Whirlwind weekend

I had a whirlwind weekend for sure!

In anticipation of everything happening this past weekend, I took Sat off work.  Sat morning Spouse & I met Steven for breakfast, then went to the grocery store to buy the ingredients for the food we'll serve at our tree trimming party.  Once we'd put away the food, I finished decorating the inside of the house.  I'd started the decorating last weekend but finished it on Sat. 

As Spouse began making the party food, I went on a Christmas home tour.  There were 9 local homes on the tour, including a couple homes I'd toured when they were for sale.  The tour was very well attended and several of the homes were quite lovely, all decked out in their Christmas regalia.

After the tour I helped Spouse clean up the kitchen a bit, and then we met Steven for dinner.  (Thad was out of town.)  After dinner I performed as Elton John in the Blue Moon's holiday Legends show.

Whew!

Sun morning we met Steven & Thad for breakfast, then returned home where Spouse began warming the food he'd made the day before and I began setting the tables and getting the platters, bowls, and serving pieces out. Shortly before our friends began to arrive we plated the food and put the drinks out on the beverage table.  

Thanks to Spouse's cooking the day before and my planning an organization, we got everything set up with a little time to spare (let's take a selfie!) and with no yelling.  I consider this a definite "win".

Our friends arrived and we had drinks and conversation for a little while, then had dinner.  Spouse made meatballs in Italian gravy (tomato sauce), Italian sausage with peppers and onions, rolls, and a roasted vegetable pasta salad.

Then we migrated to the living room and began trimming the Christmas tree.  

Occasionally folks paused from the decorating to enjoy some sweets (brownies, chocolate chip cookies, anis pizzelles, and chocolate covered pretzels).

The tree went from this:

to this:

Yes, the tree isn't straight, and neither are we.  :-)

Everyone kept joking that we surely HAD to be nearing the end of the ornaments as the tree became colorful, but I assured them there were plenty MORE ornaments to fill in.  "I like just a little bit of green to show through" I told them.

I really love this tradition of having friends help decorate the tree.  Its a fun way to get together during the holiday season and it makes the tree look different every year.

Christmas decorating

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Yesterday was my scheduled day off (since I work most Saturdays) and Spouse decided to use a day of 'use-it-or-lose-it' leave so we could decorate for Christmas.

I started by putting on some Christmas music then unpacked the Christmas tree.  We've been using an artificial one for the last 12 or so years.  It has a 'realistic' look to it and I like that we can put it up whenever we want, without regard to whether its raining or cold, and not have to worry that it will dry out from under-watering, and will be able to withstand the weight of all kinds of ornaments.  Yeah, we don't have that Christmas tree smell, but the convenience is worth it to me.  And we can get that Christmas tree smell from fresh cut greenery on the mantel or a 'live' wreath.  It only took about an hour to assemble the light the 6' tree.

Then we moved onto the outside lights.  We ran several strings of green and red lights along the front porch, and switched out the regular exterior light bulbs with green and red light bulbs.  Next we put multi-colored lights on the rose bushes, and set up the red and green light projector to display on the garage wall.

With the outside done, I began unpacking the inside decorations and placing them around the living room, powder room, and foyer.  In a day's time we went from no holiday decor to fully decorated inside and out.  I was tired by the afternoon and ready to sit down.

But all the effort was worth it, as the house is now ready for our tree trimming party this Sun.  Spouse is making dinner and I'm baking desserts, after which our friends will help us hang the ornaments until the tree is shimmering.  I like a Christmas tree with so many ornaments that you can barely see the green.  Photos to follow.

Holiday decorating

Bargain decorating

Yesterday while I was out running errands I stopped in at HomeGoods, which is inarguably my favorite store.  I found a large square mirror with a beveled edge in a wide white lacquered frame for $24.99.  I could easily see this for 2 or 3 times as much in a retail store.  The lacquer finish gave it a glamorous look I thought would fit in well with the Hollywood Regency theme in our guest bedroom, so I bought it.

I also saw a charcoal drawing of the Eiffel Tower in a mercury glass/distressed mirror frame for $12.99.  Again, I could see this for 2 or 3 times as much in a retail store.  I thought the mercury glass/distressed mirror finish would fit in well in the same room, so I bought it too.

Oh, and did I mention that I had $40 worth of HomeGoods bonus dollars, so both items were FREE?

I had also saved a piece of metal wall art that used to be in our master bedroom.  I'd gotten it on clearance several years ago and eventually replaced it with a nicer piece of artwork.  Yesterday I gave it 2 coats of black spray paint to go with the Hollywood Regency scheme, and then hung all 3 pieces.  Here's the result:

For under $40 I have an interesting wall collage.  I really like the way the shapes compliment each other, and I love that I was able to re-purpose the metal piece with just a $1 can of spray paint.  Decorating doesn't have to cost a lot if you use some creativity and know where to shop.

