these are a few of my FAVORITE THINGS

To make up for all the complaints I have about our cooky little house, I'd like to share a few of my favorite things...

Yes, I spent my 2005 tax return (and then some) on this pink velvet sofa. You might say it was impulsive, but I still love it!

I just used my KitchenAid for the first time in July after getting it as a wedding gift from my uncle and aunt in August of 2006. It's so fabulous and easy to use- and it's pink! Could it get any better?

Hubby gave me this owl bank for Christmas last year. The plastic dinosaurs came from mini-golf celebrating Justin's birthday. David and I won them playing arcade games. I love them too.

I don't know if this is actually a church chair, but that's what we call it. My grandma Johnson was getting rid of things in her house a year ago and she asked if I wanted this chair. Um, yes!

My hubby isn't a thing, but he is my ABSOLUTE favorite!

furniture FUND

Hubby and I were very blessed by friends and family when we got married in 2006 and started building our home, as people gave us furniture they were getting rid of, left and right. When we moved into our beautiful 1908 home with 4 rooms dedicated to the youth meetings, it seemed like a good idea to have 4 couches and 2 wingback chairs. Now that we are in the little crooked house, not so much. So we've decided to sell anything we don't love and then put that money towards a few pieces that we do love. I put a few things on Craigslist a couple of weeks ago and between yesterday and today, we made $200 to go towards the furniture fund. Pretty exciting, right? I am sure you are curious what items we are saving for, so I'll share:

Numero uno- an armoir for our TV

I love, love, love this one from Anthropologie. Unfortunately it's almost $2000. Do I know anyone with a laser saw (I don't even know if that's what it's called) who wants to lasercut an armoir for me? Doubtful.

Numero dos- a dropleaf desk

We have an empty wall in the living room that we want to put a drop-leaf desk up against since we don't have an office. We've seen a bunch in antique shops and I think this is my favorite design thus far.

the best CRAIGSLIST freebie ever

Hubby and I check the craigslist freebies all the time. We'll e-mail each other a list of items we wouldn't mind picking up, but never take any action. This last Saturday, I was checking the craigslist freebies in the area, as usual, and saw a fabulous vintage O'Keefe & Merritt stove in Oakland. I told David about it, as usual, but this time- we took some action. We researched similar stoves and discovered that they are worth a pretty penny restored. So besides the fact that the stove would look perfect in my kitchen (the restored version in my head), it would be a good investment. Somehow, no one else contacted the couple, and we were promised the stove. We made the hour+ drive to Oakland and it is now sitting in our kitchen, waiting to be hooked up. This stove is, by far, the most amazing craigslist freebie I've ever come across and I am very excited to have it in our kitchen.

the TOUR

First things first- I suppose it's fair that I give you a tour of what I am working with. When I think of our crooked little house in its current state, the following words come to mind: fake wood paneling, mismatched window and door trim, exposed wiring, brown carpeting, KITCHEN carpeting (yuck), bathroom nightmare, and potential-- which is the word I hold onto. Here's a peek into our humble abode:

(click on the photo to view a larger version)

Row 1: front room, front room, the kitty room or guestroom-to-be

Row 2: living room, living room looking into front room, bathroom

Row 3: kitchen, kitchen, bedroom

We have our work cut out for us.

welcome to CROOKED SHMOOKED

Welcome to crooked shmooked! I'm sure you are wondering who I am and what I'm about. Let me answer some questions for you.

Who are you? My name is Heidi. I am married (to David), have two cats (Yogurt and BooBoo), and live in farm country in Northern CA. I am currently unemployed, but am constantly rolling creative ideas around in my head and desire to create and share my creations. Vague enough for you? Yeah- that's as far as I have gotten so far.

Why crooked shmooked? The house my hubby and I are renting was built around the 1930's. It was built directly on the ground with no real foundation. My grandparents lived in it, my parents lived in it, and when the wood floors started rotting, my German grandfather filled the floors with cement. As the years went on and the ground shifted, the house shifted. So we live in a crooked little house. But we say "crooked shmooked" because it's cozy and crooked equals character, right?

Why blog? I have been reading design blogs and magazines for a year now, storing up ideas for renovating our crooked home. I have been inspired by so many design blogs, that I thought, now that it is time for us to finally start the renovation- people might be interested to watch the process and check out what is inspiring us. If it ends up only being friends and family keeping up with this blog, that's okay. I'd love to share with anyone!