Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Hibernation

I can feel it... spring is around the corner! This mild winter has not snuck up on us yet, and I am pretty confident it's too late for any crazy snowstorms at this point. The temps are regularly in the 40's, and I know it's only going to get better. Can you feel it too?


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But I'm not going to lie to you. I think it's time to admit I'm in hibernation mode, and I think I'll be staying there for at least a few more weeks. We've been pretty social, but I'm also soaking up the cozy nights at home, snuggled up on the couch. We're still eating lots of soups and stews, and it's rare for us to leave the house once we're home from work. It might seem a bit anti-social or lazy, but I kind of love that about this time of year. Soon those daffodils will really be in bloom, and I'll be packing away my sweaters and scarves. So I'm sorry, the blog might be sleepy for a little longer... but I promise I'll be full of fun Chicago excitement come springtime!  For now, it's back to my cave...

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Monday, February 6, 2012

Lately, around our home...


It all started with a simple picture, and the inspiration to paint our kitchen. A simple task ended up taking a weekend, thanks to a poorly hung shelf that had to be taken care of. Two days and too many trips to the hardware store later, and the picture was hung, the paint dry, and a lovely (aka boring) shelf was securely hung once again. What a difference a simple coat of paint can make!


Then we felt all sorts of inspired, and I decided to use some recent "pinspiration" to get things a bit more organized around the kitchen. I hung my measuring spoons and cups inside the cabinets, using easy to remove hooks, and added a hanging basket on the inside of the cabinet under our sink. This freed up a drawer for my spices, and some cabinet space for assorted teas and teacups. Now everything has a place. Three cheers for clear counters!


This cute little owl helps add some cheer to the kitchen windowsill, don't you think?


And I always love our little chalkboard wall, which we change up depending on the season. It's currently a tribute to our brewing exploits :)


Then there's the living room, where I got downright crafty! I made two different canvas paintings, using spray paint, painters tape, foam letters, and ever a real paintbrush. I still have very little artistic talent, but I will say that painting was really therapeutic! I probably won't do much more spray painting until it warms up, though, because it got freezing in our place with all the windows open...



It is hard to tell here, but the white canvas says "Happily Ever After".
The blue picture is an underwater fish picture from when we went snorkeling in Mexico.
The wedding picture is in a cool textured frame.
And the tiny picture is a drawing of a building from Maastrict, where my parents lived for five years.
   

 

This spring we have two big projects coming up... the kind of projects where you hire professionals! We're redoing our single bathroom, and getting rid of the tiny little pedestal sink. We're also getting granite in our kitchen. Don't worry, either, because I'm sure I'll have PLENTY of pictures to show when we make those big changes!

Who is on pinterest? Find me, and lets follow each other!