Hollywood Regency

Last week I gave you this sneak peak into the design scheme for the guest bedroom I was redesigning:

We used the lightest shade (on the far right) called Pink Whisper.  The fabric you see in the photo above is the comforter and shames; black and white on the front and hot pink on the reverse.  My design inspiration was "Hollywood Regency".  

Here's the completed room:

This view shows the mirrored console we bought as an online close-out for $99, the 2 Ty Wilson framed prints I found at a thrift store, and the wall decor (over the bed) I got on clearance for $15.  You can only see a corner of the 5x7 black and white geometric rug I got on Amazon for $57. with free shipping.

This view (slightly shifted to the right) shows the bedding ensemble we found on an online clearance for $47.99.  That's right; the comforter, bed skirt, 2 shams, and 3 reversible decorator pillows for under $50.  Also shown are the curtain panels I found in a local store for $9.97 each.  These were NOT part of the bedding ensemble but matched perfectly.

This shot shows the reinvented night stands.  I bought these 2 matching side tables years ago at a thrift store for $20/pair.  They were brown wood but pretty scuffed and beat up, so I painted them glossy white and had mirrors cut to fit at Lowes for about $25.  Total cost for 2 reinvented night stands:  $45.

Spouse & I are super happy with the way this room turned out!  We spent less than $500 for all of bedding, curtains, rug, paint, art, and furniture (excluding the bed).  We love it!

Painting

I'm on vacation this week, although we aren't going anywhere.  I took the week off to do a lot of painting, and a few other home projects.

I started Mon morning with 1 of our guest bedrooms.  After several interruptions I finished it yesterday, and today I started the living room and foyer/entryway.  I'll post photos later when everything's done and put back together.

I actually enjoy painting.  I painted my condo from top to bottom during the time I lived in it, and Spouse & I painted it again after the tenant moved out and before we sold it.  We painted our 1st house from top to bottom as well as our 2nd house, although we did this over the course of a couple years.  With all this painting, I've learned a few tips I'm happy to share with you:

• Pick the right paint.  Don't be afraid to ask the person who works in the paint department.  Tell them about the room you're painting and ask for their advice.  Paint quality and prices can range quite a bit.  High traffic areas should be painted with high grade, washable paint.  Bedrooms and rooms that don't get as much traffic may not need the same quality paint.
• Use the right tools.  Rollers come in different naps for different surface types so pick the right one for your surface.  I recommend you get 2 brushes; 1 for areas too small to roll and a smaller one for 'cutting in' along ceilings and trim moldings.
• Remove what you don't want painted.  Remove as much if not all the furniture and move the rest to the center of the room.  Take off light switch and electrical socket plates.  Cover the switches and sockets with painters tape in case you go a little crazy while rolling.
• Don't rush.  Put on music, relax, and take your time.  If you rush you're more likely to make mistakes.
  
• Stretch your tape.  I always use blue painters tape on my baseboards to protect them from inevitable roller splatter.  To make the tape go on straight and not bubble up, stretch the tape a little as you lay it down and then press it down firmly to prevent leakage underneath it.
• Roll first, then cut in.  Rolling covers quicker than brushing and leaves a nice smooth surface so roll as much as your can.  Cut in the rest with a brush.
• Blend rolled and brushed surfaces together.  After rolling and cutting in, use a brush with little to no paint on it and 'feather' or blend the area where the rolling and brushing meet.  This eliminates visible lines between the rolled and brushed textures.
• Keep a damp paper towel handy.  In case you accidentally drip a little paint or accidentally bump your roller or brush against an undesired surface, the damp paper towel handy will allow you to quickly clean up the mistake without having to go to the kitchen and get a paper towel, dampen it, and come back to the room in which you're working to clean up.
• Remove your tape correctly.  When removing your painters tape, pull the tape at a 45 degree angle from the surface.  This will help the tape pull away cleanly and prevent splitting.

Follow these tips and you might enjoy painting as much as I do!

Preparations

We are preparing to redecorate one of our guest bedrooms.  I feel like I've been saying this forever.  But before we could begin, I needed to get rid of the large desk and the existing full size mattress and box spring.  A couple weeks ago I successfully sold the desk, but have had absolutely zero interest in the mattress and box spring.  

So I've decided to donate it.  Its a little over 20 years old, but its only been as a guest bed and has probably only been slept on 3 or 4 times a year.  The reason we're getting rid of it is because it is a full and the new comforter and sheets we bought are queen.  Once the room has been painted we'll get a new queen bed on which to put the new linens.

