtures are so cool - looks like a cotton ball, right??

I loved this mirror and the tile behind it!

And this classic chandelier (love the juxtaposition between the concrete and the crystal!)

And this super mod chandelier

And I love this piece - "Win!" by Mel Boucher

And these helmets

And this lighting installation that looks like laces on a football

What? what's that you say my super astute readers? You sense a theme here? Vaguely sports related?

Can't get nothing by you!!! smarty pants.

Yes, this is a tour of the (still new) Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. They are very proud of their art installations, and for good reasons. Check out the rest of it on their website: Cowboys Stadium Art

Now, I cannot and will not ever claim to be a Cowgirls fan. Or a Jerry Jones fan. But I'm a huge fan of the stadium. It's an incredible venue!!

Here are a few more pics:

Star in Miller Lite Club (where the Cowgirls take the field)

On the field

The ginormous end zone doors - these slide open for nice weather days

And the roof - the lighter part is what opens

and you *might* have heard about their video screen. the one that stretches from 20 yard line to 20 yard line? yeah. that one.

Yeah! DCC (Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders) in the house!!! They were hosting a big cheer competition. I was excited to see them. Yes, I like DCC.

Ready to try out??

Here's a great shot of the Ballpark in Arlington (where the Texas Rangers play)

I'll leave you with my favorite shot of the day - the Tom Landry statue

If you are in the DFW area, take the tour of the stadium. It's about an hour and a half walk, and you get to see a LOT of the stadium, including both the Cowgirls and the DCC locker room (we didn't get to see the DCC locker room this time, b/c they were there), field level suites, luxury suites, and so much more.

Enjoy your new day!!

Craft Space Before & After

My craft space is - was - in one corner of my living room. All was well. I could craft and watch TV. Craft and talk to the BF. Craft and keep the pugs company.

I had some great cubes from Ikea that provided awesome storage,  a cute little craft desk (little being the key word!), smaller cubes that housed my stamps, paper containers, and little containers to hold all the miscellaneous stuff.

But eventually, this happened:

My collection quickly outgrew the allotted space and organizational tools.

Even worse, the view from my couch looked like this:

(Please excuse the awful loveseat. It belongs to the pugs. There's no saving it. The best I can do is the red slipcover.)

The clutter was making me absolutely TWITCH. Something had to change. Had.To.Change.

After the floors were put in the bedrooms, (laminate instead of carpet - YAY), my office looked like this:

The closet was empty too.


A total clean slate.

One of my friends suggested I combine my craft space with my home office. WHOA! What a crazy idea!!!

It took a lot of work. Sorting, tossing, donating. But I did it. 

And so, today, my office/craft room looks like this:

I moved a second Ikea cube into the closet, and am using every inch of space! The double doors on the closet allow me to hide it away while I'm working, and open it up when I'm crafting.

My tools, loose stamps, and card-creating materials are on the left side of the credenza

And my stamp tower is on the right (next to the pug's daytime bed)

My buttons, flower jar and ribbon jar have new homes in the cube

And my kits and paper packs

But best of all, the view from my couch now looks like this:

And the view into the corner

No more twitching!!! Sweeeeeet serenity.

(side note - the little cedar box on the table? those are my Angel's ashes. I brush the box with my fingers when I walk by, to let her know I will never forget her).

So what do you think? What would you have done differently? Any questions?

Enjoy your new day!

7 Random Things

1. February 2011, as a month, sucked. I'm glad that's over.
2. When you tour Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, you get to visit the DCC locker room. I was way more excited about their locker room vs. the players. I know, I'm a dork. (sorry for the crappy cell phone pic!)

3. My sweet Angel went to the bridge last week. Just one reason that February sucked so royally. I miss her - every day. Photo courtesy of Lotus Blossom Photography (taken in 2009).

4. She didn't look that happy or full of life in her last days, which is one of the reasons I chose to let her go.

5. Yes, I still cry at random times, missing her.

6. No, I didn't intend for this blog post to be sad. Sorry friends!

7. I need to get my crafty butt in gear and get a guest post going for The Scrap Shoppe! motivate....create...come on Allie!

Embrace your new day!

Lotus Blossom Photography meets DFW

Pssssst - check out my favorite photographer (and fabulous friend!) Amber's latest blog post.

That's right. We did a REAL photoshoot. disclaimer: not an engagement shoot (the honey made me say that).

okok, really, it's a couple's shoot, because I wanted great pics of us together, and we're hardly ever in photos together.

Amber is one half of Lotus Blossom Photography, and I've been lucky enough to know her for several years. We met because we both have pugs, and bonded because we both like to craft. And eat really fabulous pie (and other unhealthy but yummy food). 

A couple of months ago I asked Amber about the feasibility of her coming to DFW to do a photoshoot, and visit us for the weekend. I was thrilled when we were able to find a weekend that worked, and make the arrangements. Amber came out this past weekend, and we did the photoshoot.

Amber has the sneak peek pics on her blog, and didn't she ROCK them??

And it was lots of fun. We went to Deep Ellum, an area just east of Downtown Dallas. It's a funky area as you can see from the various pics and backgrounds. I love the differences in the American flag, the graffiti, and then the Texas Butcher Materials shop (isn't that a hoot?).

I thought it might be awkward, or weird to pose for pics on the streets (and ok, there were a couple of moments where we gave Amber the "are you NUTS" look), but it was more fun (and lots easier) than I expected it to be. I laughed - a lot. As you can see, we discovered that I wrinkle my nose when I'm really laughing at something. (Amber thought that was endearing, me - not so much!).

I just love the pics. LOVE. THEM.

The moral of the story? If you love a photographer, it's well worth flying them to you for pictures you'll treasure forever. And the other one? if you want pics, you don't need to be engaged to have an excuse to do them.

Thanks Amber - these are going to be awesome memories for us!!

Shameful Update

I know. It's been forever. I have this tendency to go silent on the blog when things aren't so great in life. Rather than focus on the crap-factory, I thought I'd check in with an update on my 2011 plans. Remember when I said "I"ve got plans y'all"??

Here's what's done:
1. Back yard - I live on a hill, and my back yard is sliding down into the neighbors. There's soil erosion going on. Thus, we need a retaining wall. And fill dirt. Got the cost for that today, and freakin OUCH. I had no idea dirt was so freakin expensive. Ah well. Better dirt than foundation repairs, right?

DONE!! We planted some grass seed, and it's actually GROWING. Even after the ice-snow-apocolypse

Bello wasn't intimidated by the snow - he's standing on part of the new retaining wall (railroad ties). 

2. Flooring - I had the carpet replaced with laminate in my dining room & living room a while back. Now it's FINALLY time to get rid of the carpet in the three bedrooms.

DONE!!

My office:

The guest bedroom

And our bedroom

As you've probably noticed, the rooms are still incredibly bare. Everything is still slammed into the dining room. I have a master plan to meticulously sort through it and make "keep", "trash" and "donate" piles. I just don't want all that crap back in my rooms!

Yeah. I know what you're thinking. I'm thankful that mom is coming to visit next week, and we can work on this!!

I also have thoughts about painting our bedroom, new furniture (soon!), and bedding. I'd like to paint it a rich grey, with black & white bedding. I also need to get some runners (rugs) for the floor. It's brrrrr in the mornings on bare feet!

Enjoy your new day!