Here & Now

Dad's Visit

My dad came to visit us for the first time in a long while in April.  I'm a slacker on the sharing front, with a lame excuse of a busy work week following Dad's stay.  That doesn't mean we didn't love having him all to ourselves and that we didn't get a ton done... of course, he checked all of those boxes during his weekend in Atlanta.

During Dad's visit, we focused primarily on a space that we don't talk a lot about - our attic.  We originally intended to tackle the basement, but just like when Grandpa Bill and Dad Ertel came to visit, the basement room was simply too big of a project to tackle.  We went to our project list and decided to get Dad's help with the stuff that I'm just not good at, or the stuff that takes some heavy lifting.  John had gotten half of the attic re-insulated in January 2012, and it was time to finish the job.

Dad also had the idea to improve the storage capacity of the attic by adding some additional plywood flooring and shelving.  Yes, yes, yes!  John's touch was to add some additional lighting so we could see what we are doing up there.  Last but not least, we tore out the annoying, shedding insulation from the attic stairs and replaced it with insulation board, which opens and closes seamlessly.  The attic is a whole new place now, although our Christmas stash remains the same... it'll be time to tackle that at the end of the year!

Spices, Take II

Remember when I finally conquered our spices awhile back?  Well, they've come back to beat me.  I surrender ... our setup didn't work.  Period.  So during a recent organizational frenzy, I had to admit defeat and start over.

There were a few issues that led to this point.  First, the little jars I bought moved around the drawer too much, causing the spices to go helter-skelter.  A small part of me thinks this drawer setup would have worked if I had been able to find my first choice empty jars, Penzey's small jar size.  I'm still bummed they only sell blanks of their larger jar sizes.  These little jars had another big problem too: they didn't hold much.  Within 2 pork roasts, we I had to go to the stash to refill them.  That got old pretty quickly.  Last but not least, my husband doesn't like to put things away alphabetically.  He is also the primary spice user in this household, and he was fed up with the spices.  So out this solution was out.

As we debated how to store the spices again, we had a few key challenges to tackle:

• Limited space in kitchen for storage of this nature
• Varying sizes of jars (in their original storage containers)
• A LOT of spices

I went back on the hunt to find the next best solution, feeling like I had just gone through the plethora of half-baked ideas.  We could go with cute but hard to read long term. Great if you own 5 spices. Ideal with a pantry. Creative, but I don't find spices that attractive to have 50 of them on my walls. Unfortunately, there was nothing suitable.  I'm most frustrated by the fact that we seem to have 10x the spices in most organization pictures...what's up with that?

In the end, we went with the simplest solution possible.  The spices - in their original jars - went into a bin.  A big messy slew of them.  The only thing I feel like I really improved with this setup was that I separated the baking spices and moved them to their own stockpile in our baking cabinet.  This 'organization' is working for John, so I'm going to let it be for awhile. The big win for me is the gain of an empty drawer.  I'm happy to have some wide, open spaces in this little house, ready for the next stock up of supplies... and this time, I'll put my foot down on it not being spices.

The House List

I use Pinterest in a few different ways.  There are some things I pin for general inspiration, such as photo galleries.  I know all ideas in these categories stimulate creative ideas.  There are other things I pin because I may actually do them someday.  And there are a few pins where I just simply find something I love.  Such was the case last week, when I spotted this pin leading to Design Sponge, as popular design / lifestyle blog.  The blog was featuring a D.C.-based designer's home and I fell in love.  This apartment isn't exactly my style (I have a love of farmhouse in me, while this is all city), but something about it just gets my attention.  I find it completely inspiring as we continue to tweak our home.

Another thing that caught my eye in this particular post was the handwritten notes where the designer jotted down some of her perspective perspectives.  In digging around, I found that this is something Design Sponge has most of its guests do.  It's simply interesting - and a nice way to break up pictures of furniture!  I've done my own version here, as a way to capture my handwriting and share some personal perspectives on our home.

To add my own pictures of our house to the mix, in true Design Sponge fashion, here's a look at our most recent project.  As you can probably tell, we've slowed down on DIY and decor lately.  We got a lot of things checked off of our list with our manic approach in January and February, and I've been working on some scrapbooking-related projects lately instead.  Nonetheless, we still want to make a few improvements to our kitchen and dining area.  We started with a new lighting fixture and a rug - courtesy of John for my birthday (home run, Johnny!).  

The light is truly a 'we love it' type of purchase, rather than really being anything practical.  The old light worked just fine and even cast a better light at night.  But we could not resist going greenhouse-style and gorgeous.  We saved the original light to put it back when we eventually move - this new light is staying with us!

The rug was about adding texture and comfort to the house, where we have all hardwood floors.  This is an infrequently used rug, but, as with every one we've put into the house, we're glad to have it there once we pony up the necessary cash (I hate how expensive rugs are).

Next on our list in here, we are going to update our kitchen table.  We want to refinish or paint the table, as well as add black chairs to break out the incredible amount of brown we have going on throughout the main living spaces.  

I Got It Easy

I came home recently to a flowery package, marked with my sister's signature handwriting.  I eagerly opened it, as Jenna is really great about sending fun things.  This turned out to be the best.mail.ever. Michael Buble's brand new CD (Target version, for the bonus tracks!), right there for me.  Jenna, with John's help, had the idea, made sure I didn't have Michael's latest yet and sent it to Atlanta.  Yes!!