So my friend Bryan is coming this weekend in his pick-up truck to pick up the mattress and box spring and take them to some friend of his who runs a halfway house or shelter of some sort.  I'm glad the bed will continue to get some use AND that it will get out of my guest room.  

I'm taking a few days off work soon to paint and redecorate this room, and do some other projects around the house.  Hopefully I won't have too many interruptions from work.  Here's a  sneak peak of the room's new design:

After the holidays

A year or 2 ago in the latter part of June, Thad asked electronics guru Joe P to come over to help him with his cable box and DVR.  Joe P said he would, but not until 'after the holidays'.  The rest of us burst into laughter, thinking he meant he wouldn't be available until Jan!!  But what he meant by 'after the holidays' was after the upcoming July 4th and Labor Day holidays.  From that point on 'after the holidays' has been a joke in our circle, reminding us of that funny misunderstanding. 

This came to mind yesterday as I was taking down the Christmas tree and decorations, since it is literally 'after the holidays'.  Fortunately this task is much easier this year than usual due to the minimal decorations we put up.  Within about 1/2 an hour I had the 4' prelit tree undecorated and back in its box, the 3 wreaths back in their boxes, and the mantle candles and greenery removed and the framed photos back up on the mantle.  It didn't take long to say goodbye to Christmas for another year.

'After the holidays' is when most people resolve to lose weight, myself included.  Honestly, I have been eating like a totally crazy person since early Oct with the justification that I would go on a diet 'after the holidays'.  Well, now it is time to pay the piper.

Last time I lost weight on Weight Watchers.  For whatever reason, I don't feel like going that route again, so I'm going to do Fit for Life.  I followed Fit for Life back in the early 90s and it worked great.  I lost 45 lbs in about 6 months and I felt terrific.  The concept is that weight loss will naturally occur with proper food combining.  Here are the simple rules:

• Eat fruit (and no other food) from the time you get up until noon.  Any kind of fruit; as much as you want.  Fruit and only fruit until noon, and not after noon.
• Combine proteins with vegetables in the same meal, with a desired ratio of 1 part protein to 2 parts vegetables.
• Combine carbs with vegetables in the same meal, with a desired ratio of 1 part carbs to 2 parts vegetables.
• Proteins and carbs are never to be eaten in the same meal, but may be eaten in the same day.
• Avoid processed foods as much as possible.  Natural is always better, even if it has more calories as is the case with margarine versus butter.
• Avoid dairy as much as possible, as it contains fat and calories.  The vitamin D people attribute to milk (thanks to the Dairy Counsel) can easily be replaced by leafy green vegetables.

You can buy the book if you're interested in the specific reasons behind these food combinations.  As with any every diet or lifestyle plan, its effectiveness will vary from person to person.  But I like that the book tells you that you'll get the benefits (weight loss, more energy) to the extent that you follow it.  So if you don't follow it 100% you will still get some benefits, unlike others which are predicated on never cheating in order to remain in ketosis. 

I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Weekend redux

I worked on Sat, as usual, but left early in order to go home, change clothes, change cars, and get ready for the Lewes Christmas parade.  After lining up in my designated space in the staging area I put my decorations on Big Ella.

Honestly I don't do a lot to decorate Big Ella.  I mean, she's a work of art so I don't want a lot of decorations distracting people from her natural beauty.  So I put a lighted wreath on the front, a lighted wreath on the driver door mirror, and a wreath on the back.  

As usual, she was a big hit in the parade, with people hooting and hollering as we drove by.  Kids always want me to blow the horn, so I did that several times to their delight.
 
Steven & Thad and Rick & Nick parked at our house and walked with Spouse over to the parade.  Afterward we all met back at the house for dinner.  Spouse made lasagna, salad, and garlic bread.  Afterward we sat around and talked.  I snapped this terrific photo of Spouse holding Marvin & Walter.

I love this photo!!

Sun I had breakfast at the Crystal with Steven and Joe P.  Spouse wanted to sleep in since he has been recovering from a cold.  On the way home I stopped at 4 stores to see if I could find a nice 'party shirt' to wear to holiday parties, but couldn't find anything I liked or that fit me.

Once back at home Spouse & I decorated our mantle for Christmas by removing all our framed photos and putting up flameless candles and artificial fruit and greenery.  Rather than a photo, I took this video which shows the candles flickering.

Afterward Spouse and the dogs took a nap and I watched a little TV, then we met Steven & Thad and Joe P for dinner.  It was a nice weekend!

Mirror mirror, on the dresser

Spouse & I decided a few months back that we are going to redecorate one of our guest bedrooms in the Hollywood Regency style, so we began picking up pieces when we saw them at bargain prices.  Spouse saw a clearance/close-out on a bedding set (comforter, bed skirt, shams, and decorator pillows) we purchased for $49.95 and I picked up a large sequined pillow for $12.99 and tossed them in a closet until we were ready to put the room together.

One of the key elements to making this transition to remove the large computer desk and replace it with a mirrored dresser to store some of the items from the computer desk.  I saw the perfect piece at my favorite store, HomeGoods.  It had 2 side-by-side drawers on the top and 2 full-width drawers below.  But since I hadn't done any research on pricing yet I initially thought $279. for this piece seemed like a lot, so I didn't buy it.  I came home and searched several online suppliers of similar pieces of mirrored furniture only to find that $279. was actually a very good price for the piece.  Many similar pieces were 2 & 3 times as much.  A few days later I went back to look at it again and, of course, it was gone.  (That's the way it always is at this HomeGoods.  If you like it, you have to buy it that day or it won't be there when you come back.)

A month or so later I saw another mirrored dresser that was very similar to the original one, but the drawer configuration was slightly different.  It had 3 full-width drawers, but still it would work.  It was in the clearance section because it had some slight damage (cracks) in the mirror.  It was marked down from $279. to $149.  The damage wasn't significant, and probably wouldn't be noticed by 50% of the people who would sleep in this room.  But $149. still seemed like too much for a piece with damage. 

Then a few days ago I saw that same piece had been reduced again, from $149. to $99.  I was tempted to buy it right then and there but was afraid to do since Spouse had never actually seen the piece.  I came home that evening, told him about it, and we agreed to go back the next day together. 

As we walked toward the back of the store where the clearance items are, I noticed a woman and her husband picking up a nightstand from the non-clearance furniture area that matched the dresser.  Spouse & I looked at the clearance dresser together, agreed the damage-to-discount ratio was very good, and decided to purchase the dresser for $99.  I went back to the front of the store to get a cart onto which we'd load the dresser, while Spouse began talking with a store clerk who walked by.

When I came back to the clearance area with the cart, the couple who had gotten the non-clearance matching nightstand were telling the clerk that they want this piece (the damaged clearance dresser) too! 

It was a bargain beat-out!!!

For a second I considered telling the couple the piece was mine, and showing them the cart I'd gotten from the front of the store as proof, and if they didn't relinquish the dresser, I would get all 'ignorant up in here'.  But my better sense took over and we left the store, feeling defeated.

But the mirrored lining to the story is that the merchandise in this store changes over so incredibly fast that I know it won't be long before another mirrored dresser shows up for us.  And this time I won't hesitate.

Christmas decorating

Its unlike me, but I've not been in the mood to decorate for Christmas this year.

Normally by now we'd have our tree up and decorated, an 8-10 hour process which usually spans 2-3 days. We'd have white lights wrapped around the spindles of our front porch. We'd have our framed family photos removed from the mantel and replaced with candles and Christmas decorations. We'd have holiday votives, stuffed snowmen, and other assorted decor strewn throughout the house. We'd have both of those 'lovely' (tongue in cheek) silver fiber optic Christmas trees that change colors in our family room and TV room. There would be a wreath on the front and back of our front door and side door, and Spouse's Christmas cookie jar collection would be displayed on the kitchen counters. I would have started writing and addressing the holiday cards.

As of today, none of that's happened. And since we're leaving tomorrow after work for VA and will be gone the entire weekend, it won't be happening this weekend either. I've just not been in the mood to do it.

Although holiday depression is very common, I don't believe that's my problem. I was excited enough about driving Big Ella in 2 Christmas parades to call and enter. Unfortunately one of them was supposed to be last night, when we were having torrential rain and near tornado winds. The other one is next Mon, on my birthday.

When I talked to Spouse about my uncharacteristic nonchalance about holiday decorating, he said "I know why. The house was in disarray for over 5 months. We just got it all put back together and cleaned, so the idea of pulling out all those decorations isn't appealing to you."

By Job, I think he's right. Now that the addition is done, the furniture and rugs are all put back where they belong, and the housekeeper has been here twice, the house is finally back to normal and I don't feel like upsetting that again.

Additionally, since we're not having a holiday party this year, there's even less incentive to pull out all those decorations and set them up/put them out. Maybe we won't do it this year.

I sort of hinted to Spouse that maybe we'd just skip all the decorating this year since we're not having a party, will be busy every weekend in Dec, and will be back in VA for 4 days over Christmas. He bawked and said that at a minimum we would put up our tree and decorate it. But the longer we wait to do it, the less I'm going to want to do it.

I wonder if I can talk him into just setting up those 2 silver fiber optic trees, side by side in the living room and calling it a day...


Crush du Jour: Justin Bartha