I played the CD on my drive into work the next morning (ok, actually I've been playing it on the drive in and the drive home every day since receiving it).  The song "I Got It Easy" immediately caught my ear, causing me to pause and look up the song title.  This moment followed my Day in the Life exercise and watching a few seasons of the gritty and bleak HBO show The Wire, which just pulled it into perspective even more.

Here's the deal - we have really blessed lives.  Sometimes, life is just that simple.  Thanks, Michael and Jenna, for reminding me of that.

Never been in trouble,
And never got hurt.
Never had to struggle,
And never had to work.
Hard for anything before, believe me!

Lord, I've got it easy!
I feel guilty little, I've been given so much
People are dying in dark while I'm lying in the sun
And I sleep like a baby, every night it seems
I'm having the sweetest dreams!
I can say honestly, I got it easy!
I'm not trying to brag about it
So I say I appreciate it completely
And when I'm acting a fool, you're never cool to me!
I got it easy, yeah, yeah, oh, oh, yeah, yeah!
It probably isn't much fun to be alone
I wouldn't know, cause I've got you here, keeping me..
And when I'm lost, you say me straight sometimes I'm needed
You raise me up, babe! I got it easy!
Oh, some people drown in here, while I'm walking is only needed
I don't mind in a bit all this cold rainy evening
I'm warm in bed, got a beautiful woman beneath me
And when I, I got it easy, yeah, yeah, oh, oh, yeah
I got it easy, yeah, yeah, oh, oh, yeah, yeah!
All this wide opened to me
But it's love and it completes me
Lord, I got it easy!

Day in the Life 1.0

Last week, I participated in Ali Edwards' Day In The Life challenge.  The concept is to record your day at a detailed level, to capture the nitty gritty of life.  While I capture a lot of life stuff in my yearly Project Life albums, given I do a layout every week, I thought I would try out memory keeping in this style just for fun.  

Here are my brief observations from this creative experiment:

• I decided just to write out my day following Ali's 'cheat sheet,' skipping photographs during the entire day.  My day is 80% meetings, and I just don't have the photographic skill to make that look beautiful and amazing every single hour!  Just writing felt like I was going back to the basics... simple and easy to follow through.
• My Project Life album definitely does not get to this level of detail.  I think this will be interesting to look back upon in years to come, to really see just a single day.  However, this is a LOT of detail and I don't see myself doing this routinely.
• A few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a blog where the writer had set a goal of completing a number of creative adventures throughout her year.  I was inspired by this personal challenge, and I think about Day in the Life in a similiar way - simply a little something to invigorate the day and stire my creative juices.  The act of creativity is just as important as the result.

Blog MS

Walk MS 2013 was a huge hit! We had a great turnout of family and friends and my dad's hockey team to help us support this important cause. We also managed to walk after the latest snow storm in Minnesota, so everyone was in a cheerful mood as the temperature rose into the 60s. The entire weekend was a complete blast, and John and I already made plans to make this an annual tradition for us on the plane ride home. We were so happy to see and spend time with everyone this weekend...we just had a ton of fun!

 

What's On My...

 

Here’s what’s on my…

VANITY | We don't have a true vanity, but right now on our bathroom counter, there is a plant and a clock, as well as sometimes an electric toothbrush charging. 

PERENNIAL TO DO LIST | Improve the house somehow, exercise, complete my Project Life album, back up my computer files  

REFRIGERATOR SHELVES | Broccoli coleslaw, oranges, hummus, lemons, mozzerella cheese

ITINERARY | May is all about Minnesota - I'll be there a few times for some special events and work

FANTASY ITINERARY | Switzerland, Santorini, Bahamas, Patagonia, to name a few

PLAYLIST | Phillip Phillips, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce (we recently caught her documentary and found it interesting and inspiring) and several other assorted top hits

NIGHTSTAND | Nora Roberts' latest, 'Whiskey Beach.'  I love having a new classic from one of my favorite authors ready to read.

WORKOUT PLAN | Daily walks, whenever they work. Using the elliptical machine in the basement more often.

IPHONE | Dropbox, Day One, texts from John, Dad and Jenna, Camera+.

TOP 5 LIST | Relaxing in front of the television with John and a great TV show, seeing the world, being with the dogs and soaking in their perpetually positive attitude, documenting life through photos and words, spending time with our distant family and friends

MIND | Work picking up for both John and me, at the same time.  Where we want to travel this fall. Being more nurturing to each other. How to redecorate the hallway. 

BLOGROLL | A Practical Wedding (Realizing Wife), Design Editor, My Money Blog

WALLS OF YOUR FAVORITE ROOM IN YOUR HOUSE | Rockport Gray by Benjamin Moore, which covers the walls of our office. It makes me want to paint the entire house gray.

LIQUOR SHELF | Miller Chill, summery, low-calorie and simple. 

LAST CREDIT CARD STATEMENT | Persnickety Prints.  Mellow Mushroom Pizza. Amazon.

SCREENSAVER | This one found on Hermes. Something different.

TV | "The Wire," which we're clearing as fast as we did Dexter in 2012.  Two seasons down so far and we're hooked on this old HBO hit.